BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE ... - ideals

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66 At the national level the League was served by The Primrose Record, begun in June, 1885. Initially it maintained fairly close ties to the Central Office though its shareholders, all of whom sat as members of the Grand Council.33 The newspaper occupied a quasiindependent position, receiving some measure of League support, but fell short of obtaining proprietary status. Council resolutions were made as early as July, 1885 to improve the paper. In May of the following year, the newspaper lost its claim to official League patronage as a result of its assault on the Marquis of Hartington. Its shareholders, however, continued to sit on the Grand Council and some measure of contact remained, despite the censure.34 The Morning Post, and to an even greater extent England, featured regular articles on the functions of the Primrose League. Their restricted coverage and their independent editorial positions, which on occasion brought them into conflict with official Conservative policy, suggested their limitations in serving the interests of the Primrose Magazine (Birmingham), Birmingham Public Library, L76.21. The Primrose Magazine (Huddersfield), West Yorkshire Archive Service, Kirklees District Archives, Newspaper Reference, Newspaper Cuttings No. 4, July-December, 1887. Constitutional Magazine and Primrose Record (Coin Valley, Gloucestershire), Gloucester Record Office, D1070 viii/10. 33 A listing of the Primrose Record shareholders is contained in its registration of incorporation dated 4 December 1886 under the name "Primrose League Printing and Publishing Company," PRO BT31 3774/23563. The shareholders named are the following: the Duke of Norfolk, Alfred Slade, Bt., Hon. Claude Hay, T. Gibson Bowles, Lord Harris, Viscount Folkestone, and Captain Philip Green. All were members of the 1886-87 Grand Council. Minutes of the Grand Council of the Primrose League, 1 October 1886. 34 Minutes of the Grand Council of the Primrose League, 8 July 1885; 5 May 1886; 1 October 1886.
67 League. Consequently in Janyary, 1887 the Council began tentatively to discuss steps that could be taken toward creating a newspaper under the supervision of the Council. Pursuing this course necessarily meant rejecting options to improve The Primrose Record or to work through existing papers. In May, the executive agreed to form a committee to consider proposals for implementing the paper, and plans were made to acquire the registered trade name of The Primrose Record. On the first of October, the initial weekly issue was published at one pence per issue.35 The enterprise was not without its opponents, the most notable of whom was Ashmead Bartlett, Brooklyn, New York born Conservative M.P. The unstinting attacks on Gladstonian foreign policy that had begun during the Bulgarian crisis of 1877-78 and his outspoken support for British imperialism helped earn him a reputation as one of the leading platform speakers of his day. As Conservative representative to the Ecclesall Division in Sheffield from 1885 until his death in 1902 and as Chairman of the National Union between 1886 and 1888, he proved a staunch supporter of the Salisbury government and its policy of highly centralized authority.36 Undoubtedly his greatest contribution to the party was the establishment of his national penny weekly newspaper, England, in March of 1880. It was the first Conservative weekly of its kind and served 35 Ibid., 7 January 1887; 20 January 1887; 16 May 1887; 16 June 1887; 30 August 1887. The Primrose League Gazette, 1 October 1887, p. 1. 36 Dictionary of National Biography, 1901-1911 supplement, pp. 105-06.
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BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND THE PRIMRO
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ABSTRACT BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND
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TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables Li
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LIST OF GRAPHS 1 Cumulative Distri
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PREFACE For a scholar embarking on
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Materials were also consulted at th
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INTRODUCTION The Primose League wa
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3 Conservative party leadership. Th
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5 government. It is, for him, a sys
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7 up in the early twentieth century
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9 Through an examination of a numbe
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11 . CHAPTER ONE Early Years, 1883
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country, albeit with the tacit supp
Page 27 and 28: 15 districts to reflect the distrib
Page 29 and 30: 17 marked most dramatically in the
Page 31 and 32: 19 my allegiance to the Sovereign o
Page 33 and 34: 21 leadership. 1 ? yhe Registrar wa
Page 35 and 36: 23 at the meetings of .the Habitati
Page 37 and 38: 25 Women in a sense had been active
Page 39 and 40: Although this was precisely the rol
Page 41 and 42: 29 Ill As early as January, 1884 t
Page 43 and 44: The gains made in the recruitment o
Page 45 and 46: 33 move intended to suggest the ass
Page 47 and 48: 35 The Ruling Council enlarged its
Page 49 and 50: 37 members charged with overseeing
Page 51 and 52: 39 chairmanship of Gorst. 57 The P
Page 53 and 54: 41 The political responsibilities o
Page 55 and 56: 43 Conservative Cabinet. Balfour, A
Page 57 and 58: 45 been taken, presumably at the in
Page 59 and 60: 47 In many respects the formal adop
Page 61 and 62: 49 existing institutions by means o
Page 63 and 64: Gains made in other spheres helped
Page 65 and 66: 53 PRIMROSE LEAGUE LOCAL ORGANIZATI
Page 67 and 68: 55 day decisions to its Executive C
Page 69 and 70: 57 Between the years 1886 and 1888
Page 71 and 72: 59 By contrast, District. Agents we
Page 73 and 74: 61 As the organization expanded, ne
Page 75 and 76: 63 meetings should be conducted at
Page 77: 65 While the move to shift registra
Page 81 and 82: 69 The idea of a great loose body o
Page 83 and 84: 71 the League's formation. 44 A mor
Page 85 and 86: The controversy, which assumed its
Page 87 and 88: 75 Habitations. 55 The dispute bet
Page 89 and 90: 77 The direct-mail solicitation suc
Page 91 and 92: Lord Salisbury, as Grand Master, li
Page 93 and 94: 81 Agency, a Primrose Gazette Commi
Page 95 and 96: 83 CHAPTER THREE Politics, 1885-18
Page 97 and 98: 85 minimizing the irreversible gain
Page 99 and 100: 87 implementation until January, 18
Page 101 and 102: 89 a source of popular support. In
Page 103 and 104: anquet held just prior to the 1885
Page 105 and 106: 93 Political Secretary. A decision
Page 107 and 108: self-imposed restraints exercised d
Page 109 and 110: 97 practiced by Habitations. 26 By
Page 111 and 112: 99 The exact extent of League compl
Page 113 and 114: 101 Lady Churchill recalled that at
Page 115 and 116: 103 charge 1,222,000 pamphlets, lea
Page 117 and 118: 105 He was perfectly prepared to dr
Page 119 and 120: 107 Increasingly the party made inr
Page 121 and 122: 109 in promoting a voluntary extrap
Page 123 and 124: Ill activities brought about by th
Page 125 and 126: 113 "representative" conservative o
Page 127 and 128: Churchill's prospects further dimin
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117 Despite the lapse of time since
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119 Maximum annual earnings for the
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121 The Rev. J.S. Beckwith, speakin
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123 the most jealous religious comm
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125 Between the years 1885 and 1888
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Honorary Secretaries. At the bottom
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129 the highest level by the operat
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131 promoting supporters of denomin
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The women were prime movers in the
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135 Women assumed a proportionately
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137 More typical, perhaps, is Nails
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agents, and even the Vice Chancello
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141 which the revenues of the Grand
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143 TABLE 2 Grand Council Revenue
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145 TABLE 3 SGC Ledger and Membersh
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147 A Grand Council Precept was iss
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149 become involved in party politi
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151 notable female initiatives incl
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153 Perhaps more than anything else
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period of several years and found i
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157 However, the declining membersh
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159 multi-page handouts to single f
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161 the 152 reported in 1890. 61 O
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163 years later they proposed the e
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165 On the political front the Gran
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concerning Britain's economy and ov
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169 feature of the later years was
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171 on all great and vital question
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It seems significant that at the ti
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A new generation of imperial associ
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177 the war was the extent to which
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170 concerns in which Ireland was p
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172 they failed in their result, bu
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estoration of British supremacy and
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176 Certainly, the Primrose League
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Certainly the League was capable of
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180 Their victory in 1868 brought g
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182 II The best means available fo
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184 Elections 3 which provides a de
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186 stage of Habitation growth on a
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188 Appendices A, B, C, D, and E pr
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League made early inroads, almost a
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192 If we examine other regions of
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194 V Four years later, the situat
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196 The representation of the Primr
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198 The use of the census as a meas
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Cheshire county, located in Fawcett
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Habitation influence in Wales as me
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204 Even allowing for varying regio
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206 Another prominent feature exhib
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egion it appears to have reached it
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210 achievement is a significant on
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316 or 8.3 percent of all officers.
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undoubtedly highly esteemed in thei
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216 Hanwell might best be character
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218 a number of judgements. Individ
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Members of the military, none of wh
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222 caused many to regard his achie
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area, although a cotton factory and
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were attracted by the unique opport
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228 CHAPTER SIX Political Subcultu
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230 urban and rural communities whi
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232 II The "invention of tradition
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League, "the maintenance of religio
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236 As late as 1886, Gladstone's pe
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following passage is quoted at leng
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material ran round the various balc
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Deference has fared somewhat better
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244 Times are altered, and we have
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Periodic meetings were held to prom
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248 offered differentiating the var
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250 Bagehot exaggerated the extent
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252 actually held positions as Knig
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254 The social advantages conferred
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256 existing order by appealing to
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258 House of Lords, and the Church
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260 Wish they were dead.57 A compa
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262 Conservatives were urged to uni
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265 Conservative M.P.s' thanking lo
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267 are Ladywood (Birmingham), Hudd
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269 and counterbalanced by the enti
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271 both in addition to an Honorary
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273 League. In large measure this w
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275 Prior to 1885 the rural communi
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277 that all qualified voters suppo
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279 Liberal Unionist member.*6 Des
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independently of ordinary Conservat
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283 Relations remained uneasy in Bi
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Woolen manufacturing was the primar
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287 speaker retained by Grand Counc
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In the case of both Bain and Helder
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291 Catholics favoring denomination
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293 The efforts of members of the e
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later, members reminisced "over the
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297 The increasingly cosmopolitan f
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299 in South Africa" and a donation
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difficulties, we have at last succe
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While special rights and privileges
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305 exclusively of Dames.79 The re
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dated 21 February 1890, Merrick com
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Begun in February of 1888, Whitehav
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311 CHAPTER EIGHT Epilogue We [th
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313 politics. Although it adopted t
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315 the party like Walter Long, Leo
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317 The years 1900-1914 were marked
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319 London executive following the
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321 Financial and minute records in
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who were occupiers in their own rig
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In part this misconception has been
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327 century received a mixed respon
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329 social and political reforms. I
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331 BIBLIOGRAPHY I Primrose League
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333 Thornbury Habitation Minutes,,
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Cannadine, David. "The Context, Per
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Gwyn, William B. Democracy and the
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339 Mathias, Peter. The First Indus
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341 Rempel, Richard A. Unionists Di
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343 APPENDIX A London 1899 cumula
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345 APPENDIX C Dorset 1899 cumula
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347 APPENDIX E West Riding, Yorksh
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APPENDIX G County by County Analys
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APPENDIX H (Cont'd) Comparison of
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