Primrose League.

Primrose League. This political organisation was founded November 17, 1883, by Lord Randolph Churchill, Sir John Gorst, Sir Alfred Slade, and Sir H. Drummond Wolff. The name was chosen in reference to the fact that the primrose was Lord Beaconsfield's favourite flower (a fact by some unkindly disputed; cf. Notes and Queries for 1888, pp. 146, 416); and the fivefold petal of that flower is taken to indicate the five principal divisions of the British empire in Europe, Asia, Africa, America, and Australia. This strictly Conservative society, by the moderation and even liberality of its professions, by its enlistment and organisation of women, by its distribution of titles and badges, and by its choice of an emblem dear to all and accessible to all, has attained an enormous growth and great political influence. It was originally intended to admit men only, banded in companies of about 100 to act as missionaries of the league; and the effect of admitting women may be gathered from the fact that the number of members rose from 957 in 1884 to 237,283 in 1886. The numbers as given by the society in 1891 were: habitations, 2126, and knights, dames, and associates enrolled as members, 963,943. The first grand-master of the Primrose League was the Marquis of Salisbury, K.G. The head office is at 64 Victoria Street, Westminster. In July 1890 the first branch in Canada was established at Winnipeg. See an article by Sir A. Borthwick in the Nineteenth Century for July 1886.