There was no room, except here and there, for an I.L.P. branch
and a local F.S. in the same place. The men who were active in the one
were active also in the other. We made no effort to maintain our
organisation against that of the I.L.P., and though a few societies
survived for some years, and for a while two or three were formed every
year at such places as Tunbridge Wells, Maidstone, and Swindon, they
were bodies of small importance, and contributed scarcely anything to
the sum of Fabian activity. The only local Fabian Society which survived
the debacle was Liverpool, which has carried on work similar to that of
the London Society down to the present time. Its relations with the
I.L.P. have always been harmonious, and, like the I.L.P., it has always
maintained an attitude of hostility towards the old political parties.
Its work has been lecturing, the publication of tracts, and political
organisation.
The University Fabian Societies are of a different character. Formed by
and for undergraduates, but in some cases, especially at Oxford,
maintaining continuity by the assistance of older members in permanent
residence, such as Sidney Ball of St. John's, who has belonged to the
Oxford Society since its formation in 1895, they are necessarily
fluctuating bodies, dependent for their success on the personality and
influence of a few leading members.
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