On the Society itself the effect of the Essays and the Lancashire Campaign was considerable.  As the Executive Committee report in April, 1891:  “During the past year the Socialist movement has made conspicuous progress in every respect, and a constantly increasing share of the work of its organisation and extension has fallen to the Fabian Society.”  The membership increased from 173 to 361, and the subscription list—­thanks in part to several large donations—­from L126 to L520.  Local Fabian Societies had been formed at Belfast, Birmingham, Bombay, Bristol, Huddersfield, Hyde, Leeds, Manchester, Oldham, Plymouth, Tyneside, and Wolverhampton, with a total membership of 350 or 400.  The business in tracts had been enormous.  Ten new tracts, four pamphlets and six leaflets, were published, and new editions of all but one of the old ones had been printed.  In all 335,000 tracts were printed and 98,349 distributed.  The new tracts include “The Workers’ Political Programme,” “The New Reform Bill,” “English Progress Towards Social Democracy,” “The Reform of Poor Law,” and a leaflet, No. 13, “What Socialism Is,” which has been in circulation ever since.  It should be added that at this period our leaflets were given away freely, a form of propaganda which soon proved too expensive for our resources.

In March, 1891, just before the end of the official year, appeared the first number of “Fabian News,” the monthly organ of the Society, which has continued ever since.  It replaced the printed circulars previously issued to the members, and was not intended to be anything else than a means of communicating with the members as to the work of the Society, and also in later years as to new books on subjects germane to its work.  It has been edited throughout by the Secretary, but everything of a contentious character relating to the affairs of the Society has been published by the express authority of the Executive Committee.

It may be mentioned that from this time forward the documents of the Society are both fuller and more accessible than before.  For the period up to the end of 1889 the only complete record is contained in the two minute books of the meetings.  No regular minutes of Executive Committee meetings were kept, and the Annual Reports were not printed until 1889.  From 1890 onwards the meetings of every committee were regularly recorded:  the Annual Reports were printed in octavo and can be found in many public libraries, whilst “Fabian News” contains full information of the current doings of the Society.  It will not therefore be necessary to treat the later years with such attention to detail as has seemed appropriate to the earlier.  The only “sources” for these are shabby notebooks and the memories of a few men now rapidly approaching old age.  The later years can be investigated, if any subsequent enquirer desires to do so, in a dozen libraries in Great Britain and the United States.

[Illustration:  From a photograph by Van der Weyde