860 



a movement known as the " Women's Institutes.'* At the start 

 it had aimed at little more than a series of social m.eetings and 

 a remedy for the loneliness of farm and district life. As tini ■ 

 went on, however, the educative and economic side of the scheme 

 reached a stage at which it had received helpful recognition from 

 Provincial Government Departments and occasionally from the 

 Colleges. One of the most remarkable features of the history of 

 the Women's Institutes movement is, that its i'apid growth was 

 due not to the result of propaganda but to the actual spontaneity 

 of interest which the movement awakened. It came as a boon 

 to isolated Canadian homes and farmsteads, and the organisers 

 began to realise that the scheme might well become a world-wide 

 one. It soon spread to the United States ; the Belgians adapted 

 it to their own needs; and in 1915 Mrs. Watt. Organiser tor 

 British Columbia, came over to Wales, and under the auspices 

 of the Agricultural Organisation Society started the Institute 

 which was destined to be a great success in itself and also to 

 be the forerunner of the whole movement in this country. 



The constitution of the National Federation of Women's 

 Institutes may be given somewhat as follows : — 



Unit}^ of purpose to be ensured by the laying doAvu of general 

 principles and procedure of the movement as a whole. 



The National Federation to consist of properly qualified and ap- 

 pioved Women's Institutes and County Federations that have made 

 application for membership in accordance with the rules and regulations 

 that may from time to time be approved by the P]xeeutive Ccmimittee on 

 behalf of the National Federation. 



The administration of the work of the National Federation to be 

 vested in : — 



A General Meeting constituted of one delegate from each Women's 

 Institute, three delegates fr(^ra each County Federation, six representatives 

 appointed by the North Wales Union of Women's Institutes, and three 

 Members of the Executive Committee : 



Tha Executive Committee, on which are appointed tlu-ee members 

 nominated by the Ministry of Agriculture, one member by the Board 

 of Education, two by the Agricultural Organisation Society, one by the 

 National Union of Women Workers and 15 members elected at the 

 General Meeting. 



So clearly did the National Federation of Women's Institutes 

 meet a need that no doubts could be entertained of its ultimate 

 success in this country. In many villages the Organisers doubt- 

 less had need of much patience and reiterated inspiration to 

 destroy a phlegmatic outlook in minds which had grown rusty 

 by disuse. A new conception of democracy and of the communal 

 hfe had to be developed in villages where the remains of a feudal 



