 This was a decrease from the 1891 census with 54.4% speaking Welsh out of a population of 1.5 million.With these pre-requisites, Lewis condemned "'Welsh nationalism' as it had hitherto existed, a nationalism characterized by inter-party conferences, an obsession with Westminster and a willingness to accept a subservient position for the Welsh language," wrote Davies.It may be because of these strict positions that the party failed to attract politicians of experience in its early years.