The annealing kinetics of resistance changes produced in 30% Zn &agr; brass by quench, neutron irradiation at 50°C, and cold work have been studied. It is shown that the relaxation times for these changes agree with those obtained from measurements of stress‐induced changes in local order. These resistance changes are therefore interpreted in terms of changes in short‐range order. Measurements of resistance as a function of temperature show that an increase of short‐range order decreases &rgr;0, the residual resistance, and increases &rgr;T, the thermal part of resistance.