Imperial Federation League

Lore & Background

The League passed resolutions at its founding, including that its object was to secure by federation the permanent unity of the Empire, that no scheme should interfere with existing local parliaments regarding local affairs, and that any scheme should combine the resources of the Empire for common interests and defence. Membership was open to any British subject accepting the League's principles upon payment of a yearly registration fee of at least one shilling. Branches were established in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Barbados, and British Guiana.

After Forster's death, Lord Rosebery became President, succeeded by Edward Stanhope. Francis Labilliere, William Westgarth, and John Dennistoun Wood served on a committee of six to draft the League's prospectus. The League was cross-party and combined politicians, journalists, and intellectuals, including Sir John Robert Seeley, James Bryce, Alfred Milner, Froude, and Lord Tennyson. A large branch formed in Toronto in 1887, spurred by a United States initiative for commercial union between the US and Canada. Dalton McCarthy MP was a founder of the IFL; prominent Canadian members included Sir Charles Tupper, Sir Sam Hughes, and G.T. Denison and his brother Frederick Charles Denison.

A branch was established in Victoria, Australia in 1885. Alfred Deakin became President of the Victorian branch in 1905. The Victorian branch survived the dissolution of the London branch partly through the efforts of Henry D'Esterre Taylor. The Victorian branch supported the notion that Imperial Federation could best be encouraged by not enunciating a clear plan, with many regarding the Federation of Australia as the first step toward Imperial Federation. The League was divided between those wanting a clear pathway and those favoring general discussion; another division concerned free trade versus tariff protection.

Reader's Guide

The Imperial Federation League brought the issue of imperial federation to public attention throughout the empire. Its most concrete accomplishment was the calling of the First Colonial Conference in 1887 at the time of Queen Victoria's golden jubilee. The League sent deputations to Prime Ministers Salisbury and Gladstone; Salisbury agreed to the Colonial Conference but later dismissed federation as 'a word spelt with ten letters', while Gladstone dismissed the League's plan in April 1893. A 'want of homogeneity' and recognition that the League comprised 'three or four sections' led to its dissolution in 1893. The League was effectively revived by some members in 1894 as the British Empire League. Milner went on to unite South Africa and form the Round Table movement. The League's most notable opponents included Edward Augustus Freeman, Goldwin Smith, and Andrew Carnegie, who called it Rosebery's 'amusing Imperial Federation fad'. Despite its dissolution, the League's advocacy influenced later imperial cooperation and the development of dominion status.

Did You Know?

• The Imperial Federation League was founded in London on 18 November 1884, with W. E. Forster as its first chairman.
• The League dissolved in 1893 due to a 'want of homogeneity' and was effectively revived in 1894 as the British Empire League.