Ireland and the Federal Solution: The Debate over the United Kingdom Constitution, 1870-1921

304 Pages·1989·19.456 MB·English

by  John Kendle

Ireland and the Federal Solution:
The Debate over the United Kingdom Constitution,
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creasing complexity of government business were the primary stimu-
lants to constitutional debate in the United Kingdom. Politicians and
publicists devoted considerable energy and attention to devolution,
federalism, and "home rule all round" as possible means of resolving the
urgent political, administrative, and constitutional problems confronting
the United Kingdom.
John Kendle analyses the many issues involved in the debate over
decentralization. Concern about the relationship between the United
Kingdom and the self-governing colonies/dominions stimulated much of
the debate, but the "Irish question" was its focal point and many of the
federal and devolutionary schemes proposed were designed to accom-
modate the demand for Irish home rule while preserving the union.
Scots and Welsh demands are also examined and placed in context.
Imperial federation was continuously and exhaustively discussed and
promoted from the late i86os through World War i and Kendle argues
that it is not always possible to separate the arguments for closer imperial
union from the proposals for internal change.
In Ireland and the Federal Solution, Kendle shows that federalism was
never central to British thinking and was rarely articulated in detail; its
advocates never came to terms with the issue of financial relations within
the United Kingdom and underestimated the opposition of the Irish,
both Nationalist and Unionist, to federalist plans. Ironically, the Irish
question remained both the most powerful impetus to federalist thought
and the source of the strongest resistance to it. It gave rise to a vibrant
and important debate which still merits our attention today.
John Kendle is a member of the Department of History at St John's
College in the University of Manitoba.
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Ireland and the
Federal Solution
The Debate over the
United Kingdom
Constitution, 1870-1921
JOHN KENDLE
McGili-Queen's University Press
Kingston and Montreal
® McGill-Queen's University Press 1989
ISBN 0-7735-0676-4
Legal deposit first quarter 1989
Bibliotheque nationale du Quebec
®
Printed in Canada on acid-free paper
This book has been published with the help of a gran
from the Social Science Federation of Canada, using
funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council of Canada.
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
Kendle, John, 1937-
Ireland and the federal solution: the debate over the United
Kingdom constitution, 1870-1921
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7735-0676-4
i. Great Britain - Constitutional history. 2. Home rule
(Ireland). 3. Home rule (Scotland). 4. Home rule (Wales). 5.
Great Britain - Politics and government - 1837-1901. 6. Great
Britain - Politics and government - 1901-1936. I. Title.
DA959-K46 1989 941.08 088-090277-9
Contents
Preface vii
Introduction 3
1 Early Schemes and Ideas, 1840-1885 kd
2 Gladstonian Home Rule 32
3 Home Rule All Round, 1886-1899 57
4 Devolution, 1900-1909 86
5 Constitutional Crisis, 1910 104
6 Home Rule or "Federalism"? 128
7 Ulster and the Federal Solution,
1912-1914 151
8 The War Years 177
9 Federal Devolution, 1919-1921 210
Conclusion 234
Notes 239
A Note on Sources 288
Index 291
'Jo the memory of
Leslie 'jptc.-i
Preface
From the 18705 to 1921 considerable energy and attention were devoted by
politicians and publicists to home rule aE round, devolution, and federalism
as possible means of resolving the urgent political, administrative, and consti-
tutional issues confronting the United Kingdom. The increasing complexity
of government business, the gathering forces of nationalism in Ireland,
Scotland, and Wales, and a concern to maintain and strengthen the role in
imperial affairs of the parliament at Westminister combined to keep the
possibility of decentralizing power at the forefront of political and public
debate for much of" the period.
Central to all such discussion was the "Irish question" and many of the
federal and dcvolutionary schemes that surfaced were designed to accom-
modate the demand for Irish home rule while preserving the Union, Ireland
snd the problems associated with granting it some form of self-government
therefore bulk large in this volume bm it is not a book exclusively about Irish
home rule. It is a study of the motives and attitudes of all participants in the
debate over constitutional change and an examination of the various schemes
and proposals that emerged. Scottish and Welsh, demands are examined and
placed in context. Similarly, much oi~the debate over internal constitutional
change took place at a lime when many people were concerned about the rela-
tionship between the United Kingdom and the self-governing colonies. Im-
periai federation was continuously and exhaustively discussed and promoted
from the late i86os through World War I. It is not always possible to separate
the arguments for closer imperial union from the proposals for internal
change. This overlap of interests, organizations, and participants is an im-
portant dimension of the book. Finally, an effort has been made to sort out
what the participants in the debate believed they meant when they spoke and
wrote of "federalism." "devolution." "home rule all round," and "federal
devolution."
I am grateful to the staff of the following institutions: the British Library;
the Public Record Office; the House of Lords Record Office; the Institute of
viii Preface
Historical Research; the Institute of CoLmonwealth Studies; the Royal
Commonwealth Society; the University of London Library; the Bodleian
Library; Rhodes House Library; the University of Birmingham Library;
Durham University Archives; the Wiltshire Record Office; Cambridge
University Library; St John's College, Cambridge; Trinity College, Dublin;
the National Library of Ireland; the National Library of Wales; the National
Library of Scotland; the Scottish Record Office; the New York Public Library;
the University of Minnesota Library; the Humanities Research Center,
University of Texas, Austin; the National Library of Canada; the Public
Archives of Canada; University of Toronto Archives; Queen's University
Archives; the Manitoba Provincial Library; the University of Manitoba
Library; and St John's College Library, University of Manitoba.
This project has been generously supported by the Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council of Canada which by awarding me two research
grants and a Leave Fellowship enabled me to secure the necessary time for
research and writing. The first draft of this book was written during 1985-6
when I was the Commonwealth Fellow at St John's College, Cambridge. My
thanks to the Master and Fellows of the College for providing me with a quiet
and congenial setting in which to work. I am particularly grateful to Ben
Farmer, Peter Clarke, Nicholas Mansergh, and Henry Pelling for their many
kindnesses. I am indebted to Leslie Head and Paula Halson of Cambridge,
England, and to Carol Adam of Winnipeg for so rapidly and efficiently typ-
ing my drafts, and to Charles Beer for his excellent editorial advice. A special
thanks to Judy for her support.
I was introduced to the field of imperial and commonwealth history by
Leslie Upton. He encouraged me in my pursuit of a scholarly career, pro-
vided penetrating and constructive criticism of my early work, and was
instrumental in helping me obtain a university position. I valued his friendship
and I dedicate this book to his memory.
Ireland and the Federal Solution