ABSTRACT
By the late nineteenth century there had been two developments on the British domestic front that were causing concern to parliamentarians and constitutional pundits. The first was the congestion of parliamentary business and the second was the gathering strength of the Irish demand for larger selfgoverning powers. These two issues became inexorably intertwined and the relief of one was often seen as a means of resolving the other. The parliament at Westminster was responsible for all manner of imperial, national and local business ranging from sensitive issues of foreign and imperial policy down to the complexities and ambiguities of local government. By the 1870s the parliamentary calendar was bulging at the seams and both participants and observers were complaining of a burdensome workload and the resulting inefficiency. The latter was compounded by the persistent and well-organized obstructionist tactics of the Irish Nationalist MPs as they made every effort to force the government to address Irish concerns, particularly their desire for some form of home rule. Over the next forty years, the federal idea was repeatedly offered as a solution to the twin problems of parliamentary congestion and Irish self-government.
