ABSTRACT
In 1898, the Canadian government issued a special postage stamp to celebrate the advent of imperial penny postage. Imperial penny postage, celebrated by the Canadian government, was largely due to the efforts of Henniker-Heaton, a Conservative MP who had spent some years in Australia. London was reluctant to provide for even a kind of imperial military reserve. The Imperial Federation League stressed the need for some common council to strengthen the bonds of sentiment. Even in the 1870s however, a close reading of such a supposed imperialist as Disraeli reveals that he had already dismissed the idea of imperial federation. Some kind of 'federal' structure might have been established at the time when the colonies were given self-government, but that moment had passed. The British government did then assume direct responsibility for the government of India; there was a Secretary of State in London and a Viceroy in Calcutta.
