The Little Emperor: Governor Simpson of the Hudson’s Bay Company by John S. Galbraith (review)

REVIEWS 495 On thetopicof culturalinteraction the reportbyBaldwinon TheFur Tradein the Moose-Missinaibi River Valley isbyfarthemoresatisfactory. Baldwin's study devotes an entiresection to thewayin whichthetradersviewedtheIndians,andtotheimpact thattheyhadontheIndianwayof life.In addition,Baldwingives a goodaccount of fur tradelogistics and strategy, bothin theearlydaysof intenserivalryandin the lateryears,whentheMoose-Missinaibi riverroutegavewayto moremoderntransportationsystems . Baldwinmaintains thattheriversystem leadingfrom MooseFactory toMichipicoten wasat one time the mostimportanttransportationroute in north-western Ontario.BothheandWeilerdeserve creditfor havingmadeitsstorybetterknown. j. GARTH TAYLOR NationalMuseum ofMan, Ottawa A Historyof HigherEducation in Canada,z663-z96o. ROBINS. HARRIS. Toronto, University of Toronto Press, •976. Pp.xxiv,7•5 . $37.5o. Mr Harris'sbookishardtoreview,intheordinarysense of thatword.It isamanual ratherthan a history.In greatdetailit givesparticularsof the originand developmentof practically everyacademic or semi-academic institutionthat existsor has existedthroughoutthe country.It consists of elaborate recitationof courses, curricula , and administration. It isa kind of academic'Who's Who.' How review a 'Who's Who'?There istheoccasional aptquotation anda fewillustrative passages, suchas that retailingthe caustic condemnation madeby EgertonRyersonof the purposelessness ofSirDanielWilson's absorption in'oldIndianbones' andbitsofbroken Indian pottery.Mainly it isa narrativein overwhelming and tediousdetailof the innerdevelopment of specific institutions. Whileitwillbeusefulasarecord,itishard toimagine anyonereadingthroughitsseven hundredpages for thepleasure of it. It issurprising thatthe authordid nottakemorepainsto widenhisarid collection of databy makingmorereferenceto the historical and social conditions under which our institutionsof learning developed.Little or none of the heat of the fierce struggles thatwereinvolved in suchcontroversies asthoseoverseparate schools, for example,isreflectedin thesepages. The bookisessentially a workof reference.Its numerousappendices, manyof them statistical,will be convenient. Its character asa work of reference isreflected in itsprice,whichwilleffectively preventprivatepersons frombuyingit. It willgointo libraries andtherewill,from timeto time,andfor matters of detail,beprofitably consulted. A.R.M. LOWER Kingston TheLittleEmperor: Governor Simpson oftheHudson's BayCompany. JOHN S.GALBRAITH. Toronto,Macmillan,•976. Pp.x, 232,illus.$•6.95. With thisbiography of GeorgeSimpson, thedominantfigurein theCanadian fur tradefrom •82• to •86o,Professor Galbraithhassuccessfully filledaserious gapin 496 THE CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW fur tradehistoriography. Thisisamuchmorecomplete andbalanced pictureofboth thepublicandprivatemanthanwasprovidedbyA.S.Morton'spensketch, whichwas theonlyprevious studyandonemarredbyinaccuracies. In 1821, after the union of the Hudson'sBay Companyand the North West Company,GeorgeSimpson wasappointedgovernorof thevastNorthernDepartment .Althoughhehadknownonlyoneyearofpractical experience intheAthabasca country,hehadalreadyshownthoseoutstanding administrative talents whichwere to enablehim to weld the far-flungenterpriseof the newconcerninto a highly effective business machine. It was no small task to fuse men who had been hated rivals intoaloyal,co-operative workforce,butSimpson provedhimselfamasterintheart ofmanaging men,employing tactics of'persuasion, affability, guile'andoccasionally evenphysical force. If he wasnot universally loved,he wascertainlyrespected. Galbraithpointsoutthattheimageof Simpson asanarbitrarydictatorisoverblown, butmoredetailontheactual limitations of hispower,particularly inthefield,would havebeenuseful.For example,in the 182os Simpson waspreparedto sacrifice all humanitarian considerations inthenameof rigideconomy, buthispolicies couldbe modifiedby his Council. In one instance,the Councilvetoedhis plan to make companyservants payfor theprovisioning of their families.Simpson alsohadlittle success in promotingyoungofficers whomhe personally favouredoverthosewith claims of seniority. Undoubtedlyone of the major reasons for Simpson's success washis intimate knowledge of thecompany's extensive domains, gathered throughrecord-breaking voyages forwhichhebecame famous. His1824-5journeytothePacific Coast toput theColumbiaDepartmentin orderisillustrative. Hispartybroketherecordfor the outwardtripbytwentydays; onthereturn,whenthemencouldnotkeepupwithhis tireless pace, hetravelled thelastlapfromFortCarltontoRedRiveralone, galloping dramatically intoFortGarryin thedeadof night.Suchfeatsof physical endurance eventually tooktheirtoll,but,confessed Simpson, 'It isstrange thatallmyailments vanishassoonasI seatmyselfin acanoe.' A measureof Simpson's achievement camein 1839 when he wasofficiallyappointedgovernor -in-chief of thecompany's territories; twoyears laterhereceived a knighthood.By this time Simpson's careerhad movedonto the larger stageof international diplomacy. Anxious forrecognition, herevelled intheroleheplayed in signingan agreementwith the Russians in 1839,whichwasdesigned to makethe North Pacifican Anglo-Russian 'lake,' forcing out the Americansof whom the imperialistic Simpson hadanegative view.Interestingly, hewasalso largelyresponsiblefor thejoint Anglo-French convention of 1843whichrecognized theindependence of the Hawaiian Islands. One of the mostfascinating partsof the bookis the discussion of Simpson's involvementin the business world of Canadain the 185os;it providesrevealing glimpses of theintimateconnection between business andpolitics. Formanyyears thegovernoractedasanunofficialinvestment service for thecompany's officers. He operatedonwhatseems tobeatypically Canadianmaxim:'I wouldprefermaking1o p4rcentonasafe cardto2opercentbygambling.' Actively involved intheMontreal OceanSteamship Company,the MontrealMining Company,andthe North Shore REVIEWS 497 Railway, Simpson diedawealthymanin •86owithanestate worthoveronehundred thousandpounds.Shortlybefore hisdeath he had climaxedhispubliccareerby providinglavishentertainmentfor the Princeof Waleson hisvisitto Montreal. Observeda contemporary,'The Little Emperor'slight hasgoneoutjust after he basked in afinalblazeof glory.' In hisprivatelife, however,Simpson emerges asa manin whomthereislittleto admire.In grapplingwiththeproblemof assessing theprivateman,thebiographer isfrustratedby the lackof intimatedocumentation. Galbraithhasferreted out as muchinformationaswill probably everbe knownabouthisearlylife in Scotland. MuchhasbeenmadeofSimpson's illegitimacy, butit isdifficulttoknowwhateffectit reallyhadon him. It...