The Maple Leaf and the White Eagle by Aloysius Balawyder (review)

68 THE CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW sonJordanandEdwinJ. Pratt(•93•) thatstrongsupportin Britainfor the emancipation of the slaves provideda counterweight to thosewho urged intervention in America.He differsfrom FrankMerli (•97o)whoarguedthat severalfactors,suchasthe influenceof nationalinterest,the absence of any precisedefinitionof neutrality,and the fear of establishing unfortunate precedents with respect to interferencein the domestic affairsof first-class powers andthemaritime rightsofneutrals, explaintheactions ofPalmerston's cabinet. Jenkins argues thatmanyfactors determined Britishneutrality. Firstofall, SirJohnHarding,thequeen's advocate andnorthernsympathizer, persuaded thecabinet thata cautious approach wasthebestresponse totheCivilWar. Thisadvice wasreinforcedbyWilliamSeward, theAmericansecretary ofstate, whoimpressed upontheBritishgovernment thatretribution wouldbeexacted foranymeddling intheconflict beyond theinitialandresented recognition of Confederate belligerency. Secondly, Jenkins demonstrates thattheeconomic arguments opposing involvement in Americaformedthebackground against whichdecisions weremade.There wasnodesiretojeopardizethe material interests, the prosperity, andthevastwealthof tradewithAmerica,including southern cotton,byentanglement in thatconflict.He shows thattheeconomic arguments cutbothwaysandin thelongrun weremoreforcefulto support neutralitythantochoose eitherside.He states thatconsideration for material interests reinforcedthe argumentfor a cautious approach and servedasa justification for inaction compelled byotherfactors. Thirdly,Jenkins argues that Britain tightenedher neutralityin •863 because of the need to keep relationswith the United Statesquiescent in order to strengthenBritain's diplomatic position in Europe.Britishleaders fearedthecontinental powers mighttakeadvantage of herinvolvement in theCivilWar,embarrass her,or ignoreherwhenshepulledout.Reinforcing thisviewwasRussell's indignation attheConfederate circumvention oftheForeign Enlistment Actandagrowing awareness of the dangerousprecedents Britain might be establishing for herselfin futurewars.Lastly, Jenkinsstates therewasa moralreason which favoured acautious policy. Palmerston wasreluctant toinvolve hisnationinthe creationof a Confederacy whichstronglysupported slavery because of the stronganti-slavery sentiment in Britain. Thiscomprehensive, analytical study synthesizes awiderangeof public and privatepapersandsecondary materialandmakes a valuable contribution to thescholarship onBritain'sneutralityduringAmerica's CivilWar. SHERRILL BROWN WELLS Department ofState, Washington The MapleLeafandtheWhite Eagle. ALOYSlUS BALAWYDER. NewYork,Columbia University Press, •98o.Pp.viii,300.$•o.oo. CanadaandPolandhaveonegreatcommoncharacteristic: theyareboththe REVIEWS 69 smallerneighbours of large, politicallyambitiousstates. This situationhas affectedtheir internaland externalpolicies morethaneitherwouldcareto admit.Professor Balawyder's historyof Canadian-Polish relations touches on thispointbutdoesnotdevelop itsfull analytic potential. Hisconcern iswitha broadrangeof bilateralaffairsthatstretch backintothelastcentury. The book isnotorganized in a chronological fashion, butthematically, whichtendsto present the flowof diplomatic contacts in an isolated andfragmented way, ratherthanasinterrelatedcomponents of a largerforeignpolicy. Although Canadaand Polandhavehad relativelylimited contacts, there have beenmoments ofintense diplomatic activity. Theissue ofPolish immigrationhas ,quiterightly,beenisolated asthekeybilateral preoccupation of both sidesin the pre-World War II period. Canada'sprimary interestin Polish immigrationappearsto haveoriginatedin a desirefor cheaplabour.In fact, the authorimpliesthatthereexisteda long-standing discriminatory policy whichfavouredAnglo-Saxon immigrantsover EastEuropean.The most unfortunatemanifestation of thisbiasappearedduringandaftertheSecond World War, when thousands of Polishrefugeeswere rejected,many for ludicrousreasons, whilerepresentatives of the Canadiangovernmentwere mouthing platitudes abouttheheroism of thePolish soldier. Othersections ofthebookfocus onsuch matters astheattempts ofthePolish government, especially before•945, tomaintainclose contacts withexpatriates and their organizations in Canada.Often the behaviourof thesegroups revealed a less than fraternal attitude towards each other. Probably the mostsignificant bilateralissue betweenthe twosides wasthe long-standing problemconcerningthe Polishstatetreasures, which the Canadian government hadagreedtosafeguard duringthewar.The factthat Ottawa wasunwilling, orunable,for domestic political reasons toreturnthem was a source of considerable irritation for over a decade. However, the differencesdid not preventpositiveinteractionat the v• and on various peacekeeping missions. In conclusion, the bookis a usefulcontribution to the growingbodyof literatureonCanadian foreignpolicy inthatit reveals theevolution of Ottawa's attitudesand policies towardsoneof itslesserclients.Someone at Columbia University Press, however, shouldbereprimanded for theexcessive number oftypographical andstylistic errors- evenOttawaismisspelled! JOSEF ZBO•LSK•Lakehead University Exilein theWilderness: theLifeofChief Factor Archibald McDonald, •79o-•853 . JE•,•Mvm•¾COLE. Toronto,Burns& MacEachern, •979. PP.xviii,268,illus. $•5.95. Exile in the Wilderness is a well-written narrative of the life of Archibald McDonald, basedextensively on McDonald's ownjournalsandcorrespon- ...