The Upper Canada Trade 1834–1872: a Study of the Buchanans’ Business by Douglas McCalla (review)

92 THE CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW Butif theexposition ofthese broader issues remains undeveloped, wearein debttoBilsonfor hisdetailedaccounts of theimpactofcholera onCanadian society atthelocalor townlevel.In these passages wearegiven a first-hand account oftheday-to-day problems created bycholera: thelocation andspread ofthedisease (would maps, particularly ofthetowns, have been useful forthis discussion?), thedebate overimmigration, theworkings of thehealthboards, theplight oftheurbanpoor,theimpact onthedemography ofthetown(only marginal), andthestate ofmedicine. Allofthese problems arerelated inaclear and gracefulprose,with a thoroughknowledge of the available archival material,andwithconsiderable insightandintelligence. L.D.MCCANN MountAllison University TheUpper Canada Trade •834- •872:aStudy ofthe Buchanam' Business. DOUGLAS MCCALLA. Toronto,University of TorontoPress, •979.PP.viii,23•. $•7.5ø. DouglasMcCallahasmadea significant contribution to our knowledge of nineteenth-century Canadian business history. Ashepoints out,therehasbeen amodest riseininterest inthisfieldrecently butwhatisstilllacking isaseries of detailed monographs of the kindwhichscholars in BritainandtheUnited States can oftendrawupon.Bylooking atasingle family firmhehas provided a good example ofhowuseful such studies canbe.Ultimately books likethiswill permittheconstruction of a newsynthesis. The work is a revision and condensation of Professor McCalla's doctoral thesis, andashissub-title declares heconcentrates quitenarrowly upon'the Buchanans' business.' Peterand IsaacBuchanan wereGlaswegians whotook thesmallfortunebequeathed to thembytheirmerchantfatherandbetween •834andthemid-•85osbuiltup oneof thelargest wholesaling firmsin the Canadas withannual sales ofnearly $2,ooo,ooo. In ayear-by-year chronicle of thefirm'sprogress McCallareveals thechallenges whichfacedsuch entrepreneursand the reasonswhy they frequentlyfound themselves facing the possibility offailureandbankruptcy. Firstofall,therewas theneedtooperate ona long-credit system. Suppliers wouldextendcreditfor theirgoods for a three-month periodafterwhich interest onoutstanding balances was normally charged, but purchasers withgoodreputations, suchastheBuchanans were ableto establish, couldoftencountuponnot payingfor supplies until six months aftertheyweredelivered aboardshipat Glasgow. Evensothefirm couldexpectto receive payment onlyafteraboutfifteenmonths owingto shipping timeandtheslowness of retaildistribution. Thusthewholesaler occupied avitalplace intheAnglo-Canadian commercial system asasupplier of creditonhisownaccount or throughvarious banking credits arrangedin theBritishIsles.Reputation andaccess toloanable fundswereallimportant, andit washerethatthe highregardin whichPeterBuchanan washeldin REVIEWS 93 Glasgow, whereheoversaw thefirm'sactivities untilhisdeathin •86o,proved absolutely crucialto itssuccess. As McCallademonstrates the partners(whoincludedseveral non-family members) alsofacedsterntests in handlingtheCanadian endof theiraffairs. Firstcamethe decision whetherto concentrate upon wholesaling or enter retailingtoo.The Buchanans recognized thatwholesaling wasmoreflexible since theycouldquickly cutoff unsatisfactory accounts if necessary buthadno needtoexercise day-to-day supervision oversuccessful clients. Withthese they tried to secure exclusive arrangements, notonlyfor competitive reasons but becausethat made it much easier for them to assess the extent of any purchaser's liabilities. Thiswasimportant,for retailers wereextended sixor seven months' creditautomatically andonlythereafterwasinterest charged on outstanding balances. Winnowing outtheunsuccessful clients, particularly in bad times,wasthe mark of the successful manager,but asMcCallashows therewasoftenlittletobegainedbydrivingretailers intobankruptcy through aggressive collection practices, since thisleftonlysome hard-to-sell stock and perhaps landandbuildings ofdubious value,particularly inasevere crisis like that of •857. Playingnursemaidto thesestruggling enterprises wasan inescapable rolefor a wholesale firm. TheBuchanans shared inthegrowing prosperity ofUpperCanada, moving from Toronto to Hamilton in •84o because they believedit offered better access tothewestern peninsula. In parttheyreapedtheprofits theydidowing to the irrepressible optimismof IsaacBuchanan, whoseresponse to every setback seems to havebeento moveaheadaggressively. Unfortunately,Isaac provedless adaptable to theharsherbusiness climatewhichsettled in after •857.He failedtorecognize thatthebooming agricultural frontiercouldnot continue togrowatthesamerateindefinitely. The firmbegan toslidetowards bankruptcy in I867 and a finalwinding-upin I872. By thenthe economic system was changing, andtheindependent wholesaler hadtoadaptinorderto survive. Onealmostwishes thatMcCallahadwrittena longerbookwhichincluded somemore generalreflections on the nature of the commercial system in nineteenth-century Upper Canada.Groundinghis storyso firmly in the Buchanans' business hasitsadvantages, but sometimes theminutia•of their affairs mighthavebeenpushed aside foralookatthewiderpicture. Butthatis a minorquibbleaboutwhatisin everyotherwayanimportantbook. CHRISTOPHER ARMSTRONG YorkUniversity Working People: anIllustrated History ofCanadian Labour. DESMOND MORTON with TEVa•Y COPP. Ottawa,Deneau& Greenberg,•98o.Pp.viii,349,illus. According torumourDesmond Mortonlives inahouse withmanyrooms, each ...