None of It Came Easy: The Story of James Garfield Gardiner by Nathaniel A. Benson (review)

REVIEWS OF BOOKS 367 Noneo) • It CameEasy:TheStory o) • IamesGarfield Gatdiner. By N•aX•ANIEL A. BENSON. With a Forewordby BtmTONT. RIc•amSON. Toronto:Burns& MacEachern. 1955.Pp. 273, illus.$3.50. M•. B. T. RIce,soN in •s Foreword to thisbiography of Rt. Hon. J. G. Gar•nerrightlyrem•ksthatCana•an•storiography wouldbenefit •om an increase in contemporary biography. Butwhileonemustassent to thegeneral obse•ation, t•s pa•cular •stanceof contemporary biography does notlend •e obse•a•onmuchpoint.Its valueis s•cfiy limited.Popular in theworst sense of the word,•gidly •en • eve• veteranclich•sho•dering its ancient musket to marchin theranksag•n, the biography hasvalueonlyin sofarasit maybetaken to embody theremi•scences of Mr. Gar•ner•m- •e book,asthe title in,cares, is that of a self-mademan. It is a common talethatall Canadians musthonor, but not s•ely to the extentof m•ing theherosoblatantly contemplate •s workandseethatit is good. Andthe criticalreader,un•ke•e unc•ficalbiographer, mustaskwhatp•ce wasp•d for sucha careerin lack of imagination, sensitivity, and knowledge, and whether thatpriceis not•tten in the f•l•e of Cana•an governments to challenge •e native genius bf •e co• andto unde•ake •ose t•ngs civilized co•ies do to foster native talent. NotonlyisMr.Benson's bio•aphyquiteuncritical, whichmightperhaps be excused; it a•o failsalmost completely to h•t at the criticalissues of a long, contentious, and sig•ficantc•eer. No •nifiated readerwo•d gatherfrom these pages •at it wasMr. Gar•er whocon•med Mr. C. A. Dun•ng'sunion of Saskatchewan Liber•sm, basedon the immigrantvote of La•er-SiRon days, with theblocpoetics of Quebec andthe u•er se•-•ghteousness of Mr., K•g, to produce •e unprincipled r•gime of today,whichrots Canadian poetical life as•ngus rotsa log. A popularbook cannotbe criticizedfor •spensingwi• all scholarly app•a•s, evenan index.But onemightexpects•cient s•aighfforwardness • a •ter ofbiography tostate exp•cifly theye• ofbi•h ofhissubject, and notleaveit tobededuced bythereader(p. 23). Andonemayregretthatan •es•ahed sentimentality and the ceaseless self-adulation of •e Scotblur a pic•e of greateffo•, greatco,age, and a morethancommon shareof so•ow patiemlyand resolutely borne.Mr. G•ner, l•e many another Cana•an statesman, might wellpray tobesaved from •s bio•aphbr. W. L. Moa•o• •e U•versityof Ma•toba Rapportde l'Archiviste de la provincede Qugbecpour 1951-1952 et 1952-1953. By ANTOINE RoY.Qu6bec,P.Q.: Imprimeurde Sa Ma]est6la Reine.[1953.]Pp.vi, 597. IN the prefatory letterpresenting thisvolumeto the Provincial Secretary a just tribute is paid to the memoryof two distinguished French-Canadian historiansand archivists: Abb• Ad•lard Desrosiers,to whom we owe the ...