Canadian Labor Laws and the Treaty by Bryce M. Stewart (review)

164 THE CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW preparedto do so. The QuebecAct ought not to be isolatedfrom the previousexperimentsin Granada (p. 137). There is unfortunately no index. W. P.M. KENNEDY CanadianLabor Laws and the Treaty. By BRYCEM. STEWART. New YOrk: Columbia University Press. 1926. Pp. 501. EVERYTHINGwritten, about labour and labour legislation, even in its international aspect, is apt to be dull, and Mr. Stewart's book is no exception to the rule. But as a collection of Canadian labour laws, gathered together in historical or narrative form, it is a very useful and a unique book. In using the "International Charter of Labour" and the results attained by the International Labour Conferencesas hisstandard,and in measuringCanadian federal and provincial legislationby these, the author has hit upon a very happy method of approach. One could wish, however, that he had allowed himself freedom to expresshis own opinionfrom time to time, and that he had advancedsomesuggestions of his own, as to the ways and means of overcoming obstacleslike federal incompetence in labour matters and general opposition or apathy toward social legislation. A simple setting down of facts is always usefuland certainly safe,but it is far from stimulating. There is, however, much of interest in the book, and certainly matter for mature consideration. Onewonderswhy, if the Dominion couldlegislate for the prohibition of the useof white phosphorusin matches, it could not also prohibit the use of other materials, such as white lead, that gives rise to other and similar industrial diseases. It is suggestedtoo, on page61, that the weekly rest conventioncan be assimilatedto Sabbatarian legislationlike the Lord's Day Act, under the headingofcriminal law, but the latter was unquestionablyenacted by the Dominion for religiousreasons,and it is practicallycertain that the Privy Council wouldrejectanyattempt to trenchfurtheruponthe rightsof theprovince in a matter about which A. Berriedale Keith remarks: "The JudicialCommitteein Attorney Generalfor Ontario vs. Hamilton Street Railway Coy, 1903A.C. 524, somewhatunexpectedly, and perhapsnot altogether convincingly,ruled that the matter (The Lord's Day Act) was one falling under the exclusiveauthority of the Dominion as a questionof criminal law" (Journalof Comparative Legislationand InternationalLaw, Nov. 1925, p. 204). A word as to the stepstaken by the Dominion in formally ratifying the four draft conventions on maritime matters, would not have come amiss, for it seemsthat this is done directly by a Canadian order-incouncil and not vi• the usual channel of ratification,--His Majesty the REVIEWS OF BOOKS 165 King,--and as suchit is a development in "conventionalinternational law" that isworthyof notice. Allied to thisisthe actionof the provinces in regard to internationalobligationslike labour conventions,which the juristshavenot yet deviseda meansof recognizing internationally. To one domiciledin Toronto it is refreshingto read that the cause of Toronto's conservatism dates back to Sir John A. Macdonald's liberalism in labour matters. It is interesting too, to note the steps takenby the Dominion,the provinces andthe CanadianBar Association to bring about uniformity in labour legislation,and their success in matters like workmen'scompensation,though much couldstill be done, alongthe linessuggested on page64, in makingcertainDominionActs the modelsto be striven after in subsequent provinciallegislation. This provision of models,by the way, is oneof the mostvaluablecontributions of the International Labour Organization. On page478 it is stated that "the British North AmericanAct confers the residuarypowersof legislation on the DominionParliament in contrast with the American and Australian constitutions which confer them on the States". This is hardly an accuratesummary of Canadian constitutional law, for, as a matter of fact, the residuary powers of legislationare dividedbetweenthe provinces and the Dominion,and it would almostseem that, as a result of the decisionin the "Snyder case", the real residuumrestswith the province,under "property and civil rights." On the whole, Mr. Stewart has produceda thoroughly good piece ofwork,•which should proveinvaluable to students andothersinterested in Canadian labour questions. NORMA• MAcK•.•z•E OntarioHistorical Society,Papersand Records. Vol. XXIII. Toronto. 19213.Pp. 15134; illustrationsand maps. I• pastyearsthe annualPapersandRecords of the Ontario Historical Societyhave beengrowingin size,and the presentvolumewill be of particularvalueto students of the historyof Ontario. There are thirty articlesof varyinglength. The bulk of thesedealwith the early history of Ohtario (while it was Upper Canada), and especial attention is devotedto the War of 1812. Quite naturally, the districtsmostdiscussed are...