The Correspondence of Lieut. Gov. John Graves Simcoe, with allied documents relating to his administration of the government of Upper Canada ed. by E. A. Cruikshank (review)

342 THE CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW most adequate, too, on the position of the Loyalists. Some years ago he edited for the Roxburghe Club, in an editionde luxe and privately printed, The Royal Commission on Loyalist Claims, 1785-5, and in doing so made himself master of the literature about the Loyalists. We may hope that someday may be given to the wider world this admirable material. In his new volume ProfessorEgerton makes extensive use of it. For the rest of his book he has used a great mass of printed literature, and he lays special emphasis on the publications of the Historical Manuscripts Commission. The Stopford-SackvilleMSS. in particular throw new light on that clever, but inept, minister, Lord George Germain. ProfessorEgerton refutes Lord Shelburne'sstatement that the disasterto Burgoyne was due to Germain's failure to instruct Howe in New York to advance in the summer of 1777 to meet Burgoynecomingsouthwardfrom Canada. The true story still leaves Germain ready to sacrificeto the relaxation of the hour the discharge of a vital duty. He had driven to his officeon his way to the country, whenWilliam K.nox,the under-secretary, remindedhim that no letter of instructionshad gone to Howe. Germain said that he could not wait, since"my poor horsesmust stand in the street all the time", and he would arrive late at his country house. Accordinglyhe drove away, leaving a subordinate to write to Howe. No copy of this letter was kept, and from this came Shelburne'scharge that Howe had had no instructions. The blame for Burgoyne's failure is shifted to Howe. He went off from New York to lay siegeto Philadelphia, knowingly leaving Braddock in the air. Thus are empireslost. G•.oRcE M. WRoNc The Correspondence of Lieut. Gov.John Graves Simcoe, withallied documents relatingtohisadministration ofthegovernment of UpperCanada. Collected and edited by Brigadier General E. A. C•uiIcSUANIC for the Ontario Historical Society. Volume I: 1789-1798. Toronto: Publishedby the Society. 1928. ($1.00.) THIS handsome octavo volume is an admirable collection of documents of very great value in the study of early Upper Canada. The editor has not confined his selection to letters written to or by LieutenantgovernorSimcoe ; but beginningwith a letter from Grenville to Lord ChancellorThurlow of August 26, 1784, from the Dropmore Papers, he avails himself of treasuresfrom many sources,including letters from WashingtonandJefferson. Of course,the DominionArchivesat Ottawa have beenlargely drawn upon. The last of the letters copied here is of date August 1, 1768, and further volumesare promised. REVIEWS OF BOOKS 343 The selectionhasbeenwell made,but it must beadmitted that there are omissions much to be regretted. The editor doesnot seemto have made use of the very valuable collection of documentsof which copies wereobtainedby the late Mr. J. RossRobertsonfrom Wolford Manor. Someof thesedocumentsseemnecessaryto complete the record:for example, Evan Nepean's letter to Simcoeof September 14, 1791, concerningthe blank in the list of councillors,and that of September19, 1791, concerningSir John Johnsonand Simcoe'scommission;the list of proposed executiveand legislativecouncillors drawn up by Thomas Thomsonat Dorchester'srequest,and commentson the list as "leaving out almost all the principal charactersparticularly thosewho from the commencementof the late unhappy war distinguishedthemselvesby their Loyalty, Zeal and Exertions for the Crown"; the bishopof Nova Scotia's lettertoSimcoe ofMarch13,1793("Had Bishops been appointed for America at the beginning of the present century, I am of opinion that the late Rebellionwould not have happened"),etc., etc. Perhaps theseand otherswill appearSnm-subsequent volume. The notes, chiefly biographical, are helpful: in general, they are accurateaswasto be expected. But ali•uando bonus dormitatHomerus. Someof the nodsare probably due to defectiveproofsreading,but some are more serious. The editor has given somesupport to the grotesque and wholly baseless story that Chief JusticeOsgoodewas "a natural sonof I