Canada’s First Two Years of War

REVIEWS 505 Of. without a personal dilemma), but as a man ofletters whose varied talents had long been dedicated to the service of God and country. These objections apply, of course, to only a small part of Barker's study. The heart of the book is sound. In this reviewer's opinion it gives the fairest and most accurate- picture yet presented of ·Milton's views on liberty and reformation, and it should become required reading for all who want to krlOw the-mind 6fthe poet. CANADA'S FIRST TWO YEARS OF WAR* F. R. SCOTT THIS is the second volume in the series of biennial surveys of Canada's external relations, which is being issued under the auspices of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs. The first volume, dealing with the pre-war years, was the composite work of four authors; ' this time the more satisfactory method of single authorship has been adopted, which gives the book a greater unity of structure and style. Professor :Q;:twson carries us through the pe'riod of the "phoney" war, the fall of France, the industrial revolution by which Canada met the demands of total war, and the beginning of the closer British-United States collaboration symbolized by the Atlantic Charter. The record of failures and achievements, particularly on the industrial front, is simply and effectively told, and, as was to be expected, the author is at his best in dealing with what might be called ·the political science aspects of the war administration. There have been many pamphlets and some books on Canada's war effort, but this volume is not likely soon to be displaced as the authoritative history of these . two years. The 'difficulty of writing about a war during the war is obvious. For one thing, the war morale demands the maintenance of myths . which later history will discard. In Canada. the normal difficulties '" are increased because of the' delicate and frequently psychological nature of the problems that need cold analysis if tr~th is to be found. Our split national personality, which this war has" not healed, calls almost as m~ch for-ease-history as for history. Pro- ,-' "Canada in World Affairs: Two Years oj War, 1939-19#1, by R. MACGR.EGOR DAWSON.' (Published under the auspices of the Canadian Institute of Inter. national Affairs.) London, Toronto, New York, Oxford University Press, 1943, $3.00. . 506 THE UNIVERSITY ,OF TORONTO QUARTERLY fessor Dawson might at some points have probed a- 'little deeper below' the 'surface showing of Canadian behav:iour. At the outset' of his book he appears to exaggerate the differences between ' Canada's entry into the war in 1939 and the entry in 1914., He places the declaration of war too early in his ~tory, thus giving tJ:te impression that it was an important factor in the chain of eve'nts leading to part~cipation. On the free parliamen6uy choic~ theory, , thIs is of course necessary.. Active participation was begun, however , and the "no commitments" policy fully abandoned in practice, , at least as early as September 1 when the War Measure Act was proclaimed and the militia placed on active service. Professor ' . Dawson does not consider what effect the coming into f~rce of the Defence of Canada Regulations ,on September 3 (which rendered free discussion of-alternatives illegal), the arrest of German nation- .als (September 4), and the prohibition of trading with the enemy (September 5), to mention only some of the pre-parliamentary m'easures, may have had u'pon the area of choice left to parliament -even assuming Mr Lapointe to' have been wrong in his warning of March 30, 1939, that neutrality was legally impossible once Britain was at war. The fact that Mr King, himself a participationist , did not decide 'to issue a declaration of war until pressure of some,unknown kind was brought to bear as late as S~ptemher 7, . would s~em to be proof that this' technicality was an afterthought, of little importance except as an ex post facto approval of the established belligerency. The differences betwe~n 1939 and 1914 are more verbal than actual. This does not mean, of course, that...