A History of Dalhousie Law School by John Willis (review)

232 THE CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW Mountain road-building camps. Threemonths latertheBcSecurity Commissionbrokeits promiseto allowhim to rejoinhiswife and daughter.For refusingto do assigned construction workat Slocan, Bc,he waseventually removed withsimilarprotesters to theAnglerInternmentCampwherehe remained for fourteen months. As an internee,Nakanofound strengthto facethe 'barelyendurable anxiety' (97)andtheloneliness offamily separation inthebeauties ofnature, in thereading oftheBible(though hewas notthenaChristian), andespecially in thewriting oftanka, ahighly stylized verse form,many ofwhich areincluded in thisvolume. Duringthreeweeks injail in Vancouver Nakanohadseen 'the humanbeingstrippedof allthatdetermines hispositive self-image' (48),yet only when hearrived inside thebarbed wirefences oftheisolated Angler camp didhefullyrealize thathewas 'aninterned person' (57)whowas notfreetodo whathewantedtodo. Finally,succumbing to 'campexistence' (85),Nakano persuaded himselfthat he was'somehow guilty'(9o). This hopelessness convinced himtoapplytoleaveandaccept workin Toronto. Nakanoemerged fromhistrials'achanged man'(97).Thoughheisnever completely explicit, thatchange represented bothrecognition ofhisability to withstand adversity and hisrealization thatJapanwouldnot win the war. Nakanois a poet,not a politicalthinker.Nevertheless, onewishes he had commented moreon hischanging feelings towards CanadaandJapan.For example, hemakes onlypassing observations onhisalienation fromhisfellow prisoners, thegambariya, rebels whoeithersought internment toprotest the evacuation or whobelievedinJapan'seventualvictory. In a toobrief andgeneralafterword,W. PeterWard provides additional biographical details, explains thetankatradition, andsketches ahistory ofthe Japanese in the anti-Orientalsociety of BritishColumbia. Unfortunately, Wardmakes littleefforttorelatethebroader context specifically toNakano's experience. For example,Ward reportsnothingof Greenwood whereTao kano's familyresidednor doeshe explaintheoperations of the•c Security Commission whosedecision to separate the Nakanofamilyled to Nakano's internment atAngler.Ward,however, correctly describes these reminiscences asunique. Theyaretherecollections ofanunusual man,apoet whocoped with oppression in a mostcourageous way. PATRICIA E.ROYUniversity ofVictoria AHistory ofDalhousie LawSchool. JOHN WILLIS. Toronto,University ofToronto Press, 1979.Pp.viii,302.$20.00. Thisbooklengthhistory oftheDalhousie LawSchool isamajorcontribution to thescanty literature onCanadian legalhistory. ThelateDeanEmeritus ofthe School, HoraceE. Read,startedworkonthishistoryseveral yearsago.When Readdiedin 1975hehadcompleted afirstdraftoftheproject. JohnWillis,a REVIEWS 233 distinguished legalscholar andmemberof theLawFacultywasthenaskedto 'finishwhatHoraceReadbegan.'Willishasdonejust that,withconsiderable skillandinsight. Willistracesthehistoryof Dalhousie LawSchoolfrom itsoriginin •883 as the first professional common-lawlaw schoolin the British empire to its present status asa majorinstitution. Several themes aresuccessfully carried throughthenarrative.Mostimportant,thisisthestoryofasmall butinfluential institution which,until recentyears,wasforcedto scrapeby on perpetually woefullyinadequatefinancialresources. Still,from the daywhenDalhousie LawSchool openeditsdoorsandfirstchallenged thecommon practice of legal trainingbyapprenticeship inthelawofficetothepresent, themostremarkable characteristic of the 'Little Law School'hasbeenitscapacityto provideits students with an innovativeand challenging curriculum.Willistreatsthese matters inlovingdetail,ashedoes thededication of thefacultyandthenotable contribution Dalhousiegraduates havemadeto Canadianlawandpolitics. A History ofDalhousie LawSchool isa personal, opinionated book,rich in pepperycommentaryon founding fathers,benefactors, colleagues, and students throughthe generations, and otherCanadianlawschools. 'Getting and keepinga competentstaffat DalhousieLaw Schoolhasalways beena headache,' he writes.'If in the futureanythingwilltemptthesebrightyoung mentostay it willbethewarmatmosphere oftheSchool andthefeeling,always generalin the Maritimesbut nowspreading to therestof thecountry,that "thereismoretolifethanbeinganintellectual sharpy inToronto."'It isalso a sometimes annoyingbook, replete with the heavydevicesof a pedantic lecturer.Willis is very much awareof what he is doing and he cheerfully disarms thecriticalreaderwiththecommentthathisstyle'smacks toomuchof thelegendary sargeant-major's methodof instruction - "FirstI tells'emwhat I'm goingtosay,thenI sezit, thenI tells'emwhatI said."' Thisisatriflingflawcompared withwhatProfessor Willishasaccomplished. Heistobecongratulated for havingwrittenaninteresting, informative history notjustof Dalhousie LawSchool butalsoof a significant aspect of Canadian legalhistory. SotooistheUniversity of TorontoPress tobecongratulated for havingproduceda veryattractivebook. ROBERT Cm•IC, BROW•University ofToronto Biological Sciences at theNationalResearch Council ofCanada: theEarlyYears to •95o.•.T. C, gIDC, EM•,•.Waterloo,Wilfrid LaurierUniversityPress,•979.PP. xxi, •53. $7.5ø. Physics atthe National Research Council ofCanada, ß9•9- •95•. w.g.K. MIDDLETON. Waterloo, Wilfrid LaurierUniversity Press, •979.PP.x, 238.$9.oo. The historyof Canadianscience canbe of interestto politicaland economic historians. The two books reviewed here deal with the National Research ...