Fighting Joe Martin: Founder of the Liberal Party in the West by Peter Brock (review)

REVIEWS 269 restandrot mymiserable remains,andon thatsolitaryIslandopposite, for I willnotallowmydusttominglewiththehumanrace,whomI hate !' Princewasobviously notaloveable man;hemaywellhavebeenmentallyill. Given the nature of this volume and the editorial limitations, this dimension is notexplicitly treated.Obviously, therearemoreinthese diaries thanhasbeen presented here.No doubttheserecordsspeakto the social andeconomic as wellasthepolitical historian. If thereisanyshortcoming inthisworkit isthatit hasbeenenvisaged primarilyaspolitical commentary. In thecircumstances this iscompletely understandable. Cateringtothistheme,Douglas hasin• •9 pages beenabletodealwithsome 3percentofthematerial available inthediaries. In order to presentan adequatepictureof Princeand histimesDouglasvisited archives bothin BritainandCanada.Forthethoroughness of theeffort, the lucidityof argumentand organization,the historianDouglasdeserves our thanks.Hopefully,thisauspicious beginning willencourage students in awide varietyof disciplines tousethese importantpapers. JOHNCLARKE Carleton University Fighting JoeMartin:Founder ofthe Liberal Party inthe West. •'ETER BROCK. Vancouver ,NationalPress, •98•. Pp.4•8. Joseph Martin (•85•-•9•3) ledacolourful, if •hequered career asapolitical gadflyinCanadian andBritishpolitics. Beginning in•883,hespent tenyears in Manitoba politics, including threeyears (•888-9•)asattorney general, followed bythreeyearsasLiberalMefor Winnipeg.Then he hada meteoric careerin BritishColumbia politics 0898-•9o3),duringwhichtimeheagainbrieflywas attorneygeneraland, for a fewchaoticmonthsin •9oo, premier.He finally turnedtoBritishpolitics, representing EastStPancras inParliamentfrom x91o to •9•8. Martinhadmanytalents: hewasaskilled lawyer;hebecame amillionaireby •9o5; hecouldbea capable organizerand aggressive platformspeaker. His political ideas appeartohavebeenaneclectic amalgam ofliberalism, populism, andnativism. He maybebest remembered in Canadafor theManitoba school legislationof •89o and anti-Orientallegislationin Bc,but he alsoachieved importantlegalreformsinbothprovinces andsome progressive labourlegislation in Bc. Unfortunately,he had a flawedcharacter, includinga massive chipon his shoulder.His intemperateinvectiveand suspicious nature sooneror later alienatedboth his friendsand politicalsupporters.Failingother meansof persuasion, he wouldresortto fisticuffs - in bar room brawls,at political meetings, evenoncein the Bclegislature. He wascapableof pettiness, spite, and usinghisofficialpositionto advance hispersonal interests. Thus he isa difficultsubject for a biography, a taskcompounded bythelackof personal papers. 270 THE CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW Regrettably Peter Brock, agrand nephew ofMartin's brother Edward, has notserved hiscontroversial ancestor well.Ratherthanaccepting thelimitations ofhissubject andsources, hecreates a pretentious structure inwhich Martin emerges asthemissing linkof western radicalism connecting Louis Rieland J.S.Woodworth: '...itispossible to...argue thatthemenformed acontinuing lineof radicalism in the West.They neednotbe espousing anyparticular radical ideal - indeed it is the thesishere that their radical ideaswere very dissimilar; in fact,thattheywerea dialectical reaction tooneanother' (37•). Noristhetheory thatMartinfounded theLiberal partyintheWest sustained. Worsethan the tortuousand dubioustheoreticalframeworkare the padding ,unsubstantiated conjectures, andfactual errors which pervade thebook. Moreover,Brock's research iswoefullyincomplete, particularly on theManitoba andBritish phases ofMartin's career. Heapparently does notknow that Martinwas re-elected totheManitoba legislature in•89•; thathesubmitted his resignation toGreenway bothin •89oand•89•;thatheco-operated withthe c•,Rin •89•; thatin Manitobahelegalized champerty, whichbecame anissue whenhewasin •c; or thatMartinconducted acontinuing feudwithClifford Siftonin Manitoba after •896. In sum,usefulas it is to havea studyof Martin, thisis an unreliable, inadequately documented bookwhich should beused onlywithgreatdiscretion . D.j. HAI•I• University ofAlberta Memoirs ofRobert England: Living, Learning, Remembering. Vancouver, Centre for Continuing Education, University ofBritish Columbia, •98o.Pp.a••. $•o.oo. Robert England isprobably best known forhisworkonEuropean immigration and land settlement in Western Canada, or for histwo bookson SecondWorld Warveterans. But hisworkin theseareasismerelytwophases of a longand varied career. England was bornin Irelandin •894andemigrated toCanada just priorto the FirstWorldWar,workedon farmsin Saskatchewan, and eventually registered asanextramural student atQueen's University. Hiseducation was interrupted byservice withtheRoyal Canadian Regiment inFrance, •9•6-•9.Following demobilization, England pursued acareer ineducation and turnedtoteaching, particularly among thenon-English-speaking immigrants of rural Saskatchewan. In •9a4 hejoinedtheColonization Department of Canadian NationalRailways, firstascontinental superintendent responsible for immigration fromEurope,andfrom •93o to •936 asWestern Canada manager fortheagricultural andcolonization activities of c•R.In •936Englandleftthec • tobecome thedirectorofextension attheUniversity ofBritish Columbia foroneyear, andin•937hebegan atwo-year stint asaneconomic ...