Klassen, Henry C.

English

Histoire sociale / Social History (E-Journal, York University)

COMPTES RENDUS - BOOK REVIEWS 403 DAVIDS. MACMILLAN, ed.-Canadian Business History: Slliected Studies. l.J.97-1971. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited. 1972. . This volume of sixteen essays is a work of fine scholarship. Fifteen essays are con-cerned with the history of the Canadian business community. and the one dealing with an American railroad provides a comparative aspect. It is fortunate that David S. Macmillan , the editor. found good historians (John Gilchrist, James Pritchard, J. M. S. Careless. Gerald Tulchinsky , T. W . Acheson. Michael Bliss, J . Lorne MacDougall, Douglas McCalla. R. C. Overton. Patricia Roy. 0. W . Main. Frederick H. Armstrong. John H. Archer. Alan Wilson, Richard Rice) to participate in this co-operative and worthwhile enterprise. What they have written in this book is neither in the muckrak_ing tradition nor in simple praise of prominent Canadian merchants. All their efforts have been channelled into an attempt to give us a reliable picture of men in business. The contributors' thoughtful comments on various aspt'cls of thl' Canadian husinPss community su~est that the writing of business history in Canada is in compPlt'nt hands. Important m•w ground is broken in tht> analyst's of thf' t>arly Victoria husirwss comm1111ity. P<>ter Buchanan's connection with tht> Great Western Railwav of Canada. th1• Canadian husint>ssman and his enemies. tht> Scottish mt>rcantilf' circl1·~ of MontrPal. Halifax and Saint John. tht> mid-ninett>rnth ct>nturv Montreal husinPss communitv. thl' B.C. Elt>1·trie Railway, and the late nineteenth-cent~ry industrial rlitt> of Canada. (:ritical appraisal is offered in _the discussions on tht> problems and traditions of husinPss historv. thl' ap-proaches to Canadian business history. and Canadian business records. Valuahlt> insights are contained in tht> treatmt>nts of commerct> in Nt>w Francr and NPwfound,land fishPrnwn: · and somt> interrsting points art> raised in the brit>f accounts of Ct'org<' Stt•phPn. thP Cana-dian nickel industry. and tht> Wrights of Saint John . A great deal of research lies behind most of the essays on Canadian topics. The authors have made effective use of new materials unearthed in the archival holdings in Canada as well as those in the _United Kingdom. They are clearly familiar with the best business histories that have been produced in Canadian, American and British universities over the last half century. As their ' essays reveal, they have drawn inspiration from the works of writers like H. A. Innis, William Miller, E. C. Kirkland, Robert Wiebe and Thomas C. Cochran. It is worth noting that a number of the contributors, during their stu-dent days at the University of Toronto, were significantly inspired by J. M. S. Careless to explore promising areas of business history. His own admirable essay in this volume ought to be read by anyone who is interested in a serious study of Canadian businessmen. One of the collective achievements of the essays is the light which they throw on some of the characteristics of the business communitv of nineteenth-centurv Canada. Pru-dent and successful Scottish merchants were a domi~ant feature of this coinmunitv. The financial and commercial affairs of leading Canadian entrepreneurs were closely rel~ted to a complex network of internal and external metropolitan connections. It was not unusual for the business elite of towns and cities to take an active interest in local non-economic activities. Though ·they took delight in their profits, many businessmen came to see their surroundings as hostile to their endeavours. and their fear of failure often led to hroken health. Individual essays have certain weaknesses. F~r example, Rice 's essay pr.ovides infor-mation on the economic activity of William and Richard Wright , but tells us nothing about the personalities of these men. In the essay by Macmillan,- a study that illuminates the workings of Montreal. Halifax and Saint John business groups- Montreal. Halifax and Saint John remain shadowy places. The volume as a whole. however. is of con-siderable merit. H1·nrv <:. 1-.ussE'I. * * * I !11i1wsit1 o( C11/µ11r\'. 

David S. Macmillan, ed. Canadian Business History: Selected Studies

https://hssh.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/hssh/article/download/40781/36959

David S. Macmillan, ed. Canadian Business History: Selected Studies

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Histoire sociale / Social History (E-Journal, York University)