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British Columbia History
British Columbia Historical Association
Vol. 10, No. 1
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historical NEWS NOV. 1976 it I V-. ? i » %* #..** /i^xF X l i<C 1 -x-, ^ ^fc.4* : / ' '",-., '"X -,; p *#» / "j> >^Aj*Aj^OO^«r*. :.'.x '. -iM4t> Tlx... BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL NEWS Vol. 10 No. 1 ISSN 0045-2963 November 1976 Published November, February, April and June each year by the British Columbia Historical Association, and distributed free to members of all affiliated societies by the secretaries of their respective societies. Subscription rate to non-members $5.00 Can. per year, including postage, directly from the Editor, P.A. Yandle, 3450 West 20th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. V6S 1E4. NOTE SOCIETY SECRETARIES: Deadline for submissions is the 10th day of each month of issue. Please report any change of name and address directly to the Editor. Executive 1976-77 Hon. Patron: Hon. President: President: 1st Vice-Pres.: 2nd Vice-Pres.: Secretary: Recording Sec.: Editors: Treasurer: Executive mambers: Lieut-Gov. Walter Owen Dr Margaret Ormsby Mr A. Slocomb, 1564 Oakcrest Dr., Victoria, B.C. 595-3656 Mr Rex Tweed Mrs Winnifred Weir Mrs Ruth Barnett, 680 Pinecrest Rd., Campbell River, V9W 3P3. 287-?097 Mrs Arlene Bramhall Mr & Mrs Philip A. Yandle Mr Michael Halleran None elected this year TABLE OF CONTENTS Editorial Minutes Society Notes and Comments Obituary Jottings B.C. Books of Interest Book Reviews: The Enemy that Never Was, Historical Essays on B.C. A Pioneer-Gentlewoman in B.C. ed. M The Crown in Canada, by F. McKinnon Waddington, by N. Shanks The Lions Gate Bridge - Part II, by J. Stockdill by K. Adachi ed. Friesen & Ralston Ormsby Page 2 3 5 8 9 11 11 13 14 16 17 18 This volume of the News will feature ships of interest to B.C. The cover of this issue depicts the S.S. Princess Maquinna, and her Master, Capt. E. Gillam. She was a supply ship for the west coast of .VL.icouver Island and sailed through fair and foul weather to earn the pet name of 'Old Faithful'. Design and illustration by Robert Genn. (To those interested in more details see Nicholson's Vancouver Island's West Coast.) 2 EDITORIAL From time immemorial all earth-bound creatures, including uan, have woven a net-work of paths and trails, to assist them in their battle against the hostility of their environment. In the early emergence of the primate these trails were little more than hunting paths, and in fact, were often the game trails of wild animals, who were engaged in similar pursuits of finding food and seeking protection from other predators. As the primate developed into homo sapiens, his ability to speak, develop tools, weapons and other crafts, changed his whole life style, thereby steadily progressing into the age of the great explorers and adventurers. These are the people that have left their paths across every continent on the globe and are as much a part of our visual history as the many great buildings which have been preserved for posterity. The great Roman roads of Europe to the famous (or infamous) gold rush Trail of '98, we indeed, have mute testimony that man was not to be deterred. In British Columbia there are innumerable trails of great significance to both the Native Peoples and the white man. Since the coming of the white man to North America, the general exodus from Europe to the eastern sea-board, in turn, brought about a steady progression westward. These paths became landmarks and played a vital role in the development of this country. Now the significance of these trails, whether it be the Fur Brigade Trail through the southern interior of B.C. or the West Coast Life Saving Trail on Vancouver Island, can only be realised if, in their preservation they exactly delineate the route they encompassed when they were first established. It must not be anything less. There are around seventy trails throughout British Columbia that should be placed on an inventory, to be accurately mapped and marked, and at the same time record their historic contribution. We also respect the fact that some of these trails may interfere with logging, mining and other interests, but in these cases let reason and common sense prevail, so that we may preserve as much as possible. Nothing is gained by perversity, for we know we can't save all of them, but we can save sections and even the whole trail where the quality of timber does not warrant the effort to log it. The same reasoning applies to mining. Previously the News has editorially taken the position that we can and should look to our trails to provide a link in the chain of history of this province, and preserve as much as we possibly can. Who knows how long anything in any valley is going to survive at the present rate of proposed dams? And once submerged that's the end of everything - wild life, botany, zoology, cultural history et al. Once any of these trails are preserved, let us not forget that they are still at the mercy of the "4 wheel drives" and the "trail bikes" and this is a consideration we must be prepared to deal with. Anyone knowing a trail worthy of consideration should write to the Secretary of the B.C. Historical Association and send a carbon copy to the Outdoor Council of B.C., 1606 West Broadway, Vancouver, V6J 1X7. *********** 3 MINUTES Minutes of the 2nd Council Meeting, 1976-77 of the B.C. Historical Association, held at 1564 Oakhurst St., Victoria, November 7th, 1976. Present: A. Slocomb (Pres.); R.Tweed (1st Vice-Pres.); Winnifred Weir (2nd Vice-Pres.); Ruth Barnett (Sec); M. Halleran (Treas.); Arlene Bramhall (Rec.Sec); F. Street (Past Pres.); W.J. Ince (Nanaimo); C. McAllister, G.S. Andrews, James McCook, K. Leeming (Victoria); G.Joyce (Alberni); M.Crowe, Les Barnes (Maple Ridge). Meeting was called to order at 1.30 p.m. Moved F. Street, seconded K. Leeming, that the minutes be adopted as circulated. Carried. Correspondence: Mrs Barnett received a brief from the Greater Vancouver Regional District re development of recreational areas. Letters were sent as follows: as requested at the 1976 Annual Meeting - copies to J. Nesbitt; of condolence to Mr J. Roff. Inquiries re Association have been received from Port Moody Historical Society and Nicola Valley Archive Society, Mrs Barnett has requested two extra copies of the News to be used in promoting the B.C.H.A. Ruth Barnett requested further cash funds for operating expenses. Moved F. Street, seconded K. Leeming, that the Secretary may withdraw such funds as are reasonable for the operation of the society's business, this to include long distance telephone charges. Carried. Ruth Barnett expressed concern for the difficulties encountered in communicating with member groups and asked that this be discussed under publicity. At the present time Campbell River and District historical Society is underwriting duplicating costs. The copies of the B.C.H.A. By-laws have been made by the office of the Provincial Archives. Ruth Barnett suggested a great deal of time and effort could be saved if member groups supplied their information in triplicate as this information is required by the Secretary, the Treasurer and the Historical News Editor. C. McAllister commented on the position of the B.C.H.A. re dependency on member groups for services. Alf Slocomb pointed out that member groups should not be burdened with services for the parent group. However, services of the office of the Archivist should be accepted. Moved K. Leeming, seconded F. Street, that a letter of thanks for duplicating services be sent to Campbell Rivei. and District Historical Society. Carried. Committee Reports Historic Sites Advisory Board - no report received from Mrs Stevenson for 1976. Council asked a letter requesting same be sent. Cook Bi-centennial Committee - Mr Street reported no action has been taken by this government committee. Alf Slocomb asked Mr Street to chair a B.C.H.A. committee which would draw up some plans for 1978. Mr Street accepted and requested the following members for his committee: G. Andrews, A. Slocomb, R„ Barnett, and A. Turner. Heritage Advisory Committee - Mr Tweed reported an attempt to set up such a committee at Campbell River was defeated. Historic Trails Committee - J. McCook recommended all member groups should become participating members of the Outdoor Recreational Council of B.C. A. Slocomb asked A. Bramhall to ask P. Yandle for an editorial concerning this need. Treasurer's Report: Balance 1975 $1094.95; Current bal $1030.86. M. Halleran cautioned the Council on the financial status of the Society and suggested any increase in expenses could pose problems. C. McAllister spoke on the need for more commemorative plaques and suggested residences of former premiers should be so marked. M. Halleran reported that building inventories done in Vancouver for architectural significance have revealed historically significant residences. Mr McCook reported he had attended an Heritage Council of Canada meeting and had made enquiries re collaboration. This would cost the B.C.H.A. $300. No action will be taken. A discussion of the B.C.H.A. dues dates was held. No decision was made. F. Street suggested an enquiry be made of each member group to see if a problem exists. Publicity: R. Barnett reported the brochure is out-of-date. Various suggestions were made. A new draft is needed. The matter was tabled. Moved Tweed, seconded McAllister, a directory of member groups to include a contact person with address and telephone number appear annually in the News and the directory of B.C.H.A. officers' names, addresses and telephone numbers appear in each issue of the News. Carried, Mr Slocomb will approach J. Nesbitt re a press contact for continuing publicity. New Business A. Bramhall presented the proposed programme for the 1977 Annual Meeting and Convention to be held in Burnaby. Proposed dates of Convention May 26-28, 1977. Theme of the Convention will be 'The Fraser'. A tentative programme is as follows: Thurs eve. Wine and Cheese party at B.C.I.T. Fri.morn. Mini-seminar an the Fraser: including Dr Carl Borden and Dr W.K. Lamb. The municipality will sponsor luncheon for the delegates. Fri afternoon will be spent at Heritage Village. Fri.evening: reception and tour of Simon Fraser University. Sat.morning: Annual Meeting in James Cowan Theatre. Sat.afternoon: garden party at three lovely adjoining homes on Deer Lake. Sat, evening Banquet - Burnaby Lake Pavilion. Sunday: a post-Convention river cruise to Fort Langlyy. is planned. This year the committee is introducing a plan to have exhibits from member societies. Details on how each group can participate will be available shortly. K. Leeming asked that a new Nominating Committee Chairman be appointed. A. Slocomb reported that the West Kootenay Branch has requested a name change to Trail Historical Society. The Council concurred. It was recommended a calendar year be drawn up for all member groups. Moved F. Street, meeting adjourn. ********** 5 SOCIETY NOTES AND COMMENTS ALBERNI During the summer Mrs Dorrit McLeod led an historical hike to the site of the old Cataract mining claim on China Creek, which was worked during the 1890's. A demonstration of panning revealed flakes, but no ^jldrush is likely At the request of the local T.V. station, five historical interviews have been taped, which will be shown, in colour, during the winter and spring In September Captain Don Brooks of the Harbour Commission gave an address on the importance of the third largest port in B.C. He showed slides of large modern vessels, the two new marinas, and the latest methods of dealing with deadheads and other debris At the annual social evening in October, Captain Dick McMinn of the Lady Rose spoke on changes in the Alberni Inlet over the past half century, known as the Alberni Canal, On the charts of Captain Richards' survey there have been changes in logging and fishing, number of pleasure craft and pollution. Captain McMinn suggested that our Society might endorse a programme of naming geographical points after some of he pioneers of the Inlet. BOWEN ISLAND The Bowen Island Historians (75 members) are now affiliated with the B.C. Historical Association. When formed ten years ago the founders had two objectives in mind: to publish a history of Bowen Island, and to establish a museum. Over 3000 copies have now been sold of the history of Bowen Island, by Irene Howard, published several years ago. The first step in the establishment of a museum will be the cataloguing of archival material and-artif"cts, and the preparation of displays relating to the history of Bowen Island to be erected in the new Community School to be built in 1977. Several speakers addressed meetings during the year, and visits to Gastown and the Vancouver Centennial Museum were arranged. CAMPBELL RIVER An interesting outing to the Lucky Jim Mine on Quadra Island was recently enjoyed by members and friends. John Frisholz, Curator of the Museum, gave a brief history of the area. In the early 1900?s there were many more people living on Quadra Island than in Campbell River, and there was a thriving community at Granite Bay near which the mine is located. The hey-day of the Lucky Jim Mine was 1909-1911. At that time, copper, gold and silver were mined in shafts dug vertically into the ground. As there is much water underground in that area, seepage became a major problem, and as a result the mine operation was forced to close. Still remaining on the site are the shafts, log cabins - in which some of the men lived - and a large wheel, which, along with a boiler (now removed), was used to run the belts in the operation Following an exploration of the site a hearty lunch was provided at the Heriot Bay Inn of clam chowder, home-made bread and buns, cold stuffed salmon and salad, hone preserves and a treat of freshly made ice cream. An old ice-cream maker was brought into the dining-room and members took turns at the churn until the consistency was just right. Thus an interesting field trip ended on an historic note by the use of pioneer homemaking equipment.... The operation of the Museum and Visitors' Information Centre continue to thrive, the Archives Committse is hard at work and we are now embarked on a concentrated membership drive. CHEMAINUS Much work has been done on our forthcoming publication of the history of the local pioneers, under the hand of Mrs Gustafson and her committee. We have been helped along with this by a grant from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, New Horizons programme. This book will soon be ready to go to press. We were unable to publish a second edition of 'Water Over the Wheel' due to lack of funds required... The pioneer cemetery on Kuper Island has been placed under the Archaeological and Historic Sites Protection Act, by the Heritage Advisory Committee A visit wa3 paid to the home of Mr and Mrs Bert Beggs, a log house originally built in Copper Canyon and brought to its present site log by log. .... The President, George Pederson, and Mrs Islay Mutter hosted a tour of members of the Hallmark Society of Victoria to view historical buildings in and around Chemainus. EAST KOOTENAY Despite a wet summer the East Kootenay Historical Association has managed to fit in three picnics. The first was to Campbell-Meyers Lake, five miles north of Fort Steele and near the site originally proposed to Col, Sam Steele as a suitable spot to build his fort. This was turned down because it presented defence problems and the troops' doctor declared the water "poor". Nearby too, was the field where he held a sports day prior to returning across the mountains This was followed by a picnic up Perry Creek, with over 60 attending.Director Bill Selby gave a talk on gold on the creek, 1867-1930. Most of the group then drove on up the valley to the site of Old Town, where remains of the Hudson's Bay trading post and Frank Perry's grave are the only recognizable remains of the once bustling gold camp In late September a picnic at the home of Mr and Mrs Colin Sinclair at Grasmere included a visit to parts of the Kalispell Trail and to Michael Phillip's grave Late in October the fall dinner meeting heard a report on progress at the Baillie-Grohman Canal project A project plan presented by the Regional District planner Eugene Lee was unanimously approved. This will include a small picnic area at the lock site, the 1.25 mile walking trail from the lock to the Kootenay River and a rest area overlooking the river.... The Society is presently engaged in providing a public crossing where the trail crosses a C.P.R. spur line, and hopes this be granted so the project can be completed in 1977. MAPLE RIDGE AND PITT MEADOWS The Society has met with the Municipal Council several times to discuss rezoning of the old Port Haney to a historic area. At a June meeting the general public was invited to acquaint them of the Society's aims and purposes. The Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor and Municipal Council presented to an audience of over 150 persons a plan that had been prepared under an L.I.P. grant, assisted by the local planning board, to make provision for a recreation of the old townsite as a historical park. During the summer the Society had booths in local fairs. Efforts were also made during the summer to preserve and restore old landmarks, especially in the old Port Haney area. NANAIMO Following the dedication in Nanaimo of the Memorial Garden to the Chinese Pioneers in Canada, the Society continued with a Chinese theme and invited Mr Ainslie Helmcken to speak at the September meeting. He gave not only a history but most enjoyable personal reminiscences from his association with the Chinese in Victoria. In October, Mr Bill Ince recalled the early pharmacists in the City, their personalities and their type of business. This is the kind of programme that sets older heads nodding in remembrance The Society is very pleased to learn that it has been given the Heritage Canada Communication Award for its efforts over the yearns in publicising- local history and heritage. Particularly ifs efforts to save Haslam House are recognized. Although there has as yet been no successful conclusion to this battle, the house still stands and remains in use as an apartment house. One thing that stood out in recent answers given in the City Planning questionnaire was that a large number of those responding cited Haslam House as the building they would most like to see retained in the City. The consultants' recommendation for the plan is that the house should neither be destroyed nor allowed to be moved from its present position of prominence. It is to be hoped that the City and the developers heed the recommendation I expect you will know of the death recently of Mrs Joan Roff. She and Jack moved over here only a year ago but were members of the Society here and well known to many of us. In the summer we also lost very suddenly Patricia Johnson Romanik, a Life Member, and the author of the "History of Nanaimo". VANCOUVER The Society's fall season began with an outstanding field trip to the site of the new B.C. Sugar Refining Company Museum which will open shortly in a specially designed portion of the plantat the north foot of Ro- gers Street in Vancouver. Nicholas Dykes, curator of the new facility gave visitors a fascinating behind the scenes look at the artifacts which have been assembled for the displays. Some unusual material has been located including some pieces of 19th century sugar making equipment and 18th and 19th century domestic sugar utensils. Mr Dykes had also located many excellent photos not only of the operation founded by B.T. Rogers but also of the history of Rogers' family At the October meeting two young architects, Ron Yuen and Joe Wai spoke to the Society about the history of Vancouver's Chinese and the plans for an impressive new cultural centre near Carrall and Pender. VICTORIA The first speaker of the fall season was Mrs Terry Reksten, a member of the Historic Advisory Committee and the Hallmark Society. She spoke on "Historic Preservation: the Victorian whys and wherefores". This is a subject of urgent concern in Victoria where there is anxiety over the protection of buildings such as those where premiers lived. Mrs Reksten is also concerned with the continued protection of Beacon Hill Park .... At the October meeting the speaker was Sven Johanson, a Swede who has been sailor, trapper, airman, reindeer warden, ARctic traveller and broadcaster. He spoke about his trip with his wife and daughter on his schooner North Star, from Tuktoyaktuk on the Arctic coast to Victoria, via Herschel Island, Point Barrow, the Bering Strait and Gulf of Alaska. OBITUARY It is with deep regret that the News notes the passing on September 3rd of Joan Roff, long time member and supporter of the B.C. Historical Association. She was the wife of Jack Roff Vice-President of the Association until last year. We wish to express our condolence to Jack and all members of his family in their loss. Herewith follows a tribute to Mrs Roff by a very close friend, Doris Winterbottom: The daughter of an old historical family - Joan Roff - will be remembered as a kind and most gracious person. She was born in Summerland, then came to Victoria to live, where she attended St. Margaret's School and Strathcona at Shawnigan Lake. In the late thirties she went to England and trained as a nurse at Guy's Hospital in London. Fate stepped in, she met Jack on the return trip to B.C. and they were later married. She was always interested in history and was on the Executive of our Association for several years, convening or assisting in our social activities. We have never had such gracious and entertaining annual banquets as during these years; flowers and interesting historical pictures were always featured, adding so much to everyone's enjoyment. She was also a docent in the Vancouver Centennial Museum, and actively pursued historical facts pertaining to her ancestors, especially her great-grandfather, Sir Henry Crease, the first Attorney General of B.C. She will be greatly missed by all of us. Lee Straight, Vancouver Sun columnist, has kindly consented to allow the 'Ntews to use extracts from his article, published on October 13th, on the passing of Roderick Haig-Brown: What a great loss is the passing, last Saturday, of famous Campbell River author and conservationist Roderick L. Hai'g-Brown at the age of 68. It's always a shock to see a tall, lean outdoors- man, busy one moment at a meeting, the next moment running a tractor on his modest estate, suddenly wilt under a heart seizure. It's catastrophic to his admirers, not to mention his loved ones, to lose, still in his prime, a noted giant in resources conservation. Not to mention just his awesome horse-sense. Haig-Brown is mourned by tens of thousands of us anglers, hunters, naturalists, yea, all lovers of the outdoors, particularly those concerned about the many threats to wildlife from rampant, poorly planned development I was a budding outdoors reporter for The Sun when he invited me to bring my wife, Joan, to his home, "Above Tide", on my next "business trip" to Campbell River.... When I fished with Haig-Brown that weekend back in 1947, I studied him carefully. Our man had a thick wrist and strong, sure style. Haig-Brown's accuracy with, and confidence in, his flyrods were impressive I've always intended to invite Rod to fish with me again, since I've come to feel at least proficient with most tackle. To my eternal sorrow, the chance has passed. 9 Haig-Brown's remnant "farm" on the bank cf the Campbell was a shrine to anglers from all over the world. His talented and erudite wife, Ann, a wonderful partner and just as greatly admired for her intellect by all who know the family, did her best to screen the parade of visitors who wanted to chat with the perceptive author, or just shake his big paw. Once bayed in their superb library, however, Rod and Ann were hospitality personified. I wonder how many friends and admirers Rod has entertained with a toddy and allowed to roam along the rows of angling classics and other great literature in his "den", admire his extensive but not pretentious array of fishing tackle, or endured the same old chit-chat about angling, flooding lakes, overhunting, exploiting resources and so on. If yea got down to the nitty-gritty with him, though, the man was always ready. He presented his arguments slowly and carefully but with consummate clarity. That part, and his warmth, I enjoyed about Haig-Brown as much as his superb essays on angling and nature Or as much as even his classic work, years ahead of its time, "The Western Angler", written 'way back in 1939 when he was but 30 years old - a volume of warnings that still are valid. Those deliberate studied pronouncements are what made Haig-Brown a great judge, even though only a layman and not articled in law. Just one sample of the directness of his writing, from one of his letters to me, dated August, 1948: "Honestly, Lee, the idiotic daydreams of this funny little (B.C. Power) commission x?ill have to be controlled somehow. They seem to be monomaniacs, incapable of visualizing any asset except (electric) power, and not capable of producing that very cheaply, even on their own basis, much less on the basis of the long-range economies contained in the simple word 'conservation'...." And so on, in many letters, several in long-hand, most of which were aimed at protecting our resources, particularly our fragile trout stocks. The fight is even tougher today, 30 years later. Oh, how we'll miss Roderick Haig-Brown. ********** JOTTINGS From Vancouver Island Regional Library Librarian James Thomas asks: "We are particularly interested in the Heriot Bay Inn, the Pidcock House at Quathiaski Cove and buildings on Quadra Island. Any readers who lived in these buildings or have any knowledge of them and would like to share their knowledge, please write to Ruth Barnett, 680 Pinecrest, Campbell River, or J. Thomas, 303 - 283 First, Campbell River. To all you historians interested in Log Structures in Canada, take note - A Conference on Log Structures in Canada will be h eld at the Banff Centre, October 23-28, 1977. Arrangements include accommodations, lectures, tours, social events, art exhibitions, log construction demonstrations and a loggers' reunion. There will be films and educational and commercial exhibits. For further information and if you would like to be on the mailing list, write to Maryalice Stewart, Gen. Chairman, Box 835, Banff, Alberta.T0L0C0 10 The Department of History, Simon Fraser University is sponsoring a course in the History of Art in B.C. The theme of the series will be "The Prints and Printmakers of B.C. from 1784 to the Present" and will be 13 Wednesday evenings beginning Jan. 12th, 1977, 7.30 - 10.30 p.m., Burnaby Art Gallery, 6344 Gilpin St., Burnaby. For further information write Continuing Studies, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby 2, B.C. 291-4565. Department of Indian and Northern Affairs International Conference on Underwater Archaeology, Jan. 5-8, 1977. An invitation is extended to Canadian and American publishers to display their relevant publications free of charge. All books, posters, order forms, etc. should be sent before Dec. 15th, 1976 to Elizabeth Snow, 1977 SHA/ICUA Conference, National Historic Parks and Sites, P.O. Box 9562, Ottawa, Ont. K1G 3V2. Community Arts Council, Vancouver - A conference will be held February 10-12, 1977, "New Life for Old Buildings". Interest is centred on heritage-oriented groups and individuals from B.C. and the Yukon. The format of the conference is based on a recent symposium at Kingston, Ontario, with workshops, films and slide presentations by talented research people. For further information write Elizabeth O'Kiely, Community Arts Council, 315 West Cordova Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6B 1E5. A little trivia:Willow, 70 miles northwest of Anchorage will replace Juneau as the capital of Alaska A Curator from the Royal Ontario Museum was placed under citizen's arrest on Nov.5th for disturbing an Indian burial ground at Grimsby, Ont Vancouver Heritage Advisory Board wanted 1380 Hornby Street designated a Heritage building for "the finely-turned balustrade that signifie9 the architecture of around the turn of the century" This crummy old west-ender had its face lifted in 1969 when all the ginger-bread was added. What price research? Plato's tree in Athens, in whose shade the ancient Greek taught his philosophy 2,300 years ago, was knocked down by a bus in early October. The 15 foot tall olive tree was judged by scientists to be 3000 years old. ************ B.C. BOOKS OF INTEREST, compiled by F. Woodward ALBERNI VALLEY MUSEUM. Pick, pan and pack - a history of mining in the Alberni Valley. Alberni, Museum, 1976. 80 p. illus. $2.25. ALLISON, Susan. A pioneer gentlewoman in British Columbia: the recollections of Susan Allison; edited by M.A. Ormsby. Vancouver, U.B.C. Press, 1976. 200 pp., illus. $18.95. ANDERSON, Grace M.,and David Higgs. A future to inherit; the Portuguese community of Canada. Toronto, McClelland & Stewart, 1976. 192 pp., $12.95, $5.95 paper. BLOOD, Don and others. Rocky Mountain wildlife. Saanichton, Hancock House, 1976. 300 pp., illus. $24.95. BR0ADF00T, Barry. The pioneer years, 1895-1914, memories of settr lers....Toronto, Doubleday, 1976. 384 pp., illus. $12.50. 11 CHAPMAN, B. Gateway to Victoria's beaches:... Victoria, Greater Victoria Environmental Center, Camosun Coll. 1976. 50 pp. $1.95. CLOUDBURST 2; ed. by Vic Marks. Mayne Island, Cloudburst Press, 1976. 128 pp., illus. CURTIS, Edward S. In the land of the head-hunters(Yonkers-on- Hudson, N.Y., World Book Co., 1915) Tamarack Press, 1975. $4.40. CURTIS, Edward S. Indian days of long ago. (Yonkers-on-Hudson, N.Y, World Book Co. 1915) Tamarack Press, 1975. 221 p. illus. $5.50. DODSON, Suzanne & Earl & Iris Nowell. Cross-country skiing in B,C. Toronto, Greey de Pencier, 1976. 79 pp., illus. $2.25. FRASER, Esther. The Canadian Rockies; early travels and explorations. Edmonton, Hurtig, 1976. 252 pp. illus. $5.95. KOZLOFF, Eugene N. Plants and animals of the Pacific Northwest; an illustrated guide... Vancouver, J.J. Douglas, 1976. 280 pp. $17.50 MASON, Elia C. Lasqueti Island history and memory. South Wellington Author, 1976. 102 pp. illus. $10.50. MITCHELL, Malcolm. A touch of grey. Saanichton, Hancock House, 1976. 48 pp. illus. $2.95. MOULD, Jack. Stumpfarms and broadaxes. Saanichton, Hancock House, 1976. 148 pp. illus. $9.95. PATERSON, T.W. B.C. shipwrecks... Langley, Stagecoach, 1976. 208 pp., illus. $11.95; $5.95 paper. REID, William and Bill Holm. Indian art of the Northwest coast... Vancouver, J.J. Douglas, 1976. 265 pp., illus. $22.50. ROBIN, Martin. The bad and the lonely: seven stories of the best and the worst... Canadian outlaws. Toronto, Lorimer, 1976. $10.95. SURTEES, Ursula. Building a winter dwelling... Kelowna, Lamont- Surtees, 1975. 26 pp. illus. $1.50. TELFER, Leo. Rossland trails. Rossland, Cominco for Rossland Chamber of Commerce, 1975. 30 pp., illus. WALKER, Tommy A. Spatslzi. New Westminster, Nunaga, 1976. 212 pp., illus. $10. W0LFERSTAN, Bill. Pacific Yachting's Cruising guide to the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island... Vancouver, Interpress Pubns Ltd > 1976. 190 pp., illus. $24. ********** BOOK REVIEWS THE ENEMY THAT NEVER WAS: A HISTORY OF THE JAPANESE CANADIANS, by Ken Adachi. Toronto, McClelland and Stewart, 1976. vi, 456 pp., illus. $14.95, This book discusses two inter-related themes, the history of the Japanese community in Canada and the response of white society to Japanese immigrants and their descendants. Although it spans the years from 1877 to the present, the book focuses particularly upon those from 1900 to 1950, during which time the Japanese put down rcots in British Columbia and faced the recurrent animosity of the province's white majority. In particular it dwells upon the evacuation of 1942 and the lengthy aftermath of the incident, an episode which, in the author's eyes, is the central fact of the Japanese experience in Canada. That such a book is overdue there can be no denying. The last significant book-length study of the Japanese Canadians was published almost thirty years ago. Yet despite this obvious vacuum, 12 Adachi's work has not filled it for, unfortunately, The Enemy That Never Was suffers from several major flaws. First among them is the fact that the author's research is inadequate. His description of the first fifty years of Japanese immigrant life in Canada, for example, relies heavily upon a Masters' thesis presented to the University of British Columbia during the mid 1930's. The remainder of the book is based almost exclusively on official, published records and newspaper sources. The author has made little use of major manuscript collections, especially those located in British Columbia and at the Public Archives of Canada. The most glaring of these failures is his neglect of the Mackenzie King papers, a source nothing short of essential for the task which the author has chosen. Consequently, Chapter IX, which discusses the Federal Government decision to remove the Japanese from protected areas, is largely unreliable. There are other glaring omissions as well, too numerous to mention. In short, the author's research is superficial and his work suffers accordingly. Adachi's treatment of white prejudice raises another serious problem. One of his avowed intentions in writing this book was"to reveal the demon (racism) in all its scaly ugliness and perhaps exorcise it". Reveal it he has: exorcise it, possibly. But understand it he most emphatically has not. The author almost overwhelms his readers with examples of prejudice and discrimination suffered by the Japanese. What he has failed to do, however, is explain convincingly why British Columbian society felt such deep and enduring hostility toward the Japanese, and other Asian immigrants as well. Racism is an extremely complex social and psychological phenomenon. The author seems content merely to describe and condemn it without exploring the much larger and more important question of its various origins. What strength this book has lies in its description of Japanese immigrant society. At some length it discusses the origins of the immigrants, their migration experience, and their work, domestic and social life in Canada. One theme treated at length is the rise of the Nisei, the second generation of Japanese Canadians, and the social strains created within the minority community. But even in this instance the book is wanting. What it lacks is a sufficiently full and rich discussion of the Japanese themselves. To far too great an extent Adachi has built his work around the problem of race relations. The result is that the Japanese Canadian experience seems to be one of victimization more than anything else. We need to view the Japanese not so much as objects of white racism as subjects in themselves. There is no denying the extraordinary impact of the white community upon Japanese immigrants in Canada. But this by no means sums up their experience here. In short, what this reader would like is a little less exorcism and a little more social history. W. Peter Ward. Dr Ward is a member of the History Department at the University of British Columbia. 13 HISTORICAL ESSAYS ON BRITISH COLUMBIA, edited by J. Friesen and H.K. Ralston. Toronto, McClelland and Stewart in Association with the Institute of Canadian Studies, Carlton University, 1976. xxvi, 293 pp. $5.95. Any anthology, one would think, should serve at least one of the following purposes: to gather in one publication the best work of its kind (the word means a bouquet of flowers), to put together a series of works to show the development or- changes in the class of literature being anthologized, or to exemplify the branches of the subject or the variety of works in the type of writings so gathered. Historical Essays on British Columbia, No. 96 in the Carleton Library and a companion volume to similar collections fee other provinces or regions of Canada, seems to attempt all three purposes fiirly successfully, though open to some criticism from the point of view of each. At the end of the introduction Friesen says, on behalf of the editors: "In making our selection we aimed above all to provide a representative picture of historical writing in British Columbia* and to indicate some of the changes which have taken place in the past century. Thus we sought the typical - not necessarily the 'best' writing of each historian ... the article that we thought represented the career and interests of the author.2 This would seem to indicate that their purpose was my second above, rather than the first, though the third seems to have influenced somewhat the order of the articles. The choice of selections, both of authors and of their works is on the whole good, but this reader must confess one serious disappointment. Kerr's Biographical Dictionary of Weil-Known British Columbians (Vancouver, 1890) certainly deserved a place, but the seven pieces chosen could have been selected for their brevity only, each consisting of a single paragraph - hardly "essays". The only public figure among them, Hon. Peter O'Reilly, was the one to whom Kerr did least justice, dismissing him with four brief sentences. Laurent Guichon, rancher of Nicola and the Delta?, is trie sole agriculturist, the other five were merchants or manufacturers. Kerr does have some biographies of greater substance and general interest such as those of Sam Brighouse, one of Vancouver's 'three greenhorns' and Robert Cunningham, founder of Port Essington.** Kerr's book, however, besides the 24-page Introduction, a good "essay" in itself, is only three-quarters biographies the first quarter consisting of four good essays on British Columbia history b}* Kerr himself, and the one on New Caledonia would have filled a real gap in the series here, which contains almost nothing on the fur-trade era, after Simon Fraser, the Norwester. 1. Surely "cf" British Columbia, for of the nineteen authors, four were Americans writing in their own country, and Bescoby and Careless wrote in Ontario, though the former lived part of her life in B.C. 2. P.xxv P.S. 1 found only one misprint, that in the top line of this same page. 3. Of the four members of this family from Old France, why did Kerr include only this one? 4. Unfortunately both the names Brighouse (like Eburne) and Port Essington have disappeared in recent years. 14 To exemplify the development of the historiography, a chronological arrangement of the articles is vital; to illustrate the variety or branches of the subject, grouping the materials is essential. The editors have compromised, with a roughly chronological arrangement, but some attempt at getting political, sociological and economic studies grouped together. How far they could get from doing either is best illustrated by the placing of the extract from Lamb's Introduction to "The Letters and Journals of Simon Fraser , 1803-1808 (1960) between the political studies of Dobie (1936) and Ormsby (1948). Incidentally, the essays date all the way from Banfield's in 1887 to those of Careless and Roy, both in 1972, I cannot help wondering why nothing before 1887. Anything written before 1858 was local and personal, source material rather than essays, and, besides, there was no place called British Columbia, but after that there were writings of provincial scope. I'm afraid I may have seemed over-critical, for I did enjoy reading, or in most cases, re-reading, the essays; I do welcome the book's publication, and I do think that those who seek a good introduction to our provincial history for themselves or others could do worse than choose this one. Friesen has written a good introduction on the history and historiography of the province, and Ralston's "Select Bibliography"1 is wide ranging and, in its closely compacted thirteen pages, not too 'select' to serve the needs of most readers. 5. It happens to be the year my family settled in'B.C. Mr Gibbard is a member of the Vancouver Historical Society John Gibbard lety. A PIONEER GENTLEWOMAN IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: THE RECOLLECTIONS OF SUSAN ALLISON, ED. Margaret A. Ormsby. Vancouver, University of B.C. Press, 1976. Ii, 210 pp., illus. $18.95. We do not have many published recollections of early Canadian pioneer women. Explorers, fur traders and Hudson Bay Company factors kept journals as a matter of course from which they later wrote narratives. But a woman's daily chores have seldom been the stuff of journals, not in the Canadian backwoods or in the contemporary town or city. The two best known accounts by women of early pioneer life come from English literary gentlewomen in Upper Canada, who, even as they were learning how to bake bread and milk cows were turning their experiences into literature and only waited some respite in the struggle for survival to commit their recollections to paper. Susanna Moodie wrote partly at least to warn prospective immigrants of the hardships to expect if they took up land in Ontario.* Her sister, Catherine Parr Traill, wrote letters home with a thrifty eye for publication in England, and with the intention of giving instruction to female emigrants^ later writing a complete survival manual for settlers.3 Both women, though they came to love Canada, yearned for the 1. Roughing It in the Bush, 1852. 2. The Backwoods of Canada, 1836. 3. The Female Emigrants' Guide and Hints on Canadian Housekeeping, 1854; reprinted 1855 unuer the title The Canadian Settlers Guide. 15 gentle English countryside and the gentle English life with its settled social order of masters and servants. England was the ' model in all things. GEngland was home. Now, with the publication of The Recollections of Susan Allison, edited by Margaret Ormsby, we have a story of early settlement in B.C. by one of our own pioneer women, and there is not a didactic word in it, nor even a backward glance toward dear old England. For Susan Allison, British Columbia is home, and she writes out of love for the land and the people and out of a sense of belonging to that part of the province she helped to settle. Susan Louisa Moir was brought up as an English gentlewoman too. But at the age of fifteen she emigrated with her mother and stepfather, Thomas Glennie, to B.C., arriving at Hope in 1860 when that Hudson Bay Company fort was still the head of the fur brigade trail over the Cascades. Now what does an impecunious young gentlewoman do in British Columbia when, bereft of even a stepfather (for Glennie soon deserted Susan's mother) she must face the question of how to earn her own living? She does just what she would have done in England: finds employment as a governess while awaiting a small inheritance, then ekes this out by doing fancy work and setting up as a teacher in the vacant parsonage at Hope. In England she might have remained a poor relation, unless, like a character in a Jane Austen novel she should be lucky enough to land a sensible gentleman with means. But in B.C. where stout female labour was at a premium, the lack of a fortune didn't spoil her chances for marriage. Susan Louisa Moir married John Fall Allison, a California miner, merchant and commission agent who came north to become one of the first ranchers in the Princeton area. "Then", wrote Susan Allison, "began my camping days and the wild, free life I ever loved till age and infirmity put an end to it". She was writing in Vancouver in 1930 at the age of 85, looking back over a lifetime of experiences that take on the colour of adventure in retrospect, but must have been hardship and struggle in the living of them. Her recollections, originally published as a series of articles in the Vancouver Sunday Province, begin with the voyage out from England through the Panama Canal, and encompass the years in Hope before her marriage and the first fifteen years of her life on the Similkameen ana on Okanagan Lake. She brings the story up to 1884, with one final episode for 1894. Her narrative gives vivid glimpses of the social and economic life in the interior of B.C. - of dances at the Hudson Bay Company house at Hope, with h-.r mother singing "pathetic English ballads" to the assembled company; of the brigade pack train coming in from Colville, Wash,, and Keremeos, breaking up in a "grand stampede" with horses and men "madly dashing all over the Hope flat, lassos flying, dogs barking, hens flying for safety anywhere..."; of an Indian doctor, "a nice-looking, pretty woman" practising her frenzied art to remove, so they said "a snake from the body of her patient". Isolated as they are, people do come by the ranch to visit-- now historical figures such as Edgar Dewdney, A.C, Anderson, Gilbert Sproat and even General Sherman!. The world for th3 Similkameen settlers was still new and unused: the bunch grass was luxurious on the hills, the wild rye on the shores of Okanagan Lake was shoulder high; trout were thick in the streams and in the mountains veins of gold and copper ore were waiting to be mined. 16 Dr Margaret Ozmsby is well-known for her distinguished contribution to the study of B.C. history, notably for h;.-. British Columbia, a History. Her many years of scholarship in this field enable her to use Mrs Allison's recollections as a lens through which she can see the history of this part of the province unfold. She says in her introduction that the recollections are "a firsthand account of the development of the southern Interior of the province..." With respect I would say that the history of the southern Interior of the province is in Margaret Ormsby's head and potentially in the 51-page introduction and the 103 page section of notes accompanying the recollections. Mrs Allison does give accounts of some local happenings, such as the story of the McLean boys, outlaws in the Kamloops area with whom she had a brief but frightening encounter. But such events as Indian unrest in the Okanagan, the Chilcotin uprising, the rivalry between Colonel Moody and Governor Douglas over the building of interior trails, and the displacement of Hope as the head of navigation she touches on only tangentially, as might be expected in the recollections of an isolated woman settler. However, all events and names mentioned by Mrs Allison, whether of prime historical importance or of purely local interest, are fully annotated in Dr Ormsby's notes which in themselves make a book, a handy ready reference to the history of the southern interior, Indeed, Mrs Allison's 72 pages of writing can scarcely support the weight of scholarly editorial material. But it would be ungrateful to complain about such good value in a handsome book which provides a map of the trails in the Hope-Princeton area, a fine set of photographs, an efficient index, as well as the double pleasure of Susan Allison's lively narrative skill and Margaret Ormsby's meticulous scholarship. Irene Howard. Mrs Howard is a member of the Vancouver Historical Society THE CROWN IN CANADA, by Frank MacKinnon. Calgary, Glenbow-Alberta Institute, McClelland & Stewart West, 1976. 189 pp. Clearly, the author had two purposes in mind in writing this book. The first was to examine in detail the role of the Crown in Canada, as it operates through the Queen, the Governor General and the Lieutenant-Governors. Frank MacKinnon succeeds in this task as he presents a highly informative volume "designed for general readers and students". He places the Crown in its political, human and organizational settings, and then proceeds to scrutinize thoroughly the offices of Governor General and Lieutenant-Governor, elaborating on the fact that the Crown is a symbol of government that remains through crisis, thus providing stability and continuity in extremely quiet fashion. .- i The author's second purpose was a spirited defence of the Crown and, on this point, he lays about with relish, thrashing the enemies of the institution. One could say that he confounds their knavish tricks. He tackles Willie Hamilton - of My Queen and I fame - and disposes of him in a footnote or two. He boasts of the solid fact that Canada's government is now one of the oldest in the world, and he sees the Crowu as key to this situation. He observes that the democratic apparatus has frequently become compromised, or worse, in thcee Commonwealth nations that have opted for the 17 republican system of government. And, finally, he counters the arguments of the separatists by noting that the Crown is no more a foreign symbol than a,"national assembly" and that Quebec is governed in a monarchy not monarchally governed. These arguments by MacKinnon, contained in the final chapter, represent a strong plea for national unity in which he sees the Crown as absolutely critical The author succeeds in accomplishing his purposes. He examines the role of the Crown with sound clarity and he defends it with commendable vigour. The end result is both a lively and useful book and a tract for the times. ., . „ , . Charles Humphries Dr Humphries is a member of the History Dept., University of B.C. WADDINGTON; a biography of Alfred Penderill Waddington, by Neville Shanks. -Port Hardy, N.Island Gazette, 1975. 80 pp.illus. $2.75. One of the more colourful adventurers to arrive in Victoria from San Francisco in 1858 was an elderly English gentleman, Alfred Waddington. The name is known to most people only by the mountain, the highest within B.C., iamed for him in 1928. However, for some 14 years he was actively involved in the politics of Vancouver Island and B.C., championing their resources both here and abroad, and he saw the Colony enter Confederation.'. He began in opposing the authoritarian ways of James Douglas by supporting the disgruntled miners and this resulted in him writing the first book to be published in the Colony, Fraser Mines Vindicated. He died in Ottawa in 1872 whilst awaiting the opening of Parliament in the expectation that it would endorse his latest scheme - a trans-Canada railway terminating at the head cf Bute Inlet. Neville Shanks has led a life of many interests, like Waddington. He did not set out to write a biography of Waddington. To quote from the introduction "the chairman of the Regional District of Mount Waddington suggested to me that the readers of the North Island Gazette should be told something about the man after whom their district was named." He goes on to say that in writing a short article from available material there came the realization that here was a man far too renarkable to be dismissed with such relatively few words. A longer account was subsequently written and published in the Gazette during May and June 1975 in a form that could be produced as a book without resetting. The result is a balanced and very readable account drawn to a large extent from the columns of contemporary newspapers, mainly th* Victoria Colonist and Gazette, as well as other material in the Provincial Archives. A number of errors are apparent, particularly when the author has departed from using contemporary accounts. These mistakes can be overlooked as this work does not pretend to be a history any nor.1. than a definitive biography, as it is impossible to do full justice to such a man as Waddington in 80 pages. But as the first introduction to the life of a neglected pioneer it makes good reading. The price will be no deterrent. In addition it is printed in offset on glazed paper with a dozen or so full-page photographs and illustrations, and, moreover, is free of typographical errors. John Spittle Mr Spittle is a member of the Vancouver Historical Society. 18 THE LIONS GATE BRIDGE - THE GREAT CANADIAN BRIDGE GAME From a manuscript written by Joan D. Stockdill on the life of her father, A.J.T. Taylor, the Editors of the News have produced the following article which is in two parts. Part I: BENNETT PLAYS HIS HAND which dealt with the frustrations at the hands of the Conservatives meted out to A.J.T. Taylor and his associates, together with a brief introduction, appeared in the B.C. Historical''Ntews, June 1976, Vol. 9:4. Part II TAYLOR MAKES IT GAME AND RUBBER During 1935 it was uncertain when a Federal Election would come, but,British Pacific Securities agreed, they might just as well wait for that before trying to get past Ottawa again. As Taylor simply couldn't understand how the Federal Government could stand in the way of the bridge for any length of time, he decided that the structure would eventually get built and when it did he would want to return to live in Vancouver. He knew Mona would be sad to leave Britain, but she had many good friends in Vancouver and he would build her such a beautiful house that she could not help but love her new life. And Taylor's business relationship with both Lord Southborough and Mr Eyre brought him ever increasing comfort an<! enjoyment. He knew they trusted him implicitly, and even his disagreements with Eyre over the spending of 'their' money, were always open,above board, and soon forgiven and forgotten. But now came a great and sudden sorrow. This same beloved Mr Eyre died, quite unexpectedly, in August 1935. For several days the sun had gone out of Taylor's life. He deflated visibly. Mona was good, she had liked Mr Eyre very much, but she felt she had to point out that the old man couldn't be expected to live for ever. Taylor, however, had come to think of him as indestructible and found little comfort in her logic. Eyre's death brought problems for Taylor as well as sorrow. ... :. All the capital in his estate went to members of his family and to various Roman Catholic charities, although his shares in British Pacific Securities, British Pacific Trust, British Pacific Buildings (a company formed in 1933 to manage the Marine Building) and First Narrows Bridge Company were allowed to stand. Taylor, as one of the joint executors, did not feel he should influence the estate in his favour in any way so decided he must look elsewhere for money to keep the bridge financed until the Trust would take over. Here yet another Vancouver citizen entered the battle on Taylor's side, Frank Ross (later to be Lieutenant Governor of B.C.). In Canada, at that time, there were only three companies who could build the bridge for Taylor. The Dominion Bridge Company which was the largest and best financed, with a branch in Vancouver; the Canadian Bridge Company, a subsidiary of the Bethlehem Steel Company, with no western plant; and the Hamilton Bridge Company, with a Vancouver subsidiary, the Western Bridge Company, a good Vancouver plant owned by Victor Spencer and Frank Ross. The choice of company to be employed was relatively simple, the work could be 19 divided between the two Vancouver plants. That is, if it ever came to pass. Taylor confided to Frank Ross the problems involved in Mr Eyre's death, and the latter suggested that if some local money was to be put up, it would allow a little more time, and also might cause the British investors to realize that Vancouver was interested in the bridge, no matter what the Federal Government was doing in the matter. Taylor didn't want the public of Vancouver to put up any money, so Ross's idea of the two steel companies taking shares in the project seemed first class. Ultimately the Western Bridge Company put up $750,000 and Dominion Btidge agreed to put up $500,000, and Taylor was jubilant to see that the Englishmen were indeed impressed. As always happened, Taylor recovered his composure and sense of values, but now, since the death of his old friend, he would wonder if all this verbal battling and waiting was really worth while. Everything seemed more of an effort. In September (1935) when the date of the election was already known to be the next October 23rd, both he and Anderson were approached by various people with suggestions that they would be wise to contribute to the campaign funds of the Liberal Party since they were likely to win the election, there being a rift in the Conservative ranks. Taylor said simply: "No - we are tired. We have no money for this. We are not going to align ourselves with any party." Suggestions turned to demands, but they stood their ground. Taylor wired immediately to Anderson in Vancouver advising him to keep away from all lawyers and political heelers, and to talk to no one about the bridge. Taylor's depression over Eyre's death, the subsequent dependence upon 'alien' money, and the incredible sordidness of Canadian politics of that day, in which he now found himself nearly embroiled, lasted through into October, when his outlook was lightened by the election of MacKenzie King and his Liberal Party. This meant, among other things, the seating of Ian MacKenzie, a member from Vancouver, who had promised Vancouverites that, if elected, he would get the bridge through. He was now Minister of National Defence, Taylor waited in England until he felt the new Government had had time to settle in, and then in late November arranged to meet Anderson in Ottawa. Arrivirg in Canada he went to Montreal and, together with Morris Wilson of the Royal Bank and Mr Gundy, a bond expert, he instituted the idea of B'rank Ross that the steel companies take shares in the Bridge Company. His first call in Ottawa was with Major Moody, organizer for the Liberal Party, who in answer to Taylor's query as to who would have been responsible fcr demanding funds for the Party, said rather emphatically that he had no idea. The Liberal Party did not want funds of this sort, and to disbelieve anyone who saiu otherwise. Taylor and Anderson visited four Cabinet Ministers, all of whom seemed quite friendly, but curiously vague and lacking in enthusiasm for the bridge project. Taylor sensed a sort of 'get around to it some day' attitude. _.ater in the day, as Taylor was resting in his hotel room, he received a visit from a Vancouver lawyer, known to have a somewhat unsavoury reputation, who said he was 20 speaking for 'interested parties' and asked for a contribution to party funds, 'to oil the wheels' as it were. Taylor was somewhat outspoken in his rejection of this idea, and as Anderson entered the room a few moments later, he was almost flattened by the red-faced lawyer hurrying from the irate presence. It took Anderson some minutes to quieten Taylor down enough to go to his next interview. This was with Mr Taylor-Bailey of the Dominion Bridge Company. Taylor-Bailey liked the idea of his company taking shares in the Bridge Company, but needed time to discuss the matter with his Board. By mid-week (Wed. Nov.27th) Taylor had not succeeded in getting an interview with the Prime Minister, and there seemed to be little else to do in Ottawa; he returned to Montreal briefly and then left for a visit with his friend, Henry Mash, at Winchester, near Boston, Massachusetts. On Taylor's return to Canada on the Tuesday (Dec.3), he found a letter from Anderson who had stayed in the capital, telling an incredible, but obviously true story of the past week in Ottawa. Apparently Anderson had lunched with Major Moodie after Taylor's departure from Montreal and had, on visiting the men's washroom, found an un-named briefcase in one o^ the cubicles. Thinking it would slmost certainly be valuable to its owner, he had taken it out to Major Moodie, and, after a discussion, the two men had agreed to contact a lawyer, Mr Munn, and, in his presence, they opened the case to ascertain its ownership. The first sheet of paper they extracted from the briefcase, not only told them *:he owner's name, but also disclosed a plot to use certain members of the Federal Parliament to delay permission to build the First Narrows Bridge in Vancouver, until the Bridge Company had agreed to certain terms. It also told of previous attempts to involve Taylor's company. The letter was sprinkled with names of both private individuals and members of Parliament known to Anderson and Taylor. Mr V. was mentioned as a leading light in the drama, a fact that did not surprise Anderson. But some who were mentioned, Anderson was sure, would not willingly be involved in this kind of dishonesty. The three men reading the letters were unsure what to do, but they took c -ies of them and contacted the owner of the briefcase advising him that it had been found. Within 24 hours, Anderson received threats against his life and spent an unpleasant few days under the watcuful eye of the R.C.M.P., waiting until he could hear from Taylor, who had been out cf touch with "civilization" over the long weekend. As Taylor read about these happenings,, his head reeled Then he hadn't imagined that feeling of mistrust for him and John in Ottawa last week. This might Well explain it. After a few seconds' thought he made hasty arrangements to get to Montreal where Anderson had said he would meet him and show him copies of the letters. Taylor then took the copies directly to Britain where he showed them to Lord Sout lborough. He wrote later: "I didn't give them wider publicity then, in spite of their flattering references to me (e.g. "He's cold-blooded as Hell") for reason that other people's reputations were involved as was that of the Government". In the meantime copies of the letters were shown to the Prime Minister, MacKenzie King, and the Ministers and Members who were 21 mentioned therein. The 'letter business' caused a lot of confusion among Government ranks in Ottawa. Taylor knew neither Anderson nor he could do anything to help straighten things out. They just had to wait. But not for long; on Dec.21st he received the following cable, from the Honorable Ian MacKenzie: "OTTAWA, Dec.21, 1935 - AJTTAYLOR TECO PICCY LONDON WITH REFERENCE TO FIRST NARROWS 3RIDGE NOW BEING CONSIDERED HERE I MUST STATE THAT ON ACCOUNT OF PREVALENT SUGGESTIONS OF IMPROPER RELATIONS AMONGST INTERESTED PARTIES I CANNOT SUPPORT ENDORSATION OF THIS PROJECT UNTIL I HAVE FROM YOU MOST UNEQUIVOCAL ASSURANCE THAT BRITISH COMPANY OF THEIR REPRESENTATIVES IN CANADA HAVE NOT DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ENTERED INTO ANY COMMITMENTS WHATSOEVER WITH ANY PERSON CORPORATION OR POLITICAL PARTY AND HAVE MADE NO FINANCIAL OR PROMOTIONAL PROMISES OF ANY NATURE WHATSOEVER STOP I CANNOT SUPPORT THE PROJECT EXCEPT ON ITS MERITS AND ON THE DEFINITE ASSURANCE THAT THERE IS NOT THE LEAST SUGGESTION OF IMPROPRIETY OR SPECIAL NEGOTIATIONS IN THE WHOLE UNDERTAKING." Feeling thr.t here was something on which he could act, Taylor replied: To: THE HON. IAN MACKENZIE MINISTER OF NATIONAL DEFENCE OTTAWA Dec. 23, 1935. THANKS FOR CABLEGRAM WE ARE NOT OF COURSE IN ANY WAY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PREVALENT SUGGESTIONS OF ANY IMPROPER RELATIONS AMONGST INTERESTED PARTIES OF WHICH YOU TELL ME STOP I NOW GIVE YOU MOST UNEQUIVOCAL ASSUR&NCE THAT THE COMPANY ANXIOUSLY AWAITING THE APPROVAL OF THE ORDER IN COUNCIL FOR THE FIRST NARROWS BRIDGE HAS NOT NEITHER HAS THEIR SOLE REPRESENTATIVE IN CANADA MR ANDERSON DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ENTERED INTO ANY COMMITMENTS WHATSOEVER WITH ANY PERSON CORPORATION OR POLITICAL PARTY AND NEITHER HAVE THEY MADE ANY FINANCIAL OR PROMOTIONAL PROMISES OF ANY NATURE WHATSOEVER STOP WE ACCEPT THE TERMS OF YOUR CABLEGRAM TO SUPPORT THE PROJECT ON ITS MERITS AND ON THE DEFINITE STATEMENT THAT THERE IS NOT THE LEAST SUGGESTION ON OUR PART OF IMPROPRIETY OR SPECIAL NEGOTIATIONS IN THE WHOLE UNDERTAKING STOP WITH THIS REPLY WE HOPE WE MAY BE ASSURED OF YOUR FRIENDLY COOPERATION IN A GREAT WORK FOR VANCOUVER STOP. AJTTAYLOR Still nothing happened. By February 1936 Taylor could stand the strain no longer and returned to Ottawa, getting an appointment with the Prime Minister on the 27th. He took the precaution of taVing the following letter of introduction from Lord South- borough whom MacKenzie King knew well: London, February 17th, 1936. Dear Prime Minister: We have felt some anxiety at this end as to the delay in being able to make progress after all this time with the bridge across the Narrows of Vancouver. It is really a very important matter. No doubt you are aware that a strong English group has acquired a big estate on the North Shore of the Narrows, and that a very large, sum of money is being expended upon its development, both for building purposes and as a pleasure resort, golf course, etc. That there s.iould be means of access to and from the new developed estate across the Narrows by means of a bridge, is of course self evident. I gather that the bri3ge will cost some four and a half million dollars, and that these who are interested in the enterprise propose to place the work with Canadian Companies. The 22 delay in being able to embark on this business is very serious because (as we are glad to know) business is improving, and there are rising costs of material and labour, which are going to embarrass our friends and contractors in settling their estimates. I am assured that some suggestions that have been made that those who were responsible for endeavouring to forward this Empire business have in any way mishandled it, have no substance in fact; on the contrary, that so far as those who are engaged in the development of the Estate and who hope to deal with the means of communication between the Estate and the south side of the Narrows, have a perfectly good and clean record; they acquired a concession from Vancouver, it was backed by a plebiscite of the people, and still holds good. Mr A.J.T. Taylor, who has been much disturbed by the delay is leaving tomorrow again for Canada, and I am entrusting this note to him for delivery to you. I hope you will forgive me for troubling you on such a matter in the midst of all your manifold labours and at a time when you are entering upon what I hope may be a long and successful period of office. Believe me to be, Yours sincerely, Southborough. The day of the interview arrived and the Prime Minister opened by asking for Taylor's story, which the latter told freely. But even while he was talking Taylor realized that both he and Anderson were still 'suspect', and the report of the manner in which Anderson had found the letters was not believed. He recognized, with a sickening certainty, that his 'enemies' had been there before him, and probably to lessen the blame on themselves, had attempted to fix more on him. However, he was not so discouraged that he was unable to make careful observations during the two hour long interview and gradually several other facts became clear to him. The first fact that Taylor absorbed was that MacKenzie King was deathly afraid of R.B. Bennett. He seemed to fear teaat the Leader of the Opposition would attack him, creating a scandal around this bridge affair, as had been done in the early thirties in the Beauharnois Affair.1 The second point that came to light was that Bennett had warned MacKenzie K.ng that there was 'something wrong' with the bridge business, but hadn't said what. When King told Taylor this, the latter was quick enough to rejoin: "It's strange that, if Mr Bennett knew of 'dirty work' he did not say so to me or to my British colleagues, and give this as grounds for refusing our application, instead of the untenable reason he put forward: 'inadequacy of span'." Beauharnois Affair; in 1929 the Beauharnois Power Company sought Federal permission to divert the flow of the Quebec section of the St. Lawrence River. Included in the transaction were many peculiar happenings - gifts of stock - personal loans - and alleged campaign contributions. These facts were brought out by the opposition and succeeded in embarrassing the King Government. Source: Edgar Mclnnis. Canada, a political and social history. Toronto, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, page 538. 23 As the Prime Minister made no comment Taylor decided that it would be a good time to tell him the 'Mr V. story', as it was so obviously tied in in some mysterious way to the matter of the letters found last November. MacKenzie King appeared to have some knowledge of the story already. The third impression Taylor got during the interview was that the Prime Minister, and all present (the Hon Ian MacKenzie and Grey Turgeon) were afraid that Bennett had knowledge or even copies of the letters, or that Major Moodie, who was no longer with the Party organization, might use them in some way against the present administration. When this point came out Taylor realized that he could do something positive here. "Gentlemen, in view of the fact that my partner, John Anderson, found and brought these letters to you - thus, so he was told ■ rendering a service to the Government ", here he paused, to emphasize his hurt feelings: "in view of this fact, I will do what I can for you". As soon as Taylor left the interview he started to work on his assignment and by Monday, March 2nd, he had four affidavits swearing as to the inaccuracy of certain sections of the letters. These he sent, by special messenger (the Hon, CD. Howe) to the Prime Minister with an accompanying note. Over these weeks there was a fairly continuous stream, of letters and cables between the Prime Minister, Lord Southborough and.Taylor, t\ie Prime Minister obviously finding it difficulp to helieve that he could trust Taylor to tell his British colleagues everything that he should. Lord Southborough's letters in reply made it quite clear that he and Taylor were in constant communication. Taylor recognized that MacKenzie King had huge responsibilities and that he felt that there was too much at stake here to use less than the most extreme measures for security. On March 5th (1936) Taylor flew to Vancouver to see how the British Pacific Properties were progressing. When he arrived he found that all local opposition to the Bridge had gone-. The three newspapers were all on his side. He realized that if he could just think, really think, he would be able to find the key to this whole 'mess', and everything would fall into place. But would it fall into place in time? The road through the park would have to go in before much work could be done on the bridge itself, and that would mean blasting, which, because of the fire hazard, couldn't be done much after the end of May. A delay now might mean another year before the bridge could get underway. Gradually the strain of the fight and the waiting, began to take its toll, and by the middle of March Taylor was confined to bed in his hotel room, with what the doctor diagnosed as threateied pneuomnia. There he lay, fuming, and in his lucid moments, trying to think how he could win his fight. Turning the whole problem over in his mind, he remembered that it wasn't only his fight - what of the people of Vancouver? They surely had some rights in the matter. They had asked for a bridge in 1933 - they now really wanted one - what right had Ottawa, because of real or fancied political problems, to stand in Vancouver's way? A mere headache wasn't going to stop him now and, although it was after midnight he put a phone call through to Gerry McGeer, fiery Mayor of Vancouver, who was also a Liberal Member of Parliament for 24 Vancouver in the Federal Government. McGeer heard his idea and the next day the two got together in Taylor's hotel room. McGeer proved to be a most able champion, and agreed to re-open the fray by asking a question on the floor of the House on March 24th. He advised Taylor to get to Ottawa by that date, in case he needed more ammunition, to continue the battle - Vancouver versus Ottawa. True to his word, McGeer brought up the subject, having of course advised the Prime Minister of its nature. HANSARD for March 24th, 1936, read: Mr G.G. McGeer (Vancouver-Burrard)- Mr Speaker, I should like to direct a question to the Prime Minister. I should like to ask what is the status of the application for leave to construct a bridge over the First Narrows near Vancouver, and if the Government is aware that, if the delay continues, a fund of some twelve million dollars of British capital now available for development in and around Vancouver may be withdrawn. Right Hon. W.L. MacKenzie King (Prime Minister) - May I say to my honourable friend that the approval of plans for the construction of the First Narrows Bridge project is one to which the Government has been giving very careful consideration indeed, with a view to seeing that all technical and engineering requirements are adequately met and also fully to protect the public interest in every respect. When the present administration came into office we ascertained that the previous Government had had under consideration an application for the approval of the plans but had not seen fit to approve them. Since we came into office there have come to our attention circumstances which seemed to require investigation, and very full investigation, before any approval of the plans should be given. Mr Bennett : More so now than then.-.. Mr MacKenzi King: My Right Honourable friend the Leader of the Opposition says "more so now than then". May I say to my Right Hon. friend that I should welcome very much an opportunity of discussing the whole situation with him. I do not think the Government would be justified in withholding approval of plans of a project which may be very much in the interests of the City of Vancouver and in the interests of the country unless there were substantial reasons for so doing. I beliave it will be possible to satisfy the House that every precaution has been taken in respect to the engineering and technical features. With respect to othe. phases which hcve required consideration, I shall be glad to discuss them with my Right Honourable friend, if he is agreeable. Unless the Government is fully satisfied that the public interest in all particulars is being adequately protected, approval will not be given. I hope, however, matters have arrived at a stage where it will soon be clear that such protection has been achieved Immediately the House adjourned for the day, McGeer sought out R.B. Bennett and, during his subsequent interview, Bennett admitted that there was nc substance to his innuendos, and that he knew of no present problem with the Bridge Company. A few days later, on March 27th, in his long letter to Lord Southborough, Taylor writes in part: "... On Tuesday until midnight I worked on McGeer's brief, (following the question in the House) and we decided that Vancouver 25 City would take a firm stand and insist on a bridge, for which they had been waiting since 1933, being built by someone: if not by us, then by the Dominion Government - but a bridge they must and would have. McGeer cared nothing as to the political aspects of the matter. He said if there had been strange goings on, then that was a separate issue to be dealt with as the Government saw fit. He, however, ingeniously pointed out, and all this on Wednesday morning to King himself, that after all, British Columbia was a Sovereign Province, and if they (the Company) were guilty under the Criminal Code as had been alleged by our enemies, then it was a matter for the Attorney General of the Province to deal with. But, McGeer went on, so far as Vancouver City is concerned, the jurisdiction of Ottawa in the matter oi the First Narrows Bridge is derived solely from the Navigable Waters Act, the full requirements cf which had been satisfied by the present applicant. My present tactics may be wrong, but as I explained to some Members of the Cabinet in Ottawa, I was either going to get the application soon or make it abundantly clear to all who could read the daily newspapers exactly what had happened and the part we played. I said that I did not care 'tuppence' whether every dociment from 1932 to date was tabled in the House and whether it meant a complete collapse of Constitutional Government. I actually got McGeer to the point of saying privately, what he would not hesitate to say publicly if necessary, that he would use the present incident as the chief reason for banding at least the three Western provinces in open revolt against the Dominion, leading to ultimate secession...." On March 25th, before the writing of this letter, Taylor had a meeting with John Jennings, the lawyer who had done all his work in Eastern Canada, and then left Ottawa. Jennings had always been a close friend of the Prime Minister's and, following his talk with Taylor, had a long interview with MacKenzie King. The latter told him that he was now satisfied with Southborough ana Ta3*lor, and that the bridge Order-in-Council would be passed 'soon'. However Taylor was not satisfied with this vague promise, and sent a message to McGeer (and therefore, he hoped, to the Vancouver newspapers, that unless his company got some assurance 'soon', and by that h_e meant "almost immediately', that their application would be dealt with by Ottawa, they would shut down their Vancouver- work. His statement succeeded in upsetting Vancouver considerably but, during the Easter recess of the House, there was little that could be done. By now Taylor was in New York, but he was far from well, and soon found himself confined to yet another hotel room, with his good friend and doctor, Blake Donaldson, at hand to see he obeyed orders. Dr Donaldson refused Taylor all visitors, except "larriet Donaldson, until the last possible day, April 4th, when Taylor was booked to leave for home aboard the lie de France That day it was arranged that the lawyer, John Jennings, should visit him at 7.30 a.m. and be allowed to stay several hours as Taylor wanted him to have the whole story straight, and to get various statemen^c that Taylor wanted included in yet another brief to be submitted to Parliament after the recess. Included was the fact that, in evidence of good faith, Taylor was depositing $50,000 with the Receiver General, to be forfeited if any dishonesty in his company 26 was uncovered. Taylor had also prepared a rather dramatic little finale which he intended to read to Jennings after the essential story had been reported. As Taylor finished the main part of his tale, another, unexpected but most welcome visitor arrived. The Honourable Ian MacKenzie, en route to Bermuda for a brief vacation, hearing of Taylor's illness, called in at the Hotel to leave a message for the patient, and was invited up to the room. On seeing Taylor already had a visitor, the Minister hesitated, but Taylor, delighted to think he would have an audience of two for his final statement, begged him to stay, as there was something he wanted to read to them: Gentlemen: Mayor McGeer assures me that if we do not shut down our Vancouver work we will get approval of the First Narrows Bridge in the early days of the next session or in any event following a full Parliamentary inquiry; I asked for such an inquiry a month ago, now they speak of after April 20th. I am ill. I am going home today, I will return in May for any full dress inquiry and welcome the opportunity. Now may I humbly submit to you both, as an 'outsider' unfamiliar with politics, my forecast as to what will happen to the various parties who will be involved in the inquiry: 1. The Liberal Government 2. The Conservative Party 3. The Hon. Mr T. and, very improbably Mr V. 4. X 5. The First Narrows Bridge Company - Anderson and myself - British Pacific Securities. Then Taylor went on to outline the embarrassing questions that would have to be answered on both sides of the House. He went briefly over the fate of Number 3 and then he said that he hadn't yet thought what would happen to Number 4 and added "I really don't care". He continued: "Number 5. We will all come out quite clean, weary and poorer ■by time and money spent. Sick of our country's politics. A country which in our own way we have tried to serve. We will be granted approval of the bridge in terms of our application of January 193t, two and a half years too late. We are faced with rapidly rising costs in both materials and labour. We may find that other outlets have taken the money we had hoped to build the bridge with. A great injustice has been done to entirely decent people. Canada's credit will suffer again in London. The man in the street will once more be reminded that all is not well in Ottawa. This is a tragic comedy in a country that is, at this time, absolutely dependent upnn outside capital - almost bankrupt of men who are bigger than their own selfish interests. The story of the First Narrows Bridge is not over, but to date it marks one of the most astonishing chapters of crass stupidity that modern times may read: "How to prevent Englishmen investing their own money in Canada." Now Gentlemen: Thanks for listening so patiently! Go your separate ways. I'm sailing for home. If I were a friend of the Prime Minister or of Mr Bennett, I would urge each of them to think 27 twice before engaging us in a Parliamentary inquiry on the First Narrows Bridge." * As Taylor's audience sat in stunned silence there was a knock on the door and Blake Donaldson came in. He was properly shocked to find yet another visitor with Taylor, and after allowing them a few seconds for recovery, he ushered the two men out of the room, with a mixture of friendly bullying and professional zeal. He then supervised Taylor's transfer to the ship. When Dr Donaldson had made certain that Taylor's room steward knew how to look after the patient, and had talked with the ship's doctor, he left. It had taken more out of Taylor than he had expected and, after cabling Mona to confirm the date and time of his arrival at Southampton, he spent much of the five day trip dozing in his cabin, or, when the doctor would allow, in his deck chair. When he had the energy, he went over his notes of the happenings of the last few years with the intention of producing a record of this incredible battle which, as far as he knew, was not yet over. Mona and the three girls came out on the tender at Southampton to meet Taylor and, as he looked at the happy expectant faces, he was grateful that he had remembered to sent Harriet Donaldson round the New York stores to buy dresses and hats for them. Only when he was alone with Mona did he allow his mask to drop and she realized how completely depressed and miserable he was. She knew the whole story as Lord Southborough had been in touch with her almost daily, telling her of the developments in Ottawa. Back in Canada the Prime Minister's realization that the Bridge Company was indeed honest may have been strengthened by Taylor's posting of his $50,000 personal bond; or it may have been Ian MacKenzie's knowledge of what would happen to the Government and the Opposition, that spurred MacKenzie King on, but whatever the reason, by Thursday, April 29th, 1936, Vancouver heard that the Order-in-Council was through. Almost the whole of the front page of the Sun, the paper that had championed the Bridge Company throughout the long years, was devoted to the fact: "NARROWS SPAN O.K.'d: TWO MILLION FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLAR PAYROLL BOOST - Millions More for Materials ' "VANCOUVER'S OWN COLOSSUS" "WEST VANCOUVER FIVE MINUTES BY AUTO" All names and facts are clearly identified in the original document, the use of letters and any vagueness Is, as has been noted before, the writer's own wish. 28 There were also, of course, a few digs about the delays: "Last year . . . the City Council were forced to give the company a two year extension . . ." "Bridge could have been nearly finished by now . . . but for Ottawa." And now all the newspapers showered praise on Taylor and John Anderson: "THE MEN WHO MADE IT POSSIBLE" " ... (his) faith in Native Land inspired British investors to stake their wealth on projects he (Taylor) recommended. *■ It was going to be a great year for Vancouver, this year of its Golden Jubilee; they would have a new City Hall, and now a new bridge as well. This surely would put Vancouver 'on the map' at last! 1. Roy Brown's Editorial may be of interest to Vancouverites today: "The First Narrows Bridge may be a little ahead of its need...." Vancouver Sun, April 29, 1936. **************** THE EDITORS WISH ALL OUR READERS A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS NEW YEAR *****************
Titled "British Columbia Historical Association Report and Proceedings" from 1923-1929; "British Columbia Historical Quarterly" from 1937-1957; "BC Historical News" from 1968-2004; and "British Columbia History" from 2005 onward.
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