Review:Smith:A Study in Canadian Immigration (Sissons)

Review:Wells:The Outline of History (MacIver)

Review:Smith:A Study in Canadian Immigration (Sissons) written by Charles Bruce Sissons

Review:Quiller-Couch:On the Art of Reading (Fairley)

From The Canadian Forum, October 1929, p.24

A Study in Canadian Immigration, by W. G. Smith (Ryerson Press, 1920). Professor Smith's work on immigration is one of the important books of the year. In view of the gravity of the problems raised by our immigration policy singularly little has been [p.25] written by Canadians on the subject. As Dr. C. K. Clarke says in his introduction, "Students . . . have felt that the subject covered such an immense field that few have found either time or inclination to delve into it. At best, it is a chapter of tragedy and mismanagement".

A psychologist in the University of Toronto and actively associated with the work of the National Committee of Mental Hygiene, Mr. Smith, naturally approaches this subject from the pathological angle. The book is rich in statistics which set forth the deficiencies, physical, intellectual, and moral, of various classes of immigrants accepted, rejected, or deported. These statistics and the author's careful analysis of them are invaluable to the student of Canadian affairs.

It is most unfortunate for the author, as for all students of Canadian affairs, that the census reports have not been more carefully or intelligently prepared. One despairs of any secure information from census officials who estimate the "literacy of the population five years and over," branding as illiterates children whose little heads should never be bothered with the written word (p. 267); or who know so little of Europe as to prepare a table with a classification including Austrian, Bukowinian, Galician, Hungarian, Ruthenian, and Austro-Hungarian (p. 141). Considering the infirmity of his sources, however, Mr. Smith makes interesting and valuable deductions. One may mention particularly table 58 which gives the percentage of naturalization by countries of birth, varying from 9 per cent for Chinese to 64 per cent for Danes. For European countries Italy stands lowest with 17 per cent, but this may be accounted for in part by the fact that Italian immigration was particularly heavy in 1908 and succeeding years. Consequently a comparatively large number of Italians would not be eligible for citizenship by 1911. The same consideration applied generally to table 58 might have changed materially the order of merit.

To the general reader Chapters VIII, IX, and X, dealing with the characteristics of the various races of immigrants and the contribution they are making to the life of the country, will prove of particular interest. Chapter VIII is assigned to Oriental immigration and is quite the best discussion available of that perplexing question. Chapters IX and X deal with the European immigrant. Others have reviewed various phases of European immigration in greater detail and from more intimate knowledge, but nowhere can one find a clearer and on the whole sounder survey. An exception is the section dealing with the Doukhobors. Apparently Mr. Smith does not quite appreciate the nature of the influence of Peter Veregin^(sic!), the extent of the defection from his iron rule, or the danger that some time in the future one man, or a few men at most, may realize on the assets created by thousands.

The last two chapters, comprising about 100 pages of a book of 400 pages, are entitled "Future Immigration" and "Some Present Needs". The author here lays bare the mistakes of the past and describes the methods employed in the United States to regulate immigration. He emphasizes the necessity of making it too expensive a business for steamship companies to carry undesirables and urges the humanity of a careful examination of intending emigrants before they purchase passage. He insists that Canadians for their part should "cast off any temper of superiority, any attitude of neglect or any presumption that in good time nature would produce the assimilated product" and should recognize that "desire to live and serve under a new flag does not require that a man hate the one under which he was born".

The book unfortunately shows signs of haste. It was prepared, the author tells us, "in the intervals not at all frequent, in the course of the day's work". This accounts for occasional roughness of style and a few errors such as that of twice attributing to Mr. Calder the initials of his western antagonist Mr. Crerar. Not infrequent eloquence and now and then a very welcome flash of humour amidst the statistics serve to show how a good book might have been improved could University authorities be brought to reflect on the derivation of the word scholarship.

C. B. S.