Book Review: Canadian Representation Abroad. From Agency to Embassy
| DOI | 10.1177/002070204600100410 |
| Date | 01 October 1946 |
| Author | H. F. Angus |
| Published date | 01 October 1946 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
Book
Reviews
CANADIAN
REPRESENTATION
ABROAD.
FROM
AGENCY
TO
EMBASSY.
By
H.
Gordon
Skilling.
1946.
(Toronto: Ryerson
for
C.I.I.A.
xviii
and
359
pp.
$3.50)
In
this excellent
monograph,
written
under
the
direction
of
the
Canadian
Institute
of
International
Affairs
and
published
under
its
auspices, Mr.
Skilling
has
described
the
gradual
growth
of
Canadian
representation
abroad,
which
began
for
practical
purposes
long
before
it
was
generally
recognized
that
it
would
culminate
in
separate
and inde-
pendent
diplomatic
representation
at
the highest
levels. Like
many
British
constitutional
developments
it
began
in
practice
with
common
sense
measures
taken
to
meet
obvious
needs,
without
much
thought as
to
its
ultimate
implications.
In
this
respect it
is
in
sharp
contrast
with
the
diplomatic
representation
of
the
Ukraine
and Byelorussia
which
has
begun
at
top
levels
with
no
indication
that
differences
of
opinion
between
these
states
and
the
U.S.S.R.,
which
formerly
represented
them,
are
to
be
expected.
In
the
case
of
Canada,
practical
needs
arose
whenever
for
one
reason
or
another
the
representation
provided
by
the
Imperial
gov-
ernment
was
inadequate.
They accounted
for
emigration
agents
and
trade
commissioners
in
foreign
countries
and
for
representation
for
these
and
other
purposes
in
Great
Britain
itself.
As
the
Russian
instance
shows,
representation
for
specific
purposes
is
not
always
expected
to
lead
to a
separate
political
identity
for
all
purposes.
Indeed,
Mr.
Skilling
explains
that
provincial
representation
for
special
purposes
has
been
and
can
be
harmonized with
Canadian
representation
and
with
Canadian
unity.
The
constitutional development
of
the British
Commonwealth
of
Nations conditioned Canadian
representation
abroad
and
was
in
turn
influenced
by
it.
Looking
back
over
this
development
it
may
seem
extraordinary
that
it
should
not have
been
until
sixty
years
after
Con-
federation
that
diplomatic
representatives
'were exchanged
between
Canada and
a
foreign
nation
and
that
a
further
sixteen
years
should
have
elapsed before
ambassadors
were
exchanged.
The
explanation
is
that
it
is
all
too
easy
to
interpret
growth,
after it
has
occurred, in
terms
of
design.
In
tracing
the methods
by
which,
during
a
period
of
three
genera-
tions,
Canadian statesmen have
met
the
practical
needs
of
the
day
within
the
framework
of
changing
constitutional arrangements,
Mr.
Skilling
has assembled in
very
compact
and
orderly
form
a
mass
of
information
which has
hitherto
been
very
difficult
of access.
It
is
fortunate
that
this
task
should
have
been
so
competently
performed
at
a
time
when
Cana-
dians
are
likely
to
make
a
critical
appraisal
of
their
young diplomatic
service.
370
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