Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from The Principle of Official Independence With Particular Reference to the Political History of Canada
How accurate a parallel this is to the study of political science may be seen by the alteration of a few 'words: It is one great weakness of political science as a picture of our modern state, that it must be a picture made up entirely of exceptions. It announces in a conspicuous paragraph that a judge has been removed for corruption. It does not announce in a conspicuous paragraph that a judge has not been removed for corruption. That a judge has not been removed for corruption is really more noteworthy; and it is also some thousand times more common. But political science cannot reason ably be expected thus to insist upon the permanent miracles. Students cannot be expected to head their paragraphs NO judge has as yet been removed for improbity, ' or civil servants still retain office.' They cannot announce the virtues of the state to all. They cannot describe all the judges who are not removed, or all the Commissions which function without friction. Hence the complete picture they give of the state is of necessity fallacious they can only represent what is unusual.
In short, the study of the institutions and the officials of a state must be largely pathological it must be concerned with illness rather than health, with weakness rather than strength. I therefore make my apology for perhaps unduly stressing this aspect of Canadian government - an apology which is the more sincere because made by a Canadian who would desire to present his own country in a favourable light.
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