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Toward the Charter: Canadians and the Demand for a National Bill of Rights, 1929-1960 (review)

Shepard not only provides the positive aspects of Mackieson’s practice, but details two major episodes that marred his professional life: the Lady Constable affair in 1847 and the ‘indictment’ of 1874. In 1847 the Lady Constable arrived with an epidemic of typhus on board. Mackieson, who was a member of the central board of health, did not properly quarantine the patients. He was reprimanded for his actions, but no official charges were brought against him. However, in 1874 as administrator of the Charlottetown Insane Asylum, he was indicted for neglecting his patients. The inmates were found living in squalid conditions. Twenty years earlier, when he first arrived at the asylum, he had advocated reforms to improve patient health and welfare, but they failed to materialize because of outside political and economic pressures. In the Lady Constable affair, misdiagnosis of typhus as measles, as well as communication lapses, led to the improper response and placed the general population of Charlottetown at risk. Mackieson was not entirely culpable, but he did play a prominent role. The 1874 case is more daunting, and Shepard admits that he cannot provide comfortable answers for the doctor’s behaviour. One wonders if the diary could have provided insights into Mackieson’s state of mind in 1874. David Shepard is the perfect individual to examine the Mackieson manuscript collection. He is not only a medical historian but also a retired Charlottetown anesthesiologist knowledgeable about the town’s history and that of Prince Edward Island as well as Canadian politics and medical practice in Canada. The book is well organized, and an easy read. The footnotes are a gold mine of information as is the list of secondary sources. Island Doctor is an important contribution to the growing literature of rural medical practice in mid-nineteenth-century medicine. PAUL BERMAN University of Massachusetts School of Medicine