dian mariage de raison up to the present time; the demographic and
ecological substratum of social coexistence; the political techniques and
institutions of mutual adjustment; the dynamics of economic life; the
psycho-sociological implications of communication and reciprocal re-
cognition.

Such was the ambition, such was the hope. What actually occurred
in the course of the following months and years might look, from the
outside, like a breath-taking succession of plays within the play. Those
who have had experience with inter-disciplinary research projects will
easily picture the inevitable ups and downs; particularly those who
have had experience with social research in Canada. Actually, our
own experience has been unique in that our committee was venturing
into relatively unexplored domain where very little basic research had
yet been done by Canadian scholars. Numerous contributors were
sought and invited; some answered; a few started investigations in the
direction which we proposed to them. The lines of approach of the
study were modified in order to meet the preferences of potential col-
laborators. The organizational and inspirational formula of the project
was left flexible enough to permit any individual researcher or team of
researchers to become associated with it. But most of those whom we
had originally hoped to attract were already committed to other pre-
occupations and other fields of research. Our files thus include the
records of more discussion seminars, of more suggestions, of more
hopeful or distressed correspondence than of completed studies.

Yet, despite all shortcomings, we rejoice in having inspired and
sponsored a varied range of highly valuable studies such as those of
Dr. Nathan Keyfitz on demographic problems and urban influences
on the size of families in French Canada, of Professor E. F. Beach on
income differentials, of Professor F. W. Gibson on political accom-
modation in Canada between 1911 and 1930, as well as Miss Monique
Lortie's critical bibliography on bicultural relations in Canada. To our
committee were added new members, who included the late Professor
H. A. Innis, our periodic adviser since the very first days; Dr. John E.
Robbins, the untiringly helpful Secretary of the S.S.R.C.C.; Father
Bernard Mailhiot, o.p., and Professor J. A. Corry, who was later re-
placed by two new members, Professor Alexander Brady and Dr. W.
Kaye Lamb. Six years, punctuated by enthusiastic entrances and un-
controllable exits, had now elapsed. In the winter of 1954, it was
unanimously felt that the project should be redesigned on a more
immediately workable, less ambitious plan. The most sensible alter-
native seemed to be to shape our final effort into the form of a book

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