on the understanding that these were in no sense to be construed as
directions. They did "not desire a purely laudatory work, but a truthful
account as written and interpreted by one who is in general sympathy
with Mr. King and his work and career." These are my own words
which I used in an attempt to express our interchange of views; and
they give a fair summary of the preliminary conversations. I am
pleased to add that the understanding has been faithfully observed by
the Literary Executors in spirit and letter at all times; nor can I recall
a single "representation" being offered.

The book is to a large extent a co-operative effort. The Mackenzie
King archive has been roughly estimated to comprise a million and
three-quarters to two million pages of material, most of which is in
the files. It is naturally made up of documents of all kinds, but its
volume and variety are unusually great, caused in large measure by
Mr. King's saving and painstaking habits. It includes, for example,
correspondence, both in and out; state papers, records, and memoranda;
important drafts and documents; and even such trivial things as Christ-
mas cards, dinner seating arrangements, and notes jotted down on odd
scraps of paper. To these must be added, of course, the official debates
and papers; and the King family letters, which present a cross-section
of social history probably unrivalled in Canada. Most valuable of all
is the Mackenzie King diary, which exists with varying degrees of
detail for fifty-seven years. The early records are brief and sketchy;
the later ones may run to as much as 1,200 or 1,300 pages of type-
script a year. The use of the diary is subject to certain restrictions on
purely personal matters under the terms of Mr. Mackenzie King's
will, but except for these, which are generally quite unimportant, I
have been allowed to take free and uncensored extracts. Mr. King
incidentally was an excellent diarist in most respects-very reliable
as to facts, though inclined when expressing opinions and analysing
motives (his own or others) to be swayed by prejudice and wishful
thinking. For the most part, however, his factual material is exception-
ally accurate, recorded fully, and set out with restraint and an occa-
sional touch of drama. For major events, therefore, these records almost
attain the status of state papers, and they open many chapters hitherto
generally closed in Canadian public life.

The greatest preliminary step taken by the Literary Executors was
unquestionably to put the diary in readable form, and this was espe-

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