• Corpus ID: 160903894

Peace, progress and prosperity : a biography of the Hon. Walter Scott

@inproceedings{Barnhart1998PeacePA,
  title={Peace, progress and prosperity : a biography of the Hon. Walter Scott},
  author={Gordon Barnhart},
  year={1998}
}

• Gordon Barnhart
• Published 1 September 1998
• History

This thesis is a biography of Walter Scott, first Premier of Saskatchewan. He was a populist and had a vision for the new province, the fastest growing province in the Dominion. Agricultural and educational institutions were created to serve this growing population. Walter Scott combined his ability to collect strong people around him with his talent to sense the public mood. Scott was a newspapeman, entrepreneur, land speculator, and distributor of federal Liberal patronage in the North-West before being elected to the House of Commons in 1900. By 1905, Scott became leader of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party and Premier. Contrary to currently held beliefs, this thesis argues that the Scott administration neither restructured the government nor filled the public service with patronage appointments during the four months between Scott's appointment as Premier and the first general election. This was a time for campaigning. The political machine was built much later. Afler the 1905 election, the Scott government embarked on a program to build the new province's infhstmcture such as the Legislative Building and the University of Saskatchewan. For Scott and his government, agriculture was the vital component in the fabric of Saskatchewan life. By including f m leadership in cabinet and creating a political climate founded on agriculture, Walter Scott built a power base that withstood the United Farmers' Movement that unseated governments in neighbouring provinces. During the First World War, which created a climate of social change in Saskatchewan, the Scott Government banned the bar and established female sufhge. This thesis also examines when Walter Scott first exhibited signs of mental illness. His health became a primary focus as he searched for a cure for depression. It will be argued that it was the battle with Rev. Murdock Mad<innon over minority rights in the school system that brought Scott's mental health to the point that he had to resign. After his death, the memory of Walter Scott fded. Yet his legacy of democracy, education and agriculture conthe until today. The h i t s of Walter Scott's labours continue to be harvested in Saskatchewan but few remember who planted the original seeds. Aclmawledgements This study was completed with the financial assistance of the College of Graduate Studies and Research. I am gratefbl to the Messer Fund for two travel grants. I want to thank Ian Wilson, Chief Archivist, and all of the archivists at the Archives of Ontario and the archivists at the Saskatchewan Archives Board and the University of Saskatchewan Archives. Without the help of archivists, a study such as this could not be done. Special mention must be given to Dr. Prez, Executive Director of the Homewood Health Centre, who permitted me to review Walter Scott's medical files. I also want to thank the family of Walter Scott who shared their memories, their letters and their photos with me. I am deeply gratefbl to Dr. Ted Regehr for his Wendship and guidance over the last four years. I want to thank my friends and family for their encouragement and advice throughout this journey, particularly my long time friend and partner, Elaine. Her wisdom, support and skill made this project a very positive one. A Note on Spelling and Punctuation This dissertation is based primarily on Walter Scott's own papers. Even though most of the letters and documents were typed, there were many typographical errors, missing commas and American spelling of words such as "labor." The original punctuation and spelling in the quotations have been maintained.