PROVINCIAL GOVERNORS, PREMIERS AND SPEAKERS.
We have abandoned the idea of bringing things up-to-date, and as a
matter of fact it would be impossible within the limits of this work.
Twenty years or so of provincial struggle, provincial progress, provincial
depression, with a very considerable mass of new and amending legisla-
tion every year, and many events of more than passing interest consti-
tute a period which must be left to some other chronicler. But some of
the outstanding figures deserve to have their services recognised.
There have been four provincial governors, Messrs. A. E. Forget,
George W. Brown, R. S. Lake and the present lieutenant governor, W. H.
Newlands. Saskatchewan has good cause to congratulate itself on its
governors. Mr. Forget, whether as clerk of the North West Council, or as
Indian Commissioner, was an honorable and conscientious official, and
when he became the last governor of the Territories and the first governor
of Saskatchewan, his official experience and the natural courtesy and polish
of his French ancestry stood him in good stead. Mr. George Brown was
of an entirely different type. Mr. Forget was a Catholic; Mr. Brown
was a Methodist from Ontario. Mr. Forget was a slender dark man; Mr.
Brown was a veritable son of Anak. Mr. Forget spent practically all his
life as a salaried servant of the Crown. Mr. Brown never in his life,
broadly speaking, drew a salary. Starting with his brothers on the home-
stead, he studied law, ~nd many years ago became a member of the firm
of Mackenzie and Brown, but he never ceased to farm. The last time
the writer met him, Mr. Brown said he had just returned from the farm,
and told the foreman to re-seed in oats, three hundred acres of the finest
summer fallow he ever saw. It had been put in for wheat and "blown"
out of the ground. Always interested in politics, he became member
for North Regina. Clean of speech and action, his private life was with-
out reproach. His most intimate friend, the Hon. Walter Scott, paid this
tribute to him: "I have travelled thousands of miles with him, but I have
never heard him say one single word which could not have been uttered
in the presence of a lady". This, we think, is a unique piece of testimony.
Mr. Brown's appointment as lieutenant governor was hailed with peculiar
satisfaction by the old-timers of the province, for he was one of the original
pioneers of the Regina plain, and he spent his whole life in the west in
close touch with the capital. An interesting story of his career might
be told under the heading "From Homestead to Government House". When
he came to Regina in 1882 he was ahead of the railway and it was a mere
camp of two or three tents. He took up a homestead some miles north
of the infant capital and farmed. Then he commenced to study law in
Regina with Mr. John Secord, and afterwards with Scott and Hamilton,
and ultimately became a partner with Mr. Norman Mackenzie. In 1888
he contested North Regina in the first election for the North West Assem-.
bly, but was defeated by Mr. Jelly, but in the next election he won out
handsome~ against the same opponent, and held the seat till 1905, when
he retired from considerations of health and travelled extensively He
was sworn in as Governor of Saskatchewan on the 14th of October, 1910,
being then fifty years of age. He completed his term of office, but before
he had reached his sixtieth year he passed away leaving a distinct gap
in the public life of the capital, and sincerely regretted by all as an
able and honorable servant of the public weal.
Mr. Richard Stuart Lake was sworn in as Hon. G. W. Brown's succes-
sor on Oct. 18th, 1915, and was knighted during his term of office, viz: on
June 3rd, 1918. Like his predecessor, Mr. Lake had the distinction of
being a pioneer, and a farmer; and as Hon. George Brown differed from
the Hon. A. E. Forget, so did Mr. Lake present differences in origin and
training from Mr. Brown. Mr. Forget came from Quebec; Mr. Brown
from Ontario; Mr. Lake was bo"n in England, and at the time of his
appointment he was fifty years of age. He was a son of Lieut. Col. Percy
Lake of H. M.'s 100th Regiment. This regiment was raised in Canada
during the Crimean War, and embodied in the British Regular Army. Mr.
Lake's mother was a Canadian lady, viz: Miss Margaret Phillips, of Que-
bec. Completing his education, Mr. Lake joined the British Civil Service
at the Admiralty and served in the Island of Cypress; in the Mediterranean
Sea, from 1878 to 1883, when he settled with Colonel Lake and a brother
near Grenfell, N. W. T., and soon had one of the finest farms in East
Assiniboia. "Winmarleigh" as the place was named became welL known
for its hospitality and good cheer. Mr. Lake first gained a reputation as
a cricketer, but in a few years he turned his attention to politics and was
the first secretary of the East Assiniboia Conservative Association. He
was a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1898 to 1904, and of the
House of Commons from 1904 to 1911, when he was defeated by Mr. Levi
Thompson. He was appointed a member of the Civil Service Commis-
sion and among other offices he was president of the local branch of the
Imperial Federation League, vice president of the Territorial Grain Grow-
ers' Association, and president of the Provincial Branches of the Canadian
Red Cross Society and Canadian Patriotic Fund. During the War Sir
Richard and Lady Lake were unceasing in their patriotic efforts, and they
fully deserved the recognition that came to them from the Crown. Inci-
dentally we may mention that Sir Richard is a brother of General Sir
Percy Lake, who will be remembered as taking command of the British
forces in Mesopotamia. Sir Richard with Lady Lake and family are now
residing in Victoria, B. C. It is to be hoped that Sir Richard will again be
seen in public life, as he is of a type that can ill be spared.
Following what it is to be hoped will be a custom, Sir Richard Lake's
successor in the gubernatorial chair, was another early comer in the person
of the Hon. Henry William Newlands, who, with Miss Newlands as lady-
paramount is worthily sustaining the traditions of Government House.
His Honor is a Nova Scotian who practiced law in Prince Albert and was
prominent in local affairs an~ politics of the district. In 1897 he was
appointed Inspector of Land Titles, and in 1901 he was appointed local
advisor to the Council of the Yukon Territory in the far north-west. After
some three years in Dawson City he returned to Saskatchewan as a Judge
of the Supreme Court and in 1920 he was elevated to the Court of Appeal.
Resigning his Judgeship he was sworn in as Lieut. Governor of the pro-
vince in succession to Sir Richard Lake.
Glancing back then we have as Governors of the Northwest Territories
David Laird, of Prince Edward Island; Edgar; Dewdney, a Devonshire
Englishman; Joseph Royal, a French Canadian; Charles Mackintosh, of
Ontario; M. C. Cameron, of Ontario (who died after a brief term in office),
and A. E. Forget, a French Canadian. Of the provincial governors we
have A. E. Forget, French Canadian, as aforesaid; George W. Brown,
Ontario; R. S. Lake, Englishman, and H. W. Newlands, Nova Scotia.
The heads of governments of the Northwest Territories were Dr. Brett,
Hugh Quentin Cayley, and the present Sir Frederick Haultain. Dr. Brett
is at this writing Governor of Alberta; Mr. Cayley is a British Columbia
Judge, and Sir Frederick Haultain is Chief Justice of Saskatchewan. The
premiers of Saskatchewan have been three in number only, viz.: Hon.
Walter Scott, Hon. W. M. Martin and the Hon. Charles Avery Dunning,
the present premier. Mr. Scott was born in London township, Middlesex
County, Ont., in 1867; came west in his teens to Portage Ia Prairie, Man.,
where he learned the printing trade, and then moved farther west to
Regina. At thirty-three years of age he captured in the Liberal interest
the seat of West Assiniboia from the brilliant and redoutable Nicholas
Flood Davin, a journalist who had held it since 1887. He held the seat
in 1904 against Mr. G.M. Annable; and in 1905 became the first premier
of Saskatchewan. This position he held for eleven years, resigning from
ill health in 1916. Mr. Scott is now a resident in Victoria, B. C., and
to the regret of the country at large, and to the great loss of the public
service, his health has remained an obstacle against his re-entry into politi-
cal life. During a large part of his premiership he was compelled to be
absent for long intervals from the province, in search of the health which
so tragically deserted him at the climax of a career of almost spectacular
brilliance and success; but it was undoubtedly immensely to the public
advantage that the formative years of the province were passed under
the guidance of Mr. Scott. His great all-round grasp of public affairs,
the ability and confidence with which he handled them, his deep faith in
the future of the west, and his high character and unfailing courage,
made him for some time one of the outstanding figures in Canadian public
life, and many of his friends looked forward to his attaining the highest
position that Canada could give him. In the House of Commons he was
a bonny fighter" for the west, and the great argumentative duel between
the young printer from Regina, and a certain skilled and veteran magnate
of the C. P. R., in which the former not only held his own but came off
with flying colors, is still one of the recollections of the House. During
his premiership the acting premier in his absence was the Hon. J. A.
Calder, who had his implicit confidence. When Mr. Scott was called to
the premiership, Mr. Calder was the deputy minister of Education, and
was without political experience. Mr. Scott, however, marked' him for
his lieutenant in the work of building up the province, and his choice
was more than justified. Mr. Calder subsequently entered theDominion
arena. He was Minister of Immigration and Colonization in Sir Robert
Borden's War Government and to him fell the enormous task of working
out the Great Soldier Settlement Scheme. He is now a member of the
Canadian Senate. Mr. Scott's first government consisted of himself" and
three' members only. The other two were Mr. W. R. Motherwell,and
Mr. J. Lamont, the latter of whom had been a colleague of Mr. Scott's
in" the House of Commons, and who being a lawyer assumed the office
of Attorney General. Mr. Motherwell was a pioneer farmer who for many
years carried on his avocation under the disability of being a long way
from the railroad. He had made one or two unsuccessful attempts to enter
the local house, but his claim to distinction lay in the fact that he was
the originator of the Saskatchewan Grain Growers Movement. When
this independent-minded man, who was only known to the general public
as an aggressive and fearless agrarian agitator was called to the first
cabinet of the Province there was a general feeling of surprise and as
we happen to know, the most surprised man was Mr. Motherwell himself.
Again Mr. Scott's knowledge of men and political acumen were fully vin-
dicated. It is only necessary to say that not only was Mr. Motherwell
a great success as Minister of Agriculture for the province, but he is today
the minister of Agriculture for the Dominion of Canada. The Hon. J.
Lamont performed valuable service in framing the provincial legisla-
tion but after two years he was elevated to the Supreme Court. Prob-
ably at this distance of time friends and foe will admit that Saskatche-
wan's first government composed of a printer, a pedagogue, a farmer
and a country lawyer, was one of the most successful in Canadian history.
Other Ministers early associated with Mr. Scott were Mr. Alphonse E.
Tourgeon, of Prince Albert, who succeeded the Hon. J. Lamont as Attorney
General in 1907, and Hon. Archie P. McNab, of Saskatoon, who became'
Minister of Works in 1908. This genial, popular, practical and invaluable
gentleman, who makes no great pretensions as a debater, has held his port-
folio uninterruptedly' in three ministries, and holds it today. Mr. Tour-
geon, a sound lawyer, an accomplished speaker, and in addition a ready
and imperturbable debater, is now a Judge of the Supreme Court. As the
province grew, which it presently did with phenomenal rapidity, other port-
folios were added, viz.: In 1913 that of provincial treasurer and tele-
phones in the hands of Hon. George Bell, and that of municipal affairs, the
Hon. Geo. Langley. Hon. Walter Scott ceased to be premier in October,
1916, and was succeeded by the Hon. W. M. Martin, member for Regina
in the House of Commons. His cabinet comprised besides the Scott mem-
bers already mentioned the Hon. C. A. Dunning, who took the portfolio
of provincial treasurer on Oct. 20th, 1916, and Hon. S. J. Latta, minister
of highways, Oct.20, 1917, and Hon. W. E. Knowles, provincial secretary,
May 16th, 1918. The Hon. J. A. Calder resigned on Oct. 20th, 1917, to
accept appointment as Minister of Colonization and Immigration in the
Federal Government. In 1920 Hon. Mr. Motherwell resigned and was suc-
ceeded by Hon. Chas. H. Hamilton. The Martin Government faced a
general election in 1921 under a new set of political circumstances. The
fountains of the political deep appeared to be breaking up under the pres-
sure of the new Progressive movement. The Saskatchewan government
had hitherto been Liberal but such was the force and volume of the new
farmers movement that it was certain if the Progressives entered the
political field and delivered a frontal attack the Martin Government, like
others, would be swept away. This was avoided. The Martin Government
went to the country, not as a Liberal Government but on its own record as
the farmers' friend; the Progressives decided not to oppose it as a body,
and it was handsomely sustained by the electorate. The Hon. Mr. Mother-
well had been in favor of keeping the old Liberal flag flying in the breeze
as usual, and had resigned. Hon. Geo. Langley had also resigned. The
Hon. J. A. Maharg, Minister of Agriculture, succeeding Mr. Motherwell,
and a foremost leader for many years among the farmers, had also left
the ship and when the new House met he became the leader of the Oppo-
sition. In the succeeding year Premier Martin retired on his appoint-
ment to the Court of Appeal and recommended the Hon. C. A. Dunning
as his successor. Mr. Dunning had come to Saskatchewan from Eng-
land in 1902 being then about seventeen years of age. At eighteen he
took up a homestead at Beaverdale. In 1910, being only twenty-five years
of age, he was elected a Director of the Saskatchewan Grain Growers Asso-
ciation, and the following year saw him its vice president, a position which
he held till 1914. In 1911 he organised the Saskatchewan Co-operative
Elevator Company, of which he was general manager from that year till
1916. During this period he was appointed a Royal Commissioner by
the Saskatchewan Government to investigate the question of agricultural
credit, and also the question of grain marketing in Europe; and from
1911 to 1916 he was a member of the Canadian Council of Agriculture.
He was chairman of the Saskatchewan Victory Loan Committee 1917-19,
and Director of Food Production for Canada, 1918. In 1916 at thirty-one
years of age he was a Minister of the Crown, and at thirty-seven Premier
of Saskatchewan, the same age as the Hon. Walter Scott. His cabinet
consists of Hon. A. P. Mc Nab, Minister of Public Works; Hon. S. J.
Latta, Minister of Education; Hon. C. M. Hamilton, Minister of Agricul-
ture; Hon. J. G. Gardiner, Minister of Highways; Hon. J. A. Cross, Attor-
ney General; Hon. J. M. Ulrich, Provincial Secretary.
The Speakers of the Assembly have been as follows: Hon. T. A. Mac-
Nutt, Hon. W. C. Sutherland, Hon. J. A. Sheppard, Hon. Robt. Menzies
Mitchell, M.D., C. M., and Hon. George Adam Scott.
The Speakers of the Territorial Assembly were Hon. D. Wilson, Hon.
J. H. Ross, Hon. J. F. Betts, Hon. W. Eakin, and Hon. A. B. Gillis.
The leaders of the Provincial Opposition have been the Hon. F. W. G.
Haultain (Chief Justice Sir Frederick), Hon. W. B. Willoughby, B. A.,
LL. B. (now Senator), Donald MacLean, Q. C. (Supreme Court Judge),
Hon. J. A. Maharg and Harris Turner, the present leader, who was first
returned as a soldiers' representative, and who has the distinction of hav-
ing been totally blinded in the service of his country in the Great war.
Bibliography follows: