Fund on May 1 had reached $24,267. As to the general war situation Mr. Premier Martin on Aug. 4 was explicit: "War is a new experience for Canada. Prior to August 1914 there was no military organization in Canada worthy of the name. But when the clarion call went forth for men to fight for freedom and justice, Canada was not found wanting. The Dominion responded to the call of the Empire and our men went forth from every section to do battle for right. The War to-day is a stupendous undertaking.. But with it all there is a silver lining. We know that the British Empire to-day is more of a unit than ever before. There is a greater unity within the Empire by reason of the War than we could have hoped for in 25 or 50 years of ordinary history and Canada has done her share nobly in this gigantic struggle.' Notable casualties of the year were Lieut.-Col. T. E. Perrett (Principal of Regina Normal School) wounded; Lieut. W. M. Scanlon of the Regina Leader, killed, and Lieut. J. C. Smith (Provincial Live-stock Commissioner) also killed.

The Temperance issue had some ups and downs during the year. Its March legislation was along lines of closer restriction and a Saskatchewan Sunday School Convention at Regina on Mar. 22 expressed regret at the Dominion Government failing to realize the extent to which the people of the Dominion were prepared to go in the enactment and enforcement of Temperance legislation; urged a Dominion Prohibition measure and expressed appreciation of the final closing of Government liquor stores in Saskatchewan and the abolition of the export and commission houses. The vote under the Provincial-Referendum of Dec. 11, 1916, as published in January, showed 95,249 votes in favour of doing away with the Government sale of liquor, 23,666 against abolition and 4,005 spoiled ballots. On July 14 Mr. Justice H. W. Newlands declared the Provincial Act prohibiting the export of liquor from the Province as ultra vires the Hudson Bay Co. being charged with the shipment of liquor outside the Province. The wisdom of the Attorney-General in making this a special Act instead of involving the whole legislation in danger was thus confirmed. The Regina Leader urged the Dominion Government (July 16) to enact a law making it an offence to carry liquor into any Province which prohibited the sale of such liquor and not to await Provincial legislation making it a crime for a man to have or consume liquor in his own house-to which, it was claimed, the Temperance people were unanimously opposed. Legislation to meet the situation was passed at the December Session of the Legislature.

Session

of New

Saskatchewan The two Parties had, meanwhile, been preparing General Elec- for the Elections which were imperative under the tions: 1st five-year term-unless legally extended, as was done for one year in Ontario and at Ottawa. The Martin Legislature. Government was an extension of one which, for 11 years, under the Hon. Walter Scott, had administered affairs with a great material growth and much expansion in directions such as Education. During these years the Liberal Government

claimed to have: (1) Established the Provincial University and Agricultural College and a system of secondary schools; (2) launched the "Better Schools Movement" and arranged for a thorough Survey to be made of the whole educational system, created Juvenile Courts and granted the franchise to Women; (3) taken progressive and consistent action in dealing with the Liquor problem and enacted laws and regulations affecting the health and protection of workmen; (4) created the Saskatchewan Co-Operative Elevator Co. and inaugurated a Provincial-wide telephone system; (5) adopted and carried out a Railway policy that had resulted in a more rapid development in Saskatchewan than in any part other of Canada; (6) provided Government assistance for the construction of main highways leading to market towns and distributed the revenue from automobile licenses to rural municipalities to assist in the maintenance of mainroads; (7) inaugurated a system of co-operative Hail insurance, controlled by municipalities which voluntarily adopted the policy and enacted laws to regulate and control the sale of Farm machinery: (8) adopted various measures to protect the property and interests of all soldiers who had enlisted for Overseas and to provide for their dependants left behind; (9) made provision for a Provincial system of loaning money on long terms, and at cost, upon the security of farm mortgages; (10) established a Bureau of Public Health with activities which made Saskatchewan one of the healthiest Provinces in Canada-provided also for Municipal Union Hospitals. The scandals and troubles of 1916 and its Royal Commissions had largely passed away in political effect through the re-organization and the appointment of the Martin Government; while the skilled hand of Hon. J. A. Calder remained as a factor in moulding and managing public opinion. Women were at once given a vote by the new Martin Government and the Temperance legislation strengthened, while Free wheat, though a Dominion matter, was made a popular issue and eventually granted. The returned soldiers were skilfully dealt with by protective legislation and given three members in the Elections under special Act. The handling of this question and that of Education had been done with a minimum of friction, so far as the large alien-enemy or foreign vote was concerned.

Arrangements were made for the holding of a Provincial Liberal Convention at Moose Jaw on Mar. 28-9-the first since the organization of the Provinces in 1905. About 800 Delegates were in attendance: C. M. Hamilton, Yellow Grass, was elected Chairman, Mrs. G. B. Cleveland, Saskatoon, Vice-Chairman; a Resolution Committee of 72 was carefully constituted, with one-half women, and G. A. Maybee of Moose Jaw as Chairman; S. J. Latta, M.L.A., was chosen Secretary of the Convention and Conservative press representatives were excluded. The earlier motions approved were personal (1) declaring confidence in Sir W. Laurier as "the true exponent of the aims and principles of Liberalism"; (2) pledging support to the Martin Government and belief in its power to continue "the splendid record of past achievement"; (3) paying tribute, amidst hearty cheers, to Hon. Walter Scott and his eleven years of work for Saskatchewan and Western Canada. Varied tributes

and frequent cheers were accorded to Mr. Scott during the Convention with many wishes for his full recovery in health. A special Resolution of thanks for services to Provincial Liberalism was accorded to Mr. Calder and Hon. G. Langley paid tribute to his renunciation of the Premiership in 1916. Another Resolution expressed adherence to those Liberal principles which had been "the guiding light in Saskatchewan's political history" and it was decided to constitute a Provincial Liberal Committee in charge of political organization which, later on, was done with Hon. J. A. Calder as Chairman, J. F. Cairns, Saskatoon, as Vice-Chairman, and C. F. McLellan, Regina, as Secretary. Mr. Premier Martin in his speeches took high ground as to Educational and racial conditions: "Let me say right here that any man who at this critical time attempts to raise religious discord or racial questions in this country, is not a true friend of Saskatchewan, Canada, or the British Empire. I have no sympathy with people who get up on public platforms and say we should disfranchise men-whom they call aliens-men who have been enfranchised in the years past. He added that it was “the duty of the state and the citizens of this Province to see that every child in this Province gets an efficient knowledge of the English language." If the present law was carried out: "It will in the end create a condition of affairs where everyone will properly understand the English language." In another speech he declared it "important that the Province should be assured of being a British Province in years to come." The tariff should, he added, be changed "for reciprocity, for free wheat, for free agricultural implements, for free entry to this country of everything which enters into the production of grain. Then, too, there should also be an increase in the British preference, with a view, ultimately, to free trade with Great Britain." The following Resolutions were reported to the Convention by its Committee and approved as the Party platform in the coming Elections:

1. EDUCATION: (a) The continued improvement of our educational system with the object of assuring to our children efficient elementary education, special care being taken that by strict administration of the school law and regulations every child obtains a thorough knowledge of the English language; (b) The creation of conditions that will have an ever increasing influence in improving the efficiency of all teachers and in making the teaching profession more permanent; (c) The adoption of such measures as are necessary to guarantee that a larger proportion of our rural children will be able to secure in suitable schools nearer their homes the advantages of a high school education which should be more closely related to our rural life.

2. SOLDIERS: The adoption of whatever measures necessary to enable our soldiers upon their return to Saskatchewan to once more take an independent place in our civil life; the resources of the Province and the activities of every branch of the Public Service should be utilized to bring about this end as rapidly as possible.

PUBLIC HEALTH: (a) An extension of the activities of the Public Health Bureau and the Municipal Department with a view to further relieving the conditions that prevail in our more distant and sparsely settled communities, respecting medical attendance, hospital accommodation and nurses; (b) The adoption of a plan whereby the health of all school children will be kept constantly under review by the teacher who shall be trained for this purpose, the plan to be such as to secure the sympathetic co-operation of all parents, physicians and teachers.

3. EMPLOYMENT FOR GIRLS AND WOMEN: The enactment of such laws and such amendments to existing laws as will provide adequately for (a) the health and

comfort of all girls and women employed in offices, stores, warehouses and factories; (b) regulating the hours of employment and for the fixing of a minimum wage for all such employees.

4. MOTHERS' PENSIONS: The inauguration of a system of pensions for mothers who for any cause are left without sufficient means to support and educate their children.

5. VACANT LANDS: Owing to the continued failure of the Federal immigration policy to secure appreciable results in the settlement of our vacant lands, other than homesteads, we believe the time is ripe when the Province should inaugurate a Land Settlement scheme with the object of placing experienced farmers with families on vacant lands now owned by speculators. For this purpose the Government should obtain an inventory of all such lands, indicating their location, ownership, character, value and other necessary information; to provide for the settlement of these lands, the Province should from time to time purchase them as required for actual settlement purposes and, with the necessary safeguards, resell the lands as purchased to bona fide settlers on long time payments at a low rate of interest.

6. FARM MACHINERY: As the present high price of farm machinery is a large factor in the cost of production and as the price to the Saskatchewan farmer is higher than in many other countries for similar machinery, we believe that steps should be taken by the Provincial Government to inquire into this problem in order that knowledge may be obtained of the different factors which constitute the price, and the means, if any, whereby reduction may be effected; this inquiry should embrace a study of the cost of manufacture, the effect of the Tariff, the cost of transportation, distribution and collection and all other matters which enter into the question.

7. BRANCH RAILWAYS: The construction of branch railways through all settlements urgently in need of transportation facilities; while realizing that the war has undoubtedly delayed the building of branch lines, still the solution of this problem is so vital to thousands of our farming population that we believe if the railways required cannot be secured when peace is declared by the aid of bond and guarantees or other assistance, the Province itself should undertake the construction of these lines. 8. ROADS: A continuation of the policy of Provincial assistance in the construction of main roads leading to market towns, the program of work to be submitted to the local Councils for approval and the work itself to be undertaken by municipalities in all cases where they have the necessary organization and equipment to do the work efficiently and economically.

9. TELEPHONES: (a) The early extension of the Provincial Telephone system to all urban communities thereby encouraging the more rapid development of rural systems and at the same time increasing the usefulness of the entire Telephone system to all subscribers; (b) a further expression of the educational work recently inaugurated by the Telephone Department to assist local companies to maintain and operate their rural systems at the lowest cost and with the greatest degree of efficiency.

10. LIVE-STOCK AND DAIRY INDUSTRY: (a) We approve of the action of the Saskatchewan Government in appointing a Commission to inquire into the various problems relating to the marketing of live-stock and dairy products. Means should be provided, with financial assistance of the Government, if necessary, to secure greater returns for the purchaser, to improve shipping, marketing and storing facilities; (b) further development of the dairying industry by encouraging the establishment of additional creameries, particularly in outlying settlements that are suitable for the purpose of aiding a large number of farmers to increase their dairy herds and by assisting all creameries to operate their plants and market their product at the lowest possible cost.

11. ELECTION LAW: We believe that every effort should be made by legislation and by the enforcement of strict party discipline to stamp out everything of a corrupt nature in connection with the public life of this Province; with this end in view we believe that among other requirements provision should be made for the curtailing of expenses of elections and for requiring fullest possible publicity respecting the source and amount of all contributions for organization and election purposes. We believe further that our laws respecting protested elections should be so amended as to provide for speedy trials and that all such trials should be proceeded with regardless as to whether or not any candidate admits irregularities or offences.