| Subject: | [socialcredit] question for Joe | | Date: | Monday, September 10, 2007 10:27:21 (-0700) | | From: | william_b_ryan <william_b_ryan @.....com>
|
"The BC Legislature did not have a Hansard in the WAC
Bennett era, so likely the only record of what Chant
was trying to put across in his annual 'A+B' lecture
might be found in the archives of one of the
newspapers that had correspondents in the Legislative
press gallery."
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But surely there would have been transcripts and
records of the proceedings? Here in Texas we have
them for the state legislature going back to when it
was the Congress of the Republic of Texas, 1836-1845.
Not always in neat published volumes, but in archives
somewhere, available to researchers. The WAC Bennett
era was not that long ago. Legislatures have always
been filled with lawyers and lawyers love transcripts.
-----------------original message---------------------
Bill,
William Chant had the unique distinction of having
been a MLA and Cabinet Minister in Premier Aberhart's
first Alberta Social Credit government, and then, much
later on, a MLA and Cabinet Minister for many years in
WAC Bennett's BC Social Credit League government.
In the second Appendix to Douglas's "The Alberta
Experiment" he is listed as Aberhart's Minister of
Agriculture. I believe there was some 'dissention in
the ranks' during Aberhart's first term in office, and
he resigned from Cabinet, and possibly his seat in the
Alberta Legislature, too.
Whether this was over the 'progress', (or lack of
same), towards trying to bring in Douglas 'social
credit' in Alberta, (before Byrne came out from
England), or over some other matter, I really don't
know. Wally may have more information on that. Chant
subsequently left Alberta and moved to BC in any case.
In BC, Chant was Bennett's Minister of Public Works
for many years. This became a somewhat minor
portfolio in that era, the responsibilities for public
highways having been transferred by Bennett to a
separate Ministry of Highways, long under the control
of the Rev. Philip A Gaglardi. Who was an exteremly
effective Minister, easily the most popular in WAC
Bennett's Cabinet, until one scandal too many caught
up with him. Gaglardi wouldn't have known the first
thing about Douglas 'social credit', but he built some
tremendous highways and was a tremendous 'populist'
and orator.
Chant, along with a number of other Ministers in the
WAC Bennett regime, ones who may well have had a much
better understanding of 'social credit',
(Eric Martin, Lyle Wicks, and a few others), were
often regarded as sort of political 'seat-warmers'.
The real 'power' in the running of their respective
Ministries resided with Premier WAC Bennett.
The BC Legislature did not have a Hansard in the WAC
Bennett era, so likely the only record of what Chant
was trying to put across in his annual 'A+B' lecture
might be found in the archives of one of the
newspapers that had correspondents in the Legislative
press gallery. If any of them qouted correctly and
printed at any length what he was actually on about.
Which, considering the attitude of the press towards
'Social Credit' here at that time, I seriously doubt.
David Mitchell wrote a comprehensive biography and
history of the WAC Bennett era, and was, long after
WAC had passed from the scene, briefly a BC MLA (BC
Liberal Party) himself.
Joe
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