 Mackenzie had become prime minister after Sir John A. Macdonald's government had been forced to resign because of the Pacific Scandal.Scott was appointed to the Senate of Canada by Mackenzie in January 1874 and became Secretary of State for Canada and Leader of the Government in the Senate.A supporter of temperance, he drafted the "Scott Act," which allowed any county or municipality in Canada to prohibit the retail sale of liquor by majority vote.