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193-592: Created in 1917 to replace the Royal Northwest Mounted Police (RNWMP), which was strained by involvement during World War I at the homefront with border patrols, enemy surveillance, and national security enforcement. The force took over provincial policing needs while national policing in Saskatchewan continued to be conducted by the RNWMP. The force had a maximum strength ranging from 145 to 175 officers in

386-579: A whipping boy for the King's general irritation with the Liberal government. Gladstone was sacked in the reshuffle the following year and the King agreed, with some reluctance, to appoint him Governor-General of South Africa . Edward involved himself heavily in discussions over army reform, the need for which had become apparent with the failings of the Second Boer War . He supported the redesign of army command,

579-413: A Canadian military response, at first it appeared that only a minimal deployment would be needed, and it was only after several British defeats that an offer of a more substantive force was welcomed by London. The Canadian government turned to the mounted police as their main source for experienced mounted soldiers, and members were given leave from the force for the duration of their service. Combined with

772-547: A broad deployment, and the First Sea Lord Admiral Sir John Fisher , who favoured efficiency savings, scrapping obsolete vessels, and a strategic realignment of the Royal Navy relying on torpedo craft for home defence backed by the new dreadnoughts . The King lent support to Fisher, in part because he disliked Beresford, and eventually Beresford was dismissed. Beresford continued his campaign outside of

965-475: A brothel in order to give the impression that the prostitution was not being tolerated. From 1890, pressure from Protestant churches led to a crackdown being launched on prostitution. However, the campaign was ineffective as the NWMP would raid a brothel and offer the madam the choice of paying a fine or leaving town; generally the latter option was taken. No sooner had the brothel been shut down, then another would open

1158-574: A career in the British Army , but his mother vetoed an active military career. He had been gazetted colonel on 9 November 1858 —to his disappointment, as he had wanted to earn his commission by examination. In September 1861, he was sent to Germany, supposedly to watch military manoeuvres, but actually in order to engineer a meeting between him and Princess Alexandra of Denmark . The Queen and Prince Albert had already decided that Edward and Alexandra should marry. They met at Speyer on 24 September under

1351-436: A corps of mounted infantry. He publicly likened the police to "gophers", who had retreated and hid during the fighting, and his complaints were picked up by the press. Irvine was criticized in the media for his lack of vigour and, lacking the support of the prime minister, he resigned the next year and was replaced by Lawrence Herchmer . In turn, Irvine complained about Crozier's behaviour and "the impetuosity displayed by both

1544-521: A desire for revenge, Davin pursued a vendetta against Lawrence when he became commissioner, helped by another newspaper publisher, Charles Wood. Lawrence Herchmer was unpopular with many of his officers and Davin published their critiques of him, along with accusations of a wide range of misdemeanours. The government ordered an investigation, followed by a judicial inquiry , both of which cleared Herchmer of any serious charges. Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910)

1737-479: A few weeks later, leading to the cycle being repeated. An additional problem for the NWMP was the fact that the pay for an constable was 60 cents per day, making it difficult as an NWMP to recruit "men of good character and steady habits". By 1904, an average of 10% of the force either were being dismissed or had deserted to the United States. Given that the average age for a NWMP constable was between 20 and 25 and

1930-466: A general election, for which Asquith apologised to the King's adviser Lord Knollys and rebuked Churchill at a Cabinet meeting. Edward was so dispirited at the tone of class warfare—although Asquith told him that party rancour had been just as bad over the First Home Rule Bill in 1886—that he introduced his son to Secretary of State for War Richard Haldane as "the last King of England". After

2123-456: A growing range of demands on the mounted police, and they struggled to cope with the changes. The rising population drove an increase in the criminal cases tackled by the force: less than 1,000 were investigated in 1900, but within four years the number of cases had risen to over 4,000. There was controversy around what role the mounted police should play in the new towns, and the force became concerned that these were pulling in police manpower, at

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2316-475: A larger force of 550 men who would be tasked to push south into the border region itself and establish law and order there. Macdonald acquired approval for his new force on May 23, 1873, after Parliament, following a cursory debate, passed the Mounted Police Act into law unopposed. At this point, Macdonald appears to have intended to create a force of mounted police to watch "the frontier from Manitoba to

2509-514: A larger force of rebels at Duck Lake , where his detachment came off much worse in the resulting fight . Emboldened, some of the Cree leaders, including Poundmaker and Big Bear , now joined the Métis in their revolt, although others continued to tacitly support the government, in part the result of the good relationship the police had built up with them. The police rapidly abandoned most of their posts along

2702-579: A lavish scale. Their marriage met with disapproval in certain circles because most of the Queen's relations were German, and Denmark was at loggerheads with Germany over the territories of Schleswig and Holstein . When Alexandra's father, King Christian IX , inherited the throne of Denmark in November 1863, the German Confederation took the opportunity to invade and annex Schleswig-Holstein . The Queen

2895-587: A leader in the movement for Italian unification . Liberal Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone sent him papers secretly. From 1886, Foreign Secretary Lord Rosebery sent him Foreign Office despatches, and from 1892 some Cabinet papers were opened to him. In 1870 republican sentiment in Britain was given a boost when the French Emperor, Napoleon III , was defeated in the Franco-Prussian War and

3088-506: A lifelong heavy smoker, but not a heavy drinker, though he did drink champagne and, occasionally, port. Edward was a patron of the arts and sciences and helped found the Royal College of Music . He opened the college in 1883 with the words, "Class can no longer stand apart from class ... I claim for music that it produces that union of feeling which I much desire to promote." At the same time, he enjoyed gambling and country sports, and

3281-510: A long-term alliance with the mounted police. Formal negotiations between the Canadian government and the Blackfoot began in 1877, with Macleod representing Queen Victoria . The resulting Treaty 7 established reserves for the Blackfoot, in exchange for gratuities and the promise of annuities . The Department of Indian Affairs was created to govern the reserves, supported by the police. By 1879,

3474-529: A model constitutional monarch . At age seven, Edward embarked on a rigorous educational programme devised by Albert, and supervised by several tutors. Unlike his elder sister Victoria , he did not excel in his studies. He tried to meet the expectations of his parents, but to no avail. Although Edward was not a diligent student—his true talents were those of charm, sociability and tact— Benjamin Disraeli described him as informed, intelligent and of sweet manner. After

3667-801: A momentary loss of consciousness during a state visit to Berlin in February 1909. In March 1910, he was staying at Biarritz when he collapsed. He remained there to convalesce, while in London Asquith tried to get the Finance Bill passed. The King's continued ill health was unreported, and he attracted criticism for staying in France while political tensions were so high. On 27 April he returned to Buckingham Palace, still suffering from severe bronchitis. Alexandra returned from visiting her brother, George I of Greece , in Corfu

3860-541: A much lower level of violence between the government and indigenous peoples than in the United States. That the NWMP had evicted the American whisky traders whose sales had led to alcoholism becoming a serious problem was greatly appreciated by the First Nations peoples. The Blackfoot chief Crowfoot in 1877 stated: "The Mounted Police protected us as the feathers of the bird protect it from the frosts of winter". The fact that

4053-565: A playboy prince soured his relationship with his mother. Edward inherited the throne upon his mother's death in 1901. He played a role in the modernisation of the British Home Fleet and the reorganisation of the British Army after the Second Boer War of 1899–1902. He re-instituted traditional ceremonies as public displays and broadened the range of people with whom royalty socialised. He fostered good relations between Britain and other European countries, especially France , for which he

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4246-625: A potential Bolshevik conspiracy and the authorities tasked the RNWMP to investigate the threat. In the aftermath of the violence of the Winnipeg General Strike , the government amalgamated the RNWMP and Dominion Police , to form the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in 1920. The NWMP was created due to the expansion of the newly formed Dominion of Canada into the NWT during the 1870s. The Dominion had been formed in 1867 by

4439-634: A provisional government, gain the support of the Cree First Nation, defeat the mounted police and seize the region, forcing the Canadian government to the negotiation table. There had been worries among the police about potential instability since the previous fall, and the force had increased its presence in the area over the winter. As tensions rose, Irvine, who had replaced Macleod as Commissioner in 1880 after accusations of financial mismanagement, began to mobilize any spare police manpower in Regina, bringing

4632-431: A range of other services for the new ranches, carrying out operations along the border to prevent cattle crossing north into the Canadian ranches, running quarantine schemes and helping with veterinary issues. The scale of horse theft by white thieves along the border increased dramatically during the late 1880s, which the police's sporadic deployments were unable to counter. In response, Commissioner Herchmer introduced

4825-481: A reservation only with a pass issued by the local Indian agent and had to return by the time the pass expired. The pass system was brought in as a temporary measure during the North-West Rebellion, but was then made permanent as the government found it a useful means of social control. The NWMP knew that the pass system had no basis in the law and in fact violated Treaty 7 with the Blackfoot, which promised that

5018-507: A shudder." Once widowed, the Queen effectively withdrew from public life. Shortly after Prince Albert's death, she arranged for Edward to embark on an extensive tour of the Middle East, visiting Egypt, Jerusalem , Damascus , Beirut and Istanbul . The British government wanted Edward to secure the friendship of Egypt's ruler, Said Pasha , to prevent French control of the Suez Canal if

5211-660: A similar manner to the British Indian Army , but he was forced to abandon this approach after the Red River Rebellion of 1870 called their loyalty into question. In June 1873, around 30 members of the Assiniboine First Nation were killed in the Cypress Hills Massacre , creating a national furore. In response, Macdonald used a Privy Council order to enact the new legislation, formally creating

5404-670: A special embassy to the Shah with a full Order of the Garter the following year. As king, Edward's main interests lay in the fields of foreign affairs and naval and military matters. Fluent in French and German, he reinvented royal diplomacy by numerous state visits across Europe. He took annual holidays in Biarritz and Marienbad . One of his most important foreign trips was an official visit to France in May 1903 as

5597-408: A system of police patrols across the territories, with scheduled visits and inspections supported by surprise "flying patrols". This approach was enabled by a network of new outposts across the major ranches. Police would visit almost every farm or ranch, seek to get to know every member of the community personally, gather intelligence and ask each settler to record any issues in a patrol book. Along

5790-473: A total of nearly 900 miles (1,400 km). After resupplying, French led some of his force back east, leaving Assistant Commissioner James Macleod to advance on Fort Whoop-Up with the three remaining divisions, approximately 150 men. When the police reached the fort on October 9, they were prepared for a confrontation, but the whisky traders were aware that they were approaching and had long since moved on. The force received new orders from Ottawa to garrison

5983-410: A unit of mounted infantry modelled on the force, believing this would be particularly suitable for taking on Boer scouting parties. Thirty-three serving members of the police joined the unit, including Superintendent Samuel Steel , who became their commanding officer. The Strathconas wore the mounted police's Stetson hat as part of their uniform, while in turn their distinctive boots were adopted by

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6176-576: A week later on 5 May. On 6 May, Edward suffered several heart attacks, but refused to go to bed, saying, "No, I shall not give in; I shall go on; I shall work to the end." Between moments of faintness, his son the Prince of Wales (shortly to be King George V ) told him that his horse, Witch of the Air, had won at Kempton Park that afternoon. The King replied, "Yes, I have heard of it. I am very glad": his final words . At 11:30 p.m. he lost consciousness for

6369-496: Is not always clear. Edward always strove to be discreet, but this did not prevent society gossip or press speculation. Keppel's great-granddaughter Camilla Parker Bowles became the mistress and subsequent wife of King Charles III , Edward's great-great-grandson. It was rumoured that Camilla's grandmother Sonia Keppel was fathered by Edward, but she was "almost certainly" the daughter of George Keppel , whom she resembled. Edward never acknowledged any illegitimate children. Alexandra

6562-643: The Conservative majority in the House of Lords refused to pass the " People's Budget " proposed by the Liberal government of Prime Minister Asquith. The crisis eventually led—after Edward's death—to the removal of the Lords' right to veto legislation. The King was displeased at Liberal attacks on the peers, which included a polemical speech by David Lloyd George at Limehouse . Cabinet minister Winston Churchill publicly demanded

6755-581: The Derby Stakes and the St Leger Stakes . In 1900, Persimmon's brother, Diamond Jubilee , won five races (Derby, St Leger, 2000 Guineas Stakes , Newmarket Stakes and Eclipse Stakes ) and another of Edward's horses, Ambush II, won the Grand National . In 1891 Edward was embroiled in the royal baccarat scandal , when it was revealed he had played an illegal card game for money the previous year. He

6948-653: The First World War broke out. The naval reforms he had supported and his part in securing the Triple Entente between Britain, France, and Russia, as well as his relationships with his extended family, fed the paranoia of the German Emperor, who blamed Edward for the war. Publication of the official biography of Edward was delayed until 1927 by its author, Sidney Lee , who feared German propagandists would select material to portray Edward as an anti-German warmonger. Lee

7141-536: The French Third Republic was declared. However, in the winter of 1871, a brush with death led to an improvement in both Edward's popularity with the public and his relationship with his mother. While staying at Londesborough Lodge, near Scarborough, North Yorkshire , Edward contracted typhoid fever , the disease that was believed to have killed his father. There was great national concern, and one of his fellow guests ( Lord Chesterfield ) died. Edward's recovery

7334-471: The March West and was portrayed as an epic journey of endurance. Over the next few years, the NWMP established a wide network of forts, posts and patrols and extended Canadian law across the region. The living conditions of the NWMP on the prairies were spartan and often uncomfortable, and only slowly improved over the course of the century. By 1896, the government planned to pass policing responsibilities to

7527-693: The Ottoman Empire collapsed. It was the first royal tour on which an official photographer, Francis Bedford , was in attendance. As soon as Edward returned to Britain, preparations were made for his engagement, which was sealed at Laeken in Belgium on 9 September 1862. Edward married Alexandra at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle , on 10 March 1863. He was 21; she was 18. The couple established Marlborough House as their London residence and Sandringham House in Norfolk as their country retreat. They entertained on

7720-645: The Red River valley of Manitoba and a further 8,500 European settlers in the colony of British Columbia . Surveys referred to the territories as the "Wild North Land" and the "Great Lone Land". The Canadian border along the southern edge of Alberta was occupied by the Blackfoot Confederacy , a First Nation whose economy was based on hunting bison . The Blackfoot had suffered badly from smallpox , and were under increasing pressure from rival groups of Sioux and Piegans that had crossed into Canada, fleeing

7913-492: The Royal Irish Constabulary . A small, mobile police force was chosen to reduce potential for tensions with the United States and First Nations . The NWMP uniforms included red coats deliberately reminiscent of British and Canadian military uniforms. The NWMP was established by the Canadian government during the ministry of Prime Minister Sir John Macdonald who defined its purpose as "the preservation of peace and

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8106-568: The Second Boer War broke out in 1899, many members of the mounted police wanted to volunteer to serve in South Africa, motivated by sympathy for the British imperial cause and the strong military tradition within the force. Indeed, Commissioner Herchmer had proposed sending a force of 350 men to join the Sudan campaign in 1896, but was turned down by his superiors. Although there was public enthusiasm for

8299-628: The confederation of the British colonies of Canada , Nova Scotia and New Brunswick , but the extensive lands to the north-west known as Rupert's Land remained governed by the Hudson's Bay Company as a proprietary colony. The new Dominion government was keen to expand westwards, in part due to fears that the United States might annex the region. It agreed to purchase the company's lands in exchange for £300,000 and various grants of land, adding around 2,500,000 square miles (6,500,000 km ) of territory to

8492-503: The "Herchmer scandals". Lawrence Herchmer had been appointed as commissioner partially because of his positive reputation within the Indian Department, but also because of his Conservative sympathies and his family links to Prime Minister Macdonald. Herchmer's brother William – himself a mounted police superintendent – had arrested the newspaper-owner Nicholas Davin for public drunkenness several years before. Apparently motivated by

8685-492: The 1920s. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police was contracted to act as the provincial police force after increasing costs led the provincial government to outsource the service. "F" Division is the RCMP's unit responsible for Saskatchewan. The SPP was led by a Commissioner of Police: The force's rank and file consisted of a mix of former RNWMP officers, military personnel and others with no policing experience. The other ranks on

8878-567: The Blackfoot people would be permitted go whatever they liked. The Indians often ignored the pass system, and in May 1893 Commissioner Herchmer ordered the NWMP to stop enforcing the pass system, saying it was illegal under Canadian law, only to be overruled by the Department of Indian Affairs. It was the intention of the Canadian government to colonize the Prairies, and the government believed that settlers would not come unless there were assurances that

9071-753: The Dominion in 1870. The NWT varied geographically from the extreme conditions of the far north, through to the edges of the Great Plains in the south, covered by flat, semi-arid grasslands. A rocky area known as the Shield , which was unsuitable for arable farming , had formed a natural barrier to European colonists gradually spreading across from the eastern colonies. As a result, the territories remained thinly populated, with only around 150,000 First Nations , Inuit and occasional small groups of Europeans, and more substantial communities of around 12,000 Métis settled in

9264-488: The First Nations peoples were under control, hence the pass system. The Canadian government began the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway between eastern Canada and British Columbia in 1881, with the aim of opening up the north-western territories for settlement. In response, the mounted police moved their headquarters to the town of Regina , the new territorial capital which had been founded alongside

9457-458: The First Nations. By the 1880s, however, the police also began to tackle horse theft. Horse stealing was common among the First Nations on the prairies: it formed part of intertribal competition and warfare, and the stolen horses enabled their hunting expeditions. In part the police crackdown was driven by the Department for Indian Affairs , who believed that the practice of horse theft was slowing

9650-535: The Household , and had benefited from advice from Edward's financier friends, some of whom were Jewish, such as Ernest Cassel , Maurice de Hirsch and the Rothschild family . At a time of widespread antisemitism , Edward attracted criticism for openly socialising with Jews. Edward's coronation had originally been scheduled for 26 June 1902. However, two days before, he was diagnosed with appendicitis . The disease

9843-447: The King did not favour Irish Home Rule, but Knollys refused on the grounds that it was not appropriate for the monarch's views to be known in public. The election resulted in a hung parliament , with the Liberal government dependent on the support of the third-largest party, the nationalist Irish Parliamentary Party . The King suggested a compromise whereby only 50 peers from each side would be allowed to vote, which would also obviate

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10036-441: The King informed Asquith that he would not be willing to contemplate creating peers until after a second general election. Balfour refused to say whether or not he would be willing to form a Conservative government, but advised the King not to promise to create peers until he had seen the terms of any proposed constitutional change. During the campaign, the leading Conservative Walter Long asked Knollys for permission to state that

10229-482: The King's horse Minoru won the Derby on 26 July 1909, he returned to the racetrack the following day and laughed when a man shouted: "Now, King. You've won the Derby. Go back home and dissolve this bloody Parliament!" In vain, the King urged Conservative leaders Arthur Balfour and Lord Lansdowne to pass the budget, which Lord Esher had advised him was not unusual, as Queen Victoria had helped to broker agreements between

10422-611: The Liberals a majority in the Lords) or give the prime minister the right to do so was considered "outrageous" by Knollys, who thought the King should abdicate rather than agree to it. Talk of removing the Lords' veto played a major role in the January 1910 election . Early in the election campaign, Lloyd George talked of "guarantees" and Asquith of "safeguards" that would be necessary before forming another Liberal government, but such talk ceased after

10615-404: The Liberals did not have sufficient mandate to demand the creation of peers. The King thought the whole proposal "simply disgusting" and that the government was "in the hands of Redmond & Co". Lord Crewe announced publicly that the government's wish to create peers should be treated as formal " ministerial advice " (which, by convention, the monarch must accept), although Lord Esher argued that

10808-469: The Lords' power of veto to one of delay, but Asquith inserted a phrase "in the opinion of my advisers" so the King could be seen to be distancing himself from the planned legislation. The Commons passed resolutions on 14 April that would form the basis for the Parliament Act 1911 : to remove the power of the Lords to veto money bills, to replace their veto of other bills with a power to delay, and to reduce

11001-440: The Métis , and then by the threat of a Fenian invasion . Meanwhile, a survey conducted in 1871 by Lieutenant William Butler recommended establishing a mounted force of up to 150 men under a magistrate or commissioner, based along the northern trade routes, leaving the border area as a liminal, ungarrisoned zone. Colonel Patrick Robertson-Ross conducted another survey in 1872, and recommended an alternative strategy of recruiting

11194-489: The NWMP arrested whites accused of killing First Nations peoples led to the perception among First Nations peoples that the NWMP was high-handed, but fair. The herds of buffalo migrated elsewhere on the plains in 1876 and starvation among the Blackfoot loomed. Crowfoot rejected a proposed alliance with the Sioux against the United States, arguing that the collapse of buffalo hunting and white immigration meant that his people needed

11387-591: The NWMP refused to shut it down, saying the brothel was medically inspected every 9 days and to shut it down would cause venereal diseases to spread, leading to a furor in the Calgary newspapers. Towards the end of the 19th century, immigration, urbanization and industrialization transformed the territories, destroying the old frontier way of life. Three million immigrants arrived in Canada between 1910 and 1914, many of them from eastern Europe , and over half of them settled in

11580-539: The NWMP with the intention of mobilizing the force and deploying it early the next year. A report then arrived from Alexander Morris , the Lieutenant Governor of the North-West Territories , blaming the massacre on the activities of whisky traders at Fort Whoop-Up ; Morris predicted that if action was not taken immediately, there would be a major uprising by the First Nations across the region, into which

11773-581: The North-West, which reflected the "necessary evil" policy of tolerating prostitution. The fact that the men of the NWMP themselves frequently made use of the services of the prostitutes was another reason to tolerate the brothels. In an editorial, the Regina Leader mockingly noted the "redcoat of the Mounted Policeman is seen flashing in and out from these dens at all hours. As no arrests have been made

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11966-598: The People Bill (1884) in the House of Lords . On other matters, he was more conservative; for example, he did not favour giving votes to women , although he did suggest that the social reformer Octavia Hill serve on the Commission for Working Class Housing . He was also opposed to Irish Home Rule , instead preferring a form of dual monarchy . As Prince of Wales, Edward had come to enjoy warm and mutually respectful relations with Gladstone, whom his mother detested. But

12159-436: The Russians went on giving ground, the yellow race would, in twenty years time, be in Moscow and Posen ". Wilhelm went on to attack his British guests for supporting Japan against Russia, suggesting that the British were committing "race treason". In response, Edward stated that he "could not see it. The Japanese were an intelligent, brave and chivalrous nation, quite as civilised as the Europeans, from whom they only differed by

12352-442: The Sioux, who he believed were gathering in the United States to attack across the border, and urged the government to send the police via a more northerly route. Following instructions from Ottawa, French finally agreed with Morris that the expedition would initially follow the trail, but then would steer away from the border and Sioux territory, and the mounted police finally left Dufferin on July 8, 1874. The 275-strong expedition

12545-419: The Sioux, who were not covered by Treaty 7 and therefore ineligible for government support. Nonetheless, starvation gradually forced the return of most of the newcomers to the United States, and Sitting Bull himself finally surrendered in 1881. Initially, the police focused their law enforcement efforts on dealing with the illegal consumption of alcohol , which was considered to promote violent behaviour among

12738-494: The United States might choose to intervene. Macdonald was not entirely convinced by the governor's analysis, but nonetheless he agreed to recruit 150 men and send them west to Lower Fort Garry before winter weather blocked the route. Macdonald's Conservative government then fell from power as a result of the Pacific Scandal , and was replaced by the Liberal administration of Alexander Mackenzie , who placed more credence on Morris's reports and had his own moral concerns about

12931-494: The United States military being deployed into the NWT to protect the lives of American citizens on the grounds that Canada was unable to maintain law and order in the region. Macdonald's greatest fear was that if the Americans occupied the NWT that they would not leave and the region would be annexed to the United States. In 1874, the NWMP were deployed to the area of the present Alberta border. Their ill-planned and arduous journey of nearly 900 miles (1,400 km) became known as

13124-408: The absence of a formal justice system. In 1869, the government of John A. Macdonald , made plans to create a 200-strong mounted police force to maintain order along the border; such a force, he thought, would enable the colonization of the region and be much cheaper than deploying regular militia units for the task. The implementation of this proposal was delayed, however, first by the rebellion of

13317-409: The area along the line of the route. They enforced the liquor laws, and oversaw the itinerant service workers who accompanied the main construction teams. They defused many of the tensions involving the construction workers and the company, including intervening to resolve cases where the workers had not been paid by the company as promised, but they also intervened to support the railway company. When

13510-413: The area and settled down to build Fort Macleod on an island in Old Man's River. The expedition had been badly planned and executed, and almost failed; the historian William Baker describes it as "a monumental fiasco of poor planning, ignorance, incompetence, and cruelty to men and beasts". Nonetheless, it rapidly became portrayed by the force as epic story of bravery, endurance and determination. With

13703-406: The area to contain good grazing for their horses but it was barren and treeless. French was forced to abandon the plan to head to Whoop-Up and instead travelled 70 miles (110 km) south towards the border, where supplies could be purchased from the United States. Yet more horses died from the cold and hunger, and many of the men were barefoot and in rags by the time they arrived, having travelled

13896-476: The area, many prospectors travelled by foot over arduous mountain routes and along rivers using primitive boats, although no more than 40,000 of them successfully reached the goldfields. A substantial and expensive mounted police detachment was established in the Klondike, amounting to 288 men by 1898, representing around a third of the entire force and including many of its most experienced personnel. The borders in

14089-592: The arrival of the mounted police, the whisky trade around Fort Macleod collapsed, and the traders shifted into legitimate projects or moved elsewhere. The Blackfoot welcomed the arrival of the police and their leader, Crowfoot , promoted a policy of co-operation. After enduring a difficult winter with only limited supplies, the force broke up their main command, some remaining at Fort Macleod, with others establishing forts at Dufferin, Swan River , Edmonton, Winnipeg and Ellice , with Walsh and Calgary following soon after. Macdonald's newly returned Conservative government

14282-412: The assimilation of the First Nations into broader Canadian society. The authorities were also concerned that if the First Nations were allowed to steal horses from across the border in the United States, it could provoke a military intervention into Canada. From 1885 onward, the NWMP was charged with the enforcing the apartheid-like pass system , under which a First Nations person was permitted to leave

14475-669: The auspices of Edward's elder sister, Victoria, who had married the Crown Prince of Prussia in 1858. Princess Victoria, acting upon instructions from her mother, had met Alexandra at Strelitz in June; Alexandra made a very favourable impression. She and Edward were friendly from the start, and marriage plans advanced. Edward gained a reputation as a playboy. Determined to get some army experience, he attended manoeuvres in Ireland, during which he spent three nights with an actress, Nellie Clifden , who

14668-477: The authorities described as the "band of desperadoes" around Fort Whoop-Up, before then dispersing his force to establish police posts stretching across the territories. From Fort Dufferin, French could have simply traced the southern line of the frontier, following a well-established trail created two years before by the British and United States Boundary Commission . Lieutenant Governor Morris disagreed with this approach, arguing that it might encourage an attack by

14861-437: The best of fathers ... I never had a [cross] word with him in my life. I am heart-broken and overwhelmed with grief". Edward has been recognised as the first truly constitutional British sovereign and the last sovereign to wield effective political power. Though lauded as "Peacemaker", he had been afraid that German Emperor Wilhelm II, who was one of his nephews, would tip Europe into war. Four years after Edward's death,

15054-439: The bier. Despite the time that had elapsed since his death, Alexandra noted his body remained "wonderfully preserved". On the morning of 17 May, the coffin was placed on a gun carriage and drawn by black horses to Westminster Hall , with the new king, his family and Edward's favourite dog, Caesar , walking behind. Following a brief service, the royal family left, and the hall was opened to the public; over 400,000 people filed past

15247-400: The bill as it lacked an electoral mandate. The King was annoyed that his efforts to urge passage of the budget had become public knowledge and had forbidden Knollys, who was an active Liberal peer, from voting for the budget, although Knollys had suggested that this would be a suitable gesture to indicate royal desire to see the budget pass. In December 1909, a proposal to create peers (to give

15440-401: The bottom button of waistcoats is said to be linked to Edward, who supposedly left his undone because of his large girth. His waist measured 48 inches (122 cm) shortly before his coronation. He introduced the practice of eating roast beef and potatoes with horseradish sauce and Yorkshire pudding on Sundays, a meal that remains a staple British favourite for Sunday lunch . He was

15633-525: The budget unless they had their way (an attempt by Lloyd George to win their support by amending whiskey duties was abandoned as the Cabinet felt this would recast the budget too much). Asquith now revealed that there were no "guarantees" for the creation of peers. The Cabinet considered resigning and leaving it up to Balfour to try to form a Conservative government. The King's speech from the throne on 21 February made reference to introducing measures restricting

15826-480: The cause was not cancer. The next day, Edward was sitting up in bed, smoking a cigar. Two weeks later, it was announced that he was out of danger. Treves was honoured with a baronetcy (which the King had arranged before the operation) and appendix surgery entered the medical mainstream. Edward was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 9 August 1902 by the Archbishop of Canterbury , Frederick Temple . Edward refurbished

16019-405: The character of these visits can be easily surmised!". Commissioner Herchemer complained that venereal diseases caused more medical treatments in the NWMP than any other, leading him to deduct the costs of medical treatment from the venereal diseases from the pay of the men concerned. The policy of the NWMP was to allow red-light districts to exist, and every so often to launch a raid to shut down

16212-451: The coffin over the next two days. As Barbara Tuchman noted in The Guns of August , his funeral, held on 20 May 1910, marked "the greatest assemblage of royalty and rank ever gathered in one place and, of its kind, the last." A royal train conveyed the King's coffin from London to Windsor Castle, where Edward was buried at St George's Chapel . Before his accession to the throne, Edward was

16405-419: The commissioner hoped would write a positive account of the new force. The expedition made slow time along the boundary trail, progressing only 15 miles (24 km) a day at most. The police were already travelling under unpleasant and arduous conditions, made more difficult by the teamsters having little experience and their horses being unsuitable for draught work. On July 29, the main force then turned off

16598-498: The completion of his secondary-level studies, his tutor Frederick Waymouth Gibbs was replaced by Robert Bruce as his personal governor. After an educational trip to Rome, undertaken in the first few months of 1859, Edward spent the summer of that year studying at the University of Edinburgh under, among others, the chemist Lyon Playfair . In October, he matriculated as an undergraduate at Christ Church, Oxford . Now released from

16791-635: The conflict. Sergeant Arthur Richardson , a member of the Strathconas, won the Victoria Cross for rescuing a Canadian soldier under heavy fire at Wolve Spruit. In 1904, the Crown renamed the force the Royal Northwest Mounted Police to honour its contributions in the war. The mounted police continued to face criticism after 1885, through a sequence of allegations in the popular press known as

16984-461: The construction teams. The new industrial workforce often lived and worked under very poor conditions, and enjoyed few employment rights . Workers who left their jobs in protest could find themselves arrested by the mounted police under the terms of the Masters and Servants Act for deserting their employment, or alternatively detained under the vagrancy laws. Although the position of organized labour

17177-540: The construction work. The mounted police made arrests and the government reduced their rations: by 1883, the threat of starvation had forced the First Nations to relocate to the northern side of the line. In 1885, the North-West Rebellion broke out along the North Saskatchewan River valley. Driven by a combination of political and economic issues, Louis Riel and his Métis followers intended to form

17370-569: The country until 1898. He was sent summaries of important government documents, but she refused to give him access to the originals. Edward annoyed his mother, who favoured the Germans, by siding with Denmark on the Schleswig-Holstein Question in 1864 and in the same year annoyed her again by making a special effort to meet Giuseppe Garibaldi , the Italian general and revolutionary, who was

17563-555: The creation of the Territorial Force , and the decision to provide an Expeditionary Force supporting France in the event of war with Germany. Reform of the Royal Navy was also suggested, partly due to the ever-increasing Naval Estimates, and because of the emergence of the Imperial German Navy as a new strategic threat. Ultimately a dispute arose between Admiral Lord Charles Beresford , who favoured increased spending and

17756-437: The difficulties faced by ordinary workers, and were often unwilling to actively assist the company owners if there was a risk it might cause disturbances to break out. Up until the 1890s, the government had no presence in the far north-west of Canada. In 1894, the rise of gold mining and a growing population led to calls for Ottawa to intervene, both to control whisky trading and to protect the local First Nations. In response,

17949-530: The dispute. Police deployed there again in 1906 for nine months during a dispute between the company, now called the Alberta Railway and Irrigation Company , and the workforce over union recognition , pay and working conditions. A team of 82 regular police were reinforced by 11 special constables recruited from within the company, with an undercover constable deployed to infiltrate the strike and send back intelligence. Efforts were made to collect information on

18142-585: The earnings of the union leaders, probably intended for use in discrediting them. The police maintained order and escorted non-striking workers past the picket lines . Historians hold differing views as to whether the mounted police were neutral in these disputes or sided with the employers, although all agree that the position of the police in managing the strikes became more difficult as organized labour became better established. The mounted police disliked labour agitators and strikers with eastern or southern European backgrounds, but they also had some sympathy for

18335-451: The educational strictures imposed by his parents, he enjoyed studying for the first time and performed satisfactorily in examinations. In 1861, he transferred to Trinity College, Cambridge , where he was tutored in history by Charles Kingsley , Regius Professor of Modern History . Kingsley's efforts brought forth the best academic performances of Edward's life, and Edward actually looked forward to his lectures. In 1860, Edward undertook

18528-683: The end of centuries of Anglo-French rivalry and Britain's splendid isolation from Continental affairs, and attempted to counterbalance the growing dominance of the German Empire and its ally, Austria-Hungary . Edward was related to nearly every other European monarch, and came to be known as the "uncle of Europe". German Emperor Wilhelm II and Emperor Nicholas II of Russia were his nephews; Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain , Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden , Crown Princess Marie of Romania , Crown Princess Sophia of Greece , and Empress Alexandra of Russia were his nieces; King Haakon VII of Norway

18721-450: The end of the tour, Queen Victoria was given the title Empress of India by Parliament, in part as a result of the tour's success. Edward was regarded worldwide as an arbiter of men's fashions. He made wearing tweed , Homburg hats and Norfolk jackets fashionable, and popularised the wearing of black ties with dinner jackets, instead of white tie and tails. He pioneered the pressing of trouser legs from side to side in preference to

18914-429: The expansion of the United States military across the southern plains. Whisky-traders from the United States had come across the border, selling alcohol to the indigenous peoples, fuelling social problems and outbreaks of violence. Although the region remained relatively safe, there was no civil government, and military explorers highlighted the "lawlessness" and lack of "security for life or property" that resulted from

19107-408: The expense of the wider, less populated areas of the Prairies, where the patrolling system had already had to be cut back. A special railway branch was briefly established in 1888, using undercover officers positioned along the railway line to gather intelligence, and plans were put forward, but not enacted, to create a larger detective branch . Attempts were made to enforce the prostitution laws in

19300-419: The final completion of the project. The construction of the railway introduced new tensions between the government and the First Nations. The authorities wished to move the indigenous peoples to reserves north of the railway in order to cut them off from the United States border. For their part, the First Nations were unhappy about the railway being built through their lands, stole company horses and disrupted

19493-431: The first recruits had gone on to become ranchers themselves after leaving the force. Illegal squatting by poorer settlers started to become a problem, however, boiling over into open disputes during the 1890s, and the mounted police were deployed to evict them. The task was unpopular among the force, but it grudgingly complied until government policy towards the smaller settlers finally changed in 1896. The police provided

19686-845: The first reigning British monarch to visit the Russian Empire , despite refusing to visit in 1906, when Anglo-Russian relations were strained in the aftermath of the Russo-Japanese War , the Dogger Bank incident , and the Tsar's dissolution of the Duma . The previous month, he visited the Scandinavian countries, becoming the first British monarch to visit Sweden. While Prince of Wales, Edward had to be dissuaded from breaking with constitutional precedent by openly voting for W. E. Gladstone 's Representation of

19879-607: The first tour of North America by a Prince of Wales. His genial good humour and confident bonhomie made the tour a great success. He inaugurated the Victoria Bridge, Montreal , across the St Lawrence River , and laid the cornerstone of Parliament Hill, Ottawa . He watched Charles Blondin traverse Niagara Falls by highwire, and stayed for three days with President James Buchanan at the White House . Buchanan accompanied

20072-504: The following year and, by the summer, around 5,600 Sioux had crossed the border despite opposition from the Blackfoot. The mounted police helped to facilitate the negotiations with the Sioux, in which Assistant Commissioner Acheson Irvine played a prominent part. The Sioux declined to return south, however, and the police had to deploy around 200 men to Fort Walsh to oversee the immigrant community. The police lived in primitive conditions and voluntarily shared some of their own supplies with

20265-603: The foot of the Rocky Mountains", probably with its headquarters in Winnipeg . He was heavily influenced by the model of the Royal Irish Constabulary , which combined aspects of a traditional military unit with the judicial functions of the magistrates' courts, and believed that the new force should be able to provide a local system of government in otherwise ungoverned areas. Originally, Macdonald also had wanted to form units of Métis policemen, commanded by white Canadian officers in

20458-411: The force grew and the police soon found themselves almost entirely occupied in attempting to enforce the unpopular laws. Legal changes were pushed through in 1892, removing prohibition and allowing the licensing of public bars; the new law was enforced by local town inspectors, removing most of the force's responsibility for the problem. As there were almost no white women on the Prairies, the influx of

20651-544: The force turned to the vagrancy laws as an alternative approach for removing First Nations from selected areas. Police used agents employed to collect intelligence from within First Nation and Métis communities, and, from 1887, they also employed members of the First Nations as special constables, typically deploying them as scouts and trackers . These scouts wore an informal uniform and were empowered to arrest other members of their communities, but not whites. Enforcing

20844-519: The force up to an operational strength of 562. When the rebellion finally broke out in Batoche in March, Irvine advanced quickly through the snow from Regina to Prince Albert , which he garrisoned with 90 police. Superintendent Leif Crozier took a force of police, civilian volunteers and a 7-pounder (3 kg) gun to Fort Carlton and attempted to seize a cache of supplies. In the process, Crozier confronted

21037-405: The force was called in to manage industrial disputes on a range of occasions between 1887 and 1906. In the mining town of Lethbridge , for example, the Alberta Railway and Coal Company locked out its workforce in 1894 during an attempt to cut staff and reduce wages; a team of ten police was deployed to maintain order, in particular any risks posed by eastern European immigrants, and to mediate in

21230-445: The force: The force had 79 detachments across the province and commanding headquarters in Regina. Beginning on April 1, 2022, the 450 member Provincial Protective Services branch began operating and will complement the work of RCMP and city police forces This Saskatchewan -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Royal Northwest Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police ( NWMP )

21423-450: The frontier was changing rapidly, with large cattle ranches being established across the Canadian plains. The government also introduced a new Indian Policy, seeking to sign treaties with the First Nations, establish reserves and a system of annuities, which would then hopefully be followed by the integration of the First Nations into the agricultural economy. The mounted police's approach to enabling this process has been characterized by

21616-429: The general resentment. Many members of the force drank alcohol themselves, including liquor confiscated from smugglers, and police beer canteens were established to provide members of the force a legal alternative. Settlers also began to routinely evade the laws in the larger towns, despite mounted police searches, the deployment of undercover officers, and large fines being imposed by the courts. Public hostility towards

21809-505: The government captured Big Bear and the remnants of the rebel Cree. Riel was imprisoned by the mounted police at Regina, given a short trial, and hanged. Middleton criticized Irvine and the mounted police for having remained in Prince Albert throughout the campaign, and for failing to reinforce him during the Battle of Batoche. The general recommended closing the force, and replacing it with

22002-620: The guest of President Émile Loubet . Following a visit to Pope Leo XIII in Rome, this trip helped create the atmosphere for the Anglo-French Entente Cordiale , an agreement delineating British and French colonies in North Africa, and ruling out any future war between the two countries. The Entente was negotiated in 1904 between the French foreign minister, Théophile Delcassé , and the British foreign secretary, Lord Lansdowne. It marked

22195-531: The hardy dare-devils" who rushed to join up to fight for Queen and Country in South Africa. Herchmer recruited and commanded a group of 144 mounted police volunteers, who made up almost half of the new 2nd Battalion of the Canadian Mounted Rifles ; many of the other volunteers in the battalion were also ex-policemen. The NWMP influence on the Canadian Mounted Rifles battalion was strong; of

22388-423: The historian Ronald Atkin as a "benevolent despotism", and by John Jennings as a "legal tyranny". The police insisted that the Canadian law should be applied rigidly to the First Nations, but at the same time were relatively supportive of the First Nations when responding to the claims of the growing number of white ranchers. The force built cordial personal relationships with the First Nations' leaders, which led to

22581-448: The large Conservative majority in the Lords, but Lord Crewe , Liberal leader in the Lords, advised that this would reduce the Lords' independence, as only peers who were loyal party supporters would be picked. Pressure to remove the Lords' veto now came from the Irish nationalist MPs, who wanted to remove the Lords' ability to block the introduction of Home Rule. They threatened to vote against

22774-610: The last of the Canadian buffalo herds had been eliminated by hunting, and the Indians became dependent on supplies issued by the police to avoid starvation. At the same time, the police were managing the Sitting Bull incident. In 1876 the United States military led a campaign against the Sioux in Dakota; the Sioux's leader, Sitting Bull, concluded that the conflict was unwinnable, and chose to seek sanctuary in Canada. Sitting Bull arrived in May

22967-422: The last time and was put to bed. He died 15 minutes later. Alexandra refused to allow Edward's body to be moved for eight days afterwards, though she allowed small groups of visitors to enter his room. On 11 May, the late king was dressed in his uniform and placed in a massive oak coffin, which was moved on 14 May to the throne room, where it was sealed and lay in state, with a guardsman standing at each corner of

23160-485: The longest-serving heir apparent in British history. He was surpassed by his great-great-grandson Charles III on 20 April 2011. The title Prince of Wales is not automatically held by the heir apparent; it is bestowed by the reigning monarch at a time of his or her choosing. Edward was the longest-serving holder of that title until surpassed by Charles on 9 September 2017. Edward was Prince of Wales between 8 December 1841 and 22 January 1901 (59 years, 45 days); Charles held

23353-656: The main column, intending to retake Batoche. The second column advanced to Battleford and then marched south to Cut Knife Creek, with 74 mounted police forming the advance guard. There the column surprised Poundmakers's camp , but the attack by the advance troops failed and the government forces were forced to retreat. After many delays, Middleton finally attacked the rebel capital, winning the Battle of Batoche and forcing Riel to surrender, before relieving Prince Albert on May 20. The third column marched to Edmonton, supported by 20 mounted police and their 9-pounder (4 kg) gun, where

23546-525: The majority were unmarried, there was a marked tendency for them to associate with the "sporting women" as prostitutes were euphemistically described. The NWMP "necessary evil" policy caused much tension with Protestant churches and civic groups that demanded that prostitution be stamped out in the early 20th century. In 1907, following complaints that a brothel full of Japanese prostitutes was operating in Nose Creek just outside of Calgary, Superintendent Dean of

23739-509: The male work crews for the railroad together with the mines being opened in the foothills of the Rocky mountains created an immense demand for prostitution, which flourished as a result. Prostitution was illegal, but the NWMP tended to see it as a "necessary evil", arguing that the male workers wanted sex, and that to shut down the brothels would cause unmanageable social tensions. Between 1874 and 1890, there were only 12 convictions for prostitution in

23932-500: The management of local game hunting, operating the postal and telegraph system, acting as coroners and running the mining registration system. The historian Morris Zaslow describes the Yukon as forming a "police state" during this period, and William Morrison has highlighted the force's paternalistic willingness to invent and enforce non-existent laws whenever they considered it necessary. The police acted efficiently and with probity during

24125-416: The monarch was entitled in extremis to dismiss the government rather than take their "advice". Esher's view has been called "obsolete and unhelpful". Edward habitually smoked twenty cigarettes and twelve cigars a day. In 1907, a rodent ulcer , a type of cancer affecting the skin next to his nose, was cured with radium . Towards the end of his life he increasingly suffered from bronchitis . He suffered

24318-512: The mounted police carried out a survey along the Yukon River and gathered customs duties. Fears grew that the United States might try to seize the mineral-rich region, and a twenty-man police team was established at Forty Mile in 1895. Although there was very little actual crime, frictions soon rose between the police and the Miners' Committees, which had been created to provide informal justice during

24511-440: The movement of the First Nations was introduced by the government after the rebellion. Known as the pass system, this required any individual leaving a reserve to possess a pass signed by a government agent, or to face arrest by the police. The police received advice that the new policy was illegal, as it contravened Treaty 7, which had given guarantees of free movement, but they continued to enforce it for several years. Eventually

24704-493: The name of Albert" and diminish the status of his father with whom the "name should stand alone". The numeral VII was occasionally omitted in Scotland, even by the national church , in deference to protests that the previous Edwards were English kings who had "been excluded from Scotland by battle". J. B. Priestley recalled, "I was only a child when he succeeded Victoria in 1901, but I can testify to his extraordinary popularity. He

24897-571: The navy and Fisher ultimately announced his resignation in late 1909, although the bulk of his policies were retained. The King was intimately involved in the appointment of Fisher's successor as the Fisher-Beresford feud had split the service, and the only truly qualified figure known to be outside of both camps was Sir Arthur Wilson , who had retired in 1907. Wilson was reluctant to return to active duty, but Edward persuaded him to do so, and Wilson became First Sea Lord on 25 January 1910. Edward

25090-433: The new mounted police to carry out the operation. Another 150 men were recruited in eastern Canada and sent west by rail through the United States to rendezvous with the first part of the force at Fort Dufferin . The mounted police's deployment onto the plains in 1874 became known as the "March West". The commissioner of the new force, Colonel George French , was ordered to proceed west from Fort Dufferin to deal with what

25283-467: The new towns – previously these had been largely ignored – with the police informally regulating the local sex industries. There was pressure on the mounted police to assist local government in a wide variety of ways, often opposed by the police themselves. These included supporting public health efforts, distributing relief, fighting and investigating fires, and continuing to manage the movement of cattle. New railway lines continued to be constructed, and

25476-579: The newspapers. Reflecting the improved image of the NWMP, in 1897 as part of the celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, a group of NWMP riders clad in their colorful scarlet uniforms marched down the streets of London as part of the Canadian contingent. The NWMP riders caused a sensation in London, and it was from that time onward the romantic image of the Mounties became popular in Britain. When

25669-593: The next ten years, Edward's affability and popularity, as well as his use of family connections, assisted Britain in building European alliances. When his mother died on 22 January 1901, Edward became King of the United Kingdom, Emperor of India and, in an innovation, King of the British Dominions . He chose to reign under the name of Edward VII, instead of Albert Edward—the name his mother had intended for him to use —declaring that he did not wish to "undervalue

25862-521: The now normal front and back creases, and was thought to have introduced the stand-up turn-down shirt collar, created for him by Charvet . A stickler for proper dress, he is said to have admonished Lord Salisbury for wearing the trousers of an Elder Brother of Trinity House with a privy councillor 's coat. Deep in an international crisis, Salisbury informed Edward that it had been a dark morning, and that "my mind must have been occupied by some subject of less importance." The tradition of men not buttoning

26055-450: The officers of the battalion, 13 out of 19 were NWMP men. Of the policemen who volunteered to fight in South Africa, 67.4% were British-born while the remainder were Canadian-born, reflecting the tendency of male British immigrants in Canada to be the ones most likely to volunteer for service in South Africa. Soon after the battalion's arrival in South Africa, however, Herchmer's superior, Major General Edward Hutton , concluded that Herchmer

26248-514: The order was meant to be in his personal gift and the Foreign Secretary, Lord Lansdowne , had promised it without his consent. He also objected to inducting a Muslim into a Christian order of chivalry . His refusal threatened to damage British attempts to gain influence in Persia, but Edward resented his ministers' attempts to reduce his traditional powers. Eventually, he relented and Britain sent

26441-462: The period, largely curbing criminality in the region, although their task was helped by the geography of the Klondike, which made it relatively easy to bar entry to undesirables. The Klondike gold rush attracted immense worldwide publicity at the time, and the contrast between the relative order of Dawson City in the Yukon vs. the more chaotic and violent situation in Skagway, Alaska caused much comment in

26634-417: The pigmentation of their skin". Although Edward lived a life of luxury often far removed from that of the majority of his subjects, they expected it, and his personal charm with all levels of society and his strong condemnation of prejudice went some way to assuage republican and racial tensions building during his lifetime. In the last year of his life, Edward became embroiled in a constitutional crisis when

26827-399: The police and volunteers" at Duck Lake; when the details became public, Crozier resigned. In the years after the rebellion, the government's National Policy to settle the north-west continued; by 1885, white settlers became the majority in the region as the railway brought in immigrants, and their numbers almost doubled over the course of the 1890s. The establishment of the mounted police

27020-454: The police as their official footwear in 1901. The South African Constabulary was created in October 1900 to police the recaptured territories; it mirrored the mounted police, with its members again wearing the force's Stetson hat; it incorporated forty-two members of the mounted police and one of its divisions was commanded by Steele. The mounted police volunteers suffered seven casualties during

27213-573: The police were tasked to assist in the building the Canadian Northern and Grand Trunk Pacific lines, as well as the Crow's Nest Pass branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway, following the pattern set by their earlier work in the 1880s. There was a heavy legal load on the force's commissioned officers both in their role as magistrates and as informal arbitrators between company management and

27406-425: The population grew. Cattle ranchers had moved into the territories within a year of the police arriving, initially clustering around the police posts for protection. The government began to promote the development of the large ranches during the 1870s and early 1880s, enclosing land up to 100,000 acres (40,000 ha) in size and excluding smaller farmers. The police had close links to the ranch owners, and many of

27599-631: The posts with Maxim guns . The police checked for illegal weapons and prevented the entry of criminals and collected customs duties, while helping protect and guide the flow of migrants, mediating in their disputes and providing practical advice. The mounted police established their headquarters in the boomtown of Dawson City and patrolled out across the Yukon Territory, creating a network of thirty-three posts. Detectives were deployed to infiltrate American organizations to seek out potential conspiracies. The police's role also encompassed fire safety,

27792-399: The pressures of maintaining the commitments in the Yukon, this reduced the number of the police in the remaining territories to only 682 men by 1900. The similarity of the vast expenses of the veld to the Prairies was felt to make the NWMP well qualified for operations in South Africa. Herchmer was an efficient bureaucrat, but his authoritarian leadership style made him ill-suited to "handle

27985-410: The prevention of crime" in the vast NWT. Macdonald envisioned the police force as a para-military force, writing that the "best force would be mounted riflemen, trained to act as cavalry... and styled police". Macdonald's principal fear was that the activities of American traders such as the Cypress Hills Massacre would lead to the First Nations peoples killing the American traders, which would lead to

28178-472: The previous few years. The police brought the issue to a head in June 1896, sending a team into one of the mining camps to overturn the decisions of the local committee. In 1896, huge amounts of gold were discovered in the Klondike valley. Once news of this circulated the following year, around 100,000 people rushed to the Klondike in search of wealth, most with no experience in the mining industry. To reach

28371-573: The prince to Mount Vernon , to pay his respects at the tomb of George Washington . Vast crowds greeted Edward everywhere. He met Henry Wadsworth Longfellow , Ralph Waldo Emerson and Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. Prayers for the royal family were said in Trinity Church, New York , for the first time since 1776. The four-month tour throughout Canada and the United States considerably boosted Edward's confidence and self-esteem, and had many diplomatic benefits for Great Britain. Edward had hoped to pursue

28564-464: The prohibition on liquor began to cause the force increasing problems. The liquor laws had been designed to prevent the First Nations from drinking alcohol, but their terms also applied to the increasing numbers of white settlers in the late 1880s. Although some temperance groups applauded the measures, most settlers opposed them. Special permits to import alcohol for personal consumption could be granted, but these were not issued impartially, adding to

28757-403: The provinces and ultimately disband the NWMP. However, with the discovery of gold in the Klondike , the NWMP was redeployed to protect Canada's sovereignty over the region and to manage the influx of prospectors. NWMP volunteers were sent to fight in the Second Boer War and, in recognition for that and 30 years of service policing the North-West and Yukon Territories, King Edward VII , awarded

28950-494: The railway line. The force was increased in size to 500 in 1882 to cope with the increased tasks being demanded of it, and the police began to use the railway to bring in recruits more easily from the eastern provinces. The mounted police took on a range of tasks associated with the new project. Teams of police escorted the construction teams as they moved across the Rocky Mountains , having been given special jurisdiction over

29143-425: The railway staff went on strike for higher wages in 1883, the mounted police guarded the company's trains, escorted in new drivers and, when necessary, drove the locomotives themselves; two years later the police broke up a protest over unpaid wages by over a thousand construction workers, arresting the main leaders. The head of the Canadian Pacific Railway, William Van Horne , thanked the force for its contribution to

29336-411: The region had been disputed since the American purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867, and most of the influx of prospectors were American. Amid fresh concerns that the United States might annex the gold fields, the mounted police were tasked to assert Canadian control along the border line. The force set up control posts at the borders of the Yukon and at easily controlled mountain passes, equipping

29529-515: The royal palaces, reintroduced the traditional ceremonies, such as the State Opening of Parliament , that his mother had foregone, and founded new honours , such as the Order of Merit , to recognise contributions to the arts and sciences. In 1902, the Shah of Persia, Mozzafar-al-Din , visited England expecting to receive the Order of the Garter . The King refused to bestow the honour on the Shah because

29722-548: The same, regardless of their social station or colour. In letters home, he complained of the treatment of the native Indians by the British officials: "Because a man has a black face and a different religion from our own, there is no reason why he should be treated as a brute." Consequently, Lord Salisbury , the Secretary of State for India , issued new guidance and at least one resident was removed from office. He returned to England on 11 May 1876, after stopping off at Portugal. At

29915-562: The statesman's son, Home Secretary Herbert Gladstone , angered the King by planning to permit Roman Catholic priests in vestments to carry the Host through the streets of London, and by appointing two ladies, Lady Frances Balfour and May Tennant (wife of H. J. Tennant ), to serve on a Royal Commission on reforming divorce law—Edward thought divorce could not be discussed with "delicacy or even decency" before ladies. Edward's biographer Philip Magnus-Allcroft suggests that Gladstone may have become

30108-489: The tensions between Germany and Britain. In April 1908, during Edward's annual stay at Biarritz, he accepted the resignation of British Prime Minister Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman . In a break with precedent, Edward asked Campbell-Bannerman's successor, H. H. Asquith , to travel to Biarritz to kiss hands . Asquith complied, but the press criticised the action of the King in appointing a prime minister on foreign soil instead of returning to Britain. In June 1908, Edward became

30301-604: The term of Parliament from seven years to five (the King would have preferred four ). But in that debate Asquith hinted—to ensure the support of the nationalist MPs—that he would ask the King to break the deadlock "in that Parliament" (i.e. contrary to Edward's earlier stipulation that there be a second election). The budget was passed by both Commons and Lords in April. By April, the Palace was having secret talks with Balfour and Randall Davidson , Archbishop of Canterbury, who both advised that

30494-408: The territories. The urban population grew significantly as new towns were established across the Prairies. Many of the immigrants were employed by the growing industries of the region, especially the large mining and manufacturing centres enabled by the Canadian Pacific Railway. As society changed, there were fears of immigrants and criminals exploiting the new rail network. As a result, there were

30687-554: The title Royal to the North-West Mounted Police (RNWMP) in 1904. Plans for disbanding the Royal North-West Mounted Police were abandoned in the face of popular oppositions and regional politicians. Large numbers of the RNWMP volunteered for military service during the First World War and the future of the badly depleted force was once again in doubt. Towards the end of the war, however, fears grew about

30880-556: The title between 26 July 1958 and 8 September 2022 (64 years, 44 days). As king, Edward VII proved a greater success than anyone had expected, but he was already past the average life expectancy and had little time left to fulfil the role. In his short reign, he ensured that his second son and heir, George V , was better prepared to take the throne. Contemporaries described their relationship as more like affectionate brothers than father and son, and on Edward's death George wrote in his diary that he had lost his "best friend and

31073-514: The trail and headed across the much drier and rougher prairies to the north-west. The police had no water bottles and soon both their food and water ran out; as the weather worsened, their horses began to die. When the force arrived at what they thought was Fort Whoop-Up at the junction of the Bow and South Saskatchewan rivers on September 10, there was nothing to be seen, as the fort was in fact around 75 miles (121 km) away. The police had expected

31266-565: The two Houses over Irish disestablishment in 1869 and the Third Reform Act in 1884. On Asquith's advice, however, he did not offer them an election (at which, to judge from recent by-elections, they were likely to gain seats) as a reward for doing so. The Finance Bill passed the Commons on 5 November 1909, but was rejected by the Lords on 30 November; they instead passed a resolution of Lord Lansdowne's stating that they were entitled to oppose

31459-438: The two men was irreversibly damaged, and their bitterness would last for the remainder of their lives. Usually, Edward's outbursts of temper were short-lived, and "after he had let himself go ... [he would] smooth matters by being especially nice". In late 1891, Edward's eldest son, Albert Victor , was engaged to Princess Victoria Mary of Teck . Just a few weeks later, in early 1892, Albert Victor died of pneumonia. Edward

31652-408: The valley, falling back to more easily defensible locations; Inspector Francis Dickens was forced to flee Fort Pitt with his men on a makeshift boat. Meanwhile, more than 5,000 militia (the nascent Canadian army after the departure of British troops) commanded by Major-General Frederick Middleton hurried west along the Canadian Pacific Railway. Middleton split his forces into three groups and led

31845-456: The way, the police helped to distribute relief, including to the Métis communities affected by the rebellion, provided emergency medical assistance, and delivered mail to the more remote areas. Under the new patrol system, the mounted police travelled a total of 1,500,000 miles (2,400,000 km) on average each year on horseback. Backed by harsh sentences from the courts, the process virtually eliminated rural crime. A new system of controlling

32038-561: The whisky trade. These worries were amplified by calls from Washington for Ottawa to secure the frontier and so prevent American Indians from purchasing whisky in Canada. Mackenzie initially suggested sending a joint Canadian-United States military expedition, but, after the Governor General and others noted the serious implications of inviting the United States Army to deploy into Canadian territory, he instead agreed to deploy

32231-423: Was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions , and Emperor of India , from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , Edward, nicknamed "Bertie", was related to royalty throughout Europe. He was Prince of Wales and heir apparent to the British throne for almost 60 years. During his mother's reign, he

32424-498: Was a Canadian paramilitary police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory to Canada from the Hudson's Bay Company , the Red River Rebellion and in response to lawlessness, demonstrated by the subsequent Cypress Hills Massacre and fears of United States military intervention. The NWMP combined military, police and judicial functions along similar lines to

32617-545: Was also hampered by the extensive destruction of Edward's personal papers; Edward had left orders that all his letters should be burned on his death. Subsequent biographers have been able to construct a more rounded picture of Edward by using material and sources that were unavailable to Lee. Historian R. C. K. Ensor , writing in 1936, praised the King's political personality: ...he had in many respects great natural ability. He knew how to be both dignified and charming; he had an excellent memory; and his tact in handling people

32810-417: Was an enthusiastic hunter. He ordered all the clocks at Sandringham to run half an hour ahead to provide more daylight time for shooting. This tradition of so-called Sandringham time continued until 1936, when it was abolished by Edward VIII . He also laid out a golf course at Windsor. By the 1870s Edward had taken a keen interest in horseracing and steeplechasing. In 1896, his horse Persimmon won both

33003-480: Was aware of his affairs, and seems to have accepted them. In 1869, Sir Charles Mordaunt , a British Member of Parliament , threatened to name Edward as co-respondent in his divorce suit. Ultimately, he did not do so but Edward was called as a witness in the case in early 1870. It was shown that Edward had visited the Mordaunts' house while Sir Charles was away sitting in the House of Commons . Although nothing further

33196-471: Was both his nephew and his son-in-law; kings Frederick VIII of Denmark and George I of Greece were his brothers-in-law; kings Albert I of Belgium , Ferdinand I of Bulgaria , and Carlos I and Manuel II of Portugal were his second cousins. Edward doted on his grandchildren, and indulged them, to the consternation of their governesses. However, there was one relation whom Edward did not like: Wilhelm II. His difficult relationship with his nephew exacerbated

33389-551: Was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester on 8 December 1841, Earl of Dublin on 17 January 1850, a Knight of the Garter on 9 November 1858, and a Knight of the Thistle on 24 May 1867. In 1863, he renounced his succession rights to the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in favour of his younger brother Alfred . The Queen and Prince Albert were determined that their eldest son should have an education that would prepare him to be

33582-410: Was critical of the way that the Liberals had stood up the force, ordering an inspection in 1875 that concluded that "for a newly-raised force, hastily enrolled and equipped, it is in very fair order", but recommended a variety of improvements, including to the quality of the commissioned officers. Commissioner French was forced to resign the following year, and was replaced by James Macleod. Meanwhile,

33775-413: Was divided into six divisions, supported by 310 horses, 143 draught oxen and 187 Red River carts and wagons, in all stretching out 1.5 miles (2.4 km) along the track. The force took two 9-pounder (4 kg) guns and two mortars for additional protection, cattle for food, and mowing machines to make hay. French had negotiated that the expedition be accompanied by Henri Julien , a journalist whom

33968-464: Was forced to appear as a witness in court for a second time when one of the participants unsuccessfully sued his fellow players for slander after being accused of cheating. In the same year Edward was involved in a personal conflict, when Lord Charles Beresford threatened to reveal details of Edward's private life to the press, as a protest against Edward interfering with Beresford's affair with Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick . The friendship between

34161-401: Was generally not treated operatively. It carried a high mortality rate, but developments in anaesthesia and antisepsis in the preceding 50 years made life-saving surgery possible. Sir Frederick Treves , with the support of Lord Lister , performed a then-radical operation of draining a pint of pus from the infected abscess through an incision in the king's abdomen; this outcome showed that

34354-478: Was greeted with almost universal relief. Public celebrations included the composition of Arthur Sullivan 's Festival Te Deum . Edward cultivated politicians from all parties, including republicans, as his friends, and thereby largely dissipated any residual feelings against him. On 26 September 1875, Edward set off for India on an extensive eight-month tour; on the way, he visited Malta, Brindisi and Greece. His advisors remarked on his habit of treating all people

34547-524: Was grief-stricken. "To lose our eldest son", he wrote, "is one of those calamities one can never really get over". Edward told the Queen, "[I would] have given my life for him, as I put no value on mine". Albert Victor was the second of Edward's children to die. In 1871, his youngest son, Alexander John, had died just 24 hours after being born. Edward had insisted on placing Alexander John in a coffin personally with "the tears rolling down his cheeks". On his way to Denmark through Belgium on 4 April 1900, Edward

34740-534: Was hidden in the camp by his fellow officers. Albert, though ill, was appalled and visited Edward at Cambridge to issue a reprimand. Albert died in December 1861, just two weeks after the visit. The Queen was inconsolable, wore mourning clothes for the rest of her life and blamed Edward for his father's death. At first, she regarded her son with distaste as frivolous, indiscreet and irresponsible. She wrote to her eldest daughter, "I never can, or shall, look at him without

34933-481: Was in fact the most popular king England had known since the earlier 1660s." Edward donated his parents' house, Osborne on the Isle of Wight , to the state and continued to live at Sandringham. He could afford to be magnanimous; his private secretary, Sir Francis Knollys , claimed that he was the first heir to succeed to the throne in credit. Edward's finances had been ably managed by Sir Dighton Probyn , Comptroller of

35126-701: Was in two minds as to whether it was a suitable match, given the political climate. After the marriage, she expressed anxiety about their socialite lifestyle and attempted to dictate to them on various matters, including the names of their children. Edward had mistresses throughout his married life. He socialised with actress Lillie Langtry ; Lady Randolph Churchill ; Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick ; actress Sarah Bernhardt ; noblewoman Lady Susan Vane-Tempest ; singer Hortense Schneider ; prostitute Giulia Beneni (known as "La Barucci"); wealthy humanitarian Agnes Keyser ; and Alice Keppel . At least fifty-five liaisons are conjectured. How far these relationships went

35319-414: Was increased to 1,000 men in the aftermath of the rebellion, officially in order to cope with the growing white population, but also to prevent any future uprising by the Métis and First Nations. Levels of crime were initially low, with the police's implementation of the law relatively informal, and focused on upholding the spirit, rather than the letter, of the law, but the force soon faced new challenges as

35512-518: Was largely excluded from political influence and came to personify the fashionable, leisured elite. He married Princess Alexandra of Denmark in 1863, and the couple had six children. As Prince of Wales, Edward travelled throughout Britain performing ceremonial public duties and represented Britain on visits abroad. His tours of North America in 1860 and of the Indian subcontinent in 1875 proved popular successes, but despite public approval, his reputation as

35705-425: Was named Albert after his father and Edward after his maternal grandfather, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn . He was known as Bertie to the royal family throughout his life. As the eldest son of the British sovereign, Edward was automatically Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay at birth. As a son of Prince Albert, he also held the titles of Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duke of Saxony . He

35898-424: Was popularly called "Peacemaker", but his relationship with his nephew, German Emperor Wilhelm II , was poor. The Edwardian era , which covered Edward's reign and was named after him, coincided with the start of a new century and heralded significant changes in technology and society, including steam turbine propulsion and the rise of socialism . Edward died in 1910 in the midst of a constitutional crisis that

36091-526: Was proven and Edward denied he had committed adultery , the suggestion of impropriety was damaging. During his mother's widowhood, Edward pioneered the idea of royal public appearances as they are understood today—for example, opening the Thames Embankment in 1871, the Mersey Railway Tunnel in 1886, and Tower Bridge in 1894 —but his mother did not allow him an active role in the running of

36284-472: Was quite exceptional. He had a store of varied, though unsystematized, knowledge gathered at first-hand through talking to all sorts of eminent men. His tastes were not particularly elevated, but they were thoroughly English; and he showed much (though not unfailing) comprehension for the common instincts of the people over whom he reigned. This was not the less remarkable because, though a good linguist in French and German, he never learned to speak English without

36477-596: Was rarely interested in politics, although his views on some issues were notably progressive for the time. During his reign, he said use of the word nigger was "disgraceful", despite it then being in common parlance. In 1904, Wilhelm II and Edward met during an Anglo-German summit in Kiel . Wilhelm, with the Russo-Japanese War in mind, started to go on about the " Yellow Peril ", which he called "the greatest peril menacing ... Christendom and European civilisation . If

36670-526: Was resolved the following year by the Parliament Act 1911 , which restricted the power of the unelected House of Lords . Edward was succeeded by his only surviving son, George V . Edward was born on 9 November 1841 in Buckingham Palace . He was the eldest son and second child of Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha . He was christened Albert Edward at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle , on 25 January 1842. He

36863-568: Was the victim of an attempted assassination when 15-year-old Jean-Baptiste Sipido shot at him in protest over the Second Boer War . The culprit was acquitted by a Belgian court because he was underage. The perceived laxity of the Belgian authorities, combined with British disgust at Belgian atrocities in the Congo , worsened the already poor relations between the United Kingdom and the Continent. However, in

37056-485: Was unsuited for military command and retired him from duty. Herchmer complained to the prime minister, who then dismissed him from the police altogether, replacing him with Aylesworth Perry , a career policeman and a supporter of the Liberal government. The mounted police influenced the creation of other imperial units during the conflict. Lord Strathcona , the Canadian High Commissioner in London, raised

37249-408: Was weak in Canada – the trade unions only had very limited legal rights – the number of industrial disputes grew significantly over this period. The resulting lockouts and strikes sometimes required armed government intervention. The militia was most commonly used for this purpose, but the mounted police were cheaper to deploy and were considered to be more politically reliable. As a result,

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