Lovers of the Horse 



53 



ROYAL NORTHWEST MOUNTED POLICE 



IN 1S7'2, tlu' Dominion of ('an;ul;i. then in its infancy, was face to face with a task 

 of stui)en(h)us (htficulty Weak, botli in pojjiihition and financial resources, the 

 five-year-old countrv had to jjiovide for the exploration, development and settle- 

 ment of a tiact of land whicli covered '2,.'5()(),()00 square miles, a continent in itself, 

 ac(|uired hy the Dominion in viitne of tiic Rupert's Land Act, passed by the Imperial 



Parliament in 180S 



U|) to 1866 Vancouver Island and the 

 mainland of British Columbia, formerly 

 called New Caledonia, were two separate 

 provinces, but in that year, they were 

 united under the name of British Cohini- 

 l)ia, the new province entering the Domin- 

 ion in 1S71, on the understaudiuii that 

 within two years, work would be begun 

 on a railway to connect the province with 

 Eastern Canada. 



It was obvious that to ensure the 

 safe construction of this transcontinental 

 railway, no less than to provide for the 

 settlers in this vast wilderness, it was 

 necessary to ])rovide some efficient method 

 to assert national authority and enforce 

 the law 



'I'he ultinuite solution of this problem 

 was the creation of the Northwest [Mount- 

 ed Police. 



The Kiel U])rising of 1861) had left 

 the countrv in a very uiLsettled condition, 

 and with a population of 1,56.5 whites, 

 .)78 Indians, .5,7.)7 French half-l)reeds, 

 and 4,088 English-speaking half-breeds, 

 it can readilv l)e understood that numerous acts of lawlessness were rejjorted. 



It was to bring about the fusion of these jarring elements and to restore law and 

 order that the first mounted police force in Western Canada was organized under 

 the command of Captain Villiers, of the Quebec Battalion of Rifles. 



This initial organization, however, was purely military, and was stationed at 

 Fort Garrv, going out on marches only when necessity demanded. 



Sir John A. Macdonald. then Prime Minister, felt that this was not sufficient and 

 asked in the House for a moderate grant of money to organize a mounted police force, 

 somewhat similar to the Irish mounted constabulary, which, while having the advantage 



COLONKL .\. li. Perkv. Commissk i\kr , R \ W M r 



