User talk:WallyJK/sandbox

Creation of the NWMP
The creation of the North-West Mounted Police, later to be named the Royal Canadian Mounted Police was born mostly from the massacre at Cypress Hills. Reeling from controversy, Alexander Morris was looking for a way to draw attention away from the Pacific Scandal. Additionally, Morris was concerned about perceived threats to uniformed Canadians and Americans conducting geological surveys. Due to this threat, Morris had to call off any further surveying until a solution could be had. Initially, Morris wanted a treaty to ensure that the local populace would migrate westward. Unable to succeed in this, he used recent American reports of the massacre, calling for Prime Minister John A. Macdonald to create a police force. Already planning to establish a police force in the North-West Territories, Macdonald had envisioned a horse mounted brigade based on the idea of the Royal Irish Constabulary. The force would be small, only 300 men could enlist. For an area that covered 480 000 kilometers squared (300 000 mi2), the force would have to be as mobile as possible. Alexander Campbell, the minister of the interior, did not believe sending an armed police force into the North-West territory was necessary at this time. Morris, fearing that if ice covered the paths, the police would not report until next year, causing a delay in training and deployment. To force their creation, Morris claimed that the Métis and white settles in the area around Portage la Prairie and Qu’Appelle were experiencing fear and unrest due to the massacre. On September 25, 1873, the Government of Canada passed an order-in-council to appoint 9 officers of “Mounted Police Force for the North-West Territories" Recruitment began immediately, and the North-West Mounted Police was created.

Other reasons for inception
The creation of the police force also had another political motive. The investigation into the massacre was to ensure that First Nations in this large tract of land were able to trust the Canadian government. The investigation would require co-operation of two federal governments, and the North-West Mounted Police had to take measures to make examples out of international criminals. Although ultimately no prosecution took place, the willingness to seek justice for any Canadian help to establish a peace between police and First Nations for a few decades.

Investigation
In December 1874, Assistant Commissioner James Macleod was given permission by the United States Government to enter Helena, Montana to start an investigation into the Cypress Hills Massacre. Due to the findings of this investigation, the accused would face extradition to Canada to face punishment. Only seven arrests were made, but 2 men escaped custody before they could stand trial. The remaining defendants were acquitted. The American commissioner refused the extradition request as there was far too much conflicting testimony for a conviction. As a result, the acquitted men charged Macleod with false arrest. This charged was soon dropped, as Macleod was on American soil with the permission of the United States Government. Later in 1875, three of these men had crossed the border into Canada, and were subsequently arrested. They had to travel nearly 1300 kilometers to stand trial in Winnipeg. These men were once again acquitted due to conflicting evidence.