Interdependence and Colonization: Metis Auxiliaries and the North-West Mounted Police, 1874-1895

The powers and responsibilities of the nwmp included controlling Aboriginal populations (Metis and First Nations), preventing crime, and enforcing Canadian law and sovereignty.4 The judicial authority of the nwmp was also defined: the commissioned officers of the force were made ex officio justices of the peace and possessed limited but very real judicial powers. "9 The civilian aspects of the projected Canadian force have not been given sufficient recognition by historians.10 The "Principles of the British Police," an expression coined by Charles Reith, stemmed from the instructions of Robert Peel, home secretary, and of Charles Rowan and Richard Mayne, commissioners of London's "New Police" in the 1830s.11 These socalled Peelite principles called for the limited use of force and for the cooperation between the public and the police.12 The conduct of the British police throughout the mid-nineteenth century demonstrated the importance of cooperation, public approval, and such communicative aptitudes as advice, persuasion, and the demonstration of impartiality.