riting of an
earnestly worded and, under the circumstances, a pathetic letter, to Sir
Robert Borden, Premier of Canada, then in London, pleading for the full
recognition of the military standing of the Mounted Police in Canada. In
that letter he recounts out of his own recollection the history of the
corps in which he had served from the outset for some thirty years. He
recalls the work they had done as a military force on what was really
active service all through the years, points out the high military
qualifications of the men who were officers in the corps, as well as the
uniformly high type of men in all ranks, to the large contributions the
Mounted Police had made to the Empire in wars abroad, and spoke of the
heavy responsibility resting upon the Force in the Dominion. He said: "I
question whether the present command of Canadians overseas in England is
equal to the great responsibility held by the Commissioner of the
Mounted Police and his Assistant in Canada." The letter asks the Premier
to do certain things for the officers and men, the effect of which would
be to give them equal rights with members of the permanent Militia Force
in respect of titles, decorations and general standing. And the result
of the requests, if granted, would be to place the Mounted Police in the
same position as the Militia in regard to medals, pensions and land
grants, a matter of great interest and importance to the members of the
Force. There is something very fine in this personal endeavour of "Sam"
Steele, who, with many anxieties and responsibilities of his own at the
time, made a serious appeal to obtain what he considered the rights of
the comrades with whom he had shared hardships and dangers all over the
vast North-West of Canada. A copy of this letter of Steele's, which was
occasioned by changes then taking place in the Police organization, came
into my possession from a private source, but it is not a confidential
document, and is published here in recognition of the enduring loyalty
of this sturdy old soldier to his companions, the veteran riders of the
plains. They richly deserve the recognition for which he pleaded.

And we cannot turn over the page of the Boer War and leave it in history
without recalling that a few pages above reference was made to the fact
that Canada had gone into the war more because she had faith in the
judgment of the statesmen of Britain, whose life-long training and
world-vision inspire confidenc