alternatehistory.com
Out With the Old and in With the New
From the very beginning, Laurier had always desired to have a reliable French politician as his Fisheries Minister. Among many other things, this would allow him to have a much more palatable and respected figure to place in front of the average French citizen, especially once heavily contested bills would be placed up to bat. Prefontaine’s successor did not have any relevant maritime experience however, his political pedigree was rather extensive. Louis-Phillipe Brodeur had served as a successful lawyer in Montreal before becoming a representative within the House of Commons since 1891. He had served as a staff member with three Liberal leaning French newspapers before being promoted to the Deputy Speaker of the House, an official member of the Crowns legal council before finally becoming the Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons. This was all accentuated by his firm and consistent support of Laurier and his family roots, tracing back to service in the Lower Canadian Rebellion and heavy involvement in early French politics.
A painting of Louis-Phillipe Brodeur in 1901.
Laurier had a great deal of respect for Brodeur, apparently giving him the nickname of ‘mon sage’. Unlike many of the political appointees of old, Brodeur was not simply seen as filling a position, he spent his life furthering a career and this was yet another one of his steps towards the top. After Prefontaine especially, the amount of power and influence that was associated with the position was not lost on Brodeur, although unlike his predecessor, his ego was almost non-existent. His promotion was announced in the 1906 Canadian Annual Review to much applause from both his fellow politicians and the general public. Brodeur’s seat as the Minister of Inland Revenue was made empty and quickly filled by William Templeman, one of the founding members of the Victoria Navy League. Stacking of the political deck aside, Brodeur would soon realize the absolute mess left in the wake of the previous Minister.
On January 22, 1906, the 77m long passenger steamer SS Valencia found herself off the treacherous coast of British Columbia in both low visibility and high wind conditions. The rapidly worsening weather pushed the ship further and further towards the rocky shores and without proper visibility, her dead reckoning brought her directly onto a reef. While her Captain had succeeded in a second attempt to beach to ship, she was stuck roughly 100m offshore with horrid weather and incredibly dangerous reefs surrounding her. After the generally mismanaged escape from the ship, only 37 of the 173 original crew and passengers survived. Due to the high loss of life of an American ship in Canadian waters, both nations launched high profile inquiries into the incident. It was eventually decided by the Canadian inquiry that Marconi wireless stations and additional lighthouses could have prevented the issue, something members of the Conservative opposition latched onto. According to them, Prefontaine’s personal bias towards Quebec and the East Coast had deprived other areas within the country of valuable nautical safety infrastructure. This was only exaggerated by recent issues brought up regarding spending on the 1904/1905 Arctic expedition undertaken by Joseph Bernier. While this journey to the Arctic had demonstrated ‘Canadian sovereignty’ over the area, a political mud slinging match soon came to light over how the ships stores were “not sourced in a competitive and fair manner.”
Survivors of Valencia coming aboard City of Topeka (left) and the wreck of Valencia barely visibly over the waves, note the white caps around the shore and rocks (right).
With a full plate for much of his beginning as the Minister, Brodeur was held away from any potential naval matters that could have came through at this time. As this was going on behind the scenes, Laurier himself continued his working towards the future naval service, regardless of if he was aware of his actions or not. As is customary when a prominent member of state passes away overseas, Prefontaine’s body was returned to his country of origin via warship. Even though he passed in France, the Royal Navy took up the duty of returning the body with the assignment of HMS Dominion. Not content with assigning the most recent battleship named after Canada, her commanding officer was Captain Charles Edmund Kingsmill. Born east of Kitchener Ontario, Kingsmill was a rare breed within the Royal Navy, a Canadian born and educated officer with significant experience under his belt. Upon the arrival of Dominion and Kingsmill in January of 1906, Laurier surprised all around him with his actions. The Prime Minister had always been cold and somewhat distant towards military officers however, he seemed to be completely different with Kingsmill.
Kingsmill and his wife (a Canadian resident) met with Laurier and immediately started a friendly relationship. After Laurier loaned Kingsmill various valuable photographs for his personal collection, the Prime Minister was invited to dine with Kingsmill and his officers aboard Dominion. Laurier happily accepted the chance to “dine upon his fair vessel of war” and a friendship was born. It is not known if this was a friendship of political motivations or one of genuine emotions however upon closer examination, either could be true. Kingsmill was a relatively high-ranking Royal Navy officer with a stellar career, seeming to also lack a large amount of the stuffiness and upper-class British ‘sensibilities’ that often caused them to look down upon mere colonials. It also transpired that Kingsmill’s uncle was a loyal Liberal and an executive member of the local Navy League. More importantly though, he was a prominent Toronto lawyer who seems to have had personal business dealings with Laurier in the past. If the time came for a future officer to lead any Canadian naval initiatives, Kingsmill was definitely high on the list.
Battleship HMS Dominion being hit by some waves and spray, 1909.
In August of 1906, Dominion had been assigned to patrol around the North Atlantic Station to increase goodwill with Canada when they received a message from Quebec City. The Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire had prepared a gift of a silverware set for the wardroom of the Dominion and invited the officers of the ship to Quebec City to accept the gift. The events which would conspire in this short time would change the course of Canadian naval development forever.
A painting of Louis-Phillipe Brodeur in 1901.
On January 22, 1906, the 77m long passenger steamer SS Valencia found herself off the treacherous coast of British Columbia in both low visibility and high wind conditions. The rapidly worsening weather pushed the ship further and further towards the rocky shores and without proper visibility, her dead reckoning brought her directly onto a reef. While her Captain had succeeded in a second attempt to beach to ship, she was stuck roughly 100m offshore with horrid weather and incredibly dangerous reefs surrounding her. After the generally mismanaged escape from the ship, only 37 of the 173 original crew and passengers survived. Due to the high loss of life of an American ship in Canadian waters, both nations launched high profile inquiries into the incident. It was eventually decided by the Canadian inquiry that Marconi wireless stations and additional lighthouses could have prevented the issue, something members of the Conservative opposition latched onto. According to them, Prefontaine’s personal bias towards Quebec and the East Coast had deprived other areas within the country of valuable nautical safety infrastructure. This was only exaggerated by recent issues brought up regarding spending on the 1904/1905 Arctic expedition undertaken by Joseph Bernier. While this journey to the Arctic had demonstrated ‘Canadian sovereignty’ over the area, a political mud slinging match soon came to light over how the ships stores were “not sourced in a competitive and fair manner.”
Survivors of Valencia coming aboard City of Topeka (left) and the wreck of Valencia barely visibly over the waves, note the white caps around the shore and rocks (right).
With a full plate for much of his beginning as the Minister, Brodeur was held away from any potential naval matters that could have came through at this time. As this was going on behind the scenes, Laurier himself continued his working towards the future naval service, regardless of if he was aware of his actions or not. As is customary when a prominent member of state passes away overseas, Prefontaine’s body was returned to his country of origin via warship. Even though he passed in France, the Royal Navy took up the duty of returning the body with the assignment of HMS Dominion. Not content with assigning the most recent battleship named after Canada, her commanding officer was Captain Charles Edmund Kingsmill. Born east of Kitchener Ontario, Kingsmill was a rare breed within the Royal Navy, a Canadian born and educated officer with significant experience under his belt. Upon the arrival of Dominion and Kingsmill in January of 1906, Laurier surprised all around him with his actions. The Prime Minister had always been cold and somewhat distant towards military officers however, he seemed to be completely different with Kingsmill.
Kingsmill and his wife (a Canadian resident) met with Laurier and immediately started a friendly relationship. After Laurier loaned Kingsmill various valuable photographs for his personal collection, the Prime Minister was invited to dine with Kingsmill and his officers aboard Dominion. Laurier happily accepted the chance to “dine upon his fair vessel of war” and a friendship was born. It is not known if this was a friendship of political motivations or one of genuine emotions however upon closer examination, either could be true. Kingsmill was a relatively high-ranking Royal Navy officer with a stellar career, seeming to also lack a large amount of the stuffiness and upper-class British ‘sensibilities’ that often caused them to look down upon mere colonials. It also transpired that Kingsmill’s uncle was a loyal Liberal and an executive member of the local Navy League. More importantly though, he was a prominent Toronto lawyer who seems to have had personal business dealings with Laurier in the past. If the time came for a future officer to lead any Canadian naval initiatives, Kingsmill was definitely high on the list.
Battleship HMS Dominion being hit by some waves and spray, 1909.
In August of 1906, Dominion had been assigned to patrol around the North Atlantic Station to increase goodwill with Canada when they received a message from Quebec City. The Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire had prepared a gift of a silverware set for the wardroom of the Dominion and invited the officers of the ship to Quebec City to accept the gift. The events which would conspire in this short time would change the course of Canadian naval development forever.
- RelativeGalaxy7
- Word Count: 1.1k