~Oct-Dec 1907: Paying the piper
October 1907: While Emperor Napoleon IV has proven wildly popular with the general public, his outspoken liberal views and criticism of the French establishment have made many enemies, particularly in the military, With his intervention in the Isan Crisis, they are finally able to act against him. To end his influence over military policy, he is replaced as chair of the Conseil de la Défense Nationale by the Prime Minister. In an attempt to conceal the true intention of the move, the Imperial Guard is made an independent branch of the military under the Emperor's direct control, with it claimed he can not adequately fulfil both roles. Committed to his position as a constitutional monarch, the Napoleon IV quietly accepts the change, instead concentrating on reshaping the Imperial Guard along British lines.
October 1907: With Russia's only access to the sea in Europe being via the Baltic and Black Seas, both of which could easily be blocked, Russian Foreign Minister Alexander Izvolsky negotiates an agreement with newly independent Norway to construct a railway from Oulu in the Duchy of Finland to the Norwegian port of Narvik. The new line is expected to cost of 125 million roubles {£11,849,573} and be completed by 1915, with another 50 million roubles {£4,739,829} required to upgrade the Helsingfors to Oulu line. The option of connecting to the existing line from Luleå in Sweden to Narvik, though far cheaper, is rejected due to Sweden's hostility toward Russia and pro German sympathies.
October 1907: Despite the fall of the Laurier government in Canada, the constitutional crisis it triggered has produced widespread feeling throughout the Empire such obstructionism should never be allowed to happen again, with many calling for an emergency Imperial Conference. After lengthy discussions the Imperial Council rejects this option. Instead a panel of experts in constitutional law will produce a report for consideration at the next Imperial Conference. With this still two years away and growing fears of a Great Power war, this is only accepted after a compromise suggested by Dominion Secretary Joseph Ward. He argues the Toronto and Durban Doctrines of 1888 and 1890 represent a commitment to collective security, and as such in the event of a European war no decisions should be taken without consulting the Dominion governments. This will become become part of the unwritten Imperial constitution as the Ward Protocol.
October 1907: Despite having dismissed the first two Russian Dumas as too radical, Tsar Nicholas is unwilling to entirely do away with the institution. Instead he and Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin use emergency powers to rewrite the electoral laws, despite it being a flagrant violation of thee Fundamental Laws he approved in 1906. The new law gives far greater weight to landowners and the urban elite and with this change the Tsar authorises new elections.
October 1907: With the US in an economic depression, the US Copper Company launches an attempt to corner the market on copper, triggering crisis in confidence. A complete collapse is only avert when banker John Morgan pledges large sums of his own money to support the market. The Banking Crisis of 1907 will have a profound impact on the US financial industry.
October 1907: British radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi begins the first commercial transatlantic wireless service. With two high power longwave stations, one in Ireland and the other Nova Scotia, Marconi is able to offer reliable wireless telegraphy between Britain and Canada. This will be the first link in a series of stations which will eventually come to rival the All Red Line of submarine telegraph cables.
October 1907: The British army purchase their first aircraft, a semi-rigid airship; designed by aviation pioneer William Cody. Christened British Army Dirigible No. 1, the airship will prove unsuccussful, being damaged by high winds several time before being scraped in 1908.
November 1907: As expected, despite a small number of Liberals crossing the floor, the Government of India Bill is passed comfortably by the commons, and despite lengthy and heated debate in the Lords, Dilke's private agreement with Balfour ensured it became law before the end of the year. Though deeply disappointed by the removal of the five year review, the act is well received by the moderate nationalists of the INC as the first step toward Indian self government. On the other hand, the act is bitterly opposed by many Indian Princes as the an attempt to undermine their autonomy. However the fiercest opposition comes from the radical nationalist INA, regarding it as an attempt to limit Indian self determination to the provincial level, thus denying real independence. This will result in the INA launching a campaign of civil unrest and violence in an effort to make India ungovernable.
November 1907: After strained negotiations between the British and French, a compromise is eventually reached to resolve the Isan Crisis. Under the Oslo Agreement, the French will incorporate several Siamese border regions into Cambodia, but the Sakhon Nakhon basin will remain part of Siam. While this does resolve the crisis, it has caused lasting damage to Anglo-French relations and ended any prospect of the British joining the Franco-Russian Entente.
November 1907: The October Russian Duma elections have produced a body dominated by conservatives reformers and thus far more amenable to the Tsarist government. When the new Duma convenes in St Petersburg, Prime Minister Stolypin embarks on his program of land reform aimed at creating a land owning peasantry as well introducing a series of limited social welfare measures. Stolypin believes this will be sufficient to undermine the radical left and defuse the discontent which led to the 1905 Revolution.
November 1907: With their agreement to cooperate on security matters now being two years old, the Danes and Norwegians have been holding regular biannual meetings between senior political, civil service and military officials, alternating between Copenhagen and Oslo since October 1906. However the scheduled October meeting was postponed due to the recent Anglo-French Summit in Oslo. The Isan Crisis has made it clear the likelihood of a European war is increasing markedly and it is impossible to predict who will be allying with whom. The heads of the two navies express great concern that in the event of a such a war both Danish and Norwegian water will be mined by one or other side regardless of their status as neutrals. Norwegian Admiral Christen Sparre expresses particular concern due to due to the length and rugged nature of Norway's coastline. To address this threat, a class of minesweepers will be ordered. based on commercial whale catchers and fitted as icebreakers, the Fælles/Felles 750 ton/tonn or F750T class are designed for the extreme weather encountered in northern waters, with the vessels serving as patrol ships during peacetime. As per the established agreement on procurement, the ships will be built in Danish yards, with the proposed armament of two single 3” guns and other equipment to be manufactured in Norway. The Norwegians order for four such vessels, while the Danes only feel the need to procure two. Additionally naval base at Bergen will be established to support paroling the Atlantic coastline.
December 1907: As promised by the Treaty of Vereeniging, the two former Boer Republics are granted responsible government, transforming them into full Dominions. Both Boer Dominions set about putting in place racists policies to exclude non-whites from power and restrict their rights.
December 1907: With the government of Gabriel Hantaux having adopted an expansionist policy, the French Navy order two improved Edgar Quinet class armoured cruisers in attempt to increase the strength of the modern cruiser force. Displacing 15,000 tons and armed with twelve 9.4” guns laid out in the same pattern as the Edgar Quinet class, the Turenne class will feature the same advanced propulsion as the Danton class dreadnoughts, giving a speed of 26 knots. However as with the Danton's, this machinery will prove unreliable in service, with heavy fuel consumption limiting their range. Additionally, despite Hantaux's government's strongly nationalist position, four modern scout cruisers are ordered from US yards due to a lack of domestic capacity. The Coëtlogon class will be a version of the US Navy's Amsterdam class scout cruisers with French weapons.
December 1907: The War of the Pacific inflicted massive damage on the Peruvian economy which has taken over twenty to recover from, preventing any major development programs and leaving the Peruvian military falling further and further behind its major rivals, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador. In a major development program is begun on a coastal railway linking Lima with Arequipo and then across the Andes to Cuzco. Additionally, in the first major increase to the Peruvian navy since the War of the Pacific, two scout cruisers are ordered from US yards.
December 1907: Trials of the improved Rexel version of the Danish Madsen light machine gun show the previous feed issues have finally been eliminated. With these issues resolved, the British army orders 200 examples for full scale troop trials throughout the Empire.
