only nominally completed in 1873, a great deal had still to be done before it could be consummated. A commencement was made by the construction of the Inter-Colonial Railway (provided for in the Act of Union), which brought the maritime provinces into connection with Quebec and Ontario. It was coinpleted in 1876, although much of it was in operation before that time. For many years the question of the construction of the Trans-Continental Railway was in the air, and commencements were made, but nothing tangible or effectual was done until the contract was made with the Canadian Pacific Railway Company in 1881, for the completion of the railway from Callander to the Pacific Coast within ten years. This stupendous work was practically completed in half the stipulated time, and the first public train travelled from Montreal to Vancouver in 1886. Strictly speaking, therefore, the positive, actual life of the Dominion, with all its potentialities brought within reach of the people, commenced a little more than twelve years ago.

Even now, although the population exceeds 5,250,000, only a fringe of the territory available for cultivation is inhabited. There are no very large cities in Canada, in the sense in which the term is understood in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. Montreal and Toronto, each with their populations of nearly three hundred thousand people, are the largest in Canada ; but the last census (1891) shows that there were 46 cities and towns of 5000 inhabitants and upwards, of which only nine exceeded 20,000. There were also 46 towns with from 3000 to 5000 people, and 91 villages containing from 1500 to 3000 people. The urban population in 1891 was nearly 1,400,000, or 28.77 per cent. of the whole. Over 45 per cent. of the population find their means of subsistence and their opportunities for the accumulation of wealth in agriculture. Canada is proud of its sturdy yeomen

farmers. Large holdings are the exception and not the rule, and the policy of the Dominion and of the provincial governments is to encourage the immigration and settlement of small farmers. The holdings may be said to average from 100 to 300 acres.

As mentioned before, an important factor in the growth of the Dominion has been the development of railway communication. In 1868 there were only 2522 miles of railway. Now there are over 16,0001 miles, and, in proportion to its population, Canada is probably as well served as any country in the world. The railways connect the Atlantic with the Pacific, they connect the coal-mines with the manufacturing and industrial centres, and they enable the products of the country to be easily conveyed from one part of the Dominion to another, and to the ports of shipment both on the Atlantic and on the Pacific. It has been the practice for railways to be constructed in advance of settlement, which has no doubt contributed, in a large degree, to the great progress the country has witnessed in recent years. Canada differs in many respects from other colonies in regard to its railway policy. The Government only own 1351 miles out of the total mileage before referred to, the balance being in the hands of public companies. Many of them have been aided by subsidies from the Dominion Parliament, from the provinces, and from the municipalities, but this assistance, as a rule, has not been in the nature of a loan, but of a gift. The country may not have had any direct return for its large expenditure upon railways, which in the case of the Dominion has amounted to $154,000,000 (£30,800,000), exclusive of land grants, but the indirect effects of the policy have been numerous and important. The country has been bound together in the closest possible way by these railways. They have made it accessible and

1 Nearly 17,000 in 1899.

available for immigration, and have led to the expansion of trade. All these results are more important, from a national standpoint, than a direct return of so much per cent. per annum.

I

Mention must also be made of the effect the development of the waterways has had upon the expansion of Canada. They were commenced long before railways became common. Some of them, indeed, date back to 1779, and they are all Government works. The great river St. Lawrence, up till 1858, was not navigable above Quebec for vessels drawing more than 11 feet of water. There were also obstructions higher up the river; and navigation was not possible between the great lakes in the early days, owing to the difference in the levels of those enormous sheets of water. Work upon the canals was started nearly one hundred and twenty years ago, and improvements have been going on ever since. As the result of the efforts of the Harbour Commissioners of Montreal, seconded as they have been by the Dominion Government, vessels drawing 27 feet can proceed to Montreal, 1000 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, 250 miles above salt water, and nearly 100 miles above tidal water, and moor alongside the streets of the commercial metropolis of Canada, where over five miles of quays and wharfage have been provided. It is stated to be the intention of the Government to increase the channel in the near future to 30 feet. Vessels drawing 14 feet of water pass from the extreme end of Lake Superior to Kingston, and it will not be long before such vessels will be able to continue their passage, without breaking cargo, to the head of ocean navigation at Montreal, a distance of 1274 statute miles, and thence, if desired, on to Europe. The latest achievement is the canal between Lake Huron and Lake Superior, known as the Sault Ste. Marie Canal, on the line of a small boat canal made by the North-West Company a hun

dred years ago. Formerly Canada was dependent upon the United States for the passage into Lake Superior, but the necessity of having through communication from the great lakes to the Atlantic entirely through British territory was forced upon public attention, and the money required was voted by Parliament without demur. The canal, which is over three miles long, was commenced in 1889, and completed in 1895, at a cost of nearly $3,500,000, or £700,000, and it is much appreciated, and much used. The total expenditure on account of canals and maintenance (up to 1898) has been over $86,000,000 (£17,200,000), of which more than $20,000,000 were expended before confederation $4,000,000 by the Imperial Government, and $16,000,000 by the provincial governments interested.

The Dominion occupies a position midway between Europe and the East, and is admirably situated for purposes of trade with the different parts of the world. She holds the fourth or fifth place among the list of ship-owning nations in the quantity of her tonnage; her coasts are excellently lighted, and there are no light-dues—a fact in which ship-owners will be much interested. It is not surprising, therefore, that successive Governments have kept before them the desirability of providing effective communication between Canada and Europe, and between Canada, Australasia, and China and Japan-in that way practically extending indefinitely the termini of the great railway systems. The first steam-driven vessel that ever crossed the Atlantic--the Royal William-was constructed at Quebec, and engined at Montreal in 1830-31; and the first steamer on the Pacific was the Beaver, built and sent out by the Hudson Bay Company, via Cape Horn, in 1835. It is the desire of the Canadian Government to provide a fast service between Canada and Great Britain which

The

will rival anything now crossing the Atlantic. large subsidy of £150,000 per annum has been offered towards its establishment; and her Majesty's Government, recognising its importance, have also agreed to render material assistance. Lines of steamers are now subsidised between Canada and different ports in the United Kingdom, for summer and winter services; also to Belgium, France, and to the West Indies. On the Pacific Ocean, Canada shares with the Imperial Government the subsidy for the service to China and Japan, which has brought Yokohama within twenty-one days of London, and assists, in conjunction with two of the Australasian colonies, the line of fast steamers between British Columbia and Australia. The Pacific services, which are performed by fast vessels, equal in comfort to anything to be found on the Atlantic, are developing with great rapidity, notwithstanding the absence of direct telegraphic communication with Australasia, and with other parts of the East, and there is every probability that in the near future more frequent sailings may have to be arranged. Steam communication and trade across the Pacific are, however, in their infancy, and they can never develop with the rapidity which the interests of the countries on either side of the great ocean render practicable, until they are in direct telegraphic communication. This, and the cheapening of rates, would do more than anything else to bring Australians and Canadians closer together, and to effect that improvement in their commercial relations which must be beneficial to both parts of the Empire.

Another important factor connected with Canadian, development is the excellence of the banking system. It is a matter for pride that during the crisis in the United States, and in Australasia, there was little or no financial disturbance in the Dominion. Times were bad, and Canada felt the depression as other countries