between the East and the West. It is not surprising in these circumstances that Canada has advanced along the road of prosperity by leaps and bounds, and that its people are among the happiest and most contented in the world.

The moral is the old adage, “Union is strength." The results of the federation of Canada should be an object-lesson to the other parts of the Empire, indeed to the Empire as a whole. The more closely it is united the greater will be its wealth and strength, and the power of its people for doing good. The present series of volumes is calculated to promote this most desirable consummation. So long as England regards Canada from the standpoint of Rudyard Kipling's words, and Canada lives up to Lord Dufferin's eloquent advice, the future of the Dominion will rest on the surest of foundations.

THE DOMINION OF CANADA:

GENERAL VIEW

BY THE RT. HON. LORD STRATHCONA AND MOUNT ROYAL

(High Commissioner for Canada)

Closer relations between the Mother Country and the colonies, the keynote for the development of the Empire-Canada's position in the Empire-Constitution, Federal and Provincial-Progress of Canada since Confederation-Public Works-Railways and Canals-Growth of Shipping-Banking system—Climate— Natural products of the country, and the exports of sameIminense and varied mineral resources practically untouched -The Yukon gold-fields-Forest Wealth-Fisheries-Manufacturing industries-Foreign trade of the Dominion and its distribution Population and origins of the people-Social Economy-Indians-Immigration and the duty of directing British emigration to the British Colonies-Openings for the settler, free lands-The classes in demand.

NOT only in Canada, but in all the other colonies, the feeling prevails that too little is known in the United Kingdom-the heart of the Empire-of its outlying portions, and we are all trying in every way to bring about a different state of things. It is no selfish object which has prompted us in our endeavours. We want to bring the colonies into closer relations with the mother country. We wish to develop trade between the different parts of the Empire, as well as with other countries, and we much appreciate the great services of Mr. Chamberlain in directing public attention prominently to the matter. In the colonies there are millions upon millions of acres of land only waiting to be cultivated to produce everything that man requires,

and we want to attract to those lands the surplus capital and muscle of the United Kingdom. The increase of the population of the colonies must add to their wealth and strength, and also to their productive and consuming capacities. Such results must necessarily tend to make the British Empire, of which we are all so proud, a greater factor in the progress of the world than it is even at the present time. I am glad to be able to state that those throughout the country who are entrusted with the education of the rising generation seem to appreciate, more and more every year, the importance of giving to the young idea a proper knowledge of what the British Empire is, and what it may become in the future. The following extract from the instructions to the Inspectors, issued by the English Educational Department, must have caused much gratification in all the colonies: “It is especially desirable in your examination of the fourth and higher standards, that attention should be called to the English colonies and their productions, government, and resources, and to those climatic and other conditions which render our distant possessions suitable fields for emigration and for honourable enterprise."

The Dominion of Canada includes the whole of the American Continent north of the United States, except Newfoundland, the small islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon belonging to France, and Alaska. It is difficult to convey an adequate conception of the vastness of a country which covers 3,456,383 square miles, and is forty times the size of England, Scotland, and Wales. It represents nearly a third of the area of the entire British Empire. It embraces the provinces of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, British Columbia, and the North-West Territories, most of them of great size and of large possibilities. They are all joined together in a practical and effective union. They

control entirely their own local affairs, while the Federal or Dominion Parliament, composed of representatives of the different provinces, deals with all matters affecting the community in general. The representative of her Majesty, styled the GovernorGeneral, resides at Ottawa, the capital of the Dominion. The present occupant of that important position is the Right Hon. the Earl of Aberdeen,' who has identified himself with the progress and development of the country in such a way as to make him one of the most popular of Governors-General. In his work he is ably seconded by the Countess of Aberdeen, whose name is as familiar in the United Kingdom as it is in the Dominion. The provinces all have their local Parliaments, some consisting of one House and others of two, while the Lieutenant-Governors are appointed by the Governor-General in Council. The constitution of Canada is contained in what is known as the British North America Act. It defines with considerable clearness the powers of the Dominion, and of the Provincial Legislatures, and the admirable way in which it has worked speaks volumes for the care and attention devoted to its preparation. Disputes have arisen occasionally upon points of interpretation, but the decisions of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council upon such matters have always been accepted as final. It is to be hoped that before long Newfoundland may express a desire to become part of the Dominion, so that the union of British North America may be complete. If satisfactory terms can be arranged, there is no doubt that the entry of England's oldest colony will be advantageous both to itself and the Dominion.

Two years ago was the fourth centenary of the landing of the Cabots in what is now Canada, and a part of the country is well advanced in the third

1 Succeeded by the Earl of Minto in the autumn of 1898.

century of its actual occupation; the formation of the Dominion only dates from 1867, and was completed, as it now stands, by the entry of Prince Edward Island in 1873. Prior to Confederation, which was originated by Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Upper and Lower Canada (now known as Ontario and Quebec), the provinces were in effect practically separate communities. There was little or no communication between them except by water. The trade exchanges were comparatively small, and their customs tariffs were arrayed against each other. Upper and Lower Canada were nominally united, but there was continual friction between them, which undoubtedly tended to prevent the development of their great resources. The population of Upper Canada was almost entirely confined to a strip of country along the shores of the St. Lawrence, and of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. The country to the north and to the west, along the shores of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior, and to the Lake of the Woods, its present western boundary, was a terra incognita, practically inaccessible, and habited only by a few Indians and hunters. The fertile prairies to the west were under the administration of the Hudson Bay Company, and their only inhabitants beyond those at the Hudson Bay posts were Indians and hunters. Instead of the pleasant wheat-fields, and herds of domestic cattle, that now meet the eye in traversing that country, the plains were the habitat of millions of buffaloes, which have entirely disappeared. To still go farther west, at the time of Confederation, British Columbia (which became part of the Dominion in 1871) was an isolated British colony, separated from the rest of Canada, not only by its own mountains, but by nearly 2000 miles or more of intervening territory. It was only accessible at all by means of communication through the United States, and by sea. Therefore, although the union was inaugurated in 1867, and was