story of our Imperial development, or the strain of heroic character which is leavening the nationality of Canada.
The subsequent history of the country is mainly a record of the steady growth of self-government, interrupted by periods of political strife, and even rebellion, which only resulted in hastening that consolidation in which the country rejoices now as the joint result of Canadian patience and the British instinct of political wisdom. It is no longer with isolated portions of an undefined territory, but with one of the most remarkable federations of modern times, stretching from ocean to ocean in the shape of the Canadian Dominion, that we have to do when we think of 'Canada and her Future.'
What the Empire is doing for Canada.
Amongst the advantages which the Empire confers on Canada, there is the beneficial influence of the Crown, which has meant a good deal in the development of the constitution, both in itself and also in the succession of able and distinguished Governors-General by whom it has been represented in Canada. Another obvious advantage is the security conferred on trade and commerce, and on the national interests of the country generally, by Great Britain's command of the seas. On this subject something will be said later on; meanwhile, the authority may be quoted of a Canadian expert. Major William Wood, of the 8th Royal Rifles, who lately penned the following sentence: 'And so whenever Canadians look outward to those long, open sea-ways, where half their wealth and credit is continually afloat among the great mail-fisted nations of the world, they still may have the satisfaction of knowing that they remain secure under the guardian care of that "British" navy to whose support they have, as yet, given no single item from all their national resources—not a ship, not a dollar, not a man.'
