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sovereign," which God grant may be the case ; that our political, commercial, and social relations become closer than they are now, and that we continue to work together for the common good. In a. word, this prospect is before us so long as every son of the Empire, retaining in full his love for the especial part of it to which he belongs, keeps ever in mind his duties and obligations as a partner in the greater heritage handed down to him and his brethren. Let us not lose sight of these facts ; also that people are becoming congested in most of the old countries of the world; and that new outlets must be found for their energies and ambitions. We shall then grasp the necessity of developing the Empire on Imperial lines ; and realise that every available route of communication between its different parts must be utilised and our domestic and commercial relations built up on a sure and solid foundation. There is another point of view. In the Mother-country, from force of circumstances—l will not say that they have been entirely beyond our control—we are largely dependent upon outside sources for much of our food and raw material. Happily, much of these are now produced within the Empire, and this will become more and more the case as time goes on. It is most desirable that the ships in which such necessities are conveyed to us should be, as far as possible, under the British flag. Therefore we must always be on the watch to keep our merchant marine in the supreme position it occupies, and thoroughly up to date. If the best of these ships can be so constructed with a view to conversion into effective armed cruisers in time of need, it will help to assure our position as the predominant maritime power, and, indirectly, add to the strength of the navy. If these considerations are in place with regard to the Atlantic, they apply with tenfold force to the Pacific. Hitherto steam-communication across the Pacific from the American continent to Australasia has been intermittent, irregular, and inferior, as compared with that.across the Atlantic. If we are to take an important position on that ocean no better course can be adopted to that end than the establishing and maintaining of regular lines of fast steamships between Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, and China, Japan, and India. In the future there is sure to be an increasingly large trade in that direction, and the nation which first secures control of it will mainly reap the advantages of the situation. Therefore, from the British standpoint, I look upon the third link in the chain of the all-red route as of the utmost importance and full of potentialities. This alternative route to the East would be useful alsp for the despatch of troops if the necessity ever arises. It should be quicker than by Suez or the Cape, and less liable to danger and interruption ; and, as already suggested, the presence of merchant steamers on the Pacific, capable of being used as armed cruisers, would be a distinct gain to the Empire. It is hardly necessary to dilate on the great attractions of the new route. There is the short voyage across the Atlantic, which, with a good steamer, fine weather, and an interior equal to the occasion, is calculated to give pleasure to the average individual. Then follows the journey through Canada, which can be accomplished in four days, or extended as long as the passenger desires. If he lands at Halifax, days could be spent profitably in exploring the beauties of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. In the summer he can either proceed up the St. Lawrence by water, or travel by rail from the point where the mails are landed, to Quebec and Montreal. In either case the surroundings cannot fail to interest him. The voyage by the gulf and river is in itself an ever-changing kaleidoscope of beautiful scenery—mountain, woodland, and lovely valleys, with peaceful villages and homely farmsteads—a pastoral scene unique in its way. The City of Quebec, apart from the picturesque position it occupies, is one of the few places on the continent with any pretence to antiquity, and is full of interesting associations connected with the days of the French regime. It is now becoming more of a modern city, with many signs of progress. Its docks, warehouses, and railways are all significant of the times, and serve as manifest indications of future prosperity. When the Quebec Bridge is built, and additional systems of railways thus obtain direct access to its wharves, it is sure to advance by leaps and bounds, and its growth in the next decade or two is likely to rival that of any other city in the Dominion. Montreal is always attractive to visitors ; its location is surpassingly beautiful with the St. Lawrence in front and Mount Royal in the background, and it possesses shipping facilities which are a wonder to people who see them and reflect how many hundreds of miles separate the port from the ocean. It maintains its position as the commercial metropolis of the Dominion. Ontario will remind the traveller of England. The country along the line of the railways is well settled and well farmed ; villages and towns, the sites of manufactories more or less important, appear at frequent intervals between other larger towns and cities which are thriving industrial centres. Toronto occupies an ideal position on Lake Ontario, has many attractions for visitors and is the starting-place for countless excursions, and notably the one to Niagara. The great lakes are remarkable for their extent, for the scenery along their shores, and the business which is done upon their waters. Between Ontario and the prairies is a district, many hundred miles in length, which away from the line of the existing railway is in some measure a terra incognita. That it contains much mineral and forest wealth is certain, and it is known also to possess agricultural possibilities which will be made accessible by the new transcontinental railway now being constructed to aid in carrying to the sea the growing riches of these vast and hitherto unrifled storehouses. Winnipeg, the gateway of the west, has grown in a few years from a city of twenty thousand people to one approaching one hundred and twenty thousand. The journey across the prairies through Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, to the Rocky Mountains, a distance of nine hundred miles, shows the agricultural possibilities of this golden west. It is, so to speak, one huge wheatfield, extending from the international boundary to some four hundred miles or more to the north. At present, though it offers land and employment to many times the number, it can boast but a million inhabitants. And yet this same Country produces over a hundred million bushels of wheat per annum, apart from other grains and farm and dairy produce, so that one can keep within the bounds of reasonable imagination and yet realise the position it is likely to attain with regard to the food-supplies of the world in the future.