merchant marine for Canada as numerous small subsidies to small lines
remains to be seen. The development of seamen from her fisheries is
one of the dreams she must work out in her destiny, and that leads one
to the one great disadvantage under which Canada rests as a marine
power. She lacks winter harbors on the Atlantic accessible to her
great western domain, whence comes the bulk of her commerce for export.
True, the maritime provinces afford those harbors--Saint John and
Halifax. A dozen other points, if need were, could be utilized in the
maritime provinces as winter harbors; but take a look at the map! The
maritime provinces are the longest possible spiral distance from the
rest of Canada. They necessitate a rail haul of from two to three
thousand miles from the west. What gives Galveston, New Orleans,
Baltimore, Buffalo preeminence as harbors? Their nearness to the
centers of commerce--their position far inland of the continent,
cutting rail haul by half and quarter from the plains. Montreal has
this advantage of being far inland; but from November to May Montreal
is closed; and Canadian commerce must come out by way of American
lines, or pay the long haul down to the maritime provinces. There can
be no doubt that this disadvantage is one of the factors forcing the
West to find outlet by Hudson Bay--where harbors are also closed by the
ice but are only four hundred miles from the wheat plains. There can
also be no doubt that the opening of Panama will draw much western
commerce to Europe by way of the Pacific.


III

When one comes to consider Quebec under its new boundaries, one is
contemplating an empire three times larger than Germany, supporting a
population not so large as Berlin.[9] It is the seat of the old French