5 CANADA AND THE EMPIRE.

the Union wheat lands, clearly indicates that the
United States will one day require Canadian
wheat and in return will open her markets.
Perhaps also a new market will be found in the
far East, and the larger the supply of Canadian
wheat the more prepared will her farmers be to
urge the negotiation of commercial treaties which
will give them new purchasers of their goods.
This shows the utter uselessness and unwisdom of
attempting for any length of time to confine the
trade of Canada to certain directions or within
certain limits.
But no greater mistake could be made than to
suppose that Canada is merely a wheat-growing
country, or even an agricultural country. There is
an unlimited water power which is clearly destined
for manufacturing purposes, while the mineral
wealth shows that it is only a question of time
before her manufactures will be at least as diverse
as those of the United States. Already she is
able to supply a remarkably large proportion of
her own requirements and has developed staple
manufactures of iron and steel, cotton, wool, paper,
&amp;c., and as her population grows she will continue
to extend her manufactures until the industrial
development of the East becomes as important as
the agricultural development of the West.
It is true that at present her exports consist
largely of raw and semi-manufactured materials.
With the assistance of bounties she is already the
largest exporter of raw steel and iron to Britain,