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it cheerfully. It is not a matter for hurried and inconsiderate action, and in the meantime we should not refrain from giving the best consideration to any measures which may guide our steps along the road leading to closer union—that Imperial structure that is slowly but surely being built, and which in its consummation will be a source of joy to our posterity, and make them not less proud of their ancestors and their life's work than we are of ours. I have refrained from touching upon the extent of the present travel between the different parts of the Empire, or upon the volume of the trade. All that can be seen in blue-books. It is interesting and important; but the new route will create a traffic and a trade of its own. As was pointed out at the Imperial Conference, the question is one of policy. Do we want the service or do we not ? Will it be beneficial to the Empire ? And can it be made a commercial success ? Let us decide these points, and the terms of the partnership in the scheme, and we shall not have long to wait before the new organization is called into being. For my own part, lam of the opinion that it will be successful and prosperous—alike for the financial interests that may be involved and for the different countries more immediately concerned in its development. To sum up the advantages of the new route : — 1. The service would improve the communication between the United Kingdom and Canada, and enable mails and passengers to be conveyed between the two countries more rapidly than at present. 2. It would draw a certain portion of Canadian travel, which now passes by way of New York, back to its proper channel, and by its geographical advantages, and its quicker service to the United States, secure many American passengers and some of the mail traffic to western points. 3. It would provide a faster service than at present to New Zealand and Australia, saving at least ten days to the former and two clays to the latter. 4. It would utilise an alternative route to the East, possessing natural advantages which have not been properly utilised. 5. It would strengthen Great Britain's position in the Atlantic, and furnish additional armed cruisers to aid in keeping the route open in time of war. 6. It would assist in giving Great Britain the control of the Pacific trade, which may pass out of our hands if the route is not utilised. 7. It would provide armed cruisers on the Pacific. 8. It would be available for the conveyance of troops and supplies to the East, and less liable to interruption than any other route. • 9. It would bring the different countries in closer touch with each other, and help the consolidation of the Empire. 10. It would be provided at the cost of the different parts of the Empire, and not fall entirely upon one or another. 11. It would supplement the Pacific cable to Australia, which is under joint Government control. 12. It would supplement other steamship routes, and could not fail to assist the commercial expansion of the different parts of the Empire, as well as lead to extra travel. 13. Canada, New Zealand, and Australia want the service ; and the proposal has certainly been received with much sympathy in the Mother-country. I can hardly close my paper without mentioning the service between Vancouver and China and Japan, which owes its origin to the enterprise of the Canadian Pacific Railway, assisted by subsidies from the Imperial and Canadian Governments. By its means mails and passengers are conveyed from England to Yokohama in twenty-two and a half days, to Shanghai in twenty-seven and a half days, and to Hong Kong in thirty days. These times are much shorter than those by the other route. No one will be found to deny that the service has been of great material advantage. The steamers, while faster than anything on the Pacific at present, are to be replaced by more speedy boats. Although it does not form a part of the all-red route scheme, it of great Imperial importance. I am afraid I have -ather exceeded the time usually devoted to papers before this Institute, but let me thank you most cordially for the patience with which you have listened to me. I have tried to put the pros and cons of the scheme before you in as full a manner as the time at my disposal will permit. I recognise that it is open to criticism. What proposition is not ? But, on the other hand, lam sure that its merits will appeal to the majority of the people. lam not exactly a young man, and the years remaining to me may be few, but I hope I may live to see the all-red route in operation ; I believe it is destined to fulfil the most sanguine expectations of those who look upon it as likely to prove of the greatest possible benefit to the Mother-land, Canada, and Australasia, and to the Empire at large. [Van. Mis. 08/49.]