From childhood I have been accustomed to look upon the power of England as irresistible,--morally, physically,[see Note 35] and intellectually,--she has now in this age the command of mind and matter sufficient to enable her almost to move the earth, and shall the tunnel under the Thames, the tube over the Conway, and the bridge over the Menai, be our only wonders? How well do I remember the delight with which I have listened to the anecdote told of Mr. Pitt, who, when he was informed that it was impracticable to carry into effect some orders he had given about heavy ordnance being sent to Portsmouth within a certain time, "Not possible?" exclaimed Mr. Pitt, "then send them by the Mail."[see Note 26] With the same feeling of pride and delight have I heard in later days of the artillery officer's remark, when it was whispered to him by another that it would not be possible to place their guns in some wished for position; "My dear fellow," said the commanding officer, "I have the order in my pocket." Let England only commence the Railway from Halifax to the Pacific, with the order to cross the Rocky Mountains in the pocket of her sons, and the accomplishment of the undertaking will soon reward the labour, courage and skill which would undoubtedly be exhibited. Sir Alexander Mackenzie inscribed in large characters, with vermillion, this brief memorial, on the rocks of the Pacific, "Alexander Mackenzie from Canada by land the 22nd of July, 1794." Who will be the first engineer to inscribe upon the Rocky Mountains "On this day engineer A. B. piloted the first locomotive engine across the Rocky Mountains;" and what then will be the feeling of Englishmen, when even now Steam is considered the "exclusive offspring of British genius, fostered and sustained by British enterprise and British capital!" We have seen that on the highest habitable spot of the Mountains of the Alps stands a monument of war, placed there by the hand of a powerful man in the pride of victory over his fellow-men, and in honour of his companion in arms. We trust before long that on the highest habitable spot of the Rocky Mountains will stand a monument of peace, placed there by an enterprising nation in honour of the victory of science over nature, and in memory of some enterprising son. After all her wars, her victories and her revolutions, in what condition is France? What may not England expect to be with all her victories over nature--her trade and commerce?[see Note 52] May she march forward in her career of peace as bravely, as nobly, and as proudly as she did in that of war; and may she now take as great an interest in, and make the same exertions for, the welfare and happiness not only of her own people, but of those of other nations in all quarters of the globe, as she did in former days for their protection from a desolating foe.