Of those developments, which wear so quixotic an aspect in the retrospect, the explanation lies, of course, in the truism that unity is strength. For nearly a century North America consisted of two sections—the United States and the Ununited Provinces. Union, consolidation, federation—those are the masterful words in the story of nations. What sort of position in the world would Essex have attained had Essex acted independently of Cumberland and the other English counties? Where would Perthshire have been without the political link with Cork? Similarly, how would Massachusetts have ever become a big power single-handed, and who would care a rap for the Stars and Stripes if they waved only over Pennsylvania? The separate States might have asked for people and respect, but their individual voices would not have carried across the Atlantic. It was only because they spoke in unison that they were audible all over the world. And here we come to close quarters with the misconception still lingering in the popular mind. The man in the street has confused two Canadas—historic Canada, which dated back to the sixteenth century and comprised only portions of the existing Eastern provinces, and modern Canada, which extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and is less than forty years old. It is as though the name England had originally applied merely to portions of Kent and Sussex. The federation of the distinct countries of British North America began in 1867, and was not completed until 1873. Thus the reason why Canada did not, until recent years, begin to grow is because Canada, until recent years, did not exist. Previously, owing to circumstances that will be traced in a later chapter, little was known of the bulk of the country. The setting up of the Federal Government opened the way to knowledge. That knowledge is still incomplete, being representative rather than general. But already—as this book will, I hope, help to prove—there is justification for the belief that the attractions and resources of Canada are not inferior to those of the United States . . . .