Now let us glance once more at Venezuela’s position, from the point of view of strategic position; the topography of the country and the present means of communication will probably render it more easy to develop these oil-fields than those of the neighbouring republic of Colombia, though the latter lie nearer to the canal-zone; if this be so, Venezuela and Trinidad may be considered together as the largest area of oil-producing country situated in such proximity to the canal as to make it possible for vessels to replenish their stores of fuel conveniently. Whether the oil is taken on board in Trinidad, at one of the Venezuelan ports, or at Colón, the advantageous position of the fields is equally clear for European boats, which would then, on this sea-route, be in a position almost analogous to the oil-burning boats between Japan and San Francisco, where they are in the Californian fuel-oil region. There seems reason to suppose that Venezuela has extensive areas producing oil of the type requisite, and therefore her future importance depends largely upon the energy with which she discovers or encourages others to discover where and how the mineral can be most profitably won. Nor must the possibilities of Guayana be ignored in this general summary, for a considerable proportion of some of the larger exports given in Appendix B is shipped through Ciudad Bolivar; these are mainly, of course, forest products and gold, but there are great possibilities of increased output of both these, with the development of more permanent agricultural and pastoral resources in the woods and savannahs of southern Venezuela. The introduction of industrial colonists has, as we have seen, been planned already, and much may come of the wise prosecution of such a scheme. Under these three heads we have the undeveloped resources of Venezuela, but there remains a long list of products exported, some of which already aggregate a considerable value, while others are capable of great increase. There is no necessity to deal with these various products in detail here, since a glance at the table in Appendix B will show their relative importance. The question remains, What is needed that Venezuela’s trade may be free to expand and may be assisted in that expansion by those in authority?