ke {4} Superior at Duluth and the eastern end of the St Lawrence
system at Belle Isle, a distance of no less than 2340 miles.

But even the mighty St Lawrence, with the far-reaching network of its
connecting systems, is not the whole of Canada's waters. The eastern
coast of Nova Scotia is washed by the Atlantic, and the whole length of
British Columbia by the Pacific. Then, there are harbours, fiords,
lakes, and navigable rivers not directly connected with either of these
coasts or with the wonderfully ramified St Lawrence. So, taking every
factor of size and significance into consideration, it seems almost
impossible to exaggerate the magnitude of the influence which waterways
have always exerted, and are still exerting, on the destinies of Canada.

Canada touches only one country by land. She is separated from every
other foreign country and joined to every other part of the British
Empire by the sea alone. Her land frontier is long and has given cause
for much dispute in times of crisis. But her water frontiers--her river,
lake, and ocean frontiers--have exercised diplomacy and threatened
complications with almost constant persistence from the first. There
were conflicting rights, claims, and jurisdictions about the waters long
{5} before the Dominion was ever thought of. Discovery, exploration,
pioneering, trade, and fisheries, all originated questions which,
involving mercantile sea-power, ultimately turned on naval sea-power and
were settled by the sword. Each rival was forced to hold his own at sea
or give up the contest. Even in time of peace there was incessant
friction along the many troublous frontiers of the sea. From the Treaty
of Utrecht in 1713 down to the final award at The Hague, nearly two
centuries later, the diplomatic war went steadily on. It is true that
the fishing grounds of Newfoundland were the chief object of contention.
But Canada and Newfoundland are so closely connected by geographical,
imperial, and maritime bonds that no just account of craft and waterways
can be given if any attempt is made to separate such complementary parts
of British North America. They will therefore be treated as one
throughout the present book.

But, even apart from Newfoundland, the Canadian interests concerned
rather with the water than the land make a most remarkable total. They
include questions of international waterways and water-power, salt and
fresh water fishing, sealing, whaling, inland {6