259 THE TREATY OF WASHINGTON. 
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States and Canada, a possession of Great Britain. 
Nevertheless, the capability of a country to main- 
tain itself by force, if need be, is one of the elements 
of its political life, and therefore can not be over- 
looked in considering the condition of the Dominion 
of Canada. 
In regard to Canada the inquiry is the more impor- 
tant, seeing that military force depends in part on 
geographical facts, which, in her case, equally as to 
peace or war, and for the same reasons, place her at 
disadvantage on the side of the United States. 
The British possessions in North America, begin- 
ning with Newfoundland on the Atlantic Ocean, and 
ending with Queen Charlotte’s Island on the Pacific, 
extend across the continent in its broadest part, a 
distance of 80° of longitude, but in a high latitude, 
occupying the whole of the country north of the ter- 
ritory of the United States. The space thus described 
looks large on the map; but the greater part of it is 
beyond the. limit of the growth of trees, and much of 
the residue is too cold to constitute a chosen residence 
for Europeans. 
In a word, the Dominion stretches along thousands 
of miles, without capability of extension on the one 
side, where it meets the frozen north, or on the other, 
where it is stopped by the United States. As a 
country, it resembles a mathematical line, havi ing 
length without breadth. : 
Meanwhile, owing to their internal position, their 
northern latitude, and the geographical éonfiguration 
of the whole country, the two great Provinces of On- 
