The Express.
London, England, 1856-08-06 00:00:00

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6.

THE project of a Ship Canal through the Isthmus
N Betz, if carried into f :relation, mil be productive.
si remelts of the highest importance, lot only to the
ceemerce of this country but to that of all Europe'
and we propose, therefore, to Is before the public
sash data am may @cable then to foes a clear 00D.
oeption, not only of the mode in which it is proposed
to carry it out, but also or the stops which hats ben
taken towards its realisation.

The importunes of nub a route to the Indian
Ocoee did not neaps the pesstr•tiag mind of the
Bret EuroLunt. During the seespeigs in Egypt, he
took the oppoetooity of examining the nessine of
the canal from Sues to the Nile, attributed to the
Fatuous, through its ebole length, and charged a
commission, at the heed of which wee M. LUIZ',
with the duty of sureeyieg mad of reporting as the
heability of restoring the Gooiest damsel, or
el essatruoting • new on. The commission pro-
seisesd in tavu•r of the former plan, object-
lag to a awn direct route between the two
ens, cm the rased that the level of the Red Sea
wee about ten yards higher than that of the
Mediterranean, sea rdwg to the imperfect level-
ling, whisk had been takes daring the
survey. The evenaties of Egypt ef coarse put es
..d to this prejfet, sad it was sot until the reign ef
IM rillinki Au that the ramose wee seriously revived.
Bat the slatted old Paella was averse to say plsal
which should, while oosenting the Nile with the
Red Bee, opes • waterway through the heart of
hie territories for the ships of Europe; sad the
general belief is the difference of the levels of the
two sees, aldetegh strongly combatted by Lurkews,
woe a serious obstacle to the eoseadersties of the
more direct route. is 1841, however, some Emilia
calkers maimed the discovery previously made by
Major CIIISXIY, that the keels of the two sees
were scatty idestical, and a sort of ampany wee
formed, inoludieg LINANT Bac, a Frisch engineer
is the service of the Viceroy, for the purpose of per-
fecting the slack sod surveys ,cr I cave' c•saL Ie
1847, M. T. TALAIKIT, OM of the reembers of this se-
seastion, published the nealt of their operation, esta-
blishing mope other tillage that, save is their tidal
differtuose, the levels of the Red Iles and the Mt&
bagasse° wore alike. From that date the project
has bees mooted with greater activity, and in various
lona%

N. TALADOT suggested a easel starting bon Ales-
eadria sad paisiog down the waters aide of the Nil.,
which it armed a little above Cairo, mar the barn's;
theme. main. north-set. it traversed the Wady
l'eamilat, taking the amoral direstise of the meal et
Trojan, sad. mobs through the Bitter Lake., de.
bssebid at Bets. A Limed plan, that at Nesers. Bea.
Baum also took Alexandria se its starting paint.
Leavitt, that city by the mews side, or old port, it
ran through the Main ot likes whisk lie as the mashers
shore of the Delta, tuning to the sostle-sest. near
Damietta, sod so through the likes Messala, Babb,
Maio* and t►. Bitter lakes to Item With this
slime was sonsested a system of mailer mash, kr
irrigation sad loml balk, lamming the matey
11 various dimities.. A third piss, mid that white
@plasm to be the osly one that has say
shames of Win carried lets tint, is that for
which a firmaa has been obtsiaed by MonMeer F.
Laws. sod which is based as the surveys ot
LIXAJIT BIT Old MONOIL Bay, and which have bees
ressatly reported on by a sommiesios of animas
he. the principal buss of Estop& The limit
iliessleur Lassen ms hoc Bars, through the Bitter
ILakse sod Lehi Times!, to the Bay of Tina. the site
of easiest Poissisim The main objeetimes to this lige
• ere the alleged &festive soaditioss attend by the
termini, as to Wilhite tor constimming the sesemary
barbsers, ad the &amity of estabilehing snob ahem
sole there as Amid Dot rapidly silt up, sad bosoms
obliterated or dangerous.
Ike scribers month of the proposed easel opess
Is elks Gulf of Pelesiem, which is bordered, es
cording to the report of the essissimise, by
a bolt of Ise mad, over whish the maitiesks Moose
points is heavy weather, sod the bottom moist. eta
similar sead. disposing gradually mull the esuadisp
reach 30 Imo, whoa the mud bottom at this pinkest
the Miditenesem eassimemes. It is added that this

belt of mod bee evidently remised mehaased s• to
form se situation tor ages. The water shoals meet
milky about Taos* where a depth of 24 het is
mashed at about 2,300 yards from the abomi, and
this farm of bottom sentience westward, with little
mistime, to Damietta. Eastward, towards Palo•
aims, the iusnsee of depth is snob leas rapid,
the mending@ of 24 &et not Whig embed
esti' •bust 7.600 yards from ahem slimly
pointing oet Taunts se the locality Soo the tomboys
terminus of the canal. The ememissisa arrived at
the aoadeeive dot there is no danger of ditiag. p
from the send or mod aerated down by the Nile, the,.
being so tram m say *heap ia the premat tars or
bottom foe ages, but some risk evidently exists hem
dm Ulm' mace of that rood parallel to the mat,
in heavy scams, and to obviate this it would be mt.
meaty to rue out two jetties to the point when the
mad cream sad the mod begins. Their direction
would be from N.W. to LE., leaving between them a
11111111401 400 jards wide, the northers jrtty rrutted-
lag seaward 3,000 yards, do soothers to the region
M mod. 'bey uould be mestenettd with sloes
brought from the quarries as tho abases at Syria, or
from Cyprus. Mod. a, or therpanto.
Tim mothers Immune, that M Baez, appears to
offer no ionises difilealtiem The seandinp vary home
6 to 13 yard., with a tenacious muddy hittow.rf-t•
Mg se good • holding ground that the Tenabia, the
coal depot, has been at mother in one of the Sam
exposed parts of the roadstead diarist; three years,
without the slightest injury to hoe ashes or eablee.
The two irtti.s at this spot meld he of 1,600
and 1,200 lards is leagth respectively, to reach the
requited drp•h of 24 feet water. The mod bottom
of this harbour appears also to have starred
huh er no eh nge for • loot period. The
opening of the canal might nevertheless alter
that important eonditian, but the commissioners

appeared to have DO appreherielose es that point
sad the sconsiete or vim mauve of mud bold in row
pussies by the waters oo the Pulaski., awe, ea well
as the reported insalubrity of the lottullty, they des
slam hue personal ezesioetios, to he itbiostriasL
The Ship Canal would he about 72 ulles In With,
varying in width trove 100 to 130 yard*. sod about
14 feet is depth. At either aid would be harbours.
wad au hiked port would he seated at Lake Tistsab,
where would also he the mouth of a fresh-water
anal trolls the Mk, say Cake, though the Wady

Toosilat. adapted not only be inigatioa bat for
internal trails.

The sum Named i• the prospectus he esirrying oat
this vast undulating, iaeladiag the payment of ia-
tenet oil the capital daring eoestraction, is 8,000,0001,
1 the term allowed foe the ecespletion of the works
being six yean from the date of the finnan, Jam 1,
11388. It has bees objected that a canal from Tennis
to Sore would annihilate the trade of Alexandria,
which would themotorwaid be mikes except am a

military port; but it is doubtful whether soy import-
aat diffsisoce would be felt except as regards the
overland trade to Indio. The direst trails be-
tweet Alexandria and Cairo would probably rends
is its present state, as the nate by the new
ehareel would he both longer sad more expensive.
A.. regards our owe country, it is stated that it
would sot only emote a wrier cotomersial rivalry
between me mid the maims bordering os the Medi-
terraseen es regards our Irdian trade, bat that it
would also expose our pommies" there to a amp de
semis on the part of Francs. N e attach little
weight to the latter peril. It would require very
mosiderable preparatioss in the Mediturrantos ports,
which could neither be carried oa secretly um with
ouch tepidity se to prevent &stead from adopting
the neoissary precentions; end it is, moreover, an
',egotist part of ths proposed undertaking that it
shall be a strictly neutral Coast—op the some footing,
in fact, es the Dard.melles.

Doubtless the nations of &where Europe would
largely profit by the facilities thee &Smiled thou for
eateries into active trade with the East ; but webs.,
that bah is the asap and esterpries of ear owe
wierchaate, sad is the advantages we poems fres
their vast oaptal sad adobableasesercial missies.
dos, that we have little fear of asy serious Jujuy
being inflicted os our owe trade, while that of India
would usdosbtedly be largely benefited by the in-
pertset facilities for eceisanustioe with every part
of Europe, which would be mean d by the completion
of the Canal of the Lams of Bats