The Sun.
London, England, 1870-06-04 00:00:00

THE DARIEN SHIP CANAL.

The reports from the Darien Canal surveying party
are not very satisfactory. It appears that eight or nine
miles from the sea, on the Atlantic side, hills or moun-
tains are met with, eleven or twelve hundred feet high,
and no passes through them have yet been discovered,
nor is there much prospect of finding such a pass or
passes. From the well known energy of the head of the
expedition, and the abilities of his assistants, we may
expect a thorougn examination will be made, and the
matter finally set at rest as to the feasibility of cutting a
canal through that part of the isthmus. In the year 1855,
the writer was on the isthmus, and had a conversation
with Colonel Totten, the civil engineer who • lo-
cated and built the Panama Railroad, just then
completed. The colonel was, as may be supposed, well
informed as to all the explorations that had been made
up to that time, and had obtained also a great deal
of information on the subject from the natives of the
country. He gave it as his opinion that the best location
for a ship canal was along the line of the railroad. The
highest elevation on that line is, I believe, 260 feet. Hav-
ing a railway along the line of the canal during the prose-
cution of the work, for the conveyance of men, materials,
and supplies, is an obvious advantage, and becomes a
strong argument in favour of that location. The harbour
of Aspinwall, on the Atlantic, is a very good one. The
western terminus opens on Panama bay, which is nothing
but an open roadstead, but such is the condition of the
climate that 'vessels may lie there without danger from
gales or heavy seas. It is entirely out of the track of
hurricanes. The survey for the railroad shewed the
notion that the sea-level in the Pacific was higher than
in the Atlantic was erroneous. At low tide the level is
the same in both oceans ; but at Aspinwall the tide
rises about three feet, while at Panama it rises
upwards of twenty feet. It is plain, therefore, if
a strait be cut through the isthmus, a strong current will
rush through from the Pacific to the Atlantic, except
during the small part of the day when the level is the
same on both sides. The present city of Panama is
located at the inner end of a reef extending three-quarters
of a mile to seaward. The old, city—when Pedrarias was
governor and Francisco Pizarro fitted out his expedition
for the discovery of Peru—was situated to the south-east
of the present town, and it was abandoned for the present
site, as being more easily defended from sea attacks by
reason of the long reef and shoal in front. To regulate
the current and quantity of water in the canal, it would
only be necessary to have gates at the western terminus
opening iuto a basin connected with the bay, Probably
the site of the old city would be the best place for• the
position of this basin. •It is a question whether it be for
the interest of the United States to have a ship canal
built or not. Ail old captain in the navy, now deceased,
used to say that he wished the Andes had by nature been
extended the whole length of the isthmus at their highest
elevation ; and, if he could have his way, he would pile
up the isthmus mountains as high as Chimborazo. His
idea was that in war we could not control the canal, as
the people of this country would not be willing to sup-
port a navy powerful enough for this purpose, and that
in peace it would be of more advantage to European
governments than to us. Jamaica and the other islands
lying near the canal would naturally get the trade in the
Pacific which now goes by the way of Cape Horn. The
West India Islands are filled with European commodities
and are now resorted to by traders from the Atlantic shores
of Mexico, Central America, and the northern parts of
South America, as our western traders go to the Atlantic
cities for their supplies. If the canal be built, we shall.
find, I fancy, that England, Spain, France, and Hol-
land will get the biggest bite out of the cherry after all.
With our railroads across the continent, connecting the
growing Pacific States with the East, population will
j increase there and manufactures will soon flourish as in
't the Eastern States, and we shall be able to supply the
wants of the people of the adjacent countries ; and, in
fact, control the traffic on the great Pacific ocean. It
matters not to the nation at large to what section wealth
flows ; so long as it does flow to any part, all sections will
enjoy its benefits ' • and I repeat that it seems to me clear
that with a canal, thrown open to the world, across the
isthmus, particularly with the West India Islands in the
possession of foreign powers, we shall be losers instead of
gainers. In this connection it will be well to inquire if
the possession of San Domingo, on easy terms, will not be
a good' thing and an entering wedge for further advan-
tages. These facts and ideas are thrown out as interest-
ing at this time, but before we undertake such great
enterprises with government aid, let us look before we
leap.—Boston Advertiser.

The idea of a self-acting velocipede is still occu-
pying the attention of the ingenious. In the West of
England one so propelled has been running at the so-far
promising rate of six to eight miles an hour. It requires
two persons to manage it, one to attend to the miniature
engine, and another to steer.—Builder.
Kerosene, which means all manner of " harmless
and non-explosive " illuminating fluids, continues to blow
up and blast and burn to the death throughout this ex-
tremely patient and much-suffering land. We are not,
therefore, surprised by the notable expedient of certain
Western life insurance companies, which have their
advertisements pasted on kerosene cans by special ar-
rangement with the grocers. There could not be pro-
perer places for their display. And yet the time may
come when all well-regulated life companies will refuse
to underwrite the lives of those who are ad-
dicted to this particular kind of evening oil. The worst
of it is that, according to the report of Dr. Chandler, who
undeestands the matter thoroughly, there is no necessity
for " accidents "of this kind. It is only bad oil which
is likely to explode, so that those " casualties " seem to he
a matter of manslaughter, or something exceedingly
like it.

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