The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1851-09-17
From the London Times, .7ug. q
The Nicaragua Route.


In FEBRUARY, ls4a, the Times directed public
atten ion 70 the desiraheness of transit route
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, by way of Lake
Nicaragua. At the time we exeacised an inof-
fepsive con:r,l over the Mosquito territory,
which commanded the entrance to the passage,
our West India colonies gave US an interest. as
they still do, in every thing connected with the
region we possessed already lines Of steamers
both the Atlantic and the Pacific side our
traffic from ocean to ocean, in the shape Of
specie and passengers, was 40 considerable as
to call for our fullest activity with regard to
everything that might facilitate it; and, above
all, the privileges necessary for the construction
of the route in which Nicaragua Costa Rica,
and tho Mosquito territory were Interested,
were Instantly obtainable on such moderate
terms as would have been consequent on the
absence of competitor. Nothing was done how
ever A scheme based upon commercial con-
siderations, and which to be appreciated required
comprehensive faith in the inevitatl e march OF
western civilization, had few attractions after
period of excitement when fortunes were to be
made by anything rather than the exercise of
Judgment and knowledge of the laws of ne
groes
The enterprise moreover according to come
wac DOT sufficiently excl usive, and would merely
result in the loss Of our capital for the benefit
Of the Americans who were too shrewd to un
der;ake it themselves" A few months after
wards the announcement came that the Ameri-
cans, aroused 10 the value of the route had lost
no time in opening negotiations in N caragua,
and had actually succeeded in concluding con-
tract. The cry was then raised that they were
seeking TO grasp Central America; that they
would construct the canal and exclude our YES
sells from entering it upon equal terms, and that
we must forthwith prevent their proceedings by
contesting, in the name of the King Of Musquito
the right of Nicaragua to conccde the route
The answer TO this was the arrival of two com
missioner from the company to offer 10 English
capitalists upon little more than nominal terms
clear half Of all the privileges which they had
acquired by their prompttude, and which were
now held under joint guarantee Of protection
from the government of the United States and
Great Britain.
The desire for participation, however, was
again cooled as soon as It was found that il could
be graf fed. The prud nee of Englshmen in
1850 was enoogh to compensate for the entire
history of 1916, and where f800,000 900 had
once been considered a moderate outlay to be
Incurred during two or three years for local
traffic. the possible ex endture by England and
the United States combined of f300 600 per
annum for twelve years, f. revolutionize the
traffic of the globe was something almost too
much even for congress OF capitalists TO con
template. A direct purchase, therefore, was out
OF the question, and 1t was apparently only from
sense of patriotism and of the shame that
would be incurred If the power of accepting the
offer should be wholly lost to us, that mt the
eleventh hour an agreement was entered into
with the view Of securing it's renewal at a fair
price il the company should ultimately succeed
in d mons,rating the feasibility Of their ui.der.
taking In Octob, last this rgreemeut was an
nounced in the Times. and Messrs Vanderbilt
and White, the commissioners of the complny.
returned to New York with The int, ligence TO
their colleagues that they must proceed in their
work without any co opernton from this side
until the results Of co operation would be TO
longer doubtful
From that date there have been almost
monthly assertions of impending failure. With
out British capital their attempts, it was said
would end in hopeless insolvency Costa Rica.
moreover, would contest the territory through
which they would pass. Mosquito, also, might
still be made cause Of quarrel Other CON-
peting schemes, ton, would extinruish them.
Their two boats first sent ont Zone of which il
at present or the Lake, were "totally wrecked"
The assertion that they were forming Dad
over the twelve miles Of land from the Lake to
the Pacific was alleged on the authority of two
travellers to be delusion. and finally, within the
last fortnight we have had tho statement that
their privile cs, which had been guaranteed by
England and America, had been suddenly re-
roked by the state of Nicaragua. A more re
markablc history Of Encouragement was per-
haps never recorded and Uas certainly never ter
minated in more concise or interesting way
than by one Of the simple paragraphs in the Am
crican News Of Monday morning -" The pss
seneers by the Pacific steamer arrived at San
Juan del Sur (Nicsregun) with the California
mails on the goth Of July, crossed The Tsthmus