, 1865-08-02
i1hs concurrence Of the War Department In the
above u expressed in the folio wing letteEl
WAR DEpAnr41x7,
THE GREAT SUEZ SHIP
CANAL.
1t. I1lstory nnd Progress.

Six hundred and thirty yesrs before the
Christian Era, N:cho, q civil engineer Of
those days, projected a shlp. canal across the
lsthmus OF Suez, The design was carried ont
by the Persian monarch Darius, the son Of
Hystaspes- The canal continued In use. and
Tns repaired Us late as the reign Of the En-
pcror Adrian, and fICa'lY fell into dtsuaa and
decay In the time Of the Callss, who had 8
royal disregard Of any commerce but thas Of
the desert. Bonaparse, always touched With
eagerly ohoyed the orders Of tha Directory,
| that tue old ship eacal should be surveyed
| and orce more opened to uavt- CATION. Il com-
| panT With II. Lepere aud corps OF savants
AID engineers, he began the exploration on
tbe olh Of Dectmoer, i3ss, ana "a ,s tssesd tne
At that time the French engineers reported
| that tho Red Sea was thirty Ieet hlgher than
the, Mediterranean, theory denied by L,
Place, aud aince conclualvelY dtspfovsd, The
scheme which Bonaparte would haya carried
ont, had be remained IN the country. was
connection between Cairo aud saez, and
from the Nile to tho Arabian Cult II. Lepeee
hints at direct canal between Suez aud Pe-
lu.i.1m. plans wera made in tho days Of
Mehenet All, bu. that shsewdold warrior re-
fused to make any tnotoush!aze for msn-of-
war into Egypt.
The first modern company formed with the
design Of cutting the caa IL was In FebruEy,
1e4i, By II. Ltvant, civil engineer to the VI
ceroY Of Egyrt. Another VAS organizedd q - F
4. Enfantin. Stevenson md other Others: n NY
enterprises. But on the 30:h Of November,
1851. Said Pasha, the Vieeroy Of Egypt,
granted certain rights to u. Ferdinand de
Lesseps, subject TO the decislou Of the Sui
tan, aud the attention Of European nations
was called more seriously to the subject. An
! cuns!st!ng IT four gentlemen from England.
| q like number from France, and one e.ch
from Austria. Piedmont, Holland, Prussia
and Spain. 1he members ware oil o1leeIs Q!
. publs works Or naval g:nueuea, well
at es Il the ''9ss'; head . ef 4f tSat seulf elfi
i they found secure roadstead, With ampst
e spsce tor 800 ships, depth Of water froG
sixteen to forty fest. The bottom YES sot
l. mud, but afforded good anchorage. II e.
: water 500 feet on the north. and 800 OF
It lie eonih side, would give ali required .proo
d tection 10 the harbor. The quarr,es Of At
h iaka, near at tsnd, would furnish the mais
:. rlsl. From Suez to Potassium cn the MedltsE
ranean, by the most direct route. the dss
:. tance Is ninety miles Having spent hee da{
the tack Of The Old canal to the Meditcfra
mean. In many places they fouul the cau9
10 to be 40 feet wide md from 20 to 25 fea
deep, which, II It can be regarded aa ans L
4. dication Of its original size, must hare bee
IL room enough aud TO spare ios tue CALLERS &
" N and unzshS, rising seldom abays four or fls
u feet from the level Of the ocean, and havin
!, several muddy depreestons, dlgnlfed wit
the name Of lakes. Water obtained b
! boring was Intensely bitter, but there yer
ut no evidences OF inconvenlence from dsittia
" sands, The Bay Of Pelusium Is thirty-seYe
/ miles wide between the psomontosies Of D:
mletta snd Cape Casslus, and extends lnlan
1c thirty miles. It is botdered by strip (
ut sand beach, Just ontaide OF which tae ny
" deposits its great belt Of mud. The sea wal
e. AID piers required On this alde. to guar
:. incsoachmEnts Of the Nile, arc Of tolmidahl
at extent. The msteria1s are ut hand In Il
re exbaustless quarries OF cypsus, Rhode
IN Scarpsnto and the Syrian coass.
ey The report Of this commission proving t
he vorab1e, ii. de Lesseps aud his companion
ed were subscribed ut once to the enterprise
Alexondrja. For the prosecution Of the eI
OF terprise 1t was necessary TO have fresh wstf
Iy- for The 1aboress. 4 canal vas cut ftom tt
ee Nile to Isuana, at The head Of Lake Tensa'
it Of the center Of the isthrnnF, and fro
j? Port Said. L service cannl is oiso projects
df. uorthward to carry men and materials. TT
IN laud alpug the borders Of this fiesh Wat
Pc canal, which Ia made fertile by the nj
nc water, WIS granted to the contractor, ar
n1so large tracts ut each seaport for the CO
IN sfructf6n Of works. Out Of these grant
n I which the Sultan refused to confirm, ntte
: ,Tu,d arose some diplomatic difficulties, b
20. ! the matter Was finally referred to the art
he tra,fon Of Napoleon ILL.,, who settled the [
OF fair in manner mora satisfactory to hlms'
]. . 1 than to the English, who are exceeding
to ieslous Of French Influence II this quarter,
for The whole project Of u. de Lesseps Ia
tes most magnificent one. It contemp}ates
nit | ship canal ninety miles in length, three hu
aS drea and twenty feet Wide, and twenty e
zen deep, at the Low water level OF the Medit
ith rapeau. Port Said, near the Damtetta mou
or- Of the Nile, and auez, on the other side
re- the istbMus, are to become important ms
,ct time cities, and the fert11iztng waters OF
Of Njle will cause the desert sands along Viii
ut. Il is carried to blossom like the rose. n
try wav between the two eeas,' at the bead
IN. Lake Timsah, Ismaila, town Of go lnh
ed itputs, has arisen, to supply the wants Of
this | lahorers. The waters Of the Meaiter1ant
lue now hoW to this p1ace, at IN average DEF
the al about. three feet. From here the Fl,
70 Enter canal ls navlgahle to Suez. It Is 5
her thet the company have contracted With
lch rious French firms for the compilation Of
lue whole Of the works from the Afediterran
ens 10 tha Red Sea By the .1st ofJuly, 1868,
The which data the company expect that
1ue canal will be opened to navigation at c
has ~ the shareholders not exceeding tle &
aVe scriDed capital Of 6,ooo,ooo sterling.
nl