The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1869-11-19


sey. nj Minnesota, are at the st. Nicholas Hotel
Tho Suez CanaI-France Has tho Glory
England Win Reap the Profits.
The magnificent Oriental .tates in honor OF
the opening of tho Suez Canal are now in full
blast, AMI the ancifiil wonders Of the Arabian
Nights are eclpsed by the imposing spectacl -
of kingly grandeur which enliven the desert
isthmus from day to day. The event is worthy
the imposing ceremonies and tho imperial
dignity of the celebration. Considered merely
as triumph Of the engineering art, the work
Of NJ. dc Lcsseps must take rank with the
| proudest structures of antiquity, which are the
wonders of the present age. It's mechanical
| grandeur is the least remarkable feature in the
great enterprise. In the light of history 1t
deserves to be carefully studied When Han
nibal led his army over tho Alps he taught the
world how the fate of an empire might depend
| upon the possession Of an obscure mountain
road. There is perhaps, no spot or strip Of
| land on the globe which has been the theatre
Of scenes more significant in history than that
and the Red seas. 1t seems TO be the natural
| key to the occupation Of both tho Eastern and
European centres Of trade, and hence TO the
centres Of political supremacy. As such it
early caught the eye OF the Ptoiemies and of
Alexander, the Caesars and the Saraceu
Caliphs, the great conauerors Of the
Eastern World; and it was atten-
| lively considered and examined with
| a view to a canal by the far-seeing
| Napoleon the First. The worthlessness of the
engineer sent out by him to survey the islhmus
alone diverted tho Emperor's mind from a
scheme promising more las,iag glory tan "the
sun Of Austerlitz What escaped the ambition
of the mighty Corsicar, however, has been
achieved under the auspices Of the present
French Emperor. But the latter, qnick as he
is to link his name and dynasty with the
triumph Of the great canal, may after oil reap
but little more than glory-ostenslbiy great
word with the Frenchman, hut in reality a
very inconsiderable part Of his aspirations.
| The commercial advantages OF the work OF M.
| de Lesseps will affect no power 30 much as
/
with their railway, have stood aloof from the
toll and risk Of this canal no nation will make
more use Of Il now that It is an established
success.
In an address to the stockholders Of the
Improvement, at Paris, few months ago, th.
great engineer ticked his French audience By
telling them that if ''they held the larges
number Of shares the English would pay th'
largest share of the dividends" 1t requires
however, but little sagacity to see that if tn
company's dividends are drawn from Englis
pockets II will only be because the canal ha
enriched them. Already we hear of the fire
vessels built expressly for the canal trade a
the property Of English merchants, Tho
France can ever compel anything like a mono
poly OF even tenth part Of the tgansportatio
81 British India :: tna Indian Ocean by Sue
Ia simply preposterous. The proportion {
freight for the East now carried in French bot
, toms scarcely amounts to hundredth part {
that taken by the English. The route froI
Liverpool by the Cape Of Good Hope, Will
! long. Is free from some drawbacks that ca
, never cease to affect the prosperity Of the Sue
route. The navigation of the Red SEA- ha
: always been attended with peculiar dangers
and owing to the surface current setting int
the Mediterranean at Gibraltar, as all shiI
y masters know, the exit from the Mediterranea
= is often impossible for weeks together TO sal
ing vessels. The tariff of the canal, to kee
ii in good repair, must always be heavy. No
n il is ~, 400 in gold for an ordinary Indiamai
1t is not strange, therefore, that one Of Il
U most intelligent French journals-tbe Par
: Monde-commenting in late issue on Il
n prospective results Of the Mont Gents tunn
and the canal, says
l. Tie Indian supplementary mail no longer pass
r through Marsees II crosses Mont Gems and take
the direct road 10y RrtudsL Which, according TO
= approximate calculation, causes % saving thirt
n two hours. The tunneilng OF Mont Gems which
. however, quite a French undertaking, VIII ST
further shorten TINS line, and viii tnus divert 81
E ordinary mani, then the passenger traffic and pc
haps, even great part OF the goods traffic. 10 u
!, pors OF yne AdtlatiC Henccforin tue route to Il
. East Will no longer be via Marseilles: 10 Will auI
y tue extreme points OF the Italian peninsula.
II nv the cutting OF Mont Gems and the lsthmus
suez IL IT, therefore. clear that France has bs,
working Tor England much more than for hcrse
she mas given herself the trouble TO faciiltate Il
l. road 10 tue East for her and 10 mays straight d
paths Tor tue feet OF her rival. England VIII he b
iltte grateful 10 her for IT, ara France will lose col
mercial and political influence.
Napoleon may make some happy allianc
Il through his interest in tho great aqueduc
. but with Gibraltar in her hands, securing b
antranoa IN thu Mediterranean Euulcui b