The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-07-20
THE SUEZ CANAL.

The canal through the Isthmus of Suez,
which is to divide Asia and Africa, connect
the waters of the Mediterranean, and open
a new route from Europe to India, after
having been talked about for centuries, is
about to become a thing accomplished. The
cutting of this canal like the laying of the
Atlantic cable and the building of the Pacific
Railroad, is one of the great engineering
triumphs of the nineteenth century. For
years the work has been in progress, and grave
doubts have been expressed as to whether it
could be brought to a successful conclusion.
The main difficulty was not in the digging of
the canal itself, although that was magnifi-
cent feat of engineering skill and perseverance,
but in the construction of suitable harbors at
its outlets. 1t was feared that the obstacles
to be overcome at the Mediterranean end
especially would be insuperable but science,
diligence, and money have sufficed to over
come them and to bring the problem to a
practical solution. Immense stone break
waters and dykes have been constructed, ex-
tending out into the sea, to receive the shock
of the waves, and forming within their walls
a spacious haven where the largest vessels
may safely ride. The Emperor of France and
the Yiceroy of Egypt have both taken a great
interest in this work, and the Suez Canal
may be considered as essentially a French
scheme to snatch away, if possible, large
portion of the commerce of India and China
from England. France, however, will not be
the only gamer by the canal, but England
and all the commercial States of Europe will
reap the benefit of it.
NJ. Lesseps, the distinguished engineer of
the Suez Canal, has announced that the open
ing ceremonies will take place on the 18th of
November next, and he has accordingly issued
invitations to the princes and potentates of
Europe to honor the occasion with their pre-
sence We may presume, then, that on the
date named the canal will be opened for the
passage of vessels, but it is a matter of con-
siderable doubt whether it will be able to
admit the largest sized ships. Until it can do
this, the usefulness of the canal will be mate
rally circumscribed, and there will yet be
much labor to be performed before 1t can be
considered as entirely finished.
When completed, however, as intended, the
Suez Canal will be, to some extent at least a
formidable rival to the Pacific Railroad, and
this suggests the advantage and necessity for
executing the American project of cutting
canal through the Isthmus of Darien. We
require water communication between the
Atlantic seaboard of the United States and
the Pacific Ocean, by a shorter route than
around Cape Horn. A canal at Darien, too,
would carry off much of the traffic from that
of Suez, as the navigation of the Red Sea is
dangerous, and large ships will prefer to take
longer voyage than to run the risks of en-
countering it. France and England have
both looked upon the Isthmus of Darien with
jealous eyes, and the opening of the Suez
Canal suggests that it is time for the people
of the United States to be awaking in earnest
to the Importance of this other great project.