New-York tribune., 1870-04-11
INTER-OCElNIC CANALS.

At a meeting of the American Society OF
Civil Engineers on the 10th ult., Col. julius
w, Adams read paper on american Inter
" Oceanic Ship Canals" after which, the SUBJ
iect WIS open to discussion (; and, at the close,
| Gen. Barnard moved, and the Society
esolred That in the opinion Of the American Society
of Civil Engineers the relations OF the IthDus of Tehu
antepcc to the United States peculiar, ana so
different from those Of any other suggested rouIc lor
canal transit, that is highly important tnat inc
patronage and Influence Of the Government, ana tho
capital Of its citizens, should not be committed 10 any
shicanal transit enterprise until the practieabDty
or non prncoahity Of canal across that i'thmus has
been determined by survey TO be made for that OBJ
ject.
Mr. FentOn on the 18th ult. submitted to the
Senate, and bad referred to its Committee on
Foreign Affairs, the following:
WAereas The commerce of the world and more espec-
ally that the Western Hemisphere renders it import
ant ship canal should he constructed across the
American isthmus; and
WAerras The Government Of the Republic of Mexico
has conceded an American company the privilege OF
opening interOceanic communication, by means OF
railway TIE Isthmus OF Tehuantepec, and now
proposes to add thereto concession for ship-canali
therefore he II
Resoced That IL the President Of the United States
shall obtain the assent OF the Government Of Mexico
corps Of Engineers To mako survey OF the summit Oh
the Ishmus of Tehuantepec to ascertain II there be
sufficient at the summit Of said Isthmus for ship
canal and IL ii should be found on examination, that
there sufficient water then survey OF the isthnus
for shin canal sha be made the Gulf OF Mexico 70
the Pacific Ocean, together with the complete plans pro-
es and estimates for the under such regulations
and with such provisions the Committee on Foreign
Relations may recommend.
Our Government is now engaged not Tor the
first time, in surveying the lsthmus of Darlen,
with reference to the facilities there afforded
for a ship canal connecting the Atlantic with
the Pacific. 1t is eminently proper that we
should take the lead in determining the feast
bility of this noble enterprise. Future genera
tions will with difficulty credit the fact that,
though the Isthmus of Darien was discovered in
1913, and that of Tehuantepec very soon there
after, three centuries and a half were per-
mitted to translire before the two oceans were
connected by "a road as servceable as many the
Romans built before the Christian Era, and
that we had not, so late as 1870 even ascer-
taned that Ship Canal across this Isihmus
was practicable.
Let the Isthmus of Darien be thoroughly
surveyed; but let that of Tehuantepec be
scanned with equal care Our Government
cannot give money to construct any Ship
Canal on foreign soil but it can and will do
its utmost to incite such construction by pri
vate enterprise at the earliest possible day
1t viii do ats full share of the preliminary y
work, and will doubtless give all its influence
to the good work of securing the neutrality
and protection of such Canal in case of war.
But, before capital will flow into such an
undertaking, it must be settled that the very
hest route has been ascertained and selected
and it were idle to expect capitalists to invest
the s1OOOOO,OOO that will be required to pierce
the Isthmus of Daricn if that of Tehuantepec
can be traversed by Ship Canal at cost
considerably less. We suggest, therefore, that
the survey of Tehuantepec should be made at
once, in advance Of the rainy season, which
there sets in about July 1st and we trust that
such survey will be authorized by Congress
and prosecuted forthwith. 1t cannot be de-
cidsd that the best route has been found until
every probable route has been thoroughly ex-
amiped