The New York herald., 1870-05-07
Tho success Of tho suex Canal.

AuO ouCCoSS VI tuO SucA OhuWhs
Notwithstanding the persistent opposition Of
English interests, the misrepresentation OF
jealous foes and the scarcely less embarrassing
hints of doubling friends, the great canal
which unites the commerce of the Mediterra-
mean and of the waters of the East is COM
plete success. For time rumOr after rumor
came to us of this, that and the other difficulty
in the way Of noble enterprise which had
been inaugurated amid the applause of Chris
tendon and in the presence of some Of its most
distinguished representatives. All this cavil-
ling has been practically set at rest by state
ment which has recently been issued by the
directors of the Suez Company. 1t yields
striking evidence Of rapid progress.
The report extends from the 20th Of
November, 1869, the opening day, until
the LIST of March, 1870. In that time fifty
five large vessels had passed through the canal,
their trips being subdivided as Yellowstone
in November, nine in December sixteen in
January and twenty-nine in February. The
tolls taken increased from about seventy-fve
thousand francs in the first to nearly three hum
dred and forty-one thousand in the last named
month. The number of larger vessels given
is exclusive of five hundred and seventy-fve
trading boats or barks paying smaller per-
centage of toll Thus it will be seen that
traffic on the new channel has grown nearly
fvefold in the first quarter Of its first year Of
existence, in spite of all drawbacks. March
opened full of promise, and would at
least double the work Of February.
In the meantime the French steam
ship companies at Marseilles, the Ital-
ians at Genoa, Leghorn and Naples, and
the Austrian LIoyds at Trieste, are establishing
lines of service direct for the Red Sea and the
farther East via Suez, with every prospect Of
accommodating trade. French Oriental COM
merce alone amounts already to more than
eight hundred million dollars to and fro per
annum, and is daily growing still more i'm
mense. OF this very large proportion, If
not all, must be attracted to the canal, with
what results for that work we leave our
readers to conclude One thing is quite evil
deut-viz.: that the Suez Canal, spacious as it
is, will soon be crowded and another outlet
will be needed from the Atlantic to the East
ern marts Visible testimony points
with Junerring directness to the pro-
posed canal through the Isthmus Of
Darien. To restore equilibrium, adjust
the differences Of trade and open the natural
channels which commerce is seeking on all
sides to accelerate her onward march, that
crowning work has become q necessity for
the present generation. Ten years hence our
Southern inlets and the Gulf of Mexico will
be teeming with trade, and our Pacific coast,
encrusted with maritime cities, be flashing
their steam and electricity, in continuous
currents, to the marts at the mouth Of the
Amoor river and along the eager shores ol
China and japan. With both Suez and
Darien open the great republic would sit
enthroned upon the central seat among the
nations, dispensing, on the right hand and the
left, the matchless influence which, beginning
In friendly and lucrative trade, becomes at
last fraternal bond between all tongues and
peoples.