New-York tribune., 1871-04-07
, Sncz Canal. dining the month of March:

This gives total of twenty steamships for the
month amounting TO 2S PIG tuns in ALL and averaging
142O tuns each. Now it is idle to suppose that the
voyages thus advertised are experimental trips.
Most of these vessels have already made three or
four voyages through the Suez Canal and have found
the journey answer economically as well as practl-
cally 1t is also a significant fact that in the same
paper there are only twelve clippers advertised to
sail for the East from British ports by the long sea
or what is euphemistically called the direct route
md these clippers do not average more than 900 tuns
each There is at present brisk shipbuilding trade
in England for screw steamers constructed expressly
for the Suez route and ii may be safely assumed that
before many years passed the great bulk of the
Indian and Eastern trade of Great Britain VIII
be conducted in steamers using the Canal sapposi7g
If TO remain open and available for transit purposes
The question very naturally arises. What cause is
there to apprehend any such eventuality as that
alluded tot The material dangers which were so
confidently predicted have of them been real
ized The banks of the Canal have not crumbled
down: no difficulty has been found in steering
through the trough; the flow of water from one sea
TO the other is regular and plenful the bed OF the
channel has not been destroyed by the wash caused
by the motion Of screws paddle-wheels; the
depth of water in the shallowest portions OF the
Canal is now full 26 feet and the danger OF Port
said being blocked up by the formation of sand
one Under these circumstances il might be thought
that this great project had surmounted all its diff
culties. Unfortunately, it is still confronted with
the most pressing if not the most formidable of all
its troubles-that of financial embarrassment
We remember hearing Monsignor Bauer, the
Imperial almOner. who conducted the religious
functions at Port Said, say to NJ de Lesseps, in tell
ing about the then approaching meeting of share
holders "My dear friend. you will have to tell your
Actionaires that they have got magnificent block
of buildings in splendid situation, but that, though
the house is all ready to be let at enormous profit,
they cannot expect TO receive dividend till the
aDartments are let and the first quarters rent is
dueD NJ de Lesseps agreed that this would be
about the substance of his address to the propretors
of the Canal: and it would have been great deal
nearer the truth than most financial statements had
:, not been for one unfortunate fact that the apart
1nents were not let was expected. In other
words. the number of the ships which has
passed through the Canal has fallen far
below the calculation on when the estl-
mates of proft and loss were based Hitherto,
the Canal has not been employed to any
great extent by sailing vessels Not single English
sa1po-sbin is advertised to sail for the East via
snez; and we believe, with the exception OF small
Ievantine coasting-vessels the Red Sea-Medlter-
ranean route is practically used by steamers only.
This may be partly due to the refusal of Loyds TO
insure sailing-ships in the Red Sea- partly 10 the
alarm created by The wreck of the first vessel OF any
size which sailed through the Canal into the ked
Sea- But the broad fact, that while the number OF
eanal-usng steamers is increasing daily, there ls'
after IS months trial. positive decline in the num-
ber Of canalusing clippers serves to show that te
revenues of the canal will have to be raised mainly
IL not solely from the tolls steamships No doubt,
trade has been very dull for the last year. while the
war has deprived the Canal Of the revenue IT ex-
pected to derive from the rapid development OF
French trade with India. Still, after making every
allowance the returns have fallen far short OF the
expectations formed.
At the period of the opening NJ de Lesseps gave the
writer the following rough estimate of the financial
prospect for the ensuing year:
Estimated receipts. ................... 2l,0c0O0
Estimated working expenses. DO,OOO
Estimated re pairs .-.-..-...-....-. ZOJ'VO
leaving balanceo of GGOOOOO which would suffice to
pay dividend Of per cent on the achre capital Of
Gl2OOOOO.
Now according 10 an official statement published
by the Company, the actual receipts for 1870 amount
to6,S5724 francs, GZ554Ss, TO only about one
fourth of NJ. de Lesseps's estimate; and even this
amount includes considerable sums realized by the
sale of stock, &c, 10 longer required for the
construction Of the Canal. We informed how
eYcrs that the working expenses have been cut