The daily gazette., 1879-12-18
North american Review

In the North ieasricdn ReUiew for jan
uary, NJ. Ferdinand de Lesseps examine
the different schemes that have bee n
proposed for the construction Of a shi %
canal across the lsthmus of Darien, con-
Meeting the Atlantic and Pacific ocean,.
He pronounces the Nicaragua Canal
project to be inadequate, and insists
npJn the necessity OF q canal having one
level Of water from ocean to ocean. The
Nicaragua route IL in the first pla ce too
long, being two hundred and ninety a We
kilometers; then, Its twenty one locks
would make navigation so slow that
there would bs practically no saving of
time, and great steamships could NOR Q
profitahly 20 arouCd Cape Horn. Even
we're the Nicaragua Canal to be- con-
structed, M. de Lesseps holds that 1t
could never be anothing else than a
channel for inferior navigation; it could
never accommodate the large vessels
which now carry the world 's commerce.
The second article ~ by Francis Park
man, who reviews the arguments
adduced in favor o. woman suff, age by
five advocates of that measure in the
November number of the Review When
the great mass of womankind demands
the ri gbt of suffrage, 1t will be accorded,
says Mr.. Parkman; but with al the
agitation OF this question during several
de"ades, the female sex Is sill content to
represented in political affairs by thei
male relatives. Nevertheless, women
may exert very great power in the
commonwealth. If they are sound ia
body and mind, impart this sonndness to
numerous offspring and rear them to a
sense of responsibility ard duty, there
are no DaIonal evils we canuot over
come. Mr.. Froude in the latter half OF
his article "Romansm and the IrisL
Race In the United States" recounts til,
history of English rIle in Ireland. Tha
history is, according to him, a success
sion Of blnnders on the part of the sue
,essive English governments. The on,
| o.nglish ruler whose policy might have
| resulted in gopd, both to England and t.
Ireland, was Oliver Cromwell. If the
| Irish people had been subject to such y
| ruler as he for two genrratIons, they
would In all likelihood have followed
| the example of the Scotch Hishlanders,
and become Calvinists.
| Henry James, Jr, contributes an ar
ticle on .he life and letters of the emi
nent French critic, Sainta Beuve, one o.
the most interesting figures in the annals
| of literature. The author apalyzes viii!
rare skill the mental constitution o.
! Sainte Beuve, ,exbib biting the remarkabl
I com bination of qualties possessed 10y
| him, namely, a passion for scholarship
and an intense sympathy with human
| hfe. An article by Prof. Alexander Win
chell on "Tbe Metaphysics of Science
| goes to demonstrate he existence Of a
realm of thought deeper than the data OF
| physical science, and on which the
| principles of science are dependent foi
all their validity. Science may pronounce
with authority upon questions purely
| phenomenal; but when It assumes %
| utter conclusi ons on themes which liz
within realm of metaphysics, it trans
cends Its limits. Mr.. Cuthbert Mills, III
his closing paper on "The Permanenct
of Political EOrces," considers the ques
| tion of the currency. His conclusions
are; first, that so long as financial ques
| tons are an issue IN national polIies, no
resting place Will be found rill 1t is til'n
| ly determi ned whether coin or an incoi
veltible paper currency is to be tn'
money OF the country; second, that tbi
| Greenback organization will never bt
anything but third party, and as such
will go to pieces; third, that
the result of the agitation will be de-
cision, either by constitutional amend
ment or otherwise, that the national
| goyernme ut shall not under any circum
stances issue an inconvertible legalten
| der paper money. The literary notices
| are by Richard Henry St1ddard, who
reviews three volumes, viz: Arpold's
| "Light Of ASA" DIR. Joyce's "Blandid, y
| and Bayard Taylor's "Poe'ical Works. u
The Review is for sale by all bOoksel-
| lers and newsdealers.