The New York herald., 1879-07-08
The Darien Canal Project.

| Inc ntHALD specldl capie uesP"tonSo
contain the account ot banquet given at
the Grand Hotel, in Paris. last evening" to
NJ. de Lesseps, at which the members OF
the earlier company for the canalization
of the Isthmus of Panama formally handed
over to him all their rights and
concessions. Several Americans were
present at this banquet. and the well
known French banker. Isaac Pereire
proposed the health of Captain Selfridge
one of the American explorers OF the
Isthmus, and announced. amid acclama-
tions, that one of the Transatlantic Com
pany's new steamers would be called the
Selfridge-a very pretty compliment to
gallant American officer. Naturally, after all
that has been said here and in Europe on
this delicate point NJ. Pereire concluded
his address with an emphatic declaration
that the canal project is "purely COM
mercial, and is intended to give predoml-
nance to no particular national interest
q point which we will consider further on.
Meantime the new enterprise seems to be,
if not launched, at least ready to slide
into the water, with the ways
we'll creased, so to speak for the
Paris correspondent of the HERALD
reports that M. de Lesseps is about to form
company with capital of four hundred
million francs, to begin work without delay.
Four hundred million francs is the equlva-
lent of eighty million dollars-a very pretty
sum of money, which, we hope, M. de Les
seps will get together without loss of time.
But while he is preparing his prospectus
we recommend to his consideration little
incident of American rural religious life,
from which he may, if he appreciates it at
its just value, draw an important lesson.
The Yankee nation rejoiced, thirty or
forty years ago, in clergyman named Lo-
renzo Dow, who was person Of uncommon
eloquence, and in business matters it would
seem Of great good sense of degree of
acumen, indeed, which will make his men,
ory respectable in the eyes Of even SO great
fnancier as NJ. de Lesseps. Well, Mr..
Dow was once engaged in the task of
what in this country we call "taking up
collection" capitalists, large and
small, to subscribe money to a stated OBJ
iect to put the matter in way entirely
intelligible to M. de Lesseps. Of
course the amount Of the subscription
which the reverend Mr.. Dow had un-
dertaken to raise would appear trivial
to Nj. de Lesseps; STILL Mr.. Dow, being
business man as well as q clergy
man, recognized the fact that when men
are asked to subscribe money, no matter
how small in amount, being mortal, they
are apt to look after the security of the in
vestment; they want to know how they are
going to get their money back. As the
the relief Of certain poor persons, accord
ingly, Mr.. Dow said to the congregation or
audience, sGiving to the poor is lending to
the Lord-if you like the security, down
with the DUST" the word ''dust" standing in
this case, we will explain to M. de Lesseps,
for francs
When NJ. de Lesseps begins to call for
the four hundred million francs with which
he means to begin digging the Darien
Canal he cannot, in our opinion, do better
than show the people he would like to
secure as subscribers that the security"
is beyond suspicion-what on the New
York Bourse would be called first class, Al,
belief that he ought to come over to this
country, get charter for his enterprise
from the State of New York, establish his
head offices in this city, and make it known
to that part Of the world which has money
to subscribe that he is going to dig the
Darien Canal under the potent protection
of the United States government, and that
while he is digging it and while he is blast
ing out rocks, and while he is constructing
locks, harbors and tideways, and not only
then, but afterward, while he is transport
ing ships across the Isthmus on behalf
and for the profit Of his stockholders and
bondholders, the one notorious, absolutely
certain and constantly reassuring fact about
his and their enterprise will be that, having
made it an American enterprise, the United
States government will feel itself bound to
protect it with all its power from injury
and interference by any government,
power or force whatever
We would not SO persistently urge this
course on M. de Lesseps five did not per-
ceive in the reports Of his conversations
with the Paris correspondent of the HERALD
a failure on his part to see its extreme i'm
portance. He appears to think that he has
said oil when he declares that his enter
prise has ''no character of special nation
atty" which would be very we'll and
entirely sufficient if he were going
to raise an army and create and
maintain o navy powerful enough to
defend the works he is undertaking,
and thus give to the stockholders security
by his own strength. But the fact is quite
the reverse, as, indeed, he admits. His
adventure is a private speculation" as he
Justly remarks; and, although in Utopia or
in heaven private speculation of .'uni-