New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-05-16


trv lie saw every peasant, every manufacturer
LAYING by money. but Mt the same time boarding It,
Millions and millions Of idle francs were lying IN
old teapots and stockings, buried in napkin. Such
accumulation of unemployed capital only cloggeu
the wheels of development. He saw V hat CONNER
cial possibilities lay all this money II IT. cOuu Dc
brought ont and invested in needed canals rnlroads
and sea-pOrts. From another point OF view, too
the step was advisable. Where the treasure Is
there will the heart be also. Let the workingmen'
the farmers and the manufacturers place their
money in the practical schemes inaugurated Dy the
Republic, and their interests will DO with the ke-
public They will uphold and support 1t.
At first the plan was coolly received. These poo
ple reason slowly and are cautious. The frugal
cultvator who saves up his francs at the rate of
few sous q day. suspected job. Interested polit-
cal Cpponents denied the scheme cXtravagant, as
q piece Of demagogsm to captiya,e the masses.
But NJ de Freycinct kept straight ahead, and
made up his list Of improvements. Chambers OF
Commerce sent him invitations from all sides to
como and see what their respective localities
needed. lie travelled France over from one
end to the othcr-listened and looked and
thought-and then won't back to Paris
with his mind made mp. COuie qW coate,
these improvements must be made, or France could
never go forward commercially. The projects were
put in shape and submitted. Congress approved
the President approved, and now it only remains to
wait patiently until the spade, the pick aud the
trowel shall have done their work. Seven years at
the least will be required before these great under
taking5 will begin to come into any practical use
fulness-and it Will no doubt be ten years before
they will approach general completion
But the result will be to completely transform
the commercial relations of France with the outer
world The channels of trade will undergo m0di-
cations which at the present day 1t would be diff
cult to consider possible In this respect no point
III France mas much to hope for IN the future rs
has La Rochelle. At present 1t Is II dead clty-aS
dead aS AlaTblehcad or Salem. In old times 1t had
its own flag and Its ships whitcncd all the seas
with their sails. Its merchants made fortunes III
the West Indies and the Orient, and It's sailors were
famed for their proves and skill IN every naval
war i'm which their country had the misfortune to
become engaged. But two centuries and half ago,
during the wars OF religion, Cardinal RIcEcilcu be-
sicgcd the city, and built dyke across its harbOr
to Keep ont the English fleet that had br IIght pro
visions to the starving inhabitants. Kchcileu, IN
his hatred OF the lugucHots, bulded better than ne
knew. He not only captured the town. ana tounu
on entering that 5000 out of the 2S,uOO wtuln MS
walls were dead with starvation, but besides, nc
ruined the harbor Of La Rochelle for all time. De-
Doslts of mud and sediment have 20 ChOkcd II up
that every low tide leaves II bare almost IRON
shore TO shore, and the dyke IS daly visible ut low
water. rearing Its straight black line above the
surface of the waves. . .,
that she must have entirely new harhor or r.
all hope of ever rgainIng her departed com
mclcial prosperity. Fortunately, at tins JUncluTc'
nature come 20 her aid. At point on tHc coast
about q mile north Of where the present hdrR0r
opens To the sea. the engineers found natural de-
preston or inlet 81 admirably located in respect 10
convenience of access from the sea ana the CITY
that it seemed to have boon put thrro 10 order.
Fronting TOadatcad, sheltered 10y an island
Uhc lie de Re- from the waters If the Bay oi lis-
cav and protected on the north BY the shor oil the
Ncnd6e tins site is within twenty nluicS distance
by ran from the clty's centre, and VIII with az ont
Law OF SO 5000 900, Of which La Rochelle itself CON
tributes %2JO,OOO, furnish port bulli III solid ma
sonny with perfected system OF locks. qual7,
jettIes and piers, and three basins capable OF ac-
cOInmOdatmg the largest maU-oi-Nar or merchant
vessel now IN service, excepting the Great last
Kin this has been like a bnmbshell thrown into
the sleepy town. | wish i. were poss bic TO convey
to American readers some approximate ida OF 10"
really sleepy ID is. saw Mobile just after the war,
but It was perfect pLndcmHnlum q! rXcltcmrn;
compared with this. ! Remember NcW-Orlrans dur
ing ycllow-fevcr epidemic, hut even the gloom oi
stiffness, broken only by Catholic Church bells.
that broods over tins sIumb'rinS city " with
glorious past" AZ it's people saw; liut there nrc
half dozen modern GO-ahead solid men her" win
energy, money and pluck enough TO push any en-
tefprse through. They would slime rs bright lights
IN the most active American community lH'>o
men have taken tins enterprise on TIER
shoulders and carried il through ROW 10 its real
iZltIuE with q perseverance, and cOutJGr that COM
mand admiration. They have had discourage
mcuts enough 10 make most men Gtyc up long ago.
Even M de Freycnct ut fast shook h!s Lead mis-
gIvIngly when they called his attention 10 their
plan; "A good many of Their own frliOw-citiAHs
have done their best TO bring the scheme to naught;
objections have been raised by TINS Department ANA
that. Bordeaux has fought the project with al. her
powerful intiuenCeand yet spite Oi them all, the
first 900 900 of Francs has been appropriated by
Congress in this years budget, and before the
leaves now growing have fallen from the trees.
hundreds of wOTkmen will be busy at that hitherto
lonely point tho sCashOre digging, lcFellng and
cartng-and the click of the tTOWCl will miugie
with the breaking Of the waves.
do not wish to draw picture that may seem too
credul0us of the results Of thus great undertaking.
But if any one sufficiently Interested viii look at
map, he will sec that no point III France II 30 well
located for direct steam communication with New
York rs Is La Rochelle. With railroad running to
Paris and landing tho passenger there in eight
hours, with communication by rail along the coast
north and south to Nantes and Bordeaux rcspcc-
lively; with another line Of railroad straight into
the interior of France. there is question but that
with proper influences NJ work, tins now dead city
may with the proposed improvements become the
leading seaport on the West coast Of France. BDr-
deaux has her long and tedious approach By river;
HaYre, all the pcrlls Of channel navigation; Nantes
is far inland ON the Loire, and ROcheiurt Oh the
Charente. But La Rochelle stands with out
stretched arms and n sheltered rOadstead, looking
out upon an open stretch of water reaching away IN
a straight line to the distant shores of America
The day may not be far distant when commerce
aud travel will find their safest and spcedcst route
by this long forgotten and neglected port.