The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1880-05-28
PARIS LETTER.
lRegllldr CORRESPONDENCE. I

IARIS, FRANCE, April goth, 1880.
The complimentary banquet offered
to M. de Lesseps was given last even
ing IN the Grand Hall of the Con-
tinental Hotel. M. Paul Dolloz. in a
short, Well-choSen speech, proposed
the toast of the evening 1.-The Health
of M. de Lesseps," who, he said. had
opened passage for ships through the
sand of the desert, and was intent
upon making a breach through the
COldilleras for two oceans to meet.
M. de Lesseps, in reply, said that he
counted on the efforts of France and
the press to enable him to complete
the great circular movement which
will follow the rotation of the earth
and avoid the perils of the Cape of
Good Hope and Cape Horn. In open
ing the Panama Canal, we shall, he
said, be assisting the work Of civiliza-
ton and humanity. The cost of the
enterprise will certainly not exceed
600,000000f., much less than that of
the Suez Canal. He then gave hasty
sketch of his tour, and expressed sat
isfactiOn with his success in the
United States. He related how he
oyercame the scruples of the Ameri-
cans who were disposed to resent the
piercing of the canal in a neighboring
state by asking them whether they
would dream of opposing John Bull
were he to commence the formation of
one in Canada. By dint of reasoning
and answering all questions put to
him, M. de Lesseps brought the Ameri-
cans round to his ideas, and left them
with liberal offers of support. On
leaving Paris he had three difficulties
to dispose of. The first objection made
to the scheme was the insolubrity of
the climate of Panama. This he set
aside by taking his family with him,
and, during stay of seventy-three
days, not one of them was i'll. Another.
and a greater difficulty, lay in the ne
cessity Of proving the practicability
of the enterprise, and this M. de Les
seps claims to have done to the entire
satisfaction of all concerned. After
carefully studying the ground he finds
that there is only a mountain five
kilometres long to be pierced to unite
the two streams Of the Rio Chagres
and the Rio Grande, which fall re-
spectively into. the Atlantic and the
Pacific. The Isthmus of Panama at
this point only measures seventy-three
kilometres across, and cannot be COM
pared to the Isthmus of SEez, which
measures 1852, and where the workers
had no water, no lodging, and nothing
but burning desert to rest upon. The
American difficulty, NJ. de Lesseps
says, has been overcome, and America
accepts the canal, as does France,
knowing it to be for the good of hui
manity and the civilization of the
world.
Writing in Figaro on the vexed
question of a dissolution, NJ. Maynard
remarks that 1t seems to be desired
by M. Gambetta, but not by NJ. Grevy.
M. Gambetta, however, may gain his
point, and the Conservatives should
consider how it may affect themselves.
The extreme Radicals are already cry
ing out against the proposition, for
they declare that they would be taken
by surprise before their organization
was complete and before they had had
time to convert France to the pleasant
idea of being represented by 500
Frinquets. Frinquet, [ may observe,
is Communist expiating his offences
in New Caledonia.