Morning journal and courier., 1880-02-26
DE LESSEPs IN NEW YORK,

De Lesseps is in New York and is received in manner that must make him feel that whatever is thought of his canal scheme in this country there is no disposition to belittle his greatness or deny him any of the honor which is his due. He may also be sure that what he has to say concerning the proposed canal will receive fair hearing. His opening talk is both frank and conciliatory. He pooh poohs any secret arrangement between Eng
 land, France and Germany, or any other secret arrangement. He declares that the Monroe doctrine is just and unassailable, and that he
 retains the respect for it which he learned in 1923, at the time of the Holy Alliance, when
 Canning wrote on the subject to Monroe. He does not intend to ask Legislative or Congress
 sional aid in the United States, and is not
 troubling himself about suspicious on the part of any company or any individual, not even MT. Thomas Scott, of whom he has heard. He is going right ahead with the work of trying
 to opersuade fnanciers to take hold of the affair,
 and will give the people of the United States
 the option of taking even moro than half the
 amount of the bonds of the canal.
 The great engineer declares that he will not
 use diplomacy to insure success, and believes
 that the truth will prevail and that he can re-
 flute any argument which may be brought up
 against his scheme. He stands firmly upon
 the report made by the eminent engineers who
 have carefully surveyed the ground, and who
 have certainly pre-eminent qualifications for
 discovering what can best be done. This re-
 port says that the line adopted by the Paris
 Congress has been slightly modified and inn
 TIL. :I~. k,kr,
 base for 56 cross sections made by five level
 ing brigades, and the exact condition of the
 ground to be excavated is ascertained by bor-
 ings. The overflow from the Gamboa dam
 will be carried off to the sea over new bed
 for the river Chagres, and drainage and
 surplus water from the canal is to be car
 ried of by channels to be constructed. Atide-
 lock is to be constructed in the Bay of Pan
 anna to control the level of the canal. In
 the Bay of Limon, on the Atlantic side, it is necessary to construct breakwater two kilo- naetres long on account of storms. The cost of the work, estimated at S43, ,OCO, 900 francs, (about $16s, 800, OOO), includes the following items: All excavations, dredging and removal of earth, 57O, 900, 900 francs; dam at Gamboa, 100, 900, ,OOO francs; changing the waters of the Chagres, Obispo, and Trinidad, 75, ,O00,- 900 francs; tide-lock on the Pacific, 12 00O,- 900 francs, and the breakwater on the Atlantic l coast, 10000, ,OOO francs. Contingencies are estimated at 76,OO0, ,OoO francs. The work l will take eight years to complete, and it may l be commenced before next June The esti-
 mates contemplate the removal of 75, ,000, ,O00 | square metres of rock and soil. The work | men employed will be negroes, and not China | men, as currently reported. Some think that | the dam at Gamboa would be carried away by an inundation, but De Lesseps has no fear of
 this Justus DIrks, the eminent Hollander, is so sure that the plan adopted is the only one that should be considered that he would write it as his professional opinion and stake his reputation on it 'tin letters twenty-four feet high"
 Although the report fixes the cost of the
 canal at $168, 50O 900. De Lesseps thinks that
 it can be constructed for $12O, ,OOO, 900. It is,
 however, likely to cost more rather than less
 than the highest original estimate, and some do not hesitate to say that when it is com-
 peted if it ever is it will have cost not less than l $25O, ,OOO, ,00O, and that it will never pay. We l shall soon see what success De Lesseps has in | impressing American financiers with the feasi- bility of and the profit in his plans. He can convince them if anybody can, but we shall be surprised if h. makes much progress.