Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-08-02
THE sUEz CANAL.
Present Condition Of This Great
Waterway and abe Increase of Fa-
cili1ies Needed.
Cairo Letter to London Times.

Cairo Letter to London Times.
was glad to see how much Of the banks
are now cssed with stone. Trees grow with
difficulty in the sand, and their roots suffer
from the salt water. A sandy bank is car
RED by the wash of the steamers into the
deep water channel. But this stone casing
resists the wash, and when It Is complete
the company all be able to increase with
out danger their regulation speed. We met
with no obstacle for two hours. In this
great highway of nations we saw no life
save the wild marsh birds, and the waste
OF water stretching away to the yellow
desert. There are cares of passing places
every few miles, where the deep water
way is Widened from tWenty.four
TO fifty yards and sometimes more, and a
slgnRlman system stops or allows to pass
the ships according as the next run is free
or occupied. We passed the first care sue
cessfully, but at the second the ball was
hoisted above the flag, which, In canal
language, means 'go into the siding"
Nothing came By before sunset, when all
traffic ceases, and we lay In the quiet moon
light with every intention to proceed at sun
rise. But when l came up next morning
to see the start | found q feet of great
ships, each with its noisy little tug and
yellow flag at the masthead, slipping along
In single file. 1t was a grand way OF
realizing the work of the canal. Nineteen
vessels went by, averaging, our Captain
told me, l,5OO tons burden. All save two
carried the British flag. Three were cram
med with pilgrims, forecsstle, main deck,
and quarter deck, one mass of
life. Even the boats were full of them, and
| from under canvas awning peeped the
vei!sd faces Of women. One lot were Rus
sian pilgrims from the Caucasus-savage
looking fellows In fur caps and black cloaks;
the Others were Algerians and Moors In
| turbans and burnous. The rest of the
ships were cargo-lsden, twenty-five and
twenty-three feet in the water. All went
by safely till the seventeenth, the Scotch
| Greys, came. She went a yard OF two out
| OF her course, and at once was aground.
| She had passed US but others had still to
come, and there was nothing for 1t but to
wait till the Scotch Crews got free. Haw-
| sers were made fast to stern and bow on
| either bank, and, after an hours shouting,
| and steamiDg, and wincing, the big ship
swung into place again. The rest came by
without disaster, and we got under way at
| eleven O'clock
The canal is not big enough for the pres
ent traffic Shipping to the extent of over
100000 tons passes through every wear.
and 1t is steadily on the increase. Ships
have to wait their turn, aud much valuable
time is wasted at either end and in the pas
in two ways. The whole length of the
canal may be widened so IS to allow of ships
passing each other everywhere. Such a
work would not be difficult, but 1t would be
very costly. The deep water passage would
have to be more than doubled in width, as
the slow speed makes steering difficult, and
ships In passing would require plenty of
searoom to avoid accidents. The present
width of twenty-five yards would have to be
raised to sixty, but 1t would not be neces-
sary to increase the width or surface
OF the whole waterway, which is already 100
yards from bank to bank The second mode
of increasing the facilities of passage is
more feasible, and has much to recommend
It. 1t consists in considerable increase in
the number of cares or passing places, and
In the frightening OF those already in exist
ence. There are at present thirteen, and they
might easily be increased to twenty. The
same precautions now practiced would be
still enforced In the passing of ships. The
block system would be carried out from
gare to care. The buoYing Of the passage
is already excellent, and there would be no
increase in the danger Of fouling and jam
ming. The consequences of such accidents
in so narrow a waterway as the canal are so
serious that | think, on the whole, the in
crease OF the cares is most to be recommend
ed. But one or other improvement is nee
essarV