New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-07-29
M LEssEPs AND THE CANAL.
xEGoTlATIoNs WITH ENGLAND-fAMiLi
LIFE OF NJ DE LESsEPs.

..ss,. ba. returned from England. salts
ca vtb and proud of the success OF his nego'ia-
-. 18th the Gladstone Cabinet, as well he may
=. a. all GOES as he now expects. lie saws thst MS
- was ain the lions mouth" England was
naH m MONT of fact Of Egypt. She could do
~. sha nleased with Suez If 1t had been her
- pleasure 20 sweep away by indirect means the
rr.,ch company. size could have done So NJ
suht the de fdcto power of England has been recog
n;zed by NJ &c Lesseps, and so TO speak legaii~ou'
d., thus he contends, was not his fault IL was
,be fault Of the last four or i've CaDihets WHICH
-hoxs directed the diplomatic business Of france
US sha,wax left for NJ de Lessers as head of the
-..,,.nv was to get what advantages he could for
80; .h.rsholders He has made their securities
aouhtv secure Tire canal is now under the lofihai
nrotecton of the greatest maritime Power OF inc
world and England will advance great part OF
.ba money at low rate of interest with when the
.aco,d or parallel canal is TO be created. Suez
hares are guaranteed by her 10 an extent the Eost
.anoujne shareholder could never have hoped De-
Gore the convention between M. do Lesse2s and tue
cl.d,tone Cabinet was made pubic IN Ehgianu'
If French patriotism pronounees against the rresi
dent of the Suez Company, he can say Win resson
aRame Yourselves. but let me alone. Half
loaf is brtter than no bread. / have got whoie
LAT for NV compatriots whose interests represent
lion into which our stupid diplomstists letlt fai
Attack the Pienipotentary TO the Congress OF
R.,iip who fell into the 1uDsian trap laid for him
nv Lord, Salisbury and Beaconsfeld and frnce
Rismarck Attack the political msn VINO inventor
the Kroumirs and the Deputies who sanctioned inc
invasion of Tunis Attack Gambetta, Baron hlhg
and NJ. de Blgnieres, who secretly eggsd on AraOl
tn revolt against the Khediye and TINS forced the
English to DO what they have done AT lsmailia
Alexandria and Cairo. l warned earnestly our so
called statesmen that they we're ahordlpg England
more than pretext for converting Egypt into hall
way house between Europe and her Indian ana
South African possessions. but found that was
talking TO men who were hard of hearing. The day
following the one on which the treaty which Ten
eral Bra imposed on the Bey of Tunis was read III
he Chamber called on NJ. Barthelemy st Hilare
and told him that he had committed himself to a
nolicv which would force John Bull to lay his hand
on the Nile Delta / spoke III the same sense TO
Gambetts He believed that the jealousy OF the
other great Powers would stand in the way OF Ing
land in Egypt. Our people acted Ike cn'luien'
We have got Tunis. and much good may IL DO u.s.
England holds Egypt. She has been holding IL from
the day her army brought back Tewhk captive,
disguised as victor, to Cairo. 1t was my palnini
duty as President OF the Suez Canal Company 10
bow to accomplished facts"
SQch. indeed. Is Tue resume OI l"uE
daIvered in nv bearing bv NJ. de Lesseps. The
other listeners were Commando Roudare, Baron
Lambert and NJ. Cremenx, with whom as cap
italist be has had extensive dealings. NJ. dc
Iesseos spoke with his accustomed fuency aud
vioor He regarded Egypt, far as the seeular
claim of France 10 NEEDLE in her affairs Was con-
cerned, as past praying for Blessed are those VINO
possess Great Britain was in possession; ami the
most patriotic thing he couid do was to bind her
over TO protect the interests of French shareholders
in the canal.
NJ. dc Lesseps was much pleased with the fair
dealing IF the members of the Gladstone Caninet
with whom be had bern ia relation. MT. Chlders
was straightforward of-hsnd and though bit OF
a "Jingo" very fair and extremely agreeable. lie
said TO NJ de LesSeps:
"Tp enable you to understand well our position l
shall ask to dinner TO meet you the greatest repre-
sentatives of the shipping interests OF our leading
ports 700 vii: be able to Judge from some after
dinner conversation with them how we are pressed
mon and the nature Of the complaints we receive
from shipowners ard captains and oonsignees OF
goods in India. the Cape, China and Australia. II
is quite impossible with our fast-exPanding trade
ior us 10 do with single caual
On hearing this NJ. de LeSsePs brStled mp little
and spoke about the legal rights Of bis company. Mr.
Childers replied that tbe Government wished TO
TesrcCt Legality, but DlntsU tlab Necessity hhV"
NO law. ana that all TIE world over Government
hsd right to eIpropTre a private owner pour cause
dualis6 pabl3ae. This was not said in terms. But
it was impossible not to feel that it WAS IN the mind
Of Mr.. Chllders that il was solution proposed to
tie Government by the mammoth shlpo gners. and
that there was the possibility of its adoption. NJ
de Lessons RAPIDLY decided upon the line be was To
take in NEGOTIATING. He told Mr.. Chllders and the
Other Ministers with whom he conferred that II
England did not make unjust use OF her strength
he would not he unreasonably htigOns. She would
gain more than she would lose IN fairdcalng
Every French shareholder who was the victim OF
brute force would be her enemy. If she acted
handsomely she would have 9s many friends AS
there we're French members IN the company Lord
Granville adopted this view and 80 did Mr.. Glad
stone. NJ. de Lesseps had in talking with these
two statesmen to deal NOT only with skilled diplo-
matists but with accomplished business men in
the sense IN which that term understood in the
City. Gladstone has an inherited capacity for com
mercal business. and looks far into tue future IN
dealing with Egyptian questions. He we'll under
stands the wealth producing capacity Of the Nile
region into which Sir Samuel Baker penetrated.
HIS father under whose eye he was brought out.
was one of the most enterprsinR corn merchants
that ever carried a Wholesale business in Liver
pool. Lord Granville is at the bead of great iron
trade. He is an iron-master well as a peer and
polished gentleman. Mr.. Childers received great
part of his business education Australia
NJ. dc Lesseps returned in haste from London to
see how his ninth child Paul, was getting thro Agh
styphod fever. This is the one far-hPred mem
Der of the family. He looks youthful Hebrew of
the German type and does not resemble either
father OF mother. Not one of the ter has a De
Lesseps pbysiognomy. TLey are all. with the ex-
eeption OF numbers nine aud ten, the pictures of
Mine. de lesseps. She IN a Creole lady. The Mau-
r,tius was her birthplace, and her paTentage was
Anglo French Benjamin is the name of the baby
boy, who Is just ten days old lie was exhibited by
the proud faiher to his visitors on the morning on
which he told me OF the negotiations which he had