Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1889-01-25
DE- LESSEPS'S CANALS.
The Notable Career OF "the Grand
Frenchman" in Diplomacy and
Engineering.
His Remarkably Great Success at
Suez and His Equally Great Fall
ure at Panama.
A Work Which Has Already Cost $780,
100000 and Yet Is Really Little More
b. Than Begun,


bund Panama canal company, says the New
York Tribune, new era must begin in the
work of securing interoceanic transit for
snips throug the American isthmus. Prac-
tically, too, the active career of NJ. de Les
seps comes TO an end--a career long and
active beyond ordinary mortal compass and
full OF such picturesque as is seldom to be
observed outside the page of romantic tic-
ton.
His father, Count Matthew de Lesseps,
was born at Bayonne, and as he was equally
well acquainted WITH the Spanish and
French languages was sent by Napoleon ].
TO accompany Luciar Bonaparte, his first
ambassador to the court of Spain. While in
Spain the elder De Lesseps made the ac-
quaintance of Mr. Kirkpatrick, United States
consul to Malaga. who first introduced him
10 the family of Senior Grevigny, a notable
of Andalusia. This noble Spaniard had two
fair daughters with one of whom Mr..
kirkpatrick was already in love, and it did
not take the count long To fall in love with
the other. The Scotch-Amercan consul
and the Frenchman became brothers-in-law,
and while the son of the latter was to be-
come Ferdinand duke of Suez, the daugh-
ter Of the former became countess of Month
10 and mother of Eugene, afterward en-
press of France The elder De Lesseps in
1903 represented the French republic in
Egypt. Bonaparte instructed him to pick
out from among the leaders of the Turkish
troops man Of energy and ability who
could be proposed at Constantinople for the
hitherto nominal dignity of pasha of Carlo
M. de Lesseps pitched on Mehemet Ali, the
illiterate commander of a corps of bashi-
bazouks and advised his protege as TO
4 6 l,o1s
who were the oppressors Of the Egyptians
and the enemies of France. Mehemet, who
might have been one of Carlyle's heroes, put
the counsels into practice at the massacre
of the citadel which Kinglalle so dramati-
cally described in "Eothen." 1t was when
M Ferdinand de Lesseps was himself
French consul general in Egypt that he be-
came intimate with Mehemet Alis youngest
son, his future patron and partner.
Ferdinand de LessepS was born at Yer
sailles Nov. 10, 1905, and after acquiring
thorough diplomatic education by travelling
about in conn any with his father entered
the consular service himself and held the
post of consul at Barcelona, Cairo, and AL
exandria, becoming consul general at the
Egyptian capital and receiving the cross OF
the Legion of Honor for his herOism and de-
votion during the plague. In lS4S he was
made French minister at Madrid and the
following year was sent TO Rome to effect
negotiations between the popular govern
ment and the French army. Owing TO his
too favorable opinion of the popular move
ment in Italy be was recalled in disgrace
Mohammed Said, son of Mehemet Ali, had
now succeeded TO the viceroyalty at Cairo,
and he invited the son of his fathers friend
TO go TO Egypt as his guest. Tho idea Of the
SueZ canal then took possession of De Les
seps' mind, and Said became his first CON
vert. The sultan and the English bitterly
opposed the scheme. but the company was
formed in 1Sr4 with pnpifal of an 600 NN
The work was begun in 1898, was pressed
with vigor and enthusiasm, and the canal
was opened with imposing ceremonies Nov.
II, 1S69-the same year in which the Union
and Central Pacific railroads were connect
ed at Promontory in Utah. Being her kins-
man, De Lesseps had the sympthy and ac-
tive interest Of the Empress Eugene in this
great enterprise, and ii was largely through
her patronage that he was enabled to carry
it to a successful conclusion.
The Suez canal passes through low,
sandy plain, and is about 100 miles long. BY
constant dredging an average depth of
twenty-six feet of water is maintained, and
ships pass in and out at either end without
the hindrance of locks The business of the
canal has steadily increased. In 1885 no less
than 1924 vessels passed through it; the
gross receipts were Sl2.O09, 800; the share
holders were paid a dividend OF 17.0S per
cent after the sinking fund had been pro
vided for and the tonnage of steam and
sailing vessels that passed through amount
ed to S,9S5,4l1 tons
The idea of cutting through the Cordiller
as and providing waterway from the
Atlantic to the Pacific at Darien originated
with the Spanish conqucrors, but their plans
lay for 200 years buried in musty and dusty
archives at Madrid. The speculations of
modern science revived the idea, and when
M. de LeSseps assembled his famous CON
gress in the low countries in May, 1879, a
variety of competing schemes were submit
ted 10 it. The choice was finally narrowed
10 the project of the canal through Nicara-
qua and that of the Panama route. The Mic
araguan line had its advantages and
was the cheaper of the two by S.
100000, as it was calculated to cost
only Sl6O,0O0,0OO. But it was much the
longer, both in time and distance;
il would be difficult and expensive to
keep in check the luxuriance Of the tropical
vegetation; the number OF ships would be
limited by the locks, and the gigantic stone
works would be liable at any moment to be
shaken by the Central American earth
quakes. So the congress recommended the
piercing of the Panama isthmus by an over
whelming majority. A few Of the members
abstained from voting, and NJ. de Lesseps
points out that the aDstainers and the small
dissentient minority Were mainly made up
of Central American delegates so that the
decision may be said 10 have been practical
~ unanimous. The route to be adopted had
been surveyed and recommended by vo
French naval officers, NM. Wyse and re
clus The congress finally resolved, by
seventy-eight votes against eight, twelve
aDStalnlnR, bnat the canal, AT the sea level,
without any locks, should be made from the
bay Of Limon to the bay of Panama; all the
committees agreed in favor of this resolu-
ton. Other recommendations of the con
gress have been followed by the company
which M. de Lesseps formed to execute the
work, styled ia Compagnie Universelle du
Canal Interoceanique de Panama
In July, 1879, NJ. Ferdinand de Lesseps con-
cluded an arrangement with NJ. Bonaparte.
Wyse and his associates for the purchase Of
a concession granted TO the latter by the
government OF the Columbian republic for a
canal across the Isthmus of Panama. On
the I'D of that month NJ. de Lesseps pub
lished his first prospectus. inviting subscrip-
tions for 10000 shares of 500 each, giving
a capital of $S0,0O0,0O0. The shares were
not taken up, but In November, 1880, Sc
cond prospectus was issued for GOO,OO0
shares, and upward of 1,2O0,0W shares were
then applied for by 102 800 subscribers The
company was thus constituted with a CAPT
tai OF S6O,001,000 in 100000 800 shares,
which have been paid in full and the com
pany has contracted six loans mostly bear
ing 3 per cont interest, but taken at large
discount, the total amount Of obligations in