The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1893-02-01
THE NICARAGUA CANAL.

Congress is taking an active inter
est in the Nicaragua Canal bill and
the subject will certainly be we'll in
vestigated before finaI action is taken
upon it. On January 14th in the
Senate, Walcott of Colorado offered
a resolution instructing the Commit
tee on Foreign Relations to inquire
what sums had been expended upon
the construction of the Nicaragua
canal since the account OF expendi-
lures heretofore rendered. He re-
marked that two years ago testimony
was taken by the Committee on
Foreign Relations which showed
that up to that time about 100000
had been expended Now it was
proposed to give the company So
100000 in bonds, guaranteed by the
Government for $12,000,000 stock.
He did not suppose chat it would be
seriously contended that any such
expenditures had been made by the
company within the last two years,
and the purpose of his resolution
was to ascertain what the actual ex
penditure had been.
sherman, chairman OF the Com
mittee on Foreign Relations, said he
had no objection to the resolution.
Two years ago, he said, the company
had expended 100000, and since
then had expended considerably
more, but not as much as 100000
The amount actually to be expended
was to be ascertained by the Secre-
tary of the Treasury and the Secre-
tary of State, and the maximum was
to be turned over to the company in
guaranteed bonds not to excel d
S6,000,000.
Hoar said Congress should see to
it in the construction OF the Near
aqua canal that daylight should be
constantly turned on every transac-
ton. The resolution was, at the sug
gestion of Morgan, laid over till
Monday.
The resolution offered yesterday
by Morgan of Alabama, instructing
the Committee on Commerce to in
quire and report the advantages to
the interests of the United States
that would be afforded by the Mica
ragua ship canal, was taken up, and
Morgan spoke upon it. He said that
logically Great Britain had just as
much right as the United States to
charter a canal company and take
the control of it which it was pro-
posed the United States should take.
If Costa Rica and Nicaragua were
to tender such an overture to Great
Britain, or if the owners Of the con-
cession were to take it to Great Brit
ain and make the offer which they
made to Congress, and if Great Brit
ain should accept, the United States
could have one paltry plea = he
would not call it paltry-one emacu-
lated plea, and that was the worn
and torn and dirty Monroe doctrine,
which the Senate of the United
States had succeeded in kicking lit
orally into doll rags.
Sherman. asked Morgan to notice
the objection made in some quarters
that the owners of the $12,000,O00 Of
stock of the company would have
undue influence in the management
Of the corporation.
Morgan replied that in the pend
ing bill the power of the Govern
ment was reserved in the control of
the operations of the company. The
Government was to own $780,.
100000 of the $100,000,000 of
stock, and therefore would have
control so far as direction of the
company was concerned. Speaking
of the provision Of the bill for ten
Government directors out of fifteen,
Morgan said that if the French Gov,
eminent had had its own directors
in the Panama Canal Company the
robberies which had disgraced and
nearly destroyed the French repub-
lie would not have been perpetrated,
and the stories of fraud and corrup-
ton and villainy which were now
shocking the sensibilities of that
great and noble people would have
been avoided.
Ex-senator Edmunds Of Vermont
attributes the former defeat of the
measure to the influence Of Cleve-
land. In an interview last week, he
said he thought Congress would take
favorable action on the measure.
Z" The Nicaragua canal" he added,
"will revolutionize the country's
commerce and promote its growth in
wealth and population as nothing
else can. In fact, beyond the antici-
patton of its own people, it will give
the United States the key to the
commercial situation, making it the
greatest commercial maritime power
on earth. Just think of the wonder
full benefits of the Suez canal to the
commerce of England and then null
tiply them many times over. Such
will be the results to the United
States of the completion Of the
Nicaragua canal"