The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-04-08
NICARAGUA AND suEz CANALS.
Some Facts Not Generally Known
Concerning Them.
New York Sun.

@NcW lOTk Suu.
Recognizing the construction of the Mic
aragua canal as now assured, the Saturday
Review undertakes to estimate the amount
of traffic which it will command and from
this point of view compares it with the
Suez waterway. 1t undoubtedly succeeds in
pffo Eng L that c but a small all part pa of the trade uie
and Australia, will be diverted to the new
route. But 1t fails to appreciate the vast
and constantly increasing volume of cons
lnodities interchanged between the whole
Pacific coast of the new world and the Eu~
actual and prospective m between
our own Atlantic and gulf cities and the
trade centerS of the Western coast of this
hemisphere from Alaska to Valparaiso.
The advocates of the Nicaragua canal
have never expected to obtain any part of
the trade between England and British In
dia, which is now carried on by the Suez
route. The distance from England to BON
bay by way of Suez is but $500 miles, by
way of Nicaragua it is Is 500 miles. To Co
lombo the distances are $3.50 and $1,000 miles
respectively; to Calcutta. 5000 and 800
all of the Australasian colonies except New
Zealand the distance from England IL
Nicaragua. To cite the exact figures the
respective distances from England by the
II. $50 miles; to Hong Kong. 5000 and Il, $50
miles; to Shanghai, 10,70 and II, $50 miles;
a mifes evs To f New Yoz zeaiana. i 1niaae a9 the DISC also
lance from England will be. curtailed by
the Nicaragua route, but only to the ex-
What is much more noteworthy than the
superiority of the Suez waterway from an
English point of view is the fact that the
route around the Cape OF God Hope has
very little to fear from the completion of
the Nicaragua canal, With respect. to only
four of the above-named places in Asia and
Australasia will the cutting of the Nicara-
qua isthmus effect any saving Of mileage
over the cape route. IL will shorten the
voyage to Hong Kong by $50 miles; that to
New Zealand by 1850 miles; that to Shang-
hal by ] $50 miles, and that to Yokohama
by 1880 miles. On the other hand, the cape
voyage to Melbourne will be shorter than
that via Nicaragua by 1850 miles; to Singa-
pore by 1900 miles; to Calcutta by 5000
miles; to Colombo by 1890 miles, and to
Bombay by nearly 5000 miles. Thus. nei-
ther in peace time nor in war time-that is
to say, neither when the SueZ canal is open
nor when British vessels are compelled to
of Good Hope, can the Nicaragua canal be
expected to secure any material part of the
trade between England snd her subjects
and customers in the East.
According to the Saturday Review a lib
efaf estimate of the traffic to be counted
upon by the Nicaragua canal would place
amount anticipated by the promoters of
the new waterway. But these figures are
passenger steamers plying from London to
Valparaiso and CaIlao will prefer to keep
to the route around Cape Horn, because
they have been in the habit of stopping at
Brazilian and La Plata ports. This seems
no less improbable than the additional
hypothesis that freight-carrying vessels be-
continue to perform the perilous Cape Horn
voyage after the Nicaragua isthmus shall
have been pierced.
We trust, however, that the British For
eign Office may be convinced by the argu-
ments of the Saturday Review that a Mic
aragua will be of no commercial inn
portance to- pgland. Americans. for their
part. are wilrh = to take the risk of draw
ing from it an .come commensurate to its
eqst, Tor ., they xnow that on mo,i strategic
ineStimable value to this country.