Arizona silver belt., 1897-09-16
THE NICARAGUA CANAL.

Interest Tn tho Nicaragua canal pro iect has been revived by the appoint ment of a new board of commissioners { by President Mckinley, under con gressional authority, to make final investigation and report upon the Nicaragua canal route and upon all the engineering and financial aspects of jnteroceanic transit across Central America. The personnel of the com mission gives assurance that the work will be thoroughly done and the re- port exhaustive, and the estimates as reliable as eminent engineering skill can make them. The members of the commission are Rear Admiral John G. Walker, Prof. Lewis M. Haupt and Capt. o. M. Carter, corps of engineers, U. s. A. It is said that the commis- sioners are all impressed with the i'm portance of the project and the ad vantages of the construction of an isthmian canal under American auspices. There is, therefore, reason to expect that the report of the con- mission will be favorable to govern ment aid in building the Nicaragua canal, which appears to be the most practicable route, and which was ex- plored as early as 17Sl by Don Manuel Galisteo for the Spanish government.
 The advantages of the route are that it includes Nicaragua lake, 110 miles long, and the San Juan river, nine miles, navigable for large vessels, leav- ing only 61i miles of canal to be con structed. Louis Napoleon was i'm pressed with the feasibility of the route and was granted concession to construct canal in 1646.
 Whether the investigation of the new commission will result in the United States government taking any action looking toward the construction of canal across the isthmus is ques- tioL of serious doubt. For more than fifty years the project has been con sidered from time to time by the l United States. In December, 1S46, President Polk made q treaty with the Republic of New Grenada, now Colom- bia, for canal across Panama, and surveys were begun, but the outcome was the building of the Panama rail road, which has been successfully operated for fl years.
 All the early attempts by the United States and France to construct canals across the isthmus were opposed by England, and in 1850 the Clayton Bulwer treaty was concluded between the United States and England, &C., cording to which all interoceanic con- munication across Nicaragua or the isthmus should be mutual in their character and shonld be encouraged by both nations Under that treaty no nation cGn exercise exclusive control over any such canal.
 In 1867 treaty was negotiated under the direction of Secretary Seward between the United States and the Republic of Nicaragua, and about the same time Nicaragua concluded similar engagements with Great Britain and France in respect to canal and its use. These treaties alike manifest the international character of the enterprise. Running through all the diplomacy relating to interoceanic canals there has been distrust of one another among the great maritime powers, which has discouraged the loaning of needed funds.
 Should the United States aid the Maritime Canal company in building the Nicaragua canal 1t would probably gain thereby no great advantage over other nations, except as an investment that would in all likelihood be profita- ble. From commercial standpoint if would be of the greatest benefit, but in the event of war between the United States and foreign power it might prove serious menace and detriment.