The evening times., 1899-10-10
THE CANAL CONCESSIONS.
The Old Company Not Giving Up for
the Present.

the Present.
NEW YORK Oct. 10.-Another critical
stage in the acute troubles of the Nicaragua
Canal scheme supervened yesterday, when.
according to the decree of the Nicaraguan
Government dated October 81. 1898, the
concession granted to the Maritime Canal
Company came to an end and the Cragin-
Eyre-Graee syndicate succeeded to all the
rights and privileges of the older COM
pany. Just how this transfer stands in
point of law it is difficult to discover,
either from interviews with persons in
terested or from the texts of the conces-
sions granted by Nicaragua TO the two
companies.
E. F. Cragin of the syndicate, has, at
any rate, no doubts. 1.-THE concession OF
the old company lapses," said he,
''and our syndicate assumes technical
control of the only existing canal conces-
sion. At present we shall probably not
undertake any construction work, but our
exact course Of action will be settled at
meeting of the syndicate which will be
held in this city some time this week.
An official of the Maritime Canal Conn
pany denied the validity of the syndicate's
claims. THE concession to our company,
said he, was granted by the Nicaraguan
Government in 1887. We were allowed ten
years in which to construct the canal; and
that ten years period dated from the close
OF a period of two and half years given
us for beginning and completing our sur
yeys. In regard to the ten years term the
concession reads:
" However, should events of main force
arise duly justified, and sufficient to i'm
pede the regular progress of the works dur
ing the period of the said ten years. an ex-
tension shall be granted equal to
the time that may have been lost. If at the
expiration of the ten years aforesaid, the
works should not be completed,
the Republic binds itself to concede new
extension
Now we are entitled to that extension"
continued the official, ''for there have been
some events of main force to delay US.
First, there have been during these ten
years, ten revolutions in Nicaragua; then
there were the panic years. and, lastly, the
United States Government has forbidden
all construction work since the appointment
or the Walker Commission some three years
ago. l think tkat disposes of the syndi-
Gates claims
Mr.. Cragin, though frankly claiming the
concession for his own people, ceemed
hardly ready to give any detailed eXplana
tons In the absence Of such, some ex-
tracts from the concession to the syndi-
cate shed an uncertain light upon the
status of the two companies
The syndicate concession is dated Octo-
Der 81. 1898, and in Article l. ii permits
Messrs. Eyre and Cragin, etc, TO enter into
negotiations with the Maritime Canal Com
pany in order to secure the recision of
the latter company's contract. known as
the Cardenas- Menocal contract; and this
article further declares that the Maritime
Company's contract shall terminate on
October 8. 1899. There is a good deal said
later in the concession about the pledge
Of the said Eyre and Cragin to organize
an ''lnteroceanic Canal Company" within
six months OF the end of the Cardenas-
Menocal contract, and Article XII of the
syndicate winds up with a second and de-
tailed statement that the Maritime Com
pany's concession shall end on October ..
1899, and that the 'Interoceanic Company"
must be organized within six months
thereafter.
To all appearances the concessions grant
ed to the Maritime Company and the syn
dicate are inconsistent with each other
The syndicate has not yet obtained the
charter required by the concession to it,
ard the Maritime Company's concession,
if Ii has lapsed. seems to have been de-
stroyed by reputation of it by the Nieara-
Government