Year: 1879

the latest information concerning his wishes,
was received ON the 9TH of this month"; ?"


''Yes; and my letter to him was written,
think, before he had had his reported conversa-
tion with the Viceroy. If there was anything
needed to assure his friends of his determine
ton not to allow his name to be used for
said that he has now spoken as plainly as it is
proper for "a gentleman to do ON this subject"


THE ENTERPRISE IN GOOD HANDS.


"Would you object to making public your
letter to him and to giving some idea of the
character of the organization which is now
negotiating with the Nicaraguan government
for the concessions desired to build the canals :"


"The letters are of private character and
do not desire that they should go out to the pub
lie for the present. 1t is hardly necessary for
me to assure you that the enterprise is in the
hands of whose reputation is un-
questioned and whose interest in promot-
ing the work will be greatly increased
now that they know that General Grant
is committed to its success. You know my
views on this subject. They were made pub
lie through my letter to the Secretary of State
a month ago. 1t would not be proper for me
to enter into details regarding the organization
just at present. l may say, now that General
Grants wishes are known or will be known
when the facts have given you are made pub
lie, that new company will be rapidly formed
in this country which will include in it's ranks
the leading capitalists Of our own and European
nations, whose purpose will be to construct the
Interoceanic Canal under the leadership Of
General Grant.


GENERAL GRANTS CORRESPONDENTS WITH EN-


General Grant has been in constant CORE
spondence with a prominent officer of the En-
gineer corps of the United States army since
his visit to Europe, and in all the letters re-
ceived from him he never alluded to the subject
of politics or the Presidency, but the tenor of
every letter indicated an absorbing interest in
the Interoceanic Canal. He declared that it
must be an American project and carried out by
American engineers. He said that during his
stay in London and Berlin he had fre-
quent interviews with capitalists, and
they all expressed their doubts of De
Lesseps and regarded him as visionary and
impractcable but declared that if it were an
American scheme in the hands of American
engineers any amount of capital could be got to
carry out the project" 1t appears from this COR
respondence that the subject has been carefully
canvassed by General Grant for two years, and
that the De Lesseps plan was determined upon
long before the call for the assembling of the
Paris Congress was made public.


DE LEssEPs DIsTRUsTED


He says he nowhere found in Europe any par
ties of influence who were willing to risk i'll
vestment in the enterprise if he should under
take it, and predictions made in letters written
six months ago, before the Congress assembled,





past two months. These letters were read to
an old acquaintance of General Grant week
ago, to convince him that he was not an aspi-
rant for any political Office whatever, but that
if he had any ambition it was to take prom
nent part in the construction Of the Inter-
Oceanic canal.


The friends of General Grant here say that
by his approval of the proposition made by
Admiral Ammen he has anticipated duty
which could not have been more modestly per-
formed, inasmuch as he has assumed a response
biity which is agreeable to his tastes, and has
closed forever all talk about his being neccs-
sity to the success of the republican party.