The New York Herald Newspaper, August 12, 1868, Page 8

3 SUEZ ISTHMUS. The Great Ship Canal Transit Through Egypt. History of the Ancient Canal and Descrip- ton of the Modern Works. Connection of the Mediterra- nean and Red Sea. Ship Route----The Mahmoudieh Canal----The River Nile----Railroad Conveyance and Telegraphic Communication Be- tween Alexandria and Suez. Trade and Trayel from Africa, Eu- yope and America as Affected by the Undertaking. By mail from Europe we have the following valua- ble and highly important special correspondence from the city of Suez, Egypt, in elaborate report of the works of the great ship canal through the ‘athmus of Suez, their progress towards final com- pletion and the prospect of the opening of that im- proved line of transit by Egypt *o the far East, and, vice versa, through Egypt to Africa, Europe and America, — Suez, Egypt, July 17, 1868, Centuries ago a canal running throngh Egypt con- “meeting the Mediterranean and the Red Sea was deemed indispensable, and thousands of lives were sacrificed in its execution. Kings and queens be- stirred themselves and used every means to effect ‘the desirable result. Just thirteen hundred years before the birth of Christ the first canal was opened, and ships of that age traversed it from one ocean to the other, This canal was constructed during the reign of Rameses II., one of the most remarkable of the Egyptian kings. He is the same monarch who, ‘ander the ttle of Sesostris, now regarded as legen- ‘ary, achieved so much imperishable fame by the Magnificent works which still remain monuments of bis reign. The canal started from near the city of Bubastis, the then capital of Lower Egypt, then, running due east, passed close to the cities of Pithoraand Rame- bes, the treasure cities of Pharoah, thence in asouth- easterly direction past the city of Baalzephon, now known as Serapeum, then, curving round the Bitter Lakes, ran direct southward to its confluence with the Red Sea near the town of Clysma, which was Bituated four miles north of Suez. It was one hun- red feet wide by four deep. It connected the Red Sea with the Pelusias branch of the Nile, and by Mhat branch ships proceeded with their voyage to the Mediterranean. But years passed away, and neglect and the nature of the soil had nearly proved its de- Biruction, when, after the lapse of seven hundred years after, its construction, Necho II. ascended the ‘hrone of the Pharoahs and thought to restore the anal to its pristine completeness; but, warned by the magii and sages of Egypt that in repairing it he ‘was inviting the barbarian to his shores, he desisted 4n his work, though one hundred and twenty thou- sand had already perished from the privations which eset them. A century later and Egypt had under- gone great changes; the Pharoahs had been gathered ‘to their fathers and a native king was no longer vuler in the land. The barbarian nations of the East had become great and powerfal, and in the reign ef Darius Hystaspes Egypt had became a satrapy of Persia. This monarch completed what Necho had begun. The canal was reopened Shroughout its whole length, and his white-winged Beets covered both seas. For two hundred and fifty years it remained as Darius had left it, and the sandy soil had again almost choked it, when Ptolemy Phila- @elfus repaired the defects time had created in it, This time its embouchure was at Belbays, twelve miles south of Bubastis, on the Moes canal, and its @ebouchure removed near to where he had built a town and named it after his daughter, Arsinol. Cleopatra, the love-sick Egyptian Queen, dreaming of the pungents and spices of Araby and Ind, re- Fesolved to reopen the canal that she might flee to those happy lands with her Roman lover, Marc Antony, and its navigation during her reign assumed great importance, as her fleets were as numerous as those of any contemporaneous Power. Trajan also constructed a canal which ran nearly parallel to it 4m many places, and then followed the bed of Necho’s canal; but its mouth, or its junction with the Tanitic branch of the Nile was removed to Pharboetus. In the seventh century of the Christian era Amrous, the Caliph Omar's victorious general, St the cost of fifty thousand lives again conmected ‘the two seas. Many years later Mustapha III. re- stored it again to a navigable state. Though nearly all the Caliphs and Mameluke Sultans were aware ‘that a maritime canal was essential forthe pros- perity and commerce of Egypt, we find no account of Bnything having been done towards effecting that object through the watery artery which had been so Fepeatedly restored. Many good intentions were Sermed and much good meditated, but they were Brustrated by the constant wars in which the rulers ‘of Egypt engaged, (| The first Bonaparte, when his armies were in com-* mand of the Isthmus, gave an impulse to newer Rhoughts by declaring “that whatever European Power held Egypt permanently would in the end be- ome possessor of India.”’ , PROJECT OF A GRAND SHIP CANAL. “It was impossible, in this age of progressive- Fess, that these successive canals, though totally in- Pdequate for modern commerce, should not have wht some Bort of a lesson or imbue somebody or ther with an idea to improve on the models the Pharoahs, the Ptolemies and the Caliphs had left be- Pind them, and it must have been an im- gmense satisfaction to all philanthropists and hilosophers to see Louis Napoleon, an au- Bice of a work upon the Nicaragua Canal, nd another Frenchman, a few yeats later, proctaim- ng to the world the project of building a sip canal directly across the Isthmus of Suez. This, one ust confess, was a vast diiference to the ideas of cients about a maritime canal, and it was the first time that such a proposition was broached, In the wear 1845 a Frenchman by birth, but who had be- jeome a naturaiized and betitied Egyptian—M,. Li- jmant Bey—formed an association with Arthur Ander. ‘@on, the President of the Peninsular and Oriental Company, for the purpose of paving the way towards Putting the gigantic scheme into execution, The Fumor of THE NEW PROJECT gpread far and wide, and English engineers were Anvited to examine and report upon the geology of fhe isthmus and pronounce their opinions upon its practicability. This commitiee, of whom the great Stephenson was one, ascertained and demonstrated ‘that the levels of the two seas were the same; that Qnsurmountable obstacles would be encountered in the roadsteads of Suez and of Peiusium; that the * Red Sea was impracticable to sailing vessels, and @hat the saving of distance in the journey would '@e more than counterbalanced by the numerous dim- Culties to be met in the navigation of that sea, MONSIEUR DE LESSEPS. ! In the year 1854 M. Ferdinand de Lesseps, a gentle fan of great wealth and high social standing, was travelling across the Libyan Desert in company with his Highness Prince Mohammed Said Pacha, late ‘Viceroy of Egypt, when the subject of a maritime anal was discussed. De Lesseps had been in the @iplomatic service, and arguments were not want- §ing, we May rest assured, to prove that a 4 ship anal was a possible undertaking, and, 1 ‘accom: plished, would redound to his glory, fill hie treasury and make posterity regard him as wiser than the Persian Rostam and greater than apa: ed, These formation of the comp: vantages promised the world after its completion. are numerous, but to enumerate them all would not only be tedious, but unnecessary. of the two seas by a channel deep enou: safe navigation for the ships ot would prove of more benefit to England than any other country. tween that country and her Indian possessions by nine thousand three hundred miles, and the abridge- ment of the route and the improvement, of. facilities for the transportation of her manufactures and con- sequent reduction of expenses would augment her commerce tenfold, The two million tons employed now in her commerce with the Eastern world would be increased to ten million, advantages gained might be incalculable, Troops transported from England to Bombay in thirty days, to Ceylon and Madras in thirty-five days, and agg in forty days, would do away with a enemy invading India, her ambition checked by the knowledge that an English army of Massed on the frontiers of India before her legions could cross the Oxus, would it not be a gain to Great all uneasiness? be any cause for apprehension. The neutrality of the Suez Canal would NEW YORK HERALD, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 1868—TRIPLE SH#ET, arguments were irresistible when advanced by De ‘Lesseps, and Said Pacha embarked in the good cause win aN the energy of an enthusiast, and forthwith issued to the Consuls General of the foreign Powers @ frman, destined to receive the sanction of the Sub- Mme Porte, granting to any company, com- posed of capitalists of any mation, the right to connect the two seas by ® ship canal A seeond expedition was then formed auring the month of December of the same year, to explore and report upon the character and possl- bility of executing the undertaking. Were embodied ina report, 8 copy of which waa sent to each of the representatives of the foreign Powers at Alexandria, wherein they proved conclusively by from the Gulf of Pelusiam to Suez. on the Red Sea, 90 miles long, 309.feet wide and 26 feet deep, exvend- to all countries. THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION. F Before a company thus formed could be organized it was deemed expedient to despatch a third com- mission, com} of the best engineers of Europe, to examine thoroughly the pro] route, and draw upa pom se report and @ plan by which the cut- Ung could be effected. International Commission was composed of Messrs. Rendel and McLean, of London; M. Vonrad, Chief eer of the Marine Department of the Hague; Lentze, counsellor of the Minister of Commerce and Public Works, of Berlin; M. de be a Inepoctor General of Railways in Austria, of Vienna; Signor Palecopa, Minister of the Public Works in Sardinia, of Turin; M. Renaud, Inspector General and member of the Council on Bridges and Highways, of Paris, and M. Liesson, engineer, Hy- drographer of the Marine, of Paris. The report, which was drawn up after a patient investigation of the geology of the Isthmus, established beyond all doubt that, provided. the funds could be raised, a d ship canal 90 miles long, 309 feet wide and 26 feet deep, with two roadsteads, capa- cious enough to contain five hundred vessels, could be constructed with as much ease as lesser works of the same nature had been in any other country, and ata cost of not more than $40,000,000, Yet. strange to say, when the capita:ists of Europe were invited to organize the English held back and were chary of subscribing to what they were pleased to term a French bubble destined to premature explosion. A few capitalists of Frankfort, Berlin, Vienna and New York were found bold enough to take shares, but the major part of them were taken by the Viceroy of Egypt and the French. * jut before proceeding into particulars abeut the let us examine the ad- THE ADVANTAGES OF THE CANAL The connection to admit the ‘gest class It would abridge the distance be- In a political point the uneasiness on the score of a foreign Russian diplomacy foiled, many thousands could be Br.tain, a saving of the revenues, besides dispelling Neither could an invasion by France be a protection; besides, with her Island of Perim strongly fortified, England would hold the key of the Red Sea. France will also reap immense benefits by the establishment and completion of tis route. She Will be drawn many thousand miles closer to her rich possessions in Cochin China and the Indian Ocean, Her commerce, already great with the East, is subject to the same extension as that of Great Britain. The ports of Arabia, Africa and Per- sia will open to receive her manufactures, 80 well adapted for trade with these countries, and in return their treasures world be poured into her lap. Holand, Sweden, Prussia, Italy and Russia are open to the same advantages, e United States, though so far away, will also share the bencih, Statistics prove that their commercial relations with the East are more extended than any other country, excepting England, In 1860 six hundred American vessels pi by the Cape of Good Hope bound for Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Hong Kong and Japan. The opening of the Suez Canal will shorten the dis- tance between New York and Bombay by five thou- sand miles. Common sense wif prove that as the voyages shorten so will the trade expand. Active and judicious efforts would extend relations of com- merce with other ports, and new markets in this Way secured. The enterprising American merchant Will be able to sell a cargo in the isthmus of Suez at Jeddah and Mocha and Aden, in Arabia, and up the Persian Gulf, and in return ne § the ivory of Mas- scwah, Abyssinia, Souakin and Berbera. Pearls, mother of pearl, tortoise shell, sponges and coraj of the Red Sea; silk and tea from Hong Kong, indigo from Ceylon, gum and coffee from Yemen, Yedgaz and Abyssinia, and dates from pt, and complete his voyage in two-thfrds the time occupied. As for pt, just imagine, if you can, the glorious resulta to be obiained by it. e passing of three thousand vessels annually along its borders, the revenues of Port Said and Suez—the riches of the world passing through 1t—with an inland harbor full of vessels,tioading and discharging cargoes within thirty miles of its metropolis, would cause her de- serts to teem with animated life, the sterile plateaus and sandy wastes would be converted into rich pas- tures, fertile flelds and blooming and would be lifted out of that dreary night which envelo) eople for so long ® period into the a ight of civilization. ey she has her ir 18 aware, too—hence her ready acquies- cence—that this grand canal is destined to add to her power and prosperity by bri her capital in- to closer communication with the holy places of Ara- bia—the source of the authority over the Mohamne- dan population of the empire. CONCESSIONS BY THE VICEROY. Towards the construcuion of this grand avenue of commerce the Egyptian Ld ped granted certain concessions, without which the company could not have commenced operations. These secured to any company about to contract for the work the labor of four-fifths of the workmen that might be employed upon the work, all the lands which might be needed for it free of all payment and tndemnifioation, the free rent of all lands for ten years irrigated and cul- tivated by the company, the possession of all private lands, should possession thereof be deemed neces- sary, subject, of course, to just compensation to the owners; all the materials from the quarries requisite for the prosecution of the work free of nent, and the importation of every essential article for the work was to be free of duty. It also authorized the company to levy entrance fees and a toll not exceed- Ing ten cs per ton from every vessel for the navi- ration of the canal, provided it was done irrespec- ive of any vessel, company, individual or nation. For these concessions the Egyptian goveruineat reserved to itself the claim of mn per cent upon the net profits of each year. FORMATION OF COMPANY. Once the utility of the canal was established and proclaimed a company was formed in a short time, of which M. de Lesseps was the President, with a capital of $40,000,000, divided into 400,000 Shares of $100 each, Agencies were estab- lished at Alexandria, Amsterdam, Constantinople, London, New York, St. Petersburg and Vieuna to sell the shares, They were all taken up, which promised well for its success and the confidence the public had init, As dividends in France are paid even while works are aero of construction, so idend in this case a divi of five per cent per annum was declared due upon each share. ‘This interest upon shares was to be paid out of interest received upon @ temporary investment of capital not laid out on the works, and out of the annual proceeds of the undertaking when in operation, The proceeds were to’be divided as follows:—Fifteen per cent was to be paid to the Egyptian government for the concessions, ten per ceat to the founders, three per cent to the directors. two per cent towards atund for pensions, indemnt- Hes and gratuities, and seventy per cent as dividends, payable on all the shares redeemed and unredeemed, Without distinction. Until the present time there has been no lack of money. His Highness Said Pasha bacribed for 200,000 shares, exactly one-half of the capital, $2,600,000 of which he paid at once. Another source of profitable income was the Wadee estate, a inost fertile tract of land, situated half way between Zagazig and Lake Tunseb, ‘comprising 120,000 acres well watered. which Was purchased by the company from the Viceroy Said Pasha for the sum of $420,000, on an occasion when that prince wanted money to distribute in largesses when on a visit to Constanti- es Vithin fifteen months after the completion of the Purchase the area of cuitival on ‘nen from 12,000 to 14,600 acres, and the amount realized from the sale of cotton alone, exclusive. of the cereal Tose to $600,000. By the time that they commeneec operations they had at command upwards of $20,000,000 in cash, THE WORKS TO STRUCTED were:—First, @ canal, navigable by large vessels, be- tween Suez on the Kod Bea and tate bala in the Gulf of Pelusium on the Mediterranean Sea, Second, & Canal of irrigation, adapted to the tines tact the Nile, to imence in the vicinit; follow the Touist valley to Lake’ ‘tunseny ivere Opening into the grand canal. Third, two branches ‘The results ; calculations and data that a maritime canal direct | ing sufiiciently far into the two seas by means of jetties to obtain the depth necessary to enable ships to enter without dimicuky, and having an inland port in the natural basin of Lake Tunsah, situated half way between the two seas, could be completed within six years, for the sum of $32,000,000, The Sultan of Turkey, upon being instructed in the plans of the precursory scheme, the simplicity of which augured well for its practicabiHty, iasued the necessary fir- man and forwarded it to M. de Lesseps, who was also commissioned to proceed to Europe to take measures for organizing a company, composed of capitalists of all nations, that the canal might be cosmopolitan, destined for universal benefit, that no particular nation might claim control over any por- tton or receive any benefit which was not accorded tor trrigation of land and supply of water for the workinen, striking out of the Preeediig canal an in the direction respectively of Port and Suez, mile to the Maine © Poeee, works were completed within IX years, UD- avoidable hindrances and 7 No sooner did England perceive that, the § 10 $00) er pe, Canal Universal compan had become a tion, that i trifled time and m way for the fur of a French concern destined to a sudden ¢ portaln their colliquation, than with true porcine ae semaine mig their neee fulminations ie adventurer De Lease) fools who ie of thelr auathemas Seat hoe tained him, But In # }and hos- tile prayers the project, though stfMl in its incuba- tion, ag time wore apace gathered strength and head- ‘Way, until finally on the 16th of Augpst, 1869, the first spadeful Was turned up now cl d her tactics, and instead of indu! im the ery of Platitades and hysterical shi lepted that other hag go often suc- peograrame which in extreme cases led with her—viz., that of ,browbeating the weaker party and the Poorish man at the Tarkish capital felt tho full force of this at; ¥ But while upon the peint of rev8king Napoleon came to his rescue and whispered & wat Til, which brought nis blood” and ‘couraze . whic courage hannels, a} ack to their proper cl that he deprecatory way that he was in. @ tx." from wich leprecatory W: a ‘4 ym, whic! England could’ not relieve him. Voluminous and very suggestive was the col ce led on by ‘the reapective sovereigns’ whi seconds, ich was caused by this denial to revoke, There was a hintin; of ali sorts of probabilities on the one hand, and skil- ful parrying of menacing acct ns on the other, until the first wearied of his own evil doing and the other was satisfied to let well alone, ‘THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE AUXILIARY CANAL was immediately entered unon, because it was deemed indispensable to the upronecntion: of the work upon the maritime Lesse} shown himseif possessed of procrustea! manifold diplomatic controversies, He now proved himself possessed of the powers of ubiquity. The European Continent was @ circumscribed court- ard; the Mediterranean but ® narrow passage; pt but a small area. He was everywhere, urging, threatening, coaxing, fignting for every bit of r i and privilege granted him by charter; but which the moribund Sultan desired to forget, and the treacher- ous memory of the Egyptian coula Nos keep. Lesseps’ omnipresence caused both to groan for very weariness of spirit until the Poorish Tgn sickened and oop while the Pacha, roused by @ goad in she shape’ Napoleon out of his somno- lence, went to work at last with a will, He issued the firman for theimpressment of 50,000 Fellahs, who ‘were despatched to the desert under the superin- tendence of his own engineers, Messieurs Linant Bey and ey Bey, to work upon the Sweet Water Canal, with the Arab spade and basket. The auxiliary along its whole length of sixty miles, within the branch from the Moes Canal, past Zagazig to Lake Tunseh, was completed within two years, and the Viceroy turned it over to the company. This was one important feature of the scheme finished, HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS. Starting from Zagazig, on the Tanatic branch of the Great river, this auxiliary canal flows eastward for thirty-five miles. For twenty-six miles of this route it runs in the old channel! of the ancient canal of the Pharaohs, which watered the land of Goshen. Three miles only irom Zagazig may be found the ruins of Bubastis, the ancient metropolis of Lower Egypt. Mounds of broken pottery, crambling bricks, heaps of ashlar, being reduced to powder, are all that mark the site of this once proud city, which gave’ Solomon @ bride, which proved a place of refuge for young Hadad, the only one of his race who escaped the sword of Joab. No traces can be seen of Shishak’s palace, which over? looked the Moes chunnel, and yet it was@ model of beauty and richness. This Shishak is ne who issued out of the gates of the city with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen to plunder the Holy of Holies at Jeru- salem. A few gigantic masses of granite, a scarred remnant of an obelisk and a few slabs distinguished with some hieroglyphic tracery are all that can be made out as belonging to the great temple dedicated to the goddess Pasbt. As we giide along from Zagazig to Ismaila, we pass close to the cities of Pithom and Rameses, the treasure cities of Pharoah. Every inch of the ground about here is sacred. From the spot which the ruins designate as the site of Rameses, the children of Israel, led by their great leader, Marched out of Egypt and bofidage, chanting their hullelujahs of freedom. arch Abraham, @riven by famine from Canaan, re- sided on the fertiie lands of Goshen. Here Israel passed the sunset of a long life, sustained by the strong arms of Joseph, and In looking towards the Machpelah caves, and thinking he heard the sighing of the oaks of Mame, he foretoid the future prosperity of the line of’ Judah culminat- Previous to this the patri- his last heurs, while ing in the glorious Kingdom of Shiloh. The shade less plains, stretching to right and left of the canal, once hailed Joseph as ruler, but they were not 80 then, His grave still stands in peaceful seclusion among the grove of palms which may be seen near the entrance of the valiey of Sheckiim. For five centuries this very land was moistened by the tears of God's people, and one would think that each drop become vitrified and become sand, sO vast an immensity surrounds the ruins of Rameses. With all its barreaness and forbidding aspect, ever since the days of Moses Goshen has been the highway of nations. Rameses’ hosts have marched through here to war against Phillstia; Shishak’s chariots once rolled by, eager for plun- der; the armies of Cambyses and the legions ot Alexander were met by the Egyptians in the shock of battle close to this neighborhood, and often has it quaked under the tread of Grecian and Roman, Saracen and Christian, The worship) of Isis and Athor and wise men-from the far East eyed along here to see the wondrous fanes of Heliopolis and gaze in astonishment at they Pyramids; and, lastly, the Saviour of the World was borne through this desert when pursued by the blind hatred of Herod. And as this canal is the old one reproduced, these very banks beheld strange things. Anuually hundreds of thousands glided down towards Bubas- tis, to be present at the great festival of Pasbt, the Diana of pt. What glorious revels were wit- nessed then—the men piping and drinking, the women frolicking to the clatter of the castanéts or singing songs while eelining on voluptuous couches, dreaming the happy hours away while swiftly gliding by tower and town in their gayly decorated galleys. THE LAND OF GOSHEN OF OLD AND NOW. What a strange contrast some portions of Goshen now present to its former happy state. Some thirt; centuries ago the wilderness of sand bounding eac! side of this canal was @ sea of in whose waves aes and flowed and chased each other in sportive mirth when driven before the Etesian winds‘ from the Delta top as far as Philw and the Nubian moun- tains. The cities which flourished then poured their rich tributes Into the treasury of Thebes. An- thylla sent its sandal joeria furnished breastplates and Leontopolis and Zoan exported cun- ning workmanship in the precious metals. palm groves, the athuel, bulantes and acanthus fa nished timber for all Egypt. ‘fhe ivy fourished and ‘was woven into pleasant arbors by the worshippers of Isis. While Arabia was famine stricken Goshen smiled in ita plenty, and Persia and Syria might not 3 sustain their people, but the granaries of this coun- were full. Carmel might wither‘ind the fig tree of Damascus perish and kshcol be fruitiess, but the patrimony of Ham rejoiced in its abundance. The rich black earth of its plains, watered by the Nile, that “‘elysium of philosophers,” gave nutrition to the mimosa, the laurel and willow, and the grape clus ters ripened ander its cloudiess sky, and the — [see pe and antelopes browsed on pastures wht ‘new no Sabbath. But the lapse of ages has bro it about wondrous changes; the bones of the mighty kings have been scattered, the fanciful ashlar of the ud palace has crumbied to dust, castle tower and urret have been laid low and the blooming gardens and pleasant pastures have become sandy wastes. ‘Though nature has undergone remarkable changes the inhabitants have been litue changed. It 1s trae that the worship of Isis, Athor and On has been sus- pended by that introduced by Mohammed, but tire compulsory servitude of the people remains, SLAVERY OF THE AKABS IN EGYPT. The same reckless prodigality with which ancient kings sgtrandered away the labor and lives of toeir people fs practised to-day by the viceroya. In this respect, a8 the monuments of the past and the re- cords of the day abundantly prove, they are the same. Ancient history says that 200,000 men were engaged for three years in carrying a single stone from Elephantium to Suez; that 300,000 were taventy yeurs building one of the pyramids. So contempo- raneons statistics farnish the fact that 100,000 men were forced by Mehemet Ali to lavor on the Mahmou- dich canal and that within twelve mouths 20,000 men died through deficiency of provisions while at work. Said Pasha dragged from their homes and farms, in 1855, 116,000 men to clean out the Mahmou- dieh canal, when many thosands died from the rigor: Us Lasks imposed upon then, Le also forced 30,000 men to work on the auxiliary canal just described for two years, At the saiue time he caused the im- ressinent of 20,000 men for the use of the Suez ritime Canal Universal Company. Slavery seems & natural appendage of the rica goil of Kgypt. On the same spot of land where the Israelites toiled in bondage 200,000 men turn the soil, sow the seed, gather the harvest and perform other manual labor Without remuneration, at the bidding of Ismali Pacha, a master as imperious as Sesostris. NEW DIFFICULTIE It has been already stated that the Vieeroy turned over the auxiliary canai to the company. Dredgers nevessary to Work upon the roa 1 of Suez had still to be floated there, and to eifect this object the energies of tae managers were directed. It will be remembered that four-fifths of th was to be done by the FeHahs of Exypt, provided ‘aecording to contract by Said, Pasha, but in 1568 this prince died and was succeeded by tue present Viceroy, Ismail Pacha, & man devoid ‘of all honor and integ- rity, Instead of aiding the French in the great work pro ing in this country he tarned a willing ear to the wily representations of the English statesmen and by their advice withdrew the labor supply. This threatened for atime the total annihilation of the project. The company made energetic protesta- tions against this breach of faith, and arguments were produced to prove to the purblind Pacha that the policy of England was to make him their tool in designs against Egypt, but all to no avail. Finally it was d that both parties shonid refer the subject for arbitration to Napoleon. Now, the objections to this forced labor supply raised by England was that a free and enlightened 1on, one that was a party to the treaty for the suppression of slavery, was profiting upon and encouraging siavery, Napoleon ‘was in a dilemma; he couid not possibly countenance what the European nations sternly prohibited, nor could he decide against his countrymen; but his ready wit served him now in good stead, LOUIS NAPOLEON AND THE RGYPTIAN BEYS. To decide the question at iseue between Iemafl Pacha apd the French company he called together & committee composed of three Fre! ntlemen and three Egyptian beys to meet in upon an ap- pointed day. ‘Thm beys arrived at the French capital ona Lrg rani pene we Ni eon at the ‘Tuileries, where they were and feasted, ted a the back and immensely flattered, ‘and the ceremony was ended by their them very good friends and presen them‘with decoration of tue Legion of Honor. ious condescension on his par? made the beys ly to swear ra and the day of arbitration ipsa, Me we it was vised mus r finished no one was surpi to hear thas the Egyptians voted that heavy cor was due the Suez Canal Company for this h of eon- tract on the part of the Egyptian government. Arithmetically, precise, coot and caleul: always, the Emperor decided that the Viceroy ay ‘Lessee een of $16,800,000 as ‘indemnity, and this ol jon was one that could not be very eal evaded by either the Sultan*or his crafty Meu- CONSEQUENCES, That question having been settled, and money fur- nished 1n place of the labor supply, the works of the company were now pushed ard with greater vigor than ever, and by the month of August, 1865, a maritime rigole forty fees wide and ten feet connected the waters of the Mediterranean with the Red Sea; the continent of Africa was an island, a new avenue to the world’s commerce was opened and old Neptune quaked in his watery grottoes when he saw the French had subjected his waves. This was the feat, which when performed in 1865 caused France such pardonable exuberance and Te Deum chantin which brought tiegrapnic con- gral felicitous predictions and what not from Napoleon and his pees in mop to M. Ferdi- nand di the able President of the Suez Marl- time Canal versal Company, while the obese Britisher wriggled in dire perplexity and was fain at last to slink back, with finger in mouth, like Muley Moluc, of Morocco, who died, it is said, in that , pos ture, Since then, the canal has made remarkable progress, and it is its present state of advancement that your correspondens is about to describe, SCENRS AT PORT SAID. The Tiber, of the Impériales line of steamers, which visited all the Levantine ports, was advert sall for Port. Said from Alexandria on the 10th inst, This was an opportunity not to be Jost for visiting Port Said and the Suez Canal alon; its whole length, ths there were other lines 0: steamers constantly in communication with the Mediterranean outport of the great maritime canal ‘across the Isthmus; but as your correspondent had already lost time enough in’ pre} r the trip, passage was taken on the steamer Tiber. We ar- Tived at Port Said within fifteen hours from the time of our departure from Alexandria, Half way between the site of the ancient Pelustum and the port of Damietta, on one of-the narrow strij of beach which run convexly on one side of Lake Meuzaleh and divided {ta waters from the Mediter- ranean at the embouchure of the new commercial avenue now in process of construction, Port Said is built, From he distance it presented a very busi- ness-like aspect, Tall excavating machines, lofty brick chimneys, with scores of smokestacks and hundreds of houses built compactly and with certain pretensiousness about them were seen, which gave the whole somewhat of the appearance of a half French, half Italian port. ° As the steamer rounded by an artifictal island, evidently intended as a pierhead, a solid termination to the long, low line of gigantic masses of stone sunk in the sea for breakwater, which were within a few rardg only of connecting the island with the in land, a magnificent basin presented itself, capacious enough to contain @ thousand vessels of the | st size, which was formed by two lines of breakwaters * penetrating far into sea from the land; and their ends meeting at the entrance to the haven within two hundred yards of each other, formed an admirable harbor Of great depth, secured safe anchorage against the squally Levanters and served as a pre- ventive to the accretion of sands within the port. But as the basin, throughout its whole length and breadth, had not been excavated to the requisite depth, buoys had to be fixed to guide the ships to the inner harbor, situated in the very heart of the new city, and it was with the aid of these floats that the Tiber picked her way daintily to the city, anchoring al last within a few yards of the large and commo- dioug Hotel d’Angleterre, and in the midst of a large concourse of vessels, some of vast tonnage, but the majority of them were the golettas and zeveques of the Levant. 7 The indispensable noise and confusion attendant upon the arrival of-a steamer in any port of the Medi- terranean is markedly visible here also, and while looking with wondering eyes upon the scuffling crews of the boats a young Maltese sailor, dexter- ously avoiding blows aimed at his person, has made his way on board and secured me for his lawfut prey, Whereupon he drags me half resistingiy down the gangway ladder into his boat. He has with great cunning conirived to extricate it from the en- tanglea mass of scows and boats, and rapidly shoot- ing away over the green unruified waters of the basin and then across a narrow channel he lands me on @ wharf substantially made of artificial stone close to the hotel, ‘This place, which is the best Port Said affords, though its proprietor goffers board and lodging for $3 50 per day. ‘The characteristics of the hotel, upon the truth of which everybody may de- pend, consists of a — served up without any pretension, menu as folfows:—First dish, a stew- ish conglomeration; second, a smoking glory of pachydermatous mutton; third, an expanse of boiled maccaront spread over thin layers of red sausage as snow heaps around tufts of buffalo grass; fourth, miniature Tysenias of rice, and then an uniimit nuinber of Italian messes, execrable to good taste, finishing up with sediments of coffee, &c.; breakfast the same, excepting the number of dishes, and then the blessed privilege of teeta 3 between flea-bitten y= So much for @ first introduction to Port id. Having provided myself with letters of introduc- tion from the American Consul General, Chas. Haie, My next duty was to present myself, with my cre- dentials, to the managers and principal engineers of the works at Port Said. These proved very useful and through their influence | was allowed to make notes of what had been done thus far. PRELIMINARY WORKS. v What has been done is positively wonderful, and the engineers who planned the precursory scheme ttle thought of the dificulties to be encountered, Nine years ago not a soul could be found near it. The strip of beach on which the town was built was bounded on one side by @ lagoon, on the other by the salt waters of the great sea. The workmen were introduced here, dredgera were erected and started on the work of cutting an open- ing through this beach five hundred yards wide, and the silt thus drawn up furnished to widen the breach from a width of one hundred Tae, to five thousand arde, Then a basin extending over an area of jwenty acres had to be excavated deep enough to allow vessels to Sparen the shore, which, when finished, would form the inner harbor. This has been successfully accomplished, and the dock has been lined with artificial blocks. These are com- posed of sea sand and hydraulic lime, pounded and Tolled into compact” _m: when they are then allowed to stand and dry, cupies a period of fifteen days, end of which time heigh: feet above high tide mark, and the lariey, com- pleteness and neatness with which have been constructed commands admiration. W! posts for hawsers have been sunk around tne harbor, and macadamized roads have been made to enable carts and Wagons to approach the docks. These roads were greatly needed, and otherwise the work would have n incomplete. when taking into considera- tion that the ground was previously of the finest sand. A channel 400 feet wide and 1,000 feet long to con- nect the inner with the outport and to allow the free re of the lighters to sea to dispose of their rthens, was next excavated to the depth of thirty feet and lined with the same material as the inner basin, This divides Port Said in half, one-half of which is occupied by the stoi saloons and private houses of the inhabitants, leaving the other half for the gigantic works erected there by the canal com- ny, aud for the extensive grounds required Vs lonsieur Dussaud for the manufacture of the artiti- cial stone. After these preliminary works It now remained only to form ® roadstead gufticiently protected inst the shifting sands of the Mediterranean. But before proceeding any farther let us see what cause had the English engineer, Stephenson, and his companions to state the obstacles in the Gulf of Pelusium would prove insurmouncabie. The sandy accumulation dividing the waters of Lake Menzaleh and Mediterranean has been caused by the deposits of the Peiusiac branch of the Nile where it met the gall Waters, which, having acquired sutticient firm. ness to resist the action of the ground sweil of the sea, attracted the maritime alluvium brought by it until, in the course of centuries, it rose above the surface of the waters and formed the narrow strip of beach already mentioned. By this beach the Peiu- sian branch was caused to deposit its sediment furth inland and the lagoon of Menzaieh was ince Which time the beach has ceased to expand. Strabo in his “Itinerary” states that Pe- lusium lay twenty siadia from the sea, On measur- ing that distance tne French engineer ascertained that the distance has not materially differed. Ac- cording to their calculation the sea sands have to accumulate to any extent that aught be feared would prove insarmow He obstacles, To insure safety the engineers determined to build jet- ties, or breakwaters, perpendicular to the shore, so that the sand, when tue wind would be perpen- dicular to the shore, should be driven on to the coast to increase is height and sta bility, and when parallel winds should prevail, the iittoral current, finding an obstacte in the jetties, would form an eddy to windward which would in- crease the force of the current between the termina- tion of the jetties and the mole, to convey the sand away, obviating the danger apprehended by Stephen- son, and probably deepening the channe! tn the out- port. ‘fhe immense task which they imposed upon themselves, Was that of constructing a perpen- dicuiar jetty from the main land, to extend over two miles out to sea, and another jetty from tue shore, to extend a mile and three-quarters, in a direction which, if carried out to connect with the westerly Jetty would, form the apex of a tr ie. Stones had to be conveyed from the quarries of Maks, near Alexandria, a distance of ninety miles, before they could commence operations on the jetties. For some mouths they continued transport ing stones from those distant quarries which caused injurious delays and proved very expensive. Next they adopted the plan of sinking iron piles, fasten- ing transverse beams to thom and filling the crate thus formed with sand and stones; but this was aiso r & trial rejected. That which the best my which is tow adopted is ‘ne pian of sinking artificial blocks manufactured by Ms . Thi ere blocks are ten feet long, six feet in breadth ~y six in em ead og the crown of this dyke to cwenvetnet suove hesuri three thicknesses required fifteen of these blocks, and for s Jength of two miles for the western dyke and one mile and uarters for the eastern, re- quired in the 505. The construction of each block costs $11 total som then required for the construction of the dykea at Port Said was $3,250,500, ANN expensive at first this mode of constructing the ‘waters will ultimately prove the most economical, as this artifical stone when Drought into contact with salt water assumes almost the density and Saran of granite. But many objections were raised to these breakwaters by direc- tors, influenced by theorists, But when e! in so important a task theories should be discarded, even when backed by highest authorities, and the engineers showed’ their sense in refusing to for the factitious stone substitute means nob that had answered s0 admirably ino! works of @ similar nat instance those of Cherbourg, Cette and Dover. ining of these stones juires patience, and unavoidable delays are the Desuiehae only that will sustain the courage and confidence of the share- holders, But the harbor and dykes are nearly com- ep” the largest ships could new e) e ships could now flo to” Suez, From the mole aif e end of the western jetty to the er harbor a channel has been excavated to the required depth of twenty-six feet,-and the following list of vessels now in Port Said will testify te the truth of the state- ment. In the inner harbor on the 12th of this month were:—Two steainships, each of 2,000 tons len; four steamers of 800 tons, ay power tugs of 250 tons, five sailing ships of 750 tons, thii teen bask: brigantiues, eighteen.full rigged brigs, two hermaphrodite brigs, one schooner and ninety-seven golettas and zebeques. When one con- siders that these harbors and basins were excavated out of a beach within the last five years, in the fac of terrible difficulties, .there is good cauge for wor der and to cherish a hope that Monsieur de Lesseps will in the time he promises—that is, by October, 1860—sueceed in the grand canal o throughout its whole lengtn. Port Said—a creation yesterday—has a population of ten thousand inhabitants, and that is also a won- derful fact in @ country like Egypt. About one- fourth of the male population receive employment © extensive manufactories which have been built for the construction of the machinery and roll- ing stock req on the canal. THR CANAL, .sOn the morning of the 12th your correspondent started up the canal in the passenger steamer, which leaves Port Said every morning at six o'clock for Ismaila. The distance is forty-five miles and the time occupied in performing it by steamer is nine hours, quicker speed being prohibited. A Seal tion of the xoute will serve to show the nature of t! dimiculties encountered and overcome in the excava- tion of the canal. Upon leaving the harbor we entered the grand maritime canal, and truly { aa it is; worth a good deal to see, At its embouchure the canal is widened to 600 feet, and gradually as _y it narrows to its pro once a portion of Lake four miles long and twent cuts it in two, and the which divide its waters werg formed of the allt excavated from its bed. Forfherly the ground occupied by the lake was r fertile plain, under cultivation throughout its lengt] and breadth, from Damietta to Pelusium. It was said that the lake could not be dredged; that the soil which formed its bed was not a substance to form an embankment; that the slightest ripple would de- compose this mixture of Nile mud and sand, and that the banks would vanish as quickly as they were made, But here is what proves the faliacy of these bold statements. Standing on the deck of the little steamer I saw the canal stretching away ahead as far as vision could reach, existin, its full breadth of 309 feet, confined within its proper limits by two embankments constructed with the greatest nicety and precision, their summits level as a billiard table; a towing path, firm and solid, between the high embankments and the waters edge; a row of telegraph poles planted in the embankments with two rows of wires. Very often the enibankinent is six hundred feet ia width, but [ saw no signs of erosions in the banks; the waves caused by the steamer did no damage; no signs of crumbling away were visible; on the contrary, for the tirst thirty miles there was notning to indicate that the canal was not yet in general use. At every six miles we stopped at beautiful little stations adorned in the pictureaque style of Swiss and French cottages to deliver the mail and receive letters des- thued for the upper stations, Pleasant gardeus, biooming with flowers and verdant with the foulage of Ey vod and young trees, surrounded each house, and when we stopped at the stations a hurdy gurdy, a iife and harp were sure to commence their melan- choly tunes, while the musicians in piteous accents iumpiored us in the imme of the Holy Virgin and the saints to bestow upon them one ginall sou. Kilometre posts marked the distance that we tra- versed. Now and then we passed fruit barges bound for ismaila, boatioads of people passing and repass- ing, empty vessels returning to Port said tor more freight, a despatch steamer or two hurrying by, tug- boats ploughing and plunging past, steam dredges going up to fulfil a contract, and then the mail steainer going back, full of passengers aid valuable merchandise. ‘The most sceptical must be convinced at this. 1t is all we saw for the first thirty miles on the canal, On each side of the embanksments were the sheeny channels and expanses of the circamam- bient waters of the lagoon of Menzaleh. Glittering tracts and mounds of sand appeared here aud there above, the water looking like the blotches in the dise of the moon, while the mirage which hung suspended above them like another firmament gave a comatose appearance to everything. KAUTARA, Eleven o’clock we arrived at Kautara, the break- fast station. Passengers all got out (we were fifteen in number) and proceeded to a Siro pleasant hotel, dignified by the name of “L’Holel de Univers.’ There were four tables for the first, second, third and fourth class passengers. ‘he tare tur the first class wus unexceptionabie, such a8 one might get ina second Class hotel in Paris; but as we were in the desert af the Isthmus it was much better than we had a right to anticipate. Here our party was in- creased by the addition of two ladies, IMMENSE WORK. Leaving Kautara at a quarter to twelve o'clock, we shortly came in sight of where the construction of the canal was being pushed on with great vigor. A dozen dredges, with thelr gigantic gibbet-tike eut- Mines, Were seen at work, Un approaching them we realized the tremendous power and uttity of these machines, A flat-bottomed iron barge contained an engine of eighty-five horse power, wuich raised over @ height of y feet, from which communicated to the shore a long shoot two hundred and twenty feet fn length, two tons of sand every minute, which was forced down the shoot over the embankment by a powerful stream of water supplied by bat a 5 By the other machines, driven by engines of sixty horse power, about n tons of sand were shot over the embankment; united they performed the work of thirty thousand men. Over two hundred buckets, each bucket containing two wheelbar- Tow loads, beak themselves full of a semi-liquid substance from the bed of the canal and empty their contents on land every minute. The ave! monthly out-turn of these Ry is sixty thor id cubic teet of soil for each. Calculating upon this state- ment, and as there are fifty dredges in the cat and as the quantity of earth yet to be excavated is about sixty million of cubic feet, in two years from this date the canal will be finished, even including a margin to allow of repairs and hindrances that may arise. Between Kantara and the next station of El Fer- dane 18 the BOERAH LAKB, which means the Lake of Dates, as date trees were Pleneal im its vicinity in former —, the ghost of @ tree is now visible anyw! the young trees lately planted around the stations. ‘The glistening, burning immensity of desert waste has swallowed every vestige of habitation that wver existed near it, and the only features which demand @ melancholy attention on its whole e: are the dunes created by the fell breatu of stormy Kbamseen. enzaleh, which was twenty- miles broad. The canal thor not ere except BL QUISR. We now approach the biuits of El Guisr, the deep- jt cutting that was required on the route, the total pth of ‘Which was sixty-nine feet. It extends over # length of eight miles, from the village of Ei Guisr to Lake Tmisah. The soil is com) of coarse sand small gravel, bound together by magnesian earth. To effect a cutting here it was necessary to transport twenty-two million cubic feet to the nara- ae of Lake Tmisah. Very peculiar machines iad to be imported expressly for this work. M. Couvreux was the contractor who undertook the job, which he has completed to the satigfaction of all. Before le could commence work with them the ground had to be levelled glong the canal for a hundred feet or so, and a short railway laid dowa, when the machine was mounted upon a truck, When erected it looked very like four cranes, fastened together with iroa_ gir- dies, bat on the top of the inclined plane were ratis over which small iron tracks loaded with dry sand aud gravel were roiled up swiftly to its extreme height and suddenly failing over the height dumped their contents beyond the outer face of tue embankment. After raising the embankment to its own height, lighters witn water tight compart- ments aud false keels stood ready to haul away the surpli il, which when filled steamed to the Lake Tmisah and dropping the chaia which held the keel the muddy cargo suddeniy dropped into the waters of the luke, and within five minutes the lighter Would be on its return. ISMAIL AL Eight miles beyond Ki Guisr and at the extreme and of the deep cutting the steamer emerged into Lake ‘Tmisah, @ beautiful bluesheet of water in the middie of a desert. ‘There w: such a striking contrast between the sand and the water that I can only com- pare it to a sapphire set in a frame of wood. Turning sharply round a bend of the high shore we dis- covered the pretty city of Iamatla, This was the termination of our journey by the maritime canal; the matlis were delivered over to the mail agent of the sweet water canal, the passengers (and the two ladies, whom we found out afterwards to belong to the class of the demi monde, were women from Paris, who had come to ply a nefarious trade in the desert), disperse each to his own home, and the tittle steamer was laid up at lamaila for the night to return next morning to Port Said with tae ‘Suez tail. ‘The Hotel des Voyageur, at Ismailia, kept by a Swiss, is an excellent building, well adapted tor travellers, and gts proprietor is a man who knows how to keep @ hotel, In its external appearance it is very like the Westchester Hotel in New York city, and, being butit on @ slight eminence, an extensive view was ob- tained from the baicony on the lake, Toosoom, Sera- pium, E) Guisr and the Land of Goshen. Lake Tmisah is a remarkable sheet of water, patel times it was known Km =e pp - ‘odile Lake, from the number ot ‘etlon were found on its eedgy bo ud the aajace it pools. Th the time of @ adjacent it was a Treen walker hake, and the lands ii its neigh. borhood were considered the most fertile Rorgon s Goshen, A few miles t> the westward In antiquity two or three thousand fount. When the works of great canal ap- prosohes here five years ago a singular depreasion in the pons. covering a square area of ten mil rvable. This proved to be the dry bed the anclent Crocodile Lake, was found to be eighteen feet below the surface of the Mediterranean. As soon as a cutting could be eMtected Sues se Bt Ghee blutls the water of r four months to fil the lake, © TUB Into it. It took As it is situated exactly midway between the two seas the port of Ismailia is likely to become a promi- nent one, There is eighteen feet of water in it, but 1t will shortly be deepened throughout its whole ex- tent to twenty-six feet. The outward and inward navigation running through it must increas» ita im- ortance, It is destined to be the inland poext ef the thmus, On its shores the pormpany has already eg- tablished azines, stables, Workshops for repatrs and hotel. quay walls are about to be constructed for mooring vessels and embarking merciandise. The trade of all Egypt will centre here, anc this city of five years’ growth, already containing a population of five thousand souls will in tume become ihe most pulous in the country. A raliway runmuy from Belvo to this place was opened last month, and a train departs every morning regularly at 6ix o'clock, Another will be opened within two months from date from this city to Suez; all that is required now is to lay the rails, of which fourteen miles have becn com- pleted. The railway from Cairo to Suez wil! be taken 2 and laid down along the eastern embankment of of the Maritime canal to Port Said, so that when it 1s completed the Indian and China passengers will no longer be despatched from Alexandria via Cairo to Suez, a distance of 210 miles, but by rail from Port Said via Ismaila to Suez, a distange of one hundred miles. canals centre here alr , the great Maritime canal, the Zagazig canal, or the ancient .Necho’s canal, and the Suez sweet water canal. As it was named after the present Viceroy, Ismail paca, is is not to be wondered at that he favors its. Ww In anticipation of its coming greatness 9: alace has been built for him, overlooking the blue e, Which he has surrounded with beant! filled with choicest exotics, rare plants and which promise to him ina few years with gra! shade, beside rich fruit for his tabie, A score of pretty chalets det the lake sho! formin; suburbs to the future great city of alla. M. Voisin Bey, the Directeur Générale des Travaux, and M. de Leaseps have erected palaces, surrounded by some acres of handsome gardens, and the ivy has. already festooned the pillars of thelr verandas, the foliage of which vividly contrasts with the tawny sand in the neignborhood. The orange, plantain, pome; and the mulberry are seen there also, shooting forth an abundance of branches, which augurs well for their growth, if tended with the same care and watchfulness. “The great Director of the Suez Canal does not in- und on taking «ts level it tend to cor himself to contro! ing the waves of two great seas, but he is setting about even now to. chal the face of the desert, after the plan of Bi montier. On the southern shores of the ‘io branches of broom and pine have been planted and watered every day, and sufficient moisture, retained by shallow ditches cut through the ground, are thriving finely. The tamarisk and furze have been planted for many amile along the slopes of the canal, which help to agglutinate the soil.’ ‘The seed of the maritime pine has been sown in tufted plots over acres of the desert. near Ismailia during the moist season, and, deep fur- rows having been made to receive the rain, the ten- der sprouts sprung forth abundantly, turning the surface of the desert into green fields, Before I close’ this ce of the maritime canal opened to Ismaila I will state that everything has been done to satisfy the prejudices of all the scientific men of Europe, and very few of these now visiting the canal find cause to doubt its success. Many pani engineers raised objections and doubts: ‘of its maintenance by assumil that when steam navigation should be introduced that the agitation ofthe water would quickly destroy the banks, be- cause they were formed of sand, which would fill up the channel.. To guard against this probability they have adopted slopes, two on the base line to one in height, which is a very gradual rise. So far this has answered, but M, de Lesseps is prepared should it prove necessary to sinx stones along its whole course. ‘ THR DRY CUTTING FROM ISMAILA TO SUEZ. A few words willsuMice for the description of this work. A rigole ten feet deep and sixty feet broad has been excavated from Ismaila past Toosoom to Serapium, distant fifteen miles from the former place. At Serapium is rather a high plateau through which the canal must enter to the Bitter Lakes. To enable ‘the dredgers to work upon this portion & sweet water canal one miie long was made to fill a natural depression found in the plateau with the woters of tué fresh water canal which runs parallel to th» maritime canal from Ismatia to Suez. A great dea: of Work ts necessary here, ag the bottom of the reservoir is- still eighteen feet above the bed of the rig. le, and a further depth of sixteen feet will have to be excavated to make it on @ level with the fall fee of the grand canal, rom Serapium, tue ancient Baalzephon of the Scriptures, to the Bitter Lakes 1s a distance of eight miles. No water has been let beyond Serapium, 80 that you must continue the journey on horseback over the desert for any 1 er imspection of the route, ‘The Bitter Lakes formed once the extreme arm of the Red Sea, but the prophecy of Isaiah, that “the waters of the Egyptian Sea should be dried up and the eities of Baalzepion and Migdol, which grew on its borders, should be laid waste,’ has long since been fulfilled. When the Inter- national Commission came to inspect the route they found the dry bed of a lake fifteen miles long and six broad, and upon taking its¢evel they discovered that it was thirty feet below the sur- face of the Mediterranean, so that it would net be necessary to touch any part of it. Next October the waters of the Mediterranean wil! be let into it. To fill this dry basin, which will occupy nine montha, will require three hundred and fifty million ym 4 yards of water graduaily let in by a system of locks to be erected. Froi ihe southern extremity of the Bitter Lakes to the next station, Chalouf £1 'erraba, is ten miles, This part also presented great difficul- ties, for this was the only portion of the isthmus where rock was found. Piedmontese miners were employed to blast the rock while four hundred Arabs with their baskets conveyed the debris over the heights. It is pow nearly compieted, but a few feet more required to be cut to attain its proper depth. Some portions of the cutting are ready for the water. From Chalouf El Terraba to Suez the debouchure of the maritime canal is seven miles, the soil of which ts the sand of the Red Sea. Half between this place is the ancient town of Clysma. The canal also crosses the track of the Israelites where they orossed on dry land through the Ked Sea. A broad, shallow farrow is all that is seen at this portion until you reach Suez, when the gigantic pre- parations made for a great seaport may be seen to advantage. SUEZ CITY. Before this vast and important undertaking des- tined to ¢l the configuration of the giobe, war fomamenses ez was but a miserable collection of fellah huts, with one palace in it overlookmg bay, buut by one of the Mameluke beys. A chance visitors entered it perhaps twice in a centary. Nay io this oe once, and fo great was the scarcity of water day's sup- ply cost him and his followers about $300, as it was. conveyed from the wells of Moses, situated ten miles from the town. When Napoleon resided here his armies command of the Isthmus, and it was then he uttered that sententious dictum already men- tioned which alarmed England so much and finally culminated in the tragedy of Aboukir Bay. Some twenty years since, on tne opening of the Peninsular and Oriental Com} 's line, ¢his palace into the hands of an Engi! ng who called ft the Suez Hotel and fitted it up for the conventence of the In- dian and China rs Who availed themselves of the overland route, An English cempany then built a ratiroad across direct from Alexandria to this Place, but withal Suez showed no si of improve- ment. But when Port Said was it and the conduit of the two seas was about to become a 1 then it seemed to awake from its letharuy; an Italians. Greeks and Maitese to arrive here and settle down until it presents quite a busi- ness aspect. The Suez Hotel tsa very creditable house; it is the half way halting place between England and India, In it may be met the class of Englishmen wio have revolutionized Asia, Dickens and Macaulay might learn new characters and Carlyle might find his apo- theosis on whom Victoria ought to bestow a king- ship. Each day in a round year =, be found the apoplectic, Anglo-Indian oificer retarning home after his half ceatury absence from his native country, the asthmaile and goutish red man, who had been trained in diplomacy at seme eastern rajah’s court, au apocalyptic editor of Indta, who looks weird after @ life weil spent in flageilating ideas into Saxon eu- baiterns and and reforming rakes. Then there isthe jessional old chap, specially British, dead set nxt the insidious Mmnovations of the new school, the resolute, dauntiess, imperious — willit enough to have a chauce to muster the posse commi- tatus of the United Kingdom to repress the arrogant ambition of “them blarsted Yankees.” These, with a Parliamentary terrier or two, well used to Parlia- mentary palaver, with its “noble ludships” and “right hon’bie friens,” inake up the homeward bound passengers, whlie the outward bound lot are the most fractious, turbulent, audacious, «)iendid, scholastic, Whole souled set’of fellows one iiay find other than the classic banks of the Can, THE ROADSTEAD AND NEW SURZ. ‘Three miles south of old Suez the French company have bulit anew Suez and have nearly compicted @ harbor, wirich in its beauty and adiirabic perfec- tion has no artificial equal. ‘Iwo thousand vessels aud more can ride in the roadstead, and from the roadstead to the docks has been completed a chan- nei half a mile wide, twentyaix feet deep, with tree mniles of @ substantial quay, walled up with ar- tificial stone, built ia compact masses, twelve feet long, six deep and six in breadth, of stone brought from the mountain of Attaka, on the other side of the bay, and hydraulic lime and sea sand. These, when dried up, are lifted by poweriul cranes an wheeled over to the quay and laid evenly and neatly one above the other, aud as the southern quay rung from east to west it forms an eternal barrier inst the sands of the Red Sea, Miles upon miles of solid ground have been made, and many more will and have to be made for tue site of the new town. There is a dty dock built, 442 feet long by ninety-one broad and twenty-three deep, in what was five years ago bine water. I saw two steamers in it, both being repaired at the same time, From this dock, situat at the debovehure of the eanal, three railway tracks ran from it atong causer ay two mies lon to Suez and there connects with the Isinaila an Cairo railways, Ocean steamers can even now come aoe a their pe and cargoes without'the least trouble or - Jn the harbor there are now three english trans- ports, roopship, 5,000 tons; two Penin- batty one English ti iP, 2 M meager 4 to take Prem and orignal ales China steam: tip of oe tone burdep, wail :