THE PANAMA CANAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2045, 24 January 1889, Page 2

THE PANAMA CANAL.

The New York correspondent of the "Sydney Morning Herald" lays:— Not improbably the Panama Oanal will fall Into the hands of an American corporation, which baa grown oat of a tar j small beginning. Three years ago a Dredging Company was organised nere to take contracts from the Oaoal Oompany; It bad a capital of only 600,000 J01t, bat ww ■o prosperons that It aoon Increased Iti ■took to 2.000,000d018, and paid 60 per oent dividend! on the whole. It la nowone of the heaviest orcditorrof the Oanal. and Ita President m confident that be om» carry the work through sncoenfaUy lw the. expenditure of not more than rS.OOO.OOOdoIB. The collapse of tbe efforts to Raise money In France has led M. de Leasepa to look very favourably upon the proposition to guarantee the Completion of the work, the money to be i obtained In the Amerioan market by the : Issue of bondß, which shall have preference over all other obligations. The negotiations are being rapidly pressed forward, and Mr Morton, the newlyeleoted Vice- President, is to be one of the principal figures m the new organisation . Of course many engineers' are still sceptical as to the possibility of completing the work, but now that it is definitely admitted that there la to be a system of looks, most of the old objections, bated on the varying levels of the two ooeans. have lost their forge. Should the new aoheme be successful, all danger of a ruptqre with the French Government wfll be *k once set aside.