THIS PROGRESS OF THE PANAMA CANAL.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3173, 30 August 1881, Page 4

THIS PROGRESS OF THE PANAMA CANAL.

A correspondent of the Jo"-"™ 1 "Debars, ■'-.'•-- fron. I'diiama, jmvos an interesting account of the progress made thus far with the groat projects' of M. de t esscps. The iir-t practical work of any importance yet completed is the construction of a grand pathway from Colon to Panama, which ha 3 been cleared of trees and other obstructions to a width varying from 3<"> to 60 feet. Now that this clearance has been effected, it ii possible for the first time to get a clear idea of tho work which is before theeompany. Hitherto, it has been oniy by rather vn:;ne guesses tha'; the lie of the surface could be conjectured, inasmuch as the thick foliage of the trees, spreading in dense larches over the valleys and ravines, often made it difficult even to see that these existed. If it was assumed, as the Debats think, that in these

••se the ground -svas as fiat as the tops of the trees, th*-: ! -e discovery of deep depressions so aruiied over will, of course, be a great gain in estimating the extent of the exacavation works. There is however, another point in which the most recent explorations are regarded as unexpectedly favourable. It wae assumed, when the plans were made, that all along the route of the projected canal a strattm of hard rock would be found underlying the soil at a depth of about twelve feet. But at Emperador, where the principal boring? have been made, it is stated that on March 31 the instnmiaot had reached a depth of thirty-seven feet without finding any rock and even at that point the rock which appeared was only a layer about six feet thick, succeeded underneath by a mixture of clay and soft stone, which went down to a depth of sixty-four feet, where the bore was still working lately without again encountering any rock. It is now said that the excavation works will be begun about October next, after the rainy reason, and in the meantime the preparatory operations arc being actively carried on by companies of workmen, recruited from •inonasttheinhabitants.and from Carthagena, whence they have been opportunely driven by in inrasion of locusts.