THE SUEZ CANAL.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 14, 2 July 1864, Page 3

THE SUEZ CANAL.

The Suez Canal.banquet .took ;place late in February, at the Exhibition -Palace in the Champs Elysees, Prince Napoleon presiding. At the end of the. room; there was a large , pamoramic .painting ,of \the isthmus. Covers were' laid for 1500/ M. Millescamps proposed a toast to the Emporer, the .Empress,, and -the Prince Imperial, which -was drunk with loud, accla- . mationsy The Prince,', in a speech which was loudly applauded, gave an historical sketch of the undertaking, pointed but its grandeur and utility, and paid a f just tribute of praise to all who had takehpart init. The Prince explained what he conceived to be the attitude assumed by Great Britain in the question. He did not confound the Government with the nation j he esteemed the English: people; because they had a love for great things,;; he admired them because they had noble aspirations ; and they loved liberty ; but the people had not a Government worthy of them. Eighty years were a heavy burden on the heads of noble lords as well as on those of simple mortals. The canal had therefore nothing to fear from the English nation. Would it have anything to dread from a warlike veto from the 'British Cabinet ? Such a question could not be serious ; and how, in fact, could any one, imagine that Earl Russell and Lord Palmerston could make war for a canal from which England would derive the greatest advantage, when they refused to give a soldier or expend a shilling for the most noble, the greatest, and the most generous causes — for Italy and for Poland ? The company, strong in its right, must therefore persevere. That right had been, it is true, disputed ; but could it be really attacked, either as regarded the lands conceded, the fresh water canal, or the number of workmen which the Egyptian Government had engaged to furnish. He treated as they deserved the calumnies directed against the company on the subject of forced labour — a bad institution certainly, but one which was made use of as an element inherent in the country, but nevertheless rendered milder in proportions unknown iv Egypt. Hid that mean that the company ought to reject all conciliation ? Certainly not. He would, on the contrary, recommend an amical arrangement with the Viceroy, taking as a 'basis the principle of a sufficiently remunerative, indemnity. The work cost so much with the fellahs, it would cost more with free labourers and machines ; let Egypt pay tlie difference. As to the lands conceded, the company held them on a double title — first, by contract, and afterwards in virtue of the Egyptian law, which accorded the possession of the soil to him who was able to irrigate it. Those lands now barren, would hereafter become asource of wealth, thanks to the fresh water canal. To cede them to the Viceroy, according to a simple estimate of their present value, would be a pure loss to the shareholders ; but their future worth could not at present be the object of any serious appreciation. The plan of proceeding must, therefore, be one of successive repurchase — that is to say, by portions as they should have been improved by irrigations. It was thus that all interests would be reconciled.

M. de Lesseps afterwards addressed the company present, and explained the results which had been obtained and those to be expected. He thanked Prince Napoleon for the interest he has taken in the work, and the shareholders for their indefatigable co-operation. Procurer- General • Dupin briefly demonstrated the importance of the junction of the two seas, and, expressing his confidence in the future success of the undertaking, named it the Canal of Good Hope.