THE PORT OF PARIS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 2014, 12 June 1885, Page 2

THE PORT OF PARIS.

The old idea of making Paris a seaport, ventilated in 1825, has again been taken up by an engineer, 'M, Bouquet de; la Grye, who is a member, of the Institute. He proposes to deepen the Seine between Rouen, where large vessels can sail or be towed up from th& aea, and' Poissy, a pleasant summer resort of many Parisians, within easy distance of the metropolis. The distance to be deepened is sometliing over ninetythree miles, ' The projector, however* says nothing of. the dangers likely to result from the numerous, islands which stud the Seine, ibetween Poissy .'and Rouen, and which would render river navigation exceedingly dangerous for vessels of large tonnage, such as those that pick their way so carefully from. Havre to Rouen. Paris' as a seaport would, no doubt, be eminently interesting ; but such a contingency would be a serious blow to Rouen, already handicapped by Havre. The cost of deepening the Seine, with its tortuous windings between Poissy and the Norman towns, is estimated at six millions sterling. The engineers. who, in 1825, conceived this gigantic plan, spent £2090 in studying the problem, but their labours were interrupted by the revolution of 1830, and the project has since been in abeyance..