The Dervish then brought out a large atlas, in which Mesopotamia, was marked to illustrate the proposed stations for the English expedition, and began to expatiate on the deep and perfidious purposes of England in her pretended desire of navigating the Euphrates. On inquiry, my friend discovered that these visits of the Russian Ambassador, which were made by night, and the presentation of these gifts, had coincided with the demand for the firman. Had the firman been refused, it would have been by the snuffbox: henceforward the principle would have been introduced into the policy of the Porte of setting its face against all schemes for communication with India through its terri tory.

If before the event any one had said "England with all her power will be shipwrecked in her attempt to obtain a firman for the Euphrates by an enamelled Butterfly, and after it has been refused, a traveller will obtain it by a billet of a couple of lines," would he not have been considered insane?

As to the Cairo Railway, the obstruction arose from the pretensions of the Pasha of Egypt; so soon as these were withdrawn, the firman was granted; but had the meeting in London occurred a month earlier, it would have been equal to a snuffbox; the language there held would have exasperated the Porte and encouraged the Pasha. Russia had, however, an interest in that railway which I shall presently explain.

The Government of Turkey has not been slow to appreciate the value of steam and the advantage of opening up channels of commerce; this one is especially of value, and affects her in regard to Arabia precisely as it does England in regard to India. She has at heart the incorporation of Arabia, by which she would confirm her tenure of Egypt; the matter is of importance not only in a military and political but also in a religious point of view, for the pilgrimage to the Holy Cities would be brought within reach of every inhabitant of the Empire. There is, however, one indispensable condition, that is, that it shall be proposed and

effected in a manner which shall not infringe upon the rights of the Porte or endanger its sovereignty.

How it may be asked could a man so bold and practical as Mehemet Ali, so long in possession of Egypt, so anxious to make it the seat and passage of commerce, neglect this work? It was incessantly pressed on his attention, not only by his engineer, M. Linan, but by other scientific men, and merchants, the Consuls of France and the United States, the present director of the Austrian railways, &c.; there was no want of scientific data, and no lack of offers of capital. But whenever the canal was urged he objected that there was another project which might be preferable, namely, a railway, and when that was pressed he had a hankering for the canal. Thus both were staved off, the one by the other, and this was explained as a balancing of the influence of England and France! the Canal was a French project,* the Railway was the English in fact it was the story of the Canal of the Danube over again.

one;

"Having been generally misinformed on matters of that kind in Egypt, I paid little or no attention to what I heard respecting them. It was commonly said there, that the French, Austrians, and Americans desired the canal, and that the English opposed them, on the ground that it would facilitate the intercourse of other nations with India."-Letter of a Resident in Cairo.

"He (the Pasha) was particularly careful to guard against the impression in the first instance that he wished the railway made to Suez as I afterwards learned, the reason of that was, that the French interests are very much opposed to the establishment of a railway across the Isthmus, believing, rightly or wrongly I do not know, that it is much better for France and all the countries lying on the Mediterranean to have a canal instead of a railway, in order to make the Mediterranean the high road to India both for passengers and for commercial purposes; therefore they have for a long time been endeavouring to establish the feasibility of making a canal across the Isthmus.

"Q. I think you said the French interest was hostile to a line between Alexandria and Suez. Is it equally so to one between Alex andria and Cairo ? A. Quite so.”—Evidence of Mr. Stephenson before the select Committee for Steam Communication with India.

The Railway, which for five and twenty years has served to stave off the Canal, is now at length being carried into execution; what is gained by it for the Indian Trade? A powerful body with local interests determinately hostile to the Canal, and in a position to render that hostility effective. The local traffic no doubt may support the Railway, and some of the lighter and more valuable goods may be conveyed by it as far as Cairo, but is that the opening up of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans through the Mediterranean and Red Seas? If the line be hereafter carried on from Cairo to Suez you will only have a Railway, ships will not pass. The distance will be 250 miles, and even at the rate of an English Railway the charge will be 108. a ton in addition to the expenses of unlading and relading; amounting on the full freight out and in of a vessel of 1200 tons to £2500, -say that the "French project" is impracticable, at least the English one is absurd. Amru, the Lieutenant of the Caliph Omar, made in his day objections to the canal: but he had a master who knew better, and who said to him, "The Egyptians have persuaded thee, but I will punish thee if thou dost not dig the canal so that ships may sail upon it," and in the seventh month from that time they did sail upon it.

The projects of Louis Philippe ran in the line of Mines et Forêts; those of Louis Napoleon in that of Canals. His grand scheme was the opening of the Isthmus of Panama, and at one time he was prepared to sacrifice to its execution his European life and his Imperial prospects. When he came into power, his attention was naturally directed to Suez; being the nephew of that Napoleon who, in modern times, had revived the project. The matter was forced upon him by the rivalry of the engineers of the two countries in Egypt, and he naturally imagined that there must be some mistake: consequently he directed his Minister in London, M. Walweski, to open the matter with Lord Palmerston, and to suggest concert between the two Governments to carry this magnificent work. Imagine the bewilderment of

that diplomatist when he was met with menace and indignation, and told, "this a project of yours-England will never suffer it." The English Minister had discovered that Louis Napoleon wished to send through men-of-war to drive the English out of India!

Did it want a canal to bring Napoleon to Egypt on his intended way to India? With Malta in your hands, you are nearer than France to Egypt, if it signified one iota whether France was far or near. It is not France who menaces India; she once held extensive sway there, and lost it by England's maritime superiority. Whatever brings India nearer to Europe renders that superiority more complete ; and if any measure could thwart the project of making the Mediterranean a “French Lake," it is one which should carry through it the full current of British trade.

The idea is one which can scarcely be announced with a grave countenance, and how the Franks of Cairo had been led to accept it as they have done is intelligible only through the power of inuendo and whisper. When reasons have been sought for it, people have contented themselves with referring to Napoleon's expedition, when he at once aimed at India and proposed the Canal. His projects against India were based upon the possession of Egypt; he proposed the Canal in the interest of Turkey after these plans were abandoned. The schemes on India are thus referred to by Thiers :

Egypt was the true intermediary position between Europe and India. To ruin England it sufficed for France to establish herself there. Thence she could dominate for ever the Mediterranean, and convert it, according to one of the expressions of Napoleon, into a French lake; thence she would be in a position either to ensure the existence of the Turkish Empire or to seize the best portion of the spoils. (The erroneousness of this position Napoleon afterwards understood and acted upon at the conference of Erfurt.) Once established in Egypt two courses were open-the first to create a marine in the Red Sea, and by means of it to destroy the British establishments in India, or to make of it a colony, and an

entrepôt by means of which Trade would abandon the route of the Cape of Good Hope."*

The statement I have made will appear incredible. It will pass belief that an English minister should have opposed such a work; but what can I urge more than I have done ?— I have shown the interest of Russia, the dependence in every case of the minister; I have referred to facts, I have given names, if what I say is not the truth it must be contradicted; if not contradicted, it is that contradiction is impossible these details have been published before and have not been contradicted. Unless it was an object to prevent the canal, must it not have been made? It is a case in which there is no possibility of hesitation, or of a middle The lay reader may indeed object that Governments have nothing to do with promoting private enterprises; that it is enough for them to afford protection when they are formed, and that it would be an improper interference if they lent their authority to private schemes, or influenced capitalists in the placing of their funds. What then shall we say if we find the Government influence not only of this, but of other countries exerted to call into existence a counter project, for which favour is bespoken because realising the very ends proposed by the plan it is devised to frustrate?

course.

It will be perceived that I refer to Panama, and the Isthmus of Darien, and doubtless it will occasion surprise that I should speak in such terms of that vast and incomparable enterprise that surprise will be increased though diverted to another quarter, if the reader will take the trouble to examine a globe, compasses in hand: he will then make the discovery that by Panama the distance not only from London but also from New York, to the Indian Ocean is greater not only than by Suez, but also than by the Cape of Good Hope!

The local traffic of the back of America and that of the United States with China no doubt would be greatly benefited by this passage, but is it upon this basis that the

* Histoire de la Revolution, vi, 428.