Hawke's Bay Herald. TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 1888. THE PANAMA CANAL.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7958, 24 January 1888, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Herald. TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 1888. THE PANAMA CANAL.

M. TtftARD, so the cable tells us, has refused M. de Lessees permission to hold a lottery by which to raise funds for the prosecution of the Panama Canal. This will read like Greek to most Englishmen of the present day, but at one time lotteries were a common form of raising funds for large works, and even for State purposes. In the early years of tho present century State lotteries in England were resorted to in order to raise funds for the prosecution of tbe wars the conn- I try was then engaged in, and it was not j until 1826 that they were abolished by Act of Parliament in Great Britain. Continental nations continued long after tbat to issue State lotteries to raise revenue for emergencies, and in somo countries the custom became so common tbat thoy were looked upon as a legitimate source of annual revenue. In France lotteries were abolished in 1836, but some of tbo German States continued thou) on until a few years ago. In 1841 tho Prussian Government derived a revenue of £135,000 from State lotteries, and Austria pocketed nearly £400,000 by the same device. In Italy, we believe, they are yet tolerated, though resorted to only on exceptional occasions, and to provide funds for specified works. The profits of the lotteries were largo. In the first place a deduction of from 10 to 25 per

cent, was made from the gross proceeds before dividing the money among the subscriber, in a similar manner to tho deductions made from totalisator investments on New Zealand racecourses. But tbiß was not tbe only source of profit. The chief prizes were very large— a big fortune, in fact— and tho demand for lottery tickets was so excessive that the Governments let the lotteries by tender, and often received from 25 to even CO per cent, more than the nominal value of the tickets from speculative syndicates, who in their turn offered them to the public in small lots at an enhanced price. Thus the profits were very large, and it is on record that the last State lottery in Holland, amounting to £2,000,000, netted the Government nearly £600,000. Lotteries of thi3 kind are, however, all but obsolete, though in Fiance, by special permission of the Government they may still be issued to raise funds for the prosecution of important public undertakings which could not be arranged in any other way. M. de Lesseps has attempted to get such permission to bold a Panama cmial lottery, and has failed. Tlio mere fact that he mado such an application is not, however, reassuring to thoao who look forward with hopeful expectation to tho completion of the canal, lt may fairly be assumed that M> de Lesseps would not resort to a scheme now looked upon with auoh* universal disfavor if he could havo obtained funds through ordinary financial channels. It looks more like the last plunge of n desperate gambler tbau the expedient of a great engineer confident of tho success of the work ho has in band. Getting money was a very easy thing to M. do Lesseps when tbo canal was commenced. The prestige which attached to him as tbe successful engineer of the Suez Canal, and to the French nation as the finder of the funds for that enormous and world-revolutionising work, was sufficient to induce the French, from the merchant prince to the peasant, to subscribe enormous sums to enable tho great engineer to score another tr'umph to his own glory and that of France. English capital was not offered so freely, and ita acceptance was even jealously protested at, so accustomed had the French become to identify tbetuselve3 with the plans of their famous canal maker. Millions of francs, however, were succeeded by other millions, and the work seamed to progress very slowly. Sinister rumors of immense aud unforeseen natural obstacles, and of outrageous extravagance, began to be noised about, and M. de Lesseps was received moro and more coldly as ho made repeated demands for large sums to enable the work to be continued. At the commencement of 1886 not leas than £25,360,000 had been subscribed, anl since then there have been two issnes of bonds amounting to more than £16,000,000. Thus a far larger sum than the national debt of New Zealand has been expended on the work, and not half nor one-fourth of the actual excavation hai been accomplished in August last. M. de Lesseps, at the annual meeting of the Canal Company, spoke as hopefully as ever, bnt he did not succeed in communicating bis enthusiastic cheerfulness to those whom ho addressed, and it is not improbable that the next news will be that the works have been stopped for want of capital. Tha canal would bo of such immense service to New Zealand that every coloList would hear with keen regret of its abandonment, yet it is far from improbable tbat that will be its fate. Many millions more are required to complete the work, and the prospect of the money being forthcoming is not promising. Pei haps if the present company should collapse a new company would purchase the works already constructed at a nominal figure, nnd so bo able to push-on tlio canal as a commercial undertaking. It is Bimply impossible that, with the present burden of tens of millions sterling, the canal could pay any dividends to the shareholders, even supposing no more capital to be required, and this belief seems to be gaining hold in France. Tbe canal is by no means an impossibility. It can be made, but M. de Lesseps now has to admit that three times the money he estimated to be required will not mako it. Not long ago a Polish engineer, who has been in charge of a section of the works, supplied tha Mel- ____ — --: y — -±-»v somo figuro" -*-""«"« -vtnj — progress made. Ho contradicted many of tho reports as to sliding mountains, cavings-in, &c, received from American sources, and concluded that " tho task, stupendous as it is, can be accomplished at a cost within the range of modern capital, on account of the comparatively small quantity of hard rock met with, ajd the recent improvements in rock drills aud steam excavators." More recently an agent of the Columbian Government reported on the canal, and the following summary of his conclusions is contained in an English paper : — ( Ho declares that the annual reports of M. de Lesseps are partial, and not as precise as might be desired, and that they do not furnish an exact idea of the situation. On tbe other hand, the writings on the subject of pessimists and detractors are exaggerated in an inverse sense, and are unworthy of credit. According to tbe plans, the cubic metres of earth to be excavated amount to 143,000,000, besides the earth to be moved in order to divert tbe waters of the Chagrcs, Oprispo, and Rio Grande rivers, which was 18,000,000 cubic metres. As the amount removed at the end of August was 33,925,230 metres, thero yet remained 127,074,770 metres to excavate, and as hitherto 1,818,023,900 f. had been expended, the cost por metro was exorbitant. Taking in,o consideration the costly preliminary works, the purchase of the railroad, tbe immense quantities of material collected, and the purchase and erection of buildings, all of which expenses had to be met in order that the work could be proceeded with, the expense of the work por metre had diminished as it progressed. When the upper easier work had been executed greater difficulty was encountered as tho tide level was approached. There had yet to be expended 2,541,495,400 f., not including the Gamboa dam, the cost of which would be about 471,000,000 f., and interest had also to be pakl. The company had an immense amount of material, but he believed that there hai never been more than 5000 men employed nt a time. The truth was that the greater number of the working sections were almost deserted, and the laborers seen on tbe works were very few compared with the number which should be be employed. The agent reiterates the statements made in previous reports, adding, hgwevor, that when tho canal is completed tho traffic will be much greater than estimated. He points out how serviceable the canal will be to shipping, and concludes by declaring that in spite of the vast expenditure the trade of the canal will repay those who invested their funds in its construction. This aeoms, on tho face of it, a fairly impartial summary of the present position. If the canal is ever to be completed — and for the sake of New Zealand we hope it will— moro economy will have to be practised, and greater energy shown by those in charge of the work. It seems disheartening to hear that, after such an enormous expenditure, only a fourth of the actual excavation work has beeu accomplished. It must bo remembered, however, tbat many millions have been spent in preliminary work, plant, build--inps, and so on. The plant now on the ground is simply enormous, and if worked to its full capacity would soon pierce the isthmus, and work in the futuro will np- | pear less costly than that which has already been done. Whether M. de Les- I seps will succeed iv raising the funds necessary to run tho plant in full work is now the problem. After tho failure of his lottery schemo this appears very doubtful, though wo hope that eventa will show tbis review of the position to be unduly pessimistic. 1 I