THE PANAMA CANAL.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume x, Issue 1942, 30 May 1888, Page 2

THE PANAMA CANAL.

A paper was read on March 27 in the Institute of the Society of Arts on

_ -- J " The Panama Canal and its Eivals." Mr. Hyde Ciarke presided. Tbo lecturer (Mr. J. Stephen Jeans) said that until the commencement of the present century such an enterprise as the joining together of the two oceans for navigation purposed would hardly be considered possible. In 1788 a passage was actually accomplished by a curate of Norita for small craft, but to M. de Lesseps belongs the credit of having put the idea into practical shape. As to the engineering difficulties, he said that it would be necessary to control the waters of the river Chagres, which, in the rainy season, would be liable to flood the greater part of the canal ; and next the cut through the Andes at Culebra would be the most extensive piece of excavation ever undertaken, and lastly the dredging of the last four miles of the canal to keep it free from the material silted up by the ocean. A Dutch company had bound themselves to remove 700,000 metres of debris a month, but had only been able to do 100,000 metres. Up to Sept. last ,£33,000,000 had actually been spent, and Senor Arenro estimated that £120,000,000 more would be required to complete the canal, and according to another writer it would take 20,000 men. forty-two years. The lecturer also entered into an explanation of the Nicaraguan canal, projected by the Maritime Canal Company and the American Atlantic and Pacific Ship Canal Company, and expressed the opinion that beinjr wider (though louger than the Panama), and presenting fewer difficulties in construction, there might be hope of its being gone on with in the event of M. de Lesseps being unable to raise funds by his lottery. A discussion subsequently followed, in. which Mr. Chamberlain, who had just returned from Panama gave an interesting account of the stage operations had reached. He flouted the idea of abandonment put forward by the author of the paper, and confidently asserted that he would have the pleas 'i re of sailing through the canal in the year 1890. Mr. E. Belch said that the Nicaraguan Canal would certainly be carried on by British and American money. Other speakers followed, a hope being expressed that an arrangment might be effected whereby all nations might be enabled to contribute to the carrying out of tho Panama waterway. Votes of thanks to the author and chairman were unanimously carried.