THE SUEZ CANAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume L, Issue 15482, 13 December 1913, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE SUEZ CANAL.

SUCCESSIVE SCHEMES. History attributes to the ancient Egyptian King Rameses 11. the honour of having been the first to excavate a canal .between the Nile Delta and the Red Sea. This, having been allowed to fill up and become disused, was reopened. by Darius 1., of Persia. When' the Arabs conquered Egypt it was once more cleared and made serviceable for the passage of boats. In later times the strategic possibilities of connecting the Red Sea and 'the Mediterranean by a canal wide enough to admit of the passage of ocean-going vessels | commended itself to Napoleon, who deI „ tched an engineer named Lepere to examine and report to him on the practicability of the scheme. This expert submitted a report which showed the scheme to be impracticable—a, judgment which subsequent experience has shown to be erroneous. In 1849 a French engineer, Ferdinand do Lesseps—the ill-starred promoter of the now triumphant Panama Canal schememade a thorough survey of the isthmus, and the work of making the canal was undertaken by an Egyptian company, authorised by the Viceroy, and the Sultan of Turkey. The first spadeful of earth was turned on April 25, 1859, and soon , as many as 30,000 men were at work excavating. A delay was caused by the refusal of a new Viceroy, Ismail, to ratify the concessions made to the company, and it was only when it had been agreed to let him buy back the concessions for tho sum of £6,800.000 that the • work was resumed. On November 16, 1869, the canal was formally opened for vessels. The length of the waterway is 90 miles, of which 66 miles aro canal and 24 miles natural lakes. The width of the canal is 120 ft, and the depth is sufficient for vessels drawing up to 28ft. The general management is conducted from Paris, and the statues .are framed in accordance with French Company Law. Thanks to the foresight and wisdom of Benjamin Disraeli, the British Government in 1875 purchased tho Khedive's shares for nearly £4,000,000 sterling. Their present value is more than £37,600,000. The affairs of the canal are carried on by an Administrative Council of 32 members, of whom 10 are British, three of the latter being nominated by the Government. The report for 1911 showed that the net tonnage amounted to 18,324,754 tons, an, increase of 1,742,896 as compared with 1910. The total receipts were £5,521.528, an increase of £173,360, and tho highest ever recorded. By a convention signed on October 29. 1888, the canal was exempted from blockade, and vessels of all nations, whether armed or not, are to be allowed to pass through it in pcaco or war.