FROM ATLANTIC TO PACIFIC

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4295, 2 March 1901, Page 7 (Supplement)

FROM ATLANTIC TO PACIFIC

Till-: TIX.i<TORICAL SCANDAL OF T.-.-Ii I‘AXAXA CANAL. Nov.'_- that- the question cf a canal from the Atlantic- to iho°T.ic)!io i-s again under cori.sidei-ation, it is net. out of place- to cast*' a backward ?hi.c» ai the original -projeot cr curving a wateruay 1 ;f tilt' Istiimtis of f A.a,‘nu;;. a project v.iuch ended in the financial ruin or thousand--, and gave rise to .scrsnd.il whn;h_ luii! probably been unequalled in Uio history of the world. The Panama C'.imi! was indeed, a blow to tho natron til dignity of France, and even looey the term "Panamaist-’* is used to express loathing and contempt. The idee, of joining Uio two great. - oceans. arid thereby abolishing ones and for nil the dangerous passage by Cape‘Horn, was an old one, now old its would bo, difficult t;> C T'ut it was first brought .pre.e- . ticaii.r hofore tlie French public in IS.SO by tic j.'js-reps-. the famous engineer el rbc ■■ -a Canal. ,> -carry ant this project the Universal.lntc-r-Occanic Canal v.orn: i.ny was Seated, with a capital of Lid.bun,uOd. In December, IdSd,

twonly-pounci shares were oncrisi

at I'aa to Knropo and America, the li\c pi <■ cunt. niU'rcst mi which was to be paid uifi c,i the capital, while the work y/iis iind-’v ;r i; y a;it:: i. 'Lao i unurining IO.UPO sic, ires were .i be al!ip i ; to ; b(> original ;yan,.u; - for the concessions auu survev.

tne jniuhe: .earner forward eagerly to take up tun shares. • Altogether there

wore J. 02.230 y.rlwr-eholdcrs-, ■ 80,839 of whom iu-ld .Lo share-, 19,113 from AP to £29 shares, ami'-23,208 from £2l to £uo shares. The total cost of the construction was of-mated at- -£20.590,'/•>.) Tno first wovk. .c-u.-the Canal was actually begun cm JTebjamry Ist, and in October the, cutting of tiro Cullcbra was taken in band. For five years the work proceeded slowly and unsatisfactorily. The ■'public began' to lose confidence. It was soon discovered that .the 1 cost had been under-cstimatcc!.' In ISSG- if. became known that COO millions-of francs V e required for its -completion.- At tne conniM'-K.-omeni. of tho following-year twelve units <d ,k: C.imd, from Colon to liclno, had been actually cub. In July a new scries of 500,009 bond? at--410 fram-s were issued, and kl. Tie Lesleys brought forward a bill by w-hi’-'h tlio company might be antUerised to issue lottery bonds. To the.latter measure .heGovernment refused to give its sanction, iu suite of the fact that M. do Los.-tps pointed out that the Canal was doomed, unless the annual pa;, jvicnt of 7-j..(;oU,'.io(i i’raucs , for . interest ouJ, of tie working capital -was reduced to .jO.IUIQ.OUb'. a.s lb- physio;;! d;iln-i’’tle.s of the project had been im-dcr-estiiiiutcd.

Ihc company at- that, tiuio represented n. great poiituv.l fa-chir in France, an.l it' made n s influence 'felt. ■ In 1888 the Government which h;ld : refused the' issue ot lottery bonds fell, and a., now party,uuder the Premiership of M. do I'Ve.y--oiuet, a- iendiugaucinbcr .of -fhey .'PiuiUma Company, was formed. Sanction was, of cours'd, Immediately' 'given to the aspic of the much-disputed ..lottery bonds. But_ j list as , the subscription list was a report was,spread liy interested .speculators ■ that. M. do Lcaseps was elesu!. as a. consequence,:- only twothirds of the - miuisito, sum was forthcoming, and .the, Government were forced to bring forward, a bill to preserve tlm company from bankruptcy by proposing t.e temporarily suspend the payment of interest. This bill was thrown out, M. do Lcsse.ps -and his son, resigned, and the company, went into liquidation. It. is- almost_ impossible to: realise the state of public excitement - which, existed about this time. Early in 1889 M. de Lcsseps, who still had faith in his gigantic ' conception,, proposed to float a now company, but the‘ idea was’ not received favourably. Meanwhile, the old company passed into tiro hands of M. Brunet, who, although a Minister, had been chosen as liquidator...

H. Brunei was not long -in setting' to work; A Commission of fifteen was appointed, consisting of > twelve Frenchmen, one Englishman, one • Dutchman, and ono .Belgian," Five members of this Commission.-.were. to go to Panama and make, a- report. ! ' Meanwhile, it was known that the Canal Concession, which lapsed In three years, would not bo renewed miloss the works were in an advanced state. The efforts which were made to gain a renewal of this concession were slow in 'bearing fruit, but in December, 1890, an extension was granted by the Columbian Government, on condition that the company paid for all land: expropriations {on ■ tho Isthmus and ,the cost cf keeping up the necessary military garrisons. At the same time a limit of twenty-six months was named, before the end of which period the company would have to bo reorganised and the work' .started afresh.

In July, 1891,, 31. Weys© made-an attempt to form a now company, which should carry on the work on new lines. It was proposed to form a huge inland lake, which, should bo reached by three looks on either side. For this project 600 millions of francs wore required, toi gother with the machinery of the old company. But feeling ran very high against M. -do Lesscps and tho other directors of the old company. Fiftythroe million pounds had been, already sunk in the.project, £33,000,000 only of which had been expended on the Isthmus, the rest being wasted in France. Ou November 19 an interpellation took placa in the Chamber regarding the .statements in the papers that 31. Floonct, when Prime Minister, had obtained 800,000 franca from the Panama Company for subvention to several journals during tho Bou.langkx crisis, and rhat three-million francs bad been distributed among one hundred members in order to obtain the passing of the Bill in 1883, authorising. the issue of lottery bands. .1 committee cf thirty-three was appointed to investigate these

Soon after the formation of this committee, Baron de rleinach, a leading member cf Panama Company, died under suspicious , ciroamstancss. The committee daimea to exercise judicial powers, and 31. Henri Briwon, the', chairman, insisted that the body ciiouiu be exhumed in order to ascertain the cause of death. To this the Ministry, declined to assent, and in reply for a vote of confidence were defeated by 203 to Its. Tire Cabinet resigned, and a new 31in-i-tr.v was formed. Popular feeling was at boiling point, and the. Government were forced to take action against the. old company. All the direct err. wore arrested, and, with, the exception of the aged 31. do Lesseps, were imprisoned at Alazas, where they were joined by, the celebrated 31. Eiffel. Early in 1533 the groat case came' up for trial. Among the accused there was one touching and pathetic figure, 31. do .Lasaepa. He was to old and so senile that ho was unable even to understand the nature of the proceedings, or oven to realise tho position in which ho was placed. It was a sad finale to the lengthy public _ career of a mru cf genius, who had carried out one of the greatest and one of the most important engineering feats of tho esn-tir-y. The Court- of Appeal, in. pronouncing -judgment, found the- directors of tho Company guilty of misappropriating public funds, and cf violating the laws governing public companies. M. F, de Lessens and 31. C. de Lcsseps were condemned to five years' impris-

onment and fined 0000 franc? cac'r. The olfier directors received two years, and were ’heavily fin.ai. So ended’the great ’Panama scuciae, wdiioh bad Jre.ggd. on its, corrupt. cofir-e for thirteen' years. It is to be hoped -tli.lt tho Nicaraguan Canal ’project' ’ will end under differentcircumstances.—“London Echo. ’