198 PIM ON THE ISTHMUS OF SUEZ. [April 11, 1859. 



able character of the soil, what says M. Lesseps, and what say the horinf!;s 

 taken by the Commission ? They show a light coat of sand, and below that 

 clay — the very article wanted for the canal. Then, as to the probability of 

 the canal filling up by the flowing of the sand, M. Lesseps and the Commis- 

 sion found the remains of a Eoman camp, and a camp of considerable anti- 

 quity, also the vestiges of the ancient canal of the Pharaohs, none of which 

 works have been covered by the shifting sands of the desert. As to the 

 expense of the harbours of Pelusium and Suez, the Plymouth Breakwater 

 had been quoted as the datum for the probable cost of the jiiers at those 

 harbours ; but the case did not hold, as the Breakwater at Plymouth was 

 an isolated Breakwater built in the sea, in which every stone had to be taken 

 out in barges and deposited. The cost of that work was about 190/. per foot 

 run. But the Portland Breakwater, of a similar area of section, consisting 

 of jetties of stone projected from the shore, cost only 150/. per foot lineal. 

 The Marseilles Breakwater, also of a similar area of section, built partly 

 of stone and partly of beton or concrete, cost only 80/. per foot lineal ; and, as 

 this was the system proposed for the piers of the harbours of Pelusium and 

 Suez, the cost would be less than one half of the Plymouth Breakwater, 

 the circumstances being different in both cases. 



The cost of the piers at Pelusium, one 3800 metres in length, the other 

 2700 metres in length, would, if carried out as proposed, not exceed 

 2,000,000/., while the piers at Suez, of 2700 metres and 2500 metres in 

 length respectively, would be proportionately less, or say 4,000,000/. for the 

 harbours and 4,000,000/. for the canal, making 8,000,000/., as estimated. But-, 

 supposing the cost of the whole project to exceed that silm, the object to be 

 accomplished is worth it. 



The greatest objection that I have heard is the report of Captain Spratt as to 

 the formation of the Delta of the Nile. He states that the winds prevail from 

 the north-west, and set in such a current upon the Pelusium shore, together 

 with the muddy bottom, as to make it untenable for vessels to anchor in 

 those roads. He also states that the piers would run out into the mud brought 

 to the eastward by the current from the Nile, and thus render the works next 

 to impracticable.* There are always two statements of a case, and I hold 

 in my hand a pamphlet entitled ' Observations on the Bay of Pelusium,' 

 by Captain Philigret,t who commanded a corvette in the service of the 

 Viceroy of Egypt, and anchored it in that very bay for the jnirpose of testing 

 in every respect the objections of Captain Spratt ; and the results are totally 

 at variance with what has been stated against the bay of Pelusium, — that, on 

 the contrary, the anchorage is good, and that the, bottom is sandy, and con- 

 tinues so to a depth of 10 metres or 32 feet. With regard to the question of 

 distance, M. Lesseps shows that it is not more than half the distance that it is 

 by the Cape route ; and he states that he is quite satisfied that a toll of ten 

 francs per ton upon ships passing through is quite enough to pay the interest 

 of the capital. Part of Captain Pim's argument was founded upon the 

 dangerous navigation of the Ked Sea. But the time is coming when sailing- 

 ships will be superseded by steam-ships, and the interests of the commercial 

 world will tell you how advantageous it is to take a steam-ship directly 

 through the canal, and convey its unbroken bulk all the way to Bombay 

 or Calcutta, instead of having to take the cargo out of the ship at Alexandria, 

 land it, carry it across to Suez on the railway, and ship it again on the 

 Ked Sea. I do not pretend to know anything of the commercial part of the 



* The International Commission propose that the Pelusium entrance should be 

 placed^20 miles nearer to the Nile, and thus to shorten the piers. 



t Observations Hydrographiques dans la Baie de Peluse, par M. le Capitaine 

 Philigret, Commander of his Highness the Viceroy's steam frigate Feez Djahd. 



