April 11, 1859.] PIM ON THE ISTHMUS OF SUEZ. 203 



Port Said, and project piers out into the sea, you immediately arrest the course 

 of the mud, and you will never be able to keep the port open. It is the most 

 extraordinary thing in the world to project two jetties into an open sea on a 

 lee-shore, which has for almost three-parts of the year a north-west wind 

 blowing upon it. A steamer even, in a rough sea, dare not enter between two 

 piers 300 feet apart ; there is no seaman, except in fine weather, who would 

 venture to approach such a place. To render it at all accessible and safe, there 

 must be a harbour of refuge made, and we know from experience in our own 

 country what a large question this would open up. Really, the physical diffi- 

 culties are as I believe insurmountable. Supposing the harbour were made, it 

 must be a mere mud trap. The current carried the mud of the Nile in an 

 easterly direction, and if you erect a harbour of refuge, which means a quiescent 

 harbour, it will become a mud trap. That is the peculiarity of all deltas. 

 I believe it to be nearly true, if not absolutely true, that there is no large 

 harbour in the world maintained on the delta of a large river. I know the 

 delta of the Rhone, the delta of the Po, and the delta of the Danube, and I 

 know the delta of the Nile. Thej^ are all alike incapable of maintaining a 

 harbour of refuge, or even a good harbour of entrance ; the harbour would 

 absolutely be filled up in a few years. And with respect to the canal itself, 

 now that it is proved there is no difference of level, it would really remain a 

 stagnant ditch, and must ever remain so. Whoever has travelled over that 

 district, and seen the moving sands, must see that it would be necessary to 

 dredge, not only the harbour, but the canal itself. 



Mr. Lange's Statement. See ip. 201. 



*' The very existence of Holland depends upon the engineering skill dis- 

 played in works of this description, and M. Conrad, after devoting a whole life- 

 time to them, holds under the Dutch Government the office of chief engineer of 

 the Water Staat. Surely the opinion of such a man must be of value, and we 

 are naturally curious to ascertain what views this gentleman entertains as to 

 the feasibility of making the canal. It appears that M. Conrad, after bestowing 

 more than two months of his valuable time to a very elaborate personal survey 

 of the entire tract, returned from Egypt with views diametrically opposite to 

 those expressed by Mr. Stephenson, and considers the non-existence of any 

 difference of level between the two seas as a circumstance which will greatly 

 facilitate its construction, and render it easy of execution. But if there could 

 exist any wavering or hesitation in the mind of the public, I apprehend that 

 the opinion of another engineer, not less eminent than M. Conrad, would in a 

 great measure tend to remove it. I am alluding to M. de Negrelli, who holds 

 the highest functions in Austria as an engineer. M. de Negrelli shares uncon- 

 ditionally the views held by M. Conrad. But the evidence does not end here ; 

 we have on record the opinion of Signor Paleocapa, Minister of Public Works in 

 the kingdom of Sardinia, whose experience in the construction of jetties and 

 canals leaves no doubt as to the value of his testimony. 



" But lest all this should not be considered sufficient, the opinion of M. 

 Lentze, Chief Engineer of the Works of the Vistula, backed by that of the late 

 M. Lieusson, Hydrpgraphical Engineer to the Imi)erial Marine of France, 

 endorsed by M. Renaud, Inspector-General and member of the Council for 

 Ponts et Chaussees of France, and supported by M. Rigault deGenouilly, Rear- 

 Admiral of the Imperial Marine of France, and Captain Taures, of the Imperial 

 Marine, and member of the Council of the Admiralty of France, will, I think, 

 in the opinion of this impartial tribunal, be considered sufficient to induce 

 you to pause ere you surrender judgment to the views entertained by Mn 

 Stephenson, in opposition to those shared by the eminent engineers I have 

 mentioned. 



