SUEZ CANAL, THE. 



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for the continuance of slavery. He was a 

 member of the Congress which met in Mont- 

 gomery, Ala., Feb. 4, 1861, and was made 

 Vice-President of the Confederacy. On March 

 21st he made a speech in Savannah, in which 

 he announced himself as ready to do all that 

 was to be done to break up the Union and se- 

 cure a separation from the North and West. 

 A month later he went to Virginia, and urged 

 upon the convention in Richmond that the ven- 

 erable mother of States should cast in her lot 

 with the Confederacy. When in the progress 

 of the war it became evident that the Confed- 

 eracy was doomed, Mr. Stephens made vari- 

 ous efforts to open negotiations looking to- 

 ward peace with the national Government. He 

 avows, in his book, that he desired to give up 

 all opposition and return to peaceful submis- 

 sion, provided the United States would guar- 

 antee absolute State sovereignty. He was at 

 the Hampton Roads conference, where Presi- 

 dent Lincoln and Secretary Seward met him 

 and two others, R. M. T. Hunter and J. A. 

 Campbell, on a gunboat, Feb. 3, 1865, and for 

 four hours discussed the whole situation and 

 the terms on which peace would be possible. 



After Lee's surrender he returned to his 

 home in Crawfordville, where he was arrested, 

 May llth, and sent to Fort Warren, in Boston 

 harbor. After five months' imprisonment he 

 was dismissed on parole, Oct. 11, 1865. In 

 February of the next year he made a speech 

 before the Legislature of Georgia, in which he 

 favored the restoration policy of President 

 Johnson. The same month he was elected to 

 the United States Senate, but, as Georgia was 

 not yet readmitted, he was not permitted to 

 take his seat. He was elected to Congress in 

 1872, and again in 1874, 1876, and 1878. 



In a speech, Feb. 12, 1878, on occasion of 

 Congress receiving a painting of the signing of 

 the Emancipation Proclamation by President 

 Lincoln, Mr. Stephens took occasion to speak 

 in high terms of Lincoln, and to say further 

 that, in advocating secession in 1861, he did 

 not suppose the dissolution of the Union 

 would be permanent. 



Mr. Stephens was nominated for Governor 

 of Georgia in 1882, and after an active can- 

 vass, in which he participated, was elected, and 

 entered upon his duties, but, after two months 

 of service, he broke down in health. He was 

 a man of large acquirements and varied read- 

 ing, and was noted for his kindness and official 

 aid to struggling young men. 



A volume of speeches and letters by Mr. 

 Stephens was published in 1867. His chief 

 work, lt A Constitutional View of the Late 

 War between the States, its Causes, Character, 

 and Results," appeared, in two volumes, in 

 1868-'70. 



SUEZ CANAL, THE, a tidal ship-canal connect- 

 ing the Mediterranean with the Red Sea by a 

 cutting through the Isthmus of Suez, belonging 

 to the Compagnie Universelle du Canal Mari- 

 time de Suez. In the acts of concession it was 



declared neutral, and free to all nations. It 

 was opened for navigation Nov. 17, 1869. The 

 canal has a total length of 160 kilometres, a 

 uniform depth of 8 metres, and a width of 

 from 58 to 100 metres at the surface of the 

 water and 22 metres at the bottom. The com- 

 pany is incorporated in France and. Egypt. Its 

 president is Ferdinand de Lesseps. 



Finances. The capital outlay, including cost 

 of enlargement, improvements, and loans, 

 amounted at the end of 1878 to 479,175,683 

 francs. The capital was derived from the sale 

 of shares, authorized to the amount of 200,- 

 000,000 francs ; 1'rom a subvention of 84,000,- 

 000 furnished by the Khedive ; from first-mort- 

 gage 5 per cent, bonds issued, to the amount 

 of 100,000,000, at 60 per cent, and redeemable 

 at par; from 120,000 thirty-year bonds of 125 

 francs, at 8 per cent, interest, issued in 1871 at 

 the price of 100 francs ; from various conces- 

 sions, the product of which was about 30,- 

 000,000; and from sales of lands and other 

 sources. In 1882 there were outstanding 397,- 

 438 of 500-franc shares ; 301,848 obligations of 

 500 francs; 83,993 delegations of 500 francs 

 each, bearing interest at 5 per cent. ; 99,990 

 thirty-year bonds ; 15,152 3 per cent. 500-franc 

 bonds ; and 400,000 bonds of 85 francs, bear- 

 ing 5 per cent, interest, representing unpaid 

 share coupons, besides 100,000 founders' shares 

 which participate in the surplus profits. 



Of the 397,438 shares, 176,602 originally be- 

 longed to the Khedive. They were purchased 

 from him by the British Government in No- 

 vember, 1875. The sum paid was 3,976,582. 

 The Khedive in 1869 assigned the dividends on 

 these shares up to 1894 to the company, which 

 issued 120,000 delegations entitling the holders 

 to these dividends. The company's charter 

 provides that, of the net profits, when more 

 than sufficient to pay the 5 per cent, dividend 

 on the shares, 71 per cent, shall go to the 

 shareholders, 15 per cent, to the Egyptian 

 Government, 10 per cent, to the holders of 

 founders' shares, 2 per cent, to form an invalid 

 fund for employes, and 2 per cent, to the man- 

 aging directors. The founders' share of the 

 surplus profits in 1881 was 98,721. The 

 canal yielded a surplus profit in 1872 for the 

 first time. It amounted to 2,071,279 francs, 

 increased in rapid progression to 16,048,451 

 francs in 1877, and then fell off to 12,330,145 

 francs in 1880, but was much greater in the 

 succeeding two years. The surplus dividend 

 in 1881 paid to shareholders was 13'7'per cent. 

 The receipts of the canal were 8,993,732 francs 

 in 1871; 16,407,591 in 1872; 22,897,319 in 

 1873 24,859,383 in 1874; 28,886,302 in 1875; 

 29,974,998 in 1876; 32,774,344 in 1877; 81,- 

 292,347 in 1878; 29,876,367 In 1879 ; 41,790,- 

 900 in 1880 ; 54,676,000 in 1881 : and 60,504,- 

 878 in 1882. The total expenditure in 1880 

 was 28,811,803 francs; in 1881, 28,699,000. 



Statistics. The number and tonnage of ves- 

 sels passing through the canal each year since 

 1875 were as follow : 



