272 RECOLLECTIONS OF FORTY YEARS. 



of the affair, with the conviction that from an impartial 

 and unprejudiced consideration of them, it would be 

 clear to him : 



"1st. That England was more interested than any 

 other nation in the route to India being shortened by 

 more than three thousand leagues. 



"2nd. That if in the remote probability of its ever 

 unfortunately happening that France and England 

 should be embroiled, it would be easy to prove that 

 the opening of the Suez Canal would not be a cause 

 of weakness to Great Britain, mistress as she is of all 

 the important passes and maritime stations between 

 the metropolis and India. It must also be borne in 

 mind that, since the introduction of steam, the condi- 

 tions of a war between the two countries are different, 

 and that the French, a people who do not travel much, 

 would not attack England in India when she was 

 within two hours of their coast. I added, moreover, 

 that if at some future time the execution of the canal 

 was deemed possible by engineering science, and if 

 the free capital of all nations saw therein a source 

 of material profit, irrespective of all political influence, 

 the Governments of France and England were upon 

 sufficiently intimate terms to agree upon such mea- 

 sures as would guarantee their mutual interests ; that 

 I had no mission to treat of this subject, and that my 

 sole object in coming to London, as delegate of the 

 Yiceroy, had been to ascertain for myself the state of 

 public opinion on the Suez Canal, and to endeavour 



