THE ORIGIN OF THE SUEZ CANAL. 275 



To Count Th. de Lesseps, Paris. 



" LONDON, June 80, 1855. 



" I yesterday had an interview with Lord Claren- 

 don, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, who 

 certainly has no preconceived hostility to the project, 

 like Lord Palmerston. I think that the best thing I 

 can do is to give you the substance of the conversa- 

 tion which took place, by putting it in the form of a 

 dialogue, though I may add that we began by having 

 a chat over our friends in Spain, where we first met 

 in 1848. 



"Myself. Entrusted by the Viceroy with the pre- 

 parations for organising a Universal Company for the 

 piercing of the Isthmus of Suez, I was desirous of ascer- 

 taining for myself the state of public opinion in Eng- 

 land, and of explaining to any one who was anxious 

 to be enlightened on the subject : 1st, That the 

 affair has not been undertaken by any government, or 

 to the exclusive profit of any nation. 2nd, That the 

 enterprise is materially practicable that is to say, 

 that the estimated expenses will be proportional to the 

 profits accruing from the traffic. 3rd, That there is 

 no intention of soliciting the intervention of the 

 British Government, or of making at present any 

 appeal to investors. 4th, That the most able of 

 European engineers will be called upon to decide as to 

 the possibility of the work being carried out, and as 

 to its cost. 5th. That when once the enterprise has 

 been found to be practicable, investors, large or small, 



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