DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.11715#0173
THE SUEZ CAXAL.
tion of Egypt, at the commencement of the present century, the project of reopening
this ancient channel of communication suggested itself to the mind of Napoleon. Surveys
were made, and plans prepared by his orders. But the ambitious schemes of the
Emperor having been baffled by the battle of the Nile, nothing further was done, and
the proposal remained in abeyance.
The various engineers who had turned their attention to the subject prior to M.
Lesseps proposed to adopt, with some modifications, the plan followed by the ancient
Egyptians, and construct a fresh-water canal by tapping the Nile somewhere in the Delta.
Many high authorities are of opinion that he erred by deciding upon a different course.
Mr. Barham Zincke thus sums up the argument in favor of the scheme which was re-
jected : " The ancient Egyptians would have decided in favor of fresh water, because
they could then have constructed it at half the cost; and would, furthermore, by so do-
POET SAID.
ing, have had a supply of water in the desert, sufficient for reclaiming a vast extent of
land, which would have more than repaid the whole cost of construction. Instead of
cutting a canal deep in the desert at an enormous cost, they would, as it were, have laid
a canal on the desert. This they would have done by excavating only to the depth re-
quisite for finding material for its levees and for the flow of the water which was to be
brought to it from some selected point in the river. It is evident that this kind of canal
might have been made wider and deeper than the present one at far less cost. The
river water would then have filled the ship canal, just as it now does the sweet-water
canal parallel to it. The sweet-water canal now reaches Suez. A sweet-water ship
canal might have done the same. As far as navigation is concerned, the only difference
would have been that locks would have been required at the two extremities, such as
Darius and Ptolemy had at Arsinoe. These locks would have been at Suez, and the
169
tion of Egypt, at the commencement of the present century, the project of reopening
this ancient channel of communication suggested itself to the mind of Napoleon. Surveys
were made, and plans prepared by his orders. But the ambitious schemes of the
Emperor having been baffled by the battle of the Nile, nothing further was done, and
the proposal remained in abeyance.
The various engineers who had turned their attention to the subject prior to M.
Lesseps proposed to adopt, with some modifications, the plan followed by the ancient
Egyptians, and construct a fresh-water canal by tapping the Nile somewhere in the Delta.
Many high authorities are of opinion that he erred by deciding upon a different course.
Mr. Barham Zincke thus sums up the argument in favor of the scheme which was re-
jected : " The ancient Egyptians would have decided in favor of fresh water, because
they could then have constructed it at half the cost; and would, furthermore, by so do-
POET SAID.
ing, have had a supply of water in the desert, sufficient for reclaiming a vast extent of
land, which would have more than repaid the whole cost of construction. Instead of
cutting a canal deep in the desert at an enormous cost, they would, as it were, have laid
a canal on the desert. This they would have done by excavating only to the depth re-
quisite for finding material for its levees and for the flow of the water which was to be
brought to it from some selected point in the river. It is evident that this kind of canal
might have been made wider and deeper than the present one at far less cost. The
river water would then have filled the ship canal, just as it now does the sweet-water
canal parallel to it. The sweet-water canal now reaches Suez. A sweet-water ship
canal might have done the same. As far as navigation is concerned, the only difference
would have been that locks would have been required at the two extremities, such as
Darius and Ptolemy had at Arsinoe. These locks would have been at Suez, and the
169