Читать книгу Is a Ship Canal Practicable? онлайн

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The circumstances affecting the permanence of the canal have been so ably canvassed, that, apart from the intrinsic importance of the question, they deserve attentive consideration.

The ancient Pharaonic canal connected the Nile with the Red Sea, and partly avoided the destruction threatened by the unceasing advance of the sand dunes. The absence of harbors on the Mediterranean was compensated by the channel of the Nile, which afforded a passage over the bar for the light draft ships of that period. The French engineers, confident in the resources of modern science, have boldly conquered the difficulties which Egyptian engineers dared not encounter. It is well known that the distinguished engineer, Robert Stephenson, pronounced the work impracticable, and many cautious investigators have doubted its permanence.

The objections may be classed under two heads:

1. To the permanency of the excavation of the canal.

2. To the permanency of the harbors.

The arguments relating to the duration of the canal are drawn from history and the observations of travelers.