MR. H. BERKELEYsaid, he wished to ask the First Lord of the Treasury, whether Her Majesty's Government will use its influence with His Highness the Sultan in support of an application which has been made by the Viceroy of Egypt for the sanction of the Sublime Porte to the construction of a Ship Canal across the Isthmus of Suez, for which a concession has been granted by the Viceroy of Egypt to Monsieur Ferdinand de Lesseps, and which has received the approbation of the principal cities, ports, and commercial towns of the United Kingdom; and, if any objections be entertained by Her Majesty's Government to the undertaking, to state the grounds of such objection?
§ VISCOUNT PALMERSTONSir, Her 1044 Majesty's Government certainly cannot undertake to use their influence with the Sultan to induce him to give permission for the construction of this canal, because for the last fifteen years Her Majesty's Government have used all the influence they possess at Constantinople and in Egypt to prevent that scheme from being carried into execution. It is an undertaking which, I believe, in point of commercial character, may be deemed to rank among the many bubble schemes that from time to time have been palmed upon gullible capitalists. I have been informed, on what I believe to be reliable authority, that it is physically impracticable, except at an expense which would be far too great to warrant any expectation of any returns. I believe, therefore, that those who embarked their money in any such undertaking (if my hon. Friend has any constituents who are likely to do so) would find themselves very grievously deceived by the result. However, that is not the ground upon which the Government have opposed the scheme. Private individuals are left to take care of their own interests, and if they embark in impracticable undertakings they must pay the penalty of so doing. But the scheme is founded in hostility to the interests of this country—opposed to the standing policy of England in regard to the connection of Egypt with Turkey—a policy which has been consecrated by the late war, and issue of that war—the Treaty of Paris. The obvious political tendency of the undertaking is to render more easy the separation of Egypt from Turkey. It is founded, also, on remote speculations with regard to easier access to our Indian possessions, which I need not more distinctly shadow forth, because they will be obvious to anybody who pays any attention to the subject. I can only express my surprise that M. Ferdinand de Lesseps should have reckoned so much on the credulity of English capitalists, as to think that by his progress through the different commercial towns in this country he should succeed in obtaining English money for the promotion of a scheme which is every way so adverse and hostile to British interests. That scheme was launched, I believe, about fifteen years ago, as a rival to the railway from Alexandria by Cairo to Suez, which, being infinitely more practicable and likely to be more useful, obtained the pre-eminence. M. de Lesseps is a very persevering gentleman, and may have great engineering skill at his command. At all 1045 events, he pursues his scheme very steadily, though I am disposed to think, that probably the object which he and some others of the promoters have in view will be accomplished, even if the whole of the undertaking should not be carried into execution. If my hon. friend the Member for Bristol and his friends will take my advice, they will have nothing to do with the scheme in question.