The silting up of the interior of the harbor by the sand which sifts through the interstices of the concrete block is regarded by Mr. Mitchell as a more serious evil. But as it may not be impracticable to close these interstices, this danger does not seem comparable to that which must arise from the unceasing eastward movement of the sands brought down by the Nile. It was for this reason that Alexander placed his city to the west of the mouth of the Nile. The boldness and skill displayed in the construction of the harbor of Port Said may be appreciated from these facts. The excavation of the canal presented comparatively little difficulty. The entire cost of the canal and harbors was about forty-three and a half millions of dollars, or more than half of the entire cost of the work, which includes the expenses of hospitals, negotiations, surveys, machinery, and the miscellaneous expenses of administration, amounting in the aggregate to $80,893,665. The doubts of the permanent value of the Suez Canal, as expressed by Lord Palmerston and Sir Robert Stephenson, do not appear to have been without sound and reasonable foundation. It is evident that a few years of war will, as in the days of the Pharaohs, Ptolemies, the Cæsars, and the Caliphs, necessitate a reconstruction on a scale almost as great as that which has recently challenged the admiration of the civilized world. It is unnecessary to say any thing of the harbor of Suez. The difficulties encountered at this point were much more easily conquered than at Port Said. The Egyptian Government has provided excellent docks and every facility for the repairing of ships at the southern terminus. FOOTNOTES: [1] For more detailed account of the difficulties and of the preliminary work, the reader is referred to the pamphlets of Capt. Methven, Pen. and Oriental Steamship Company; of J. N. Strouse, U. S. N.; Mr. H. Mitchell, Coast Survey; Blackwood, Dec., 1869, and other periodicals. [2] The reader is referred to the reports of the French engineers; to the pamphlet of J. N. Nourse, U. S. N.; Blackwood, Dec., 1869; London Times, and other periodicals. [3] See Delta Report of Generals Humphreys and Abbot. CHAPTER II. Influence of Commerce—Distances Reduced by the Suez Canal—Tables showing the Gain of the United States and European Ports—Navigation by way of Red Sea and Good Hope—Napoleon III on Advantages of the American Route—Darien and Suez Canals as parts of one system of Navigation—Lieut. Maury on Darien Canal; its influence on the Resources of the Basin of the Mississippi—Table of Distances by Cape and Canal—Saving to the Commerce of the World—Table showing how far the great Maritime States are interested in the American Canal—Advantages of Suez and Darien Canals.