_The Canalisation of the Moselle._—The French Government, in the period from 1836 to 1860, undertook the regulation of this river from Frouard to the Prussian frontier by means of works parallel to the existing river-bed, and by embankments; but sandbanks and shoals were nevertheless deposited which impeded the navigation, and led to the proposal, in 1860, to erect a series of sluices and movable weirs extending from Frouard to Thionville, which would, if constructed, entail an estimated outlay of 11½ millions of francs, the total distance being 92 kilometres, and the minimum depth of water to be maintained being set down as 1·6 metre. Owing to the opposition of some of the Communes, who dreaded the injury to their land by the alterations in the water-level, the plans were modified, and only certain reaches of the river, where the riparian conditions were favourable, were kept up by weirs and locks, side-channels fed from the main stream being constructed to connect these deepened sections. _The Proposed Mediterranean and Biscay Canal._—The project for connecting the Mediterranean and the Bay of Biscay by a ship canal has often been under discussion, and would, no doubt, if carried out, prove of considerable utility. Not only would such a canal shorten by several days the distance between the principal ports on the North Sea and the eastern basin of the Mediterranean—thereby bringing England into closer contact with the far Orient—but there would be a greater security to shipping, as a result of avoiding the stormy coasts of Spain and Portugal during the winter months. The proposed canal has been variously named the “_Canal de deux Mers_,” the “_Canal du Midi_,” &c., but it would practically be identical with the Languedoc Canal already described, and by means of which boats of small size are even now passed between the two seas.[69] The route proposed for the Mediterranean and Bay of Biscay Ship Canal is from Bordeaux to Cette by Agen, Montauban, Toulouse, Carcassonne, and Béziers. The canal, after following largely the course of the Garonne, from Bordeaux, would tap the Dorpt, the Lot, the Aveyron, and the Tarn, whence it would draw its water supply. From Toulouse, the canal would follow the course of the South Canal, and would thence proceed by Béziers, to the Lake of Thau, which would be transformed into an inland port. The financial and other difficulties in the way of the project have, however, proved insurmountable up to the present time. Both the City of Bordeaux, which is the port chiefly interested, and the Government of France have declined to aid in the realisation of the project; and the State has even refused to grant the necessary concession for its construction, on the ground that its cost would be quite out of proportion to its utility, that it would isolate a large portion of French territory, and that costly works would have, in any case, to be provided by the Government at both ends of the canal.