Up to February 1883 the work undertaken at the canal had been almost entirely preliminary. In that month M. de Lesseps, acting upon recommendations contained in a report made by M. Dingler, chief engineer of roads and bridges, proposed to the shareholders of the company that the definite programme of the work to be done should embrace a canal of a depth of nine metres below sea level, and a width of 22 metres throughout its course; the construction of large ports at Colon and at Panama; a great basin, five kilometres in extent, near Tavernilla, about the centre of the canal, in order to allow vessels to pass each other; a great dam at Gamboa, for the regulation of the course of the Chagres river; and a tidal port at Panama, in order to ensure access to and from the Pacific at all hours. In submitting this programme, M. de Lesseps calculated that the excavation necessary to the completion of such a canal would be about 110 millions of cubic metres, and that the work of regulating the Chagres river would be equal to a further 10 millions of cubic metres. This work, M. de Lesseps estimated, could be completed in 1888—the excavations of land in three years, and the dredging operations in two, so that “the canal could, with mathematical certainty, be opened on the 1st January 1888.” In confirmation of this calculation, he appealed to the experience at Suez, where, with a total of 75 millions of cubic metres of excavation, 50 millions were done during the two last years of the work. The state of affairs at the canal in the autumn of 1884 is described by the American Admiral Cooper, who reported that although comparatively little had been done in the actual work of excavation, in relation to the vast work to be accomplished, yet all the preliminary plans had been prepared, the soundings had been made, the line of route had been cleared of its tropical vegetation, large supplies of materials of all kinds were at command, dwellings and barracks for the employés had been erected in elevated and salubrious localities, hospitals had been established, and every arrangement requisite for meeting possible eventualities had been carried out so completely that he was confirmed in the belief that the canal would be finished in due time, although he doubted its completion in 1888. At this time no less than twenty different contractors, of eight different nationalities, were engaged upon the work of construction. These contractors had undertaken collectively to raise 62,691,000 cubic metres of excavation for a sum total of 219,295,000 francs (8,772,000_l._ sterling), being at the rate of rather less than 3_s._ per cubic metre. As the total quantity of excavation required was estimated at 120 millions of cubic metres, the opinion was held that the mere work of clearing the course of the canal could be accomplished for about 440 millions of francs, or rather less than 18 millions sterling.