THE SUEZ CANAL. 37 Turkish territory for the benefit of a foreign Company.x The Sultan acceded to the views of our representative ; \ and on receiving a missive from his Suzerain, Ismail, \ who for reasons, of which I shall speak shortly, was j very anxious to give no umbrage to the Porte, refused / to continue the supply of unpaid, compulsory labour. / The decision might easily have proved fatal to the enterprise. The calculations of the Company were all based on the hypothesis that the 7nai7i cTceicvre was to be provided free of cost by Egypt. The work was not far enough advanced to remove the doubts which were popularly entertained as to the feasibility of the project, and. the borrowing powers of the Company were pretty well exhausted. M. de Lesseps saved the situation. He had some remote connection with, the Empress Eugenie on her mother's side. On the, strength of this, and still more, by reason of his» association with an enterprise which enlisted French [ sympathies, he had the ear of the Imperial Court.

He represented the opposition of England to compulsory labour in Egypt as due simply to jealousy of France ; he resorted to every kind of expedient to influence the French Government ; he was supported by French diplomacy ; and finally, such pressure was brought to bear on the Viceroy, that he consented to submit to arbitration the questions, whether the abolition of the corvee in respect of the construction of the Canal, constituted a breach of contract, and if so, what damages should be given as compensation, the arbitrator to be the Emperor Napoleon. His \