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Leader (1850-1860), 22nd September 1855, Edition 2 of 2, Page 20

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      ' .Gfo ¦ . ... Agaac M^M A Mwm I.^M^ ^M^...

      ' . gfo ¦ . ... agaac M ^ m a mwm i . ^ m ^ ^ m ^ mmiamM ,

      ¦¦¦¦¦¦M^^^^^^^Mi^^^^"M-+A^J ^^^^ U*Rrff ...

      ¦¦¦¦¦¦ M ^^^^^^^ Mi ^^^^" M-+ ^ j ^^^^ * rrff ^ ^ r ^ 4 * Krti 0 F * GB ** nxr ^& -x :. ' ** i < tt ^ - ^~ *— - - ^ f ^^^^^ jmjm ^ Q ^ mA ,,, . .,,,,,,, -, ; . < -.,, ^^ n ^ S ^ ikJk ^ Ii m ^^ X ^^^^ othm Wraffi ^ ts and GleaningsHi the East \^ W $ ^ % WrMP *<&& ' * Author # t , " The-Narrative of < the Niger Expedi' ;' . ^^ 5 al * f- ^ . *\' . ;' . - .., '; . . ,..,- u - ..- ; ..- > .. ¦ . / i ' . "i .-.-. il . r' , ! -. ; v , i :, <;^ ¦ ¦/ . ; Lcnginan atto ^ Cfo ^ BqspS ^^ r ^ tKij'i y ^ aB ^ i'a ^^ ft ; traijlwfty-iwas projected direct from Calais to |^^^ y ^ . Jri ^^ i enti ^ i rQ » t 4 : ^« a ? JiW 5 ed : i ' -and a period of "fourteen years was fixed , as necessary to thet . completion -of the works . From that date , it was calculated , the journeyfrom . London . to the , Indian metropolis would occupy cnains tubes wouia

      riom & retMii . Ji fq vtnXg ^' -. An airy complication of ana spatf the ' BHrdane ^ e ^ t ' TKe . authors of the prospectus dilated ; upon the veibcity ' " & $%$ . w ; nichl a , frjain , with passengers and luggage , might rush rtirojag K ^ h je v ^ lisy of the . Euphrates ; w ^ ere there is a natural level , several ntuiiiried lmil ^ 8 in length ., The Beluclus , in , anticipation , gazed on the eiig | neW it panted # i ^ red breath along their coasts . The shifting Indus w & s eas ' uy traversed' by an ideal bridge . The projectors of this scheme did rx 6 tireckon , ; indWedi upon the assistance of the French engineer who has offered [ iocbnStrucf a subaqueous railroad from Dover to Boulogne . They fixed their European terminus at Calais , without explaining hovy England could use their line duringa general war , or how hostile nations were to be

      prevented from using it . ' Similarlybold is Gaptaih Allen ' s proposal to change the configuration of the earth ; by literally drdwning the Dead Sea . That body of water , often libellediisnowto be abolished for ever . At one time it has been traduced as the fit receptacle of ' Sodom and Gomorrah ; at another it has been reporfced-to emit vapours so' fatal that birds cannot fly over its blasted surface . At lasfcf Captain Allen , of the British navy ; asks the English , the Toricsy ahdrtbe Jews , to sink the D « id Sea , that the ships of Europe may sail triumphantly above its obliterated area into the Indian Ocean . Captain -Allen ' s idea is based on more than one peculiar hypothesis . On

      the formation and natural qualities of the Dead Sea itself his opinions are at variance with those of many geographers . Moreover , he assumes the existence * at one end of this extraordinary lake , of an old strait , blocked up bythe ^ accumulation of ages , while , at the other , " the alluvial plain > f Esdraelon , already deeply furrowed by the brook Kishpn , " might be " through at very little expense , the required length of the cutting being about twenty-five miles only . " Between these artificial channels " Nature haai in . iaci , performed for u & the greater part of the work , in a stupendous ctrttingof some two hundred miles in length . " Among mechanical facilities the- following is suggested : ¦—

      ' ^ The operation might be very much facilitated by making use of the immense weight and force of Tjacfc-watter of thei two oceans ; if not as a cutting power , at all events to carry into the abyss or depression , the earth , & c , which could be loosened by the liberal use of gtyipowder , saving ; thereby nearly the whole trouble of digging and carrying . away .-i j : Communication being thus established by canals sufficiently broad and deep , the rushing in of the two . seas would restore the now Tfead Sea to its ancient , level , and convert it into the aqtive channel of intercourse , between Europe and Asia ; the whole bulky commerce of which might then pass through this canal instead of taking the circuitous ^" routeof'the Cape of Good Hope , shortening the voyage between England dnd India to the time in which it is performed by the overland route . The canal rottteTSii ^ de ^ da littl e longer ; but they woul d be equ al ised by the time taken , by the transit through Egypt . - ^

      'A ' s '" an engineering work , we hesitate to regard any sane man ' s project as impossible : Almost every , undertaking is a question of means and objects . The Cfreat I * acifi 6 Railway from Vancpuver to Montreal was laughed at long aifter Dr . Lardner reriouneed his scepticism concerning ocean steamers . The Alpine highways are wonders of our generation , as the Thames Tunnel is , arid as . the Channel Tunnel may be . Besides , if the Nicaragua Isthmus , with its auxiliary lakes , be not impenetrable by steam dredges , and if the Isthmus of Suez , -which is ninety miles wide , be regarded as only a moderate obstacle , there is iip reason , why the difficulties of the Dead Sea route should be accounted insuperable . , 5 V " e do not mean that there is no limit to human or mechanical powers . But the barrier must be a natural law , before it should be regarded as unassailable . When it was proposed to Burke , to unite the representation of the colonies and of the mother country , he exclaimed , " Oppbsuit Natiira ! Between us and them there is fixed an eternal and impasWiiblegu | f '' - —the dreary voyage ^ pf a time when steamers and great circle sailing were unknown . Yet . were a man to propose a tunnel through the centre' of the earth , fronx England to the Antipodes , his insanity would the art and

      be apparent to every temperate mind ., In the first place , he would unmeasuriably ^ e ^ aggeyate capacities of human human power ; and , liektfj ; h ^ vj rouldincite my riada of men to labour for ages in an enterprise i ^ w nich the highest success would bear no proportion to the cost , or to the risk of failure . ' , However , Mr . Adcock has taught us how to fuse volcanic rocks , so that it is dangerous to define the limits of possibility . Wo are . forced to admire tb < j fluency with which Captain Allen disposes of PYmoi ^ Utiea arid ; powers . There must be some sacrifices , he admits , should his ^ oject bo , cpns ^ ny ^ tod ; ¦ '** but these would be trifling . " For example , a ter ^^^ ry pj ? iopao . twb ; thousand square miles , belonging to the Sultan of ^ j ^ yj ; '*! y ?] i ) lp'fei 9 ' . ') 8 wbnierged . V Secondly , the ancient city of Tiberias , inhabited by some thousands of innocent Jews and Christians , must go where ^ ^ dc ^^^ . Qoitnotsrah went ,, down among the waters of the Dead Sea , which is itself , in , turn , to be lost in the mingling floods of the Mediterra ^ oan and Indian Seas .,, In addition to this havoc , which the simple people of the province might mistake for a visitation of Divine anger , a number of Arab villages are to be plunged into the depths of Captain Allen ' s jointstock deluge . And here his reasoning glidos to its ultimate point with such imperial ease that we must borrow it : —

      The city of Tiberias is a fllthy heap of ruined buildings , hemmed in between the lake and steep , barren mountains , from which a forced removal to a fertile and adjacent neighbourhood would be a blessing to the debased , apathetic , and wretched inhabitants . , The villages consist of mud-huts , temporary by their nature , or of tents , whloh , are intentionally so . From all these the occupants derive little advantage , and h'ia Highness , loss revenue . Their condition , besides , might be immensely improved by the activity and trade which would bo stimulated through the navigation of tho canal by ships of all nations ; and tho Sultan would draw groat revenues by transit ( '¦ " W ! v . ' i " ¦ . ' ;

      due ? , where lie , now . JW 5 e % es ^ nothing : ; , f ajad-. as . jejtnunejajlaqn , fo & ^ Jq « $ « f , , thjaunprofitable ^ mt br ^ . so ^^ latjon—namelv , those of the Rephaijri , the Zuzun , and the Emiin , thelfraasrJojrdanic pro vfncasV ' so judiciously ctidsen w some ^ tribeVof tnW Jews ^ woulsi'b ' e renjfe ^ ed . easy of access by me ^ ans of "the proposed ! canial . ' ' The Jews , would , ppssibiV ofcjy ^ t stroiigry to the 1638 cfF Tiberias ; which is' one of the ifotir holy cities ; bdt ^ aey" are' ^ ta & ngers from Russia , Poland , & c ., who have no property in it , ' and come there m t ^ S hbpe ' -of seeing ; the Messiah rise out of the lake , ' which is a general expectation among * thein , though on what authority" It is not known .- I sketched one old man , -who ' waa anxiously watching on the shore where the Bpray was dashing up , in the evident hope of seeing Him riae . , If such is really the generarhelief of the Jews , -they must comsider it as a miracle , and of course it could not be impeded by .-a few fathoms more OJ less . in the dep ( h of the sea ; consequentiy ,. they cann ^ urge any valid pbjjection . t © this result , though they may hot like to see the filthy ,, city , which they hold to be sacred , submerged and lost , for ever . , , . ' \ . u

      The Defledar Bey of Egypt , or the protected J ? nnce , pf Kashmir , could not have settled this matter with more supreme celerity . But would his Highness the Sultan , or the Jews , be convinced stf speedily as Captain Allen ? Would not the " stranger ^ frqm ^ ll parts of the Mohammedan world , who reverently come to Meccali , ; violently resist its destruction , although " they have no property .. in . , it ? " The political securities suggested by Captain Allen are based on calculations quite as superficial . At the two extremities of the canal—namely , Kaiffa on the' Mediterranean , and at Akabah , where it communicates , with the Red Sea—very strong fortifications . should be erected , which might be defended by mixed garrisons ; that is , French and Turks at one end , English and Turks at the other . I have been informed that , there are strong political objections to the construction of ft 6 a » al wlich might'he cort 3 idered as another Dardanelles , the-custody of which has been a source of sq muW iineasiness to the Turks , thafrthey are" not desirous oif having another ' such charge ; nevertheless , it appears by the public prints , both the . Pacha of Egypt and the Sultan have granted concessions toIYench projectors for the long-proposed plan of a canal tbrough the

      Isthmus of Suez . In the event of a war between Erance and England , or in the event of Turkey bringing upon itself the thunderbolts of another Navarino , where would these " mixed garrisons" be ? Cuere would probably be a port at each end , but there might also be places of embarkation along the sides of the channel * so that the master of the neighbouring country would share the government of the 1 canal . But , in this point of view , the Dead Sea route is identical with that of Suez ^ so that we need not here discuss it . _ In our opinion , Captain Allen understates all the difficulties l 6 f his schemej overstates the facilities , and has been carried away by his own idea . The " long-proposed plan of a canal through the Isthmus of Suez * ' has undergone much discussion . Captain Allen , however , though , in his own case , he sweeps away miles of earth and rock with the energy of a hundred-armed

      Hercules , finds more than one " fatal obstacle" to the accomplishment ^ of the rival scheme . Among fatal circumstances , he reckons one which does not , in reality , exist—namely , he imputes it to M . Linant and M . de Lesseps , that they count upon natural facts in connexion with the Isthmus of Suez which have long been disproved . It is right to state , however , that he hands over the Dead Sea to the surveyors , that they may decide whether gunpowder and pickaxes could admit the Mediterranean on one side , and the waters of the Gulf of Akabah on the other , into a navigable channel between the seas of Europe and India . ' With Biblical traditions , as we have seen , Captain -, Allen deals courageously . Elliot Warburton ' s Arab guides maintained , a . nd their assertion has been repeated by imaginative Europeans , that in certain states of the water of this sea , and of the atmosphere , the cities-of the plain may be seen just peering over the water ' s edge . Upon this '; theory we might be induced to

      pause before sending a vessel where it . might haul up Lot ' s house with the bower anchor . But to Captain Allen it appears altogether incredible that four or five cities could have been grouped in a confined swampy plain , 1300 feet below the level of the ocean , shut in on three sides by high mountains or perpendicular cliffs ,- and on the fourth by " the disagreeable salt lake . " M . de Sautcy pretends , at all events , to have demonstrate 4 that the condemned cities are not under the Dead Sea , by discovering them elsewhere . M . de Van der Welde satirises this assumption , without proving lm own capacity to judge ; but Captain Allen goes beyond both , and even surpasses Osborne and Forstcr in the self-accommodating facility of his deductions . He not only disputes the locality of Sodom and Gomorrah , but denies the current theories /> f their destruction . One hypothesis is that they were overwhelmed by an inundation ; another , that they perished in a volcanic fire . The advocates of both suppositions

      Appear to me to be in error ; since the express declaration of Holy Writ is , that this destruction was the direct visitation of the wrath of God , who sent fire from heaven to consummate their doom . " Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire , from the Lord out of heaven . " ( Qen , xix . 24 . ) la this Visitation , therefore , we should riot look for the ordinary operations of natural causes , which run the course He has appointed for them , and which , possibly , had their commencement in ages long anterior to that awful punishment of the sin ' s of nations ; and the appearance of the Dead Sea , which we witness at the present day , may have been familiar to the eyes of the inhabitants of tho Pentapolis .

      This reasoning resembles the geometrical idea of a surface : it is length and breadth without depth . What did the flying inhabitants of Pompeii , as represented by the younger Pliny , say of the burning storm which desolated their homesP They said that " fire from heaven , " sent by tho gods , consumed them . Of course , Captain Allen lias a perfect right to imitate the bishops , and to smite every adversary as dumb as a dead drummer with a literal , matter-of-fact , prosaic interpretation of a text of Scripture . Only , he must bo consistent . Ho must not be " orthodox" to the full perfection of pulpit and pew , and drop thence to doubts of tho received translation . Verbal ofgotry in one page does not well prepare us for critical license in another : —

      I am aware that against those arguments , which I have ventured to advance , I have a very strong current of popular belief against me , which has its source in tho most remote antiquity , and is at the same time tho most venerated . Tho authority for this popular belief is no less than a passage in tho Holy Bible , which wo are all taught to look upon as unquestionable . But when , in tho historical part of that book , wo find a passage not only difficult to

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 22, 1855, page 20, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_22091855/page/20/