every
where the extension of commerce is now the order of the day, and the good
understanding which prevails among the parties who might be invited to
concur in the work, warrants the belief that, at a moment so peculiarly
auspicious, little diplomatic ingenuity would be required to procure their
assent and co-operation. By means of negotiations undertaken by Great
Britain and conducted in a right spirit, trading nations would be induced
to agree and contribute to the expenses of the enterprize in proportion to
the advantages which they may hope to derive from its completion. If, for
example, the estimate of the cost amounted to half a million sterling,
Great Britain, France, and the United States might contribute L.100,000
each, and the remainder be divided among the minor European states--each
having a common right to the property thereby created, and each a
commissioner on the spot, to watch over their respective interests.

This would be the most honourable and effectual mode of improving
facilities to which the commerce and civilization of Europe have a claim.
It is the settled conviction of the most intelligent persons who have
traversed the isthmus, that these facilities exist to the extent herein
described and unity of purpose is therefore all that is wanting for the
attainment of the end proposed. Jealousies would be thus obviated; and to
such a concession as the one suggested, the local government could have no
objection, as its own people would participate in the benefits flowing
from it. This is indeed a tribute due from the New to the Old World; nor
could the other South American states hesitate to sanction a grant made
for a commercial purpose, and for the general advantage of mankind. The
isthmus of Panama, that interesting portion of their continent, has
remained neglected for ages; and so it must continue, at least as regards
any great and useful purpose, unless called into notice by extraordinary
combinations. With so many prospective advantages before us, it is
therefore to be hoped that the time has arrived when Great Britain will
take the initiative, and promote the combinations necessary to establish a
commercial intercourse between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, an event
that would widen the scope for maritime enterprizes more than any that has
happened within the memory of the present generation, and connect us more
closely with those countries which have lately been the theatre of our
triumphs