y the right of passage
through the canal on payment of the same tolls. The work, if constructed
under these guaranties, will become a bond of peace instead of a subject
of contention and strife between the nations of the earth. Should the
great maritime States of Europe consent to this arrangement (and we have
no reason to suppose that a proposition so fair and honorable will be
opposed by any), the energies of their people and ours will cooperate in
promoting the success of the enterprise. I do not recommend any
appropriation from the National Treasury for this purpose, nor do I
believe that such an appropriation is necessary. Private enterprise, if
properly protected, will complete the work should it prove to be
feasible. The parties who have procured the charter from Nicaragua for
its construction desire no assistance from this Government beyond its
protection; and they profess that, having examined the proposed line of
communication, they will be ready to commence the undertaking whenever
that protection shall be extended to them. Should there appear to be
reason, on examining the whole evidence, to entertain a serious doubt of
the practicability of constructing such a canal, that doubt could be
speedily solved by an actual exploration of the route.

Should such a work be constructed under the common protection of all
nations, for equal benefits to all, it would be neither just nor
expedient that any great maritime state should command the
communication. The territory through which the canal may be opened ought
to be freed from the claims of any foreign power. No such power should
occupy a position that would enable it hereafter to exercise so
controlling an influence over the commerce of the world or to obstruct a
highway which ought to be dedicated to the common uses of mankind.

The routes across the Isthmus at Tehuantepec and Panama are also worthy
of our serious consideration. They did not fail to engage the attention
of my predecessor. The negotiator of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was
instructed to offer a very large sum of money for the right of transit
across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The Mexican Government did not accede
to the proposition for the purchase of the right of way, probably
because it had already contracted with private individuals for the
construction of a passage from the Guasacualco River to Tehuantepec. I
shall not renew any proposition to purchase for money a right which
ought to be