Show GENERAL GRANT is dictating for the February numoer of the North Amen tan Review an article en the subject of inter oceanic ship canals and the publication oi that ittue i of the periodical peri-odical is to be hastened in view of the prevailing interest In the matter both in this country and in Europe General Grant and the other Americans Ameri-cans who are working with him in favor of the Nicaraguan route as against the Panama route have not the manhood to acknowledge tbat they have been fairly and honorably beaten When Count DaLcsaeps got ready tn construe a canal across the isthmus he selected his route and gave the world an opportunity to put money into the enterprise He did not beg for funds but on the contrary con-trary rettricted subscriptions The response was louder and mere prompt tan the most sanguine supporters of the project anticipated The money fairly poured into the treasury and the financial part of hy enterprise was a pronounced eucces Tho cause for all this is i found in the fact that the world believe in DeLessep and have confidence his skill his ability and his judgment The grandest success attended his former effort in Bhipcnnal building and when he declares de-clares a Panama canal feasible financiers finan-ciers believe what be eays On the other hand the Grant scheme seems to be a private little aSair with nothing no-thing to recommend it save the appearance ap-pearance at the head of the movement move-ment of General Grant admitting that this may bo considered as a recommendation re-commendation or guarantee By a wonderful stretch of imagination patriotism may be inclined to tho American scheme but patriotism cannot direct financial investments nor lesson obstacles to engineering If the Nicaraguan route were tho t better the chances are that DeLes seps would have chosen it i instead of selecting that of Panama The matter mat-ter witn Grat and his few fellow agitators is that they have been left by the great Frenchman He has I the money and tho confidence and they have neither His canal is goirg ahead end theirs is likely to die in the shell There is doubtless doubt-less enough good sense left in the country to prevent Grant from committing com-mitting the nation to any foolish measure that would result in squandering squan-dering a big sum of money in a large failure In connection with the svb ject of Grants excessive anxiety in the matter the facts of his unfortunate unfortu-nate poverty and persistent appeals for money and something fo do are unpleasantly forced to the front and people cannot help thinking that the Nicaragua scheme is directly associa ted with a plan for providing the ex president with a large salary for doing i notbing There may be no connection connec-tion between the two but sa Grant baa never developed any engineering ability nor manifested very enlarged ideas Deb aa a shipcanal builder should show people will think |