"The latest proposition is to build a maritime canal through Palestine, and an English company, with the Duke of Marlborough at its head, has been formed for the purpose of making investigations and preliminary surveys.
So far as at present proposed, the work will include, in the first instance, a canal twenty-five miles in length, from Halifax, in the Bay of Acre, through the plain of Esdraelon to the valley of the river Jordan. The depth of the proposed canal is to be forty feet, and its width 200 feet. This work will bring the Mediterranean into the heart of Palestine, and go far toward making a seaport of Jerusalem. It is further proposed to construct a canal 100 miles in length from the head of the Gulf of Akaboan to the Dead Sea, and thus unite the waters of the latter with the Red Sea. If these things were successfully performed it is expected that an inland sea about 300 miles long, varying in width from three to ten miles, and deep enough to float vessels of the largest size, would extend from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. There are some matters besides engineering difficulties which may hinder the execution of this project. The consent of the porte is indispensable, and certain European Powers would undoubtedly oppose the granting of a firman conferring upon England the exclusive right of way by water through Palestine. The Holy Land also has sacred associations for Christians throughout the world, and a wide-spread sentiment among all churches and sects would doubtless be raised in opposition to the innovation."—London R.R. News.