ABSTRACT
It was not until 25th April, 1859, that sand began to fly in the Isthmus of Suez. Practically four and a half years separate this date from that of the original concession. De Lesseps had had innumerable difficulties to overcome; he met them with an invincible courage. But even his magnetic optimism would not have sufficed had English statesmanship been able to appeal to the Nonconformist conscience of the rank and file of the Liberal electorate. It seems strange that Lord Palmerston did not drive home the message that the Frenchman contemplated using the blood and sweat of corvée labour to dig his way from Suez to the Mediterranean.
