able to maintain itself was despotic. Civil troubles were intensified by
dissension between Catholics and Protestants. Revolution accompanied any
change in administration.
Under Ferdinand de Lesseps, creator of the Suez Canal, the French
company had performed extensive excavations at Panama. The New Panama
Canal Company of France held certain concessions from the Colombian
government. The value of its assets was $109,000,000 at most. If we dug
at Nicaragua these would be worth little. Besides, a Nicaragua canal
completed, some $6,000,000 of stock owned by the French company in the
Panama railroad would dwindle in value.