He does not say how much excavation has been done. He
does not state properly how much the company is owing, for
he now suppresses from his scheme the discounts at which
the bonds have been issued, as well as the cost of the
Panama Railway, from which company he bought not only
a road which, he said, he would have to build if it did not
exist, but also the right of way which had been given to
it for a canal in Panama by the Colombian charter.
M. de Lesseps, moreover, mixes up his figures so as to
produce the impression that when he gives the mere cost
of excavation, according to some contracts now in force, he
really gives the cost of the canal. He continues to exclude
from his already worthless calculations the outlay on the
Chagres, interest during construction, administration — in
short, everything except excavation; and he then parades
the supposed cost of the latter for the cost of tlie canal.
POSTSCRIPT, 243

We will give a few instances of the peculiar methods by
which he manipulates his figures and information. We will
take, for instance, the last named topic, the ** cost of the
canal," to which he devotes a special chapter.
As we have shown in pages 76 et aeq., M. de Lesseps, in
tho autumn and winter of 1 880-1, repeatedly assured the
public that the cost of the canal, fully completed, would
be 7oo,cxDo,ooof ., including ioo,cxx),ooof. for any contingency.
