Bankrupts and Brokers 71

fifths of the work. The construction was to take six
years, the tolls to be fixed at ten francs per passenger or
per ton, the profits being divided, seventy-five per cent.
to the shareholders, ten per cent, to the promoters, and
fifteen per cent, to the Egyptian Government. A loan
of 200,000,000 francs was floated (1858), of which
France subscribed half and the remainder was divided
between Turkey and Egypt. Without waiting for the
Forte's authorisation, work was started (April 25, 1859),
and the scheme was already in difficulties when Said died

With the accession of Ismail came a revision of the
concession and a reconsideration of the whole enterprise.
For the dissolution of the personal partnership between
Said and de Lesseps encouraged the enemies of the
scheme to further efforts. l( No one is more c Canaliste '
than myself," said Ismail, "but I want the Canal to
belong to Egypt, not Egypt to the Canal.3' The British
Government were only too glad to get an opportunity
of stopping construction, and they now had something
of a case. For forced labour, used on so large a scale and
with so little scruple, had resulted in scandalous in-
humanities that had shocked not only British, but even
French public opinion. The Porte, for its own reasons,
was very ready to move in demanding the abandonment
of the corvee for canal construction as being contrary to
the imperial reforms recorded in the Tanzimat. While
Ismail demanded the retrocession of the adjoining lands
and minerals conceded by Said as a concession incom-
patible with Egyptian sovereignty. The consequent
claims for compensation by the Company were referred
to the arbitration of Napoleon III., whose award (July,
1864) mulcted Egypt to the amount of £3,360,000. Of
this, £1,520,000 was in compensation for the corv&e;