By the concessions of 1854 and 1856 the dues were to be the same for all nations, preferen tial treatment of any kind being forbidden, and the canal and its ports were to be open "comme passages neutres" to every mer chant ship without distinction of nationality. The question of its formal neutralization by interna tional agreement was raised in an acute form during the Egyptian crisis of 1881-82, and in August of the latter year a few weeks before the battle of Tel-el-Kebir, navigation upon it was sus pended for four days at the in stance of Sir Garnet Wolseley, who was in command of the Brit ish forces. At the international conference which was then sitting at Constantinople various pro posals were put forward to ensure the use of the canal to all nations, and ultimately at Constantinople on Oct. 29, 1888, Great Britain, Germany, Austria, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia and Turkey signed the Suez Canal Convention, the purpose of which was to ensure that the canal should "always be free and open, in time of war as in time of peace, to every vessel of commerce or of war, without distinction of flag." Great Britain, however, in signing, formulated a reserva tion that the provisions of the convention should only apply so far as they were compatible with the actual situation, namely the "present transitory and excep tional condition of Egypt," and so far as they would not fetter the liberty of action of the Brit ish government during its occu pation of that country. But by the Anglo-French agreement of April 8, 1904, Great Britain de clared her adherence to the stipu lations of the convention, and agreed to their being put in force, except as regards a provision by which the agents in Egypt of the signatory Powers of the conven tion were to meet once a year to take note of the due execution of the treaty. (X.) The World War.—In 1909, the Company approached the Egyptian Government with a request for the prolongation of their concession (due to expire in 1968). The Egyptian parlia ment unanimously rejected the offer. The World War in changed this situation. The defence and direction of the canal— its enormous plant and its expert personnel—were handed over to the British military authorities. The canal became the strategical frontier of Egypt, guarded by the armies and navies of France and of the British Empire. Its waterway was open to the ships of Allied and neutral powers for the whole of those four eventful years, except during a few hours of fighting on Feb. 3, 1915, when a Turkish army that had marched across the desert from Damas cus to invade Egypt was routed—never to return. From end to end the banks of the canal resembled one long armed camp, of which all traces had in 1925 disappeared; and the only signs visible to future generations of that great upheaval will be the three war monuments at Port Said, Ismailia and Suez, and the railway which Lord Allenby laid from Kantara to Jerusalem for the subjugation of Palestine.
Development—Since the war, the engineering programmes, which had been seriously interrupted, have been taken in hand with redoubled vigour. These programmes include the building of jetties and of "bassins," and the widening, deepening and straightening of the canal, a process which will be continued until the two largest ships that use Eastern and Far Eastern ports can cross one another in the canal without tying up.
Another great improvement is the creation of a new city oppo site to Port Said, to which the name of Port Fuad has been given. To this new centre of activity all the company's engineer ing and repair shops were transferred, an operation which greatly reduced the congestion in Port Said. On this, the Asiatic side of the canal, all the employees and work-people now resident in Port Said will eventually live; and in this hope the company drew up a far-reaching scheme for a kind of garden city with avenues and boulevards, shops and schools, hospitals, churches and mosques, and with dwelling houses and apartments suitable for all classes of a very international community. This city was inaugurated by H.M. King Fuad in person in Dec. 1926.