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28 2 MARINE REVIEW AND MARINE RECORD. INLAND WATERWAYS OF EUROPE. The British foreign office has recently issued a pamphlet containing reports from the British representatives abroad on the navigable inland waterways of France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria-Hungary. These reports were obtained at the request of the Association of Chambers of Commerce of Great Britain, who have for some time past been considering as to what extent the waterways of Britain could be improved and devel- oped with a view of providing a cheap means of transport. The points on which information was asked were: First, the amount of capital expended during the past twenty-five years; second, the tolls chargeable on traffic and the manner in which interest on capital is provided; third, as to the results which have fol- lowed improvements with regard to railways, seaports and the trade and commerce of the country. France.--The report from France shows that during the seven years, 1871-78, following the Franco-German war, a sum of £0,640,000 was expended by the government on the improve- ment of the waterways and maritime ports. The chief works carried out duiing this period in connection with the waterways were the construction of the Canal de I'Est; the canalization of the river Saone; the increase of the depth of the Seine; and the canals of the departments of the Nord and Pas de Calais. At the expiration ot this period a new and comprehensive scheme was settled, the aim of which was to obtain a uniform section for the first-class waterways, so as to make them available for barges carrying 300 tons, and for this purpose providing a mini- mum depth of 6 ft. 7 in., locks 127 ft. Jong and 17 ft. wide, with 12 ft. headway under bridges. In the execution of this program £18,000,000 were spent in the years 1879-1900, the total length of first-class waterways being extended from 906 miles to 2,930 miles. The principal natural waterways--the Rhone, the Saone, the Marne and the Seine--were greatly improved; a canal, 1514 miles long, was made between Havre and Tancarville, to enable river craft to reach the docks without entering the Seine estuary, a new canal, 29 miles in length, was constructed from the Oise to the Aisne, in order to permit of boats circulating between the eral fields of the department of the Nord and :he industrial re- gions of the east. ' The total length of French inland waterways comprises 7,330 miles of river and 3,045 of canals. The Canal de 1'Est, which lies partly along a riverhead, cost £14,924 per mile; the - Oise, £48,276; the Tancarville canal, £64,516 per mile; the 145 tiles of canal now under construction are estimated to cost £33,- 103 .per mile. The amount spent on the Rhone between Lyons and the sea since 1860 runs out at £15,360 per mile, the result being only a very mediocre waterway. On the Seine, from Paris to Rouen, the cost of obtaining the uniform depth of 10% it. has been at the rate of £17,631 per mile. Practically the whole of the waterways in France are the property of the state, and are maintained out of the public funds, free of all tolls, which have been entirely abolished since 1880. Water transport has in- creased from 20,000,000 tons in 1878 to 32,000,000 in 1898, and the average kilometric tonnage from 2,000,000,000 in 1880 to 4,673,000,000 in 1890. On the Seine, which has the greatest in- tensity of traffic, the kilometric tonnage rose from 323,000,000 in 1880 to 963,500,000 in 1899. During the same period the kilo- metric tonnage on the railways rose from 11,000,000 in 1883 to 16,500,000 in 1900, Although the waterways have thus rapidly come to the front as a means of transport during the last twenty years, it is shown by figures in the report that the net cost of transport is appreciably higher by water than by rail. The net cost of water transport, as represented by the freight paid to the barge owner on the best canals, averages about I centime per ton per kilometer. On the railway the net running expenses of a goods train work out at .60 to 80 of a centime per kilometer per ton by railway as against 1 centime the cost of transport by waters. The improvements made in the waterways have been attended by a great development of water traffic, while at the same time the railway traffic has also increased. The cost of transport has been lowered both by water and rail as the result of the improve- ments, and lowering the rates on railways have contributed in developing the trade of the country. This gain, however, has been secured to the freighter by the protective policy of the state in financing the canals. Mr. O'Beirne, the reporter, raises the question whether it would not have been less expensive and more advantageous to have built entirely new lines of competing railways than to have spent the money in improving waterways. The cost of construction of such railways, with rolling stock and equipment, in France may be put at £27,520 per mile, which is below the cost given for improving or constructing the main waterways. Belgium.--The total length of the navigable waterways in this country is 1,372 miles, of which 1,118 miles are administered by the state. The capital expended by the state during the twenty- five years 1875-1900 on the improvement and upkeep of the navigable waterways, harbors and coasts, has been #£16,000,000. As a general rule the tidal rivers are exempt from tolls; on the other waterways the toll is fixed at .o16f. for the canalized rivers, and .oo5f. for the canals per ton kilometer. The revenue from the tolls is not sufficient to reimburse the state for the expenses ' incurred in keeping the waterways in navigable order without any allowance being made for interest on the capital expended. The traffic on the waterways has increased from 225,000,000 ton- miles in 1880 to 560,000,000 in 1890, equal to 150 per cent. Dur- ing the same period the tonnage of freight has increased on the railways from 14,000,000 to 40,000,000 tons. emia [Oct.'x; Germany--The rapid extension of waterways in this- coun- try during the last few years is considered to be due to the great increase in technical knowledge in connection with river and canal works, to the improved form of vessels, and to better ap- pliances for haulage. It was realized that the old style of canal, with small craft and slow tonnage, was not able to compete with the railways, and that the waterways, in order to become of practical use, must be able to accommodate vessels of from 450 to 600 tons towed by steam tugs. The length of waterways within the German empire is 8,798 miles, of which 5,776 miles are rivers, 1,451 canalized rivers, 1,510 canals, and sixty-one ship- canals. The number of steamers in use increased from 830, rep- resenting 33,155 tons, in 1882, to 1,953, representing 104,360 tons, in 1897. The number of other craft rose from 17,885, represent- ing 1,625,111 tons, to 20,611 vessels with 3,266,087 tons. The riv- ers Vistula, Oder, Elbe, Weser, Spree, Havel, Moselle, Rhine, Main, Warthe, Pregel have been regulated and improved since 1879 at a cost of nearly £14,000,000, the object being to keep the water of these rivers, even at the lowest period, in a broad, deep stream, sufficient to allow of navigation at all times of the year, and, where a navigable depth could not be secured by this means, by canalizing the rivers. The size of river craft has very greatly increased, the largest barges having a tonnage of 2,340 tons on a draft of 9 ft. The largest freight steamers have a tonnage of 975 tons with a draught of 7 ft. 10 in. The Netherlands--From the physiological conditions of this country canals, as a means of transport, had become so firmly established that railways only obtained a. footing very slowly, and in order to prevent the country falling into a state of isolation, and consequent decay, it was recognized that the state only would be relied on to provide a remedy. State railways were therefore constructed at the cost of the nation and then handed over to private companies to work them, who provided the rolling stock. The profits were divided between the state and the contractors, but the amount received by the former has never sufficed to cover more than I per cent. per annum on the capital. The con- tractors are thus enabled to establish tariffs which railways con- structed by private enterprise could only charge at a loss. As far as local inland goods traffic is concerned it is only by the most strenuous exertions, and by the combination and grouping of funds for special districts, and by a reduction of rates to the lowest possible limits, that the railways can compete with water carriage. On the whole the waterways have profited to a much greater extent proportionately by the general increase in goods traffic than the railways. Much of this is owing to the great im- provement in the manner in which the: water traffic is now car- ried on. The number of small goods steamers and tugs employed on the waterways has immensely increased, and the saving in the time employed in transport has been correspondingly. great. At present the means of transport by water is undergoing a revolu- tion, owing to the introduction of the cheap, small and practical petroleum motors, which can be fitted to almost every description of craft, and which are at present so much in demand for this purpose that it is impossible to secure delivery of new motors for several months to come. The amount expended by the state on the improvement and maintenance of the waterways during the period 1862-1901 is £15,808,138; of this £11,249,044 has been for the improvement of the Maas from Rotterdam to the sea; the construction of the North sea and Amsterdam canals and the Merwede canal. The total length of these waterways is 124% miles, and the cost was at the rate of £87,202 per mile; the other canals and waterways extend over 172 miles, and their average cost is £26,506 per mile. : Austria and Hungary.--The internal navigable waterways of Austria extend to a length of 4,000 miles, of. which 2,356 miles are only available for rafts and the remaining 1,644. miles for ordinary navigation, of which 806 miles are navigable by steamers not exceeding a draught of 6% ft. The regulations of the rivers in this country have had a twofold object, for increasing the depth for navigation and improving the passage of flood water for the prevention of inundations. .This is accomplished by a system of low-water regulation by making a deep low-water channel in the bed of the rivers, and when this is. not satisfac- tory, by canalizing the streams. The: internal navigable water- ways of Hungary extend to a length of 3,082 miles, of which only 1,904 miles are available for steamers. The capital expended on the regulation and improvement of the waterways is a fonds perdu, and no tolls are levied on nav- igation. 'Tolls are, however, levied at the Iron Gates of the Danube, with the object of providing for the interest and amor- tisation of the outlay, but so far the amount received has only reached £21,000, while the annual cost of maintenance is £8,333, and the annuity paid for the amortisation of the loan amounts to £62,500. A law was passed in Austria in 1901 providing £10,- 000,000 for the commencement of a network of navigable canals and river regulations; this is expected to cover the cost of works up to 1912, when a new credit will be required. The question of inland navigation is now entering upon a new and important phase by a proposed scheme of navigable canals to extend over the Dual Monarchy and to bring Fiume, the only seaport in Hungary, into direct communication with the river system of the country by the aid of a canal between the Danube and the Save. The river traffic of Austria is steadily on the increase, a striking example of this being shown by the results on the Danube, where an average tonnage rose from 315,930 tons in 1890 to over 1,503,- 165 tons in 1900. In Hungary the traffic has increased from 2,500,000 tons in 1888 to 3,750,000 in oor,