Further Report On The Free Port Of Copenhagen

4 DENMARK. Success dependent on good adminis- tration. under the old conditions. With a new and commodious port, easy of access in all weathers, and very rarely blocked by ice, with quays ami warehouses fitted witli tlie latest, and most perfected inventions, witli harbour dues as low as any in the world, and above all, witli a Free Port Company which professes itself deter- mined to do all in its power to cheapen and facilitate commerce, the merchants of Copenhagen trust not only to retain tlieir trade, but to gradually increase it. It is hoped that the real facilities afforded will induce more ships to visit tlie port, that colonial and American produce, which is now taken to Hamburg, may come direct to Copenhagen, and that large ships which would find a difficulty in entering the Baltic ports, especially in winter, may be glad to discharge tlieir cargoes there with the certainty that they will lie promptly and cheaply distributed. A steam ferry, which after July next will run between the free port and Malmö, will unite the former witli tlie railway system of Scandinavia, and afford facilities for the transmission to Copenhagen of Swedish and Norwegian exports, especially wood and iron, in sufficient quantities to afford a return cargo for foreign ships. These, I tliink, are the more reasonable expectations of the promoters of tlie port, and as they are willing to wait a year or two before their capital gives any very appreciable return, they ought not to be disappointed. Tlie free port will not revolutionise the Baltic trade; at the most it will enable Denmark to retain her share of that trade, and, by degrees, perhaps, to develop it. The more ardent spirits expect that the precincts of tlie free port will be the scene of great commercial activity, that factories will rise within its boundaries, and that goods will be manufactured, treated and manipulated under the most favourable economic conditions. Of such developments I am bound to say that I see no signs at all. There is, I believe, some talk of establishing a cement factory within tlie free zone, but this project is still nebulous, and all others, as far as I know, purely imaginary. After all, the success of tlie free port depends primarily and chiefly—I might almost say, uniquely—on tlie manner in which it is administered. The geographical position of Copenhagen is so favourable that it must be a natural emporium of trade if merchants can rely upon prompt, simple, and reasonable treatment. Vexatious formalities, negligence, or delay would be fatal to success. It now depends on the Free Port Company to prove that they can not only launch, but also administer a great undertaking. On their tact, moderation, and reasonableness the success of the venture depends. Cost— how met. The works connected witli the formation of the new port have been carried out by the Copenhagen Harbour Board at a cost of 575,0007 sterling under powers granted by the law of March 30, 1891. To meet this expenditure the Board has raised a loan at 4 per cent, of 8,000,000 kroners (about 450,0007. sterling) under