Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 11.djvu/427

Rh HAMBURG 407 The oldest water-works of Hamburg were those of the Oberdumm, constructed in 1531 ; the first of the modern system with steam power was the Bieber sche Elbwa.sserkunst, opened_in 1822. In 1849 the city water-works belonging to the state were set in operation, and they have since incorporated and systematized the older water works. In 1875 they had 5 steam-engines with 850 horse-power, and raised 876 millions cubic feet of water at a cost of about 8d. per 1000 cubic feet. It was not till after the fire of 1842 that Hamburg began to be properly drained ; but it now possesses an extensive and elaborate system of sewers. In 1853 the upper Old Town, the New Town, and St George s were supplied, and in 1859 the lower Old Town ; and between 1871 and 1875 the system was extended to the aristocratic suburban districts of Uhlenhorst and Eimsbiittel. In 1875 the total length of sewers was 512,226 feet, which had cost 662,850. The largest sewers, of which there vere 10,499 feet, have a diameter of nearly 10 feet, and can be traversed by boats ; the second class (8330 feet) have a diameter of 7 feet, and the third class (19,853 feet) of 5| feet. The mouths of the sewers are pro tected by automatic doors which prevent the flooding of the lower districts by the back-water from the river. The harbour of Hamburg as it now exists is a very modern crea tion. At first the city was at some distance from the main -branch of the Elbe, and the mouth of the Alster served as its port, but partly owing to natural changes in the bed of the great river, and more to the vast engineering enterprises of the inhabitants, such as the cutting of the channels through the Grandeswerder (1550), the Spadenland marshes (1570), and the Crook, the principal current was diverted into its present course. To trace the history of the successive labours devoted to the rectification of the stream and the increase of shipping accommodation would be a long and intricate task. Suffice it to say that up to the middle of the present century the vessels in the harbour of Hamburg used to anchor in the open space and fasten themselves to piles called &quot;dukes of Alba, &quot; and the goods were taken ashore in lighters ; but since the introduction of the railway it has been found necessary to build quays with hydraulic cranes and other modern appliances. For this purpose the greater Grasbrook was first of all selected. A portion of the Sandthor (Sandgate) quay was opened in 1872, and by 1876 the Kaiser or Imperial quay and the Dallmann quay (so named after the engineer) were available. The total length of the three quays was 10,646 feet, and the area of ground covered in by the auxiliary buildings was upwards of 30 acres. Since that date the quays have been largely increased, so that they now extend a distance of about 3 miles from Altona eastwards. The number of ships which took advantage of the quays in 1866-67 was 665, with a burthen of 313,269 tons ; by 1875 they had increased to 1425 ships with 837,568 tons, and by 878 to 1850, with 1,151,903 tons. Hamburg is emphatically a commercial city, and though within recent years greatly developed, its manufacturing industries are in comparison unimportant ; but only in comparison, for, according to the official return of 1875, no fewer than 4931 persons were engaged in metallurgy, 5926 in the manufacture of machinery, instruments, and tools, 940 in chemical works, 1399 in the preparation of heating ami lighting materials, 1464 in textile industries, 2687 in the paper and leather manufactures, and 9388 in the wood industries. Ship building is carried on pretty extensively, the greatest establishment in the department, the Reihcrstieg or Godeffroy s yards, which was commenced about 1849, employing on an average 700 workmen. There are several enormous distilleries, and two establishments for the manufacture of artificial manures from the phosphates of guano, each of which employs from 200 to 300 workmen ; as well as breweries, sugar-refineries, rice-mil^s, and factories for the prepara tion of saltpetre, sulphuric acid, and other chemical products. The curing of beef and pork forms a large trade. Pianofortes and cigars, railway carriages and artificial flowers, sewing-machines and chocolate are all manufactured in the town, and tile-works and glass works exist in the neighbourhood. In the extent of its commerce Hamburg ranks among European ports immediately after London, Liverpool, and Glasgow. Its im ports and exports are more than thoso of the whole of Holland, of Belgium, or of Spain. From the year 1836, in which it possessed 146 ships, with a total burthen of 25,722, its marine had increased 770 percent, by 1877. l In 1875 it had 443 sea-vessels with 219,567 tons burthen ; in 1876 it had 450 with 219,698 tons, and in 1877 468 with 223,910. Of the last number 264 were copper-plated, 6 were zinc-plated, and 147 were built of iron. The steam vessels were 102. The principal lino of steamers is that of the Hamburg-American Company, which on 1st January 1876 had 21 first-class British- built vessels, with a total burthen of 60,300 tons. Its voyages are mainly made to New York and the West Indies. On an average of the three years 1874, 1875, and 1876 it carried 31,930 passengers and 165,465 cubic yards of goods. The Hamburg and South American Company at the same time had six vessels, with a burthen of 8000 tons, trading with Brazil and the river Plate. The German Steamship Company had 8 vessels with a burthen of 6,850 tons trading with -In 1865 it reached the exceptionally high figures, 530 ships of 178,605 tons burthen. Coffee Non-European. ......1,015,200 European. 405.280 Non-European. Petroleum 815.050 European 3(i,770 141,643 41,530 38,420 57,630 3;)2,310 307,980 2,415,310 SI, 400 105,904 17,224,53d 8,895,899 Tea ... . 14030 38,400 137,280 130,930 55,590 169,050 16,990 394,390 40,340 12,030 6.050 95,550 Train oil .. 13,500 117 460 .. 53 330 Tobacco 264,490 Cocoa-nut oil.. Palm-nuts Cotton 5,920 .. 1(!5,260 ?,7.4f&amp;gt;n Rico 790 790 Grain Rum 611,820 130 Cotton wool Raw and bar iron Rails Herrings 5,250 Dye woods 574,170 Saltpetre 1,074,510 Copper and silver 52,760 Guano 1,697.870 Miscellaneous Total.... ..2,609,250 ..0,918,250 31,131 193 China and the Far East ; and the Kosmos Company had 7 ships with a burthen of 1 0,897 tons trading with Chili and Peru. The Sloman or Mediterranean line of six vessels with a burthen of 5276 tons keeps up monthly communication with ports of Spain and Italy. From the following table a general view of the movement of the port will be obtained. It is to be observed that the increase shown is not so much in the number of the ships as in their average capacity. Ships Entered. Register- Tons. Ships Cleaved. Register-Tons. 1865 51 SG 1,220,403 5186 1,216,499 1866 5185 1 ,327.673 5210 1,332,563 186T 5055 1,431,082 5071 1,434,563 1868 5207 1,532,665 5287 1,528,844 1869 5192 1,603,S12 5201 1,595,946 1870 4144 1,389,789 4101 1,376,179 1871 5439 1,887,505 5457 1,886,784 1872 5913 2,080,913 5872 2,075,472 1873 5270 1,887,057 5363 1,904,050 1874 5225 2,094,102 5238 2,100,193 1875 5260 2,117,822 5209 2,084,748 1876 5433 2,228,162 5481 2,247,129 1877 5473 2,233,929 5489 2,243,500 The average consequently for the years 1866-1875 was ships entered 5198, tonnage 1,735,242; ships cleared, 5202, tonnage 1,731,973. The following table shows the imports (in centners of 110 Ib) into Hamburg in 1878, first from non-European, and secondly from European countries : Hamburg is an important outlet of emigration, no fewer than 870,000 persons having left Germany by its vessels between 1836 and 1874, or on an average 30,000 every year. In 1874 the number was 42,952 ; in 1875, 31,787 ; in 1876, 28,733 ; in 1877, 22,143 ; and in 1878, 24,803. The monetary transactions of Hamburg have long been main tained on a very extensive scale. As early as 1619 the great Ham burg giro-bank was founded on the model of that of Amsterdam, and, in spite of the blow struck by the French in 1813, it continued to flourish till in 1876 it was replaced by a chief office of the German Imperial Bank, which includes in its domain the province of Schleswig-Holstein-Lauenburg, the three Hanseatic towns, and the two grand-duchies of Mecklenburg. In 1876 there were, besides, the North German Bank (1856) with a capital of 2,250,000 ; the Union Bank (1856), with 1,500,000 capital; the Commer cial Bank (1870), with 1,500,000; the International Bank (1870), with 750,000 ; the Anglo-German Bank (1870), with 1,050,000; the Hypothec Bank (1871), with 375,000; the Exchange (Wechsler) Bank (1872), with 187,500 ; the Brokers Bank (1871), with 150,000; the Industrial Bank (1871), with 1 50,000 ; the St Paul s Credit Bank, with 150,000 ; and the People s Bank (1860). The Imperial Office in 1876 had a total turnover of 336,693,950 ; and in 1875 the North Gennan Bank had 438 millions, the Union Bank 270 millions, and the Commercial 170 millions. There are also 7 savings banks, the total deposits in which rose from 846,070 in 1866 to 1,615,626 in 1874. Few departments are of more extensive development than the marine insurance. In the ten years 1834-43 the average value insured was 17,534,487, at an average premium of 1 50 per cent. ; in the corresponding period 1844-53 it was 24,028,991 at 1 58 per cent; and in the next period, 1854-63, it reached 45,571,543. The following table shows the figures from 1864 to 1877 : Per cent 1864 47,112,592 1-35 1865 40,829,647 1-28 1866 50.141,966 1 24 1867 50.377,151 1 25 1868 56,136,688 1-26 1869 59,492,244 1-16 1870 63,445,570 1 12 It is only within recent years that Hamburg has obtained a fair amount of railway communication. The proposal made about 1840 to construct a line from Hamburg to Liibeck was frustrated by the opposition of the king of Denmark, who feared it would injure the trade between his two towns of Altona and Kiel, which scon afterwards (in 1844) he united by rail. The people of Hamburg were forced to content themselves with a Line to Bergedorf (1842), but this 1871 84,926,839 Per cent 090

1872 102,816,762 0-93 1873 90,128,405 101 1874 86,184,290 1-05 1875 88,817,942 1-11 1876 91,724,790 1-11 1877.... ... 112,083,625 106