The report of the British Consul-General at Diisseldorf on the
trade and commerce of the district, which appeared in Thursday's papers, was especially remarkable for the atten- tion it drew to the systematic development of waterways in Germany. Numerous canals are in process of construction, or have been planned, and these are expected to be of the greatest use both in developing trade and in relieving the congestion upon the railways. More important still, however, is the proposal to deepen the bed of the Rhine as far as Cologne, so that the larger sea-going steamers should be able to go up the river. This could not, of course, be effected without the concurrence of the Netherlands. Holland herself would obviously not gain by the deepening of the river nearly so much as Germany, and would consequently expect large concessions in compensation. The importance of this from the international point of view is that the two countries would inevitably be brought into closer relations by any such arrangement—relations that would, perhaps, be much too close for the liking of Holland.
Previous page
