Petrović, Nikola: Hajózás és gazdálkodás a Közép-Duna-Medencében a merkantilizmus korában (Vajdasági Tudományos és Művészeti Akadémia, Novi Sad - Történelmi Intézet, Beograd, 1982)
Summary
However, the creation of a trade artery to the Ooation coast was entirely the Kiss brothers'idea. CHAPTER VII - THE PROJECT FOR LINKING THE CENTRAL DANUBE BASIN WITH THE ADRIATIC VIA THE VUKOVAR-SAMAC AND THE KARLOVAC-BROD NA KUPI CANALS Though the privileged grain company project had been rejected, the plan for linking the central Danube Basin with the northern Adriatic ports was received favourably, even at Court. I first give an account of the Vukovar—Samac canal project. Although it has never been implemented, it is a project which is again today very topical. The construction of this canal was first proposed by court counselor Schwitzen, at the time of the debate on the Danube—Tisa canal in Vienna. Records relating to the Kiss brothers project are much less informative than in the case of the Danube—Tisa canal. The principal source of information for this monograph was a protocal statement made by the technical commission sent by the Hungarian Chamber to study the proposal. Because the canal would go through the Military Frontier, military experts joined this commission too. The canal would have to be of 11.5 miles (86 km) long. Its main purpose would be to shorten the navigation route from the Danube into the Sava, to bypass the dangerous spots at the Sava mouth, and to avoid navigation of the lower Sava, which was highly meandering and dangerous for navigation. The commission recommended warmly the construction of this canal, but also added that the design did not give sufficient attention to the vital problem of the water level in the canal. For this reason, it asked that a team of experts be sent to the proposed site and carry out level measurements once more. This was justified by the fact that the future canal would have to make use of the streambed of the Bosut and to traverse several anabranches. The cost of construction was estimated at 800 000 forints. Three main locks and several smaller gates were envisaged. The straight line distance between Vukovar and Samac was only 7 miles, but the canal had to be much longer, about 11.5 miles, because of the extensive use of natural river courses. The report the commission submitted relied mainly upon the already accepted principles for the Danube—Tisa canal concession. The commission, however, recommended that this canal be left in permanent ownership of the company. The principal privilegy for the company would be the transport of salt from Szeged to Zupanja, Bred and Gradiska. The final decision was made by Emperor Francis II, with considerable delay, on March 18, 1796. However, he rejected the proposal that the canal 495
