Petrović, Nikola: Hajózás és gazdálkodás a Közép-Duna-Medencében a merkantilizmus korában (Vajdasági Tudományos és Művészeti Akadémia, Novi Sad - Történelmi Intézet, Beograd, 1982)
Summary
But the problem was not solved yet. Fluctuations because of the formwork occured again in the 1799 season. In one of his reports, Heppe wrote that with the cooperation of the county authorities, some labour would be mobilized in the autumn too, but that at the best time of the year (summer), work would came to a standstill. In spite of the piecework payment scheme, working conditions and labour exploitation were, evidently, extremely hard, particularly in the case of the prisoners of war and convicts. A contemporary Hungarian writer from these parts M.Majthenyi, wrote a novel about the life of the canal workers, under the title Elő vizek (The Live Waters). Late May 1801, F. von Redl informed Vienna that all works on the canal were nearing completion, and that there was no need for a commission to inspecting it before filling it with water. CHAPTER XIII -THE CANAL MANAGEMENT LEASESTHE CHAMBER ESTATES At the beginning of 1799 the management made an important step towards consolidating the position of the company and securing the highest possible profits for the shareholders. It asked the Court Chamber to lease it four large estates in Backa, which were being managed by the Hungarian Chamber. The head office claimed that the construction of the canal would cost it over two million forints in all, that the repayment of annuities and interest would be a heavy burden, and that the operating and maintenance costs of the canal would also soak up much of the income. Moreover, the canal would only start to pay off after construction of the Vukovar—Samac and Karlovac—Brod canals and the completion of the main traffic route between the central Danube Basin and the Adriatic. Thus the management returned, in fact, to the Kiss brothers project, which it had earlier rejected as a premature and ill—conceived venture. This linking of the two matters, i.e. the estate rental and the Kupa project, was not coincidental. The company knew that Frincis II had viewed the idea favourable. In principle, he agreed at once with this proposal, but the final decision was to be delayed until 1801, when the works on the Danube—Tisa canal were already finished. The lease contract was to be valid for 25 years. However, before signing it was discussed at five hierarchic levels, which all had something to add. A detailed account is given of the final version of the contract. The crucial problem for the company was the amount of the annual rent. This was determined on the basis of a nine—year average income of the chamber estates at 201,730 forints per year. The contract prohibited the company from colonizing these estates. Much attention was paid to the company's responsibility to maintain the forest stock. Clause 13 of the contract concerned the position of the peasants (serfs) and their protection against an excessive exploitation. However, the question of 506
