Tourist in Iceland, The - 01.01.1892, Síða 5

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THE TOURIST IN ICELAND.
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tween Great Britain and Iceland, especially
in the exportation of livestock, sheep and
ponies. Great many associations (trade unions)
have been formed by the Icelandic farmers
themselves, and they send thousands of sheep
to England to be sold on commission, and
they receive in return both cash and other
commodities they want from England. The
year before last a firm in Scotland bought
sheep and ponies for upwards of M 30,000.
As there do not grow any grains in Iceland,
we must have almost every commodity from
abroad, such as rye, barley, pease, flour, coffee,
sugar, timber, coals, manufactured goods,
cutlery, crockery etc. La return we export:
dried cured and salt cod fish, which princi-
pally goes to the Spanish market, also small
fish cured and haddoks for the British market
wool, oil, feathers, eiderdown, salmon etc.
With a view of giving some stimulant to the
commercial enterprise of the Icelanders them-
selves and an opportunity of gaining some
theoretical knowledge in their special branch,
we may mention that last year a commercial
school was founded in Reykjavik, and although
as yet in its infancy, we are hopeful it may
in the future prove a valuable institution for
our young commercial men.
WHAT CAN BE DONE TO INCREASE
THE STEAM COMMUNICATION
WITH ICELAND1?
The attention of our legislative assembly,
the Althing, has principally since we got the
management of our own finances been turned
towards making roads throughout the country,
building bridges over the large rivers, and
increasing the steam communication round the
island. Direct comunication by steam to Ice-
land is done by the United Steamship Com-
pany of Copenhagen which gets a subsidy
from the Danish Government; but as such
a communication is very limited being only
11 trips in a whole year we are often for a
long time without any comunication with the
outerworld.
This is especially awkward during the sum-
mer months, when we should have our stream
of tourists. This evil has sometimes been
mitigated by occasional trips in the summer
by a Scottish steamer from Leith.
We as a nation have neither the capital
nor the practical experience in starting a new
enterprise in this line; but noticing the yearly
increasing tourists traffic to Norway which
principally as to steamers is carried on by
British, not Norvegian capital, we venture
to suggest to some of the capitalists in Europe,
whether a similar enterprise might not pro-
fitably be opened to Iceland.
Say for instance if two fast steamers with
every modern accommodation were employed
during the months of June, July and August
(the most delightful months in Iceland) to run
direct to Reykjavik at least every 10 days,
the one boat arriving from abroad, when the
other left Reykjavik. We are quite sure, this
is only a question of time; for as Iceland is
now opening to the civilised world, and at-
tracting the notice both of the Americans,
Englishmen and Scotsmen as well as others,
there seems every probability, that such an
enterprise would speedily pay. By adverti-
sing trips to Iceland during summer in the
leading American and European journals
would bring hundreds and thousands of tourists
to our shores. We leave this suggestion with
lsome of the enterprising men of business of
the world.
THE FIRST IRON SUSPENSION BRIDGE
OVER ONE OF THE LARGE RIVERS
IN ICELAND, OLFUSA,
was opened 8th of September last by the
Governor of Iceland, Herra Magnus Ste-
phensen. A brilliant assembly, consisting of
members of the Althing, the representati-
ves of the press, merchants, clergymen and
farmers were present on this auspicious oc-
casion. The Governor made an eloquent
and impressive speech on the future of Ice-
land, and thanked on behalf of the country
all those gentlemen who were connected with
it, both the contractors Messrs Vaughan &