Saga - 1977, Qupperneq 225

FOSSAKAUP OG FRAMKVÆMDAÁFORM
219
SUMMARY
WATERFALL PURCHASE AND DEVELOPMENT PLANS
Second part
The first part of this article appeared in Saga 1976 and dealt
with the lease and sale of waterfalls and waterrights in Iceland up
to the passing af the „waterfall law“ of 1907.
The journey of the poet Einar Benediktsson to Norway in the
winter of 1906—07 marked in a turning-point. The object of this
journey was to seek collaboration from Norwegian financial in-
terests in the development of Icelandic rivers for large-scale indu-
strial projects, above all the production of Nitrogen fertilizer. The
attempt was moderately successful and two waterfall companies
were founded in Norway on E. B.’s initiative: Gigant and Skjálfandi,
the former for the waterfalls on the river Jökulsá á Fjöllum, Detti-
foss in particular, and the latter for those on Skjálfandafljót and
the Brúafossar falls on Laxá in Þingeyjarsýsla. These companies
had some surveys made of the falls in question. In the winter of
1908—09 a new and more powerful enterprise was established on the
basis of the Skjálfandi company, known as the Iceland waterfall
company. This acquired water-rights on the river Sog beside those
°n the Skjálfandafljót and Laxá.
Thanks to the projects and activities of these companies, the
interpretation and implementation of the „waterfall law“ by the
Icelandic government authorities came to be put to an immcdiate
test. The latter were satisfied if the legal headquarters of the comp-
any were in Iceland and the majority of board members domiciled
in the country. Provided these conditions were fullfilled, a comp-
any was considered to be Icelandic within the terms of the „waterfall
law“, even though most of its shareholders were foreign and nearly
all its capital as well. In the next ten years companies of a similar
type gained control of most of the chief rivers of Iceland, so that the
n'waterfall law“ did not prove such a safeguard to the Icelandic
People as had orginally been hoped.
In spite of a promising start, Einar Benediktsson was unable to
reaP the benefit of his efforts to obtain Norwegian finance. He
therefore turned to England, where the trading and development
company, The British North-Westem Syndicate Ltd., was founded
'with the support of a numer of English businessmen, the chief of
them being F. L. Rawson. This company obtained a majority hold-
ine in Gigant, while a special company, The Industrial and Engine-