Chapter XXVIII: Section V (2)

III. Full liberty is given to the lessee as regards the working of
the mines. The sulphur, however, must not be washed in running
waters which have their outlet in the sea, nor in fishing-waters,
and as a matter of course the sulphur beds or mines must not be
destroyed, with respect to which it is remarked that the earth
during the diggings must not be trodden down into the warm beds,
which are designated by a green colour in the maps attached to the
contract, which in the year 1871 were made by J. F. Johnstrüp,
Professor of Mineralogy at the Copenhagen University.

On the delivering over of the mines a survey will take place, at
which the maps in question will be used as guides. On the
delivering back of the mines a survey shall likewise take place.

IV. Neither the lessee nor the workmen he employs at the mines
shall be subject to any extraordinary taxes or imposts by the State
or the municipality, other than those imposed on the other
inhabitants of the island; and he shall in this respect enjoy the
same rights as natives; but, on the other hand, he shall not be
exempted from the ordinary taxes and charges imposed by the general
laws of the land.

V. The lessee shall be bound to allow the State authorities to
inspect the mines whenever they may think fit to do so.

VI. The lessee shall pay an annual rental of £50 for the first
year; £60 for the second year; £70 for the third year; £80 for the
fourth year; £90 for the fifth year; and £100 for the sixth and for
each of the succeeding forty-four years.

The rental shall be paid _in advance_ to the Minister of Justice in
Copenhagen in two half-yearly payments,--viz., on the 1st September
and 1st March, each time with the half part of the yearly amount.
The first time on the 1st September 1872, with £25, for the
half-year from that day to the 28th February 1873.

The lessee shall, on the signing of this present contract, as
security for the due payment of the rental and the proper working
and redelivery of the mines in an uninjured condition, deposit a
sum of 5000 rixdollars in the private bank of Copenhagen, in such
manner that the Minister of Justice retains the certificate of
deposit in his possession, and can, without trial or sentence, and
without the lessee’s authority, take them out of the private bank,
which institution shall be forbidden to return them to the lessee
or others without the Justice Minister’s permission.

As long as the above-mentioned amount is deposited in the private
bank the interest of the sum may, without let or hindrance from the
Minister of Justice, be paid to the lessee or his representatives.

On the expiry of this leasing contract and the redelivery of the
sulphur mines in an uninjured state, the Minister of Justice shall
be bound to return the certificate of deposit to the lessee or
other duly authorised persons.

VII. Should the rental not be paid at the proper times, and should
the lessee destroy the mines, he (the lessee) shall lose the rights
conceded to him by this contract, and the Minister of Justice shall
in such case be empowered to take from him the lease (eject him
from the mines), and the deposit money be forfeited to the Iceland
Land Fund (State Fund). Should, however, a breach of contract take
place only through omission to pay the rental, and the collective
amount of the rentals still to be paid be less than the deposit,
the Minister of Justice will refund the difference.

VIII. Should the lessee not have removed, within two years from the
expiry of this contract, or from the date of its annulment (see §
7), all buildings, machinery, and the like put up at the mines,
they shall become the property of the State without indemnity.

IX. Disputes arising as to whether the lessee’s treatment of the
mines is destructive to them, shall be settled by arbitration, each
of the contracting parties choosing one man, and these latter in
case of disagreement to choose an umpire. If from any cause an
arbitration cannot be obtained, the parties at issue are empowered
to appeal to the law courts; as likewise in all other disputes
arising out of this contract, in which cases the Royal Supreme
Court of Copenhagen shall be the proper tribunal; for which reason
the lessee, on signing this contract, shall appoint a Copenhagen
resident, who on his behalf shall receive summonses for his
appearance. Should the Minister of Justice think fit to take law
proceedings against him in Iceland, he (the lessee) shall be bound
to receive summonses at the sulphur mines for his appearance at the
Iceland courts.

X. The expense of drawing up this contract, with the stamped paper
and registration, as well as the expense of surveys on the
delivering over and the delivery back of the mines mentioned in
this contract, shall be borne by the lessee.

The contract shall be drawn up in duplicate, of which the one copy
is held by the Minister of Justice and the other by Mr A. G. Lock.

On the above conditions I, Alfred G. Lock, of London, have signed
the present contract.

Copenhagen, 13th April 1872.

(Signed) KRIEGER.

(Signed) { For Alfred G. Lock,
{ A. DE C. CROWE.

Witnesses--

(Signed) RICARD. ( “ ) POULSEN.

The value of the stamp on this contract is calculated at 9 rigsd.
to the pound sterling.

NOTE II.

REPORT OF THE ALTHING.

REPORT drawn up by the Committee elected for this purpose by the
Icelandic “Althing” of 1869, translated after the original
Icelandic text from the “Althing” reports.

We, the undersigned, have, by the honourable “Althing,” been elected into a Committee, to state our opinion as to a memorial which about three years ago has been sent in to the Government by an English gentleman, Mr Lock, importing his wish to take lease of the sulphur mines in the north of Iceland, situated between 65° 20´ north latitude and the Arctic Sea, or, otherwise speaking, the mines lying on the said tract, east of “Myvatn” (Gnat Lake) and west of Jökulsá (Glacier River).

Before stating our opinion about this matter, we think it necessary that it should be clearly understood by the honourable Assembly--

1. How the matter now stands with the sulphur mines in question.

2. What right the Government has to lease out these mines without incurring some obnoxious consequences to the leaseholder, or to other parties concerned.

The sulphur mines that are at the disposal of the Government[202] are those of “Reykjahlid,” “Kráfla-námar” (the mines of the Krafla mountain), and “Fremri-námar” (the mines farthest from the coast), but “Theistareykja-námar” (the mines of Theistareykir) have never been Government property, although they apparently are lying in the tract of which the above-mentioned Mr Lock has wished to take lease.

As it is well known, from the excellent essay by the Right Reverend Hannes Finnson, Bishop of Iceland (see “Rit hins islendska lærdómslista-fèlags”--the Works of the Icelandic Society of Learning and Arts--vol. iv., p. 29), Mr Paul Stigsson, superintendent or governor of Iceland, bought of the Thorsteinssons, so called, in the presence of Mr Hans Nilsson and Mr Hans Lauritsson, on the behalf of his Majesty Frederik II., the mines of which there is no question here, with the exception of the Theistareykja mines, or more properly speaking, the right of digging sulphur in these mines. This bargain was made at Eyjafjord on the 15th of August 1563, and the said Thorsteinssons gave up the sulphur-diggings in “Fremri-námar,” “Kráfla-námar,” and “Heidar-[203] (heath) námar;” but it is nowhere on record, that any land or ground for house-building and road-making has been comprised in this bargain. As it appears, the Government of his Majesty Frederik II. has thought it sufficient to acquire the monopoly of the sulphur that was to be found there, for, as it appears, there has, as a rule, never been lack of persons willing to dig out the sulphur and to carry it, like _other merchandise_, down to the sea-coast.

In this manner the above-mentioned mines were worked in the time of his Majesty Frederik II., and a great quantity of sulphur was dug up there. It is said that the profit has sometimes, in the said period, amounted to 10,000 rixdollars (or upwards of £1100), and that the total export of sulphur has gone up to about 200 commercial lasts (or 400 tons) a year.

In the time of Christian IV. the working of the mines, which had answered so well in the time of his father, was almost discontinued; and the attempts of this king to let the mines, for a period of fifteen years, to Mr Jorgen Brochenhuus, of Wolderslev, and Mr Svabe, proved a complete failure. Thus, in the time of Christian IV., the mines were of little consequence for the Government and the country. This, the Right Reverend Hannes Finnson says, was a great drawback for the Danes, as it caused the scarcity of powder, which was one of the reasons why the Danes were defeated by the Swedes in Holstein in 1644.

Shortly after the middle of the seventeenth century, or in the year 1665, a certain “assessor,” Gabriel Marsilius by name, acquired a concession of digging sulphur and exporting it from Iceland; and it is said that he has exported from here a very great quantity of sulphur with considerable profit. Since that time, or since 1676, little is said of the sulphur-mining in Iceland until the first part of the eighteenth century; then, in 1724, two foreigners, Mr Sechmann and Mr Holtzmann, acquired a concession of exporting sulphur from Iceland; and it is said that they exported a great quantity of sulphur for a period of five years; but this export was again discontinued, owing to the death of Mr Holtzmann, who was the leader of the business, and to the apparent unwillingness of Mr Sechmann to repair to Iceland.

In the year 1753 the sulphur-mining was recommenced in Iceland by the Government. First it was commenced in the south, and afterwards, or in 1761, in the north (see “Eptirmæli 18 aldar”--“Review of the Events of the Eighteenth Century”). The author of this work, the late Mr Stephensen, says, that both the mines, the southern and northern, have been worked with considerable profit, adding, that the produce of the mines has amounted to 1400 rixdollars (or upwards of £155) a year; and in 1772 the profit of the sulphur mines in the north, according to the same author, was estimated at 1260 rixdollars (or about £140). After 1806 the Danish Government leased out the sulphur mines in the north to some merchants there for a trifling yearly rent, which in no way was a sufficient indemnity for the deterioration of the mines during the time of the lease.

For ten years ago it was a general opinion that the brimstone in the Icelandic sulphur mines for the most part was embedded in the layer that covers the “live mines,” and which must be considered a “sublimate” product of the so-called sulphur pits or caldrons; it had, however, been observed that in the “Fremri-námar,” so called, “dead mines” also existed where the sulphur stratum sometimes was a foot thick. The sulphur digging at Krisuvik last year has proved that these strata can be a good deal thicker, as it has also been ascertained that most sulphur mountains contain a considerable quantity of sulphur earth, clayish and ferruginous sulphur; all of which might yield from twenty-five to fifty per cent. of clean sulphur, if managed in the right manner.

When the three naturalists, Mr Steenstrup, Mr Schythe, and Jonas Hallgrimson, travelled through Iceland in 1840, they calculated that the sulphur mines in the north might yield 10,000 rixdollars a year; but Dr Hjaltalin, who, ten years later, was sent to examine these mines, disavows this statement, adding that the mines, as the matter then stood, could by no means yield so much, for the “live mines” were then in a state of deterioration, and that it would be impossible exactly to say how many “dead mines” were to be found till it is ascertained by successive examinations; on the other hand, he is convinced that the mines of Krisuvik might be able to yield 100 commercial lasts (or 200 tons) of clean sulphur a year, and the experience of the recent time has proved this to be no exaggeration; for during the last winter (1868-69) about 250 commercial lasts (or 500 tons) of raw sulphur have been dug up, which must make a good deal more than 100 lasts of clean sulphur at least; further, Dr Hjaltalin observes, that copper ore of rather a good quality is to be found there, and a more recent experience has rendered it likely that there is a considerable quantity of this mineral.

On the other hand, the sulphur must, no doubt, have accumulated to a considerable degree in the mines of the north for the last twenty years they have not been worked; it is, therefore, pretty certain that they might now yield a considerable quantity of sulphur if they were worked in the right manner; but as it must always be borne in mind that no mines are so liable to deterioration as sulphur mines, it must in consequence be very precarious to make them over to foreigners. A French geologist, Mr Eugène Robert, who travelled here in 1835, and afterwards has written treatises on the geology of Iceland in the French language, has also called attention to this point. He says, that care ought to be taken not to lease out to the Englishmen (who then were applying for the lease) the mines in the north, as they might be of great consequence, the sulphur mines of Sicily having begun to fall off.

As pointed out by the history of the country, and sufficiently proved by the experience, the produce of the mines in the north, if worked in the right way, ought to outweigh by far the lease-rent offered by Mr Lock; it would consequently be a downright loss to the country now to lease out those mines to this foreigner, who would not be able to give any satisfactory guarantee for his working the mines in the right manner, but might, after a lapse of several years, return them so spoiled that the country might, for a long time at least, miss the profit which it ought to have by these mines: _indeed the lease-rent offered by the memorialist seems to be comparatively high_ when compared to what was paid for the mines in the beginning of the present century, but when it is taken into consideration that the rent now offered is only the tenth part of the net profit which the mines yielded in the sixteenth century, the offer is by no means advantageous, _neither is it desirable that foreigners should be allowed for many years to import into this country a great number of foreign workmen, as this might lead to the Icelanders being deprived of a profitable business in their own native land_.[204]

The population of Iceland is, as it is well known, constantly increasing, but several branches of trade are rather in a state of decadence. Nothing could, therefore, be more beneficial to this country, than if here were to be found profitable mines, in which labourers might work in all sorts of weather, and this may be done in sulphur and other mines, as the experience showed at Krisuvik last winter; ten and sometimes upwards of twenty labourers were at work there, almost the whole winter, earning good daily wages. There is nevertheless no security to be had, that the inhabitants shall be able to benefit by this, if the mines are made over to strangers, neither can it be controlled that they shall not destroy the mines altogether, and render them completely useless after a lapse of some years.

The Icelandic sulphur mines are in such a condition as not to be worse for waiting, on the contrary they will improve by it, and it would be greatly beneficial to them, not to be worked for the present.

The sulphur mining at Krisuvik has shown that these mines are better and richer than had been expected; and this may be the case too with the mines in the north, which have most frequently been deemed richer and more extensive than those of Krisuvik.

When sulphur trade has been carried on in this country, both in past centuries and at present, the mode of proceeding has been very inappropriate and unpractical, for partly the sulphur has been carried, with all the dross in it (which often goes up to forty per cent. or more), down to the sea-coast, and from there to Copenhagen; partly the method of cleaning has been so unsatisfactory and inappropriate, as to render the cost of cleaning the double of what is needful. It appears from the writings of the late Bishop Hannes Finsson, that in the time of King Frederick II., the sulphur was cleaned by means of train-oil, and this method has been continued down to the middle of the present century. This was sheer insanity, as it made the cleaning many times more expensive than was necessary, and than it was at the same time in other countries, where sulphur was then cleaned by means of sublimation. But this was not all, the grease moreover that got into the sulphur, rendered it unfit for powder manufacture, as may be seen from the writings of Mr Jón Eiríksson and others. Of late a new method has been hit upon in France, namely, to clean the sulphur by condensing hot steam, and as hot springs are to be found in the neighbourhood of all the Icelandic sulphur mines, this might now be turned to a good account for the sulphur trade; besides it would make the cost of transport by far less heavy, if the sulphur could be carried down to the sea-coast and marketed in a clean state.

It results from all this that Mr Lock’s offer is by no means so acceptable as some might suppose, for the local government (when established here) might, with the greatest facility, make the mines in the north many times more profitable than they would be if Mr Lock’s offer were to be accepted; moreover, the mines being at the disposal of the said government, a sufficient control may be had that they shall not be overworked or destroyed.

Were the Danish Government, therefore, to grant the request of the memorialist, as it is framed, this might easily, as the matter now stands, lead to suits of law between the Government itself and him, on the one hand, and between the said Government and some private landowner, on the other; for it is quite certain that the Government has no right whatever over the sulphur trade in all the localities pointed out by the memorialist. As clearly evinced by the late Bishop Hannes Finsson, the sulphur trade in Iceland can, in no way, be considered as a “regale;” and, accordingly, the Government ought to be very circumspect in this matter, lest it hurt the right of private landowners.

From the above-mentioned motives, it seems to the Committee that it is unadvisable to accept the offer of the memorialist, and, consequently, submits to the honourable “Althing” to dissuade the Government altogether from granting the concession requested by Mr Lock.

But as some members of the Committee have uttered the opinion that it might be considered as partiality, altogether to exclude foreigners from the sulphur trade in Iceland, provided that it could be sufficiently controlled, that this should neither be detrimental to the country in general, or to the mines in special, the Committee has thought it its duty, if this consideration should prevail in the honourable assembly, to submit a secondary or modified proposal, to the effect that it shall be requested of the Government to make the concession dependent on the following conditions:

1. The memorialist shall himself make the necessary arrangements
with the parties concerned concerning pieces, lots, and parcels of
land, which he may be in need of, for the cleaning and transport of
the sulphur, and which are not at the disposal of the Government.

2. The memorialist shall have commenced the working of the mines
within a year from the day on which the licence is handed over to
him.

3. The memorialist shall always give the natives of Iceland
opportunity to work by halves at the cleaning and transport of the
sulphur, and he shall not, for this purpose, employ foreigners more
than by halves at most, as far as he offers the same conditions to
the natives as to the foreigners, and these conditions shall be
acceded to by the former.

4. The Government shall be authorised, at the cost of the
memorialist and its own, to be paid by halves, to appoint a man for
the purpose of controlling, that the leaseholder shall not destroy
the mines for ever by his method of working them.

5. The memorialist shall pay a rent of £100 sterling for the first
year; for the next two years, £200; for the next two years thereon,
£300; and for the last five years, £400 a year; and the concession
shall expire after a lapse of ten years.

6. The memorialist shall, on receipt of the licence, deposit a sum
of £5000 as a security for the fulfilment of these conditions, but
it shall be returned to him at the end of the ten years, during
which he shall have made use of the concession as far as he shall
have fulfilled all the conditions that have been stipulated; but
otherwise he is to forfeit both the concession and security-money
if he shall have infringed any of the above conditions, excepting
only if this infringement be caused by difficulties in making such
arrangements with the parties concerned on the spot as are
mentioned under _head_ 1.

7. All disputes arising from this contract between the Government
on the one hand, and the memorialist on the other, shall be settled
by the said Government alone; and no appeal to courts of law shall
be allowed in this case, neither in this country or elsewhere.

8. Both the yearly rent and security-money, if forfeited, shall
fall to the Icelandic country-fise, and be at the disposal of the
“Althing.”

REYKJAVIK, _the 14th August 1869_.

(Signed) JÓN HJALTALÍN. JÓN SIGURÐSSON. _Chairman and Reporter_, BENEDIKT SVEINSSON. TRYGGIR GUNNARSSON. _Secretary_, GRÍMUR THOMSEN.

In a most humble petition of the “Althing,” dated the 7th September 1869, addressed to His Majesty the King, the said assembly has altogether adopted the considerations and proposals of the Committee, as specified above.

Thus, _in the first place_, the “Althing” begs that the Government of His Majesty _shall not accept Mr Lock’s offer_ to take lease of the sulphur mines in the north, but, on the contrary, _refuse altogether to lease them out for the present_; and in case His Majesty’s Government should not think fit to follow this advice, the “Althing,” _in the second place_, begs that the concession, if granted at all, may be made dependent on such conditions as are specified in the above report under _heads 1 to 8_.

The only difference between the conditions contained in the Report of the Committee and those in the petition of the “Althing” is: that under _head 5_ is added a clause to the effect that the lease-holder, besides the yearly rent, _shall pay £10 a year to the clergyman of “Myvatns-thing” (or district of Myvatn)_.[205]