inventory of all articles liable to Customs duties - wines, spirits, sugar, coffee, tobacco, and many other articles. On all these articles a certain limited amount of duty was levied on and after Monday 15 October 1888. All articles above 70 bottles of wine, 20 bottles of spirits, 6 lb. of tobacco, 30 lb. of coffee, and so on, were made liable to duty. Thousands of Customs officers made house-to-house visits to test the correctness of the inventories furnished. Thus consumers were prevented from hoarding products enough to last 1 or 2 months or more. Living costs were anticipated to be at least 15% higher than before. In 1889 it was reported that rents were rising in consequence of the cost of living having risen by 25% since the incorporation of Hamburg in the Customs Union. Effects of the incorporation of Hamburg were reported by British Consul-General. There was an increase in shipping, although it was not clear whether this could be attributed to incorporation or to other causes, but Hamburg shipping had not suffered from the change. There was a manifest benefit to retail businesses trading with the interior and also manufacturing. Also works by Prussian Railways helped to direct trade to Hamburg and other ports within the Customs Union, at the expense of those outside. The new harbour facilities, although vast, were, still insufficient to meet the demand. 900,000 inhabitants of Hamburg had now to pay the Customs Union duties, adding about 25 per cent on the cost of imports. Also, Hamburg had to pay for 1,700 men to guard the free port customs boundary. Free Port Because the main harbour had to remain outside the Customs Union, it was rebuilt, isolated from the rest of the city. The imperial authorities agreed fund 40 million marks of the construction costs, while 150 million marks was borne by Hamburg. This Free Port consisted of the following areas. A peninsula on the north bank of the Elbe (Sandtorhafen and Grasbrookhafen), as well as the island of Kehrwieder. As the Free Port was not allowed to have residents, 1,000 property owners were expropriated and 24,000 people made homeless. On the South Bank of the Elbe 1,200 acres of marsh land were purchased and new basins constructed there. A “customs canal” was constructed separating the north bank area from the city and allowing local navigation on the Elbe to avoid passing through