SWEDEN AND NORWAY. 



755 



roads and 2,892 kilometres of lines belonging 

 to companies, making altogether 7,388 kilome- 

 tres, or 4,588 miles. 



The Post-Office in 1886 forwarded 52,022,- 

 864 letters and postal-cards, 9,462,185 circulars 

 and samples, and 39,664,046 journals. The re- 

 ceipts were 6,106,476 kroner, and the expenses 

 5,896,960 kronor. 



The state telegraph lines in 1887 had a total 

 length of 8,345 kilometres, with 21,304 kilo- 

 metres of wires. The dispatches sent during 

 the year numbered 539,273 for the interior and 

 489,146 in the international service, besides 

 161,287 in transit. The receipts were 1.229,- 

 860 kronor, and the expenses 1.241,978 kronor. 



Politics. The old Agrarian party gave place 

 to a new one of protectionist leanings, which 

 achieved an unexpected victory in the elec- 

 tions for the Rigsdag that met in January, 

 1888. In Stockholm there was a disputed 

 election, which was decided by awarding the 

 22 seats to the Protectionist candidates, giving 

 the party a majority in the House of 112 

 against 110. Prime Minister Themptander 

 offered his resignation to the King, and ad- 

 vised him to send for Archbishop Sundberg; 

 but the latter was unwilling to take the re- 

 sponsibility of broaching a decided protective 

 policy with a chance majority that was not 

 proved to represent the actual majority of 

 electors in the country. As the King would 

 not agree to an immediate dissolution of the 

 Diet, the ministers retained their portfolios 

 until, on February 6, a compromise Cabinet 

 was formed by Baron D. A. G. Bildt. in which 

 Count Ehrensvard, J. von Krusentsjerna, and 

 Baron Otter, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, 

 the Interior, and Marine, were retained in of- 

 fice. The new members of the Cabinet were 

 as follow : Bergstrom, Minister of Justice ; 

 Maj.-Gen. Baron N. A. H. Palmstjerna, Minis- 

 ter of War; Baron F. von Essen, Minister of 

 Finance; and Dr. G. Wennerberg, Minister of 

 Ecclesiastical Affairs. Of the two Associate 

 Ministers, Loven and Lonegren, the former 

 served in the Themptander Cabinet. The 

 elections for the First Chamber in September 

 placed beyond a doubt the preponderance of 

 the protectionist sentiment in the country. 

 The Chief of the Department of Justice retired 

 from the ministry, and was replaced on Sep- 

 tember 28 by C. G. A. Orbom, and on the same 

 date Baron A. L. E. Akerhielm succeeded 

 State Councilor Lonegren. Krusenstjerna and 

 Count Ehrensvard, two pronounced Free-Trad- 

 ers, offered their resignations, but were in- 

 duced to withdraw them. 



The grain tariff was passed by a majority of 

 117 against 96 in the Second Chamber and 73 

 against 42 in the First Chamber, and went into 

 force on February 14. The duties are 2'50 

 kronor per 100 kilogrammes on wheat, rye, 

 barley, maize, peas, and beans; 4'30 kronor 

 on flour; 3 kronor on malt; and 1 kronor on 

 oats. The import duties on spirits were made 

 much higher, although the budget committee 



considered that the grain duties would add 

 enough to the revenue to make the accounts 

 balance. The Diet, which had a considerable 

 Protectionist majority even in the joint session 

 of both houses, proceeded to impose a series of 

 protective duties calculated to yield 15,000,000 

 kronor annually, while the ministers remained 

 entirely neutral. The new tariff went into 

 force on July 1, except the duties on raw iron, 

 which were postponed, pending negotiations 

 with France in regard to the free importation 

 of Swedish iron. Ships were declared free of 

 duty if purchased by Swedes before July 1 

 and brought into the country before the end 

 of the year. The surplus revenue obtained by 

 the new duties is to be applied, in accordance 

 with the desire of the King, in establishing 

 accident insurance and old - age pensions for 

 workingmen; for the reduction of local taxes, 

 especially those for the support of churches 

 and public charities ; for the reduction of the 

 land-tax ; for the equipment and maintenance 

 of the military forces; and for the encourage- 

 ment of the shipping industry. In accordance 

 with King Oscar's suggestion, a commission 

 was appointed to draw up plans for the appli- 

 cation of the surplus revenue from the pro- 

 tective duties in the manner proposed for the 

 relief of the working and farming classes. The 

 increased revenue for 1889 and 1890 will be 

 required to cover the deficits for 1886 and 

 1887, so that three years must pass before 

 there will be means available for these objects. 



The new tariff places a duty on raw iron, in 

 which there is no foreign competition, but 

 could not be made to protect manufacturers 

 of machinery and iron wares, because these 

 articles are embraced in the commercial treaty 

 with France, which will not expire till Feb. 1, 

 1892. The treaty of 1874 with Norway ren- 

 ders illusory many of the new duties, and 

 diverts the benefit to Norwegian producers. 

 This treaty provides for free trade between the 

 two countries, not only in the products of the 

 countries themselves, but in all articles that 

 have been subjected to a manufacturing process 

 made from materials imported in a raw or 

 partly finished state from other countries. 

 The Norwegians, in competing with Swedish 

 manufacturers, have the advantage of free ma- 

 terials for iron manufactures and ship-building. 

 The Swedish duties on live animals, in like 

 manner, benefit Norwegian stock-raisers, who 

 can abundantly supply the demand for sheep, 

 hogs, cattle, and horses. 



The new ministry was attacked by the Ad- 

 vanced Liberals not only for its protective 

 policy, which threatened to shut out foreign 

 commerce with tariff barriers, but for its re- 

 actionary political tendencies, manifested es- 

 pecially in an administrative order to the police 

 to watch and, if necessary, to close political 

 meetings. This was designed to put an end to 

 the meetings of Social Democrats and their 

 agitation for universal suffrage. The Themp- 

 tander Cabinet appointed a commission after 



