SWEDEN AND NORWAY. 



The great increase of speed in later years has 

 been due more to motive power than to improve- 

 ments in the lines of the hull. After the intro- 

 duction of the screw propeller, steamers began 

 to be built of iron and steel. The pressure in 

 the boiler was increased, surface condensation 

 was adopted, and compound and duplicate ex- 

 pansion cylinders led to still greater pressure in 

 the boilers. The latter are now made of mild 

 steel. These improvements have made a reduc- 

 tion of at least 60 per cent, in the amount of coal 

 consumed, and an increase of 100 per cent, in 

 speed. The tonnage has increased in the past 

 fifty years from about 70,000 tons to nearly 

 4,500,000 tons. The following table gives the 

 dimensions of steamers of above 5,000 tons that 

 are now crossing from the United States and 

 Canada to Europe : 



* Nominal. 



SWEDEN AND NORWAY, two kingdoms 

 in northern Europe, united in a personal union, 

 having a common diplomacy directed by a Coun- 

 cil of State composed of Swedes and Norwegians. 

 The reigning King, Oscar II. born Jan. 21, 1829, 

 succeeded his brother, Carl XV, Sept. 18, 1872. 

 The heir - apparent is Prince Gustaf, Duke of 

 Wermland, born June 16, 1858. The right to 

 declare war and conclu'de peace belongs to the 

 King. 



SWEDEN. The Diet is composed of two cham- 

 bers, one of 147 members, elected for nine years 

 by the communal authorities, and a popular 

 branch containing 228 members, elected for 

 three years by direct suffrage in the towns and 

 by either direct or indirect suffrage, as the 

 majority determines, in other districts. The 

 Council of State is composed of Baron Johan 

 Gustaf N. S. Akerhjelm. Minister of State ; Count 

 Lewenhaupt, Minister of Foreign Affairs; and 

 the following Councilors of State : Vice - Admi- 

 ral Baron Otter, Marine ; Dr. G. Wennerberg, 

 Ecclesiastical Affairs ; Major - General Baron 



Area and Population Sweden, with 

 area of 171,750 square miles, had on !>. :;i 1889 



an estimated population of 4,774,409, of which 

 number 2,315,370 were nmh-s ;.n.l : .j.vj o;;, f ,._ 

 males. The marriages in lss,s mimbVmi 



ft 213; deaths ' 79 ' 593; excess <lf llirt1 ^ 

 The average annual .-migrati..., j M 1851- 



V^L? I 861 -' 1 "' 12 '*5 "i IS! So 

 In 1881 there were 45.992 emiirnmi- 



^"JoQ 8 ? 3 }!j ero Were 50 ' 178 ' The num &* fel1 

 to 23,493 in 1886, and then rose to 50,786 in 1887 



In 1888 there were 50,323. The city of Stock- 

 holm in 1889 contained 243,500 inhabitants- 

 Gothenburg, 102,782, 



Finances. The budget for 1891 makc^ t he- 

 ordinary revenue that is, the receipts from the 

 land tax, railroads, telegraphs, domains, forest! 

 etc. 20,520.000 kroner (the Swedish krona or 

 Norwegian krone is worth 27 cents). The ex- 

 traordinary revenue, which includes the customs 

 receipts, stamps, postal receipts, and spirit, beet 

 sugar, and income taxes, is estimated at 67,380,000 

 kronor; With the profits of the State Bank and 

 5,750,000 kronor carried over from the previous 

 budget, the total revenue is 94,950.000 kronor. 

 The ordinary expenditures are set down as 68,- 

 183,147 kronor, the chief items being 20,449,200 

 kronor for the army, 16,153,466 kronor for finan- 

 cial administration and collection, 11,946.608 

 kronor for education, and 6,204,240 kronor for 

 the navy. With 15,523.853 kronor of extraordi- 

 nary expenditure, 10,031,860 kronor of interest 

 and sinking funds, and various special funds 

 added, the expenditures are made to balance the 

 revenue exactly. 



The Army and Navy. The military law that 

 went into effect on Jan. 1, 1887, requires every 

 Swede from the age of twenty-one to serve six 

 years in the active army and six years in the 

 Landstorm. Yet only a restricted number are 

 inscribed in the list of the Indelta or regular 

 troops, and these are with the colors one hundred 

 and twenty days for instruction in the first year, 

 fifty days in the second, and thirty days in the 

 succeeding years. The rest, forming the Beviir- 

 ung, train for forty-two days during two years. 

 The strength of the regular army in 1890 was 

 1,675 officers, 433 civilian employes, 1,483 under 

 officers, 1,531 musicians, and 33,020 private sol- 

 diers ; total, 33.020 men, with 186 guns and 6,183 

 horses. The Bevarung numbered 139,913 and 

 the Landstorm 152,425 men, total 330,480. 



The naval force in 1890 consisted of 30 gun- 

 boats, 18 torpedo boats, 20 other steamers, and 

 6 sailing vessels, with 148 guns and 4,744 men. 



Commerce. The total value of imports, in- 

 cluding precious metals, in 1888 was 324,709.000 

 kronor, of which Germany furnished 94.013.000 

 kronor; Great Britain, 93,717 kronor: Denmark, 

 42,424,000 kronor; Norway, 28,014,000 kronor; 

 Russia, 22,302.000 kronor; Belgium, 10,260.000 

 kronor: Finland, 7,024,000 kronor; Netherlands, 

 6,946,000 kronor; France, 6,749,000 kronor: 

 United States, 4,178,000 kronor; East India, 

 2,573,000 kronor ; eastern Asia, 2,472.000 kro- 

 nor: Portugal, 1,708,000 kronor; Spain. 956.000 

 kronor; and other countries, 1,373.000 kronor. 



