NORWAY 



531 



about 6,000,000. Yet the mercantile marine of 

 Norway only embraces (1895) a total of 3528 sailing- 

 vessels of 1,255, 3'20 tons and 454 steam -vessels of 

 241,419 tons. But, as in nearly all other countries, 

 steam-vessels are supplanting sailing- vessels. Ship- 

 building is carried on in about 100 establishments, 

 employing 2000 men, and situated chietly in the 

 south, the principal seat of this industry being at 

 Christiania. Sails are made by 1000 men in over 

 fifty workshop*. The coast fishermen use for the 

 most part heavily-built wooden vessels, of small 

 tonnage, with high, square sterns. 



The ]>orts of Norway were entered in 1895 (an 

 average year) by 11,551 vessels, having an aggre- 

 gate tonnage of 2,846,948, of which 63 per cent, 

 entered under the Norwegian Hag and 16 per cent, 

 under the British. The exports in 18JI4 had a 

 total value of 7,268,44" (more than in 1893) ; the 

 imports, of 11,373,060 (less than in 1893). The 

 exports during the ten years ending 1888 ranged 

 between 4,957,000 (1879) and 6,831.000 (1882) 

 in value; the imports, between 7,346,000 (1879) 

 and 9,167,000 (1881). The United Kingdom sends 

 28 per cent, of the imports and receives 32^ per 

 cent, of the export*. Germany comes next with 

 27 per cent, of the imports and 14 per cent, of the 

 exports, and Sweden third, witli 13 and 13J j>er 

 cent, respectively. The principal articles of im- 

 port are rye, barley, and wneat aeid rye Hour (alto- 

 gether 1,595,000 in 1888), textiles'(l, 527,600), 

 bacon, butter, and other provisions (780,000), 

 iron and other metals, raw and manufactured 

 (766,300), coffee (564,600), coals (473,300), 

 ships (389,800), sugar and molasses (293,000), 

 timlier from Sweden, in transit (249,900), oils 

 and glycerine (236,400), hides (224,900), wines 

 and spirits (173,100), aiid smaller quantities of 

 salt, tobacco, fruits and vegetables, pa|*r, &c. 

 The more important of the ex|K)rts are fish 

 ( i>,5.->9,400 in all in 1888), timlier, &c. (2,415,JO), 

 minerals and metal-wares (414,100), oils, tallow, 

 tar, &c. (342,900), hides, horns, &c. (312,400), 

 textiles (197,400), and paper and dyestutl's. In 

 addition meat, groceries, and timber to the total 

 value of 318,100 pass out of the country in 

 transit. Close upon 64 per cent, of the total foreign 

 trade passes through the three principal |>orts 

 Christiania (38J percent.), Bergen (17J per cent.), 

 and Trondhjein (7J per cent.). 



People. The Norwegians share with the Swiss 

 the honour of being the most democratic people in 

 Europe. They are proud of their freedom ami inde- 

 pendence, are simple, honest, and straightforward, 

 sober ami frugal, and in general unaffectedly pious, 

 though in some districts liable to violent outbursts 

 of pa>*ion. Otherwise they are slow of action and 

 take life leisurely. The rural imputation, embracing 

 ttv'--ixths of the total, are decidedly more demo- 

 cratic than the urban. All titles of nobility were 

 abolished in 1821, and none but townsfolk use the 

 eyuivalent of our ' Mr.' ( (wing to the insufficiency 

 of the natural resources of the country to support 

 the people, nearly 20,000 emigrate every year; 

 between 1880 and 1888 inclusive 183,267 persons in 

 all left their country for good, almost all going to 

 settle in the Tinted States. Those who remain be- 

 hind are fairly prosperous on the whole, for, thorn-h 

 380,000 to 390,000 are distributed every year in 

 poor-relief to between 65,000 and 67,000 persons, 

 there are(lS89i 345 savings-banks, holding depo-it- 

 to the total amount of 10,364,200 in the name and 

 behalf of 452,736 depositors (23 per cent, of the 

 total population), giving an average of 22, 17s. lOil. 

 for each depositor. In the matter of illegitimacy 

 the remid is not so good : in the tell yean* eliding 

 1885 of the total numl>er of children l>orn 8 "25 

 per cent, were illegitimate ; the figure stands in 

 England at 4'3; in Scotland, 8'3; in Ireland, 29. 



Since 1871 earnest endeavours have been made to 

 diminish the consumption of spirituous liquors, the 

 instrument chiefly relied upon being the Gothen- 

 burg licensing system. This system was by 1888 

 established in all but three out of the fifty-four 

 towns of the kingdom. By this means, in spite 

 of the rapid growth of the population, the con- 

 sumption of spirituous liquors decreased from 

 2,698,960 gallons in 1876 to 1,325,060 gallons in 

 1888, a reduction of more than one-half. More- 

 over, after paving expenses, granting 5 per cent, to 

 the shareholders, and compensating the sellers of 

 spirits whom the system supplants, there remains 

 an annual surplus of 42,800 to 55,500, which is 

 spent in the maintenance of schools, public roads 

 and parks, water-works, ]>oor-relief, and charitable 

 institutions. As road-makers the Norwegians vie 

 with the Swiss ; their difficult country has coni- 

 pejled them to perform some feats of engineering 

 skill of no mean order. But the principal means of 

 communication are steamboats, which ply all along 

 the coast, on the fjords, and the inland lakes. 

 There are, however, some 15,000 miles of well-kept 

 national and communal roads, and 970 miles of 

 railway (all but 42 miles managed by the state), 

 and close upon 5000 miles of telegraph lines ( not 

 wires). The railway lines radiate chietly from 

 Christiania. One connects Trondhjem with the 

 capital, and in 1891 there were three built and one 

 buildiag to connect Norway with Sweden. Nor- 

 way is now visited every summer by great numbers 

 of tourist* ; the number increased from 13,569 in 

 1886 to 23,403 in 1890, one-third being British, the 

 rest chielly Swedes, Danes, and Germans. 



The people are on the whole well educated and 

 intelligent. Attendance at school is free, and 

 compuUiHv upon all children lietween seven (six 

 and a half in towns) and fourteen. The country is 

 well equipped with primary schools, and for the 

 higher branches there are fifty -four middle-class 

 schools, seventeen lycennis, and the university of 

 Clnistiania, with five faculties, and (in 1893) 1290 

 students and fifty-four lecturers. In addition 

 there are mimcioiis excellent private schools. The 

 state contributes alxuit one-third of the total cost 

 of the public educational establishments through- 

 out the country. Except for about 4000 persons, 

 the entire population belong to the Lutheran 

 Church. For purposes of ecclesiastical government 

 the country is divided into six dioceses (stiffs), each 

 administered by a bishop viz. Christiania, Hamar, 

 ChristiaiiMind, Bergen, rrondhjein, and Tromso. 



Constitution. Norway is a free, independent 

 state, nominally a kingdom, but practically to all 

 intents and purposes a republic. The supreme 

 executive rests with the king, who is at the same 

 time king of Sweden ; but the responsibility for 

 his acts is liorne by a council of state, appointed 

 by himself from Norwegians above thirty years of 

 age, and consisting of two ministers and at least 

 seven councillors. One minister and two councillor 

 must always be in attendance on the king when 

 he is not in Norway. The other minister and the 

 remaining councillors administer the internal atl'airs 

 of the country, the minister presiding over the de- 

 liberations of the council (sometimes also taking a 

 portfolio ). and the councillors directing each a special 

 department at present seven, Religion and Edu- 

 cation, Justice, Interior, Public Works, Finance, 

 Defence, Revision of all Public Accounts. As viceroy 

 in Norway the king may appoint his eldest son, or 

 his eldest son, but none other ; if there ia a viceroy, 

 he presides over the council of state. The king 

 declares war and peace, and makes treaties and 

 agreements on his own initiative, but cannot use 

 the army and fleet for an aggressive war without 

 the consent of the Norwegian parliament. Both 

 countries arc represented by one and the same 



