SWEDEN AND NORWAY. 



national, and 21,000 transit postal cards, 101,- 

 913,000 internal, 7,932,000 international, and 62,- 

 000 transit newspapers and circulars, and 3,500,- 

 000 internal money letters and postal orders of 

 the value of 779,877,000 francs, 361,000 in the in- 

 ternational service of the value of 67,723,000 

 francs, and 2,000 in transit of the value of 931,000 

 francs. The post office receipts in 1897 were 14,- 

 620,431 francs; expenses, 12,901,663 francs. 



The state telegraphs in 1897 had a length of 

 5,450 miles, with 15,635 miles of wire; the rail- 

 road lines had a length of 3,144 miles, with 10,390 

 miles of wire. The number of paid internal mes- 

 sages was 1,201,337; international messages, 796,- 

 702; transit dispatches, 294,238; service dis- 

 patches, 141,993; total, 2,434,270. The receipts 

 were 2,255,844 francs; expenses, 1,902,944 francs. 



The Army and Navy. The Swedish army in' 

 1899 was composed of 48 general and staff officers, 

 with 233 employees; 56 battalions of infantry, 

 numbering 27,633 men, including 1,220 officers; 

 50 squadrons of cavalry, numbering 5,269 men, 

 including 232 officers; 3,509 field artillery, in- 

 clusive of 257 officers; 497 fortress artillery, in- 

 clusive of 30 officers; 172 artillery in Gotland, 

 inclusive of 16 officers; 9 companies of engineers, 

 numbering 77 officers and 914 men; and 8 com- 

 panies of train, numbering 66 officers and 706 

 men; total strength, 39,124 men, including 1,946 

 officers, with 6,891 horses. In the reserves were 

 683 officers and 450 noncommissioned officers. 

 The bevaring, or militia, numbered about 250,000 

 men, the Landsturm 200,000 more. 



The fleet consisted of 6 armored turret cruisers 

 built since 1886, named the Svea, Gota, Thule, 

 Oden, Thor, and Niord, averaging over 3,000 tons; 

 4 armored monitors, named the John Ericsson, 

 Loke, Thordon, and Tirfing; 9 ironclad gunboats; 

 3 torpedo cruisers, built since 1896; 3 old cor- 

 vettes; 1 dispatch vessel; 9 first-class and 5 sec- 

 ond-class gunboats; 1 destroyer; and 10 first- 

 class, 9 second-class, and 5 third-class torpedo 

 boats. The principal vessels are all modern, built 

 entirely in Swedish shipyards. The older ones 

 are available for coast defense, especially the 14 

 monitors. The aggregate tonnage of 40 effective 

 vessels is 42,816 tons, not counting 17 small gun- 

 boats nor the torpedo boats; aggregate motive 

 power, 56,410 horse power; armament, 289 guns. 

 The 6 armored cruisers carry 118 modern guns. 

 Several more vessels of this class are building. 



Political Affairs. The type of constitutional 

 government actually existing in Sweden is the 

 same as exists in Denmark. The ministers pos- 

 sess the confidence of the King and of the upper 

 house of the Riksdag, but do not command a 

 majority in the lower house. Yet this condition 

 does not arouse such popular fermentation as in 

 Denmark and formerly in Norway. The Farmers' 

 party, which formerly constituted the great ma- 

 jority of the popular branch, is no longer united 

 on any question of immediate importance. It 

 has been able to impress its will upon the Con- 

 servative ministry by enforcing economy in ad- 

 ministration and the promotion of agricultural 

 interests. The protectionist issue was settled in 

 accordance with its desires, and since then the 

 Riksdag is divided up into six or more groups 

 on minor questions. The agricultural element 

 cherishes no greater antagonism toward the aris- 

 tocracy, who compose the Conservative party, 

 than toward the Radicals of the cities, and gen- 

 erally approves the unbending attitude of the 

 Government in the quarrel with Norway and the 

 development of the military power of the country 

 under the law of compulsory service, the victory 

 of the protectionists having prepared the ground 



for the growth of national pride. The danger of 

 Russian aggression was formerly advanced as a 

 reason for increasing the army and navy; latterly 

 it is the growth of the Norwegian armaments,, 

 the neglect of which has been for half a century 

 the chief burden of the complaints made against 

 the Norwegians by the Swedes, who said that 

 the task of defending the frontiers was shifted 

 upon them alone. The influence of Germany has 

 caused the growth of militarism in Sweden and 

 the creation of a strong military caste allied to 

 and in great part identical with the landholding 

 and titled aristocracy. The army has been almost 

 entirely reorganized under the law of obligatory 

 service adopted in 1892, and the new and growing 

 Swedish navy is regarded with admiration by 

 experts. In April, 1899, the Riksdag voted 10,- 

 000,000 kroner for the purchase of new military 

 rifles and as much more for strengthening the 

 fortifications. The ministerial changes made dur- 

 ing the year were the appointment of C. H. T. A. 

 von Lagerheim to succeed Count Douglas aa 

 Minister of Foreign Affairs, that of J. I. von 

 Krusebjorn as Minister of War, that of Commo- 

 dore G. Dyrsen as Minister of Marine, and that 

 of D. G. Restadius as Councilor of State in the 

 place of Baron Akerheilm. 



Norway. The legislative power is vested in 

 the Storthing, containing 114 members, elected 

 indirectly for three years, 38 by the towns and- 

 76 by the rural districts. The Storthing elects 

 one fourth of its members to form the Lagthing, 

 which has a veto power over the acts of the 

 Odelsthing, composed of the rest of the members. 

 The Council of State in the beginning of 1899 

 was composed as follows: Minister of State, 

 Johannes Wilhelm Christian Steen; Minister of 

 Worship and Public Instruction, Vilhelm Andreas 

 Wexelsen; Minister of Justice and Police, Ole 

 Anton Qvam; Minister of the Interior, Georg^ 

 August Thilesen; Minister of Public Works^ 

 Jorgen Gunderson Lo viand; Minister of Finance 

 and Customs, Elias Sunde; Minister of National 

 Defense, Col. Peter Theodor Hoist; section of the 

 Council sitting in Stockholm, Otto Albert Blehr, 

 Minister of State, and Hans Hein Theodor Nysom 

 and Einar Lochen, Councilors of State. 



Finances. The revenue for 1897 amounted to 

 69,047,000 kroner, of which 4,634,000 kroner came 

 from direct taxes, 35,792,000 kroner from indirect 

 taxes, 25,150,000 kroner from miscellaneous 

 sources, and 3,471,200 kroner from loans. The 

 total expenditure was 56,730,000 kroner, of which 

 22,651,000 kroner were for defense, 6,882,000 

 kroner for debt, 16,553,000 kroner for public 

 works, and 30,644,000 kroner for general expenses 

 and administration. The revenue for 1898 was 

 estimated at 70,863,331 kroner and expenditure 

 at the same figure. For 1899 the budget balances 

 at 86,591,837 kroner. Of the estimated revenue 

 4,000,000 kroner come from income tax, 31,900,000 

 kroner from customs, 3,500,000 kroner from the 

 spirit duty, 3,500,000 kroner from the malt duty, 

 550,000 kroner from the succession tax, 865,000 

 kroner from stamps, 850,000 kroner from judicial 

 fees, 459,800 kroner from mines, 4,350,000 kroner 

 from the post office, 1,770,000 kroner from tele- 

 graphs, 3,055,794 kroner from Government prop- 

 erty, 10,139,400 kroner from railroads, 6,463,789 

 kroner from miscellaneous sources, and 15,188,054 

 kroner from loans raised for defense and railroad 

 building. Of the estimated expenditures 482,838 

 kroner are for the civil list, 646,550 kroner for the 

 Storthing, 1,319,872 kroner for the ministries, 

 8,582,878^ kroner for worship and education, 6,390,- 

 790 kroner for justice, 3,190,256 kroner for the 

 interior, 8,697,200 kroner for the postal and tele- 



