SWEDEN AND NORWAY. 



union stricken from their commercial flag. King 

 Oscar signed the decree in accordance with the 

 resolution of the Storthing, albeit under protest 

 and against the desires of his Swedish subjects. 

 The Interparliamentary Peace Conference was 

 opened at Christiania on Aug. 2 by the Minister 

 of State, who seized the opportunity to express 

 the Norwegian view that the Scandinavian states 

 are neutral and to proclaim the desire of Nor- 

 way for international arbitration and its demand 

 ior entire liberty and independence. The action 

 of the Swedish ministers in preventing the King 

 from giving effect to the address of the Storthing 

 asking him to try to have agreements made with 

 foreign powers that any dispute arising between 

 Norway and any of them should be settled by 

 arbitration served as a test, in the view of the 

 Norwegians, of the impossible position of Nor- 

 way in regard to the conduct of foreign affairs. 

 This address was first voted in 1890, and in 1897 

 a similar address was carried by the unanimous 

 vote of the Storthing, yet no notice was taken 

 of it. The rejection by Sweden on behalf of both 

 countries of the arbitration proposals of the 

 United States Government in 1891 was likewise 

 objectionable to the Norwegian Radicals. The 

 conflict between the two states has arisen since 

 the alteration of the Swedish Constitution in 

 1885 for the reason that the changes made by 

 the Swedes in their Constitution affected indi- 

 rectly the relations between the King and Nor- 

 way by compelling him to follow the advice of 

 Swedish ministers. It is only since then that 

 the Swedish Government has claimed a deciding 

 voice in Norwegian foreign affairs, not only such 

 as concern Sweden also, but such as may be held 

 to concern Norway alone. The appointment of 

 Swedes to represent both countries in the con- 

 sular as well as in the diplomatic service, and 

 the issuance of all instructions by the Swedish 

 Ministry of Foreign Affairs controlled by the pre- 

 ponderantly Swedish Ministerial Council in Stock- 

 holm and responsible to the Swedish Parliament, 

 has resulted in a state of affairs that gives Nor- 

 wegians cause to complain that their commercial 

 and shipping interests, as well as their political 

 interests, are neglected or made subservient to 

 those of Sweden. Under the act of union the 

 King has the right to decide the preparation and 

 administration of forign affairs as he thinks best. 

 Formerly he sometimes chose Norwegian minis- 

 ters to prepare and administer Norwegian for- 

 eign affairs, and these were frequently discussed 

 and settled by the Norwegian Cabinet Council 

 without consulting the Swedish Foreign Minis- 

 ter, who was simply directed to carry out the 

 decisions made. There existed a ministerial coun- 

 .cil for general foreign affairs affecting both king- 

 doms, and when responsible government was ex- 

 tended in Sweden this consultative body was re- 

 tained, but its composition and character were 

 changed. It consisted formerly of two Swedish 

 .ministers and one Norwegian minister. By the 

 new Swedish Constitution its responsibility to 

 the Riksdag was increased by the addition of a 

 third Swedish member, the Premier; and, instead 

 of the King having the right to prepare foreign 

 affairs as he thought best, it became compulsory 

 in*Sweden that they should be prepared and laid 

 before the King in the Council by the Swedish 

 Minister of Foreign Affairs. By the Norwegian 

 Constitution the King still possesses his former 

 powers. The Swedish Government has repeatedly 

 offered to add a second Norwegian minister to 

 the Council, and the Norwegian Government has 

 as often refused this compromise, because it would 

 place Norway in the position of accepting the 



SWITZERLAND. 



811 



unconstitutional status without effectually chang- 

 ing it. The law introducing a purely Norwegian 

 flag was passed by the Storthing in the summer 

 session and communicated to the Swedish-Nor- 

 wegian Minister of Foreign Affairs in September. 

 The Storthing has in the last two years voted 

 millions of crowns for guns, ships, and fortifica- 

 tions, and has increased the active army to 25,109 

 men. This growth of armaments and the like 

 active preparations on the part of Sweden appear 

 suspicious in view of the tension between the two 

 governments and the failing condition of the 

 King's health. The Norwegian people have never 

 entertained jealous feelings to any extent toward 

 King Oscar nor toward his brother and prede- 

 cessor. Charles XV, but the Crown Prince is be- 

 lieved to hold strong convictions adverse to the 

 Norwegian pretensions, and when he visited 

 Christiania in the spring of 1899 in the capacity 

 of Regent he was received in silence by the peo- 

 ple who gathered at the railroad station. The 

 party of the Left placed at the head of its pro- 

 gramme for the electoral campaign, issued late 

 in 1899, a demand for Norway's independence to 

 be brought about by means of a separate Nor- 

 wegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a separate 

 consular system; also a proposal to labor for a 

 court of arbitration and neutrality. In regard 

 to internal policy, it advocates a system of in- 

 surance against incapacity to earn a livelihood, 

 to apply to the whole Norwegian people. 



SWITZERLAND, a federal republic in cen- 

 tral Europe. The legislative power is vested in 

 the Federal Assembly, made up of two bodies, a 

 National Council of 147 members, elected by di- 

 rect universal suffrage for three years, and a 

 States Council of 44 members, representing the 

 cantons, in some of which they are elected by 

 the direct vote of the people, in others by the 

 cantonal legislatures. The executive authority 

 is vested in the Federal Council, consisting of 7 

 Swiss citizens elected for three years by the Fed- 

 eral Assembly, and from among the members of 

 the Federal Council the President of the Con- 

 federation and the Vice-President, who by custom 

 is chosen President for the next succeeding term, 

 are elected annually. The Federal Council for the 

 term ending in 1899 was composed as follows: 

 Chief of the Military Department and President 

 of the Confederation for 1899, Eduard Mtiller, of 

 Bern; Chief of the Department of Finance and 

 Tolls and Vice-President, Walther Hauser, of 

 Zurich; Chief of the Department of Justice and 

 Police, Dr. E. Brenner, of Basel ; Chief of the De- 

 partment of the Interior, A. Lachenal, of Geneva; 

 Chief of the Department of Commerce, Industry, 

 and Agriculture, Dr. A. Deucher, of Thurgau; 

 Chief of the Department of Posts and Railroads, 

 Dr. J. Zemp, of Luzern; Chief of the Department 

 of Foreign Affairs, Eugene Ruffy, of Vaud. 



Finances. The revenue of the Federal Gov- 

 ernment in 1898 amounted to 95,277,453 francs, 

 of which 577,438 francs were derived from real 

 estate, 2,067,278 francs from invested capital, 56,- 

 073 francs from the general administration, 39,285 

 francs from the Political Department, 476,087 

 francs from the interior, justice, and police, 

 2,915,096 francs from the Military Department, 

 49,027,205 francs from customs and finance, 297,- 

 822 francs from the Department of Industry and 

 Agriculture, 31,248,554 francs from posts, 8,285,- 

 162 francs from telegraphs and telephones, 283,- 

 709 francs from railroads, and 3,745 francs from 

 unexpected resources. The total expenditures 

 were 94,109,943 francs, leaving a surplus of 1,167,- 

 510 francs. The expenditures were 4,304,603 

 francs for interest and amortization of the debt, 



