SWEDEN AND NORWAY. 



661 



of 6.5 millimeters caliber, the reserve troops with 

 Remingtons of 8 and 12 millimeters, the field- 

 artillery with 8-centirneter Krupps, the horse- 

 batteries with 7-centimeter rapid-fire guns. 



The Navy. The navy of Sweden is intended 

 merely for coast-defense. There are 10 first-class, 

 4 second-class, and 9 third-class turret-ships, 3 

 corvettes, 5 torpedo-cruisers, 13 gunboats and 

 despatch vessels, and 15 first-class and 11 second- 

 class torpedo-boats. 



Commerce and Production. The cereal crops 

 in 1900 were 1,849,600 hectoliters of wheat from 

 75,400 hectares, 5,210,700 hectoliters of rye from 

 409,700 hectares, 5,210,700 hectoliters of barley 

 from 220,700 hectares, 24,411,400 hectoliters of 

 oats from 820,500 hectares, and 3,91)3,800 hecto- 

 liters of mixed grain from 126,000 hectares. Of 

 beans and peas 858,300 hectoliters were raised on 

 48,200 hectares; of potatoes, 24,643,900 hectoli- 

 ters on 157,500 hectares. The live stock on Jan. 

 1, 1900, consisted of 525,256 horses, 2,583,065 cat- 

 tle, 1,283,786 sheep, and 810,839 hogs. The quan- 

 tity of iron ore mined in 1900 was 2,607,925 tons. 

 The production of pig-iron was 518,787 tons; of 

 bar iron, 329,965 tons; the exports of iron ore in 

 1899 were 1,628,011 tons; of pig-iron, 93,895 tons; 

 of bar iron, 167,847 tons. The quantity of silver- 

 lead ore mined in 1900 was 5,300 tons; of copper 

 ore, 22.725 tons; of zinc ore, 61,044 tons; of man- 

 ganese ore, 2,651 tons. The production of gold 

 was 88 kilograms; of silver, 1,927 kilograms; of 

 lead, 1,423 tons; of copper, 136 tons. The quan- 

 tity of coal mined was 252,320 tons. 



The total value of imports in 1899 was 504,- 

 788,683 kroner, and of exports 358,184,767 kroner. 

 The imports of textile manufactures were 46,738,- 

 248 kronor, and exports 1,579,218 kronor; im- 

 ports of grain and flour were 49,327,777 kronor, 

 and exports 4,850,080 kronor; imports of colonial 

 goods were 38,634,760 kronor, and exports 135,289 

 kronor; imports of textile materials and yarn 

 were 47,818,471 kronor, and exports 1,252,671 

 kronor; imports of coal and other minerals were 

 82,388,362 kronor, and mineral exports 21,421,309 

 kronor; imports of metal manufactures and ma- 

 chinery were 74,605,197 kronor, and exports 22,- 

 585,054 kronor; imports of live animals and ani- 

 mal food products were 23,542,296 kronor, and 

 exports 48,128,649 kronor; imports of hides, hair, 

 and other animal products were 24,459,229 kronor, 

 and exports 4,300,564 kronor; imports of raw 

 and partly manufactured metals were 13,159,371 

 kronor, and exports 43,513,013 kronor; imports 

 of timber and wood manufactures were 3,751,465 

 kronor, and exports 178,553,581 kronor; imports 

 of paper and paper manufactures were 4,745,770 

 kroner, and exports 11,706,764 kronor; imports 

 of other articles were 94,617,737 kronor, and ex- 

 ports 20,158,575 kronor. 



Politics and Legislation. In the session of 

 the Riksdag that opened on Jan. 15 the question 

 of electoral reform created more serious division 

 than that of universal military service in the pre- 

 ceding session. Some years before the Govern- 

 ment after much urging had presented a project 

 that went too far for the Right without half 

 satisfying the Left. The Government proposed 

 in the new bill to give one vote to all males of 

 twenty-five years or over who are entitled to vote 

 in their communes and have paid their taxes for 

 two years and two votes to qualified electors 

 who are married or have reached the age of forty 

 years. The committee added provisions requir- 

 ing the possession of land or an income of 500 

 kronor. The Socialist-Labor party made demon- 

 strations in favor of universal suffrage and 

 threatened a general strike; which was carried 



out on May 15, but lasted only two days. A com- 

 mission was appointed to consider the subject 

 of a joint Swedish and Norwegian consular serv- 

 ice. For the purpose of providing the means to 

 support the new army both chambers passed a 

 progressive income-tax bill requiring each tax- 

 payer to declare his income subject to penalties 

 for a false declaration. All incomes above 1,000 

 kronor must pay taxes. All the members of the 

 Cabinet resigned on June 28, and on July 5 the 

 former Prime Minister Bostrom formed a Cab- 

 inet as follows: Premier, Herr Bostrom; Minister 

 of Justice, Herr Berger; Minister of War, Lieut.- 

 Gen. Crusebjorn; Minister of Marine, Rear- Ad- 

 miral Palander; Minister of the Interior, Herr 

 Westring; Minister of Finance, Herr Meyer; Min- 

 ister of Public Worship, Carl von Friesen; Minis- 

 ter of Agriculture, Herr Odelberg; without port- 

 folio, Herr Ramstedt. Elections which took place 

 in September for the Second Chamber showed 

 gains for the Left. A commission was appointed 

 in October to draw up a scheme of proportional 

 representation in the Second Chamber. 



Norway. The Norwegian Diet, called the 

 Storthing, consists of 114 members, elected for 

 three years, 38 by the towns and 76 by the rural 

 districts. Every Norwegian citizen twenty-five 

 years of age who has lived five years in the coun- 

 try is entitled to vote for electors, 1 to 50 voters 

 in towns and 1 to 100 in rural districts, who elect 

 the representatives to the Storthing from among 

 the qualified voters of the district, including 

 themselves, who have reached the age of thirty 

 and have lived ten years in Norway. In 1900 the 

 qualified voters were 19.7 per cent, of the popu- 

 lation and 54.2 per cent, of them voted. When 

 the Storthing comes together it elects a fourth 

 of its members to form the Lagthing. The other 

 three-fourths form the Odelsthing, before which 

 all legislative bills are first laid, and which has 

 the sole right to revise the financial estimates 

 and to impeach ministers, judges, or members of 

 the Storthing, who are then tried by the Lag- 

 thing reenforced by the members of the highest 

 court, forming the Rigsret. The Lagthing can 

 reject bills passed by the Odelsthing, in which 

 case both houses meet in joint session and the 

 matter is decided by a two-thirds vote. Amend- 

 ments to the Constitution can be enacted in like 

 manner. The Council of State at the beginning of 

 1902, constituted on Feb. 17, 1898, was presided 

 over by Johannes Vilhelm Christian Steen as 

 Minister of State, who was head of the Depart- 

 ment of the Interior and was composed further 

 of the following Councilors of State and heads 

 of departments: Ecclesiastical Affairs and Pub- 

 lic Instruction, Vilhelm Andreas Wexelsen; Jus- 

 tice, Ole Anton Qvam; Agriculture, Wollert Ko- 

 now; Public Works, Jorgen Gundersen L6 viand; 

 Finance and Customs, Elias Sunde; Defense, 

 Lieut.-Col. Hans Georg Jacob Stang. The delega- 

 tion of the Council at Stockholm had the fol- 

 lowing members: Minister of State, Otto Albert 

 Blehr; Councilors of State, Commodore Christian 

 Sparre and Soren Tobias Arstad. 



Area and Population. Norway has an area 

 of 124,445 square miles, and on Dec. 3, 1900, con- 

 tained a population of 2.239,880, comprising 

 1,087,479 males and 1,152.401 females. The area 

 and population of the districts into which the 

 kingdom is divided are given on the next page. 



The number of marriages in 1899 \vas 15,530; 

 of births, 67,013; of deaths, 36,563; excess of 

 births, 30,450. The number of emigrants in 1900 

 was 10.931, of whom 10,665 emigrated to the 

 United States, 112 to British America, and 164 to 

 other countries. 



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