THE AMERICA N-S CANDINAVIAN REVIEW 
629 
Norway 
<JThe strained situation created by Norway’s forbidding the importa¬ 
tion of wine and Spain’s retaliatory tariff war has at last been ended, 
at least for the time being, by a compromise that is not very satisfactory 
to any party in Norway. A commercial treaty of one year’s duration 
has been concluded, the Norwegian government accepting Spain’s 
condition that Norway shall import 500,000 litres of heavy wines 
annually. The treaty met with strong opposition in the Storting, not 
only from the Socialists and Communists who are prohibitionists a tout 
pritfj but also from the anti-prohibition Conservatives. The Conserva¬ 
tive leaders condemned the obligatory importation of heavy wines 
as an unworthy measure and urged that the prohibition act be abol¬ 
ished altogether. After a debate, which lasted nearly a week, a com¬ 
promise was effected, the Conservative party accepting the treaty as 
a temporary arrangement on condition that negotiations be reopened 
with Spain and Portugal. An attempt will be made to ascertain 
whether more favorable commercial treaties can not be obtained by 
annulling the prohibition decree in the case of wines containing less 
than 14 percent alcohol. This solution was proposed by the president 
of the Storting and was carried, August 1 , by a majority of 96 
against 56 votes. If King Haakon celebrated his fiftieth birthday on 
August 3 . All the leading papers of the country published articles 
praising the king’s tact, ability, and straightforwardness. Even those 
who in 1905 were most strongly in favor of a republic now fully 
recognize that the monarchy is firmly established in Norway. ^[Min¬ 
ister of Justice Olaf Amundsen resigned August 4 to accept the posi¬ 
tion of fylkesmann (prefect) of Nordland. Arnold Holmboe, member 
of the Storting for Tromso, has been appointed to succeed him in the 
cabinet. Mr. Holmboe is a solicitor and has for many years been one 
of the most influential members of the Left party in northern Norway. 
€JThousands of foreign tourists have visited Norway this summer. 
Americans have come in bigger numbers than ever before. The 
weather has been rather cold in the southern part of Norway, but in 
the northern part the summer has been exceptionally warm and pleas¬ 
ant. Among the visitors may be mentioned Queen Wilhelmina of 
Holland and Prince Heinrich; the Duke of Roxburgh; Earl Sefton; 
the well known Liberal English politician, Mr. Walter Runciman, 
and the president of the American-Scandinavian Foundation, Mr. 
Hamilton Holt. €JA safe belonging to the former Norwegian con¬ 
sulate in Moscow and sealed with the official seal of the consulate has 
been broken open and robbed of its contents valued at a million kroner. 
It is said that the robbery took place by order of the Soviet authorities. 
The Norwegian government has protested. CJErik Arentz has been 
appointed consul-general at Melbourne. 
