Nornoway. acrgse, the foam" has determined, to.dissolye partnership with sweden. For some time grave constitutional struggle has been going.on. between the two countries, and at last the Norwegian Storthing
determining to separate. It appears has, taken the oceania step of to. bee. Nowway'e wish thay. Peis separation shall be friendly; and it is, hoped that King Oscar will allow one of his sons to be King of Norway; that this friendliness will be reciprocated by Sweden is not by any means certain.
jo. "Statesman's Yenr-Book" tells us that "by, the treaty of Kiel, Jan, 14, 1814, Nievey was ceded to the King of Sweden by the King of Denmark, but the Norwegian people did not recognise this cession, and declared themselves independent. A Constituent Assembly morat Eidsvold, and having adopted, on May 17, a Constitution, elected the "Danish Prince Christian Fredrik King of Norway, The Swedish troops, however, entered Norw: and, the Foreign Powers refusing to recognise the newlyrelected. King, the. parties concluded, August 14, the Convention of Moss, by which the independency of Norway, in union with Anex!raordinary Storthing was then Sweden, was solemnly proclaimed, convoked, which adopted the modifications in the Constitution made necessary by the union with Sweden, and then elected King Carl XIII (ihe King of Sweden) King of norway, November 4; 1814. The charter, the Rikeakt, establishing following year was promulgated a
new fundamental laws on the terms that the union of the two Kingdoms be indisso'uble and irrevocable, without prejudice, however, to the separate government, constitution, and code of laws of either Sweden or Norway."
The cause of the struggle, which has culminated in this decision of the Storthing, is the demand for greater independence for Norway in her for-olga policy. Sweden has the larger population, 5,221,291, against Nor-mays 2,240,032: - Sweden is the! richer country, but the Norwegians. ate the more eriergeti¢ tary: "One of the great.causes of dissatisfaction in Norway. has been the fact. that the to afe mainly Swedes. A. great part of edith, Norwegian Consuls abroad
nearly Oneantachalf mi tons with shipping, of which work of the Conspls ER concerned
under the Norwegian flag, while Sweden has less than 650,000 tons, apd Norway.considers that she should: therefore have a much larger number of repres ntutives abroad than Sweden. In June 1892, the Storthing passed a resolution in favour of independent Consulates, which King Ofcar refused tg sanction, and there his ben more or 1-s of a deadlock ever since. This seems, indeed, a very inwl quate cause for a separation, with the dangers which it entails, It will be a terrible disaster for both countries if Sweden should determine to ce-ree Norway into continuing to respect the indissolubility and irrevocubility of the union, Sweden has a much larger army and navy than Norway and much larger financial resources; but however a war between the two countries ended—and there is no hostility now between the two. les,—the probable result would te the exhaustion of both countries, and the creation of a feeling of hatred between the two peoples which it would take a long time to dissipate. The dispute is emphatically one for the Hague Tribunal, or for President Roosevelt, if the statesmen of the two countries cannot arrange an acceptable com-' promise, Doubtless every effort will be made by friendly Powers to avert 'a war, which would be a calamity for all Europe, as well as for Sweden and Norway themselves. hanging the Scandinavian peninsula, For there is one great dunger over-
which would be immensely aggravated by a war between the two constituents of the united Kingdom. The great Swedish explorer, Dr. Sven Hedin, has been explaining, in the columns of the "Times," how pressing this danger is. The "Times of India," ina recent issue, summar ries his statement of the Swedish case as follows Brieffy, it is that Russia must expand to the ocean, and that Sweden and she are secular foes, Early the eighteenth century Sweden lost Russia her Bultic provinces, Livonia and Es'honia: in 1809 she lost' Finland; which within the last few years the Russian Government has transformed by force from a depe: dency into an integral-part-of, lo Russian Empire. Russia holds e Aland Islands, a. perpetual: menace to the Swedish coast: Sweden noeds: tho help: of: Norway to.défend her owl territory, while Russia is driven against Norway by her defeat in the Far Enst.
She has hitherto pressed forward towards ice-free ports as a base for sea-power and an outlet for oceanic commerce.
Cut off from the.. Pucific,.. she.-musty—Dr:~ Hedin: argues, redouble her efforts to' reach the Indian. Oc: anand. the Atlantic, Something was heard. a fow years ago of an attempt to create anew port on.the Morman- coast" near the entrance of the White Sea, which, owing to local' climatic conditions, generally free in winter from ice. But a long finger of Russian territory runs right into' Norwegian Lapland, terminating only eighteen' miles from the waters of the Atlantic. On that coast, kept perfectly open by the Gulf Stream, are many excellent harbours. The Russian authorities are already gaining inflaence awing the whale hunters and Lapps of the Far North, and the present crisis in Russia will only tend ultimately to stimulate her expansion, Freed from the rule of tohinovnik, she will acquire new strength, Norway and Sweden must beware while it is yet time. This is the point of least resistance to Russian expansion: and the history of the constitutional conflict between them is of little or no significa nce compared with the results which would ensue on a separation.' short, Russia is certain to expand, Sweden and Norway must stand together to resist her, and Sweden, as the partner most immediately interested, must retain control."
Dr. Sven Hedin's statement shows the importance to us and to all Europe, as well as to the two peoples immediately concerned, of the schism in Scandinavia, and the great danger that will follow if the rupture is allowed to become permanent,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.