kronor, or 470,5551., for the construction of new railways, and 1,820,000 kronor, or 101,1117., to complete the rolling stock of the lines already opened for traffic, while a loan of 4,000,000 kronor, or 222,2221., was granted for the purchase of the lines of a private railway company. These expenses are to be covered by loans.

The expenditure for the army, church, and for certain civil offices, is in part defrayed out of the revenue of landed estates belonging to the Crown, and the amounts do not appear in the budget estimates. To the expenditure for foreign affairs Norway contributes annually 304,700 kroner, or 16,9281., a sum not entered in the estimates.

To the 'Riksgüldskontor,' the supervision of which is exclusively exercised by the Diet, belongs the administration of the public debt-exclusively incurred for the construction, of railways-and the right to contract any loans which the Diet may vote.

On the 1st of January 1880, the public liabilities of the kingdom were as follows, according to reports laid before the Diet :

-

1864

17,400,400

1,869,000

8,929,272

25,376,266

.

20,141,256

3,900

14,332,900

18,137,600

35,827,200

35,747,990

25,051,175

217,296,159

3,000,000

220,296,159

£12,238,675

On January 1, 1881, this had been increased to 12,797,5687. The railway loans of 1864, 1868, 1876, and 1878 were negotiated in England, at the respective rates of 921, 90, 86, and 88 per cent. All the loans are paid off gradually by means of sinking funds.(Official Communication.),

Army and Navy.

The Swedish army is composed of four distinct classes of troops. They are

1. The Värfvade, or enlisted troops, to which belong the royal lifeguards, one regiment of hussars, the artillery, and the engineers. 2. The Indelta, or national militia, the privates of which are paid

and kept by the landowners. Every soldier of the Indelta has, besides a small annual pay, his torp, or cottage, with a piece of ground attached, which remains his own during the whole period of service, often extending over thirty years, or even longer. In time of peace, the infantry of the Indelta are called up for a month's annual practice, and the cavalry for thirty-six days. In time of war, an extraordinary Indelta has to be raised partly by landowners, who, on this account, enjoy certain privileges, including non-contribution to the cost of the peace establishment.

3. The militia of Gothland, consisting of thirty companies of infantry, and three batteries of artillery. They are not compelled by law to serve beyond the confines of the Isle of Gothland, and have a separate command.

4. The Beväring, or conscription troops, drawn by annual levy, from the male population between the age of 20 and 25 years. The law of conscription was introduced into Sweden in 1812, but the right of purchasing substitutes, which formerly existed, was abolished by the Diet in 1872.

The total strength of the armed forces of Sweden was as follows at the end of September 1880:

There are also Volunteers, first organised in the year 1861, by the spontaneous desire of the population of the kingdom. In time of peace the volunteers are individually free, and bound by no other but their own rules and regulations; but in time of war they may be compelled to place themselves under the command of the military authorities. However, they can be required only to serve within the limits of their own districts. At the end of 1880, the volunteers numbered 18,161 men. In 1881 the total army of Sweden, officers and men, numbered 202,783, with 258 guns and 6,646 horses.

In the parliamentary session of 1862, and again in the sessions of 1865, 1869, 1871, and 1875 the Government brought bills before the Diet for a reorganisation of the whole of the army, but neither of these were adopted by the representatives of the people.

The navy of the kingdom is divided into three classes, namely, first, the Royal Navy; secondly, the Royal Naval Reserve, and thirdly, the Naval Bevöring. The fleet consisted, at the end of September 1879, of the following vessels:

The largest ironclad of the Swedish navy is the monitor Loke, of 1,500 tons burthen, and 430 horse-power, built in 1870. The other three monitors, called John Ericsson, Thordön, and Tirfing, of earlier construction, are nearly the same size. At the end of September 1879 the Royal Navy was officered by 3 flag-officers, 5 commodores, 20 captains, 43 commanders, 43 lieutenants, and 26 sub-lieutenants, while the Royal Naval Reserve was commanded by 70 commissioned officers. The naval Beväring at the same date numbered 40,000 men.-(Official Communication.)

Area and Population.

Sweden was one of the first countries of Europe in which a regular census was taken. The first enumeration took place in 1748, at the suggestion of the Academy of Stockholm, and it was repeated at first every third year, and subsequently, after 1775, every fifth year. At present, a general census is taken every ten years, besides which there are annual numerations of the people. The population of Sweden amounted on December 31, 1867, according to the official numerations of that date, to 4,195,681, of whom 2,040,589 were men and 2,155,092 women. On the 31st

of December, 1869, the total population was 4,158,757, of whom 2,014,530 were men and 2,144,227 women. The decrease of population in the two years from December 31, 1867, to December 31, 1869, arose through emigration. On the 31st of December, 1879, the population had risen to 4,578,901 souls, comprising 2,228,855 men and 2,350,046 women.

The area and population of Sweden, on the 31st of December 1879, are shown in the following table :

:

The following table gives the births, deaths, and marriages, with the surplus of births over deaths, for each of the five 1874 to 1879:

years

from

The population of Sweden is mainly rural. In all the towns of the kingdom lived, at the end of December 1879, but 690,188 souls, and but two towns had more than 50,000 inhabitants, namely, Stockholm, the capital, 173,433, and Göteborg, 76,761. The number

of persons devoted to agricultural pursuits, and of their families, amounts to nearly three millions. About a quarter of a million individuals are owners of the land which they are cultivating. The nobility, comprising 940 heads of families, enjoyed formerly considerable privileges; but they have nearly all been annulled.

Emigration from the country, commencing in recent years, showed at first a tendency to assume considerable proportions, but is now decreasing. In 1860, the number of emigrants was 348; in 1865 it rose to 6,691; in 1866 to 7,206; in 1867 to 9,834; in 1868 to 27,024; and in 1869 to 39,064; but it fell to 20,003 in 1870, to 17,450 in 1871, to 15,915 in 1872, to 13,580 in 1873, and to 7,791 in 1874. The number was.9,727 in 1875, 9,418 in 1876, 7,610 in 1877, 9,032 in 1878, and 17,637 in 1879.

Trade and Industry.

The commercial intercourse of Sweden is chiefly with Great Britain, as regards exports, and, next to it, with France and Denmark. As regards imports, the commercial intercourse is largest with Great Britain, Germany, Denmark, Norway, and Russia, in the order here indicated. The imports consist mainly of textile manufactures, coal, and colonial merchandise, the last largely on the increase, while the staple exports are timber, bar iron, and corn. Both the imports and exports more than doubled in the ten years from 1871 to 1880, the total imports rising from 7,500,000l. to over 16,000,0007., and the total exports from 5,000,000l. to 12,500,000l..

The commerce of Sweden with Great Britain is twice as great as that with any other country. Subjoined is a tabular statement giving the total value of the exports from Sweden to Great Britain and Ireland, and of the imports of British and Irish produce into Sweden, in each of the ten years from 1871 to 1880:

The staple article of exports from Sweden to the United