Army and Navy.

The troops of the kingdom are raised mainly by conscription, and to a small extent by enlistment. By the terms of two laws voted by the Storthing in 1866 and in 1876, the land forces are divided into the troops of the line, the military train, the Landvaern, or militia, the civic guards, and, in time of war, the Landstorm, or final levy. All young men, past the twenty-first year of age, are liable to the conscription, with the exception of the inhabitants of the three northern Amts of the kingdom, who are free from military land service. The young men raised by conscription have to go through a first training in the school of recruits, extending over 50 days in the infantry, and 90 days other arms, and are then put into the bataillons, which, under ordinary circumstances, have an annual practice of 30 days, after which the men are sent on furlough, with obligation to meet when requested. The nominal term of service is ten years, divided between seven years in the line and three years in the Landvaern, or militia. The Landvaern is only liable to service within the frontiers of the kingdom. On the 1st of January 1880, the troops of the line, with its reserves, numbered 40,000 men, with 700 officers. The number of troops actually under arms can never exceed, even in war, 18,000 men without the consent of the Storthing. The king has permission to keep a guard of Norwegian volunteers at Stockholm, and to transfer, for the purpose of common military exercises, 3,000 men annually from Norway to Sweden, and from Sweden to Norway.

The naval force of Norway comprised, at the end of October 1880, thirty-four steamers and 90 sailing vessels, the latter, with the exception of five, forming a flotilla of row-boats for coast defence. The following was the composition of the fleet of steamers in the

navy:

The navy was manned, in 1880, by 1,408 sailors, a great number of them volunteers, with 114 commissioned officers and cadets. All seafaring men and inhabitants of seaports, between the ages of twenty-two and thirty-five, are enrolled on the lists of either the active fleet or the naval militia, and liable, by a law passed in 1866, to the maritime conscription. The numbers on the register amounted, in 1880, to nearly 26,000 men.— (Official Communication.)

Area and Population.

A census of the population of Norway is taken every ten years. The kingdom is divided into twenty provinces, or Amts, the area and population of which were as follows at the two last census enumerations, taken December 31, 1865, and December 31, 1875:

At the end of 1879 the population was estimated at 1,916,000. Norway is essentially an agricultural and pastoral country. At the census of 1865, the inhabitants of towns numbered 266,292, and at the end of 1875 they were 332,398, showing an increase of 24 per cent., against an increase of the rural population of only 4 per cent. The two largest towns are Christiania, with a population of 116,801 (on January 1, 1880), and Bergen, with 40,100 (on January 1, 1879).

1

For some years, emigration carried off, chiefly to the United States, considerable numbers of the population. In 1871 the number of emigrants was 12,276; in 1872 it was 13,865; in 1873 it declined to 10,352; in 1874 to 4,601; and in 1875 to 4,048 In 1876 the emigrants numbered 4,355, while in 1877 the number was 3,229, 4,818 in 1878, and 7,638 in 1879.

Trade and Industry.

The average value of the total imports into Norway, in the five years 1876-80, was 161,300,000 kroner, or 8,963,000l., and of the exports 102,300,000 kroner, or 5,684,000l. Of the imports about 27 per cent. came from, and of the exports 30 per cent. went to Great Britain.

The commercial intercourse between Norway and the United Kingdom is shown in the subjoined table, which gives the value of the exports from Norway to Great Britain and Ireland, and of the imports of British and Irish produce into Norway, in each of the ten years 1871 to 1880:

About three-fourths of the exports from Norway to the United Kingdom consist of wood and timber. In 1880 the exports of timber, sawn or split, amounted to 1,049,5117., and of other wood to 592,063., making a total of 1,641,5741. The minor exports to Great Britain comprise fish, ice, and small quantities of bar iron and copper ore. Iron, wrought and unwrought, of the value of 126,9367.; cotton manufactures, of the value of 182,4967.; coals, of the value of 192,1607.; and woollens, of the value of 138,7661., formed the chief British imports into Norway in the year 1880.

The shipping belonging to Norway numbered 8,125 vessels, of a total burthen of 1,509,477 tons, manned by 58,609 sailors, at the end of 1879. Norway has, in proportion to population, the largest commercial navy in the world.

At the end of October 1880 there were in Norway 759 miles of railway open for traffic, and 212 miles under construction, being

a total of 971 miles. The following is a list of the various lines:

Length

Hamar to Trondhjem

Stavanger to Ekersund

Railways open for traffic:

Christiania to Eidsvold (42 miles) with the branch Lille-
strömmen to the Swedish frontier (71 miles).

Christiania to Drammen (33 miles) and Randsfjord, with
branches to Kongsberg and Kröderen.

Christiania to Frederikshald and the Swedish frontier

Eidsvold to Hamar

Trondhjem to Meraker and the Swedish frontier

English Miles

113

123

107

37

268

64

47

At the end of 1881 there were 820 miles open for traffic.

There were at the end of 1879 telegraph lines of the length of 5,315 English miles (4,634 miles belonging to the state, 681 miles to the railways), and wires of the length of 9,726 miles (8,414 miles belonging to the state, 1,312 miles to the railways). The number of telegrams in the year 1879 was 704,741, of which 461,625 were inland, 111,445 sent to, and 128,206 received from foreign countries, and 3,465 in transit. The number of telegraph offices at the end of 1879 was 904. The number of post-offices at the same date was 904. The number of letters forwarded through the post in 1879 was 13,311,909.

Diplomatic Representatives.

1. OF SWEDEN AND NORWAY IN GREAT BRITAIN. Envoy and Minister.-Count Edward Piper, accredited July 6, 1877. Councillor of Legation.-Count Albert M. Otto Steenbock, appointed May 20, 1870.

2. OF GREAT BRITAIN IN SWEDEN AND NORWAY. Envoy and Minister.--Sir Horace Rumbold, Bart., appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Sweden and Norway, September 1, 1881.

Secretaries.-Christian William Lawrence; J. F. B. Jenner.

Money, Weights, and Measures.

The money, weights, and measures of Sweden and Norway, and the British equivalents, are as follows:

MONEY.

The Swedish Krona 100 ôre-approximate value 1s. 1d., or about 18 to the pound sterling.

,, Norwegian Krone 100 ôre-the same value as the Swedish Krona. By a treaty signed May 27, 1873, with additional treaty of October 16, 1875, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark adopted the same monetary system.

In 1876 the Government presented to the Swedish Diet a bill for the introduction in Sweden of the metric system of weights and measures, which was accepted, with some amendments, to the effect that this system has been introduced from the beginning of 1879 and will become obligatory in 1889. In Norway a law was passed, May 22,1875, by which the metric system was introduced in that country on July 1, 1879, becoming obligatory on July 1, 1882.

Statistical and other Books of Reference concerning
Sweden and Norway.

1. OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS.

Bidrag till Sveriges officiela statistik: A. Befolknings-statistik. B. Rättsväsendet. C. Bergshandtering. D. Fabriker och manufakturer. F. Utrikes handel och sjöfart. G. Fångvården. H. Befallningshafvandes Femårsberättelser. J. Telegrafväsendet. K. Inrikes handel och sjöfart. L. Statens jernvägstrafik. M. Postverket. N. Jordbruk och Boskapsskotsel. O. Landtmäteriet. P. Folkundervisningen. Q. Skogsväsendet. R. Valstatistik. S. Allmänna arbeten. T. Lots-och Fyrväsendet. 4. Stockholm, 1857-1881.

Norges officielle Statistik: A. 1. Skolevæsenet; A. 2. Fattigstatistik ; B. 1. Criminalstatistik; B. 2. Skiftevæsenet; C. 1. Folketælling, Folkemængdens Bevægelse; C. 3. Consulatberetninger, Handel, Skibsfart; C. 4. Sundhedstilstanden og Medicinalforholdene; C. 8. De Offentlige Jernbaner; C. 9. Norges Fiskerier; C. 10. Kommunale Forholde; C. 11. De faste Eiendomme; C. 12. Bergværksdrift; C. 13. Industrielle Forholde; C. 15. Det Norske Jordbrug. D. Finanststatistik. F. 1. Telegrafstatistik; F. 2. Poststatistik. 4. Christiania, 1870-80.

Sveriges Stats-kalender för år 1881. Utgifven efter kongl. maj. nådigste förordnande, af dess vetenskaps-akademi. 8. Stockholm, 1881.