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The staple article of export from Sweden to the United Kingdom consists of wood and timber. The total exports to Great Britain of wood and timber, including house frames, amounted to 4,330,756. in 1874, to 2,808,1247. in 1875, to 3,796,9137. in 1876, to 4,390,4177. in 1877, to 2,982,9517. in 1878, to 2,498,0947. in 1879, to 3,602,9471. in 1880, to 3,022,5867. in 1881, to 3,579,973l. in 1883, and to 3,397,3817. in 1883. Next to wood and timber, the most important article of export is oats, sent to the value of 1,644,2857. in 1883 to the United Kingdom. Of other exports to Great Britain, the chief are iron in bars, unwrought, valued 1,108,4437.; butter, valued 555,2071.; and live animals, valued 496,4197., in the year 1883. The imports of British home produce are of a miscellaneous nature; the most notable were iron, wrought and unwrought, of the value of 366,2461.; coals, of the value of 464,5761.; and cotton manufactures, valued 336,6127. in 1883.

Of the total land area of Sweden 7.3 per cent. is under cultivation, 4.8 per cent. under natural meadows, and 43.4 per cent. under forests, the products of which form a staple export. Of the cultivated land one-half is under cereal crops, the principal crop being oats, which yielded 19,181,600 hectolitres in 1883, one-fourth of which was exported. On the other hand, large quantities of wheat and rye-flour are imported. The value of all cereal crops in 1883 was 13 millions sterling. In 1882 Sweden had 469,619 horses, 2,257,048 oxen, 1,388,324 sheep and lambs. In 1880 34,000 head of cattle and 29,000 sheep, and in 1881 19,000 head of cattle and 21,800 sheep were exported, in 1882 respectively 26,500 and 29,100.

Mining is one of the most important departments of Swedish industry, and the working of the iron mines in particular is making constant progress by the introduction of new machinery. There were raised in the year 1882, throughout the kingdom, 20,961,327 centner (1 centner 42.50758 kilogrammes) of iron ore. The pig-iron produced amounted to 9,385,256 centner; the bar iron to 6,185,362 centner, and the steel to 1,381,654 centner. Of iron ore in 1882, 24,287 tons, and in 1882 20,197, and in 1883 34,319 tons were exported; 55,469 tons pig-iron in 1881 and 55,732 in 1882; 188,556 tons bar-iron and rods in 1881, and 213,200 tons in 1882, and 52,126 tons in 1883. There were also raised in 1882 3,602 lbs. of silver, 18,908 cwt. of copper, and 1,088,162 cwt. of zinc ore. There are not inconsiderable veins of coal in the southern parts of Sweden, giving 6,842,998 Swedish cubic feet of coal in 1882. In 1882 there were 29,322 persons engaged in mining.

The commercial navy of Sweden, in the beginning of 1883, numbered 4,141 vessels, of a burthen of 527,456 tons, of which

total 3,356 vessels, of 439,932 tons burthen, were sailing vessels, and 785 vessels of 87,524 tons burthen, were steamers. The port of Göteborg had the largest shipping in 1883, namely, 239 vessels, of 83,592 tons, and next to it came Stockholm, possessing 256 vessels, of a total burthen of 28,690 tons. In 1882, 10,728 vessels, with cargoes of 1,882,042 tons entered, and 18,412 of 3,267,361 tons, cleared Swedish ports.

At the end of 1883 the total length of railways in Sweden was 4,000 miles, of which 1,437 belonged to the State. The receipts were 2,094,40071., and expenses 1,133,3301. The total capital outlay on the State railways to the end of 1882 was 12,209,1387.; besides this the State has advanced to private railways the sum of 2,791,1837.

All the telegraphs in Sweden, with the exception of those of private railway companies, belong to the State. The total length of all the telegraph lines at the end of 1883 was 5,347 English miles, and of wires 12,945 English miles. The number of despatches sent in the year 1883 was 1,209,088.

The Swedish Post-office carried 75,996,982 letters, postcards, journals, &c. in the year 1882. The number of post-offices at the end of the year was 1,704. The total receipts of the Post-office in 1882 amounted to 315,2207., and the total expenditure to 268,955l., leaving a surplus of 46,2671.

II. NORWAY.

Constitution and Government.

The constitution of Norway, called the Grundlov, bears date November 4, 1814, with several modifications passed at various times up to 1884. It vests the legislative power of the realm in the Storthing, or Great Court, the representative of the sovereign people. The king has the command of the land and sea forces, and makes all appointments, but, except in a few cases, is not allowed to nominate any but Norwegians to public offices under the crown. The king possesses the right of veto over laws passed by the Storthing, but, except in constitutional matters, only for a limited period. The royal veto may be exercised twice; but if the same bill pass three Storthings formed by separate and subsequent elections, it becomes the law of the land without the assent of the sovereign.

The Storthing assembles every year. New elections take place every three years. The meetings take place suo jure, and not by any writ from the king or the executive. They begin in February

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each year, and must receive the sanction of the king to sit longer than two months. By a law passed in 1884 the right of electing has been extended to every citizen, who in the last year before the election has paid income tax, on an annual income of, at least, 500 kronor in the country districts or 800 kronor in the towns, provided that he has resided for one year in the electoral district at the time when the election takes place, and that he does not belong to the household of another as a servant. Under the same conditions the citizens, if thirty years of age, and settled in Norway for at least ten years, are entitled to be elected. The mode of election is indirect. Towards the end of every third year the people choose their deputies, at the rate of one to fifty voters in towns, where the election is administered by the magistrate, and one to a hundred in rural sub-districts, where they meet in the parish church under the presidency of the parish minister. The deputies afterwards assemble and elect among themselves, or from among the other qualified voters of the district, the Storthing representatives. Former members of the Royal Council of State are eligible also in other electoral districts than their own, but no district may at the same time have more than one such representative. No new election takes place for vacancies, which are filled by persons who received the second largest number of votes. The number of electors before the new law in 1882 was 99,395, or 5.2 per cent. of total population, while 71,292 votes, or 71.6 of the whole number were recorded. Of the total male population, 45 per cent. are 25 years of age and above. The Storthing has 114 members, 38 from towns, 76 from rural districts.

The Storthing, when assembled, divides itself into two houses, the 'Lagthing' and the 'Odelsthing.' The former is composed of onefourth of the members of the 'Storthing,' and the other of the remaining three-fourths. All new bills, whether presented by the government, or a member of the Odelsthing, must originate in the Odelsthing,' from which they pass into the 'Lagthing,' to be eithe' accepted or rejected. If in the latter case the Odelsthingr andLagthing' after renewed consideration do not agree, the two Houses assemble in common sitting to deliberate on the measure, and the final decision is given by a majority of two-thirds of the voters. The ordinary business of the Storthing is to settle the taxes for the next year, to vote the amounts required for the public expenditure, and to enact, repeal, or alter any laws of the country. But the Storthing can also form itself into a high court of justice, for the impeachment and trial of ministers, members of the chief court of justice, and members of the Storthing for delicts committed by them in performing their official duties. The bill of accusation must always come from the 'Odelsthing' and be brought from

thence before the 'Lagthing,' sitting for the occasion, together with the Chief Court of Justice, as 'Rigsretten,' or supreme tribunal of the realm. Before pronouncing its own dissolution, every Storthing elects five delegates, whose duty it is to revise the public accounts. While in session, every member of the Storthing has an allowance of twelve kroner a day, besides travelling expenses.

The executive is represented by the King, who exercises his authority through a Council of State, composed of two Ministers of State and eight Councillors. Two of the Councillors, who change every year, together with one of the Ministers, form a delegation of the Council of State, residing at Stockholm, near the King. Ministers and Councillors of State are, since July 1884, entitled to be present in the Storthing and to take part in the discussions, when public, but without a vote. The following are the members of the Council of State :

I. Council of State at Christiania.

Minister of State.-Johan Sverdrup, appointed June 26, 1884. Department of Education and Ecclesiastical Affairs.-Dr. Elias Blix, appointed June 26, 1884.

Department of Justice.-Aimar August Sörenssen, appointed June 26, 1884.

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Department of the Interior.-Sofus Anton Birger Arctander, appointed June 26, 1884.

Department of Finance and Customs.-Baard Madsen Haugland, appointed June 26, 1884.

Army Department.-Ludvig Daae, appointed June 26, 1884. Department of the Navy and of Postal Communication.-J. Sverdrup, Minister of State.

Revision of Public Accounts Department.-Birger Kildal, appointed July 16, 1884.

II. Delegation of the Council at Stockholm.

Ole Richter, Minister of State, appointed June 26, 1884.
Hans Georg Jacob Stang, appointed June 26, 1884.
Jakob Liv Rosted Sverdrup, appointed June 26, 1884.

Church and Education.

The inhabitants of the kingdom are almost entirely Protestants, and with the exception of 7,238 dissenters (census 1875) adhere to the Lutheran Church. All creeds, the order of the Jesuits excepted, are tolerated, but only Lutherans are regularly admitted to the highest offices.

Education is compulsory, the school age being seven in town and eight in the country, until fourteen. The number of elementary schools in 1880 was 6,617, with 279,668 pupils; the amount

expended on them being 239,3881. raised for the greater part by a tax levied in every parish. Almost every town supports a superior school; and in seventeen of the principal towns is an 'offentlig skole,' or college, maintained partly by subsidies from the government. The number of pupils at these seventeen public high schools in 1880 was 3,527. Christiania has a university, which was attended in 1883 by 840 students.

Revenue and Expenditure.

The financial estimates are voted by the Storthing for the term of one year. The budget for the year ending June 30, 1885, was

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The actual revenue for 1882-83 was found to be 45,734,000 kronor or 2,518,3921., and expenditure 43,264,000 kronor or 2,382,3791., thus showing a surplus. The budget estimate of revenue for 1883-84 was 2,272,040l. and of expenditure 2,259,3751.

The debt of the kingdom was contracted for the construction of public works, mainly railways. It amounted at the end of 1883 to 107,606,000 kroner or 5,925,4417.

The total value of the land is estimated at 44,500,000l. and of buildings 25,000,000%.

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