The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-15 00:00:00

Metropolitan Board of Works,

for gathering a little inforuiation as to the actua.
circumstances of a nation lying so much out of the
route of ordinary travel. Royal alliances present
and in prospect will, no doubt, tend to make these
regions fashionable, and the rapid development of
railway communication will in a short time remove
most of the obstacles heretofore existing in the way
of a free intercourse with England. In the means
time all the guide books must be rewritten, and
there will still be a vast amount of useful learning
not contained in any of them which the traveller
may acquire for himself. The histories of Sweden
are eloquent and even diffuse as to the victories
of her great Kings and Generals in bygone cen-
turies, upon the reverses of Charles XII.
and on the causes which led to the accession of
Bernadotte. But at this point they commonly stop
short ; and beyond a general indication that the
national interests of the country have largely pros-
pered under the present dynasty, there is not much
information to b 3 gained as to the actual state of
Sweden. The language in which the national
" Blue books" and newspapers are published is a
formidable impediment to the mastery of their con-
tents, and so time passes, the Swedes eagerly and
curiously studying foreign literature and politics,
keeping pace, as far es their means enable them.
.with every onward movement of society, the other
nations of Europe meanwhile thinking of them—
when they do thick of them at all—with a hazy
recollection of the soldiery inured to hardships and
the humblest fare who startled Europe by the
lustre of their deeds, and were not destroyed on
the field of Pultowa, till they had half achieved the
conquest of Russia. For the perpetuation of this
frame of mind it niust be admitted in England, at
least, that something is due to the tasks set by the
Civil Service Examiners.
One of the first things by which a stranger enter-
ing
Sweden and mixing largely with the population
will be struck is the success with which the ruling
family, originally alien, has managed to incorporate
itself with Swedish interests, and to surround its
throne with Swedish affections. The descendants
of the son of the Frenchman who fought his way to
the highest honours that Napoleon had to bestow
*
are as completely Swedes as if their root of
title dated from 1180, and not from 1810. This is
the more remarkable, because originally Bernadotte
was accepted to some extent as a necessity. When
the throne fell vacant by the sudden death of the
Prince Royal, what the nation most urgently des
sired was a general who, while insuring indepen-
dence and tranquillity at home, would do something
towards reviving the fame of Swedish arms in
Europe. They chose the fittest man they could
discover, with this sole object in view, regardless of
his birth or parentage, and but that the opportunity
came a few years too late there is little doubt that
theirs would have proved a wise selection. Dins.
pointed by the termination of the war of the means
of doing more than helping to drive Napoleon across
the Rhine in the campaigns of 1813 and the follow-
ing year, there are many countries which would
not, like Sweden, have
Sp reconcild themselves to the
ain i , for nstance, has always
rule of Bernadotte.
appreciation of English military
possessed its deep
only, somehow or other its gratitude
assistance;
has never assumed a practical shape. There is a
tradition, however, that Bernadotte had ingratiated
himself with his future subjects before he was
called on to lead their armies, and when, in felt,',
he was their declared foe. The tradition is worth
repeating for the enlightenment of generals in these
days, when, in the outraged name of " nationality,"
wars are becoming more than commonly atrocious.
The tyranny of Napoleon had driven the Swedes
into the ranks of his enemies, and it so happened
that Bernadotte, still one of Napoleon's marshals,
captured nearly a division of Swedish troops, whom
he treated with unexpected lenity. These were
so well aware that they owed their good fortune
entirely to his kind disposition that a good feeling
towards him sprung up on the part of their country-
men, which is said not only to have influenced
his selection, but to have contributed in later years
to the. stability of his throne. By a judicious
mixture of firmness and concilliation the dynasty
has since established its position, and the present.
King decidedly approximates to that type of a
model sovereign which northern nations are dis-
posed to entertain. With her extensive frontier
to defend, perpetually confronted by
the greatest
military power in the world, and never able to
forget that Finland and Pomerania were torn from
her as recently as the commencement of the present
century, Sweden naturally attaches importance to
military qualities in a monarch. CharlesXV.,happily
for them and for himself, is both by nature rind pro,.
fission a soldier, and, regard being had to the
limited opportunities open to him, enjoys the repu-
tation of being among the most skilful generals of
the day. Ile is an inimitable horseman, and further,
a clever artist, the Palace at Stockholm containing
several illustrations on a large scale of scenery
among the Norwegian Alps executed by the King's
own hand. In all that relates to antiquity, moreover,
he has undoubted information and excellent taste—
points of no secondary importance in a kingdom that
justly sets such store by its own famous traditions.
If the Sovereign from his opacity to lead the

armies of the State may be described as the right
hand of Sweden, it would be no misnomer to describe
Prince Oscar, heir presumptive to the Crown, as its
headpiece_ Not sharing, possibly, to the same extent
those external qualities which win for his brother
the favour of the multitude, in all the solid parts cf
a wise governor, in all the accomplishments and
charm of manner that grace the true gentleman,
Prince Oscar sets an example to those by whom he
is surrounded. He is more than Vice-Admiral of
the fleet of S xedert and Norway, for he is the Dib-
din of the service as well. At the early age of ten
years he made his first voyage on board a men-of-
war, and continued every year at sea till he was 17,
when he pissed for his lieutenancy, afterwards pro-
ceeding to the University of Upsala, where be won a
felloss ship. His literary fame was gained in the first
instance by a poem, " To the Memory of Heroes and
Heroic Deeds of the Swedish Navy,'' and a gold
medal awarded to the author, at that time unknown,
was carried off in a competition open to the whole na-
tion. The Swedish Academy, which gives out prize
subjects every year, and sits in judgment on the
essays that are sent in, was instituted by Gustavus
111., and consists of 18 members, always among the
men most renowned for their writings upon poetry,
eloquence, and belles lettres generally. Any Swede
may become a competitor for the prizes which they
offer, and if unsuccessful his work is returned with-
out his name transpiring. Poems sent in volun.
tarily must not have any name affixed to them, but
simply mottoes or devices. In announcing the find.
ing of the council one of these mottoes is mentioned,
and the author then makes himself known by
coming forward and giving up the second or coun-
ter motto. Ou the 20th of December in each.year
the grand annual meeting of the Academy takes
place, and prizes are distributed in presence of the
Royal family, the dignitaries of the State, and a
crowded audience: Great, naturally, was the excite-
ment and surprise, when in 1857 Prince Oscar
stepped forward to claim the highest honours which
the Academy had to offer. Since then, without
neglecting any of his official duties, Prince Oscar
has found time, besides minor poems, to publish in
1859 his full translation of Herder's " Cid," and in
1861 a translation of Goethe's " Thema" Both these
works were honourably mentioned by the Academy.
The Swedish Court is not only fortunate in its
central figures but likewise in the functionaries
obeying its behests. These are, for the most part,
courtiers in the truest and best sense—that is to
say, men who in their devotion to the Throne re-
member that their duty is only half fulfilled
when they have carried out the wishes of their
Sovereign, and that it is at least as imperative upon
them to place those actions in a proper light in the
eyes of the governed, They are of a very different
stamp from the dancing dolls, excellent at proces-
siens, and at nothing else, who figured at Courts in
ancient times, and from the stately formalists filling
the pages of history, who were rigidin the perform-
ance of their own duties, bat shrank from every
atom of responsibility. In a word, they were not
merely men of the Court, but men of the world,
anxious for the stability of the Throne they repre-
sent, and ever on the look-out for means of pro-
moting its popularity.
It must not be supposed from what has been
already said that Sweden is in any sense one of those
military monarchies which, from being regarded as
bulwarks of Europe, have suddenly caused them-
selves to be looked on as its scourges. Her military
force, though maintained in a condition of high effie
ciency, rests on a purely defensive basis ; the con-
stitution of the army, in fact, is of a peculiar cha-
racter, well deserving of record. There are a few
enlisted regiments, principally corps d elite, but the
" Indelta armee:. as it is called, furnishes the great
bulk of the military strength of Sweden. " Indeln-
ing means dividing, and the course pursued by
Charles XIV. was to parcel out the Crown and waste
lands in such a manner as to make them support a
standing army without otherwise draining the re-
sources of the country. He commenced by giving,
on perpetual lease, farms to the nobility and com-
mons on condition that they should for ever keep men
and horses fully Equipped always ready for service,
and later the system was extended so far that all
other property, freeholds only excepted, must keep
foot soldiers. The system worked admirably, and
with modifications suited to the altered character of
the times, continues in force to this day. The
number of regiments maintained in a province
varies according to its population and fertility;
Scene, for instance, supplies four; Dalecarlia, a
poor district, only one regiment. In every village
may be seen a small tidy cottage with its garden
and ground, where the soldier of the village lives,
often taking his name from the village or farm,
while near the centre of the district, or a fine estate,
the colonel of the regiment resides, and on it every
colonel has resided since the time of Charles XI.
Captains, in a similar manner, live in the midst of
their companies, and the intense esprit de corps
sprigging from this arrangement, by which every
officer and soldier fights under the eye of his neigh-
bours and friends, as well as his comrades, is some-
thing that will only bear comparison with the feel-
ing animating the Highland clans of the last century.
The subalterns get their pay in money from farms
let upon lease, and as the value of landed property
has increased, so has the pay of the officers. When
there is a vacancy
.for a private a great many young
sons of farmers offer themselves as candidates, and
in the rich provinces a colonel has often as many as
20 applicants to choose his recruit from. Each re-
giment musters yearly for a month, like our own
militia, but afterwards several of them encamp and
practise manoeuvres on a more extended scale, dis-
missing their members to their homes at the ap-
proach of the harvest season. Some of the greatest
public works in Sweden, among them the Gotha
Canal, have been undertaken and carried out by the
Indelta, the members of which are thus enabled in
time of peace to acquire considerable additions to
their pay.
As regards her navy Sweden is for the moment a
little backward, having watched the results of ex-
periments in other countries before determining the
course she would herself adopt. This will consist
in the construction of a number of monitors. Face
to face as she is with a Power which either has
already or speedily will possess not less than 20 iron
dads in the Baltic, which may be very moderate in
its views at present,but which notoriously covets the
great Norwegian nursery of seamen, it is a neces-
sity of Sweden's existence that with hei long coast
line, that may be struck at any point from Hapa-
randa to Yastad, she should have a naval force
capable of holding its own till the arrival of assist-
ance from other Powers who may be indisposed to
ratify a fresh treaty of partition. Oddly enough,
though all parties in the country admit the necessity
of a strong naval force, this adoption of the Monitor
system has been a species of compromise between
conflicting views on the question of naval armament.
It sounds like going back to the days of bows and
arrows, but there really is a party by no means un-
influential in Sweden which retains its faith unim-
paired in the efficiency of the old gunboats propelled
by oars. In the last great European wars these
played a very important part—the Denieh patriotic
songs make constant reference to them, and there
can be no doubt that in their day they formed a
valuable safeguard to the Swedish coast. This is
so studded with islands that the term archipelago
might fairly be employed in speaking of them.
From behind or between some of these clusters of
islands it was usual for the gunboats to appear
suddenly,having calculated upon finding an enemy's
maneof- war becalmed or contending with an adverse
stungrjheh to
wind ; and not unfrequently they© midges
strike
death a great vessel, or compelled her
colours in despair. It7apsesn:ithuleratlothsaeteththeeSweeetdirees
should refuse as long
a ho
been
co
hf
aunt gtuee kwhich
dsetfeeanniceh;asauwdotrhkeerde notihilasthe conditions
t ionn
great naval war in Europe to drive.homeconvoift
to their minds, Happily there are plenty

o'clock.

The usual weekly meeting of this board WO held
yesterday at the offices, in Spring-gardens. The
president, J. Thwaites, Esq., took the chair at 12

FINANCE.
The cash statement for the current wcck shows a
otal general balance of £561,179.

MIDDLE-ROW, HOLBORN.

A report from the Streets Committee was
brought up on the proposed removal of Middle-row,
Holborn. It stated that the cost would be £46,625,
and to purchase the opposite side of Holborn for
the purpose of making an improved frontage, would
amount to £16,309 additional, making a total of
£62,934. _ _

After a conversation, in which the details were
much discussed, the further discusbion of the mat-
te: was adjourned for a fortnight.