The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-12-16
NORWAY HAS A NEW FLAG.
1T WAS RAISED YESTERDAY AFTER
FIFTY YEARS AGITATION.

sign Of the Union with sweden Left Out OF
tho New Emblem, to the NorweRians'
Great sntisfaction-They Say It's n
CLEAN" Flag Now-Cersmony Here.
There was novel feature In simple fag.rais.
ing ceremony which took place at sunrise yester-
day on board the Norwegian steamship Harald.
Capt Amund Utne a small fruiter plying be-
tween this harbor and the West Indies For
the first time when the Norwegian Gag was raised
II was what the Norwegians coll clean" one
thatis IL had no union mark In the canton Under
the same flag Norwegian ship few days ago
would have had no right TO demand the diplo-
matte protection and consular service Of the United
Kingdoms Yesterday was tho day, long eA-
pected by the Norwegian lon. when the clean"
nag became the lawful sign Of their nationality,
and for the future other will fly over their off,
cia buildings or merchant vessels Three scpa.
rate S,orthings have so dccreed and old King
oscar has reluctantly submitted TO tho will Of
his subjects
The Harald had Just shifted around from tho
North River and was tied up under the Brooklyn
bridge about o'clock yesterday morning. Her
crew gathered near the stern. On the bridge
were Capt Utne, SUN reporter. and Capt Fred
etck W. Hvoslee, junior partner Of Bennett, Walsh
4 Co. who are the agents Of the Harald and OF
about one hundred other Norwegian steamships
"Gctup the flag boys!" commanded the Captain.
and up went the Stars and Stripes to the foretop,
the house nag TO tho maintop and the new Nor
wegian ensign 10 the peak They were then
dipped three times In honor Of the new colors,
while every man on board stood by with uncovered
head.
Amt she a beautyr remarked Capt. Vine but
In a tone Of deeply rooted conviction. Much
pretter than the old one with herring salad in tho
\ oh he "hrrTiuR iS he
nickname which the Norwcgians have given 10
the union mark In reference 10 fayoritc Swedish
dish
Tha, was all there wa. Of the ceremony, but II
was easy TO conclude from the shining eyes and
broad smiles Of the sailors that they appreciated
the event hugely In their own quiet way
The flag question, which now may BE- considered
solved. has been one Of the many bones Of con-
ten,ion between the Scandinavian sister nations
ever since they were united under the same King
In spite Of the fact that Section III Of the Nor
wegian constitution explicitly states that Norway
the Swedish flag had TO b. used by Norwegian
vessels up IN isi4 the year when King Oscar
father, the old Marshal Bcrnadnttc. A little
agitation arose in Norway against the hated
flag, but 1t was allaycd for several decades by
royal decree on June 20, lsII. providing a scpa.
rate ensign for Norway's navy and merchant
marine, and this Nag remained unchanged I'll!
with white. on a blood rcd ground The canton
that is the square in the upper corner Of the nag
Of four trianges two In the Swedish and two
in the Norwegian coors. The union mark was
10 app-aT in the same way on all Swedish flags.
An agitation to exclude the union marx from
the national flag bryan carly in Norway, but did
not make much he adway until the latter eighties
II was always looked upon with disfayor in Swe.
Zen. where all parties united in the declaration
that the proposed chang. was Of no practical
value 10 the Norwcgians, hut had the moral sig
nihcance Of stab at the union. The Norwcgians
themselves were divided. the Conservative party
siding with the Swcdcs But the agitation went
an Ro gsining ground with Every passing yea
staunchcst and most aggressive champions
And in late years the nation has stood almost
rs one man In favor Of the clean" flag.
An act providing for the desired change was
passed by the Stor,hing for the first time abou,
eight years ago by small majority, and il was
quickly vetoed by the King. The second act Of
The kind. enacted about three years later by an
increased majority, met the same fate. The roy al
veto Vas exercised for the third time in December,
1888 when the same law was passed again with
only four or Ave dissenting votes but then IL did
not avail for the Norwegian Constitution says
S,or,hines shall have passed aiegislatve act that
act SHAH become law in spite o. the Kings
tusnl 70 sanc,ioni'. The King did refuse 70 sane
Intention TO respect the Constitution by ordering
he act included in the Official publication ~ acts
enacted by the S,orthinE that hGd bec sme effective
Iigned protocol Declaring that The. decree issued
by his father IN 1874 was revoked and that i's
Wy the Norwegian natl through its duly elected
representatives. He ANcA Dec Is as the da'e
When, The use q thc new far should become legal
outside II is navy which will retain the union
marx in its thrrotcnC''ct fag
., C.nsul Chris,1rh,r Revn said Yesterday tha,
Ihe consulate had rr"rived graf number o. re-
quests FER nars from Norwegian sailing masters
IN al The seaports of 'hls country. who detdred
existence He refused 10 express an opinion
Nth rHEart r. the signifcance Of the change or
n holt