The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-07-28
Will Sweden Resist Norway's Sc.
cessiOn?

The events that have taken place at
the Riksdag indicate an unwillingness
on the part of large section of the
Swedish people to acquiesce in Norway's
declaration OF independence. Whether,
however. the opposition to the program
originally formulated by King OSCAR II.
and his late Ministers reflects the feeling
of a majority of the voters cannot be
known until new Riksdag is chosen.
1t will be remembered that soon after
the secession of Norway was proclaimed
by the Storthing at Christiania King
OSCAR II. convoked the Riksdag, and
his Ministers, the spokesman of the
80 called Liberal party, explained to
the peoples representatives how they
thought the crisis should be dealt with.
They had advised the sovereign, they
said, that no attempt should be made
to maintain by force the union Of the
kingdoms. This program, which was
denounced not only by members of the
Nationalist or so called Patriotic" party,
but also by many Liberals, as one of un-
conditional and pusillanimous surrender,
was referred to joint committee of both
houses, which, after some delay reported
against the ratification Of the Ministerial
program in its original form and recon-
mended that the Riksdag should sanction
the secession Of Norway only on certain
conditions, which it specified.
Without awaiting the adoption OF the
report by the Riksdag. the Ministers
resigned. Should they be succeeded
by Conservatives or Nationalists, such
men, for example, as Count L. DOUGLAS,
the leader Of the Patriotic party and
formerly Minister for Foreign Affairs,
an effort may be made to tighten, in
stead of relaxing. the bonds of union
between the two halves of the Scandi-
navian peninsula. Count DOUGLAS is
known to hold that the Swedes and the
Norwegians ought to have not only
common king and common depart
ments Of foreign affairs, Of commerce
and navigation, of war and of navy,
but that the control of these matters
should be vested in Union Parliament,
meeting alternately in Stockholm and
Chrlstiania, and corresponding roughly
to the Austro-Rungarian Delegations.
1t is certain that no such consolidation
of the kingdoms could be brought about
except by force, IT, on the other hand,
new Liberal Ministry should COM
mand the confidence Of the present
Riksdag. or should manage to secure
majority in a new one, it is probable
that the conditions of separation defined
in the report of the joint committee
would be interpreted in such an elastic
and conciliatory way as to render them
acceptable to Norway.
The important features of the arrange
ment recommended in the committees
report are, first, the proposal that a
neutral zone shall be established on the
frontier between Sweden and Norway,
and that within this zone the Nor
wegian fortresses at Kongsvinger and
Fredriksten shall be RACED; secondly,
that Norway's ordinance of secession
shall be confirmed in two more success
sive Storthings, making three in all,
condition which in the Judgment of
the Riksdags committee is required by
the fundamental act of union between
the kingdoms; thirdly, that the seces-
sion of Norway should not be accounted
valid until the Swedish people shall have