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THE UNION WITH NORWAY.
187
yet, nevertheless, there is no doubt of its being a real, and not merely
a dynastic union. The Union cannot be dissolved by either of the
parliaments alone, nor can the King abdicate the crown of one kingdom
without also abdicating that of the other. For altering the Union Act,
a decree of the parliaments of both kingdoms, together with the royal
assent, are necessary.
To the civil list of the Royal Family Sweden at the present time contributes
1,420,000, and Norway 490,000 kronor per annum. Towards salaries for the
Diplomatic Service of the two kingdoms (not including the Minister for Foreign
Affairs, who is paid by Sweden alone), Sweden as a rule contributes u/n and
Norway Vi7 (according to the Budget of 1899: 443,800 and 180,000 kronor respectively).
For the Consular Service Sweden contributes */t and Norway ®/7, or, in 1899,
Sweden 160,000 and Norway 120,000 kronor; besides, the various fees received in
salaried consulates, which in 1897 were reckoned to amount to 92,960 kronor
from Swedish and 213,340 kronor from Norwegian ships, have been employed to
defray the expenses of the Consular Service. Including these last items, Sweden’s
direct expenses for the above purposes amount to something more than 2,100,000
kronor, and Norway’s to something more than 1,000,000.
With regard to National Defense, the Union Act contains no
decrees as to the amount of the contributions, but that question is left
entirely to the discretion of each nation. Certainly, the King is the
supreme head of the military forces of both kingdoms, but with regard
to Norway’s army, his right of disposal is subjected to several
restrictions, the most important of which is that the so-called
»linie-armé» (the »line») are the only troops who may be employed
everywhere for the common defense of the peninsula, while the remaining
troops are not to be ordered outside the borders of Norway. In
1885, Norway adopted a new military organization, whereby the line
was much reduced in strength, and it can, at pleasure, make further
reductions.
The decrees regarding the Union of Sweden and Norway have been
the subject of discontent in both countries during the whole existence of
the Union, and proposals for altering this have often been brought
forward, as yet, however, without the question having found any
satisfactory solution. The efforts of the Swedes have tended to the
strengthening of the Union on the basis of the programme: »equal rights and
equal obligations for both nations» (by which, with regard to obligations,
nothing is demanded from Norway that is out of proportion to its
population and resources); the chief cause of discontent on the part of the
Swedes has been Norway’s disinclination to accept fixed duties in regard to
mutual defense. The Norwegians, on the other hand, have striven
to preserve the Union on its present narrow footing or still further
curtail it; the drift of their grievances is that the Union, in its
present form, does not place Norway in a position of full equality with
Sweden. .
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