CHAPTER IV.

LESSER STATES OF WESTERN AND NORTHERN EUROPE.

I. BELGIUM.

Until the abrupt violation of Belgian neutrality by the German armies on August 3 the political antagonisms of Clericals and Liberals and of Flemings and Walloons seemed to be growing more acute. The German invasion, with its almost incredible atrocities, swept away the memory of these feuds. The Belgian nation saw all but a small fraction of its land swept by the invaders, and either found refuge and hospitality in Holland, Great Britain, and to some extent in Switzerland, or became dependent for its very subsistence on the charity of the people of the United States. But it did not flinch in its determination to maintain its independence, and at the close of the year it was gallantly aiding the resistance of the Allies to the German advance on Calais and Northern France.

When the year began the Chambers were still debating the Bill for subsidising voluntary schools, and the Flemish Nationalists in both the Liberal and Clerical parties were endeavouring (unsuccessfully, as it proved) to amend it so as to promote the spread of their own tongue at the expense of French. But another question arose which tended to injure the Government. Towards the end of January a severe frost closed the waterways and blocked the State railways with their traffic. The efforts made to cope with the block showed grave defects in the management and the equipment of the lines, and the Central Industrial Committee of manufacturers and traders formally complained to the Minister of the Interior that factories had been stopped and orders and consignments diverted to foreign countries and ports. Politics were said to influence the management, and the financial administration was condemned as defective and unintelligible. A scheme of reorganisation was contemplated, under which the Railway Budget would be rearranged and the management of the system assigned to a Board of fifteen paid members, Senators, Deputies, and State officials being ineligible. This Board would be under the supervision of a Council of seven members, chosen from and by the Parliament, and subordinated to the Minister of Railways. But the scheme was left over till a convenient season.

After much debate and some critical situations, the Schools Bill finally passed the Chambers on May 20, thus terminating the struggle begun by M. Schollaert in 1911. The Liberals and Socialists in the Senate formally denounced the measure as unconstitutional, but declined to take part in the division. The debates on it had crowded out some measures of social reform, but a Bill passed the Chamber providing for the insurance against old age, sickness, or premature disablement of all employed persons, including such State or municipal officials as were not already provided for by pension or disablement funds. But all persons were exempt whose income exceeded 2,400 francs (96_l._) annually, as also home-workers with more than one employer. As in Great Britain, the funds were provided by payments from workmen, employers, and the State.

This Bill was hurried through before the elections for the renewal of half the Chamber (May 31), the representatives affected being those of East Flanders, Limburg, Hainaut, and Liège. The Ministry had offended its rural supporters by the new taxes of 1913, and by making military service and school attendance compulsory, and the Moderate Liberals had begun to return to their party, which they had left in 1912 owing to its coalition with the Socialists, now dissolved. Thus the Government majority in the Chamber fell from sixteen to twelve. They lost two seats to the Liberals, who lost one, however, to the Socialists. The Chamber now numbered ninety-nine Clericals, forty-six Liberals, forty Socialists, and two Christian Democrats, and the Ministerial votes in the four provinces amounted to some 570,000, while those of the Opposition--Liberals, Socialists, and Christian Democrats--were some 760,000. Assuming that the party strengths in the other provinces had remained constant since 1912, it was estimated that a Government majority in that year of 83,000 had now been converted into a minority of 7,000. The three Opposition groups, however, could scarcely have formed a coalition, but the Ministerialists had for some years showed signs of cleavage, and there were rumours that the Government were about to appeal to the Flemish vote by either substituting Flemish for French as the language of the University of Ghent or establishing a Flemish University there along with the French one; and M. de Broqueville indicated (at Turnhout, July 5) that the Senate might be invited to amend the Insurance Bill. But all domestic disputes were effaced by the war.

The growing wealth of the kingdom had been shown by an official return issued at the end of March, giving the average annual investment for the past four years in shares or debentures of companies as 870,000,000 francs, of which 450,000,000 francs had been put into Belgian companies engaged in business abroad--mainly in South America, Russia, and the Congo State. Belgium had now definitely joined the group of "creditor nations"--Great Britain, France, the Netherlands and Germany.

Though the violation of Belgian neutrality astounded the world and even upset the defensive scheme of the French Government, there had been ominous signs earlier in the year, which had attracted little notice. Thus the Stavelot-Malmedy Railway, crossing the German frontier, was opened in January without ceremony, for fear of indiscreet allusions by the speakers at the opening festivities to a possible invasion; there was some anxiety as to the fortification of Flushing (A.R., 1913, p. 364), and also as to the undefended character of the frontier of Dutch Limburg, a province which overlies part of Belgium; and in July it was reported that more troops were being sent to Hasselt and to the entrenched camp of Beverloo. Later it became known that King Albert had pressed for the reform in military service effected in 1913, and that in November of that year he had been convinced by a conversation with the German Emperor that that potentate would no longer resist the German war party (French Yellow Book, No. 6). Moreover, military measures to be taken in the event of a German violation of Belgian neutrality had been worked out in 1908 between the British Military Attaché at Brussels, Colonel Barnardiston, and the Belgian General Staff, which had previously worked out a corresponding plan with the General Staff of France. The German Government discovered evidence of this after the occupation of Brussels, and alleged it as a proof of British perfidy, though the plans were purely contingent on German action.[22]

Apprehending danger, the Belgian Government decided to call up three classes of reserves (July 29), and two days later to mobilise--a step which somewhat surprised the British Minister at Brussels. On July 29 the German Chancellor told the British Ambassador at Berlin that German action in Belgium depended on that of France, whom the German Government believed to be massing troops at Givet. Thereupon the British Government asked the French and German Governments whether they were prepared to respect Belgian neutrality so long as no other Power violated it, and asked Belgium whether she were prepared to remain neutral. France and Belgium gave satisfactory assurances; Germany did not (p. 178). Meanwhile the French Minister at Brussels, M. Klobukowski, had repeated to M. Davignon, the Belgian Foreign Minister, that French troops would not invade Belgium, even if massed on the frontiers, and Herr von Below-Saleske, the German Minister, had repeated to M. Davignon an assurance given by the German Chancellor in 1911, to the effect that Germany did not intend to violate Belgian neutrality, but that to say so publicly would give France an advantage in arranging her plan of operations (July 31). He repeated this, though only as his personal opinion, on August 2; but at 5 P.M. on that day he presented an ultimatum from his Government, demanding that, in view of the massing of French troops near Givet, Belgium should observe an attitude of friendly neutrality towards Germany, and allow German troops to pass through her territory; Germany would in return maintain the independence of Belgium and her possessions, but, in the event of a refusal, she would treat Belgium as an enemy. Twelve hours were given for a reply. A Council of State was at once held, and, after some hours' discussion, a reply drafted by MM. Hymans and Van den Heuvel, was finally decided on at 4 A.M. (Aug. 3). It was presented by 7 A.M., and was a dignified and eloquent refusal. The German Government meantime had sent a Note announcing that the French attack on Germany had begun, and at 6 A.M. on August 4 sent another, announcing that a refusal would be disregarded, and on August 4 intimated that as Belgium had declined her "well-intentioned proposals," they must be carried out by force of arms in view of the French menaces.[23] King Albert on that day addressed the Belgian Parliament, amid a scene of patriotic enthusiasm, and urged a united and stubborn resistance. "A nation which defends itself," he said, "commands the respect of all. Such a nation cannot perish." The union of the nation was marked by the appointment of M. Vandervelde, the Socialist leader, to be a Minister of State. Meanwhile the King had telegraphed a personal appeal for aid to King George V., and had received a reply assuring him of British support to protect the independence, integrity, and neutrality of Belgium. A moratorium was declared; fresh classes of recruits were called up; some 53,000 sappers and navvies were set to dig trenches in the wide spaces between the Liège forts; and Belgium prepared for defence.

Meanwhile the Germans were pressing on. On August 3 they entered Belgian territory at Gemmenich, near Aix-la-Chapelle, Stavelot and Francorchamps, just south of Spa, Dolhain, between Verviers and Herbesthal, and at Visé, on the Meuse between Liège and Maastricht. Their front extended from Visé southward, as far as Luxemburg. At Visé they were fired on by civilians, and the town was subsequently burnt; and on the night of August 4 they attacked the forts round Liège. They advanced in close order, and suffered enormous losses; but by August 6 they had silenced two forts and had vainly asked for an armistice to bury their dead. But passing through the gap thus made, they occupied Liège itself on August 9.

The Belgian resistance had amazed the world. The Germans had not expected it, for they had come without adequate supplies or heavy guns; and on August 9 their Government appealed vainly through that of the Netherlands to the Belgian King and Government, urging them, after their heroic resistance, to spare Belgium further suffering, and declaring itself ready for any compact with Belgium compatible with its conflict with France.

The Germans now came into contact with advanced posts of the Belgian Army, which held a line running from Namur through Ramillies, Tirlemont, and Diest. They were repulsed at Hasselt, Eghezee, and Diest, and Haelen (Aug. 12 and 13), but took Huy after a bombardment. But though they were thus unexpectedly checked, their vast numbers proved irresistible. There was a short lull while they were coming up; but on August 17 the Belgian Government hastily removed to Antwerp; the last forts round Liège fell on August 19; on August 18 the Germans entered Tirlemont, on the 19th they bombarded Louvain, and next day camped outside Brussels for the night. That day (Aug. 20) M. Max, the Burgomaster, had issued a proclamation warning the population against panic, advising them to give no information to the invaders, and promising that he, as Burgomaster, would stand by them. He met the Germans at their entrance, and declared the city undefended; they imposed a levy of 200,000,000 francs on it, and of 450,000,000 francs on the province of Brabant.

Though the French General Staff had regarded a German advance through Belgium as possible, it had made no provision against it till August 2; but it then directed its principal efforts to strengthening the northern section of the French front, and awaited the concentration of the British Expeditionary Force. Meanwhile, however, French troops drove the Germans from Dinant, after a fierce battle. The main German Army (some 600,000 men) having reached Brussels, marched southwards towards Charleroi and Namur. On August 20 the French advanced towards the Sambre. The centre of the Allied Army comprised two armies, the left a third, reinforced to the extent of two army corps, a corps of cavalry, the reserve divisions, and the British Expeditionary Force (p. 189). The French were beaten back on August 22, the Germans, after heavy losses, reaching and crossing the Sambre between Charleroi and Namur, and constraining the British force, by their superior numbers, to retreat from Mons south-westwards into France (p. 190). Meanwhile the Germans had been overrunning northern Belgium; they had occupied Louvain on the 19th after a fierce fight, Alost on the 21st, and concentrated before Antwerp next day; but were driven back from Malines by a sortie of the Antwerp garrison. And, after failing to take the forts at Namur, the Germans had overcome them by bringing up their heavy siege artillery, of 42 centimetres calibre, while the Belgian field force defending it were awaiting their attack. They placed guns in position beyond the range of the Belgian guns, and, after a tremendous bombardment of ten hours, the forts were wrecked. Namur fell suddenly and unexpectedly on August 24; and on that night a Zeppelin airship dropped bombs on Antwerp, doing much damage.

In the war of 1870 the Germans had severely repressed civilian attacks on their troops; and their standard manuals of warfare recommended terrorism. This was now carried out to the full. Infuriated by the unexpected Belgian resistance, they killed wounded men, fired on the Red Cross, violated women and little girls, mutilated some of their victims, and even made Belgian civilians of both sexes march in front of them as a screen. But besides these atrocities, which were not repressed by the commanders, the latter deliberately gave up towns and villages to destruction and plunder on the ground--which was usually unsubstantiated--that their troops had been fired on by the inhabitants. Visé was burnt on August 15, Aerschot four days later, the young son of the Burgomaster, it was stated, having shot a German officer; after their defeat at Malines they retreated on Louvain, burning the villages _en route_; they apparently fired on one another in entering Louvain, and charged the civil population with attacking them; as a punishment they bombarded the town, looted it, and then set fire with hand grenades to the houses that had escaped, destroying the Cathedral, the University Buildings, and the famous Library, with a multitude of priceless MSS., including much early Celtic literature; and they grossly maltreated a number of priests, including two Spaniards and an American. Dinant was sacked (Aug. 22-25) without assignable provocation. Many of the men were shot deliberately, and 1,200 houses burnt out of 1,400; a similar fate had befallen Andenne (Aug. 20-21) for equally unintelligible reasons. These atrocities, unmatched in Europe, except perhaps in the Near East, for nearly three centuries, finally turned the mass of European and American opinion against Germany, and seemed likely to make reconciliation impossible for many years after the war.[24]

For the first four weeks of September the Belgian Army was acting as a screen to Antwerp, mainly in the district between that city and Malines and Termonde. This latter place was bombarded and plundered on September 4, and deliberately destroyed next day; but the Belgians defeated the Germans on September 5 by opening the dykes on them, and so capturing many prisoners. From September 9 to 13 there was heavy fighting round Malines as the result of a sortie from Antwerp, intended to hamper the German advance of reinforcements through Belgium to France, and the main line of communication between Brussels and Liège by Louvain and Tirlemont was cut, thus delaying the inrush of the German troops. But eventually the superior German numbers drove the Belgians back. Again on September 25 the Belgians repulsed the Germans at Audeghem near Termonde, and that place and Malines changed hands more than once. But Malines was finally occupied by the Germans on September 7. The Germans now having brought up their heavy siege artillery opened fire on September 28 on the outer forts of Waelhem and Louvre-St. Catherine (two or three miles north of Malines) and destroyed them by September 30. Two days later the Belgians were driven by German artillery fire from the shallow and hastily dug trenches they had occupied in rear of these forts to new positions on the other side of the River Nethe, their front extending from near Boom eastwards to Lierre. Next day the German attack on this front developed; the neutral Legations began to leave; but the defenders were encouraged by the arrival of a British Marine Brigade under General Paris, which was sent into the trenches at Lierre and repulsed a German attempt to cross the Nethe, but the German artillery forced back the defenders, and on Monday afternoon, October 5, the bulk of the Belgian Army was compelled to retire westwards towards Eecloo and Ghent. Two British Naval Brigades arrived subsequently (p. 220) and assisted in the defence; but the Germans forced their way across the Nethe, and captured Lierre (Oct. 6); the remaining Belgians and British fell back on the inner ring of forts, and the King and the Allies' Legations withdrew to Ostend. To cut off the Belgian withdrawal, German troops attempted to cross the Scheldt along the line from Termonde to Wetteren, but succeeded after fierce fighting only on October 7, when it was too late. On that day General von Beseler summoned the city to surrender, and on its refusal bombarded it; and on the following night, after destroying quantities of stores, including much petrol, and disabling the German merchant steamers interned in the harbour, the remaining British and Belgian forces withdrew towards Ostend; but many of the First Naval Brigade were captured or crossed the frontier into Holland, and a portion of the Marine Brigade had to fight its way through the Germans at Morbeke. On October 9 the city was occupied by General von Beseler's troops. Four German Army Corps were stated to have taken part in the attack. The fall of the city caused the utmost enthusiasm in Germany, and General von Beseler received the Iron Cross. The refugees were estimated at upwards of 400,000.

From Antwerp the Belgian Army retreated in the first instance on Ostend, its retreat being immediately covered by 8,000 men of the British Naval Brigade and 6,500 French bluejackets, and, farther off, by the British force under Sir Henry Rawlinson, operating in the neighbourhood of Ghent (p. 222).[25] But the Germans, after severe fighting, occupied Ghent on October 12; next day the Belgian Court and Government left Ostend (which the Germans occupied October 16) and proceeded by sea to Havre, where the suburb of St. Adresse became the temporary capital of Belgium. The Germans now occupied Bruges and Zeebrugge, strongly defending the latter place with a view to its conversion into a base for submarines; the Belgian Army, now reduced to some 60,000, at first had been directed to make a stand in French territory, but eventually took up a position extending along the canalised Yser, from Nieuport-Bains on the Channel by Lombaertzyde to Dixmude; from the last-named place to Ypres and the French border at Ménin the Allies' line was held by French forces and by Sir Henry Rawlinson's troops. On October 17 the German front in Belgium extended from Ostend through Thielt and Roulers to near Ménin; and their primary aim was to capture Dunkirk and Calais as bases for an attack on England. Their direct route thither was blocked by the Belgian Army in the Battle of the Yser (Oct. 16-Nov. 2) in which some French troops, including marines and territorials, took part. Three points in the front were of special importance--the village of Lombaertzyde, a bend of the river near Tervaete, projecting towards the German front, and Dixmude. After two days' fighting, the Belgian advanced posts were driven back (Oct. 10-19); for the next four days the Belgians, now behind the Yser, were fiercely attacked, those in the salient at Tervaete being enfiladed by German heavy artillery; on the night of October 22 the Germans crossed the Yser at Tervaete, and the Belgians, though reinforced and partly relieved by a French force, the 42nd division, were gradually driven back (Oct. 23-30) to a front behind the railway from Nieuport to Dixmude, two or three miles from the Yser. Reinforced again on October 31, but forced back by overwhelming numbers, they opened the dykes, flooded the land with sea-water, and gradually forced the Germans back across the Yser, except from a few isolated farms among the flooded land, which were fiercely and repeatedly contested for some time. On November 16 the Germans fell back from the left bank of the Yser Canal; and for some weeks there was little change in the positions, but in December there was a renewal of activity, and on Christmas Day the Belgians were again on the right bank of the Yser.

During the Battle of the Yser and for some time afterwards--altogether from October 17 to November 9--the Belgians were supported on the left by a British squadron under Rear-Admiral Hood, consisting at first of the river monitors _Humber_, _Mersey_, and _Severn_ (p. 224), the light cruisers _Attentive_ and _Foresight_, and some destroyers, and subsequently reinforced from time to time by the battleship _Venerable_ and a number of older cruisers and sloops, carrying heavier guns, which bombarded the German troops along the coast and prevented them from advancing on Nieuport by land, while precluding any effort to do so by sea. Machine-gun detachments were landed, German submarine attacks were repelled, and on October 30 the Admiral led a French destroyer flotilla into action off Lombaertzyde. The arrival of French reinforcements and the flooding of the country rendered further bombardment unnecessary; and the Germans, instead of showing themselves in the open, were driven to construct hidden artillery defences in the sand dunes along the coast. Some of the British ships, among them the _Amazon_, _Mersey_, _Wildfire_, and _Vestal_--the two latter old sloops of war--were damaged, and there were some British casualties from the Germans' shrapnel and heavy guns. In all thirty British vessels took part, including two submarines, and five French destroyers. The Germans were again bombarded at Westende by a British squadron on December 16; but a month earlier their efforts to reach Dunkirk and Calais by the coast route had been definitely checked by the Belgians--supported by French marines, bluejackets, and territorials on land, and by the British and French squadron at sea. Their attempts to reach the coast through Belgian territory farther south, round Ypres, had meanwhile been frustrated by the British and French forces, and the year closed amid signs that they were now on the defensive, and with a reasonable hope that they would be driven back by the Allied Forces in the spring.

Throughout the war King Albert acted as Commander-in-Chief of his Army and displayed the utmost heroism. He was visited by King George V. on December 4 (p. 245) on the only fragment of Belgian territory not occupied by German troops. The Queen brought her children to England in August, but soon returned to her country.

A Belgian Mission visited the United States in August and September, and had an excellent reception from both people and Government. Much was done to shelter and provide for the 200,000 refugees in Great Britain and the 500,000 in the Netherlands, and for the comparatively small numbers which reached Switzerland; and those who remained in Belgium were actually saved from starvation by philanthropic effort from the United States, directed by an American Commission, and largely administered by Rhodes scholars from Oxford. Belgium had earned the gratitude of the non-Germanic world. Her first resistance to the invaders gave time for the British and French Armies to concentrate, the defence of Antwerp held back forces which would otherwise have been hurled at the Allies on the Aisne, and the battle of the Yser saved Calais and Dunkirk. The Allies were firmly resolved that no peace should be concluded which did not secure the Belgian people all the reparation possible for their tremendous losses, and that they should receive a due recognition of their heroic resistance.

II. THE NETHERLANDS.

Since the formation of a non-party Cabinet in August, 1913, political conflict had been suspended; and for the first seven months of the year the country had little history. In January a Royal Commission was appointed to devise a settlement of the schools question, which had been the subject of repeated controversies since 1878. It was understood that, while regard was to be paid to the interest of denominational schools, the existing State schools would be left untouched. An attempt to settle another controversial question of long standing was made by the Royal Commission on Proportional Representation, whose Report (issued in June) recommended a complicated modification of the Belgian system, treating the whole country as a single constituency, but providing for the representation of localities by allowing voters to indicate their preference for particular candidates on the list put forward by their respective parties. An elaborate and intricate method of determining the successful candidates was also recommended, but the Report was not acted on during the year. A great demonstration in favour of equal suffrage for both sexes had been held in February at Amsterdam by the extreme Liberals and Social Democrats. The heavy cost of social legislation, especially the old-age pensions, necessitated increased direct taxation and an addition to the excise duty on beer. The creation of a new Navy for colonial defence was also proceeded with (A.R., 1913, p. 365). The anxiety set up in France and Belgium by the projected fortifications at the entrance to the Scheldt (A. R., 1913, p. 364) was enhanced early in the year by the announcement that the new fort would not, as had been expected, be situated on a shoal opposite Flushing, where it would have prevented the occupation by an enemy of that town or the coast opposite, but would be placed higher up the Scheldt: so that it might conceivably serve to block that river against the approach of a fleet sent to relieve Antwerp in the event of the violation of Belgian neutrality. Just before the war broke out, again, it was stated that the German Vulkan Company, which owned a huge shipyard at Stettin and was controlled by a well-known millionaire, Herr Thyssen, had acquired a site for a harbour on the Nieuwe Waterweg, one of the chief approaches to Rotterdam. This it was feared might ultimately be used as a German naval base. Questioned on the subject in the House of Commons, Sir E. Grey stated that he was informed that the place would only serve for the transfer of iron ore from sea-going ships to river barges. But anxieties as to German influence in Holland were swept away by the events of the war.

On the outbreak of the war the Government issued a declaration of neutrality (Aug. 3); it had already mobilised its army, to the extent of some 125,000 men, with remarkable efficiency and speed. The export of coal, food, horses and vehicles was prohibited, and an opening of the dykes was contemplated so as to protect the land frontier of the "Holland Fortress," or defended area of the kingdom, if necessary, by inundation. This, however, was not done, since no attempt was made to violate Dutch territory--except, indeed, that a German airman dropped bombs on Maastricht, probably by mistake. The financial disturbance set up was serious for a time; there was a run on the savings banks, and a tendency to hoard coin. The Post Office Savings Bank exercised its right to defer payments to depositors for a fortnight--a step which caused some comment. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange was closed, and a Bill was passed empowering the Bank of the Netherlands to reduce the proportion of specie it was bound to hold against liabilities to 20 per cent. Small paper money was also created, in the form of "silverbons" of one, two and a half, and five florins, and fresh silver was rapidly coined; but some of the towns issued their own "silverbons," to make good the lack of change. A Credit Bank was formed by the retail traders, to enable them to meet the demands of manufacturers and wholesale dealers for payment in cash, and arrangements were made for advances by the Bank of the Netherlands on approved security, under a guarantee from a group of banks against possible loss. A Bill was passed in September, after considerable opposition, enabling the courts to extend the time allowed for payment of debt. The Bourse was placed under Government supervision. A loan of 275,000,000 florins (about 22,000,000_l._) was issued in November, subscription being compulsory on persons whose fortunes exceeded 75,000 guilders (about 6,500_l._).

The Queen's Speech at the opening of the States-General (Sept. 14) appealed confidently to the nation to avoid endangering neutrality in trade and traffic, and expressed satisfaction at the success of the mobilisation and the union of the people, noting also some improvement in certain branches of trade.

The war, however, did grave injury to industry, notably to the Amsterdam trade of diamond cutting, and to shipping, and food prices rose sharply. Moreover, the country was burdened with the support of some 1,560 British marines and bluejackets and some 22,000 Belgian soldiers who accidentally entered Dutch territory after the fall of Antwerp, besides half a million Belgian refugees. But the burden was borne nobly, and though there was an active German propaganda, the fate of Belgium estranged Dutch sympathy from the German cause.

_Luxemburg._ The visit of the King and Queen of the Belgians (April 27-29) was entirely successful, and their Majesties received a most cordial welcome. It was thought likely to open the way to closer commercial connexion between the two countries, thus tending to counterbalance the growth in the Grand Duchy of German industrial and trade interests. A projected visit from the Queen of the Netherlands in August was prevented by the war.

The general election, held in June, was fought mainly on the School Law, condemned by the Bishop and clergy, and was a great success for the Government. To some extent, too, it was said to be a demonstration against German influences.

On Saturday evening, August 1, a small body of German troops arrived in motor cars at Trois Vierges, and seized it, but were presently called back as having exceeded their instructions. Next morning, however, a trainload of German soldiers reached Luxemburg itself, seized the station and the bridges on the lines to Trèves and Spa, and proceeded to the barracks, thus violating the neutrality guaranteed by the Powers by the Treaty of London, 1867. But the far more conspicuous case of Belgium drew off attention from this German outrage. The Grand Duchess and the authorities protested, but in vain. For the rest of the year the Grand Duchy was occupied by German troops; and it was, for a time, the residence of the Emperor. Swiss papers stated that numerous citizens were arrested at the instance of German residents, but, as no resistance could be made to the Germans, there were no cruelties. The Grand Duchess was very active in Red Cross work. An indemnity was paid by Germany of 1,600,000 francs, of which 1,283,000 represented damage done to crops and real property, and the remainder the use of roads and public buildings by German troops. It was said to be quite inadequate. The civil administration was allowed to go on under the native authorities, but there was a strict German censorship of the postal, telegraphic, and telephonic services.

III. SWITZERLAND.

Before dealing with the great difficulties imposed on Switzerland by the European War a brief summary must be given of domestic politics during the first seven months of the year. In the spring session the Federal Legislature completed the revision of the factory law, passed the scheme of reorganisation of the Federal Council, and decided to institute a Federal Administrative Court. The National Council had pronounced by a large majority against the Initiative demanding the establishment of proportional representation; but another Initiative, aiming at the prohibition of the games of chance permitted in the Casinos at tourist centres, obtained the requisite number of signatures required for its submission to a popular vote.

The National Exhibition at Berne, opened auspiciously on May 15, was a superb collection of manufactures, of works of art--which gave rise to much discussion--and of exhibits of all sorts representing the actual condition and social and industrial development of the Swiss nation. On July 7 the King of the Belgians visited Berne and was received by the Federal Council. He joined the Queen in the canton of Vaud, and then went on to the Alps of the Valais.

The elections and popular votes in the various cantons made no appreciable difference in the position of parties, or in policy, but in two cantons--Ticino and Uri--financial mismanagement entailed serious consequences. In the former the failure of the Credito Ticinese, of the Banco Cantonale, and of a third and private banking establishment involved losses estimated at 40,000,000 fr. (1,600,000_l._) and the arrest of several prominent persons. It necessitated the intervention of a Syndicate of Swiss banks, formed under the auspices of the National Bank. In Uri the Savings Bank, guaranteed by the canton, had invested several million francs in industrial enterprises, and almost the whole of this sum was lost.

Early in July the canton of Geneva celebrated the centenary of its admission to the Swiss Confederation. Of this memorable celebration the climax was the representation in a large and specially constructed theatre of a pageant, arranged by MM. Daniel Baud-Bouy, A. Malsch and Jacques Dalcroze, entitled "La Fête du Juin."

The Federal elections, it may here be added, took place at the end of the year. By common consent they were uncontested, except in a few districts where attempts were made to force on the electorate supporters of the St. Gothard Convention (A.R., 1913, p. 368). The President of the Confederation for 1915 was M. Motta of Ticino, the Vice-President M. Decoppet of Vaud, while another citizen of Vaud, M. F. Bonjour, was elected President of the National Council. The chief work of this body during the year was the passing of the Budget and (in December) of certain fiscal measures designed to cope to some extent with the immense deficit caused by the war in the Customs revenue and the Federal railway receipts. The cost of the mobilisation alone by the end of the year amounted to 104,480,000 francs. At first the Federal Council had considered the immediate establishment of a Federal monopoly of tobacco, or, alternatively, of a special tax on it, and a special levy on capital and earned income; eventually both were postponed for further examination, and also as necessitating an amendment of the Federal Constitution. Provisionally, therefore, new revenue was obtained by an increase of existing taxes and of telephone, telegraph, and certain postal rates. The requisite legislation was formally declared urgent, and was thereby exempted from possible submission to a popular vote.

On the outbreak of the war it became the primary duty and effort of the Swiss nation to preserve its integrity and independence. On July 31 the whole Swiss Army received notice to hold itself in readiness; on August 3 a general mobilisation was ordered, which was most satisfactorily carried out. On the latter day the Federal Chambers assembled, and elected Colonel Ulrich Wille to the chief command of the Army, and Colonel Sprecher von Bernegg Chief of the General Staff. They also invested the Federal Council with the widest possible powers.

For the rest of the year the Federal Administration had to face a very difficult situation. Its declaration of neutrality was followed by a long series of measures necessitated by one of the most critical situations in Swiss history.[26] Besides the purely military measures originating especially with the General Staff--the mobilisation and training of the troops, the war time-table (involving a reduced service) of the Federal Railways, and the construction of fortifications, the deficiency of grain had to be supplied from abroad by the Federal Council, and a kind of monopoly of cereals became inevitable.

On the declaration of war the stocks of grain and flour in hand, together with those in the hands of traders, secured the food supply of the country for three months at most. With the home crop there would be enough, with strict supervision, to last till mid-December. Refraining from sequestration of home-grown grain, the Federal Council confined itself to demanding its sale at the price of imported grain, though its yield was lower. This step had not the desired effect, but fortunately in the spring the Federal Council had made arrangements for a supply with Germany and France. The arrangement concluded with Germany proved ineffectual, the war stopping the transit of grain up the Rhine. Cargoes on their way to Rotterdam were intercepted by the British Fleet. But as compensation Switzerland obtained the delivery of the 2,600 carloads of wheat and some hundreds of carloads of oats stored in German warehouses or in transit by the Rhine at the outbreak of the war. Meanwhile the Federal authorities made considerable purchases in America. The arrangement with France permitted the daily discharge and despatch to Swiss territory of quantities of wheat and oats representing the daily Swiss consumption, but in fact the ports of St. Nazaire and Bordeaux, which were to secure the maintenance of this service, at no time did so, and the average supply continuously fell short of the normal need. As it happened, the deficit could be made good through Genoa, notably in December, when the importation reached its maximum. In January, 1915, the crowded condition of the port of Genoa caused a decline, but the French authorities just then gave permission for importation to Switzerland through Marseilles. Charges were made that the export of wheat to the belligerents had been permitted; but they were unfair and baseless.[27] The supply of fuel was a still greater difficulty; but the courtesy of the neighbouring countries enabled it to be maintained.

The Federal Council had also to prohibit the exportation of commodities indispensable to the nation, and to attempt to obtain the raw materials necessary to the continuance of Swiss industries, it had also to induce the Press as far as possible to observe neutrality so as not to hamper it in negotiation. It had to repress espionage, to regulate the relations of debtors and creditors so as to avert a financial crisis, to enable payments to be deferred, to lessen unemployment, to regulate the relations of workmen with employers whose business was affected by the crisis; it had specially to supplement the stock of silver coin, to issue notes and Treasury bonds of 5, 10, 20, 25 and 40 francs, to create a Loan Bank, and to contract two Federal Loans, of 25,000,000 francs and 40,000,000 francs respectively, and to prepare legislation enabling the repayment of part of the expenditure incurred, which would reach 200,000,000 francs early in 1915.

Immense services were rendered to the country in all financial operations by the National Bank. Under the earlier system of a number of cantonal banks of issue, the crisis would have been far more serious. Nevertheless a host of industries were paralysed, beginning with the hotel industry (p. 187) and the building trade. Fortunately agriculture has remained important in the national economy.

After a few days of panic on the outbreak of the war among certain classes, with a run on the banks and the provision shops, the public reverted to a saner view of the position. The establishment of military rule and the total prohibition of demonstrations of all sorts contributed largely to this result. Apprehension was quieted by the publication of a statement of the resources of the country and by the means taken to assure fresh supplies of food, and, up to the end of the year at any rate, the gravest results of the economic crisis had been averted by a judicious administration of relief. The public services were put to a severe test, but their immediate difficulties had been overcome. The military organisation had proved to be excellent; so had the railway administration. The financial administration had emerged but slowly from its difficulties. Despite its honesty, soundness and prudence, the crisis seemed to have shown that it needed some additional mechanism.

Protests were made by the Federal Government against the seizure of grain cargoes destined for Swiss use and against an alleged violation of Swiss territory during the air raid on Friedrichshafen (Nov. 21; p. 245). The first difference was arranged amicably; the violation of territory was denied by the British Government.

Finally, the country recovered itself and rallied when confronted by the immensity of the misery demanding relief. The Red Cross Society was unsparing in its exertions. Conclusive reasons prevented the despatch by it of ambulances to the seat of war, but many medical men and nurses went abroad to devote themselves to the care of the wounded. The International Red Cross Committee at Geneva created an Agency for Prisoners of War, which collected the names and addresses of French prisoners in Germany and of German prisoners in France. It transmitted to them letters or parcels sent by their relatives, and though, eventually, direct communication became possible, the Agency was still receiving thousands of demands for information daily after the New Year had begun.

An Agency to deal with interned civilians was also established at Berne, and was assisted by a Committee at Geneva for the Germans and at Schaffhausen for the French. It was indefatigable in its exertions. It served as an intermediary between the belligerents for the repatriation of the persons interned. It took thousands of them under its charge at one or other frontier and conducted them to their own country.

In offering hospitality to Belgian refugees Lausanne led the way. By the close of the year some hundreds of them had arrived and the stream was continuing. They were received by the whole people with a thrill of sympathy, and were distributed throughout the French-speaking cantons. The wave of pity for them spread to German Switzerland; gifts for them poured in; subscriptions were opened for them by the Press; workrooms were filled with clothing and underclothing, and much work was done for them in private houses. While the ingenuity of their hosts was taxed on their behalf and on that of the wounded, it was necessary also to provide for the Swiss who had been deprived by the occupation of the frontiers of their means of subsistence. Here also the Red Cross organisation lent its aid, distributing clothing, boots, underclothing and relief. In charitable work the nation recovered its unity, which for a short time had been compromised by sectional differences of opinion and reciprocal violence of language. The alleged divergence of view between French and German Swiss was largely generated by the allegations in the Press that it existed, and was misinterpreted as a manifestation of cantonal antagonism. Facts may be differently appreciated and feelings may vary in degree, but in the hour of danger the unity of the Swiss people is complete.

IV. SPAIN.

The first days of the year saw the opening of an electoral campaign of a kind entirely novel in Spanish history. By a decree of January 4 the electors of the kingdom were summoned for March 4 to choose the members of the Cortes; the renewal of the Senate was fixed for a slightly later date, in conformity with a precedent dating from the period of the Sagasta Ministry. The various parties had thus two whole months for their propaganda; not too much, considering their strange complication on entering the contest. The old historic parties were irremediably broken up. The former Liberal group was divided into Romanonists and Prietists, who were violently hostile to each other; the Conservative adherents of the Prime Minister were treated by Señor Maura's supporters as renegades, and, with their leader, were advancing by imperceptible stages towards a broad conception of social progress which was destined to win them the sympathy of the King and eventually the Romanonists' support. Señor Dato did not entirely give up the advantages traditionally possessed by Spanish Ministries, but he did not desire to abuse them, and he bid for support for his cause by showing fair play, inasmuch as he allowed his opponents full freedom of speech, of the Press, and of public meeting, so far as was compatible with the preservation of order, and met them, not with prosecutions and arbitrary interferences, but with arguments and projects of reform. As a security that this judicious policy would be continued, he was bold enough to cut short the constant advance towards decentralisation, which had been retarded for years by Parliamentary trickery, by procuring the issue of a Royal decree authorising _mancomunidades_ or combinations of local authorities for public purposes (A.R., 1912, p. 372). That the time was ripe for this reform was proved by the fact that the provinces forming the ancient Kingdom of Castile immediately combined for poor-relief and public works; their example was followed by Valencia and Catalonia. This step visibly discomfited the Opposition. The Carlists and Maurists even accused the Government of stealing other people's plans. The King loyally supported its efforts to combine order with freedom. A few brief periods of temporary difficulty were easily surmounted. The railway strike in Portugal in the middle of January occasioned a careful watch of the whole Western frontier; and through this vigilance the movement was prevented from spreading to Spain. Colonel Labrador, a Protestant, had been condemned by court martial to six months' detention in a fortress for having refused to attend a Mass of the Holy Spirit; the King pardoned him. The increasing popularity of the Ministry exasperated the Opposition to such a degree that it led them into a blunder. They decided to organise a great electoral demonstration at the very heart of the region where their leader had most influence. Don Ossorio Gallardo, who when Governor of Barcelona had mercilessly suppressed the rising of 1909, went there to preside at a great Conservative meeting and banquet. As he was proceeding to the place of meeting at the head of a very demonstrative procession, he was attacked by a band of counter-demonstrators; revolvers were fired, and one of the organisers of his campaign who was beside him was wounded. The Acting-Governor, Señor Andrade, tendered him his condolence; he refused it, and exhibited his irritation even more decidedly by declaring in public that the government of the province had been put up to auction and had gone to the least deserving bidder. These denunciations the Liberal Conservatives and their allies decided to disregard, and these tactics were successful. Order was gradually restored at Barcelona. It was disturbed at Valencia by causes which were not political but social. A general strike was set up (Feb. 25) by a fresh increase of the municipal taxes; as a precaution, all the shops, warehouses, and offices were closed; the troops had to intervene forcibly to restore order.

The result of the general election of the Chamber was considered as a victory not only for the Ministry, but also for the King. He had made himself the mediator between the parties, and it was his delight to enter into relations with all the more important personages of the Kingdom either at the great open receptions at the Royal Palace, or in private interviews, which he granted freely. According to the official figures, of the 404 members elected 356 were Liberals, Liberal Conservatives, or "Reformist" Republicans, the last named having practically come to support, not perhaps the monarchy, but at any rate the monarch. The Ministerial organs, and even the Romanonist, exulted in the success; but the figures were disputed by the Opposition, and eventually the divisions following the more important debates in the Cortes showed that the seats won by the Carlists (or rather Jaïmists), by the Ultramontanes or Integrists, and by the Maurists on the Extreme Right and the Republicans and Socialists on the Extreme Left might be estimated at a third of the total. The elections to the Senate had been completed on April 22. The results were: Conservatives ninety-two, Liberals fifty-one, Catholics ten, of whom eight were prelates, Regionalists six, Republicans seven, Integrists and Jaïmists two each. The session formally opened on April 2, when the newly elected deputies and Senators attended to hear the Royal Speech. But the Chamber adjourned almost immediately for Easter, and then proceeded leisurely to examine whether its members were duly elected; it was not definitively constituted until April 28. Señor Besada was elected President without a dissentient vote, and it was not till May 5 that the debate on the Address was begun. This policy of gaining time seemed to have quieted the Maurist ardour for attack. In the Senate three days sufficed for the debate; the Address was passed by 145 to 71. A much longer time was required in the Chamber; the Ministerial text was passed by 184 to 90 on June 18. But several debates on other subjects had taken place meantime, and had resulted in disorder. That on the interpellation on Morocco introduced by Don Gabriel Maura, son of the ex-Premier, had been especially uproarious, and had led to encounters in the lobbies between deputies and journalists, and to street fights, with bloodshed, between the supporters of the different parties, which compelled the police to take vigorous measures to restore order. Meanwhile a shipping strike was met by the owners with a lock-out, and they refused the arbitration offered by the Government. The strike lasted more than a fortnight, but ended on June 22, without the strikers' demands being satisfied. During this time the Government introduced a naval programme into the Chamber, in the shape of a Bill providing for an annual grant for nine years of 36,000,000 pesetas (1,440,000_l._) for the construction of two battleships, two fast cruisers, and a number of submarines; it also secured the passing of a Treaty of Commerce with Italy.

The end of the session was comparatively calm. The Chamber adopted the Treaty of Commerce already voted by the Senate, and the Republicans, by proposing a lengthy series of amendments, prevented the discussion of the naval scheme. As soon as the only measures remaining to be considered were not purely political, the two Chambers were overcome by fatigue. But interesting questions were raised nevertheless. Thus Don Rogelio de Madariaga proposed that a Commission of experts should be appointed to study the question of reducing the gauge of the railways of the Kingdom so as to make it uniform with that of Central and Western Europe. The change became imperative in view of the impending connexion of the French system with the lines of Northern Spain by two new railways through the Pyrenees. The matter was postponed, and the Cortes separated for the recess, first, however, passing (July 9) a slight modification in the concession for the Morocco railway from Tangier to Fez in respect of the part traversing the Spanish zone.

During the recess, the question arose of the attitude to be observed by Spain in the war in Europe. This gave rise to active discussion. The geographical position of the kingdom assured it great advantages, whatever side it might take, unless indeed it should become engaged in a war with France. On July 30 Señor Dato emphatically contradicted a statement to the effect that Spain had undertaken to send an army to relieve the French expeditionary corps in Morocco, and declared that Spain was not bound to any Power whatever by either an offensive or a defensive alliance. As the various declarations of war were issued, the Government intimated its intention to remain neutral, and its behaviour up to the close of the year was in accordance with this decision. The Liberals and Republicans set up an active agitation in favour of Spanish support for the Triple _Entente_; but the great mass of the priesthood, the Carlists, and a section of the Maurists, demanded a benevolent neutrality towards Germany and Austria-Hungary. The King observed strict impartiality; but he combined the attitude of reserve taken up by him as monarch with a chivalrous recognition of the help given to Spain on various occasions by France. The diplomatic representatives of Spain in Germany and Austria-Hungary were instructed to undertake the protection of French subjects and interests in those countries, and fulfilled their mission with conspicuous dignity. In Spain itself economic measures had to be taken; at the beginning of August a moratorium was established by decree, and the export of cereals and cattle for slaughter prohibited. The censorship was not revived, but the President of the Press Association and the editors-in-chief of the Madrid newspapers were summoned to the Ministry of the Interior, and Don Sanchez Guerra explained to them very clearly the conditions on which the Government would allow the system of freedom for the Press to continue. It was forbidden to cause assemblages or demonstrations by announcing news through the medium of illuminated notices; to circulate false news relating to the events of the war or to diplomatic action; and to insert articles insulting to any of the belligerent Powers. At the same time an active supervision was exercised over the agencies established in Spain to support the interests of Germany, and it disclosed strange manoeuvres, both at Barcelona and on the Atlantic coasts. Thus wireless stations were discovered, surreptitiously established in monasteries; they were suppressed, but people were not so optimistic as to hope that there were no others. From the middle of September, and especially after the bombardment of Reims, Spanish opinion gradually turned to open support of the Allies; but the Government remained faithful to its original determination, and the Minister of Public Instruction, Señor Bellarmin, who had gone beyond the reserve imposed on him by his office, was obliged to resign. On October 2 a decree was issued summoning the Cortes for the autumn session, which was a very busy one. The business was, in fact, the Budget of 1915, which had not been dealt with in the spring, being crowded out by the debates on Morocco. The Opposition made some attempts at obstruction, but in vain. Count Romanones loyally and effectively supported the Ministers in limiting the debates on political and diplomatic questions to a few sittings each week, so as to devote the rest of the time to the Finance Bill. The method was straightforward and its effects were happy. The Chamber and Senate approved the Ministerial declaration of neutrality, and took note of Señor Dato's promise to consult them if the course of events should necessitate exceptional measures. Meanwhile, Spain performed her duties with courtesy, and reminded her foreign guests, when necessary, of the respect due to her laws. The German Consul-General at Barcelona had the presumption to demand the prohibition in that city of the sale of all French newspapers whatever, on the pretext that they contained insults to the Emperor and the German Army; he was met with a categorical refusal. On November 15 the Chamber discussed the shooting of Spanish subjects at Liège by the Emperor's troops. The Marquis of Lerna replied for the Government that explanations had been demanded at Berlin, and that an inquiry had been promised by the Secretary of State. In the same sitting the Minister informed the Chamber that France no longer proposed to claim for her members the maintenance of the rights and privileges resulting from the capitulations in Morocco, on condition that they should be treated by the Courts on a footing of equality with subjects of Spain. Two days later the Chamber approved the proposed amnesty for political offenders, in spite of the opposition of the Right. The Maurists did not relax their hostility, but their agitation in no way helped their cause, nor that of their Germanophil allies. A Jesuit, Father Ricardos, great-grandson of the General who invaded Roussillon in 1793, undertook, in a sermon at Alicante, to defend the German Armies; he was hooted by his hearers and compelled to leave the pulpit. A newspaper started by the _Hamburger Nachrichten_ to carry on the pro-German propaganda in Spain insulted the ex-Empress of the French; it was seized by the Spanish police and suppressed. King Alphonso XIII saw his popularity and prestige increasing daily; the Republicans themselves paid homage to his loyalty to the country and his patriotism. When the session of the Cortes closed on December 1, the political and economic situation of Spain was more satisfactory than it had been for a long time past. The rate of exchange had undergone a remarkable improvement; still, great circumspection was necessary, and the Government appealed to the Spanish capitalists who had subscribed for the Treasury Bonds, of which 250,000,000 pesetas were repayable at the end of December, urging them not to require repayment, in order that there should be no interruption in the public works undertaken to relieve unemployment.

V. PORTUGAL.

The complicated mechanism of the Republican Constitution of Portugal could only have worked regularly if a small number of parties, well organised and under strict discipline, had secured the support of the immense majority of the electorate for simple programmes, leaving the form of Government entirely outside discussion. But things did not stand thus. The Monarchists remained irreconcilable and active; the rural classes, whose ignorance was extreme, cared little about the Republic; in the great towns the syndicalist propaganda threatened even the first principles of social order; the middle-class political parties were hardly more than coteries, whose leaders struggled amid personal intrigues. Some excellent people felt anxiety at this condition of affairs, and strove to form homogeneous parties; their efforts were paralysed by the bad habits which were a legacy from traditions that were already ancient. Thus, when on January 5 the session opened, there was reason to apprehend grave complications. However, Señor Affonso Costa, the Prime Minister, made the best of a bad situation. He announced extensive schemes; a Bill forbidding members of the Cortes to hold their seats together with certain offices; reforms in the Budget, securing a surplus of 3,400 contos or 17,000,000 francs (680,000_l._), of which 2,400 contos would be spent on national defence. But the majority of the Senate declared itself opposed to him, and on January 10 the Evolutionist Senator Joâo de Freïtas addressed an interpellation to the Prime Minister on a personal question, charging him with having placed his influence as a Minister at the service of clients who consulted him as a barrister. The Minister refused to reply to a calumny. His supporters opposed the nomination of a Committee of Inquiry, and left the House. Other incidents became associated with this scandal; grave Senators sent one another challenges, and for three days a tumult hitherto unheard of converted the Senate Chamber into the semblance of a revolutionary club let loose. Along with this disturbance in the Senate there was a serious strike among the men employed by the Portuguese Railways Company. Seven thousand men left work on a question of pensions. They demanded that the age limit of sixty should be lowered to fifty. Every railway service to Spain was disorganised. The movement rapidly took on a revolutionary aspect. Trains and engines were taken into Spain, and the staff refused to bring them back into Portugal. The Government had the stations occupied by troops; it protected the works of art and, after a week of vigilant efforts and of negotiations, induced the men to resume work (Jan. 21). But it was constantly harassed by the Senate, and the Prime Minister refused to appear in that body until satisfaction had been rendered for the insult offered him. He was supported by the Chamber. The Senate then appealed to the President of the Republic to intervene, by asking him, as guardian of the Republic, to invite his Ministers to observe its orders. The President declared that the settlement of this difficulty lay with the legislative power. The two Chambers met in a joint sitting to vote the adjournment of the session. The Ministerialists proposed a vote of confidence, which was adopted by 114 to 93. The Opposition Senators and deputies then withdrew, and by their withdrawal precluded the regular passage of the other measures before the House. The Ministry found its course hopelessly blocked. It resigned (Jan. 24).

The two Chambers were in conflict. The Democratic Left had the majority in the Lower House; the Unionist and Evolutionist groups of the Opposition in the Senate. Each group, by leaving the House, prevented the other from having a quorum and taking a valid division. The President of the Republic made lavish efforts at conciliation. He selected as Prime Minister Senhor Bernardino Machado, who had come back from Brazil; on February 8 a Ministry was formed, on the 9th it presented itself to the President of the Republic, and on the day following to the Cortes. Its programme comprised an amnesty for political offences, pardons, sufficiently wide in their range, for other convicted persons, the revision of the law separating Church and State, impartiality in electoral contests, and abatement of party strife. As a security that these pacific declarations would be carried out, the new Ministry met the wishes of the Senate on a subject which had brought that body into conflict with the preceding Cabinet, viz. the right of exercising a check on the appointment of Colonial Governors; in return, it obtained from the Senate the passing of a Bill re-establishing the Lisbon Labour Exchange, and, after some days of delicate negotiation, it induced both Houses to vote the proposed amnesty (Feb. 23). The day following, the railwaymen again went on strike, and for some days there was reason to expect disturbances of the gravest kind. The crisis, however, was terminated without resort to force; and, for some months, the Ministry followed a prudent policy of conciliation which diminished the violence of controversy and kept matters going till June. But this temporising method was violently attacked, especially by the Democrats. Senhor Machado decided that the time had come to obtain a new confirmation of his power. On June 20 he resigned, and, when re-appointed by the President of the Republic, he formed an entirely non-party Ministry, to proceed with complete impartiality to new elections; and it secured the passing of the Budget. The election campaign was marked by considerable disturbance, and was abruptly interrupted by the declaration of war by Great Britain on Germany. Portugal found herself involved in the conflict, and was obliged to repel German attacks on Angola. The elections were postponed; the Cortes were summoned for August 7, and were requested by the Government to empower it to take all the measures necessary to guarantee the maintenance of public order, to secure national defence, and to provide for the expenditure that would have to be undertaken in view of the international situation. The Chamber voted urgency and unanimously adopted the Bill laid before it; the day following, the Senate likewise passed the measure unanimously, and the Chambers were prorogued. It must be acknowledged that thenceforward the attitude of the Republican parties was perfectly correct. The Monarchists hesitated to follow their example, although King Manuel wrote on August 20 to his chief representative, Don Azevedo Coutinho, that he had personally placed himself at the disposal of King George V., and the Portuguese Monarchists must think first of their country and the defence of its sacred soil. In the course of October a few irreconcilables attempted a rising, which was a miserable failure; its only consequence was to cause the chief of their party, Don Joâo de Azevedo Coutinho, to write to the President of the Republic demanding permission to serve in the Army should Portugal take part in the European War. His goodwill was not put to the test. The Government contented itself with sending reinforcements to Angola; it suppressed without difficulty a disturbance at Oporto caused by the high price of provisions; and on November 25 it convoked the Chambers in extraordinary session. They unanimously and promptly passed a resolution giving the Government full power to take part in the war in conformity with the national interests and obligations. This resolution differed from that adopted in August, inasmuch as at the earlier date the question had only been one of defensive measures, while this time participation was contemplated in the war in Europe. But Great Britain did not call on her ancient ally for assistance, and it was well she did not, the more so inasmuch as the Germanophil parties in Spain were carrying on an agitation for "Iberian Union," which distinctly involved a menace to the independence of Portugal.

The Machado Ministry did not long survive its triumph. At the beginning of December it decided that its mission was fulfilled, and that party politics again claimed their rights. It therefore resigned, and on December 11 a new Cabinet took office. The Prime Minister was Dom Victor-Hugo Azevedo Coutinho, President of the Chamber, who also took the Ministry of Marine; Dom Augusto Soares took that of Foreign Affairs, Colonel Cervera de Albuquerque that of War, and Dom Alexandro Braga that of the Interior. The Ministry was dominated by the influence of the Democrats and of Dom Affonso Costa, and was commended by the alliance with Great Britain, which was indicated as part of its policy by its organs in the Press. The Ministerial declaration (Dec. 14) contained three essential articles: (1) Defence of the Republican system of government; (2) execution of the measures determined on by the vote of November 23 regarding the war; (3) a general election as soon as possible. These elections were to take place in conformity with the method established by a decree of the Provisional Government, unless the Cortes preferred rapidly to pass a law sanctioning the schemes then before it. The Chamber approved these declarations, and passed a vote of confidence in the Government by 63 to 39. The Senate passed a vote of want of confidence by 27 to 26. Thus at the close of the year the Parliamentary situation was precisely what it had been at the opening; but, given the state of things in Portugal, it was much to have gained a year without a catastrophe or a sanguinary convulsion, for a system as frail as that of the young Republic. The fact that it had lived in spite of pessimistic predictions and hostile attacks afforded some assurance that it would last.

VI. DENMARK.

Whilst in Sweden the war effected a happy solution of an all-important question, which for years had been prominent above all other matters, it had in Denmark the very opposite effect. Instead of the determination which made the Swedes put aside their party feuds in order to arrive at a final and adequate settlement of the question of national defence, the Danish legislators agreed, in view of the war, to suspend the consideration of their leading issue, the reform of the Constitution; but, until this determination was arrived at, the reform dominated the session.

On January 8 Dr. Edward Brandes, the Minister of Finance, introduced the Supplementary Budget for the current year. It showed an additional expenditure of some 11,000,000 kroner (611,111_l._), and, as usual, the report on the Budget for the next year was presented the same day, at the first sitting after the Christmas recess. The three political parties supporting the Constitutional reform, the Left, the Radicals, and the Social Democrats, had agreed to a kind of armistice, and although the Report contained 199 amendments, it was exceptionally free from matters likely to cause dissent. The Exchequer Reserve Fund on November 30 had amounted to 15,750,000 kr. (875,000_l._), and the sum lent to banks, etc., to 34,364,000 kr. (1,909,111_l._). On March 14 the Folkething passed the Budget. For the first time the vote was unanimous. The Social Democrats had never before accepted a Budget.

On March 17 M. Claus Berntsen, the former Premier, as Chairman of the Sub-committee on the Constitution, stated that the most important parts of the Constitutional reform were those referring to the election of members of the Rigsdag. In the Folkething the Government proposal had been maintained, _viz._, that the vote should be accorded to all citizens of either sex who had completed the twenty-fifth year of their age, and that proportional representation should not be established. As to the Landsthing, the discussion had shown that not only the Conservatives, but also several members of the Left in both Houses would not accept the Ministerial proposal that this House should be elected by the municipal councils. It was therefore now proposed to adopt "the principle of age," allowing all citizens of either sex to vote who had passed the age of thirty-five, and to introduce proportional representation. But persons who already possessed a vote and had completed their thirtieth year would be allowed to vote at the first election to the Landsthing. The Landsthing was to comprise ten members for Copenhagen and the adjoining municipality of Frederiksberg, forty-two would be elected by the larger divisions of the kingdom, one by the Island of Bornholm, one by the Faröe Islands, and twelve were to be appointed by the King after selection, under proportional representation, by the fifty-four elected members. The members appointed by the King under the existing system were still to retain their seats for a further term of eight years. The King would have the power to dissolve the Folkething, and might also dissolve the Landsthing, when the latter had twice rejected a measure twice passed by the Folkething, provided that a general election had taken place between its first and second passing by the latter assembly. Some questions were left open in order to leave room for discussion with the Conservatives and concessions to them. The Radicals and the Social Democrats accepted the proposal now set forth, whilst the Conservatives expressed great disappointment and surprise at the "alliance" between these two parties. Prior to this decision a number of discussions had taken place, the Premier declaring the Conservative amendments to be impossible, and a debate on them futile. The Conservatives desired that the electoral qualification should be determined by income, that the minimum age of voters should be higher, that alterations in the Constitution and in taxation should only be carried by specified majorities, and that the Landsthing should in no circumstances be subject to dissolution.

On April 7 the definitive constitutional measure was introduced in the Folkething. It was on the lines of the above proposal; and, as regarded the respective position of King and Government, it followed in the main the existing Constitution. The number of members of the Folkething is to be fixed by a special law--it must not, however, exceed 140--and this measure is also to determine the different constituencies and the mode of election. The members are to be elected for a period of four years. The Landsthing is to comprise seventy members, fifty-four elected as in the proposal above referred to, and sixteen to be co-opted by proportional representation by the fifty-four elected members, detailed rules for the proceedings to be embodied in the forthcoming Elections Bill already mentioned. Henceforward a deputy will be elected for each member of the Landsthing, to take his place if absent or succeed him in the event of his resignation or death. All persons are to have a vote in the elections to the Landsthing who have completed the thirty-fifth year of their age, and any person will be eligible for election to the Landsthing who has a vote in the election for it, provided he resides within the division for which he is a candidate. This last restriction does not apply to the sixteen co-opted members. The last clause dealt with future alterations in the Constitution, which may be introduced both during ordinary and extraordinary sessions. Should an alteration in the Constitution be accepted by both Houses and the Government desires to advance the matter, the Rigsdag is to be dissolved and a general election to both Chambers held. Should the measure be passed both by the Folkething and the Landsthing during the next ordinary or extraordinary session, in unaltered wording, and be sanctioned by the King, it will become law.

On April 17, M. Rode, Minister of the Interior, introduced the new Elections Bill in the Folkething, at the same time announcing the withdrawal of the election measure passed by the Folkething the previous autumn, and then before the Landsthing. The number of constituencies for the Folkething was fixed at 120; besides their representatives, twenty members were to be elected as follows: When the results of an election of the 120 members are known and the number of votes recorded for each party has been added up, the total number of votes recorded for the whole country is then divided by 140. The aggregate votes of the different parties are then divided by the quotient of the above-mentioned division by 140, and by this method it is determined to how many out of the 140 members each party is entitled by the aggregate number of votes cast for its candidates. It is then ascertained how many members each party has returned in single divisions and it is then calculated to how many additional members each party is entitled. Parties which have not returned any candidates are debarred from obtaining any additional members, as are parties which at the general election have returned their full number of members or more. The additional seats due to each party go to those of its candidates who were not returned, but who obtained the highest percentage of votes within a constituency.

As for the Landsthing, the fifty-four members elected by a general election are divided amongst nine electoral divisions. The mode of election resembles that existing at present, inasmuch as it is indirect, and conducted by chosen electors. At present, however, each rural municipality only chooses one elector, but for the future at least three must be elected. The rule is, one chosen elector for each 350 inhabitants, and the election is by proportional representation. Should a municipality not have the 875 inhabitants which is the minimum entitling it to three electors, it combines with its neighbouring municipality to form one electoral division. The d'Hondt method of election is used in the municipalities. The sixteen members of the Landsthing referred to above are elected for eight years, as are the other members, of whom half are elected every fourth year as at present.

The Bill came up for first reading on April 21 and was supported by spokesmen of the Left, the Radicals and the Social Democrats, although the spokesman of the first mentioned gave it a somewhat reluctant support, as his party did not favour proportional representation or an increase in the numbers of the Folkething. The Conservative spokesman was not at all satisfied. The Bill was referred to a Committee of fifteen.

On April 28 the so-called constitutional parties--those in favour of the new Constitution--held meetings confirming their agreement of April 4 and extending it to the Election Bill, "the faithful follower" of the constitutional measure. On May 6 the Folkething passed the Elections Bill with some modification as to the distribution of constituencies between the different parts of the country. It was passed by ninety-seven votes to one. The single opponent was one of the seven Conservatives, the other six abstaining, and seven members were absent. The Bill then went to the Landsthing.

In the Landsthing the spokesman of the Left, on May 13, stated that some members of his party were not greatly in favour of the Bill; the representative of the Conservatives was still less so, but the measure was promptly referred to a Committee of fifteen. The Left in the Landsthing framed a fresh Elections Bill, which, after several party meetings, was accepted by the Left, the Radicals, and the Social Democrats of both Chambers, on May 22. The new proposal, which was more provisional in character, did away with the twenty additional members of the Folkething and introduced proportional election in Copenhagen and the three largest provincial towns.

The three "Constitutional parties" now thought that all difficulties had been removed and that both Bills would be promptly passed, but on June 2 the Conservatives stopped progress in the Landsthing by leaving the House in a body before the third reading of the Elections Bill. When the division was taken thirty-three votes were recorded for the third reading, but the Chairman ruled that the division was invalid, thirty-four votes, or at least one above half the number of the Landsthing being required. The Conservatives similarly obstructed the Constitutional reform when the measure, coming from the joint committee of the two Houses, was introduced in the Landsthing for final reading on June 8. None of them were present; but the two groups (thirty-two members) forwarded a communication to the President, stating that they did not propose to attend and giving their reasons for their decision. Their chief reason was that the Elections Bill and the Constitutional reform had been linked together by the three other parties, and that the Conservatives held that the former Bill ought to be laid before the constituencies at a general election. Again thirty-three votes were recorded in favour of the Bill then before the House, and the President again declared the vote invalid.

On June 13 the Landsthing was dissolved in a Council of State, for the first time since the Constitution of 1866 came into operation. The King and the Premier differed on the question whether the dissolution also applied to the members appointed by the King for life, the King maintaining that they could not be affected by a dissolution. Eventually the Government agreed that the question should be left in abeyance until after the election, as the voting might produce a majority in the Landsthing for the measures in question independent of the life members, in which case the question might remain an open one until disposed of otherwise. Should it, however, prove necessary for the Ministry to propose to the King that he should nominate other members in order to effect the object of the dissolution--a prompt and clear decision as to the two measures--His Majesty's attitude to this proposal would decide whether the Ministry should retain office or not.

The election to the Landsthing took place on July 10. The Left gained three seats, the Radicals two, twenty-nine supporters of the two measures and twenty-five opponents being returned. The Landsthing now, with the retention of the Crown nominees as before, contained thirty-eight supporters of the two measures and twenty-eight opponents. The new Landsthing met on July 21. M. A. Thomsen was elected President, an office which the Conservatives now had to relinquish after forty-eight years of undisputed sway. The Constitutional reform and the Elections Bill were both promptly reintroduced on that day and referred to committees on the day following. On July 29 the seven Conservative members of the Landsthing Committee produced twelve amendments which the Government could not accept. Then, before a final result had been achieved, the war broke out. By mutual consent it arrested the progress of these much-discussed measures.

On August 1 the King issued a message to the nation, emphasising the strict neutrality of the Government and all responsible persons, and urging the people collectively and individually to act accordingly. On the same day, as a precautionary measure, 19,000 men were called to the colours; Danish neutrality was safeguarded by placing mines in the Belt, and the German frontier was guarded by Danish troops.

Within a few days several emergency measures were passed by the Rigsdag, including a first extraordinary vote of 10,000,000 kr. (555,555_l._) for the War Minister, laws empowering the Government to prohibit the export of a number of articles and to regulate the price of articles of food, and providing State grants in support of municipal aid funds. Three of the above measures were passed by both Houses in one day, August 6, at a series of sittings, the fourth the day following. It may here be added that though great efforts were made to influence Danish opinion in favour of Germany in the war--a work in which M. Bjorn Björnson, son of the famous author, was prominent--they were by no means successful.

On August 19 the Folkething passed new rules of procedure, under which the President and the two Vice-Presidents are elected by proportional representation and a permanent financial committee is established.

The extraordinary session closed on September 22. Although the Government had determined that the Constitutional reform and the Elections Bill should be passed during the session and thus made ready for the general election, which was required in order to confirm them, the two measures were left undisposed of. A number of minor measures regulating various matters in view of the war had been passed in the meantime.

The Rigsdag assembled again at the usual time, the first Monday in October. The Budget for the next financial year was introduced in due course. The revenue side had risen to 124,930,000 kr. (6,940,555_l._) against 121,337,000 kr. (6,740,944_l._) in the Budget for the current year; the total expenditure amounted to 111,380,000 kr. (6,187,777_l._) against 108,768,000 kr. (6,042,666_l._) for the current year. From the apparent surplus of 13,500,000 kr. must, however, be deducted about 10,700,000 kr. to cover expenditure under the "acquisition of capital" clause, the final surplus thus being some 2,800,000 kr. The Minister of Finance stated that it had been difficult to draw up a Budget, in view of the uncertainty as to the development of the political crisis in Europe; he had tried to steer a sober middle course.

In a Council of State on November 30, the Minister for Iceland laid before the King proposals from the Althing for alterations in the Constitution and the flag for Iceland, asking the King to sanction them. The Althing desired that measures concerning Iceland should not be introduced, as under the existing system, in a Danish Council of State, but should be laid separately before the King as a purely Icelandic matter. This the King refused to sanction and the Minister for Iceland then withdrew the proposals.

The King next refused to sanction the proposal for a separate flag for Iceland, as he desired first to confer personally with leading politicians of the island, whom he intended to summon to Copenhagen, about the different proposals. The Minister for Iceland, M. Sigurd Eggers, then tendered his resignation, which the King accepted.

The royal meeting in Malmö (Dec. 18 and 19) caused sincere satisfaction in Denmark; King Christian and King Haakon both expressed to King Gustaf their lively pleasure in accepting his invitation. The official announcement subsequently issued briefly stated that not only had the meeting further cemented the existing good relations between the three northern kingdoms, but the negotiations had confirmed the mutual agreement existing as regarded the various special questions raised, and it had been decided to continue the co-operation so happily inaugurated when circumstances made it desirable, through renewed meetings of representatives of the respective Governments.

VII. SWEDEN.

In the political history of Sweden 1914 will stand out as remarkable in more respects than one, many anticipations were upset, and one very vital problem was at last satisfactorily solved. It afforded the Swedish nation further opportunities of manifesting its fervent patriotism, and its different phases produced dramatic incidents of singular interest. That the European War also set its stamp on much of the history goes without saying.

The great speech delivered by M. Staaff, the Premier, at Karlskrona (Dec. 21, 1913), had further stimulated public interest in the problem of national defence, and M. Staaff's disinclination to grapple promptly with the entire question excited an opposition which was encouraged in many ways and grew rapidly, manifesting itself especially amongst the ancient and proud class of freehold peasant farmers.

The Riksdag was opened as usual on January 16. The new Budget caused some apprehension, inasmuch as it reached the formidable total of 311,461,200 kroner (17,303,400_l._), an apparent increase compared with 1913 of some 37,000,000 kr. (2,055,555_l._). The revenue comprised 212,367,600 kr. from taxes, etc., 50,733,800 kr. from the State's productive funds (railways and other investments), 7,500,000 kr. share of the Rigsbank's profit for 1913, 1,226,100 kr. sundry minor items and 39,633,700 kr. loans. The increase was mainly from taxes, etc., _viz._ about 35,000,000 kr., new items of importance being the tobacco tax and the yield from spirits under the new system. On the debit side the ten different departments accounted for 167,718,271 kr. ordinary and 46,362,729 kr. extraordinary expenses, making a total of 214,081,000 kr. (11,893,388_l._). Interest on national debt, etc., amounted to 27,042,000 kr., fund reserved for defence expenditure to 5,000,000 kr., and expenditure for increase of capital 63,807,100 kr., etc. Most branches of expenditure showed an increase.

The chief question which marked the year, that of national defence, became prominent almost at once. On the first day of the so-called "Remisse" debate, January 23, in a crowded house, with the Crown Prince and Prince Eugen amongst the listeners, Professor Trygger in the First Chamber and the ex-Premier, Admiral Lindman, in the Second, severely criticised the Government policy of defence. Professor Trygger vehemently denounced it as lacking in clearness, energy, and consistency, the two features he most condemned being those relating to the period of drill for the infantry and to the increase of the number of ironclads. The defence tax the Conservatives would gladly bear, if the money were effectively applied. Admiral Lindman spoke in a similar vein, pointing out that the Riksdag could never wish for a higher task than the satisfactory solution of the defence question, but things did not promise well. An unprecedented responsibility, said M. Lindman, at this moment rested upon the Government. If it would, it could really solve the defence question, but would it? Was it altogether a vain hope, that the Government and a majority in the Riksdag might be seen working together on this question, firmly resolved to raise it above other questions, above party ties, in unity for the sake of the Fatherland? M. Staaff spoke in both Chambers, reiterating the substance of his Karlskrona speech, and he was supported by the Liberal spokesmen, the Social Democrats speaking in their usual vein. The proceedings gave little hope of the desired solution.

Meanwhile the preparations for a national demonstration, such as had rarely, if ever, been witnessed, were progressing, and on February 6 some 30,000 "peasants" (the Swedish peasant has always been ready, when his country called upon him) from all parts of the country arrived in Stockholm--admirable arrangements being made for their journey, reception, and accommodation--to wait upon the King and give expression to their patriotism and zealous desire to see the defence of the country promptly and adequately provided for. From time immemorial, it must be remembered, the Swedish peasant has frankly gone to his King when he was in trouble or had something special at heart. King Gustaf's reply to the effect that he would abide by the demands of the naval and military experts raised a twofold storm, of loyal enthusiasm within the defence parties, of dissent and anger amongst the Liberals and Social Democrats. The supporters of the Government maintained that the King had gone beyond the purpose of the great peasant demonstration, and that he wanted to bring his personal influence to bear upon the development of the question, irrespective of the Constitutional Government. The Liberal party at once held a meeting, and determined that the Ministry should in any case await further developments, and the next day the Social Democrats in the Riksdag demonstratively showed their displeasure in the debate on the King's civil list.

Demonstration now followed upon demonstration. Two days after the imposing peasant procession the Social Democrats arranged a counter move, and had no trouble in mustering a similar number, aided, to some extent, by their women and children. M. Staaff and some of his colleagues received a deputation from the Social Democratic procession, headed by Mr. Branting as spokesman, who handed an address to the Premier, demanding a reduction of the military burdens and insisting that the Swedish people never would yield to demands from a personal Monarchy; only the will of the people should rule in Sweden. M. Staaff in his reply maintained the necessity of national defence, declaring that the principles of democracy were as sacred to him as to them.

The day following a vast number of the leading representatives of Swedish science, art, and literature decided to present an address to the King, thanking His Majesty for having, through his firm words to the peasants' procession, maintained the King's ancient and constitutional right to represent the country's highest interests, irrespective of party politics.

Sooner, probably, than was expected came the result of the King's message to the peasants. M. Staaff, the day after the Royal speech, forwarded to the King a lengthy communication, to the effect that the measures of defence which the Government was about to lay before the Riksdag, though very comprehensive, yet might not fulfil all the expectations or demands of the military authorities. The King, however, in his message to the peasants, had said that he "would not abandon the demands as to the efficiency and readiness of the field army," "which by the experts within my army are stated to be indispensable." M. Staaff wanted to know whether the King would refuse to sanction any proposal which did not fully comply with these demands, and whether His Majesty in any respect had made up his mind beforehand as regarded the impending proposals, before his constitutional advisers had had an opportunity of humbly submitting their proposals and the views which had prompted them. The King replied that, as he had not seen the Government proposals or the experts' opinion upon them, he could not yet answer that question. (Hence the King could not have made up his mind beforehand.) To the second question the King's reply was to the effect that it was evident that he had not beforehand made up and could not make up his mind in any question, without first hearing the statements of his constitutional advisers or their proposals in Council.

This answer was not considered satisfactory by M. Staaff, who again addressed a communication to the King containing a drafted reply to be signed by His Majesty, stating amongst other things that his speech to the peasant procession was in no way intended to have the character of an act of State. The King's reply was in the main a short repetition of his answer to the former communication. A third letter from M. Staaff asked the King, when he intended to make any public statement of a political nature, to communicate it beforehand to the Government. The King replied, that he could not consent to this, as he would not deprive himself of the right to speak untrammelled to the people of Sweden.

The Staaff Ministry then resigned (February 10). On the day following some 5,000 Swedish students, in a great and enthusiastic procession, waited upon the King, and were greeted on their way to the palace with the utmost enthusiasm. In answer to their loyal and patriotic homage the King made a lengthy reply, maintaining at the outset his constitutional right and duty to state openly and without restraint his opinion of what he thought was for the good of his people; and, having urged the youth of the nation to assist him in his labours, the King wound up by saying: "Forward to our goal; a free and strong Sweden!" The proceedings were altogether marked by the most spontaneous enthusiasm.

The same day M. Staaff made a lengthy statement in the Second Chamber; the Liberals placed the responsibility upon the new Cabinet, and M. Branting, on behalf of the Social Democrats, thanked the retiring Government.

The formation of a new Ministry, as might have been expected, did not prove easy. Baron de Geer tried, but failed, and on February 13 the King entrusted M. Hammarskjöld with the task. Whilst Baron de Geer had tried to form a purely Liberal Ministry, M. Hammarskjöld, who had been a member of two previous Governments and Swedish Minister in Copenhagen, favoured the formation of a Conservative Ministry; the King, however, asked him to attempt the formation of a Liberal Government. On the 16th M. Hammarskjöld had his list ready as follows: M. Hammarskjöld, Premier and War Minister; M. K. Wallenberg, a well-known banker, Foreign Affairs; M. B. Hasselrot, President of one of the Courts, Minister of Justice; M. D. Broström, a large steamship owner, Minister of Marine; M. O. P. von Sydow, Interior; Baron J. G. Beck-Friis, Agriculture; M. A. F. Vennersten, Finance; Professor G. Westman, Ecclesiastical Minister; and Colonel B. Murcke, M. S. I. Stenberg, and M. S. N. Linner, Consulting Ministers. It may be noted that M. Wallenberg is the first Swedish Foreign Minister not of noble birth. The Hammarskjöld Ministry, admittedly, counted amongst its members some very able and distinguished men. It was formed solely to solve the defence problem.

The Riksdag was promptly dissolved (March 5), the Government at the same time publishing its manifesto or defence programme. The latter contained the various items embodied in the proposals of the defence committees, with the so-called "winter-line,"[28] coupled with the adoption of the _Sverige_ type of warship. On the 11th the Liberal Union issued their manifesto, also containing the Defence Committee's proposals, but with the "summer-line" and leaving the naval plan in abeyance, as the committee had not completed its report on the Fleet; this programme consequently kept all which had been promised in the Karlskrona speech.

Ultimately the Ministerial programme was substantially as follows. The period of training for the Army was extended to 250 days (Nov. to July) with courses of thirty days each in four subsequent years. To the Navy were to be added two new divisions of four warships each for coast defence, the _Sverige_ being included in the first; sixteen destroyers, two divisions of sea-going submarines, and two divisions of torpedo-boats.

An electioneering campaign followed, more violent and passionate than Sweden had ever witnessed, and perhaps rather disproportionate to the actual differences between the combatants. But there were, no doubt, deeper political instincts and influences at work. The result was a most serious set-back for the Liberals; most of the seats they lost went to the Conservatives, the rest to the Social Democrats. The respective strength of parties in the former or "A" Riksdag had been: Right 65, Liberals 101, Social Democrats 64; in the new or "B" Riksdag, the Right took the first place with 86 seats, the Social Democrats had 73, whilst the Liberals had become the smallest party, with but 71. The Left or Liberal joint majority in both Chambers, however, had not disappeared, though reduced from 76 to 34.

The new Riksdag assembled on May 18, and was occupied solely with the question of national defence. M. Staaff presided over the deliberations of the Defence Committee in a manner for which even his staunchest opponents felt it right to compliment him. Meantime no progress could be made, no solution reached, and even distinctly Liberal organs urged a speedy settlement, even if the demand for strictly Parliamentary Government must be postponed. The defensive programme set forth by the Social Democrats found no support whatever outside their own party.

On June 13 the Government introduced the Bill imposing a special tax for national defence. This tax is charged on income and capital jointly, according to a comprehensive sliding scale, the taxed sum comprising 10 per cent of capital; an income of at least 5,000 kr. is taxed on its full amount; on smaller incomes the tax is degressive, on larger it is progressive, the limit being reached at incomes exceeding 250,000 kr. (13,888_l._), a sum which is increased, for purposes of taxation, by 1,250 per cent. The tax is 1 per cent. of the taxed amount; in other words, instead of increasing the percentage, the amount is increased. The measure in question devoted about 37,000,000 kr. (2,055,555_l._) to land defence and 24,000,000 kr. (1,333,333_l._) to naval defence, the expenditure being non-recurrent. The entire revenue from the defence tax was estimated to amount to 75,000,000 kr. (4,166,666_l._).

Eventually the Liberals went a considerable way towards meeting the Government, declaring themselves ready to accept the ironclads of the _Sverige_ type and to extend the "summer-line" drill period from 280 to 310 days, the additional thirty days to be applied, ten for the extension of winter drill and the balance to the drill of the older classes in accordance with the Ministerial proposal. The Ministerial party, or rather the distinctly Conservative section, declined to accept this offer, which gave a month less for the period of drill than that of the Government. The offer of the Liberals to go beyond the Karlskrona programme was made just as the European War began; the Social Democrats now also rallied to the support of the Government. Their leader, M. Branting, at a large meeting of his party, telegraphed to M. Hammarskjöld, offering his support in the efforts to preserve and defend the neutrality of Sweden, and assuring the Premier that he might "reckon upon the confidence of a united people." M. Hammarskjöld at once telegraphed back an appreciative acknowledgment.

An interesting incident of the controversy was the exchange between M. Staaff and M. Hammarskjöld of open and exceedingly friendly letters, truly Swedish in tone and essence. The former gave hopes of a speedy settlement of the defence question, which soon were to be realised. Towards the end of August the delegates of the different parties, who had discussed the question with the Premier, arrived at an understanding; it only remained for the entire Defence Committee to give its sanction, which was a foregone conclusion, and on September 12 the great and all-important defence question was happily solved, the Government proposal, with immaterial modifications, was passed in the First Chamber without any division, and in the Second by 127 to 70, 23 votes being void. When fully established the new scheme will involve an annual expenditure on the Army of some 64,500,000 kr. (3,583,333_l._) as against 55,250,000 kr. (3,069,444_l._) and on the Navy of 26,000,000 kr. (1,444,444_l._), an increase of some 4,000,000 kr. (or 222,222_l._); besides this, some 4,000,000 kr. were applied to the coast artillery.

At the same time as the defence question engrossed the interest of the Riksdag, the necessary measures were passed to emphasise and support the neutrality of Sweden. On August 12 the Riksdag unanimously voted 50,000,000 kr. as extraordinary expenditure for defence on account of the international situation, and the Ministerial declaration as to the observance of strict neutrality met with the fullest support.

The dissolution of the Second Chamber and the consequent election were followed by a general election in September, the existing Riksdag, however, remaining in function. This general election confirmed the trend of the spring election by further reducing the Liberal members; the seats they lost were gained by the Social Democrats, who now constituted the largest party, 87, the Right remaining at 86 and the Liberals being reduced to 57. As a result the Social Democrats at a party congress somewhat vaguely declared, by 90 votes against 58, their willingness to accept the responsibility of government, jointly with the Left.

Some other military measures were disposed of, as were several railway bills, a Schools Inspection Bill, and other legislation. The most important bill passed was one making the tobacco industry and trade a State monopoly, calculated to yield a very material revenue. The scheme is to be worked through a huge limited company, beginning operations about the middle of 1915, and in which the State is to be heavily interested financially and will exercise the necessary control. The great total abstinence reform, which had a warm defender in M. Staaff, was frustrated through the inability of the Chambers to agree upon the question of local veto, but the temperance movement is being furthered in many ways. The same fate befell the Women's Suffrage Bill; the Second Chamber had passed it by 107 to 84, whilst the First Chamber negatived it by 76 votes to 46.

After an unusually long session, lasting nominally seven months, though from the end of September there had been no regular sittings, the "B Riksdag" was prorogued on December 17.

A Germanophil movement was headed by M. Sven Hedin, the famous explorer (A.R., 1913, p. 386), and found support in the fear inspired by Russian military preparation for some years past in Finland, in the propagation of war news from German sources, and in the close commercial relations subsisting with Germany. But there were indications of a change of feeling before the end of the year.

Sweden, like her Scandinavian neighbours, has jealously guarded her neutrality, large portions of the reserve and other classes being promptly called under arms. Her declaration of neutrality was followed within a few days by an undertaking with Norway that the one country should not take hostile action against the other.

The feeling of cordiality and joint interests between Sweden, Denmark and Norway was further emphasised and consolidated by the meeting of the three Kings, accompanied by their Foreign Ministers, in Malmö (Dec. 18), at the invitation of King Gustaf, an act of the Swedish King which caused the deepest satisfaction in the three countries. It was called partly to deal with the economic hindrances set up by the war to the trade of the three countries, and the official communication announcing its results stated that it had been agreed to continue the co-operation.

King Gustaf underwent a serious operation on April 9, with eminently satisfactory results. His severe illness and subsequent recovery afforded opportunities for the display of their abundant loyalty by his people.

VIII. NORWAY.

The centenary of the recovery by Norway of her independence as a kingdom made the year notable in other respects than the political. The centenary exhibition demonstrated most effectively the wonderful growth of Norway's resources during the past century.

The Storthing assembled on January 12. M. Lövland was re-elected President of the Storthing and M. Mowinckel of the Odelsthing. On the following day the King in person opened the sixty-third ordinary Storthing. After a reference to the centenary and the century of peace enjoyed by the nation, he stated that the past year had been satisfactory in most departments of home enterprise, and announced a number of measures for the furtherance of industry and commerce; the Budget had been framed without resort to fresh taxation. It showed an ordinary expenditure of 154,900,000 kroner (8,605,555_l._) and an extraordinary of 15,081,000 kr. (837,833_l._), a total of 169,981,000 kr. (9,443,388_l._). The ordinary expenditure showed an increase of 12,880,000 kr., reduced by certain counter-items to 7,300,000 kr. On the revenue side certain taxes and other sources of income exhibited an increased yield over that of the previous year. Even thus early M. Castberg, the Minister for Commerce, expressed views diverging from those of his colleagues: he desired a higher income tax and legacy duties and a reduced Customs tariff.

On January 20 the Government introduced a proposal to appoint a Defence Commission of fourteen civilian members, with the right, however, of calling in military experts. The Commission was to investigate all questions connected with national defence, both military and financial, and examine into the possibility of adopting a system on Swiss lines in order to effect a closer connexion between the Army and the nation.

During the debate on the Customs tariff in February the Premier caused some surprise by not attending the Storthing, and it was understood that on this subject M. Castberg had managed to override his chief. In the debate on the Labour Arbitration Bill, again, M. Knudsen, the Prime Minister, had to humour his troublesome colleague by stating that, in view of the undoubted divergences of opinion on the arbitration clause, he felt sure that both the Government and the Storthing would be most careful in resorting to compulsory arbitration. They would let the contest between employers and employed go on until both sides felt that the struggle must be ended and that the authorities must interfere. M. Castberg declared himself much reassured, and hoped that the statement meant that the new institution should be used, when the men themselves demanded it, for the protection of their interests. Nevertheless he continued to emphasise his divergent views as against the more moderate members of the Government, more especially the Premier, not only in the House but at public meetings; and on April 16 this very Radical Social Minister resigned his seat in the Cabinet, preferring to work as a private member for his aims and ideals. He differed also from M. Gunnar Knudsen on the question of maximum working hours, insisting on a nine hours' day and a fifty-one hours' week, whereas the latter would not go beyond a ten hours' day and fifty-four hours' week.

On February 28 the Storthing rejected the proposal of M. Bryggesaa, the Minister for Ecclesiastical Affairs, to annul Clause 7 of the Constitution, empowering the King to propose a successor, should there be no heir. In the same sitting the Storthing also rejected the proposal to make women eligible as Ministers of State, although M. Abrahamsen, the Minister of Justice, defended the proposal. The adverse minorities were respectively 41 and 44.

On April 23 the Storthing considered the exploitation of the large Nore waterfalls, owned by the State; general disappointment was felt when M. Urbye, the Minister of Public Works, stated that the plans had not yet been finally dealt with, and therefore would not come before the House in the current session.

In the beginning of May the Military Committee of the Storthing handed in their report on the Army Estimates, amounting to 17,550,500 kr., an insignificant fraction less than the sum proposed by the War Department. There were to be no more Generals, the field artillery regiments were each to be divided into three, and the extension of the regimental drills from twenty-four to thirty days would be dealt with in a separate Bill.

On May 13 the Storthing, by 78 votes to 44, decided to divide the Parliamentary session, in accordance with the decision in the Union of the Left, the Government stating that they, too, were in favour of an autumn session, although they did not give their reason. Several Committees were to continue their labours during the recess.

On June 9 the Storthing, by 85 votes to 25, passed a resolution, requesting the Government to see that all alcoholic drinks were prohibited at all military and naval practices, for all ranks alike. The resolution, however, was not acted upon.

On June 26 the Storthing decided that the principal naval dockyard should be extended and that two submarines should be built at Norwegian yards. On July 4 the proposal to appoint a Defence Commission was passed by the Storthing, the adverse minority being 35. The Premier stated that the most important question for the Commission to consider was whether more effective results could not be obtained for the actual military expenditure. More especially the Swiss system should be borne in mind. On July 6 the Storthing unanimously passed the new extraordinary defence tax on income exceeding 4,000 kr. (222_l._) and capitals exceeding 100,000 kr. (5,555_l._). The tax is to be levied according to a sliding scale, which deals somewhat leniently with incomes not exceeding 10,000 to 15,000 kr. (555_l._ to 832_l._). The measure is subject to revision as regards the fourth term of the tax, and will thus come up for further consideration hereafter.

Just before the close of the session (July 3), the Premier made a Cabinet question of a vote of some 250,000 kr. for the instruction of small holders, a question to which he had given much time and attention. M. Hagerup-Bull, the Conservative spokesman, complained that Cabinet questions were getting rather too frequent. The measure was duly passed.

The session was closed on July 8. The Storthing was to meet again on October 19, but the war altered its arrangements entirely. The results of the six months' work were very moderate, and some of the Government measures were severely criticised and left for subsequent revision.

The war, however, necessitated a short extraordinary session, and the Storthing met again on August 8, a circumstance which was in itself a telling comment on an unfortunate reference by the Premier in the spring "to the cloudless sky of Europe." The War Minister (M. Keilhart) resigned the same day and was succeeded by General Holtfodt, Norway's youngest General. A vote of 10,000,000 kr. (555,555_l._) for extraordinary military measures was promptly passed and other measures were adopted in view of the situation. A general moratorium had already been proclaimed; the Government was empowered to extend it, and to render the notes of the Bank of Norway temporarily inconvertible into gold. Much satisfaction was expressed at what might be described as a declaration of confidence between Norway and Sweden. Before the members separated the President emphasised the spirit of unity which had marked the proceedings during the short extraordinary session, all contentious questions being for the present left entirely in abeyance. Under these circumstances the work done later on was confined to some committees which meet in October. All the important measures, including a revision of the law on insurance against sickness, an extension of the Bank for workmen and small holders, and a comprehensive measure of reform of factory legislation, were left for a more favourable season, politically and financially. Naturally a drain on the Treasury is set up in many ways, directly and indirectly, by the war.

The Storthing of 1914 formally closed its session at a meeting on January 8, 1915. In spite of a very active German propaganda, the national feeling tended to favour the cause of the Allies.

The Spitzbergen Conference was opened in Christiania on June 16. Twenty-three representatives were present from nine countries (Great Britain, the United States, Russia, France, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway). The conference had not completed its labours when the war broke out, and separated with the understanding that it would again meet early in 1915.

FOOTNOTES:

[22] See _North German Gazette_, quoted in _The Times_, October 14, 1914.

[23] The diplomatic history will be found in the Belgian Grey Book (British official translation, Cd. 7627).

[24] The Belgian Government published a series of official reports detailing these atrocities (see also p. 251). They were reprinted, with those of the French and Russian Commissions of Inquiry, in an "Official Book of the German Atrocities" (London, 1914, 1_s._).

[25] Details of the retreat of this force were not yet published in April, 1915.

[26] An adequate summary is impracticable here. Details will be found in the Report of the Federal Council to the Federal Assembly dated December 1, 1914.

[27] On importation, exportation, and the application of Act VII. of the Hague Convention, students may be referred to the _Journal de Genève_, December 10, 1914, January 10 and 12, 1915.

[28] The terms "winter-line" and "summer-line" refer to the rival proposals regarding the periods of military service, the "summer-line" period being the shorter.