Topics of the Moment

TOPICS OF MOMENT. Rupture Between Norway and Sweden. Fridtjof Nansen and Sven Hedin, both intrepid explorers and politicians, have carried on an accrimonious debate, during the early months of the year, in the columns of the London Times. The former has contended practically against the union of Norway and Sweden in consular service, while the latter has upheld the former arrangements, and argued for the union of the two nations, predicting that in the event of separation, a great part of northern Norway would become the prey of Russia. This consular trouble between the two countries is of long standing, but has now come to a crisis, resulting in Norway, through its national parliament, or Storthing, declaring that Norwegian consul-generals, consuls and vice- consuls, by and through whom Norway and Sweden have heretofore been united in foreign and diplomatic relations, shall hereafter be appointed and placed under the direction of the Norwegian government. Tie new law is to take effect April 1, 1906. For nearly a hundred years (1814) the two countries have been united under one king the king of — Sweden. The king and a ministry form the executive, with the legislative power in parliament, consisting of an upper and a lower house. There has been a movement in Norway for many years towards a greater or complete separation from Sweden. Norway has contended that the joint consular service has been used to subordinate Norwegian interests to those of Sweden, owing to the fact that the former is practically a free trade country, while the latter has adopted a system of high tariffs. Since February 8, the crown prince Gustaf of Sweden has been acting as regent, owing to the age of his father, King Oscar,.

— but on May 27, King Oscar resumed the throne to avoid burdening his successor with the odium resulting from the refusal of the Norwegian desires. He then refused to sign the bill for separate Norwegian consuls, because the existing arrangement was established by a mixed council of the two governments, and only that council could disturb it; and further, his love for both people his motto is "The welfare of the brotherhood."— impelled him to refuse his sanction. Each member of the Norwegian cabinet then personally urged the king to consent to it, but he was unalterable; whereupon the cabinet resigned, but their resignations were promptly declined. Then the ministers insisted, on the ground that the king's veto of a unanimous decision of the cabinet upheld by the whole people, was a violation of the constitution, an invasion of the rights, independence and sovereignty of Norway, and they refused to countersign the king's veto; and without their signatures the veto is said to be constitutionally non-existent. The king's veto is limited, and the parliament may pass the measure twice more when it becomes law without his signature. No effort will be made to compel Norway to remain in the Union, further than to protest; and it is not probable that war will result. The Norwegian Parliament has made an effort to find a prince that would accept the new kingdom, having offered it to one of the royal family of Sweden, but the offer was declined. The flag, however, has been changed, and by public demonstration in Christiania, the "clean" flag, and the new order of things, have been accepted by the army and navy. Whether any of the powers will recognize the new kingdom, or republic, whatever it may turn out to be, remains to be seen, but it is generally considered doubtful. Battle of the Sea of Japan. One of the greatest sea battles of modern times was that of the Sea of Japan, May 27-28, between a division of the Japanese navy, commanded by Admiral Togo, and the Russian Baltic fleet, commanded by Admiral Rozhdestvensky. Out of the thirty-two vessels in all which composed the Russian fleet, only the cruiser Almaz and three destroyers reached Vladivostok ;and three cruisers under Admiral Enquist reached and have been interned in Manila. With these exceptions, every vessel of the Russian fleet in the Sea

TOPICS OF MOMENT. 697 of Japan was sunk or captured. It is estimated that five thousand Russians perished and three thousand were taken prisoners. The Japanese lost one hundred and thirteen killed, and four hundred and twenty-four wounded. The completeness of the Russian defeat is laid to lack of tact and incompetence in the commanders,poor marksmanship, lack of ammunition, lack of a knowledge of the enemies' position, mutinous crews, and untrained cavalry-men, who had been hastily transferred from the saddle to the quarter deck to fill gaps. Only three torpedo boats belonging to the Japs were suDkAdmiral Nebogatoff surrendered four ships, after being pursued to the Liancourt Rocks, Sea of Japan; Admiral Rozhdestvensky was wounded and captured; while Admiral Enquist deserted the fleet in the midst of the battle, and reached Manila with three cruisers. On the other hand, in making his report of the battle, Admiral Togo declares that the victory was wholly due to the "resplendent virtue of the Mikado;" in other words, there were patriotism and spirit behind the guns. With the Russians there was neither. The Japanese realized that upon their action depended the destiny of their empire, and they fought for love of it, while the Russians had no aim, but were in the conflict under compulsion, or for pay. Peace Talk. At the time (June 2) when Count Cassini, the Russian Ambassador, had an interview with President Roosevelt, and the latter told the Russian in effect that it is time for the Czar to conclude peace with Japan, there were some people inclined to believe President Roosevelt had made a mistake. But he was evidently inspired, for his utterance has led to the beginning of negotiations, and it is surmised that the President of the United States will act as mediator between the two beligerent powers. The destruction of the Russian Baltic fleet in ths eastern channel of the Korea Strait and the Sea of Japan, during the last days of May, by the Japanese, has brought about this condition. But the Czar does not intend to be forced by his own people, as would appear from his ukase of June 2, granting extraordinary powers to Governor General Trepoff, the most determined and merciless of Russian officials, over the whole empire,— for the suppression of political agitation. He was made Assistant Minister of the Interior, Chief of the Police

Department, and Commander of the Gendarmery, with power to and congresses, to indefinitely suspend all close all assemblies leagues, societies and other bodies displaying pernicious activity, and to take other necessary steps to prevent interference with the present condition of things in the country. The Czar is also said to have declared that he would rather die than sign an ignominious peace treaty. But the declaration of President Roosevelt for peace seems to meet a hearty response with the Russian public. The peace congress will likely meet in Washington. Results of the Naval Battle. The destruction of the Russian Baltic fleet is compared by some to Trafalgar. Whether it is so momentous an event as some would have us believe, this much is certain, it gives Japan the leadership in affairs of China and Manchuria, and no land grabbing European or other power will be likely to repeat the experiment of Russia in the far East. The lesson which the victory teaches is now the main subject for discussion, and politicians and statesmen, as well as army and navy experts, are trying to determine what effect it will have upon the course of international events, as well as upon the use of battleships or torpedo boats in war. The political consequences of Admiral Togo's victory may not be as farreaching as some would think, but certain it is that Japan exercises control over the Western Pacific, and that all Russia's interests in the far East are defenseless, except the port of Vladivostok, against which fortress operations are soon likely to be underway. As to the value of the battleship or the torpedo boat in sea battles, this can scarcely be decided until more definite details of the battle by official reports are forthcoming. Cuba's Growth. On May 20, Cuba celebrated the third anniversary of its birth as a republic. Contrary to the utterances of the doubtful, Cuba, notwithstanding her three hundred years of virtual bondage under Spain, has shown a wonderful capacity for self-government. That doubt of her ability to control herself and expand existed in the Congress of our country, there can be no question, as witness the so called Piatt amendment to the Cuban constitution. It was cer-

TOPICS OF MOMENT. 699 tainly considered improbable thatCuba would enforce the necessary compliance with sanitary regulations; but, on the contrary, the precautions taken during the American occupation to shield the island, as well as this country, from contagion, have been efficiently kept up, except in Santiago, and at that place twenty thousand dollars per month of national funds have recently been ordered for local sanitary purposes. No other country in the world has so low a death rate as Cuba had in 1904. It was 14.52, having decreased to this figure since the first year of the new republic, when it was lower than in any of the preceding thirty years. Yellow fever is completely wiped out, and there was not a single case of small pox, in 1904.The population, which in 1899 was a million and a half, is now said to have increased by three hundred thousand, and last year the number of immigrants was fifteen thousand, who mostly came from Spain. While three years ago Cuba's sugar crop was about three hundred thousand tons, it had increased last year to a million tons, and to this amount the present season will probably add as much as the entire production three years ago. Raw cotton, fruit and vegetables, are increasing rapidly, and the surplus is sent twice a week by steamer to this country, our imports from Cuba having increased from fiftyseven million dollars, in 1903, to nearly seventy-five million dollars last year; while our exports to that country have grown from about twenty-four million dollars in 1903, to nearly thirty-three million dollars in 1904. The railroad situation is very encouraging. Cuba has acquired a railway system quite adequate to develop her agricultural resources, and has now a mileage of two thousand miles, and the growth is continual. When Governor-General Wood turned over the administration of Cuba there were a little over a half a million dollars in the treasury, and now, after three years, with all improvements and expenses paid, there remains about ten millions, showing the excellent administrative economy and purity of the government under President Thomas Estrada Palma. A new election will be held in December of this year. Already the Moderates have practically decided that Palma will be the next nominee; while the Liberal party will likely put forward General Jose Miguel Gomez, who, under certain contingencies, is said to have a good chance of winning.