Government caused friction between the two allied groups and ultimately brought about a crisis resulting in the resignation of Konow and some of his Liberal colleagues (Feb. 1912). The Government was reconstructed by Jens Bratlie (b. 1856), with Conservatives as its chief element. Among the members of the Konow Government who passed into the Bratlie Cabinet was the Foreign Minister, Johannes Irgens (b. 1869), formerly Nor- wegian Minister in London, and after 1916 Minister in Copenha- gen. When Mr. Bratlie became Premier he had to resign his seat in the Storthing and was replaced by the vice-deputy member, 1 Miss Anna Rogstad (b. 1854), who had been in the Storthing during the temporary absence of Mr. Bratlie in 1911. The case attracted general notice, as Miss Rogstad was the first woman representative in any independent National Assembly outside that of Finland, which admitted women in 1907.
At the general elections of 1912 a Radical wave swept the country, the final results being 76 Radicals, as against 24 Con- servatives and Liberals and 23 Socialists. The Government, however, decided to remain in office till the Storthing met in Jan. 1913, when a new Cabinet was formed under the leadership of Gunnar Knudsen as Premier, with Niels Claus Ihlen (b. 1855; owner of a great foundry, and between 1908-10 Minister of Public Works) as Foreign Minister. This Cabinet remained in power until 1920.
Although the new Storthing, the outcome of the general elections of 1912, included no women, universal suffrage was extended to women in 1913. By an amendment of the constitu- tion adopted in that year, Cabinet ministers were entitled to hold seats in the Storthing.
- When war broke out in 1914 an extraordinary Storthing was called into session to decide upon the measures to be taken for the maintenance of the neutrality, or possibly for the defence, of the country. The sum of 10,000,000 kr. was voted for military- purposes. A provisional moratorium was decided upon, and the right to redeem the Bank of Norway notes in gold was suspended for the time being. However, it was felt that the World War meant difficulties and dangers to each and all of the northern nations. The continual maintenance of neutrality was, to all of them, a matter of vital interest. Already on Aug. i 1914, acting in cooperation, the authorities of the three countries passed resolutions binding the respective nations to take up and main- tain an attitude of strict neutrality in the conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia. On Aug. 4 this declaration was repeated and extended so as to form a general rule of conduct during the war. On Aug. 8 a separate agreement was signed, in Christiania, on behalf of the Norwegian and Swedish Govern- ments, embodying binding assurances from both sides, the pur- pose of which was to remove any possibility of either of the two kingdoms preparing hostile actions against the other.
The outcome of this desire for joint action in the political and diplomatic fields was a number of official meetings held during the war between the Monarchs, the Premiers and the Foreign Ministers of the Scandinavian countries. The first of these took place Dec. 18-19 1 9 1 4, when, invited by the Swedish King, the two other Scandinavian Sovereigns met him at Malmo, where joint action was agreed upon in regard to solving a number of diplomatic questions, and questions appertaining to international law. In accordance with resolutions arrived at during this inau- gural meeting, conferences were held in Copenhagen (March o-i i 1916), in Christiania (Sept. 19-20 1916), and in Stockholm (May o-n 1917), where the Premiers and the Foreign Ministers of the three countries met. On Nov. 28-30 1917, the Kings of Sweden and Denmark paid an official visit to the Court of Christiania. King Haakon, on Sept. 16-18 1918, in Stockholm, returned the official visit of the King of Sweden. During June 26-28 of the same year, in continuance of the previous conferences of Scandinavian Cabinet ministers, a fresh meeting was held in
( J In Norway every member of the Storthing had at that epoch a ' vice-deputy member," elected in the same way and at the same time. This vice-deputy had to sit in the place of the actual member if he were prevented from attending through illness, etc., or if he were included in the Government. This way of substituting mem- bers of the Storthing was altered in 1920.
Copenhagen. The last in this series of conferences took place in Stockholm (May 26-28 1919), in Christiania (Feb. 1-4 1920), and in Copenhagen (Aug. 28-30 1920). Besides these diplomatic and political conferences, a number of inter-Scandinavian meet- ings were held for the purpose of looking after common interests in the field of legislation, communication, commerce, administra- tion and science. This new " Scandinavianism " differs essentially from the old ideological " University-Scandinavianism " of 1860. The adherents of the new movement acknowledge an absolute equality of rights in the relationship between the three nations, and presuppose a feeling of sympathy between these peoples, thrown upon each other through geographical propinquity, his- torical development and kindredship of race. The recognition of this fact gives rise in the three countries to a parallel " move- ment " for the purpose of organizing, in regular and permanent forms, inter-Scandinavian cooperation. The feeling grew steadily stronger that a similar organization would be of great import even in post-war times and on Feb. 24 1919 a great number of representative men in the three countries addressed the Public with an invitation to form a new society, the Norden (the North), having for its programme the defence of Right and Peace and common interests. The society has established a separate section and sub-sections for each of the three countries, having each their own management. The Norwegian section was founded on April 121919. A year-book is issued for the whole of the society. Its title is Norden. Two volumes, 1920 and 1921, have been published (Stockholm and Christiania).
A memorable year in the history of Norway was 1914, one hundred years having then elapsed since the country broke from Denmark to start as an independent state, sharing with Sweden, until 1905, her King and the administration of foreign affairs. The jubilee year was celebrated with a general Norwegian retro- spective exhibition, at Christiania, embracing industry and fine arts. This exposition proved that in all fields of economic, indus- trial, technical and social activities, and not less in the spheres of intellectual life, science and art the country had progressed in a wonderful degree. Even financially the exhibition would have been a success, had it not been interrupted by the war.
The critical situation evoked by the outbreak of war in the industries of the country rendered emergency measures necessary in order to secure supplies, especially food-stuffs and coal. On Aug. 2 1914 a limitation was put on the amount of bread allowed to be sold, and mill owners suspended all orders. On Aug. 3 a panic set in, and the population of the towns stormed the shops to buy up goods. On Aug. 4 a Victualling Commission for the whole country was established. The task of this commission was to regulate the purchase from abroad of all the more important food-stuffs and necessaries of daily consumption, and to control their sale. On Aug. 5 a Royal decree was issued ordering the establishment of local victualling councils in all communes. The extraordinary Storthing which assembled on Aug. 8, however, helped to allay the feeling of panic, and a more tranquil condition came about by degrees. On Aug. 18 1914 war insurance for the Norwegian merchant fleet was established, and on Sept. 8 a private joint-stock company, the Norwegian Goods War In- surance Co., was instituted. At the close of Sept. the maximum prices already introduced for food-stuffs were provisionally abolished, except for certain kinds of bread. In place of them the Victualling Commission received authority to control prices and imports. This arrangement later involved a division of such administrative work, a Price Directorate being established in the following year to exercise control over the prices of all goods in retail trade. On Sept. 26 the Norwegian Government was authorized to take up a loan from Hambro & Son, London, of 600,000 (at 7% interest), so as to pay for two warships which were under construction for the Norwegian Government in English shipyards. These ships were, however, never delivered; since the British Government laid an embargo on them before their delivery. On Nov. 3 1914 England declared the whole of the North Sea to be a war zone, and Norwegian shipping was restricted to a small passage, Lindesnes-Farnesland; and on Nov. 5 the British Government stopped the passage N. of Scotland,
