No. 46.] SWEDEN. KING OSCAR'S SPEECH TO THE RIKSDAG. Minister Graves to the Secretary of State. AMERICAN LEGATION, Stockholm, January 16, 1906. SIR: The formal opening of the Riksdag was held on the 15th instant, with the usual elaborate ceremonies, which have been fully described by my predecessor. The speech from the Throne was read in a firm voice by His Majesty King Oscar II, who appeared in good health and vigor. For your information I append hereto a rather free translation of such portions of the address as may be of interest to the Government: The perilous days of the last year are now, God be praised, past, and a calmer time has set in. Our relations to foreign powers are satisfactory. In order to protect our interests I have found it necessary to establish diplomatic relations with our western neighbor in advance of action by the Riksdag. Elective franchise.-In the most important of internal affairs, namely, the extension of the elective franchise for election to the Second Chamber, a proposition will be presented to you. It is intended for extension of the elective franchise to the same extent as indicated in the propositions of 1904-5, but it differs by embracing the retention of the present system of one-man election districts, and applies the same system also in cities which have to elect several members of the Riksdag. True, I have before proposed proportionate manner of election, and I know that many well-informed and warm-hearted friends who have embraced that thought as tending to promote justice will hesitate in deserting the standpoint they have once taken. Others wish that the elective franchise should be extended still further than is indicated in the proposition. Labor question.-Next after the elective question the workman's question calls for the attention of the state. I hope again to be able to present to you a proposition for a law for negotiation of labor controversies, intended to prevent, to a considerable degree, the strifes so disastrous to both employer and employee, and eventualy to the whole community, such as have too often taken place of late. To the important question of the arrangement of other relations between employer and employee, as well as to the question of old-age insurance, I am directing the most careful attention. In the latter question I may, during the session, present to you a proposition of principle. The former demands a very careful preparation, and can not be taken up by me at this Riksdag. The very strong support of industries must be the main object of the care of the state. Free ports.-The question as to what form the bonded or free port question, which is of such great importance to commerce and navigation, should most suitably assume in being introduced into our country is under consideration. The budget. The keeping up of diplomatic and consular relations requires, since the dissolution of the union (with Norway) considerable additional subventions, both for the last half of 1905 and for the present year. * Military expenditures.—During the past year I have found it necessary to make use of the small credit for military purposes. What has been used for this I consider should be replaced by a subvention in the budget *. Maintaining and strengthening of our defense must still require great economical sacrifices. Thus, among other things, I ask for the army a larger sum for mobilization ammunition and a sum for reuniforming the army; and for the navy a subvention for building 3 new hunters (torpedo-boat destroyers) and 11 torpedo boats. Other parts of the speech cover local affairs, also purposing, in order to meet the increased expenses, a stamp tax, "both on the transfers of stock and bank shares, and on the emission of new shares in already formed stock companies." This is followed by a recommendation to increase the maximum limit of nontaxable income for relief of those of small means. SIR: I have the honor to report that the commercial and navigation treaty between Sweden and Germany, which has been for six months in negotiation, has been concluded by the commissioners and submitted to the Riksdag for approval. In the report made and the newspaper comments upon it the statement is made that the concessions granted by the two countries from their present tariffs, based on the last fiscal year, is by Sweden 272,000 crowns and by Germany 5,178,000 crowns. But in commenting on the fact that the term of the treaty is only about four years, expiring December 31, 1910, the statement is made that this was done to allow Sweden an opportunity to revise its present tariff, when the subject can be again treated. It is mentioned that Germany "had prepared herself for these negotiations by making a new, skillfully elaborated, and up-to-date customs tariff to this end, so specified that every heading embraces just the duties which will be called for with respect to the industries thereby touched, whereas the Swedish customs tariff, made in 1892, must in many respects be considered antiquated, and owing to the lack of specification it can not be considered to fill the demands which must now be placed on a skillfully elaborated protection for industry under present conditions," and that the disadvantage hereof has clearly stood forth during the present negotiations. The special licenses heretofore required by German commercial travelers in Sweden will still be retained with but slight modifications. The imposition by Sweden of an export duty on iron ore, which has been mooted, was apparently disapproved by Germany, the report stating that the necessary concessions for the benefit of Swedish commerce could not be obtained if that was imposed. The treaty is recommended by the Government. CHARLES H. GRAVES. I have, etc., COMMERCIAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN SWEDEN AND RUSSIA. Minister Graves to the Secretary of State. AMERICAN LEGATION, Stockholm, October 12, 1906. SIR: I have the honor to inclose herewith a copy and translation of a commercial agreement between Sweden and Russia, signed by their respective plenipotentiaries in the foreign office, St. Petersburg, on August 9, 1906. With one or two unimportant exceptions the parties mutually guarantee the privileges of the most favored nation. As the text of the above agreement was only very recently published by the Swedish Government, I was unable to obtain a copy of it until the day it appeared. I have, etc., CHARLES H. GRAVES. [Inclosure. Translation from French text.] COMMERCIAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN SWEDEN AND RUSSIA. With a view of assuring the commercial relations between Sweden and Russia, the undersigned, duly authorized for this object, have agreed on the following: Until the revision of the treaty of commerce and navigation concluded between Sweden and Norway and Russia the 8th of May, 1838, the high contracting parties mutually guarantee the treatment of the most favored nation in everything which concerns commerce, navigation, industry, and entrance duties. Not deemed as interfering with the dispositions of the present arrangement are: (1) The special favors accorded or which will be accorded by Sweden to Norwegian subjects, to commercial societies, industrial and financial, and to Norwegian merchandises, so long as these same favors shall not be accorded to the subjects, to the societies, or to the merchandises of another State. (2) The stipulations which are or will be relative to the commerce of Russia with the States and bordering countries of Asia, these stipulations can not in any case be invoked to modify the relations of commerce and of navigation established between the two contracting parties by the present arrangement. The dispositions of the present agreement are not applicable: (1) To favors actually accorded or which could be accorded ulteriorly, relatively to the importation of the exportation, to the inhabitants of the government of Archangel, as well as for the septentrional and oriental coasts of Russian Asia (Siberia). Yet the Swedish importations shall benefit equally by all the customs facilities accorded to the importations in these territories of a State of Europe or of North America. (2) To coasting trade, which continues to be governed by the laws which are or will be in vigor in each of the two countries. The present arrangement will come into force the day of its being signed and will not cease to be in effect until a year after its denunciation, which may be made by one or the other. In fulfillment of which the undersigned have signed the present arrangement (agreement) and have placed their seals thereon. Executed, in duplicate, at St. Petersburg August 9 (July 27), 1906. PASSPORTS OF AMERICAN CITIZENS OF SWEDISH BIRTH. No. 61.] Minister Graves to the Secretary of State. AMERICAN LEGATION, Stockholm, May 15, 1906. SIR: I have the honor to report that this legation is constantly receiving complaints from Swedish-Americans returning to Sweden because of the attempts of the Swedish military and naval authorities to compel them to serve in the Swedish army or navy. Frequently they are arrested and put into prison and taken in prisoners' van to the place where the naval or military duty is to be performed, notwithstanding both certificate of naturalization and American passport are shown to local authorities who arrest them. When they reach the military camp or fortress or naval station where they are to perform duty they are always released by the commanding officer as soon as they show their American papers; but this course of action is a source of great discomfort to American citizens who are subjected thereto and causes a great amount of correspondence for the legation and still more for the Swedish authorities. In view of all this, the minister for foreign affairs has officially, both orally and in writing, suggested that troublesome cases of this nature are almost always caused by the ignorance of the local authorities in the English language, by the ignorance of the SwedishAmerican citizen of the wording of the treaty existing between Sweden and America on expatriation and naturalization, or by both these circumstances, and his excellency has therefore earnestly requested me to append to every passport issued at this legation a translation thereof into the Swedish language and certain extracts from the aforesaid treaty. Agreeable to this request, I have had such a translation of the passport and extracts from the treaty indicated by his excellency printed on a thin sheet of paper, a copy of which is inclosed herewith, and affix said slip to every passport issued at this legation. This translation and extract of the treaty, as it appears on the inclosed slip, has been approved and praised by his excellency, who states that he is confident that it will prevent the recurrence of such deplorable events as those above referred to. Hoping that you will approve of this action on my part, I have, etc., CHARLES H. GRAVES. No. 45.] The Acting Secretary of State to Minister Graves. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, June 4, 1906. SIR: The department has received your No. 61, May 15 last, reporting that many Americans of Swedish origin who return to Sweden are arrested by the military authorities for not having performed military service, but that they are always released after their nationality has been established. The minister for foreign affairs has accordingly suggested that as the arrests are nearly always due to ignorance of English on the part of the local authorities, or on the part of those arrested, of the wording of the naturalization convention between this Government and Sweden, they would be avoided. if each passport issued by your legation were accompanied by a translation thereof and of certain extracts from the convention. You submit for this department's approval a slip containing such a translation, which you attach to each passport issued by your legation to an American citizen of Swedish origin. a As you are doubtless aware, every American citizen of Swedish origin who obtains a passport from this department receives with his passport a "notice to American citizens formerly subjects of Sweden who contemplate returning to that country (a copy of which is inclosed), which sets forth briefly the provisions of Swedish law which might apply to him upon his return to Sweden. This notice was prepared after correspondence with the legation at Stockholm, and the department is not informed of any changes in the laws of Sweden requiring amendment of the notice. When the department adopted it, in February, 1901, an instruction was sent to the legation at Stockholm, inclosing a copy of the notice and saying: "It is sent to you merely for your information, and you are instructed that it is not intended to mean that there has been any abatement on the part of this Government in its policy of protecting equally naturalized and native-born Americans during their travels or sojourn abroad as the law requires, nor does the notice foreshadow any mitigation of such dissent as this Government may have expressed to the law or regulations of Sweden and Norway which may deny equality of treatment to all law-abiding American citizens, regardless of their place of birth." A large proportion of American citizens of Swedish origin who go abroad provide themselves before going with passports from this department, and only a small proportion, having neglected this precaution, apply to your legation for passports. The translation you propose to affix to your passports would therefore be useful only to this small proportion. The extract from the convention and the extracts from the accompanying protocol which you embody in the slip which you submit might, it is thought, if taken by themselves without reference to the full text of the convention and protocol, be susceptible of a meaning not entirely comporting with this Government's understanding. This is especially true of the sentence in the protocol relating to the intent to return to the United States. It is true that the intent not to return may be held to exist when a person of Swedish origin should have resided for more than two years in Sweden; but it is also true that the intent to remain may be held to exist within a period of less than two years or not to exist after a greater period than two years, being a matter to be determined by the circumstances surrounding the sojourn or residence. While the department does not object to your furnishing a translation into Swedish of any passport which you may issue or which may be presented to you, nor to your explaining to the holder of a passport the provisions of the convention and protocol, it is of opinion that it is not wise to attach to each passport which you issue to a former subject of Sweden the slip you submit. At best it could accomplish a " Printed in Foreign Relations, 1901, p. 486. 59605-FR 1906--86 |