PUBLIC ATTENTION

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 156, 6 May 1940, Page 2

PUBLIC ATTENTION

RIVETTED ON NORWAY SOME FACTS ABOUT THE COUNTRY Public :iitention a t the presen'i time is rivetted on Norway, where tlie Allies ami Germany are fighting fiercely in what may prove to be a decisive phase of the war, am] some iletaiis concerning the history, population, resources, etc will be of interest . With a total area of 124,55(5 square miles, Norway, according to a provisional estimate made at the end of 1938, has a population of 2.J)2!>,<)()<). Of the cities. Oslo ha 1 tire largest population, .253.121 persons., and, before the Nazi occupation there were five cilies with populations exceeding 20,000. The custom had been to divide the country into 20 districts for administrative purposes and each of these districts elected from three to eight members every four years for the Storting, in which is invested the legislative powers of the lands Haakon Vlt is the reigning monarch. The monarchy is constitutional and hereditary. Norway was ceded to Sweden by treaty in 181!; but the people declared their independence and proclaimed Prince Christian Frederick of Denmark, king. The uowers re-i fused to recognise this state, and by convention Norway was proclaimed independent in union with Sweden. For civil justice the country was divided into 101 districts and there were five superior courts. There was a national militia un-t der universal compulsory service as the defence system of the country. In 19:38 the standing Army stood at 1135 officers and 13,000 other ranks. r l here was a good reserve. The navy was of a purely local value, being designed solely for the purpose of coastal defence. There were four 'capital* ships mounting two 8-inch guns, two with six 4.7 inch guns, and two with six 6-incli guns. In addition there were live destroyers, nine submarines and about twenty other craft. Ten more vessels had been voted for and lafd down in 1938. There was an auxiliary service of about 50 seaplanes. Productivity of Country. The production of Norway is main ly controlled by its raw materials, 30 per cent of this activity being agriculture and forestry and 20 per cent industry. The country is barren and mountainous, arable soil being confined tc narrow strips in deep valleys and beside fjords and) lakes. About 72 per cent of the country's total area is unproductive and 24 per cent is covered in forests, Abundant supplies of cheap hydro-electric power facilitate industry. Pulp and paper products ire the principal export commodities. There is a large fishing in-, lustrv.