The Dominion. THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 1916. DIFFICULTIES AHEAD

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2679, 27 January 1916, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 1916. DIFFICULTIES AHEAD

Though Britain has given every consideration to the representations I of the Scandinavian nations in order to lessen the hardships to neutrals arising out of the blockade of Germany, it would be unreasonable to expect that trouble and irritation could be entirely avoided. When the process of strangulation began it was inevitable that some difficult problems affecting our relations with non-belligerent States would be created. The geographical position of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark makes it impossible for Britain to throttle Germany's oversea trade without interfering to a material extent with the commercial activities of the countries named. In oiie of his Notes ta the United States Silt Edward Grey points out that adjacent to Germany are various neutral States which affoi'4 her <x»vL veiiient opportunities for carrying,

on her trade with foreign nations. Her own territories are covered by a network of railways and waterways which enable her commerce to pass as conveniently through ports in such neutral countries as through her own. Such being the case, a blockade which was limited to enemy ports would obviously be ineffective. It is, therefore, absolutely necessary for Britain to exercise a very large measure of control over the.external trade of Scandinavia. This necessity has given rise to a feeling of hardship, and a certain amount of irritation has been manifested. The measures recently taken for tightening up the blockade appear to have increased the Borencss, and the latest information indicates that tho trouble is now approaching an acute stage. Of the three Scandinavian nations, Denmark, is probably the _ most friendly to the Allies. She is connected by strong bonds of] amity with both Britain and Russia. Sho knows that Germany would have swallowed her up years ago if Britain had not stood in the way. Ger'man mischief-makers have, however, been busy in Denmark. They have endeavoured to make the Danes believe that Britain intends to embroil them in tho struggle by landing troops or establishing a naval baso on their coasts. In Norway popular feeling is also unmistakably in favour of Britain. The Norwegians are also _ friendly to France, but their attitude to Russia is less cordial. They cannot altogether free themselves from that fear of Russian aggression which has cast a dark cloud over the national life of Sweden.. For many years Germany has endeavoured to make a good impression upon Norway. When Sweden and Norway decided to separate an attempt was made to induce the Norwegians to_ accept a German Prince for their King, but they declined the offer. Their choice fell upon a Dane with an English wife. In spite of tho Kaiser's holiday trips to their cauntry, and his extravagant praise of their scenery and national characteristics, the Norwegians distrust Germany. They have no desire for the triumph of the Central Powers in this war. But they are experiencing some difficulty in reconciling their sympathies with their immediate interests. Tho inconvenience of the blockade cannqt be ignored, and the agents of Germany are trying hard to fan the sparks l of resentment into, a flame. These intriguers have been spreading rumours that Britain is contemplating a violation of Norway's neutrality with the object of striking a fresh blow at Germany. The Norwegians are too sensible to pay much attention to these poisonous whisperings, but constant repetition' of anti-British slanders tends to create an atmosphere of dtobt and suspicion which may make the commercial section of the people of Norway less willing to submit with a good grace to the hardship and annoyance caused by the blockade. It is stated that the opinion is expressed in industrial circles that our sea jiower is :being used in an oppressive manner, in view of the fact that the measures taken to prevent goods reaching Germany have proved effective. That oversea supplies have been reaching the enemy through Scandinavian countries is quite ccrtain, and Britain is fully lustified in doing her utmost to block every inlet and outlet for German trade.

The_ attitude of Sweden is more unsatisfactory than that of the two other Scandinavian nations. The report of the_ Budget debate in the Riksdag, which appears in our cable columns, indicates that the country is permeated by a feeling of unrest' and uncertainty. The Premier declared that it was impossible to doubt that tho policy of the Government was sincerely neutral, but the Socialist leader expressed the fear that in future Sweden would bo unable to maintain firm neutrality, ancl he asserted that the Premier's speech was obscure on this point.. A statement made by the 'Premier in July last evoked a considerable amount of comment. He then said that he and his colleagues could not agree that the abandonment of neutrality must in no circumstances be considered. Ho contended that the Ministry "must also take into account contingencies" in which the maintenance of peace would be impossible, and he added that these "contingencies" were not limited to a, hostile invasion. What he actually meant by these words is not clear, but the fact that the speech met with hearty approval in Germany cannot be ignored. The pro-German propaganda has been extremely active in Sweden, and has made considerable progress. The Court has close relations with German royalties, and one of the Kaiser's sons is named after the late King Oscar of Sweden. A large number of military officers have been trained in Germany, the intellectual classes have pronounced German sympathies, and tho business of a large part of tho mercantile community is dependent on Germany. The "Activists '—those who favour intervention in t»ie war on the German side—may not be strong numerically, but they are very pushing, and may be expected to take'full advantage of'the friction which the blockade must inevitably generate. Activists are to be found in all the three Swedish parties—the Conservatives, ■ the Liberals, and the Socialists; but tho Liborals and Socialists are, taken as a whole, opposed to the pro-German agitation, and they represent the great majority of the electors. They have a majortiy of 30 in the two Houses. At a recent National Conference of the Liberals a resolution was carried in which it was stated that the "policy of neutrality is backed by the Parliament and the overwhelming majority of the people, and the Liberal Party, united as one man, support it." The facts which we . have set out go to show that, the Scandinavian nations are, generally speaking, desirous of maintaining friendly relations with Britain and her Allies, but it is quite possible that a situation may develop in connection with the blockade which will put a severe test upon their goodwill and upon our diplomatic skill.