the feigned conclusions of which the
Norwegian government tried to attach the greatest importance. What was
the character of these negotiations in relation to the contents of the
proposed laws? They were in reality free discussions, during which the
contents of the deliberations of the Consular Committee were inquired
into. They were regarded by the negotiators themselves as a
"preliminary", as the first preparatory step to negotiations, and that
the results of many points were indistinct, is evident, as the Swedish
Cabinet gave to understand that, on one or two occasions before the
origin of the Communique, fresh negotiations were proposed, but in vain.
The preliminary act of agreement to which the Norwegian Council referred,
seems to have involved one or two particular points to which they firmly
adhered, especially the one concerning the power of the Foreign Minister
to give direct orders to the Consuls: in all the rest, they confined
themselves to a general impression that there was a prospect of their
agreeing. According to the authenticated assertion of the Swedish Cabinet
with respect to the protocol, the materially new claims as the Norwegian
Cabinet styled them, had been touched upon in their debates, though not
even a preliminary agreement had been decided on, either with respect to
them or any of the other points of the question. It is a generally
understood fact, not even disputed on the Norwegian side, that his
Excellency BOSTROeM brought forward casually several of the questions
which afterwards raised so many disputes, and reserved to himself the
right, later on, to shape his opinion on points to which be made
objections. After first dealing with the deliberations of the Consular
Committee, they proceeded to debate on the terms of the agreement, and
during this last stage of the negotiations the contents of the intended
laws were discussed only by special delegates from the two
Cabinets[45:1].

Mr LAGERHEIM was uncontradicted by the Norwegian side when he explained
in the Swedish Diet that in all these preliminary negotiations respecting
the contents of the laws, matters concerning them, "must be subjected to
further examination of a very minute and exhaustive nature".

According to just reasoning, it is therefore rather audacious of the
Norwegian side to cite these preliminary negotiations, to which they also
add a decided admission on the part of Sweden, and on which they build
the accusations against