reign Powers; i. e. the Foreign Minister and the
legations, of all possibility of interfering against the Consul under
such circumstances would, in the opinion of the Swedish Cabinet Council,
hardly be compatible with the dignity of the United Kingdoms and might,
with regard to the Foreign Power, involve a danger that should be
escaped. The Norwegian and the Swedish draft alike contain regulations
enjoining upon the Consul the duty of obedience towards the Foreign
Minister and the legation. Also in case the Consul should violate his
duty of obedience, the proper consideration and regard for the position
held by the Foreign Minister and the legation seem to demand the
possibility for them to interfere. For this interference, however, such a
form has been proposed that the decision of the Consul's conduct, of his
remaining in office or his dismissal would be made by the King in the
Cabinet Council of that country represented by the Consul.

In support of his standpoint that "a joint treatment of matters
concerning the Consul's relations whether to the Foreign Minister, or the
legations or the Foreign Authorities" must not occur, the Norwegian
Cabinet Council refers to the contents of the report of the Consular
Committee and quotes especially a passage terminating in these words.
"But the very instructions to the latter (i. e. the consul) or the
disciplinary steps that may be occasioned by the matter, belong to the
internal consular management and must therefore be issued by the
Norwegian department." To this the objection should be made that the
opinion of the Consular committee is naturally not binding to the Swedish
Cabinet Council, and that besides the Norwegian Cabinet Council has
itself given up the same opinion in granting in its draft the Foreign
Minister and the legations, the right to address "injunctions" that the
Consul cannot forbear to pay heed to. This seems to imply a giving-up of
the claim that, in the diplomatic part of a matter, Norwegian consuls
shall be exclusively subject to Norwegian authorities.

[-- -- --]

From the detailed statement given it may be gathered that the Swedish
Cabinet Council considers itself neither bound nor, out of regard to the
welfare of the Union, justified to cancel outright, in the way demanded
in the Norwegian memorandum, the abovementioned paragraphs of its draft.
This does not however imply that from the Swedish side alterations and
modifications of the precepts propose