. Indisputably, the
Norwegian emigrant, by his persevering labour and steady conduct, rarely
fails to succeed in Wisconsin and other States, in which he is always a
welcome settler; and consequently he soon finds himself able to transmit
money for the purpose of enabling his brothers and sisters, and not
seldom his father and mother, to join him. No State or other aid is
afforded for such purposes to Norwegians, although it is occasionally
the case, that the hard cash with which the emigrant leaves his home is
derived from the proceeds of a loan raised by the head of his family for
the purpose of buying out co-heirs under the _Odels ret_, adding
thereby, as we have already shown, to the indebtedness with which the
land is burdened. Others, also, maintain that many young men emigrate
from Norway in order to avoid military conscription, which, although
milder there in its demands than in most other European countries where
that system exists, undoubtedly diminishes the quantity and deteriorates
the quality of agricultural labour. The strongest incentive to
emigration, however, is the desire to escape from the misery and penury
which accompany in Norway, as in every other part of Europe, the
condition of a small landowner, cotter, or labourer who is unable to
find regular employment on adjoining estates that can be kept going, if
nothing more, with the aid of scientific knowledge, machinery and
capital.

There is, however, yet another proof of the prevalent material _malaise_
in Norway, particularly among its rural classes, and strangely enough it
bears the same character as that which has brought the 'three acres and
a cow' and Irish land bills, past and expected, into such prominent
relief in our country of lack-lands, namely political agitation.
Whatever may be its merits or demerits on this side of the North Sea,
our readers will scarcely be prepared to learn that a corresponding
ferment has been engendered of late years on the opposite shores. We are
told this by the Prefect of South Trondhjem, one of the most important
provinces of a country where, in the days of Mr. Laing, there was a
dead-level of contentment, where the widest form of home-rule has been
in operation since the early part of the present century, and where the
Crown Administration has all that time been more pure, blameless and
efficient than in any other country on the Continent of Europe. His
significant words are:

'As everywhere else in Nor