ry 11, 1905.

[-- -- --]

To Sec. 8. It is stated here that, when. in a matter being dealt with by the
Consular administration, the Foreign Minister has given a Consul an
order, it is for the Consular administration to observe that, from its
side, no order conflicting with it is given to the Consul. It is
difficult to understand what is meant by this paragraph, which is without
a parallel in the present Consular statutes which do not direct any
similar injunction to the Norwegian Consular department. To judge from
reference to Sec. 4, it does not seem to have been intended to give the
Foreign Minister the right, in whatever be which matter being dealt with
by the Consular administration, to stop the function of the latter and to
assert his own authority instead; for this would be equivalent to
instituting a relation of subordination that no Governmental department
can submit to. The intention, then, can only be supposed to have been
the following:--to try, in a consular matter, that has assumed a
diplomatic aspect or that is simultaneously subject to a consular and a
diplomatic treatment, to prevent the Consular administration from
arbitrarily trespassing upon the province of the Foreign Minister. It
stands to reason that this must not occur. But just because it stands to
reason, the precept is superfluous. And what is of more importance: it is
calculated to excite indignation. For, as it is obvious that an
interference of the said kind must be a manifestation either of want of
judgment or of disloyalty, it should be admitted that it is not very
appropriate to give in a law, even in an indirect way, an expression to
the thought that such qualities may prevail in the department concerned.

[-- -- --]

To Sec. 11. [-- --] We should not however dwell upon these formal
considerations which are of a merely secondary importance as compared
with the far-reaching question: exclusively Norwegian or partly joint
treatment of matters concerning the relations of Norwegian Consuls
wheteher to the Foreign Minister, or to legations, or to Foreign
authorities. In this connection we want to quote a passage from the
report of the last Consular Committee made up of members from both
countries where we read (Norwegian edition, p. 16): "Furthermore the
Norwegian Consular administration has to leave it to the Foreign Minister
(and the legations) to receive and reply to reclamations from Foreign
Governments in the rare cases when subjec