Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1921.djvu/1194

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NORWAY

Internal Communications.

The length of State Railways on December 31, 1919, was 1,729 miles; of private companies 290 miles; total 2,019 miles. 1,249 miles have a gauge of 4ft. 8£in. ; 702 miles, 3ft. 6in.; 16 miles, 3ft. 3Jin. ; 52 miles, 2ft. 5£in. Total receipts year ending June 30, 1919 : State railways, 79,546,130 kroner; companies, 14,684,000 kroner. Total expenses : State railways, 18,383,990 kroner ; companies, 15,434,103 kroner. Goods carried : State railways, 5,295,532 tons (of 1,000 kilogs.) ; companies, 1,871,587. Passengers carried : State railways, 25,718,307; companies, 5,527,271. The State railways have been constructed partly by subscription in the districts interested and partly at the expense of Government. The receipts, expenses and traffic refer to the year July 1, 1918, to June 30, 1919. A beginning is made for the electrification of the State Railways in Norway.

The following are the postal statistics : —

Letters .... Post-cards. Letters with declara- tion of value. Registered letters Journals

Other printed matter. Samples and parcels.

80,677,317 18,669,476

6,0S0,250

2,572,123

140,574,294

15,081,211

3,484,752

1916

103,258,016 16,650,375

6,841,449 3,517,093 162,262,182 17,105,068 3,899,068

1917

94,985,181 15,922,855

6,713.411

3,800,366

155,550.346

15.8S6.593

3,99S,45S

1918

,292.121 227,739

219,912 590,400 521,243 527 492 800,091

,075,227 ,942,460

,S15,8c5 .780,734 ,026,882 ,252,290 ,512,228

Length of telegraph and interurban telephone lines and wires, June 30, 1920 : 16,210 miles of line, 80,000 miles of wires. Number of paid messages on the State lines, ca 7,067,688. Number of telephone conversations on trunk lines, call, 092,003. State telegraph offices, 1,920; receipts, 22,434,041 kroner; expenses, 23,728,613 kroner.

The Government possesses 1 1 wireless telegraph stations in Norway and one at Spitsbergen.

Money and Credit.

On June 30, 1919, the nominal value of the coin minted (the coinage after the monetary reform deducting the coins melted down) was : Gold coin, 22,639,850 kroner; silver coin, 24,368,701 kroner; bronze and iron coin, 1,827,366 kroner ; total, 48,835,917 kroner.

There exists no Government paper money.

The value of income in 1918 and property at the end of 1918 assessed for taxes in the fiscal year 1919-20 was : —

The towns

The rural districts

Income. Property.

1,823*1 millions of kroner 5,544*3 millions of kroiu 1,349*0 „ ,, 6,270*7

The whole kingdom 3,1721

11,815*0

The * Norges ' Bank is a joint-stock bank, of which, however, a considerable part is owned by the State. The bank is, besides, governed by laws enacted by the State, and its directors are elected by the Storting except the presi- dent and vice-president of the head office, who are nominated by the King. It in the only bank in Norway that is authorised to issue bank notes for circulation. The balance-sheets of the batik for 1919 show the following