May 27. In spite of the strikes and the lockout the Norwegian trade balance has made a very encouraging improvement. During the first eleven months of the year the exports amounted to 969,000,000 kroner, an increase of more than 200,000,000 on the corresponding months in 1923. The month of September showed the highest export figure on record for Norway.

The Norwegian Institute of Comparative Cultural Research, to which the State and the Oslo Municipality have granted 1,000,000 kroner each, was opened in September. Among the distinguished foreign lecturers in the first term were Professor Vinogradoff of Oxford, and Professor Meillet of Paris.

The new railway through Romsdalen was opened by King Haakon on November 29. It is expected not only to give a great impetus to tourist traffic, but also to be of importance commercially by putting the fishing districts on the Western coast in direct connection with the capital. The country through which it passes has for many years been one of the favourite holiday resorts in Norway. The length of the new railway from Dombaas to Aandalsnes is 70 miles. The line has been under construction since 1912 and has cost about 45,000,000 kroner.

Crown Prince Olav came of age on July 2, and took the oath to the Norwegian constitution. In September the Prince completed his three years' course at the Military Academy, and obtained his commission as lieutenant in the Norwegian army.

In foreign politics 1924 was a somewhat notable year for Norway. On March 28 the Storting with an overwhelming majority ratified the Greenland Treaty with Denmark, there being only eight votes in the minority. During the debate the then Foreign Minister, Michelet, said that practically the whole Norwegian people supported the view that Eastern Greenland, in relation to Norway, must be considered a no man's country. The Storting by ratifying the Treaty showed that it did not think this point of view incompatible with the Greenland agreement. After the vote the President of the Storting expressed the hope that the decision would be to Norway's interest and contribute to a better understanding with Denmark.

An agreement regarding Norway's de jure recognition of the Soviet Government was signed on February 15.

On July 21 the Storting ratified the Treaty by which Spitsbergen is placed under Norway's sovereignty. The Spitsbergen Treaty has now been ratified by all the signatory powers, and the Norwegian administration of the islands will be established in the course of 1925. Norway's sovereignty over Spitsbergen has also been recognised by Russia.

THE Shah at the beginning of the year was still in Europe, where he had been since 1922, and during his absence came within an ace of losing his crown owing to the spread of the Republican movement in Persia. No sooner did the new Mejliss (elected some months previously) meet in March than rumours became rife that a Republic would be proclaimed on the Persian New Year, March 21. Disorderly scenes took place in the Mejliss, which on the whole favoured the change. The Religious Party, however, were strongly monarchical, and their agitation was so far successful that New Year passed without the Republic being proclaimed. A few days later the Sardar Sepah, the Prime Minister, who had so far not declared himself, after consultation with the chief Mujtahids, or doctors of the law, issued a proclamation making it an offence to suggest the desirability of a Republic in Persia, and the Republican movement came to an end for the time being. The Sardar Sepah lost his majority in the Mejliss, and sent in his resignation, but the Mejliss decided by a large majority to ask him to resume his office, and he complied, forming a new Cabinet nearly identical with the previous one.

In March the commanders of various provincial armies had invited certain of the principal chiefs of Luristan, in the southeast of Persia, who were in revolt, to meet them, and after giving them an oath of safe-conduct, had shot them and pillaged their properties. This infuriated the Luristan tribes, who came out of their winter quarters, and attacked the Government troops on May 16, inflicting on them 350 casualties. They then threatened Khoremabad, and Government troops were sent in haste to relieve it. These failed to drive off the insurgents, and the town was evacuated on May 20.

On July 18, the United States Consul, Major Imbrie, while passing near a sacred well in Teheran, incautiously brought out a camera, and was set on and murdered by a fanatical mob, who mistook him for a "Bahai" or heretic. Martial law was immediately proclaimed, and some 70 persons arrested. The United States Government sent a strongly worded Note to Persia, stating that it expected Persia to meet the expenses of sending an American warship to bring home the body of Major Imbrie, and to furnish military guard at the United States Legation as long as might be desired. The Note added that the continuance of diplomatic and consular relations would be dependent on the action which Persia might take to vindicate the principles of international law. The Persian Government made a full apology and complied with the American demands,

and on July 30, three men were tried by court-martial and condemned for the murder. One was executed on October 2; the Government tried to save the other two, one of whom was a Seyyid, or descendant of the Prophet, but on the American Government insisting, they were executed on November 2, and the incident was finally closed. The Persian Government gave £60,000 as compensation to Major Imbrie's widow.

On August 19 the Sardar Sepah, by a political coup, got rid of most of his colleagues in the Cabinet who had become unpopular with the Mejliss. A short time afterwards Dr. Millspaugh, the Administrator-General of Finances, who had been brought over from America in 1922, issued a report in which he stated that while the financial results for the previous year were satisfactory, he could not continue with his work unless he obtained better co-operation from the Government.

The Sheikh of Mohammerah, a semi-independent chieftain, revolted in October, in the belief that the Sardar Sepah intended to deprive him of his privileges. After some military operations he gave in his submission in December, and the Sardar Sepah went to Ahwaz to confer with him on terms.

In January, Persia purchased 12 aeroplanes from France for the Army. On August 11, the Soviet-Persian Commercial Treaty was signed. In April the Beirut-Bagdad motor service was organised as a fortnightly service to Teheran via Kesr-i-Shirin, Kermanshah, Hamadan, and Kazvin, enabling travellers to get from London to Teheran in eleven days. At the beginning of October the Junkers Aircraft Company of Dessau made an agreement with the Sardar Sepah to extend its Stockholm-Baku service, via Leningrad and Moscow, to Teheran, the whole distance from Stockholm to Teheran being flown in three days.

AFGHANISTAN.

In January, after long delay, the Afghan Government at length took energetic measures to arrest the lawless gangs which, after committing several murders of British officials and their wives across the border, had found refuge on Afghan territory. The so-called "Kohat gang" was captured on January 13 and brought to Kabul, and of the "Landi-Kotal" murderers one was killed a few days afterwards and the other wounded, but not captured. The prisoners were subsequently deported to Turkestan. At the same time the Afghan Government desisted from employing in its army Wazir tribesmen from British. territory, thus showing a less unfriendly spirit to Great Britain. than had characterised it for some time previously.

Towards the end of April the Ameer had, as in the previous year, to meet a serious rebellion due to discontent with the reforms which he sought to introduce. The centre of the revolt was the Khost district, and the chief tribe engaged the Mangals. The rebels threatened Matun, and a considerable force was sent

by the Ameer to relieve it. A sharp engagement took place near the city in May, with indecisive result. The revolt gained strength, and in July the rebels proclaimed as Ameer one Abdul Karim, who professed to be a grandson of the Ameer Sher Ali, but who was stated by the Indian Government to be the illegitimate Indian-born son of the Ameer Yakoub Khan, who had disowned him as a disgrace to the Afghan community. In August the Ameer purchased two aeroplanes from the British for use against the rebels, and his consort stimulated the enthusiasm of his soldiers by distributing large rewards to all who served under his flag. Nevertheless the struggle with the rebels, who had been joined by other tribes, continued for some time. At length in October the rebels began to show signs of demoralisation; a severe defeat was inflicted on them at Logar, and by November the insurrection in the Khost had generally subsided. The Government, however, found it advisable still to maintain a strong force in the Khost.

In the early part of the year Russian envoys at Kabul sought to excite anti-British feeling, and in particular accused Britain of fomenting the rebellion. In spite of this, however, relations between Afghanistan and Britain improved considerably.

IRAQ.

The year 1924 saw the settlement of several matters of importance that had remained outstanding from the previous year. Among these were the negotiations between Britain and Turkey on the subject of the Northern Frontier, although the frontier itself was not settled. Under the Treaty of Lausanne this question had to be decided within nine months of the conclusion of that Treaty or otherwise referred to the League of Nations. Turkey, however, showed a strong disinclination or a marked dilatoriness in meeting Britain, and it was not until May when more than seven of the nine months had expired that the representatives of the two Powers met at Constantinople. The differences between the two sides seemed from the first irreconcilable, and there was no surprise therefore when they failed. The Turks claimed the whole of the Vilayet of Mosul: the British argued that the vilayet formed unquestionably a portion of Iraq and only border rectifications were for consideration. Britain was, however, willing to agree to rectifications on a generous scale which would have involved the transfer to Turkey of almost a third of the vilayet, that is to say, almost all of the Kurdish districts. On the other hand, Britain desired the transfer from Turkey of the districts inhabitated by Assyrian Christians. In those circumstances the Conference came to an end on June 5. The question came before the Council of the League of Nations on September 20.

A week earlier the Turks had taken serious steps to force an issue by an armed invasion not only of territory that had been

mutually agreed upon pending a settlement as neutral, but other territory actually in the occupation of the British. British air forces immediately went into action and ejected the furthermost intruders. At the same time the Assyrian Christians fled into Iraq from north of the frontier. These events were first reported at the meeting of the Council of the League convened to consider the boundary dispute, and at the same time Britain appealed to the League to intervene on the ground that the situation was likely to affect good relations between the two powers. The Council of the League came to no final decision on the subject of the boundary, but appointed a Commission of three neutrals to visit the district and make recommendations. In the meanwhile the status quo was to be preserved. This, however, did not end the matter even provisionally. question at once arose what was the status quo, and both Governments applied again to the League of Nations for a decision on that point. The Council met again to consider this new question and decided mainly in favour of the British contention.

The

In July there was another slight frontier incident of a different character and in a different region. In 1922 after the withdrawal of the British troops from Suleimanie, Sheikh Mahmud, the Governor, set up an independent Kurdish Government, and entered into relations with the Turks. The area of this Government had been gradually reduced, and the last remnant was occupied by Iraqui troops in July.

The Iraqui Parliament, for the election of which preparations had been made in the previous year, came into existence in March. It proved to be of an overwhelmingly conservative character, representative more of the country districts than of the towns. The Parliament met in the same month, and its first function was to consider the Anglo-Iraqui Treaty which had been concluded eighteen months earlier. This Treaty together with four subsidiary agreements was ultimately adopted, but not without a severe struggle in the course of which at one time the Treaty was almost given up as lost. The opposition, moreover, did not limit itself to argument, but to secure its aim did not hesitate at murderous attacks in the streets of Baghdad, two pro-Treaty deputies being the victims. So keen was the struggle and so great the hesitation, or perhaps. fear due to intimidation of some of its supporters, that something of the nature of a British ultimatum was necessary before the Deputies could be brought to a vote. The Treaty was adopted by 37 votes to 24, eight members abstaining and thirty-one being absent, but only then with a rider stating the impracticability of the financial provisions, and expressing the confident hope that they would be modified. The validity of the Treaty was at the same time made conditional on the protection by Great Britain of the rights of Iraq in the Mosul Vilayet.

The Treaty being out of the way, Parliament turned its