In the name of His Majesty Haakon VII, King of Norway, Paal O. Berg, Norwegian Minister of Justice, last week formally annexed the archipelago of Spitsbergen (Svalbard to the Norwegians, meaning "cool coast").
The ceremony took place at Long-year Valley, on Advent Bay, Spitsbergen, the principal settlement of the island. Minister Berg read a notification of annexation declaring the archipelago to be Norwegian territory and subject to Norwegian law. Up went the Norwegian flag, sailors from the patrol boat Heimdal presented arms, the guns of the Heimdal boomed salutes, the people sang...