The Government have taken new measures to prevent "pro- hibited
goods" from passing from Sweden into Germany. What are called prohibited goods have not, in fact, been prevented from going to Sweden ; they have been allowed to enter the country under a guarantee from the Handelskommission that they would not be forwarded to Germany. The exporter has also been required to prove that he has satisfied himself that the ostensible destination of the goods is the real one. But last April Sweden passed a law which in effect, though that may well not have been the intention of the measure, prevented the exporter from informing himself on this matter. The new British Proclamation makes virtually all goods "prohibited goods," and secures that they can be exported to Sweden only on condition that the recipient with the approval of the Swedish Trade Department promises that they shall not be re-exported. This is, of course, only a reaffirmation in a new form of what has already been the admitted object of both Governments. If the original plan succeeded in its purpose the Proclamation can make little difference. We are glad to see that this is the very reasonable view taken in Sweden.
