It is stated that the Government of St. Petersburg has
made another attempt to obtain Hammerfest, the most northerly Norwegian harbour which does not freeze up. The Swedes had claimed Spitzbergen, but the Russians say it is theirs and they will only give it up for Hammerfest and the intervening wilder- ness. The Norwegians are not likely to sell the harbour, but such a transaction would be a great advantage to Great Britain. Ham- merfest would become the grand Russian arsenal and naval station, the Baltic being only defended by monitors, and would in the event of war either for Constantinople or India be well within the British guns. It is a curious fact, revealed in Lord Brougham's letters, that William IV. always believed in the imminence of a Russian invasion of Great Britain, and half convinced his Ministers.
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