In this case, there is no reason why Oscar of Sweden should not be the umpire chosen.
It would, of course, be more agreeable to us if the umpire were not a European ruler. England would be sure to object to an American umpire, and neither Asia nor Africa could give us a person capable of filling the office, so it looks very much as though the only person to be found, who understands diplomacy well enough to be of use, would be a European sovereign.
If the umpire must be such a person, King Oscar of Sweden is the most desirable of them all.
He is, besides, almost the only European ruler who is free to accept the office.
The royal families of Germany, Russia, Denmark, and Greece are all related to England, and therefore could not be chosen. Austria and Italy are too hemmed in by other countries, and too much bound by treaties, to be free to give any decision that might offend Europe.
Sweden and Norway are cut off from the rest of Europe by the Baltic Sea, and for this reason have not needed to burden themselves with as many ties as the other powers of the Continent.
King Oscar is moreover a quiet, sensible man, who would be likely to help the Committee to arrive at wise and just conclusions.
There is another advantage in choosing King Oscar. The royal family of Sweden is only eighty years old, and has not those centuries of traditions behind it, which make other royal houses so difficult to deal with.
Oscar II., the present King, is the grandson of the famous French Marshal, Bernadotte, for whom Napoleon secured the throne of Sweden and Norway.
He is a man who loves learning, and encourages clever people, and is very simple in his ways.