Charles John was succeeded by his son, Oscar I., who very soon won the love of the Norwegians. One of his first acts was to give Norway her own commercial flag and other outward signs of her equality with Sweden. His father had always signed himself "King of Sweden and Norway"; but King Oscar adopted the rule to sign all documents pertaining to the government of Norway as "King of Norway and Sweden." During the war between Germany and Denmark, King Oscar gathered a Swedish-Norwegian army in Scania, and he succeeded in arranging the armistice of Malmoe in 1848. The war broke out anew, however, the following year, and he then occupied northern Schleswig with Norwegian and Swedish troops, pending the negotiations for peace between Germany and Denmark. During the Crimean War, King Oscar made a treaty with England and France (1855), by which the latter powers promised to help Sweden and Norway in case of any attack from Russia. General contentment prevailed during the happy reign of King Oscar, and the prosperity, commerce and population of the country increased steadily. These satisfactory conditions did not, however, result in any weakening of the national feeling, and the Storthing, in 1857, declined to promote a plan, prepared by a joint Swedish and Norwegian commission, looking to a strengthening of the union. After a sickness of two years, during which his eldest son, Crown Prince Charles, had charge of the government as prince-regent, King Oscar I. died in July, 1859, at the age of sixty years. He was married to Josephine of Leuchtenberg, daughter of Napoleon's stepson, Engene Beauharnais. Charles XV. was thirty-three years old when he ascended the throne. The progress in the material welfare of the country was continued during his reign, and, like his father, he was very popular. Numerous roads and railways were started, all parts of the country were connected by telegraph, and the merchant marine grew to be one of the largest in the world. In 1869 a law was passed providing for annual sessions of the Storthing instead of triennial as heretofore. The first Storthing under Charles XV., with only two negative votes, resolved to abolish the right of the king to appoint a viceroy (Statholder) for Norway. This action of the Storthing enraged the ruling party in the Swedish Diet, who claimed a right to be consulted in this matter, in which they considered that Sweden had an interest, and they demanded a revision of the terms of the union. A serious conflict was avoided for the time being, the king vetoing the resolution of the Storthing. Not till 1865 were negotiations opened for a revision. A joint committee was appointed to prepare a plan; but the question was not solved, for the Storthing, in 1870, rejected the plan proposed by the committee.