Wo now turn again to the Constitution it If. Here is its opening sentence The Kingdom of Norway shall free, independent, lo, and inal able Kingdom, united with Sweden under, one King; its form of Government shall be a limited and hereditary Muunreby."
Nothing can be clearer and more unequivocal than these words, and they 0 to he kept always in view.
Constitution as a wh is most remarkable effort of the star manship of nearly 100 years ago. t has been pronounced, on irish authority, as the most liberal of constitutions, one of which any modern nation might boast." Mr. Samuel Laing describes it as "a working model of a constitutional gover mont, and wh works so well 0 the consideration of the English people." Under this Constitution, the same writer continues, "the Norwegian people enjoy a grouter share of political liberty, and have the from and administering of their own laws more entirely in their own hands, than any European nation of the present time."
When things had settled down, Karl Johan tried to regain lost ground. Among, other things he particularly wanted the power of absolute veto, which, under the Constitution that he had accepted, he did not possess. 'The sturdy patriots of. the Storthing resolutely declined to entertain his proposal, and to this day the merely' suspensive royal veto remains one of the most important features.of the Constitution.
'On one occasion, for example, " few years after the union was entered into, the Norwegian Storthing passed a bill for! the abolition of nobility, the' country being too poor to maintain an aristocracy. Karl Johan took a different view. He looked upon this abolition as s blow aimed at his power in Norway and twice refused his sanction, The bill passed a third time, under the Constitution became law, and so the people's will prevailed.
During the ensuing century and up to the present time several further attempts have been made on the part of Sweden to give the King greater power, and to bring the two'countries into closer union, but the Norwegians have always resisted these efforts, knowing full well the dangers of such course for their independence. And hero, it may well be asked who can blame them for such action, least of all we of the Anglo-Saxon race, who have fought and blad the world over for political freedom
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.