- Project Runeberg -  Sweden. Its People and its Industry /
185

(1904) Author: Gustav Sundbärg
Table of Contents / Innehåll | << Previous | Next >>
  Project Runeberg | Catalog | Recent Changes | Donate | Comments? |   

Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - First part - III. Constitution and Administration - 1. Constitution - The Union with Norway, by E. Arosenius, Ph. D., Royal Central Bureau of Statistics, Stockholm

scanned image

<< prev. page << föreg. sida <<     >> nästa sida >> next page >>


Below is the raw OCR text from the above scanned image. Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan. Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!

This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.

THE UNION WITH NORWAY.

185

This onion came about in the following way: The marshal Bernadotte,
baring been elected, in 1810, Heir of the Crown of Sweden, formed a scheme
for uniting the whole Scandinavian peninsula under one monarch and thus
securing its peace within and its independence without. By the Peace of Kiel, 1814,
Norway, which, in 1536, became a dependency of the Danish realm, was ceded
by the King of Denmark to the King of Sweden, not, however, to be incorporated
with Sweden, but to form a kingdom united with the latter country. The
Norwegians, who refused to comply with these decrees, chose a King of their own,
viz. Prince Christian Frederick, their former Danish governor-general, and at a
parliament, held at Eidsvold, adopted a constitution for themselves. This was
followed by a short war between Sweden and Norway, a war that ended with
the Convention of Moss on August 14th 1814, at which Christian Frederick
undertook to abdicate the throne and leave the country, after having issued a writ to
the Norwegian Parliament (Storting) to meet for the purpose of negotiating
with the Commissioners of the Swedish King. The basis of these negotiations
was understood to be the acceptance, on the part of the King, of the new
Norwegian constitution, with only such modifications as would be the inevitable
consequence of the union of the two kingdoms.

The negotiations between the Swedish Commissioners and the Norwegian
Parliament resulted in Parliament consenting to the establishment of the Union,
and an agreement was come to with the Commissioners as to the
necessary alterations in the constitution, and King Charles XIII was elected and
acknowledged King of Norway. After the Swedish Parliament had formally
assented to those Union clauses introduced into the constitutional law of Norway,
which occasioned a change in the" government of Sweden, a special law in
reference to this — the Union Act of Aug. 6, 1815 — was framed, which
was passed by the parliaments of Sweden and Norway, and then ratified by their
common King.

The Union Act of 1815 decrees that Norway shall be a free,
autonomous, indivisible, and inalienable kingdom, united with Sweden under
one King. Hence, the union is based upon the principle of each
kingdom’s mutual independence. The principle of equality between the two
kingdoms is, indeed, not expressly mentioned in the Union Act, but is
in most cases applied.

The Community between the two kingdoms comprises, as has been
already mentioned, the King and the Royal family and the relations
with foreign powers.

The community in respect to the King’s authority also includes
those who exercise it in the event of the King failing to attend to the
duties of Government. If the King be sick or should happen to be
beyond the limits of the united kingdoms, the Government of both
countries is carried on by the Heir Apparent — if he is of age and not
otherwise prevented — or else by a so-called Interim Administration,
consisting of ten Swedish Cabinet Ministers and a similar number of
Norwegian ones. If a Regency is required for a King under age, each
parliament elects separately; and should no agreement be come to, then
the question is to be settled by a Delegacy of 36 members from each
kingdom, which Delegacy shall assemble in the town of Karlstad in
Sweden. The same proceedings are to be taken at the election of a

<< prev. page << föreg. sida <<     >> nästa sida >> next page >>


Project Runeberg, Mon Dec 11 23:50:41 2023 (aronsson) (download) << Previous Next >>
https://runeberg.org/sverig01en/0207.html

Valid HTML 4.0! All our files are DRM-free