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and only required a certificate of ability from two reliable men
as a necessary condition for obtaining such citizenship. This
too easy access was partly the cause of several abuses, for which
reason the new law has been received with great satisfaction by
the artisan class. Combination of citizenship as artisan and as
merchant has been permitted since 1866. Since the same year,
permission has been given to anybody to carry on trade as an artisan
without citizenship, provided the work is done without hired help.
In the country districts freedom to work was formerly granted
only to the most necessary artisans, e.g. tailors, shoe-makers,
blacksmiths and carpenters. Other trades, such as tanning, dyeing, etc.,
could only be carried on by special permission. The products of
the country artisanship were not allowed to be introduced into the
towns, or exported abroad. By the act of 1839, the carrying on of
trade as an artisan was made free in the country districts, but work
could not be done for townspeople except at a distance of seven miles
or more from the town in question; this distance has afterwards
been shortened, and since 1876 the carrying on of handicraft as a
trade in the country districts has been made entirely free.
The artisan skill and energy of Norwegian workmen, even as
late as the 18th century, was on the whole not very great. In the
thirties of this century the matter was considerably improved, and
about the middle of the century handicraft in our towns, especially
in the larger ones, was steadily progressing.
The freedom of trade which has been extended, especially
since 1866, caused the artisans considerable difficulty, which they
seem, however, to have surmounted in a creditable manner, having
been able to maintain their position as an independent class of
society. Other circumstances, such as the depressed economic
conditions towards the close of the seventies and during the eighties,
and also, in a very considerable degree, the labour question, have
exerted a hampering influence on the development of handicraft,
especially in Kristiania. But on the whole, Norwegian handicraft
has also of late been progressing in qualility [[** sic, trykkfeil]] as well as in financial
strength; wages also, have much increased.
In the country districts, handicraft on the whole is
considerably behind that in the towns, which is a necessary
consequence of the thin population, and the fewer opportunities of
receiving a professional education. As a general rule, the work is only
intended to meet the local demand, but in not a few places,
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