Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - III. Constitution and Administration. Introd. by E. Hildebrand - 1. Constitution. By E. Hildebrand
<< 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.
■2-20
III. CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION.
secrecy, it was able, for a considerable length of time, to exceed its authority
with perfect impunity.
The constitution during this "Period of Liberty" was naturally favourable to
political speculation. Especially when the process of development began to go
astray, it was of importance for one party to defend the system, and for the
other to combat it. In the ranks of the opponents, at first under the influence
of the Court party that became prominent about 1750—60, there gradually
emerged the doctrine of a real "division of powers" between King and Riksdag
— or, in other words, the doctrine of a constitutional monarchy.
It was not these theories, however, that were destined to effect a change in
the constitution of the state: the crisis came from another quarter. The Riksdag
was a diet of Estates; and among the Estates unity did not prevail. The Nobility
laid claim to the high offices of the State, enjoyed privileges in the right of
owning land exempt from taxation, and endeavoured also, at one time, to form
themselves into a close order by preventing the ennobling of any other families.
The offices attracted the unprivileged middle classes; while the peasants were
only able to possess land encumbered by land-taxes, and had not, in all cases,
full freedom in the management of it. A chance circumstance kindled the strife
between the Estates at the beginning of the seventeen seventies; the privileges
of the nobility were attacked in numbers of pamphlets, and far-reaching demands
for social and political equality were put forth. The privileges of the nobility
were threatened, and as the integrity of the Kingdom was also in danger, by
reason of the corruption in the ruling party and its dependence on Russia,
Gustavus III, with the aid of the nobility, embarked on his famous Revolution
of the year 1772.
The form of government was embodied in a new Constitution Act. The King
recovered his independent position as head of the State; and a division of power
was partially introduced, inasmuch as the united consent of King and Riksdag
were made requisite for the enactment of laws. But the assembling of the
Riksdag now depended upon the King’s pleasure, and the ministers were not
responsible to the Riksdag. That body possessed, it is true, the right of taxation,
but it lacked any effective control over the expenditure of public money. The
constitutional element in the new form of government was thus more apparent than
real, and, in fact, the King took his real advisers either inside or outside the
Council of the Realm. It soon became evident that the King was trying, by every
means in his power, to neutralize the activity of the Riksdag and to interpret
to his own advantage the ambiguous expressions that the fundamental law
contained in many cases. At length, when strong discontent arose out of this
and other causes, the King plunged into war with Russia. Thereupon, the
discontent broke into open flame in the Anjala mutiny, led by officers of noble
birth. Availing himself very cleverly of the strife between the Estates which
recommenced as a consequence of that rising, Gustavus III carried out a new
Revolution (1789); and by an appendix to the Constitution Act, called the Act
of Union and, Security (Förenings- och säkerhetsakten), he obtained for himself
complete’ liberty in the government of the Kingdom, the right to declare war,
etc. The power of the Riksdag was further restricted, the time-honoured Council
of the Realm was dissolved, and the King sought counsel of a ministry appointed
in a somewhat arbitrary fashion. For the administration of justice in its higher
branches, a special High Court of Justice was instituted; and for the
administration of the National Debt, a special National Debt Board was appointed
under the direction of the Estates. The distinctions between the estates were
to some extent removed. Commoners were allowed to hold most of the offices
of State, and the position of the peasantry as a class was materially improved.
The form of government had, however, once more approximated to absolutism.
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
