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Doc. 180.] 513
ADDRESS TO THE SWEDISH DIET.
I heard, and which I know from my own experience have
happened in England and Holland to the detriment of jus
tice and the public good, I believe I might fill a whole
book with lamentations ; when, nevertheless, those governments,
together with our own in Sweden, are the very best in Europe,
as every inhabitant, notwithstanding all the shortcomings
which happen there, is safe in his life and property, and no
one is a slave, but they are all free men. 4. The Honourable
Houses of the Diet will allow me to go still higher: If in
this world there should exist. a heavenly government, con
sisting of men who had an angelic disposition, there would
nevertheless be in it faults caused by weakness, together
with other short-comings; and if these were ferreted out,
reported, and exaggerated, this government too might be
undermined by calumny, and thereby gradually a desire might
be raised among the well-disposed to change and destroy it.
5. The best government
, and that which is most wisely arranged,
is our own government in Sweden ; inasmuch as all things are
connected here as in a chain, and are joined together for the
purpose of administering justice from the highest leader to
the lowest. This every man may see if he chooses; inasmuch
as every district judge ( häradshöfding) is under a superior
judge (lagman); the superior judge together with the district
judge are under the superintendence of the Supreme Court
( Hof-rätten ), the Supreme Court is subject to an appeal to
the King, and the appeal to the King again may be reversed
by an appeal to the Houses of the Diet. Again the police
constables and bailiffs (länsman och fogde) are under the
direction and order of the provincial governors ( landshöfding),
the provincial governors are under the Supreme Court and
the several Departments of the State (collegier), these are
under the Royal Senate, and the Royal Senate, together with
the Departments of the State, are under the administration of
the four Houses, by whom separate commissions or committees
are appointed at every session of the Diet over each of these.
Without failing to mention that the higher as well as the
lower officials are responsible to the comptrollers and attor
neys of the government ( fiskaler ), and the Houses of the Diet
are answerable to God, in case they have no respect for
33
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