48] ANNUAL REGISTER, ISU. 



sloop of war was in waiting to 

 convey him wherever he pleased, 

 he refused the offer, and meant to 

 embark in a Danish cutter. He 

 declared that he would not go to 

 Copenhagen, but would be landed 

 at Sandeberg in the Belt ; and 

 thus terminated his short-lived 

 royalty, the assumption of which, 

 whether dictated by patriotism or 

 ambition, was an indication rather 

 of spirit than of political wisdom. 



On October 20th, the Norwe- 

 gian Diet, by a majority of 74 

 voices to 5, came to the following 

 resolution. " Norway shall, as an 

 integral state, be united to Sweden 

 under one king, with the preserva- 

 tion of its constitution, subject to 

 such necessary alterations as the 

 welfare of the country may require, 

 having at the same time regard to 

 the union with Sweden. These 

 . alterations, which his Swedish 

 Majesty has recognised in the con- 

 vention of Moss, are to be cons - 

 dered and determined on by the 

 Diet as speedily as possible; and 

 as soon as this has been done, the 

 Diet will solemnly elect and ac- 

 knowledge the King of Sweden, 

 his Majesty Charles XIII. as the 

 constitutional King of Norway." 

 This resolution was made public in 

 a proclamation of the representa- 

 tives of Norway to their countrj'- 

 men. The election of the king by 

 the Diet took place with entire 

 unanimity on November 4th, and 

 seven of its members were deputed 

 to convey the intelligence of this 

 event to the Crown Prince of Swe- 

 den. His Uoyal Highness, acco7n- 

 panied by his son Prince Oscar, set 

 out from Frederickshall for Chris- 

 tiana on the 8th, and on the 10th 

 repaired in state to the hall of the 



Diet. He delivered a speech, 

 which was repeated in the Swedish 

 language by Prince Oscar ; after 

 which the assembly took the oath 

 of fidelity to the king, and his 

 Royal Highness delivered to the 

 president his Majesty's promise of 

 governing according to the national 

 laws. On the following day Field- 

 marshal Count d'Essen was invest- 

 ed with the dignity of Stadtholder 

 of the kingdom of Norway. On 

 the 13th a solemn Te Deum was 

 celebrated in the cathedral church 

 of Christiana, and an eloquent 

 discourse composed for the occa- 

 sion was delivered by the Bishop of 

 Aggerhuus. Thus the great na- 

 tional act was completed, in si 

 manner which at lesst bore everj^ 

 semblance of being free and volun- 

 tary. 



The Diet was closed on the 26th 

 with a speech frem the Crown 

 Prince, the following paragraph of 

 which affords an intimation of 

 what may have occurred in the 

 discussions on the constitution : 

 " If, in passing rapidly from an 

 absolute government, to one found- 

 ed on the laws, the wishes which 

 you have sometimes expressed 

 have been mixed with fears and 

 disquietudes, they must be ascribed 

 to the recollection of times and of 

 relations which no longer exist. 

 You were animated with the zeal 

 of defending the rights of the peo- 

 ple ; the king was desirous of re- 

 cognising them, and he was in- 

 duced so to do, as much by his 

 particular sentiments, as by the 

 free constitution of Sweden." 



For the articles of the Norwe- 

 gian constitution we refer to the 

 State Papers. 



II 



