MVKDEN AND NORWAY. 



SWIT/KIJLANU. 



721 



after the opening of the Storthing on Feb. 8, 

 l^'.cj, ihr 1,'ii.lii-als brought their demand* to an 

 UK! the House adopted a resolution' by a 

 vote of 64 to 48 that the establishment of sepa- 

 rate Norwegian consulates was within the com- 

 IM tnicy of the Norwegian Council of State, as 

 distinct from the Joint Council of State, and 

 (canted a sum of 50,000 kroner for the prelim i- 

 iiary expenses of severing the consular affairs of 

 Norway from those of Sweden. The king in- 

 fbrmea the Norwegian Ministers that he would 

 not sanction the vote of the Storthing, and on 

 June 29, 1892, the Ministry resigned, the premier 

 explaining that the step was taken owing to the 

 king's refusal to sanction the resolution of the 

 Storthing in regard to the establishment of sepa- 

 rate Norwegian consulates, a decision for which 

 no member of the Cabinet was willing to take the 

 responsibility. When Premier Steen announced 

 the resignation of the Cabinet to the Storthing 

 the next day, that body adjourned until further 

 notice. The president subsequently presented an 

 address to the king expressing the regret of the 

 Chamber at the king's refusal to sanction the 

 resolution of that body regarding the consular 

 question, and thereby causing the resignation of 

 the Ministry. The address furthermore urged 

 the king to give his approval to the resolution, 

 for the sake of the Union and of the Monarchy, 

 and thus obviate the necessity of the retirement 

 of the Ministry, which, the address declares, was 

 the only combination which at the present com- 

 manded the confidence of the Storthing. In the 

 answer to this address the king explained that, 

 although, in case of proposals being submitted to 

 him by the Council of State, he could, after hoar- 

 ing its advice, decide according to his own judg- 

 ment, yet, when he announced his intention of 

 making use of this right, he was prevented from 

 doing so by the resignation of his Ministers, before 

 any legal action in the matter had been taken, 

 and simply on the ground of non-official confer- 

 ences and private interviews ; and that he was 

 thereby prevented from explaining and proving 

 to the Norwegian people what he should decide 

 to do after hearing the advice of his councillors. 

 As regards the question of separate consular rep- 

 resentation he would remark that he would abide 

 by his decision of March 14, and would only add 

 that it was by reason of the explanations as to 

 the scope and extent of the resolution, as given 

 to him by the members of the Council of State, 

 that he was obliged to adhere to his decision not 

 to sanction the resolution of the Storthing. 



In the meantime the crisis was complete. The 

 efforts of the king to form a new Cabinet proved 

 fruitless. The conservative ex-premier, Stang, 

 was called and consulted as to taking office him- 

 self, but he declared himself unwilling to take 

 the responsibility unless the king agreed to con- 

 linn (he Storthing vote. While the crisis contin- 

 ued, Christ iania was the scene of tremendous 

 demonstrations and counter-demonstrations, and 

 even rural districts were affected by the heat 

 of political controversy. At a meeting of the 

 Storthing on July 26, an address to the members 

 of Premier Steen s Cabinet was voted, demanding, 

 for the sake of the welfare of the country, that 

 an end should be put to the situation by the de- 

 ferring of the settlement of the Consulate ques- 

 tion sine die and the continuance of the Steen 

 VOL. xxxn. 46 A 



Mini-try in office. This solution was agreeable 

 to King Oscar, and on July 27 he requested Steen 

 to withdraw his resignation, which the latter did 

 on the condition- ] prosed in the above resolu- 

 tion of the Storthing. ' 



SWITZERLAND, a federal republic in central 

 Europe. The Swiss Confederation was founded 

 on Jan. 1, 1308, by the 3 cantons of Uri, Schwyz, 

 and Unterwald. In 1815 the number of cantons, 

 which had previously been changed and in- 

 creased, was fixed at 22 ; and in the same year 

 Austria, France, Great Britain, Prussia, and 

 Russia guaranteed the perpetual neutrality of 

 Switzerland. In 1848 Switzerland was trans- 

 formed from a league of republics into a federal 

 republic. The present Constitution was pro- 

 claimed on May 29, 1874, and may be revised 

 either by federal legislation or by direct vote of 

 the people. The Federal Assembly is composed 

 of the Nationalrath, consisting of 147 members, 

 elected by direct suffrage for a term of 3 years : 

 and a Standerath, consisting of 44 members, 

 elected two for each canton. The two chambers, 

 also called the Bundes-Versammlung, represent 

 the supreme government of the Republic. The 

 chief executive is vested in a Bundesrath or Fed- 

 eral Council, consisting of 7 members, elected by 

 the Federal Assembly for 3 years. The Presi- 

 dent and Vice-President of the Federal Council 

 are also elected by the Federal Assembly from 

 among the members of the former, for the term 

 of 1 year, and they are the chief magistrates of 

 the Republic. Laws passed by the Federal 

 Assembly may be vetoed by the people on a de- 

 mand for a referendum, which consists of submit- 

 ting a petition to the Government, signed by 

 50,000 voters, demanding the' revision or annul- 

 ment of an obnoxious measure, which must then 

 be left to the direct vote of the people. 



The Federal Council for 1891-93 is composed 

 of the following members : President or the 

 Confederation for 1892, Walter Hauser, of 

 Zurich, chief of the Department of Finance 

 and Customs ; Vice-President for 1892, Dr. K. 

 Schenk, of Bern, chief of the Department of the 

 Interior ; L. Ruchonnet, of Vaud, chief of the 

 Department of Justice and Police ; Dr. N. Droz, 

 of Neufchatel, chief of the Department of 

 Foreign Affairs ; Dr. A. Deucher, of Thurgau. 

 chief of the Department of Industry and Agri- 

 culture ; E. Frey, of the rural division of Basel, 

 chief of the Department of Military Affairs ; 

 I. Zemp, of Luzern, chief of the Department of 

 Posts and Telegraphs. On Dec. 15, 1892, the 

 Federal Assembly elected Dr. K. Schenk Presi- 

 dent, and M. E. Frey Vice-President, of the 

 Federal Council for 1893. M. A. Lachena, 

 President of the National Council, was elected to 

 succeed Dr. N. Droz, resigned, as chief of the 

 Department of Foreign Affairs. 



Area and Population. The area of Switzer- 

 land is 15.976 square miles. The domiciled popu- 

 lation, according to the census of 1888, numbered 

 2,917,754 individuals, of which 1,417,574 were 

 males and 1,500,180 females. Of the total popu- 

 lation 2,688,104 were Swiss, and 229.650 foreign- 

 ers; of these 112,342 were Germans, 53,627 

 French, 41,881 Italians, 14,181 Austrians and 

 Hungarians, 3,577 English, 1,354 Russian- 

 from other European countries, 1,019 North 

 Americans, and 516 from other countries. The 



