NORWAY 



42SS 



NORWAY 



The executive power is vested in the king 

 and his Council of State, consisting of the Min- 

 ister of State and eight councilors. 



The legislative power belongs to the Stor- 

 thing, a representative assembly of the people, 

 which is elected every three years and meets 

 annually. Sessions cannot last longer than 

 three months unless authorized by the king. 

 The Storthing is divided into two chambers, 

 the upper, or Lagthing, consisting of one-fourth 

 of the members, and the Oddsthing, or lower 

 chamber, in which all bills originate. The 

 rural communities and towns are governed by 

 local representative bodies and councils in 

 which the women may hold office. 



There is a supreme court for the whole king- 

 dom and there are three superior courts and 

 105 district courts. The Rigeret is the court 

 for impeachments. 



An Independent Kingdom. The monarchy of 

 Norway was founded by Harold I, the Fair- 

 haired, who in 872 united under his rule the 

 several tribes of the country which had been 

 ruled over by jarls, or petty chieftains. In the 

 next two centuries Christianity was introduced 

 by the Vikings, who in their wanderings had 

 come in contact with' Christian nations, and in 

 the eleventh century it was made the religion 

 of the entire country by Olaf, the patron saint 

 of Norway. Under Haakon the Old (1217- 

 1263), the kingdom reached the height of its 

 power and colonies were founded by Norse ex- 

 plorers in Iceland and Greenland and on Shet- 

 land Island. 



Loss of Independence. In 1319, there being 

 no immediate heir to the throne, the crown 

 was given to the king of Sweden, and since 

 that date Norway has not had a Norwegian 

 king. The next ruler, Haakon VI, married 

 Queen Margaret of Denmark, who on the death 

 of her husband and son became the sovereign 

 of both Norway and Denmark. By the union 

 of Kalmar, in 1397, Norway, Sweden and Den- 

 mark were united under her rule. For the next 

 four centuries Norway was united to Denmark. 



At the conclusion of the Napoleonic wars, 

 Denmark, as a punishment for its support of 

 Napoleon, was forced to transfer the sover- 

 eignty of Norway to Sweden, as the latter 

 country had been loyal to the allied powers. 

 The Norwegians refused to accept the Treaty 

 of Kiel (January, 1814), by which the country 

 was ceded to Sweden. They declared their in- 

 dependence and adopted a constitution. Al- 

 though allowed to keep its own constitution, 

 Norway was compelled to submit to the union. 



Throughout the nineteenth century the king- 

 dom insisted upon its rights of independent 

 within the boundaries, and discontent with the 

 union increased. 



The New Norway. In 1905, King Oscar's re- 

 fusal to grant Norway a separate consular 

 service brought affairs to a climax. The Stor- 

 thing proclaimed the independence of the coun- 

 try, and to show the desire to maintain friendly 

 relations with Sweden, the country invited 

 King Oscar to name one of his sons as king 

 of Norway. Upon the refusal of Oscar to ac- 

 cept the throne for his son, Charles, the second 

 son of the crown prince of Denmark, was 

 chosen as the ruler of Norway. 



After the accession of Charles in 1905 as 

 Haakon VII, democracy steadily developed. 

 In 1909 suffrage was extended to the women 

 paying taxes, and in 1913 all women citizens 

 were given the vote on the same terms as men. 

 Women also were given the right to hold posi- 

 tions on juries and tax commissions. Many 

 other democratic and social reforms have been 

 made. Workingmen's accident insurance laws 

 have been passed and farmers' cooperative so- 

 cieties have been established, and there has 

 been a remarkable reform in respect to the 

 liquor traffic, which was ruining the country. 

 Under the new system the profits derived from 

 the sale of liquor are given to the state, and 

 Norway has become one of the most temperate 

 countries of Europe. 



In the War of the Nations Norway remained 

 neutral, but protested to the German govern- 

 ment against the destruction of Norwegian 

 ships by submarines. E.B.P. 



Other Items of Interest. A traveler says of 

 Hammerfest, the most northerly town in the 

 world, "Everything is fishy. You eat fish, drink 

 fish, smell fish and breathe fish. The bill of 

 fare is made up of fish, the water tastes of it 

 and the air is reeking with it." 



At certain seasons the codfish crowd about 

 the Lofoten Islands in such numbers that they 

 pile themselves up into heaps scores of feet 

 deep. These the fishermen call "cod moun- 

 tains." 



The tall, iron stoves of Norway generally 

 have, above the "fire pot" in which the fuel is 

 blazing, a series of compartments, which are, 

 of course, of varying degrees of temperature. 

 These are used for heating and drying, and the 

 Norwegian peasant knows just which compart- 

 ment is best suited for every purpose. 



Norway, with Sweden, is "Mother Nature's 

 youngest child" among the inhabited countries 



