Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/749

* NORWAY. 637 NORWAY. jcet them in tuto. lu uase of a deadlock between the two ohaniljers they come together in united session and deliberate and vote as a single assem- bly. The chief powers of the Storthing are to enact laws, impose taxes, raise loans, supervise the linances, vote appropriations, and approve treaties concluded with foreign powers. The Lagthing has the exclusive right of choosing the justices of the High Court, while to the Odelsthing belongs the right to inspect the pub- lie accounts and to prefer impeachments against public officials, including members of the Stor- thing. The members of the Lagthing, together with the justices of the Supreme Court, form a court (Rigsret) for the trial of ministers, mem- bers of the Storthing, and justices of the Supreme Court. To the King belongs the right of sanc- tioning laws passed by the Storthing. If, how- ever, he withholds his sanction and the law is pas.sed a third time by the Stortliing, it becomes valid without the royal approval. The King is commander of the army and navy, may declare defensive war, make treaties, levy troops, etc. He is declared to be inviolable and irresponsi- ble. He exercises his authority through a Coun- cil of State composed of two Jlinisters and at least seven Councilors, appointed by himself from among Norwegians. One of the Ministers, together with two of the Councilors (who change annually), form a "delegation," which re- sides permanently at Stockholm near the King. The King can take no official action without consulting the Council of State or that part of the Norwegian Government which has its seat at Christiania. The Ministers and Councilors pre- side over the departments of administration and have access to the Storthing, where they are al- lowed to take part in the deliberations, but with no right to vote. The departments are as follows; orship and Education; .Justice; Interior; Pub- lie Works; Finance and Customs; Defense; Pub- lic Accounts. The judicial system consists in the first place of a Supreme Court (Hoiesteret), eomi)osed of a president and at least six other justices, elected by the Lagthing, and having a territorial juris- diction embracing the whole Kingdom. There are also three Superior Courts ( Stef tesverret- ter), each consisting of a bench of three jus- tices, one of whom bears the title of Chief .Tus- ticc. For the administration of civil justice Norway is divided into 111 districts, each with an inferior court. There is also a court of mediation, so called, in each town and district, composed of two laymen popularly elected and before whom, as a nile, civil cases must first be brought. According to the new code of criminal procedure, adopted in 1887, all criminal cases nnist be tried before a jury court (Lagmands- ret) consisting of three judges and ten jurors, or before the Meddomsret. a tribunal consisting of one professional judge and two lay assistants, .simimoned for each case. The former has juris- diction of the more important offenses, while the latter is a court of first instance for the trial of misdemeanors. For the purposes of local government. Norway is divided into 20 districts, in each of which is an executive officer called an amtmana. These districts embrace the two cities of Christiania and Beriren and 18 counties (aemter). Smaller administrative divi- sions are the communes and wards. Each com- mune has a representative assembly (its size varying according to the po])ulation of the com- mune), and a smaller council, chosen by the representatives from their own l)o<h-. They also elect triennially a chairman. .Ml the chairmen of an amt form with the amtmana a sort of county diet, which meets annually iinder the presidency of the amtmana to fix the amt bud- get. The members of the local governing bodies are chosen by an electorate more narrow than that which chooses the members of the Storthing. Finance. The total revenue in the vear 1902- 03 was .$27,40.3,000. A little over a third of it is derived from the customs, and less than a tenth from the railroads. The other sources of income include the excise tax, stamps, income tax, post office. State telegraphs. Shite mines, and other State property. The total debt in 1901 was .$01,300,756. Gold is the .standard of value. The crown (26 4-5 cents) is the unit of coinage. The metric system of weights and measures is obligatory. Army and Navy. See the articles Abmies and Navies. The six strongest fortresses are Oskars- borg. Tonsberg, Bergen, Fredriksten, Ogdenes, Christiansand. Population. By the census of 1000 the popu- lation was 2.239.880. or 18 to the square mile. Norway is thus the most thinly populated coun- try in Europe. About two-thirds of the entire population live upon the cinist and along the fiords: about a fourth in the interior lowland dis- tricts; the remainder belong to the mountain districts. Three-fourths of the inhabitants dwell in the rural districts. Nearly all the sixty-one towns in Norway are small. The population of Christiania (the capital) and Bergen together is about half the town population of the country. A small proportion of the inhabitants are of foreign birth. The list of the political districts, with areas and populations, is as follows: Christiania (town) .kershus Smaalenene H^Jemarken Kristians Buskerud .Tarlsberg and Laurvilc Bratsberg Nedenes Li.ster and Mandal StaTang:er Sondre Berpenhue Bergen (town) Nordre Bergenhu8 RoniHdal Sondre Trondhjem Nordre Trondhjem Nordland Troniso Fininarken Total Area, Population square miles Dec. 3, 1900 6 227.626 2.017 116.228
 * ,60o

l:i6.886 10.600 126.182 9,78.5 116.280 5.721 112,670 89S 104.5.54 5.865 99.052 3.610 79.9.35 2,805 81.567 3,532 127,592 6,026 135,752 5 72.251 7.136 89,041 5,788 l;)6.137 7,186 135,382 8.696 83.433 1-1.804 152,144 10.l;)4 74,362 17,918 32,800 124,129 2.239,880 Emigration. Tn the nineteenth century Nor- way lost by emigration to the t'nited States a comparatively larger part of its popula- tion than any other country in Europe except- ing Ireland. Most of them made their new homes in the Northwestern United States. Emigration has greatly fallen ofT in the pa.st few years, and amounted to only 12.488 in 1901. EorcATioN. The Norwegian primary school has a seven years' course adapted for children between seven and fourteen years of age. Every