and is at present one hundred and eleven, of whom seventy-four are returned by country districts, and the remaining thirty-seven by the towns. The tendency of the Storthing, arising mainly from its composition, has been to favor the country districts at the expense of the towns. The inhabitants of the towns think that this tendency is especially shown in the comparatively large sums of money which are voted from the national exchequer for the purpose of making new roads through the interior, though the accusation is certainly in part unfounded, as indirectly the towns benefit from the increased facility of communication. On the other hand, the Storthing has shown itself adverse to increased expenditure on the public service of the State, and decidedly opposed to the imposition of heavier taxation in order to give increased efficiency to the army and navy. This was very distinctly shown at the last Storthing, which unanimously rejected a proposal of the government to vote a sum of money for military preparations, in view of the uncertain aspect of foreign affairs consequent on the war in the East. To the Storthing the danger seemed remote, and the injury to the country likely to be caused by increased pressure on her scanty though well-husbanded resources, too palpable to justify their yielding to the demands of the government. At the same time a feeling of insecurity is showing itself among the commercial classes, more readily apprehensive of the perils of foreign war than are the peasants in their quiet valleys, and it is not unlikely that the Storthing may begin to busy itself with schemes for national defence. Such schemes will almost certainly proceed from the members for the towns, and will, it is most likely, be opposed by the country members, whose consent to increased taxation will be only obtained with difficulty, and perhaps not at all, except in the presence of immediate danger.
Besides the legislative powers which the Storthing possesses, its most important functions are those which relate to the superintendence of the administration of the public departments and the auditing of the public accounts. The minutes of the meetings of the government, as well as of the meetings of the king with the members of the council in attendance upon him in Sweden, and all public documents and royal orders, unless relating to military operations, are regularly laid before the Storthing, which has the further power of calling any one before it in State matters. The king and royal family are excepted; but a prince who holds any office, except that of viceroy, is bound to appear before the Storthing, if called on, to give an account of the manner in which the duties of his office have been discharged. The Storthing also specially concerns itself with the list of pensions, which it carefully prunes, so as to prevent the nation being unnecessarily burdened; and it is apparently a rule that in settling the pension of a public servant, his private fortune may be taken into account. If malversation of any kind be discovered, the offending minister or councillor is liable to a prosecution, at the instance of the Odelsthing, before the Rigsret, a high court composed of the members of the High Court of Appeal and of the Lagthing, and the same tribunal takes cognizance of offences committed by members of the Storthing or of the High Court of Appeal, and in both of these cases, also, the Odelsthing has the right of instituting the prosecution. In order to secure to the Storthing perfect freedom in its control over the public administration, the consent of the king is not required to a resolution impeaching any official before the Rigsret. Among the powers reserved to the Storthing is one which reveals a great jealousy of foreigners, and a fear lest the privileges of Norwegian citizenship should be too easily communicated to them. The power of naturalizing foreigners is vested in the Storthing, but is not subject to the royal veto, which can be exercised against most of their other resolutions.
The elections for the Storthing are held in the month of December every third year, but the electors do not vote directly for any candidate. They choose electors, in towns in the proportion of one to every fifty voters, and in country districts in the proportion of one to every hundred voters, who thereafter meet and choose, either from among their own number or from among the legally qualified voters in the district, the members of the Storthing the town or district is entitled to elect. The representatives so chosen, in addition to the qualifications required for an ordinary voter, must be thirty years of age and have been resident for ten years in Norway. To entitle a Norwegian citizen to vote, he must be twenty-five years of age, have resided five years in the country, be living there at the time of the election, and either be or have been an official, or, if in a country district, own or have farmed for more than five years registered land, or be a burgess, or own house property or
