Page images
PDF
EPUB

Learned Societies.] Sweden has several literary societies, of which the most remarkable appear to be the Swedish academy of arts and sciences at Stockholm, and the royal society at Upsala. The academy originated in a meeting of six persons of distinguished literary talents, among whom was the well-known Linnæus. From a fund supplied by private donations, annual prizes are distributed for the encouragement of agriculture, and inland commerce. According to the newest regulations, the academy was in 1821 divided into nine classes, viz. pure mathematics, practical mathematics, physics, chemistry, and mineralogy, zoology, and botany, medicine, and surgery, political economy, and belles lettres. The number of acting members, who are employed in these departments, are collectively 102. Queen Ulrica Eleanora provided the royal academy of Belles Lettres in 1753, which has also given birth to a long series of printed transactions; and Gustavus III., in 1786, established the celebrated College of the Eighteen' for the improvement of the national language, poetry, and eloquence. The royal society of Upsala was instituted in 1720, and is said to be the most ancient society of that kind in the north of Europe. It was commenced by Bonzalius, at that time librarian to the university, afterwards bishop of Upsala.

Schools.] Of elementary schools, the number in Sweden is by no means inconsiderable; education, at least the primary or fundamental part, being, as in Scotland and Switzerland, generally diffused. Government disburses, for the universities and schools of every description, in the shape of salaries, allowances to the poorer students, purchase of books, &c. about £60,000 annually. Private teaching is as currently adopted among the middling and higher classes in Sweden as in France. From the elementary or parish schools, which are very thinly scattered in the north, boys are removed to more dignified seminaries, or gymnasia, of which the kingdom contains twelve, being one in each bishopric, and where they are instructed in the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages, and in other departments of learning. Thence, if they are destined for literary pursuits, or for any of the learned professions, they proceed to the university. An attempt has been made to introduce the Lancasterian system into Sweden; and Sunday and free schools exist in many of the principal towns. There are two schools for navigation in Stockholm and Carlscrona; a military academy at Carlsberg; and several other particular institutions.

CHAP. VI.-GOVERNMENT-REVENUE-ARMY, AND NAVY. Fundamental Laws.] THE constitution of the 7th June, 1809, and the order of succession declared on the 18th of December in the same year, by which all the laws promulgated since the death of Charles XII. were abolished, are now the fundamental laws of the Swedish kingdom. The act of union of the two kingdoms of Sweden and Norway may also be considered as a fundamental law.

By the new constitution, Sweden was declared to be a limited hereditary kingdom, at the head of which stands the king, with extensive but defined prerogatives, and in which the States have an important voice. Norway must be considered as a distinct kingdom, united under the same crown with Sweden. Perhaps, notwithstanding the apparent independence of the king, Sweden is at this moment one of the most truly

limited monarchies in Europe. The king can only enter into treaties and alliances with foreign powers, after having communicated with the minister of state and chancellor. An extraordinary council of state must be convened and consulted before the king can constitutionally declare war or peace; but he may, after taking this step, act upon his own responsibility. The king is at the head of the army and navy; but can only transact the business of this department, in presence of inferior officers, who are authorized to answer and advise him. He can make no encroachment on the personal liberty or the property of his subject, without a formal intervention of the law; he is also bound to protect his subjects in the free exercise of religion, in so far as not disturbing the public peace. The last appeal lies to the king; he can soften the rigour of the law, and return lands and goods forfeited to the crown. Foreigners are only eligible to a few military offices; the civil offices are exclusively filled by native Protestant Swedes. The king names one of three candidates proposed to him, to the bishoprics and archbishoprics. The higher and lower judges can only be dismissed by a regular judgment. The king has the power of creating nobles, restricting the title to the eldest son and heir. All royal ordonances must be signed by the speaker of the council, who, if he should conceive the will of the king opposed to the constitution, is authorized to report the same to the council of state, and resign his office, until the States have examined into the matter, and approved of his conduct. The succession is hereditary in the dynasty of Bernadotte; it runs in the male line, according to primogeniture, to the exclusion of female descendants. In the event of the failure or forfeiture of the royal line, the States have the power of nominating a successor to the Crown. No prince of the royal family can marry without the consent of the king; and in the event of his marrying a subject, or a foreign female of private rank, he forfeits his right to the throne. The king is of age at 20; and must be of the pure Augsburg confession as adopted by the assembly at Upsala in 1593. In case of minority, the council of state assumes the regency. The king's civil list is fixed at 320,000 dollars, and that of the crown prince at 100,000. The court establishment is small. The title of the king is N. N. by the grace of God, king of Sweden, Norway, the Goths, Wendes, &c. The royal arms consist of three golden fields— in an azure field for Sweden; a red lion, in a golden field, for the kingdom of the Goths; and a golden lion, with a silver halbert, on a red field, for Norway.14

4 The following are the orders of knighthood existing in Sweden: 1st, The order of the seraphim, or of the blue riband; which admits only of 24 members, in which number, however, are not included the royal family, and foreign princes. 2d, The order of the sword or the yellow riband; which consists of three orders, commanders of the great cross, wearing a riband over the shoulder, and a star upon the coat; commanders, who, without a star, wear the riband in the same manner; and the knights, who wear a small cross at a button-hole. The number of each class of commanders is 24, that of knights is indefinite, but generally amounts to 1000. 3d, The order of the polar star, or black riband, consisting of two classes; commanders who wear the great cross hanging from the neck; and knights wearing a small cross at a button-hole. The number of the former is 24; of the latter, exclusive of foreigners, 48. This order was formerly often bestowed on men of literary talents. 4th, The order of Vasa, or the green riband, consisting of three classes; commanders of the great cross, who wear a riband over the left shoulder, and a star upon the coat; commanders, who, without a star, wear a riband in the same manner; and knights, who wear a riband over the neck. This order is now bestowed on men of literary characters, or on such as have distinguished themselves in any of the sciences, or of the useful arts. Of these orders, the three first were instituted by Frederic I. in 1748, the last at the coronation of Gustavus III. An order of civil merit was founded by Charles XIII.

----

The Diet.] The Diet, which bears a resemblance to the British parliament, consists of four orders, the nobles, the clergy, the peasants, and the burghers. The nobles are by far too numerous for so thinly peopled a country, a title of nobility conferring rank on a whole family, the head of which has a seat in the diet as its representative, as soon as he has reached the age of 24. The clergy are represented by the archbishop of Upsala, the 12 bishops of the kingdom, and deputies from the inferior clergy, among whom the teachers of the public schools are included; the peasants, by delegates from that body; and the burghers by deputies from the royal free towns. Stockholm sends 10 deputies, Gothenburg and several others 3, and the smaller towns one deputy. To be eligible as a representative of the peasantry, it is necessary to belong to a family permanently employed in agriculture, and either to hold land from the Crown during life, or to possess a portion of land in perpetuity. The expenses of the deputies of the clergy, the peasantry, and the towns, are all defrayed by their constituents; and it is optional with each harad or district, and every town, to depute its special representative, or to join with one or more towns, and choose a representative for them all. The proposition of a new law is not here, as in France and the Netherlands, confined to the ministers of the Crown; but, as in the British parliament, any member may bring in a bill for such an object. Each order deliberates separately, and the decision, as in Britain, requires only a simple majority; and a bill agreed to by three out of the four orders, becomes a law by receiving the royal assent. The Diet must be assembled once every five years, the king having the power to convoke an extraordinary Diet. It continues its sittings for three months, and the members enjoy privileges in speech similar to those acknowledged in the British parliament. The number of deputies is 1117 from the nobility; 50 or 80 from the clergy; from 100 to 200 from the citizens; and above 100 from the peasants. The decisions of the Diet, however, being taken by classes, the preponderating influence of the nobility, is obviated. The nation imposes its own taxes, by means of its representatives assembled in Diet, without whose consent no taxes can be imposed except those on the import and export of grain. The king cannot grant any monopoly, or mortgage the Crown demesnes. On the assembly of every new Diet, the States elect 12 members from each class, who form a Jury Court, with power to determine whether since the last assembly of the Diet, any of the higher officers of justice have forfeited the public confidence by want of skill or partiality; and upon their report, the king dismisses the peccant judge. The new constitution established a committee for superintending the liberty of the press; but the chancellor engrosses nearly the whole power in this respect, so that Sweden can hardly be said to enjoy the invaluable possession of a free press.

Administration.] The executive administration of Sweden is equally complicated with the legislative. The king is, as in Britain, at the head of the whole; and each department has its board or commission. The council of State-which is in fact a check upon the king, though professedly bearing the character of the king's adviser-consists of only 9 members, viz. the Minister of Justice, of Foreign Affairs, 6 councillors, and a chancellor; since the union of Norway, there has been added a Minister for Norwegian affairs, and 2 councillors. Besides these, the several Secretaries of State have a voice in the council. The business for this council is prepared by a commission of 8 members. The royal chancery has in

one division the home, in another the foreign affairs. The treasury is managed by a chamber or exchequer ; trade is superintended by a council the mines by a board called a college. The army and navy have, in like manner, their respective heads; while, in the administration of justice, the highest court is called the Royal Tribunal, having subordinate to it two courts of appeal. The lower jurisdictions are the landshofadinger or governors in each province. There are separate jurisdictions for the military, the clergy, the physicians, the servants of the crown, and the inhabitants of particular towns. The territorial divisions of the kingdom are, first, laens; next the fogderies or bailiwics; thirdly, the harads or smaller districts; and, finally, the parishes or sokens.

The ecclesiastical division of Sweden consists of 12 bishoprics, 170 deaneries, and 2,214 parishes, with 1,049 ministers, all of whom are well provided for. There is one protestant nunnery in Sweden for the unmarried daughters of the nobility.

National Code.] Sweden has its own national code of civil and criminal law, originally collected in 1442 by king Christopher; and revised in 1734 by the Diet. The citation of foreign law is expressly prohibited.

Revenue.] The revenue of Sweden is derived from various sources,— the rent of the royal domains, a portion of the great tithes, duties on imports and exports, a tax on spirituous liquors, and one of more questionable policy, on mines, forges, and chimneys, along with a poll-tax, and a few old monopolies. The amount of the whole is about one million sterling, and seldom equals the expenditure. The national debt in 1819 amounted to 6,371,862 dollars.

Army.] The military force of this country has at no time been so large as might have been supposed, from the brilliancy of its achievements. The troops which crossed the Baltic along with Gustavus Adolphus, did not exceed 10,000 men; and though they subsequently received re-enforcements from Sweden, the chief part of his army were Germans. A progressive increase took place toward the close of the 16th century; but even in the splendid exploits of Charles XII. a large proportion of his military followers were foreigners, supported at the expense of the conquered territories. In the reign of Gustavus III. the Swedish army was larger; and in 1808, a British subsidy of £1,200,000 a-year, carried it to 50,000 regulars, and a reserve of 30,000. At present, it is on a peace establishment, but on a scale sufficiently large for the limited means of the country; the corps of the army being one of engineers, 3 regiments of artillery, 7 of cavalry, and 28 of infantry. This forms the regular army; but there is also a national force or militia, for the levy and support of which, the whole country is divided into petty districts, called hemmans, each of which is bound to furnish a soldier, and a spot of land for his maintenance. This land the soldier in time of peace cultivates himself, being pledged to attend at exercise only a specified number of days in each year; when permanently absent, the inhabitants of the district are bound to cultivate it for him: the officers are supported in the same manner; the colonel by a property placed in the centre of his regiment; the captain by a less extensive lot in the centre of his company, and so on down to the corporal. When in the field, these troops receive the same pay as the rest of the army, but at other times the expense on them is limited to clothing, which is furnished by the districts. The total amount of the Swedish army was, in 1817, 41,000 men, of whom, the regular

[graphic][subsumed][merged small]
[ocr errors]

Shewing the Senate House and the Statue of Gustavus Vasa.

Publislied by Blaskie, Pillarton & Co Glasgow. and A. Fullarton & C? Edinburgh

« PreviousContinue »