7 * Storthing shall elect from among its members one
fourth part,, which constitutes the Lagthing; the remaining three
fourths form the Odelsthing. The election shall take place at the
first ordinary Storthing that meets after a new election, and thereafter
the Lagthing shall remain unchanged during all Storthings that
meet after the same election, except, in so far as any vacancy
which may occur among its members has to be filled by special
election.
Each Thing shall hold its meetings separately, and elect its own
President and Secretary. Neither of the Things shall hold meetings
unless two-thirds of its members'are present-
74. As soon as the Storthing is constituted the King, or the
person he appoints for the purpose, shall open its proceedings with
a speech, in which he shall inform it of the condition of the kingdom
and the subjects to which he particularly desires to call the
attention of the Storthing. No deliberation may take place in the
presence of the King.
When the proceedings of the Storthing are opened, the Ministers
of State and the Councillors of State , have the right to stttend
in the Storthing as well as in both its divisions, and, like its members,
but without giving a vote, to take part in the current proceed-
ings, in so far as these are conducted with open doors, but in
such matters as are discussed with closed doors, only in so far as the
Thing in question may grant permission.
75. To the Storthing shall belong the powers and duties following:
a) To enact and to repeal laws; to impose taxes, duties, customs,
and other public burdens, which, however, do noj; remain in force
longer than till the 1st of; April of the year in which' the next
ordinary Storthing meets, unless they are expressly renewed by the
Storthing then sitting;
I) To open loans on the credit of the kingdom;
c) To control the finances of the kingdom;
dj To vote the sums of money necessary to meet the expenditure
of the State;
e) T° decide how much shall be paid yearly to the King for
his Royal household, and to determine the appanage of the Royal
family, which may not, however, consist of real property;
f ) To have laid before it the minutes of the Norwegian Government
and all public reports and documents (matters of strictly military
command excepted), as well as certified copies or extracts of the
minutes kept by the Norwegian Minister of State and the two Norwegian
Councillors of State in attendance upon the King in Sweden,
or the public documents tliat have been there produced;
g) To have communicated to them the alliances and treaties that
the King on behalf of the State has entered into with foreign powers,
with the exception of secret articles, which, however, must not be at
variance with the public ones;
hj To be able to summon any one to attend before it in matters
of State, the King and the Royal family excepted; this exception,
however, does not apply to the Royal Princes in case they hold
any office;
" i) To revise salary and pension lists, which are not permanent,
and to make therein such alterations as it finds necessary;
-k) To appoint fiv.e auditors, who shall annually examine the
accounts of the State and publish printed extracts of the same ;
and such accounts shall for this purpose be delivered to these auditors
within six months after the expiration of the year for which the
grants of the Storthing are made;
I) To naturalise aliens.
76. Every law shall first be proposed in the Odelsthing, either
by its own members, or by the Government through a Councillor, of
State. If the proposal is there accepted, it is sent to the Lagthing,
which either approves or rejects it, and in the latter case sends it
back with comments appended. These are taken into consideration
by the Odelsthing, which either drops the bill or again sends it to
the Lagthing, with or without alteration. When a bill from the
Odelsthing has twice been laid before the Lagthing and. has been a
second time rejected by it, the whole Storthing shall# meet and
dispose of the bill by a majority of two-thirds. There must be an
interval of at least three days between each of these deliberations.
77. When a resolution proposed by the Odelsthing is approved
by the Lagthing or by the assembled Storthing, it is sent to the
King, if he is present, or, if he is not present, to the Norwegian
Government, with a request that it shall obtain the King’s sanction.
78. if the King assents to the resolution, he shall append his
signature to it, whereby it becomes law.
If he does not assent to it, he shall send it back to the Odelsthing
with the declaration that he does not at present consider it
expedient to sanction it. In this case the resolution may not again
be submitted to the King by the Storthing then assembled.
79. If a bill has been passed unaltered by three ordinary Storthings,
constituted after three different successive elections separated
from each other by at least two ordinary Storthings between them,
without any divergent resolution having been adopted by any Storthing
in the period between the first and the last passing, and is
then submitted to the King with . the prayer that his Majesty will
not refuse his sanction to a bill that the Storthing, 'after the most
mature deliberation, considers to be for the benefit of the State, it
becomes law, even if the King's sanction is not accorded, before the
Storthing separates.
80. The Storthing shall remain in session as long as it considers
necessary, but not beyond two months-, without the King’s permission.
When, having finished its business, or having been in
session for the appointed time, it is dissolved by the King, he shall at
the same time communicate his decision with regard to the resolu