NORWEGIAN PARLIAMENT.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 20, 23 January 1874, Page 2

NORWEGIAN PARLIAMENT.

Public attention having been recently called to this subject in connection with the talked of reform of the Legislative Council, a brief reference to it will not be out of place, nor wholly uninteresting. We gather from Laiog's " Journal of a Residence in Norway" that the Norwegian Storting, or Parliament, is elected arid assembles once in three years. After it meets it divides itself into two houses: the whole StorthiDg choosing from among its members, onefourth, who constitute the Lagthing, or Upper House; which, however, has no initiative, but only deliberative functions. The other three fourths constitute the Odelsthingj or House of Commons. All proposed enactments must be initiated in the two divisions united in one house. The Storthing, though composed exclusively of members elected by the same constituencies, consists in fact of three houses; that is to say, the Lagthing, tbe Odeslthing, and tbe entire Morthing. It is in the latter that all motions are made and discussed, and if entertained are referred to committees to report upon to the Storthing. When the report is sent in it is discussed, and, if approved, a bill, in the terms of the report, is ordered to be brought into the Odesthing which then approves or rejects it. If approved it is sent back to the Odelsfhing which accepts or rejects the amendments. It thus appears that the two houses do not unite to pass bills which one of them may have rejected, os has been recommended here; but they unite for the purpose of initiating bills, no bills beiog entertained that have not originated in, ahd been approved by tbe two Chambers united in one House. Whether a second Chamber, under our Parliamentary system of Government, could be similarly constituted here, or whether deadlocks would be avoided by the bare expedient of permitting bills to be introduced that had not first received the approval of the united Chambers, may be considered extremely doubtful; but the experience of Norway teaches that even when the members of the two Chambers are elected in the first instance by the same class of electors, the one .house will not necessarily be a mere i duplicate of the other. !