Full resolution (TIFF) - On this page / på denna sida - XVIII. Reign of Chales XIII, 1809–1818 - A. The New Constitution - B. The Election of a Crown Prince
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314 A History of Siveden
and form alliances. The right to begin war was an in-
crease of the royal power over that in the constitution
of 1772. The reason for this increase is the difficulty,
in many cases the impossibility, of distinguishing be-
tween offensive and defensive wars. By this provision
the constitution provides against such evils as the An-
jala Conspiracy. Besides, in this as well as in other
matters, the constitution provides against arbitrary
acts of the king by establishing a Council of State,
whose opinion must always be ascertained, and no or-
der of the king is valid without the countersignature
of the Council. The members of the Council are ap-
pointed by the king, but are responsible to the Riksdag.
The Riksdag alone exercises the time-honored right
of the Swedish people to tax themselves. It decides the
amount of taxes to be levied and how these sums shall
be applied.
The Riksdag and the king enact the laws. "The king
may not without the consent of the Riksdag, nor the
Riksdag without the consent of the king, enact a new
law nor repeal an old one," so reads the constitution.
During the session of the Riksdag three other con-
stitutional regulations were enacted: the Law of Suc-
cession to the throne, the Riksdag Regulations, and
the Regulations regarding the Freedom of the Press.
B. THE ELECTION OP A CROWN PRINCE
Christian August of the Augusteriburg Family. Im-
mediately after the adoption of the constitution the
Estates chose Duke Charles king, as Charles XIII.
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