King's veto over legal
questions is only suspensive, but he is not represented as the helpless
tool of Storthing and Council. The Cabinet Council is certainly
responsible to the Storthing, but only for its own advice, not for the
King's Decrees. The King is legally bound to listen to the opinions of
his ministers, but the right of making Decrees according to his own
judgment, is expressly reserved to him. Nor does the Constitution of
Norway recognize the law of refusing countersignature, which is found for
instance in the Swedish Constitution. In 1814 the Storthing explicitly
refused a proposition to give the Cabinet Council this right, declaring
that the King ought not to be deprived of all his privileges. All the
King's Decrees must be countersigned by one of the Prime Ministers, but
this countersignature implies only the responsibility for the agreement
of the records with the resolutions taken. The greatest Norwegian writers
on State Law, have acknowledged that this is Norwegian National
Law[15:1]. Furthermore the Constitution originally did not recognize
something else remarkable for modern parliamentarism: the Ministers were
not even allowed to attend the debates of the Storthing. Then came the
Crisis of 1884, when the Norwegian Radicals with the Court of impeachment
a weapon, forced the King to capitulate, forced him to summon a Radical
Ministry, and to sanction an amendment of the Constitution, by which the
Ministery were allowed to attend the debates in the Storthing. By this
means, the modern parliamentarism, with all its claims, elbowed its way
into Norwegian State life. But the old prescriptions as to the
responsibility of the Cabinet Council, were retained, and they must
naturally be interpreted as of old. The new parliamentary interpretation
of these prescriptions of responsibility, especially the right of
refusing countersignature, was opposed by the King, who adhered to the
old only possible forms.

[Sidenote: _The development of the Consular question._]

Even in 1892 the Radical Cabinet STEEN did not venture to carry the
Consular question to an extreme. They were contented to play with fire.
Before the King found an opportunity to give his definite answer to the
consular question, the Cabinet retired. The Ministerial strike recently
set on the political stage, was even then in the perspective. But the
King having vainly tried to form a Conservative Ministry and matters
becoming serious, a retreat was