afstemningslokale, bør gudstjeneste forrettes i den. Hvis ellers den kirke, hvor gudstjeneste skulde holdes, er saaledes beliggende i forhold til nærmeste afstemningslokale, at det kan forudsees, at gudstjenestem vil hindre deltagelsen i afstemningen, anmodes De om istedet for forretningen i kirken at afholde en kort gudstjeneste i afstemningslokalet eller, hvor der er flere saadanne, i et af disse. Uopsættelige ministerielle forretninger faar da ogsaa i dette tilfælde udføres i kirken paa en senere tid af dagen.

Kristiania den 29de juli 1905.

CHRISTIAN KNUDSEN,
HANS GRUNDT.

polling place, the service should be held there. If, however, the church in which service was to be performed, is so located with reference to the nearest polling place, that the service is likely to interfere with participation in the referendum, you are requested to have a short service at the polling place, or one of them - if there are several instead of the church service. Unavoidable ministerial business will then also in this case have to be attended to in the church at a later hour of the day.

Kristiania, July 29, 1905.

CHRISTIAN KNUDSEN,
HANS GRUNDT.

Med hensyn til afstemningens iverksættelse bemerkes, at nærvaerende departement allerede samme aften, som propositionen var bifaldt af stortinget og dettes beslutning herom tilfølgetaget, telegrafisk gjorde de udenbys amtmænd bekjendt med beslutningen. Samtidig bad man foreløbig underretning derom snarest

- i fornødent fald pr. telegraf eller telefon meddelt samtlige mandtalsførere i vedkommende amt med anmodning om uopholdelig at bringe det til almindelig kundskab paa virksomste maade, navnlig ved læsning fra kirkebakken, om muligt allerede førstkom

1 Unionens Opløsning, pp. 304, 310.

With regard to the carrying out of the balloting it may be remarked, that this Department notified the out-oftown county magistrates by telegraph of the resolution of the 7th the same evening that the proposition was approved by the Storting and its resolution concerning it passed. At the same time we requested that all of the chiefs of the census in the county in question should be immediately noti fied if necessary by telegraph or by telephone — and be requested immediately to make the matter publicly known in the most effective manner, namely, by proclamation from the

mende søndag (30te juli). Man gjorde i denne foreløbige meddelelse opmerksom paa, at afstemningen skulde foregaa efter det til stortingsvalget i 1903 ictandbragte mandtal.

Den følgende dag den 29de juli - udfærdigede departementet til samtlige mandtalsførere og valgstyrer en rundskrivelse, hvori man nærmere redegjorde for indholdet af stortingets beslutning angaaende folkeafstemningen og gav fornøden veiledning med hensyn til fremgangsmaaden ved denne m.v. Man vedlagde rundskrivelsen aftryk af stortingetsbeslutningen til opslag og omdeling omkring i distriktet, samt til opslag i og ved valglokalerne - plakater indeholdende forklaring om, hvorledes stemmeseddelen skulde lyde (enten ordet "ja" eller ordet "nei"). I rundskrivelsen bad man specielt paaseet strengt overholdt de regler i mandtalsloven, som tilsigter at betrygge valgets renhed.

Ved den afholdte folkeafstemning har der været afgivet stemme af 371, 911 stemmeberettigede borgere, nemlig af 281,468 i landdistrikterne og af 90,443 i byerne. Af de afgivne stemAf de afgivne stemmer blev forkastet 3,519 (henholdsvis 1,612 og 1,907), medens 368,392, nemlig 279,856 i landdistrikterne og 88,536 i kjøbstæderne, blev godkjendt. Af de sidste lød 368,208 paa ja, 184 paa nei.

church steps, if possible, upon the first Sunday (July 30). In this temporary notification attention was called to the fact that the balloting was to take place according to the census lists. compiled for the election of the Storting in 1903. . .

The following day - 29th July the department prepared a circular to all the chiefs of the census and election boards, in which further information was given concerning the content of the Storting resolution concerning the plebiscite and in which necessary guidance in regard to the manner of procedure, etc., was given, to which circular was appended a copy of the resolution of the Storting to be posted and distributed throughout the district, as well as public placards, to be posted in and nearby the election halls, containing explanations regarding the wording of the ballots (either the word "yes or the word "no"). In the circular was contained a request to pay specially strict attention to the carrying out of those regulations of the census law which aimed at the safeguarding of the purity of the election.

At the plebiscite which was taken, 371,911 citizens having the right to vote cast their votes, 281,468 in the country districts and 90,443 in the city. Of the votes cast, 3519 were rejected (1612 and 1907 respectively), whereas 368,392, of which 279,856 in the country districts and 88,536 in the cities, were cast. Of this 368,208 read "yes" and 184 read "no."

Fordelt paa landdistrikterne og kjøbstæderne stiller disse tal sig saaledes, at der blev afgivet

i kjøstæderne 88,473 pa-stemmer, mer, 121 nei-stemmer,

i kjøbstæderne 88,473 ja-stemmer, 63 nei-stemmer.

Idet man forøvrigt henviser til medfølgende tabeller 1-3, skal man til sammenligning anføre, at medens de ved folkeafstemningen den 13de august 1905 afgivne stemmer udgjør 85, 4 pct. af de stemmeberettigede, var det tilsvarende tal ved stortingsvalget i 1903 alene 55,5 pct. Det skal tilfoies, det samtlige opgaver over antalt of stemmeberettigede, saavel i 1905 som i 1903, gjælder de effektive stemmeberettigede, idet alle de, hvis stemmeret var suspendert, er trukket fra.

I henhold til det anførte tillader man sig at indstille:

At en gjenpart af næværende foredrag om den den 13de august 1905 afholdte folkeafstemning m.v. bliver at tilstille stortinget.1

Divided among the country districts and the cities, these numbers show that

In the country districts there were cast 279,735 votes in the affirmative, 121 in the negative.

In the cities there were cast 88,473 affirmative votes; 63 negative votes.

While referring for the rest to the accompanying tables 1 to 3, we remark for the sake of comparison, that while the votes cast at the plebiscite on August 13, 1905, constitute 85.4 per cent of those entitled to vote, the corresponding number at the election of the Storting in 1903 was only 55.5 per cent. It should be added that all the lists of the number of those entitled to vote in 1905, as well as 1903, include only the active voters, since those whose right to vote had been suspended had been subtracted.

With respect to the above we beg to propose:

That a copy of the above report concerning the plebescite taken on August 13, 1905, be laid before the Storting.