The Baptists in Sweden. By Mrs. M.F. Anderson ...

CHAPTER III
THE SWEDISH DIET.
THE Government of Sweden is a limited monarchy. The representative system has been in existence from the earliest ages. The Ricksdag, or
Diet, consists of four houses, the nobles, the clergy,
the burgers or citizens, and the bonders or peasants.
The House of Nobles consists of three ranks, the
counts and barons, knights, and the gentlemenwho, though with no title, are yet by letters-patent
ranked among the nobility. The right of representation belongs to the head or senior member of
each noble family, and passes by inheritance. The
hereditary representative, however, may waive his
right in favor of some younger member of his own
or of another family. There are about fifteen hundred noble families in the kingdom, though only
four or five hundred are represented in the Diet.
The House of Clergy consists of the archbishop
and all the bishops, eleven in number-the pastors
of the Cathedral at Stockholm, and representatives chosen from the pastors and inferior clergy.
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