There is very little of politics in Sweden.  There are three parties, known as the conservatives, the liberals, and the socialists.  The conservative party is comprised of the aristocracy, the church, the agricultural classes and people of conservative sentiment generally.  The liberal party is composed of progressive elements, the theorists, the artisans, the machinists, and the thinking men among the laboring element, who advocate a reduction of the tariff on imported merchandise and free trade so far as possible; a separation of church and state on the theory that no man should be taxed to support a religious faith that he does not believe in; a reduction in the army and navy and other official expenses; the modification of the election laws as above stated; rotation in office, so that all shall have a chance, and they oppose the general tendency to centralization in the government.

The socialists go a little farther.  They are not so radical as those who go by the same name in Germany, France, and other European countries.  They are very moderate in their views.  They favor most of the planks in the liberal platform, and, in addition, advocate the adoption of socialistic reforms, the loaning of public money without interest to the poor, public pensions to the helpless, sweeping reforms in the labor laws, and the purchase and maintenance by the state of all public enterprises that affect public welfare, such as the street-car lines, the insurance companies, the banks, etc.  The peasants in the country are protectionists and belong to the conservative party.  The mechanics in the cities are generally socialists.  Politics, however, is not very exciting.  The tariff, labor questions, and other propositions are always discussed, and of late years the most interesting issues have been the appropriation of money for national defense, the increase of the term of military service from ninety to three hundred and sixty days for every citizen, the modification of the electoral law, and the regulations of the forests.

Peasants have been members of parliament for more than five hundred years, and now constitute more than half the membership of the second chamber—­intelligent, well-educated mechanics and farmers, who take a deep interest in the affairs of the government and generally are on the right side.  The agricultural peasants are invariably loyal supporters of the king.  The mechanics from the city are usually opposed to him.

The annual session of the riksdag opens immediately after the holidays with a great deal of pomp and ceremony.  It is one of the most imposing functions in all Europe.  The members of both houses meet at their respective halls, attend divine service at the cathedral, where they receive the sacrament and listen to a sermon of admonition.  Then they march in a body to the royal palace, where they are received by the king’s ministers with great formality, and escorted to what is known as the throne room.  As they enter, each man bows reverently to a silver throne which stands upon a dais at the other end of the apartment.  The members of the first chamber are seated on the right side of the great hall, and those of the second upon the left.