For administrative purposes, Norway is divided into twenty districts, viz.: The cities of Christiania and Bergen and eighteen "Amts" or provinces, which coinside with the diocese of the church, and there is a very close relation between the ecclesiastical and the civil authorities. The chief magistrate in each of the counties, nominated by the king, is known as an "Amtmand." His duties are similar to those of the French prefects, although the theory of home-rule and self-government is carried into each county and each municipality and parish, where every magistrate is responsible to a council elected by the people from among their own number. They make the laws for the magistrate to administer. There are few countries in which the theory of self-government is carried to such an extent as in Norway. The sovereignty of the people is absolute and their rights are jealously guarded. Norway is divided into ecclesiastical parishes, which are the voting districts, as in England, and are governed in a similar way. The Norwegian constitution of 1814, based upon the principle of popular self-government, declared these municipalities completely independent in the management of their own affairs, placing the administrative authority, with the power of taxation and the disbursement of revenues in the hands of the taxpayers and householders, so that they could not be coerced by the national government, if there ever was any disposition in that direction. This authority is exercised through a council called a "bystyre," composed of from twelve to forty-eight members, according to the population of the parish, who are elected for terms of three years, and serve gratuitously. The council elects from its own number a chairman who is the head of the whole municipal organization, and is known as an _ordförer_. He corresponds to the German burgomaster and the mayor of the American city. In addition to the popular council there is a magistrate representing the royal government, who, with the consent of the council, may be admitted to their deliberations, but is not allowed to vote. He is also ex-officio a member and often chairman of the municipal departments or commissions, such as the board of public works, the school board, the harbor commission. In this way he becomes a connecting link between the national authority at Christiania and the municipal councils throughout the kingdom, because certain measures of local interest are subject to restrictions by the national parliament, particularly those involving finances.