Jón Bjarnason Academy - 01.05.1931, Blaðsíða 43

The change made the government more representative in char-
acter.
It is not very important just on what date each of these
changes took place. It is important, however that every change
indicates a distinct step towards a more popular and more rep-
resentative system of government, whereas in contemporary
Europe the movement was in precisely the opposite direction.*
To summarize, we may correctly say that the corner-
stone of the Icelandic Commonwealth, as we say of the United
States and Canada today, was the individual himself. There
were slaves, it is true, but there were no classes; all persons,
excepting slaves, were equal before the law; slavery soon dis-
appeared, and the ex-bondman, or his descendants, in many
instances became the head of the corner. Individuals attached
themselves and separated themselves from a godi at will; if he
became officious, oppressive or arrogant, he soon lost his
followers, who, by attaching themselves to another godi,
“elected” another representative. Save for the one fundamental
defect, the absence of an executive, which was the cause of the
downfall of the commonwealth, the government was sufficient
unto the times, and was representative of and responsive to
an enlightened public will.
“Any attempt to describe the Millennial Celebration, June
26—28, 1930, is foredoomed to failure.* The impressions of
the visitor—many bewilderingly thrilling, all unusual and in-
tense—crowded the consciousness, as snowflakes sometimes
fill the sky, until the onlooker felt himself nearly suffocated in
a whirlwind of sensations. They include the divine services
conducted by the Bishop of Iceland, the march to Logberg, the
Rock of Law, headed by the King of Denmark and his
Queen, followed by the Crown Prince of Sweden, and the of-
ficial delegations of all the great European powers, United
States of America, and Canada; the unforgettable opening ad-
dress of the President of the Althing at Logberg; the signing
of a treaty by Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Iceland pledging
that henceforth all differences, regardless of their nature,
should be settled by peaceful arbitration, an agreement unique
in international relations and a step in the direction of perman-
ent peace more significant than any taken since the organiza-
tion of the League of Nations; and lastly, the symbolic delivery
by representatives of the United States of America of a statue
of Leif Eriksson, and an announcement by a representative of
*)Pioncers of Freedom, Chaps. 3 and 4. Sveinbjorn Johnson, Stratford Press,
Boston, TJ.S.A.
F&lkinn, June 21, 1930, p. 20. V. P. Gislason.
**)8t. Nicholas, November, 1930, p. 76; an article by Sveinbjorn Johnson.
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