Editing Althing (section)

=== Consultative assembly: 1845–1874 ===
A royal decree providing for the establishment of a new Althing was issued on 8 March 1843. Elections were held the following year and the assembly finally met on 1 July 1845 in Reykjavík. Some Icelandic nationalists (the Fjölnir group) did not want Reykjavík as the location for the newly established Althing due to the perception that the city was too influenced by Danes. Jón Sigurðsson claimed that the situating of the Althing in Reykjavík would help make the city Icelandic.<ref>{{Cite book|title = The History of Iceland|url = https://archive.org/details/historyiceland00karl|url-access = limited|last = Karlsson|first = Gunnar|year = 2000|pages = [https://archive.org/details/historyiceland00karl/page/n220 206]}}</ref><ref name="ath"/>

It comprised 26 members sitting in a single chamber. One member was elected in each of 20 electoral districts and six "royally nominated Members" were appointed by the king. [[Suffrage]] was, following the Danish model, limited to males of substantial means and at least 25 years of age, which to begin with meant only about 5% of the population. A regular session lasted four weeks and could be extended if necessary. During this period, the Althing acted merely as a consultative body for the Crown. It examined proposed legislation and individual members could raise questions for discussion. Draft legislation submitted by the government was given two readings, an introductory one and a final one. Proposals which were adopted were called [[petition]]s. The new Althing made a number of improvements to legislation and to the administration of the country.<ref name="ath"/>