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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a01a3ad --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #69971 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69971) diff --git a/old/69971-0.txt b/old/69971-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 220e619..0000000 --- a/old/69971-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,16946 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Swiss Republic, by Boyd Winchester - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Swiss Republic - -Author: Boyd Winchester - -Release Date: February 7, 2023 [eBook #69971] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Andrew Sly, Krista Zaleski and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The - Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SWISS REPUBLIC *** - - - - - - - THE - - SWISS REPUBLIC. - - BY - BOYD WINCHESTER, - LATE UNITED STATES MINISTER AT BERN. - - [Illustration] - - - PHILADELPHIA: - J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. - LONDON: 10 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN. - 1891. - - - - - Copyright, 1891, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. - - - PRINTED BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY, PHILADELPHIA. - - - - - TO - - HENRY WATTERSON - - THIS VOLUME IS INSCRIBED, AS A GRATEFUL BUT IMPERFECT TOKEN OF - AN INTIMACY OF MANY YEARS, HOPING HE WILL ACCEPT THE - - Dedication, - - WITH THE ASSURANCE THAT IT IS NOT MEANT SO MUCH TO - COMPLIMENT HIM, AS MYSELF. - - LOUISVILLE, KY., 1890. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -This book is based upon notes of studies and observations during four -years of diplomatic service in Switzerland, made, at the time, with -eventual publication in view. There is no attempt to treat the subjects -embraced, or rather touched upon, in any historical sequence, but, -by brief hints and random suggestions, to seize the principal and -interesting features of the country and its institutions, the people -and their characteristics. - -The comparative method correlated with cause or effect is used in the -chapters on the government and administration, national and cantonal. -Many familiar facts in Swiss history, and experiences had by the United -States, are introduced to show their relation to and effect upon -certain political ideas. In fact, all through the Swiss federal polity -and that of the United States run not only parallels of illustration, -but lines converging to and pointing out essential truths in popular -government. - -Dating from the “Eternal Covenant” of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden, -concluded in 1291, under all vicissitudes of government and -constitution,--with radical varieties of character, occupation, -religion, language, and descent,--love of liberty and a passionate -devotion to the republic have characterized the people, with “life, -liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” the great objects of -government, federal, cantonal, and communal. During this period of six -hundred years the smallest free commonwealth and the oldest federal -republic in the world presents a valuable stock of political experience. - -It is very difficult for a stranger to discover all that is remarkable -in any country, and perhaps as hard to treat of so many different -subjects with such care as to omit nothing that is material. The utmost -endeavor, at least, has been used to be exact, and an effort to give -a more complete view of the modern state of the country than has yet -appeared. There is no design in the “Introduction” to write even an -historical outline; it is not necessary to the purpose of this work; -but only to relate such general facts, as to its former state, as may -serve to discover the causes which gave rise and birth to the present -Confederation. - -Where references to national and local laws or ordinances and leading -historical events are necessary, partial repetition has been deemed -preferable to directing the reader to previous citations. - -As the Swiss, in different Cantons, speak different languages with -several distinct idioms, there is necessarily a great diversity of -nomenclature; the aim has been to follow that locally prevalent, and -especially in the designation of the Cantons by their German, French, -and Italian names. - -The writer has had frequent recourse to the following authorities: -“The Swiss Confederation,” by Sir Francis Adams and C. D. Cunningham, -London; “The Federal Government of Switzerland,” by Bernard Moses, San -Francisco (these two books are of recent date, supplementing each other -well, and constitute the only systematic and valuable publication in -English on the constitutional history and public law of Switzerland); -Woolsey’s “Political Science,” Woodrow Wilson’s “The State,” Freeman’s -“History of Federal Government,” May’s “Democracy in Europe,” -“Encyclopædia Britannica,” Reclus’s “The Earth and its Inhabitants,” -furnish briefer but valuable accounts. Elaborate works in German -and French consulted are Bluntschli’s “Staats und Rechts Geschichte -der Schweiz,” Dubs’s “Das öffentliche Recht der schweizerischen -Eidgenossenchaft,” Droz’s “Instruction Civique,” and Magnenat’s “Abrégé -de l’Histoire de la Suisse.” - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER I. PAGE - INTRODUCTION 9 - - CHAPTER II. - THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION 35 - - CHAPTER III. - THE FEDERAL ASSEMBLY 65 - - CHAPTER IV. - THE FEDERAL COUNCIL 85 - - CHAPTER V. - THE FEDERAL TRIBUNAL 104 - - CHAPTER VI. - THE CANTONS 123 - - CHAPTER VII. - THE LANDSGEMEINDE 148 - - CHAPTER VIII. - THE REFERENDUM 164 - - CHAPTER IX. - THE COMMUNES 174 - - CHAPTER X. - CITIZENSHIP 191 - - CHAPTER XI. - LAND LAW AND TESTAMENTARY POWER 209 - - CHAPTER XII. - MILITARY SERVICE AND ORGANIZATION 226 - - CHAPTER XIII. - EDUCATION 253 - - CHAPTER XIV. - TECHNICAL AND INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS 277 - - CHAPTER XV. - INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE 299 - - CHAPTER XVI. - PEASANT HOME AND LIFE 324 - - CHAPTER XVII. - NATURAL BEAUTIES AND ATTRACTIONS 353 - - CHAPTER XVIII. - WILLIAM TELL 391 - - CHAPTER XIX. - BERN 411 - - CHAPTER XX. - SWITZERLAND THE SEAT OF INTERNATIONAL UNIONS 430 - - CHAPTER XXI. - SWITZERLAND AND THE EUROPEAN SITUATION 450 - - POPULATION AND SOIL, CENSUS, 1888 469 - - MONEY, WEIGHTS, MEASURES 469 - - CENSUS OF 1888 470 - - ORDER AND DATES OF THE ENTRY OF THE TWENTY-TWO CANTONS - INTO THE CONFEDERATION 471 - - APPENDIX 473 - - - - - -THE SWISS REPUBLIC. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -INTRODUCTION. - - -The first inhabitants of Switzerland, according to tradition, were -fugitives from Italy, who had been driven by the Gauls from the country -where now flourish the cities of Genoa and Florence, and who, 600 B.C., -found an asylum in the recesses and wilderness of the valleys above -which the Rhine has its source. They were known as the Rhetians, from -the name of their hero Rhetus; hence the country about the source of -the Rhine, embracing the Grisons, is even now called by some, Rhetia. -The Canton of Schwyz claims to have been peopled by the Cimbrians, who, -leaving their original habitations in Sweden, Norway, and Friesland, -conquered their way over the Rhine to the cities of the Gauls, in the -country which is now France. The people of Gaul implored help from -Rome; a strong army was sent against them, defeating and driving them -into the Helvetian mountains. Another tradition says that they were -a race of Gaulic Celts, whom some unknown accident had guided from -the borders of the Rhine and Main to those of the Lake of Geneva, -their collective name being Helvetians, after whom the country was -named in Roman times. The first authentic mention we find of these -people, as a nation, is by Julius Cæsar, who, in the first book of his -“Commentaries,” related the war he waged with the Helvetians, who had -made an irruption into Burgundy during his government in Gaul. He -defeated them, and reduced the country to the obedience of the Romans, -annexing it to that part of his government which was called Gallia -Celtica. They lived in subjection to the Roman government till that -empire fell. Among the new kingdoms and principalities that were raised -out of the ruins was the kingdom of Burgundy, composed of a Vandal race -from the Oder and the Vistula. Helvetia was overrun and made a part of -this kingdom in the beginning of the fifth century (409 A.D.). Then -followed irruptions of Alemanni, Ostrogoths, and Franks. The division -of Switzerland into German- and French-speaking races is doubtless to -be ascribed to these early settlements of different tribes from Germany -and Gaul. In the sixth century (550 A.D.), the Franks having subjected -the other two, all Helvetia was united to the crown of France. It was -lost to the kings of France during the ninth century, under the weak -reign of Charles the Fat. About the year 870 there sprang up again -two new kingdoms of Burgundy, one called Cis-Jurana and the other -Trans-Jurana; the first, at the end of fifty years, was merged in the -latter. In this kingdom was comprehended the country of Helvetia, and -continued part of it till about 1032, when Rudolph, the third and last -king of Burgundy, dying without children, left all his kingdom to the -Emperor Conrad II., whose successors enjoyed it for two centuries, when -it was broken into several petty sovereignties. - -Feudalism had been rapidly growing up, and, like other parts of Europe, -Helvetia fell under the rule of military chiefs and of powerful bishops -and abbots. A numerous and ancient nobility divided the possession with -ecclesiastical lords; of the former, conspicuous were the Dukes of -Zähringen and Counts of Kyburg, Rapperswyl, and Hapsburg; and of the -latter, the Bishop of Coire, the Abbot of St. Gallen, and the Abbess -of Seckingen. There is no country whose history better illustrates -the ambiguous relation, half property and half dominion, in which -territorial aristocracy under the feudal system stood with respect to -their dependants. The power under these princes, to which the country -was subjected, was so limited that it might properly be said to be -under their protection rather than their dominion. In the thirteenth -century the race of the Dukes of Zähringen became extinct, which made -way for the Counts of Hapsburg to enlarge their authority, being raised -afterwards to the Austrian Duchy, and invested with the imperial -dignity in Germany. The Helvetic people placed themselves under the -protection of Rudolph of Hapsburg, with permission to send governors or -bailiffs among them. They were governed with mildness while he lived. -He died, and his son Albert did not tread in his father’s footsteps. -This was the beginning of the fourteenth century, the memorable period -of Rütli and William Tell. A resolution was taken to form a general -insurrection in each Canton, in order to surprise and demolish all the -castles and drive the governors and adherents out of the country. “They -judged that a sovereign unjust towards a vassal, ceased to be himself -protected by justice, and that it was lawful to employ force against -him.”[1] - -The confederates pursued so well the measures agreed on that their -object was easily accomplished, and with rare examples of moderation. -A few years later, a further attempt was made to bring them under -the yoke of the empire, when the brave peasants routed the imperial -army, under Leopold, Duke of Austria, at Morgarten, on the 15th of -November, 1315. This victory confirmed the independence of the three -original Cantons. Soon afterwards followed the perpetual league of -Brunnen, on December the 9th of the same year; there is at Brunnen this -inscription: “_Hier geschah der erste Bund, Anno 1315, die Grundfeste -der Schweiz_” (“Here was the first perpetual league, the foundation of -Switzerland”). - -According to the Swiss historian, Planta,[2] the Helvetic union, as -founded by the three forest Cantons, called _Waldstätten_, composed of -Schwyz, Uri, and Unterwalden, bears date from the most remote periods -of their existence, and was framed long before they knew how to commit -it to writing. In 1291 this league was reduced to writing; the first -covenant is in Latin, and begins, “_In nomine Domini, Amen_,”[3] and -this form was followed in the several later covenants at Rütli, 1307, -and Brunnen, 1315. Each Canton obligated itself to assist and succor -the others, with its utmost force, and at its own expense, against -all persons or states that should assault or molest any of them; that -neither of the Cantons should submit to receive any new sovereign -without the knowledge and consent of the others; that none should enter -into any alliance or engagement with any other prince or state without -the said consent; and that if any difference should arise between any -two of these confederated Cantons, the third should be the arbitrator, -and obliged to assist that Canton which submitted to its arbitration -against the other that should refuse it. The express purpose of this -league was for self-defence against all who should attack or trouble -them. - -The constitution of each Canton was purely democratic; the supreme -power was vested in the people at large; all males of fourteen years -old in Uri, of fifteen in Schwyz and Unterwalden, having a voice. -Though deputies were chosen to represent the people in the Council of -Regency, and a Landammann, or chief magistrate,[4] was also appointed, -yet the supreme power was exercised by a general assembly held in the -open air. In 1332 Luzern joined the three Cantons, and thus arose -the federation of the Four Forest Cantons, _Vierwaldstätten_. Zurich -came in in 1351, Zug and Glarus in 1352, and Bern in 1353. These eight -Cantons continued until 1481, or a hundred and twenty-eight years, -without increasing their number, and are distinguished by the name -of the _Eight Old Cantons_. For a long time these Cantons possessed -many distinctive privileges. This league upheld its independence in -1386 against Duke Leopold III., of Austria, in the battle of Sempach, -when the most heroic courage was shown. This resulted in the decree -of Sempach, whereby the eight Cantons agreed to preserve peace among -themselves; to uphold each other; and in war to unite their banners -against the common enemy. The last remnant of ancient Helvetic -territories in Aargau was wrested in 1417 from Frederic, Count of -Tyrol. Though still comprehended within the nominal sovereignty of the -empire, encroachments upon their territory or their political liberties -were no longer dreaded. They were henceforth free from external control -and from contributions imposed by the Germanic Diet. In 1444 followed -the defeat of the Dauphin Louis of France at St. Jacob, and the defeat -of the Burgundians at Morat and Nancy in 1477. In 1481 Solothurn and -Freiburg were admitted. The Cantons then bound themselves under a -treaty effected at Stantz, Canton of Unterwalden, in December of that -year, to two additional articles: - -1. That all the Cantons oblige themselves to succor one another in the -support of the form of government then established in each of them.[5] - -2. That a body of military laws therein referred to should be received -throughout the whole nation, and the observation of them enjoined. - -The Emperor Maximilian I. determined to force the Swiss to join the -Suabian League; hence resulted the Suabian war, which was concluded -after the Swiss had gained six victories, by the peace of Basel in -1499. In 1501 Basel and Schaffhausen acceded to the league. In 1512, by -the Milanese war, the Swiss obtained from Milan the territory which at -present forms the Canton of Ticino. In 1515, after losing the battle of -Marignano,[6] an advantageous peace was concluded with France, which -was followed by the first formal alliance with that kingdom in 1521; -and the two countries enjoyed an almost uninterrupted amity for nearly -three hundred years. - -Such was the political state of Switzerland in the beginning of the -sixteenth century; it was an independent federal republic, renowned in -war and distinguished for its ancient political institutions. In the -Thirty Years’ War the Confederates maintained a prudent neutrality, and -the Peace Congress of Münster in 1648, through the mediation of France, -solemnly acknowledged the complete renunciation of Switzerland’s -nominal allegiance to the German empire. From this time until the -outbreak of the French Revolution, in 1789, the history of Switzerland -presents few events of general importance. Appenzell had been united -to the league in 1573, making the number of Cantons thirteen. The -thirteen Cantons took the name of _Eidgenossen_, a word signifying -confederates, because they bound themselves together as comrades by -oath. This endured without a further change of actual members until -1803. From the peace of Aarau, in 1712 (generally credited to 1718, -since the Abbot of St. Gallen did not accede to it until six years -after its agreement), down to 1798, the Cantons enjoyed the blessings -of seventy-nine years of comparative quiet. The tranquillity enjoyed -was favorable to the progress of commerce, agriculture, the arts, -and sciences. The French Revolution, which disturbed the peace and -unsettled the political institutions of every country in Europe, -convulsed Switzerland with civil war and anarchy. In January, 1798, a -French army entered Switzerland to assist the Pays de Vaud, which had -declared its independence against the Bernese; Bern was taken and the -Swiss Confederation converted into the “Helvetic Republic, one and -indivisible.” - -The Cantons of Schwyz, Uri, Unterwalden, Zug, Glarus, and Appenzell -declared that they would not accept the laws which had been forced -upon them, and leagued together to resist. These refractory Cantons -were overpowered and coerced, but so gallantly did they maintain their -ground that the French general declared, “that every Swiss soldier -fought like a Cæsar.” It was then ordained by the French that an oath -of allegiance to the new government should be taken in every Canton. -Schwyz, Uri, Unterwalden, and Zug refused obedience to this ordinance. -It was forced upon them and upheld by a costly army, which practised -intolerable exactions and haughty and insolent domination. Geneva -at this time was annexed to France. Lavater styled this epoch “the -first year of Swiss slavery.” The atrocities of the French invasion -of Switzerland excited great indignation in Europe. All that tyranny -the most oppressive, rapine the most insatiate, cruelty the most -sanguinary, and lust the most unbridled, could inflict did that devoted -country experience. The effect on the friends of freedom may be judged -of from the following indignant lines of Coleridge, once an ardent -supporter of the Revolution, in his “Ode to Freedom,” written in 1798: - - “Forgive me, Freedom! oh, forgive those dreams; - I hear thy voice, I hear thy loud lament, - From bleak Helvetia’s icy cavern sent; - I hear thy groans upon her blood-stain’d streams; - Heroes, that for your peaceful country perish’d, - And ye that, fleeing, spot your mountain snows - With bleeding wounds, forgive me that I cherish’d - One thought that ever bless’d your cruel foes; - To scatter rage and traitorous guilt, - Where peace her jealous home had built; - A patriot race to disinherit - Of all that made their stormy wilds so dear.” - -When Switzerland became the battle-field of French and Austrian armies, -by the treaty of Lunéville, between the Emperor of Austria and the -French Republic, the independence of the Helvetic Republic, and the -right of the people to adopt whatever form of government they pleased, -were guaranteed; but the irreconcilable dissensions of the French and -National Swiss parties prevented the adoption of any constitution -generally acceptable to the people. - -The withdrawal of the French troops in 1802 led at once to a revolution -in almost every Canton. Again Napoleon, First Consul of the French -Republic, in contravention of the treaty, interfered, and subdued the -movement. Forty thousand French troops took military occupation of -Switzerland. Deputies were ordered to assemble at Paris, and after -long discussion with them, Napoleon, on the 2d of February, 1803, -transmitted to Switzerland what is known as the Act of Mediation, under -which he assumed the title of “Mediator of Switzerland.” In some cases, -what had been subject lands were incorporated into the league, and to -the thirteen old Cantons six new ones were added,--St. Gallen, the -Grisons, Aargau, Thurgau, Ticino, and Vaud. - -The downfall of the arbitrary “Mediator” was for the Swiss, as for -the greater part of Europe, the signal of a happy deliverance. The -apparent interest taken by Bonaparte in the welfare of Switzerland, -and his anxious desire to suit its civil institutions to the local -prejudices and habits of each small community, were wholly military -and political. He looked upon Switzerland as a watch-tower between -the three great divisions of Europe, of which the Act of Mediation -secured possession to him, without the trouble of a garrison. Soon -after his defeat at Leipsic in 1813, the Allies invaded Switzerland, -and in December of that year the Swiss Diet met at Zurich and formally -annulled the Act of Mediation. A general council was assembled, and new -articles of confederation agreed upon, known as the Federal Pact, in -September, 1814. This Confederacy was acknowledged by the Congress of -Vienna, November 20, 1815; by which the eight powers, Austria, Russia, -France, England, Prussia, Spain, Portugal, and Sweden, proclaimed -the neutrality of Switzerland and the inviolability of its soil. It -must in justice be said that at that epoch of sweeping annexations -and unblushing bartering of countries, Switzerland was better treated -than she had reason to expect,--Russia and England were her steadfast -friends. - -The nineteen Cantons were increased to twenty-two by the addition -of Geneva, which had been annexed to France under the Directory in -1798, and Neuchâtel[7] (a Prussian possession), and the Valais. -The greater Cantons demanded a return to the old status and their -ante-revolutionary supremacy. The relapse would have been worse, had -it not been for the Allied Powers, who would guarantee neutrality only -on the condition that the new Cantons be maintained free. - -In 1817 Switzerland, upon the invitation of the Emperor Alexander of -Russia, joined the Holy Alliance. The restoration of peace to Europe, -and the securities obtained for the neutrality and independence of -Switzerland at the Congress of Vienna, gave great encouragement to the -intellectual and material progress of the country, wealth increased, -and industry prospered. Public works of great utility were undertaken, -including noble roads over the passes of the St. Gothard, the St. -Bernard, and the Splügen. In July, 1830, the peace of the country -was suddenly disturbed by the French Revolution. Violent political -agitation broke out in riots and insurrection. Political wrongs were -rudely redressed; but life and property were respected. The general -aim of this movement was to wrest from the aristocratic class and -the capital towns the exclusive privileges which they had gradually -recovered since the beginning of the century, and to increase the -power of the people. The Cantons were forced to reorganize their -constitutions on a more liberal and democratic basis. This movement -naturally drifted into a plan for revising the federal constitution; -but the effort to do this in 1832 was defeated by a popular vote. - -The old religious jealousy of the Catholic and Protestant Cantons now -revived with increased violence. These troubles were attributed by many -to the influence of the Jesuits, and an active agitation was commenced -for obtaining their expulsion. Under the claim that religion was in -danger, delegates from seven Catholic Cantons assembled at Rothen, -in the Canton of Luzern, and formed a separate League, called the -_Sonderbund_, or separate confederation. In violation of the Federal -Pact of 1815, these Cantons engaged to defend each other by an armed -force, and appointed a council of war to take all necessary steps. The -Federal Diet, in session at Bern in July, 1847, realized that prompt -action must be taken to suppress a movement which was threatening the -country with a civil war. Friendly negotiation having failed, the Diet -declared the League to be dissolved, and at once hostilities broke out. -A sharp, decisive contest of only eighteen days’ duration brought the -strife to an end; the seceding Cantons were overwhelmed and forced back -to their allegiance. - -The strength of the Confederation being so decisively proved, it -was regarded an opportune time to revive the effort for a thorough -reformation of the federal system. This was accomplished the following -year by the constitution of 1848. - -Swiss history is largely the history of the drawing together of parts -of three adjoining nations for common defence against a common foe, -little by little winning their independence. - -“A liberty that sprang to life in Greece; gilded next the early and -the middle age of Italy; then reposed in the hallowed breast of the -Alps, and descended at length on the coast of North America, and set -the stars of glory there. At every stage of its course, at every -reappearance, it was guarded by some new security; it was embodied -in some new element of order; it was fertile in some larger good; it -glowed with a more exceeding beauty.”[8] - -The name “Swiss” and “Switzerland,” German “_Schweiz_,” French -“La _Suisse_,” supposed to be derived from the Canton of Schwyz, -though long in familiar use, did not form the official style of the -Confederation until 1803. Schwyz, according to Gatschet, signifies -“clearing the ground by fire;” and, again, it is derived from “Sweiter” -and “Swen,” two brothers who are said to have founded it; and these -family names, common in Sweden, are now heard in the valleys of Schwyz. - -Switzerland is triangular in shape, and occupies an almost -imperceptible space upon an ordinary map of the world. Voltaire used -to say he “shook his wig and powdered the republic.” It is bounded -on the north and east by Germany, on the south by Italy, and on the -west by France; and is situated between latitude 45° 50′ and 47° 50′ -north, and longitude 6° and 10° 25′ east. Its greatest length from -east to west measures two hundred and sixteen miles; its greatest -breadth north and south is one hundred and fifty-six miles. Nearly its -entire boundary is formed by rivers, lakes, and mountains. The Rhine -constitutes almost two sides of its boundary, from the point where the -various streams from the glaciers of the Grisons have met to form a -river into the Lake of Constance, and from its exit thence to where -the Jura Mountains turn its course to the Northern Ocean. The Jura -separates it from France; and with merely an outlet for the Rhone, the -Alps take up the line, dividing its rugged regions from the plains of -Northern Italy. On the eastern side is an entangled mass of mountains; -on the western side is a succession of parallel ridges, separated from -each other by longitudinal valleys. The elevation varies from six -hundred and forty-six feet, at Lake Maggiore, to fifteen thousand two -hundred and seventeen feet on Monte Rosa. Only two per cent. has an -altitude less than one thousand feet, and six per cent. of the whole -surface is covered with snow-fields and glaciers. Two-thirds of its -surface consist of lofty mountain chains and valleys; the remainder a -plain thirteen hundred feet above the level of the sea. That portion -which lies to the east of the Rhine rises from a platform no less than -three thousand two hundred feet in height, even in the valleys. All -of Switzerland, with Savoy, and indeed the Tyrol and other adjoining -countries, lie on a huge mountain. They all have their valleys, it -is true, but their valleys are more elevated than even the hills of -the lower regions. Two of the mightiest European rivers, the Rhine -and Rhone, have their sources in Switzerland. Their head-waters are -separated only by the tangled mass between the Pizzo Rotondo and -the Oberalp Pass,--the Rhine running towards the east and the Rhone -towards the west. The St. Gothard may be regarded as the central point -of the country, and from its sides these two rivers take their rise -in a great transversal valley of the Central Alps. On the east, the -Rhine, springing from the glaciers, flows through the Grisons to the -north and loses itself in the Lake of Constance, issues from it at -Stein, and flows to the westward as far as Basel, where it commences -its perpendicular course towards the German Ocean. On the west, the -Rhone, rising in the blue and glittering glacier of the same name, -descends through the long channel of the Valais, expands into the Lake -of Geneva, and takes its rapid course to the Mediterranean. Both of -these rivers purify their waters in a large lake; and in their passage -through the same Jurassic range of mountains they both form cataracts -and waterfalls, though separated by that time by an interval of one -hundred and eighty miles. Nine-tenths of the central table-lands of -Switzerland belong to the Rhine system, and only one-tenth to the -Rhone. In addition to these, two great rivers on the north of the St. -Gothard, the Reuss and the Aar, descend in parallel ravines through -rugged mountains, feeding the Lakes of Luzern, Thun, and Brienz; while -on the south its snows nourish the impetuous torrents of the Ticino, -which swells out into Lake Maggiore, and loses itself in the waves of -the Po. - -Within two degrees of latitude, Switzerland contains the climate of -thirty-four degrees. The variety in the vertical configuration of the -country naturally affects its climate, and nearly every valley and -every mountain-side has a climate of its own. Besides “mathematical -climate,” which is expressed by latitude, and depends on the elevation -of the surface of the earth to the sun, modern science gives “physical -climate.” It describes isothermal lines, which do not exactly coincide -with the circles of latitude, but diverge to north or south, according -as the temperature is modified by other factors, such as the height -of the land above the sea, the modifying action of mountain chains, -currents of wind and water, and the neighborhood of lakes and sea. -The climate of Switzerland is specially modified by the influences -which spring from the capricious consequences of the nearness of -mountains, which are a bulwark against the periodical agitations of the -atmosphere; they form a great barrier to the northward against the icy -blasts sweeping down from the snow-fields of Russia and Siberia; and to -the south, to the hot Libyan winds blowing across the Mediterranean. -For regular isotherms, it would be idle to seek in such a broken -region. The lakes, which are fed by the glacier waters, have a cooling -effect on the temperature of the summer heat; the temperature of the -water of Lake Brienz does not exceed from 48° to 53° Fahrenheit in the -warmest days. It is a great benefit to the circulation of air which -comes in contact with surfaces so relatively cold, nor do these bodies -of air carry away with them any large amount of moisture, because the -low temperature of the water does not favor any great evaporation. -Within a short distance one may see at the same time all the seasons -of the year, stand between spring and summer,--collecting snow with -one hand and plucking flowers from the soil with the other. In Valais -the fig and grape ripen at the foot of ice-clad mountains; while near -their summits the lichen grows at the limit of the snow-line. There -is a corresponding variety as regards the duration of the seasons. In -Italian Switzerland, winter lasts only three months; at Glarus, four; -in the Engadine, six; on the St. Gothard, eight; on the Great St. -Bernard, nine; and on the Théodule Pass, always. Upon first beholding -the peaks of the Alps, shrouded in their everlasting mantles of snow, -one would little dream that in the valleys beneath ran musical streams -of summer water, with emerald meadows spreading their velvet cloaks, -dappled with clustering rose-bush, and the sun-loving flowers of the -gardens of the tropics. - -In ancient times writers exhausted their eloquence in painting the -horrors of the climate of the Alps. Livy wrote, “and the snows almost -mingling with the sky, the shapeless huts situated on the cliffs, the -cattle and beasts of burden withered by the cold, the men unshorn and -wildly dressed, all things, animate and inanimate, stiffened with -frost, and other objects more terrible to be seen than described, renew -their alarm.”[9] - -To-day, within its habitable regions, the climate is distinguished for -being generally temperate, healthful, and invigorating. It enjoys, from -its geographical smallness, immunity from the penalty a vast continent -pays in colossal visitations and vicissitudes of meteorological -conditions. - -The Föhn is a remarkable local wind in Switzerland; it is a strong -southwest or south wind, very hot and dry, formerly supposed to -originate in the Sahara, and flowing in towards the area of low -atmospheric pressure; or to be a tropical counter-current of the trade -winds. Meteorologists now hold that it is engendered by local causes. -Commencing its descent in the northern valleys with a high temperature, -it necessarily increases its temperature and dryness as it passes -into the higher pressure of lower levels; it sweeps through certain -valleys, especially in Glarus and Uri, where old laws enact that when -it blows, every fire in the place, for whatever purpose used, is to be -extinguished, for its violence is often extreme. It is much dreaded, -yet acts beneficially by a rapid polar-like awakening of nature; it is -it which melts most of the snow in the spring, and “without the Föhn,” -says the peasant of the Grisons, “neither God nor the golden sun would -prevail over the snow.” The Bise is the opposite of the Föhn, a cold, -biting north wind, whose tooth has been sharpened by its passage over -the ice-fields, bringing all the chills of Siberia, and searching one -through and through, eating into the very marrow. This wind is confined -within a narrow area of the country, pouring from the northeast over -the Boden-See, and along the Jura to the Lake of Geneva below Lausanne; -its effect is blighting on the pastures, which it sometimes visits at -untimely seasons, killing even cattle exposed to it in May. - -The German, Burgundian, and Italian nations which joined together to -form the modern Swiss nation, cast away their original nationality, and -made for themselves a new one, forming a nation as real and true as if -it had strictly answered to some linguistic or ethnological division. -These northern and southern nations of Europe have been singularly -intermingled in Switzerland, and in this respect furnish an interesting -study, as a striking exception to the general idea suggested by -the word “nation” as a considerable continuous part of the earth’s -surface, where speakers of a single tongue are united under a single -government. The long persistent division of the Swiss people into -German, French, and Italian stands in marked contrast with the thorough -unity of the nation. They have never been blended into one people, -so far as speaking a common language is concerned. German, French, -Italian, Romansch, and Ladin are spoken within the limits of the -Confederacy. And even the dialects of the German differ so much as to -make communication almost impossible, at times, between the different -villages and towns. - -The census of December 1, 1888, showed the total population of -Switzerland to be 2,933,612. The German-speaking element increased from -2,030,792, in 1880, to 2,092,479, which, taking into account the normal -growth of the population, was no relative increase; the proportion in -both cases being about seventy-one per cent. of the whole. The French, -on the other hand, increased from 608,007 to 637,710, which was a -relative increase of from 21.4 to 21.07 per cent., while the Italian -declined actually as well as relatively, the numbers being 161,923 -in 1889, and 156,482 in 1888, or 5.7 and 5.3 per cent. respectively. -The decline of the Italians in Uri and Schwyz may be explained by the -return home of a large number of Italian workmen engaged on the St. -Gothard Railway. It is difficult to explain the large decrease of -Germans in the Cantons of Bern and Neuchâtel, while the French have -increased. In general, the French increase in Switzerland seems to be -at the expense of the Germans, while the German element recovers its -place at the expense of the Italian. - -The region extending from the Lake of Geneva to the Lake of Constance, -and from the foot of the Alps to the foot of the Jura, forms only -one-fourth of Switzerland, so far as area is concerned; but nearly -its whole population, wealth, and industry are concentrated there. -The population is settled in the plains, the hill regions, and the -valleys; there are chalets nearly eight thousand feet high on the -Fleck and Indre Alps, but only one town, viz., Chaux-de-Fonds, in the -Jura of Neuchâtel, has been built at an elevation of more than three -thousand two hundred feet; but there are villages in Alpine valleys -with an elevation of four thousand to five thousand feet, and the -hamlet of Juf, in the dreary valley of the Avers, has an elevation of -six thousand seven hundred feet, and is the highest village in Europe -permanently inhabited. - -In point of religion the Swiss are as sharply divided as they are in -tongue and customs. It is to the increasing efforts of the clergy, -during the many centuries that elapsed between the fall of the Roman -empire and the revival of knowledge, that the judicious historian of -Switzerland ascribes the early civilization and humane disposition -of the Helvetic tribes; and invariably the first traces of order and -industry appeared in the immediate neighborhood of the religious -establishments. The traveller will behold with interest the crosses -which frequently mark the brow of a precipice, and the little chapels -hollowed out of the rock where the road is narrowed, and will consider -them so many pledges of security; and he will rest assured that so long -as the pious mountaineer continues to adore the “Good Shepherd” he -will never cease to befriend the traveller or to discharge the duties -of hospitality. That a church, or rather that churches, existed in -Switzerland in the fourth century is proved by the signatures, coming -down from that date, of certain bishops and elders of Geneva, Coire, -and the Valais; and one century later it is known that other places -besides these had been in a measure Christianized. The Fraternity -of St. Bernard was founded in the latter part of the tenth century -by Bernard de Menthon, an Augustinian canon of Aosta, in Piedmont, -for the double purpose of extending bodily succor and administering -spiritual consolation to travellers crossing the Pass of St. Bernard, -where winter reigns during nine months of the year. The idea of -establishing a religious community in the midst of savage rocks, and at -the highest point trodden by the foot of man, was worthy of Christian -self-denial and a benevolent philanthropy. The experiment succeeded in -a degree commensurate with its noble intention: centuries have gone -by, civilization has undergone a thousand changes, empires have been -formed and overturned, and one-half of the world has been rescued -from barbarism, while this piously-founded edifice still remains in -its simple and respectable usefulness where it was first erected, the -refuge of the traveller and a shelter for the poor. The building, -the entertainment, the brotherhood, are marked by a severe, monastic -self-denial which appears to have received a character of stern -simplicity from the unvarying nakedness of all that greets the eye in -that region of frost and sterility. In storms, monks, helpers, and dogs -all go out to search for helpless travellers; and during the severe -winter of 1830 both packs of dogs had to be taken out, and nearly all -perished; the names of Barry and Bruno are kept with those of departed -archbishops and monks. These St. Bernard dogs are adapted, by their -instincts, intelligence, and benevolence, to the charitable work in -which they are engaged. The moment they scent a traveller buried in the -snow they announce the fact by setting up a loud bark, but they do not -wait for the arrival of their human companions, but begin at once to -dig into the snow with all their strength. The pure breed is said to be -extinct, but the cross variety still retains many of the good points of -the genuine breed.[10] - -Einsiedeln is a very ancient and celebrated monastery in the Canton of -Schwyz; it is more generally known as the Monastery of “Our Lady of the -Hermits,” and is one of the most famous pilgrim resorts in the world. -It was here that Meinrad, an anchorite of the house of Hohenzollern, -is supposed to have retired in the ninth century, and built a cell -for the worship of the Black Virgin, presented to him by the Abbess -Hildegard of Zurich. He was murdered, and respect for his memory -induced a religious community to establish themselves there. On the -occasion of the consecration of the chapel erected by them, the Bishop, -it is related, was anticipated by angels, who performed the rite to -heavenly music at midnight. Leo VIII. declared this consecration to be -a full and perfect one, and forbade the repetition of the rite; and -Pope Benedict VIII. placed Count Meinrad in the catalogue of saints -one hundred and fifty years after his death. The inscription over -the church-door at Einsiedeln is “_Hic est plena remissio peccatorum -a culpa et a pœna_” (“Here is plenary remission of sins from their -guilt and from their punishment”). There is a copious fountain before -the church, and another tradition has it that the Saviour visited the -shrine and drank from it. This fountain has fourteen jets, carved to -imitate the heads of strange beasts and birds, and the pilgrims must -drink of every one to make sure that they should not miss the right -one, which is said to have refreshed our Lord. - -It has been disputed to whom the priority in the race of reform in -Switzerland belongs, Zwingli or Luther. Zwingli himself declares that -in 1516, before he had heard of Luther, he began to preach the gospel -at Zurich, and to warn the people against relying upon human authority. -The name of Zwingli is always associated by the Swiss with the rise of -Protestantism as that of Calvin is with its triumphant progress.[11] -This Reformation, introduced by Zwingli and extended by Calvin, -occasioned the fiercest dissensions. Early in the sixteenth century -both Geneva and Zurich became cities of refuge for French, Italian, -and English who were forced to flee from their native lands on account -of their faith. The first edition of the English Bible was printed in -Zurich in 1535. The Reformers separated themselves into Lutherans, -Calvinists, and Anabaptists. It was held to be the duty of each Canton -to force its own faith upon the whole body of the people; church-going -was enforced by fines and corporal punishment; staying away from -church on Sunday mornings, in some localities, was followed by a loss -of citizenship. The latter part of the sixteenth and the whole of the -seventeenth century are crowded with controversies and bloodshed; -that violence and those animosities which are found so terribly to -prevail where religious zeal has been abused for the purposes of -intolerance. Nowhere were the doctrines of the Protestant Reformation -more ardently embraced; nowhere was the strange moral phenomenon, -which is to be traced in so many quarters of Europe, more conspicuous -than among the Cantons of Switzerland, the early, exact, permanent, -geographical division, which was realized between the Protestant and -Popish communities; a division which frequently an insignificant stream -or street has been sufficient to maintain for ages. Religious parties, -like glaciers, became at once frozen up in set attitudes and forms, -which no subsequent events have been able to alter. In three instances -controversies on the subject of religion kindled violent and bloody -contests. The most memorable was the war between Bern and Zurich, on -the one part, and five little Catholic Cantons on the other, in 1712. -At the close of the period of the Reformation, seven of the Cantons, -Luzern, Schwyz, Uri, Unterwalden, Zug, Freiburg, and Solothurn adhered -to their ancient Catholic faith; the Cantons of Bern, Basel, Zurich, -St. Gallen, and Schaffhausen adopted the reformed religion; Appenzell -and Glarus recognized both forms of worship. In Geneva, over which the -Duke of Savoy ruled, the effects of the Reformation were peculiarly -important. Calvinism, as it existed at Geneva, was not merely a system -of religious opinion, but an attempt to make the will of God, as -revealed in the Bible, an authoritative guide for social and personal -as well as for moral direction. Moral sins were treated after the -example of the Mosaic law, as crimes to be punished by the magistrates; -“elsewhere,” said Knox, speaking of Geneva, “the word of God is taught -as purely, but never anywhere have I seen God obeyed as faithfully.”[12] - -Reprobating and lamenting that the great reformer depended upon the -use of the sword for the extirpation of heresy, let us remember that -Calvin was not only the “founder of a sect, but foremost among the -most efficient of modern republican legislators; and that his genius -infused enduring elements into the institutions of Geneva, and made -it for the modern world the impregnable fortress of popular liberty, -the fertile seed-plot of democracy.” That “theological city,” called -by some the Jerusalem of Switzerland, seems to be pervaded by an -endemic influence inciting to religious discussion and agitation; -the eager, irrepressible spirit of John Calvin walks abroad from his -unknown sepulchre as the _genius loci_. The Reformation contributed in -Switzerland to the enlightenment of the people and to the maintenance -of a spirit of freedom; but in a political point of view it was the -cause of the gravest evils, which continued long after the original -convulsions. To differences of race and language it added divisions -of religious faith and the conflict of hostile churches. For some -time there was an alliance of clerical aggressiveness and ambition, -with the employment of religion as a political influence. The radical -government of Zurich was violently overthrown on the 6th of September, -1839, in consequence of the nomination of Dr. Strauss to a chair of -theology; thousands of peasants, led by their pastors and singing -hymns, armed with scythes and clubs, entered Zurich, and the government -was forced to dissolve itself. As late as the war of the Sonderbund, -in 1847, religious intolerance appeared to threaten the integrity -of the Confederation; and by an article in the Constitution of -1848, and re-enacted in that of 1874, the Jesuits and all affiliated -societies were interdicted throughout the Confederation. Hostility to -the Jesuits was not regarded as hostility to the Catholic religion. -The order of Jesuits, as then existing in Switzerland, could not be -considered purely religious, but partly political, partly sectarian and -controversial, its direct aim being to aggrandize the Church at the -expense of the state, and the Catholic religion at the expense of the -Protestant. From the first of these two tendencies, it was repugnant to -a large portion even of the Catholic world. The whole history of the -Jesuits in Switzerland betokened an organized and systematic teaching -of religion, not exclusively for religious ends, but largely as a means -for procuring political and social ascendency; even to the extent of -reducing it to rule, craft, and professional duty. It was against -this tendency, not against any matters essential to the Catholic -religion, that even the Catholic world protested. The growth of the Old -Catholics, after the Vatican Council of 1870, caused many disturbances -in Western Switzerland, specially in the Bernese Jura. Inaugurated -in the Catholic universities of Germany, it was transplanted for a -complete and more vigorous growth into the soil of Geneva, and there -taking on a logical, consistent, and organized form, it seemed fitted -for the wide propagation and success that marked the great Reformation -of the sixteenth century, to which, in its early stages, it showed -curious points of undesigned coincidence. - -The Swiss serve God and serve Liberty; two facts which go far to -solve all the phenomena of their remarkable history. They hold with -Plutarch that “a city might more easily be founded without territory -than a state without belief in God.” It may be, as Professor Tyndall -contends, that there is “morality in the oxygen of the mountains.” Man -feels himself reduced to nonentity under the stupendous architecture of -these elevated regions which carries his thoughts up to the Creator. -A cultivated and pious mind may find itself stayed and soothed and -carried upward, at some evening hour, by those great symbols of a -duration without an end to a throne above the sky; and this impression -may be deepened until the outward glory reproduces itself in the -inward, and causes it to cry out: - - “Great Hierarch! Tell thou the silent sky, - And tell the stars, and tell yon rising sun, - Earth, with her thousand voices, praises God.” - -The lives of the Swiss are in continual struggle with the elements, -the visible power of the Deity; their sober habits, simple, natural, -imaginative, all predispose them to believe; and the Gospel easily -obtained dominion over their faith and feelings. - -The sublime works of nature are equally calculated to arouse sentiments -of patriotism; they are capable of a companionship with man, full of -expression of inexplicable affinities and delicacies of intercourse. -No race of men can dwell in Switzerland, amidst its mountains, its -precipices, its rocks, glaciers, avalanches, and torrents, without -being strong, brave, and resolute. Just as we recognize an elevated -region by its growth of peculiar timber, whether stunted or lofty, -alike in their power of resisting the tempest, and by its hardy plants -characterized by their intense tenacity of life, just so a mountainous -country is indicated by a courageous, athletic, close-knit population -of liberty-loving, patriotic men. - -“_Montani semper liberi_,” everywhere mountainous regions have been -favorable to a free and manly spirit in the people; in every zone the -mountain races are a free, a pastoral, an unchanging people, rather -confirming Emerson’s hasty generalization as to snow and civil freedom. -In the East the warlike hill-tribes have been less subject to despotic -rule than the milder races dwelling on the plains. The varied grandeur -of the mountains no less than the awful power of the ocean counts for -something in the perpetuation of distinctive characteristics. But the -spirit of freedom is thought to take a different color from the sea and -from the mountain; in the mountain it is stubborn and resolute; by the -sea it is excitable and fickle. The hill-tribes of Judea kept their -covenant, the tribes of Jordan fell away; those Medes who never changed -their laws descended from the Caspian Alps, those Greeks who sought new -things from day to day were dwellers by the Ægean Sea. Among the vines -and olives in Italian gardens men are soft, poetic, phosphorescent, no -less full of fire than they are fond of change; among the pines and -larches of the Swiss glaciers men are hardy, patient, dumb, as slow to -fume and flash as they are hard to bend and break. The poet Wordsworth -represents that it was the peculiar fortune of Switzerland to enjoy the -influence of mountain and sea at once,-- - - “Two voices are there: one is of the sea, - One of the mountains; each a mighty voice: - In both, from age to age, thou didst rejoice, - They were thy chosen music, Liberty.” - -There are few principles of action which are more immediately -beneficial to society, and which have received more assiduous -cultivation, than _love of country_. The Swiss regards his country -with the tenderness of filial affection, and, like the undiscerning -lover, fondly gazes without discrimination upon its beauties and -its deformities.[13] Enamored of their rocks, ice, and snow, they -look on milder climates and more fruitful plains without one envious -emotion. Deeper down even than the deep-seated differences of race, -language, and creed lies the feeling that comes from the common -possession of a political freedom that is greater than that possessed -by surrounding peoples: this is the enduring bond of the Confederation. -Switzerland has demonstrated that democracies are not necessarily -short-lived. The short-lived glory of Athens and its subjection under -the rough foot of the astute Macedonian was not the result of too -much freedom, but because the Greek states had too little unity. In -Switzerland republican institutions can claim to have been fairly -tried and thoroughly succeeded. Dating from the perpetual Alliance -of 1291, the Confederation now counts six centuries; living through -many forms of government, feudal, clerical, imperial, radical, the -League of Cantons never ceased to be a union of republics, and is the -only federal government which has come down from mediæval times to -our own day. We see that the Swiss have lasted well, “for utility is -their bond and not respects.” While in some European countries very -anomalous forms of government have assumed the republican name, it is -gratifying to observe that there is at least one European state in -which republicanism is a fact and a living force properly understood -and properly practised, uniting with as large a measure of individual -liberty all the advantages of careful and judicious legislation, -economy in the administration, and justice in the execution of the -laws to as high a degree as can be found in any country. Every man is -free; every child educated; the sovereign power resides in hands that -defend it in danger and adorn it in peace; a common faith that love -of country, “all for each and each for all,” is better than a love of -self pervades the entire population. Amid powerful monarchies there -is a state without king or nobles, with a well-developed system of -democratic institutions, admirably suited to the genius of the people -and administered with the economy, the wisdom, and the consistency -of a well-regulated family. There the problem of a free commonwealth -was first solved, and popular government first made possible. There -are presented some of the most striking examples of democracy in its -simplest form, and of carefully-contrived and durable republican -institutions, to be found in the annals of political history. There is -a government based on the simple but sound philosophy expounded in the -homely observations of the honest old boatman of Geneva, Jean Desclaux, -“If one man rule, he will rule for his own benefit and that of his -parasites; if a minority rule, we have many masters instead of one, -all of whom must be fed and served; and if the majority rule, and rule -wrongfully, why the minimum of harm is done.” - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE CONSTITUTION. - - -“On the main-land only two little spots at the two extremities of -the old Teutonic world came out of the mediæval crucible with their -self-government substantially intact. At the mouth of the Rhine, the -little Dutch communities were prepared to lead the attack in the -terrible battle for freedom with which the drama of modern history was -ushered in. In the impregnable mountain fastnesses of upper Germany, -the Swiss Cantons had bid defiance alike to Austrian tyrant and to -Burgundian invader, and had preserved in its purest form the rustic -democracy of their Aryan forefathers. By a curious coincidence, both -these free peoples in their efforts towards national unity were led to -frame federal unions, and one of these political achievements is from -the stand-point of universal history of very great significance.”[14] -Writers, as a rule, properly consider a federal government, owing to -its nice balances in regard to a division of power between the union -and the members, and in regard to the conflicting interests of the -parts, as a peculiarly delicate and almost unadjustable framework. - -“The federative system,” says Guizot, “is one which evidently requires -the greatest maturity of reason, of morality, of civilization in the -society to which it is applied.” The two poles of a federal government -are independent action of the members in certain things, and a central -power or government which in certain things is equally independent. -The aim is to gain the advantages of the concentrated power of great -states, while retaining the advantages of local interest found in small -states. On the one hand, each of the members of the union must be -wholly independent in those matters which concern each member only. On -the other hand, all must be subject to a common power in those matters -which concern the whole body of members collectively. Switzerland -represents the happy outcome of the first attempt at such a federal -union made by men of Teutonic descent. Complete independence in local -affairs combined with adequate representation in the Federal Council -has effected such an intense cohesion of interests throughout the -nation as no centralized government, however cunningly devised, would -ever have secured. The constitutional history of the confederation is -a study in federalism. First a mere defensive alliance or league;[15] -then a _Staatenbund_, or permanent alliance of several small states, to -which the term confederacy nearly corresponds; then a _Bundesstaat_, or -an organized state with central legislative, executive, and judicial -departments, which answers substantially to the term federation as -usually employed, and as realized in the Constitution of 1848, and -perfected in that of 1874. The distinction which German publicists -have introduced into political science between a _Staatenbund_ and -a _Bundesstaat_, constituting the two chief forms of union between -states, is a very valuable one,--the former word denoting a league -or confederation of states; the latter, a state formed by means of -a league or confederation. In order to know to which of the two -classes a given state belongs, we need to inquire only whether the -political body in question has the essential qualities of a state -or not. Confederation and federation; both are composite political -bodies, and in so far different from mere alliances which form no new -state. _Staatenbund_, or confederation, is rather a conglomeration of -states than a real state; it retains the character of a contractual -combination of states. _Bundesstaat_, or federation, implies the -advance from the incomplete and transitional form to the formation of a -collective state or union; it is a more highly developed _Staatenbund_, -the difference is only one of degree in purpose, form, and powers -to carry out the national will. A confederation, by joining several -states in a political association, presents at least externally the -appearance of one state of an international personality; but yet is -not organized into one central state distinct from the particular -states. The management of the collective state is left either to -some particular state as President (_Vorort_), or to an assembly of -delegates and representatives of all the several states. The former -was the case with the Greek leagues under the hegemony of Sparta and -Athens; the latter with the American Union under the ancient articles -of 1778, and the German confederation of 1815. In a federation there -are not merely completely organized particular states, each remaining -sovereign and independent within the range of such powers as it does -not hand over to the federal authority; but there is an independently -organized common or central state, that within the range of the powers -handed over to it forms a single commonwealth under a government with -its own executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The Achæan -league was already in some measure such a federal state. This form of -state first appears in modern times in the Constitution of the United -States adopted in 1787, and subsequently imitated by Switzerland. -The Swiss Confederation previous to 1848 joined the members of the -league only on such terms and for such purposes as were agreed on, and -their common affairs were administered by a federal Diet. Still each -Canton remained perfectly independent in all its internal concerns; -even keeping the right of separate dealings with foreign governments. -There was nothing which could be strictly called a federal government, -whose one will makes the constitution, and demands obedience from the -minority, even of particular Cantons. The foundation of the Swiss -Constitution is the old Swiss league, which lasted from 1291 to 1798. -But there had been simply alliances between different Cantons, and no -real federal constitution existed. The establishment of the Helvetic -Republic, one and indivisible, was the first attempt at a constitution. -The representative democracy of the United States found a soil ready -prepared for it in Switzerland, to which it was transplanted by French -intervention. The constitution _unitaire_ was imposed on Switzerland -most tyrannically, but it was not in itself a bad one. Under what may -be called the French readjustment of Switzerland, constitutions rose -and fell and succeeded each other in rapid rotation from 1798 to 1803. -First appears a project of the Constitution of March, 1798; by this a -single centralized state was substituted for the thirteen old Cantons. -It served with modifications as the groundwork of another sketched -in April of the same year. This latter was prevented by the outbreak -of war between France and Austria in 1799 from taking root. Another -Constitution of May, 1801, approved by Bonaparte, then First Consul, -was acceptable to few in its political and territorial arrangements. -The Cantons became mere divisions, like counties or departments. -One of its earliest provisions abolishes the ancient democracies of -the Forest Cantons. The traditions of independence in these older -Cantons, and the elements of internal opposition, were too strong to -admit of submission. The inhabitants of these sequestered regions, -communicating little with the rest of the world, ardently attached to -their liberties, inheriting all the dauntless intrepidity of their -forefathers, clearly perceived that, in the wreck of all their ancient -institutions, the independence of their country could not long be -maintained. They saw that the insidious promises of the French envoys -had terminated only in ruinous exaction and tyrannical rule. Animated -by these feelings, “We have lived,” said they, “for several centuries -under a republic based on liberty and equality; possessing no other -goods in the world but our religion and our independence; no other -riches but our herds; our first duty is to defend them.” This attempt -to form the whole of Switzerland into a united representative system -could not be permanent, and was soon dissolved. Other constitutions -followed in October, 1801, February, 1802, and July, 1802. Then -February 2, 1803, came, under the so-called Act of Mediation, a -moderately centralized federal government granted by Napoleon. Old -family and civic privileges were annulled; all Swiss were made equal -in the eye of the law, and vassalage was altogether abolished, and -free right of settlement in any part of Switzerland assured to all. -All alliances of one Canton with another, or with a foreign state, -were interdicted. This was stipulated in consequence of an improper -alliance in 1442 by Zurich with the House of Austria. It was ordained -that each Canton should send one deputy to the general Diet; that they -should have definite instructions and powers of attorney, and should -not vote against their instructions. The functions of the Diet were -declared to be: 1. To proclaim war or peace, and conclude foreign -alliances, which required the consent of three-fourths of the Diet. -2. To fix regulations for foreign commerce, capitulations in foreign -service, and the recruiting of soldiers. 3. To levy the contingent, -appoint commanders of the armed forces, and the foreign ambassadors. 4. -To adopt measures of external utility and settle disputes between one -Canton and another. The act concluded in these terms: “The present act, -the result of long conference with enlightened persons, appears to us -the best that could be devised for the constitution and happiness of -the Swiss. As soon as it is carried into execution the French troops -shall withdraw. We recognize Helvetia as organized by this act as an -independent power, and guarantee the Federal constitution, and that of -each Canton in particular, against the enemies of the tranquillity of -the state.” This act for the remainder of Napoleon’s reign settled the -condition of the Helvetic Confederacy; and although it was peaceful -and prosperous, the Act of Mediation was felt to be the work of a -foreigner and master, and it fell with the extinction of his power. -Here French readjustments came to an end, and after the Congress of -Vienna, March, 1815, guaranteed the neutrality of Switzerland, there -followed in November of the same year the Federal Pact. This was a -looser confederation, and in many respects a return to the state -of things previous to the French Revolution, and restored to the -Cantons a large portion of their former sovereignty. There continued -to be a _Tagsatzung_, or Diet for general affairs, consisting of -“ambassadors from the sovereign estates,” meaning the Cantons, each -Canton still having only one voice, and three-fourths of the votes -being necessary for war or peace and treaties with foreign powers; -but in other matters of business an absolute majority decides. It -fixes the rate of troops and taxes for federal purposes; gives every -Canton the right to demand defence against internal and external -force; provides for the settlement of disputes between the Cantons; -puts an end to all dependent territory and exclusive possession of -rights by a class of citizens; and continues the old plan of having a -_Vorort_. Military capitulations and conventions concerning affairs -of police or public economy may be made by single Cantons, provided -they oppose no federal principles, nor existing league, nor cantonal -rights. Ambassadors from the league may be sent to foreign powers when -their appointment is thought necessary. In extraordinary cases the -_Vorort_ may be invested with especial powers, and a committee can be -appointed, composed of the officer of the _Vorort_, who is intrusted -with the management of the federal affairs in conjunction with other -representatives of the Confederation. This representative committee -is chosen by six circles of Cantons each in turn. The Diet gives the -requisite instructions to these federal representatives, and fixes -the duration of their duties, which cease, of course, when there is -a new Diet. When this assembly is not in session, the _Vorort_ has -the charge of federal affairs within the limits existing before 1798. -Cloisters and chapters are allowed to continue, but are subject to -taxation like private property; and the Helvetic national debt is -acknowledged. The Federal Pact became unpopular not merely from its -own intrinsic defects and ambiguities, but also from the time and -circumstances of its origin. It was a reactionary instrument, bringing -back the yoke of the patrician families and the extreme Ultramontane -party. The central authority of the Confederation was wreak. It had no -powers, either legislative, executive, or administrative, binding upon -the several Cantons; no provision for the repression of wars between -rival Cantons, nor for the proper restraint of separate alliances with -foreign powers which endangered the peace, if not the independence, of -the federal state; no federal army, no public treasury, no national -mint, no common judiciary, nor any other common marks of sovereignty. -The Diet assembled for little more than deliberation, all matters -of importance being referred to the determination of the Cantons. -National affairs were discussed in general Diets, as in fact they -had been from the beginning, but they were Diets which lacked the -very essentials of republican government, majority rule, and power of -execution. They depended more upon moral authority than legal powers, -persuading where they could not command obedience. The difficulties of -a union so obviously imperfect and narrow were greatly increased by -the Reformation, which alienated the Catholic and Protestant Cantons, -causing political and religious struggles that culminated in civil war. -There is then a constitutional rest until the next great revolutionary -storm, which swept over so many countries of Europe in 1848, when a -new constitution, modelled in many respects after that of the United -States, was adopted, and superseded the Federal Pact. It changed the -federal union of states into a federal republic; a transition from -a _Staatenbund_ to a _Bundesstaat_. The stage of confederation was -passed over and the higher state of federation reached; an organized -nation, and at the same time the peoples of the particular Cantons -also possessing organic unity; a Swiss nation, and yet a Bernese and -Genevese people. The Constitution of 1848 was the first which was -entirely the work of the Swiss without any foreign influence. For -the revolution of 1848, which paralyzed Austria, Rome, and Germany, -enabled the Swiss to reassume in full the reins of self-government. -Two legislative chambers were for the first time created, and invested -with the power of enacting laws and issuing orders which are binding -directly on individual citizens. This most important and far-reaching -principle, that the Federal head should operate directly on individuals -and not on states, involved momentous consequences, forcing the -construction of a “Composite State.” The joint action of the two -chambers, constituting the _Bundesversammlung_, or Federal Assembly, -became a substantive part of the government of every Canton; and, -within the limits of its attributions, made laws which are obeyed -by every citizen, and executing them through its own officers, and -enforcing them by its own tribunal; powers essential for an effective -federal government. The old Diets never ventured on any undertaking -of public utility, amelioration, or reform, during more than three -hundred years. The Confederation was loose and incomplete even for its -essential objects, mutual defence and foreign relations. The principal -objects of this new constitution were: - -1. The strengthening of the national government, reconciling the -supremacy of the Confederation with the autonomy of the Cantons. - -2. The overthrow of oligarchies. - -3. The protection of the state from the dominion of Rome. - -The first two were attained by the direct provisions of the -Constitution; the third was afterwards promoted by the expulsion of the -Jesuits and their affiliated societies from Swiss territory. A great -benefit was conferred upon the Confederation by the unification of such -matters as coinage, weight, measures, and posts; and the surrender by -the Cantons to the Confederation of the exclusive right to levy duties -at the frontiers of the country. For twenty-four years Switzerland -enjoyed under this Constitution uninterrupted peace and prosperity; the -European wars between 1855 and 1871 did not disturb her neutrality, -though military operations offered great temptation to march across her -territory. In 1872 a project of amendment was submitted conferring upon -the general government many additional powers. By a small popular and -a large cantonal majority it was defeated. The agitation for amendment -continued, and in 1874 a more moderate revision of the Constitution -of 1848 was again presented. This remodelling in 1874 did little more -than work out in a complete and logical form the principles laid down -in 1848; the most marked difference being a further enlargement of the -Federal authority; forming a well compacted union, a Federal state, -each portion of which has its sphere of sovereignty. This revised -Constitution received the sanction of the Federal Assembly, January 31, -1874, was submitted to the popular vote on Sunday, April 19, following, -resulting in a vote of 340,199 in favor of, and 198,013 against, -acceptance. The vote by Cantons was fourteen and a half Cantons for, -and seven and a half Cantons against, acceptance (the votes of the -half-Cantons being counted each as a half vote). The Cantons voting -against the adoption of the Constitution were Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden -(the original three), Luzern, Zug, Freiburg, Valais, and Appenzell -(Inner). A decree of the Federal Assembly, May 28, 1874, after setting -forth that the revised Federal Constitution had received both a -majority of all the votes cast and the approval of a majority of all -the Cantons, says, “That it is, therefore, hereby solemnly declared in -effect, bearing date of May 29, 1874.” The Federal Council, on May 30, -1874, ordered the above decree, together with the Constitution, to be -enrolled in the official collection of statutes of the Confederation, -and the decree to be transmitted to the governments of the Cantons, to -be published by them through posting up in public places. The Federal -system thus established has many features which are strikingly like, -as well as many which are almost as strikingly unlike, those in the -system of the United States. The preamble, and Articles I. and II. of -the Constitution, point out the aim and lay down the fundamental idea -of the Confederation. - - IN THE NAME OF ALMIGHTY GOD. - - The Swiss Confederation, desiring to confirm the alliance - of the confederates, to maintain and to promote the unity, - strength, and honor of the Swiss nation, has adopted the - Federal Constitution, following: - - ARTICLE I.--The peoples of the twenty-two sovereign Cantons - of Switzerland, united by this present alliance [then follow - the names of the Cantons], form in their entirety the Swiss - Confederation. - - ARTICLE II.--The purpose of the Confederation is to secure - the independence of the country against foreign nations, to - maintain peace and order within, to protect the liberty and - rights of the confederates, and to foster their common welfare. - -The Constitution is divided into three chapters, embracing, -respectively, seventy, forty-seven, and four articles, numbered -consecutively throughout the whole. The chapters have subdivisions, -with descriptive titles to the general heads. - -The first chapter is titled _General Provisions_, and covers a wide -field. - -A literal transcript of the most important provisions of this chapter -will be given. - - CHAPTER I. - - The Cantons are sovereign so far as their sovereignty is - not limited by the Federal Constitution, and as such they - exercise all the rights which are not delegated to the Federal - government. All Swiss are equal before the law, with neither - political dependence, nor privilege of place, birth, persons, - or families. The Confederation guarantees to the Cantons their - territory, their sovereignty (within the limits fixed), their - Constitutions, the liberty and rights of the people, the - constitutional rights of citizens, and the rights and powers - which the people have conferred on those in authority. The - Cantons are bound to ask of the Confederation the guarantee of - their Constitutions: this is accorded, provided,-- - - (_a_) That the Constitutions contain nothing contrary to the - provisions of the Federal Constitution. - - (_b_) That they assure the exercise of political rights - according to republican forms, representative or democratic. - - (_c_) That they have been ratified by the people, and may be - amended whenever the majority of all the citizens demand it. - - All separate alliances and all treaties of a political - character between the Cantons are forbidden. The Confederation - has the sole right of declaring war, of making peace, and - of concluding alliances and treaties with foreign powers, - particularly treaties relating to tariffs and commerce. No - military capitulations shall be made.[16] Members of the - Federal Government, civil and military officials of the - Confederation, and Federal Representatives or Commissioners - shall not accept from foreign Governments any pension, salary, - title, present, or decoration. The Confederation has no right - to maintain a standing army: every Swiss is subject to military - service. The Confederation may construct at its own expense, or - may aid by subsidies, public works which concern Switzerland - or a considerable part of the country: the Confederation has - the right of general supervision over the water and forest - police measures in the upper mountain regions. It is authorized - to adopt regulations as to the right of fishing and hunting, - especially for the preservation of the large game in the - mountains, and for the protection of birds which are useful - to agriculture or forestry. Legislation pertaining to the - construction and operation of railways is an affair of the - Confederation. It has the right to establish, in addition to - the existing Polytechnic school, a Federal University and other - higher institutions of learning, or assist in their support. - The customs are in the province of the Confederation; it may - levy export and import duties; but the collection of the - Federal customs shall be regulated according to the following - principles: - - 1. Import duties. - - (_a_) Materials necessary to the manufactures and agriculture - of the country shall be taxed as low as possible. - - (_b_) Likewise all articles which may be classed as necessaries - of life. - - (_c_) Luxuries shall be subjected to the highest duties. - - 2. Export duties shall also be as low as possible. - - 3. The customs legislation shall include suitable provisions - for the continuance of commercial and market intercourse across - the frontier. - - The freedom of trade and of industry is guaranteed throughout - the whole of the Confederation: excepted from this rule are - the salt and gunpowder monopolies, the Federal customs, - measures of sanitary police against epidemics and cattle - diseases, import duties on wines and other spirituous liquors, - and other taxes on consumption expressly permitted by the - Confederation, under certain restrictions: but all the import - duties levied by the Cantons as well as the similar duties - levied by the Communes to cease, without indemnity, at the end - of the year 1890. The Confederation has power to enact uniform - provisions as to the labor of children in factories, and as - to the duration of labor fixed for adults therein, and as to - the protection of workmen against the operation of unhealthy - and dangerous manufactures. The business of emigration agents - and of private insurance companies shall be subject to the - supervision and legislation of the Confederation. The opening - of gambling-houses is forbidden (those in existence allowed - until December 31, 1877, to close); necessary measures may - also be taken concerning lotteries. The post and telegraphs - (now includes the telephone) in all Switzerland are controlled - by the Confederation, and the proceeds belong to the Federal - Treasury; the tariff charges shall be regulated according to - uniform principles in as equitable a manner as possible, and - inviolable secrecy of letters and telegrams is guaranteed. To - the Confederation belongs the exercise of all rights included - in the coinage monopoly: it alone shall coin money, establish - the monetary system, and enact provisions, if necessary, for - the rate of exchange of foreign coins, and to make by law - general provisions as to the issue and redemption of banknotes: - it shall not, however, establish any monopoly for the issue - of banknotes, nor make them a legal tender. The Confederation - fixes the standard of weights and measures. The manufacture - and the sale of gunpowder throughout Switzerland pertains - exclusively to the Confederation (the manufacture and sale of - spirituous liquors was made a Federal monopoly December 22, - 1885). Every citizen of a Canton is also a Swiss citizen, and - as such he may participate in the place where he is domiciled - in all Federal elections and popular votes, after having duly - proven his qualification as a voter.[17] A Federal law shall - establish the distinction between settlement and temporary - residence, and shall at the same time make the regulations - to which Swiss temporary residents shall be subjected as to - their political rights and their civil rights. A Federal law - shall make provision as to the cost of the care and burial - of indigent persons of one Canton who may become sick or die - in another Canton. Freedom of conscience and belief shall be - inviolable; no one shall be compelled to take part in any - religious society or in any religious instruction, or to - undertake any religious act, nor shall he be punished in any - way whatever for his religious views. The person who exercises - the parents’ or guardians’ authority has the right, conformably - to the principles above stated, to regulate the religious - education of children up to the close of their sixteenth year. - The exercise of civil or political rights shall not be abridged - by any provisions or conditions whatever of an ecclesiastical - or religious kind. Religious views shall not absolve from the - performance of civil duties. No person is bound to pay taxes - of which the proceeds are specifically appropriated to the - expenses of any religious society to which he does not belong. - The free exercise of religious worship is guaranteed within - the limits of morality and public order; the Cantons and the - Confederation may take suitable measures for the preservation - of public order and of peace between the members of different - religious bodies, as well as against any interference in the - rights of citizens or of the state by church authorities. - Contests in public and private law which arise out of the - formation or the division of religious bodies may be brought by - appeal before the competent Federal authorities. No bishopric - shall be created upon Swiss territory without the consent of - the Confederation; neither the order of the Jesuits nor the - societies affiliated with them shall be suffered in any part - of Switzerland, and all participation of their members either - in church or school is prohibited; this prohibition may be - extended also by Federal ordinance to other religious orders - whose action is dangerous to the state, or disturbs the peace - between sects. The establishment of new convents or religious - orders or the restoration of those which have been suppressed - is forbidden. The civil status and the keeping of records - thereof is subject to the civil authority (taking it away from - the clergy, who were formerly the custodians). The disposition - of burial-places shall belong to the civil authorities; they - shall take care that every deceased person may be decently - interred (to prevent denial of burial by the church). The - right of marriage is placed within the protection of the - Confederation; this right shall not be limited for confessional - or economic considerations, nor on account of previous conduct - or other police reasons; no tax upon admission or similar tax - shall be levied upon either party to a marriage. Freedom of - the press is guaranteed; the Confederation may enact penalties - against the abuse of the freedom of the press when directed - against it or its authorities. The right of petition is - guaranteed. No person shall be deprived of his constitutional - judge, and there shall consequently be no extraordinary - tribunal established.[18] Ecclesiastical jurisdiction is - abolished. Suits for personal claims against a solvent debtor - having a domicile in Switzerland must be brought before the - judge of his domicile; in consequence his property outside the - Canton in which he is domiciled may not be attached in suits - for personal claims; with reference to foreigners, however, - the provisions of the respective international treaties shall - apply. Imprisonment for debt is abolished. The exit duty on - property is abolished as respects foreign countries, provided - reciprocity be observed. The Confederation shall have power to - legislate: - - 1. On civil capacity. - - 2. On all legal questions relating to commerce and to - transactions affecting chattels (law of commercial obligations, - including commercial law and law of exchange). - - 3. On literary and artistic copyright.[19] - - 4. On the legal collection of debts and on bankruptcy. - - Capital punishment abolished;[20] corporal punishment is - forbidden. The Confederation by law provides for the - extradition of accused persons from one Canton to another; - nevertheless, extradition shall not be made obligatory for - political offences and offences of the press. Measures shall be - taken by Federal law for the incorporation of persons without - a country.[21] The Confederation has power to expel from its - territory foreigners who endanger the internal or external - safety of Switzerland. - -The second chapter embraces the _Federal Authorities_: - - CHAPTER II. - - 1. The Federal Assembly or Legislative Department. - - 2. The Federal Council or Executive Department. - - 3. The Federal Tribunal or Judicial Department.[22] - - 4. The Federal Chancellery. - - It is provided that the duties of Secretary to the Federal - Assembly and Federal Council shall be performed by a Federal - Chancellery under the direction of a Chancellor of the - Confederation. The Chancellor shall be chosen for the term of - three years by the Federal Assembly at the same time as the - Federal Council. The Chancellery shall be under the special - supervision of the Federal Council. - - 5. Miscellaneous provisions. - -These are three in number: - - 1. All that relates to the location of the Federal authorities - is a subject to be determined by the Confederation. - - 2. The three principal languages spoken in Switzerland--German, - French, and Italian--shall be considered national languages of - the Confederation.[23] - - 3. The officials of the Confederation shall be responsible - for their conduct in office. Federal law shall define this - responsibility and the means of enforcing it. - -The third chapter directs the method by which the Constitution can be -amended. - - CHAPTER III. - - 1. The Federal Constitution may at any time be amended. - - 2. Each revision shall take place by the ordinary method of - Federal legislation. - - 3. If one branch of the Federal Assembly passes a resolution - for amendment of the Federal Constitution and the other does - not approve; or upon the demand of fifty thousand qualified - voters, in either case, the question whether the Constitution - ought to be amended must be submitted to a vote of the Swiss - people, voting yes or no. If a majority of the citizens voting - pronounce in the affirmative, there shall be a new election - of both branches of the Federal Assembly for the purpose of - preparing amendments. - - 4. The amended Constitution shall go into effect whenever - it shall receive a majority of all the votes cast, and the - approval of a majority of the Cantons. In determining the - majority of the Cantons, the vote of a half-Canton shall be - counted as half a vote. The result of the popular vote in each - Canton shall be taken as determining the vote of the Canton.[24] - -The Constitution closes with five articles, styled _Temporary -Provisions_: - - 1. The proceeds of the posts and customs shall be divided - upon the existing basis until such time as the Confederation - shall take upon itself the military expenses up to this time - borne by the Cantons. The loss which may be occasioned to the - finances of any Canton by the sum of the charges which result - from certain articles of the Constitution shall fall upon such - Canton only gradually. - - 2. The provisions of the Federal laws and of the Cantonal - concordats, constitutions or Cantonal laws which are contrary - to this Constitution cease to have effect by the adoption of - the Constitution, or when the Federal laws passed in pursuance - thereof, shall be published. - - 3. The new provisions in regard to the powers of the Federal - Tribunal shall not take effect until the passage of the Federal - laws relating to it. - - 4. The Cantons shall be allowed a period of five years within - which to introduce the system of free instruction in primary - public education. - - 5. Those persons who practise a liberal profession, and who - before the publication of the Federal law provided for by the - Constitution have obtained a certificate of competence from a - Canton or a joint authority representing several Cantons, may - pursue that profession throughout the Confederation. - -There have been three amendments to the Constitution from the date of -its adoption in 1874 to 1889 inclusive: - - 1. In 1879, Article lxv. of the Constitution abolishing capital - punishment was repealed, and in lieu thereof the following - substituted: “No death penalty shall be pronounced for a - political crime.”[25] - - 2. In 1885, Article xxxii. of the Constitution was modified - so that drinking-places and the retail trade in spirituous - liquors should be excepted from the guarantee of freedom of - trade and of industry; but the Cantons might by legislation - subject the keeping of drinking-places and the retail trade - in spirituous liquors to such restrictions as are required - for the public welfare. And Article xxxii. _bis_ was added - authorizing the Confederation by legislation to regulate the - manufacture and sale of alcohol. In this legislation those - products which are intended for exportation, or which have - been subjected to a process excluding them from use as a - beverage, shall be subjected to no tax. Distillation of wine, - fruit, and the products of gentian roots, juniper berries, and - similar products are not subject to Federal legislation as to - manufacture or tax. After the cessation of the import duties - on spirituous liquors, as provided for, the trade in liquors - not distilled shall not be subjected by the Cantons to any - special taxes, or to other limitations than those necessary - for protection against adulterated or noxious beverages. - Nevertheless the powers of the Cantons defined in the - Constitution are retained over the keeping of drinking-places, - and the sale at retail of quantities less than two _litres_. - The net proceeds resulting from taxation on the sale of alcohol - shall belong to the Cantons in which the tax is levied. The net - proceeds to the Confederation from the internal manufacture of - alcohol, and the corresponding addition to the duty on imported - alcohol, shall be divided among all the Cantons in proportion - to population. Out of the receipts therefrom the Cantons must - expend not less than one-tenth in combating drunkenness in its - causes and effects. The Confederation shall provide by law - that for such Cantons or Communes as may suffer financial loss - through the effect of this amendment, such loss shall not come - upon them immediately in its full extent, but gradually up to - the year of 1895.[26] - - 3. In 1887, Article lxiv. of the Constitution was so amended - as to give the Confederation the power to make laws, “On - the protection of new patterns and forms, and of inventions - which are represented in models and are capable of industrial - application.” - -All amendments to the Swiss Constitution are incorporated in their -logical place in the text immediately upon their adoption. - -Much legislation called for by the mandatory provisions of the -Constitution, and suggested by the discretionary powers vested in -the Confederation, has passed into Federal statutory enactments. A -few may be mentioned. An elaborate law as to military service, tax -for exemption therefrom, and pensions; statutes regulating labor -in factories, containing a wide range of provisions for the health -and safety of employés; the practice of the professions of medicine -and dentistry; the construction and management of railroads; the -protection of literary and artistic property and patents; hunting -and fishing; the control of forests, dikes, and water-courses in the -mountainous regions; the election of members of the Federal Assembly -and organization of the Federal Tribunal; the method of taking the -_Referendum_; rights of citizenship and expatriation; banking and -bankruptcy; emigration and immigration. There are very comprehensive -laws also as to “civil capacity and obligations” and “marriage and -divorce.” The Federal law on “civil capacity and obligation” comprises -more than nine hundred articles, and deals with every imaginable kind -of contract except that relating to the acquisition and transfer of the -ownership of land; this forming part of the independent legislation -of the several Cantons. The law of “marriage and divorce” includes -registration of births and deaths, and presents a law which is a -carefully-prepared, scientific whole. The legal age of marriage; -degrees of consanguineous or other relationship; consent of parents; -rules for notice of intention; provision for verifying the facts -alleged; certification both of the fact and means of the dissolution of -a previous marriage, whether by death or divorce; strict requirements -for publication of the banns; restrictions as to locality within which -the marriage must occur; civil marriage made obligatory; and details of -the conditions under which marriages may be declared void and divorces -granted; these constitute some of the main features of the law. - -The Constitution, with the evolution through Federal laws made -necessary by it, contains much detail, showing the mind of the -German race therein. It is not confined to an enunciation of general -principles, but determines specifically and at length, with some -confusion of repetition and at times distressing prolixity, many -things which, under a general provision, might have been clearly -interpreted to belong, as the case might be, to either the Federal -or Cantonal authority. It contains a large number of articles which -have no reference to the distribution or exercise of sovereign power, -but which embody general maxims of policy or special provisions as to -matters of detail, to which the Swiss attach great importance, and -which therefore they do not wish to be easily alterable. It goes far -beyond that of the United States in inscribing among constitutional -articles either principles or petty rules which are supposed to have -a claim of legal sanctity. It gives to the Federal authorities power -and supervision over a variety of special interests; a system that may -work well in a small country, but not in one so large as the United -States, with such diversified and local aspects. For these reasons the -text of the Swiss Constitution is not so brief,[27] nor its language so -terse, as that of the United States, which a famous English statesman -has called, “The most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time -by the brain and purpose of man.” The Swiss Constitution leaves little -room for contention in the construction of its phraseology, meaning -the same thing to-day, to-morrow, and forever. Its written provisions, -stipulations, and guarantees leave little room for the exercise of -“doubtful powers.” With such a mass of detail, the Confederation is not -competent to act directly; the execution of much is left to the Cantons -acting under the supervision of the Federal authorities, which only -interfere where the former neglect or refuse to fulfil their obligation. - -The repeated and remarkable stipulations of the Constitution, reaching -almost every conceivable exercise of religious action and freedom, -present one of its most marked characteristics and radical departures -from that of the United States. The latter contains only two allusions -to the subject. The first in Article VI.: “No religious test shall ever -be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the -United States.” The second in the first amendment: “Congress shall -make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting -the free exercise thereof.” Previous to the Swiss Constitution of -1874 there was no mention of individual religious liberty. That of -1848 guaranteed the free exercise of divine worship to the recognized -confessions, the Roman Catholic and the Reformed (_i.e._, the Church -Reformed by Zwingli and Calvin), but forbade the order of Jesuits. It -is manifest that the framers of the Constitution of 1874 were resolved -to effectually suppress the further exercise of the ecclesiastical -narrowness and sectarian antagonism which, as late as the Sonderbund -War of 1847, disturbed the peace and threatened the stability of the -Confederation. The extreme rigor with which these provisions of the -Constitution are enforced, and the latitude of action given under them -to Cantonal authority, do appear at times to be strained to an extent -deaf to both humanity and common sense. In 1888, “Captain Stirling,” of -the Salvation Army, a subject of Great Britain, was sentenced in the -Canton of Vaud to one hundred days’ imprisonment in Chillon Castle for -attempting to proselyte some children. The appeal made in her behalf to -the Federal Council was refused, and she was compelled to complete the -term of her sentence. Surely no danger was threatened that might not -have been averted by her removal to the frontier, or the offence atoned -for by a slight fine. The case presented an appeal to that unknown -quantity, the Swiss sense of the ridiculous. The sanctity of the law is -all very well; but when the law is one against persons who sing hymns -to children in the street, and its terrors are those of Bonnivard’s -prison, the plot of the drama seems hardly equal to the majesty of the -scene. To put a young lady, for so trivial an offence, under triple -bolts and bars for months is a piling up of the agony which indicates a -singular weakness of dramatic resource. Perhaps the military style of -the movements in these days of alarming concentrations on Continental -frontiers may have invested the “colonels” and “captains” in the -Salvationist train, even of the gentler sex, with undue importance -and alarm. It is difficult to reconcile Federal and Cantonal action -in Switzerland in this and other instances with the spirit of the -inviolability of freedom of faith and conscience guaranteed by the -Constitution. Religious liberty encounters no little restriction and -abridgment in several of the Cantons. Each Canton has still its own -established Church, supported and ruled by the civil magistrate. In -recent times free churches have been founded in Geneva, Neuchâtel, -and Vaud, and are showing a high degree of spiritual vitality and -liberality. It would be better if it could work out an entire -dissolution of the connection between Church and State throughout the -Confederation, and religion be allowed to take its natural course. - -The Constitution of Switzerland is a conscious and sagacious -reproduction of the Constitution of the United States, with noteworthy -variations called for by the different conditions of the two -commonwealths. The Government of the United States is one of limited -and enumerated powers; “the powers not delegated to the United States -by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved -to the States respectively, or to the people.” The restrictions under -the Swiss Constitution apply mostly to the Cantons. In Switzerland, as -in the United States, there is no single determinate sovereign body -or assembly, or any real sovereign other than the people themselves. -In the Swiss Confederation the popular will does everything; the -legislative power being directly exercised by the body of the people -by way of _Referendums_. In the Republic of France the tendency is -to centralize the direction of public affairs almost entirely in -the Chamber of Deputies. In the United States it is claimed, with -some color of truth, that the initiative and legislation are being -gradually taken away from Congress by a very occult, but authoritative, -government of committees. - -The separation of persons and functions is most complete in the -United States; the Constitution enforcing a distribution of powers, -and directly or indirectly the powers of every authority existing -under it are defined, limited, and carefully regulated. In the -Swiss Constitution these respective powers are not at all clearly -distinguished; in fact, they seem to have been purposely left -indeterminate. There are none of the elaborate checks and interlocking -vetoes found in the United States. It is true the Swiss have the -three organs,--a Federal Legislature, a Federal Executive, and a -Federal Court; but they fail in the strict separation of each of these -departments from and its independence of the other. Said John Adams, -“Here is a complication and refinement of balances, which for anything -I recollect, is an invention of our own and peculiar to us.” - -There is also an entire absence from the Swiss Constitution of any -provisions touching those personal rights and ancient muniments of -liberty designated as the “Bill of Rights;” such as are contained in -the first ten amendments of the Constitution of the United States; -those fundamental principles that guarantee to the individual a sphere -of liberty upon which the government may not encroach; a branch of -constitutional law which it has been the peculiar province of American -political science to develop. This omission from the Swiss Constitution -may have been for the same reason that it occurred in the original -Constitution of the United States; that these rights were sufficiently -implied and understood in any system of free government. These cardinal -rights are claimed by the Swiss to be expressly provided for in the -Cantonal constitutions. Again, it is held that all these inherent and -indefeasible rights are amply secured by the article of the Federal -Constitution requiring the organic law of the Cantons to “insure the -exercise of political rights after republican forms.” - -Hamilton met the objection to the Constitution of the United States -containing no “Bill of Rights,” in the “Federalist” (No. 84), by -saying, “Bills of rights are, in their origin, stipulations between -kings and their subjects, abridgments of prerogative in favor of -privilege, reservation of rights not surrendered to the prince. It is -evident, therefore, that, according to their primitive signification, -they have no application to constitutions professedly founded upon the -power of the people, and executed by their immediate representatives -and servants. Here in strictness the people surrender nothing; and as -they retain everything they have no need of particular reservations.” -But Jefferson expressed the prevalent opinion when he wrote, “The -executive in our governments is not the sole, it is scarcely the -principal, object of my jealousy. The tyranny of the legislatures is -the most formidable dread at present, and will be for many years.” -These restraints upon legislative power have proven most fortunate ones -in the United States; for the provision, “No person shall be deprived -of life, liberty, or property without due process of law,” together -with those provisions which forbid the taking of private property -for public use without just compensation, and the enactment of laws -impairing the obligation of contracts, lies at the foundation of all -constitutional protection of private rights in the citizen. Thus a -body of constitutional law has been formed which is not yet completely -crystallized, but is being daily shaped by the decisions of the courts. -In annexing the “Bill of Rights,” the founders of the government may -not have had a correct idea as to what would be the full effect of its -provisions, but the object they had in view was perfectly clear. They -believed that wherever power was placed, it was liable to be abused. -They intended to restrain the impulse of popular majorities, and more -especially to prevent the legislature from becoming despotic and -tyrannous. But the number of rights which can be effectually protected -by the Constitution is very limited; and the legislature must always -retain sufficient power to disturb seriously all social relations, -if it is determined to make use for this purpose of the means at its -command. The utmost that a constitution can be expected to do is to -protect directly a small number of vested rights, and to discourage and -check indirectly the growth of a demand for radical measures. - -The power of the general government in Switzerland, as that of the -United States, extends not merely to those affairs which are turned -over to it by the exact words of the Constitution itself, but also -to the relations whose control by the central government appears as -a necessity for its performance of the duties devolving upon it. In -a comparison of the Swiss Federal polity with that of the United -States, it must be borne in mind that the infinite variety in the -local and otherwise peculiar circumstances of different nations, -produces wide discrepancies between governments bearing a common -appellation. There exists, indeed, but little community of opinion -or uniformity of practice beyond the circumscribed limits of those -maxims in politics which are deducible by direct inference from moral -truths. The great mass of those rules and principles which have a more -immediate influence on practice, and give to government its tone and -peculiar organization, are of a description purely local; deriving -their force from local interests, and therefore, however just, are only -applicable in their full extent to the particular case. Hence it is -that constitutions, nominally and externally the same, have little or -no interior resemblance, and in many instances only so far correspond -as to justify us in referring them to one common standard. The United -States and Switzerland have republican states joined in a republican -union, with a division of powers between states and union approximately -the same; and they present the most completely developed types of -that federalism “which desires union and does not desire unity;” the -same problem upon which all civilized peoples have been working ever -since civilization began,--how to insure peaceful concerted action -throughout the whole, without infringing upon local and individual -freedom in the parts; to reconcile the welfare and security of the -whole with the local claims and diversified institutions of the -component parts. The Swiss Constitution blends these ends harmoniously -in a government not too centralized to act in the interest of the -localities; but a little too closely wedded to routine to adapt itself -to changing conditions. The federative principle implies the existence -of opposing tendencies, active within a superior agency, which is -capable of regulating their mutual aggression, and of securing their -harmony. Over the two historical forces, _Nationalism_ and _Localism_, -the federative principle asserts its supremacy, and gives them -simultaneous, correlated, and adequate expression. Under confederation, -both _Nationalism_ and _Localism_ by different processes increase -each its original determinative strength; and the danger arises that -either alone might force a union of but partial means and incapable of -the highest end. The federative principle by its own creative energy -chooses the time and method of its complete self-assertion, and brings -its factors to the work of “forming the more perfect union.” Thus -_Nationalism_ and _Localism_, though their methods are in constant -warfare, their aim is one,--the good of the individual, who in his dual -relation is an epitome of the controlling principle. A complete harmony -of the two elements of the federative principle can never be realized; -but the tendency is ever towards harmony, thus placing before our hopes -an ideal state. In constructing his ideal republic, Plato rejects -discordant powers and forces which would bring false harmony, and -leaves but two essential elements: “These two harmonies I ask you to -leave,--the strain of necessity and the strain of freedom, the strain -of courage and the strain of temperance.” In a republic, national will -and local self-rule--the one federative principle--constitute true -harmony.[28] - -The question of government is a question of the application of means to -an end; that end being, in general terms, the happiness and prosperity -of the people. Government considered as comprehending those laws and -principles which regulate the conduct of the individual in his relative -capacity to the state, being continually present to his mind, must -invariably influence his habits of thinking and acting. The genius of -the organic law, the Constitution, is transfused into the national -mind, and in the character of the citizens we recognize the congenial -spirit of the laws. - -The history of the Swiss Constitution is the history of a confederation -of free Cantons, uniting city and rural communities in a common -league; providing at once for separate autonomies, and for confederate -union and government; insuring mutual protection and a national -policy. It represents a wise and politic union; a union constituting -an honorable European state in the full enjoyment of its ancient -franchises; a union of strength and national life and enduring liberty. -Times and circumstances taught their own lesson; civil and religious -establishments were imperfectly produced, roughly moulded, and slowly -improved, but they were adequate to dispense the blessings of a -free government to a brave and artless people, in a state of great -comparative independence and honor, security and happiness. - -A constitution is valuable in proportion as it is suited to the -circumstances, desires, and aspirations of the people, and as it -contains within itself the elements of stability and security -against disorder and revolution. Measured by this standard, the -Swiss Constitution is an excellent adaptation to the conditions of -a most varied and composite nationality. With a strong paternal -tendency, the Constitution takes cognizance of the citizen at his -birth by registration, and guarding him through life with legislative -scrutiny, vigilant and minute, it insures him a “decent burial.” Yet -this searching, far-reaching, central authority is administered in -a beneficent and patriotic spirit, with a jealous regard for all the -highest natural rights of man. - -Federalism tends to conservatism; it is almost certain to impress on -the minds of citizens the idea that any provision included in the -organic law is immutable and, so to speak, sacred. History shows that -those states have been most stable and prosperous which, in casting -off an old allegiance or in ordering their political constitutions -afresh, made no more changes than were absolutely needful, and did not -violently snap the tie between the old and the new state of things; -that the best form of government will commonly be that which the events -of its history have given it,--a government which has arisen out of -the events and necessities of the country. Switzerland and the United -States are examples of commonwealths whose success has been largely -owing to the comparatively small amount of change which accompanied -their acquisition of independence. Each has that form of government -which the events of its history have made natural for it. In each the -existing political system is founded on the practical needs of the time -and place. Referring to the preamble of the _Declaration of Rights_, -wherein the prayer is made, “That it may be declared and enacted that -all and singular the rights and liberties asserted and declared, are -the true ancient and indubitable rights and liberties of the people -of this kingdom,” Burke says, “By adhering in this manner to our -forefathers, we are guided, not by the superstition of antiquarians, -but the spirit of philosophic analogy. In this choice of inheritance -we have given to our frame of policy the image of a relation in blood, -binding up the constitution of our country with our dearest domestic -ties, adopting our fundamental laws into the bosom of our family -affections; keeping inseparable, and cherishing with the warmth of -all their combined and mutually reflected charities, our state, our -hearths, our sepulchres, and our altars.” Switzerland and the United -States in their organic law and its application, while presenting many -and essential differences, constitute the only two genuine and thorough -republics in existence; and each system better suits the position -of the nation which has adopted it. Switzerland, though beyond all -others a regenerate nation, was still an old nation; above all things -a system was needed which should preserve everything and jeopardize -nothing. She seized on a rare and happy moment, when all the despots -of Europe had enough to do at home, to reform her constitution without -foreign intermeddling; and she formed a system which exactly suits -the position of a small, free, conservative power, ready as ever to -defend its own, but neither capable nor desirous of aggrandizement at -the expense of others. The Swiss have a way of keeping their current -history to themselves; or the outside world has a way of not asking -for it, which is much the same thing. They are unique among civilized -people for the extreme modesty of their claim upon the attention of -mankind. This might imply the highest qualities or the lowest; but no -one who knows anything of the little republic will doubt to which of -them it is to be assigned. She lives, moves, and works without fuss or -friction; and is constantly solving in her own way some of the hardest -problems of politics. She has found out how to maintain perfect peace -between diverse races and conflicting creeds; to adjust and harmonize -discordant views and principles; and preserve to the several elements -of the confederacy a due proportion of constitutional authority. This -difficult task has been accomplished, not indeed without frictions, -not without armed collisions, and not until after many trials and -experiments; but it has been done, and on the whole successfully. - -Nothing is so easy as to find fault in every form of government, and -nothing so hard as to show a perfect one reduced to practice. Most of -the plans of government seem to have been formed like houses built -at several times; for as the old parts of them always deface the new -and render them irregular, so upon the establishment of any new frame -something of the old is still preserved and enters into the frame of -the new, which is not of a piece with it, and consequently spoils its -symmetry. No one can look closely into the Constitution of Switzerland -and fail to discover that, in its provisions, the principles of a -democratic confederation find the elements of sound and vigorous health. - -Enlightened freedom, governed and secured by law, upholds the fabric -of the Constitution; salubrious streams issuing from education and -patriotism, consecrated by religion, mingle with each other, and -unite in diffusing fertility through every channel of the state. The -everlasting league still lives on, to shame the novel and momentary -devices of the kingdoms and commonwealths which rise and fall around -it.[29] - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE FEDERAL ASSEMBLY. - -Bundesversammlung; Assemblée fédérale. - - -“A legislative, and an executive, and a judicial power comprehend the -whole of what is meant by government.”[30] We find in Switzerland this -general division of powers, with many interesting and instructive -peculiarities, which give the Swiss federalism an individual character. - -The need for two chambers in a federal state has become an axiom of -political science. Where there is a twofold sovereignty, that of the -whole nation, and that of the states or Cantons, which are joined -together to form it, each sovereignty must be represented in the -legislature. With the two chambers, one representing the people as -a whole, the other the integral parts as constituent members of the -whole, each element is a check upon the other by the coexistence of -equal authority. By the Constitution of 1874, “With reservation of -the rights of the people and of the Cantons the supreme authority of -the Swiss Confederation is exercised by the Federal Assembly, which -consists of two sections or councils, to wit: - -“1. The National Council (_Nationalrath_; _Conseil National_). - -2. The Council of States (_Ständerath_; _Conseil des États_).” - -Relating to the National Council, the Constitution has eight articles, -viz.: - -1. The National Council is composed of representatives of the Swiss -people, chosen in the ratio of one member for each twenty thousand -persons of the total population. Fractions of upward of ten thousand -persons are reckoned as twenty thousand. Every Canton, and in the -divided Cantons every half-Canton, chooses at least one representative. - -2. The elections for the National Council are direct. They are held in -federal electoral districts, which in no case shall be formed out of -parts of different Cantons. - -3. Every male Swiss who has completed twenty years of age, and who -in addition is not excluded from the rights of active citizenship -by the legislation of the Canton in which he is domiciled, has the -right to take part in elections and popular votes. Nevertheless, the -Confederation by law may establish uniform regulations for the exercise -of such right. - -4. Every lay Swiss citizen who has the right to vote is eligible as -member of the National Council. - -5. The National Council is elected for three years, and entirely -renewed at each general election. - -6. Members of the Council of States, or of the Federal Council, or -officials appointed by the latter, shall not at the same time be -members of the National Council. - -7. The National Council chooses from among its members, for each -regular or extraordinary session, a President and a Vice-President. A -member who has held the office of President during the regular session -is not eligible either for President or Vice-President of the next -regular session. The same member may not be Vice-President for two -consecutive regular sessions. The President shall have the casting vote -in case of a tie; in elections, he votes in the same manner as any -other member. - -8. The members of the National Council receive a compensation from the -federal treasury. - -The qualification of the elector, as above described, is that of being -in the enjoyment of the “active right of citizenship,”--_i.e._, not -excluded from the rights of a voter by the legislation of his Canton. -This also applies to those who have been deprived of their civic rights -by virtue of the penal law, and in consequence of a judicial sentence; -and in some Cantons embraces insolvents and paupers. The limitation -of eligibility to “lay” Swiss citizens does not necessarily exclude -ecclesiastics, as illustrated in a recent case of a Bernese clergyman, -who, being chosen a member of the National Council, simply laid aside -temporarily, by resignation, his clerical robes; should he fail any -time of re-election he may return to the pulpit. Naturalized citizens -are not eligible until five years after they have become citizens. The -provision forbidding a member to hold the office of President for two -consecutive ordinary sessions makes it possible, during the life of -a National Council, for one-fourth of the Cantons (even counting the -half-Cantons) to be honored with this officer; and certainly gives but -little opportunity for the building up of a one-man power, just this -side of absolute. The power of the presiding officer of the National -Council is too insignificant to justify any parallel with that of the -Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. A federal law -regulates in a uniform manner, and by ballot, the election for members -of the National Council; the execution of the law is entirely under -the direction of the Canton, and in immaterial details there is a -great diversity. There are registers in each Commune, in which every -citizen having a vote must be inscribed. These registers are open two -weeks before the day of the election, and close three days previous -to it. In some Cantons, a card from the Commune where the voter is -registered is left at his house; in others, he must present himself -at the proper office and obtain his card. The election takes place on -the last Sunday in October triennially. The polls generally are in the -churches, and no one is permitted to enter except upon the presentation -of the requisite proof as to his right to vote. Candidates must be -elected by an absolute majority of the votes cast. Should there be a -failure of election, a second ballot under the same conditions is had -the following Sunday. If a third ballot becomes necessary, the election -is again repeated the next Sunday, when the _scrutin de liste_ is -restricted to a number not exceeding three times the number of members -to be chosen; and these must be taken in order from those receiving the -largest vote in the previous _tours de scrutin_. In this final trial -the candidate or candidates, as the case may be, having a plurality -are elected. The members are elected on a general ticket,--that is, -“at large” for the district, not for the Canton. These districts are -called _arrondissements_, and the method of voting is known as _scrutin -d’arrondissement_. - -The National Council at present consists of one hundred and forty-five -members, apportioned among forty-nine electoral districts. The -number returned from these districts varies from one to five members -each. The Cantons of Uri and Zug, and the half-Cantons of Obwald, -Nidwald, and Inner-Rhoden compose only one district each. Bern has six -districts and twenty-seven members; Zurich, four districts and sixteen -members. Every elector is entitled to vote for as many members as his -district is entitled to, but not cumulatively. A federal census for -the apportionment of representation is taken every ten years. Members -receive a compensation of twenty francs per day (about $3⁸⁶⁄₁₀₀) when -the National Council is in session,[31] and a travelling allowance of -twenty centimes per kilometre (a fraction under .03 per mile). A member -loses his _per diem_ if he does not answer the roll-call at the opening -of the day’s session, unless he should appear later and give to the -secretary a sufficient excuse for his dilatoriness. If subsequently, -during that day’s session, there is a vote by roll-call (_appel -nominal_), or if there is a count of the House to ascertain the -presence of a quorum, the compensation of the members whose absence is -disclosed is forfeited for that day. This law is not a “dead letter,” -but is strictly enforced, and with a frugal-minded people tends to keep -the members in their seats. - -The Council of States (_Ständerath_; _Conseil des États_). - -The space devoted to the Council of States in the Constitution is -one-half of that given to the National Council, and is comprised within -four articles: - -1. The Council of States consists of forty-four representatives of the -Cantons. Each Canton elects two representatives, and in the divided -Cantons, each half-Canton elects one. - -2. No member of the National Council or of the Federal Council may be -at the same time a member of the Council of States. - -3. The Council of States elects from among its members a President and -Vice-President for each regular and extraordinary session. From among -the representatives of that Canton from which a President has been -elected for a regular session, neither the President nor Vice-President -can be taken for the next following regular session. Representatives of -the same Canton cannot occupy the position of Vice-President during two -consecutive regular sessions. When the votes are equally divided, the -President has a casting vote; in elections, he votes in the same manner -as the other members. - -4. Members of the Council of States receive compensation from their -respective Cantons. - -The constitution of the two Houses is manifestly borrowed from the -model of the United States; but it is apparent that the Council of -States does not so closely correspond with the Senate of the United -States as the National Council does to the House of Representatives. It -has no such clearly-defined character as the Senate in distinctively -representing the federal feature of the union between the Cantons. -For the mode in which its members shall be elected, the qualifications -which they shall possess, the length of time which they shall serve, -the salary which they shall receive, and the relations they shall bear -to those whom they represent, in fact, every element of their character -as representatives is left to the Canton, and a great variety of -provisions prevail.[32] The small Cantons in which the people assemble -annually (_Landsgemeinde_) have their members elected by this assembly, -by the raising up of hands for such or such a candidate. In other -Cantons, including Zurich, Thurgau, and Basel-rural, the whole Canton -forms but one district for the nomination of the members; the votes -are deposited in the ballot-box of the Commune, and are collected and -counted by a cantonal board. In the Cantons having the representative -system, such as Geneva, Freiburg, Ticino, and Bern, they are chosen -by the cantonal legislative body. The terms of the members vary from -one to three years; twelve Cantons elect for one year, twelve for -three years, with Valais holding to the mean of two years. Their -compensation, paid by the Canton, is the same as that received by the -members of the National Council, with the exception of Geneva, where -it is double the amount, or forty francs. When serving on committees -during recess, the members of the Council of States are paid by the -Confederation. The Vice-Chancellor serves as Secretary of the Council -of States. - -The Council of States has no special executive powers apart from the -National Council like the United States Senate; which in some respect -give that body a further strength and dignity of its own. The Swiss -Senate rests solely on its general position as one necessary element of -the federal system. The two branches of the Assembly are co-ordinate, -standing in all respects on an equal footing. The work of each -session, so far as known at its opening, is divided between the two -Houses by a conference of their Presidents. The right of initiative -belongs to each House, and to each member of the Assembly. There may be -a shade of superior consequence and dignity attaching to the National -Council. It is designated first in order by the Constitution, it has a -fixed term of service, and when the two Houses are in joint session, -the President of the National Council takes the chair. In the National -Council are to be found the more ambitious and active men in political -life, for the members of the Federal Council are sure to be chosen -from this body. The members of both Houses equally enjoy the usual -privileges and immunities of members of representative bodies. The -two Houses act separately in all strictly legislative matters; coming -together for deliberation in common only for the exercise of certain -electoral and judicial functions. - -The powers of the Federal Assembly are thus set forth in the -Constitution - -1. The National Council and the Council of States have jurisdiction -over all subjects which the present constitution places within the -competence of the Confederation, and which are not assigned to other -federal authorities. - -2. The subjects which fall within the competence of the two Councils -are particularly the following: - -Laws pertaining to the organization and election of federal authorities. - -Laws and ordinances on subjects intrusted by the Federal Constitution -to the Confederation. - -The salary and compensation of members of the federal governing bodies, -and of the Federal Chancellery; the establishment of federal offices, -and determination of their salaries. - -The election of the Federal Council, of the Federal Tribunal, of the -Federal Chancellor, and of the General of the Federal Army.[33] - -Alliances and treaties with foreign countries, and the approval of -treaties made by the Cantons between themselves or with foreign powers; -such cantonal treaties shall, however, not be submitted to the Federal -Assembly, unless objection be raised to them by the Federal Council or -by another Canton. - -Measures for external safety; for the maintenance of the independence -and neutrality of Switzerland; the declaration of war and the -conclusion of peace. - -The guarantee of the constitutions and the territory of the Cantons; -intervention in consequence of such guarantee; measures for the -internal safety of Switzerland, for the maintenance of peace and order; -amnesty and pardon.[34] - -Measures for securing observance of the Federal constitution; for -carrying out the guarantee of the Cantonal constitutions, and for the -fulfilment of federal obligations. - -The power of controlling the federal army. - -The determination of the yearly budget, the audit of public accounts, -and federal ordinances authorizing loans. - -General supervision of the federal administration and of federal -courts; appeals from the decisions of the Federal Council upon -administrative conflicts of jurisdiction between federal authorities. - -Revision of the Federal constitution. - -3. Both Councils shall assemble once each year in regular session, on -a day to be fixed by the standing orders.[35] They may be convened in -extra session by the Federal Council, or on demand of one-fourth of the -members of the National Council, or of five Cantons. - -4. In either Council a quorum is a majority of the total number of its -members. - -5. In the National Council and in the Council of States, a majority of -those voting shall decide the question. - -6. For federal laws, decrees, and resolutions, the consent of both -Councils is necessary. Federal laws shall be submitted for acceptance -or rejection by the people upon the demand of thirty thousand qualified -voters, or of eight Cantons. The same principle applies to federal -resolutions, which have a general application, and which are not of an -urgent nature. - -7. The Confederation shall by law establish the forms and times of -popular voting. - -8. Members of either Council vote without instructions. - -9. The Councils deliberate separately. But in the case of the elections -(specified in Section 2), of pardons, or of deciding a conflict of -jurisdiction, the two Councils meet in joint session, under the -direction of the President of the National Council. Votes shall be -decided by simple majority of the members of both Councils, present and -voting. - -10. Measures may originate in either Council, and may be introduced by -any member of each Council. - -11. The sittings of both Councils shall, as a rule, be public. - -The law-making department in any sovereign state is the repository -of most power; consequently the constitution of Switzerland, like -that of the United States, after enumerating the powers which shall -be exercised by authority of the general government, confers them in -terms upon the most immediate representative of the sovereignty. In -Switzerland this is the Federal Assembly; in the United States it -is Congress. The scope of powers conferred upon the Swiss Federal -Assembly enables it to exercise not only legislative, but supervisory, -executive, and judicial functions. The separation of its powers from -those of the Federal Council and the Federal Tribunal--the executive -and judicial departments--is neither clearly set forth nor in practice -is it strictly observed. Cases have occurred, the jurisdiction over -which being involved in so much doubt, the interested parties, from -abundance of caution, submitted their memorials simultaneously to two -of these federal departments. The Swiss Federal Assembly exercises a -power more comprehensive and greater than that given probably to any -legislative body; at least in a republic, where there is a professed -organic distribution of the three great heads. It elects the Federal -Executive, Federal Judiciary, and the Commander of the Army. It is -the final arbiter on all questions as to the respective jurisdiction -of the Executive and the Federal Court. It would appear that there -is no decision of the Executive which cannot be revised by it. It is -the chief power in the land. No veto can intervene nor any judicial -power question the constitutionality of its statutes. Its acts form -the law which the court must execute. The Swiss people, as it were, -speak in each legislative enactment; and the only check or revision -to which it is amenable rests with the people themselves by means of -the _Referendum_. The authority of the Swiss Assembly, it is true, -exceeds that of the Congress of the United States, and yet it may be -regarded as a weaker body. For while in each case there lies in the -background a legislative sovereign, capable of controlling the action -of the ordinary legislature, the sovereign power is far more easily -brought into play in Switzerland than in the United States. Again, -every ordinary law passed by the Swiss Assembly may be annulled by a -popular vote. The freedom from instruction secured to the members of -the Federal Assembly was first declared in the Swiss Constitution of -1848. The whole history of the representative principle proves the -soundness of the doctrine, that the vesting an entire discretion in -the representative is an essential part of the definition. It is not -to the power of instructing the representative that constituents are -to look for an assurance that his efforts will be faithfully applied -to the public service; but it is to the power of reducing him from -the elevation to which their suffrages have raised him. The object to -be obtained is not to compel the representative to decide agreeably -to the opinions of his constituents, for that would be compelling him -often to decide against his better judgment; but it is to force him -to decide with a single view to the public good. It is by leaving him -unshackled with positive instructions, while he is subject to the -ultimate tribunal of the opinion of his constituents, that the end in -view is to be accomplished of bringing into action, in the proceedings -of the legislature, the greatest practicable quantity of intelligence -under the guidance of the purest disposition to promote the welfare of -the community. The view which Burke takes of the relation between a -representative and his constituents is in the main so correct, and is -so luminously expressed, that no one can read it without pleasure and -instruction. The passage occurs in his celebrated speech at Bristol -on the conclusion of the poll. “Certainly, gentlemen,” he says, “it -ought to be the happiness and glory of a representative to live in the -strictest union, the closest correspondence, and the most unreserved -communication with his constituents. Their wishes ought to have great -weight with him; their opinion high respect; their business unremitted -attention. It is his duty to sacrifice his repose, his pleasures, -his satisfactions to theirs; and above all, ever and in all cases to -prefer their interest to his own. But his unbiased opinion, his matured -judgment, his enlightened conscience, he ought not to sacrifice to you, -to any man, or to any set of men living. These he does not derive from -your pleasure; no, nor from the law and the constitution. They are a -trust from Providence, for the abuse of which he is deeply answerable. -Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; -and he betrays instead of serving you if he sacrifices it to your -opinion.” - -Neither the Constitution of the United States, nor that of Switzerland, -vests anywhere any power of dissolution of the legislative body. The -Swiss Assembly is chosen for a definite time; when that time is up it -dissolves by the operation of the law; before that time is up no power -can lawfully dissolve it. - -Either the National Council or Council of States can recommend to the -Federal Council that it shall prepare and present for its consideration -certain bills; or a member can suggest one to his own House, and, if -agreeable, the matter will be referred to the Federal Council with -instruction to draft the necessary bill; or the Federal Council itself -presents bills upon its own initiative. The Assembly recommends to -the Federal Council by motions, called _postulats_, such alterations -or reform in bills submitted by it as seem to them to be proper. If -the Federal Council does not assent to a particular _postulat_ coming -from one of the Houses, it makes a report to that effect to the House, -and if the latter insists upon its view, then a formal proposition is -drawn up, and if carried in both Houses, the Federal Council is bound -to execute its provisions. It must be understood that every bill must -pass through the hands of the Federal Council, and by it laid before -the Assembly. When a bill is presented by the Federal Council, the -House, which has first to take it up, appoints a committee to examine -and report upon it. These committees or commissions are appointed as -the occasion arises,--there being no standing committees,--by the -President of the House and the _scrutateurs_; constituting together -what is called a _bureau_. These _scrutateurs_, four in the National -Council and two in the Council of States, are elected every session -from the members of their respective Houses; and it is also their duty -to determine and to announce the result, whenever a vote is had, either -by ballot, division, or _viva voce_; they occupy an elevated position -to the right of the President. On the submission of a committee’s -report, the bill is discussed, and ultimately either passed with or -without amendments, or rejected. If passed, it goes to the other House, -where a similar process is undergone. When passed by both Houses it -becomes law, and is published as such by the Federal Council in the -_Feuille fédérale Suisse_; subject, however, to the _Referendum_, if -duly demanded. The Federal Council, in publishing a law, decree, or -resolution not subject to the _Referendum_, fixes the date when it -shall go into force, if this is not done in the text of the bill. -Generally, this date is the day of publication. For all measures liable -to the _Referendum_, what is termed _délai d’opposition_ is named, -being a period of three months, during which the appeal to the popular -vote can be demanded. In case of no appeal being taken, the law goes -into force after the expiration of the three months. - -The daily sittings of the Assembly open at eight o’clock in the -morning during the June session, and nine o’clock during the December -session; the adjournments are usually from one to two o’clock P.M. The -sessions never extend beyond three weeks. It requires from the federal -treasury a small sum to defray the entire annual cost of the Assembly. -In the legislative appropriation bill for 1889 the following sums -were provided for the compensation of the two Houses of the Assembly: -_Ständerath_, salaries and mileage of committees, 10,000 francs; -salary and mileage of translator, 3000 francs; service, 2500 francs; -total, 15,500 francs; _Nationalrath_, salaries and mileage of members -and members of committees, 200,000 francs; translator, 3000 francs; -service, 3000 francs; total, 206,000 francs. So the entire outlay of -the country for its legislative department for the year was 221,500 -francs, or about $44,000; one thousand dollars less than is annually -paid to nine members of Congress. - -One in visiting the chambers of the Assembly is much impressed with -the smooth and quiet despatch of business. The members are not -seated with any reference to their political affiliations. There are -no “filibustering,” no vexatious points of order, no drastic rules -of “clôture,” to delay or ruffle the decorum of its proceedings. -Interruptions are few, and angry personal bickerings never occur. -There are no official stenographers, or _verbatim_ reports made of -the proceedings; press reporters represent only the local papers -and furnish a very meagre synopsis of the daily business. The small -gallery set apart for the public is rarely occupied. “Leave to -print” or a written speech memorized and passionately declaimed are -unknown; there are none of these extraneous and soliciting conditions -to invite “buncombe” speeches or flights of oratory for the press -and the gallery. The debates are more in the nature of an informal -consultation of business-men about common interests; they talk and -vote, and there is an end of it. This easy colloquial disposition of -affairs by no means implies any slipshod indifference, or superficial -method of legislation. There is no legislative body where important -questions are treated in a more fundamental and critical manner. -The members of the National Council stand up to speak, while those -of the Council of States speak from their seats. The tri-lingual -characteristic of the country is carried into the Assembly; and within -a brief visit to either House, different members may be heard to speak -successively in German, French, and Italian. If the presiding officer -of either House is a German and cannot speak French, his remarks are -immediately repeated by a French official interpreter who stands at -his side; and with a President who is French and cannot speak German -the process is reversed. The members from the Italian Cantons, as a -rule, understand French or German sufficiently not to require special -translation into their tongue. All bills, reports, resolutions, and -laws are published in the three languages. The Swiss have been as -successful in reconciling the difficulties of diverse dialects in the -federal legislature as in the harmonious union of Cantons. It was a -serious obstacle in the way of the union, when the legislature of -the kingdom of the Netherlands, founded in 1814, had three different -languages spoken in its Halls,--Dutch, Flemish, and French. This was -considered to foreshadow the disruption in 1830, as it intensified -every prejudice and difficulty. The _personnel_ of the Assembly is -grave and sedate, dignified and serious. A large majority of the -members are past middle age,--men of education, culture, and experience -in public life. Many of them have held office first in their Communes -and then in their Cantons. It is curious that, in a country where it -is hard to find the court-house or a lawyer’s sign, one-fourth of the -members of the Assembly report themselves as _advokats_; next in number -come merchants, then farmers, physicians, bankers, and professors. -One-third are given as incumbents of various other cantonal and -communal offices. It is very common for a person to fill at the same -time a federal, cantonal, and communal office, where the duties do -not conflict and belong to the same general class. This is regarded -as both simplifying and cheapening the public service. The very dress -of the members, in its severe sombreness and uniformity, bespeaks -the stable and serious bent of their minds. Scarcely the change of a -cravat would be required for the entire body to appear at a funeral -_de rigueur_. The oath administered to the members of the Assembly is -calculated to emphasize the high and sacred trust assumed. It runs -thus: “I swear, by God the Almighty! to maintain the constitution and -the laws of the Confederation, faithfully and truly to guard the unity, -power, and honor of the Swiss nation, to defend the independence of the -Fatherland, the freedom and rights of the people, and its citizens in -the whole, to fulfil conscientiously all duties conferred upon me, as -truly, as God blesses me.” In taking this oath the member stands with -his right hand uplifted, the thumb and first two fingers extended, -indicating the Trinity. - -The members of the Assembly practically enjoy a life-tenure; once -chosen a member, one is likely to be re-elected so long as he is -willing to serve. Re-election, alike in the whole Confederation and -in the single Canton, is the rule; rejection of a sitting member, a -rare exception. Death and voluntary retirement accounted for nineteen -out of twenty-one new members at the last general election. There are -members who have served continuously since the organization of the -Assembly in 1848. Referring to this sure tenure of officials generally, -the President of the Confederation, in a public address, said, “Facts -and not persons are what interest us. If you were to take ten Swiss, -every one of them would know whether the country was well governed or -not; but I venture to say that nine of them would not be able to tell -the name of the President, and the tenth, who might think he knew it, -would be mistaken.” To some extent this remarkable retention of members -of the Assembly may be ascribed to the fact that the people feel that -they are masters of the situation through the power of rejecting all -measures which are put to the popular vote. The position of a member is -haloed with dignity, and is not a place sought from material motives, -a perquisite more than an honor. The absence of this fiscal view of -the office of the legislator brings in its train an equal absence -of the “rotation” notion. The Assembly is not made up on the theory -of mutation or by agencies more malign. Some are fond of declaring -against the caprice and ingratitude of the people, says Mr. Freeman -in his “Growth of the English Constitution,” and of telling us that -under a democratic government neither men nor measures can remain for -an hour unchanged. The spirit which made democratic Athens, year by -year, bestow her highest offices on the patrician Pericles and the -reactionary Phocion, still lives in the democracies of Switzerland, -in the _Landsgemeinde_ of Uri, and the Federal Assembly at Bern. The -ministers of kings, whether despotic or constitutional, may vainly -envy the sure tenure of office which falls to the lot of those who -are chosen to rule by the voice of the people. Grote, who wrote his -“History of Greece” in Switzerland, stated that his interest in the -Swiss Cantons arose from the analogy they presented to the ancient -Greek states; and specially as confirming the tendency of popular -governments to adhere to their leaders with the utmost tenacity of -attachment. - -Corruption at the polls, civic jobbery, the declension of legislative -character, the greed for official pelf,--these evils are not restricted -to any people or country. An imperfect answer as to the cause and -remedy is difficult; a complete answer is impossible. Some of these -evils are connected with political problems that are vexing our epoch -in every state and country where constitutional government and a -liberal suffrage prevail. Switzerland, with a government so adequate -for a simple people and small country, appears to have firmly resisted -the impact of these political ills. Service in the federal legislature -is accepted from a sense of patriotic duty; neither emolument nor -self-aggrandizement being an element of its membership worthy of -consideration. The election of deputies to the Swiss Assembly is an -event which creates no violent commotion or even general interest -in the great body of the people. A large majority of the candidates -are unopposed; there is no opportunity for bribery to sap the public -_morale_, or any field for the unscrupulous plying of the disgraceful -artifices and incidents which too often mark a hotly-contested election -in the United States. An election, general or local, is not an occasion -of bustle or clamor, turbulence or revelry; there are no processions, -no party badges, no music, no “pole-raising,” probably not a speech, -and no candidate present when the exercise of this important privilege -is going on. It is an affair of deliberation and decision, of sobriety -and wisdom. The electors themselves feel that they are called upon to -exercise a serious and elevating duty; the solemn and deliberate act -of choosing men to govern the destinies of a civilized and enlightened -people. It may be that the Swiss elections, being held on Sunday, and -the polls often in the churches, in part contribute to inspire the -elector with respect for himself, for the character which he has to -sustain, and for the institution in which he thus bears an honorable -part. It is feared that the suggestion of such a remedial agency in the -United States would be regarded by our churchmen as _ægrescit medendo_. -The excitement attending the popular elections in the United States -as now conducted is in the main of a vicious and degrading character. -Instead of infusing into the hearts of the people a spirit of -patriotism, leading them to value the blessings of the government under -which they live, it infuses little but rancor and malignity; giving -an opportunity for the indulgence of vicious passions which are born -but do not die with the emergency; evolving the gross, vulgar morality -which, provided you do no injury to a man’s person or possessions, sees -nothing in your conduct towards him to condemn; which is near-sighted -to the turpitude of slander and misrepresentation directed against -him, and blind to the iniquity of needlessly invading a man’s private -life; a morality which is incapable of comprehending that one source -of happiness ought to be as sacred from wanton encroachment and -disturbance as another; and that visible property is not the only thing -which can be purloined or invaded. These evils are being submitted to, -without any strenuous effort to remove them, as if they were not a mere -excrescence, but formed an integral or essential part of the system, -which they deform and debase. - -There can scarcely be said to be any party alignments in the Swiss -Assembly. It is comparatively free from the “offensive partisanship,” -“pernicious activity,” and system of party organization and activity -which flourish in the United States with exuberant and, in some -respects, ominous vigor. While nominally three political divisions -exist in the Swiss Assembly, the Right, Centre, and Left, the accepted -general classification reduces them to two, Radicals and Conservatives. -The main line of separation is the same perplexing issue running -through all political history, the rivalry between the state and -nation, one seeking to minimize, the other to magnify the sphere of -the central government. The Radicals are those who seek to give the -broadest interpretation to the constitution, so as to enlarge the -field of federal authority. The Conservatives are jealous of every -encroachment upon the traditional prerogative of the Cantons, and -desire to restrict and confine the limits of federal action. The -Radicals are the most numerous, commanding an absolute majority in -both the National Council and the Council of States. Within these -two broad divisions there are many different shades that separate on -questions of a social, religious, and economic character. Then these -grand and subdivisions have an entirely different significance, as -applied to federal or cantonal questions; a Radical as to the one, may -be a Conservative as to the other. The Radical and Conservative of the -Canton of Vaud is by no means the same as the Radical and Conservative -of the Cantons of Zurich and Aargau; the Radical of Geneva is very -different from the Radical of St. Gallen. The two parties are not -distinguished from each other by any systematic respect or disrespect -for cantonal independence. So the purely political question between -privilege on one side and the sovereignty of the people on the other -is one of subordinate moment; the former does not find expression -in any party formula. It is an error to estimate the character and -tendencies of the Swiss parties by the names which they bear, -Radical and Conservative, in the light of the footing these names -have obtained in every language in Europe, and the strong feelings of -esteem or hatred associated with them. As such they are nowise fully -correct designations of the political divisions, prominently opposed -in Switzerland, and of the points at issue between them. It is not -true that the Swiss Radical desires over-centralization to the extent -of unitary government; but, with the Conservative, holds to the great -theory of local self-government as founded upon these propositions; -that government is most wise, which is in the hands of those best -informed about the particular questions on which they legislate; most -economical and honest when in the hands of those most interested in -preserving frugality and virtue; most strong when it only exercises -authority which is beneficial in its action to the governed. There is -a feeling common to the population of every Canton and Commune, which -puts all idea of any party advocating one concentrated system out of -the question. Madison says, “An extinction of parties necessarily -implies, either a universal alarm for the public safety, or an absolute -extinction of liberty.” Political parties perform functions of the -greatest possible importance; through their organizations is fulfilled -that obligation which is incumbent upon every citizen of a republic, -to give an earnest, careful, and habitual attention to the conduct -of government. Parties are the exponents and representatives of the -great issues that constantly arise in every free community. By the -discussions that arise between them public opinion is formed, the -people educated in their political rights, a due sense of citizenship -generated and fostered; they are a great centripetal force in every -system of home-rule government. - -The strong attachment to party, with its resultant full crop of -political dissension, in the United States has at the same time -awakened a zeal for turning the powers of government to profitable -public account, and a sensibility to the exposure of wrong or abuse, -which manifest themselves in a thousand beneficial ways. “It is one -of the advantages of free government,” declares Sir James Mackintosh, -“that they excite sometimes to an inconvenient degree, but upon -the whole, with the utmost benefit, all the generous feelings, all -the efforts for a public cause, of which human nature is capable.” -Switzerland, in the legislative branch of her federal system, gathers -together a body of men remarkable for that generous and patriotic -impulse which moves noble minds to sacrifice private interests to the -public good, and that public spirit that is the sense of duty applied -to public affairs; none of the cowardly and unpatriotic sentiment -expressed in the speech of Cato, “when vice prevails and impious men -bear sway, the post of honor is a private station.” With a Swiss, the -post of honor is always the post of duty, and the call of duty is -loudest from the public service, and secures the ready response of -the best citizens. Nowhere does popular government rest upon a firmer -foundation of public spirit and the willing and active interest of the -people. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THE FEDERAL COUNCIL. - -Bundesrath; Conseil fédéral. - - -The three main forms of executive embrace the hereditary and -irresponsible king, with or without a responsible ministry; the -single responsible president; and the executive council. The most -typical examples of these are: the constitutional monarchy of England; -the Presidency of the United States; and the Federal Council of -Switzerland. Or, there may be said to exist four chief ways in which -parliamentary government is worked. - -_First_, that of England, where the executive is the primary and the -legislature the ultimate source of power; the English ministers have -the right of initiative, but they cannot remain in office without a -majority in the House of Commons. - -_Second_, the German plan, where the ministers are solely dependent -upon the Crown, but cannot spend money without parliamentary sanction. - -_Third_, there is the constitution of the United States, under which -the functions of both branches are clearly defined; the Cabinet being -excluded from Congress, and Congress having no control over it, further -than the confirmation of its members by the Senate. - -_Fourth_, the Swiss system, wherein the executive is as great a -departure from the precedent of the United States, and has produced -something at least as widely different from the President of the United -States, as he differs from an European king. The Swiss constitution -provides no executive head, in the sense of that of the President -of the United States; there is practically no such functionary. The -Swiss executive has, in fact, none of the functions that are given to -the President of the United States, as an independent power in the -State, making him as truly the representative of the sovereign people -as Congress itself. Andrew Jackson, indeed, habitually prided himself -on the privilege of representing the masses; and the use of the veto -by the President is in most cases highly popular, for through it the -President is expected to counterbalance the power of the legislature. - -Not until 1833, was there any project of reform in Switzerland -looking to a special federal executive, apart from all the cantonal -governments. Previously, the federal executive authority was not vested -in any special magistrate or council, but exercised by the council -of one or the other of the three directing Cantons, as explained in -the “Introduction.” This had of course the inconvenience, among many -others, of causing the employment of federal authority to be more or -less guided by the politics actually prevalent in each of the three -directing Cantons. Up to 1848, the legislative and executive power -were vested in the same body. Switzerland, in its federal character, -having never known a personal head of any kind, when the old weak Diet -was changed into a real federal government, it naturally limited the -executive power far more than it is limited in the United States; and -the powers left to the executive were no less naturally intrusted, not -to a President, but to a council. Unwilling to trust the executive -power to any single man, it was placed in the hands of a council of -seven. It may be called an impersonal executive. There is nothing about -it to invite the homage of those whose chief object it is to find -something to abase themselves before; its walks cannot be recorded in a -court circular; it holds no drawing-rooms or levées; it pays no one the -honor of a visit, and no one has the honor of being invited to visit -it in return. A legislature chosen for a fixed term, which cannot be -dissolved before the end of that term, chooses an Executive Council, -for the term of its own existence. To such a body no scrap or rag of -royal purple can hang; and it completely refutes the notion that the -executive power of a republic is simply a shadow of kingship, a mere -transfer from a life and hereditary tenure to an elected and limited -term. The organization, powers, and duties of the Federal Council are -defined by the constitution in the following provisions: - -1. The supreme direction and executive authority of the Confederation -shall be a Federal Council, consisting of seven members. - -2. The members of the Federal Council are chosen by the Federal -Assembly for the term of three years, from among all Swiss citizens -eligible to the National Council. But not more than one member shall -be chosen from the same Canton. After every general election for the -National Council, the Federal Council shall also be integrally renewed. -Vacancies which occur in the course of the three years are filled, for -the rest of the term, at the ensuing session of the Federal Assembly. - -3. The members of the Federal Council shall not during their term -of office hold any other office, either in the service of the -Confederation or of a Canton, or follow any other pursuit, or exercise -a profession. - -4. The Federal Council is presided over by the President of the -Confederation. There is also a Vice-President. The President of the -Confederation and the Vice-President shall be chosen, for the term -of one year, by the Federal Assembly from among the members of the -Council. The retiring President is not eligible either as President or -Vice-President for the year ensuing. The same member may not hold the -office of Vice-President for two consecutive years. - -5. The President of the Confederation, and the other members of the -Federal Council, shall receive an annual salary from the federal -treasury. - -6. A quorum of the Federal Council consists of four members. - -7. The members of the Federal Council have the right to take part -in the discussions, but not to vote in either House of the Federal -Assembly; and also the right to make motions on any matter under -consideration. - -8. The powers and the duties of the Federal Council, within the -limits of this constitution, are particularly the following: It -directs federal affairs conformably to the laws and resolutions of -the Confederation: it shall care that the constitution, federal laws -and ordinances, and also the provisions of the federal concordats be -observed: it shall take the necessary measures for their execution -either on its own initiative or upon complaint, so far as the decision -of such affairs has not been vested in the Federal Tribunal. It takes -care that the guarantee of the cantonal constitutions is enforced. It -proposes bills and resolutions to the Federal Assembly, and gives its -opinions upon the propositions sent to it by the Federal Assembly or -the Cantons. It executes the federal laws and decrees, the judgments -of the Federal Tribunal, as well as the compromises or decisions in -arbitration on questions of dispute among the Cantons. It makes such -appointments as are not intrusted to the Federal Assembly, Federal -Tribunal, or other authority. It examines the treaties made by the -Cantons with one another, or with foreign countries, and approves them, -if proper. It watches over the external interests of the Confederation, -especially in all international relations, and shall, in general, have -charge of foreign affairs. It protects the external safety, and the -independence and neutrality of Switzerland. It protects the internal -safety of the Confederation, and the maintenance of its peace and -order. In cases of urgency, and when the Federal Assembly is not -in session, the Federal Council shall have authority to raise the -necessary troops and employ them, with the reservation that it shall -immediately call the Federal Assembly together, if the number of men -called out shall exceed two thousand, or if they remain in arms more -than three weeks. It has charge of the federal army affairs and all -other branches of administration which belong to the Confederation. -It examines those laws and ordinances of the Cantons which must be -submitted for its approval; it exercises supervision over those -branches of cantonal administration that are placed under its control. -It administers the finances of the Confederation, introduces the -budget, and submits a statement of the accounts of federal income -and expenditure. It supervises the conduct of all the officials and -employés of the federal administration. It submits to the Federal -Assembly at each regular session a report of its administration, and -a statement of the condition of the Confederation, internal as well -as external; and recommends to its attention such measures as in its -judgment are desirable for the promotion of the common welfare. It -also makes special reports when the Federal Assembly or either branch -thereof requires it. - -9. The business of the Federal Council is distributed by departments -among its members. This distribution has the purpose only of -facilitating the examination and despatch of business; every decision -must emanate from the Federal Council as a body (a single authority). - -10. The Federal Council and its departments are authorized to call in -experts on special subjects. - -In the exercise of several of its most important functions the -action of the Federal Council is essentially judicial. This is -conspicuously so in its right to examine the agreements made by -Cantons among themselves or with foreign governments; and to judge -of their conformity with the federal constitution. Under the name -of “administrative law,” it passes in a judicial capacity upon the -validity of numerous cantonal laws and ordinances, such as school -affairs, freedom of trade and commerce, patent rights, rights of -settlement, freedom from military service, rights of religious bodies, -validity of cantonal elections, votes, etc. But there is no efficient -instrumentality for the enforcement of the decrees of the Federal -Council against the Cantons in these cases. If a Canton adopts a -measure which the Council on appeal holds to be unconstitutional, and -it declines to conform to the Council’s order, the latter has no direct -way of enforcing it. The two methods of coercing a refractory Canton, -so far tried, have been,--to send a special agent to negotiate with the -cantonal authorities, and should his efforts fail, to quarter troops -and the expense of their maintenance upon the offending Canton, until -it yields; the other method is to keep back from the Canton subsidies -which are to be provided for local purposes from the federal treasury. -Both of these methods have been found efficacious. The Federal Council -retains, however, under all circumstances, a very affectionate, if not -reverential, tone in its communications to the Cantons, addressing them -as “Faithful and dear confederates,” and closing, “We embrace this -occasion, faithful and cherished confederates, to commend you with -ourselves to divine protection.” - -The Federal Council exercises wider discretionary authority, in the -matter of arrest, of temporary imprisonment, of expulsion from the -territory, and the like, than seems inferable from the terms of the -constitution. A recent decree of the Federal Council forbade public -exhibitions of magnetism and hypnotism. Wherever there is discretion -there is room for arbitrariness, and in a republic, no less than under -a monarchy, discretionary authority on the part of the government means -insecurity for legal freedom on the part of the citizen. The Swiss -constitution apparently is more democratic than that of the United -States, from the fact that it does not vest the veto in any official; -yet in the amount of authority which is allowed to the executive power -over the citizen it is less democratic. Every legislative measure -passes under the inspection of the Federal Council before action -by the Federal Assembly; and the measures adopted by the Assembly -are promulgated by the Council, signed both by the President of the -Confederation and by the Chancellor, the ministerial officer of the -Council; no doubt, in all cases, two signatures are safer than one. - -The Federal Council, rather than to take the initiative, sometimes, -by means of a suggestion from itself, is requested to present to the -Assembly a measure; in this event a rejection of the measure would -not be regarded by the Council in the light of a defeat. During the -recesses of the Assembly the federal Councillors, at the head of -committees designated by the Assembly or with expert commissions, -meet in different parts of the country, to consider subjects that -are to be brought before the Assembly. The bills are then prepared, -which, with full and careful explanatory reports, are published in the -official journal and carried by the newspapers to every corner of the -Confederation. They are discussed by the people, and when the Assembly -meets it is ready to take action with but little, if any, debate by the -prompt enactment of these recommendations into law, the chief to whose -department the subject-matter appertains being present, when it is -taken up in the Assembly, to give any further information that may be -desired. - -All Swiss citizens eligible to the National Council are declared to be -eligible to the Federal Council. But practically the qualification of -a federal Councillor is _prior_ membership of the National Council. -Primarily the selection of federal Councillors is always made from -among the members of the National Council; and by a strange custom -invariably observed with only one exception since 1848, they are again -triennially returned to the National Council from their respective -districts while still serving as federal Councillors, and with the full -knowledge that within a few days after the convening of the Federal -Assembly they will be again chosen by that body for a new term in the -Federal Council. This necessitates supplementary elections to fill the -vacancies created in the Assembly. Again, at every recurring election -of the National Council, one of the sitting members from each district -wherein a federal Councillor resides, must make room for this temporary -appearance of the federal Councillor in the National Council, as a -condition precedent to his re-election. The sitting members cheerfully -yield to this exigency, conscious that they are standing aside for a -mere _locum tenens_, and in no wise imperilling the ultimate return -to their seats, after a traditional custom has been accommodated. One -district has of late years disregarded this custom, declining to go -through the empty form of electing to the National Council the federal -Councillor residing there, and whose re-election as federal Councillor -is conceded. This one obdurate district may, by persisting in its -course, be the means of the final overthrow of a practice, which at -present involves a double election for six seats every three years -at considerable expense and trouble: and apparently incapable of any -intelligent explanation. Like many customs, it has simply taken root -without any inquiry, and propagates itself without any opposition. A -partial explanation may be discovered in the desire to preserve the -identity of the federal Councillor with his Canton, and as a renewed -declaration that he continues to enjoy the confidence of, and is in -accord upon questions of public policy with, that local constituency -which in all probability he served for many years in the National -Council, before his promotion to the Federal Council. A federal officer -holding his office directly from the Federal Assembly, and at the same -time invested with the popular confidence of a local constituency -equally with the other members of that assembly, presents a most -remarkable assertion of local political autonomy in a purely national -affair. - -Originally these federal Councillors, when during their term elected -to the National Council for the purpose of re-election to the Federal -Council, took their seats in the former when it convened, and exercised -all the functions of a member, yet concurrently holding their -portfolios in the Federal Council for an unexpired term. This twofold -service continued until their re-election for a new term took place, -when they resigned their seats in the National Council, and resumed the -single service of federal Councillors. It is related that one member -of the Federal Council, some years since, only secured re-election by -means of his own vote during his transition service as above described -in the National Council. Of late years the exercise of these dual -rights and privileges incident to this most singular condition of -things, while not in violation of any law, has been regarded with -disfavor, and the federal Councillors, during the few days of their -membership triennially in the National Council, confine themselves to -the privileges and rights that attach to a Councillor. - -The geographical assignment of the members of the Federal Council is -well established by an unwritten law, which is faithfully observed; a -well-established usage in the election of the Federal Council assigns -one member to each of the Cantons of Bern, Vaud, Zurich, and Aargau, -and St. Gallen or Thurgau, then one each to the Catholic and Italian -Swiss. The constitutional inhibition of the choice of more than one -member from the same Canton may be regarded as a restriction that -limits the choice without any adequate counter-benefit; it may exclude -from the government statesmen of high merit, and thus diminish the -resources of the state. - -The members of the Federal Council can be and are continually -re-elected, notwithstanding sharp antagonisms among themselves, -and it may be between them and a majority in the Assembly. They -also continue to discharge their administrative duties, whether -the measures submitted by them are or are not sanctioned by the -voters. The rejection of measures approved and proposed by them does -not necessarily injure their position with the country. The Swiss -distinguish between men and measures. They retain valued servants in -their employment, even though they reject their advice. They retain in -the service Councillors whose measures the voters nevertheless often -refuse to sanction. Valuing the executive ability of these men, still -they may constantly withhold assent from their suggestions. - -The Council substantially in its present form came into existence -with the Constitution of 1848; the first election of its members -taking place in November of that year. The election, therefore, -which occurred on the 13th of December, 1887, was the fourteenth -triennial renewal of the Council, and covered a period of thirty-nine -years. During this period the complete roster of the members embraces -only twenty-seven names; even this small ratio of change resulted -in seven cases from death, and eleven from voluntary retirement; -leaving only two who failed to be re-elected on the avowed ground -of political divergence. This most remarkable conservatism on the -part of the Assembly, in retaining the members of the Council by -repeated re-elections, has survived important issues of public -policy, including several revisions of the constitution, upon which -there was a wide diversity of opinion in the Council; some of whom -actively participated in the discussions, antagonizing the views of -a majority of the Assembly; the Assembly to which they owed their -election and upon which they relied for their retention in office. -Their periodical re-election, though seemingly _pro forma_, carries -with it a salutary sense of accountableness. This sure tenure of -service in the Federal Council makes those chosen look upon it as -the business of their lives. Without this permanence attached to the -position, such men as now fill it could not be induced to do so. -They are men trained to vigorous personal and intellectual exertion, -who often surrender pursuits yielding a much more profitable return. -Precariousness of tenure in responsible positions discourages one -from engaging in those measures of long-sighted policy or those plans -of necessarily slow accomplishment, in which he might be so shortly -interrupted, and his labors rendered abortive and unavailing. Political -science, the science of wise government, is perhaps that department of -intellectual exertion which requires the greatest powers of mind and -the intensest application. Its facts are multifarious and complicated, -often anomalous and contradictory, and demanding the guidance of clear -perceptions. Its principles are many of them abstruse, and to be -developed by long and close processes of reasoning; and the application -of these principles requires the sagacity of quick observation and -long experience. It is a business which requires as long and arduous -preparation as any profession which can be named; and as entire -devotion to it, with freedom from all other serious or momentous -occupation, when its duties are once undertaken, as the calling of -a lawyer, a physician, a merchant, or an engineer. One chief reason -why there are so many needless, blundering, crude, mischievous, and -unintelligible actions in public life, is that men have not dedicated -themselves to its requirements as a separate study or profession; but -have considered it to be a business which might be played with in their -hours of leisure from more serious pursuits. - -A member of the Federal Council cannot, during his term, “occupy any -other office in the service of the Confederation or a Canton, or -follow any other pursuit, or practise any profession.” He devotes his -entire time and attention to his department, and not a mere casual, -intermitting, and brief attention; or merely giving the refuse of his -time and abilities in passing judgment on what others have devised and -executed. He is obliged to attend to the routine, the detail, and all -the technical niceties of its daily administration. - -The salaries paid to these distinguished officials are not relatively -higher than the wages of the people at large; and are very -insignificant when compared with the compensation accorded for like -services in other countries. Each of the seven members receives an -annual salary of 12,000 francs or $2316; the President of the Council -is given 1500 francs additional, making his salary $2605. This increase -of salary to the President is made under the head of “expenses of -representation,” understood to mean entertainments and kindred purposes -devolving upon this official. The entire annual appropriation made for -the maintenance of the executive department will not exceed $17,000.[36] - -The business of the Federal Council is distributed among seven -departments, as follows: - -1. Foreign Affairs. - -2. Interior. - -3. Justice and Police. - -4. Military. - -5. Finance and Customs. - -6. Industry and Agriculture. - -7. Posts and Railways. - -Each one of these departments is presided over by one of the -Councillors. When the Council is integrally renewed by the Assembly -there is no designation or assignment of any department; the members -are simply chosen as federal Councillors, and make the apportionment -among themselves; and an agreeable understanding has always been -reached. According to the constitution this departmental division is -only “to facilitate the examination and despatch of business; all -decisions must emanate from the Council as a whole.” Regular Council -meetings are generally held twice a week. A decision is not valid -unless at least four members are present, and no decision can be -reversed except by four out of the seven, in a session attended by more -than four. The Councillor presides over his department, conducting it -much as an ordinary Secretary would under a cabinet system. In theory, -each is responsible for all, and all are responsible for each. There is -no question of rank, each department is of equal dignity. - -The _Bundespräsident_, or President of the Confederation, is merely -the chairman for a year of the Federal Council. He is only the chief -of the executive; he is not himself the whole of it, and therefore can -hardly be called the executive chief of the nation. His commission -as President simply enhances his dignity, and does not confer upon -him any additional power or responsibility. The other members are -his colleagues, not his mere agents or advisers; he is only _primus -inter pares_. He has no appointive power or patronage, no veto, no -right of even nomination to any position. Not a single Swiss official -at home or abroad is disturbed by the annual change in the executive -head. Few republics have invested a single magistrate with such large -powers as the President of the United States; few commonwealths have -given a nominal chief magistrate so small a degree of power as belongs -to the Swiss President. He is not a chief magistrate. He is chief -of a board, which board, in its collective capacity, acts as chief -magistrate. The central authority in Switzerland, since the birth of -the republic, has always been vested in a committee; and a committee -it is to-day. The small addition to the salary, giving audience for -letters of credence and recall from diplomatic representatives, -precedence on state and ceremonial occasions, and the right to be -addressed as “_Son Excellence_,” about exhaust the special privileges, -power, and dignity of the President of the Confederation. He is just as -accessible to the public as any of his colleagues. He has no guards, -no lords in waiting, no liveried ushers, no gewgaws and trappings. -You may go to his official quarters with as little ceremony as you -may call on a private citizen. The stranger may knock at the door -and the chief magistrate of the Confederation bids him to come in. -The new President enters upon the discharge of his duties on the 1st -of January, following his election.[37] There is no formal or public -installation, no demonstration, civic or military. The newly-elected -President repairs to his modest chambers in the federal palace at noon, -where alone he receives all who desire to call and pay their respects. -This opportunity is availed of very little beyond the members of the -diplomatic corps, who are expected to tender their congratulations -personally and on behalf of the governments they represent. The writer -was told by a colleague, who had been recently transferred to Bern -from a post with an elaborate court, that on the announcement of the -death of the Swiss President he donned his full diplomatic uniform to -go and tender his official and personal condolence to the bereaved -family. With considerable difficulty he found the executive mansion -in apartments on the third floor of a building of a modest street. -There being no _portier_, he rang the bell at the street entrance -and ascended the stairs. Reaching the floor of the apartments he was -met at the door by a woman who was wiping her mouth with the corner -of her apron, evidently having been disturbed in a meal. She invited -the diplomat in, and receiving the card, to his surprise, instead -of leaving the room to deliver it, she invited him to be seated and -opened the conversation. He soon discovered that she was the widow -of the deceased President, and a woman of good education, force, and -character. All the organs of the Swiss government have an unassuming -and civic appearance, retaining in a degree the wisdom, moderation, and -simplicity of their ancient manners; those who are invested with high -trusts are ever ready and willing to retire to complete equality with -their fellow-citizens, from the eminence of civil or military station -to which their talents and the call of their country have raised them. -There is nothing of pomp and majesty; the soil is too natural for the -artificial forms of court diplomacy. The manly consciousness of freedom -which creates and finds expression in the constitution elevates the -middle classes who form its chief support; while the direct or indirect -contact with public affairs develops the intelligence and strengthens -the character of the citizen. - -In its organization and practical workings, the Swiss executive is -claimed by some to be modelled after a better pattern than that -of the United States, in so far as escaping the great quadrennial -contests, and the passions, ambitions, and disappointments born of them -constituting, as more than once illustrated in the past, the greatest -national peril. - -Previous to 1888, the President of the Confederation _ex officio_ -became chief of what was called “The Political Department,” including -the conduct of foreign affairs. A reorganization was found to be -advisable, and, being formulated by the Federal Council and approved -by the Federal Assembly, came into force on the 1st of January, 1888. -Under this rearrangement of portfolios “Foreign Affairs” is placed on -a new and separate footing and no longer falls to the President of -the current year. This new department retains what belonged to the -“Political Department,” with the exception of the former presidential -functions. It is charged also with the management of commerce in -general, with work preparatory to the negotiation of commercial -treaties, and co-operation in drawing up the customs tariff; also with -matters relating to industrial property, copyright, and emigration; and -covering all the more important relations of Switzerland with foreign -countries. It is the uniform practice for the Vice-President to succeed -the President. In this way every member of the Federal Council in turn -becomes President and Vice-President once during each septennial period. - -Belonging to different political parties, the Councillors frequently -antagonize one another on the floor of the Assembly, but this is not -found to interfere with their harmonious working as an administrative -body. The right of the members of the Federal Council to participate in -the debates and make motions in the Federal Assembly, gives that body, -what the Congress of the United States has not, the advantage of a -direct ministerial explanation. Yet that ministerial explanation cannot -be, as it may be in England, mixed up with fears of votes of censure -on one side or of a penal dissolution on the other. Irremovable by the -existing Assembly,[38] with the question of their re-election dependent -on an Assembly which is not yet in existence, they have less need than -either American or English statesmen to adapt their policy to meet any -momentary cry. Is it not a most excellent political system? Is not this -relation between the legislature and the executive, both in theory and -practice, happily devised? It brings a quick and close communication -between these two great branches, and tends to promote a good -understanding between them. Elected by the Assembly, coming into office -along with it, there is every chance of the Council acting in harmony -with it; and their power of taking a share in the debates at once -enables the Assembly to be better informed on public affairs. There -is much in the Swiss experiment to refute the belief that there can -be no executive power proper, unless it derives its authority from an -independent source, and is made directly by the people, so it may claim -to be equally representative of the people, and to have received still -greater proof of the public confidence. The choice of the executive by -the legislative body may be susceptible to the objection that it fails -to furnish the limit and restraint that each of these powers should -exercise on the other; and that it is entitled to be regarded as only a -_Cabinet d’Affaires_,--a purely administrative committee. The history -of the Swiss system has developed no unusual dissensions between these -powers, and none are likely to occur. With the legislature governed as -a rule by motives of public utility, there is little room for want of -harmony with the executive, the simple function of which is to carry -into effect the measures which the legislature has decreed. - -The present Federal Council of Switzerland is composed of men of -high order of ability, instructed by education and disciplined by -experience. They are men of crystalline integrity, trained familiarity -with the duties of their post, and profoundly patriotic in motive. -Among all the changes and complications of late years, no government -in Europe in its executive action has displayed a higher degree of -practical wisdom than the Federal Council of Switzerland. It acts with -sterling good sense and moderation, the result in a great measure of -that slow and cautious temperament which has ever marked the Swiss -character; traits which perhaps may be traced back to the privations -and distress through which, during a long course of years, they -struggled to the attainment of a dear-bought independence. It presides -over the national interests in an equitable and impartial spirit, -dealing wisely and temperately with the people without encroachment -or oppression, and, if we may judge from the insignificance of their -emoluments, without desire of advantage. The Councillors move in the -surest way, both to the attainment and preservation of power, through -the medium of those qualities which secure the esteem and gain the -confidence of the people. The people, on the other hand, behold -with content and satisfaction the absence of all selfish or ignoble -purpose in the labors of the Councillors; and sacrifice all factious -opposition and interference to the public benefit which they know to be -identified with the vigor, stability, and welfare of the government. It -is not too much to say that in the Federal Council of Switzerland an -honest attempt is made to follow the wise admonition of Cicero in his -“Offices:” “Those who design to be partakers in the government should -be sure to remember the two precepts of Plato; first, to make the -safety and interest of their citizens the great aim and design of all -their thoughts and endeavor without ever considering their own general -advantage; and, secondly, to take care of the whole collective body of -the republic so as not to serve the interests of any one party to the -prejudice or neglect of all the rest; for the government of a state is -much like the office of a guardian or trustee, which should always be -managed for the good of the pupil, and not of the persons to whom he is -intrusted.” - -There has been some movement to change the mode of appointment to -the executive power of the Confederation. Like other human things, -it is not absolutely ideal in its working. The relations between the -executive and judicial departments are not what they should be, though -much better than they were at the beginning of the constitution. Yet, -on the whole, the working of the Swiss executive during the forty-two -years of its trial has been such that it need not shrink from a -comparison with the working of either of the two better known systems. -The fact of the Council being not directly chosen by the people is -claimed by some to be inconsistent with the “democratic theory.” -Surely it is not wise to exchange at the bidding of a certain abstract -doctrine a system which has worked well for so long, for one which is -not certain to work better, and which might work a great deal worse. -By many constitutional students the actual form of the Swiss executive -is looked on as the happiest of the political experiments of the -present half century. It seems to have escaped both some of the evils -which are incident to kings and some of the evils which are incident -to presidents. It seems more wisely planned, in all events for the -country in which it has arisen, than those forms to which we are better -accustomed. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE FEDERAL TRIBUNAL. - -Bundesgericht; Tribunal fédéral. - - -The Swiss Federal Tribunal, in its present form, dating from 1874, -was originally set up in 1848. It is, however, the product of an -historical development extending over nearly six hundred years, and -the history of this period only will explain the exact meaning of the -carefully-balanced and guarded phrases which describe its jurisdiction. -Previous to 1848 there existed two methods for peaceably settling -disputes among members of the Confederation,--_friendly remonstrance_ -and _arbitration_. - -1. _Friendly Remonstrance._--This was the plan adopted in the two -earliest treaties of alliance, those of 1291 and 1315. In both cases -there were only three parties to the treaty,--Uri, Schwyz, and -Unterwalden,--and the object was to settle disputes between neighbors, -and in a friendly and informal way. The “Witan,” or wise men, met -together to heal the quarrel according to the rules of equity and -right. If either party refused to accept their decision, the other -confederates were to enforce obedience. - -2. _Arbitration._--This first appeared in 1351, when Zurich joined -the League. It became more common as the number of the confederates -increased, and was the method employed when friendly remonstrance -failed, and when war was not declared. The arrangement as to the place -of meeting, the number and the method of choosing the arbitrators, -and other details, varied according to the stipulations contained in -the various treaties by which each Canton had been admitted into the -Confederation. The number of arbitrators was usually fixed at two for -each party, and, in case of disagreement, they selected an impartial -foreman or umpire; “the question of the choice of the foreman,” says -a contemporary historian, “was unquestionably the main point in the -whole system of the Courts of Arbitration, for, generally, he was -the only real and impartial judge.” This method was substantially -the only one employed from 1351 to 1798. During the existence of -the Helvetic Republic, there was established a Central Judiciary -along with a Central Executive and Legislature. It consisted of a -member and an assistant, nominated by each Canton, one-fourth being -renewed annually. It had original jurisdiction over the members of -the executive and of the legislature, and in criminal cases involving -the penalty of death or of imprisonment and banishment. It acted as a -Court of Appeals in civil matters, when the decisions of the inferior -courts were invalid by reason of want of jurisdiction, whether through -informality or violation of the constitution. This court practically -subsisted under Napoleon’s Act of Mediation, set up in 1803. With -the partial restoration of things in 1815 to the _status quo ante_ -1798, came naturally the restoration of the arbitration system, with -reference to which the most elaborate regulations were laid down in -the Federal Pact. This codification legally subsisted till 1848. A -revision was attempted in 1832, when, after the Paris Revolution of -1830, more liberal ideas began to assert themselves in Switzerland, but -it failed through the opposition of the Conservatives. The Reformers, -however, were successful in 1848, and by the constitution adopted that -year, a Federal Court was created, with jurisdiction in civil and -criminal cases, and also a limited jurisdiction in cases where rights -guaranteed by the constitution were alleged to have been infringed; -_provided_ that the Federal Legislature referred such cases to it. -The court consisted of eleven judges and eleven substitutes, elected -by the Federal Assembly for a term of three years. The president and -vice-president of the court were appointed by the same body annually. -Another attempt at revision was made in 1872, by which the functions of -the court as an interpreter and upholder of rights guaranteed by the -federal and cantonal constitutions would be very much extended, but it -was rejected. There was an appeal on questions of public law to the -Federal Council, from which there was a further appeal to the Federal -Assembly. If the two chambers agreed, the decision was final; if they -disagreed, the decision of the Federal Council prevailed. This system -was found unsatisfactory, as a large part of the time of the chambers -was occupied in the discussion of mixed questions of law and politics. -When the Constitution of 1874 was adopted, this and many other defects -were in a measure remedied. - -The fourth or last division of Chapter II. of the Swiss constitution, -“Federal Authorities,” is devoted to the Federal Tribunal, and declares: - -1. There shall be a Federal Tribunal for the administration of justice -so far as it belongs to the Confederation. There shall be, moreover, a -jury for criminal cases. - -2. The members of the Federal Tribunal and their alternates shall be -chosen by the Federal Assembly, which shall take care that all three -national languages are represented therein. The organization of the -Federal Tribunal and of its sections, the number of its members and -alternates, and their terms of office and salary shall be determined by -law. - -3. Any Swiss citizen who is eligible to the National Council may be -chosen to the Federal Tribunal. The members of the Federal Assembly or -Federal Council, or officials appointed by those authorities, shall not -at the same time belong to the Federal Tribunal. The members of the -Federal Tribunal shall not during their term of office hold any other -office, either in the service of the Confederation or any Canton, nor -engage in any other pursuit, nor practise a profession. - -4. The Federal Tribunal shall organize its own chancery, and appoint -the officials. - -5. The judicial authority of the Federal Tribunal shall extend to civil -cases: - -(_a_) Between the Confederation and the Cantons. - -(_b_) Between the Confederation on the one part and corporations or -private persons on the other part; when such corporations or private -persons are the plaintiffs, and when the amount involved is of a degree -of importance to be fixed by federal legislation. - -(_c_) Between Cantons. - -(_d_) Between Cantons on the one part and corporations or private -persons on the other part upon the demand of either party, and where -the amount involved is of a degree of importance to be fixed by federal -legislation. It further has jurisdiction in suits concerning the status -of persons not subjects of any government (Heimathlosen), and conflicts -between Communes of different Cantons respecting the right of local -citizenship (_droit de cité_). - -(_e_) The Federal Tribunal shall, moreover, decide other cases upon the -demand of both parties to the suit, and when the amount involved is of -a degree of importance to be fixed by federal legislation. - -(_f_) The Federal Tribunal, with the aid of juries to pass upon -questions of fact, shall also have jurisdiction in criminal cases: - -(1) Involving high treason against the Confederation or rebellion or -violence against the federal authorities. - -(2) Involving crimes and misdemeanors against international law. - -(3) Involving political crimes and misdemeanors which are the cause of -the result of such disturbances as call for armed federal intervention. - -(4) Involving charges against officials appointed by a federal -authority upon the application of the latter. - -(_g_) The Federal Tribunal further has jurisdiction: - -(1) Over conflicts of jurisdiction between federal authorities on the -one part and cantonal authorities on the other part. - -(2) Disputes between the Cantons involving questions of public law. - -(3) Complaints concerning violations of the constitutional rights -of citizens, and complaints of private citizens on account of the -violation of concordats or treaties. Conflicts of administration are -reserved and are to be settled in a manner prescribed by federal -legislation. In all the forementioned cases the Federal Tribunal shall -apply the laws passed by the Federal Assembly, and those resolutions -which have a general import. It shall in like manner conform to all -treaties which have been ratified by the Federal Assembly. - -(_h_) Besides the cases mentioned, the Confederation may by law place -other matters within the jurisdiction of the Federal Tribunal; in -particular, it may give to that court powers for securing uniformity -in the application of all federal laws passed in accordance with -provisions of the constitution. - -In 1874, within one month after the new constitution came into force, -the Federal Assembly passed a very elaborate law relating to the -Federal Tribunal. The jurisdiction of the court was extended to: - -1. Cases of expropriation for the construction of railways and other -works of public utility. - -2. Questions between the Confederation and railway companies, and the -winding up of the latter. - -3. Cases which by the constitution or the legislation of a Canton are -intrusted to its competency, when such cantonal provisions have been -approved by the Federal Assembly. - -As a Court of Appeals under the same federal law it sits: - -4. In cases where federal laws have to be applied by Cantonal -Tribunals, and the amount of the matter in dispute is 3000 francs -at least, or cannot be estimated; where either party appeals from -the judgment of the highest Cantonal Court (by agreement the parties -can make the appeal directly from the lower Cantonal Court, without -going to the Cantonal Court of Appeal). It also decides in cases of -extradition, when the demand is made under an existing treaty, in so -far as the application of the treaty is questioned; it settles boundary -questions between two Cantons, and questions of competence between the -authorities of different Cantons. In questions of jurisdiction between -the Federal Court and cantonal authority, or as to whether it should be -settled by a court of arbitration, the Tribunal itself decides as to -its own competence. In cases where questions between Cantons or between -a Canton and the Confederation come before the court, they come on -reference from the Federal Council. If the Council decides negatively -as to whether a matter ought to come before the court, the Assembly has -the final determination on the point. - -This general organizing act of 1874 fixes the number of members of the -court and the alternates; their terms of office, salaries, and other -details. The number of judges is reduced from eleven to nine, and the -court shall never contain, at any given time, two or more persons -from the same family; the term is extended from three to six years. -The president and the vice-president are to be elected by the Federal -Assembly from among the judges, for the term of two years. The salaries -are fixed at 10,000 francs a year for the judges; 11,000 francs for -the president (or chief justice), and from 6000 to 8000 francs for -each of the secretaries. There must be two secretaries at least, one -from German-, the other from French-speaking Switzerland; both must -speak German and French, and one also Italian. They are chosen by the -court by ballot, and for a term of six years. The assistant judges or -alternates receive twenty-five francs a day when serving, and a fixed -travelling allowance. These assistant judges only sit in the place of -the judges who are prevented for some reason from sitting in person. -The judges and the secretaries when away from the seat of the court -on official business are paid fifteen francs a day additional, and a -travelling allowance. The vacations of the court must not exceed four -weeks in the year; but either the president or vice-president must -always remain at the permanent seat of the court. Temporary leave -of absence may be granted to the members of the court and to the -secretaries. The judges (but not the assistant judges) are required to -reside where the court is fixed. In cases of elections and in civil -and constitutional causes, seven judges form a quorum, and the number -present must always be uneven (apparently because the president has -no casting vote). A judge, ordinary or assistant, cannot sit when his -relatives of blood, or by marriage in an ascending or descending line, -or collaterals up to and including cousin-german or brother-in-law, are -in any way interested in the case. A judge is similarly disqualified -from sitting, when the affairs of his wards are under consideration, -or in a case in which he has taken any part personally as federal or -cantonal official, or judge, or arbitrator, or counsel; or in affairs -relating to an incorporated company of which he is a member; or when -his Commune or Canton of birth is a party; or when a suit is brought -against the executive or legislature of his Canton of birth. A judge -of either kind, ordinary or alternate, may be objected to by a party -to a suit, if the said judge is an enemy of or dependent on one of -the parties; or since the institution of the suit, as a member of the -court, has expressed his opinion on it; but the Federal Court as a -whole must be accepted by the parties. If by reason of such objections -there are not enough members to form a quorum, the chairman selects -by lot from among the presidents of the Supreme Cantonal Courts a -sufficient number of “extraordinary assistant judges,” _pro hac vice_. -The act designates three thousand francs as the minimum amount for -“degree of importance” to give jurisdiction in cases where a money -value must be fixed by federal legislation. - -All members and officials of the court must be bound by oath to fulfil -the duties of their respective offices; the oath to be administered -to the judges in the presence of the Federal Assembly. This oath may -be taken by a “_Handgelübde_,” or raising of the hand, in the case of -persons objecting on conscientious grounds to take an oath. The court -is to sit and give judgment in public; this does not apply to the -juries or to preliminary inquiries. The president settles the order -of business and maintains order in court; being empowered to imprison -disobedient persons for twenty-four hours; and in extreme cases to -fine up to a hundred francs and to imprison up to twenty days. Every -year the court must submit an account of the business transacted by -it to the Federal Assembly, which has a right to criticise any act of -the court, but can alter only by a federal law any of its decisions -of which it may disapprove. The officials of the court have the right -of transacting in any Canton, without asking leave of the cantonal -authorities, all business which falls within their jurisdiction. Each -judge is permitted to deliver opinions in his own dialect. Another -federal law regulates with great detail the costs of the court, -which are defrayed out of the federal treasury, and likewise the -fees which are to be paid by parties to the suits. In the exercise -of the criminal jurisdiction the court goes on a circuit. For this -purpose the Confederation is divided into five assize districts. One -of these districts embraces French Switzerland; a second, Bern and -surrounding Cantons; a third, Zurich and the Cantons bordering upon -it; a fourth, central and part of east Switzerland; and the fifth, -Italian Switzerland. The court annually divides itself for criminal -business into three sections; a Chamber of Accusation and a Criminal -Chamber, each composed of three judges and three alternates, and a -Court of Criminal Appeal (_Tribunal de Cassation_), with five judges -and five alternates. Sentences are only valid when the court consists -of five members. The Criminal Chamber decides at what places in the -several districts assizes shall be held. The localities selected -furnish at their own cost places of meeting. The cantonal police and -court officials serve as officers of the court. The court elects every -six years, to hold for the whole term of the court, two “Judges of -Inquest” (_Untersuchungsrichter_), who are charged with the preparation -of cases. The federal assizes are composed of the Criminal Chamber and -a jury of twelve, elected in the Cantons by the people, and drawn by -lot from the list of the district in which the assizes are to be held. -There is one juror for every one thousand inhabitants in the first four -districts as above given; and one for every five hundred in the fifth -district. With certain exceptions, every citizen having the right to -vote in federal matters is eligible as a juror. The exemptions are: -those of the full age of sixty, those whose names were placed on the -previous list of jurors, and those who are incapacitated by sickness -or infirmity. The names of all the jurors of the district are placed -in an urn, and fifty-four are drawn by lot. The _Procureur-général_ or -states-attorney, appointed by the Federal Council for the case, has the -right to challenge twenty and the accused also twenty; the remaining -fourteen are summoned, and two of this number are selected by lot to -act as substitutes in case of need. In order to acquit or condemn a -prisoner there must be a majority of at least ten out of the twelve; -otherwise, a new trial must take place with another jury. These federal -assizes are of rare occurrence, the last one being at Neuchâtel in -1879, when an anarchist was condemned for a crime against international -law (instigation to the assassination of sovereigns). - -The power of the court in the matter of claims for violation of rights -of citizens has been exercised with much latitude. The most usual -and proper cases arising under it are: infringements of the federal -guarantee to the citizen of equality before the law, of freedom of -settlement, of security against double taxation, of liberty of the -press, etc. But the court has gone much beyond these; its jurisdiction -has been extended to the hearing of complaints against cantonal -authorities, for ordinary alleged failures of justice, such as could -hardly have been contemplated by the constitution. It has even taken -jurisdiction of cases where the appellant asserts a denial of his claim -by a cantonal judge, grounded upon merely obstructive motives or an -arbitrary application of the law. - -The Constitution of 1874 had as one of its chief objects the -strengthening of the federal judiciary; and by statutes, enacted in -pursuance of the constitutional authority given to the Federal Assembly -to place other matters within the competence of the court, there have -been transferred generally to it the appeals heretofore made from -the Federal Council to the Federal Assembly. There is no purpose to -entirely exclude the legislative branch from judicial action; for the -constitution, in dealing with the Federal Tribunal, expressly provides -that “administrative” cases are reserved to the Assembly; and the act -of 1874 defined the jurisdiction of the Federal Council and Federal -Assembly, under this reservation, to embrace disputes respecting -public primary schools of the Cantons, liberty of commerce and trade, -rights of established Swiss, religious disputes relating to matters of -public law, questions as to the calling out of the cantonal militia, -consumption taxes and import duties, exemption from military service, -and the validity of cantonal elections and votes. In all these cases -an appeal lies from the Federal Council to the Federal Assembly. Thus a -wide field of judicial action is withheld from the sphere of the court, -and upon questions which do not appear to possess any “administrative” -character; producing a division of functions which is very anomalous. -There has always existed in Switzerland a very strong current of -opinion, that the court should be occupied exclusively with questions -of public law, and should possess no jurisdiction in matters of private -law. The Federal Tribunal has no officers of its own to execute its -judgments; but its judgments, as well as the decrees of courts of -arbitration in intercantonal conflicts, are executed by the Federal -Assembly; and the Federal Assembly in turn is obliged to resort to -cantonal machinery for the purpose of doing this; so that, in fact, -these judgments finally are executed by the cantonal authorities. - -The Federal Tribunal had no permanent seat from 1848 to 1874, and -met in different places. In 1874, by action of the Federal Assembly, -Lausanne was chosen for its permanent location; the Canton of Vaud, in -consideration of this honor, erected and presented to the Confederation -a _palais de justice_, the most elegant and commodious public building -in Switzerland. - -No professional qualification is required for eligibility to the -Federal Tribunal; any Swiss citizen eligible for the lower branch -of the Federal Assembly may be elected to the Tribunal. There is -no qualification for any federal office in Switzerland higher than -that for a member of the _Nationalrath_, or lower House of the -Federal Assembly. Any vote-possessing Swiss, twenty years of age -(except a naturalized citizen, who must wait for five years after his -naturalization), may be President of the Confederation or president -of the Federal Tribunal,--_i.e._, chief justice of the Confederation. -It naturally occurs that there should be some better guarantee for -the depth of knowledge and solidity of judgment necessary for the -intelligent consideration and discreet determination of the responsible -duties attached to these high positions, and which can be the result of -nothing but the thought and experience of more mature years. Certainly -in high judicial life there should be a tact, a ripeness, and a nicety -of judgment, an intuitive apprehension of the relations of things, and -a wisdom, which age indeed does not always bring, but which age alone -can bestow. - -The courts in Switzerland have no place in the political government of -the country. The Federal Tribunal does not simply owe its existence to -the Federal Assembly, but is constitutionally forbidden to pass upon -the validity of the acts of its creator. It is not empowered to judge -of violations of the constitution, or to keep the legislature within -the limits of a delegated authority, by annulling whatever acts exceed -it. According to the Swiss theory, the legislative department wields -supreme power; is the sole judge of its own powers; and if, therefore, -its enactments conflict with the constitution, they are nevertheless -valid, and must operate _pro tanto_ as modifications or amendments of -it. The legislature is deemed to have the right of taking its own view -of the constitution. Its utterance is the guide for the court, which -is always subordinate to it, and bound to enforce every law passed by -it.[39] How different from the authoritative position of the courts in -the United States, where there is no department of the government in -which sound political views are more valuable than in the judiciary. No -lawyer can be found with the requisite strength of mind and character -to make a good judge on the Supreme Bench who is not a man of clear, -well-defined, and vigorous political opinions. The interpretation of -the more difficult legal problems calls for the application of those -fundamental principles of government upon which the great parties -are founded. In the history of the United States, parties have been -broadly characterized by their attitude towards the constitution. Their -greatest victories have been won in the decisions of the Supreme Court, -as each in turn has been represented there, and has impressed its views -upon the decisions of the judicature. Marshall, Taney, Chase, are the -names which stand as the high-water marks of the juridic-political -history. De Tocqueville, referring to the Supreme Court, says, “That -the peaceful and legal introduction of the judge into the domain of -politics is perhaps the most standing characteristic of a free people.” -The Supreme Court of the United States is universally regarded as the -most perfect instance of a court exercising the office of guardian -and interpreter of the constitution. It must not be forgotten that, -as such, it came into existence only under the second constitution; -previous to 1787, it was a mere committee of appeals, the judges -appointed directly by Congress, and dependent on it, or on its -indirect action. To-day it is the pivot on which the constitutional -arrangements of the country turn. It determines the limits to the -authority, both of the government and of the legislature; its decision -is without appeal; completely filling the idea held by some writers, -that federalism implies the predominance of the judiciary in the -constitution. It is a tribunal which can set aside a law of Congress, -and enjoin the executive from proceeding, when it is satisfied that -either law or proceeding is contrary to the constitution. It spurns -the warning of Lord Bacon to his ideal judge, in consulting with the -king and the state, “to remember that Solomon’s throne was supported -with lions on both sides; let them (the judges) be lions, but lions -under the throne, circumspect, that they do not check or oppose any -point of sovereignty.” Such power no other tribunal in any country -of the world possesses. No other country has a court whose power is -absolute to thwart, even the present will of the nation, by declaring -it out of harmony with a fundamental law adopted a century ago. Caleb -Cushing thus addressed the Supreme Court: “You are the incarnate mind -of the political body of the nation. In the complex institutions of -our country, you are the pivot upon which the rights and liberties of -all government and people alike turn; or, rather, you are the central -light of constitutional wisdom around which they perpetually revolve.” -The question of the court being identical with or independent of the -legislature of the supreme or federal government, and the separation of -the legislative and the judicial functions of government, is strongly -set forth in No. 78 of the “Federalist,” written by Alexander Hamilton: - -“Some perplexity respecting the rights of the courts to pronounce -legislative acts void, because contrary to the constitution, has -arisen from an imagination that the doctrine would imply a superiority -of the judiciary to the legislative power. It is urged that the -authority which can declare the acts of another void, must necessarily -be superior to the one whose acts may be declared void. There is no -position which depends on clearer principles, than that every act of -a delegated authority, contrary to the tenor of the commission under -which it is exercised, is void. No legislative act, therefore, contrary -to the constitution, can be valid. If it be said that the legislative -body are themselves the constitutional judges of their own powers, -and that the construction they put upon them is conclusive upon the -other departments, it may be answered, that this cannot be the natural -presumption, where it is not to be collected from any particular -provisions in the constitution. The interpretation of the laws is the -proper and peculiar province of the courts. A constitution is, in fact, -and must be, regarded by the judges as a fundamental law. It must -therefore belong to them to ascertain its meaning, as well as the -meaning of any particular act proceeding from the legislative body. If -there should happen to be an irreconcilable variance between the two, -that which has the superior obligation and validity ought, of course, -to be preferred; in other words, the constitution ought to be preferred -to the statute. Nor does the conclusion by any means suppose a -superiority of the judicial to the legislative power. It only supposes -that the power of the people is superior to both; and that where the -will of the legislature declared in its statutes, stands in opposition -to that of the people declared in the constitution, the judges ought -to be governed by the latter, rather than the former. They ought to -regulate their decisions by the fundamental laws, rather than by those -which are not fundamental.” - -Jefferson apprehended encroachments by the Supreme Court, and declared -that it had the power “to lay all things at its feet.” This alarm -proved to be unfounded, and Mr. Jefferson himself, when the court in -his judgment passed beyond the undoubted limits of its authority, did -not hesitate to disregard the opinion of Chief-Justice Marshall, that -it was the duty of his secretary to deliver a judicial commission which -had been signed by his predecessor.[40] - -To many the Supreme Court in its inception seemed the weakest of the -three departments; and it is doubtful if either Madison or Hamilton, -both of whom expected the court to exercise the power of declaring -laws unconstitutional, appreciated the mighty force passing into the -hands of the hitherto subordinate power. The judiciary act of 1789 -provided for a review in the Supreme Court of cases where the validity -of a State statute or of any exercise of State authority should be -drawn in question on the ground of repugnancy to the constitution, -treaties, or laws of the United States, and the decision should be in -favor of the validity.[41] Though in the line of natural development, -and previous to the convention of 1787, asserted in New Jersey, -Virginia, Massachusetts, New York, and North Carolina, the exercise -of the full measure of this power in constitutional law presents an -interesting study in the history of the national and State governments. -A resolution was introduced in Congress in 1824 (Letcher, of Kentucky), -so to amend the judiciary act as to require more than a majority of -the judges to declare a State law void; and in 1830 an attempt was -made to repeal that section of the act, but it failed by a vote of one -hundred and thirty-seven to fifty-one. The doctrine of a co-ordinate -judiciary met with violent opposition in some of the States, notably -in Ohio in 1805, and in Kentucky in 1824 (“old court and new court” -struggle), and in the State of Pennsylvania as late as 1843. This power -to disregard the acts of the legislature and declare them null and void -because contrary to the supreme law of the constitution has been a -source of endless wonder to foreign students of the American system. In -speaking of it, Sir Henry Maine says, “There is no exact precedent for -it, either in the ancient or in the modern world.”[42] It is a new and -original idea in political science, introduced and applied exclusively -in the courts of the United States. The elevation of the judiciary to -equal rank with the executive and the legislature was the outgrowth of -a natural process of political evolution through a written constitution -and a federal system of government. Kent, in referring to the case -of Marbury vs. Madison, writes: “The power and duty of a judiciary -to disregard an unconstitutional act of Congress or of any State -legislature were declared in an argument approaching to the precision -and certainty of a mathematical demonstration.”[43] The power was -never seriously questioned in the federal courts after that clear and -conclusive opinion, and it was gradually established in all the States. - -The Swiss Federal Tribunal, as a copy, is neither so consistent with -sound theory, nor so safe in practice, as its prototype in the United -States. The two systems meet by very different devices the problems -peculiar to federalism, and especially as concerns the interpretation -of the fundamental pact, or articles, or constitution, on which the -union rests. In the United States, this function is performed in the -last resort by the Supreme Court, and there is perhaps no other part -of our system which has extorted more admiration from foreign critics -than this exalted prerogative of the judiciary. But the Federal -Tribunal of Switzerland is a body of much more limited power and far -less dignity. Even its jurisdiction is determined in part by the laws -rather than by the constitution. In short, this tribunal appears as a -mere instrumentality of the other organs of the government, and not, -like the United States Supreme Court, a mediator between them, or even -a superior above them. The statesmen of Switzerland felt that a method -fit for the United States might be ill-fitted for their own country, -where the latitude given to the executive is greater; and the Swiss -habit of constantly recurring to popular votes makes it less necessary -to restrain the legislature by a permanently enacted instrument. -The Swiss constitution itself almost precludes the possibility of -encroachment upon its articles by the legislative body. When the -sovereign power can easily enforce its will, it may trust to its own -action for maintaining its rights; when, as in the United States, the -same power acts but rarely and with difficulty, the courts naturally -become the guardian of the sovereign’s will expressed in the articles -of the constitution. The right to declare laws void is not regarded -throughout Europe generally as judicial in its character, and hence -has not been intrusted to the courts; this may furnish a partial -explanation of the incompetence of the Swiss court in that respect. -The Federal Tribunal has been much improved since it was originally -set up, and will doubtless, with the decay of unreasonable jealousy of -the central government on the part of the Cantons, approach more and -more closely the Supreme Court of the United States, of which it is -an avowed copy, so far as Swiss political traditions and prejudices -would permit in 1848 and 1874. It rests with the Federal Assembly to -determine by statutes the particular questions which shall be submitted -to the court; these have already been greatly extended, and the court -will ultimately be given a still more independent and influential -position. The essence of judicial power consists not in judging, but -in laying down the law, or, according to the Roman expression, not _in -judicio_, but _in jure_. The purity of justice, the liberty of the -citizens, have gained by the change, and government has not lost in -security. Judicial power should be removed as far as possible from all -warping influence. It should be the great defender of established order -against the legislative and executive departments of government. Its -relation to the law-making and the law-executing powers is peculiarly -delicate and important. There is need that some other power, not -political, removed from the struggles of the present, having no ends -of its own to answer in the future, should have the function to decide -what is the meaning and application of a law; and whether there is any -positive conflict between a new one and a received one, or between a -new one and a constitution. This should be a power able to watch over -the constitution, and prevent invasions of it. The highest court can -exercise this guardianship better than any other board of control that -can be devised. The power of the judiciary, under certain conditions, -to pronounce upon the constitutionality of the laws is “a security to -the justice of the state against its power.”[44] The supreme power of -the court becomes the servant of the federative principle, which as -a mediator between opposing forces is pre-eminently a principle of -justice. The decision is now national, now in favor of the state, and -thus, through interpretation, the constitution is developed, and the -two forces have as free play in the judicial as in the more strictly -political action. - -We speak of three co-ordinate branches and of their working, each in -a separate and defined province; and yet, as must of necessity be -the case in human affairs, the lines of demarcation are not always -clear, and unless confusion is to be endless, a power must exist -somewhere to determine the limits of the separate provinces, and to -decide controversies in regard to them. The power to do this has been -confided under the system of the United States to the courts, in -accordance with the principles of the common law, if not by the express -provisions of the constitution. To the United States Supreme Court is -confided the duty of deciding questions involving the limitations of -the different branches of the government. It diminishes the danger of -collision between the different political bodies among which power -is distributed, because these bodies are not brought into direct -contact, but act each in its own way directly on the people; the -courts regulating conflicts of authority as they arise. The peace, -the prosperity, and the very existence of the Union are invested in -its hands; the executive appeals to it for assistance against the -encroachments of the legislative power, and the legislature demands -its protection from the designs of the executive; it defends the Union -from disobedience of the States, and the States from the exaggerated -claims of the Union, the public interests against the interests of -private citizens, and the conservative spirit of order against the -fleeting innovations of democracy. This form of government, with the -immense power it gives to the courts, could not exist among a people -whose reverence for law and submissiveness to its mandates were not -very great, and would not be possible, moreover, if it did not rest on -a popular basis. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE CANTONS. - - -Prior to the year 1798, the condition of a Swiss Canton was that of -a great feudal lord, with an aggregate of many separate seigniorial -properties; acquired partly by conquest, partly by purchase. In the -town Cantons, such as Bern, Basel, and Zurich, the town was the -lord, and the country districts were attached to each as dependent -properties. In the rural Cantons, such as Uri and Schwyz, it was an -aggregate of democratic communities, which exercised lordship over -other dependent communities in their neighborhood. The conquered -districts, instead of being created into new Cantons, remained subject, -in some cases to individual Cantons, in others to associations of -Cantons for their members jointly. In the rustic communities the -government was a pure democracy; in the cities it was tempered with a -small mixture of aristocracy. Each Canton had a separate coinage, its -batzen and rapps, kreutzers and schillings, sous and centimes, that -would not pass beyond its frontier.[45] Each Canton had its own agents -accredited to foreign powers. Each Canton kept a custom-house, and -manned a tower at every bridge, at which each load of grass, butt of -wine, sack of corn, and pound of cheese that passed the boundary was -taxed. Every Canton was a distinct body, independent from any other, -and exercising the sovereign power within itself; looking upon the rest -as mere allies to whom it was bound only by such acts to which it had -consented, and when any new thing not comprehended in this agreement -happened to arise, each Canton retained the power of determining the -matter for itself. The idea that the minority of Cantons was bound by -the decision of the majority took root slowly, and internal affairs -depended for settlement on remonstrance and mediation. They were kept -together by the peculiarity of their topographical position, by their -individual weakness, by their fear of powerful neighbors, by the few -sources of contention among a people of such simple and homogeneous -manners, and by their joint interest in their dependent possessions. -The conditions of the country and of its society contributed to -divide instead of to unite the different Cantons. Mountains and lakes -separated them into almost distinct nationalities; they were peopled -by different races, with differences of language, religion, customs, -industries, material interest, and social development,--more than a -hundred parcels of territory, each having its separate history, and -in many cases a far greater difference between the inhabitants than -between the people of Maine and Texas, of Massachusetts and California, -for they were a polyglot people without a community of language, -to which, as a cohesive force, nothing can compare, especially in -a democratic state governed by opinion expressed through universal -suffrage. Many were the difficulties and dangers through which -the Cantons had to struggle to break up this system and overcome -these causes of dissension. This was gradually accomplished by the -principles of confederation, judiciously and temperately applied to the -circumstances of the country. - -The Swiss Cantons of to-day have very much the political organism of -the United States. They are sovereign in so far as their sovereignty -is not limited by the federal constitution; and as such they exercise -all the rights which are not delegated to the federal government. -The Cantons are units of a federal state, possessed within certain -limits of independent and supreme power. The Swiss constitution, -after guaranteeing to the Cantons their sovereignty, their territory, -their constitutions, etc. (as pointed out in the chapter on the -constitution), again and again reverts to the rights, powers, and -duties of the Canton with that remarkable detail which characterizes -the text of that instrument in everything it touches. These cantonal -provisions are, viz.: - -1. The Cantons have the right to make conventions among themselves upon -legislative, administrative, or judicial subjects; in all cases they -shall bring such conventions to the attention of the federal officials, -who are authorized to prevent their execution if they contain anything -contrary to the Confederation or to the rights of the Cantons. -Should such not be the case, the respective Cantons may demand the -co-operation of the federal authorities in their execution. - -2. By exception, the Cantons preserve the right to conclude treaties -with foreign powers, respecting the administration of public property, -and border and police intercourse; but such treaties shall contain -nothing contrary to the Confederation or to the rights of the Canton. - -3. Official intercourse between the Cantons and foreign governments or -their representatives shall take place through the Federal Council. -But the Cantons may deal directly with the subordinate officials and -officers of a foreign state in regard to the subjects enumerated (in -Section 2). - -4. In the case of sudden danger of foreign attack, the authorities of -the Canton threatened shall request the aid of other members of the -Confederation, and shall immediately notify the federal government, -without prejudice, however, to the action of the latter. The Cantons -so summoned are bound to give aid. The expenses shall be borne by the -Confederation. - -5. In case of internal disturbance, or when danger threatens from -another Canton, the authorities of the Canton threatened shall -immediately notify the Federal Council, in order that it may take -the necessary measures within the limits of its power, or may summon -the Federal Assembly. In urgent cases the authorities of the Canton -notifying the federal government of its action, may ask the aid of -other Cantons, to which the latter are bound to respond. If the -cantonal government is unable to call for aid, the federal authority, -having the power, may, and if the safety of Switzerland is endangered -shall, intervene without requisition. In case of federal intervention, -the federal authorities shall take care that the provisions of the -constitution guaranteeing the sovereignty of the Cantons be observed. -The expenses shall be borne by the Canton asking the aid or occasioning -federal intervention, except when the Federal Assembly otherwise -decides on account of special circumstances. - -6. In the cases mentioned (Sections 4 and 5), every Canton is bound to -afford undisturbed passage for the troops. The troops shall immediately -be placed under federal command. - -7. The Cantons may require proofs of competency from those who desire -to practise the liberal professions; federal legislation may provide -for certificates of competency valid for the whole Confederation. - -8. Cantons, under the supervision of the Confederation, shall enforce -the federal laws relating to weights and measures. - -9. Every citizen of a Canton is a Swiss citizen. As such (after -furnishing evidence of his right to vote) he can take part at his -place of residence in all federal elections and votes. No one shall -exercise political rights in more than one Canton. Every Swiss citizen -shall enjoy where he is domiciled all the rights of the citizens of -the Canton, as also all the rights of the citizens of the Commune. He -shall, however, have no share in the common property of the citizens or -of the corporation; nor shall he exercise the right to vote in matters -pertaining purely to such affairs unless the Canton by legislation has -otherwise provided. In cantonal and communal affairs he gains the right -to vote after a residence of three months. The cantonal laws relating -to the right of Swiss citizens to settle outside the Cantons in which -they were born, and to vote on communal questions, are subject to the -approval of the Federal Council. - -10. No Canton shall expel from its territory one of its own citizens, -nor deprive him of his rights, whether acquired by birth or settlement -(_origine ou cité_). - -11. Every Swiss citizen shall have the right to settle at any place -within Swiss territory, if he possesses a certificate of origin or -some similar paper. In exceptional cases the right of settlement may -be refused to, or withdrawn from, those who, in consequence of a penal -conviction, are not entitled to civil rights. The right of settlement -may, moreover, be withdrawn from those who, in consequence of serious -misdemeanors, have been repeatedly punished; and also from those who -become a permanent charge upon public charity, and to whom their -Commune or Canton of origin refuses adequate assistance after having -been officially asked to grant it. In Cantons where the system of local -relief obtains, the permission to settle, if it relates to natives of -the Canton, may be made dependent on the condition that the parties -are able to work, and have not hitherto been a permanent charge upon -public charity in their previous place of residence. Every expulsion -on account of poverty must be approved by the cantonal government, -and previous notice given to the government of the Canton of origin. -A Canton in which a Swiss establishes his domicile shall not require -security nor impose any special obligations for such establishment. -Nor shall the Commune in which he settles require from him other -contributions than those which it requires from its own citizens. A -federal law shall fix the maximum fee to be paid the registration -office for a permit to settle. - -12. Persons settled in Switzerland shall, as a rule, be subjected to -the jurisdiction and legislation of their domicile in all that pertains -to their personal status and property rights. Federal law shall -determine the application of this principle, and shall also make the -necessary regulations to prevent double taxation of a citizen. - -13. A marriage contracted in any Canton or in a foreign country, -according to the laws there prevailing, shall be recognized as valid -throughout the Confederation. - -14. The Cantons by law shall provide against all abuse of the freedom -of the press, but such legislation shall be subject to the approval of -the Federal Council. - -15. Citizens shall have the right to form associations, so far as they -are not, either in their purpose or methods, illegal or dangerous to -the state. The Canton by law shall take the measures necessary for the -suppression of abuses. - -16. All the Cantons are bound to treat the citizens of the other -confederated states like their own citizens, both in their legislation -and in judicial procedure. - -17. Civil judgments, definitely pronounced in any Canton, may be -executed anywhere in Switzerland. - -18. The exit duty on property leaving one Canton for another -(_Abzugsrechte_; _la traite foraine_) is hereby abolished, as well as -rights of first purchase (_Zugrechte_; _droit de retrait_) by citizens -of one Canton against those of another Canton.[46] - -19. The administration of justice remains with the Cantons, save as -affected by the powers of the Federal Tribunal. - -20. The Cantons may, by correspondence, exercise the right of -initiative as to measures in either council of the Federal Assembly. - -The duty of the federal government to intervene for the enforcement -of its guarantee of the “constitutional rights of citizens” in the -Cantons has been declared by the Federal Council in these words: -“When complaints are made regarding the violation of the constitution -in a Canton, and these are brought before the federal authorities, -the latter become in duty bound to investigate them and to form a -decision as to their foundation or want of foundation, and as to -necessary further regulations. For the Confederation guarantees -the constitutional rights of the citizen as well as the rights of -the authorities. The earlier articles of union also guaranteed the -constitutions, but this guarantee was otherwise explained, and many -complaints of unconstitutional proceedings and circumstances were -raised and disregarded. It was desired that these should be no longer -endured, and there was demanded an effective guarantee against -violations of the constitution. Thus arose Article 5 of the federal -constitution, which guaranteed with almost pedantic care the rights of -the nation and the constitutional rights of the citizen. It would, in -fact, be a remarkable relapse into the old view and order of things, a -striking denial of the principles contained in Article 5, if we were to -assume that, in case of a formally presented complaint, the federal -authorities were free to interfere or not. We hold rather that in such -cases the federal authorities are obliged to take up the complaints and -render a decision regarding them.” - -If a cantonal law violates the federal constitution or a federal -law, the Federal Tribunal will declare it invalid; but in some cases -recourse must be had to the Federal Council. The protection guaranteed -by the constitution applies to disturbances of the peace within a -Canton, to attacks of one Canton on another, or to a foreign attack. -The appeal, as a rule, is to the Federal Council, exceptionally to -other Cantons; with the existing facilities for communication with the -Federal Council, aid is now demanded exclusively from that body. This -feature in the relation of the general government to the Canton, and -Canton to Canton, is very different from that of the United States -to the State, and State to State. The State is more independent than -the Canton of this external interference. It is not obliged to obey -the summons of any other State for help; it has, in fact, no right -to render any such aid. The government in the United States may not -intervene even to preserve order in a State except on the request of -the legislature or the executive of the State. - -A special federal law enumerates the crimes for which one Canton may -demand from another the extradition of criminals. It embraces both -statutory and common-law crimes, and only stops at the limitation -fixed by the constitution, which declares that extradition may not be -rendered obligatory for political offences and those of the press. But -extradition may be refused, in any case, of persons who have acquired -citizenship, or who have settled in a Canton, when this Canton binds -itself to try and punish the accused according to its own law; or -allows a sentence already pronounced in another Canton to be executed -by its own officials. - -The Cantons, not being limited by the terms of the federal -constitution, are left sovereign in matters of civil law (except as -regards the civil capacity of persons), the law of land, land rights, -descent and distribution, criminal law, cantonal and local police, -organization of the Communes, public works in general, organization -of schools (within limits of the constitution), the conclusion of -conventions with each other (called concordats), respecting matters -of administration, police, etc. The changes introduced by the -present constitution have had the effect to supplant many of the -cantonal laws, often very dissimilar and conflicting, by federal laws -applicable to the whole Confederation; establishing a uniformity -upon many important relations between the citizens and the state. -Revisions of the fundamental laws of the Cantons have been frequent; -most of the cantonal constitutions are of a recent date. From 1830 -to 1874 there have been twenty-seven total or partial revisions of -the cantonal constitutions. In a large measure these were required -to harmonize them with the federal constitution, first of 1848 and -then of 1874. An amendment to a cantonal constitution becomes valid -only when ratified by the federal authorities; no concrete case being -necessary to test it,--the Swiss procedure to assure the supremacy -of the federal constitution being political, not judicial. Cantonal -constitutions present an infinite variety in their organisms and -operations; but it will be sufficient to give the general features -of one of the two distinctive types, the representative system; the -other, the _Landsgemeinde_ or open Assembly, composed of all the people -possessing votes, is reserved for a separate chapter. In the Cantons -of the representative system the legislative department consists of -but a single house, called the Greater or Grand Council (_Grosser -Rath_), and in a few of the Cantons known as the _Kantonsrath_ or -_Landrath_. The members are elected by direct popular vote, and, with -few exceptions, by the secret ballot; from electoral districts and by -_scrutin de liste_. The average representation is about one to every -one thousand inhabitants. In a few Cantons, representation is not -based upon the population, but is determined by the number of active -citizens; and in the Canton of Luzern, the number of representatives -is fixed by the constitution without any regard to the population, or -provision for future reapportionment. Every vote-possessing citizen -is ordinarily eligible for the Greater Council; the last vestiges -of property-qualification having disappeared. The Canton of Geneva -limits eligibility to those who have attained their twenty-sixth year. -In some Cantons functionaries salaried by the state are excluded. -There is a curious diversity presented in the federal and cantonal -age-qualification. A citizen of the Grisons attains political majority -for cantonal electoral purpose at the age of seventeen, or three years -before he can participate in federal elections. In the Canton of Geneva -the citizen only attains his political majority for cantonal purpose -at the age of twenty-one, or one year after he is a voter at federal -elections; and a Genevese can be a member of the Federal Assembly or -the federal supreme court or even President of the Confederation six -years before he is eligible to his cantonal legislature. - -The terms in the Greater Council vary from one year to five. In many -of the Cantons the members receive no pay; the highest amount paid -is in the Canton of Geneva, and it is only six francs for each day -that there is a sitting. The Greater Council, besides drafting the -laws and decrees, and interpreting, suspending, and repealing them, -is ordinarily invested with legislative power over the organization -of administrations; the supervision of the execution of the laws; -the right of pardon; the ratification of cantonal agreements; the -establishment of cantonal taxes and the mode of their collection; -naturalization; ratification of loans contracted by the Canton; the -acquisition and alienation of cantonal property; public buildings; -the fixing of salaries and emoluments; the surveillance of the -executive and judicial powers, and the settlement of conflicts of -jurisdiction between these powers; the fixing of the annual budget; -the appointment of the members of the Lesser or State Council, as -well as the members of the Supreme Tribunal. In Geneva, Basel-rural, -Zurich, and Thurgau, the members of the Lesser Council are elected -directly by the people. This Lesser Council, which constitutes the -executive power, is variously called, in the different Cantons, -_Conseil d’État_, _Staatsrath_, _Standeskommission_, _Kleinerrath_. -Originally it was quite a large body; but recent revisions of the -cantonal constitutions have made a reduction in the number, and it now -consists of from five to seven members, who distribute among themselves -the different departments on the same system as that described of -the Federal Council. The terms vary from two years to four. In some -Cantons the members must be divided as far as practicable among the -several electoral districts. In all the Cantons this executive power -is collegiate,--that is, not vested in a single individual, but in a -commission. Nowhere does the chief magistrate hold the independent -position of an American State governor, but, like the President of -the Confederation, is mere chairman of the council. The salary paid -the members of the executive council is from three to five thousand -francs a year. This Council proposes laws and decrees to the Greater -Council, and watches over the maintenance of public tranquillity and -security, as well as over the execution of the laws, decrees, and -regulations of the Greater Council. It administers the funds of the -state; appoints those executive and administrative functionaries who -are immediately subordinate to it, and watches over them; it has also -the higher surveillance of the communal administrations, the poor, -the schools, and the churches. The qualification for a member of the -executive or Lesser Council is the same as that of the Greater Council; -and in both instances it is uniformly limited to active citizens and -laymen, and they are re-eligible without limit. The executive council -in the larger Cantons is represented, in districts established for the -purpose, by _Prefects_, or _Regierungsstatthalter_, or _Statthalter_, -who, associated with two Councillors, compose a commission for many -purposes. Although agents of the executive council, they are not always -appointed by it, but sometimes by the Greater Council, and often -directly by the people. The constitutions of most of the Cantons say -that the legislative, executive, and judicial functions shall be kept -distinct; yet in practice the line of demarcation is often ignored. -The legislative bodies are given an important share both in the -administration and interpretation of the laws. As in the federal, so -in the cantonal constitutions, there is not to be found that delicate -adjustment of the political forces, forming so conspicuous a feature -in the national as well as in the State system of the United States; -that great ingenuity and skill in the contrivances which prevent the -different representative bodies from being mere fac-similes of each -other, and at the same time preserve their equality in point of power. - -A cantonal constitution usually opens with the declaration that the -“sovereignty resides in the people as a whole” (“_auf der Gresammtheit -des Volks beruhe_”); and then follows the further declaration that -the people, by virtue of that sovereignty, “give it [the Canton] the -following constitution;” also that this sovereignty is to be “directly -exerted by the active citizens and only indirectly by the magistrates -and officials;” that “the people exercise the legislative power in -co-operation with the cantonal council” (referring to the right of -_Initiative_ and _Referendum_); and that in this “it is the duty of -every citizen to participate.” - -All the cantonal constitutions contain, in a more or less explicit and -elaborate manner, provisions of this nature, viz.: - -All citizens are equal in the eye of the law and enjoy the same civil -rights; free expression of opinion by word or in writing; the right -of association and of assembly is guaranteed, subject to no other -restrictions than those of the common law; in libel suits, alleged -defamatory publications must not only be proven to be true, but must -appear to have been made from “honest motives and a righteous purpose;” -house and home right inviolable; house-searching by an official vested -with this power must be in advance carefully explained by the official, -as to the reason for and the extent of the proposed search; innocent -persons sentenced are entitled to restitution and just satisfaction -from the state; father and son, father-in-law and son-in-law, two -brothers, or two brothers-in-law cannot serve at the same time as -members of the executive or judicial department; all citizens subject -to taxation must contribute to the burdens of the state and the -community in accordance with their respective means; small estates -of persons disabled for work, as well as a sum absolutely necessary -for support, shall be exempt from taxation; tax exemptions in favor -of private persons or industrial companies forbidden; no new taxes -on the consumption of any of the necessaries of life to be levied; -cantonal and district officers to receive fixed salaries, all fees -going into the state treasury; organization and management of charity -left to the community;[47] the state to make suitable contributions -to lighten the burdens of poor communities, and especially to extend -its influence and aid in the education of the children of the poor, -improving the hospital service, and reforming the character and -ameliorating the condition of the neglected and dissolute; to render -assistance and facilities for the development of trades-unions based on -the principle of self-help; to pass laws essential for the protection -of the laboring classes; judicial sentences not to be set aside or -modified by any legislative or administrative authority, except in so -far as the pardoning power is vested in the cantonal council. There -are also numerous provisions relating to church affairs and education, -on parallel lines with those of the federal constitution, with the -addition that the former includes the organization and management of -the church communities which are exclusively under cantonal authority. - -The Cantons are left quite free to organize their courts as they -please; justice, in general terms, being administered by the Canton -with recourse in specified cases to the Federal Tribunal. The cantonal -judicial organization presents two well-defined courts: the district -courts (_Bezirksgerichte_ or _Amtsgerichte_), which are courts of -first instance; and a supreme or appellate court (_Obergericht_ or -_Appellationsgericht_), which is the court of final instance. Some -of the Cantons have justices of the peace; these are elected by the -Communes for a term of six years, and have jurisdiction up to fifty -francs. Either party to a suit, or the justice, may demand that -two jurors elected by the casting of lots be summoned to assist in -the trial. For the hearing of criminal cases, there is a trial in -a few Cantons by a jury under the presidency of a section of the -supreme-court justices, but in the others a special criminal court -acts without a jury. In three of the large Cantons, Geneva, Zurich, -and St. Gallen, there are special _Cassation_ courts put above -the _Obergericht_. Zurich and Geneva have also special commercial -courts (_Handelsgerichte_). In many of the Cantons the supreme court -exercises certain semi-executive functions, taking the place of a -ministry of justice, in overseeing the action of the lower courts, and -of all judicial officers, such as the states-attorneys. The courts -make annual reports to the legislative council, containing a full -review of the judicial business of each year, discussing the state of -justice, with criticisms upon the system in vogue, and suggestions of -reform. These reports are important sources of judicial statistics. -The terms of cantonal judges vary from three to four and six years. -The judges of the inferior courts are elected directly by the people; -those of the supreme courts by the legislative council. In Bern the -legislative council also elects the presidents of the district courts. -No qualification for election to the bench is required except that of -being an “active citizen.” But invariably, to the higher courts at -least, competent lawyers are chosen; and re-election is the rule. The -district courts render final judgments on claims from fifty to two -hundred francs. Either party to the suit has the right to demand that -two district judges preside as associate judges. The district courts, -consisting of a president and four judges, decide as of first resort, -and the appellate chambers of the supreme court, as of second and final -resort, all claims exceeding two hundred francs. The commercial court -decides finally all claims exceeding five hundred francs, provided -the defendant is entered in the commercial register. In proceedings -before the district and commercial courts the claim is first submitted -to a justice acting as _propitiator_; he summons the parties for the -purpose of effecting an amicable adjustment of their difficulties; if -no agreement can be reached, a lawsuit permit is issued by the justice -and handed to the plaintiff, which he in turn presents to the court. In -a majority of cases the court proceedings are oral; only in exceptional -cases, involving difficult and novel questions or intricate accounts, -an order will be made for written preparatory proceedings. After the -court hears an oral statement of the claim and the defence, it decides -whether further evidence shall be produced, and issues an order setting -forth what must be established by each party in the form of written -testimony; and this must be presented to the court in an accurate and -carefully-prepared form. The judgment of the court is first rendered -orally, and written notice of the same given to the parties. When an -appeal lies, it must be taken within ten days from the receipt of the -above notice. In all cases the plaintiff must make a deposit to cover -the costs, but the costs are to be finally paid by the party cast in -the suit. - -Under the constitutional provision, that final civil judgments rendered -in one Canton are executory in any other Canton, sometimes a question -arises as to the obligation of one Canton to carry out the decree of -the court of another Canton. This question must be referred for final -decision to the federal authorities. In only one Canton, that of Uri, -is there a departure from the federal system, and there the cantonal -courts have the power to declare invalid a cantonal legislative -enactment. - -Trial by jury, even for felony, does not universally exist in the -Cantons. The substitution of a tribunal or judicial body instead of -the unitary system, though claimed to be almost tantamount, is far -from fulfilling the essential purpose of a jury. Knowledge, skill, -and strict impartiality belong to the judge; common sense and common -feelings to private individuals on a jury. The judge is deaf, blind, -and inexorable, and knows only the law; the jury is under the influence -of public opinion, or even of public prejudices, which must not be -overlooked altogether, and for the sake of the law itself, of peace -and good government. The jury is, in fact, a legislative as well as a -judicial power, negatively at least, for deciding on law as well as -on fact; they may and do silence the law when they please. Unforeseen -cases occur sometimes where an undue advantage is taken of the law. -The jury may suspend, in fact, its application until it is altered; in -other cases, less uncommon, the strict application of the law would be -directly in opposition to public feelings and prejudices, to the extent -of threatening popular violence and revolution. A judge cannot make the -law bend to circumstances; government cannot yield without disclosing -weakness and encouraging the factious; but the jury, being supposed to -participate in these public feelings, may preserve the peace without -disgrace, by a sort of innocent denial of justice. A jury of judges, -as the silent part of the bench may be deemed, cannot be ignorant of -the law, and would make themselves gratuitously contemptible if they -pretended to participate in the feelings of the multitude. Besides -the obvious use of juries as a check on judiciary proceedings for the -safety of individuals, the institution is of high political importance. -It is one of the hidden springs upon which the cumbrous machine of -society is, as it were, suspended, and enabled thereby to sustain -accidental shocks without coming to pieces. - -There was abundant justification in the early cantonal criminal -codes for the abolition, by the federal constitution, of capital -punishment[48] and corporal pains. Many of the codes were not -distinguished for justice, gentleness, or rationality. Nowhere were -witches more relentlessly pursued than in some of the Cantons of -Switzerland. The laws denouncing them were of Draconian severity. Stern -were the ordinances and strange the customs of the older Cantons. -In 1666 an entire family, mother, son, and daughter, were burned in -Unterwalden for practising forbidden arts. No less than one hundred -and fifty individuals were executed at Geneva, in a period of fifty -years, during the seventeenth century, for the capital offence of -witchcraft, denominated _lèse-majesté divine au plus haut chef_. The -last execution for sorcery was in Glarus in 1782. So late as 1824 a man -was racked in Zug, and in the archives of Obwald appears an entry, in -1840, of a payment of thirty francs to the executioner for beating a -prisoner, who had proved refractory under examination, with rods, in -the torture-chamber. The Swiss historian Müller relates that one Sak, -at Bern, was sentenced to be whipped, and led out of the gate by the -executioner, for returning from banishment, and if he returned again -he should be drowned; also Hanns, the public executioner of Bern, was -banished two miles from the jurisdiction of the town for having spoken -immodestly to respectable men and women, and if he returned he should -have his eyes put out. An inn-keeper of Bern, having procured the -seal of a councillor who lodged at his house, made use of it to forge -obligations for sums of money which, supported by false witnesses, he -claimed after an interval of several years; the fraud being discovered, -he was broken upon the wheel, and the witnesses “boiled in a kettle.” -In Zurich, any one clipping the coin, had his fingers clipped off, and -was then hanged. In the council-room of the old Rathhaus of Appenzell -can still be seen an instrument known as the “bocksfutter”; it consists -of a long bench, on which delinquents, ordered to be punished with -stripes, and prisoners, who were obstinate about admitting their -guilt, were wont to be placed, with legs and arms outstretched as if -they were going to swim; but every attempt to move these members was -prevented by enclosing them in iron clamps firmly fastened to the -bench; this preliminary completed, the executioner was called in, -and ordered to give the victim as many strokes with “_ochsenziemer_” -on the bare body, as the judges might think necessary, to loosen his -tongue or purge him of his offence. Another so-called truth-finder -(_wahrheitserforschungsmittel_) was a cage, in which one could neither -stand upright nor stretch his legs, but only cower on the floor in a -constrained position. At Freiburg the punishment for stealing five -sous was death by decapitation; and a stranger striking a burgher was -fastened to a post and scalped, while a burgher striking a stranger -paid three sous. Capital punishment was inflicted by cutting off the -head, which was done in this manner: the culprit was made fast in an -arm-chair, and a cap placed on his head with a hole in the top, by -which an assistant took hold of his hair, while the executioner, placed -behind, struck off his head with a broadsword. - -There is little or nothing in the Swiss cantonal institutions to -tempt unworthy men into official life. The salaries are nominal, with -very remote chances for any personal aggrandizement. In the local and -municipal administrations, it is difficult, if not impossible, for any -one class to employ the powers of government for purely selfish ends. -Many of the officials serve the Canton, municipality, and community -with motives as honorable as their services are intelligent and -efficient. The Cantons and communities are comparatively free from -debt, and not burdened by excessive taxes. There is a general aversion -to incurring public debts, common to the Swiss, from the federal head -down through the cantonal, municipal, and community administrations. -The revenues of these little states are small, and require strict -economy in every branch of expenditure. Nothing is wasted on useless -consumers and their retainers; an exact account must be rendered of -the employment of the public funds; and precision and publicity in the -keeping of public accounts. The people yields its servants, indeed, -some compensation, but it does not reward them with pensions or with -superabundant influence. It builds up no official class who forget -their citizenship and separate themselves from the mass of the people, -squeezing as many advantages as possible out of their offices, even -to the prejudice of efficient service. The Cantons, upon enumeration, -number not twenty-two but twenty-five, because three of them have -been divided into half-Cantons, making nineteen whole and six half -Cantons. Basel is divided into Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft (urban -and rural); Appenzell, into Ausser-Rhoden and Inner-Rhoden; and -Unterwalden, into Obwald and Nidwald (above and below the forests -which formed the boundary between them). The rending of these Cantons -into half-Cantons was the work of party feuds; in one place springing -from political causes, in a second from religious strife, and in the -third from wrangles about wood and grass. Unterwalden was divided -as early as 1366. The division of Appenzell occurred in 1597; the -Catholic magistrates having turned out some Protestant ministers, -so serious a quarrel ensued between the two communions, that other -Cantons were called in as mediators; to restore peace they resorted to -a sort of political divorcement; the Canton was divided between the -two parties, and a river marked the boundary; the Catholics passed -on one side and the Protestants on the other, selling or exchanging -reciprocally their fields and houses. The separation in Basel took -place in February, 1832; the city of Basel maintained that the country -people should either accept the constitution which pronounced them -dependent and inferior, or renounce all connection with her: in vain -the Diet protested against this division, but the city persisted in -the separation rather than put itself on a level with the peasants. -Only in one case, that of Basel, was the division accompanied by any -violence. There is not a great difference between the population of the -halves in the Cantons of Basel and Unterwalden; the urban half, of the -former, having an excess of 12,000, and Obwald, of the latter, 3000; -but the population of Ausser-Rhoden is four and a half times that of -Inner-Rhoden. There is a wide diversity in the area of these several -half-Cantons, not easily accounted for, except in the case of Basel, -where one-half is composed of the city of Basel. Each half-Canton -keeps its own share of sovereign power; each is practically complete -in its state autonomy, the original cantonal integral having little -recognition beyond the representation in the Council of States. In -that body the members from these half-Cantons display, more or less, -the antagonism which originally led to the division of their Cantons; -Catholic Appenzell is almost certain to oppose Protestant Appenzell; so -with all of the members from the fractional Cantons, they are arrayed -on different sides of all local questions, seriously impairing their -influence. In extent, population, and wealth, the Cantons are about -equal to a county; still, each is one of the twenty-two confederate -states. The official order of the Cantons corresponds with the -historical date of their entry into the Confederation, except that -Zurich, Bern, and Luzern, after joining the league of small Cantons, -were placed at the head. Uri occupies the first place in chronological -order, and anciently Luzern took the lead, but when Zurich entered -the Confederation, as an imperial city, in 1351, it displaced Luzern -by virtue of its great wealth; and two years later Bern joined the -league, and was awarded the second place on account of its military -power. The standards of the three original Cantons are very suggestive -of their history. The one of Uri represents a bull’s head, with the -broken links of the yoke hanging around the neck; that of Schwyz a -cross, the double symbol of suffering and deliverance; and the banner -of Unterwalden bears two keys, symbolical of the keys of the apostle -St. Peter, and destined to open the iron gates of their long slavery. -Emile de Laveleye, in his “Primitive Property,” gives the following -touching legend as to the method in which the boundary between the -_Marks_ or Communes of Uri and Glarus was formerly fixed: “The two -Cantons are separated by frozen peaks and a lofty chain of mountains -everywhere except at the Klaussen passage, through which one can easily -pass from the valley of the Linth to that of the Reuss. In times past, -there were disputes and struggles between the people of Uri and Glarus -as to the debatable boundary of their pastures. To decide the question, -they agreed that, on St. George’s day, a runner should start at the -first cock-crow from the bottom of each valley, and that the frontier -should be fixed at the point where they met. The start was to be -superintended by inhabitants of Glarus at Altdorf, and by inhabitants -of Uri at Glarus. The people of Glarus fed the cock, which was to give -the signal to their runner, as much as possible, hoping that, being in -full vigor, it would crow early in the morning. The people of Uri, on -the contrary, starved their cock; hunger kept it awake, and it gave -the signal for the start long before dawn. The runner started from -Altdorf, entered the _Schaechenthal_, crossed the top, and began to -descend on the other side towards Linth. The Glarus cock crowed so -late that their runner met the one from Uri far down the slope on his -side. Desperate at the thought of the disgrace which would be reflected -on his countrymen, he begged earnestly for a more equitable boundary. -‘Hearken,’ answered the other, ‘I will grant you as much land as you -can cross, ascending the mountain with me on your back.’ The bargain -was struck. The Glarus man ascended as far as he could, when he fell -dead from fatigue on the banks of the stream called _Scheidbaechli_ -(the boundary line). This is why Urner Boden, situated on the slope -facing Glarus, beyond the division of the water, belongs to Uri. It is -a curious legend in which, as so often in Swiss history, the citizen -gives his life for the good of his country.” - -Individual Cantons have a national character, either because all -their inhabitants belong to one people, as in the German Cantons -of northern and eastern Switzerland, or in the French Cantons of -western Switzerland, or in Italian Ticino; or because one nationality -decidedly prevails, as the Germans in Bern and Graubünden, and the -French in Freiburg and Valais. The result of holding different -peoples together without transforming them into one nationality has -been attained only by allowing each people free course in its local -and inner life. The drift of Switzerland’s history and its political -trend are unquestionably towards a more compact nationality. The -constitution was a compromise between the advocates and opponents of -nationalism. Every change from 1814 down to 1874 has taken something -from the Canton and Commune and bestowed it on the Confederation. -In every stage of its historical growth it has been a fight of the -Confederation against the Canton, on behalf of general rights; those -interests of the citizen which are claimed to lie beyond the proper -sphere of local laws and customs. The national government has steadily -extended its influence, every step increasing the authority of the -nation at the expense of the cantonal independence; a steady growth -in national feeling, a constant drift towards a stronger federal -government. Many branches of legislation have been taken away from -the Cantons, which under the constitution of the United States -adhere to the States. The federal government has absorbed numerous -matters of social and economic importance, such as those relating -to railways, telegraph, factories, insurance, debts, marriage, the -law of contract, and general measures of sanitary precaution. “Swiss -democratic federalism tends towards unitarianism. This is no doubt -in part due to the desire to strengthen the nation against foreign -attack. It is also due, perhaps, to another circumstance. Federalism, -as it defines and therefore limits the power of each department of the -administration, is unfavorable for the interference or to the activity -of government. Hence a federal government can hardly render service -to the nation by undertaking for the national benefit functions which -may be performed by individuals.”[49] Wherever in the history of the -world we find a federation having an internal organization sufficiently -strong to maintain its own existence, we observe an inevitable drift of -power from the several states to the central government, striving to -ascertain over how broad a field it is expedient and right to extend -the activities of government. Yet it is impossible to study attentively -the march of Swiss affairs without seeing that what really lie next to -the hearts of the people are their cantonal and local institutions; -and while a well-assured nationality is kept up, in event of foreign -danger or common peril, nevertheless, the citizens look for protection -as well as for command to their own cantonal authority. A familiar -colloquialism is often used, which illustrates the relation of the -cantonal to the national feeling,--“My shirt is nearer to me than my -coat.” - -Switzerland, though not extensive in point of superficial surface, -embraces such an extraordinary variety of climate, soil, race, and -occupation as to render the rule of a single central democratic -government, in an especial manner, vexatious. It must of necessity -adhere to a system of Federal Union in preference to that of a -central and universally diffused authority; because in small states, -having each the power of internal legislation, the interests of the -inhabitants are nearly the same, and their influence can be felt and -their wants receive due consideration. - -The Cantons have deep-rooted and peculiar local institutions, in -many cases of great vitality; laws handed down traditionally from -generation to generation, often without having ever been committed to -paper, much less to print. Until 1848 there was not one written and -accepted cantonal constitution. A country where self-government has -longest subsisted, and political institutions been most the subject of -popular discussion and decision, it is at the same time a country in -which innovations are with the most difficulty introduced. You might -alter the whole political frame of government in the French republic -with more facility than you could introduce the most insignificant -change into the customs and fashions of the Swiss democracy. They seem -as immovable as the mountains in which they were cradled. The French -directory, in the ardor of their innovations, proposed to the peasants -of the Forest Cantons a change in their league, and made the offer -of fraternization, which had seduced the allegiance of so many other -states, but these sturdy mountaineers replied, “Words cannot express, -citizen directors, the profound grief which the proposal to accede -to the new Helvetic League has occasioned in these valleys. Other -people may have different inclinations, but we, the descendants of -William Tell, who have preserved, without the slightest alteration, the -constitutions which he has left us, have but one unanimous wish, that -of living under the government which Providence and the courage of our -ancestors have left us.” - -The Confederation, in striving to make the general organization more -systematic and uniform, must tenderly regard cantonal susceptibilities. -The Swiss federal organization is firmly founded on cantonal -precedents, traits, and features; and their self-assertive vitality and -their direct influence make them the central subject of Swiss politics. -The federal constitution designates the members of the Confederation -as “sovereign Cantons;” and each of the cantonal constitutions says -in effect, “This, under federal supremacy, is a sovereign Canton,” -and each declares that the sovereignty within the Cantons rests on -“the people as a whole.” “Sovereign state” is conspicuous in the -constitution, federal and cantonal. It expresses national instincts, -national experiences, and political education. All the elevating -memories of national history, all the inspiring traditions which -had bred into national sentiment, generation after generation, were -connected with a league of states of almost insulated independence. -Each Canton has always jealously clung to its own individuality and -ancient customs. Every now and then the republic would be split up into -smaller confederations for the purpose of maintaining the rights of -state sovereignty; by these sectional strifes, the idea of isolation -and individuality was handed on, gaining strength as it went, and -becoming more and more a political instinct of the Swiss people. - -Switzerland is a microcosm. In these five and twenty little states we -have a miniature resemblance of all the phases of social and political -life; every Canton contributes with friendly emulation to improve -the domestic policy and strengthen the political relations of the -Confederation; if they present no example worthy to be followed as a -whole, there is still much in their detail that will most abundantly -repay our study. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE LANDSGEMEINDE. - - -In the republics of the ancient world, where representative assemblies -were unknown, legislative power vested with the citizens, the sovereign -power being exercised by the whole people, acting directly in their -own persons. They met in what we should now call primary assemblies. -This early democracy found its most logical expression in the _Comitia_ -of Rome and the _Ecclesia_ of Syracuse. The _Ecclesia_ embraced all -citizens over twenty-one years of age, unless they had become liable to -any loss of civic rights; it met so frequently, often once a week, that -it would be inconceivable, if we did not remember that ordinary and -professional labor was carried on not by the free citizens, but by the -numerous slaves. The same plan prevailed in the early Teutonic tribes. -Tacitus describes such an assembly, almost in the words of Homer: “In -matters of inferior moment the chiefs decide; important questions are -reserved for the whole community. When a public meeting is announced, -they never assemble at the stated time; regularity would look like -obedience; to mark their independent spirit, they do not convene at -once, but two or three days are lost in delay. Each man takes his -seat, completely armed. The king or chief of the community opens the -debate; the rest are heard in their turn, according to age, renown in -war, or fame for eloquence. No man dictates to the assembly; he may -persuade, but cannot command. When anything is advanced not agreeable -to the people, they reject it with a general murmur; if the proposition -pleases, they brandish their javelins; this is the highest and most -honorable mark of applause; they assent in a military manner, and -praise by the sound of their arms.” - -Montesquieu is of the opinion that, in this treatise on the manners of -the Germans, by Tacitus, an attentive reader may trace the origin of -the British constitution; a system which he claims was found in the -forests of Germany. The Saxon _Witenagemot_ was beyond all doubt an -improved political institution, grafted on the rights exercised by the -people in their own country. The author of the “European Settlements in -America” writes: “The Indians meet in a house, which they have in each -of their towns for the purpose, on every solemn occasion, to receive -ambassadors, to deliver them an answer, to sing their traditionary war -songs, or to commemorate the dead. These councils are public. Here they -propose all such matters as concern the state, which have already been -digested in the secret councils, at which none but the head men assist.” - -During the Middle Ages these assemblies died out, and the right of -making laws passed either to the sovereign or to a representative -body; the older method surviving only in some of the Swiss Cantons. -In Uri, in the half-Cantons composing Unterwalden and Appenzell, -and in Glarus, the law-making body is the Landsgemeinde, the free -assembly of all the qualified voters, the _folk-moot_. The whole people -come together to pass laws, to nominate magistrates, to administer -affairs, just as was formerly the case with the Germans of Tacitus -and the Achaians of Homer; with less pretensions, however, than the -assembly of a Greek city, for it is rather an agricultural democracy, -such as Aristotle commended. It is the direct government dreamed of -by Rousseau, who in his dislike of representative systems wrote the -“Contrat Social,” demanding that the entire community should meet -periodically to exercise its sovereignty. Rousseau suggests that he -was led to the opinions advanced in this work, by the example of the -ancient tribal democracies; yet at a later date he declared that he -had the constitution of Geneva before his mind; and he cannot but have -known that the exact method of government which he proposed still lived -in the oldest Cantons of Switzerland; where by the raising of hands -offices and dignities were distributed, and sanction given to the laws; -where feudalism and royalty had never penetrated, and where the most -perfect liberty reigned, without class struggles or social strife. The -assemblies in the Cantons named are called Landsgemeinden,--that is, -“National Communes.” It is a strictly precise term, implying that the -whole country forms, so to say, a single Commune. This was the case -originally. Later, as different villages were formed, they constituted -separate autonomic Communes; but the great Commune of the Canton, with -the General Assembly of all the inhabitants, the Landsgemeinde, was -maintained. Under the Helvetic republic of 1798 the Landsgemeinde was -abolished, in order to make way for the representative system. It was, -however, re-established under Napoleon’s act of mediation, promulgated -in 1803. The sagacity with which the First Consul discriminated the -most important features in the condition of the Swiss Cantons, may be -appreciated by the following extract from the speech he delivered on -the formation of the internal constitution of the Confederacy: “The -re-establishment of the ancient order of things in the democratic -Cantons,” said he, “is the best course which can be adopted, both -for you and me. They are the states whose peculiar form of government -renders them so interesting in the eyes of all Europe; but for this -pure democracy you would exhibit nothing which is not to be found -elsewhere. Beware of extinguishing so remarkable a distinction. I -know well that this democratic system of administration has many -inconveniences; but it is established, it has subsisted for centuries, -it springs from the circumstances, situation, and primitive habits -of the people, from the genius of the place, and cannot with safety -be abandoned. When usage and systematic opinion find themselves in -opposition, the latter must give way. You must never take away from a -democratic society the practical exercise of its privileges. To give -such exercise a direction consistent with the tranquillity of the -state, is the part of true political wisdom.” - -Through a strange and happy combination of circumstances this ancient -custom may still be seen in the Cantons of Uri, Unterwalden, Glarus, -and Appenzell. The homely peasants who tend their own cows and goats -upon the mountain-side, and by patient industry raise their little -crops from the narrow patches of soil, hemmed in by rock and glacier, -meet to discuss the affairs of their Canton, to make its laws, and to -swear to observe them; a parliament of Swiss peasants, differing little -in manner or habits from their forefathers of the thirteenth century. -It affords a rare study in politics; an example of pure democracy -such as poets might imagine, and speculative philosophers design. -It was my privilege to have seen one of these primitive assemblies, -held on the hill-side market-place of Trogen, the seat of government -of Appenzell-ausser-Rhoden. Trogen is in the rolling, grassy, breezy -Appenzell Alps, the home of primitive virtue, the stronghold of Swiss -simplicity, honesty, and courage, and the region of light hearts and -merry tongues. It was the first Sunday in May, from which day the -Appenzellers date all the events of the year. Leaving St. Gallen for -Trogen, some seven or eight miles distant, in a carriage, about nine -o’clock in the morning of a bright and beautiful day, the main road -and the many branches that entered it, as far as the eye could reach, -were full of peasants making their way on foot to Trogen; every man -carrying in one hand the family umbrella, and in the other an old sword -or ancient rapier, which, on this occasion the law at once commands -him to carry and forbids him to draw, and which is brought out for -this day only from its dignified seclusion; each one wearing a short -green coat, with a stiff high collar, and a silk hat, both bearing -unmistakable evidence of being venerable heirlooms. The convening of -the Landsgemeinde was announced at twelve o’clock M. by heralds, as -a drum and fife corps, with a wonderful uniform of black and white, -the cantonal colors. There were estimated to be present six to seven -thousand voters. No provision was made for seating them, and all stood -during the proceedings, which lasted nearly three hours. The assembly -opened with a silent prayer, the Landammann setting the example, and -instantaneously the thousands of heads were uncovered and bowed, with -an indistinct but audible wave of sound from the speechless lips; then -a national song in which all joined; the Landammann and his colleagues -of the council mounted a rough platform erected in the centre of the -field, draped with black and white, and with two ancient-looking swords -crossed before it. Close attention was given to the Landammann while he -addressed them as “Trusty, faithful, and well-beloved confederates.” He -submitted a report of the administration of affairs for the past year, -and proposed a few new laws and some amendments to the old laws. These -were five in number, only two of which were accepted, by the raising -of hands, the vote being taken without discussion; though each man had -full right to speak his own mind as long as he pleased. The President, -on behalf of the council, took from a bag, not of silk, but of plain -homespun material, the seal of state and surrendered it into the hands -of those by whom it had been given; and in delivering up this official -charge he concluded with the statement, that he had not voluntarily -injured any one, and asked the pardon of any citizen who might think -himself aggrieved. The President and the members of the council then -retired and took their places as simple citizens in the ranks of their -fellows, leaving the Canton for the time being, without any executive -official, an absolute interregnum. In a few moments some one in the -crowd placed in nomination for re-election the retiring President, and -he was unanimously chosen; the same process was repeated as to all the -other members of the council; they then returned to the platform and -resumed possession of the seal of state. Some subordinate officials -were chosen in a similar manner, all without opposition except in the -case of the _grossweibel_, for which place, owing to some charges of -intemperance against the incumbent, there had arisen quite a contest, -resulting in a half-dozen names being placed in nomination, each one -of whom submitted his claims in a few remarks. The vote was taken for -the several candidates, in turn, by uplifted hands, and the executive -council found it impossible to decide who had received the most -votes, until five trials were had, when the old official was declared -re-elected. Neither the voting nor the result of this unusual contest -was accompanied with the slightest manifestation of feeling. The entire -proceeding was marked by an earnest, serious, reverent decorum, as -could be found in any church service. When the newly-chosen Landammann -enters upon his office, he first binds himself by an oath to obey the -law, and then administers to the multitude before him the same oath. -There was a heart-stirring solemnity in hearing the voice of these -thousands of freemen, beneath the canopy of heaven, in firm, clear -accent, pledging themselves to obey the laws which they themselves had -made. The Landammann’s oath was: “To promote the welfare and honor -of his fatherland, and to preserve it from injury; to enforce the -constitution and laws of his country, to protect, defend, and assist -widows and orphans, as well as all other persons, to the best of his -power, and as the law and his conscience teach him; and that neither -through friendship, enmity, nor bribe, nor for any other reason will he -be moved to deviate therefrom. Likewise that he will accept no gifts -from any prince or lord, except for the public purse.” The people -swear: “To promote the welfare and honor of their fatherland, and to -preserve it from injury, to protect its rights and liberties to the -best of their power, to obey the laws of the magistrates as well as to -defend the council and court, likewise to accept presents, bribes or -gifts from no prince or lord, except for the public purse; and that -every one to whatever position elected shall accept it, and do as well -as he is able and has the power to do.” The foregoing oath, after being -read to the multitude, was sworn to in a loud, distinct voice in the -following form: “We have well understood what has been read to us. We -will keep it truly and steadfastly, faithfully, and without fear, so -truly as we wish and pray that God may help us.” The laws adopted by -the Landsgemeinde of Appenzell in reference to these official oaths are -very peculiar. They bear date 1634, and read: “Because an oath is a -thing through which good law and order must be maintained, so for that -reason it is highly necessary to consider it, in itself, seriously and -well, humbly praying to God, the heavenly Father, that through his Holy -Spirit he may enlighten our hearts, so that we may know what a true -and false oath is, and may in time with the chosen ones live up to it -eternally: Amen! A genuine oath is a considerate and solemn invocation -and declaration to the true God, as the proper guardian of my heart, -to be witness and judge of my sworn declaration or promise, to bless -my body and soul if I swear in truth and sincerity, and if, on the -contrary, I swear falsely, to punish my body and soul. At the same -time every Christian who swears an oath shall lift up three fingers, -by which will be signified the supreme power of God the Father, God -the Son, and God the Holy Ghost; but the two last fingers shall remain -bent back against the hand, and thereby will be represented the entire -submission of soul and body to the supreme power of God. Now the man -who is so forsaken and so hostile to himself as to reject in his heart -what he professes in such a way with his mouth, in the face of the -all-seeing God, swears a false oath. He swears, as if he said, I will -rather be shut out from the community and benefaction of Christendom; -or as if he said, the name of God and of our Saviour Jesus Christ shall -never prove a help and comfort to me at the time when soul and body -shall be separated; or as if he said, the grace of God, the redemption -of Jesus Christ, and the strength of the Holy Ghost shall be entirely -lost and thrown away on me, poor sinner. Finally, whoever swears -falsely speaks as if he said, as I swear false to-day, so do I make -myself guilty of this judgment, that my soul, which is indicated by the -fourth finger, and my body, which is indicated by the fifth finger, -shall be separated from every claim of the All Holy, and be deprived -eternally and forever of the refreshing sight of our Lord Jesus Christ. -Hereby can every Christian perceive and understand what is the meaning -and effect of a false oath, and take heed against it, for the salvation -of the soul. God guard us all eternally and forever from sorrow and -grief: Amen!” - -The Landsgemeinde at Uri is attended with much more display and -elaborate ceremonial than that of Appenzell, and a description of it -is here taken from Mr. Freeman’s essay on the “Growth of the English -Constitution:” - -“It is one of the opening days of May; it is the morning of Sunday; -for men there deem that the better the day the better the deed; they -deem that the Creator cannot be more truly honored than in using, in -his sphere and in his presence, the highest of the gifts which he has -bestowed on man. From the market-place of Altdorf, the little capital -of the Canton, the procession makes its way to the place of meeting at -Bözlingen. First marches the little army of the Canton, an army whose -weapons never can be used save to drive back an invader from their -lands. Over their heads floats the banner, the bull’s head of Uri, the -ensign which led men to victory on the fields of Sempach and Morgarten. -And before them all, on the shoulders of men clad in a garb of ages -past, are borne the famous horns[50] whose blast struck such dread into -the fearless heart of Charles of Burgundy. Then, with their lictors -before them, come the magistrates of the commonwealth on horseback, -the chief magistrate, the Landammann, with his sword by his side. The -people follow the chiefs whom they have chosen to the place of meeting, -a circle in a green meadow, with a pine forest rising above their head, -and a mighty spur of the mountain-range facing them on the other side -of the valley. The multitude of freemen take their seats around the -chief ruler of the commonwealth, whose term of office comes that day -to an end. The assembly opens; a short space is first given to prayer, -silent prayer, offered up by each man in the temple of God’s own -rearing. Then comes the business of the day. Thus year by year, on some -bright morning of the springtide, the sovereign people, not intrusting -its rights to a few of its own number, but discharging them itself in -the majesty of its corporate person, meets in the open market-place -or in the green meadow at the mountain’s foot, to frame the laws to -which it yields obedience as its own work, to choose rulers whom it can -afford to greet with reverence as drawing their commission from itself. -You may there gaze and feel what none can feel but those who have seen -with their own eyes, what none can feel in its fulness more than once -in a lifetime, the thrill of looking for the first time face to face on -freedom in its purest and most ancient form.” - -The Landsgemeinde exercises two equally important functions. First, it -elects the principal officers of the Canton, the Landammann and his -substitute, the treasurer, and the chief of the cantonal militia; it -also appoints the deputies for the Federal Assembly. These cantonal -functionaries are paid but nominally; their duties are light, and the -small claim which they make on the individual causes them to appear -a universal duty of the citizen. It belongs to the Landsgemeinde to -sanction all cantonal laws, and all treaties which are concluded with -other Cantons or with foreign states. With the exception of Glarus, -the legislative power is exercised in this sense, that it accepts or -rejects as a whole the propositions which are made to it, without the -power to introduce changes in them. In Glarus the constitution invests -the Landsgemeinde with power to modify or reject the propositions -which are made to it, or refer them to the triple council finally, -either to report on them or to decide. The constitution of Glarus also -contains this provision: “The people are responsible only to God and -their consciences for the exercise of their sovereignty in the May -Assembly. What must guide the May Assembly is not, however, caprice -without limit and without condition; it is justice and the good of -the state which are alone compatible with it. The people are obliged -to vote according to these principles in taking annually the oath of -the May Assembly.” In all of the Cantons, having these assemblies, -the proposition to be submitted must be made public a certain time in -advance. The administrative power is ordinarily confided to quite a -numerous council, called Rath or Landrath. The functions of this body -are extensive. It watches over the enforcement of the constitution, -federal and cantonal; regulates in their general organization public -instruction, financial, military, and sanitary administration, public -works, charity, except the legal provisions regarding the province -and obligations of inferior authorities; receives the reports of the -administration of all the functionaries of the Canton; deliberates -upon the proposed laws to be presented to the Landsgemeinde, through -the intermediary of the triple council; and watches over the execution -of what the laws or decrees of the Landsgemeinde prescribe to it. In -Nidwald the council has, besides, judicial function. In Glarus, Uri, -and Obwald there have been organized, side by side with the Landrath, -special authorities to which have been transferred all the judicial -functions formerly granted to the Landrath. About the Landrath are -grouped various bodies, evidently formed from it by addition or -reduction. The double and the triple or Great Council are nothing but -the council of the Landrath itself, doubled or tripled by the addition -of new members, whom the territorial divisions appoint in the same -manner and in the same proportion as the first. In Glarus, for example, -each local assembly (_tagwen_) adds two members to the one which it -appoints to form a simple council. Thus the triple council is composed -there of one hundred and seventeen members, as follows: - -(1) Of the nine members of the Commission of State. - -(2) Of thirty-five members appointed by the _tagwen_ following fixed -proportions. - -(3) Of seventy members appointed by the same assemblies, following the -same proportions. - -(4) Finally, of three Catholic members, appointed by the same council, -and of which one forms a part.[51] - -The principal functions of the triple council are to watch over the -council and the tribunal, to establish the project of the budget -of receipts and expenditures, and to convoke the Landsgemeinde in -extraordinary assembly. The process of addition is applied in many -ways in Appenzell-interior; it is applied in particular to the little -council, which is charged with the principal judicial powers. This -body judges sometimes as a weekly council; it is then only a section -of the little council; sometimes with a simple addition, again with -the reinforced addition. Finally, with a last reinforcement, it forms -what is called the council of blood (_Blutrath_). As there are councils -formed by addition, so there are others formed by reduction, as, -for example, the weekly council of Unterwald-lower. It is appointed -by the Great Council (Landrath) and chosen from its body. It is the -executive, administrative, and police authority, subordinated to the -Great Council. It is composed of the Landammann, as President, and -of twelve members appointed for two years. It assembles in ordinary -session on Monday of each week, and in extraordinary session, when -convoked by the President, and as often as there is need. The third -and remaining authority in this pure democracy is the Commission of -State. It is appointed by the Landsgemeinde, and replaces the council, -for affairs of lesser importance. In Glarus this commission is divided -into two sections, to expedite business. The first is composed of -all the members of the commission; and the second, of three members, -the President included, alternating among themselves after a manner -of rotation, established by the commission. The first section (or -the commission _in pleno_) is charged with the correspondence of -foreign states, the federal authority, and the Confederate states; -with giving preliminary advice upon questions referred to it, or even -with deciding them by the council. The second section is charged -with the ratification of deeds of sale and of wills, with decisions -upon the prolongation of the terms for the liquidation of bankrupt -estates, etc. The Commission of State of Appenzell-exterior has also -the surveillance of the administration of the Communes. The Landammann -presides over the Landsgemeinde, the double or triple council, the -council or Landrath, and the Commission of State. He receives all the -despatches addressed to the authorities presided over by him, and he -is bound to make them known at the next session. He keeps the seal of -state, signs and seals concordats and conventions. He watches over the -execution of the decrees of the Landsgemeinde, the Councils, and the -Commission of State, in so far as the execution is not intrusted to a -special authority. The re-election of the Landammann is universal; and -the office, though always filled by an annual selection, becomes almost -hereditary in a single family. - -Customs still exercise a considerable empire in these Cantons, and -the Landsgemeinde makes but few laws; there is none of the confusion -and uncertainty that come from a multiplicity of laws; a source to -which was imputed a great part of the miseries suffered by the Romans -at the time when “the laws grew to be innumerable in the worst and -most corrupt state of things.”[52] The people of these Cantons fill -the idea of Bacon, as to innovation, “to follow the example of time -itself, which indeed innovateth greatly, but quietly and by degrees -scarce to be perceived.” Changes in established institutions must be -considered in reference to existing interests, habits, manners, and -modes of thinking. In vain should we try to promote the common weal -by introducing alterations, however well designed, which have no -hold on the feelings of the people, or are at variance with them, or -which shock their deeply-seated prejudices. There are two different -considerations involved: the propriety of retaining institutions merely -because they have been sanctioned by our ancestors, or transmitted -to us through a series of ages; and the propriety of retaining them -because they are strongly settled in the actual habits, tastes, and -prejudices of the people. While it would argue extreme imbecility, -to spare cumbrous or hurtful institutions on no better ground than -the former, it is absolutely indispensable to pay a cautious regard -to the latter. The existing habits, tastes, and prejudices of the -community, equally with the universal properties of human nature, -are material elements of the politician’s calculations. They are all -sources of pleasure and pain, all springs of action which call, on -his part, for tender handling and accurate appreciation. There is -scarcely a question in the whole compass of politics on which there -is a greater unanimity among philosophers and statesmen than there -is on the policy of cautious and gradual, in opposition to rash and -sudden, reforms on the one hand, and to a pertinacious retention of -incongruities and abuses on the other. As to the improvements which -are to be introduced into a political system, their quantity and -their period must be determined by the degree of knowledge existing -in any country, and the state of preparation of the public mind for -the changes that are to be desired. A passage in the correspondence of -Mr. Jefferson contains a highly instructive exposition of his opinion -on this subject, expressed in his happiest manner: “I am certainly,” -says he, “not an advocate for frequent and untried changes in laws and -constitutions. I think moderate imperfections had better be borne, -because, when once known, we accommodate ourselves to them, and find -practical means of correcting their ill effects. But I know also that -laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the -human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened; as new -discoveries are made, new truths disclosed, and manners and opinions -changed with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance -also, and keep pace with the times.” It is well to stand fast in the -old paths; but the old paths should be the paths of progress; to -shrink from mere change for the sake of change; but fearlessly to -change, whenever change is really needed. All mountain races love the -past, and suspect new things. Their fundamental laws are few and slowly -formed; as slowly formed as they are stoutly held. The constitutions -of the Swiss Cantons were originally of the simplest forms of ancient -democracy. The old democracy, whether absolute or modified in form, -was always direct; modern democracy is, as a rule, representative. It -is obvious that the former presupposes great simplicity of life and -occupation, as in the small communities of mountain valleys; nothing -could render it consistent with the public peace, but the simple -habits of a people of shepherds and husbandmen among whom political -dissensions do not prevail. This substitution of the many for the one -or the few, of the totality of the community for a determinate portion -of it, is an experiment perhaps of insuperable difficulty, except for -very small states, and especially for agricultural or pastoral peoples. -The Landsgemeinde is only able, at most, to announce the general -opinion, to express its approval or its disapproval of a proposition -already known; but altogether incapable of deliberating seriously -on a projected law, or of solving the more complicated problems of -politics. On a wider field and with a more complex society, no such -polity would be possible. To a great nation with extended territories -and large population, the application of the federal principle is -necessary. Therefore in all but four Cantons of Switzerland this -primitive type of government has passed away. That it contains the -germs out of which every free constitution in the world has grown -cannot be denied. A cognate influence, if well considered, will go far -towards accounting for that prodigious resolution and success with -which the ancient commonwealths maintained their national rights. The -whole territories of the Athenian, Spartan, and Roman republics, -were originally but a single province; and the whole strength of the -province was concentrated in a single city, the embryo of their future -greatness, the nucleus around which all their subsequent acquisitions -were formed. Within the sacred walls of Rome and Athens, all classes -of citizens assembled like one great united family; they lived, they -consulted, they transacted business together, and together repaired -for public debate or religious devotion, for manly amusement, or -philosophical speculation, to the forum or the temple, the circus or -the portico. Virtuous emulation was roused, the force of public opinion -increased, and the importance of the individual in the general scale -visibly exalted. The Landsgemeinde is self-government in its noblest -reach and simplest form, where every man is legislator, judge, and -executive. What rare simplicity! No wrangling after power, no intrigue -after place, no lust for fame; one thought alone, to live just as their -fathers did, in perfect liberty, and fearing none but God. These simple -democracies in the Cantons of Switzerland, which have existed for a -thousand years, little touched by the stream of European life, deserve -our respect for their long history that is rich in many episodes, and -for the peaceful and happy existence of their people. They furnish -us with a bit of realistic political education, a successful working -example of the purest democracy in the world. It throbs with a vital -sense of government at first hands; every citizen a very live political -entity, and the sense of government very individual. Obstinately -conservative, with a profound disbelief in theory, they remind one -of the ox, which walks straightforward with a slow, heavy, and firm -tread. They take no stock in the fallacy, that a new system, political -or social, can be ordered like a new suit of clothes, and would as -soon think of ordering a new suit of flesh and skin. With sincere -satisfaction and pride, they are given to exclaim, “Thanks to our -sublime resistance to innovations; thanks to the cold sluggishness of -our national character, we still bear the stamp of our forefathers:” - - “So have old customs there, from sire to son, - Been handed down unchanging and unchanged; - Nor will they brook to swerve or turn aside - From the fixed, even tenor of their life.” - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -THE REFERENDUM. - - -The student of politics may always look with advantage to Switzerland -for the latest forms and results of democratic experiments. Federal -laws, decrees, and resolutions require the concurrence of both branches -of the Federal Assembly; but the process does not always end at that -point. Such concurrence is not adequate in all cases for them to come -into force. Article 89 of the constitution declares that “federal laws -are submitted to the people for adoption or rejection on the demand of -30,000 active citizens, or eight Cantons; the same is the case with -federal decrees of a general bearing, and not of an urgent character.” - -This is known as the Referendum, and is supposed to be derived from -the practice of the old Swiss Confederation, when the delegates of the -thirteen independent states of which it was composed had to _refer_ -to their governments for confirmation the decisions of the Federal -Diet. It is one of the most characteristic of Swiss institutions, -and is by far the most original creation of Swiss democracy. “The -Referendum looks at first sight like a French _plébiscite_, but no -two institutions can be marked by more essential differences. The -_plébiscite_ is a revolutionary or at least abnormal proceeding. -It is not preceded by debate. The form and nature of the question -to be submitted to the nation are chosen and settled by the men in -power, and Frenchmen are asked whether they will or will not accept a -given policy. Rarely, indeed, when it has been taken, has the voting -itself been either free or fair. Deliberation and discussion are the -requisite conditions for rational decision. Where effective opposition -is an impossibility, nominal assent is an unmeaning compliment. -These essential characteristics, the lack of which deprives a French -_plébiscite_ of all moral significance, are the undoubted properties -of the Swiss Referendum. It is a real appeal to the true judgment of -the nation, and the appeal is free from the coercion, the unreality, -and the fraud which taint or vitiate a _plébiscite_. The Referendum, in -short, is a regular, normal, peaceful proceeding, unconnected with any -revolution, any violence, or despotic coercion.”[53] - -The Referendum is a kind of substitute for the veto; it gives no power -to modify, no power to substitute; it is a pure negative. It does not -enable the electors to pass laws at their own will; it is a mere veto -on such legislation as does not approve itself to the electorate. It -is a veto lodged in the hands of a sovereign people. A question is -simplified as much as possible, and every citizen has the fullest -opportunity, from the public platform, or in the columns of the press, -or in private conversation, to advocate or deprecate its adoption; -and the entire enfranchised portion of the community is asked to say -“Aye” or “No,” as to whether the law shall become operative. It is a -reference to the people’s judgment of a distinct, definite, clearly -stated law. Under the Constitution of 1848, only such measures passed -by the Assembly as clearly involved constitutional changes were subject -to the Referendum. The jealousy of the Cantons, lest their own -civil and religious privileges should be invaded, and their fear of -influences, in the central government, adverse to their own sovereign -rights, demanded an unrestricted reference to the popular vote. This -was conceded in the revision of 1874, when the Referendum was extended -to all federal laws and federal decrees, “of a general nature and not -of an urgent character.” The matter now stands thus: no change can be -introduced into the constitution which is not sanctioned by the vote -of the Swiss people. The Federal Assembly, indeed, may of its own -authority pass laws which take effect without any popular vote; but -it is practically true that no enactment, important enough to excite -effective opposition, can ever become a law until it has received the -deliberately expressed sanction of the people. The words “decrees of -a general nature and not of an urgent character” have never received -even a quasi-judicial construction, either from the Federal Council or -from the Federal Assembly, the two organs supervising its execution. -There doubtless has been conflicting and arbitrary action taken under -it. The weight of opinion, as inferred from the line of precedence, -appears to be that resolutions are of a general nature, when they fix -permanent and obligatory rules, either for the citizens or the Cantons, -but not when they apply only to special cases. The whole detail of the -exercise of the Referendum is placed by the constitution, under the -regulation of the Assembly, and in June, 1874, soon after the adoption -of the constitution, a federal law was passed for carrying it out. All -laws and resolutions, on which the popular vote may be demanded, are -to be published immediately after their passage, and copies sent to -the governments of the several Cantons. Through the Cantons they are -brought to the attention of the Communes. The official publication -expressly calls attention to the “date of opposition,” or when the -period for Referendum expires. This period is ninety days, running -from the date of the publication of the law. The demand for a popular -vote must be made by written petition, addressed to the Federal -Council, all signatures must be autographic, and the chief officer of -the Commune must attest the right of each signer to vote. If, at the -expiration of the ninety days, the demand is found to have been made by -30,000 voters, the Federal Council fixes a date for taking the popular -vote; this date must be at least four weeks from the date of the notice -given by the Federal Council. The vote is “Yes” or “No,” and a simple -majority of those voting is decisive. Unless, however, the demand -for such a reference is made within the ninety days, the people are -presumed to have given a tacit assent, and the bill becomes a law, and -its execution ordered by the Federal Council. - -Under this peculiar institution, a condition exists, in which the -sovereignty of the people is no longer a speculative doctrine, but a -living reality; it makes a very direct and thorough democracy, and its -application has proven neither ineffective nor unduly obstructive. -Since the adoption of the Referendum, in 1874, there have been vetoed, -among other laws passed by the Assembly, the following: “Modification -of the right of voting,” “Bank-notes law,” “Indemnities payable to the -Confederation by citizens dispensed from military service,” “Political -rights,” “A law respecting certain epidemics,” “Appointment of a -federal secretary of education,” “Creation of a special secretary in -the federal department of justice and police,” “Granting an annual -salary of 10,000 francs for a secretary to the Swiss legation at -Washington,” “Exempting native commercial travellers from taxation -which those of other countries had not to pay,” “Power to Federal -Council to remove criminal cases from a cantonal to the Federal -Tribunal, when there is reason to suspect the fairness of the former.” -The only important laws sanctioned under the Referendum, during the -same period, are the “Marriage law,” “Factories law,” “Subsidies to -Alpine Railways,” and a general “Banking law.” Also three modifications -of the federal constitution respecting “Patent law,” “Capital -punishment,” and “Spirituous liquor monopoly.” - -At the time of the introduction of the general Referendum, one of -Switzerland’s ablest public men declared that it would be “the greatest -trial to which a republic was ever subjected.” It was apprehended by -some that it would invite, on the part of the populace, interference -with a prudent and independent direction of affairs. Others held it to -be scarcely consistent with the true theory of representation; that it -is of the very essence of representation that the representative body -should stand in the place of the people, possessing their confidence, -exercising their plenary powers, speaking with their voice and acting -with their full consent; otherwise the legislative function is wanting, -and it becomes a mere deliberative council. There is, however, nothing -to show that the Swiss Assembly from this cause lacks weight or -respectability; it compares favorably enough with the law-making body -in any country. It is the primary doctrine of the Swiss Confederation, -that the sovereignty of the people must be absolute, whether exercised -personally, as in some of the rural Cantons, or through their -representatives and the Referendum. This doctrine has been maintained -in Swiss institutions from the earliest time until the present day. So -elaborate a scheme for the passing of federal laws cannot be without -inconvenience; but it is a fundamental principle of the nation, and at -once satisfies the democratic traditions of the people and the natural -jealousies of the several Cantons. It is a true check and safeguard in -making the legislative power directly responsible to public opinion, -and in giving the nation an easy and simple opportunity of marking -that opinion; of testifying their disavowal and rejection. If it, as -alleged, produces a diminution of the feeling of responsibility in -the representative, that possible disadvantage is outweighed by the -educative effect which it exercises on the great bulk of the citizens. -It tends to give them a keener interest in political questions. Through -it the citizen becomes conscious of his individual influence, and -that his vote contributes appreciably both to the maintenance and -direction of the laws under which he lives, and he is impressed with -the necessity of a careful discharge of his political rights. - -To the confusion and dismay of the strongest advocates of the -Referendum, the measures which they most prized, when so put, have -been negatived. Contrary to all expectations, laws of the highest -importance, some of them openly framed for popularity, have been vetoed -by the people after they have been adopted by the federal and cantonal -legislatures. This result is sufficiently intelligible. It is possible, -by agitation and exhortation, to produce in the mind of the average -citizen a vague impression that he desires a particular change, but -when the agitation has settled down, when the subject has been threshed -out, when the law is before him with all its detail, he is sure to find -in it something that is likely to disturb his habits, his ideas, his -prejudice, or his interest, and so he votes, “No.” Thus it serves as a -guarantee against precipitate legislation in matters of vital concern -to the community; and is considered thoroughly successful by those who -wish that there should be as little legislation as possible. In short, -the Swiss experience with this popular veto on legislation is evidence -that, under certain circumstances, it produces good effects. It does -not hurry on a law, nor facilitate any legislation; it merely forms -an additional safeguard against the hastiness or violence of party; -it is a check on popular impatience. It secures the laws against any -change which the sovereign people do not deliberately approve. The -object of such safeguard is not to thwart the wishes of the democracy, -but to insure that a temporary or factitious majority shall not -override the will of the people. It tends to produce permanence in the -tenure of office; it is a distinct recognition of the elementary but -important principle, that in matters of legislation patriotic citizens -ought to distinguish between measures and men; and this distinction -Swiss voters have shown themselves fully capable of drawing. It is an -institution which admirably fits a system of popular government. It is -the only check on the predominance of party which is at the same time -democratic and conservative, as it has demonstrated. It is democratic, -for it appeals to and protects the sovereignty of the people; it is -conservative, for it balances the weight of the nation’s common sense -against the violence of partisanship and the fanaticism of over-zealous -reformers. - -The history of the Referendum in Switzerland confirms the fact that, -as a rule, the people are not favorable to legislation; and that -the necessity must be very great and the good ends aimed at very -manifest, to withstand a direct consultation of the constituencies. -The ancient republics hardly legislated at all. Their democratic -energy was expended upon war, diplomacy, and justice; putting nearly -insuperable obstacles in the way of a change of law. From fundamental -and permanent causes springs this legislative infertility in republics. -Changes are at once conservative and progressive; conservative because -progressive, progressive because conservative. The Referendum reserves -to the people, as the old Swiss expression ran, _höchste und grösste -Gewalt_, the highest and greatest power. The foremost statesman in -Switzerland, a member at present of the Federal Council,[54] calls it -_l’essai le plus grandiose qu’une République ait jamais tenté_, the -grandest attempt ever made by a republic. The constitutional provision -that when a certain number of voters demand a particular measure, or -require a further sanction for a particular enactment, it shall be put -to the vote of the whole country, certainly presents a considerable -future before democratically governed societies. Peradventure the -United States may realize the prophecy made by Mr. Labouchère in the -House of Commons, in 1882, that the people, tired of the deluge of -debate, would some day substitute for it the direct consultation of the -constituencies. - -The Referendum is practically in use in the United States for -constitutional amendments, but so far American publicists seem to -regard it quite out of place for ordinary laws, and allege that its -introduction would obscure the distinction on which the whole American -system rests. For this reason the growing tendency of the people, in -the several States, to take a direct part in legislation, even by -means of constitutional amendments, is regarded by the same school of -thinkers as a danger, which, if it goes too far, will be a serious -injury to the American theory of government. - -The principle behind the Referendum is as old as the Swiss nation, the -word coming from the usages of the old Federal Diets, in which the -delegates did not decide matters themselves, but voted _ad referendum_, -and submitted their actions to the home governments. The power to veto -an ordinary law made by representatives was established for the first -time in modern days, in 1831, in the Canton of St. Gallen. It was a -compromise between the party which wanted to establish pure democracy, -and the party of representative government. It is, however, only the -same old Swiss voter of centuries ago, telling his member of the Diet -to conclude nothing important without his consent. The demand of -50,000 electors to amend the constitution, or to repeal or to modify -an existing law, is called a “popular initiative,” and, when made, -the Federal Assembly must submit the question to a vote of the people -and the Canton. In every cantonal constitution, except Freiburg, the -right of the people to have all important legislation subjected in -some form to popular confirmation or rejection is recognized. While -general assemblies of the people in the Cantons to make the laws fell -into desuetude, popular franchise and complete freedom of election -were not enough to satisfy the democratic sensibilities of the Swiss. -They were still jealous of the plenary powers of their delegates, -and insisted that their deliberations when formulated into laws, -should be referred to the sovereign people. Previous to the French -revolution, the governments of the different Cantons had largely fallen -into the hands of a limited number of aristocratic families. The -laboring classes were crushed under enormous burdens by the nobility -in the rural districts, and by the rich _bourgeoisie_ in the cities. -Artificial barriers were placed about the freedom of commerce and labor -in the interest of these more powerful classes. The period of reaction -following the Napoleonic era was unfavorable to the development of -popular institutions. Since the cantonal revolutions of 1830 there has -been a general return to the principle known as the Referendum; and -after the federal Constitution of 1848, by which the constitution of a -Canton could only be revised on the demand of an absolute majority of -the citizens, the policy of extending the principles of the Referendum -to its fullest limits rapidly grew in favor. There are two forms of -Referendum existing in the Cantons, _compulsory_ and _optional_; the -one requiring the reference of every law passed by the Great Council -before it acquires validity; and in the other, a discretionary power of -reference is reserved to the people. The first is regarded as the more -practical and satisfactory; the chief objection to the latter being the -agitation occasioned in procuring the necessary signatures, producing -excitement, diverting the thoughts of voters from the real question at -issue, and thus giving an undue bias to public opinion, and a character -of partisanship to the resulting Referendum. - -The number of signatures required in the optional Referendum varies, -according to the size of the Canton, from five hundred to one thousand -voters, and the time within which it must be made, usually thirty -days from the passage of the law and its official publication. The -compulsory Referendum exists in the seven Cantons of Zurich, Bern, -Solothurn, Grisons, Aargau, Thurgau, and the Valais, and in the rural -half-Canton of Basel. In Schwyz and Vaud both forms obtain. In Zurich -a popular vote must be taken upon all changes in the constitution, new -laws, concordats, and the appropriation of an amount exceeding 250,000 -francs, or an annual expenditure exceeding 20,000 francs. The power of -the cantonal council in Zurich is further limited by the _initiative_. -Any voter, if supported by one-third of the members present at its -next sitting, or any 5000 voters, may demand the passing, alteration -or abolition of a law, or of a decision of the council. The optional -Referendum exists in the seven Cantons of Luzern, Zug, Schaffhausen, -St. Gallen, Ticino, Neuchâtel, Geneva, and the urban portion of Basel. -Generally speaking, laws, concordats, and sometimes resolutions of -cantonal councils are submitted to optional Referendum. It exists for -financial matters, in different gradations in other Cantons, from -500,000 francs in Bern to 50,000 francs in Schwyz. The _initiative_ as -to revision of the constitution prevails in all of the Cantons upon -certain conditions, and the demand of voters varying in number from -1500 to 5000; with the exception of Bern and Valais, where there is -no _initiative_. As before stated, Freiburg is now the only Canton in -which the sovereignty of the people is not thus directly exercised; -all the others, with the exception of those where there is still -a _Landsgemeinde_, possess either a _compulsory_ or an _optional -Referendum_; and in two instances both. A few Cantons have introduced -an _imperative initiative_, by petition from a fixed number of voters, -demanding action upon a certain matter by the cantonal council; -whereupon the council must take a vote upon it, and then submit it -to a popular vote, even if the action of the council upon it has been -unfavorable. - -This combination of representative institutions with the direct -exercise of popular sovereignty is well calculated to promote the -welfare of the people, occupying the peculiar position in which the -Swiss are placed. The discipline of self-government in the Commune, -and the training afforded by an effective system of popular education, -have qualified them for the practice of direct democracy. With the -Swiss legislature standing above the executive and judiciary, we might -call Switzerland a parliamentary republic, if it were not for another -power, which stands not only in the final theory, but even in the daily -practice, of the constitution, above the legislature. This power is -the people themselves. The Referendum shows clearly where the seat of -sovereignty in Switzerland is located. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE COMMUNES. - - -The lowest unit in the political system is that which still exists -under various names, as the Mark, the Gemeinde, the Commune, or the -Parish, the analogue of the precinct or township in the United States. -The communal system of Switzerland is peculiar in many respects, and -presents one of the most instructive lessons which modern political -life furnishes of the working of village communities. - -The Swiss Commune, speaking comprehensively, is a political and -civil division, standing midway between a political body and a joint -stock company: a corporation, in one sense, endowed with perpetuity, -and holding landed and other property; also a political entity, -embracing all the burghers for economical purposes,--that is, for -the administration and enjoyment of the usufruct of the communal -property; and embracing all the inhabitants for legislative and -administrative purposes, with a great variety of local exceptions and -limitations. The right of the Cantons and the several Communes to -modify these features results in endless divergencies. Being an area -of local self-government, and possessed, to a high degree, of freedom -in self-direction, the Commune is not far from being an independent, -autonomous entity, forming an _imperium in imperio_, both politically -and economically. Forming the simplest division in the Confederation, -still it is of vital importance; its personality to the Canton being -what the Canton is to the nation. It inspires with its common life, -not simply a life of political activity, but of common social and -economical interests. It is so intimately bound up with all existing -rights that its wishes are largely paramount in federal and cantonal -action. Having so genuine and vigorous a political, social, and -economical life of its own, in which the faiths, hopes, passions, and -duties of the citizen are involved, the Commune may be considered a -small republic with indefinite rights. - -The Swiss Commune is of very ancient origin, and claims to have been -founded on the idea that civic rights and freedom were disconnected -from mere birth or ownership of land, stress being laid instead on -quasi-corporate union; one of the many forms of the _gens_ or clan, in -which it is no longer a wandering or a merely predatory body; but when, -on the other hand, it takes the form of an agricultural body, holding -its common lands, and forming one component element of a commonwealth. -The independence of the Swiss Commune has survived from the days of -the primitive village community; that gathering of real or artificial -kinsmen, made up of families, each living under the rule, the _mund_, -of its own father; that _patria potestas_ which formed so marked and -lasting a feature of the Roman law, and is to-day respected by the -Confederation, designedly preserved by legislation, and jealously -guarded by the people. - -The integer of Swiss political society is not the individual, not -the household; the Commune is the Switzer’s ideal of a social and -political system. The Swiss Society of Public Usefulness, in a pamphlet -published in 1871, called “Souvenir de la Suisse,” with the purpose of -presenting the Swiss republic as a model to the French soldiers, who -at that time under Bourbaki had retreated into Switzerland, declares: -“Our laws proceed from this great principle, that our institutions are -truly free and popular, only in so far as our Communes are free; we -move from low to high, the Commune is the centre of our life, and there -can be no true development of liberty, except so far as it proceeds -from the Communes, from the centre to the circling lines, from the -simple to the composite.” Mr. Numa Droz, chief of foreign affairs in -the Swiss Cabinet, in his “Instruction Civique,” a text-book in the -Swiss public school, says: “The Commune is almost the state in a small -compass; to employ an illustration from natural history, it is one of -the cells of which the social body is composed. It is certain that a -much-developed local right contributes to the strength and prosperity -of the state. The Communes must have perfect liberty in rivalling one -another in their efforts to satisfy and advance the interests they -have in charge. So, care must be taken not to reduce them to a uniform -level, which would stifle all spirit of initiative, every desire for -improvement. The Communes were the first and principal nurseries of -democracy, and are still so in many countries. In their bosom the -citizens are best able of training themselves for public life, of -familiarizing themselves with administrative questions, and learning -how to deal with them. They are the natural nursery grounds, whence the -state legislators and public servants come. A citizen, reared in the -practical school of communal life, will always understand better the -popular wants than one whose political education has been obtained in -the offices of federal administration.” - -The commission appointed by the National Council to prepare a revised -constitution for the Confederation, in their report, May, 1871, say: -“The liberty of the Swiss Commune is justly considered as the school -and cradle of our political liberties.” - -The Swiss constitution expressly recognizes communal citizenship and -rights. In declaring that every Swiss citizen shall enjoy at his place -of residence all rights of the citizens of the Canton, as also, all -rights of the citizens of the Commune, it makes this reservation: “He -shall, however, have no share in the common property of citizens or of -the corporation, nor shall he exercise the right to vote in matters -pertaining purely to such affairs, unless the cantonal laws determine -otherwise.” It further provides that “No Canton shall deprive any of -its citizens of his rights, whether acquired by birth or settlement,” -referring to the citizenship derived from his “Commune d’Origine.” -Every child born of registered citizens becomes, by birth, a citizen -of the Commune, and thereby also a citizen of the Canton, and of -the Confederation. He shares all political rights, exercises them -according to established rule, is supported by the communal funds -when in distress, and assists in bearing all Communal burdens. He -is therefore fully entitled to every Swiss privilege, when his name -once stands in the communal register, and of these sacred rights he -cannot be alienated. All whose names are not thus registered are of -the “homeless” (“Heimathlosen”), a word of melancholy significance in -Switzerland. - -Membership of a Commune comes by descent or purchase; and marriage -confers on the wife the communal citizenship of her husband. In the -first, that of descent, the right of the Commune depends not on place -of birth or domicile, but on descent from parents who are citizens -of the Commune, even though they live outside of it. It is not unlike -the old Roman municipal law, which was also based on _origo_ from a -particular _municipium_. In the second, that of purchase, it is of the -essence of a Commune that the stranger should be admitted to membership -only on such terms as the Commune itself may think good. In every case -it is regarded as a privilege and an affair of sale. A man of any craft -or creed may apply for admission, but the Commune is the judge of -whether his prayer will be granted or not. More or less inquiry will -be made as to his antecedents, his ability to support himself, and -his belongings; but, at all events, it is a business transaction, and -the price varies according to the value of the communal property, the -age, condition in life, and number in the family of the applicant. So -much for a wife and each child; a boy is taxed more than a girl, for -in the course of time the one may add by marriage to the burden of the -Commune, and the other may lessen it by marrying into another Commune. -In some, the craft and calling are regarded; in a few, where they -are in part a congregation with a common faith in charge, religious -considerations may weigh more than any thought of worldly goods. A -foreigner is usually charged more than a native. In olden time this -discrimination extended to citizens of other Cantons, and the last -trace of this distinction was only abolished in 1871 by the Commune of -Lausanne. Some Communes are closed, but many remain open for additional -members. Under any circumstances, it is a privilege to be bought, and -the tariff varies from 50 to 5000 francs, or from ten to one thousand -dollars. This operates as a tax on Swiss citizenship, of which the -Commune is the necessary basis.[55] - -Originally, entrance into the Guilds, or _Zünfte_, was the only road to -citizenship in the Commune. These corporations or guilds had certain -monopolies and political privileges. It was a prominent feature of the -time that every mass of men, in any way whatever associated, was also -incorporated. They were necessary for the protection of the humble -burgher and infant industry against an unruly aristocracy, as well as, -in some cases, for the transmission of knowledge and skill. Without -them the cities would never have performed their high service in the -promotion of civilization, and the acknowledgment of the burgher’s -rights. The various trades were separated by these guilds, but within -them the employer and the employed had a common interest. Their effect -was to strengthen the rights of their members and to raise the dignity -of their masters. Under the reign of Henry I., surnamed the Fowler, -when that awful catastrophe came over all the central part of Europe, -the irruption of the terrible and ferocious Magyars, who swarmed -westward from Hungary, spreading horror and desolation wherever they -went, and Helvetia, being exactly in their course and unfortified -against such an invasion, suffered fearfully, he compassionated its -helpless condition and took pains to fortify the cities and towns. -The peasantry, however, were so attached to their free mountain lives -that often, in spite of all danger, they could not be persuaded to -come into the towns. So, in order to induce them to do so, Henry -conferred very many privileges on the citizens of the towns, and in -this way laid the foundation of the guild and burgher class. All the -members of the guilds had to be burghers of the particular Commune. -The systematic education and gradual development of the artisan class, -their progress in technical skill and in wealth, their privilege of -carrying arms under the banner of their corporation or guild, their -permanent connection with the interests and prosperity of the town, -all tended to awaken in the artisans a sense of their importance. -As the administration of justice became general, government became -national, and skill and knowledge were so diffused that no special -protection, by way of monopolizing guilds, was any longer deemed -necessary. In order to check the tendency of members of poor Communes -to establish themselves in more prosperous ones, a practice prevalent -when the property was held in common by all the inhabitants, there -was a close corporation constituted, called the Burgher Commune, to -the members of which the communal property was limited; the remaining -inhabitants being excluded from participation in it, as well as in the -local administration. It soon came to pass, with increased facility of -communications, that in most Communes the majority of the inhabitants -were not burghers. It was necessary to raise taxes to meet the public -expenditure, and it was not admissible that the burghers alone should -administer the Commune to the exclusion of all others who dwelt within -its limits. Hence in many Cantons there came to be a double Commune; -that of the burghers who kept their property and only looked after the -interests of their own members, especially of those who were poor; then -there was that of the inhabitants forming a municipality, embracing -the whole of the population and providing for the public service. The -former is known as the _Commune des bourgeois_ or _Bürgergemeinde_; -the latter, _Commune des habitants_ or _Einwohnergemeinde_. This dual -communal organism has given rise to much political contention, the -Radicals desiring to abolish all Burgher Communes and to establish what -is termed a “unique” Commune of all the inhabitants; but to this the -Conservatives of all shades are strongly opposed. - -There is no limit as to the area or population of the Commune. In -the Canton of Bern there are 509 Communes, the largest embracing a -population of 44,000, and the smallest 35; many have less than 200 -inhabitants. Some are rich and extensive, others are poor and small. -Rules and regulations differ, but each Commune is free and independent -in itself, subject only to the supervision of the Canton. - -Every Commune owns some land, some wood, and some water-right, in -common fee. These constitute the communal fund, in which each member -has an equal share. The allotment of land is so made that every one may -have a part in the different kinds, forest, pasture, and arable. Each -Commune manages its common property very much its own fashion, but from -the general similarity of their circumstances and conditions, certain -uniform methods pervade their management. It is with these general -features we will deal. All the Communes which have arable lands, allot -them among their members upon an equitable basis; consequently one will -see a large number of small squares of land growing different crops, -and resembling a checker-board; each one constitutes the share of a -member of the Commune; and one hundred and twenty-nine gleaners have -been counted in a field, thus subdivided, of less than six acres. A -large part of the land of each Commune is preserved as a common domain, -called _Allmend_, signifying the property of all. It means land which -is held and used, as the word itself indicates, in common; and by -common usage the name _Allmend_ is restricted in some Communes to that -portion of the undivided domain situated near the village, and which -is under cultivation. These common lands may be divided into three -general classes, forest, meadow, and cultivated land (_Wald_, _Weide_, -and _Feld_). Some Communes have in addition lands where rushes are -cut for litter (_Riethern_), and others where turf is cut for fuel -(_Torfplätze_). The economic corporation, which owns the _Allmends_, -is distinct from the political body which constitutes the Commune. -The right exercised by the Communes over their domain is not a right -of “collective ownership,” it is a right of “common ownership.” The -domain does not belong to a collection of individuals, it belongs to -a perpetual corporation. The individual has no share in the landed -property, but merely a right to a proportional part of the produce. -Then in some are the old burghers and the new burghers. The former -are the lineal descendants of those who were burghers for hundreds of -years, and they only own these lands in common; the latter are those, -or the descendants of those, who, having come in from other Cantons -or Communes, settled in the place, and have no rights of any kind in -the common land. The land may be common to all the old burghers of a -Commune equally; it is then said to belong to the Commune; or it may -belong to sections of the old burghers, as, for instance, to those who -reside in a particular class of families; and again these may hold it -either simply for their own use or for the promotion of some defined -object. The right of common, with rare exception, cannot be assigned, -transferred, or let, except to Communers; it is a right inherent in -the person. As a rule, the right belongs to every separate couple of -hereditary usufructuaries, who have had “fire and light” within the -Commune during the year or at some fixed date. The girls and young men -therefore very commonly keep their own little _ménage_, even though -they have to go to their daily work at other people’s houses; and if -they have remained the whole week away from their home, they come back -on Sunday evening to make “fire and light” in their habitations. A -young man when he marries can claim the right; this rule is extended -to a widow or orphans living together, and sometimes to every son who -attains the age of twenty-five, provided he lives in a separate house. -Natural children, whose parentage is known, may also claim their share. -To the communer, his native soil is a veritable _alma parens_, a good -foster-mother. He has a share in it by virtue of a personal inalienable -right, which no one can dispute, and which the lapse of centuries has -consecrated. It does not simply give its members abstract rights; it -procures them also in some measure the means of existence. It provides -a valuable resource for indigent families, and preserves them at least -from the last extremity of distress. It supplies the expenses of the -school, the church, the police, and the roads, besides securing to -its members the enjoyment of property. In a few Communes the wine and -bread, which is the fruit of their joint labor, forms the basis of an -annual banquet, at which all the members of the Commune take part, and -is known as the _Gemeinde-trinket_. - -In 1799 the Swiss republic forbade all partition of communal land, -declaring, “these lands are the inheritance of your fathers, the fruit -of many years of toil and care, and belong not to you alone, but also -to your descendants.” There are, however, indications of a tendency -in Switzerland--which stands alone in the world as a land that has -maintained both the free political institutions and the communal system -of property, of the times before feudalism--towards a disintegration -of the _Allmend_. Thus, in the Canton of Glarus, the commonable Alps -are let by auction for a number of years, and, in complete opposition -to the ancient principles, strangers may obtain them. A project -was recently submitted to the Grand Council of Bern, to facilitate -the dissolution of the Communes, and to allow of the realization -of their property by the members. It received little support, but -was significant of the existence of a sentiment that may some day -become formidable and aggressive. Common property still plays a very -important part in the economic life of the Alpine Cantons, but private -property is spreading considerably. Facilities for transportation, -the substitution of machinery for manual labor, the accumulation of -capital, and all the marvellous revolution and progress of industrial -life, have brought about conditions which render the system of -commonable lands no longer the best. Families can be supported without -this common use, and, in most cases, better without it than with it. -It might be shown that, when capital exists in abundance, this common -use is a hinderance to the greatest possible production of food for -the people. No system that has been assailed by such conditions has -ever been able to maintain itself. It will be no defence of it, to say -that it has hitherto been a good and workable system, and that the -long ages of its existence have proved it to be so. This is what might -have been said, and doubtless was said with truth, but without effect, -of every system, not only of agronomy, but of everything else that -was ever established in the world. This is the logic of sentiment, of -habit, of custom, of tradition, and of those who think that they have -interests distinct from and superior to the interests of the rest of -the community, and of those who cannot understand what is understood -by the rest of the world. It is, however, no match for the logic of -facts, and of the general interest, the public good. That must ever be -the strongest logic, as well as the highest law. If, then, this common -use of land should be overturned by capital, notwithstanding its long -history and all that may be said on its behalf, we may infer that it -was the absence of capital which brought it into being and maintained -it. The abolition of common lands, or _Allmends_, the disappearance -of communal property into private ownership, would not involve the -existence of the Commune or impair the value of its most salient -features. The Commune forms a distinct part of the state organism, as -constituted by the cantonal power; it is a society of citizens for -the purpose of exercising the rights of election, legislation, and -administration; it has functions, as to certain affairs, in which it -is vested with a certain autonomy; its institutions, estates, and -donations, within the limits of the cantonal constitution, being under -its exclusive authority and direction. It is as administrative units, -presenting an orderly and systematic arrangement, giving the population -an opportunity to exercise an immediate influence on affairs, and -quickly awakening the public spirit, that the Communes possess their -most essential importance. The reason that the republican system is -so firmly established in Switzerland is, that it has its roots in -these minute districts forming the principal forces of political -and administrative life. Freedom is best served by breaking up -commonwealths into small self-governing communities. They decentralize -the government. A free state is free, not so much because its executive -or even because its legislature takes a certain shape, as because its -people are free to speak their minds and to act as they choose, within -the limits of the law, in all matters, public and private. That is the -best form of government that best secures these powers to its people. -In Switzerland national freedom has grown out of personal and local -freedom. The Confederation is a union of independent Cantons, the -Cantons a union of autonomous Communes. Political life is localized, -centripetal, intense, expressing itself in social and civic forms. -The parts come before the whole, the smaller units are not divisions -of the whole, but the whole is made up by the aggregation of the -smaller units. Each stage--Commune, Canton, Confederation--is alike -self-acting within its own range. Many of the Cantons changed from -oligarchies to democracies, many rose from the rank of subjects to -the rank of confederates; in all, their institutions rested on an -ancient and immemorial groundwork of Communes; and whatever is new -in them has grown naturally and consistently out of the old. During -the time when the greater Cantons were aristocratically governed, -some by a hereditary class of patricians, others by the exclusive -corporation of burghers, communal liberty was retained as the basis of -the cantonal organization, and through its influence, the republic, -the political ideal of the people, had its deep root in the popular -character and customs; therefore the transition from an aristocratic to -a representative republic was easy and natural, when, in harmony with -modern theories, civil liberties were extended to all classes. - -Switzerland has 2706 Communes, divided as to nationality, 1352 -German, 945 French, 291 Italian, and 118 in the Grisons, where the -Romansch language is used. These Communes as an area of general state -administration serve for electoral districts, and as voting districts -for the Referendum. Their powers are numerous. They provide for all the -public services within their limits, much after the manner of a Canton; -they possess a sort of local police, which keeps order day and night -in their territory, is present at fairs and markets, having an eye to -the public houses, and watches over rural property. Other communal -officials maintain the public buildings, roads, fountains, look after -the lighting, take measures against fires, superintend schools and -religious matters, and supply aid to the poor both in sickness and -health. In the small Communes there is only a municipal council, -composed of not less than four, elected directly by the members of the -Commune in a general assembly (_Gemeinde-Versammlung_), one of whom -is made presiding officer and called the _Syndic_ or _Maire_. In the -large Communes there are two councils, one legislative and the other -executive. A greater or less number of Communes in each Canton form -a district, presided over by a _Prefect_ (_Regierungsstatthalter_) -who represents the cantonal government. The functions of the communal -assemblies extend to: voting the budget, receipts and expenses; the -determination and apportionment of taxes; the choice of president -and functionaries of every kind, with the right of controlling and -dismissing them; administration of property belonging to the Commune; -acceptance or modification of all communal regulations; foundation -of churches, charitable institutions, hospitals, school-houses and -prisons. The assembly or legislative council elects the communal or -executive council, and the president of this body is the chief official -of the Commune. Every citizen is eligible to the communal council, who -is domiciled in the Commune, and a qualified voter in the communal -assembly. The qualifications which entitle every citizen in the Commune -to vote in the communal assembly require that he must have attained -his twentieth year, be _sui juris_, in full enjoyment of the general -civil and political rights of the citizen, and be under no temporary -civil or criminal disability. Paupers and those who have not paid -their taxes cannot vote; those, too, who from intemperate habits have -been prohibited from frequenting public houses are not allowed to vote -during that probationary period. The principal matters assigned to the -supervision of a communal council embrace: the local police, including -residents and establishments in the Commune; guardianship, embracing -orphans and those not capable of managing their own property (for any -improvident citizen may be made a ward, and the control of his property -taken away from him); the poor, relieving them as far as possible from -the communal funds, and when this is insufficient, to seek voluntary -contributions; public instruction, appointing the teachers in the -primary schools and paying their salaries; levying taxes upon the -landed property, capital and revenue, for the administration of the -Commune, when revenues of communal property are insufficient. The habit -of borrowing money on the security of communal credit has obtained but -little footing; far from being disposed to spare themselves by throwing -burdens on their successors, they rather think it necessary to get -together and keep together a capital which shall produce interest, a -school fund, a poor fund, so the weight of annual taxation for these -purposes may be lightened. In general, every citizen of a Commune -must serve his two years in any office to which he is elected, unless -excused, from the fact that he is already filling some public position, -or that he is sixty years old or in bad health; every one takes his -turn of office, as he takes, in earlier days, his spell of school, and -in his later days, his spell of camp. Non-members of the Commune, if -Swiss citizens, by virtue of a constitutional provision, have within it -equal rights, excepting in respect of the communal property; nor can -they be subjected to taxes or other contributions than those imposed -on their own citizens. Every inhabitant of a Commune must be inscribed -at the police office, and be prepared at all times to show that he is -really a member of the Commune; if he removes to another Canton he -must be fortified with this evidence of his communal citizenship, or -he will not be allowed to remain. This regulation is strictly enforced -in every case, specially where the party is in any danger of becoming -a public burden. Every Commune, under this strict police surveillance, -is absolutely protected against being compelled to support the vagrants -or beggars of other Communes. The idea that it is the duty of the -Commune to take care of its poor, the unfortunate, and incapable is -firmly planted in the mind and breast of every member. They will try to -prevent an hereditary or professional pauper from acquiring a domicile -in the Commune, and to return to their own Communes shiftless persons -that are apt to need aid, but are ready to relieve every case of -destitution which fairly belongs in the Commune. - -The control of the Canton over the Communes in early times was only -nominal; it consisted in finding fault and proposing amendments that -were not adopted; any semblance of cantonal interference, in the way -of inspection and suggestions, being resented by the Communes. Of -later years there has been a gradual and systematic improvement in -the relation of the Canton and the Commune; and increased activity -of cantonal superintendence has effected a better management of the -Commune. The common funds as well as the common obligations have -been subjected to more efficient rules, without at all extinguishing -the principle of distinct communal management. Communal accounts are -referable to the Canton for investigation and correction. Where great -irregularities are discovered (which occurred once), the Canton has the -right to put a Commune under guardianship; a Commune might, indeed, -under certain circumstances be forced into bankruptcy. The Constitution -of 1874 largely extended this cantonal supervision over the Commune, -and modified many extraordinary powers hitherto exercised by it. Some -writers look upon the Commune as representing an “antiquated form of -corporation,” to which the modern era is opposed; a sort of mediæval -fraternity for the existence of which no plausible ground can be -found. Others still contend that the Communes form the true unities, -through which, by equilibration of the interests of each, the wants -of the whole are more wisely and effectively served. The republic of -Switzerland can largely trace its foundation, historically, to a free -communal constitution. It forms the solid foundation of the whole -organization. In the Commune, the citizen himself feels that he is -connected with his fellow-members by the bonds of a common ownership; -and with his fellow-citizens, by the common exercise of the same -right. With him the fair motto of the French, “Liberty, Equality, and -Fraternity,” is no empty formula inscribed on the tablets of public -documents. His liberty is complete, and has been handed down from -remote antiquity; equality is a fact sanctioned by all his laws; -fraternity is not mere sentiment, it is embodied in institutions which -make the members of the same Commune members of one family, partaking, -by equal right, in the hereditary patrimony. It would be unnatural -if he was not deeply attached to an administration in which he takes -so constant and essential a part. It is to him, also, the nursery -of independence, and the training-school for higher politics; not -controversial, office-seeking, electioneering politics, but politics -as including in one and the same comprehensive signification, as in -the vocabulary of a free country it should be, all the relations and -obligations of the citizen to the state. The rights and duties of a -citizen are themes of daily interest and discussion in the Commune, -and are taught in all its secondary and superior schools; every one is -instructed and encouraged to take a personal and intelligent interest -in what concerns the public weal, to be familiar with the public -business, to the interchange of ideas, and to the give-and-take of -civic life generally. He is taught that no man liveth to himself in a -republic, but every man has public duties, every man is a public man, -every man holds one high, sacred, all-embracing office, the office of a -free citizen. - -Switzerland, with its Communes, fully answers Aristotle’s definition -of a state, as “the association of clans and village communities in a -complete and self-sufficing life.” Small bodies are more closely united -and more vigorous in the pursuit of their end than large communities; -this results from their leading more easily to personal friendships, -and from the circumstance that, in a limited circle, men are brought -more frequently and immediately into contact with one another. By this -means their sympathetic feelings become more deeply interested in the -common welfare; they see more clearly that they are pursuing a common -object, and perceive the importance of vigorous co-operation on the -part of each member of the association. Amid so small a number, each -person feels that his single vote and exertions are of consequence, -and the thought of this excites in him a sense of responsibility, and -inspires him with a more lively interest in that government of which -he himself is an efficient member. Every man who fills a communal -station, however humble, is conscious that he is playing his part in -the presence of the whole miniature republic, and that his conduct is -every moment exposed to a minute and jealous scrutiny. By all these -circumstances public virtue is stimulated, corruption checked, mutual -sympathy heightened, patriotic zeal inflamed, and the union of public -with private interests clearly and substantially demonstrated. “It -is not by the consolidation or concentration of powers, but by their -distribution, that good government is effected. Were not this great -country already divided into States, that division must be made, -that each might do for itself what concerns itself directly, and what -it can so much better do than a distant authority. Every State again -is divided into counties, each to take care of what lies within its -local bounds; each county again into townships or wards, to manage -minuter details; and every ward into farms, to be governed each by -its individual owner. It is by this partition of cares, descending in -gradation from general to particular, that the mass of human affairs -may be best managed for the good and prosperity of all.”[56] - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -CITIZENSHIP. - - -In the old days of the Swiss Confederation, the days of the -_Staatenbund_, when no part of the internal sovereignty had been given -over to any central power, the citizen of any Canton was regarded -and treated as a foreigner in any other Canton; he was as strictly -a _metoikos_ as a Corinthian who had settled at Athens, having no -voice in the government either of the Canton or Commune into which he -removed. All Swiss citizens who settled in _Gemeinden_, or Communes, -of which they had not the hereditary burghership, answered exactly -to the Greek _metoikos_; being in every important respect strangers -in the places where they themselves dwelt, and where, perhaps, their -forefathers had dwelt for generations. Down to 1815, it was left to -each Canton to determine for itself the conditions under which persons -from without could settle and gain citizenship; and for the first -time, under the Constitution of 1848, a general law governing this -matter was adopted; and it was still further extended and elaborated -by that of 1874.[57] The good example of the United States, where it -had already been constitutionally provided that “the citizens of each -State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in -the several States,” was followed in the present Swiss constitution; -giving every Swiss citizen equal federal and cantonal rights, in -whatever part of the Confederation he may settle. The two higher -franchises, those of the Confederation and the Canton, are assured to -him at his place of domicile as fully as to a native thereof; but to -the lower franchise of the Commune he can be admitted only by a special -grant, or by the effect of some special cantonal enactment. Communal -questions, even including citizenship, are left to the legislation of -the Canton and of the Commune itself, the federal constitution only -providing that one domiciled in the Commune shall not be discriminated -against as to taxation. The mere fact of indefinite residence and -contribution to the local taxes no more gives one a right to communal -than it would to American citizenship. Membership in the Commune is -the determining factor of Swiss citizenship. Modern states generally -recognize nationality as a personal relation not mainly dependent -on place of birth or domicile, but on descent from members of the -nation and personal reception into its membership, place of birth and -domicile coming in to complete the notion. Midway between these comes -the Swiss principle of membership in the Communes, which forms the -basis of membership of the Canton (_Cantonsbürgerrecht_), and that, in -turn, of the Swiss Confederation (_Schweizerbürgerrecht_). Citizenship -in Switzerland is primarily an affair of the Commune, from which the -broader conception of citizenship in the Canton and the Confederation -must be reached. The “right of origin” is the great imprescriptible -right and muniment of Swiss citizenship, and the production of a -certificate of _Commune d’Origine_ secures the constitutional right -“to establish residence at any point in Swiss territory.” The lines -of distinction between these several conceptions are not clearly -presented, even to the minds of the Swiss themselves. - -Under Article XIV., amendment of the Constitution of the United States, -“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to -the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of -the State wherein they reside.” The two methods indicated in which -one may become a citizen of the United States are very simple and -intelligible; first, by birth in the United States;[58] and, second, -by naturalization therein. The only qualification as to either method, -applies to the first, requiring that a citizen by birth must not only -be born within the United States, but he must also be “subject to the -jurisdiction thereof,”--meaning that whole and complete jurisdiction -to which citizens generally are subject, and not any qualified and -partial jurisdiction, such as may consist with allegiance to some -other government. The process of naturalization, whereby one renounces -any foreign allegiance and takes upon himself the obligations of -citizenship, is equally simple, being effected by proceedings -under general laws prescribed by Congress; which is empowered by -the constitution “to establish an uniform rule of naturalization.” -The Fourteenth Amendment, in the clause above quoted, certainly -recognizes that there is a citizenship of the United States, and also -a citizenship of the several States; and that the two coexist in the -same persons. It is no longer possible to conceive of such a status -as citizenship of a State unconnected with citizenship of the United -States, or of citizenship of the United States, with a residence in a -State, unconnected with citizenship of the State. The States cannot -naturalize; the act of naturalization by the United States is the grant -of citizenship within the State where the naturalized person resides. -It is only in the Territories and other places over which the State has -ceded exclusive jurisdiction to the United States that there can be -a citizenship of the United States unconnected with citizenship of a -State. There are in the United States system: - -1. The several bodies of electors which compose the several States, in -their character of sovereign and independent political communities, -united as such by the constitution, and which are alone invested with -political rights and charged with political duties. - -2. The several bodies of citizens, which compose the several States in -their character of separate civil societies, each of which bodies is -immediately subject to the government and entitled to the protection of -the particular State to which it belongs, but does not necessarily have -a voice or share in the government, state or federal. - -3. The common body of citizens of the United States, that is to -say, the citizens of each State and Territory, as “entitled to all -privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States.” - -These privileges and immunities have always been construed to mean -such rights and privileges as are in their nature fundamental, such -as belong of right to the citizens of all free governments, such as -at all times have been enjoyed by the citizens of the several States -from the time of their becoming free, sovereign, and independent. -Recognizing the distinction between the inhabitants of a State and -its citizens, Mr. Caleb Cushing defines the latter as the “sovereign, -constituent ingredients of the government.” To the same effect speaks -Mr. Chief-Justice Waite in the United States vs. Cruikshank: “Citizens -are members of the political community to which they belong. They are -the people who compose the community, and who in their associated -capacity have established or submitted themselves to the dominion -of a government for the promotion of their general welfare, and the -protection of their individual as well as their collective rights.” - -The political community in a State differs from the civil community; it -is less numerically, but it comprehends special privileges. Membership -therein implies the possession, not only of the civil rights, but of -the privilege of participating in the sovereignty. Whereas membership -in the civil community alone implies merely the possession of the civil -rights,--_i.e._, the rights of personal security, of personal liberty, -and of private property.[59] Under the Articles of Confederation, -the States constituting only a league, citizenship of the so-united -States was a thing inconceivable; accordingly the only citizenship -then possible, as a legal fact, was citizenship of the State. National -citizenship was introduced for the first time by the Constitution of -1787. Still that constitution contained no definition of citizenship -of the United States. Under the provision that “the citizens of each -State shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities of -citizens in the several States,” a person going from one commonwealth -into another, acquired no other status than that held by the race or -class to which he belonged in the commonwealth into which he went. -The only sense in which a citizenship of the United States existed -was in the provisions where it appears as a qualification for office. -The phrase “citizen of the United States” is employed three times, as -to eligibility for the several positions of President, Senator, and -Representative in Congress. From the adoption of the constitution to -the time of the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment thereto, the -existence of such a thing as citizenship of the United States, in the -sense of a citizenship independent of the citizenship of the several -States, was hardly admitted. Then citizenship of the United States was -not primary and paramount, but secondary and subordinate; it was only -an incident of State citizenship. Story wrote in his Commentaries: “It -has always been well understood among jurists in this country that the -citizens of each State in the Union are _ipso facto_ citizens of the -United States.” Said Mr. Calhoun, in his speech on the “Force Bill,” -delivered in 1833, “A citizen at large, one whose citizenship extends -to the entire geographical limits of the country without having a local -citizenship in some State or Territory, a sort of citizen of the world, -such a citizen would be a perfect nondescript; not a single individual -of this description can be found in the entire mass of our population.” -Mr. Justice Curtis, in his dissenting opinion in the Dred Scott case, -took the position that citizenship of the United States was dependent -entirely upon citizenship of some one of the several States as such. -Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Curtis agreed that the power of Congress, under the -constitution, “to establish an uniform rule of naturalization,” was -simply the power “to remove the disabilities of foreign birth.” On the -other hand, Mr. Justice Marshall, in 1832, held, in the case of Gassies -vs. Ballon, that a naturalized citizen of the United States, residing -in any State of the Union, was a citizen of that State. Marshall and -Curtis, in their respective views, represented the difference which -obtained between the advocates of State rights and their opponents, -on the question of citizenship of the United States. By the adoption -of the Fourteenth Amendment this was all changed, and is now placed -beyond controversy. The principle is inverted.[60] Citizenship of the -United States now depends in no way upon citizenship in any State or -Territory, but merely upon birth in the United States, coupled with -subjection to the jurisdiction thereof, or upon naturalization. The -term “subject to jurisdiction,” must be construed in the sense in which -the term is used in international law, as accepted in the United States -as well as in Europe; and by this law the children born abroad of -American citizens are regarded as citizens of the United States, with -the right, on reaching full age, to elect one allegiance and repudiate -the other, such election to be final. If the Fourteenth Amendment -furnished an exhaustive and comprehensive definition of citizenship, -such children would not be citizens. That it does not furnish such -definition is intimated by Mr. Justice Miller in the Slaughter-House -cases, and by Mr. Justice Field in his dissenting opinion. In the same -cases it was decided that the privileges and immunities appurtenant -to citizenship of the United States were different and distinct from -those appurtenant to State citizenship; being merely those special and -limited privileges and immunities arising from the special and limited -scope under the constitution of the federal or United States authority. -The theory laid down in the Slaughter-House cases suggests a query as -to the converse. Cannot a person in a substantial sense be a citizen -of a State and at the same time not be a citizen of the United States, -the Fourteenth Amendment to the contrary notwithstanding? Is it not -within the power of a State to grant to an alien, residing within its -limits, all the rights and privileges enjoyed by its native-born or -naturalized citizens, so far as such rights and privileges are under -control of the State?--that is, to naturalize an alien to the extent -of its own exclusive jurisdiction, even to the extent of voting for -United States officials, thus practically making him a member of the -political community in the United States. Said the Supreme Court, -through Chief-Justice Taney, in the Dred Scott case: “We must not -confound the rights of citizenship which a State may confer within its -own limits and the rights of citizenship as a member of the Union;” and -Mr. Pomeroy, in his “Constitutional Law,” writes: “While it is settled -that the Congress of the United States has exclusive authority to make -rules for naturalization, it must not be understood that the States -are deprived of all jurisdiction to legislate respecting the rights -and duties of aliens. They may permit or forbid persons of alien birth -to hold, acquire, or transmit property; to vote at State or national -elections, etc. These capacities do not belong to the United States -citizenship as such.” It is true that the constitution of the United -States makes no one a member of the _political_ body, a capacity which -comes only with citizenship of the State; and therefore it confers -the right to vote upon no one. That right comes even to the “citizens -of the United States,” when they possess it at all, under State laws, -and as a grant of State sovereignty. The amendment, Article XV., -confers upon citizens of the United States a new exemption; namely, -an exemption from discrimination in elections on account of race, -color, or previous condition of servitude; and to the extent that, -should it be needful to protect this exemption, Congress may provide by -appropriate legislation. The Fifteenth Amendment endows the individual -with the potentiality of enfranchisement, not its actuality, and did -not absolutely make him an elector. It did not deprive the people of -the States of the discretion, in their primary capacity, to decide who -of their number should enjoy the political franchise. It simply forbade -them to adopt a particular rule of discrimination. - -The Swiss constitution goes far beyond that of the United States in -dealing with citizenship, and the rights, civil and political, thereto -commonly appertaining. It practically reverses the system as it exists -in the United States. There are no citizens of Switzerland and _ipso -facto_ citizens of the Canton “wherein they reside.” To the contrary, -“every citizen of a Canton,” the constitution declares, “is a Swiss -citizen.” In the words of an eminent Swiss writer, “The national -citizenship proceeds from below.” As to the electoral body, while in -the United States it is determined by the State, within the limitations -of the Fifteenth Amendment, in Switzerland, with the exceptions as to -communal corporate matters, it is fixed by the Confederation in its -organic law, with provisions clear and full. Swiss political active -citizenship is derived from above, proceeding from the Confederation, -and from this source descending to the Canton and the Commune. The -individual once admitted to cantonal citizenship, the Confederation -steps forward and invests him with its nationality, and asserts its -exclusive dominion over him as an elector, declaring he may take part, -in any place where he has acquired residence, in all federal elections -and votes. Coming from any part of the Confederation and taking up his -residence in a Canton, he may, after a residence of three months there, -enjoy in his place of settlement all the rights of a citizen of the -Canton; and with these, also, the rights of a citizen of a Commune, -except as to the common property and corporation. The Confederation, -under the constitution, is charged with fixing, by law, “the limits -within which a Swiss citizen may be deprived of his political rights.” -Swiss citizenship, as defined in the constitution,--“Every citizen of -a Canton is also a Swiss citizen,”--is far from being so accessible -as the simple terms of its definition might imply. It is a difficult, -tedious, and expensive process. As the cantonal citizenship precedes -the federal, so the communal citizenship precedes the cantonal. Every -Swiss citizen must belong to some Commune. He must possess a Commune -of origin, which in French is called “_Bourgeoisie_,” and in German -“_Bürgergemeinde_.” If not obtained by inheritance, then he must -purchase it at what the Commune sees proper to charge; only a few -poorer Communes having free admission, or at least with trifling fees. - -The foreigner, seeking Swiss citizenship, must first show that he has -resided in Switzerland during the two years preceding his application, -and that there is nothing in his relations to his native country -that will involve prejudice to the Confederation by his admission to -Swiss citizenship. These conditions being satisfactorily complied -with, he is granted by the Federal Council authority to be received -as a citizen of a Canton and of a Commune; and for which permit he -pays the Confederation thirty-five francs. The Federal Council, with -considerate regard for the serious undertaking of the applicant, -allows two years within which the permit may be used, and if, at -the expiration of that period, it be desired, will renew it upon -the payment of a small additional tax. On receiving the permit the -holder sets out to find communal citizenship, as the first essential -step. This, as described, is practically a matter of purchase. With -this acquired, he must supplement it with cantonal citizenship, and -of that Canton in which the Commune is located, otherwise it is of -no avail. The agreement for communal membership is always predicated -upon the favorable action of a Canton, and the consideration is not -paid until its action is had. The cantonal citizenship is the _pons -asinorum_,--it is the cap-stone, and the most difficult to secure. -The permit from the Federal Council is freely given; the communal -admission a question largely of francs, with some slight inquiry as to -character and condition; but the Canton considers the petition from -a different and higher stand-point. The Canton is not particularly -concerned about the applicant being able-bodied and possessed of those -qualities and conditions which insure contribution from him rather -than distribution to him from the common property of the Commune. The -Canton has regard to whether the applicant will be a desirable citizen, -and not to the material aspects which are paramount with the Commune. -It occurs, not infrequently, that a successful purchaser of communal -membership fails as a petitioner to pass the cantonal ordeal.[61] The -granting of a cantonal or communal naturalization without the previous -approval of the Federal Council is void; and the federal authority to -acquire citizenship is equally futile, until followed up by cantonal -and communal naturalization according to the laws of the Canton. This -involved process that hedges Swiss citizenship, and the cost of its -selection in a desirable Commune, have deterred many foreigners who -have taken up their permanent residence in Switzerland, from making -any attempt for its acquisition. The number of this class at present -is estimated to be nearly ten per cent. of the whole population; and -the Federal Council is considering the policy of amending the law, so -that naturalization may be more easily effected, in order to convert -a great portion of these strangers into Swiss citizens. When Swiss -citizenship is once obtained, by birth or naturalization, it is not -easily lost or set aside. In this the federal constitution determines -the conduct of the Canton, and does not permit it “to banish one -of its citizens from its territory, or deprive him of the right of -citizenship.” The “right of township or origin,” the highest and -firmest right of citizenship, is a sacred and imprescriptible right, -which the constitution places above any power to take away or impair. -By virtue of the constitutional authority of the Confederation, “to -fix the conditions upon which foreigners may be naturalized, as well -as those upon which a Swiss may give up his citizenship in order -to obtain naturalization in a foreign country,” a federal law was -enacted in 1876. It provides that “a Swiss citizen may renounce his -citizenship if he has no domicile in Switzerland, and if he is enjoying -fully all civil rights according to the laws of the country where -he resides, and that he has already acquired citizenship in another -country, or the assurance of its being granted for himself, his wife, -and minor children. The declaration of renunciation is to be submitted -in writing, accompanied by the required statement, to the cantonal -government, which will notify the respective communal authorities, -in order to inform such parties as are interested, and a term of -four weeks is fixed for presenting objections.” The Federal Tribunal -decides in such cases, where objection is made to the renunciation; -and in event of no objection being made, or if made and judicially -overruled, then the discharge from cantonal and communal citizenship -is pronounced and entered on record. This discharge includes Swiss -citizenship or denationalization, and dates from its issue and delivery -to the applicant; it also extends to the wife and minor children, when -they are domiciled or living together, and if no special exceptions -be made in regard to them. The widow or the divorced wife of a Swiss -citizen, who has renounced his nationality, and such children of a -former Swiss citizen, as were minors at the time of such renunciation, -may request of the Federal Council to be readmitted as citizens. -This privilege will not be granted to the widow or divorced wife, -unless the application be made within ten years after the dissolution -of the marriage; nor to the children, unless made within ten years -after attaining their majority. After the expiration of these -periods, the parties in either case must acquire citizenship in the -manner prescribed for aliens. The substance, indeed, the identical -phraseology, of this law was anticipated by the Federal Council in -its answer, made in 1868, to an appeal from the British government, -relating to expatriation and naturalization. The Council closed its -answer in these words: “The right of Swiss citizenship ceases only -with the death or by the voluntary renunciation, by the person who -possesses it, of his cantonal and communal right of citizenship, and by -the release which a competent authority, cantonal and communal, gives -him. But this emancipation from the ties which bind him to the state -is not granted until the proof exists, in due form, of the acquisition -of citizenship in a foreign country.” It is manifest that the entrance -to and exit from Swiss citizenship is by no means through a broad and -open door. The firm tie which binds him with “hoops of steel” to his -country is not loosed by the mere acquisition of citizenship in another -country; but proof must be submitted that he was under no disability -at the time of doing so, and that he is in the full enjoyment of all -the civil rights of his adopted country. In the event of a member of a -Commune moving to another Canton, who does not thereby divest himself -of his original communal citizenship, and fails to secure membership in -the Commune where he settles (for one may become a member of several -Communes), he assumes a citizenship of a twofold nature, and therefore, -as explained in the chapter on “Communes,” there exist in many Communes -two governments,--a citizens’ government and a political government, -distinguished as the community of citizens and the community of -inhabitants or settlers. This principle also results in a dual national -citizenship, and consequently conflicting claims of correlative rights -and duties. To provide against embarrassing contingencies that might -arise from this situation on the part of Swiss who have acquired -citizenship in a foreign state,--without the required formal and -expressed voluntary declaration of renunciation, with its equally -formal and expressed acceptance to render it valid,--the federal law of -1846 declares that “persons who, in addition to Swiss citizenship, are -citizens of a foreign country, are not entitled to the privileges and -the protection accorded to Swiss citizens, during their residence in -such a foreign state.” - -It is this imprescriptible feature of Swiss communal citizenship, so -deeply embedded in the public sentiment of the country and engrafted in -the organic law, that has stubbornly blocked the way to all efforts, -on the part of the United States, to negotiate with that country a -naturalization treaty. Such treaties of reciprocal naturalization -exist between the United States and all the European nations, except -the two absolute monarchies of Russia and Turkey, whereby it is -stipulated that domicile of certain duration and naturalization shall -be recognized by both parties as terminating the previous relation. To -repeated invitations from the United States to Switzerland looking to -the conclusion of a similar treaty, the same answer always came from -the Federal Council,--“The conception of the imprescriptibility of the -Swiss citizenship, closely interwoven as it is with the views of the -Swiss people, and recognized by various cantonal constitutions as a -fundamental right, would make it impossible for Switzerland to conclude -a treaty, whereby a citizen, after a longer or shorter absence, would -lose his Swiss nationality.” In fact, to accede to this request, it -would be necessary to obtain an amendment to the Swiss constitution, -asserting federal control over the question. At present there is no -Swiss citizenship except as it is derived from the Canton and Commune; -and the Confederation is powerless to deal internationally with it. -The Swiss contention that a Swiss who becomes a citizen of any other -country, without specific exemption under the law, is held to the -obligations of Swiss citizenship, does not distinctly embrace the -doctrine of return and domicile _animo manendi_ in Switzerland. The -Swiss Federal Tribunal has even asserted jurisdictional powers with -respect to Swiss naturalized and resident in a foreign country. - -The latitude given cantonal and communal officials in the construction -of the federal law of 1876, and the survival of a great body of -antiquated cantonal enactments and communal ordinances, which slowly -and reluctantly yield to federal legislation, complicate and render -almost impossible a compliance with its provisions. It has been held -that a renunciation, though presented in proper form, could not -be entertained, because the party was under “guardianship.” Not a -guardianship under which the law places a minor, but a guardianship -authorized by cantonal and communal laws; under which any improvident -adult citizen may be placed,--and these local officials are disposed to -classify under this head those who emigrate, and propose subsequently -to make a renunciation of Swiss citizenship, specially should any -inheritance fall to them in the Cantons or Communes. These persons are -coerced to return to Switzerland to obtain the possession and enjoyment -of such property; or by prolonged absence permit it to escheat, and -swell the common fund. Again, a very common ground of objection to -renunciation is the alleged fear that the party may at some time, in -the future, return to his native country and become a public charge; -and this is persisted on in spite of the assurance that he has become -a citizen, say, of the United States, a _bona fide_ resident therein, -invested with all the privileges and subject to all the obligations -pertaining thereto, and if from indigence, sickness, or other cause -he should become unable to maintain himself, he has a claim in common -with and to the same extent as other citizens of the United States in -the provisions made by law for persons reduced to that unfortunate -condition, in the State in which he might happen to reside at the time -of such contingency. In a recent case (1889), that of “Carl Heinrich -Webber (of Philadelphia) vs. The City Council of Zurich,” the plaintiff -had left Switzerland during his minority, and in due course of time -was naturalized in pursuance of the statute, and desired to secure -possession of his property in Zurich for purpose of transfer to the -United States. This was resisted by his guardian, on the ground that -while his renunciation in its preparation and presentation met the -requirements of the law, still he had left Switzerland without the -consent of his guardian, and therefore could not legally acquire the -domicile in the United States necessary for naturalization there. -This plea of the guardian was sustained by the Council of Zurich, and -Webber denied his property. On an appeal to the Federal Tribunal, this -decision was overruled, only on the ground that the guardian had given -an implied assent to the young man’s change of domicile; the court -adding that otherwise the plea, as made and sustained by the lower -court, would have been affirmed.[62] The judicial doctrine, which so -long obtained, that no one could expatriate himself without express -authority of law, has given way, in principle and practice, to the -natural and fundamental right to transfer allegiance, and that every -man should be allowed to exercise it with no other limitation than the -public safety or interest requires. The sound and prevalent doctrine -now is that a citizen or subject, having faithfully performed the past -and present duties resulting from his relation to the sovereign power, -may at any time release himself from the obligation of allegiance, -freely quit the land of his birth or adoption, search through all -the countries a home, and select anywhere that which offers him the -finest prospect of happiness for himself and posterity. This right -rests on as firm a basis and is similar in principle to the right -which legitimates resistance to tyranny. Two elements, each equally -important, enter into expatriation,--the one is emigration out of -one’s native country, and the other is naturalization in the country -adopted. All lexicographers and all jurists define naturalization in -one way. In its popular etymological and legal sense, it signifies the -act of adopting a foreigner and clothing him with all the privileges of -a native citizen or subject. This naturalization cannot do under the -Swiss contention; for the national allegiance of the Swiss cannot be -thrown off and another substituted in its place without the assent of -the sovereign holding the former. Naturalization in a foreign country -should operate, from the time of its completion, as an extinguishment -of the original citizenship; it should work absolute expatriation in -law as it does in fact. A citizen who has in good faith abjured his -country and become a subject of a foreign nation should to his native -government be considered as denationalized; leaving it to the law of -the land of his birth, whether or how he shall become repatriated. As -forcibly expressed by a former Secretary of State at Washington: “The -moment a foreigner becomes naturalized, his allegiance to his native -country is severed forever. He experiences a new political birth,--a -broad and impassable line separates him from his native country.” - -The right of expatriation is fully and positively established in the -United States, by an act of Congress, in these words: “Whereas, the -right of expatriation is a natural and inherent right of the people, -indispensable to the enjoyment of the rights of life, liberty, and -the pursuit of happiness; and, whereas, in the recognition of this -principle, this government has frequently received emigrants from all -nations, and invested them with the right of citizenship; and, whereas, -it is claimed that such American citizens, with their descendants, -are subjects of foreign states, owing allegiance to the governments -thereof; and, whereas, it is necessary to the maintenance of public -peace that this claim of foreign allegiance should be promptly and -finally disavowed; therefore any declaration, instruction, opinion, -order, or decision of any officer of the United States, which denies, -restricts, impairs, or questions the right of expatriation is declared -inconsistent with the fundamental principles of the republic.” - -Naturalization in the United States is a valuable privilege, which -is considerately granted to those who desire its advantages and are -willing to undertake its duties. The process is a decree of a court of -record, upon the satisfactory establishment by the applicant of his -lawful eligibility to the privilege of their nationality. The United -States cannot admit of qualified naturalization, subject to the consent -of the country of origin; nor can the United States Courts, in which -the judicial power of naturalization is vested, take cognizance of the -consent of a foreign state as a precedent condition to naturalization. -The admissibility of a change of allegiance in the United States, -without any co-operation or consent of the country of origin, is -plainly implied from the very statute itself; which requires conditions -of residence, of personal character, of publicity, and of abjuration -under oath of allegiance to every other government, and especially -to that of the country of birth, with sworn allegiance to the United -States. These are all indispensable for the completion of an act of -expatriation, and no more; and he who is in this manner endowed with -the nationality of the United States, thereby dissolves all ties of -native allegiance, and is clothed with all the rights and privileges -that pertain to a native citizen, and entitled to the same degree of -protection whether at home or abroad. - -Citizenship is an attribute of national sovereignty, and not merely -of individual or local bearing. It is a sacred right, full of grave -consequences, granted with solemn formalities, and its existence should -always be well defined and indisputable. Between friendly States, -naturalization and expatriation should be reciprocal; and with an equal -measure of obligation. Conventional adjustment is alone adequate to the -removal of the most prolific source of constantly-recurring friction -and tension, inevitable, in the absence of treaty stipulation. - -The persistency of Switzerland upon this question in a policy so much -at variance with all the liberal views of civilized nations, exhibiting -a stubborn conservatism and irrational disinclination to change her -laws to meet generally accepted principles and the requirements -of her external relations, might well subject the Swiss to the -characterization, applied at one time by Cobden to the English people, -as “the Chinese of Europe.” - -All laws controlling States in their relations with one another are the -slow result of growth, coming from an ever-increasing and ever-varying -necessity; rendering any assumption of logical consistency not only -impossible, but in many instances wrong, if not dangerous, to the -inevitable concurrence of doctrines demanded by general usage and -international amity. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -LAND LAW AND TESTAMENTARY POWER. - - -There can be no better security for the stability of the institutions -of a country than by enlisting a large number of the people in their -support, by giving them a stake in the prosperity of the soil. It is -the highest public interest that landed property should easily get -into those hands by which it can be turned to the best account; that -the title to property in land should be sure and incontestable; and -that there should be no legal obstacle to the subdivision of land, -when the natural economy tends to it, so that the number of small -land-owners shall not be artificially reduced by imperfection in the -law. The larger the number of land-owners in a country, the more who -have an interest in the soil they till, the more free and independent -citizens there are interested in maintenance of public order. There -is no ballast for a man like that of having a little earth, his own, -about his feet. Cultivating his own field, growing a part of his -food-supply, lodged under his own roof,--these make life pleasanter -and labor lighter. The thoughts, feelings, lives of those who live -under these conditions are of a higher order than the thoughts, the -feelings, the lives of those who do not. Property is the essential -complement of liberty. Without property man is not truly free. Whatever -rights the political constitution may confer upon him, so long as he -is a mere tenant he remains a dependent being; a free man politically, -he is socially but a bondsman. There is no country in Europe where -land possesses the great independence, and where there is so wide a -distribution of land-ownership, as in Switzerland. The 5,378,122 acres -devoted to agriculture are divided among 258,639 proprietors, the -average size of the farms throughout the whole country being not more -than twenty-one acres.[63] The facilities for the acquisition of land -have produced small holders, with security of tenure, representing -two-thirds of the entire population. There are no primogeniture, -copyhold, customary tenures, and manorial rights, or other artificial -obstacles to discourage land transfer and dispersion. No entails -aggregating lands and tying them up, so that no living person shall -be full owner, but a mere tenant for some unborn child. No family -settlements with “tenants in common in tail,” with “cross-remainders in -tail,” till some tenant-in-tail reaches the age of twenty-one years, -when he may be able with the consent of his father, who is tenant for -life, to bar the entail with all the remainders. There is no belief, -in Switzerland, that land was made to minister to the perpetual -elevation of a privileged class; but a wide-spread and positive -sentiment, as Turgot puts it, that “the earth belongs to the living, -not to the dead;” nor, it may be added, to the unborn. The natural -forces of accumulation and dispersion are not hampered by ninety-nine -years building leases, perpetual and irredeemable rent, or heavy -expense of conveyance; but are in every way encouraged, simplified, and -facilitated by the laws federal and cantonal. The wars of the fifteenth -and sixteenth centuries exercised, indirectly, considerable influence -on Swiss land tenure, by breaking up the large properties--monastic, -conventual, and private--which had for some time been steadily -augmented; and produced a reaction in favor of gradual redistribution. -This wider dissemination of land among the people was carried on -without rudely shocking or violating proprietary rights, as far as the -few recalcitrant owners permitted it to be done; certainly with not a -tithe of the legislative injustice or coercion, with which a greater -part of these accumulations had been made. It is from this period that -the existing system of land tenure in Switzerland may be said really -to date. The feudal rights asserted by certain Cantons over others, -which took the form of landed charges, were all swept away at the -time of the setting up of the Helvetian Republic, in 1798. Since the -commencement of this century, and especially since the constitutions -of 1830 were framed, the land throughout the whole of Switzerland has -been completely emancipated,--the system of peasant proprietorship -working side by side with that of small tenant farmers. The survival -of the Commune, intact with its various property rights in fee-simple -and usufruct, does not conflict with or impede the general tendency to -discourage the centralization of landed property in the hands of the -few. For it has come to be axiomatic with the Swiss that the effort to -acquire land is the mainspring of the life of the peasant, the root -of his industry, of his painstaking, frugal, and saving life. The -solid, sterling elements of the Swiss peasant’s character are traced -by all the native writers to their source in the educative power of -property,--property in land. - -There exists no federal land code in Switzerland. Contracts relating -to the sale and purchase of lands, easements, and mortgages are -governed by the law of each Canton. In general, all questions as to the -devolution of property, by will or upon intestacy, are regulated by the -Cantons, and not within the competence of the Confederation. There is -an official survey containing a plan of each Commune, with the parcels -of land, their areas, annual values, and peculiarities indicated, of -which any one may have a copy under a fixed schedule of charges. The -federal code of obligations, adopted in 1861, contains twenty-five -articles relating to leases of land. It was claimed at the time of the -passage of this law, by some of the ablest lawyers, to be an assumption -by the government of a very doubtful power, an interference with the -ownership of the soil, and the infringement of an exclusive right -guaranteed to the Cantons. The friends of the measure contended that -its provisions did not involve the title or ownership of realty, but -only had to do with the rights of persons, which clearly fell within -the competency of the Federal Assembly. This view obtained. While -it is difficult to examine this elaborate act and its far-reaching -provisions, without a conviction that it bears a very close and strong -relation to the ownership of soil, in the popular apprehension of that -term, still its satisfactory operation has silenced all opposition, -and it is now believed to be accomplishing desirable ends that could -not otherwise be so efficiently done. It may be of interest to note -some of the leading provisions of this law. All contracts for leases -are required to be written. If the farm be delivered to the tenant -in a condition unsuitable for the purpose for which it was rented, -the tenant may renounce the lease. If deteriorations or restrictions -not mentioned in the covenant take place, without the tenant’s fault, -he may demand proportionate reduction of rent or renounce the lease, -if proper restitution is not made within a reasonable time. Urgent -repairs of any kind, required during the lease, are to be made by the -tenant. The lessor has the right to retain all the movables belonging -to the farm, as security for the payment of his rent, for the past -current year. This, however, does not include effects, which, under -the laws relating to debt and bankruptcy, are exempt from execution. -The lessor has the right to appeal to the authorities to compel a -tenant, who threatens to abandon the farm before paying the rent, to -leave property behind him on the place in value sufficient to cover the -amount due. A tenant cannot be relieved from rent when, through his own -fault or even from any accident in which he was directly concerned, -he is unable to enjoy the use or benefit of the lease. If implements, -stock, etc., are included in the lease, each party must furnish the -other with a specific inventory duly subscribed, with an estimate of -their value. The lessor must bear the expense of any repairs, on a -large scale, which may become necessary during the lease, as soon as -he receives notice of such from the tenant. The tenant must make a -conscientious use of the land, according to the stipulations of the -lease, and especially to keep it in a good state of cultivation. The -tenant cannot alter the existing mode of cultivation or cropping to -the damage of the land or the prejudice of a subsequent lease. He must -conform with all local laws and customs as to paths, foot-bridges, -ditches, dikes, hedges, roofs, aqueducts, etc., and must replace all -implements and tools of small value which may have become worn out. -The tenant cannot underlet without consent of landlord, regardless of -duration of lease. In absence of special agreement as to payment of -rent, it must be paid according to the local custom, and in event of -extraordinary accident by which he loses a considerable portion of -his year’s product, if in no way due to any fault on his part, and -if not covered by insurance, or taken into consideration in fixing -the rent, he may demand a proportionate reduction. In the absence of -agreement or well-defined custom, each party has the right to give the -other notice, which as to the land must be at least six months before -the 11th of November. With this notice in cases of long leases, where -circumstances arise to render its continuance intolerable to either -party, it may be terminated, with an equitable indemnity to the other -party; this indemnity, even when referred to the courts for adjustment, -must not be less than one year’s rent. If, on the expiration of the -lease, the tenant remains in possession with the landlord’s knowledge -and without his objection, the lease will continue in force from year -to year, until the six months’ notice is given by one of the parties. -When a tenant fails to pay his rent at the time it falls due, the -lessor may give him notice that if not paid within sixty days the lease -will be cancelled; in that event the tenant loses his right to the -growing crops, but he must be reimbursed for the expenses incurred in -their cultivation, to be credited on arrears of rent. The lessor has -the right to cancel a lease when the tenant neglects to keep the farm -in good order; or if, after receiving notice, he fails to execute any -necessary repairs within the period designated by the landlord. In -event of a tenant’s bankruptcy, the lease expires _ipso facto_, when -such bankruptcy is declared. At the expiration of a lease the tenant -must hand over the farm and everything specified in the inventory, just -as they are at the time of delivery, with indemnity for any injury -resulting from want of proper care on his part; and no compensation is -due him for improvements merely the result of ordinary care. The tenant -must leave on the land the straw and manure of the preceding year; if, -however, it exceeds what he received when taking possession, he can -claim compensation for the difference. The outgoing tenant, at the -expiration of the lease, has the right to compensation for any increase -on the original valuation of the farm which is the fruit of his labor -and outlay; this is sometimes ascertained to a nicety by means of a -system of chemical testing of the soil. - -It seems almost incredible that a federal law should be so -circumstantial, rather than lay down the general principles upon -a question of the lease of land and leaving it to the Cantons or -Communes to supply the details, in conformity with the varying local -elements that must enter into it, from the great diversity of soil, -products, and customs. This law is but another illustration of that -patient and minute exactness which distinguishes all Swiss federal -legislation, aiming to cover every possible contingency that may arise -of construction or enforcement. - -It is to the cantonal civil codes we must turn for the body of the land -laws. These codes appear to be derived from three distinct sources, -corresponding with the ethnical division of the people,--the Roman, -the Old Germanic, and the Napoleonic codes. The Cantons of Geneva, -Neuchâtel, and the western portion of the Canton of Bern, known as -the Jura-Bernois, have the code Napoleon almost in its entirety. The -codes of Vaud, Freiburg, Valais, and Ticino are based on the old Roman -law, harmonized in some features with the code Napoleon. The Cantons -of St. Gallen, Appenzell, Uri, Schwyz, Obwald, Glarus, and Basel-Stadt -are still governed by ancient statutes or customs, without any defined -codes. The remaining Cantons, constituting what is known as German -Switzerland, have their land laws framed on the old Germanic code, with -an admixture of the code Napoleon. There were no cantonal land codes -previous to 1819; the oldest one, that of Vaud, dates from that year. -A summary of the law, in a few of the representative Cantons, will be -sufficient. - -Bern has two separate codes; the western or Jura district having -adopted the code Napoleon, while the other portion of the Canton -still adheres to the old Germanic code, with some alterations and -improvements grafted on to it. The sale of land is absolutely free and -unrestricted; the only formality consisting of a contract drawn up and -signed by both parties and deposited at the cantonal registry office, -for which there is a small registration fee, divided between the Canton -and Commune. The ordinary duration of an original lease is from five to -ten years. The lessee is in no way bound to any particular rotation of -crops, and any attempt to exhaust the soil unfairly is very unusual. -The outgoing tenant must deliver to his successor the farm in no worse -condition than that in which he found it; and if the requisite amount -of manure, etc., is not forthcoming, he must replace the deficiency. -Only one-third of the landed property is at the absolute disposal -of the testator, the remaining two-thirds must be divided in equal -portions among the children. The only way a testator may favor a child -is to bequeath to him that portion (one-third) which the law allows him -to dispose of _ad libitum_, as an addition to his distributable share. -Should, however, the wife survive her husband, she enjoys the absolute -use of all of his property for her life, with no power to alienate or -deal with it in any way, save with the consent of the Committee of -Wards, a body to be found in every Bernese Commune. Failing of wife -or children, the property is divided equally among the heirs at law, -should there be no will disposing of the available one-third. There is -an exception, not embodied in the code, but founded in an immemorial -custom, which prevails in the extensive valley of the Emmenthal, where -the youngest son inherits by right all the landed property at the -decease of both parents, subject to an annual indemnity paid to his -brothers and sisters, who in this way hold a preferred lien on the -land. The origin of this custom is thus explained: Motives of safety -formerly induced the proprietors of land to live within the walls of -Bern, where they had their house and establishment, which passed to -the eldest son, instead of land. The custom has held together the -exceptionally large farms in this valley, some running up to a hundred -and fifty acres each. - -In the Canton of Vaud the sale and acquisition of landed property are -as unrestricted as in that of Bern. One-half of it is at the disposal -of the testator, the other half must go to the children in equal -proportions. Failing of issue, and if the deceased dies intestate, and -be unmarried or a widower, his brothers and sisters succeed to half -of the property and his parents to the other half. If none of these -members of the family survive, the property is divided equally among -the ascendants in the paternal and maternal line. In this Canton, -where the breeding of cattle forms so important an industry, certain -legislation closely allied to the occupation of the soil is worthy of a -passing notice. This is known as _Cheptel_,--the contract by which one -party undertakes to supply another with a certain number of cattle to -tend and feed under specified conditions. The _Cheptel_ is of several -kinds. In one, the hirer has the right to the milk, work, and manure of -the cattle, the increase and loss being equally divided. It is illegal -for the two parties to enter into any contract by which the hirer -undertakes to bear all losses. Then there is _Cheptel à moitié_,--where -two owners of cattle, who do not possess a sufficient number to lease -them, each on his own account, join together and lease their stock to a -third party, sharing the profit and loss with him on the same condition -and terms as in the case first described. The third class of _Cheptel_ -is where the tenant farmer rents the landlord’s cattle in conjunction -with the farm, on the condition of his taking all risks, and that -when the lease expires he shall leave behind a herd of cattle of the -same value as that at which the original herd was estimated; all the -profits from these cattle go to the farmer until the lease expires; -the manure, however, belongs to the farm, and must be used for its -exclusive benefit. - -In the Canton of Basel the testator can only dispose of that part of -his estate which falls to his heirs. If those heirs be children, he may -by will deprive them of at most one child’s interest or share, not in -any case to exceed the fourth part of the entire estate. If the heirs -be parents, he can dispose of one-half of the estate, or more by the -assent of the latter, written and properly authenticated. If the wife -survives, she is entitled, in the absence of a marriage settlement, -to two-thirds of the estate. A marriage settlement may entirely annul -the operation of the community of property which otherwise prevails. -In this case the entire estate of the deceased husband or wife falls -to the heirs. Sons and daughters share alike. Brothers and sisters are -regarded alike whether both or only one of the parents are the same. -In the absence of descendants, parents share equally as heirs; if one -of the latter is deceased, the survivor takes the whole. Descendants -of a deceased heir, who are within the fifth degree of consanguinity, -share equally the part which would have fallen to their ancestors. -Illegitimate children inherit from the mother, but not from the father, -unless legitimated by marriage of the parents. - -In the Canton of St. Gallen a testator, in case he leaves but one -child, can dispose, by a will or otherwise, of one-half of the -property; if two children, only one-third; and if three or more, not -more than one-fourth. In event of having no legal heirs, he may dispose -of three-fourths of his property, the remaining one-fourth passing to -the Canton. If the heirs be father, mother, or other near relations, -he is not permitted to dispose by will of more than one-half. If there -are relations beyond that degree, and within the tenth degree, he -may dispose of two-thirds. If the wife survives, she is entitled to -one-half the estate; however, if there be children also, then the wife -takes only a child’s part. Sons and daughters share alike, with this -modification: the sons have the preference of the real estate; tools -and implements, if they are mechanics; books or libraries, if they are -professional men; for which, however, they must pay a fair price to the -other heirs. Two per cent. of all property disposed of by will goes to -the Canton. Any person eighteen years old and of disposing mind may -make a will. Every will must be attested by three witnesses, two of -whom must be able to write their names. A woman’s property brought into -the marriage remains her property; the interest only to be appropriated -by the husband for the benefit of the family. - -In the Canton of Zurich there is no limitation as to right of testator -to dispose of his property by will, except as to interest of surviving -wife. When the wife survives she is first entitled to withdraw the -property she brought into the marriage, also the household furniture, -in case it does not exceed one-fourth of the net estate; and if there -be children, she takes the usufruct of one-half of the estate, or the -fee-simple of one-eighth; if there be no children, but parents of -the deceased living, she takes the usufruct of the whole estate, or -fee-simple of one-fourth; if only grand-parents living, the fee-simple -of one-half and the usufruct of the other half. If the wife marries, -the usufruct is reduced one-half. As to sons and daughters,--in -the father’s estate the sons have a preferred right to take the -real estate, with the appurtenances, against payment of a moderate -valuation; sons also have a preferred right to take the property -pertaining to the paternal industry, such as tools, professional -implements, cattle, etc., without, however, any deduction from the -actual value thereof; sons take without compensation the paternal -wardrobe, arms, outfit, and seal. Family records go to the oldest son -without charge. The common paternal inheritance is divided equally -among sons and daughters. In the maternal estate the clothing, house -linen, and washing utensils go to the daughters without charge; also -the jewelry, valuables, and savings of the mother, if they do not -exceed in value five-one-hundredths of the estate, any excess over that -must be paid for by them. The common maternal inheritance is divided -equally, but the sons have the preference of the real estate, against -payment of its full value. - -In the Canton of Geneva the code Napoleon, or _Code Civil Français_, -substantially exists, that Canton having been a part of the French -_Département du Léman_ from 1798 to 1814. - -The notion of family co-proprietorship prevails extensively in the -German Cantons, and testamentary power is much limited. In 1865 the -Canton of Appenzell relaxed so far as to decree that it was an anomaly -in this day of advanced civilization that a free citizen who enacted -laws for himself (referring to the Landsgemeinde of the Canton) -should be fettered, as in the benighted times of the past, in his -testamentary powers, and that, therefore, he should thenceforward have -the right to dispose by will of _one-fiftieth_ of his property, if he -had children, and of _one-twentieth_ if he had none. In the Canton -of Zurich, previous to the Bluntschli’s code, those who had children -were obliged to leave them all their property, and, failing of issue, -the relations, of whatever degree, had a right to their legitimate -share. In Glarus the consent of the heirs is necessary before the -smallest legacy can be made by the testator. In the Canton of Nidwald -the question of the validity of a legacy is submitted to a jury, who -are empowered to decide whether such legacy is just and in conformity -with the position of the testator, the testator’s children, and the -legatee. The three Cantons of Schaffhausen, Thurgau, and the Grisons, -which place restrictions on the free disposal of inherited property, -are more liberal as to acquired property. In Southern Switzerland, -except in the Cantons of Freiburg and Valais, the law goes so far -as absolutely to forbid special contracts made with regard to -successions,--except in the case of husband and wife,--so that the -testamentary power may remain free and untrammelled as to all property -at the disposal of the testator when he comes to die. There is a -manifest tendency to facilitate the disposal by will of property in -general, in view of the more extended movements of the population, and -the consequent dispersion of family. The laws of enforced succession -are being gradually modified or repealed. In point of fact, the Swiss -laws make little or no distinction between real, personal, and mixed -property in connection with testamentary power, and there is a vast -dissimilarity in the legislation and practice of the several Cantons. -Through all the varying degrees, in almost every Canton, there will -be found some limitation to parental freedom of bequest intervening -for the protection of the child. In some a distinction is made -between inherited and acquired property, but it is the same principle -asserting itself, the “_légitime_,” the portion secured by law to the -heir,[64] over which the testator is forbidden to exercise the power of -disposition, and under the term “children,” by some cantonal codes, are -included descendants of whatever degree, who, however, take together -as representatives of the stock from which they spring. No such -thing as a law of entail exists in any Canton. In reference to these -restraints on the power of bequeathing property by will, which at one -time existed in all the continental states, and in France restricted -within the narrowest limits, Adam Smith wrote: “By interfering to so -extreme an extent in the disposal of a man’s property, it lessens the -motives to accumulation; while, by rendering the children in a great -measure independent, it weakens the parental authority, and has the -same mischievous operation over an entire family that the law of entail -has over a single child. This, however, is not its worst effect. This -and every similar system inevitably tends to occasion too great an -increase of agricultural population, and to reduce landed property into -portions so minute that they neither afford sufficient employment to -the families occupying them nor allow of their being cultivated and -improved in the best and most efficient manner.” A few Cantons have -become alarmed at this infinitesimal subdivision of their soil, as -prejudicial to agricultural enterprise and causing emigration to take -place from the pastoral districts. The Cantons of Aargau, Thurgau, -and Solothurn have passed laws fixing the limit to the subdivision -of land at a minimum ranging from five thousand to twenty thousand -square feet. The excess to which subdivision may run is illustrated in -the Canton of Bern, where a case is reported of a cherry-tree in the -Oberland found to belong to seven different proprietors; and it is also -related that the people of that section are distinguished for being so -stiff-necked in sticking for their rights that an article of furniture -has been known to be sawed into so many parts that each member of a -family might have his share. Notwithstanding the opinion of political -economists, the Swiss know that this subdivision has worked as an -efficient auxiliary in making their soil a source of national comfort -and well-being, and a barrier against land accumulation to prop up a -ruling class, so common in many of her neighbors. No sort of social -distinction or political privilege is associated with land-ownership in -Switzerland. The cultivator, who, as a rule, is the proprietor,--for it -is rare to find a farm which is not worked by the owner,--is shorn by -neither rent nor taxes. The land fulfils its duty and guarantees the -tiller a fair enjoyment of the produce, a fair share in the sheaves -he reaps. Poets, historians, and philosophers, who love to dwell on -the simple virtues of the children of nature, find their Utopia in -Switzerland, where the households, each with its little tract of land, -represent a larger proportion of the population than can be found -in any other country. This distribution of small properties among -the peasantry forms a kind of rampart and safeguard for accumulated -property in other forms. It may be called the lightning conductor that -averts from society dangers which might otherwise lead to violent -catastrophes. The concentration of land in large estates among a small -number of families, is a sort of provocation of levelling legislative -measures. There are no influences more conservative, or more conducive -to the maintenance of order in society, than those which facilitate -the acquirement of property in land by those who cultivate it,--“’Tis -wonderful sweet to have something of one’s own.” - -There is no influence fraught with more danger than that which -concentrates the ownership of the soil in the hands of the few, by -impediments, legal or fiscal, to prevent lands freely passing from -the hands of the idle into those of the industrious. Neither extreme -poverty nor extreme opulence is the thing to be desired. Pauperism and -plutocracy alike are the parents of vice in private and revolution -in public life. The genius of revolution truly exclaims, “With -wings twain do I fly;” of these wings one is discontented labor, -the other is over-reaching wealth. The system of the subdivision -of the soil among a multitude of small proprietors, for the most -part energetic, industrious cultivators of their own holdings, is -eminently conservative in its influence, and contributes in no small -degree towards maintaining the national spirit of independence and -self-reliance, the happy and contented condition of the Swiss peasant -proprietors; at once the strength and the safety of the Confederation. -This Swiss peasant has not only the responsibilities of a capitalist -on a small scale, but also those qualities of foresight, thrift, and -sobriety that such responsibility inspires. He has his home with the -dignity, stimulus, and all the civilizing influence of ownership. - -“A great proprietor is seldom a great improver.” Private appropriation -of land is deemed to be beneficial; because the strongest interest -which the community and the human race have in the land is that it -should yield the largest amount of necessary or useful things required -by the community. The spectre of “excessive subdivision” of the soil, -once so potent an influence, has lost all its terror. It was Cobden -who wished to remove all remonstrances to the easy and economical -transfer of land, and to develop a process by which, under the natural -operation of a free exchange, the laborer might be re-settled on the -soil from which, in his energetic and suggestive phrase, the “laborer -had been divorced.” It was Mill who, in his powerful chapters on -peasant proprietors, clearly showed that “free trade in land” was the -condition under which the economic good of man can be best effected; -that a small or peasant proprietary is the most thriving, the most -industrious, the most thrifty of cultivators, and that under small -free holdings the capacities of the soil are developed to the fullest -possible extent, and the rate of production raised to the very largest -amount. Those who fancied that peasant proprietors must be wretched -cultivators have seen that some of the best agriculture in the world -is to be found in Switzerland, where such properties abound.[65] -These peasant proprietorships have neither bred over-population nor -converted the country into a “pauper warren.” The existence of peasant -properties has come to be regarded by philanthropists as eminently -desirable, and the removal of all obstacles to it has become an aim of -advanced politicians. Daniel Webster, in an address delivered before -the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention in 1821, referring to the -relation of civil liberty to property, as regards its security and -distribution and that the degree of its distribution settles the form -of government,--aristocratic, if the property is held by the few, and -popular, if held by the many,--said in reference to France: “A most -interesting experiment, on the effect of a subdivision of property, -is now making in France. It is understood that the law regulating the -transmission of property in that country now divides it, real and -personal, among all the children equally, both sons and daughters; -and that is, also, a very great restraint on the power of making -dispositions of property by will. It has been supposed, that the effect -of this might probably be, in time, to break up the soil into such -small subdivisions, that the proprietors would be too poor to resist -the encroachments of executive power. I think far otherwise. In respect -to this recent law of succession in France, I would, presumptuously -perhaps, hazard a conjecture, that if the government do not change -the law, the law in half a century will change the government; and -that this change will be, not in favor of the crown, as some European -writers have supposed, but against it. These writers only reason -upon what they think correct general principles in relation to this -subject. They acknowledge a want of experience. Here we have had the -experience; and we know that a multitude of small proprietors, acting -with intelligence, and that enthusiasm which a common cause inspires, -constitute not only a formidable, but an invincible power.” - -Just fifty years from the date of Mr. Webster’s prophecy the present -republic was set up,--the government not having changed the law, the -law changed the government. It is this race of peasant proprietors -that has given France her wonderful recuperative power, enabling -her to emerge again and again _per varios casus, per tot discrimina -rerum_. From them her national life receives a vigor and unity which no -reverses seem to dominate and no blunders to ruin. Upon them she must -rely for the maintenance of her liberties, so gloriously conquered in -the past and embodied in her present institutions. - -If men have but some share of comfort and property in the country, -they will abide there, for that is really the place provided for them. -“Towns, the haunt of pride, luxury, and inequality, foster the spirit -of revolt: the country begets calm and concord, the spirit of order and -tradition.” Under the old Roman system the city was the important unit; -under the Teutonic element the land was brought into prominence and -the possessor of it into power. The dominant member of society was the -landowner and not the citizen. In ancient society the “citizen” need -own no land; in the modern society of the feudal age the “gentleman” -could not be such without owning land. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -MILITARY SERVICE AND ORGANIZATION. - - -Attached alike to liberty and to arms, the Swiss are no less famous -for their undaunted intrepidity than their simple and pure democracy. -From early times the hardy mountaineers of the Alps were eminently and -splendidly martial. History is full of their steadiness and bravery on -the field of battle. When Rome was in its highest military glory, its -armies under the Consul Lucius Cassius were routed by the Helvetians -on the shores of Lake Leman, 111 B.C. The two armies are supposed to -have met about where the Rhone falls into the lake, and the conquerors -of all Italy, the masters of Greece and Macedonia, who had carried -their victorious armies over Asia and Africa, were overcome by a people -hitherto unknown. Julius Cæsar speaks of their “military virtue and -constant warfare with the Germans.” Livy and Tacitus refer to them as -a people originally of the Gallic nation, “renowned for their valor -and their exploits in war.” About the middle of the fourteenth century -attention began to be attracted towards these mountaineers, and great -was the wonder that cavalry, which made the only effective part of the -federal armies of those ages, should be routed by men on foot; that -warriors sheathed in complete steel should be overpowered by naked -peasants who wore no defensive armor, and were irregularly provided -with pikes, halberds, and clubs, for the purposes of attack; above all, -it seemed a species of miracle that knights and nobles of the highest -birth should be defeated by mountaineers and shepherds. The repeated -victories of the Swiss over troops having on their side numbers and -discipline, and the advantage of the most perfect military equipment -then known and confided in, plainly intimated that a new principle -of civil organization as well as of military movements had arisen -amid the stormy regions of Helvetia. The signal victory over Charles -the Bold of Burgundy, in which they routed the celebrated Burgundian -_ordonnance_, constituting the finest body of chivalry of Europe, -demonstrated their capacity as infantry. This, no doubt, contributed -to the formation of that invincible Spanish infantry which, under the -Great Captain and his successors, may be said to have decided the fate -of Europe for more than half a century. The “Swiss whiskered Infantry” -became distinguished in all the continental wars by pre-eminent valor -and discipline. Their principal weapon was a pike about eighteen feet -long; and, forming in solid battalions, which, bristling with spears -all around, received the technical appellation of the _hedgehog_, they -presented an invulnerable front on every quarter, and received unshaken -the most desperate charges of the steel-clad cavalry on their terrible -array of pikes. In the Granadine war (1484), among the volunteers that -flocked to the Spanish camp was a corps of Swiss infantry, who are thus -simply described by Pulgar: “There joined the royal standard a body of -men from Switzerland, a country in upper Germany; these men were bold -of heart and fought on foot. As they were resolved never to turn their -backs upon the enemy, they wore no defensive armor except in front, -by which means they were less encumbered in fight.” The astonishing -success of the French in the Italian wars (1494) was largely imputable -to the free use and admirable organization of their infantry, whose -strength lay in the Swiss soldiers they had. Machiavelli ascribes -the misfortunes of his nation chiefly to its exclusive reliance on -cavalry; this service, during the whole of the Middle Ages, being -considered among the European nations so important that the horse -was styled by way of eminence “the battle.” The arms and discipline -of the Swiss were necessarily different from those of other European -nations. The hill-sides and the mountain-tops and the deep valleys of -Switzerland have felt as frequently as any part of Europe the mailed -footstep of the warrior, and run as red with his blood. Zschokke, in -his history, remarks that, in its wars of the last five hundred years, -but particularly those growing out of the great French revolution, -“battle-field touched battle-field.” During the long struggle for their -liberties, they found that their poverty, with at that time a barren -and ill-cultivated country, put it out of their power to bring into -the field any body of horse capable of facing the enemy. Necessity -compelled them to place all their confidence in infantry. With -breastplates and helmets as defensive armor, together with long spears, -halberds, and heavy swords as weapons of offence, they formed into -large battalions, ranged in deep and close array, presenting on every -side a formidable front to the enemy. They repulsed the Austrians, -they broke the Burgundian Gendarmerie, and, when called to Italy, bore -down with irresistible force every enemy that attempted to oppose -them. Bacon, in his “History of King Henry VII.,” says: “To make good -infantry, it required men bred not in a servile fashion but in some -free manner. Therefore, if a state run most to noblemen and gentlemen, -and that the husbandmen and ploughmen be but as their workfolks or -laborers, you may have a good cavalry, but never good, stable bands -of foot, in so much as they are enforced to employ bands of Swiss for -their battalions of foot.” It was a trusty sword these brave and hardy -peasants offered. Some thought that nature certainly only meant the -Swiss for two classes, soldiers and shepherds. It is easy to convert -husbandmen into good soldiers. According to the institutions of the -Lacedæmonians, the employments of husbandmen and soldiers were united, -as alike the highest training-schools for the qualities that make the -best citizen and the best soldier. The plough was readily exchanged -for the sword by those engaged in peaceful occupations that seemed -to place them at an immeasurable distance from the profession of a -soldier. Happy had it been for Switzerland had she gained nothing -beyond simple liberty in her contest with her ancient masters, and -had continued to cherish pure and healthful feelings. When peace had -crowned their heroic struggles, their warlike spirit sought in foreign -states the excitement and military glory which were denied them at -home. The cravings of avarice and the thirst of plunder are inseparable -from the pride of victory. While the hardy mountaineers exulted in -the defeat and humiliation of Austrian chivalry, they purchased their -triumph, for a time at least, at the expense of the simplicity of their -nature. They accepted the dangers and privations of soldiers fighting -battles in which their own country bore no part. They became the ready -agents of the highest paymaster. These military capitulations dated -from the period of the Burgundian war. Treaties were often concluded -between foreign governments and one or more Cantons.[66] They made a -trade of war, letting themselves out as mercenaries. The Holy Father -himself entered the list of bargainers, and in 1503 Pope Julius III. -engaged the first of those Swiss life-guards whose name became famous -in Europe. From Louis XI. to Louis XV. the Swiss are said to have -furnished for the French service over half a million men. In the wars -between the French king and the Emperor Maximilian, in 1516, the -Swiss fought on both sides. In its last extremity, it was neither -in its titled nobility nor its native armies that the French throne -found fidelity, but in the free-born peasant soldiers of Luzern. Of -the undaunted ranks of the Swiss guard, defending the French royal -family at the Tuileries on the 10th of August, 1792, seven hundred and -eighty-six officers and soldiers fell in the place where they stood, -unconquered even in death; and for two days their bodies lay in the -gardens of the palace and the streets near by, exposed to the derision -and insults of the frantic populace. - - “Go, stranger! and at Lacedæmon tell - That here, obedient to her laws, we fell.” - -To their memory a colossal lion, twenty-eight feet long by eighteen -feet high, carved by Thorwaldsen out of the face of a solid sandstone -rock, in high relief, was dedicated in 1821 at Luzern. The lion is -holding the _fleur-de-lis_ in his paws, which he is endeavoring to -protect, though mortally wounded by a spear which still remains in -his side. Above the figure is the inscription: “_Helvetiorum fidei -ac virtuti_.” When the afternoon sun falls upon this effigy, it is -reflected beautifully in the dark pool close below; the gray rock rises -perpendicularly some little height above and ends in a crown of acacias -and drooping bushes and creepers. - -The fame of the Swiss, in every war which desolated Europe from the -fifteenth century down, rose to an extraordinary pitch; but this -influence, which, as the hired soldiers of belligerent powers, they -exercised in the affairs of Europe, was neither conducive to the weal -of the state nor worthy of the Swiss people. Addison wrote in 1709 of -them: “The inhabitants of the country are as great curiosities as the -country itself; they generally hire themselves out in their youth, and -if they are musket-proof till about fifty, they bring home the money -they have got, and the limbs they have left, to pass the rest of their -time among their native mountains.” He also relates that “one of the -gentlemen of the place told me, by way of boast, that there were now -seven wooden legs in his family; and that for these four generations -there had not been one in his line that carried a whole body with him -to the grave.” - -From their being so frequently in the personal service of foreign -potentates, the name of Switzer with some writers became synonymous -with guards or attendants on a king. The king in “Hamlet” says: “Where -are my Switzers? Let them guard the door.” In 1594, Nashe, in his -“Christ’s Tears over Jerusalem,” states that “Law, Logicke, and the -Switzers may be hired to fight for anybody.” Even the French were -so ungrateful as to chide the Swiss by saying, “We fight for honor, -but you fight for money;” to which the Switzer rejoined, “It is only -natural that each of us, like the rest of the world, should fight for -what he has not got.” These Swiss soldiers were in great demand and -liberally paid. They were not only hardy and patient of fatigue, but -bold in action and obedient in discipline. The very sight of them -alarmed the enemy, suggesting a passage in Tacitus of which every -soldier will probably feel the truth, “The eye is the first to be -vanquished in battle.”[67] Then these troops were as noted for their -fidelity to the service they engaged in as for their courage; and in -all their history there is scarce to be found any example of treachery. - -From the dawn of the Reformation there was produced a material -change, and its effects were chiefly visible in the improvement of -moral feeling and the growing aversion to this mercenary service. The -Constitution of 1848 altogether swept away this system of military -capitulations. At the time of the adoption of the constitution there -was only one such convention in force, being that of the King of -Naples and several of the Cantons; but public sentiment was so greatly -aroused by their participation in the defeat of the revolution, that -the Cantons were compelled to recall them, and thus the last of these -capitulations came to an end. There were certain bodies of troops who, -bearing the Swiss name or composed for the most part of Swiss soldiers, -still continued to fight for foreign governments; and to prevent this, -as far as possible, a federal law in 1859 prohibited every Swiss -citizen from entering, without the consent of the Federal Council, -those bodies of foreign troops which were not regarded as national -troops of the respective states. This did not hinder individual -citizens from enrolling themselves in the national troops of a foreign -state. To further avoid any complication of foreign relations through -such military connection, the cantonal constitutions first forbade the -reception of pensions and titles from foreign states; and a similar -provision was embodied in the federal Constitution of 1874, whereby -“members of the federal government, civil and military officials of the -Confederation, and federal representatives or commissioners, shall not -accept from foreign governments any pension, salary, title, present, -or decoration. Decorations shall not be worn in the Swiss army, nor -shall titles conferred by foreign governments be borne. Every officer, -under-officer, and soldier shall be forbidden to accept any such -distinction.” - -The first approach towards the establishment of a federal army -was after Swiss independence had been recognized at the peace of -Westphalia, when the Confederation in 1648 adopted an arrangement -called the “_Defensional_,” by which, in case of urgent danger, the -Federal Diet could call upon the several Cantons to supply troops for -the general defence, in such numbers as were stipulated. In 1848 it -was proposed that the Confederation should be charged with the entire -military administration. This was rejected. In 1874 the effort was -renewed, and this most important power was substantially vested in the -Confederation by the constitution adopted that year, which contains the -following provisions: - -Every Swiss is subject to military service. Each soldier receives -without expense his first equipment, clothing, and arms. The arms -remain in possession of the soldier, under conditions prescribed by -federal legislation. The Confederation enacts uniform laws on fees for -exemption from military service: - -The federal army consists: - -1. Of the cantonal military corps. - -2. Of all Swiss who, though not belonging to such military corps, are -yet subject to military service. - -The Confederation exercises control over the federal army and the -material of war provided by law. - -In cases of danger, the Confederation has the exclusive and direct -control over all troops, whether incorporated in the federal army or -not, and over all other military resources of the Cantons. - -The Cantons may exercise control over the military forces of their -territory, so far as this right is not limited by the federal -constitution or laws. - -Laws on the organization of the army are an affair of the -Confederation. The execution of the military laws within the Cantons is -intrusted to the cantonal authorities, within limits fixed by federal -legislation, and under the supervision of the Confederation. - -The entire military instruction and arming of the troops are under -the control of the Confederation. The clothing and equipments and -subsistence of the troops are provided by the Cantons; but the Cantons -are credited with the expenses therefor, in a manner to be determined -by federal law. - -So far as military reasons do not prevent, bodies of troops are -formed out of the soldiers from the same Canton. The composition of -these bodies of troops, the maintenance of their effective strength, -and the appointment and promotion of the officers are to be reserved -to the Cantons, subject to general rules to be established by the -Confederation. - -On payment of reasonable indemnity, the Confederation has the right -to use or acquire drill-grounds and buildings intended for military -purposes within the Cantons, together with the appurtenances thereof. -The terms of the indemnity shall be fixed by federal law. The Federal -Assembly may forbid public works which endanger the military interests -of the Confederation. - -No decoration or title conferred by a foreign government shall be -borne in the federal army. No officer, nor non-commissioned officer or -soldier, shall accept such distinction. - -The Confederation has no right to keep up a standing army.[68] -No Canton or half-Canton, without the permission of the federal -government, shall keep up a standing force of more than three hundred -men; the mounted police (_gendarmerie_) is not included in this number. - -By these provisions, while the military system, as a whole, has fallen -under the authority of the Confederation, many important details are -left to be exercised by the Cantons. Upon them devolves the responsible -duty of carrying the federal laws into execution. They appoint all -officers below the rank of colonel, keep the military registers, -provide the equipments, uniforms, and necessary stores for the troops -(to be reimbursed by the Confederation), recruit and maintain the -effective strength of the body of troops formed within their respective -limits. The infantry, field artillery, and cavalry are all recruited by -the Cantons and called cantonal troops; the engineers, guides, sanitary -and administrative troops, and the army train are recruited by the -Confederation and called federal troops. The enrolling of men belonging -to the same Canton, as far as practicable, in the same corps is known -as the _système territorial_. Every man fights under the banner of -his own Canton, follows the regiment of his own Commune, keeps step -with the company of his own hamlet, or dies beside his brother, -son, or neighbor. These were the tactics of nature, and probably of -heroism, with mutual enthusiasm and reciprocal attachments, with common -interests and similarity of manners; like the children of Israel who -went out to battle, each “under the colors of the house of his father.” - -For the proper execution and furtherance of the constitutional -provisions, several federal laws have been enacted, establishing these -general rules: - -Every Swiss citizen is subject to military service from the time he -enters his twentieth year to the close of his forty-fourth year of age. -There are seven classifications of officials who are exempted, during -the time they are in office or employed: - -1. Members of the Federal Assembly during the session of the Assembly. - -2. Members of the Federal Council, the Chancellor of the Confederation, -and the clerks of the Federal Tribunal. - -3. Those employed in the administration of the post and telegraph (the -latter now includes the telephone); employés in government arsenals, -workshops, and powder magazines; directors and wardens of prisons; -attendants in public hospitals; members of cantonal and communal -police, and frontier guards, or _Landjäger_. - -4. Ecclesiastics who do not act as army chaplains. - -5. Those employed in the public schools, only so far as it would -interrupt their school duties. - -6. Railroad officials and employés of the steamboat companies that have -received concessions from the government. - -7. All those who have been deprived of their civil rights by sentence -of court are excluded from the service. - -The omission of the members of the Federal Tribunal from the list of -exempts, while the executive and legislative officials, together with -the clerks of the Tribunal, are embraced, can be accounted for only -upon the principle of _inter arma silent leges_. - -When a Swiss citizen reaches his twentieth year he must present himself -at the levy of troops of the Canton of his domicile and be enrolled. -This must be done before an application for exemption can be made. The -raw recruits are sent direct to one of the _Écoles des Recrues_, for -which the Confederation is divided into eight territorial departments, -for infantry, for cavalry and artillery, three each, and two for -engineers. The federal military forces, or _Bundesauszug_, are divided -into three distinct classes: - -1. The _Élite_ or active army, in which all citizens are liable to -serve from the age of twenty to thirty-two. - -2. The _Landwehr_ or first reserve, composed of men from the age of -thirty-two to forty-four. - -3. The _Landsturm_, consisting of men from seventeen to fifty, not -incorporated in the _Élite_ or _Landwehr_. This last reserve cannot, -as a rule, be called upon for service beyond the frontier. Men are not -discharged from the _Élite_ until their successors have been enrolled, -and in case of war the Federal Council is authorized to suspend -discharges both from the _Élite_ and the _Landwehr_. The recruits at -the _Écoles des Recrues_ undergo a course of instruction for periods -ranging from forty-five to eighty days, after which they are drafted -into the different arms of the service, and (with the exception of the -cavalry, who turn out annually) are called out on alternate years for a -course of training (_cours de répétition_), continuing from sixteen to -twenty days. Periodically, once or twice a year, the troops of a number -of Cantons assemble for a general muster. The infantry soldier has five -periods of training during the ten years he remains in the _Élite_ or -active service: - -First year, forty-five days as a recruit. - -Third year, sixteen days as a trained soldier. - -Fifth year, sixteen days as a trained soldier. - -Seventh year, sixteen days as a trained soldier. - -Ninth year, sixteen days as a trained soldier. - -Total, one hundred and nine days. - -The cavalry is called out annually instead of biennially, and as a -compensation for this additional drill service, the men are discharged -from the _Élite_ two years sooner than the infantry, or at the age of -thirty. - -The standard of height required of the recruit is five feet one -and a half inches, and the chest measurement in no case less than -thirty-one and a half inches.[69] Men not of the required height, -if specially fitted, by profession or business, for service in the -administrative troops or as drummers, trumpeters, armorers, or other -military handicraftsmen, may be recruited to serve in these capacities -if their height is not less than five feet five-eighths of an inch. The -number of recruits examined annually--that is to say, the number of -young men who become subject every year to military service--is about -thirty thousand. A permanent corps of one hundred and eighty-seven -instructors of various grades, and representing all the arms of the -service, is maintained. The members of this corps are about the only -permanently paid officers of the Swiss army. But they must have -undergone a thorough course of education and passed an examination at -one of the training establishments erected for the purpose. The centre -of these is the military academy at Thun, near Bern, maintained by the -Confederation, and which supplies the army both with the highest class -of officers and with teachers to instruct the lower grades. - -Besides this academy or _Central Militär-Schule_ there are special -training-schools for the various branches of the service, especially -the artillery and the _Scharfschützen_ or picked riflemen. During the -period of instruction eight hours is laid down as the minimum of daily -drilling. The arms, clothing, and personal accoutrements remain in the -possession of the soldier, and he is expected to keep each article -in good condition and in readiness for inspection at any moment; and -he is not permitted to wear his uniform except when on active duty. -The inspection of arms, accoutrements, etc., is made annually, and is -conducted with much strictness; any repairs needed are ordered to be -done at the owner’s expense; and negligence in complying with the law -subjects the party to a fine, and in some instances to imprisonment. At -the termination of the _Élite_ service, the uniform is retained by the -recruit, but the arms and accoutrements are surrendered to the Canton. -Horses are provided for the cavalry in this manner: the horses are -first purchased by the government through officers designated for that -purpose; these are sent to the government cavalry stable, thoroughly -broken, then sold to such cavalry recruits as may require them. The -sale is made at public auction to the recruits, and one-half of the -price at which the animal is knocked down is paid by the Confederation -and the other half by the recruit. One-tenth of the recruit’s share, -however, is refunded to him at the end of each year’s service, so that -after ten trainings the horse becomes his personal property. During the -years of service the horse remains at the disposal of the government, -but in fact is only required during the annual drill, and in the -interval remains in the possession of its part owner, at his own cost. -He may work the animal, but it cannot be let out for hire or lent, -and he is responsible for its care and good condition. If the horse -dies in the service, one-half of the value of the recruit’s share is -refunded to him; if, on the other hand, the horse dies when not in the -service, the recruit pays the government a corresponding amount, unless -he can show that the death was in no way occasioned by carelessness or -culpable negligence. The same liability is incurred in case of injury -to the animal, unless it occurred from ordinary fair usage. In either -case, if the recruit be found in fault he is compelled to provide -himself with another horse. These horses are inspected at least once -a year by military veterinary surgeons. Mounted officers must provide -their own horses. In time of war the _Piketstellung_ can be declared -by the Federal Council, by which the sale of horses throughout the -Confederation is forbidden. - -The strength of the several lines of the army in 1888, as obtained -from an official of the military department, was--_Élite_, 117,179, -_Landwehr_, 84,046, which, with the _Landsturm_, reckoned at 200,000, -gave in case of extreme emergency an available force of 401,225. - -The _Landsturm_ has recently been divided into two classes, the _armed -Landsturm_ and the _auxiliary forces_; the latter is composed of -pioneers, administrative troops, guides, and velocipedists: both of -these classes, under a federal law of 1887, when called out, are placed -on the same footing, with reference to the rights of combatants, as -the _Élite_ or the _Landwehr_. The first line, or _Élite_, must be -regarded as the only active force homogeneous in its parts and complete -in its equipment. Preference for infantry is still preserved among the -Swiss, the cavalry representing only one twenty-seventh of the force. -This disproportion may be somewhat ascribed to two facts: first, on -account of the expense involved in the advance payment to be made on -the purchase of a horse, and then that in Switzerland cavalry would -hardly ever be required except for reconnoitring or vedette duties. The -election on the part of recruits to join the cavalry is voluntary; but -having selected that branch they must remain in it. - -The Vetterli rifle, with a magazine containing eleven cartridges, -has been used by the army; but after long and thorough experiments -under government expert commissions with the Rubin rifle, a later and -improved patent, in June, 1889, it was accepted, and is being rapidly -substituted. The budget for 1890 contains an appropriation of 5,734,600 -francs for the purchase of these rifles and 3,000,000 francs for -ammunition. - -The highest rank in the Swiss army is that of colonel. In the event of -war the Federal Assembly nominates a general, who takes command till -the troops are disbanded. The only officer at present in the service -who has held that temporary rank is General Herzog, the commander of -the troops in 1871, and who is now doing regular duty as a colonel. -Then come lieutenant-colonel, major, captain, and first lieutenant; -these constitute the commissioned officers. The non-commissioned -officers are sergeant-major, quartermaster-sergeant, sergeant, and -corporal. Colonels command divisions and brigades; lieutenant-colonels, -regiments; majors, battalions; and captains, companies. The Cantons -nominate officers up to the rank of _commandant de bataillon_, subject -to the approval of the federal military authorities. Officers of -higher rank than _commandant de bataillon_ hold their commissions from -the Federal Council. Then there is a general staff or _État major_, -appointed by the Federal Council, consisting of three colonels, sixteen -lieutenant-colonels or majors, and thirty-five captains. The chief of -this staff is appointed by the Council for a term of three years, and -is practically in charge of the forces during peace. - -The pay of the army, like all branches of public service in -Switzerland, is on a very economical scale. With the exception of -the members of the general staff and corps of instructors (the -former substantially constitutes the latter), who are permanently in -the service, officers and privates only receive pay during active -service,--that is, during the short drill periods or in time of war. -The commander-in-chief (who only serves in time of war) receives fifty -francs per day. - - Francs. - Colonel commanding division receives 30 - Colonel commanding brigade ” 25 - Colonel ” 20 - Lieutenant-Colonel ” 15 - Major ” 12 - Captain ” 10 - First Lieutenant ” 8 - Second Lieutenant ” 7 - -Personal allowance for uniform and equipments: - - Francs. - For officers not mounted 200 - For officers mounted 250 - For equipment of horses 250 - -The private soldiers are paid eighty centimes per day, and from this a -sum, to be fixed by the chief of the corps, is deducted to meet certain -contingent personal expenses of the private. Rations in the field -daily embrace 750 grammes of bread; 375 of fresh meat; 150 to 200 of -vegetables; 20 of salt; 15 of roasted coffee; 20 of sugar. Commutation -to officers is one franc per day. If a private furnishes his own -coffee, vegetables, and wood, a proportionate allowance is fixed by the -Federal Council. The rations are the same during the drilling terms, -but the pay is reduced to fifty centimes per day. The constitution -declares that “soldiers who lose their lives or suffer permanent injury -to their health in consequence of federal military service shall be -entitled to aid from the Confederation for themselves or their families -in case of need.” - -A federal law grants pensions: - -1. Up to 1200 francs in case of complete blindness, the loss of both -hands, or both feet, or other injury causing absolute incapacity to -earn a living. - -2. Up to 700 francs in case of partial incapacity for work. - -3. Up to 400 francs in case where business or calling must be changed -to one less profitable, in consequence of injury. - -4. Up to 200 francs when this change is necessitated in a modified -degree. - -Pensions to widow, children, or parent: - -1. Widow without children up to 350 francs; with children up to 650 -francs. - -2. Children one or two, each 250 francs; more than two, total of 650 -francs. - -3. Father or mother (where no widow or children), 200 francs; if both -living, total of 350 francs. - -4. Each brother or sister (when neither widow, children, nor parent -survive), 100 francs each. - -5. Grandfather or grandmother (where neither widow, children, parents, -nor brother or sister survive), 150 francs; if both living, 250 francs -total. - -These amounts may be increased in special and meritorious cases. Women -divorced or living apart from their husbands, and children eighteen -years of age, are not entitled to receive pensions. - -Every Swiss citizen subject to military service, whether he resides -in the Confederation or not, who does not personally perform it, is -subject in lieu thereof to the payment of an annual tax in money. -Foreigners established in Switzerland are likewise subject to this tax, -unless they are exempt therefrom by virtue of international treaties or -belong to states in which the Swiss domiciled there are neither liable -to military service nor to the payment of any equivalent tax in money. -This is the only direct tax levied in the Confederation; and the gross -sum realized is shared proportionately between the Confederation and -the Canton. - -Exempt from this tax are: - -1. Paupers assisted by the public charity fund, and those who by -reason of mental or physical infirmity are incapable of earning their -subsistence, or who have not a sufficient fortune for the support of -themselves and family. - -2. Those rendered unfit through previous service. - -3. Swiss citizens in foreign countries, if they are subject to a -personal service or to an exemption tax for the same in place of -domicile. - -4. The railway and steamboat employés during the time when they are -liable to the military service organized for the working of the -railways and steamboats in time of war. - -5. Policemen and the federal frontier guards. - -This military tax consists in a personal tax of six francs, and of -an additional tax on property and income; the amount exacted from any -one tax-payer not to exceed 3000 francs per annum. The additional tax -is one franc and a half for each one thousand francs of net fortune, -and one franc and a half for each one hundred francs of net income. -Net fortunes less than 1000 francs are exempt, and from the net income -are to be deducted 600 francs. Net fortune is the personal and real -property after deducting debts of record, chattels necessary for -household, tools of trade, and agricultural implements. Real estate and -improvements are assessed for this tax at three-fourths of their market -value. In computing the property of a person for this tax, half of the -fortune of the parents, or if not living, then of the grand-parents, is -included, proportionately to the number of children or grandchildren, -unless the father of the tax-payer shall himself perform military -service or pay the exemption tax. - -Net income embraces: - -1. The earnings of an art, profession, trade, business, occupation, -or employment. The expenses incurred to obtain these earnings are -deducted, also necessary household expenses, and five per cent. of the -capital invested in the business. - -2. The product of annuities, pensions, and other similar revenues. - -From the age of thirty-three to the completion of the military age, -only one-half of the tax is exacted. The Federal Assembly has the -right to increase the tax to double the amount for those years in -which the greater part of the _Élite_ troops are called into service. -The military tax for Swiss citizens residing abroad is calculated -every year by special rolls, and the persons advised by the officials -of the Canton of their birth, if their address be known, otherwise -by public advertisement. The tax for exemption is paid in the Canton -where the tax-payer is domiciled when the rolls are prepared. Parents -are responsible for the payment of the tax for their minor sons, and -for those sons who, though of age, remain a part of the household. The -period for prescription is five years for tax-payers present in the -country, and ten years for those absent from the country. The Cantons -are charged with making out the annual rolls and collecting the tax. -By the end of January following the year of the tax the Cantons must -remit to the proper federal official the half of the gross product -collected. A portion of this is assigned by the Federal Assembly to -the fund for military pensions. In each Canton there is a tribunal -to pass upon appeals on the correctness of the rolls of tax-payers. -All disputes arising as to the tax are referred to and decided by -the Federal Council. With a view of insuring a uniform application -of the law of military service, the Confederation reserves supreme -supervision; and the ultimate decision upon all questions arising out -of the operation of it, and likewise upon decrees relating to the -imposition and collection of the tax, rests with it. The estimated -receipts from this tax for the share of the Confederation are placed in -the budget for 1889 at 1,330,000 francs. An eminent Swiss publicist, -Dr. Dubs, in criticising this tax-law, asserts “that in many points it -is equally irrational, and, in the construction of its details, leads -moreover to further absurdities of all kinds, of which undoubtedly the -claiming to tax those in foreign countries and the taxation of the -heir’s possible expectations form the highest point.” He might have -added that this tax, so far as levied upon incomes of persons liable -to military service but exempted therefrom by reason of disability -or other cause, partakes rather of the character of a law to raise -revenue than as providing a penalty for the non-performance of military -service. The failure to render such service on the part of one enjoying -a specified income is not more heavily punished than the failure of -one with less or no income. The operation of this tax has caused much -complaint on the part of citizens of the United States “established” -in Switzerland. Nearly all of the European states have concluded -treaties with Switzerland, since the enactment of this “military -tax-law,” bringing themselves within the conditions it prescribes for -the exemption of their citizens “established” in Switzerland, from any -personal service or any tax in lieu thereof. - -The citizens of the United States residing in Switzerland, of whom -there are quite a number engaged in prosperous and large industries, -still come under the treaty concluded between Switzerland and the -United States in 1850, long previous to the passage of the tax-law -(1878), Article II. of which reads: “The citizens of one of the two -countries, residing or established in the other, shall be free from -personal military service, but they shall be liable to the pecuniary or -material contributions which may be required by way of compensation, -from citizens of the country where they reside, who are exempt from -that service.” This article seems to contemplate the imposition of -a penalty for the non-performance of a duty from which the party is -specially exempted. It is susceptible of a plausible argument, that a -proper construction of this article does not warrant the collection -of the tax imposed by the Swiss law of 1878, from the United States -citizens residing there. For this tax is not in fact a “pecuniary -contribution” required from citizens of Switzerland who are exempt from -personal military service, but is a tax required only from citizens -who by reason of their age are subject to military service, but who in -consequence of physical or other disability cannot perform it. That -the words, “by way of compensation,” were not intended to qualify the -phrase, “pecuniary or material contribution,” but refer to, “shall be -free from personal military service.” Should a citizen of the United -States residing in Switzerland prefer to render personal military -service rather than pay the tax, his service would not be accepted; he -would be informed that by virtue of the treaty with his country he -is “free from personal military service, but liable to the pecuniary -or material contribution,” and he must pay his tax,--“your money and -not your service is what we wish.” If his service was accepted, it -would carry an implication of the right to enforce either personal -service or in lieu thereof the payment of a commutation tax for -exemption. The language of the treaty obviously contemplated only such -general contribution as might be required of all classes of citizens, -and excludes the idea of a special tax levied upon an exceptional -class. During the last war in the United States the tax exemption or -commutation, to which a certain class of citizens were subjected by the -draft law, did not interfere with domiciliary rights. There is to-day -no exaction on the part of the United States government from foreign -citizens domiciled or established within them, of any pecuniary or -material contributions of a military nature; nor is it believed that -there is any such exaction on the part of any of the States.[70] The -Swiss construction of the treaty, as to the liability of the United -States citizens residing therein to this tax, was substantially -conceded by our Department of State in 1876, and left the remedy to be -sought by an international treaty. The Swiss government has indicated -its willingness to enter upon the negotiation of such a conventional -agreement to effect the relief of United States citizens from this tax, -after the manner prescribed by the law of 1878, and which was promptly -acted upon by all the European powers. The government of the United -States has not found it expedient to do this. Many difficulties are -suggested. - -In parts of Switzerland there has appeared some dissatisfaction with -the military service and tax. It is alleged to be an unnecessary -waste of money expended on the country’s armed forces, draining its -limited resources to no practical purpose, and that an unprofitable and -irksome task is imposed upon them by this assessment. The statesmen of -Switzerland stand united in the expression that it is the only way to -be sure of their neutrality being respected; as was abundantly proven -by the prompt presence of the federal troops compelling Bourbaki’s -corps of 80,000 men, when in 1871 they were driven into the Swiss -territory, the moment they crossed the line, to lay down their arms; -and thereby saved the German army from crossing the frontier of the -Confederation and engaging the French on Swiss soil. The President of -the Confederation, in his address to the _Tir fédéral_ of 1887, voiced -the prevailing sentiment when he said: “The government of Switzerland -would remain foremost in maintaining peace and pride in its arts as -the supreme glory of the republic; and would constantly endeavor to -preserve her neutrality, but to do this she must not rely altogether -on treaties, but also look to her own strength and energy; to keep her -soldiery in condition to show that the adequacy of the Confederation -to all the needs of national life is, in no single department, taken -on trust. He therefore would urge them to be assiduous in improving -military training, to add such training to the education of the youth, -to hold rifle contests and to perfect drills, all of which should be -animated by a free fraternal spirit.” Notwithstanding the constitution -forbids the Confederation to keep a standing army, or any Canton to -have more than three hundred men as a permanent military body, every -able-bodied Swiss is a soldier of the republic; not on paper merely or -by legal and constitutional fiction, but _actually_. The necessity of -self-defence forced Switzerland to be the very first power in which -universal liability to military service was introduced in Europe, many -years and even centuries before other countries had recognized the -principle, which is now almost universal. The Swiss army is based -upon a “voluntary-compulsory” system. It is essentially a force of -militia intended for defensive purposes only. Admirable as it is in -a military and economic sense, it is scarcely more than a summer -holiday, compared with the rigid and grinding martial duties under the -other European systems. Two things make it a light burden, if not a -diversion, for the Swiss. They have a strong natural military instinct -coming down through generations.[71] Then this instinct is in every -possible manner encouraged and developed by the government, the Canton, -and the Commune. The elements of drill begin with the very first week -of a boy’s schooling, as soon as he can stand erect or poise a stick. -All kinds of games are practised that tend to open and expand the -chest, to nerve the limbs, give carriage to the form, and serve to -strengthen, temper, and adjust it. All these exercises fit him and, in -fact, contemplate his becoming in time a soldier. He not only learns -in his youth the elements of drill and the use of arms, but habits of -obedience, order, and cleanliness; and even those yet higher duties of -a camp, the will to mingle class with class, to put down personal hopes -and seek no object but the public good. - -The _Schützenfest_, liberally encouraged by the government, is held -biennially. This is in many respects the parallel of the ancient Greek -festival game, which served the purpose of keeping alive the national -spirit. It is the most important and popular public gathering in -Switzerland; the entries for the various prizes running as high as -100,000. It is uniformly opened by a formal address from the President -of the Confederation and attended by all the leading men of the -country. It is a national fête day. Then there are the _Sociétés de -tir_, cantonal and communal shooting societies, which number about -1600, with over 100,000 members. These societies compete one with the -other, and in event of their conforming to certain regulations receive -subsidies from the Confederation. These regulations require: - -1. Every member of the _Élite_ or _Landwehr_ must, on application, be -admitted to the club, if he is able and willing to pay his share of the -expense for targets, markers, etc. - -2. The club must number at least twenty members. - -3. The firing exercises must be done with the regulation arms and -ammunition; each soldier must use his own gun; regulation targets must -be had, and at least ten shots fired at every meeting, at each of the -distances named. - -4. To receive the subsidy, every member of the club must annually take -part in at least three firing exercises, and must fire a total of fifty -shots, of which at least ten must be at one of the regulation distances -and regulation targets. - -Every Swiss man therefore is drilled, armed, and ready to turn out -and fight; in his house, within arm’s reach, must hang his gun, his -uniform, and sword. The _concierge_ who accepts your _pourboire_ may -be a captain in the line, and the driver of your _voiture_ a corporal. -Some one, writing of the universal fusion between the military and -civic elements, tells this incident: A gentleman called to see a lawyer -on business; asking the servant if the lawyer was in, he answered, “The -colonel is not here, sir, but you can see the major.” So the visitor -was shown in, and saw the major, who was the lawyer’s partner, and when -he made a statement of his business, he was told, “That is not in my -department, the captain will look after it.” The captain was the firm’s -clerk, and while talking to him, a second clerk came into the office, -whom the captain saluted, saying, “Good day, lieutenant.” - -In the public schools even the girls receive some training which fits -them to be useful auxiliaries in the army. They learn to stanch the -flow of blood, to dress a gunshot wound, and to nurse the sick; they -know some chemistry and are quick at sewing, binding, dressing, and -such medical arts. And if need, they would march in line with knapsacks -on their backs, as their mothers did in times past. The Helvetic women -fought against the army of Octavianus Augustus in 16 B.C., and when -all was lost, hurled their young children at the Roman soldiers and -rushed forward to meet their own death. In the old days of trial by -judicial combat, _assumere duellum_, the chronicles of 1288 contained -this curious entry: _Duellum fuit in Bern inter virum et mulierem, -sed mulier prevaluit_. Not only men but women fought at the battle -of Stantz, and among the killed were counted one hundred and thirty -women. During the French invasion of 1798, upward of eight hundred -women took up arms in the _Landsturm_, and bore all the fire of the -enemy in the last actions. At Fraubrunnen two hundred and sixty women -received the enemy with scythes, pitchforks, and pickaxes; one hundred -and eighty were killed, and one of them, whose name was Glar, had two -daughters and three granddaughters who fought by her side,--these six -heroines all were found among the dead. In the Swiss Reformed Church, -in administering the sacraments of the Lord’s Supper, the men go up -first and the women afterwards, with the single exception of Geiss, in -Appenzell, where, on account of their service at the battle of Amstoss, -the women go up first. - -The Swiss owe their reputation to their freedom, and their freedom -to their valor. Their military spirit is entirely free from greed -of territory, lust of power, “the pride, pomp, and circumstance of -glorious war,” and other forces far from admirable in their motive, -which give prominence and predominance to modern armaments; it is -inspired by motives of civic manhood and manly self-assertion. A small -and by no means rich nation that relaxes not from its attitude of -defence is less likely to be attacked, though surrounded by powerful -and ambitious neighbors, than another nation which possesses wealth, -commerce, population, and all the sinews of war in far greater -abundance, but is unprepared. The more sleek the prey, the greater -is the temptation, and “no wolf will leave a sheep to dine upon a -porcupine.” - -The spirit which animated the brave old Swiss was not that of revenge, -or plunder, or bloodshed. They fought simply when and because it was -necessary to insure the liberty of their native land. It was a sense -of duty rather than love of glory that strengthened and filled them -with an invincible heroism and inspired them with the sentiment so -often heard on the battle-field, _Wir müssen unsere Pflicht thun_ (“we -must do our duty”). The set of military regulations drawn up after the -battle of Sempach, more than five hundred years ago, might furnish a -model for to-day; a few taken at random will show their tenor: - -1. Not to attack or injure any church or chapel unless the enemy have -retired into it. - -2. Not to insult any females. - -3. It is forbidden to any man to straggle for the sake of plunder, or -to appropriate to himself any part of the booty, which must all be -reported and be divided equally in good faith. - -4. Every Swiss engages to sacrifice his life or property, if required, -for the defence of his countrymen. - -5. No Swiss shall abandon his post even when wounded. - -6. No Swiss shall take away anything from any of his countrymen either -in peace or war. - -War has been the great training school of hardihood, endurance, -courage, self-sacrifice, and devotion to public duty. There is no -profession more favorable to the growth of noble sentiment and manly -action than that of the soldier; and to its beneficial action in the -formation of States, every page of history bears flaming testimony. A -great German professor declares: “Our army is not simply the organized -power of the state; it is also a great school, nay, our greatest -school for the masses, of intellectual culture, morals, politeness and -patriotism.” Let the Swiss ever cherish and imitate the simple lives, -the undaunted courage, the obstinate and enduring spirit, and the lofty -patriotism of their ancestors who, in the great contests which rolled -round the fort of their mountains, died on the fields of Morat and -Morgarten. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -EDUCATION. - - -No inquiry can be more important than that which proposes to discover -the legitimate purpose and the best course of general education. All -men, how much soever they may be distinguished from each other by a -variety of circumstances, connections, and pursuits, have yet one -common set of duties to perform; and it is in forming this character, -and imparting the ability to discharge these duties, that the business -of what may be called, in the most general sense, a good education, -properly consists. Such an education may, therefore, fitly be described -to be that course of discipline which is accommodated to man, as he is -man; which is to lay the firm foundation of excellence in future life; -and by which it is designed to effect the highest preparatory culture -of his whole nature. It happens, however, that the foundation of those -virtues which are to render us useful and happy must be laid at a time -when we are least willing to receive instruction,--when we are in -search rather of amusement for our imagination than of employment for -our reason. Aware of these difficulties, the instructors of mankind -have been in all ages solicitous to discover popular and efficacious -methods for their admonitions. Theories once embraced as judicious -and complete are succeeded by others which, in turn, are declared -as erroneous and defective. Plans at present deemed ill-concerted -or impracticable are the same which it was once thought reasonable -to adopt. Where government, national or state, insists upon having -every child given over to it for the first and formative educational -period, it assumes an infinite responsibility for the judicious and -reasonable training of the young committed to its care. And they have, -in turn, the right to conclude that the instruction given is that, of -all others, which the wisdom and wit of the age have pronounced to -be the most beneficial and important for them to receive. The system -of education is proportionately more enlightened and liberal as the -liberty of the subject is the basis and aim of the constitution. The -interested caution of a despotic government cares not to open too wide -every avenue to science. The state of public instruction is one of the -greatest glories of Switzerland. There is no country where primary -instruction is more developed and more wide-spread. A Switzer will tell -you that every child in the Confederation, unless under the school age -or mentally incapacitated, can read and write. This is true to the -extent that the exceptions to the rule are not sufficient to constitute -an illiterate class. Keeping school is the permanent business of -the state, and the attention to it is not merely a fixed and formal -business, but an unceasing and engrossing duty. A school is one of the -first things present to the eyes of a Swiss child, and one of the last -things present to the mind of a Swiss man. On reaching a certain age, -the right to stay at home and play ceases; the school seizes the child, -holds him fast for years, and rears him into what he is to be. The two -great items of expense which figure in the budget of a Swiss Canton -are the roads and public instruction. The sum bestowed on the latter -is immense, relatively to the total means of the Canton, standing far -ahead of the disbursements for military service, which, in Europe, is -a startling fact. On the continent, with the exception of Switzerland, -the cost of the public forces, even in times of absolute peace, is -estimated to be nearly fourteen times that of the public schools.[72] -The passion for public education, and the large expenditure so -cheerfully made for its support, are but natural in the land that gave -birth to Rousseau, Pestalozzi, and Fellenberg. John Henry Pestalozzi, -born at Zurich in 1746, was the most celebrated of Swiss educational -reformers and philanthropists. His system furnished the basis and gave -the first impetus to the public school organization; it furnished also -a model for the rest of Europe, and especially for Germany. The main -features of this system, with the improvements made upon it, are to-day -regarded in Switzerland as the chief corner-stone of their superb -educational condition. His whole school apparatus consisted of himself -and his pupils; so he studied the children themselves, their wants and -capacities. “I stood in the midst of them,” he explains, “pronouncing -various sounds and asking the children to imitate them. Whoever saw -it was struck with the effect. It is true, it was like a meteor which -vanishes in the air as soon as it appears. No one understood its -nature. I did not understand it myself. It was the result of a simple -idea, or rather of a fact of human nature, which was revealed to my -feelings, but of which I was far from having a clear consciousness. -Being obliged to instruct the children by myself, without any -assistance, I learnt the art of teaching a great number together; -and as I had no other means of bringing the instruction before them -than that of pronouncing everything to them loudly and distinctly, -I was naturally led to the idea of making them draw, write, or work, -all at the same time.” Combining the experience with the ideas he had -received many years before from Rousseau, he invented his system of -object-lessons. The Yverdon Institute had soon a world-wide reputation. -Many came to wonder, many to be educated, many to learn the art of -education. Pestalozzian teachers went from it to Madrid, to Naples, to -St. Petersburg. Kings and philosophers joined in doing it honor. While -Pestalozzi did not invent the principle that education is a developing -of the faculties rather than an imparting of knowledge, he did much to -bring this truth to bear on early education, and to make it not only -received, but acted on. We must, at least, concede to him the merit, -which he himself claims, of having “lighted upon truths little noticed -before, and principles which, though almost generally acknowledged, -are seldom carried out in practice.” The motive power of his career -was the “enthusiasm of humanity.” He never lost faith in the true -dignity of man, and in the possibility of raising the Swiss peasantry -to a condition worthy of it. “From my youth up,” he says, “I felt what -a high and indispensable human duty it was to labor for the poor and -miserable, that he may attain to a consciousness of his own dignity -through his feeling of the universal powers and endowments which he -possesses awakened within him, so that he may be raised not only above -the ploughing oxen, but also above the man in purple and silk who lives -unworthily of his high destiny.” It is claimed of him that he was the -first teacher to announce convincingly the doctrine that all people -should be educated; that, in fact, education is the one good gift to -give to all, rich or poor, and, unlike any other giving, it helps and -does not hinder self-help. Pestalozzi was no friend to the notion of -giving instruction always in the guise of amusement, contending that -a child should very early in life be taught the lesson that exertion -is indispensable for the attainment of knowledge. At the same time -he held that a child should not be taught to look upon exertion as an -evil; he should be encouraged, not frightened, into it. “An interest,” -he claims, “in study is the first thing which a teacher should endeavor -to excite and keep alive. There are scarcely any circumstances in which -a want of application in children does not proceed from a want of -interest; and there are, perhaps, none in which the want of interest -does not originate in the mode of teaching adopted by the teacher. I -would go so far as to lay it down as a rule that, whenever children are -inattentive and apparently take no interest in a lesson, the teacher -should always first look to himself for the reason. Could we conceive -the indescribable tedium which must oppress the young mind while the -weary hours are slowly passing away, one after another, in occupations -which it can neither relish nor understand, could we remember the -like scenes which our own childhood has passed through, we should no -longer be surprised at the remissness of the school-boy, creeping -like a snail unwillingly to school. We must adopt a better mode of -instruction, by which children are less left to themselves, less thrown -upon the unwelcome employment of passive listening, but more roused by -questions, animated by illustrations, interested and won by kindness.” - -The efforts of Pestalozzi went down in clouds, and when he died, at the -age of eighty-one, in 1827, he had seen the apparent failure of all his -toils. He had not, however, failed in reality. And when twenty years -later the centenary of his birth was celebrated by school-masters, -not only in his native country but throughout Germany, it was found -that Pestalozzian ideas had been sown, and were bearing fruit, over -the greater part of central Europe. Even to-day school-masters might -learn much from Pestalozzi, in aiming more at a plan of education -founded on a knowledge of human nature, and its modes of instruction -which shall better develop their pupils’ faculties. The true functions -of Pestalozzi, it is alleged, were to educate ideas, not children. -Even those who are most averse to theoretical views, which they call -unpractical, will admit, as practical men, that their methods are -probably susceptible of improvement, and that even a theorist might -lead them to make many observations which would otherwise have escaped -them; might teach them to examine what their aim really was, and -then whether they are using the most suitable methods to accomplish -it. Such a theorist is Pestalozzi. He points to a high ideal, and -bids us measure our modes of education by it. When Switzerland would -honor Pestalozzi’s name, the monument she built was more than brass -or bronze. It was a school,--a school where the memoirs of the man -were carved, not on wood or stone, but in the minds of happy, growing -youths, the fortunate beneficiaries of a system whose foundation he -laid.[73] Down to 1848 all the public schools in Switzerland had been -in the hands of the Cantons; in the federal constitution, adopted at -that time, it was provided that the Confederation might establish a -university and a polytechnic school. A proposition for a university was -soon thereafter submitted and rejected. Subsequently a law was passed, -in 1854, establishing a federal polytechnical school. In view of the -antagonism existing between the German, French, and Italian Cantons, -and the social friction that followed between the adherents of the -different creeds, it was found important that the Confederation should -be in a position to strengthen and direct the forces which make for -unity, and attention was directed to the vital forces which proceed -from a wisely-arranged system of public instruction. This resulted -in more extensive power being conferred upon the Confederation, in -the revised Constitution of 1874, with respect to education. The -27th Article of the Constitution declares: “The Confederation has -the right to establish, besides the existing polytechnical school, -a federal university and other institutions for higher instruction, -or may assist in the support of said institutions. The Cantons shall -provide for primary education, which must be adequate, and shall be -placed exclusively under the direction of the civil authorities. It is -compulsory, and in the public schools free. The public schools shall -be open to the adherents of all religious sects without any offence -to their freedom of conscience or of belief. The Confederation shall -take the necessary measures against such Cantons as shall not conform -to these provisions.” Primary instruction was first made compulsory -under this Constitution of 1874. The promotion and organization of the -elementary education are left in the hands of the Cantons, subject to -the control of the Confederation; but it must be exclusively under the -civil authority. This does not exclude the clergy--if not Jesuits--from -the position of teachers and other school officers, but simply -requires, if occupying these positions, they must stand on the same -footing as laymen. No person who belongs to a religious order, claiming -allegiance paramount to the state, can be a teacher in the public -schools. The provision guaranteeing freedom of conscience and belief -is complied with by the Cantons in a way suitable to their wants. -Religious instruction is usually given on fixed days, at stated hours, -so that every facility for absenting themselves is afforded to children -whose parents wish them only to receive secular instruction. In many -instances the religious instruction is confined to truths common to -all Christians, and to readings from the Bible. In reference to the -relation of the schools to religion in Switzerland, Matthew Arnold -reported: “Whoever has seen the divisions caused in a so-called logical -nation like the French by this principle of the neutrality of the -popular school in matters of religion might expect differently here. -None whatever has arisen. The Swiss communities, applying the principle -for themselves and not leaving theorists and politicians to apply it -for them, have done in the matter what they consider proper, and have -in every popular school religious instruction in the religion of the -majority, a Catholic instruction in Catholic Cantons, like Luzern, a -Protestant in Protestant Cantons, like Zurich; and there is no unfair -dealing, no proselytizing, no complaint.” The first school-year varies -from five to seven years of age, and runs up to twelve, except in -a few Cantons, where it extends to the fourteenth, fifteenth, and -sixteenth years. Primary instruction is left to the determination -of the several Cantons, only it must be, under the constitution, -“adequate.” With the exception of the Canton of Solothurn, where all -children must receive their primary instruction in the public schools, -a person is not obliged to send his children to the public school. He -is perfectly free to have them instructed wherever he wishes, provided -they receive an education, at least as good as that which is given in -the public schools. Parents who neglect or refuse to do one or the -other are cited before the authorities and subject to a fine, and -in case of a repetition of the offence to imprisonment. In most of -the Cantons the gratuity covers books and other school-materials to -children of indigent parents. There is no class of vagrant or destitute -children which the system fails to reach; even to those too poor to -obtain proper food and clothing, both public and private assistance -are freely rendered. The obligation resting upon the Confederation -to see that the Cantons meet the constitutional requirements has so -far not been supplemented by any federal legislation, prescribing the -method of such enforcement, or imposing any penalties for disregard -of the law. Certain Cantons having failed to do their duties in this -respect, the Federal Assembly in 1882 instructed the Federal Council to -take steps to insure a general compliance with the provisions of the -constitution. The Council proposed the creation of a Federal Department -of Public Instruction, with a number of inspectors, whose duty it -would be to enforce the law. So soon as the Assembly submitted this -suggestion in the form of a federal law, nearly two hundred thousand -citizens demanded its subjection to the _Referendum_ (30,000 was -sufficient to do so), and upon the taking of the popular vote, it was -rejected by the extraordinary majority of 146,129. It was an indignant -protest against what was regarded as an attempted interference with -their local home-government of the schools. Therefore the details -of school administration, organization, and inspection still remain -in the hands of the educational department of each Canton. In some -Cantons inspectors are appointed by the educational department; in -others, it is voluntarily conducted by a board composed chiefly of -professional men,--pastors or persons of influence. These inspectors -decide as to the course of studies, the books to be used, and act as a -sort of tribunal to hear and decide all controversies that may arise -between the teachers and the local authorities. As a rule, women are -not eligible as school inspectors. Every Commune, in addition to the -inspectors, has a school commission, elected by the communal assembly. -They are charged with providing sufficient school accommodation, and -keeping the buildings in repair; also to visit the schools and see -that any suggestions made by the inspector have been properly carried -out. The Commune provides the sites for the school buildings, and -these are erected at the joint expense of the Commune and Canton. -Great attention is given to the construction of these school-houses, -as to their comfort and convenience; the windows must face the east -or southeast, and the benches so arranged that the light falls upon -the pupil’s left hand. Then there is sure to be a large and grassy -plot for the children’s play-ground, with a fountain of pure water on -it, shady trees, and all the accessories for athletic exercise. The -school-house is the most commodious, modern, and handsome edifice to -be seen in a Swiss town. One may look in vain for the court-house and -town-hall, but on the most central and costly site is the school-house, -the pride of every city square and village slope. The schools are not -mixed, and when the Commune is not able to sustain separate schools, -the boys attend in the morning, and the girls in the afternoon. -Saturday is not a holiday. Each class has so many hours of schooling -for the week, apportioned among the six days. Every form of corporal -punishment is forbidden. No bodily pain, no bodily shame, is suffered -in the schools. Chastisement, it is claimed, first brutalizes a child; -second, makes him cowardly; and, third, blunts his sense of shame, -which must soon form the bulwark round virtue. “A lad has rights,” -says the Swiss teacher. “We cannot stint his food, we cannot lock him -up, we cannot crown him with a dunce’s cap, or we cannot make a guy -of him. Our discipline is wholly moral; our means are prizes, good -words, all leading up to public acts of honor. Should we have any -incorrigible ones, they are expelled, but expulsion is a very serious -matter, and must be exercised under prescribed rules, with due notice -to parents and the school officials; and at first only temporary and -conditional, and never final and absolute, without the formal sanction -of the school commission. This emergency rarely occurs. A threat or -admonition suffices, for expulsion is considered only one degree from -ruin.” Obedience which is rendered merely because there is a sense of -authority about the commander destroys the sympathetic relation which -should exist between the teacher and pupil. The best and only true -discipline is that which is secured, not through habits created from -the will of the teacher, says Professor Shaler, of Harvard, but won -through the exercise of the will of the pupil; only when accomplished -by sympathetic stimulus, is the effect truly educational. Manliness, -sincerity, and conscientiousness are its legitimate fruits; it fosters -honesty and truthfulness more than any regimen discipline. - -The pupil’s manners and appearance are also cared for. He is taught -how to appear and act no less than how to read and write; how to walk, -stand, and speak; that his hands and face should be kept clean, as -well as his papers and books. A blot upon his page and a smudge upon -his face are regarded as equally bad. “A book befouled,” the teacher -tells us, “with grime is wasted, and our simple economical habits will -not suffer such waste; turn over any of these books, which are in -daily use, no leaf is torn or dog-eared, nor the covers defaced with -scribbling.” The same observation would apply to the school furniture -and building. The desks, though extremely plain, look as if they are -daily washed and polished; not a spot nor splash of ink to be seen -on their surface, not any evidence of the bad boy’s knife; the large -corridors and spacious stairways show no scratch or scrawl; the wall -free from fingermarks and inscriptions, and no bits of paper on the -floor. The children, representing all classes of society, from the -patrician to the poorest peasant, are neatly and comfortably clad; -none dirty, ragged, or shoeless. To an expression of surprise at this, -we are informed “that if a child comes to school with face begrimed -or clothes torn, he is washed, cleaned, and mended up, and then sent -home; the mother gets ashamed on finding that some other woman, or -it may be a man, has had to wash her child; the child also becomes -mortified, and it is never necessary to repeat the treatment.” The -moment that a pupil is on the street he has passed from the circle of -his home, and that moment has commenced the school’s authority. The -regulations, printed on slips and dropped in every house, contain, -among a score of others, the following rule relating to conduct on -the street: “Delay of any kind between the scholar’s home and school -is not allowed. No whooping, yelling, throwing stones and snow-balls, -teasing children, ridiculing age or deformity can be endured. Grown -persons shall be met with kind civility, politely greeted as they -pass, and thus shall honor be reflected on the school.” There is very -little contumacious absence from school. The children have the habit -of going to school as a matter of course, and the parents equally -the habit of acquiescing in their going. The Federal Factory Act of -1877, with a purpose of preventing any interference with attendance -at school, forbids the employment, in a mill or public workshop, -of any child until he has attained the age of fifteen. And every -Swiss _recruit_ for military service is required to pass an _examen -pédagogique_, with a view of enabling the authorities to ascertain -the degree of instruction attained by the youth of the country. This -examination consists of arithmetic, geography, and Swiss history; -and those who do not come up to the minimum educational standard are -required to undergo instruction at the _recruit_ school, and the odium -attendant upon this is found to exercise a marked beneficial effect on -the education of the peasantry. The teachers of the primary schools -are nominated by the school inspectors and elected by the Communal -Assembly. Teachers of the higher schools are appointed by the Cantonal -Director of Education and confirmed by the Board of Educational -Department. They are elected for a term of six years, and after -service on a differential scale are retired on a pension of not less -than one-half of their salary at the time of their retirement. Each -Commune decides for itself whether male or female teachers shall be -employed. The teachers are trained for a period of four years in one -of the cantonal normal schools. In the Grisons and Neuchâtel, normal -schools are attached to the secondary schools, but in the Cantons of -Zurich, Bern, Luzern, Schwyz, Freiburg, Solothurn, St. Gallen, Aargau, -Thurgau, Ticino, Vaud, and Valais separate establishments exist. The -students are usually lodged and boarded at the actual cost; and free -and half-free places are open for those unable to pay in full. Each -Commune must pay to the primary school-teacher a minimum salary of -550 francs, but these salaries will run from 600 to 1000 francs, with -free lodging and fuel, the latter being an important item of expense. -Those in the larger towns receive from 1200 to 1700 francs, secondary -school-teachers are paid from 2200 to 2500 francs, and teachers in the -gymnasiums an average of 3300 francs. The Cantons assist the Communes -in augmenting the lower salaries and in the payment of the pensions. -After thirty years of service, or in case of disability or illness -contracted in the line of professional duty, teachers may retire on -the pension above indicated. In some Cantons, after five years of -service, 100 francs are added to the salary, and an additional 100 -for each _quinquennium_. In Basel a female teacher, after ten years -of service, is entitled to a supplemental salary of 250 francs per -annum; after fifteen years, 357 francs per annum, and then on voluntary -retirement, after fifteen years of service, a pension for life equal to -two per cent. on the amount she was being paid at time of retirement. -Thus the Swiss teacher has pragmatic rights,--that is, he has a legal -claim to a fixed salary, and to a retiring pension in case of age or -illness. The Swiss teacher is to his pupil a father and companion. -He leads and assists on the play-ground the same as he does in the -school-room; a free and unrestrained companionship, beautiful as it is -beneficial, unmixed with foolish fondness or paternal pride. Together -they will run and leap and laugh and dance and sing as well as learn. -The hours of study past, the pupil and teacher wander to the forests -and the field; together pluck wild flowers and plants; together climb -the hills, cross lakes and streams, searching for curious rocks and -plants, learning again from them the lessons of the day. This is the -very essence of education: for a man who professes to instruct to get -among his pupils, study their character, gain their affections, and -form their inclinations and aversions, together with that affectionate -vigilance which is experienced in the best home-circle. These men -regard the school as a psychological observatory, where they are to -practise the very difficult art of discovering the capacities of the -pupils, receiving them with a tender consideration for the good and -evil they bring with them, and with an apt adjustment of the resources -of education to their individual needs. The primary or communal schools -come first in number. In every hamlet, where there may be twenty girls -and boys, the communal officials must provide a school-house and hire -a master. These are supposed to embrace the pupilage for the first -five or six school-years. The lessons average from twenty to thirty -weekly, and they have annual vacations from ten to twelve weeks. The -children who are old enough to assist in work at home are only required -to attend one-half of the day during the harvest season, or other busy -times. In some instances there is provided for this class what is known -as the supplementary school, which is held only on two mornings of -the week; the aim being to help the pupil retain what he has already -learned in the primary school until he can again resume his regular -attendance. A curious custom prevails in some of these communal schools -with respect to the supply of the necessary firewood in winter. Every -boy or girl must contribute a piece; and in winter the children may be -constantly seen tearing down-hill, each with a log of wood tied to a -_luge_ (little sledge) as his contribution to the school-fire. - -The course of study in the primary school embraces: - - 1. Religion. - 2. Native language. - 3. Arithmetic. - 4. Writing. - 5. Physical and political geography. - 6. History of Switzerland. - 7. Elements of civic instruction. - 8. Drawing. - 9. Elements of natural science. - 10. Singing. - 11. Gymnastics; and - 12. (For the girls) Manual work in knitting and sewing. - -Connected with the primary schools in some Cantons is the -_secundar-schule_, or secondary school; this school is open on -Sundays and in the evenings, during the winter months; and the course -includes book-keeping, business composition, such as letters, bills, -contracts, and obligations of various kinds appertaining to trade -and industry. In many Cantons the secondary or advanced division of -the primary school is free, and attendance compulsory; in others, -attendance optional, with a nominal charge of five francs. The course -is three years for boys and four for girls. In the Cantons of Zurich -and Luzern, the children from the primary schools are given four -years of gratuitous instruction in these supplementary schools. By -the last accessible report, it appears there were in attendance at -the primary schools 455,490 pupils, under the care of 8763 teachers. -Sixteen Cantons provided 437 secondary schools, with 20,500 pupils. The -_intermediate_ schools present much variety, and have only one feature -in common, in that they represent a higher grade than the primary, -with an enlarged and more deepened course of study. They extend to -elements of literature in the mother tongue, composition of an advanced -kind, reading of classical authors, higher mathematics, and foreign -languages (which practically are confined to French for the German and -Italian Cantons, and to German for the French Cantons); geography and -history also become much extended. - -These schools, however, do not have any pretensions beyond what -their title of _intermediate_ indicates. There are several grades -of these intermediate schools, such as the _district school_ and -_under-gymnasium_. In these, still more advanced literary, technical, -and artistic instructions are given. The ancient languages, Greek, -Latin, natural history, physics, and chemistry are taught. Many of -them are free, and in no case does the fee exceed 25 to 40 francs -for the scholastic year. The greater portion of the expense of these -schools is defrayed by the Communes, some of the cantonal governments -assisting. The Canton of Bern pays one-half the salaries of the -teachers, and pensions meritorious and indigent pupils from 50 to 100 -francs per annum. The highest grade of an intermediate school is the -high-school or _gymnasium_. The course is from three to six years, and -is preparatory for the university. Pupils who obtain a “certificate” at -the close of the gymnasium curriculum are, as a rule, enabled to enter -the university or the polytechnic without examination. These schools -are all subject to cantonal control and supported by them, except in -a few of the largest towns, where they are under municipal authority, -and then the towns bear much of the expense. With the exception of the -federal palace, the most costly structure in Bern is the _gymnasium_, -and the same relative superiority prevails as to these school buildings -throughout Switzerland. The age for admission is from fifteen to -seventeen years, with a fee from 10 to 100 francs covering the annual -session. There are 58 of these _gymnasiums_, with 12,500 students. As a -fair sample, the weekly curriculum of a first-class girls’ _gymnasium_ -in Bern may be given: - -Monday, history; Tuesday, religion; Wednesday, arithmetic; Thursday, -religion; Friday, French; Saturday, religion, eight to nine o’clock. - -Monday, German; Tuesday, French; Wednesday, geography; Thursday, -singing; Friday, German; Saturday, French, nine to ten o’clock. - -Monday, arithmetic; Tuesday, natural history; Wednesday, German; -Thursday, history; Friday, natural history; Saturday, geography, ten to -eleven o’clock. - -Monday, gymnastics; Tuesday, singing; Wednesday, French; Thursday, -German; Friday, arithmetic; Saturday, arithmetic, two to three o’clock -P.M. - -Monday, drawing; Tuesday, readings; Wednesday, holiday; Thursday, -book-keeping; Friday, readings; Saturday, holiday, three to four -o’clock P.M. - -There are four _universities_ in Switzerland, located respectively -at Basel, Bern, Zurich, and Geneva. The one at Basel was founded in -1460, and in the early Reformation times was one of the most famous -institutions in Europe; attracting Erasmus, of Rotterdam, from his -professorship at Cambridge, and the German Œcolampadius, one of the -most learned men of his country, and to whose patient teaching and -moderate temper was due no little of the taking root of the Reformed -doctrines in Switzerland.[74] Each university contains the four -faculties of law, theology, medicine, arts and philosophy, and will -compare favorably in teaching-power, apart from the mere accessories -of endowments and splendid buildings, with any universities to be -found in Europe. The tuition depends on the number and character of -the faculties attended, varying from 2½ to 10 francs per week, and 100 -to 200 francs per annum. The degree conferred is equivalent to that -of “Doctor” in the German, and “Bachelor” in the French universities. -The matriculation of these universities by the last report was 2371, -including 107 female students, and employing 200 teachers. In addition -to these universities, of the same rank with them is the Polytechnic -at Zurich, founded in 1854. This is, in fact, the only educational -institution which is directly and exclusively under the control of -the Confederation. The federal authorities do not interfere with the -methods of instruction and matters of detail in the different schools -that may be assisted by the Confederation. The total annual expenditure -of the Polytechnic is about 500,000 francs, and is defrayed by the -government. Extensive improvements and additions are in course of -construction, under a federal appropriation of 1,000,000 francs for -that purpose. - -The Polytechnic comprises seven distinct schools, with courses varying -from two and a half to three and a half years, viz.: - - 1. Architectural. - 2. Civil engineering. - 3. Mechanical engineering. - 4. Chemical technology (including pharmacy). - 5. Agriculture and farming. - 6. Normal school. - 7. Philosophical and political science. - -There are two hundred distinct courses of lectures given during the -year, by forty-five professors and thirteen assistants, in the German, -French, and Italian languages. The average number of students is from -seven to eight hundred, and they represent almost every nation. -The female students number from fifty to sixty. The charge for a -complete course in any one of the polytechnical schools varies from -400 to 500 francs. Between all Swiss schools, from the primary to the -university, there is an “organic connection;” the university, in the -natural continuation and correspondence, crowning the work begun in the -primary school. The Swiss method of teaching is never mechanical; it -is gradual, natural, and rational. It is patient, avoids over-hurry; -content to advance slowly, with a firm securing of the ground passed -over. The fundamental maxim is from the intuition to the notion, -from the concrete to the abstract, founding habits alike of accurate -apprehension and clear expression. The system is not wooden, but -appreciates that variety in mental food is as important as in bodily -nourishment for healthy growth; that children at school are often -tired and listless, because they are wearied and bored. From this the -Swiss school finds relief in drill, gymnastics, singing, and drawing. -Especially do music and drawing play a leading part in the programme. -It is natural for children to imitate; thus they acquire language, -and thus, with proper direction and encouragement, they find pleasure -in attempting to sing the melodies they hear, and to draw the simple -objects around them. By drawing, the eye is trained as well as the -hand; the attention to the exact shape of the whole and the proportion -of the parts which is requisite for the taking of an adequate sketch -is converted into a habit, and becomes productive both of instruction -and amusement. The Swiss system seeks to adapt the methods to the -mental process; every effort is made to interest the pupil and to make -learning palatable, and, like Lucretius, “to smear the rim of the -educational cup with honey.” It is a common practice in schools of the -United States to give children the rule for doing a sum, and then test -them by seeing if, by that rule, they can do so many given sums right. -The notion of a Swiss teacher is, that the school-hour for arithmetic -is to be employed in ascertaining that the children understand the rule -and the processes to which it is applied. The former practice places -the abstract before the concrete, the latter works in the opposite -way. The Swiss instruction aims to render the pupil capable of solving -independently and with certainty the calculations which are likely to -come up before him in ordinary life. In a word, the Swiss possess and -follow a carefully-matured science of pedagogy. If a school is fate to -a Swiss child, the vision comes to him in the likeness of a fairy; it -is made, by public and private acts, a centre of happy thoughts and -pleasant times; it shares the joy of home and the reward of church. The -children have tasks to do at home nearly equal to the tasks at school. -The hours of study, school-work, drill, and home-work are frequently -from ten to twelve a day. Indeed, you may say, these Swiss children -must tug at learning in a way that would create a rebellion with the -young American. In spite of these long hours and manifold duties, the -attention is never unduly strained, and, at intervals, never exceeding -two hours, the class disperses for a few moments to the corridors or -play-grounds for recreation and a romp. No people can boast of so many -schools in proportion to population, or of a system of education at -once so enlarged and simplified, so instructive and attractive, so -scientific and practical. Healthy, for it takes care of the body as -well as the mind; practical, for it teaches drawing, which is the key -of all industrial and mechanical professions; moral and patriotic, -because it is founded on love of country. In many countries it is a -political or governing class which establishes popular schools for the -benefit of the masses. In Switzerland it is the people, the Communes, -which establish and sustain the schools for their own benefit. The -same general equality of conditions prevails as in the United States, -and these schools are freely used by all classes. This is as it should -be in a free commonwealth, where character and ability are the only -rank, and men are thrown together in later life according to the groups -they form at school. Every child of superior merit, however humble and -poor, has an equal chance to mount the highest round of the educational -ladder. This building of human minds means business in Switzerland. -Everywhere you find a school,--a primary school, a supplementary -school, a secondary school, a day school, evening school, school for -the blind, school for the deaf, industrial school, commercial school, -linguistic school, intermediate school, gymnasium or high-school, -university, polytechnical school, schools of every sort and size, class -and grade, with the happy motto carved over many a door: “Dedicated to -the Children.” It is a business, standing far ahead of petty politics -and hunting after place, or the worship of Mammon; a business that, -when nobly done, brings bountiful return in love of order, law, right, -and truth. - -The Swiss cantonal constitutions declare that the happiness of the -people is to be found in good morals and good instruction; and that, -in a free country, every citizen should have placed within his reach -an education fitting him for his rights and duties. Every Canton -has in its constitution some expression embodying the idea that the -business of a public teacher is to make his boys good citizens and -good Christians. In some Cantons the distinct announcement is made -that the true end of public instruction is to combine democracy with -religion. In that of Zurich it is announced: “The people’s school -shall train the children of all classes, on a plan agreed upon, to be -intelligent men, useful citizens, and moral, religious beings.” In -Luzern it is laid down that “the schools shall afford to every boy and -girl capable of receiving an education the means of developing their -mental and physical faculties, of training them for life in the family, -in the Commune, in the church, and in the state, and of putting them -in the way of getting their future bread.” In Vaud it is declared -that “teaching in the public schools shall be in accordance with -the principles of Christianity and democracy.” In fact, the organic -law of each and every Canton demands a system of public education, -sound, solid, moral, and democratic. They all bespeak the early and -imperishable impress of that great Swiss educational reformer who, more -than a century ago, uttered the memorable invocation: “Patron saint of -this country, announce it in thunder tones through hill and valley that -true popular freedom can only be made possible through the education -of man!” Since the two zealous Irish monks, Columban and Gall, went to -the continent, A.D. 585, and the latter founded the famous monastery of -St. Gallen, the descendants of the Helvetii have powerfully contributed -to European civilization and progress; learning and science finding a -home not only at St. Gallen, but at Basel, Zurich, Geneva, and Bern. -In the age of the Carlovingians, more than a thousand years ago, the -Abbey of St. Gallen was the most erudite spot in Europe. It had the -original manuscript of Quintilian, from which the first edition was -published. The art of printing, when in its infancy everywhere else, -had already been carried to a high degree of perfection at Basel; and -the crusaders, who conquered Constantinople, met there A.D. 1202. -Geneva was early distinguished in the annals of literature and science -as well as for progress in the arts. Learned men, some of the exiles of -Queen Mary’s reign, among whom was Whittingham, who married Calvin’s -sister, devoted “the space of two years and more, day and night,” to a -careful revision of the text of the English Bible, and the preparation -of a marginal commentary upon it. The result of these labors was the -publication, in 1560, of the celebrated Geneva Bible. The cost of this -was defrayed by the English congregation at Geneva. Queen Elizabeth, -to whom it was dedicated, granted a patent to John Bodley, the father -of the founder of the Bodleian Library, for the exclusive right of -printing it in English for the space of seven years. Its advantages -were so many and great that it at once secured and--even after the -appearance of King James’s Bible--continued to retain a firm hold upon -the bulk of the English nation. While Switzerland can hardly be said to -possess a truly national literature, it has always maintained a very -good literature in German and in French; but these literatures are not -the expression of a common national life. The Swiss have displayed -remarkable powers in science, in political philosophy, in history, -and in letters. Among the distinguished workers in these intellectual -fields may be mentioned Lavater, whose eloquence, daring, and -imagination as a physiognomist procured European celebrity; Pestalozzi, -the originator of a system of education to which he devoted a life of -splendid sacrifice; De Saussure, the indefatigable philosopher, the -inventor of a thermometer for ascertaining the temperature of water at -all depths, and the electrometer for showing the electrical condition -of the atmosphere; Bonnet, the psychologist; Gesner, the poet, whose -“Death of Abel” has been translated into many languages; Müller, a -historian remarkable for his patience in research, picturesque writing, -and disgust for traditionary tales, and who is reported to have read -more books than any man in Europe, in proof of which they point to his -fifty folio volumes of excerpts in the town library of Schaffhausen; -Zwingli, the Canon of Zurich and the co-laborer of Calvin, a man of -extensive learning, uncommon sagacity, and heroic courage; Mallet, -the illustrious student of antiquities of Northern Europe; Constant, -philosopher of the source, forms, and history of religion; Sismondi, -a writer of history, literature, and political economy; Necker, -brilliant in politics and finance, and his celebrated daughter, Madame -de Staël; Rousseau, who fired all Europe with his zeal for the rights -of the poor and the free development of individual character, and who -wielded the most fertile and fascinating pen that ever was pointed in -the cause of infidelity; D’Aubigné, the well-known historian of the -Reformation; Agassiz, the greatest naturalist of his age, and Guyot, -his compatriot and fellow-worker, to whom we owe the inception of -that system of meteorological observations called the Signal Service; -Haller, Horner, Dumont, and many others who won an honorable place in -learning and literature. The remarkable resources of its modern schools -and universities, and the zeal of the rising generation for learning, -promise well for the intellectual future of Switzerland. To be quick -in thought and quick in action; to have practical, scientific, and -technical knowledge; to be capable of appreciating new facts, and of -taking large views; to be patient and painstaking; to have the power of -working mentally for distant objects; to have an instinct of submission -to law, both to the laws of society, which aim at justice to all and -at order, and to the laws of nature, submission to which enables a man -to use effectually his own powers and to turn to account the powers of -nature; to raise life into a higher stage; to give to every one free -opportunities for participation in the knowledge and moral training, -combined with freedom and political equality, which will elevate the -idea of humanity,--these are the moral and intellectual qualities -with which the Swiss school system would fain endow the whole people. -Just as their old agrarian system made land, so their new educational -system is making intellectual training common to all. The powers it -confers are now, in a sense, common pastures, upon which all may keep -flocks and herds; common forests, from which all may get fuel and -building-materials; and common garden ground, by the cultivation of -which all may supply their wants. The quaint words of John Knox contain -a sentiment still potent in Switzerland, “That no father, of what -estate or condition that ever he may be, can use his children at his -own fantasie, especially in their youthhood; but all must be compelled -to bring up their youth in learning and virtue.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -TECHNICAL AND INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS. - - “The noble craftsman we promote, - Disown the knave and fool; - Each honest man shall have his vote, - Each child shall have his school.” - - -A French writer has compared a well-arranged plan of public instruction -“to a railway system, with its main line, stations, junctions, and -branch lines. Just as passengers on a railway get out at the different -stations, so the children who, from pecuniary necessity or social -position, are compelled to earn their livelihood leave school at -any point of this course; all, according to the amount of knowledge -they have acquired, are able to take their place in the social -stratification.” - -As it is the duty and interest of railway managers to give facilities -for all classes of passengers, so it is the duty and interest of the -state to provide for all who travel the road of learning, leaving to -the operation of natural laws, in both cases, the fixing of proportions -of way and through fares. - -Education as the acquiring of information is one thing: it is quite -another thing to develop the human forces by a thoughtfully-planned -course of training, mentally, physically, and morally fitting one -for “complete living.” Educational methods in every age have been -the outgrowth of the social conditions of the time, and are, as a -rule, found to be in accordance with the beliefs and principles by -which nations are controlled. A new definition of culture is being -constructed, one which shall embrace the industries and the mechanical -arts. Industrial processes and occupations are claiming recognition -in school and college courses, both for the sake of the encouragement -and assistance they may render to the industrial classes, and because -the familiarity with them is felt to be required by the wants and -demands of the age. It is not a rebellion against the old methods as -bad in themselves. It does not necessarily interfere with or involve -any loss to the traditional studies of the school-room. It is not an -attempt to substitute the labors of the workshop for the legitimate -intellectual training of the school, inasmuch as the shop-practice, if -properly arranged, would be in the nature of change and rest, and even -of recreation to the pupil, bringing him back fresher and brighter to -his studies. The alternation is stimulating. Change of occupation is -proverbially almost as refreshing as rest. The pupils pass from the -shop to the class-room, and conversely, with a new zeal and zest for -their tasks in either department. It means the addition of practice -to theory, experiment to knowledge, the correct eye and skilful hand -to the developed brain; that the youth sent forth from school shall -be fitted not only for professions and clerkships, but for the heat -and task of active life, and for the skilled labor which is so sorely -needed. There exist much general misapprehension and no little grave -misrepresentation as to industrial schools and manual training, and an -attempt in some quarters to confound them with the stupefying effect -of long-continued toil. It is not contemplated to swing too far the -pendulum of school reform, or to present a panacea. It is proposed to -supplement the older scholastic culture with that which will make it -take a firmer hold upon men’s minds, and will bring the school into -closer harmony with the time-spirit. Let there be no interference, much -less any extinction of the classical system. We have come to regard -that as a sacred thing and unassailable. Let it remain impregnable -to all the attacks of iconoclasts and reformers. The Latin and Greek -languages and the science of mathematics come recommended to us by -all experience, signed and countersigned, as it were, by the testimony -of ages as the basis of every system of liberal culture. They furnish -a grateful vicissitude of genial and severe studies; while the one -awakens the sensibilities, refines the taste, enlarges the conception, -enriches the memory, and invigorates the power of moral judgment; the -other, by a course of mental gymnastics as rigid as it is perfect, -develops to the utmost the great faculties of attention, analysis, and -generalization. No scholar can doubt that they must always form an -indispensable element in any scheme of liberal instruction, by which -all the powers and emotions of our moral and intellectual nature may -be so touched, quickened, directed, exercised, and informed, as to -attain their largest measure of capacity. But, side by side with the -higher institutions of learning, there should be established schools -where the sciences in their relations to the arts and industries shall -be specific branches of instruction and training; the addition of a -sufficient amount of work in the handling of tools and the manipulation -of materials to a good sound education in languages, mathematics, -history, and science. Young people should be prepared to take a -broad and intelligent part in the life of an age which is eminently -scientific and practical; an age which has to do with a world of -fierce competition, in which trade is not despised, while science of -every kind is a means of making a livelihood; an age which demands an -education that seeks to arm a man as well as to adorn him, _armer_ and -_orner_. There is no warrant for applying the term educational to any -sort of knowledge which does not increase the power of its possessor, -and so make him the more able to satisfy his needs and desires without -disorder and waste. The measure of this ability is the measure of a -country’s economic progress. Industrial training has an economical and -moral as well as an educational value. As Professor Huxley puts it, we -cannot continue in this age “of full modern artillery to turn out our -boys to do battle in it, equipped only with the sword and shield of an -ancient gladiator.” - -With many education is looked upon merely as a mental training -whose sole object is to place the mind in a state fit to receive -future impressions. This may be all very well for those who are -never to feel the keen struggle for existence; but for a vast and -constantly-increasing majority who are doomed to a bread-winning life, -the main purpose of education should be to make the youthful mind -“a supple, effective, strong, and available instrument for whatever -purpose it may be applied to.” Less than three per cent. of the boys -of this country can hope to make a living by the practice of the -professions. Less than twenty per cent. of the boys enter high schools, -and less than half of those who enter complete the course. The first -duty of man is to work, and the first object of education should be -to fit him for that work; to make him not the slave but the master -of what it has imparted, the manipulator and not the mere receptacle -of its power. Every year adds to the necessity of supplementing the -muscular power of the laborer and artisan with that mental energy which -only comes of education. Men in the busy corners of the globe are -multiplying day by day, and multiplying more rapidly than the means -of supporting life. Unskilled labor, or, as technically defined, the -“labor of quantity,” is being ousted by the iron sinews and fiery pulse -of the steam-engine and the machine. Man, as the mere owner of muscle, -is being edged out by these most powerful competitors. Merely as an -agent of physical force, as the possessor of the power of labor, the -steam-engine is a competitor which drives him easily out of the market, -and more and more unskilled labor is passing away by the development of -the forces which mechanical science has discovered. As the world goes -on, we must expect mechanical force to be more varied, more powerful, -and cheaper, and the competition of the human limbs to become more -helpless. But there is one region where the machine can never follow -the human being, and that is in the exercise of thought. In skill, in -the cultivation of the mind, in the power of applying the powers of -thought to the laws of nature, in all that we call skilled labor of -the highest kind, in that man must always have a monopoly and need -fear no encroachment. Science teaching, as applied to that instruction -which familiarizes the student with the universe in which he lives, -and makes him in the presence of the great laws and forces of nature -not a stranger, but a child at home, must be recognized as one of the -great moulding influences of the time; it is at the foundation of -material progress; it is the basis on which much of the manufacturing -industry and commerce rests; many of the deep social ameliorations of -the day are due to its influence; and popular education must be brought -into closer relations with it. The industrial world has been made by -scientific discovery, and its prosperity must largely depend on the -spirit of scientific knowledge among the masses of its workers. It -is only by the practical application of such knowledge to industrial -processes that a country can hope to hold its own in the struggle -of national competition. The genius of invention has succeeded in -producing by machinery cheap and serviceable imitations of almost every -necessary of life, hitherto the exclusive product of skilled labor. The -artisan is daily becoming more and more the servant of automatic tools. -Every industry is tending to centralization in a few hands, and from -human to mechanical hands. If the workshop is to compete successfully -with the factory, it must do so by superior taste and finish in that -higher sphere of methodical, technical, rational labor whither the -finest inventions cannot follow in the domain of thought. It is here, -and only here, the laborer can hope to hold his own against the great -power he has himself brought forth. It is here the means of increased -subsistence must be found. One of the most anxious subjects of public -care is to discover methods by which the masses of the people shall be -able to maintain themselves in a prosperous, decent, and comfortable -condition. In bare, unskilled labor the satisfaction for this want is -not to be found. The Swiss have foreseen that the industrial victory -must be won on the intellectual field, the association of manual work -with technical training and scientific research; and the necessity -for that delicacy of touch and accuracy of eye, that have made their -mechanics in many departments the best in the world, to be further -educated and prepared for supremacy in a field of wider range and more -varied scope. In this way art may regain an influence over manufacture, -which, though not lost, is certainly jeopardized by the introduction -of machinery. The whole tendency of modern trade has been in the -direction of wholesale transactions, which, while favoring the hundred -and the gross, have neglected the piece or the example. We miss in the -manufactures which we turn out the individual touch of the workman, and -we have gained a dead level of uninteresting achievement at the expense -of intelligence, originality, and variety. The demand for old designs -in furniture, or silver or iron work, pushed to undue excess, perhaps, -by the caprice of fashion, is after all a healthy protest against the -monotonous and mindless excellence of the machine-made article. There -is a difference between learning a trade and learning the principles -of a trade. The object is not always to teach the “technic” of an -industry, because that can be done only in the workshop, but it may -be to teach the science and art upon which all technics are really -based. Manual training is of course training to manual labor, which has -been called the “study of the external world.” While in all technical -education the sciences and arts must be illustrated by practical -examples, the main object is to so instruct masters and workmen -that they can pursue their craft with dignity and intelligence, -without professing to teach the craft itself. The need for technical -instruction arises from the fact that ordinary educational systems are -not fitted to promote the rapid development of trade, manufactures, and -commerce. The education of the industrial classes should bear on their -occupations in life. The life of a laborer is spent in dealing with -things which he has to convert into utilities. In this conversion he -must take the properties inherent to each kind of matter and convert -them into utilities by an intelligent application of forces, which -he may guide but cannot alter. No man can create new properties in -matter or subject it to the action of new forces. When working-men get -a higher life, a life of intelligence and knowledge, they then can -develop improvements in their industries by an economical application -of force, and a wise use of properties in material. Not mere handicraft -skill, with ten fingers disassociated from the head and the heart, -can sustain mechanical industry. Machinery, when rightly understood -and applied, will prove the greatest means of intellectual elevation, -for its very purpose is to substitute the thought of the brain for -the toil of the hand and the sweat of the brow. How excellent the -old Greek poet is when natural forces are made substitutes for human -labor: “Woman!” he exclaims, “you have hitherto had to grind corn, let -your arms rest for the future! It is no longer for you that the birds -announce by their songs the dawn of the morning. Ceres has ordered the -water nymphs to move the mill-stones and perform your labor.” Technical -education is to train the pupils to handiness; to supplement mental -activity with physical dexterity. The object of teaching girls to sew -is not necessarily to train professional dress-makers, but to make -them careful and tidy in their homes. Workshop instruction is not to -make boys carpenters and cabinet-makers, but to enable them to learn -any trade more easily and make them generally handy. It is no small -part of the value of such training that the workman may be fitted to -render his home more commodious, to arrange a shelf or cupboard, to -repair a broken piece of furniture, or possibly to decorate his humble -home. But whether or not, in after years, the student sees proper to -become or by necessity is driven to a professional use of his technical -knowledge, this is not involved in the idea and system of its pursuit. -Its purpose is that, when he leaves school, he shall carry with him -an education serviceable for any occupation of life; to develop a -dexterity of hand which will prove valuable under any circumstances, -and at the same time furnish him with a means of healthy enjoyment. It -is a simple recognition of the fact that a large number of the children -must be destined to make their living by industrial labor. There is -certainly something in the operation of learning a trade that is akin -to capitalizing. The youth works in the training-school, and he defers -to the future the final results of the process. He lays up wealth, as -it were, by doing that which avails only to give him a larger income -hereafter. It is much as if he put money into the banks. It has always -appeared as though a purely scholastic education makes children averse -to manual labor; that it results too much in every boy and girl leaving -school desirous of engaging in work which is neither manual nor, what -is mistermed, menial. It brings too often to expectant parents the -disappointment experienced by Sir Francis Pedant, in Fielding’s comedy; -that gentleman, it will be remembered, was very angry when he found -that, instead of instilling into his boy at Oxford, as per contract, -“a tolerable knowledge of stock jobbery,” his tutor had fraudulently -crammed him with the works of all the logicians and metaphysicians from -“the great Aristotle down to the learned modern Burgersdicius.” “Have I -been at all this expense,” exclaimed Sir Avarice, piteously, “to breed -a philosopher?” - -As a fundamental rule, it may be accepted that the knowledge which is -best for use is also best for discipline, since any other supposition, -as Herbert Spencer has shown, would “be utterly contrary to the -beautiful economy of nature, if one kind of culture were needed for -the gaining of information, and another kind were needed as a mental -gymnastic.” The best end of any education is to equip boys and girls -to earn their own living when they grow up, and to perform efficiently -the duties to which they may be called when they reach the estate of -manhood and womanhood; giving them that most valuable of all gifts -on earth--personal independence--the capacity to stand on their own -feet and look the world in the face, to take care of themselves, and -those who belong to them. The question of technical and industrial -education has received much intelligent consideration and very -extensive application in Switzerland. Since 1884 the Confederation, to -encourage the existing technical schools as well as the establishment -of new ones, has been granting annual subsidies, which are becoming -more and more liberal. The Polytechnic at Zurich, to which reference -has been made in the previous chapter, is now well known as a model -school of practical life, with mechanics, physics, and arts under a -thoroughly scientific curriculum. Trade and industrial schools, as -distinguished from polytechnical,--genuine establishments for teaching -homely trades,--have been made a prominent as well as a compulsory -feature in many of the Swiss educational systems. In some form these -are to be found in every Canton, furnishing instruction in one or more -branches of handiwork,--the boys preparing to become skilled workmen -and competent foremen; and many a girl, though an indifferent scholar, -by being taught cutting, needle-work, cooking, nursing, and methodical -habits--accomplishments that bear so closely upon the happiness and the -very existence of home--will enable her to be a useful wife and good -mother. Trade-schools in Switzerland are of ancient origin, having an -intimate connection with the great impulse which the watch industry of -French Switzerland received in the latter half of the last century. In -the year 1770 a journeyman watchmaker, named Louis Faigare, applied to -Professor Saussure for some information connected with his trade, which -the then means of ordinary public instruction did not afford to his -class. The professor accommodated him, and from this resulted a series -of lectures, or rather _conversaziones_, held in the great scientist’s -drawing-room. The audience increasing to such proportions, it was -found advisable to secure suitable quarters, and a club was formally -organized under the title of _Société des Arts de Genève_. This club, -so modest in its inception, has survived all the mighty political -tempests of a troubled age,--the violent annexation of the Genevese -republic to France and its restoration to the Helvetic union,--and -to-day enjoys a high rank among learned societies, and numbers in its -list of members some of the most eminent names of modern science. This -is the parent of the celebrated Horological School in Geneva, with -its branches at Chaux-de-Fonds, Neuchâtel, Biel, Fleurier, and St. -Imier. Pupils are received in these schools when they have passed their -fourteenth year, and the course is from three to four and one-half -years. For the artistic education, there is a special school devoted -entirely to the art of decorating watches, which has become a very -important branch of the industry. - -There is also in Geneva a school of industrial art, the organization -and work of which are substantially the same as the one at Munich, -and the two are considered the best in Europe. This school is under -the direction and administration of the Council of State of the -Canton, which delegates one of its members to act as president of the -commission which administers its affairs. Two classes of students are -admitted, viz., regular scholars, who attend regularly and continuously -either a general course of art study or some particular branch, such -as carving, bronze founding, goldsmith’s work, etc.; and special -students, apprentices, workmen, and others who arrange to receive -instruction at stated hours. The pupils produce work which has a -commercial value, and objects made in the school are kept for sale, a -part of the money thus received being paid to the student executing the -work. The courses of study embrace modelling and carving in plaster, -stone, and wood; _repoussé_ work in metals; painting in water-color, in -enamel, and on china; casting and chasing of bronze and the precious -metals; work in wrought iron and engraving, besides the regular work of -drawing-schools in general, such as drawing from the cast, from plants -and flowers, and from the living model. The school occupies a very -fine and spacious building, erected a few years ago at a cost of about -$160,000, and is furnished with very admirable and adequate appliances, -not only for study but for the execution of art-work on a considerable -scale. The pupils are of both sexes, and there is no distinction of -or separation between them in the organization of the classes. The -discipline of the school is very strict, the time of each pupil coming -in and going out being carefully noted, and the utmost regularity of -attendance, during the hours covered by his course, being required of -each pupil. All the regular pupils are also required to attend the -evening schools of the city. Encouragement and recognition of ability -and application are made in the form of prizes, which are awarded by -means of competition or _concours_ held at different times, and on such -subjects as are announced from time to time. The methods of study and -discipline are all sensible and practical. - -More humble in their first stages, but scarcely inferior as to -practical results, are the Swiss straw-platting schools. These have -succeeded, in a few years, in developing a veritable new industry, -commanding markets in the utmost corners of the earth. Some of the -poorest portions of the sub-Alpine districts have become well-to-do -and flourishing, and at least one little hamlet, not to be found in -the guide-books a few years ago, is now from this trade a thrifty -town of some ten thousand inhabitants. The higher instruction in this -particular industry extends to the cultivation and acclimatization -of various kinds of foreign grasses, furnishing from the coarsest to -the finest qualities of straw. In the mountain districts there are -schools for teaching the manufacture of children’s toys, for which the -Swiss pine is admirably adapted. Then, in those sections where osiers -(a species of willow) can be cultivated, establishments for learning -basket-making have been started. In Zurich there is a “Dressmakers’ -Institute,” from which annually “graduate” thirty to forty _Couturières -Parisiennes_. At Winterthur there is a shoemakers’ school, with a -peripatetic staff of professors who give lessons wherever a class may -be formed. This school also issues publications relating to its aims, -one of the latest being quite an exhaustive and scientific treatise on -the structure of the human foot, and giving the technical side of the -new government regulations concerning the manufacture of army boots and -shoes. - -Other handicrafts have followed the example set by the shoemakers. The -joiners, cabinet-makers, silk-weavers, jewellers, and even to umbrellas -and parasols, each have their cheap and, in many cases, free-training -schools. The knit goods of Switzerland, so largely imported to the -United States, do not owe their introduction to cheap Swiss labor, but -simply to their superior quality, the result of the excellent training -all girls obtain at school; knitting being regarded as an indispensable -acquirement. Drawing, industrial as distinguished from artistic, is -taught in all Swiss schools; not as an accomplishment, but as of -paramount utility. It is considered that “drawing” lies at the bottom -of all industrial training, enabling one to delineate with precision -that which he wishes to express better than he can do it with the -language of the pen. In his “Proposed Hints for an Academy,” Benjamin -Franklin classed “drawing” with the three “R’s” as subjects necessary -for all. It ranks with them because it is the language of form in every -branch of industry from the most simple to the complex. It makes the -workman more exact, more efficient, and more careful; it is always -convenient and often very useful. A trade which, either by law or -immemorial usage, is assumed to require a more exacting apprenticeship -is wood-carving; a Swiss product that enjoys world-wide reputation, -and has long been a source of considerable revenue to the country. -The schools for wood-carving have a fully organized faculty, and the -word faculty is used advisedly, for the classes have an almost amusing -resemblance to an academic course. There are lectures with manipulatory -demonstrations in the use of the plane, saw, lathe, and all needed -tools, and also on the distinctive characteristics of various woods. -A school for ornamental work and design in wood-carving at Brienz is -supported by the Canton; and at Interlaken the wood-workers enjoy, -free of charge, the services of a “Master Modeller,” furnished by the -Canton. There are separate schools for the study of wood-engraving, -sculpture, and art cabinet-making. The agricultural and forestry -departments of the Polytechnic, in its “technology,” as signifying -science applied to industrial arts, has advanced these interests to -positions that otherwise could never have been attained. Switzerland -in physical respects is not a bountiful motherland, neither the -climate nor soil is good for agriculture, yet it is surprising what -good results are obtained through the general diffusion among the -agricultural class of much technical information, susceptible of easy -apprehension and ready application. Swiss agriculture, to make any -return, cannot be a mechanical routine, but must be intelligent if not -scientific. - -What is known as practical farming would not return the seed and labor -involved. As an intelligently and scientifically-directed industry, -it has assumed a prosperous and profitable condition. The agricultural -course in the Polytechnic is thorough and comprehensive. It covers -the mechanical and chemical composition of the soil; the scientific -basis as to the rotation of crops; the periods of growth at which -plants take their nitrogen; how draining improves land; and many other -similar matters varied in their application, but ruled by fixed laws, -and which must be learned outside the daily experience and observation -of farm-life. In the single crop of grass, which is of such great -value in its relation to the extensive Swiss dairy interest, in its -cultivation, grazing, and harvesting, the suggestions and counsel -emanating from the agricultural department of the Polytechnic have -been of incalculable value. The amount of this crop, from a cold and -barren soil, and the uses to which it is turned would seem incredible -to the American farmer. The Swiss farmer, to accomplish so much, -must know something of the chemical analysis of the grass, both in -the natural and dried state; the feeding value of like weight in the -different varieties, in an equally moist or dry condition; the final -stage of growth which they ought to be allowed to attain; suitability -for permanent or other pastures; the adaptability of grasses for -certain soil; their duration, ability to resist drouth, and strength -to over-power weeds. Then come questions of hay-making, ensilage, -the management of old and new grass-lands; on these and many others -the peasant is enlightened and constantly advised, not only by the -Polytechnic but from cantonal agricultural schools at Rütte (Bern), -Strickhof (Zurich), Sursee (Luzern), and at Brugg (Aargau). There is -an institution for experimental vine growing at Lausanne; a school of -gardening at Geneva; and dairy schools at Sornthal (St. Gallen), and -Trayveaux (Freiburg). From time to time lectures and short courses of -instruction are given in different parts of the country on horticulture -and vineculture, fodder-growing, cattle-breeding, by which some -knowledge of the theory and technical details of agricultural science -is given, with the view of awakening a spirit of enterprise in the more -remote districts of the country. Forest culture and forest preservation -may be considered a necessity in Switzerland, for its influence in -checking the sudden and disastrous floods so common in the mountain -streams, and in the protection and maintenance of the steep hill-sides -which constitute so large a portion of the agricultural area of the -country. While riparian trees are gross water-users, and usually -deciduous, such as the sycamores, alders, willows, cottonwoods, etc., -upon the mountains the trees are of a different class, and their effect -is without known exception beneficial to irrigators and water-users in -the valleys below. The denudation of mountain districts is followed -by increased torrent or flood action and diminished regular flow in -springs and streams, often by the entire desiccation of these. There -is a department in the Polytechnic devoted to forestry, from which is -supplied a large body of thoroughly educated foresters, who find ready -employment under the federal and cantonal forest departments.[75] The -course of study is of the most advanced character, and requires three -years for its completion. There are, besides, many local and primary -forest schools, having spring and autumn terms of three to four weeks -each, and they are assisted by federal subsidy. By a federal law of -1885, there was added to the forest department of the Polytechnic, a -school for forest experiment connected with meteorological stations, -thereby supplementing this already excellent school with the means of -accurate, scientific, and regular meteorological observations, in their -close and important alliance with matters of forest culture. - -It is under the supervision of these educated foresters and trained -wood-rangers that, on the mountain-side, apparently but a forbidding -rock, by constant, careful, and scientific attention, are found -oak-, beech-, birch-, and pine-trees in large quantities and of good -dimensions. Each tree is carefully looked after and preserved, and -trained so that they shall not interfere with each other; each has its -fair share of space and light. In this work nature and man’s labor and -thought give to the forest an abundance of moisture, and between the -frequent storms and showers, abundant floods of sunlight and warmth. -It is this intelligent care and attention that enables a tree to take -root and grow to its normal size on what is apparently little more -than towering and weird piles of sheer rocks. The vast treeless West -and the reckless wasteful deforesting of American woodlands will soon -render forest culture and protection a necessity in the United States. -Never was a country so lavishly supplied with forest flora of all the -qualities in all gradations. No country ever used its wood materials -so lavishly; squandering a wealth of timbers before its true value was -known. It is time to husband the remnant with more intelligence and -to stop its wasteful destruction. Why should sylviculture not present -an inviting field for business enterprise, or be quite as fascinating -to watch the development of a collection of trees as that of a herd -or flock? Our landholders, who are accustomed to garner crops in a -hundred days from planting, have a natural shrinking from a seed which -may not mature a crop in a hundred years. But it can be shown that -growing wood on waste-lands enhances the value of the remainder of -the farm by more than the planting and care have cost; and that the -first instalment of a forest-crop is not so remote as is generally -believed. The best varieties of wood can be grown as easily as the -poorest, and the demand for certain forest products is rapidly becoming -more urgent. The tree-growth enriches rather than impoverishes the -ground. Forestry not only beautifies the farm, but between woodland -and plough-land is established that balance which must be preserved -to insure the most equitable distribution of moisture and climatic -conditions most favorable to the productiveness of the soil and the -better health of the people. Almost every Commune in Switzerland has -its _realschule_, where children from the primary school have the -opportunity of a higher education, specially adapted to fit them for -commercial and industrial life. These schools take the place of the old -and now practically extinct system of apprenticeship. The handiwork -and technical schools embrace instruction in drawing, modelling, -practical reckoning, elements of geometry (especially surface and -body measurements), book-keeping in French and German, physics, -chemistry, and technological branches, ceramics, and _aquarelle_. -The schools for girls include singing, drawing, fancy or handiwork, -letter-writing, book-keeping, casting accounts, sewing by hand and -machine, dress-making (pressing, cutting, and trimming), besides a -knowledge of different kinds of wares, how to tend plants and flowers, -and even the art of treating the sick and wounded. From these schools -all have access to the Polytechnic, where each professor is an -acknowledged authority in the branch of service with which he deals. In -all the higher schools and universities every encouragement is given to -students to qualify themselves for technical pursuits. The secret of -Switzerland’s material success lies in the liberality of its conception -of public education. Its primary schools are graded with good secondary -schools for scientific education, and these lead to remarkable -technical institutions with great completeness of organization. If -any country appears by nature unfit for manufactures it is surely -Switzerland. Cut off from the rest of Europe by frowning mountains, -having no sea-coast and removed therefore from all the fruits of -maritime enterprise, having no coal or other sources of mineral wealth, -Switzerland might have degenerated into a brave semi-civilized nation -like Montenegro. Instead of this it proudly competes with all Europe -and America in industries for which it has to purchase from them the -raw materials and even the coal, the source of power necessary to -convert them into utilities. Other countries have become sensible of -the superiority which skilled education can confer, and they have not -been slow to take advantage of it. The United States are justly proud -of their common-school systems as they exist in the several States. -They have done a great deal for public education, and are progressing -by their own force and by the general sympathy of the community. Mr. -Edward Atkinson, in summing up the elements that have contributed to -the vast gain in the conditions of material welfare in the United -States, names seven, and assigns the third position in importance to -the “systems of common schools which are now extending throughout the -land.” The tendency to be guarded against is that in education as -applied to the whole mass of the people, what is desirable and charming -and decorative be not put before what is absolutely useful; not to take -the garnish first and leave the solid meat to take care of itself. -When it comes to deal with the large masses of the community who must -work, and to whom it is, so to speak, a matter of life and death, the -question to be considered is whether they shall work well prepared -with the utmost assistance which the accumulated knowledge and skill -of the community can give them, or whether each man shall be left to -fight his own way and learn his own industry for himself. The country -wants more handicraftsmen, the school produces too many scriveners. -The country is crying out for skilled laborers, and the school sends it -clerks or would-be gentlemen of leisure. The farmers and working men -want wives who can make a home neat and happy, and who understand the -wise economy of limited resources, and the school sends them women fit -only to be governesses. The system of education in the United States -sends too many boys into trading, teaching, the professions, or “living -by their wits.” They imbibe a spirit that shuns what are termed the -“humble callings,” and crowd, at starvation wages, the occupations of -the counter and desk. They grow up to feel and believe that the bread -which has been gained by the sweat of the brow is less honorably earned -than that which is the product of mechanical quill-driving. Therefore -the United States have a plethora of men who, as described by President -Garfield, are “learned so-called, who know the whole gamut of classical -learning, who have sounded the depths of mathematical and speculative -philosophy, and yet who could not harness a horse or make out a bill -of sale, if their lives depended upon it.” There is need of a public -education that, while it gives to the mind fleet and safe modes of -reasoning, shall at the same time, in a corresponding degree, develop a -clear sight, a firm arm, and a training suitable for the various trades -and occupations which are essential elements of a prosperous national -life. The utility of such acquirements is not their chief virtue; -it is their permanence in the mental armory, for eyes and hands not -only respond to cultivation as readily as brains, but the trained eye -and skilled hand do not slough off their acquirements like the weary -brain. All through the United States scientifically and technically -trained foreigners, fresh from their “_realschulen_,” are pushing out -classically-educated young men from their desks and stools and taking -the places of profit which belong to them by national inheritance. -American spirit, capacity, and energy are unrivalled, and require only -an equal training and opportunity to insure an earnest of unbounded -success in establishing and maintaining the future eminence of the -country in the world’s great field of human art and human industry. - -The question of manual and industrial instruction is not confined in -its interest only to those connected with the organization of schools -and systems of education, as bearing entirely on the development -and activity of the whole circle of intellectual faculties, but it -relates to a deep and far-reaching political problem that thoughtful -statesmen contemplate with serious concern. Might not the spirit of -cheerful domestic industry, which the extension of educated handiwork -is calculated to promote, do much to correct the evils of intemperance, -violence, and social discontent which are assuming such alarming -symptoms? The moral influence it exerts might produce a revolution for -the better and a well-ordered commonwealth of labor. The habits of -order, exactness, and perseverance fostered by manual training have an -incalculable moral value. The ranks of the unemployed and misery and -crime are largely recruited from the ranks of youth who are without any -adequate training to earn an honest livelihood. With a more general -dissemination of the rudiments of useful trades and employments there -would be secured a larger share to productive labor,--for it would put -brains into it and make it alike more honorable and profitable. It -would tend to remove whatever disadvantage has heretofore attached to -industrial occupations on grounds of dignity and the niceties of the -social scale. When young America is trained for mechanical pursuits -under the same roof and amid the same surroundings as he is trained for -preaching and pleading, when he is made to feel at school that the same -distinction is to be earned by skilful doing as by skilful dosing, the -necessity for all the more or less sincere, but very wordy, extolling -of the dignity of labor, which employs so much of our energy at -present, will be removed. And when the mechanic has acquired industrial -skill, not at the expense of his mental training, but along with it -and as a necessary part of it, the crafts themselves will assume the -old dignity and importance which once they had, but which they have -lost in these days of false and foolish artificial standards by which -men measure each other. The units or grains of society are continually -moving to and fro between the scum and the dregs, from capital to labor -and labor to capital, from wealth to poverty and poverty to wealth. But -rich and poor, professional and artisan alike, have a common interest -in strengthening the bulwarks against the dangers that menace honest -society,--against nihilism, socialism, communism, and all kinds of -vagabondage. Educated industry is the talisman. The strength of the -republican pyramid is in its base, and it is in the lower social layer -that the true character of a country’s need in common-school education -must be looked for. A Nihilist lecturer recently stated that there are -four hundred schools in Europe whose sole work is to teach the use -of explosives. If the Old World is thus diligently sowing the seeds -of discontent and rebellion, scattering some of them on our own too -prolific soil, teaching that to brute-force alone can humanity look for -the redress of its wrongs, how much more necessary it becomes to show -the world that not in killing each other, but in helping each other -to live, is the only possible solution of social difficulties. Unless -the school can teach respect for labor, it will never be learned, and -unless it is learned, and learned practically, the upheavals which of -late years have disturbed society will grow in frequency and violence. -Pericles, the great Athenian, describing the glory of the community of -which he was so illustrious a member, said, “We, of Athens, are lovers -of the beautiful, yet simple in our tastes; we cultivate the mind -without loss of manliness.” But Athenian society rested on slavery, -and the drudgery was performed by those who had no share in the good -things which the citizens could enjoy. Our object should be to bring -Periclean ideas of beauty, simplicity, and cultivation of mind within -reach of those who do the hard work of the world. It can be done, -and should be done, in a way to advance the skill and develop to the -highest form of practical energy the skill of our handicraftsman and -the manliness of his life; giving him an education that will enlarge -his mind, improve his morals, instruct his industry, and thereby -advance the power, the prosperity, and the peace of the State. The -future will, practically speaking, belong to the technically educated, -for no amount of natural “smartness” can compete with education in -particularities. Raw material, forming a capital advantage, has been -gradually equalized in price and made available to all by improvements -in locomotion; and henceforth industry must be sustained, not by a -competition of local and popularly designated “natural advantages,” but -by the inexorable competition of intellect in all of its manifold and -overpowering evolution. If a country would not be left behind in the -race, if it desires to find any satisfactory solution for the deepest -and most inscrutable problem of the time, if it wishes a complex and -high civilization, to be maintained secure from all the dangers which -the presence of unprosperous and unfed millions must bring upon a -country, it should do its utmost to give a healthy and wide development -to the industrial education of the masses; such systematic instruction -as shall enable them to carry to the factory, to the laboratory, -to the quarry, to the mine, to the farm, that scientific knowledge -which is required to deduce practice from theory, to give dignity as -well as efficiency to labor, and to connect abstract principles with -the industrial pursuits of life; in a word, to provide an education -which will develop for each man and woman the faculties that nature -has given in such a manner that they may be as active and profitable -and prosperous members of the community as possible; an education -beautiful by its adaptment, subservient by its use, and salutary by -its application; an education that teaches in what way to utilize -those sources of happiness which nature supplies, and how to use all -the faculties to the greatest advantage of ourselves and others; an -education that heeds the advice of Professor James Blake: “Let us -head-train the hand-worker and hand-train the head-worker. For manual -and head-training together form the only education. Apart from the -practical advantages, it has an ethical value in enabling men and women -to use all their faculties, for no man can distort himself by exclusive -attention to one order of faculties, and especially by neglecting to -keep good balance between the two fundamental co-ordinates of his -being, body and mind, without finding the distortion repeating itself -in moral obtuseness and disorder.” - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE. - - -It is a popular mistake that Switzerland, industrially, occupies -a stagnant condition in the scale of nations, and exists for -picturesqueness alone. It is equally a mistake to think that its main -staples are wood-carving and hotel-keeping. The circumstances which -so long prohibited any advance in commerce and agriculture are to be -found in the peculiarities of the physical character of the country -and the absence of capital. Switzerland had no sources of mineral nor, -under the conditions of former times, of agricultural wealth. It could -not maintain a large population on its own resources; nor could it -have cities, the inhabitants of which, either like those of Flanders, -by the easy terms upon which they might get the raw materials, could -have manufactured for others; or like those of Venice, Genoa, and of -the cities of Holland, might have become common carriers. They could -have had no commerce, except with their surplus cheese. The amount -of this that could be spared was so small, and the transportation so -difficult, that but little could be made of it, and the whole of this -little was wanted for the necessaries of life,--such as the useful -metals, etc.,--which the Swiss were obliged to procure from abroad. -There was no margin for saving, and so there could be no accumulations -of capital. For long ages the most assiduous industry could supply -the Swiss with only the necessaries of life, and barely with them, -even when aided by the surplus cheese. Agriculturists in a rude way, -they lived on the land which supported them and their families, -and feeling no further pressing need, their untrained intelligence -could form no conception of the advantages of the social union and -commercial interdependence of a more civilized state of society. This -condition no longer exists. By the aid of new means of transportation -and communication, and by the substitution of machinery for manual -labor, the motive power for which nature furnishes in abundance, the -people are becoming prosperous and capital is accumulating. For many -ages the poorest country in Europe, it is rapidly progressing towards -becoming, in proportion to the amount of its population, one of the -richest. The position taken to-day by Switzerland in the trade and -commerce of the world is remarkable, when the various natural obstacles -are considered,--such as absence of raw material for its industries, -great distance from the sea-coast, with costly and difficult means of -transportation, and restrictive customs established by neighboring -countries. It does not possess a single coal-mine, canal, or navigable -stream. It is practically dependent for all its metals on foreign -supply. Asphalt is the only raw mineral product the export of which -exceeds the import, and this is found only in the Canton of Neuchâtel, -where the output is very large and of a superior quality. Inland, -without ships or seaport, and therefore deprived of the advantages -of direct exportation and importation, its commerce must be effected -through the four conterminous countries of France, Germany, Austria, -and Italy. Therefore, while every mart in the world is familiar with -its manufactures, it is almost ignored in the commercial statistics -of nations. The high protective policy so universally adopted by the -neighboring countries, where for a long time the best markets for -Swiss goods were found, has forced the Swiss manufacturers to extend -their trade to transmarine markets, involving not only a vast amount -of competition, but far more risk and uncertainty attending sales -than in doing business in markets nearer home. Then four-fifths of -the Swiss exports to countries other than the contiguous ones consist -of silk goods, embroideries, and watches, which may be classed, in -a general sense, as luxuries; and, in seeking a foreign market, -encounter the highest duty. On the other hand, its importations are -cotton, machinery, cereals, food-supply, and raw materials for its -manufacturers,--that will not admit of a corresponding heavy import -duty. The remedy heretofore partially found in special commercial -treaties has become almost futile by the rapid blocking of the -provisions of the “most favored nation” clauses. These have practically -lost their purpose and force by each party to the treaty persisting -in the enlargement and accentuation of its own customs provisions. In -an address recently delivered by the President of the Confederation, -at a national agricultural exposition, referring to the depression -of that industry, he said: “The political existence of Switzerland -is at present not threatened or endangered from any quarter, but it -is different with its economical existence, which causes us from day -to day increased solicitude on account of the increase of unjust -burdens imposed at all our neighboring frontiers. The first to feel -this condition were our manufacturers, who demanded a tariff of -retaliation, and now the farmers complain that they are suffering from -a denial of the same protection. Indeed, we are to-day the witnesses -of an eager race in the parliaments of many countries to raise the -duties on importations from their neighboring states until the wall -is so high that nothing can pass. Is this to be the grand coronation -of the labor and civilization of the nineteenth century,--the century -of steam, electricity, the piercing of the St. Gothard, the Suez and -Panama canals? No! Such a condition cannot endure. Let me express the -hope that the time will come when, from the excess of the evil, good -will result; that the people will realize that such a condition leads -to general poverty, while liberty of exchange is the surest foundation -of general prosperity.” - -With these great natural and artificial obstacles to contend with, -Switzerland is nevertheless a commercial and manufacturing state. Its -industries are prosperous and show a constantly-increasing vitality -and importance, and its citizens are growing rich and famous in the -commerce of Europe. Its silks, ribbons, embroideries, braided straws, -watches, and cheese go to every quarter of the globe. There is no -state in Europe in which there is so great a general trade per head of -population. The commerce of Italy, with a population nearly ten times -greater, is only about double that of Switzerland; and the difference -between Austrian and Swiss commerce is even still more remarkable. The -silk industry is the oldest in Switzerland, being already established -at Zurich and Basel in the latter half of the thirteenth century. -Ticino is the only Canton where there are filatures for reeling the -cocoon into silk. Italy, China, and Japan are the great sources -of supply of raw materials to the silk manufacturers,--the former -supplying nearly four-fifths of all the organzines; of the raw silk, -the supply comes largely from Yokohama. Cotton began to be manufactured -in Switzerland in the fifteenth century, and power-loom weaving was -introduced in 1830. Twisting, spinning and white-goods weaving, and -cotton printing are of very considerable importance. Embroidered goods -have attained a great development, and furnish a heavy export trade -from eastern Switzerland, especially in the Cantons of St. Gallen and -Appenzell. Little of this beautiful work is now done by hand, machinery -having reached marvellous perfection. Aniline colors, the wonderful -dyes which the skill of modern chemists has evolved from bituminous -tar, and the manufacture of flavoring extracts, from the products of -coal-tar and petroleum, constitute a thriving export business at Basel. -Watchmaking is essentially a Swiss industry, and has been the most -important industry in Geneva since 1587, and by a combination with -jewellers, making a union between mechanical industry and art, has -given Geneva a world-wide reputation.[76] Watchmaking is done entirely -by piece-work, and sixty master workmen are required to make a single -watch. The work is divided among so many different persons, each one -of whom makes a specialty of one particular piece, and spends his -life making duplicates of this. The work is performed in the people’s -houses, the fronts of which present an uninterrupted row of windows -arranged without intermediate spaces, as the object is to admit all the -light possible. Every member of the family assists in some way. When -the house is put to rights, the wife drags a table to the window, gets -out her magnifying-glass, and goes to work on a watch-spring.[77] If -there be a son or daughter, each produces his quota. These different -parts, when gathered up by the watch merchant, are found to fit each -its special place with mathematical niceness. - -The Swiss federal custom-house returns classify all imports and exports -under three chief heads, viz., “live-stock,” “_ad valorem_ goods,” and -“goods taxed per quintal.” No returns are published of the value of -either the imports or exports, but only the quantities are given. The -principal imports are grain and flour, cattle for slaughter, sugar, -coffee, fruit, poultry, eggs, and wine; all being articles of food. -Of textile stuffs, silk, cotton, and woollen. Other articles include -chemicals for industrial purposes, leather and leather goods, hosiery -and ready-made clothes, iron and iron ware, live animals, coal and -coke, other metals and hardware, including machinery, wood, furniture, -petroleum, gold and silver bullion for coinage. Cattle, horses, wheat, -and flour are imported from Austria-Hungary; raw cotton from the -United States and Egypt; manufactured cotton goods from England; wool -chiefly from Germany; coal from the Rhine districts of Germany. The -principal exports are: textile products, watches and jewelry, cheese -and condensed milk, wine and beer, machinery, cattle, hides and skins, -dye-stuffs, furniture and wood carvings. The Swiss tradesmen are shrewd -in their bargains, honest in their reckonings, contented with small -gains and small savings. They are the Scotch of continental Europe. - -In Switzerland we find the primitive husbandry of the mountain -flourishing side by side with modern industrial commercial enterprise. -Of much Swiss agriculture it is still true, “_pater ipse colendi -haud facilem esse viam voluit_.” The minute division of the land -and the cheapness of labor do not justify the general use of modern -labor-saving agricultural implements. For cutting, threshing, and -winnowing purposes the scythe, flail, and winnowing-basket are used. -The scythe is apparently an exact counterpart of that which is seen in -the hands of “Time” in the school primer. The plough would adorn an -archæological collection; requiring four horses and three men to work -it, and cutting only one furrow. Instead of the harrow or cultivator, -a number of women and children, armed with clubs, go over the ground -after it is ploughed, and pulverize the surface. Swiss soil is but -little desecrated by the “devil-driven machinery of modern times;” and -the Swiss farmer has been equally faithful in regarding the first and -disregarding the second advice given in the distich of Pope,-- - - “Be not the first by whom the new are tried, - Nor yet the last to lay the old aside.”[78] - -The peasant farmer must needs apply a high order of management and -economy. This economy must be discerning, and he cannot take readily to -new ideas that do not assure him a better result for his hard-earned -money. This close farming yields very fair results to the small owners, -who, with their sons and daughters, have an interest in the soil and -a taste for the business. However, each change in the way of modern -improvement in its turn is fighting for establishment. The old methods -have prescription, tradition, custom to support them; the new, utility -and necessity. In the early stage, what was needed for each Swiss -peasant farmer was a little bit of land, a cow or two, a spade, a -manure basket, and a wife to carry it. This was the caterpillar stage. -They are very gradually passing into the butterfly stage. They are -beginning to evolve the capacity for collecting and turning to account -capital, the distilled essence of all property without which the land -cannot be made much of now. Life to-day does not require the tough -hide, the strong sinews, the gross stomach, the adstriction to a single -spot of the old life; on the contrary, a vastly enlarged mobility, both -of body and mind, a readiness for turning anything to account, and for -entering on any opening have become necessary. If what is wanted and -needed cannot be found at home, be willing and disposed to go seek it -elsewhere. - -Owing to great difference in elevation of the surface, there is much -diversity in the production of Switzerland. In the valleys the summer -heat is tropical, while the surrounding heights are robed in perpetual -snow. “From the lowest level on the southern slope of the Alps, say -about six hundred and fifty feet, where the lemon, the almond, and -the fig ripen in the open air, and thence ascend to an elevation of -nine thousand five hundred feet, where every vestige even of the most -primitive artificial cultivation ceases, we might trace nearly every -species of vegetable growth known in Europe.”[79] - -Cereals are grown up to three thousand six hundred feet; rye -succeeds up to five thousand nine hundred feet in the Grisons, and -to six thousand five hundred feet on the sunny slopes of Monte Rosa -and Pontresina. Irrespective of exceptional cases we may say that -cultivation ceases at three thousand nine hundred and fifty feet, -and above this height all forms of vegetation are small and poor, -consisting of low scrubs, stunted firs, and mournful larches. As a -general rule, vegetation reaches a higher point in eastern and southern -Switzerland than in the northwest. It is therefore not the absolute -height which determines the boundary of the growth of plants so much as -the disposition and form of the mountains and valleys. Another point -affecting materially the whole phytological covering of a country -is the nature of the geological formation on which the plants grow. -One-half of the country lies above the region of agriculture. The total -area of land under cultivation in Switzerland is, in figures, 5,378,122 -acres; of which, 1,715,781 acres, or 31.9 per cent., are meadow land, -and 1,962,656 acres, or 36.5 per cent., are pasturage. The arable land -covers an area of 1,533,093 acres, or 28.5 per cent., of the whole; -vineyards 87,714 acres, or 1.6 per cent.; while the ground devoted -entirely to gardening purposes may be estimated at about 78,870 acres, -or 1.5 per cent. The area of cultivated land is steadily diminishing, -as the meadows prove more remunerative. Good arable land, being so -limited, commands a very high price, from $300 per acre to $1500 -and $2000 per acre for choice vineyard lands. About one-half of the -arable land is sown in grain; the remainder being used for potatoes, -turnips, green maize, clover, vetch, etc. Both the federal and cantonal -governments have shown an active interest in fostering and promoting -the agricultural prosperity of the country; and an agricultural bureau -is attached to one of the federal departments at Bern. The cultivation -of the grape is closely identified with Swiss agricultural interests, -and with few exceptions the hill-sides on the Lake of Geneva have been -since the earliest periods of history planted with the generous vine. -There exist records to prove that some of these vineyards have been -bearing uninterruptedly for five hundred years. The reader will readily -suppose that the materials have been often renewed. One above another -these vineyards extend along the lake to the height of two thousand -feet. They are formed with persevering industry upon these precipitous -slopes by means of parallel walls, whose narrow intervals are filled -with earth that has been carried up by the peasants in baskets upon -their backs from below; and in the same way they must every season be -abundantly covered with manure. These successive terraces are reached -by steps frequently cut with infinite labor in the hard rock, and -with every economy of the land. Every inch of the ground is valuable, -because only on the side of certain hills will these vines come to -perfection. These lands, after being purchased at so high a rate, need -constant attention; for the soil is washed away from these steeps -beneath the stone walls, and must be replaced every spring; every clod -of earth is a great treasure, and they carefully collect the earth -which has been thrown out of a ditch to fill up their vineyard patches. -A square foot of land is reckoned to produce two bottles of wine -annually. Every portion of a vine is used; the stems and leaves serving -as food for the cattle; the husks, after being pressed and wedged into -round moulds, then dried, are used for fuel, burning something as -peat does. In many houses of this section the cellars are enormously -large, with a capacity as high as a million bottles each; and they are -often used as the common sitting- and reception-room.[80] Vineyards -also flourish on the slopes surrounding the lakes of Neuchâtel, Biel, -and Zurich; in the valleys of the larger rivers and certain plains of -northern Switzerland they are found to a small extent. Still, the wine -produced is not sufficient for the demand, and over 15,000,000 gallons -are annually imported; in this consumption the great number of tourists -who come every season must be taken into account. - -Growing grass and fodder, cattle-breeding, and cheese-making are the -most important branches of Swiss agriculture. For ages the forest -Cantons had little tillable land reclaimed, and from difficulty of -communication with the outside world the people were thrown almost -entirely upon their own scanty local resources. With hardly any -means of getting supplies from without, with very little land for -cultivating cereals, and in the days before maize and potatoes, their -chief reliance was upon their cows. It is very much so even at this -day, but in those days the reliance was all but unqualified. Their -cows supplied them not only with a great part of their food, but -also, through the surplus cheese, with tools, and everything else -they were incapable of producing themselves, from the singularly -limited resources of their secluded valleys. The Switzer was then the -parasite of the cow. There were no ways in which money could be made; -there were no manufactures and no travellers; and so there were no -inn-keepers to supply travellers, nor shop-keepers to supply the wants -of operatives, manufacturers, and travellers; and there were none who -had been educated up to the point that would enable them to go abroad -to make money with which they might return to their old home. If the -general population had not had the means of keeping cows, they would -not have had the means for livelihood. The problem therefore for them -to solve was,--how was every family to be enabled to keep cows? The -solution was found in the _Allmends_,--lands held and used in common. -The natural summer pastures were common, and every burgher had the -right to keep as many cows upon them in the summer as he had himself -kept during the previous winter with the hay he had made from his -labor-created and labor-maintained patch of cultivated ground, or, as -it was called, prairies; or, if as yet he had no prairies, with the -dried leaves and coarse stuff he had been able to collect from the -common forest. This system was both necessary and fair. It originated -in the nature of the country, and its then economical condition, and -in turn it created the Swiss life and character. Every one knows La -Fontaine’s story of Perrette going to the market to buy eggs; the -eggs are hatched into chickens, the chickens produce a pig and then a -calf, and the calf becomes a cow. This dream of Perrette’s is daily -realized by the Swiss peasant farmer. He picks up grass and manure -along the road; he raises rabbits, and with the money they bring he -buys first a goat, then a pig, next a calf, by which he gets a cow -producing calves in her turn. Milk is the great thing desired by the -pastoral people, and not to possess a milk-giving animal is esteemed -such a misfortune that, as a little solace to the poor, cream is in -certain places regularly distributed to them on the third Sunday in -August. Switzerland varies, through a decennial period, from thirty -to thirty-five head of horned cattle to every hundred inhabitants, -yet it actually imports butter and cattle. It consumes more animal -food than the contiguous countries, viz., twenty-two kilos. of meat, -twelve kilos. of cheese, five of butter, and one hundred and eighty-two -of milk per head per annum. To the Swiss may be applied the words -of Cæsar as to the ancient Britons: “_Lacte et carne vivunt_.” The -country is well adapted for the keeping and breeding of cattle, being -favored with good grass, water, and air. Large sums are expended by the -various cantonal governments upon schemes for the improvement of the -breed of cattle and for the facilitation of their transport from the -place of production to the market. The cattle for milking, draught, -and fattening are not kept and treated separately with a single object -only being kept in view; the Swiss cow is expected to unite all these -qualities at one time within herself. It is believed that a cow is -positively benefited by being put to the plough, especially if the -work be done in the morning; and few bullocks, but many cows, are -frequently seen serving various draught purposes, not with the yoke, -but with harness similar to that used for the horse. A cow which, at -the time of calving, fails to give eighteen litres (litre = .88 quart) -of milk is not considered of any value. A fair average for the Swiss -cow is ten quarts of milk per day the milking year through, and five -thousand three hundred and fifteen pounds of milk per cow is an annual -average yield for the milking season of nine months. In England the -famous short-horned cows furnish only an average of four thousand -six hundred and eighty-eight pounds, and the highest average of milk -received at the best dairies of the State of New York reaches a little -over four thousand pounds, making a difference in favor of Swiss cows -of over thirteen hundred pounds. The federal government makes an annual -appropriation for the improvement of cattle, and in the distribution -of the subsidy confines itself to those Cantons where cattle-breeding -receives local assistance and encouragement. All subsidies are made -subject to various conditions to secure the fullest benefit therefrom. -These require an annual examination of all breeding-bulls to be held -at a district show; prize bulls must be used in the Canton for at -least one year after the awarding of the prize; breeding-bulls must be -registered, and none unregistered may be so used; prize cows must also -remain a certain time in the Commune, and must not leave the Canton -before calving. The Swiss have superior breeds of cattle for yield of -milk, aptitude for fattening, and capability of working, as well as -handsome in appearance. From reports made by United States consuls, -the two best-known and highly-prized breeds of cattle appear to be the -parti-colored and the brown; the difference prevailing in each being, -mainly, in point of size and greater or less degree of fineness. The -parti-colored breed is seen at its best in the valleys of the Simme, -Saane, and Kander, in the Gruyère and Bulle districts, and generally -over the western and northern parts of Switzerland. They are large, and -among the heaviest cattle in Europe; their ground color is white, and -it is marked with dun, reddish-yellow, or black; the milk from these -cows is admirably adapted for making cheese and butter. Some of the -most famous cheeses known to the market are from the milk of these -“fleck” or spotted cows. They fatten kindly, and, owing to strength and -size, are well suited for draught purposes. The brown race consists of -a heavy Schwyz breed, the medium-size breed from Unterwalden and part -of the eastern Cantons, and the smaller mountain breed. It has been -called the “turf-breed,” and is considered to be more ancient than the -parti-colored. It is mostly found in Schwyz, Zug, Luzern, and Zurich. -The brown Schwyz is a beautifully-formed cow of mouse color, running -into brown; large, straight back, usually with white streak; short, -light horns, two-thirds white with tips black; nose tipped dark gray, -with light borders; udder large, white, and smooth; usual weight about -twelve hundred to thirteen hundred pounds, those kept in the higher -Alps weigh about nine hundred pounds. There is a breed in the Valais -known as the Hérens, which is considered by many to be a separate -and primitive race. These animals, having short, stout bodies, are -admirably suited to the steepest and most inaccessible pasturage; they -are readily fattened, the quality of their meat is greatly prized by -butchers, and they are renowned for their enormous powers of draught. -In 1880 a great impulse was given to the careful breeding of cattle -by the establishment of four herd-books. It is alleged that the great -number of good cows of pure blood help to make the Swiss herd-book a -failure. It began life with as many “pure bloods” as most herd-books -contain after twenty years’ existence. At the international show of -Paris, in 1878, every Swiss cow exhibited bore away a prize. They have -competed also with exhibits from Holland, England, and Denmark, and -other famous cattle and milk-producing districts of Europe. Good Swiss -cows sell from 500 to 1200 francs each. These fine milk-, butter-, -and cheese-producing animals are fed only on grass and hay the year -through; occasionally a little dry bran may be added. From May to -September the cows in the neighborhood of the mountains are herded on -the upper Alps, and this rich, nutritious, short Alpine grass sustains -for nearly four months multitudes of as beautiful cattle as are to -be found in the world. All the mountain pasturages go by the name of -Alp,[81] and comprise “voralpen,” used in the spring; “mittelalpen,” -middle or intermediate pasture, remaining free of snow from the -first of June to the end of September, and “hochalpen,” sometimes -nine thousand feet high, for sheep and goats. Except when on these -Alpine pastures, the cows have only house-feeding, and, there being -no grazing-fields aside from the Alps, the cows of the plains are -stall-fed through the entire year. In the summer the fresh-cut grass is -fed to them. It is economy to cut the grass and carry it in as against -permitting the meadows to be trampled, grass wasted, and the animals -worried with flies. The cattle-stables are long, low, rectangular -attachments to the barns. They are always built of stone, with walls -about two feet thick. The stalls are usually ceiled over head, and -often plastered throughout; the floors stone or cement, and bedded -with poor hay, straw, or saw-dust, and a tight-fitting; oak door is at -the end of the rectangle. These barns are very warm, but thoroughly -ventilated, and the stalls are clean and nice beyond comparison. The -cows are marched out to exercise, air, and water daily; they are -curried and cared for the same as fine horses; their coats are brushed -until they shine, and the animals are evidently vain of their beauty. -In this, as in other cases, man’s regard for the lower animals appears -to be rewarded by an increase in their intelligence. The universal -reasons given for thus penning up these cows are: “It saves feed,” -“the cows give more milk for the warmth,” “there are no flies to worry -them,” and “more manure is obtained.” The peasant, pointing to the -manure heap, will say, “Out there is where the per cents. are made.” -As grass and hay are almost exclusively fed, it is requisite that -these be of the best quality and of sufficient quantity. There is a -great variety and succession of green crops for feeding in the house, -almost the year round, carefully cultivated. A moist climate, frequent -appliance of liquid manure,[82] and the practice of growing fruit-trees -in the meadows prevent drought in Switzerland. Then much moisture -comes from the incessant filtration of the melting glaciers which -are constantly dissolving under the heat of the sun. The conditions -of moisture and sunshine give to the country its abundance of grass, -causing it to grow anywhere. You see it rapidly establishing itself -on the tops of roadside walls. On a heap of stones lichens and moss -soon appear, and, by their decay, in time fill the interstices, then a -mantle of turf creeps over it. In excavations on hill-sides, where the -mountain torrent brings down successive avalanches of rocky detritus, -each successive layer in turn and in time becomes consolidated with -mould and then covered with turf. Indeed, a greater part of the valleys -consists of nothing but a film of soil superimposed on fragments of -rock. There are two or three grass crops in Switzerland yearly,--the -first in the beginning of May, the second at the end of July, and often -another early in October. The mountains intercept winds and clouds, -making the amount of precipitation large. The clouds are generally -intercepted by the mountains at an elevation of five thousand feet, -and then descend in rain; higher up the precipitation is in the form -of snow. There is great difference in annual waterfalls, the greatest -being as we approach the Alps, whether from the north or south. The -annual rainfall is thirty-five inches at Basel, sixty-four and a half -inches at Interlaken, sixty-nine at Schwyz, rising to eighty-eight on -the Grimsel and one hundred and two on the St. Bernard, and falling -at Lugano to sixty-three. The percentage of snow in the total annual -rainfall varies from sixty-three on the St. Bernard to six at Geneva. -The importance of this precipitation may be understood when it is -recalled that a precipitation of twenty-eight inches is considered -essential to agricultural security. The meadows are aided in no less -degree than the climate by constant fertilizing and extraordinary care -in the way of watering, draining, etc. A Swiss acre of good grass-land -is worth, in the richer and more populous Cantons, from 1500 to 2000 -francs. Milk, and what is made from it, constitute the most important -resource of the peasant’s income. The manufacture of cheese is one -of the most ancient industries of the country, instruments for this -purpose having been found in different parts among the ruins of the -“Lake-dwellers,” whose date is anterior to all historical records. -On wedding occasions it was formerly the custom to present the -bride and bridegroom with a large cheese, the joint contribution of -their relatives; and this cheese was handed down, generation after -generation, as a family register, on which were inscribed births, -deaths, and marriages. Cheeses bearing date of 1660 are still to be -seen. In some parts of the country cheese forms the staple food of -the people, and the laborers are often paid with it. There are no -fewer than five thousand five hundred cheese-making factories, and -nearly 13,000 tons are exported annually, the value of which is over -$7,000,000. - -In 1887 there were exported to the United States 4,262,000 pounds, at -an invoice valuation of $658,000. During the Alpine pasture season the -cheese is made in the little stone huts or _sennes_ of the herdsmen, -and brought down in the autumn; the herdsman will descend from the -pastures with a cheese weighing from one hundred and fifty to one -hundred and seventy-five pounds on his shoulders. The larger the cheese -the better its quality. Each cow is supposed to yield a hundred-weight -of cheese during the summer months. The average of fat contained in the -milk of the best Swiss cows is three and three-tenths per cent., though -in a few cases it may show four to four and a half per cent. of fat or -oil. The several varieties of cheese are classified: either according -to consistency of material, as _dur_, _ferme_, and _mou_ (hard, firm, -and soft); or according to the proportion of fatty matter, as _gras_, -_migras_, or _maigre_ (rich, medium, or thin); or according to the -coagulation, whether by rennet (_à pressure_) or by sour milk (_à lait -aigre_). The better kinds of Swiss cheese are as much the products of -skill and high art as the Swiss watch and Swiss embroidery. The best -and most abundant, retaining nearly all the elements of the milk, with -its nutritive value, is the _Emmenthal_, known as the _Schweizerkäse_, -and is made in the valley of the Emme, Canton of Bern. This is a round -cheese eighty to one hundred centimetres in diameter, ten to fifteen -centimetres thick, and weighing from fifty to one hundred kilos. or -more. Next in importance is the _Gruyère_, called after the village -of that name in Freiburg, around which it is asserted grow succulent -herbs of aromatic juices, that perfume the milk of which this cheese -is made, that is so well known and highly appreciated throughout the -world. Another celebrated cheese is the _Schabzieger_, or green cheese, -known as the Sago or Sapsago. Its manufacture dates back to the tenth -century, and it is still largely produced in the Canton of Glarus. The -peculiarity of this cheese is due partly to the method of coagulation, -and partly to treatment with the _Schabziegerklee_, a plant grown for -the purpose in Schwyz. The analysis of the _Emmenthal_ and _Gruyère_ -cheeses is given: the former, water, 34.92; fatty matter, 31.26; -caseine, 29.88; salts, 3.94: the latter, water, 34.57; fatty matter, -29.12; caseine, 32.51; and salts, 3.80. There is at Cham the largest -and most successful milk-condensing factory in the world, with branch -establishments in England, Germany, and Orange County, New York. It -uses the milk of not less than six to seven thousand cows, and its -product is known far and wide. At Romanshorn, also, the Swiss Alpine -Milk Exporting Company does an immense export business of pure milk -produced from healthy, grass-fed cows. These companies claim to have -satisfactorily solved the problem of condensing and preserving milk -without altering its original composition, either by the addition of -sugar or other preservative substances. Switzerland is veritably the -land “flowing with milk and honey, and cattle upon a thousand hills.” -Great attention is paid to apiaries; the honey is famed for its aroma -and delicacy; though some tourists are disposed to doubt if that which -is on every breakfast-table is all the product of the little busy -hymenopteran. - -The first railway on Swiss soil was a short piece from St. Louis to -Basel, opened in 1844; but the first purely Swiss line was that from -Zurich to Baden, opened in 1847; yet Switzerland has to-day more -railways in proportion to area than any other country of Europe. Its -railroad mileage per ten thousand population, stands third in Europe, -being exceeded only by Sweden and Denmark; and in outlay for the same -per capita, it comes second, England being first. By a federal law of -1872, the right to grant concessions to railroads was vested solely -in the Confederation, but the co-operation of the Cantons was to be -sought in the preliminary negotiations. The revised Constitution of -1874 expressly sanctioned the condition into which railroad affairs -had been brought by previous legislation; for the 23d article repeats -the constitutional provisions of 1848 regarding public works, and -another article is added; the 26th declaring that “legislation on the -construction and management of railroads belongs to the Confederation.” -All railroad companies, whether confined to a single Canton or running -within the limits of more than one, and of whatever length, from trunk -lines down to the shortest funicular, desiring a concession, must first -apply to the Federal Council, submitting the necessary documents and -information. These are at once transmitted by the Federal Council to -the cantonal government or governments through which the projected -railway proposes to run, and negotiations take place between cantonal -authorities and representatives of the railway as to the concessions -asked for, under the presidency of a delegation of the Federal Council, -including the chief of that particular department. After the Federal -Council has settled the terms of the concession, it sends a message, -with the text of the proposed conditions, to the Federal Assembly for -their consideration. The ultimate decision rests with the Federal -Assembly, and they may grant a concession even if the Canton opposes -it. The purchase of the Swiss railways by the Confederation has -been much discussed of late years, but so far without any result. -The Confederation has left the development of railroads to private -enterprises, and never exercised its right of subsidies to railways -except in the case of the St. Gothard Company, which pierced the Alps -with a tunnel of incalculable value to the whole of Switzerland. By -this tunnel Switzerland overcame the isolation resulting from an -altitude above the sea; linking north and south, central Europe and -Italy, in new bonds of amity, and opening through the very heart of -the Alps a new highway for the nations. It is one of the greatest -triumphs of modern engineering, one of the grandest monuments of human -skill. It is the longest tunnel in the world, being fifteen kilometres -long, or nearly nine and a half miles; one and a half miles longer -than the Mont Cenis tunnel. In addition to the great tunnel there -are fifty-two smaller tunnels approaching it, making a total length -of tunnels in getting through the Alps fifteen miles. The St. Gothard -railway proper extends from Immensee, in Switzerland, to Chiasso, in -Italy, a distance of one hundred and thirteen miles, and there are in -all not less than fifty-six tunnels, comprising more than one-fifth -of the whole line, or twenty-three miles of tunnelling. The width of -the great tunnel is twenty-six feet and the height nineteen feet. It -requires, at express-train speed, sixteen minutes to pass through it. -It is about one thousand feet below Andermatt, and five thousand to -six thousand five hundred feet below the peaks of the St. Gothard. The -preliminary works were begun at Göschenen, on the north side, June the -4th, and at Airolo, on the south side, July the 2d, 1872. Louis Favre, -of Geneva, was the contractor.[83] On February 28, 1880, a perforation -from the south side penetrated the last partition between north and -south sections, and the workmen on either side exchanged greetings. On -the 22d of May, 1882, the first train passed over the line, and every -town from Luzern to Milan celebrated the completion with banquets and -excursions; and its business, passenger and traffic, at once assumed -immense proportions. The construction cost 56,000,000 francs; which was -partly paid by subventions from Switzerland, Germany, and Italy, the -conditions and respective amounts of which were the subject of a treaty -between these governments. It penetrates the mountain like a corkscrew, -making four complete loops within a distance of twenty miles, in order -to attain the requisite elevation, when it emerges into daylight only -to enter again the main tunnel. The waters of the Reuss and the Ticino -supplied the necessary motive power for working the screws attached -to the machinery for compressing the air. The borers applied to the -rock the piston of a cylinder made to rotate with great rapidity by -the pressure of air, reduced to one-twentieth of its ordinary volume; -then, when they had made the holes sufficiently deep, they withdrew the -machines and charged the mines with dynamite. After the explosion, the -_débris_ was cleared away and the borers returned to their place. This -work was carried on day and night for nearly ten consecutive years. -The official report shows that three hundred and ten of the workmen -were killed by accidents during the building of the tunnel, and eight -hundred and seventy-seven were wounded or received minor injuries. The -work was done by Italians; no others would accept so much toil and -danger for so little pay. There were used in its construction 2,000,000 -pounds of dynamite and 700,000 kilos. of illuminating oil. The problem -of keeping the temperature and atmosphere of the tunnel within a limit -involving perfect safety to persons passing through it, proved one -of the most difficult encountered. It was satisfactorily solved by -the establishment of immense steam-pumping machines, which constantly -throw in an ample supply of fresh air, and maintain a temperature never -rising above 20° Celsius or 68° Fahrenheit. There is at present being -projected, by the Italian and Swiss governments, the Simplon tunnel, to -pierce the Alps about midway between Mont Cenis and St. Gothard, which -will be one kilometre longer than the St. Gothard,--that is, sixteen -kilometres, or about ten miles in length. - -In practical engineering the Swiss may challenge rivalry with any -other nation. The suspension bridge at Freiburg, constructed in 1834, -at that time had the largest single curve of any bridge in the world, -being nine hundred feet in length, and one hundred and eighty high. -One of the most daring feats of modern engineering is the cog-wheel -railway up to Pilatus-culm, on the Lake of Luzern, six thousand seven -hundred and twenty-four feet high. The road-bed is of solid masonry -faced with granite blocks. Streams and gorges are traversed by means -of stone bridges. There are seven tunnels from thirty to three hundred -feet in length. The rack-rail, midway between and somewhat higher than -the tracks, is of wrought steel, and has a double row of vertical cogs -milled out of solid steel bars. The locomotive and car containing -thirty-two seats form one train, with two movable axles and four -cog-wheels gripping the cogs, and which, on downward trips, can be -controlled by vigorous automatic brakes. The speed of the locomotive -is two hundred feet per minute. The road has an average gradient of -about one foot in every two. Another piece of skilful engineering and -of much scientific interest is the new electric mountain railway up the -Burgenstock, also on the Lake of Luzern, it being the first application -of this powerful agent to a mountain railway. The primary source of -the motive power is three miles away, where an immense water-wheel of -one hundred and fifty horse-power has been erected. This works two -dynamoes, each of thirty horse-power. The electricity thus generated is -transmitted for three miles across the valley, by means of insulated -copper wires, to another pair of dynamoes, the negatives of the first, -placed in a station at the head of the railway. Here the electric -force is converted into mechanical power by the ordinary connection -of leather belts, gearing the dynamoes, to two large driving-wheels -of nine feet diameter. Then by shafting and cogs the power is carried -on to an immense wheel of sixteen feet diameter, and around this -passes a wire rope with each end connected to the cars. One man only -is required to control the motion of the cars. The whole apparatus -for this purpose is arranged compactly before him, and no scientific -knowledge is required to manage it. Switzerland has developed the use -of electricity to a greater extent, probably, than any other country; -the mountain streams furnishing a power ready to hand, and the Swiss -in every possible way are utilizing it for electrical purposes. There -is a railway to the summit of the Jungfrau being projected that will -surpass all existing works of the kind. It will be built entirely in -the rim of the mountain, in order that it may be completely safe from -storms, avalanches, and landslips. The tunnel will be on the western -slope, which is very steep but the shortest route. It will start from -Stegmalten, two miles from Lauterbrunnen, a point two thousand eight -hundred feet above the sea, running a southeasterly direction, under -the Mönch and the Silver Horn, to the summit. The road is estimated -to be twenty-one thousand four hundred and fifty feet in length, and -will run as close beneath the surface of the mountain as possible. -The engineers supervising the construction are Herr Köchlin, who was -one of M. Eiffel’s principal assistants in building the lofty tower -in Paris, and Colonel Locher, of Luzern, the constructor of the Mount -Pilatus Railway. The cost is put at 56,000,000 francs, and it is to -be completed within five years. The magnitude of this work is shown -in the statement that the quantity of rock necessary to be removed is -thirteen times that taken from the St. Gothard tunnel. At Winterthur -and Schaffhausen, locomotives, other engines and heavy machinery of -superior character, are being made, with occasional shipments even to -the United States. The recent movement of Switzerland, following the -example of other civilized nations, in adopting a patent law, will give -a new impulse to the natural mechanical genius of its citizens, and -the resultant establishment of other prosperous manufacturing plants. -This patent law, which went into effect November, 1888, protects only -material objects and not _processes_. This feature is said to be due -to the efforts of the manufacturers of aniline colors and chemicals, -whose interest would be injuriously affected by a law as comprehensive -as that of the United States, which protects “useful arts” and -“compositions of matter” as well as tools and machines. - -If a country’s roads be the “measure of its civilization,” Switzerland -would be easily first. Many of the roads, specially in the Alpine -districts, represent an immense cost and the boldest engineering. There -is not in the country a road for the use of which toll is charged; -for, to their apprehension, a toll would be a contradiction of the -very purpose for which the road was made. There is a road-master -(_wegmeister_) for every Commune, but he is appointed and paid by the -Canton. Though there is so much rainfall, the soil being permeable -and favorable to the percolation of the water, the roads, even after -a heavy rain, rapidly become dry and clean; everywhere you find them -as skilfully constructed and vigilantly repaired as the drives through -a park; the cost of their construction and maintenance is defrayed by -cantonal and communal taxation. The importance of the mountain roads -is recognized by a provision in the constitution, by which the Cantons -of Uri, Grisons, Ticino, and Valais receive an annual indemnity on -account of their international Alpine roads; to Uri 80,000 francs; to -Grisons 200,000 francs; to Ticino 200,000 francs; to Valais 50,000 -francs, with an additional indemnity of 40,000 francs to the Cantons -of Uri and Ticino for clearing the snow from St. Gothard road, so long -as that road shall not be replaced by a railroad.[84] These sums are -to be withheld by the federal government if the roads are not kept in -suitable condition. - -The “_fremden-industrie_,” or exploitation of foreigners, is not the -least profitable industry of the country. There are over 400 mountain -resorts, and, in fact, for months the entire country is one great -consolidated hotel company.[85] Palatial hostleries with metropolitan -_menus_ and _salles à manger_, bengal lights and brass bands, reached -by cable roads, are perched on crags where only the eagle used to build -his eyrie or the chamois seek refuge. In July and August a quarter of a -million tourists fill this little mountain country through its length -and breadth with their joyfulness and jargon. This annual irruption -constitutes a perennial well-spring of good fortune to many branches of -industry and to a large number of Swiss people. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -PEASANT HOME AND LIFE. - - “Mid the murmurings of his fountains, - And the echoes of his mountains, - Where the lordly eagle soars, - Where the headlong torrent roars, - He is, as he was meant to be, - Poor and virtuous, calm and free.” - - -The industry, thrift, helpfulness, and simple contentment of the Swiss -peasants, next to the natural scenery, attract our attention. One -must respect their laborious industry, frugality, and perseverance, -and regret that so much toil, with such close and unfailing economy, -should have such meagre results. Dwelling among the crags and clouds, -their flats mostly water and their slopes mostly ice, they get out of -their little holdings every farthing that they will yield, and squander -nothing. There is a kind of manliness in their never-ending struggle -against the niggardliness and severity of nature; out-braving and -beating its hard opposition. Sharp-pressing need spurs them to wring -a difficult and scant subsistence from the mountain-steeps. Secluded -and poor, yet brave and cheerful, they recall the lines from the -description of the old Corycian peasant: - - “And wisely deem’d the wealth of monarchs less - Than little of his own, because his own did please.” - -Every little scrap of ground is turned to the best account. If a few -square yards can anywhere be made or reclaimed the requisite labor is -not grudged. Many of these sturdy people compel an incredibly little -spot of ground to yield them enough, and some to spare. This surprising -product from a soil, much of it very poor, is due to the perfection -of spade-work; each field, or rather patch, has the perfection of -shape given to it to facilitate cultivation and drainage. This small -cultivator, only with spade in hand, can fertilize the waste and -perform prodigies which nothing but his love of the land could enable -him to accomplish. These peasants have a proverb that “if the plough -has a ploughshare of iron, the spade has a point of gold.” In the -mountainous districts the land is reclaimed by this _petite culture_. -In fact, the man makes the very soil. He builds terraces along steep -inclines, lining them with blocks of stone, and then packs the earth to -them, transforming the mountain and the rock into a little patch where -he plants a vine or raises a little oats or maize. Up the heights of -rocks which even goats cannot climb, on the very brow of the abyss, the -peasant goes, clinging to the precipice with iron crampers on his feet -in search of grass. He hangs on the sides of the rocks which imprison -the valley and mows down a few tufts of grass from craggy shelves. The -hay thus gathered is called _wildheu_, and the reaper _wildheuer_. This -peasant mountain-mower is essentially _sui generis_. He is accustomed -to all the perils of the mountain, and the day before the mowing season -begins--a day fixed by communal decree--he bids farewell, perhaps for -the last time, to his wife and children. His scythe on his shoulder, -armed with his iron-shod stick, provided with his clamp-irons, a cloth -or a net rolled up in his bag, he sets out at midnight, in order that -the dawn may find him at his work. During the two months of hay-harvest -he only goes down to the village three or four times to renew his -supply of food or linen. By this hard and perilous occupation an Alpine -mower makes from three to five francs a day, his food not included; -and many times under some projecting rock he must seek a bed and pass -the night. Once dried, this wild hay is carefully gathered into a -cloth or net and carried down to the first little plain, where it can -be made into a stack, which is loaded with large stones to prevent it -being blown away. In winter, when everything is covered with snow, the -mower climbs again the perpendicular sides of the mountain, carrying -his little wooden sledge on his shoulders. He loads it with hay, -seats himself on the front, and shoots down with the swiftness of an -arrow. At times, the snow softened by the warm wind which blows upon -the heights, is detached in an avalanche behind him, and swallows him -up before he reaches the valley. This aromatic hay, composed of the -nourishing flora of the high Alps, of delicate and succulent plants, -of the wild chrysanthemum, the dwarf carline thistle, the red-flowered -veronica, the Alpine milfoil with its black calyx, the clover with its -great tufts, and the meum, an umbelliferous plant, gives a delicious -milk, and is greatly sought after for the fattening of cattle. In these -steep solitudes where the grass is found, the life of man is so exposed -and accidents are so frequent that the law forbids there should be -more than one mower in a family. With him it is a fight for life, not -infrequently conducted to the death. At all times great charges of -wrath hang over him,--a beetling crag, a stream of stones, a cataract -of ice, a moving field of snow, the flash that rends his roof, the wind -that strips his trees, the flood that drowns his land, against each of -these messengers of ill he must hold a separate watch, and must learn -to brave each danger when it comes, alike by flush of noon and in the -dead of night. The little valley below lies at the mercy of these ice- -and storm-engendering heights. Year by year the peasants fight against -its being extorted from their dominion. Yet this feeble community in -the valley, by their stout hearts and virtuous lives, continue to make -it smile on the frowning mountains: - - “Durum! sed levius fit patientia - Quicquid corrigere est nefas.” - -It is a strange and savage reverence which the peasants feel for the -mountains. They seem to grow like each other in spirits, even as a man -and wife who live in peace grow like each other year by year. With no -people is the love of home and the native soil so strongly developed. -To return to his village in the midst of his beloved mountains is the -constant dream of his life, and to realize it he will endure every -privation and bind himself to the hardest and most painful toil. -One hope possesses him,--to see again the snows, the glaciers, the -lakes, the great oaks, and the familiar pines of his country. It is a -sentiment so human--of home, of kindred, of the accustomed locality, of -country--that has fostered itself on him and binds him to the spot with -a chain he has no power to break. The Almighty himself has implanted -in the human breast that passionate love of country which rivets with -irresistible attraction the Esquimau to his eternal snows, the Arab to -his sandy desert, and the Swiss to his rugged mountains: - - “Cling to thy home: if there the meanest shed - Yield thee a hearth and shelter for thy head, - And some poor plot, with vegetables stored, - Be all that Heaven allots thee for thy board, - Unsavory bread and herbs that scatter’d grow - Wild on the river-bank or mountain brow, - Yet e’en this cheerless mansion shall provide - More heart’s repose than all the world beside.” - -There is a quietness and a sombre severity in the lives of these -peasants. In spite of occasional merry-making, pleasure-seeking is -rare. They have no great sensibility or expression of joy, but a -composed satisfaction, a kind of phlegmatic good humor, marks the -boundary of their happiness. Many visitors to the country are disposed -to complain of the plainness of their demeanor; that their speech is -rough and their style hard. The simple abruptness of the peasant’s -greeting is not without its charms. How far one feels from the -obsequious manners of the city, from profuse and insincere compliments! -Is there not to some extent in all this a philosophical basis? In -general, is it not true that the members of a republic, conscious of -their independence and self-importance, adhere less scrupulously to the -conventional regularity of forms? Again, the extreme politeness which -sometimes characterizes the subject of an arbitrary government may be -the result of that policy which introduces and encourages an exterior -air of civility as the mark of subordination and respect. The Swiss -peasants have neither the time, disposition, nor necessity to affect -these elegant improvements,--fopperies of a trifling and superficial -elegance which frequently serve merely to soften the deformities of -vice. They are delightfully natural human beings, human nature simple -and unabashed, and manifest a courteous consideration for each other’s -comforts and sensibilities. They have no occasion to assert offensively -that equality of right which nobody denies, and they respect each -other’s rights as they do their own. There are no castes to clash, -no lower class to assert itself in rudeness, and no higher class to -provoke rudeness by insolent assumption. They maintain old-fashioned -habits of courteous hospitality, and the workmen in the field will -shout out to the passer-by a kindly _guten tag_ or _guten abend_, -with the _a_ prolonged beyond the amen of a chant, and the children -invariably take off their caps or drop a courtesy. Even the pastoral -beggars present a species of attractive mendicity, as the little -children come out to meet you with offerings of Alpine roses, cherries -on their branches, and strawberries in the leaves, extending their -hands, with the common entreaty--_bitte, bitte_ (pray do). - -We hear a great deal of the peasant’s chalet. Though very picturesque -in appearance, as they glisten in the sunbeams on the slopes or dot -the pastoral valleys, these chalets are by no means such charming -dwellings as often pictured. Owing to the original abundance of timber, -it was almost the only material employed in the building of these -houses. There are practically three styles: the so-called block-house, -in which the logs are laid one upon the other, notched at the ends -so as to fit into each other at the angles where they cross; the -post-built house, in which upright posts and a strong framework are -filled in with planks; and the _riegelhaus_, with brick or stone. -All soon become dark-brown of hue, and are quaint and distinctive in -form. They are covered with low flat roofs of shingles, weighted with -stones to prevent them from being carried away by the wind; the roofs -overhang the walls like the brim of a hat, widened to protect the -face from the rain, and are frequently shaped and sculptured by the -knife with curious and patient skill. There is a peculiarly sheltered -look in the broad projection of the thatched roofs, which, with the -thick covering of moss, and their visible beams, making all kinds of -triangles upon the ancient plaster of the walls, are very odd and -attractive things. The low panelled rooms are innocent of gilding and -of painting, but are cleanliness itself. Hollow niches over the doors -contain statues of the Virgin, heroes, or saints. The plain benches, -tables, cupboards, and chairs are made of the whitest wood, and are -so scoured, washed, and polished that to paint or varnish them would -be to defile them. Most articles of furniture are quaintly shaped and -ornamented, old looking, but rubbed bright and in good preservation, -from the nut-cracker, curiously carved, to the double-necked cruet, -pouring oil and vinegar out of the same bottle. They are heated with -porcelain stoves, cylindrical in shape, two and a half to three feet -in diameter, reaching from the floor almost to the ceiling, and bound -with bright brass rings to give them strength. These stoves are built -of white enamelled tile, which is two or three inches in thickness, and -the blocks of tile are put in layers, the inside of the stove being -lined with heavy fire-brick, leaving the flue not more than ten inches -in diameter. From this wall of fire-brick run a series of small valves -up and down and around, carrying the hot air to a number of caps at the -top and bottom of the stove, and thence into the room. Wood or turf is -used, and it is astonishing how little fuel is necessary. A fire is -started in the morning, the damper remains open until the gases have -all passed up the chimney, and only the smouldering ashes remain, then -the damper is closed, and no more fuel is needed for twelve hours; if, -before retiring, the process of the morning be repeated, it will remain -warm through the entire night. The stoves are not unsightly, but in -many instances ornamental, having a clean and well-polished surface, -with doors and caps of brass highly burnished. In the centre of the -stove is a receptacle for warming dishes or keeping a supply of hot -water. The stoves are placed close up in the corner, or form part of -the partition between rooms so as to be out of the way and heat two -rooms. - -To some cottages there is an outside stair leading to the second -story, or even to the third, if there be one, for these houses are -frequently the property of several owners. The peasant who, in the -Valais, possesses the third part of a mule and the fourth part of a -cow, has often only the half or third of a house. “The Jura cottage -has no daintiness of garden nor wealth of farm about it,--it is indeed -little more than a delicately-built chalet, yet trim and domestic, -mildly intelligent of things other than pastoral, watch-making and the -like; though set in the midst of its meadows, the gentian at its door, -the lily of the valley wild in the copses hard by. My delight in these -cottages, and in the sense of human industry and enjoyment through the -whole scene, was at the root of all pleasure in its beauty.”[86] - -Within and without these chalets are mural inscriptions and symbols: - - “Quarter’d o’er with scutcheons of all hues, - And proverbs sage, which passing travellers - Linger to read, and ponder o’er their meaning.” - -They are put upon the beam, upon panels, carved in the cornices -everywhere to catch the eye. They are most various in character, -friendly welcomes, praises of their native land, exhortations to unity, -to freedom, and to courage. On the great projecting beam supporting the -roof, called _sablière_, are often painted, amid ornaments and flowers, -the initials J.M.J. (Jesus, Mary, and Joseph), as well as the name of -the man for whom the house was made, and that of the master carpenter -who built it. Those of the Bernese Oberland have inscriptions reminding -man of his duty and the solemnity of life; of which the following are -samples: - - “The friends from whom we needs must part - ’Twill pleasure give to meet again. - ’Gainst malice, lies, hypocrisy, - Closed may this house forever be.” - - “My God, my strength, whom I will trust, - A buckler unto me; - The horn of my salvation - And my high tower is He.” - - “On account of one day, be afraid of all days.” - -Many of the inscriptions are from the Bible, and thus not only the -churches, but public buildings and private houses teach morality. In -the Grisons you see on many the arms of the three leagues engraved; one -will bear a cross, another a wild goat, a third a man on horseback, and -above them the lines carved,-- - - “These are the arms of the Grisons, - On the mountains their strongholds lie; - God will have the graciousness - To preserve their liberty.” - -This inscription is on a church-bell, dating back four centuries: -“Vivos voco, mortuos plango, fulgura frango” (“I call the living, I -mourn the dead, I break the lightning”). - -The stone chalets in Ticino have their fronts painted pink, and -decorated in Italian fashion, with garlands of flowers and symbolical -vases, pouring out wine and milk. The finest of these houses are not -ducal palaces, the poorest are never hovels. A real Swiss cottage is as -much adapted to Swiss scenery as the Gothic is suited to the holy and -sublime feelings of devotion; there is a fitness in the subdued color -of the resin from the larch to an association which requires extreme -simplicity; the same cottage painted white would be found offensive -and obtruding. Near by is the barn, a wooden bridge thrown over the -entrance, with a long and gradual ascent, that conducts the wagons -loaded with hay to the loft. Some of these are as generous in size and -as well built and equipped as the best Pennsylvania barns. It may be -that the dwelling, barn, and dairy are all under one roof; but if so, -they are separated with a scrupulous regard to neatness. All wastes are -corded and covered up outside like so many piles of treasure, to renew -the soil when summer comes round. This _fumier_ is the special pride of -the peasant, and is frequently an imposing object, arranged in layers, -with the straw rolled and platted at the sides; it stands proudly by -the roadside and often the ornament of the front yard. Everything is -in its place; order reigns by virtue of some natural law. There is a -kind of Robinson Crusoe industry about their houses and their little -properties; they are perpetually building, repairing, altering, or -improving something. Thought and care are day by day bestowed on every -bit of ground to secure a sufficiency of the things that will be needed -in the long winter. Every plant is treated by itself as though it was -a child; every branch pruned, every bed watered, every gourd trained. -From hour to hour the changes in the heavens are observed and what -they import considered; for they may import a great deal; the time -allowed for bringing the little crops to maturity is so short that -the loss of sunshine for a few days may cause anxious thought. It is -a sight which awakens reflection and touches the heart. There is much -of healthy purity prevailing around these cottage homes. Every one, -according to his means, endeavors to make the homestead an ornament -to the grassy and elm-shadowed wayside. The green rock-strewn turf -comes up to the door, and the bench is along the wall outside. Flowers -surround and adorn the windows, the luscious clusters of the vine ripen -above the porch, and the little violet creeps over the stone steps or -hangs in a sunny niche, its flowers gleaming remotely. Nothing can be -more charming than the large carnations which often brighten the dark -larch or pine-wood chalets, with their glossy red blossoms hanging -from the windows and balconies. The pleasant vine-sheltered door seems -to hospitably invite the imagination of the passer-by into the sweet -domestic interior of this cottage life. And there is about the inner -life of these humble homes a something one may almost say of sanctity, -which is not so apparent, at all events on the surface of things, in -splendid mansions. Their splendor is transmuted money, there is no -poetry in it; if hearts are moved by it, it is not in that fashion or -to that issue that it touches them. Quite different with these quiet -and secluded homes. There every object has a pleasing history. There -industry has accumulated its fruits, frugality its comforts, and virtue -diffused its contentment. The care that is taken of it tells you how -hard it had been to come by. You read in it a little tale of the -labor, the self-denial expended on its acquisition; it is a revelation -of an inner life which you are the better for contemplating and for -sympathizing with. Shut off from the world, untainted by luxury, -unstained by avarice mid lonely toil, practising the simple forms of -life and faith, maintaining bravely and contentedly a hard struggle -in their Alpine glens, these peasants are on better terms with life -than many people who are regarded to have made a better bargain. “To -watch the corn grow or the blossoms set, to draw hard breath on the -ploughshare or spade,” have attractions for them, not accounted for in -the meagre train of advantages and comforts they bring, and must be -sought in the inspiration of the poet,-- - - “Happy the man whose wish and care - A few paternal acres bound; - Content to breathe his native air - On his own ground. - - Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread, - Whose flocks supply him with attire; - Whose trees in summer yield him shade, - In winter fire.” - -Often the cottage is perched on a mountain crag, and the peasant must -be sleepless and prompt, for he lies down with danger at his door and -must rise to meet it when the moment comes. There is a continual menace -of desolation and ruin: - - “No zephyr fondly soothes the mountain’s breast, - But meteors glare and stormy glooms invest.” - -At dusk you see a cottage on a shelf of rock, a hut in which the -shepherd churns his milk, a bit of soil in which he grows his herbs, -a patch of grass on which his heifers browse, a simple cross at which -his children pray. At dead of night a tremor passes through the -mountain-side, a slip of earth takes place, or a “thunderbolt of snow” -which no one hears, rings up the heaven. At dawn there is a lonely -shelf of rock above, a desolate wreck of human hopes below, and - - “The gentle herd returns at evening close, - Untended from the hills, and white with snows.”[87] - -Some of the Alpine districts are entirely pastoral, where naught save -cow-herd’s horn and cattle-bell is heard. In the spring it is a pretty -sight to see the groups of cows with tinkling bells start for the -mountains. The bells are nearly globular, thin, and light, of different -sizes, from one foot to two inches in diameter; they are various in -pitch, all melting into one general musical effect, forming in right -harmonious proportion to produce the concord of sounds without any -clashing tones, just as the song of many birds does. - - “The tintinnabulation that so musically swells - From the bells, bells, bells, bells.” - -The cows are assembled in herds on the village green, and to the call -of the herdsmen they begin their march to the mountain pastures. Each -herd has its queen, who leads the procession. The choice of the queen -depends on her strength and beauty. Great care and expense are incurred -in the ambition to procure one peerless animal for this purpose, and -in order to develop a combative and fearless spirit they are said -to be fed on oats soaked in spirits. The queen wears a finer collar -and larger bell than the others. Proud of her superior strength, she -seems, with the calmness of a settled conviction, to be defying her -companions, and to be seeking--impatient for combat--some antagonist -worthy to measure strength with her. See - - “How gracefully yon heifer bears her honors! - Ay! well she knows she’s leader of the herd, - And take it from her, she’d refuse to feed.” - -At the end of the herd marches the bull, with his compact body, little -pointed horns, curly hair, and, if he is of a wicked temper, a plate of -iron over his eyes. Then comes the train of dairy-girls and cow-herds, -who tend the cows in the summer pasturages, with wagons loaded with the -implements of their calling, the milking-stool, peculiarly constructed -pails, and the wooden vessels in which milk is carried up and down the -precipices to the chalet.[88] When different droves meet, it is almost -sure to happen that the two queens defy each other to single combat. -The herdsmen themselves promote these struggles, and are very proud -of the victory of their own queen cow. The herds begin by browsing -on the grass at the foot of the mountain, and then gradually, as the -snow disappears and is replaced by a fresh carpet of verdure, they go -higher, mounting insensibly till in the month of August they reach -the summit of the Alp. Then in September they descend slowly and by -degrees, as they went up. On their way up the mountain, if the start be -made too early in the spring, the water may be found high, and the herd -stops at the edge of the torrent, afraid to cross. The chief herdsman -seeks the parsonage, knocks at the door, and explains to the curé the -critical situation of the herd, and begs his prayers and blessings. - - “Il faut que vous nous disiez une messe - Pour que nous puissions passer.” - -The shepherd leads a more solitary and perilous life in the mountains -than the herdsman, living on polenta and cheese, and for drink, water -or skimmed milk; and a little hay spread on a plank serves for a bed. -The highest and steepest parts of the Alps are apportioned to the -grazing of sheep and goats. Indeed, sometimes the sheep are carried up -one by one on men’s backs, and left there till the end of the summer, -when they are carried down, considerably fattened, in the same fashion. -Here the shepherd passes months, his only companions besides his flock -are the chamois,[89] who, in the moonlight, cross the snow-fields, the -glacier, or bound over the crevices and come to pasture on the grassy -slopes; and the snow-partridge, or white hen, and the _laemmergeier_, -or bearded vulture, a bird whose size surpasses that of the eagle,[90] -and who circles around these peaks as he watches for his prey, and, by -a sharp blow of his wing, to precipitate into the chasm any animal he -can take unawares and defenceless. Alas! for the poor shepherd belated -in a snow-storm, seeking vainly to recover the lost track; when the -wind seems like some cruel demon, buffeting, blinding, maddening, as -along ways rendered unfamiliar by the drifts he plunges, helpless, -hopeless; fainter and more faint, until at last there comes the awful -moment when he can fight no longer, and he sinks powerless down, -down into the soft and fatal depths; the drift sweeps over him,--he -is lost as surely as “some strong swimmer in his agony” who sinks in -mid-Atlantic among the boiling surge. - -When the flock is taken to the Alps, the sheep, instead of being driven -before the shepherd, regularly follow him as he marches majestically -in front,--tall, thin, sunburnt, and dirty,--armed with his long -iron-pointed stick. Behind him the whole mountain is covered with -a moving mass of gray fleeces; other shepherds and Bergamese dogs, -with long woolly hair, the most vigilant of guardians, are scattered -at different points in this “living flood of white wool surging like -foaming waves.” The sheep do not disperse to feed until the chief -shepherd, turning his face round to them, either by a whistle or notes -from his pipe, seems to remind them that it is proper to do so. This -leader or captain literally marches abroad in the morning piping his -flocks forth to the pasture with some love sonnet, and his “fleecy -care” seem actually to be under the influence of his music. It is -by whistling that thousands of sheep are guided, the straying lambs -called back, and the dogs sent out and checked. In September, when the -shepherds bring down their flocks from the mountains, their wives and -children, who have remained in the plain making hay, the harvest, the -vintage, and gathering in of other fruits, go to meet them with songs -and waving flags. In the evening the whole village rejoices, dancing -goes on, and it is everybody’s festival: - - “At night returning, every labor sped, - He sits him down, the monarch of a shed; - Smiles by his cheerful fire, and round surveys - His children’s looks, that brighten at the blaze; - While his loved partner, boastful of her hoard, - Displays her cleanly platter on the board.” - -The shepherds are happy men, content with their lot, loving their -free and nomad mountain life with its long lazy times of rest and its -moments of perilous activity. No simpler, honester, braver hearts are -to be found anywhere. - -There is also the female swine-herd, who daily takes to pasture the -pigs and goats. She tends them all day on some stony, irreclaimed waste -land. In the evening when she returns with her four or five score, each -porker knows his own home in the village; some run on in advance of the -herd to get as soon as possible to the supper they know will be ready -for them; others do not separate themselves from the herd till they -arrive at the familiar door. Behind the swine follow the goats with -distended udders,--the poor man’s cow. They, too, disperse themselves -in the same fashion, from the desire to be promptly relieved of their -burden. Last of all come the deliberately-stepping, sober-minded cows. -The tinkling of their bells is heard over the whole of the little -village. In a few minutes the streets are cleared; every man, woman, -and child appear to have followed the animals into the houses to give -them their supper or to draw the milk from them, or, at all events, -to bed them for the night. Thus do these peasants from their earliest -years learn to treat their dumb associates kindly, almost as if they -were members of the family, to the support of which they so largely -contribute. They begin and end each day in company with them, and are -perfectly familiar with the ways and wants of the egotistic pig, of the -self-asserting, restless goat, and of the gentle, patient cow. - -Sound travels far in these mountain solitudes, and the bells of the -flocks may be heard through them night and day. This concert of -cow-bells and of sheep-bells, suddenly heard in solitude and repeated -by the echoes, like a distant and mysterious choir, is one of the -features of Alpine life that most powerfully impress the feelings and -take hold of the imagination. - -The mountains’ response to the “alphorn” is most singular and -beautiful. When the tune on the horn is ended, the Alps make, not -an echo, but a reproduction of it, in an improved and heightened -character; they take up, as it were, and chant the air again with -infinite sweetness and a dancing grace that is delightful. They seem to -constitute a natural instrument of music, of which the horn is but the -awakening breath. The writer, on behalf of the New England Conservatory -of Music, Boston, requested of the Swiss government samples of musical -instruments of Swiss origin. In answer an “alphorn,” of ancient form, -well constructed and of superior tone, was furnished, accompanied with -the statement that, after careful investigation, it was believed to be -the only musical instrument of “Swiss origin.” Distance softens the -tone of the “alphorn,” and assimilates it more nearly to the flute-like -sweetness of the echo which seems a sort of fairy answer coming out of -some magical hall in the rock. The tone is powerful, and the middle -notes extremely mellow. - -The peasants call and answer their companions from peak to peak in -musical notes. The _Ranz des Vaches_, German _Kuhreihen_, are a -class of melodies prevailing and peculiar to the herdsmen. There is -no particular air of this name, but nearly every Canton has its own -herdsman’s song, each varying from the others in the notes as well as -in the words, and even in the dialect. There are as many songs and airs -which go by this name as there are valleys in Switzerland. A verse of -one, as rendered in the Canton of Appenzell, runs: - - “The cow-herds of the Alps - Arise at an early hour. - -CHORUS. - - Ha, ah! ha, ah! - Come all of you, - Black and white, - Red and mottled, - Young and old; - Beneath this oak - I am about to milk you, - Beneath this poplar - I am about to press, - Liauba! Liauba! in order to milk.” - -It is a song of melancholy, of the homesickness in which the absent -Swiss sees again, as in a musical vision, the chalet in which he was -born, the mountain where the herds shake their mellow bells as they -graze. It is, however, only in the refrain that is heard the melancholy -note, in this _Liauba! Liauba!_ thrown lingeringly to the winds, -and going from echo to echo, till it expires like a lament, and is -lost like a sigh in the infinite depths of the valley. The herds are -said to love and obey its strains. Without anything striking in the -composition, it has a powerful influence over the Swiss. Its effect on -Swiss soldiers absent in foreign service was so great, giving rise to -an irrepressible longing to return to their own country, that it was -forbidden to be played in the Swiss regiments in the French service, -on pain of death. All the music of the mountains is strange and wild, -having most probably received its inspiration from the grandeur of the -natural objects. Most of the sounds partake of the character of echoes, -being high-keyed but false notes, such as the rocks send back to the -valleys when the voice is raised above its natural key in order that it -may reach the caverns and savage recesses of inaccessible precipices. -The Swiss _yodel_, with its falsetto notes, is heard everywhere. Nor -must the sounds of the landscape be forgotten. With the bleating of -the flocks and the chimes of the cow-bells are mingled the murmuring of -the bees, the running streams, whispering pines, the melancholy voice -of the goat-herder, and the plaintive whistle of the mountain thrush. - -Every member of a Swiss family produces his share. The whole family -take up their daily work before sunrise, suspend it only for their -meals, and end it only when the candles are put out at early bedtime. -The feeble efforts of old age and the petty industry of childhood -contribute to the sum of human toil. Children all work with their hands -for the common support, they help the elders in the common family -interests as soon as they can rock a cradle, drive a cow, or sweep a -floor; they thus acquire at home habits of application and industry -which stand them in good stead in after life. The little ones who are -taken by their parents to the field and are too young to work have -bells fastened to their belts, not for amusement, but, as the mothers -explain, “when we are in the fields and the children wander away, -thanks to the bells, we can always hear and find them, and, besides, -the sound of the bell drives away the serpents.”[91] Even the infant in -its baby-carriage passes the day amid the scenes of labor in which it -will soon be called to join. The women are not exempt from work, even -in the families of very substantial peasant proprietors. A stranger, -seeing the smart country girls at work about the cows’ food or in the -harvest field, perhaps barefooted, is apt to consider it as a proof -of extreme destitution. This is a mistake; it is merely the custom -of the country. A well-to-do peasant’s daughters, who are stylishly -dressed on Sundays, may be seen in the fields during the week. You see -the sturdy sunburnt creatures in petticoats, but otherwise manlike, -toiling side by side with their fathers and brothers in the rudest work -of the farm. They wear a broad-brimmed straw hat, and as the breeze -blows back its breadth of brim, the sunshine constantly adds depth to -the brown glow of their cheeks. In the absence of the men the women -do all the work,--mow the grass, cut the wood, look after the cattle, -make the cheese, bake the bread, and spin the wool. Whether they -are employed in spreading the litter on the floor of the stable, in -carrying the pails foaming with the freshly-drawn milk, or in turning -up with long wooden rakes the newly-mown hay, all their different -labors resemble festivals. From one hill to another, above the bed of -the mountain torrent, they reply to the songs of the young reapers by -chanting national airs, it may be _Rufst du, mein Vaterland_ (“callest -thou, my country”)! Their voices resemble modulated cries emitted by a -superabundance of life and joy; musicians note them down without being -able to imitate them; they are indigenous only on the waters or on -the green slopes of the Alps. The distinction between the sexes as to -labor in Switzerland has passed the temporary stage of evolution. Is -it not true everywhere that women are entering a new era of self-care; -that they are undertaking not only office-work, but professions, and -trades, and farm-work? and the change is going on with great speed. -The woman of fifty years ago would not only have refused to undertake -what the woman to-day achieves; she would have failed in it if she had. -The field of housework was in the last century vastly wider than it -is to-day; yet woman filled it. She spun and wove and knit as well as -sewed; and each household was a factory as well as a home. This sort -of work was differentiated by machinery and taken away from our houses -and wives. For a time woman was made more helpless and dependent than -ever before. But a readjustment appears to be going on. Woman has gone -out of the house and followed work. The sex is developing a robustness -and alertness and enterprise that we had attributed to man alone; it is -a revolutionary change in the mental adaptability, physical endurance, -and business capacity of woman. - -The Swiss peasants may not shine by brilliant qualities or seductive -manners, but they are strongly framed, broad-chested, powerful, calm -in countenance, frank and open in expression, with bright eyes, and -largely sculptured features, but of rather heavy gait. The women are -active in figure, with expanded shoulders, supple arms, elastic limbs, -blue eyes, and healthy complexions. Light hair largely predominates, -ninety out of one hundred have hair of the different shades that make -auburn, from the very light-brown to the very fair, but few have red -hair, and scarcely any black. A mixture of manly beauty and feminine -modesty is harmoniously blended in their physiognomy; they appear -robust without coarseness; and their voices are soft and musical, -common to dwellers in cold countries. With these peasants where the -homespun is not unknown every one eats the bread of carefulness. They -are frugal and sparing in food; in the larder there is left little for -the mice at night. The diet of rye bread, milk, cheese, and potatoes -is at least wholesome, for they are all produced at home. They use -but little fresh meat, and mostly vegetables and bread. Of the latter -they are the champion consumers, it being estimated that the yearly -bread consumption is as high as three hundred and six pounds _per -capita_. Meeting children on the country road or village street, you -are sure to find almost every one of them munching bread, and it will -be entirely guiltless of sugar or jam. With the poorer classes meagre -cheese is the staple food. This is made of skimmed milk, and if not -positively bad, this negation of badness is its only virtue. Also dried -or mummy beef is much used. In the high mountain valleys the air is -so dry that for nine months out of the twelve meat has no tendency to -decomposition; availing themselves of this favorable condition, they -kill in the autumn the beef, pork, and game they will require for the -ensuing year. It is slightly salted and hung up to dry; in three or -four months’ time it is not only dried, but also cooked, at least the -air has given it all the cooking it will ever receive. It has become as -dry and hard as a board, and internally of the color of an old mahogany -table; externally there is nothing to suggest the idea of meat, and it -is undistinguishable from fragments of the mummies of the sacred bulls -taken from the catacombs at Memphis. Strange as it may appear, when -cut across the grain in shavings no thicker than writing-paper, it is -found not badly flavored, nor unusually repugnant to the process of -digestion. What is lacking in quality of the peasant’s food is made up -in quantity or rather the frequency with which it is partaken of. There -is early breakfast, lunch at nine A.M., called from its hour _s’nüni_, -dinner at twelve, lunch again at four P.M., called _s’vierli_, and -supper. It is astonishing to see how much solid flesh, good blood, and -healthy color can be produced by such inferior and limited diet. - -The language of the peasants is characterized by rough gutturals -and the force with which dentals and hissing sounds are pronounced, -a sing-song accent, with numerous diminutions, contractions, and -omissions of the final syllable. There is much of what is designated -under the general name of _patois_,--a mixture of Celtic, Latin, and -Italian words; a Babylonish dialect,--a parti-colored dress of patched -and piebald languages. This corrupt dialect is very sonorous and very -harmonious, but is the relic of an almost extinguished antiquity. In -the Engadine, and the remote valleys of the Swiss Alps adjoining Italy -and the Tyrol, the peasants use the Romansch and Ladin; the latter is -more musical, and to give an idea of it the following verse from a -popular song is transcribed: - - “Montagnas, ste bain! - Tu gad e valleda, - Tu fraischa contreda, - Squir eir in mi adsinga, - Montagnas, ste bain!” - - “Ye mountains, adieu! - Thou vale with green bowers, - Fresh meadows and flowers, - When from you I must sever, - Ye mountains, adieu!” - -The peasants still observe many manners and customs of the olden times: -some the imprints of the early influences of the Burgundians, others of -the Alemanni and the Ostrogoths. The separation by the mountain ranges -of populations near and akin to each other, which led to the formation -of so many dialects, also favored the growth and long continuance of -local customs and traditions, giving to many localities a strongly -marked individuality. - -In one part of the Canton of Ticino a very quaint marriage ceremony -prevails. The bridegroom dresses in his “Sunday best,” and, accompanied -by as many relatives and friends as he can muster for the fête, goes -to claim his bride. Finding the door locked, he demands admittance; -the inmates ask him his business, and in reply he solicits the hand of -the maiden of his choice. If his answer be deemed satisfactory, he is -successively introduced to a number of matrons and old maids, some, -perhaps, deformed and badly goitered. Then he is presented to some big -dolls, all of whom he scornfully rejects amid general merriment. The -bewildered bridegroom, with his impetuosity and temper sorely tried, -is then informed that his lady love is absent, and he is invited in -to see for himself. He rushes in, searches from room to room until he -finds her ready to go forth in the bridal-dress to the church. These -obstacles thrown across the path of accepted suitors, in order to -test their fidelity or to restrain their ardor, are of very ancient -origin. Who has not read of the self-imposed task of Penelope or of -Atlanta, in classic fable; or the story of Brunhilde, in the Norse -mythology, when Gunther’s courage and skill were tested not in vain? In -other remote places the peasants still observe the old German idea of -regulating matrimonial affairs by the Sundays of the month, each Sunday -having a distinct part and significance assigned to it and designated -in turn,--Review Sunday, Decision Sunday, Contract Sunday, Possession -Sunday. On the first the girls appear in dress-parade for the benefit -of the young men with hymeneal hearts. Then they separate, each one -to ponder for a week over the image which caught his or her fancy. -On the following Sunday the enamored swains are permitted to bow to -the objects of their choice; if the bow is returned with a pleasant -smile, he feels encouraged; if his salute is returned coldly, he is -correspondingly discouraged. The third Sunday he is interviewed by -the parents of the young lady, and, if character and conditions are -satisfactorily established, the marriage is arranged to be celebrated -on Possession Sunday. In Uri a citizen was not allowed to marry a -stranger without paying to the village a fine of 300 francs. In many -places the local spirit is strong as to social relations, and the -youth in one Commune who would court a girl of another district meets -a rude reception from her fellow-villagers. During the fourteenth -century the attendants at a wedding were limited to a very few guests. -In Zurich the most distinguished personage dared not invite more than -twenty mothers of families to the wedding feast, nor have more than -two hautboys, two violins, and two singers. The bridegroom paid for -the wedding dinner, the cost of which was fixed so much _per capita_ -for every invited male, married female, and maiden; the allowance for -the first was double that of the second, and four times that of the -third. In other Cantons the wedding was a grand occasion, an imposing -and public affair in which the whole village was expected to take -part. In the house of the newly-married pair there were open tables, -and drinking, dancing, and feasting went on all night. But these -Pantagruel repasts are now no longer in fashion anywhere. The day fixed -for the wedding, among the peasants, is always Sunday. In the morning, -before going to church, the invited guests meet at the bride’s house -to partake of wine, soup, and fritters. After the marriage ceremony, -the party go in procession to the bridegroom’s house, where dinner is -served; the priest delivers a long discourse, and other orators hold -forth. In the evening there is dancing, and at the stroke of midnight -the guests form a ring round the wedded pair and take off their -crowns, and, after a few words of encouragement, they are left alone. -In some places a man was not permitted to marry unless he had certain -possessions, and could show himself able to defend his homestead from -fire and robbers; he must have arms and uniform, hatchet, bucket, and -ladder. Custom, at least, was law to a woman. She must have acquired -a sufficient stock of linen and have learned many domestic arts; thus -Swiss women became famous for their linen, and a girl would begin -laying up her stock of household and domestic articles _pour mon cher -petit ménage_ long before she met her partner for life. The custom -of Saturday-night visits among the young peasant people, whose daily -labors keep them away during the week, still prevails. On Saturday -night the young Swiss comes under the window of the fair lady to whom -he intends paying his addresses, or with whom he only wishes to become -acquainted. Being visiting-night, and expecting company, she is at the -window, neatly dressed, and admits or rejects the petition, for which -her suitor is not at any trouble of improvisation, for it is according -to a received form, learned by heart, and generally in verse; and the -answer is in verse also. The young man, permission obtained, climbs -up to the window, and there he sits on the sill and is offered some -refreshments. According as his views are more or less serious, and he -proves more or less acceptable, he is allowed to come into the room or -suffered to remain outside. - -The last solemnities, those of death and burial, have among the -peasants of the Latin Cantons something violent and passionate in their -character. For several Sundays after the funeral the women, dressed in -mourning with a head-band across the forehead, meet in the cemetery -around the grave, and, in a mournful and harrowing concert, renew their -tears and lamentations. The nearest relations carry the coffin; little -children follow, dressed as angels, all in white, with crowns on their -heads; then come the _white penitents_, dressed in their death-shirt, -or the robe of the brotherhood. White is the mourning color, and -persons with whom you meet with a broad white band on their dress have -lost a member of their family. - -The picturesque costumes of the Swiss peasantry, which formerly were -the pride and distinguishing marks of the several Cantons, have almost -disappeared; their use being confined to holidays, festivals, or as -advertisements at public resorts. The Bernese have their snow-white -shift-sleeves rolled up to the shoulder exposing to view a sinewy -sunburnt arm, the dark-red stays laced with black in front, silk -aprons, silver chains, and buckles, colored skirts just short enough to -show a home-made white stocking, a heavy gaiter shoe, a beehive-shaped -hat, and long yellow hair in a single plait hanging down nearly to the -heels, along a back made very straight by the habit of carrying pails -of milk and water on the head. In French Switzerland long tresses, -trimmed with black ribbon, descend on each side of the neck, a narrow -dark bodice restrains the waist, the bosom is covered by a chemise -plaited in a thousand folds and whiter than snow, a short and ample -under-petticoat leaves the leg exposed above the ankle, and red garters -full in sight. These costumes really have nothing to recommend them -except their peculiarity; there is something very irresponsive in them, -adding nothing to the beauty of person or grace of bearing, but simply -tending to make the wearers, like Lord Dundreary’s girls, “look more -or less alike, generally more alike;” none of them are pretty except -on paper, yet even the ugliest of them all, worn by the homeliest -women, help to make up the sum of national peculiarities and add to the -picturesqueness. The men affect immensely broad pants, a large round -coat high in the collar, short in the waist, with two little ludicrous -tails in the very small of the back, and a soft beaver hat pushed -sideways on the head; the complete appearance is sometimes suggested -of a walking porpoise. The present ordinary male and female dress is -somewhat sombre, little use of bright color is made, and regard is had -for that which will wear best and require least washing; the material -is either undyed homespun woollen cloth or coarse blue frieze, and the -garments are clumsily made, stiff and heavy. - -Human character appears to consist of two opposite varieties: one -that makes a fetich of the past, and shrinks from changes as from a -rude immorality; the other, that dashes forward impatiently after -progression and development. In most states these temperaments are -brought together in the diversity of persons, and the reforming and -conserving influences work out in harmony the course of society. -But in Switzerland can be found peasant communities where nothing -but conservatives are generated. Time seems to have slumbered among -them for centuries; their character has continued ancient in modern -times.[92] They have always been and will ever be peasants. They are -religious, unaffected, industrious people; shepherds, agriculturists, -artisans, soldiers, patriots, and, above all, freemen, full of song, -labor, and fight. They wish to be ruled by habits rather than laws, -with traditional customs as a legislative code. What matters if the -storm rages, and if it snows, if the wind blusters in the pine forest, -if a man shut up in his cottage has but black bread and cheese, under -his smoky light and beside his fire of turf? Another kingdom opens to -reward him, the kingdom of inward contentment; his wife loves him and -is faithful; his children round his hearth spell out the old family -Bible; he is the master in his home, the owner and protector; and if so -be that he needs assistance, he knows that at the first appeal he will -see his neighbors stand faithfully and bravely by his side,-- - - “And each shall care for other, - And each to each shall bend, - To the poor a noble brother, - To the good an equal friend.” - -Quite a different world from the every-day world of railways and -electricity; this carefully got-up world, gloved and starched, that -scorns the unbought charm and the sublime simplicity, the severe and -contented virtue, of the children of nature. The peasant in rags, -coming out of his larch forest, brings with him a breath of wild -nature; and the young girl, mounted on her donkey, fresh and rosy as -the rhododendrons, is as simple and natural as they. This blue-bloused -son of the soil, trained to the habits of order by centuries of -freedom, understands his rights and has been taught at school his -civic duties, and knows something of the laws and the constitution -of his country. Inquire of him, and you will probably learn that he -is a Deputy and a Communal Councillor, and may one day be President -of the Confederation. There is much of all that constitutes both the -good man and the good citizen distributed throughout the peasants. In -their great cathedral of nature, the harsh clamor and ceaseless unrest -of the outer world find but little place and less concern. Rejecting -those factitious wants which luxury creates, the expense and way of -living are proportioned to their small means, and every one, sooner -or later, is sure of something which he enjoys in quiet and security. -The very spirit of picturesqueness hovers over their mountain homes, -and lingers in their peaceful vales whispering of a past fraught with -quaint traditions and glorious memories; and of a present, full of -self-supporting energy, reciprocal dispositions to neighborly help, -a spontaneous tendency to order, forethought, plodding industry, -sobriety, and contentment. - - “And e’en those hills that round his mansion rise - Enhance the bliss his scanty fund supplies. - Dear is that shed to which his soul conforms, - And dear that hill which lifts him to the storms; - And as a child, when scaring sounds molest, - Clings close and closer to the mother’s breast, - So the loud torrent, and the whirlwind’s roar, - But bind him to his native mountains more.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -NATURAL BEAUTIES AND ATTRACTIONS. - - “A wilderness of sweets: for nature here - Wanton’d as in her prime, and play’d at will, - Her virgin fancies pouring forth more sweet, - While above rule of art, enormous bliss.” - - -No spot in Europe can compare with Switzerland in loveliness and rural -charms; in variety, boldness, and sublimity of scenery; in tonic, -steel-strong air, a fine intoxicant of mental and physical joy and -power. It is a land of valleys, exquisite in their loveliness, enriched -by numberless streams, lakes, mountains, peak, and pass: - - “Hills peep o’er hills, and Alps on Alps arise.” - -Nowhere else, in one quarter of the globe, has nature laid her hand -on the face of the earth with the same majesty; no other division -of it presents the same contrasts in a panorama so astonishing; no -other exhibits so surprising a diversity of landscapes, caverns and -waterfalls, fields of ice and cascades, green and broad mountain-sides, -pastoral abodes and smiling vales, winding and rocky paths, aerial -bridges and infernal glens, eternal snows and luxuriant pastures, -forests of dark larches and congress of hoary mountains, austere -loveliness and lofty nobleness: - - “Ever charming, ever new, - When will the landscape tire the view? - The mountain’s fall, the river’s flow, - The wooded valleys, warm and low; - The windy summits wild and high, - Roughly rushing on the sky; - Town and village, tower and farm, - Each give to each a double charm.” - -If the Neapolitan be moved to call the environments of his capital -“_un pezzo del cielo caduto in terra_” (“a bit of heaven fallen upon -the earth”), the Swiss may more modestly claim that they have that -piece of the Garden of Eden only which the angels of the legend lost -on their way. It is impossible to convey a vivid, and at the same time -an accurate, impression of grand scenery by the use of words. Written -accounts, when they come near their climax, fall as much below the -intention as words are less substantial than things. - -The _mountains_ come first in the glory and charm of Switzerland’s -natural beauties and attractions. They encompass us on every hand; fill -our eyes when we are walking and haunt our dreams during sleep,--so -beautiful, so majestic, and yet so lovely. Grandeur of bulk and mass -is conjoined with splendor and fulness of detail; form and shape are -crowned with soaring peak and matchless line; and the summits mingle -with that sky which seems to be the only fitting background for the -eternal hills. On the face of a topographical map Switzerland appears -to consist chiefly of mountains lying near together, or piled one upon -another, as if the story of the Titans was realized, and with narrow -valleys between them. Of the western, central, and eastern Alps, -constituting the whole Alpine system, a part of the first, the whole -of the second, and none of the third division belong to Switzerland. -The entire giant fabric, rising concentrically and almost abruptly from -the surrounding plains, offers its grandest development in Switzerland -and Savoy. There are points of view in Switzerland whence the array -of Alpine peaks, semicircular in form, presented at once to the eye, -extends for more than one hundred and twenty miles, and comprises -from two hundred to three hundred distinct summits, capped with snow -or bristling with bare rocks. The Swiss Alps are divided into several -sections,--the Pennine Alps, the Helvetian Alps, the Rhetian Alps, and -the Bernese Alps; all radiate from a central group, the St. Gothard -being the key of the entire system, and all converge upon it. The -Pennine are the loftiest, including Mont Blanc,-- - - “the monarch of mountains: - They crown’d him long ago, - On a throne of rocks, in a robe of clouds, - With a diadem of snow.” - -It is true that Mont Blanc is in Upper Savoy, just across the Swiss -frontier, but it is a part of the same wonderful formation, and few -people think of it without passing it incontinently to the credit of -Switzerland. - -Then come the Finsteraarhorn and Monte Rosa, being, next after Mont -Blanc, the two highest mountains in Europe. The most important ranges -are the Alps, which run along the Italian frontier, the Bernese -Oberland, and the Juras, which separate Switzerland on the west from -France. Of the Bernese Alps the Finsteraarhorn, Jungfrau, Eiger, and -Schreckhorn are the most conspicuous. As to height, the Alps are -divided into the High Alps, rising from eight thousand to fifteen -thousand feet above the level of the sea, and covered with perpetual -snow and ice; the Middle Alps, beginning at about five thousand five -hundred feet above the sea and rising to the point of perpetual -congelation; and the Low Alps, commencing with an elevation of about -two thousand feet. The actual height of the Swiss mountain fluctuates -as much as twenty-five feet, owing to the varying thickness of the -stratum of snow that covers the summit. Some present pure white peaks; -some are black and riven under the frown of imperious cumuli; some -have cornices, bosses, and amphitheatres; others have blue rifts, -snow precipices, and glaciers issuing from their hollows,--“a chaos -of metamorphic confusion, paradoxical conglomerates, strata twisted, -pitched vertically or upside-down, levels changed by upheavals or -depression.” - - “As Atlas fix’d, each hoary pile appears - The gather’d winter of a thousand years.” - -A mountain guide will enumerate for you the names of the celebrated -summits, as a cicerone points out the most illustrious figures in a -museum of sculpture. Each of these mountains has its biography,--its -history,--which the guide will be sure to relate. One takes life, it -is a sanguinary homicidal Alp; another, on the contrary, is humane, -hospitable, it offers safe sheltering-places to strayed travellers. -The Matterhorn is a great storm-breeder.[93] The Schreckhorn is a peak -of terror, the grimmest fiend of the Oberland; the Finsteraarhorn is a -black peak of the Aar; Diablerets (Devil’s Strokes) is a name given to -another in consequence of its terrible landslips, which have caused a -popular superstition that, like Avernus, it is the portal of hell, and -haunted by evil spirits. Differing in form, altitude, and color, each -of them has its physiognomy and its character, and even “its soul,” as -Michelet says. - - “Veil’d from eternity, the Jungfrau soars,” - -not a single massive pyramid, but a series of crests rising -terrace-fashion above each other, with a zone of névés and glaciers. -The pure, unsullied snow which always covers this mountain, it is -supposed, gave occasion to its name, which signifies “the virgin.” It -is a prime favorite with the Swiss,--the great Diana of the Oberland -range. There is some spell, some mysterious potency in it. A sight -never to be forgotten, is to behold the marble dome of this stately -temple of nature, kindling in the fire of the setting sun, or silvering -in the light of a full moon, with the gold-fringed clouds playing -wantonly about,-- - - “To bathe the virgin’s marble brow, - Or crown her head with evening gold.” - -On the Wengern Mountain, in full view of the Jungfrau, in 1816, Byron -composed three of his noblest poems,--“The Prisoner of Chillon,” the -third canto of “Childe Harold,” and “Manfred,” in the latter of which -he describes the Jungfrau as - - “This most steep, fantastic pinnacle, - The fretwork of some earthquake,--where the clouds - Pause to repose themselves in passing by.” - -All the Alps have, more or less, naked excrescences, which rise above -the crest of the range, and which, in the language of the country, are -not inaptly termed “dents,” from some fancied and plausible resemblance -to human teeth. - -Professor Tyndall, writing of the wondrous scene presented by the -Swiss mountains, says: “I asked myself, how was this colossal work -performed? Who chiselled these mighty and picturesque masses out of -a mere protuberance of the earth? And the answer was at hand. Ever -young, ever mighty, with the vigor of a thousand years still within -him, the real sculptor was even then climbing up the eastern sky. It -was he who raised aloft the waters which cut out the ravines; it was he -who planted the glaciers on the mountain slopes, thus giving gravity -a plough to open up the valleys; and it is he who, acting through -the ages, will finally lay low these mighty mountains, rolling them -gradually seaward, sowing the seeds of continents to be, so that the -people of another earth may see mould spread and corn wave over the -hidden rocks which at this moment bear the weight of the Jungfrau.” - -Mountains at once excite and satisfy an ideal in the soul, which holds -kin with the divine in nature. They ennoble life by their majesty -and fortify it by their stately beauty. The human mind thirsts after -immensity and immutability, and duration without bounds; but it needs -some tangible object from which to take its flight, something present -to lead to futurity, something bounded from whence to rise to the -infinite. “Earth has built the great watch-towers of the mountains, -and they lift their heads far up into the sky and gaze ever upward -and around to see if the judge of the world comes not.”[94] Their -cloud-capped summits are awful in their mysterious shrouds of darkness, -and their sudden thunder crashing amid overhanging precipices is often -terrible in its shock. With many their gloomy sublimity, hard, jagged, -and torn, produces an uncomfortable feeling: Goethe wrote, “Switzerland -with its mountains at first made so great an impression upon me that -it disturbed and confused me, only after repeated visits did I feel -at my ease among them.” There is something inexpressibly interesting -in their society, their age, their duration without change, and their -majestic repose; their fixed, frozen, changeless glory. The sun rolls -his purple tides of light through the air that surrounds their summits, -but his beams wake no seed-time and ripen no harvest. The moon and -the stars rise and move, and decline along the horizon, century after -century, but the sweet vicissitudes of the season and of time move -not the sympathies of these pale, stern peaks, over which broods -one eternal winter. Upon them the vivifying and ordering syllables -of creation seem never to have passed; a realm of chaos reserved to -the primeval empire of the _formless_ and the _void_; where there is -brilliance without warmth, summer without foliage, and days but no -duties. Beneath the overwhelming radiance of a world of light, whose -reflection makes every valley beneath them rejoice, these giants flaunt -their crowns of snow everlastingly in the very face of the sun. They -are so sharply defined and distinct that they seem to be within arm’s -reach; apparent nearness, yet a sense of untraversable remoteness, -like heaven itself, at once the most distant from us and the nearest. -Their angle of elevation, seen from a distance, is very small indeed. -Faithfully represented in a drawing, the effect would be insignificant; -but their aerial perspective amply restores the proportions lost in the -mathematical perspective. “Mountains are the beginning and end of all -natural scenery,” and there is no Landseer for Alpine pictures. They -are too vast and too simple; and the scene, though its objects are so -few, is too expanded for the canvas. - -The _Glaciers_ of the Alps, frozen streams of ice, are remarkable -phenomena of nature, and possess the greatest interest for geologists. -The name _Glacier_ is French; the German word is _Gletscher_, and the -Italian _Ghiacciaio_. Ruskin calls them “silent and solemn causeways, -broad enough for the march of an army in a line of battle, and quiet -as a street of tombs in a buried city;” Longfellow describes them as -“resembling a vast gauntlet, of which the gorge represents the wrist, -while the lower glacier, cleft by its fissures into fingers, like -ridges, is typified by the hand.” With the exception of the Engadine, -where the limits do not begin below ten thousand and seventy feet, in -the other parts of Switzerland the limit of the glaciers and of the -eternal snow is met with at eight thousand seven hundred and forty to -nine thousand one hundred and eighty feet. The average height of the -snow-line fluctuates according to north or south aspect, and greater or -less exposure to the south wind, but in exceptionally warm summers, the -snow completely melts away on summits having an altitude of over eleven -thousand feet. The common expression, the “line of perpetual snow,” -is misleading; it is only correctly used to indicate the altitude -above which the mountains always appear white, because at that height -it is merely the surface which at times thus gets partially melted. -These masses of ice or glaciers are called streams, because, though -imperceptibly, they really move along; they are continually descending -towards the valley from the mountain-tops: - - “The glacier’s cold and restless mass - Moves onward day by day.” - -Their immobility is only apparent, they move and advance without -ceasing. Careful investigation has ascertained the rate of motion of -a glacier to be as much as two feet in twenty-four hours; but it is a -curious fact that the whole stream does not move at the same rate; the -centre moves quicker than the sides and drags them after it. Agassiz, -the Swiss naturalist, began in 1842 a series of careful observations -on the Aar glacier, taking up his abode in a little hut constructed on -purpose, and called the “_Hôtel des Neuchâtelois_.” Men mocked at him -when he set up his stakes on the glacier to discover the rate of the -invisible motion, but he persisted in his minute, painstaking labors, -futile and inconsequential as they seemed to the unscientific mind, -till he plucked out from every glacier in Switzerland the heart of its -mysterious movement. He held that the differences in speed between -different and sundry parts of the same glacier were the results of -unequal density and of unequal declivity. Savants differ as to the -causes which set the glacier in motion. Schaelzer holds that its -expansion arises from thaw; Professor Hugi is of the same opinion, that -the glacier, like an enormous sponge filled with aqueous particles, -expands and grows larger when it freezes. Of all the theories that of -De Saussure is the most generally accepted. He attributes the forward -movement of a glacier to gravitation,--that is to say, to the pressure -of the superior masses on the inferior. Certain naturalists affirm that -the glaciers add to their power by their own cold, and that in time, -without the intervention of some new natural phenomenon, they will -eventually extend themselves downward into the valleys that lie on the -next level beneath, overcoming vegetation and destroying life. There -must be a limit somewhere to the increase of the ice, and it is almost -certain that these limits have been attained during the centuries that -the present physical formation of Switzerland is known to have existed. -As a whole, the contest between heat and cold ought to be set down as -producing equal effects. - -The constant heavy pressure on the glacial ice, and the tension -resulting from obstacles in the channel followed by it, cause splits -of large masses to occur, and force them so far to separate that -there is no chance of regelation. These splits are the _crevasses_ -met with in many glaciers, and one of the most dangerous features -to climbers, especially when they are concealed by a treacherous -coating of snow. The transverse crevasses are so close together and -form such a bewildering labyrinth that it requires a good pilot and -experienced guide to steer clear of their difficulties. In proportion -as the glacier develops, these crevasses or fissures enlarge. Some -of them form into deep valleys, abysses, and unfathomable gulfs. If -one falls into a crevasse, it is alleged he hears everything that -is said above him, but cannot make himself heard. The ice of these -fissures has tints of extraordinary fineness and delicacy; it is of -a pale and tender blue, but if you detach a piece to examine it in -full light, its beautiful ideal blue color disappears, and you have -nothing in your hand but a pale, colorless block. The crevasses, at -times all lined with the purest, smoothest snow, open up like great -alcoves, hung in clouds of ice with delicate ornaments thrown on them -by the wind. They modify and change every spring, when the winter’s -accumulation of snow melts under the action of the heat, and the frost -of the nights incorporates it with the glacier. The guides, therefore, -before conducting parties at the beginning of the season, sound the -old crevasses, and study the new features of the glacier, its curves, -its bridges of snow suspended in the air, its abysses covered with a -frail surface, its fantastic architecture of staircases and terraces -of ice. The glacier ice, made of annual beds disposed in vertical bands -of white and blue, does not resemble ordinary ice, which is homogeneous -throughout; it is granular, traversed by a multitude of small canals, -by a net-work of veins in which a bluish water circulates, and which -penetrates the whole thickness of the ice. The water that escapes -from a glacier is either black, like ink, or green, like absinthe, or -white, like milk; it is always troubled, and charged with mud or earth -full of fertilizing matter. So, while the glaciers make the higher -valleys into a land of desolation and misery, lower down on the slopes -that drink life from its flood, it is a garden, an orchard, a rich -vine country, smiling hill-sides, shaded with trees and crowned with -flowers. While a glacier is a stream of ice, it is not formed of frozen -water, but of frozen snow. The snow of the mountain-top is a fine dry -powder, which is formed into a granular mass by the action of the sun -shining on it in the middle of the day; what is thus partially melted -quickly freezes again each evening into globular forms, consequently -a glacier is not slipping like ordinary ice. This process has gone on -for unknown ages. Geologists think that the glaciers of the present day -are “mere pigmies as compared to the giants of the glacial epoch;” and -that their action has had much to do with the architecture of the Alps; -that the ice exerts a crushing force on every point of its bed which -bears its weight, and the glaciers would naturally scoop out and carve -the mountains and valleys into the slopes which we now see; and that -the plains of Italy and Switzerland are covered with _débris_ of the -Alps. These geologists are pretty well agreed that the Lake of Geneva -was excavated by a glacier. Whatever may be thought of the erosive -theory, there is no doubt that these dreary wastes of ice are of great -use in the economy of nature. They are the locked-up reservoirs, the -sealed fountains which immediately fertilize the plains of Lombardy, -the valley of the Rhone, and of Southern Germany, and from which the -vast rivers traversing the great continents of our globe are sustained. -The summer heat, which dries up sources of water, first opens out their -bountiful supplies. When the rivers of the plain begin to shrink and -dwindle within their parched beds, the torrents of the Alps, fed by the -melting snow and glaciers, rush down from the mountains and supply the -deficiency. Professor Hugi’s hypothesis, that the glacier is alive, -is often suggested by the singular noises produced by the forcing of -air and water through passages in the body of the glacier. In the eyes -of the credulous mountaineers who live in the silence which broods -over the sombre cliffs, the glacier is a place of grief and exile, -of penance and punishment, of expiation and tears, such a place as -described by Dante in his “Inferno,” where - - “... various tongues, - Horrible languages, outcries of woe, - Accents of anger, voices deep and hoarse, - With hands together smote, that swelled the sounds, - Made a tumult that forever whirls - Round through that air, with solid darkness stained, - Like to the sand that in the whirlwind flies.” - -The peasants tell old stories of ice-gods ruling and thundering with -strange sounds, and the “lamentations and loud moans” of prisoners -in these frozen caves. The legends people the glaciers only with -gloomy, unhappy beings, trembling with fear, weighed down by some -malediction. Professor Helm has made a careful survey of the Alpine -glaciers, and reckons them at eleven hundred and fifty-five, of which -Swiss territory includes four hundred and seventy-one. He estimates -the total superficial area of these glaciers between three thousand -and four thousand square kilometres; the area of the Swiss glaciers -is put down as eighteen hundred and thirty-nine square kilometres. -They begin in the Canton of Glarus, extend to the Grisons, thence to -the Canton of Uri, and finally down to Bern. Of these Swiss glaciers, -one hundred and thirty-eight are of the first rank,--that is, over -four and three-quarters of a mile long. Eight glaciers unite at the -foot of Monte Rosa, seven at the foot of the Matterhorn, and five at -the foot of the Finsteraarhorn. The _Mer de Glace_, which surrounds -the Bernina, is more than sixteen leagues in circumference. Its -tempestuous waves, with azure reflections like lava, pile themselves -in the defiles, precipitate themselves into the gorges, or run by a -rapid descent into the depths of the valleys; sometimes they leap up -between two points of rocks, dart into space, and remain suspended -above the abyss till the day when their frozen sheet is broken up and -hurled into its depths. There are few grander sights than the Bernina, -with its boldly contoured granitic rocks and its glaciers creeping low -down into the valleys. The Canton of Grisons, of which the Engadine -forms a part, counts more than one hundred and fifty glaciers. The -great ice-fields of the Bernese Oberland consist of one hundred and -eight to one hundred and twenty square miles in extent, and are the -most extensive in Europe. The boundaries are the Valais, the Grimsel, -the valley of the Aar, and the Gemmi, and spread over more than two -hundred and thirty thousand acres. The longest glacier is the _Gross -Aletsch_ of the Bernese Oberland; it is fifteen miles long, and has a -basin forty-nine and eight-tenths square miles, and a maximum breadth -of nineteen hundred and sixty-eight yards. The Rhone glacier is admired -for its natural beauties, more especially on account of its terminal -face, furrowed by huge crevasses. The lowest point to which a Swiss -glacier is known to have descended is three thousand two hundred and -twenty-five feet, attained by the Lower Grindelwald glacier in 1818. -As to the thickness of the glaciers there exist no reliable data. In -the series of investigations and measurements made by Professor Agassiz -on the Aar glacier, fifty years ago, he excavated to a depth of two -hundred and sixty metres (over eight hundred and thirty feet), and -did not get to the bottom. He estimated the depth of the Aar glacier, -at a point below the junction of the Finsteraarhorn and Lauter-Aar -glaciers, at four hundred and sixty metres, or about fifteen hundred -and ten feet. In viewing these glaciers no one, however sceptical, -however unimaginative, can doubt the honesty of the great fiery Swiss -naturalist’s belief in the historical reality of a glacial epoch, that -this part of Switzerland is the natural result of the terrific orgy and -dynamic force of profound glaciation, and that - - “Yon towers of ice - Since the creation’s dawn have known no thaw.” - -The upper part of the glacier is known as the _Névé_ or _Firn_, and -it is the lower part alone which is designated among the Swiss as the -glacier. The névés are those fields of dazzling snow which extend above -the zone of the glaciers, and their incessant transformation produces -the glaciers. This snow of the névés does not resemble that lower down; -it is harder, colder, and has the appearance of needles of pounded -ice or little crystallized stars, and the alternations from frost -to thaw give to this snow the brilliance of metal and a consistency -approaching that of ice. The name _Moraine_ is given to those piles -of stones, pebbles, blocks of rock, _débris_ of all sorts that the -glacier brings down with it in its course, and which it gets rid of as -soon as possible. “The glacier is always cleansing itself,” and if it -expands, it breaks up and disperses its moraine; it pushes it, throwing -out and piling on the sides even the largest blocks of stone. If, on -the contrary, it contracts, part of this chaos of _débris_, left in -its place, becomes covered by degrees with a carpet of turf. When two -glaciers descend by opposite valleys, abutting on the same bed, and -meet, their moraines mingle with one another, and are sometimes piled -up till they attain a width of almost a thousand feet and a height of -about seventy. The _Moulins_ form conduits for the surface-water, to -carry it to the under-ground streams flowing beneath the glacier. - -Enormous masses of snow accumulate in some angle or on some ledge of -the mountains until they either fall by their own weight or are broken -off by oscillations of the air, or the warm ground thaws the lower -stratum, and then the mass begins to slide, gaining in bulk and speed -in its course. This is the terrible _avalanche_, and dwellings and -even entire villages are buried from thirty to fifty feet deep. It -sometimes descends with a force which causes it to rebound up the side -of the opposite mountain. The avalanche produces a prodigious roar, not -a reverberation of sound, but a prolongation of sound more metallic -and musical than thunder, and may be heard at a great distance. An -avalanche may be set in motion by a very trifling disturbance of the -air: the flight of a bird, the cracking of a whip, the conversation of -persons going along, sometimes suffices to shake and loosen it from the -vertical face of the cliffs to which it is clinging: - - “Ye toppling crags of ice, - Ye avalanches, whom a breath draws down - In mountainous o’erwhelming.” - -The cutting away of trees, at one time a common cause of avalanches, is -forbidden by a federal law: - - “Altdorf long ago had been - Submerged beneath the avalanches’ weight, - Did not the forest there above the town - Stand like a bulwark to arrest their fall.” - -There is a distinction between summer and winter avalanches. The -former are solid avalanches formed of old snow that has acquired -almost the solidity of ice. The warmth of spring softens it, loosens -it from the rocks, and it slides down into the valleys; these are -called “melting avalanches,” and they regularly follow certain tracks -which are embanked like the course of a river with wood or bundles -of branches. The most dreaded and terrible avalanches--those of dry -powdery snow--occur only in winter, when sudden squalls and hurricanes -of snow throw the whole atmosphere into chaos. They come down in sudden -whirlwinds, with the violence of a waterspout, and in a few minutes -work great destruction. - -The most memorable avalanche in Switzerland occurred in 1806, when -one of the strata of Mount Rossberg, composed of limestone and flint -pebbles, nearly three miles long, one thousand feet broad, and one -hundred feet thick, precipitated from a height of three thousand feet -and annihilated the three prosperous villages of Goldau, Busingen, -and Lowerz, and killed four hundred persons. Enormous blocks, some of -them still covered with trees, shot through the air as if sent from a -projectile or tossed about like grains of dust. In 1501 a company of -soldiers were swallowed up by an avalanche near the St. Bernard. At -Fontana, in the Canton of Ticino, in 1879, the church and town-hall -were destroyed and many lives lost. On this occasion, within a space -of five minutes, no less than three hundred and fifty thousand cubic -metres of earth and rock came down from a height of four thousand three -hundred feet. In the same year an avalanche came rushing down the -westerly slope of the Jungfrau into Lauterbrunnen valley, a distance -of about seven thousand feet. Its peculiar feature was that, not only -along its course, but even on the opposite side of the valley, twelve -hundred feet away, the atmospheric pressure, which its rapid movement -generated, was so great as to level entire forests. In the Rhone -valley, in 1720, a single avalanche destroyed one hundred and twenty -houses at Ober-Gestalen, killing eighty-eight persons and four hundred -head of cattle. The victims were buried in a trench in the churchyard, -where an inscription, still existing, records the event in these words: -“God! what a grief, eight and eighty in one grave!” In the Grisons, the -whole village of Selva was buried, nothing remained visible but the -top of the church-steeple, and Val Vergasca was covered for several -months by an avalanche one thousand feet in length and fifty in depth. -The extraordinary power of the wind, which at times accompanies an -avalanche, is well known and dreaded. A case is recorded in which a -woman, walking to church, was lifted up into the air and carried to -the top of a lofty pine, in which position she remained lodged until -discovered and rescued by the returning congregation. The avalanche -exhibits a striking picture of ruin which nature inflicts upon her own -creations; she buildeth up and taketh down; she lifts the mountains -by her subterranean energies, and then blasts them by her lightnings, -frosts, thaws, and avalanches: - - “As where, by age, or rains, or tempests torn, - A rock from some high precipice is borne; - Trees, herds, and swains involving in the sweep, - The mass flies furious from the aerial steep, - Leaps down the mountain’s side, with many a bound, - In fiery whirls, and smokes along the ground.”[95] - -Every movement that is grand or beautiful in the course of rushing -waters seems to be the mission of mountain streams to illustrate. The -fierce rivers rush over rocks with such aimless force that the violence -of the torrent creates a back sweep of the overdriven, mad waves; here -and there in the bed of these rivers are seen blocks of stone, many of -them as large as a good-sized house, heaped up most strangely, jammed -in by their angles, in equilibrium on a point, or forming perilous -bridges over which you may with proper precaution pick your way to the -other side. The quarry from which the materials of this bridge came is -just above your head, and the miners are still at work,--air, water, -frost, weight, and time. Other blocks are only waiting for the last -moment of the great lever of nature to take the horrid leap, and bury -under some hundred feet of new chaotic ruins the trees and the verdant -lawn below. All round is the sound of water, the beat of the waves on -the shore, the onward flowing of the river, the rush of the torrent, -the splash of the waterfall, or the bubbling of some little stream; -everywhere the music of a hurrying stream accompanies you. Every valley -has its roar and rush of water and cataracts leaping to join the chorus -of torrents below, making one appreciate Wordsworth’s line,-- - - “The cataracts blow their trumpets from the steep.” - -There is something which fascinates more in the free life, the young -energy, the sparkling transparency, and merry music of the smaller -streams. The upper Swiss valleys are sweet with perpetual streamlets, -that seem always to have “chosen the steepest places to come down for -the sake of the leaps, scattering their handfuls of crystals this way -and that, as the wind takes them, with all the grace, but with none -of the formalism of fountains, until at last they find their way down -to the turf, and lose themselves in that, silently; with quiet depth -of clear water furrowing among the grass-blades and looking only like -their shadows, but presently emerging again in little startled gushes -and laughing hurries, as if they had remembered suddenly that the day -was too short for them to get down the hill.” On summer days even the -glaciers are furrowed with thousands of threads of water; innumerable -little rills, which run and sparkle over its sides like streams of -quicksilver, and which disappear suddenly in the moulins, at the bottom -of which invisible canals join the extremity of the glacier. At night -all these brooklets are silent, and stopped; the cold congeals and -imprisons them in a thin coating of ice, which evaporates again the -next day. Of these mountain streams our own poet Bryant writes,-- - - “Thy springs are in the cloud; thy stream - Begins to move and murmur first - Where ice-peaks feed the noonday beam, - Or rain-storms on the glacier burst.” - -It is easy to have cascades in Switzerland, with its vast bodies -of snow at an elevation which does not preclude melting in summer, -and from which the water has to find its way down rocky precipices, -sometimes thousands of feet. The most noted of these cascades are the -_Giessbach_ and the _Staubbach_. The first consists of a succession of -seven cascades, embowered in foliage, leaping from a height of eleven -hundred feet, and finally losing themselves in the waters of the Lake -of Brienz; the soft winds swing the spray as light as a mist of the -sunrise or the gentle sway of a bridal veil, while the rainbow hues -rest like kisses on its silver threads. The Falls of Staubbach, or -_Fall of Dust_, is well named; it is so ethereal, or dust-like, that it -appears at times about to sail away like a cloud on the wings of the -wind; it apparently creeps down from its lofty rock, a thousand feet -on high, and seems to throw itself timidly into the abyss, and to win -slowly against the mass of air. This retarded appearance in the fall -is caused by its being broken into mist soon after it leaves the shelf -over which it is precipitated. In its centre the fall is purely vapor; -but the rock advancing somewhat towards the base, it collects again -into water as it strikes it and forms a stream at the bottom. It has -been compared by poets to “the tail of the white horse on which death -was mounted,” and called a “sky-born waterfall,” and Goethe describes -it,-- - - “Streams from the high, - Steep, rocky wall, - The purest fount; - In clouds of spray, - Like silver dust, - It veils the rock - In rainbow hues - And, dancing down, - With music soft, - Is lost in air.” - -Wherever the sun can get at the naked rock of the mountain, from July -to September, and find an open fissure, there vegetation climbs, and -clinging, establishes itself, and flourishes, and blooms. Charming -colonies of little flowers seem to have emigrated from the valleys, -and come to hide themselves in the cold deserts, where the brevity of -their life appears to enhance the beauty of their color. To better -resist the hoar-frost, they grow in thick tufts closely pressed -against each other. The rocks are velvet with lichens and mosses, that -anchor their roots into a mass of granite, grappling with a substance -which, when struck with steel, tears up its tempered grain and dashes -out the spark. There are familiar pinks, blue-bells, a species of -forget-me-not, a small star-shaped flower of a deep metallic blue -shading upon green, that flashes through the grass with a moist, -lustrous softness,--it is the smaller gentian, so dear to the poet’s -heart and verse. Then great rose-colored beds of rhododendrons; azaleas -of vivid carmine; golden arnicas, with their stately bearing, like rays -of sunshine turned into flowers; in every direction, orchids, diffusing -a strong odor of vanilla; and the narcissi, which are visible a great -distance, and their odor wafted by the wind, is no less penetrating -than that of an orange grove; the Alpine rose, of which Ruskin says, -“when the traveller finds himself physically exhausted by the pomp of -landscape, let him sink down on his knees and concentrate his attention -on the petals of a rock-rose.” Against the cliffs are rich clumps of -the peerless, delicately-cut _Edelweiss_; called by the botanists -“_Gnaphalium alpinum_.” It is a peculiar plant of delicate construction -that grows under the snow; containing very little sap, so that it can -be preserved a long time; the blossom is surrounded by white velvety -leaves, and even the stem has a down upon it. The possession of one -is proof of unusual daring, and to gather it, the hunter, tempted by -its beauty and by his love (for it is immensely valued by the Swiss -maidens) climbs the most inaccessible cliffs on which it grows, and -is sometimes found dead at the foot with the flower in his hand. No -art can simulate its beautiful, ermine-like bloom, and experiments -have been made to cultivate it in other places, but it changes its -character and becomes transformed into a new species; in its Alpine -home alone will it flourish, and there must it be sought, and adorn -the hat as the badge of triumph for the Alpine climber. The mountain -is really a botanical garden; the Swiss flora is the largest on the -European continent, in proportion to the area it covers. The varied -local influences and conditions resulting from such a broken surface, -and differences of altitude concur in producing the graduation and -unbounded variety of botanical specimens. - -Trees are also present in great abundance and variety, increasing the -enchantment of the view with their leafy clothing, which, by partly -concealing, adds charm of mystery to the prospect. There are specimens -of noble chestnuts and walnuts, grand old oaks, larches, and gigantic -pines. The walnut-trees disappear at a height of twenty-five hundred -feet; chestnuts and beeches cover the slopes a little higher; to these -succeed the firs, which seem to have sown themselves in a luxuriant -way, some standing alone in green gracefulness, others growing in -pretty little miniature groves; then the knotted oaks, holding by -their strong roots to the precipitous sides; and the burly pines that -flourish at far greater altitudes than either, seeming to require -scarcely any earth, but grasping with their strong, rough roots the -frozen rock, out of which, somehow, they contrive to draw moisture. -Some of the ancient pines on the Jungfrau are supposed to have stood -the blasts of winter for a thousand years; they are affirmed to be as -high as one hundred and sixty feet, and to measure twenty-four feet in -circumference. It is their peculiar conical form which enables them to -bow to, and thus resist the force of, the storm. The pine is the king -of the mountains; he strikes his club-foot deep into the cleft of the -rocks, or grasps its span with conscious power; there he lifts his -haughty front, like the warrior monarch that he is,--no flinching about -the pine, let the time be ever so stormy. His throne is the crag and -his crown is a good way up in the heavens, and as for the clouds, he -tears them asunder sometimes and uses them for robes. Then the stern, -deep, awfully deep roar that he makes in a storm. When he has aroused -his energies to meet the storm, the battle-cry he sends down the wind -is heard above all the roar and artillery of thunder, and when the -tempest leaves him, how quietly he settles to his repose,--the scented -breeze of a soft evening breathes upon him and the grim warrior king -wakes his murmuring lute, and through his dusky boughs float sweet and -soothing sounds. Higher still than the pine are the larches, a wood -highly valued; and at last comes the creeping pine, struggling against -the wind and cold: it is the highest climber among Alpine trees, and is -the immediate neighbor of the glacier. - -The perils of wandering in the high Alps remain terribly real, and are -only to be met by knowledge, courage, caution, skill, and strength; -for rashness, ignorance, carelessness, the mountains still leave no -margin, and to these three-fourths of the catastrophes which shock us -are to be traced. Mountaineering without guides is not a thing to be -encouraged. The mountaineer’s instinct on rock and ice is an art quite -as subtle and complex as the art of the seaman or the horseman. The -senses all awake, the eye clear, the heart strong, the limbs steady -yet flexible, with power of recovery in store and ready for instant -action should the footing give way, such is the discipline which these -terrible ascents impose. The mountain guides are not ignorant, they -are licensed only after severe examination. They are obliged to take -courses of study; they are taught topography, and how to read a map and -find their way by it; to use the compass and the other instruments that -are indispensable in journeys of exploration; they are also taught how -to bind up wounds, so as to be able to do what is necessary at once in -case of accident; in a word, they are brave, modest, affable, sunburnt, -and scarred men, who have planted a flag on every summit, and who have -lent to the stern and awful mountains the romance of mountaineering. -It is understood that a true Swiss guide is literally “faithful unto -death;” that he does not hesitate to risk his own life for the sake of -his charge, and that instances are known in which it has not only been -risked but actually sacrificed. Many accidents in mountain-climbing -have resulted from an insane effort to dispense with the services of -accredited guides, or disregarding their directions. In the short space -of not quite a month, in 1887, eighteen tourists lost their lives; one -accident on the Jungfrau involving the loss of six. The fate of blind -guides and those they lead is set forth in unmistakable terms by the -Scriptures. Choose for your guides the hardy men who have learned their -business thoroughly, who have been chamois hunters from their youth, -who have lived on the mountains from their birth, and to whom the snows -and rocks and the clouds speak a language which they can understand, -and then accident is almost impossible. Roping is the common and safest -precaution, especially for ice traversing. A slip-knot is passed over -each climber’s head and shoulders and drawn tight under the arms. It -cannot be particularly pleasant, for at times the one in front makes a -spring, forgetting others are tied behind him, and takes them unawares, -nearly pulling them off their feet; then, on the other hand, oblivious -of the person behind you, suddenly you are checked in the middle of -your jump, perhaps, over a crevasse, or when standing in a little niche -on a steep wall of ice a thousand feet high. The graceful alpenstock, -so often seen in the hands of Swiss tourists inscribed with its roll -of triumph, must be taken _cum grano salis_. Many of them have never -done service beyond mountain hotel parlors, broad piazzas, and great -dining-rooms. They can be bought with “records” complete and shining, -and therefore are not as closely related to mountain-climbing as one -might suspect them to be. It is refreshing to see young lads stalking -about with these alpenstocks and ice-axes, like conquerors amid a -subject race. What lofty scorn they have for every man who has not -ascended the highest peak, and yet they never dared to try it! They -call themselves mountaineers, and at evening and in bad weather stalk -and lounge about the hotel, moody, terrible, and statuesque; they -speak to none but to other young braves, with whom they perpetually -mutter dark things about horrid places and cutting the record. No; -good mountaineering is the education of a lifetime begun in childhood, -and these pretentious youths are no more mountaineers than their boots -are. Under proper precautions, and with an experienced guide, it is -glorious and healthful exercise, and for purposes of science has been -of incalculable value. - -In the later Middle Ages invalids came to _Baden_, in the Canton -of Aargau, for the sake of the mineral waters; and the springs -of _Pfäffers_ were known in 1242, and the waters considered very -efficacious, particularly in the case of persons “who had been -tortured.” These places are still visited, but the air-cure of the -mountain has almost superseded them. Jean Jacques Rousseau expressed -surprise that “bathing in the salubrious and beneficial mountain air -had not yet become one of the great resources of medical science or of -moral education.” There would be no occasion to-day for at least one -part of his surprise. The Swiss mountains have developed well-defined -and well-known health phases. They have become mediciners, and the -snow-clad peaks and the upper snow-clad valleys are being looked to -by physicians for the relief of certain ailments not easily remedied -by other means. Davos Platz and St. Moritz, in the Engadine, are -among the most familiar regions famed for the climatic treatment -of disease,--possessing remarkable health-giving properties in -lung trouble. It is the exquisite purity of the air, exercise, and -especial modes of life which the mountains impose that serve as the -chief medicine, and give these heights their beneficial virtues. The -rarefaction has its own and special effect. The breathing becomes -quicker, deeper, and fuller. One breathes fifteen to twenty-five per -cent. less air to produce a given weight of carbonic acid. The action -of the air on the blood in the lungs seems to be facilitated with -decreasing density; one, however, must ascend over two thousand feet -before the lighter air-pressure begins to make itself appreciable, -but for every one thousand feet additional the difference in the -rarefaction becomes of a very marked character. Here the law of “use -and disuse of organs” is illustrated in typical fashion,--parts of -the lungs but little used in ordinary life are brought freely into -use,--one is forced to breathe deeply, thus the vital capacity is -enlarged, and, by favoring exercise of little-used parts banishes the -tendency to disease from one of the seats of life. This so-called -diaphanous rarefied air is not air, it is a celestial ether; and so -with the sun, though it is hot, what you feel is not heat, it is a -permeating, invigorating, life-creating warmth. This warmth, then, -which the sun imparts to this ether pervades your lungs, your heart, -and reaches to your very bones. This virginally pure air makes you -conscious of a lighter and of a quicker life, an unknown facility -in breathing, and a lightness of body. Its electric freshness is a -brilliant vitality,--it is rest, inspiration, resolve. Then you are -surrounded with pine forests, and the bright sun is constantly raising -into the air from their trunks, branches, and leaves myriad molecules -of their resinous exudations. On ascending a mountain the mean annual -temperature decreases on an average of one degree Fahrenheit for every -three hundred and forty-nine feet. The value of fresh air and exercise -is a sentiment possibly as old as humanity itself. It is the same -spirit which animated Hippocrates and Galen when those classic worthies -discoursed upon the art of nature-cure. We really travel in circles in -the case of disease-cure, as in most other things. None the less may we -be thankful that, in our circular search after knowledge, we have come -upon the beaten track of ancient days, and have enlarged the wisdom -which of old showed forth the benefits of a cloudless sky and a pure -ether. - -There are walks and excursions in the mountains for all, for the -invalid as for the cragsman; roads that are marvels of audacity, -crossing tremendous gorges, clinging in dizzy places along the -precipices at the foot of which is heard the boiling torrent, then -sweeping around sudden corners and angles; roads will wind among the -hills which rise steep and lofty from the scanty level place that -lies between them, whilst the hills seem continually to thrust their -great bulk before the wayfarer, as if grimly resolute to forbid his -passage, or close abruptly behind him when he still dares to proceed. -There are broad avenues overarched with spreading elms and maples, -with vistas reminding one of the nave and aisles of a large cathedral. -The mountain-paths are so pretty and charming; they wander about so -capriciously and fancifully; they run so merrily over the moss in the -woods, and beside the murmuring brooks; they climb so cheerfully up the -slopes and hill-sides; they lead you through so much of freshness, and -perfume, and varied scenery, that the pleasures of sight soon make you -oblivious of bodily fatigue. The cemeteries placed among these wooded -rocks and pastoral hills recall the wish of Ossian, “Oh, lay me, ye -that see the light, near some rock of my hills; let the thick hazels be -around, let the rustling oak be near; green be the place of my rest, -and let the distant torrent be heard.” - -Switzerland is rich in aquatic landscapes; no country except Norway -and Sweden has such a number of inland lakes. The Lakes of Geneva, -Luzern, Zurich, Thun, Neuchâtel, Bienne, and Zug are all historic, and -have been the subject of numerous pen-pictures. The Lake of Geneva -is the largest of Western Europe, being fifty-seven miles long, and -its greatest width nine miles; it has its storms, its waves, and its -surge; now placid as a mirror, now furious as the Atlantic; at times -a deep-blue sea curling before the gentle waves, then a turbid ocean -dark with the mud and sand from its lowest depths; the peasants on -its banks still laugh at the idea of there being sufficient cordage -in the world to reach to the bottom of the _Genfer-See_. It is eleven -hundred and fifty-four feet above the sea, and having the same depth, -its bottom coincides with the sea-level; the water is of such exceeding -purity that when analyzed only 0.157 in 1000 contain foreign elements. -The lake lies nearly in the form of a crescent stretching from the -southwest towards the northeast. Mountains rise on every side, groups -of the Alps of Savoy, Valais, and Jura. The northern or the Swiss -shore is chiefly what is known as a _côte_, or a declivity that admits -of cultivation, with spots of verdant pasture scattered at its feet -and sometimes on its breast, with a cheery range of garden, chalet, -wood, and spire; villas, hamlets, and villages seem to touch each -other down by the banks, and to form but one town, whilst higher up, -they peep out from among the vineyards or nestle under the shade of -walnut-trees. At the foot of the lake is the white city of Geneva, of -which Bancroft wrote, “Had their cause been lost, Alexander Hamilton -would have retired with his bride to Geneva, where nature and society -were in their greatest perfection.” The city is divided into two parts -by the Rhone as it glides out of the basin of the lake on its course -towards the Mediterranean. The Arve pours its turbid stream into the -Rhone soon after that river issues from the lake. The contrast between -the two rivers is very striking, the one being as pure and limpid as -the other is foul and muddy. The Rhone seems to scorn the alliance and -keeps as long as possible unmingled with his dirty spouse; two miles -below the place of their junction a difference and opposition between -this ill-assorted couple is still observable; these, however, gradually -abate by long habit, till at last, yielding to necessity, and to the -unrelenting law which joined them together, they mix in perfect union -and flow in a common stream to the end of their course.[96] At the -head of the lake begins the valley of the Rhone, where George Eliot -said, “that the very sunshine seemed dreary mid the desolation of ruin -and of waste in this long, marshy, squalid valley; and yet, on either -side of the weary valley are noble ranges of granite mountains, and -hill resorts of charm and health.” At the upper part of the lake are -Montreux, Territet, and Vevay, sheltered from the north wind by the -western spurs of the Alps, and celebrated for their beauty, and beloved -of travellers; places of cure and convalescence for invalids, where -the temperature even in winter is of extreme mildness, having a mean -during the year of 48° Fahrenheit at seven o’clock in the morning, -57° at one o’clock in the afternoon, and 50° at nine o’clock in the -evening; with a barometer register of 28¾ inches at the level of the -lake. Standing at almost any point on the Lake of Geneva, to the one -side towers Dent-du-Midi, calm, proud, and dazzling, like a queen -of brightness; on the other side is seen the Jura through her misty -shroud extending in mellow lines, and a cloudless sky vying in depths -of color with the azure waters. So graceful the outlines, so varied -the details, so imposing the framework in which this lake is set, well -might Voltaire exclaim, “_Mon lac est le premier_,” (my lake is the -first). For richness combined with grandeur, for softness around and -impressiveness above, for a correspondence of contours on which the eye -reposes with unwearied admiration, from the smiling aspect of fertility -and cultivation at its lower extremity to the sublimity of a savage -nature at its upper, no lake is superior to that of Geneva. Numberless -almost are the distinguished men and women who have lived, labored, and -died upon the shores of this fair lake; every spot has a tale to tell -of genius, or records some history. In the calm retirement of Lausanne, -Gibbon contemplated the decay of empires; Rousseau and Byron found -inspiration on these shores; there is - - “Clarens, sweet Clarens, birthplace of deep love! - Thine air is the young breath of passionate thought; - Thy trees take root in love.” - -Here is Chillon, with its great white wall sinking into the deep -calm of the water, while its very stones echo memorable events, -from the era of barbarism in 830, when Count Wala, who had held -command of Charlemagne’s forces, was incarcerated within the tower of -this desolate rock during the reign of Louis le Débonnaire, to the -imprisonment of the Salvation Army captain.[97] - - “Lake Leman lies by Chillon’s walls; - A thousand feet in depth below, - Its massy waters meet and flow; - Below the surface of the lake - The dark vault lies” - -where Bonnivard, the prior of St. Victor and the great asserter of the -independence of Geneva, was found when the castle was wrested from the -Duke of Savoy by the Bernese. - -Along the shores of Lake Geneva the Romans had many stations and posts, -vestiges of which are still visible.[98] The confusion and the mixture -of interests that succeeded the fall of the Empire gave rise in the -Middle Ages to various baronial castles, ecclesiastical towns, and -towers of defence, the ruins of which still stand on the margin of the -lake or on the eminences a little inland,-- - - “Chiefless castles breathing stern farewells - From gray but leafy walls, where ruin greenly dwells.” - -The Lake of Luzern, _Vierwaldstätter-See_, is hardly a single sheet -of water, but is composed of a group of seven basins, some joined to -each other by narrow straits, others intersecting each other at right -angles, giving extreme variety to its breadth; its extreme length -in a diverging line is twenty-four miles; its widest part, taking -in the two arms of Küssnacht and Alpnach (southwest to northeast), -is twelve miles, but the average breadth is much less. There are -repeated eclipses of the landscapes caused by abrupt turnings, bold -promontories, and the amphitheatrical closing in of the mountain -strips, and again opening up to view. It is scarcely possible to -imagine any combination of beautiful water and bold mountains more -striking, more effective, and more lovely than the scenes that meet -the view in traversing this lake. A dozen different mountains advance -into the lake and check themselves suddenly in the depths of the gloomy -waters. Bare, steep, turret-like rocks hanging amid the clouds; rich, -lawn-like grass in the intervening glades, sparkling with cottages and -gardens, succeed and blend with each other in infinite alternation. -_Pilatus_ and the _Rigi_ guard the approach to the lake. The former is -full of mysterious legendary pools associated with the haunting spirit -of Pontius Pilate. No less than thirty-five writers have treated of its -supernatural apparitions, but a very natural supposition traces the -name to a corruption of _pilea_ or _pileatus_,--from the cap of clouds -always on its summit. The Rigi, the most frequented belvedere in the -world, stands between the lakes of Luzern and Zug. It is its situation, -rather than its elevation, which renders it famous. Its summit is -little less than six thousand feet above the level of the sea, but -it stands in the midst of most lovely scenery, and from its top is -presented an extensive panoramic view scarcely equalled anywhere in -the Alps. The sunrise from the Rigi is a spectacle that every tourist -contemplates with eager pleasure. Brilliant in dazzling whiteness stand -the mountains under the first light of the morning; it begins to kindle -on their tops its glowing beacon; suddenly the sunbeams strike their -crowns and convert them into a boss of gold; first the tallest presents -a gilded summit while the others wait in silence, then they, in the -order of their height, come afterwards, relaxing, as the sunbeams -strike each in succession, into a blush and smile. The splendor of the -whole spectacle, when the sun streams all the magic of his beams to -cast upon the land an enchantment greater than its own, is such as to -overwhelm the soul with admiration and astonishment. All who sleep at -the _Culm_, or topmost point, may expect to be awakened by the sound -of a wooden horn, about sunrise, when every one gets up with the hope -of a splendid prospect--a hope often disappointed: - - “Nine weary, up-hill miles we sped, - The setting sun to see; - Sulky and grim he went to bed, - Sulky and grim went we. - - “Seven sleepless hours we tossed, and then, - The rising sun to see, - Sulky and grim we rose again, - Sulky and grim rose he.” - -The Lake of Zug, or Zuger-See, is set like a fine pearl in a necklace -of woods and gardens, fertile fields and hills, over which white houses -are scattered like tents. Its banks are graceful, and in its waters -are reflected rich and varied vegetation; near by are wide marshes -dotted with pools, in the midst of which great water-lilies shine, and -a few islets covered with vegetation, looking like baskets of flowers -floating in the water. - -The Lake of Thun is the golden gate-way to the Bernese Oberland, and -its wealth and variety of scenery is the pride of that Canton. - -The Lake of Zurich, while not pretending to vie with the others in -stern and rugged magnificence, is unsurpassed in pastoral beauty; on -either side rise gently-sloping hills of fruitful vineyards, at the -foot of which, lining the shores, are prosperous villages. Here have -been discovered the earliest traces of human activity, back in the age -of Stone and Lake-Dwellers. Excavations from the old basin of the lake -have hinted that it has tales to tell and secrets to reveal which for -ages on ages may have been safely hidden beneath its deep waters. - -The Swiss lakes differ in color; some appear to be green as malachite, -and others blue. The water appears commonly of a bluish-green, shading -into blue, with a slightly milky hue in the summer, especially when -fed by the glacier streams, which bring down a quantity of finely -triturated rock. Whenever a lake has high mountains rising from its -edge, the hue is a purple-blue. The transparency of the lake waters is -quite surprising; in many of them minute objects can be seen at a depth -of fifty feet, and even lower down, as clearly as if viewed through -a glass. There is a quiet luxury of excitement, without exercise, in -voyaging in the well-appointed steamers on calm Swiss lakes, which -present a shifting panorama of hill and river scenery.[99] - -There is much difference of opinion as to when the natural beauties and -attractions of Switzerland appear to the best advantage. The larger -number of strangers see the country only in its summer charms; it -is a season when the mountains assume a greater brilliance of color -and grandeur of form, the lower atmosphere being cleared of its dark -mists as the clouds lift and give an ever-increasing flood of light. -This greater altitude of the clouds brings the mountains into fuller -sunshine, with their coloring more intense, their forms more massive, -and the blue of the sky behind them deeper and clearer. - -Those who see the sun rise each morning in glory over the Alps, and -glowing all day, set in a flood of crimson over the pines, only to -return in the splendor of the after-glow on the glacier and snow, claim -that autumn is a better time for realizing this sum of marvellous -beauty; that it is the season of crimson and gold, when the landscapes -take on incomparable magnificence, when the transformation of the woods -is fairy-like, when the oaks are surrounded with a golden aureola, the -beeches are dyed in vivid red and yellow, and all the wooded hills, -orchards, hedges, and bushes form, as it were, a marvellous symphony -of color, of warmer shades, and tints of an infinite tenderness. Then -comes the advocate of winter, who says, “You should see the loads -of snow, falling almost perpendicularly in thick, heavy flakes, or -whirled about by the wild wind; on the calming of the snow-storm, you -should see the heavy brown clouds in the south assume a tinge more -and more golden and bright, till the first patch of blue sky bursts -forth amidst the gigantic masses, and at last permits the winter sun, -far down in the south, to gladden the earth with a brief sight of the -source of light and life;” and that the trees are more beautiful in -the hoar-frost than in summer or autumn glory; the pines, with their -branches bent, “stand like harpers hoar, with beards that rest on their -bosoms,” and the taller trees seem to beckon with their long, white -arms, like ghosts. - -The snow, which long after it has fallen lies as pure and stainless -as the raiment of angels, is the crowning glory of a Swiss winter. It -has an intensity of whiteness which gives a new force to “whiter than -snow.” St. Matthew describes the Lord’s transfiguration raiment as -“white as the light,” but St. Mark as “exceeding white as snow.” This -Alpine snow is light materialized, and snow etherealized--solidified -light. With the snow nature transfigures all the landscape; at one -sweep of her broad brush all the clumsy touches with which man has -marred the beauty of the world are effaced, the hills are rounded to a -riper beauty, the fields lie smooth and white and fair, an unwritten -page waiting as for the bold outlines of some new design.[100] The -mountain air appears to give additional brilliancy even to the rainbow, -as it rests on the turbid blackness of the clouds; it looks so near, -and every band of color so broad and distinct, filling the very air -with the haze of its colors; seeing a rainbow following an Alpine -thunder-storm, one can well conceive how, before it was known what -produced the storm and the rainbow, the one was taken for the wrath and -the other for the smile of God. - -“All things are good, as their Creator made them, but everything -degenerates in the hands of man; improving, man makes a general -confusion of elements, climates, and seasons; he defaces, he confounds -everything, as if he delighted in nothing but monsters and deformity;” -these are the first words of the “Æmilius,” and the key-note of the -author’s philosophy. Conceding that man’s work does not deserve this -unqualified condemnation, and is in many respects most admirable, one -must regret to see the work of nature in Switzerland so ruthlessly -spoiled and disfigured; to see the telegraph-pole and the factory -chimney rear themselves against the horizon of every landscape; -mountain fastnesses and remote valleys consecrated to the charms of -nature alone, resounding with the whistle of the locomotive and the -stroke of the hammer; the iconoclastic hand of material enterprise, -divested of all sentiment, reaching out into every nook and corner -where the Divine Artist has surpassed himself in his handiwork, to -discover and develop new commercial opportunities. One now goes by -steam in place of _diligence_, and the lovers of the characteristic -may well regret that the _couleur locale_, so dear to strangers, is -fast disappearing. No more the post-carriage takes you in its moving -house, with the sound of jingling bells, the cracking of the driver’s -whip, and the notes of the horn waking up the echoes of the woods. No -longer the white oxen tug up the steep mountain; no longer the chat -with the village gossips at each post-station; the mid-day halt, where -one dives into castle, church, or old courtyard; the chaffering for -some local trifle; the antique furniture of the salon; the early walk -before the coach was ready,--it is all, all, almost gone. In things -spiritual and things temporal alike, our modern mania is to carry with -us our own life, instead of accepting that which we find on the spot. -Alpine touring has become a highly-organized institution, brought -to perfection by everything that administrative genius, capital, -and science can give. All the inscriptions on the votive offerings -discovered around the ruins of the Temple of Jupiter Penninus on the -Great St. Bernard, and which come down to the latest periods of the -Roman Empire, are filled with warm expression of gratitude for having -escaped the extraordinary perils of the passage. Even in the days of -Pliny, several hundred years after the first passage of the Alps by the -Roman troops, and even after the establishment of a station at Sion, -in the Valais, it was spoken of as a “most hidden part of the earth, -in the region of perpetual night, amid forests forever inaccessible -to human approach.” The courage, skill, and ingenuity of man have -overcome all these formidable dangers. Though the mountains are still -lofty and precipitous, safe and convenient passes have been found -practicable, and paths have been contrived, upon these giddy heights, -over which the maiden threads without a thought of danger. The rushing -torrents are loud and furious in the descent to the valley; but they -have been bridged over by stone and timber, or perhaps by the fallen -pine, and the peasant boy sings cheerily, as he strides across the -foaming stream. Steam and electricity make the railway train emulate -the agility of the chamois, and carry the public across precipices to -a height of seven thousand feet. There is scarcely a point of view -that attracts tourists, a summit that climbers make fashionable, but -at once the mountain is rent and insulted; it is stripped of its -beautiful forests, iron rails are screwed to its wounded and bleeding -side, and you are carried up like a bundle of luggage, with no -roadside halts under the trees, no flowers gathered by the wayside, -no rustic inns hidden under the firs, but all along station-masters, -ticket-collectors, and stations; or _chaises-à-porteur_, and long -lines of mules file up the Alps, carrying Saratoga trunks and cases of -Clicquot to the level of the eternal snows. Mountain summits are no -longer reserved for those who arrogantly pride themselves on superior -soundness of wind and limb, but are equally accessible to the blind, -halt, and lame. The circular-tour ticket has brought these summits -within reach of everybody’s purse and everybody’s legs. Greed of gain -and competition are rapidly producing the effect of false mountains, -sham mountains, built by contractors and shareholders; a mountain at -a fair that the people ascend a franc for the round trip; where the -tourist is nothing but a number, and is always dining between two -trains, at the buffet of an international railway station. There is a -tendency all the world over to the loss of the true sense of natural -beauty; and forest solitudes and quiet valleys must retreat before -the spirit of Mammon, and succumb to factories and foundries. Yet -are not the natural beauties of a country an inestimable treasure to -it, and, from a business view, is it wise, lightly to give away what -money cannot buy, nor modern art create? With commercial and economic -disadvantages difficult to overcome, it would appear the wiser policy -for Switzerland to check the rapid transformation of the beautiful and -the venerable into cheap and tasteless novelties, with their cast-iron -uninterestingness. Nature has done all for Switzerland, from its pure -and radiant air to its mountains, lakes, and wild flowers, which spring -up as though Aphrodite were still there, “to sow them with her odorous -feet.” This marvellous and rare beauty of nature is too often taken as -a matter of course, and “holy men, in recommending of the love of God -to us, refer but seldom to those things in which it is most abundantly -and immediately shown; though they insist much on His giving of bread -and raiment and health, they require us not to thank Him for that -glory of His works which He has permitted us alone to perceive; they -tell us often to meditate in the closet, but they send us not, like -Isaac, into the fields at even.” - -Fortunately, the grandeur of Alpine scenery cannot be altogether -destroyed, though seriously injured, by the spade, the pickaxe, and -the blasting-powder. There is a poetry of science, even of practical -science, and the invaluable and ubiquitous engineer cannot after all -do much to the everlasting hills, except here and there a simple climb -may be made simpler still, and an opening effected through what looks -like one of the permanent barriers of the world. The physical geography -of Switzerland is still a stupendous unit. Man may enormously modify -its surface, but its original conditions remain dominant, forcing a -stern recognition of their supremacy; mountain-ranges may be passed or -surmounted; they have never yet been lowered or removed; Switzerland -will ever be mastered by its sublime physical features. While much of -the simplicity which was formerly the attraction of the country has -passed away, never to be restored, still it presents an unrivalled -scene, in picturesque combination, with advantages of atmospheric -relief, and aided by the contributing glories of a luminous and -sensitive sky. There is beauty of every sort; beauties to enrapture -every sense; beauties to satisfy every taste; forms the grandest and -loveliest; colors the most gorgeous and the most delicate; harmonies -the most soothing and the most stirring; the sunny glories of the -day; the pale grace of moonlight; the silent pinnacles of aged snows; -tropical luxuriance; the serenity of peerless sunsets; the sublimity of -unchallenged storms; pomp of summits and world of clouds; witchery of -water, sky, and mountain; a very cluster of delights and grandeurs, to -enchant the vision and animate the spirit,--warming commonplace persons -into something approaching to poetic fervor, and persons of genius to -pour forth their inspirations in verse or lofty prose. You may have -read the most vivid and accurate description, yet the reality will -burst upon you like a revelation; a few cherished hallucinations may be -uncovered to the raw air of truth, but you will look again and again, -day after day, and a perennial glory will surround the kaleidoscopic -panorama, “ever charming, ever new,” photographing it in the mind -forever. Scarcely a day, or an hour of the day, when there is not -being produced, scene after scene, picture after picture, glory after -glory, and working still upon an inexhaustible source of constant and -perfect beauty. It is indeed a beautiful land, meriting the words of -the Psalmist, “a fair place, the joy of the whole earth.” It is a place -where all save the spirit of man seems divine; so fascinating, that, -like Virgil, who on his death-bed longed to view once more the nymphs -of Bacchus as they danced on the banks of the river of Peloponnesus, -one who has visited Switzerland sighs again for its glorious sun, -its delicious air with the shivering freshness of the glacier, its -magnificent scenery, its gorgeous mountains, its valleys of idyllic -beauty, its beautiful roads shaded by hedges, its streams bordered with -hazel copses, its forests carpeted with moss, its corners of shade and -solitude with freshness and luxurious ease, its happy and tranquil -retreats, and its asylums for modest pleasure or for calm repose: - - “Who first beholds those everlasting clouds, - Those mighty hills, so shadowy, so sublime, - As rather to belong to heaven than earth, - But instantly receives into his soul - A sense, a feeling, that he loses not; - A something that informs him ’tis an hour - Whence he may date henceforward and forever?” - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -WILLIAM TELL. - - “Almighty powers! That was a shot indeed; - It will be talked of to the end of time.” - - -Trite and worn out as the subject may appear, it is impossible by any -amount of familiarity to divest the historical legend of William Tell -of its undying charm; and he who has visited the scene, so far from his -interest in it being exhausted, has only been made more enthusiastic -in its favor. It is a perfectly simple and natural story, when read in -the light of the times, the circumstances that led up to it, and the -impulses which sustained it throughout. - -Nearly in the centre of Switzerland, around the Lake of Luzern, were -the Forest Cantons of Schwyz, Uri, and Unterwalden; defended on the -north by the stormy waves of the lake, on the south by inaccessible -peaks and glaciers, on the side of Germany by precipices and unbroken -forests, and the Rigi in the midst. This district was inhabited by a -shepherd race; the elevated and barren site of their habitations had -secured them from the cruel caprices of the petty tyrants who ruled -over the lower valleys, and they governed themselves under the forms of -a republic. Rudolph of Hapsburg, the father of the founder of the House -of Austria, a distinguished soldier and leader of the Zurich troops, -the son of an Alsatian landgrave, had his castle near the confluence -of the Reuss and Aar, and in 1257 was voluntarily chosen by the people -as their governor. Sixteen years later he ascended the imperial throne -of the Roman Empire of Germany; for eighteen years he kept the throne, -and, remembering that he was by birth a native of Switzerland, he -protected his countrymen from oppression, and was esteemed for his -humanity, prudence, and valor. He gave firm assurance that he would -treat them as worthy sons of the Empire, with inalienable independence; -and to that assurance he remained true till his death, which happened -in 1291. His son, Albert, who had been made Duke of Austria, ascended -the throne. He was grasping and eager to make territorial acquisitions. -He desired to be first Duke of Helvetia, and proposed to these Forest -Cantons that they should sever their relationship, as a province of -the German Empire, and become a member of his Dukedom. Though Emperor -of Germany, he was Duke of Austria, and his ambition was to aggrandize -the Austrian House. The peasants rejected his proposition. Jealous -of this remnant of independence, which the snows and rocks had left -to the peasants of upper Helvetia, he undertook to subjugate them. -Failing to seduce them by diplomacy or pretended kindness, he sent -_landvogts_, or governors, to reside in their midst; these governors -bore the title of Imperial Bailiffs. Instead of sending, as was usual, -some noblemen for imperial governors, whose functions were only those -of high judges in capital crimes, he sent two dependants of his family, -men whose dispositions were as hostile and cruel as their orders. -Their mission was to goad and persecute the people into some act of -rebellion, that might be used as a pretext for reducing them to the -level of common slavery. There were two of these bailiffs, Berenger -and Gessler, the former stationed at Sarnen, the latter at Altdorf; -they were unbounded in their tyrannies, using their powers wantonly, -with all the stings of insolent authority. Gessler was the most cruel; -he pillaged private property, imprisoned husbands, carried off the -wives, and dishonored the daughters. It was now the beginning of the -fourteenth century, and the country was in a degraded and miserable -condition. The land groaned under violence; the despotism was distant -and delegated; the sovereign too far removed to hear the universal -lamentation. It became intolerable. A few brave hearts reasoned, -that God had never granted power to any emperor, king, or bailiff to -commit such injustice; and that death was preferable to a continued -submission under so ignominious a yoke. The wife of Werner Stauffacher, -of Schwyz, being brutally treated by one of the bailiffs’ officers, in -the absence of her husband, on his return reporting the affair to him, -exclaimed, “Shall we mothers nurse beggars at our bosoms, and bring up -maid-servants for foreigners? What are the men of the mountains good -for? Let there be an end of this!”[101] Stauffacher sought the counsel -of Walter Fürst, of Uri, and Arnold Melchthal, of Unterwalden; and -these three, from the result of that counsel, became famous as - - “The Patriot Three that met of yore, - Beneath the midnight sky, - And leagued their hearts on the Rütli shore - In the name of liberty.” - -Being well acquainted with the most injured, the most intrepid, and -the most implacable of their countrymen, they determined to see them, -and ascertain whether they would be willing to risk their lives in -defence of their liberties. If the blood of the martyrs is the seed of -the church, no less true is it in all history, that the insolence of -tyranny is the cradle of liberty. Rütli, so called from the uprooting -and clearing of the trees (German, _ausgereutet_), a secluded field -below Seelisberg, in the Canton of Uri, on a steep, small promontory -standing out from the mountain and surrounded on three sides by the -waters of the lake, was the spot chosen for their council chamber.[102] -On the night of the 7th of November, 1307, descending from their -mountains, or crossing the lake in small fishing-boats, came the -patriot three, each, as he had agreed to do, bringing ten true and -brave herdsmen, stout of heart and strong of limb. They silently -gathered at the lonely spot, as they had concerted. The love of native -soil, the feeling of freedom and security under the protection of the -laws of the country, the feeling of being ill treated and subjugated -by a foreign debauchee, a determination to throw off so obnoxious -a yoke--all these great and good qualities were shared by these -untutored, but heroic, noble-minded peasants. A handful of patriots, -meeting at midnight, and attesting the justice of their cause to the -Almighty Disposer of events, the God of equity and mercy, the protector -of the helpless; calm and united, proceeding to the delivery of their -country; retaining all the serene forbearance of the most elevated -reason, amid the energies and the fury of vindictive right. They could -bear to die, but not to be subdued: - - “They linked their hands,--they pledged their stainless faith - In the dread presence of attesting Heaven, - They knelt, and rose in strength.” - -They met to interchange oaths, and not to utter exciting speeches; -“words could not weigh in the balance with that decisive night, -brooding under cover of its darkness the resurrection of a nation, with -those mountains, stars, rocks, and waves, and with the sword ready to -be drawn in the most sacred of causes.” They were summoned, and were -bidden in a few brief sentences, uttered in a low tone, to choose; -and they chose wisely and greatly; they chose liberty, born of the -heavens, breathing of all their odors, and radiant with all their -hues. With hands uplifted to the starry firmament, Fürst, Stauffacher, -and Melchthal, with subdued and slow accent, their comrades repeating -after them, proclaimed, “We swear in the presence of God, before whom -kings and people are equal, to live or die for our fellow-countrymen; -to undertake and sustain all in common; neither to suffer injustice, -nor to commit injury; to respect the rights and property of the Count -of Hapsburg; to do no violence to the imperial bailiffs, but to put an -end to their tyranny.” One of the men who at that momentous assembly -engaged each other by the pledge of “All for each and each for all,” -was William Tell, a fisher of the lake and a hunter of chamois, of -Bürglen, a half-hour from Altdorf in Uri, and a son-in-law of Walter -Fürst. In the mean time, Gessler thought he perceived that the people -walked abroad with more confidence, and carried in their looks a -haughtier expression; when satisfied that the spirit of resistance was -ripe, with a view to confirm his suspicions, he determined to put down -by force the first symptoms of disaffection, and invented a crime to -trap the most daring and dangerous. His hat, surmounted by the Austrian -crown, was placed on the top of a pole, erected in the market-place of -Altdorf, and all who passed by were ordered to uncover their heads, and -bow submissively before this symbol of the imperial sovereignty: - - “It is the lord governor’s good will and pleasure - The cap shall have like honor as himself; - And all shall reverence it with bended knee - And heads uncovered.... - His life and goods are forfeit to the crown - That shall refuse obedience to the order.” - -Guards were posted round the pole, and ordered to arrest all who -refused thus to pay homage. It happened that William Tell was passing, -and failed to pay the required homage. He was instantly seized and -taken before the bailiff. The bailiff first tried to extract from -Tell whether his conduct had been premeditated, and if so, who were -his friends and abettors; but he remained stubbornly silent. Gessler, -incensed at his contumacy, determined to punish him, and, the offence -being one unknown to the land and of his own invention, he was likewise -compelled to invent a punishment. Tell had only one child, a boy, who -was with him at the time, and, as all peasants were accustomed to the -cross-bow, Gessler condemned him to shoot from off his son’s head an -apple, saying, “Know, audacious bowman, that thy own art shall serve to -punish thee.” The lad was blindfolded, the apple placed on his head, -and Tell led away to his position: - - “And let him take his distance, - Just eighty paces, as the custom is, - Not an inch more or less.” - -To one side stood the cruel Gessler to watch the dreadful archery. Tell -looked well to his aim, and let the arrow fly: - - “See Roman fire in Hampden’s bosom swell, - And fate and freedom in the shaft of Tell.” - -The twang of the bow was heard, and the eager crowd for the moment held -their breath; then a joyful shout proclaimed that the child was safe, -and the apple was pinned by the unerring arrow. Gessler observing that -Tell had a second arrow, inquired why it was. “It was the custom of the -archers,” he answered. Being further pressed, with the promise that -he might speak freely without fear of losing his life, and excited by -those generous emotions of resentment which a brave and simple race -have seldom the discretion to repress, he replied, “That was reserved -for you, had the first arrow hit my son.” - - “If that my hand had struck my darling child, - This second arrow I had aimed at you, - And be assured, I should not then have missed.” - -The tyrant, exasperated by the candid reply of Tell, said to him, “I -have promised thee life, but thou shalt spend it in a dungeon.” He -was pinioned by the guards, and thrown into Gessler’s boat, and they -started for the castle of Küssnacht at the other end of the lake. Soon -a dangerous surge came on, such as at certain seasons occurs suddenly, -produced by contrary winds. The boat was in imminent peril from this -tempest. Tell being a skilful boatman, and familiar with the sunken -rocks and dangerous reefs of the long narrow lake, was unbound, placed -at the helm, and ordered to land the boat. He at once steered straight -to a flat piece of rock beneath the sharp sides of the Achsenberg. No -sooner had the boat touched than Tell seized his bow, sprang on to -the narrow ledge, and, at the same time, with his foot pushed back -the frail craft into the angry waters. Quickly finding his way up the -rock, and knowing where his enemy must land, he hastened there, and -as Gessler approached, shot him through the heart. “A wife, Lucretia, -liberated Rome; a father, William Tell, disenthralled Helvetia.” - -No one can go to that rock-framed, mountain-embosomed, “that -sacred lake withdrawn among the hills,” and so well known as the -Vierwaldstättersee, or Lake of the Four Forest Cantons, and specially -that part famed as the theatre of Tell’s exploits, and called the -Urnersee (or Uri Lake), and examine the historic spot and see the -numerous evidences, many of them contemporaneous, without being -convinced that William Tell was as much an historical personage as -Julius Cæsar, Napoleon Bonaparte, or George Washington; and that he -lived, acted, and died, as the legend relates. One visiting these -various places, must feel the force of what Latrobe wrote: “There -is something in the grandeur and magnificence of the scene which -surrounds you, which gently but irresistibly opens the heart to a -belief in the truth of the page upon which the events which have -hallowed them are recorded. Whatever a man may think, however he may -be inclined to question the strength of the evidence upon which the -relations of these facts rest while in his closet, I should think there -are but few sufficiently insensible and dogmatical to stand firm and -bar their hearts against the credibility which steals over them while -contemplating the spots themselves.” - -At a bend of the lake, a short distance from Brunnen, there rises from -the water a slender rock pillar, some eighty feet in height. This is -the _Mythenstein_, a noble monument, fashioned in the morning of the -world by Nature herself, for the bard who was to hymn the rise of -Helvetian freedom and the praise of its hero. The rock bears in golden -letters the simple inscription: - - “Dem Sänger Tell’s - Friedrich Schiller - Die Urkantone - 1859.” - - (“To the bard of Tell, Friedrich Schiller, the original - Cantons, 1859.”)[103] - -A little farther on, opposite Brunnen, at the foot of the rocky -ramparts of Seelisberg, lies a long meadow, Rütli-platte, where, the -peasant tradition says, the spirits of the Patriot Three sleep in the -rocky caverns, ready to awaken in their country’s hour of danger: - - “When the battle-horn is blown - Till Schreckhorn’s peaks reply, - When the Jungfrau’s cliffs send back the tone, - Through their eagles’ lonely sky; - When Uri’s beechen woods wave red - In the burning hamlet’s light, - Then from the cavern of the dead - Shall the sleepers wake in might! - They shall wake beside their forest sea, - In the ancient garb they wore, - When they link’d the hands that made us free - On the Rütli’s moonlight shore.” - -We now reach on the eastern bank, projecting into the lake, the -platform of rock, Tellsplatte, with its little chapel marking the -spot where Tell leaped ashore and escaped from Gessler’s boat. After -the expulsion of the bailiffs and the demolition of their castles, it -became customary among the Swiss to make pilgrimages to this place; -and in 1388, only a little more than thirty years after the death -of Tell, the Canton of Uri erected this chapel in the presence of a -hundred and fourteen persons who had been acquainted with Tell. Müller -the historian suggests as a reason why there were only a hundred and -fourteen persons who had known Tell to gather together, not much more -than thirty years after his death at the erection of the chapel, was, -that Tell did not often leave Bürglen, and the deed, according to the -ethics of that period, was not likely to attract inquisitive wonderers -to him. It was Tell’s deed alone; the people had no part in Gessler’s -death, the hour which they had agreed upon for their deliverance had -not come. All the old chronicles agree as to the erection of the -chapel and the persons present. The chapel was restored in 1883, -the old frescoes being carefully removed, and now preserved in the -Council House of Altdorf. The restored chapel has four large frescoes -of artistic merit. On the back wall above the altar, to the left is -the “Leap from the boat;” to the right the “Death of the tyrant;” on -the north wall the “Apple scene;” on the southern wall the “Oath of -Rütli;” this last fresco is very frequent in Switzerland, representing -the Patriot Three (_Les Trois Suisses_, or _Die Drei Schweizer_); one -holding a short-handled flag with a cross upon it; the central one -leaning on a spear; and a third sustaining a tall standard which rests -on the ground; all wearing their swords. On Sunday following Easter, -annually, a procession of boats, appropriately decorated, proceeds -slowly to this chapel, consecrated by art, religion, and patriotism to -the great deeds or yet greater thoughts of its olden time hero, and a -solemn memorial service is held. Near by at Küssnacht there is another -chapel marking the place where Gessler was shot, and over the door is -an illustrated painting with the date 18th of November, 1307, and under -it the inscription,-- - - “Here the proud tyrant Gessler fell, - And liberty was won by Tell; - How long ’twill last, you ask, and tremble: - Long as the Swiss their sires resemble.” - -At the upper end of the lake, retired a short distance, is Altdorf, the -capital of Uri. Here in the public square are two fountains. The pillar -in the centre of one of them is surmounted by a figure of Tell holding -his boy under one arm and pressing his bow to his bosom with the other; -it marks the spot where Tell stood when he launched the fearful arrow. -The other fountain is placed on the supposed site of the lime-tree by -which the boy stood awaiting his father’s unerring aim. A figure of -Gessler indicates where the pole bearing the hat and crown was erected; -close to the second fountain is an ancient square tower, on the outside -of which are painted the scenes of Tell’s history. Near by Altdorf runs -the small stream of Schächen, where Tell met his death in 1354: seeing -a child fall into the swollen stream as he passed that way, he plunged -in to rescue it, and, being old and feeble, lost his life. The museum -at Zurich contains the cross-bow of Tell; the little hamlet of Bürglen, -his birthplace, has many reminiscences to show; old houses in Altdorf, -Arth, and Schaffhausen are frescoed with representations of facts in -his history. In Schaffhausen is a fountain having an old stone figure -of Tell with the bow and arrow, on the base of which is the date 1682. - -But we are told that history records six other apple-shooting feats, -performed by different individuals before and after the time of Tell. -It is difficult to see how this decides whether Tell was a real -character or not. Such skill in marksmanship was not rare in the days -of archery. A similar, indeed identical, feat is mentioned of the -Scandinavian hero Egill, who was commanded by King Nidhung to shoot -an apple from the head of his son. Egill, like Tell, took two arrows, -and, on being asked why, replied, as Tell did to Gessler, “To shoot -thee, tyrant, if I failed in my task.” Similar stories are recorded of -Eindridi, of Norway; of Hemingr, challenged to the display of skill by -King Harald, son of Sigurd, in 1066; of Toki, or Palnatoke, the Danish -hero, in 1514; and of William of Cloudesley, who, to show the king his -skill in shooting, bound his eldest son to a stake, put an apple on his -head, and at a distance of three hundred feet cleft the apple in two. -This is described by Percy in his “Reliques:” - - “I have a son is seven years old, - He is to me full dear; - I will hym tye to a stake - And lay an apple upon his head, - And go sixscore paces hym fro, - And I myself with a broad arrow - Will cleve the apple in two.” - -In modern times the same skill is seen with the gun instead of with the -cross-bow. Snuffing a candle, cutting a string, barking a squirrel, -breaking glass balls thrown in the air, are all, perhaps, more -difficult than for a firm hand and a steady eye to pick off an apple -from the head of a boy. The same thing was done in the seventh century -that is recorded of Tell in the fourteenth century, _ergo_ William Tell -is a myth,--this is the question reduced to a logical form. Any one may -see that such an inference is absurd. Yet this is the greatest fact -that has been adduced to prove that Tell’s heroism is a mere figment -of the past. To believe in one tradition and repudiate the other is -not less arbitrary than unphilosophic. Voltaire, whose function it was -to deny, even sneered at the existence of the men of Rütli simply on -account of “the difficulty in pronouncing their names.” The story of -Tell is told in the chronicle of Klingenberg, that covers the close -of the fourteenth century; then again in 1470, in the “Ballad of -Tell,” one of the chief treasures in the archives of Sarnen; in the -“Chronicles of Russ,” 1482; and by Schilling, of Luzern, in 1510, who -had before him a “Tell-song;” and the chronicle of Eglof, town clerk -of Luzern, in the first half of the fifteenth century. The first to -clothe these traditions in the dress of historical narration of great -substantial clearness was the celebrated Swiss chronicler, Ægidius -Tschudi, of Glarus, in 1570. All the early Swiss and German historians, -Stettler, Huldrich, and Müller, sanction it. Then it furnished Florian -with the subject of a novel in French, 1788; Lemierre with his tragedy -of _Guillaume Tell_, 1766; Schiller with a tragedy in German, _Wilhelm -Tell_, 1804; Knowles with a tragedy in English, _William Tell_, 1840. -In 1829, Rossini, the most famous composer of the land beyond the -mountains, wove the magic of his music round Schiller’s greatest drama -with the Italian opera of _Guglielmo Tell_, the delight of the musical -world.[104] Smollett, in his sublime “Ode to Independence,” thus -alludes to Tell: - - “Who with the generous rustics sate - On Uri’s rock, in close divan, - And wing’d that arrow, sure as fate, - Which ascertain’d the sacred rights of man.” - -Goethe writes: “I picture Tell as an heroic man, possessed of native -strength, but contented with himself, and in a state of childish -unconsciousness. He traverses the Canton as a carrier, and is -everywhere known and beloved, everywhere ready with his assistance. He -peacefully follows his calling, providing for his wife and child.” Sir -James Mackintosh, one of the most impartial of historians, visited the -region associated with the name and deeds of Tell; he examined history, -and became perfectly convinced of the existence of the mountain hero, -and of the truth of the part he played in Switzerland when - - “Few were the numbers she could boast, - But every freeman was a host, - And felt as though himself were he - On whose sole arm hung victory.” - -Thus a seemingly unimportant event in the remote Alps became the -key-note of European thought, literature, art, and language; for it -inspired not only statesmen, historians, orators, and poets, but -painters, sculptors, and composers. It influenced and exercised pen, -pencil, and chisel, and expanded the vocabulary; for who has not seen, -heard, read _Wilhelm Tell_ in his own or some other language? - -The legend of Tell has a companion piece doubtless as mythical to the -sceptical, being of the same historic period, and occurring at the -battle of Sempach. This was one of the great battles which terminated -the long and obstinate struggle begun at Rütli, and, like all other -famous achievements, is remembered in connection with a special example -of personal self-sacrifice; still it passes historical scrutiny -unchallenged, though no better authenticated, and in many respects -more contentious than the heroism of Tell. On the 9th of August, 1386, -Duke Leopold was marching against Zurich to fight the last battle -which Austria presumed to try against the Forest Cantons. He had the -flower of the Austrian nobility, 4000 knights and barons, each with his -own vassals, forming an army of veterans in columns 20,000 strong. A -handful of brave Swiss, numbering 1400 stout and fearless mountaineers, -went out on foot to meet them; they came up with the enemy at Sempach. -The mail-clad warriors, dismounting from their steeds, presented a -solid and impregnable barrier of lances; the Swiss were rudely armed -with halberds and _morgensterne_.[105] According to their ancient -custom, they knelt in silent prayer; arising, they placed themselves -in column, presenting an angle, and charged. Again and again they -dashed against these protruding lances that stood as firm as a wall -of stone. Out of their little number sixty had died in vain; hearts -seemed ready to fail; the Austrians were beginning to open in order to -surround them. At this crisis Arnold Winkelried, “a trusty man amongst -the confederates,” dropped his weapon, and, rushing forward, cried out, -“I will open a way to freedom; protect my wife and children!”[106] -Being of great size and strength, he clutched as many of the enemy’s -lances as his arms could embrace, gathered their points and buried them -in his bosom, and as he fell drew his enemies with him. Before the -Austrians could extract them his companions took advantage of the gap, -rushed over his expiring body into the ranks of the enemy; a breach -being made in the wall of mailed warriors, what seemed an inevitable -defeat was turned into glorious victory. “Heed not the corpse,” says -Byron’s Saul to his warriors and chiefs, admonishing them as to what -they are to do should the lance and the sword strike them down in the -front. Sempach is a story of thrilling heroism, and in little over half -a century was followed by the battle of St. Jacob in 1444, when 1600 -Swiss met a predatory invasion of the French, a corps of 8000 horse and -a large detachment of infantry, in all numbering over 20,000, called -Armagnacs, the disbanded mercenaries of the English war, led by the -Dauphin, afterwards Louis XI. Though they might have retreated without -loss, the Swiss determined rather to perish on the spot, and fought -with heroic fury, tearing the enemy’s arrows from their wounds to send -them back dripping with blood. Their valor and terrible sacrifice never -were surpassed. The Dauphin lost 6000 men; and of the 1600 Swiss, -only ten lived to tell the tale, and they were immediately proscribed -throughout Switzerland for having deserted their comrades. A monument -is erected near the Birs, on the battle-field, consisting of a figure -of Helvetia at the top with four dying soldiers on the pedestal, with -the inscription: “Our souls to God, our bodies to the enemy.” At -Morgarten, in 1315, 1300 Swiss routed Leopold’s army of over 20,000, -killing 9000, when - - “There were songs and festal fires - On the soaring Alps that night, - When children sprung to greet their sires - From the wild Morgarten fight.” - -Then there is the battle fought near Wessen, in the Canton of Glarus, -where 350 Swiss attacked 8000 Austrians and gained the field. Eleven -pillars are erected on the field of battle to mark the places where -the Swiss rallied, for history says they were repulsed ten times, -but, rallying the eleventh, broke the enemies’ line and put them to -flight with great slaughter. This victory is celebrated every year; -the people, in procession, fall upon their knees at each pillar, sing -a _Kyrie_ and thank God for so signal a victory. When they come to the -last pillar, one of their orators makes a eulogy of the three hundred -and fifty, and, when he has finished, reads over a list of their -names,--just as the Spartans caused the names of their three hundred to -be cut in brass, to transmit their memories to posterity. There are, -in addition, such duels of individual valor recorded as men fighting -when mortally wounded, like Fontana, of Grisons, who cried out, “Do not -stop for my fall, it is but one man the less;” or like John Walla, of -Glarus, who met alone and put to flight thirty horsemen. These events, -and many others well authenticated and unhesitatingly accepted in Swiss -history, sound infinitely more of knight-errantry than the story of -Tell. - -Macaulay holds that intense patriotism and high courage are peculiar -to people congregated in small spaces. Acts of unflinching bravery -and of a noble self-immolation in the cause of conscience, duty, -and freedom have been conspicuous in Swiss history. As habits of -courage are formed by continual exposure to danger, the hazardous -state, the perils and hardships which they hourly encountered, braced -their nerves to enterprises of hardihood and daring. Turbulent times -created a necessity for great sacrifices and daring exploits, and on -the same principle, that the supply of a commodity in transactions of -commercial life is generally found to be commensurate with the demand, -the frequent call for heroic achievements raised up the patriots who -were to perform them. There may be something in the deeply religious -character of the Swiss favorable to this virtue. Cicero maintained that -a belief in the immortality of the soul and a future state of rewards -and punishments was indispensable to the steady sacrifice of private -interests and passions to the public good. Some, perhaps, in their -brighter visions of fancy, would aspire to those blessed abodes amidst -the laurel groves of Paradise, which the poet of Mantua has assigned to -the self-devoted victims of patriotic enthusiasm: - - “Hic manus ob patriam pugnando vulnera passi.”[107] - -The renown, likewise, of the heroes of ancient stories is indebted for -no inconsiderable portion of its brightness to their mode of warfare, -which, by rendering personal courage more effective, rendered it at -the same time the object of higher estimation. Prodigies of valor, by -which the fate of a kingdom is decided, are now rarely performed, and -victory inclines much more to the side of skill than either of physical -strength or individual prowess. - -With the Swiss no fable hangs about the deeds of William Tell and -Arnold Winkelried or the battles of Morgarten, Sempach, and St. Jacob. -They are the common glory of the people, their most cherished heritage; -but it is in William Tell their pride centres. His very name to this -day stirs the Swiss heart with the deepest emotions of pride and -patriotism. - -All the mementoes connected with his history are cherished with the -fondest affection and veneration. Tell’s chapel is the Mecca of all -Switzerland. The admiration for his character is an unbounded national -passion. Every emotion of patriotism, national gratitude, and ardent -love of liberty seems to find its readiest mode of utterance in -passionate expressions regarding this heroic man. Ballads are sung to -his memory, and in every popular gathering one may hear the familiar -words from the old Swiss song,-- - - “William Tell, he scorned the hat, - To death condemned was he for that, - Unless an apple, on the spot, - From his own child’s head he shot.” - -In canvas and marble his effigy adorns the national and cantonal -capitals and the public buildings generally. On mountain, rock, and -lake his history is carved indelibly.[108] “It cannot be otherwise,” -says the honest peasant; “it did so happen, and I believe it; not to -believe it would be treason to my country.” In 1760, a pamphlet, under -the title of “Fable Danoise,” was issued by a clergyman of Bern named -Freudenberger attacking the historical character of this legend. It so -aroused the patriotic indignation of the people that no one dared to -give it circulation, and the government of the Canton of Uri caused the -book to be publicly burned. - -In the presence of so many memorials of the deeds of this hero, -sustained by evidences of an antecedent and general popular conviction, -and feeling that these things are entitled to have some weight, it is -difficult to feel any sympathy with the doubts which bookish students -have suggested as to the reality of Tell’s existence. No one can visit -the lake, the rock, the fountains, the chapel, read the story painted -on wall and tower, hear the local traditions in every man’s mouth, -witness the annual festivals, study the history of Switzerland, and -consider the character of its people, then think of Tell as a myth, -more than he would say that Switzerland and all its heroic people -have been a fable since Uri’s handful of patriots rid it of Gessler’s -despotism. No! The simple story bears a striking analogy to the -primitive and pastoral people who commemorate the name and actions of -this hero. They know that no character of the thirteenth and fourteenth -centuries is better attested in their history, and will religiously -regard him as one of the noblest men that ever lived, so long as the -Finsteraarhorn and Jungfrau present themselves in the vast firmament -as the ever-enduring symbols of liberty. “The artlessness of Tell’s -history resembles a poem; it is a pastoral song in which a single -drop of blood is mingled with the dew upon a leaf or a tuft of grass. -Providence seems thus to delight in providing for every free community, -as the founder of their independence, a fabulous or actual hero, -conformable to the local situation, manners, and character of each -particular race. To a rustic, pastoral people like the Swiss is given -for their liberator a noble peasant; to a proud, aspiring race, such as -the Americans, an honest soldier. Two distinct symbols, standing erect -by the cradles of the two modern liberties of the world, to personify -their opposite natures; on the one hand, Tell with his arrow and the -apple; on the other, Washington with his sword and the law.”[109] - -The doubt thrown upon the existence of Tell came from an influence -that bears upon things of a graver import. They originated at the -time when religion was dead, and when rationalism, with an appearance -of erudition, was rife. Many critics formed theories of their own in -regard to Homer and the ancient writers and heroes in general. Book -after book was issued from the press filled with the most absurd -theories. Every student who came from a university had the ambition -to write a book. Each one thought himself a veritable Daniel come to -judgment; nearly every historical character was a being of imagination. -They did not stop with human characters, they laid hold upon the Word -of God. Moses became a myth in their hands; and Job was a mere story -in poetry, like the Arabian Nights; Ecclesiastes was the blating of -an Epicurean philosopher no longer young. Good, however, came out of -this evil. The best men were led to examine the basis on which the -truth stands, and to study more profoundly than ever the “faith once -delivered to the saints,” and the result was the overthrow of this -school of specious reasoning and crude theories. The details of Tell’s -story, at last, do not signify much; they form only the drapery of -the figure, which stands to this day one of the few heroes who have -been able so to forget themselves, and so to inspire other men with -self-forgetfulness, as to obtain with them a nation’s freedom. And thus -Tell lives, safely, in the people’s songs and in the faithful hearts of -his countrymen. - -Ideals, the symbols of the truth which we conceive, of the beauty -which we imagine, and of the good which we long for, have as great an -influence in the world as _ideas_, if not even greater. High ideals -and loyalty to them are virtues which are requisite to the existence -and safety of a progressive society. We cannot afford to surrender the -least of our high and pure ideals to the iconoclasm that would declare -every grand historical character to be apocryphal; a spirit that revels -in the breaking of images simply for the pleasure of breaking, even if -chiselled by the hand of Praxiteles; a folly not content with robbing -us of Tell and his apple, but would deprive us of Newton’s apple, too, -and vainly talks of a cryptogram lurking in Shakespeare’s dramas, -which points to his mythical existence. We have too few immortal names -identified with their country’s glory. Let us not seek to inquire too -minutely into their title to fame, to see if it is embarrassed by vague -and contradictory traditions; but let us rather associate their names -with the greatness, the virtue, the durability of their race, and -invoke blessings on them down “to the last syllable of recorded time.” - -In this day, so given to materialism, pitiful rivalries, and ignoble -ambitions, we want more hero-worship, a greater reverence of heroism, a -more just and delicate appreciation of individual worth, the traditions -of noble deeds, and the “passion of philanthropy;” and not to believe -that all men are much of a sameness, and the old days in which the -gods lived on earth are forever gone. There are certain great events -embalmed in tradition that it will not do to question, and which, if of -doubtful historical support, it is unwise to disturb, as they are so -many incentives to noble deeds, and should be cherished in our hearts -even as an inspiring fiction. It is easy for cynics to deride heroism, -and scoff at the superiority of ideal existence over the facts of life. -But it is not good to be confined to what the physical eye can see, and -refuse to use the eye of faith and imagination. Enthusiasm lives and -flourishes with imagination and idealism; and together they purify, -as well as ennoble, every nature they touch. They paint the world and -men as they should be; all that human heart can do; all of which human -nature, at its highest, is capable. The craving for the real is good -and healthy, but it ought by no means to be set in opposition to the -craving for the ideal, for - - “A deeper import lurks in the legends told our infant years - Than lies upon the truth we live to learn.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -BERN. - - -From the end of the thirteenth century Bern was the great, -influential, and growing town of Switzerland; rich, enterprising, and -self-asserting. For the sake of securing their friendship, it made -citizens of many of the nobility who lived far from the city walls, and -established guilds with many valuable privileges. Some of these guilds -still exist, and a membership is quite an expensive privilege, costing -from 8000 to 10,000 francs; besides the applicant must possess property -to the value of 15,000 francs. In early times Bern held a firm grasp -on the lands from Aargau to Lake Leman. Besides conquering them, it -largely bought out the neighboring territorial nobility. It was the -feudal idea, taking root and growing in mediæval times, that the right -of government was as property, and the possession of landed property -was looked on as carrying with it a kind of right of government. The -whole early history of Bern is the greatest example in modern times -of an inland city ruling over a great collection of subject towns and -districts. It was an aristocratic republic, having been founded as -a refuge for the inferior nobility from the oppression of powerful -counts. The rapid development of industry within its substantial -walls attracted also peasants, artificers, and tradesmen, who flocked -in from the neighborhood. The burghers secured many privileges, and -were eligible to the highest offices; but they generally concurred -in the election of members of the patrician family. These young -patricians were literally apprenticed to political life by the singular -institution of the _Ausserstand_, a copy of the real commonwealth, with -councils and magistrates of its own, and the _Schultheiss_, or chief -magistrate of the mimic republic, was commonly elected a member of the -Great Council of the real one. - -The French Revolution submerged the aristocracy in a general Helvetian -republic, and, when the flood had passed, the ancient landmark could -only be partially restored. The Bernese, however, continued to -acknowledge the ascendency of these noble families, what few were left -to them, whose ancestors had been the founders of the city, and whose -courage, virtues, and patriotism had secured the confidence of the -people. It was not until 1847, under the influence of the Sonderbund -excitement, that the last vestige of class privilege was abolished, and -perfect equality of all citizens before the law established; political -rights granted to every male citizen over twenty years of age, -civil administration and justice organized after modern democratic -principles, guaranteeing the rights of man, and promising trial by jury. - -Tradition has it that Bern was founded by Berchtold V., Duke of -Zähringen, in 1191. Being persistently opposed both by the Alpine -and the Burgundian nobles, who took up arms against him, he met and -defeated them twice in the field, and then began to look about for a -suitable site, at an equal distance from both parties, where he might -build a town larger and more important than any that yet existed. -Different derivations are given for the name of Bern; some etymologists -say it is a corruption of the Celtic name of Verona; but the only one -that satisfies the Bernese is that given by the old recorder Justinger, -who wrote at the end of the fourteenth century, “How the town was -called Bern:” There were many wild animals in the oak woods, and Duke -Berchtold determined that the town should be called after the first -that was caught there; so the first that was caught was a bear, and the -town received its name from _Bären_, the Swabian for bears; and the -Duke also gave the burghers a shield and armorial bearings, namely, a -black bear on a white field. A bronze statue of the Duke is erected in -the cathedral promenade, upon which is the inscription, _E bellua cæsa -sit urbi futuræ nomen_ (“from a monster slain, let there be a name to -the future city”). The Emperor Frederick II. declared Bern a free city -of the empire in 1218, and confirmed its privileges by a charter, which -is still preserved in the archives. Its first prominence was in 1339, -when in June of that year the Bernese, under Ulric von Erlach, were -completely victorious over the allied forces, and struck the death-blow -to the feudal nobility of western Helvetia. In 1405 the greater part -of the city was destroyed by fire, but was soon rebuilt on the same -site. In 1798 it was plundered by the French. Immediately after their -entrance into the city, the French soldiers made themselves masters -of its treasure, which, no doubt, was one of the motives and most -immediate cause of the invasion and attack. The exact amount taken was -never ascertained, but by the most moderate estimate made it reached -20,000,000 francs; everything of value that could be taken away became -the prey of the victors. - -From the date of its accession to the Confederation, in 1351, Bern -has been one of the most conspicuous and influential of Swiss towns. -The history of the city is the history of the Canton, and in some -measure it is the history of the Confederation. From 1798 to 1815 the -Federal Diet met in turns at Zurich, Bern, Luzern, Freiburg, Solothurn, -and Basel. From 1815 to 1848 the three cities of Zurich, Bern, and -Luzern were the seats of the government, the Diet sitting biennially -in each place in turn. This system of having three capitals did not -work satisfactorily, and the necessity for the country possessing one -centre was generally seen. Zurich and Luzern surrendered their claims, -and Bern became the central and fixed capital of the Confederation in -1848, the Canton assuming the cost of erecting the necessary public -buildings. It is also the capital of the largest and most populous -Canton, which has a population of 539,305, out of a total for the -Confederation of 2,933,612, or nearly one-fifth. It is the most -important of the sisterhood by its territory, wealth, and population, -and may be called the Empire Canton of the Confederation. The city -itself contains a population of about 50,000, with a superficial -surface of an American village of 2500 people. No great city in -Switzerland overtops the rest and draws them into moving around it -by its mass and weight. Population and wealth are not concentrated -in “enormous and apoplectic heads upon a bloodless body,” as great -cities were designated by Mirabeau. The largest Swiss towns would be -fifth-rate towns in the United States. The Swiss villages are on the -declivities of the Alps; the towns either on advanced promontories -or on the borders of the lakes. They are all small, and contain -none of the monuments which mark the luxury of great nations. They -are municipalities rather than capitals, to whom the nature of the -country and the smallness of the population have denied the power of -increase. Many of these towns are located with a view to the natural -defence, furnished by the topography of the site, and were originally -walled places of refuge. They resemble those towns of prehistoric Italy -described by Virgil, as “perched on precipices of rocks, with rivers -gliding beneath their antique walls.” Bern occupies a bold promontory -of sandstone rock, seventeen hundred and ten feet above the sea, and -its position in early times entailed great strategical advantages. -It is nearly surrounded by the Aar, a bold, strong tributary of the -Rhine, which rises in the southeast mountains of Bern, and carries to -its mouth the waters of fourteen Cantons. A sudden bend of the stream -encloses the town on all sides but one. The magnificent slopes to this -rapid river are in some places covered with turf, and supported in -others by lofty terraces planted with trees.[110] It is not an easy -matter to account for the first impression you receive on entering -Bern; you certainly feel that you have got to an ancient and remarkable -place. Passing under any of its old gate-ways for the first time, one -feels as if he had strayed upon a stage conscientiously prepared for -the playing of a mediæval comedy or tragedy. No town in Switzerland has -been so preserved from the hands of the spoiler and the restorer; the -whole town is a sort of informal museum of archæology. A small portion -that has grown up around the Federal Palace, which was erected on the -outskirts of the old town, when it was made the permanent capital in -1848, is modern in appearance. That which constitutes the town proper -is composed of ancient houses of an early age, with curiously frescoed -and carved fronts, and many remnants of ancient architecture. The main -streets are broad and regular, the houses constructed of sandstone of -a grayish-blue color, found in the adjoining hills; in other streets, -the tall, thin houses are clustered together as if to use as little as -possible of the margin which nature and industry have drawn so closely -around them. These houses are six, seven, and eight stories high. Every -floor, with the exception of the first, which in all probability is -used for business purposes, accommodates a family, and, among the poor -classes, several families. It would be difficult to find a town where -every part of the house is so fully put to use and little waste or idle -room. It is doubtful if a dozen families in Bern each occupy an entire -house, and a very small number more than a flat of one floor. All the -houses, including the most ancient, are admirably constructed for this -multiform occupancy, and Swiss domestic life, as practised in Bern, is -a fine art of many centuries’ growth. The walls being very thick, the -front windows are made to serve the purpose of verandas. They have neat -iron railings encircling them, swung on hinges, and when thrown outward -are both a protection and a rest for inclining against. In all pleasant -weather these are the favorite places to sit. Furnished with bright -red or orange cushions, and probably those on no two floors being -uniform in figure, they present from the street a novel and variegated -spectacle; touching up the projecting balconies, highly worked and of -a glossy black, and complementing the green Venetian shutters. These -houses preserve a mediæval physiognomy; the pomp and strength of feudal -Switzerland are called up before our mind when we look at the solid -walls, at the buttresses which support them, and their steep peaked -roofs. - -The streets are kept scrupulously clean, as much so as the floor of a -well-kept house; a gang is constantly at work sweeping and carrying -off the dirt as soon as any can be found. Entering the town from the -south, two gate-ways are passed, at short distances from each other, -beneath towers which mark epochs in the extension of its walled period. -In the upper portion of these gate-ways, still standing over the empty -arches, where there is no longer a gate to shut, peaceful pigeons have -a cote. They are the only wardens and watchful sentinels to challenge -the passer-by. The fronts of the houses rest upon arcades, which form -covered walks and are lined with shops. The heavy piers of the arcades -exclude the sun, making the shops dark, and the arcade as damp as it is -gloomy. All these objections are felt to be more than compensated by -the protection furnished from the long winter’s snow. The streets are -provided with numerous public fountains of strange devices. They are -sculptured and decorated, as if the people loved the water and wished -to heighten the pleasure of seeing, welcoming, and using it. This water -is brought a great distance from mountain streams, and ceaselessly -pours its limpid stream through the open viaducts, and at convenient -places is diverted into gigantic stone basins; it is never muddy, and -is always delightfully cool. Through each of the principal streets flow -additional subterraneous streams of this water, furnishing the best of -sewers. This is one of the most pleasing sights common to the smallest -Swiss village,--the abundance of good water with which it is supplied; -it is ever in sight; overflowing, sparkling everywhere, for every use -of man and beast. These fountains resemble those of an Eastern well; -to them daily come all the women of the village for the water they -will require for their families; and they have other uses, the milk -vessels and the cooking utensils are for the most part washed there, -and on certain days they are surrounded by groups of _blanchisseuses_. -Here, too, the daily news of the village is discussed. Besides their -beauty and convenience, these fountains are a species of living -records of the taste and manners of past ages. Many date from the -sixteenth century, and are ornamented with colossal representations of -Swiss warriors, clad in steel, with wasp-shapes and stuffed breasts, -wearing diminutive caps, contrasting with their vast exuberance of -beard and stern countenances; then come goddesses, archers, bagpipers, -and one--the terror of children--the _kinder-fresser-brunnen_, or -“child-gormandizer-fountain.” Upon the top of a stone pillar, ten feet -high, is seated an obese-looking old man; he has the head and shoulders -of one poor baby in his gaping mouth, in the very act of swallowing; -a bag full of similar choice morceaus hangs around his neck, and they -are apparently struggling to escape the fate of their comrade. In one -hand of this ogre are the lower extremities of the child whose head he -is masticating, and in the other a basket full of urchins to finish his -repast; two or three of these have gotten out of the basket, and are -scampering off around the pedestal. There is a very beautiful fountain -in front of the Federal Palace, adorned with a statue of Berna. But -it is the effigy of the bear that perpetually recurs to the eye in -various forms and armor; it is the ensign of Bern, its heraldic animal, -and cherished with religious care as the palladium of the state. On -a fountain in the street of Justice, the Canton is represented in a -militant attitude, by the figure of a bear in armor, with sword, belt, -and banner; another fountain has a bear attending a cross-bowman as his -squire; and the equestrian statue of Rudolph von Erlach is supported -at the corners by four life-sized bronze bears as helmet-bearers. From -the day of the legend connecting Bruin with the city’s foundation -the bears have played a prominent part in local heraldry, that sage -and grave beast being cunningly reproduced in print, coin, stone, -wood, and confectionery of great artistic and amusing caricatures. -The effigy appears upon the cantonal coat-of-arms, and is inseparably -connected with the conquests of the warlike burghers. As a memorial -of the seven hundredth anniversary, in 1891, of the foundation of the -city, the municipal council intend opening a competition for designs -of the statue of a bear more modern than that which has already -existed for seven centuries. Every visitor to Bern is certain to see -the _Bärengraben_, the bears’ den, containing the live animals. It is -told that a whimsical old lady left a handsome estate to the town to -maintain a family of bears. In 1798 they became associated with the -spoliation of Bern, as they had been with its rise and prosperity. -They were transported to Paris by Napoleon’s troops, the huge cage -containing the father of the family having upon it an inscription not -yet forgotten by the Bernese, “_Avoyer de Berne_.” For some time these -bears, like the eagles of Geneva, held their court in the _Jardin des -Plantes_, where the Gallic cock flapped his new-fledged wings and -crowed over all the beasts in Europe--whether rampant or couchant--upon -the field of honor. Only one lived to return to his home at the general -restoration of the spoils; but this one was the aristocrat _Martin_, -whose descent was traced directly from the pair given to the town by -Réné of Lorraine, the ally of Bern in the war against Charles the Bold. -Others were subsequently presented by friends of the town in Russia, -and the family circle now numbers half a dozen. During the summer -they enjoy a great feast from the constant stream of tourists, who -persuade them to perform many antics by throwing them bread, fruits, -and vegetables, of which they are fond; they literally lay themselves -out for your amusement, catching these things lazily as they roll about -on their backs. In the centre of the dens a pine stem is erected, and -renewed annually; on this the bears take air and exercise, and practise -a variety of gymnastics, to the great amusement of the spectators. - -Probably next in interest to the bear-pit comes the _Zeitglockenthurm_, -or clock-tower. A minute or two before the hour strikes, a wooden -chanticleer, as large as life, seated on a projection of the tower, -flaps his wings and crows a warning twice, and at the corresponding -time after the striking of the hour he repeats his salutations. A -figure, representing Father Time sitting on a throne, marks the hour -by reversing his hour-glass, a mail-clad figure strikes the hour on -the bell at the top of the tower, then a circle of bears emerge and -move round Father Time, who at every stroke of the bell slowly opens -his mouth and inclines his sceptre as if he himself were rather bored -with Time. Of other objects of interest there may be mentioned the -military depot, erected at a cost of 5,000,000 francs, and used as -a drilling-school for that military district; the Federal Palace, a -handsome stone structure of the Florentine style, and though only in -use since 1852, will soon be relegated to subordinate federal offices -and a more modern and capacious building, now under construction, will -take its place as the federal capitol; a public library, founded at -the time of the Reformation, and containing more than fifty thousand -volumes; a museum where is to be seen the stuffed skin of the famous -St. Bernard dog Barry, who rescued and saved the lives of more than -twenty persons overcome in snow-storms and drifts; botanical garden; -mint; University, with its faculties of law, medicine, theology, -science, languages, etc.; art gallery, and numerous scientific -collections, and societies; arsenal with its mediæval treasures, -and a most complete system of charitable institutions, including -foundling, orphan, blind, mute, and lunatic asylums. The Münster, or -Cathedral, is an immense Gothic structure, dating from 1421, with a -most elaborate sculptured group on the principal portal, representing -the last judgment and the wise and foolish virgins; it is otherwise -adorned with endless carvings in stone and flanked with two lofty -square towers, which still remain in an unfinished condition; few -sacred edifices on the continent are better calculated to make a -strong impression. In front of the Cathedral stands the fine bronze -equestrian statue of Rudolph von Erlach, the brave defender of Bern at -Laupin; it is a name celebrated in the Confederation for five hundred -years. An ancestor led his countrymen in the fourteenth century, and -Rudolph led the forces of the Canton against the French invasion at the -close of the eighteenth century; descendants of the name still live -in Bern and enjoy the highest respect and esteem of the people. The -Cathedral _platz_, a small well-shaded park, raised and walled at a -great expense, a hundred and eight feet above the river, overhangs the -lower town, built on the narrow margin of the rapid Aar. The outer wall -bears an inscription that, in 1654, a young student’s horse, frightened -by some boys, plunged over this precipice with his rider, the horse -being killed, but the rider escaped with only a broken arm and leg, and -survived the accident thirty years as a preacher. - -On market day, Tuesday in each week, the streets of Bern are crowded -with booths and tables exposing for sale every sort of merchandise, -garden and farm products, and live animals, from a goat to a cow, a dog -to a horse; pigs and lambs are held in the embrace of their owners, -happy and contented with the nursing-bottle. The _Abattoir_, just out -of the town, on the banks of the river, with its handsome buildings -and beautiful grounds, sooner suggests to the passer-by an attractive -pleasure resort than a public slaughter-house.[111] Much of the garden -truck and all the dairy product are brought into market in small carts, -heavy and stoutly built, pulled by two dogs, one on each side of the -shafts, between which is the woman to uphold and guide it, and for -this motive power a woman and a dog or a boy and a dog tug together -in friendly yoke-fellowship. Dogs are used throughout Switzerland for -all light draught purposes; and not always very light, for these dogs -have been bred through generations for this purpose, until they have -almost the bone and strength of a small horse or ox. They do not seem -to be of any distinct canine family, varying much in size, color, and -appearance,-- - - “Both mongrel, puppy, whelp, and hound, - And curs of low degree.” - -They serve the twofold purpose of beasts of burden and vigilant -guardians; the moment the woman stops and puts down the shafts of the -cart the dogs go beneath it and lie down, but their eyes never leave a -stranger who comes near, and he would find it dangerous to attempt to -touch anything in the absence of their mistress. In the evening, when -readiness is made to return home, these dogs express their pleasure -with a deep-mouthed barking, forming a chorus of corresponding variety -to their breeding; as in procession they pass through the streets -this barking becomes a deafening yelp; in their struggle to pass one -another, the carts being lightened of their loads, often the women are -unable to check them with their own force and that of the brakes, with -which the cart is provided, and a general stampede occurs. The dogs -are highly valued and kindly treated by their owners; passing along -at noon, when the women and the dogs are taking their dinner side by -side from their respective tin buckets, you will find that the dogs are -not eating of the crumbs which fall from their master’s table, but are -furnished with rather a more generous repast. The law limits how many -pounds these dogs shall pull, but the woman may pull all she can. - -Though Bern is the national and cantonal capital, it has an essentially -small-town, provincial system of life. There is no capital in Europe -more remote from the stir and impulse of the world’s activities. -Isolated by its insignificance rather than by any geographical -position, free from all extraneous influences, it maintains a mummy -condition, bound up in the swaddling-clothes of quaint customs and -antiquated ideas. It has been within this generation that a butcher -of the town made the advertisement that “all persons, without respect -of religion, can have fresh meat every day.” To the stranger, life in -Bern soon stagnates into a fearsome weariness. There is absolutely -nothing to break the _tædium vitæ_ unless you devote yourself to the -task of doing it. From the first of December to the middle of April -there is an annual hibernation. Silence reigns in the streets, and -the tradesmen will tell you they do not make enough to pay for their -light. Amusements are few and too poor to lure one from his melancholy, -and, tired with all things else, the weary heart must seek new life -and joy in nature. Yet the very silence and absence of bustle, a -certain stateliness and reserved demeanor in the inhabitants, showing -it not to be a money-making town, imply that its importance at some -time must have sprung from more solid and permanent sources than -trade can afford, and that another spirit animated its inhabitants. -Aristocratic pride is still excessive, and the antique simplicity of -its magistrates, the plain and easy manners they uniformly preserve in -their intercourse with the people, are not by any means at variance -with the assertion. For that external simplicity and affability -to inferiors is one of the characteristics of the aristocratic -government; all assumption of superiority being carefully avoided -when real authority is not in question. Zurich suggests the idea of a -municipal aristocracy; Bern of an ancient one. In the one we think we -see citizens of a town transformed into nobility, in the other ancient -nobles who have made themselves citizens. By the side of those gigantic -terraces, of those fine fountains, those massive arches and noble -shades you now see none but simple and solid dwellings, yet scarcely -any beggarly ones; not an equipage to be seen, but many a wagon, -with a fine team of horses or oxen, well appointed in every way. The -aristocracy of Bern, in times past, was distinguished by its elegant -accomplishments and the splendid ornaments and furniture of its houses, -heirlooms of the wall and of the cupboard, which were the pride of -generations. The value of the furniture of a Bernese patrician, called -Zeguti, was ascertained by his last will, A.D. 1367, to be equal to -the public revenue of the city for one year. The aristocratic Bernese -officials of those days had under their door-bells written: “_Ici on -sonne et attend._” Bern is in the centre of one of the most beautiful -landscapes in Europe; the country is broken, but cultivated like a -garden, and so well wooded as to resemble a vast park. Every town -in Switzerland possesses some feature of originality, and none are -destitute of lovely and refreshing walks; but there is none richer in -umbrageous roads, or where they are kept in better repair, than Bern. -Graceful foot-paths wind among the fields, which are little encumbered -with fences or hedges, and roads as good as those which are seen in -pleasure-grounds. The fine wood of Bremgarten, with its magnificent -avenues of trees, extends almost to the very gates of the town, and is -reached by a boulevard lined on each side with limes, which in their -season perfume the air. A more beautiful or highly-cultivated region -is scarcely to be found than the banks of the Aar in its vicinity. The -environs abound in views over hill and dale, over wood and river; and -the most unobservant cannot fail to remark how superior in brilliancy -of color and elegance of form even the wayside flowers appear; the very -weediest of weeds seem attractive and ornamental. In the rare pure air -of this mountainous section the whole plant population becomes, as it -were, refined and aristocratic. Then Bern looks from her peninsula on -the beauties and snows of her Oberland, a continuous chain the most -regular in all Switzerland, and the most imposing and pompous panorama -that can be found in the whole realm of mountains. In the grand barrier -which separates Bern from the Valais there are six celebrated peaks, -commencing on the east with the Wetterhorn,[112] then the Schreckhorn, -the Finsteraarhorn, the Eiger, the Mönch, and the Jungfrau, ranging in -height from twelve thousand to fourteen thousand and twenty-six feet. -They all pierce the empyrean, but the Finsteraarhorn overtops all the -others. They look so sharp and wildly precipitous that the bare thought -of standing on any one of them would make you shudder. The horizontal -extent of this range is vast, the grouping magnificent, the scene -unparagoned. They present bold outlines cut sharply against the sky, -summits veiled with clouds, crests alternately gently rounded or rugged -and broken, noble slopes, steep precipices, outlines of mingled grace -and boldness.[113] In the course of a clear day there is a beautiful -variety of aspect, bright, pure, rich, harmonious,--from the dark -shadows cast by the rising sun, the brilliancy of mid-day, the violet -hues at sunset, and the ashy and almost ghostly paleness of evening. -Imagine frozen snow piled in the heavens and stretching miles across -the boundary of an otherwise beautiful view, having its sides shaded -by innumerable valleys, with here and there a patch of hoary, naked -rock, and the upper line all tossed into peaks and swelling ridges, -like the waves of a colossal ocean. The grandest scene of all, and seen -in greater perfection at Bern than any other point in Switzerland, is -that brief period when the majestic architecture of the Alps, with its -capitals and bastions, is flushed with the warm light of the lowering -sun; when the _Alpenglühen_[114] (_Abendglühen_) bathes the stern faces -of the ramparts with a flood of light and shade such as only nature -can produce from the rarest tints of infinite beauty. As the sun sinks -lower the ruddiness of his light seems to augment until the filaments -resemble streamers of flame; when the sun sinks deeper the light is -gradually withdrawn, all is cold and gray again; the stars come out all -at once and leave the mountain like a desolate old man whose - - “Hoary hair - Stream’d like a meteor in the troubled air.” - -The vapor at times causes a great deal of refraction, and above the -clouds rises the whole of the Oberland to an altitude which seems -greater than usual; every peak and all the majestic formation are -clearly visible, though the whole range appears to be severed from the -earth and to float in the air; the line of communication is varied, -and while all below is enfeebled by the mist, the snow and ice above -throw back the fierce light of the sun with powerful splendor. The -people of Bern, of all conditions and ages, may be seen, day after -day, waiting and watching for the _Alpenglühen_. As the hour of sunset -approaches, the numerous little parks which furnish a view begin to -fill up with the old and young; with the first announcing ray of the -_Alpenglühen_ the children cease to be boisterous, the fingers that ply -the knitting-needle are still, the laborer at work pursues his vocation -sedately, and all gaze in silent admiration. Bern abounds in these -humanizing, tranquillizing, and health-giving parks or promenades, -ornamented with beds of bright flowers and provided with comfortable -seats. Although the Alps are not necessary to render the views from -these parks pleasant, yet there they are, to add a background of -sublimity to a foreground of surpassing loveliness. The Aar flows -towards Bern in a northwest direction, through a valley of some width -and several miles in length: to this fact the Bernese are indebted -for their fine view of the Oberland Alps, which stretch themselves -exactly across the mouth of the gorge at a distance of forty miles in -an air-line. There is a story of a king, who said he dearly wished he -had never had any picture or statue in his palace so that he could once -again have, even for a moment, the crude, sincere delight of a boy -staring at a wax-work group. The Bernese will never have need to frame -such a wish. To them their Oberland will always be new, a picture that -can never fade, a strain of music which can never sound tuneless or -harsh. - -But in this sin-cursed world - - “The sea of fortune doth not ever flow; - She draws her favors to the lowest ebb; - Her tides have equal times to come and go; - Her loom doth weave the fine and coarsest web.” - -This same _Alpenglühen_ casts its kaleidoscopic rays directly at the -foot of the Oberland on eyes that are incapable of appreciating the -wealth of beauty that is around and above them. Here are a most sadly -afflicted people; here prevail, to a remarkable degree, _goitre_ and -_cretinism_. We find in Juvenal, “_Quis tumidum guttur miratur in -Alpibus?_” (“Who wonders at goitres in the Alps?”) Congenital cases -are not infrequent, but, in a majority of instances, it makes its -appearance on a child at about the age of twelve or fourteen. The size -these goitrous growths may attain is extraordinary, hanging down on the -breast, enormous and unsightly things, recalling the description in -“The Tempest,”-- - - “When we were boys, - Who would have believed that there were mountaineers - Dew-lapp’d like bulls, whose throats had hanging at ’em - Hideous wallets of flesh.” - -In some portions of this district, the goitre or swelling of the -thyroid gland in front of the neck is so prevalent that - - “Optimus ille est - Qui minimus urgetur.” - -It is not painful, and not always apparently inconvenient, and the -few who are free from it are laughed at and called “goose-necked.” A -stranger once entering a church in the neighborhood where but few were -absolutely free from these unseemly appendages, during service the -congregation betrayed improper curiosity, and the pastor, after a sharp -reproach for their want of manners, reminded them that it was not the -fault of the poor man “if he had no goitre.” By some it is actually -considered, in a mild form, to be desirable; for it possesses a -positive money value in furnishing exemption from military service. Now -and then these monstrous excrescences become too large to be borne, and -the poor victims crawl on the ground because they cannot walk upright -under the weight. There is a popular as well as scientific belief -that water is the vehicle of the poison that produces it; that it is -impregnated with _tufa_ or _tuf_ a calcareous matter, whose tendency -to concrete among the glands of the neck, aided, perhaps, by stagnant -evaporation of narrow villages, produces these wenny protuberances. -This goitrous condition is often accompanied with an imperfect or -arrested state of mental development known as _cretinism_, a distinct -and most distressful form of idiocy. The _cretin_ has an enormous head -that drops listlessly on the breast; a vacant countenance; goggling -eyes; thick tongue hanging out over moist, livid lips; mouth always -open, full of saliva, and exposing decayed teeth; limbs misshapen; -and wanting at times even the power of articulation. Many are deaf -and dumb,--in fact, physical abortions, with every sign of bodily -and mental imbecility. Few of these poor creatures can do any work, -and many are even incapable of taking care of themselves, and not -safe to leave alone. These distorted, mindless people, of semi-human -attributes, excite a pitying disgust by their loathsome appearance, -lolling tongue, obscene gestures, degraded appetites, and senseless -gibberish as revolting as their aspects. The word _cretin_ is thought -to be derived from the older _cretins_ of the Alps, whose name was a -corruption of _Chrétien_ or _Christianus_, and who, being baptized, and -idiots, were supposed to be “washed from original sin” and incapable -of actual sin. Cretinism is regarded by physicians as hereditary, for -it appears in the most pronounced type in successive generations of -the same family. This unfortunate district borders on the most fertile -and beautiful valley in Switzerland, the Emmenthal, the rich plain in -the northern part of the Canton of Bern, noted for its cheese and its -_schwingfeste_ (winnowing-festivals). Here the peasants are sturdy and -strong of aspect, and on Sunday the men may be seen walking among -their acres like lords of the soil, in their immaculate shirt sleeves -of a fulness suggestive of episcopal dignity. It was the neat houses, -comfortable dresses, highly-cultivated and generous soil, giving a -cheerful and prosperous look to the face alike of the people and the -country in this section, that caused so high an authority as Burke to -write, “That he had beheld throughout Switzerland, and above all in the -Canton of Bern, a people at once the happiest and the best governed on -earth.” - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -SWITZERLAND THE SEAT OF INTERNATIONAL UNIONS. - - -It is not a little surprising--when we consider the great and rapid -advance that has been made during the last century in diplomacy, -jurisprudence, statesmanship, and political economy, and, indeed, in -the multifarious branches of knowledge,--that international relations, -upon which depend to such an extent the most precious interests of the -nations and of all mankind, should remain so long in a condition very -crude, indefinite, and incomplete. The “mills of God grind slowly,” -but the mills of human government seem even more tedious and rusty. -Now that, in the advance of intelligence and civilization, the nations -have passed from the self-subsistent stage of national life into the -dependent one; now that, through the great discoveries of modern times, -the nations have been brought together, compacted into one community, -and the interests of all have been blended; now that “the separate -threads of national prosperity have been entangled in the international -skein,” publicists have found it necessary to enlarge their opinions -and judgments, so as to represent, not the narrowness of local -prejudice, but the breadth and depth of the whole mind of civilized -mankind. This tendency has found practical expression in international -treaties, with objects neither sectarian nor political; concerning not -individuals alone, not nations alone, but the whole community of man. -With aims the most comprehensive, desirableness and practicability -manifest, they are founded in a philanthropy seeking to promote the -honor and welfare of every nation, and to bring additional blessings -to every home and every heart in the wide world. International unions, -with their noble and beneficent objects, constitute the fellowship of -nations, under the dominion of law, in the bonds of peace. Central -bureaus are required for the management of these unions, and it needed -but little reflection to discover that the Swiss republic presented -peculiar advantages for their location. Its neutrality stood guaranteed -by the powers; it could not come under any suspicion of political -ambition or territorial aggrandizement; it was thus mapped out to be a -neutral state, with every reasonable prospect of this _status_ being -sustained. This neutrality, with its strong assurance of immunity from -“all entangling alliances” and the untoward complications of war or -foreign occupation, and the central position in Europe with convenience -of communication with the principal European capitals, were in -themselves sufficient to recommend Switzerland. Then the Swiss possess -perhaps the most marked genius of any people for the administration of -an office; the government itself is surely the most laborious, the most -economical, the least pretentious, yet withal systematic, thorough, -and efficient; the same sobriety of demeanor, conscientious discharge -of duty, with painstaking, patient labor at their desks, pervade -the entire Swiss bureaucracy; these were distinct and all-important -advantages. And, last, the supposition that affairs which influence -the conduct and affect the interests of nations might be discussed -amid its mountains with a calmness and candor which the contemplation -of nature inspires, contributed no little to the cheerful consensus -as to the propriety of its selection for the seat of the bureaus. -There are now a sufficient number of these unions, with their central -bureaus or seats established in Bern, to confer upon the Confederation -a singularly conspicuous position of distinction and usefulness. -Uncontaminated by the ambitions of its neighbors, Switzerland offers to -contending nations a quiet spot in which to settle their disputes by -the peaceful means of arbitration. It is not only a place of occasional -conventions, but also the official headquarters of a host of continuous -international agreements, commercial treaties and unions, which render -peace and freedom necessary, and therefore secure within its borders. - -The first step from which resulted the concentration of these bureaus -in Switzerland was taken in 1863. In that year a private committee, -composed of different nationalities but animated by one noble impulse, -assembled at Geneva to consider the practicability of making some -better provision for the protection of the wounded in battle, the -inadequacy of existing official means to meet the humane requirements -of the sick and wounded soldiers in great wars having long been -painfully apparent. It will always redound to the honor of Switzerland -that upon its soil the first formal international conference was held -with a view to the mitigation of some of the horrors of war. On that -occasion the institution of national aid societies was organized, and a -few Swiss gentlemen were formed into an international committee for the -purpose of constituting, on their neutral territory, an intermediary -for the aid of similar societies in all countries. This committee -soon discovered that their movement was everywhere attracting the -attention and winning the warm approbation of all humane people, and -determined to place it upon a broader and firmer basis. They requested -the Swiss Federal Council to propose to such other governments, as -it deemed expedient, that a diplomatic conference should be held -in Switzerland, to discuss and, if possible, give the undertaking -international character and support. The Federal Council promptly -acceded to the memorial of the committee, and the invitation, as -desired, was officially extended in the name of the Swiss government. -Many of the leading powers accepted the invitation, and accredited -delegates to the conference, which assembled the following year in -Geneva. This conference was brought to a successful conclusion by the -signing of the memorable “Geneva Convention of August 20, 1864,” by -the representatives of sixteen governments. Within four months it was -ratified and formally acceded to by eight European states, and at the -present date has been joined by a grand total of thirty-three states. -This convention embraces a wide field of practical philanthropy, being -designed to remove soldiers when sick or wounded from the category -of combatants, affording them relief and protection without regard -to nationality. This protection extends to all persons officially -attached to hospitals or ambulances, and to all houses so long as -they contain invalid soldiers. Inhabitants of a locality occupied -by a belligerent army, and who are engaged in the care of the sick -and wounded, are likewise included; provision is also to be made for -the return of invalid soldiers to their respective homes. “While the -gun-carriage bears its death-dealing burden across the battle-field, -in the ruts which rushing artillery wheels have torn up follow quickly -the ambulance wagons of this Christian brotherhood, bringing hope -and succor to the wounded.” The insignia of hospital and ambulance -is the Swiss flag, with its colors reversed, a red cross on a white -ground; and individuals in their employment wear a white armlet -with a red cross, and every red-cross flag must be accompanied, in -time of war, by the national flag of those using it. It is no mean -distinction for the Swiss Confederation that its national emblem is -so intimately and exclusively associated with this great exhibition of -international humanity. It is a grand and elevating education, a wise -and philanthropic conception embodying the best principles of social -science, and that true spirit of charity which counts it a sacred -privilege to minister to one’s fellow-men in time of suffering. To -supply material wants, great as this may be, is not all of its mission; -it seeks to carry to men’s hearts the message of universal brotherhood, -with “peace on earth, good will to men” as its ensign. The United -States gave their adhesion to this convention in 1882, and in the -conferences had since that date, among the large number of delegates -assembled, composed of royalties, nobilities, military and scientific -celebrities, no one commanded more respectful attention or contributed -more to the deliberations than a lone feminine delegate who bore the -credentials of the United States. The name of Clara Barton is known -the world over in connection with the burning cross on a snow-white -field. To her labors are largely due the widening of the scope of the -red-cross activities, and the assimilation of its workings to the -advance plans already put in execution in her own country. These plans -were chiefly of her own suggestion, and she had been instrumental in -their reduction to successful use, for which she found opportunity in -the late civil war, and subsequently during the Franco-German war, -when she followed the German army into Paris, working faithfully alike -in French and German camp; when all the nations of Europe rang with -praises for her splendid work. She then first became acquainted with -the Red Cross Society, and at once united with it; returning home with -the iron cross of Baden on her breast, she organized the Red Cross -Society of the United States, and was made its president. Her influence -mainly contributed to the favorable action of the United States in -joining this convention in 1882. - -In 1865, one year after the conclusion of the Red Cross Convention, -occurred the initiative of the International Telegraph Union upon the -signature of the Convention of Paris. For a time the Union dispensed -with a central administration, and at the conference held in Vienna in -1865 the policy of having a shifting administration, as between the -capitals where the conferences took place, was seriously considered, -but the necessity for a fixed and central administration was finally -conceded, and the Swiss Confederation was asked to take charge of it. -The central office was organized without delay at Bern. Correspondence -was opened with thirty-seven telegraphic administrations, twenty-six -of which belonged to the contracting states and eleven to private -corporations. The last report from the bureau-director shows the -number of state administrations corresponding with the central -office to be forty; in addition to these are ten cable or submarine -companies and eleven private land companies. The budget for 1888 -reports the total expense of this bureau at 84,000 francs, or about -$16,500, an incredibly small outlay for so important and responsible a -work, involving an extensive line of correspondence and at times the -adjustment of very technical questions. The bureau issues an official -gazette, _Le Journal Télégraphique_. To this union the United States do -not belong, having no government control over the telegraph companies. - -Next came the Postal Union in 1874, and immediately upon the exchange -of ratifications of the convention a year later the central office -was likewise organized at Bern. Correspondence opened with twenty-one -postal administrations, which have now increased to forty-seven; -the annual budget is $15,700, making the contributive share of a -first-class state only a little over $600 per annum, and about half -that sum for a second-class state; certainly a very inconsiderable -tax for so essential a service. The chiefs or directors of the two -above-mentioned unions possess administrative ability that would -readily command in the United States three times the sums paid them. -A journal, _L’Union Postale_, published monthly, in three languages, -English, German, and French, is conducted by the bureau, and enjoys a -large circulation among those interested in knowing something of this -clearing-house process of international mail-matter. - -Passing mention may be made of two more limited but very useful -conventions concluded in Switzerland,--one for the extermination of -phylloxera and the other for the regulation of the transportation of -goods by railway. The first had its origin at a conference of persons -interested in the culture of the vine, held at Lausanne in 1877, -and a convention to establish a union was signed at Bern in 1878 by -several states, with the object of promoting joint protection against -a disease which had caused such serious losses to vine-growers. Bern -was agreed upon as the seat of all future meetings, and this union, -which continues to obtain adhesions, is in active and beneficial -operation. The Railway Transportation Union is, from the very nature -and difficulty of the matters involved, one of slow evolution, but -conferences are from time to time held, and its friends do not despair -that it will ultimately result in the text of an international union -with its bureau at Bern; this union, however, cannot expect to embrace -any but the continental states. - -A most important event in the history of these unions was the -conclusion, at Paris, in 1883, after ten years’ negotiation, of -the Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, with a -supplemental protocol signed at Rome in 1886. By the terms of the -convention Switzerland assumed the responsibility for the management of -the central administration, and the bureau joined the others at Bern. -There are sixteen states in this union, the last accession being that -of the United States, which was made on the 30th of May, 1887. - -Lastly, and one very properly following close on that for the -protection of industrial property, came the Union for the Protection -of Literary and Artistic Property. This, the result of conferences -in 1884, 1885, and 1886 at Bern, was secured by the signature of -the convention on the 9th of September, 1886, and the ratification -exchanged 5th of December, 1887, with ten adhering states. The central -bureau, like those preceding it, was placed under the high authority -of the Swiss Confederation, and is consolidated with its sister Bureau -of Industrial Property. It issues an ably edited monthly journal, _Le -Droit d’Auteur_. - -The failure of the United States to adhere to this convention, it -was apprehended by many, would deprive the Union of much of its -contemplated value and practical results. This sentiment found -expression in terms of the most sincere and respectful regret on -the part of the delegates representing the signing states. At the -Bern Conference of 1886, to which the writer was commissioned as a -consultative delegate, he submitted the following statement explanatory -of the attitude of the United States towards the conference: - -“Through a circular note of the Swiss Federal Council the United States -have been invited, in concert with the other powers represented in the -Copyright Conference held here in September, 1885, to instruct and -empower a delegate to attend this conference, and to sign on behalf -of the United States the International Convention for the General -Protection of Literary and Artistic Property, drafted _ad referendum_ -by the conference last year, and a copy of which draft convention, -with additional article and _protocole de clôture_, had been submitted -to them. The United States again find it impracticable to depute a -delegate plenipotentiary, and are constrained to withhold from any -formal participation, as a signatory to the International Convention -which resulted from the deliberations of 1885, and the transformation -of that convention into a complete diplomatic engagement. To exhibit -their benevolence, however, towards the principle involved, the -United States desire, with, the pleasure of this conference, to be -represented here, and has conferred upon me the honor to attend this -conference as such representative, provided that my attendance is fully -recognized and admitted to be without plenipotentiary powers; but under -the limitation and reservation that the United States, not being a -party to the proposed convention, reserve their privilege of future -accession, under provisions of Article XVIII. thereof, which declare -that ‘countries which have not joined in the present convention, and -which by their municipal laws assure legal protection to the right -whereof this convention treats, shall be admitted to accede thereto -on their request to that effect.’ While not prepared to join in the -proposed convention as a full signatory, the United States do not wish -thereby to be understood as opposing the measure in any way, but, on -the contrary, desire to reserve without prejudice the privilege of -future accession, should it become expedient and practicable to do -so. Should any question exist that the representation of the United -States here, though under the specific and express limitation of a -consultative delegate, is such a participation as would suffice to -exclude them from the category of the ‘countries that had not joined in -the present convention,’ and therefore to deprive them of the privilege -of future accession, in event they desire to avail themselves of it, -I wish to reiterate and emphasize the fact, that the course of the -United States in commissioning a delegate is in nowise intended or -to be construed as a participation in the result of the conference, -either by acceptance or rejection. The position and attitude of the -United States is one simply of expectancy and reserve. The Constitution -of the United States enumerates among the powers especially reserved -to Congress, that ‘to promote the progress of science and the useful -arts, by securing for limited terms to authors and inventors the -exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;’ -which implies that the origination and limitation of measures to -those ends rest with the legislative rather than the treaty-making -powers. Copyright and patents are on the same footing of regulation -by federal legislation, and the executive branch of the government -cannot be unmindful of the continued pendency of its consideration -by the legislative department, or disregard the constitutional -right of that department to conclude international treaties on this -important subject. The question of international copyright is one of -great interest to the United States. In fact, few other countries -can lay claim to greater concern than that naturally felt by people -distinguished for enlightened, extensive, and growing intellectual -life, and while not infringing upon the constitutional prerogative -of Congress to initiate and conclude copyright legislation, likewise -to define the rights of aliens and citizens within its jurisdiction, -the Executive, in his first annual message to Congress, inviting -its attention to the conference of last September, said, ‘action is -certainly desirable to effect the object in view;’ and the Secretary of -State for foreign affairs, in his official despatches relating to this -conference, freely expresses his concurrence with the principle sought -to be enunciated by the proposed convention, and conveys the hope that -the time is not distant when rights of property in the creation of -the mind may be universally secured under conditions favorable alike -to the author and to the world’s right to share in the diffusion of -ideas. That the brain that creates is entitled to and should receive -its just and full compensation, is a sentiment having its origin in -the inherent sense of honesty. Literary property has been to some -extent recognized in all ages, and is to-day guaranteed in almost every -State by domestic legislation. This recognition and guarantee should -be without distinction of nationality and without regard to political -frontiers. It is a matter of congratulation, and redounds much to -the credit of the Swiss government, through whose active efforts -this movement was successfully inaugurated, and supplemented by the -patient and intelligent labor of the several conferences assembled -here at its invitation, that a just and permanent settlement, once for -all, of the grave question of the protection of works of literature -and art, so long and unjustly denied, is about to be realized by the -instrumentality of a uniform, efficacious, and equitable international -convention.” - -At the close of these remarks the president of the conference thanked -the delegate from the United States, and assured him that the -“accession of the United States would be received at any time with joy -by all the contracting states, and he but reflected the sincere wish of -all present in hoping that within a measurable time the United States -will request that a place be made for them in the Union.” - -It is time that the position of the United States on this important -subject should be set free from the thraldom of that short-sighted -selfishness which has hitherto fettered and degraded it. The Congress -of the United States should seek suggestion from those sentiments of -elevated justice and public honesty which are the sources of judicial -counsel, and should act in that spirit of permanent and comprehensive -wisdom, justice, and right which alone gives assurances of deep and -expanding benefits, as well to nations as to individuals. In the -absence of international copyright, just and fair compensation for -native literary and artistic property is out of the question. American -authors ask no protection, they demand no aids, no bounties; they -simply ask not to be subjected to this discrimination against domestic -talent that puts them at a cruel disadvantage with foreign competitors, -the fatal usage of whose cheap reprints, “without authorial expenses,” -has become an inveterate and crushing system. They ask only the -privilege of meeting these competitors on equal terms in a fair -contest. Literary property is the only kind of personal property not -protected by the law when the owner is not a citizen of the United -States. To the foreign owners of patents and trade-marks, which are -so analogous to copyright, protection ample and easily enforced is -accorded. It is half a century since Prussia first set the example of -granting international copyright. In 1837 a law was passed that every -country might secure copyright for its authors in Prussia upon granting -reciprocity. This was followed by England in the succeeding year. -France set the example, during the Empire, of forbidding the piracy of -books and works of art of foreigners, before obtaining reciprocity. -Property in ideas, dating back in England to the Statutes of Anne, -was recognized in the Constitution of the United States, and is now -conceded in every civilized country by legislative enactment. The same -legal protection in the matter of ideas which is given to the natives -of the state, is now accorded to the foreigner and outsider by all -nations of high civilization except the United States. The right to -profit by the product of the brain should secure for the author “that -justice which is not a matter of climates and degrees.” The principle -of copyright being admitted, it cannot logically be confined to state -lines or national boundaries. Grant that it is difficult to give -literary rights the well-defined nature and tangible form of what is -known, technically, as real or personal property; still, outside of the -ethical or abstract right, copyright is a modern development of the -principle of property which commends itself to every sentiment of honor -and justice, regardless of any obscurity which may have surrounded or -inspired its conception. Who steals a man’s book may, indeed, steal -trash, but, at least, it is his own trash, more closely his own than -his purse. In a high state of civilization, a man’s book should be -everywhere regarded as his property, and should ever be protected as -scrupulously as if it were a pair of shoes, upon the construction of -which he has also expended his time, his thought, his patience, and -such talent and skill as he possesses. The sophistical plea that the -culture and education of our people are to be imperilled, and the cost -of books to be placed beyond the reach of the masses, is the mere weak -subterfuge of those who are unwilling to be disturbed in their wrongful -appropriation of the labor of others. The reverse of this claim has -been abundantly shown. France has had an international copyright law -for years, and series of books are issued there for five cents, and -even two cents a number; it is the same with Germany; and these cheap -publications represent all that is best in the literature of their -respective countries. The spirit of literary ambition and activity is -daily becoming greater and more diffused among the people of the United -States, quickening and nourishing into life the seeds of a vigorous -and vast native literature. It is impossible to determine the elements -which must conspire to form and build up a native literature. It is -a mystery, not solved to the satisfaction of scholars, why it should -have put forth so early and transitory a bloom in Italy; why it should -have ripened so late in Germany and Scotland; why in England alone it -should know no vicissitudes of seasons, but smile in eternal spring. -But we may be confidently assured that a people to whom Providence has -given a stirring history, a land abounding in landscapes of beauty and -grandeur, and a high degree of mental activity, extending the range of -knowledge and scattering its seeds among all classes without price, -cannot and will not remain long without an extensive and superior -native literature. The literature of a people is the noblest emanation -and truest measure of the intellect and earnestness and progression of -that community. But there can be no decided literature, national in -its basis, original in its character, independent in its aim, in any -country where authorship is not a firm, reliable, and safe possession. -Already the peer of the proudest in military achievements and material -prosperity, truth, freedom, and civilization never presented a richer -field and a brighter future for intellectual laborers than is to be -found in the United States. Inexhaustible materials sleep in the womb -of the morning, awaiting the forming hand of letters to seize and -vitalize these mighty elements. The day must come when the pre-eminence -of the United States in the field of material products will be rivalled -by the existence of a literature as aspiring, as copious, and as -brilliant as the spirit, resources, and destiny of the country; an -American literature, breathing American ideas, and teaching respect -and admiration for American government, furnishing to the young men -and women of an impressionable age books which are American books, not -foreign books; not the cheap books of fiction dedicated, as Matthew -Arnold has said, to the “Goddess of Lubricity.”[115] - -The international unions, indicated as having their seats in Bern, -it must not be forgotten, are practically the only ones which the -world has to show. The _Bureau du Mètre_ in France, the only cognate -institution in another country partaking of an international character, -cannot be reckoned in the same class, being scientific and not -commercial. It is noteworthy, as evidence of the high consideration -given to these international unions, or rather to the location of their -central bureaus in Switzerland, by its statesmen, that the directorship -of the Postal Bureau was on its establishment accepted by an eminent -member of the Federal Council, who thus voluntarily surrendered -virtually a life-tenure position of the highest dignity, coupled with -the certainty of succeeding to the Presidency of the Confederation, -to assume a more laborious and responsible post, with little, if any, -increase of salary. The acquisition by Switzerland of these important -bureaus, with the world-wide scope of their operation, is properly -regarded as forming a more effectual guarantee for its preservation -as an independent state than any other that could be devised. These -unions cannot fail to be also productive of a progressively improving -understanding among all the states composing them, enabling their -several systems to be compared, useful discoveries shared, legislation -simplified and assimilated, the science of statistics facilitated, and -efforts, not merely for the development of commercial, but also of -the intellectual needs of their respective people, wisely stimulated -and directed. These beneficent consequences must favorably reflect -on the state furnishing the safe and common ground upon which this -great work can be peaceably and skilfully prosecuted, and elevate -it to an exceptional plane of importance and security, giving it an -international function which is interesting to note. It will not -do, in connection with these international bodies and episodes in -Swiss history, to omit reference to the fact that the first great -international court of arbitration of modern times had its sessions -in Geneva, in 1872, by virtue of the Treaty of Washington between -Great Britain and the United States to arbitrate what was known as -the “Alabama Claims.” Over this most memorable court a distinguished -citizen of Switzerland was chosen to preside. It was such an imposing -spectacle, and the results were so important, as to give an old process -a new dignity and reputation; and to awaken a fresh interest in the -project of a permanent international high court of arbitration. To this -project the Swiss Federal Council has been frequently addressed to lend -its kindly offices. It is a project that every philanthropic publicist -would be happy to see made practicable. Insurmountable difficulties -seem to interpose, yet the fact of great states submitting their -disputes to a body of impartial arbitrators for decision, and not the -arbitrament of war, is not a new one, but of very ancient origin, old -as history. As a principle, it has received the approval of sovereigns -and statesmen, parliaments and congresses. The chief powers of Europe -gave their sanction to it by the Treaty of Paris in 1856, and the -government of the United States has, upon more than one occasion, given -approval to it as the means of settling international controversy.[116] -Barbarians and early people fought because they liked it, as the -chivalrous Maoris did, and the Mussulmans, and the ancient Greeks. The -romance and poetry of these people are all about war; it was their -sport, their industry, their occupation; there was no other way to -wealth and the heart of woman. Even the ancient Teutones regarded war -as a great international lawsuit, and victory was the judgment of God -in favor of the victor. Civilized people fight because they cannot help -it, not because they like it. Civilized nations of to-day are supposed -to act from motives of justice and humanity, and not upon calculations -of profit, or ambition, or in the wantonness of mere caprice. Nations -are now regarded as moral persons, bound so to act as to do each other -the least injury and the most good. There is a growing international -consciousness that, considered in the abstract, unconnected with all -views of the causes for which it may be undertaken, war is an evil, and -that it should yield to some plan of adjusting international quarrels -more consonant with the present boasted Christian civilization. War, it -is true, has its great conquests, its pomps, its proud associations, -and heroic memories, yet there is murder in its march, and humanity and -civilization, genius and statesmanship, are things to blush for if they -fail to realize that - - “Peace hath her victories - No less renown’d than war,” - -and that these words convey a profound principle, and not merely an -abstraction too refined to be reduced to practice. - -The trend of events is towards a peaceable settlement of international -differences. National temperaments are being levelled by the ease of -intercourse. The world is more and more assimilating to a condition -like that of a great family, in which the individual nations, as -members, are linked together by interests, which disputes ending in -wars only impair and cannot benefit. The principle in early Roman law -was that every stranger is a public enemy. The opposite prevails -to-day with civilized peoples, that the normal relation between nations -is one of peace and friendship. Unconquerable time itself works on -increasingly, bringing the nations nearer to one another in the -natural and orderly development of close international intercourse, -strengthening the community of mankind. A deep meaning and philosophic -truth is contained in the words of Vattel, “International justice is -the daughter of economic calculations.” These international unions are -most powerful auxiliaries in removing the hinderances that lie between -nations; through them the lesson is being objectively taught that great -nations are so dependent upon each other, that any disturbance in a -particular one is felt by the others, and that when their friendly -relations are interrupted, the civilized world suffers. Through -this influence nations are beginning to take a wider view of their -mutual duties and relations, and appeal to reason and conscience in -international dealings finds a response and an application which could -not have been expected earlier. These unions generate a spirit that -turns its regard to the circuit of the globe, and to an inspiration in -which international relations obtain a higher form and a more assured -security, with no purpose to interfere with particular states or their -complete autonomous organism, or to oppress nations, but the better -to secure the peace of the one and the freedom of the other. The best -human arrangements cannot completely insure the world against civil -war. This ideal can be only approximated. It would be vain to look for -a political millennium, for a time when the “only battle-field will -be the market open to commerce and the mind open to new ideas,” when -nations shall enjoy the boundless blessings offered them in the perfect -freedom of human industry and in the reign of a perpetual peace,-- - - “When the war-drum throbs no longer and the battle-flags are furled - In the parliament of man, the federation of the world.” - -The latest movement, on the part of Switzerland, in the inauguration -of international legislation, relates to “international law” and the -“interest of the working-classes.” The former was organized, in 1888, -at Lausanne, the seat of the Swiss Federal Tribunal, and formed the -“Institute of International Law;” the subjects discussed comprised the -common features of the conflict of civil laws; the conflict of the laws -relative to marriage and divorce; joint stock companies; encounters -at sea; extradition; occupation of unclaimed territory, according -to provisions of the Treaty of Berlin; international regulation of -railways, telegraphs, and telephones in time of war; and the manner -and limit of expulsion of strangers from the territory by governments. -The second, relating to the “interest of the working-classes,” was -foreshadowed by an article from the pen of M. Numa Droz, the chief -of the Foreign Department in the Swiss Cabinet, and published in the -_Revue Suisse_ of February, 1889. In this article M. Droz announced -that Switzerland was about to invite the other nations of Europe to a -congress, in which projects for improving the condition of the laboring -classes of Europe would be discussed. He expressed his confidence that -only good could come from such an official gathering, and stated that -Switzerland would consider it “as a great source of pleasure to offer -cordial hospitality to the first European conference in the interest -of labor legislation.” The distinguished and official authorship of -this article caused it to attract much attention, and it received very -favorable comment from the continental press. As indicated by M. Droz, -within a short time after the appearance of his article, the Swiss -Federal Council issued an invitation to the European manufacturing -states to send representatives to a conference in September, 1889, at -Bern, to consider the “well-being of the working-classes,” and the -organization of an “International Labor Congress.” At the same time -it suggested the following questions for consideration: Prohibition -of Sunday work; fixing of a minimum age for the employment of children -in factories, and a limitation of working-hours for young people; -prohibition of the employment of minors and women in peculiarly -unhealthy or dangerous industries; limitation of night-work; the -adoption of a settled plan for the attainment of these objects. The -second annual session of this conference was recently held at Berlin, -by the invitation of the Emperor, who recognized that he could no -longer depend on the army to repress industrial discontent. Should -these conferences succeed in ameliorating the condition of the laboring -classes throughout Europe, and thus lift from those countries the -darkest and most angry cloud that now hangs over them, it will be the -brightest jewel in the crown of Switzerland’s hegemony in the great -work of international unions. - -It can no longer be denied that it is possible to unite the whole -globe in such organizations, now that international law, with its -hypothesis of the union of many states in one humanity, extends over -the greater part of the inhabited earth. There is a steadily-increasing -interdependence of the nations of the world, especially of those which -give themselves to commerce and manufactures, and alike of those -which need a foreign field for a share of their capital. These ties -unite them alike for good and evil, and render the prosperity of each -dependent on the equal prosperity of all the rest. When this great -truth is well understood, it may, perhaps, become the peacemaker of -the world. Nations have their defects and passions like individuals, -and well-established international laws, conventions, and unions -are necessary to protect the weak and helpless from the strong and -ambitious. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -SWITZERLAND AND THE EUROPEAN SITUATION. - - -Switzerland has no small influence on the affairs of Europe, as well -by its situation as by its warlike genius. There is much of history, -but still more political anomaly, written in the very conglomerate map -of Switzerland. It is a land of unfulfilled destiny. The eye traces -its great water-courses into the most important countries of civilized -Europe, and recognizes the lines down which potent influences, social -and political, are to descend. Its political boundaries do not coincide -with those of nature; they are erratic, the result of wars and -political vicissitudes. On the one hand, France shoots out spurs of her -territory into Switzerland, and Switzerland, on the other hand, by the -force of circumstances, has overlapped Italian ground, taking in Ticino -south of the main chain of the Alps, which is Italian in climate and -flora; a large part of the Grisons is east of the Rhine, and of the -ranges separating it from Tyrol; while Schaffhausen and a couple of -villages in the Canton of Basel are altogether on the north side of the -line, the German town of Constanz is to the south of the line. Again, -if a Swiss wishes to pass from the Rhine valley to Geneva by the south -bank of the lake, he must cross French territory in order to do so. The -southwest frontier of Switzerland stops at Geneva, instead of extending -to the Jura, which forms its natural frontier. Military writers have -pointed out that the easiest route for an investing force from Germany -would be through Switzerland; and similarly for a force from France, -over the Jura, by Zurich, to the Rhine at Schaffhausen. “That a power -which was master of Switzerland could debouch on the theatre of -operations of the Rhone, the Saône, Po, or Danube; from Geneva an army -could march on Lyons, from Basel it could gain the valley of Saône by -Belfort, from Constance the Danube could be reached; Italy could be -invaded, and the lines of defence of that country against France and -Austria turned.”[117] - -This potential position of Switzerland, a prominent point of moral -and political contact between powerful and somewhat antagonistic -powers, on the one side confining the limits of the German empire, and -on the other setting bounds to the French republic, naturally gives -rise to many speculations. The gamut of these is frequently run by -the newspapers; Germany making overtures for a treaty undertaking to -protect Switzerland’s neutrality; France negotiating for the occupation -by Switzerland of the Chablais and Faucigny districts, in Upper Savoy, -in accordance with the treaties of 1815 and 1830, thus preventing the -intervention of Italy as against France; then the right of Switzerland -to occupy certain districts of Savoy, in case of war, is held by the -German authorities to have been settled by the Congress of Vienna and -needs no further discussion; on the other hand, it is alleged that this -right was subsequently denied by Napoleon III., after the annexation -of Savoy to France; and as a culmination, Germany makes a serious -proposition to Italy for the partition of Switzerland, but Italy -declines the offer, preferring to have a little neutral and friendly -republic than a great military empire as her neighbor; the proposition -is submitted to France in turn, and also declined, as the greater -portion of Switzerland being Teutonic in race and tongue, France -could get but a small fragment and Italy a still smaller. The theory -is also advanced of making Switzerland, Alsace-Lorraine, Luxemburg, -and Belgium into a sort of federated block of neutral territory, the -inviolability of which all the rest of Europe should solemnly pledge -itself to accept. Regardless of these diplomatic tergiversations -Switzerland continues to be governed according to the choice of its -own people, and not according to the _bon plaisir_ of foreign powers. -The sort of negative which the Swiss government practises, and which -is what the position of the country specially requires, is displayed -both in the theory and execution of the Swiss federal system, and by -a great prudence in foreign policy. Its policy since the beginning of -the sixteenth century has been neutrality. The object of the Congress -of Vienna in guaranteeing the neutrality of Switzerland was primarily -strategical; it was also felt to be essential that steps should be -taken to prevent any one power from gaining possession of the line of -the Alps upon the breaking out of a fresh war.[118] The appreciation -of this danger was strongly expressed by the First Consul of France, -in an address issued in 1803, wherein he announced: “I would have gone -to war on account of Switzerland; I would have sacrificed a hundred -thousand men, rather than allowed it to remain in the hands of the -parties who were at the head of the last insurrection; so great is the -influence of its geographical position upon France. The interests of -defence bind Switzerland to France; those of attack render it of value -to other powers.” Switzerland bears relations to the great powers of -contemporary civilization, in some respects, even more remarkable than -those which the little strip of soil along the Jordan, at the meeting -of the continents, bore to the civilizations of antiquity. Like that -of Palestine, its situation, while affording small temptation to -aggression upon its neighbors, is supremely advantageous for defence, -for isolation from foreign influence; and yet, at the same time, for -the exercise of effective influence outward upon the coterminous -nations. To these advantages it adds another, in its polyglot -facility of communication with the most important nations of Europe. -Preserving its ancient character, content within itself, constituting -a confederated republic, which, by its good order and industry, -morals and laws, rivals in age the oldest monarchy with its stability -of self-government,--the greatest of these monarchies cannot afford -to despise its friendship. Not only securing and protecting its own -liberty, but it has been the arbiter of the fate of other people. It -has given examples of those qualities by which men may be so ennobled -that they are respected even amid their comparative poverty and -weakness; heroes, though too few to be feared by the weak, they are too -brave to be insulted by the strong. - -In Europe, powers of apparently inconsiderable greatness have usually -brought about its most decided changes, or at least have most -influenced its historical course. Thus did Venice in the times of the -Crusades, and Switzerland during the Burgundian and Italian wars; as -Holland at the commencement of the eighteenth century gave a new form -to Europe, so did Sweden predominate in the seventeenth century, and -in the earlier half of that age surpass France herself in splendor. -It seems to be a capital necessity of great states to have something -placed between them that may relieve the severity of their mutual -friction; an arm of the sea; an impassable mountain; a small neutral -state, one not strong enough to play a great part in foreign politics, -but, with a modest policy, absorbed in domestic affairs; any of these -may be of great importance to limit and moderate the dangerous currents -of great politics. This was illustrated by the action of Austria, -after the partition of Poland and the consequent juxtaposition of -Russia, offering to restore its part of Poland for the purpose of -reconstituting that kingdom. The present age in Europe differs entirely -from that of the Middle Ages. Then the general tendency was to small -states, now it is to large ones. Then there existed a number of petty -monarchies and republics; the unity of the Roman empire was ideal -rather than actual. The tendency to form larger states began with -England, and is seen on the continent after the latter part of the -fifteenth century, and has not yet reached its limits. Everywhere there -is a tendency to the formation of large and important states, speaking -for the most part one language throughout their whole territory. It -is promoted by the quickened impetus of trade and commerce, increased -military and financial resources, improved and extended communication, -and by the entire development of modern civilization. This progress -towards the establishment of extensive and consolidated nationalities -is conspicuously found in the present German empire. Though in no sense -a restoration of the Holy Roman Empire, it is a real restoration of the -ancient German kingdom, and the Kaiser fairly represents the German -kingship from which the thirteen ancient Cantons gradually split off. -Russia is practically the only Slavonic state; Italy comprises nearly -all the Italians, except a few resident upon the head and eastern side -of the Adriatic Gulf; France has by her losses in the Franco-Prussian -war become more French, since neither Alsace nor Lorraine is inhabited -by people of the Gallic race; Spain and Portugal comprise the entire -Spanish Peninsula; Austria is a great mongrel state and represents no -national aim, but is composed of fragments of various nationalities. -The national question in the British Islands is not settled, and may -end in separation or more probably in the formation of a federation. -The smaller semi-independent principalities of Servia, Roumania, -Bulgaria, East Roumelia are simply materials out of which a second -Slavonic state may at some time be formed, perhaps under the authority -of Russia. The natural fate of Holland is absorption into Germany; -of Belgium, absorption into France. Turkey--how this cumberer of -the earth can be disposed of without kindling a general European -conflagration is a question that puzzles the wisest statesman. This -unification might be made to play a beneficial part in checking war and -improving the European situation; but so far it has merely essayed a -science of combination, of application, and of deception, according to -times, places, and circumstances. In the process of absorption there -has not been shown much disposition to take questions of ethics into -consideration in dealing with weaker peoples; even self-interest seems -at times to be a less strong motive than the desire to annoy one’s -neighbors. Bentham somewhere proves that there is such a thing as -“disinterested malevolence;” and if it exists at all, it is certainly -to be discovered in the action of these great European powers. Many of -them present vicious systems of military and coercive governments; vast -empires resting upon bayonets and semi-bureaucracy, an anachronism and -an incubus upon the true development of national life. All these great -powers are monstrous outgrowths of warlike ambition and imperial pride -in different degrees and under different conditions. On nearly every -battle-field great questions of dynastic and national reconstruction -have hung in the balance; military operations have been the decisive -factors. Huge military systems are abnormal, the morbid results of the -spirit of war and domination, of national selfishness and revolutionary -violence. The game of kings has become the impact of armed peoples. -The Congress of Vienna settled the affairs of Europe upon a basis -which endured with but few changes for almost fifty years; the great -treaty of Berlin of 1878, in form an act of restitution as well as of -peace, has become as dead a letter as the treaty of Paris of 1856. -Principles of older date and less questionable validity than treaties -patched up with premature jubilation obtain; and the solemn irony of -Prince Talleyrand, that “non-intervention is a diplomatic term, which -signifies much the same as intervention,” has become axiomatic. It is -no exaggeration to speak of Europe as an armed camp, with the dogs -of war pulling heavily on their chains. Armies of men stand scowling -into one another’s eyes across a fanciful frontier, marked by a few -parti-colored posts. In spite of all European assurances of “cloudless -political horizons” and “luxuriant international olive-branches,” -the perfection of armaments and the augmentation of already enormous -armies go faithfully on. Every one who visits Europe must be amazed -at the military influence that everywhere dominates, especially on -the continent. “Above the roar of the city street sounds the sharp -drum-beat of the passing regiment; in the sweet rural districts the -village church-bell cannot drown the bugle peal from the fortress on -the hill. France sinks millions in frontier strongholds, Russia masses -troops in Poland and on the Pruth, Austria strengthens her fortresses -in Galicia, and Germany builds railways to the Rhine and bridges -to span its yellow flood.” There is no European peace, except that -peace described by Hosea Biglow, which was “druv in with bag’nets.” -Montesquieu, the upright magistrate, who, living under despotic rule, -nevertheless insisted that by the Constitution of France its king was -not absolute, sought in the records of history to discern the tendency -of each great form of government, and has left his testimony that -“_L’esprit de la monarchie est la guerre et l’agrandissement; l’esprit -de la république est la paix et la modération_” (“the spirit of -monarchy is war and aggrandizement; the spirit of a republic is peace -and moderation”). - -An armed truce is preserved out of mutual terror; if tranquillity -exists, it is not the repose of reasonable, kindly powers, but the -crouching attitude of relentless rivals dreading the enemy whom they -hate, and afraid of the destructive weapons which support modern -warfare, making the “mowing down” no longer figurative, but horribly -literal. Sheer force holds a larger place than it has held in modern -times since the fall of Napoleon; and the will to take, without better -reason than the power to hold, is naked and undisguised. One of the -most melancholy forms which this aggression has taken, and seems -destined to occupy so much of the future energies of imperialism, -is the partition and exploitation of the vast African continent and -the defenceless islands of the Pacific. It is done in the name of -“civilization,” and called _l’occupation des territoires sans maître_. -In the Pacific Ocean the work has been nearly completed, Samoa and -Hawaii remaining as almost the last abodes of aboriginal sovereignty. -Colonial extension and annexation is a veritable European Pandora’s -box; war is constantly threatened for the sake of localities whose -very names were previously unknown, and whose possession would seem -of no practical importance. Since Dido tricked the Numidian king in -her survey and purchase of a site for Carthage,[119] the world has -been in constant trouble upon the subject of boundaries, and a very -large proportion of the wars between nations, like lawsuits between -individuals, have arisen over disputed boundary lines. The cry of -“fifty-four forty or fight,” the national watchword of the United -States in 1846, has found an echo in every age. Between England and -Russia smoulders the Central Asia and Turkish empire question; between -England and France the matter of Egyptian occupation; Italy and France -have their quarrel over Tunis and Tripoli, and the Mediterranean -generally. Then there is the crux of the Balkan peninsula, where -Austria and Russia glower at each other across the Carpathians; this -Eastern question is opened as often as the temple of Janus, and, like -that temple, its opening means war. So it goes; when pushed under -at St. Petersburg, alarm makes its appearance in Paris; and when -silenced on the Rhine, it causes itself to be heard among the Balkans. -Russia lowers across Europe from the east, patiently waiting, and not -fearing central European alliance, confident some day, by natural -expansion, of overshadowing all eastern Europe, and gathering at will -and in its own good time all the Slavonic people under its suzerain -guardianship. France casts a dark shadow from the west, while the -“_furor Teutonicus_” and the “_furie Française_” flourish perennially -in the blood-feud which has Alsace-Lorraine for its bitter badge.[120] -France looks with natural uneasiness at the iron circle in which -the unity of Germany and Italy is circumscribing her influence and -expansion. The tremendous struggle with Germany, with its crushing -defeat and the provinces torn away, left a wound that will not heal, -but with its gloomy memories and poignant regrets, with its latent but -unfailing suggestion of revenge, too frequently guides her policy. -While a united Germany made short work with the French emperor, it left -France exasperated, and probably in a less unsound condition than at -any previous moment since 1789. - -Germany, with the huge mass of Russia on one side and the lithe -strength of France on the other, must sleep in armor; during any -respite from the partisans of _la revanche_ on the one frontier or a -murmur of Panslavism from Moscow, Germany confronts serious problems -with her congeries of states. It remains to be seen how Germany will -get on without the large, comprehensive, incomparable skill and the -mettle of unyielding determination with which the Iron Chancellor -laid all international questions under tribute to the _Vaterland_. -This continental entanglement points to England as holding the -balance of power; jealous of Russia’s encroachments in the east, -jealous of Austria, jealous of the power of Germany, worried with a -certain uneasiness that “the circles of the morning drum-beat” may be -broken, England finds in this situation much food for contemplation -and conjecture. All European movements, especially on the part of the -Great Powers,[121] profess to have no other object than to preserve -their “political equilibrium” or the “balance of power.” Excepting the -wars of religion, most European wars of the last three centuries have -sought justification in this pretext, which is but another phase of the -boundary question. Up to a very recent date the English Parliamentary -grants for supplies needed to support the army were expressly recited -to be made for the purpose “of preserving the balance of power in -Europe.” The “European Concert,” with its brood of auxiliaries, in the -_modus vivendi_, _status quo_, and _entente cordiale_, interlarded with -numerous _pourparlers_, separating _re infecta_, is not the harmonious -institution its musical title would indicate; but disagreements are -constantly arising as to who shall be _chef de musique_ and who shall -play second fiddle. It is a mere decorous synonyme for “European -discord.” When not having in view a general scheme of spoliation, -it is looking to the carving out the shape, the conditions, and the -destinies of the remaining small states, with a cynical indifference -as to the weal or wish of the populations. European powers are simply -racing in the absurd and ruinous rivalry for the mightiest battalions -and the heaviest budgets. Under the plea of _si vis pacem para bellum_ -each one is striving to steal a march upon its neighbors, absolutely -blind to the obvious fact that with each fraction of accelerated speed -in one all the rest perforce quicken their pace. The danger of this -much misused axiom, which advises the securing of peace by preparing -for war, brings a crushing burden of apprehension; it involves conduct -that betrays designs of future hostility, and if it does not excite -violence, always generates malignity with a sly reciprocation of -indirect injuries without the bravery of war or the security of peace. -From such a condition some chance tide rather than any chosen course -may any day cause a rupture. Nations drift into war, and peace is -rarely disturbed by serious matters. The commercial necessities of -Europe cannot much longer bear the severe strain of this unnaturally -swollen and crushing militarism, a conscription so ruthless which -demands one inhabitant out of every hundred and takes one producer -out of every twenty, transferring him from the ranks of tax-payers to -the ranks of tax-consumers. This strain must be lessened or it will -infallibly snap; the people are merely the soldiers of an army, they -are drilled rather than governed; the workman is getting tired of going -to his labors carrying a soldier upon his back; the masses are coming -to regard appeals to their patriotism as full of bitter mockery, being -mere appeals to kill their neighbors or distant races that they and -their children may be more permanently enslaved at home. A universal -revolt is inevitable against exactions so intolerable, idiotic, and -inhuman. If those alone who “sowed the wind did reap the whirlwind” -it would be well, but the mischief is that the madness of ambition -and the schemes of diplomacy find their victims principally among -the innocent and the unoffending. The cottage is sure to suffer for -every error of the court, the cabinet, or the camp, like the torrent -which originates, indeed, in the mountain, but commits its devastation -in the vale. If there is no check on this increasing demand upon -the lives and property of the masses, “this devouring mischief of -militarism which is consuming the vitals of Europe,” the mightiest -potentate may find that he has to face a combination of the toiling -and suffering classes against which all his weapons will be futile. -“Great,” says Carlyle, “is the combined voice of men, the utterance -of their instincts, which are truer than their thoughts; it is the -greatest a man encounters among the sounds and shadows which make up -this world of time.” There is no constitution and no despotism which -could stand against it for a moment. The modern emperor is only an -apparition in comparison with the imperial muscle and bone of his -ancient prototype; no longer he is regarded as the “deputy elect of -the Lord,” whom the “breath of worldly men cannot depose.” A revolt, -political in its aims but economic in its origin, will take place; an -economic revolt tending to change the economical conditions of the -masses and a political revolt tending to modify the very essence of the -political organization, demanding that these vast armies be disbanded, -the swords turned into ploughshares, and the victory of the industrial -over the military type of civilization be established. A revolution -toward the final abolition of feudalism with its arbitrary privileges -for the few and its excessive burdens for the many, toward the fuller -participation of the people in the work of government and their more -efficient protection in the enjoyment of the fruits of their labor. -Otherwise the dilemma is a sad one,--to remain a colossal arsenal or -become a wild field of devastation; war would mean destruction of human -life and of the elements of national prosperity beyond precedent. -Whether these immense armaments will be peacefully discontinued or war -ensue as the only solution, and if so, what will be its effect on the -map of Europe, are all momentous questions beyond the ken of man. The -powers leagued together in the Triple Alliance may, if favored by the -wealth and maritime power of England, serve as a potent guarantee for -the maintenance of peace. This European drama is unfolding its actions -slowly, so that no one can tell what it will bring forth; constantly -new novelties are being introduced upon the stage with an increasing -number of hints of stranger things to come. The prominent persons -in the play, though preserving a romantic air of mystery, manage -constantly to throw off a multiform mass of suggestions, speculations, -and visions. What is developing astonishes the mind while it fascinates -the imagination, for it seems to be nothing less vast and portentous -than the passing away of the whole existing order of things almost -without notice, certainly without comprehension. What proportions this -gigantic, this politico-social movement will assume, how much of what -is old it will leave standing, what the new order will be like, these -are questions which Europe’s brain has not yet fairly grasped, much -less tried to answer. - -There is a strong continental opinion that in the event of war -Switzerland can hardly hope to successfully maintain the position -assumed by it in 1870; that it occupies too small a space in the great -chart of European political and military calculations to have much -weight attached to its views. With less confidence in treaty guarantees -than in the maxim of Cromwell, whose Ironsides were taught to “put -their trust in God and keep their powder dry,” Switzerland will heed -the advice given in the reply of the German chancellor, when asked -in 1870 to what extent Swiss neutrality would be observed, said, “to -the extent to which you yourselves respect the device of the Scottish -Order of the Thistle, ‘_nemo me impune lacessit_.’” Switzerland can no -longer rely upon its mountain wall, which for so many ages, combined -with other geographical advantages, formed a safe breastwork against -the invader. Nature herself seemed to have thrown her arms around -Helvetia to protect her from the invader; and by encompassing her -with inaccessible mountains, tremendous precipices, and stupendous -masses of eternal ice, to make her, as Frederick the Great of Prussia -described the lords of Savoy, “kings by virtue of their locality.” The -craggy escarpments, bastioned with horrid precipices, parapeted and -battlemented with eternal snow, were the ramparts of the cradle of her -liberty; they played a great part: - - “That like giants stand - To sentinel enchanted land.” - -Then Switzerland was self-contained, and enemies could not get at it. -It could say with the Psalmist, “I will lift mine eyes unto the hills, -from whence cometh my help.” “We did not fear,” said the shepherds -of Uri, “the armies of France; we are _four hundred_ strong, and if -that is not sufficient, _four hundred_ more in our valley are ready -to march to the defence of the country.” In the same spirit wrote the -Council of Bern, “A handful of Swiss is a match for an army; on our -own soil, with our mountains behind us, we can defy the world.” The -Helvetic Confederacy made the greatest and most powerful nations of -Europe tremble in the fifteenth century; but Switzerland is no longer -defended by natural frontiers; its two great cities, that of Geneva on -the one side, and Basel upon the other, lie open to the invader, and -the occupation of two or three points upon its railway system (which -but for its army could be easily reached) would paralyze its defence; -the strength with which nature had endowed Switzerland under the old -condition of things has been wellnigh cancelled by the grand appliances -of modern science, wealth, and organization. Modern Switzerland is -now no stronger than any other part of Europe. Defence no longer can -be intrusted to natural ramparts, the Alps, and mountaineers, led by -the sound of the horn, and armed with the bow of Tell. The strength -of Switzerland is exactly proportioned to its armed force; numerical -strength preponderates in military fields, and victory attends the -largest army. This implies no impeachment of Swiss courage and -patriotism; that love of country, wrought into a great and noble -sentiment, which summons to its aid every better portion of human -excellence; that exalted power which gives vigor and efficacy to our -exertions as citizens, which strengthens our constancy and animates -our valor, which heightens our contempt of danger and inflames our -impatience of oppression. There is no safer criterion of the virtue and -happiness of a people than the height to which their attachment for -their country is raised, and the difficulties which they are prepared -to encounter in rescuing it from danger or exalting it to glory. As -patriotism is always more intense in small states, where union for the -purposes of self-preservation is more indispensably necessary, so the -same institutions which have engaged the affections of the Swiss will -likely inspire them with the courage and wisdom requisite for their -defence. Switzerland will be prepared in event of a rearrangement of -the map of Europe, by which it is likely to be effected, to demand a -voice in the general summing up. Even to the diplomatist, who, wanting -to reach an understanding, must have something behind it to command -attention and respect, and exclaims, “Don’t trouble me with your -arguments, tell me with what force you will back them,” Switzerland -is not without an answer. The republic is not unprepared for war, as -already shown in the chapter on the army; every man in shop and field -would start into a soldier at the bugle’s call; a soldier armed, -equipped, and ready for the march. Great sacrifices are willingly made -in order to keep on foot an admirable democratic army. All the adjuncts -for making this army a mobile factor in the field are under the Swiss -system complete and in thorough working order. It could put into the -field and maintain effectively 200,000 men, to prove that Switzerland -was not a “mere geographical expression,” but a very formidable entity. -The Swiss General Dufour, in a letter addressed to the French minister -of war, just before the war broke out in 1870, after giving the size -of the Swiss army, added: “Beyond all these defences we can count upon -the national spirit in the heart of every citizen; a resolution to -protect our independence and neutrality, let the storm break on us from -whatever side it may.” What 200,000 brave Swiss sharpshooters might do -defending their liberty in those mountain fastnesses no European army -would care to learn by close experience. Their stout hearts and hardy -arms will be ever ready, as in preceding ages, to vindicate against -countless hosts their personal liberty and the independence of their -country. - -The Swiss government is not unaware that its neutrality may at any -time be endangered; that a small state is always in danger when it -stands in the way of the arms or the ambition or the greed of the -great ones, that if its territory offers a convenient route for the -rival armies, they would not hesitate to brush away its neutrality, in -spite of all guarantees, as the Allies did in 1814. Accordingly for -years past the government has been quietly but steadily preparing to -defend the country in such an event. The plan, so far, consists in the -fortifications of the summit of St. Gothard; the plateau of Andermatt -commands not only the base of the St. Gothard, but the valleys, and -whoever is able to hold it can prevent any passage across Switzerland -from south to north. Since 1885 nearly 10,000,000 francs have been -spent on the strengthening of this commanding position; forts have -been placed so as to confront each of the four roads by which alone -the stronghold can be passed, and it is thought that a large force -of troops make it convenient to be cantoned in the vicinity, ready -to make the most of the facilities for repelling intrusion when the -occasion requires. They certainly could offer stubborn resistance to -any junction being effected between portions of the German and Italian -armies. The military Alpine roads, Furka, Ober-Alp, and Axenstrasse, -are all kept in good condition by liberal appropriations. - -Ever since 1830, when the religious refugees from France, England, -and Flanders sought shelter there, and who, Sismondi relates, were -wont to fall down on their knees and bless God when they came in sight -of the Swiss mountains, the _right of asylum_ has been a difficult -question for Switzerland, occasioning constant diplomatic collision. -In 1838 the demand of the French government for the expulsion of Louis -Napoleon, which was declined by Switzerland, almost led to war, and -it was probably only avoided by his voluntary departure. Switzerland -has never flinched from this sacred and most embarrassing duty of -hospitality to the oppressed. The influx of political fugitives from -the despotic countries of Europe, seeking shelter from their pursuers, -has involved it in many a bitter discussion with powerful neighbors, -but it has stood firm in maintaining the sanctity of its principles and -soil, in the face of their overwhelming force and domineering spirit. -A determined rejection of foreign interference in its domestic affairs -has been maintained, and when in 1847 the blockade or cordon was -established, all access to the rebel district was forbidden to foreign -agents. Under the constitution the federal authorities have the right -to expel from Swiss territory any foreigners whose presence endangers -the internal or external security of the Confederation. An asylum is -offered to the members of all parties suffering political persecution, -as long as they show themselves worthy of such consideration by -peaceful conduct. The republic, however, grants them no asylum, if, -while on its territory, they continue their intrigues and attacks on -the existence and security of other states. It preserves a faithful -regard for its international obligations, and, as an evidence of its -firm determination to fulfil them, keeps a federal official, known as -the _Procurator General_, whose duty it is to prosecute any foreigners, -socialists, nihilists, and _agents provocateurs_, and other dangerous -types, who abuse the hospitality of the country for the shelter and -promotion of schemes endangering either its international peace or -internal security. In July, 1890, Germany gave notice to Switzerland -that the treaty between the two countries, regulating the “settlement -of foreigners,” would not be renewed at its expiration, which occurs -at the end of 1891. This question of asylum involves in its handling -the utmost skill and judgment; anything like bravado or anything -like servility would be equally out of place. A dignified and wise -discretion is necessary to enable Switzerland to continue to offer -a safe refuge to the proscribed victims of the endless political -revolutions and counter-revolutions of the surrounding nations, but -it is believed, complicated as it is with delicate entanglements of -diplomatic relations, and suspicions of countenancing schemes of -anarchy, it will continue to meet every exigency of the question with -an honest and fearless policy. - -If the acquisition of power has a certain tendency to weaken the ties -of federal union, we should expect that a Confederacy, deprived by -natural as well as adventitious circumstances of all pretension to -political power, would for that reason possess in a superior degree the -merit of stability. Everything that sets in motion the springs of the -human heart, engages the Swiss to the protection of their inestimable -privileges. Bold and intrepid; a frame fitted to endure toil; a soul -capable of despising danger; an enthusiastic love of freedom; an -abhorrence of the very name or emblem of royalty illustrated in ages of -heroic and martial exploits, that with steadfast and daring enterprise -built up a nation and a state; with these qualities they will, if the -necessity comes, bear in mind the warning of their own Rousseau, “Ye -free nations, remember this maxim, freedom may be acquired, but it -cannot be recovered.” In the moment of peril the Swiss will be moved -by the spirit of their brave old Landammann, who answered the Duke of -Burgundy: “Know that you may, if it be God’s will, gain our barren and -rugged mountains; but, like our ancestors of old, we will seek refuge -in wilder and more distant solitudes, and when we have resisted to the -last, we will starve in the icy wastes of the glaciers; men, women, and -children, we will be frozen into annihilation together, ere our free -Switzer will acknowledge a foreign master.” - -There may be a deeper danger awaiting Switzerland, to which no -spirit, however vigorous and resolute, can be commensurate--a danger -from within and not from without. The nation which, by the adverse -circumstances of numerical inferiority, poverty of means, or failure -of enterprise, cannot sustain its own citizens in the acquisition of a -just renown and material welfare, is deficient in one of the first and -most indispensable elements of strength. A small state is apt to waste -its strength in acts too insignificant for general interest, frittering -away its mental riches, no less than its treasure and blood, in -supporting interests that fail to enlist the sympathies of any beyond -the pale of its own borders; glory and strength, like riches, finding -themselves, and being most apt to be found, where their fruits have -already accumulated. If from any source evil should come to this little -republic, in the patriotic words of its latest historian, “Generations -will point to the spot where it arose and flourished, and will say, -Here once lived a free, self-governing people, a small but active -republic, with remarkable institutions, with a famous and memorable -history.” - - -POPULATION AND SOIL, CENSUS, 1888. - - +------+--------------+----------+---------+-----------+-------------+ - |Order | CANTONS |Population| Total | | | - | | | | area | Productive| Unproductive| - +------+--------------+----------+---------+-----------+-------------+ - | | | | [*] | [*] | [*] | - | 1 |Zurich | 339,014 | 1,724.7 | 1,616 | 108.7 | - | 2 |Bern | 539,305 | 6,889 | 5,385.7 | 1,503.3 | - | 3 |Luzern | 135,780 | 1,500.8 | 1,369 | 131.8 | - | 4 |Uri | 17,284 | 1,076 | 477.7 | 598.3 | - | 5 |Schwyz | 50,396 | 908.5 | 660.2 | 248.3 | - | 6 |Unterwalden | | | | | - | | Obwald | 15,032 | 474.8 | 399.4 | 75.4 | - | | Nidwald | 12,524 | 290.5 | 217.9 | 72.6 | - | 7 |Glarus | 33,800 | 691.2 | 448.6 | 242.6 | - | 8 |Zug | 23,120 | 239.2 | 194.3 | 44.9 | - | 9 |Freiburg | 119,562 | 1,669 | 1,469.6 | 199.4 | - | 10 |Solothurn | 85,720 | 783.6 | 717.8 | 65.8 | - | 11 |Basel | | | | | - | | Stadt | 74,247 | 35.8 | 30.4 | 5.4 | - | | Landschaft | 62,133 | 421.6 | 405.6 | 16 | - | 12 |Schaffhausen | 37,876 | 294.2 | 281 | 13.2 | - | 13 |Appenzell | | | | | - | | Ausser-Rhoden| 54,200 | 260.6 | 253.6 | 7 | - | | Inner-Rhoden | 12,906 | 159 | 144.4 | 14.6 | - | 14 |St. Gallen | 229,441 | 2,019 | 1,713.5 | 305.5 | - | 15 |Grisons | 96,291 | 7,184.8 | 3,851.6 | 3,333.2 | - | 16 |Aargau | 193,834 | 1,404 | 1,341.7 | 62.3 | - | 17 |Thurgau | 105,091 | 988 | 835.6 | 152.4 | - | 18 |Ticino | 127,148 | 2,818.4 | 1,880 | 938.4 | - | 19 |Vaud | 251,296 | 3,222.8 | 2,728.8 | 494 | - | 20 |Valais | 101,837 | 5,247.1 | 2,409.9 | 2,837.2 | - | 21 |Neuchâtel | 109,037 | 807.8 | 572.3 | 235.5 | - | 22 |Genève | 106,738 | 279.4 | 232.9 | 46.5 | - +------+--------------+----------+---------+-----------+-------------+ - | | Total |2,933,612 |41,389.8 | 29,637.5 | 11,752.3 | - +------+--------------+----------+---------+-----------+-------------+ - -[*] Square kilometres. - - - - -MONEY, WEIGHTS, MEASURES. - - Franc Cents, 19.3. - One hundred centimes One franc. - Metre, equal to 1.094 yards. - Kilometre, equal to .621 mile. - Metric quintal, or metre - centner, equal to 100 kilogrammes, or 2 - cwt. nearly (1 cwt. - 3 qrs. 24½ ƚbs.). - Square kilometre, equal to .386 square mile. - Hectare, equal to 2½ acres nearly (2 acres, - 1 rood, 35½ poles). - Centner, equal to about 110¼ ƚbs. - Cubic metre, equal to 1.308 cubic yards. - Litre, equal to .88 quart. - Hectolitre, equal to 22 gallons. - - -CENSUS OF 1888. - -AREA--PRODUCTIVE AND UNPRODUCTIVE LAND. - -_Productive Land._ - - Forest 7,714.2 square kilometres. - Vineyards 305 ” ” - Cultivated 21,618.3 ” ” - -------- - Total 29,637.5 ” ” - -_Unproductive Land._ - - Glaciers 1,838.8 square kilometres. - Lakes 1,386.1 ” ” - Cities, villages, and outer buildings 161.8 ” ” - Area of railroads, turnpikes, etc., } - rivers and rocky wastes } 8,365.6 ” ” - -------- - Total 11,752.3 ” ” - -_Population as to Confessions._ - - Protestants 1,724,869 - Catholics 1,189,662 - Jews 8,384 - Others 10,697 - -_As to Languages._ - - German 2,092,479 - French 637,710 - Italian 156,482 - Others 8,565 - - -ORDER AND DATES OF THE ENTRY OF THE TWENTY-TWO CANTONS INTO THE -CONFEDERATION. - - Order of - entry. French name. German name. Year. - 1 Zurich Zürich 1351. - 2 Berne Bern 1353. - 3 Lucerne Luzern 1332. - 4 Uri Uri 1291. - 5 Schwytz Schwyz 1291. - 6 Unterwalden Unterwalden 1291. - Le haut Obwald - Le bas Nidwald - 7 Glaris Glarus 1352. - 8 Zoug Zug 1352. - 9 Fribourg Freiburg 1481. - 10 Soleure Solothurn 1481. - 11 Bâle Basel 1501. - Ville Stadt. - Campagne Landschaft. - 12 Schaffhouse Schaffhausen 1501. - 13 Appenzell Appenzell 1573. - Rhodes-Extérieures Ausser-Rhoden. - Rhodes-Intérieures Inner-Rhoden. - 14 St. Gall St. Gallen 1803. - 15 Grisons Graubünden 1803. - 16 Argovie Aargau 1803. - 17 Thurgovie Thurgau 1803. - 18 Tessin (It. Ticino) Tessin 1803. - 19 Vaud Waadt 1803. - 20 Valais Wallis 1814. - 21 Neuchâtel Neuenburg 1814. - 22 Genève Genf 1814. - - - - -APPENDIX. - -COPY OF THE LATIN “PACT OF 1291” IN THE ARCHIVES OF SCHWYZ. - - -In nomine domini Amen. Honestati consulitur, et vtilitati publice -prouidetur, dum pacta, quietis et pacis statu debito solidantur. -Novereint igitur vniversi, quod homines vallis Vranie, vniversitasque -/ vallis de Switz, ac conmunitas hominum intramontanorum vallis -inferioris, maliciam temporis attendentes, ut se, et sua magis -defendere valeant, et in statu debito melius consevare, fide / bona -promiserunt, inuicem sibi assistere, auxilio, consilio, quolibet ac -fauore personis et rebus, infra valles et extra, toto posse, toto -nisv, contra omnes ac singulos, qui eis vel alicui de ipsis, aliquam / -intulerint violenciam, molestiam, aut iniuriam, in personis et rebus -malum quodlibet machinando, ac in omnem eventum quelibet vniuersitas, -promisit alteri accurrere, cum neccesse fuerit ad succurrendum. / et -in expensis propriis, prout opus fuerit, contra inpetus malignorum -resistere, iniurias vindicare prestito super hiis corporaliter -inuramento, absque dolo servandis, antequam confederationis forman -iuramento vallatam, presentibus innovando, / Ita tamen quod quilibet -homo iuxta sui nominis conditionem domino suo conuenienter subesse -teneatur et seruire. Conmuni etiam consilio, et fauore vnamimi -promisimus, statuimus, ac ordinauimus, vt in vallibus prenotatis, -nullum / iudicem, qui ipsum officium aliquo precio, vel peccunia, -aliqualiter conparauerit, vel qui noster incola vel provincialis non -fuerit aliquatenus accipiamus, vel acceptemus. - -Si uero dissensio suborta fuerit, inter aliquos conspiratos, -prudencio-- / res de conspiratis accedere debent, ad sopiendam -discordiam inter partes, prout ipsis videbitur expedire. et que pars -illam respuerit ordinationem, alii contrarii deberent fore conspirati. -Super omnia autem, inter ipsos extitit / statutum, ut qui alium -fraudulenter, et sine culpa tracidauerit, si deprehensus fuerit uitam -ammittat, nisi suam de dicto maleficio valeat ostendere innocenciam, -suis nefandis culpis exigentibus. et si / forsan discesserit nunquam -remeare debet. Receptatores et defensores prefati malefactoris, a -vallibus segregandi sunt, donec a coniuratis prouide reuocentur. -Si quis uero quemquam de conspiratis, die sev / nocte silentio, -fraudulenter per incendium uastauerit, is numquam haberi debet pro -conprouinciali. Et si quis dictum malefactorem fovet et defendit, -infra valles, satisfactionem prestare debet dampnificato. Ad / hec -si quis de coniuratis alium rebus spoliauerit, vel dampnificauerit -qualitercumque, si res nocentis infra valles possunt reperiri, servari -debent, ad procurandum secundum iusticiam lesis satisfactionem. Insuper -nullus capere / debet pignus alterius nisi sit manifeste debitor, vel -fideiussor, et hoc tantum fieri debet de licencia iudicis speciali. -Preter hec quilibet obedire debet suo iudici, et ipsum si neccesse -fuerit iudicem ostendere infra / sub quo parere potius debeat iuri. Et -si quis iudicio rebellis extiterit, ac de ipsius pertinasia quis de -conspiratis dampnificatus fuerit, predictum contumacem ad prestandam -satisfactionem, iurati conpellere tenentur / uniuersi. Si uero guerra -vel discordia inter aliquos de conspiratis suborta fuerit, si pars -vna litigantium, iusticie vel satisfactionis non curat recipere -complementum, reliquam defendere tenentur coniurati. Supra / scriptis -statutis, pro conmuni vtilitate, salubriter ordinatis, concedente -domino, in perpetuum duratis. In cuius facti euidentiam presens -instrumentum, ad petionem predictorum confectum, Sigiliorum prefatarum -/ trium vniuersitatum et vallium est munimine roboratum. Actum Anno -domini. M.CC.LXXXX. primo. Incipiente mense Au-gu-sto. - - -TRANSLATION. - -IN THE NAME OF THE LORD--AMEN! - -Virtue is promoted and utility provided for by the state so long as -covenants are firmly established with a proper basis of quiet and -peace, therefore, let all men know that the valley of Uri and the -entire district of the valley of Schwyz and the community of the -intramontane people of the lower valley, while regarding the evil -character of the times, with the view of being able more efficiently -to protect themselves and their interests, and better to preserve them -in their proper condition, have promised in good faith mutually to -stand by one another with their help, advice, and undivided support, -in their persons and property, within and without the valleys, with -their entire force and united effort against all men and singular -who shall inflict upon them or upon any one of them any violence, -molestation or injury in plotting any evil against their persons and -property, and every district has promised to another in every event to -make haste whenever it shall be necessary to render it help. They also -(have promised) at their individual expense to resist, as it shall be -necessary, the attacks of the evil-intending, to avenge wrongs, having -taken their oath corporal touching the faithful preservation of these -presents from change before the ratification by oath of the instrument -of Confederation. So, however, that any and every person is to be held -to be subject to and to serve his Lord exactly according to the terms -of his obligation. We also have promised, decided, _and more_, ordained -by common resolve and unanimous assent that we will not, to any extent, -accept or acknowledge any judge who shall secure the office itself at -some price, or by money, by any other device, or who shall not be one -of our inhabitants or a provincial. - -But if a disagreement shall arise among any of the Confederates, the -more discreet of them ought to come forward to allay the variance among -the parties just as it shall appear to them to be expedient, and the -party which shall reject the settlement _decided upon_, it were proper -for the other Confederates to be their adversaries. - -Moreover, above all things, it has been ordained among them that he who -shall wrongfully and without provocation murder another, if he shall -be arrested, shall lose his life, as his heinous wrong-doing demands, -unless he shall be able to show his innocence touching the alleged -crime, and if perchance he shall leave the country, he must never -return, the harborers and defenders of the aforesaid malefactor are to -be cut off from the valleys until they be recalled with due foresight -by the Confederates. But if any one shall in the daytime or in the -silence of night maliciously injure any one of the Confederates by -burning, he ought never to be regarded as a fellow-provincial. And if -any one harbors and defends the alleged evil-doer within the valleys, -he ought to render satisfaction to the person who has sustained the -loss. In addition, if any one of the Confederates shall rob another of -his property or otherwise inflict loss upon him, if the property of the -offending party can be found within the valleys, it ought to be held -for procuring satisfaction for the injured according to justice. - -Moreover no one ought to take the pledge of a second unless this one -be clearly a debtor or security, and this ought to be done only in -accordance with a special license of a judge. Furthermore, any and -every one ought to obey his judge, and to indicate the very judge, if -it shall be necessary, under whom he by choice assumes the obligation -to obey the law. And if any one shall show himself defiant of the -decision of a judge, and in consequence of his perverseness any of the -Confederates shall be damaged, all who are under oath are held to force -the aforesaid obstinate one to render satisfaction. But in case war -or violent division shall arise among any of the Confederates, if one -party of the disputants is not disposed to receive the award of justice -or satisfaction, the Confederates are held to defend the remaining -party. - -The statutes above written are wholesomely ordained in behalf of the -public advantage with an unlimited duration, the Lord consenting -thereto. As an evidence of this act the present instrument, made -according to the petition of the aforesaid persons, is confirmed by the -authority of the seals of the aforementioned districts and valleys. -Done in the year of the Lord 1291, in the beginning of the month of -August. - - * * * * * - -The above translation was kindly made by Professor W. E. Peters, of the -University of Virginia, and in transmitting it he says: “I send you a -literal rendering of the Pact, the original is exceedingly rough and -incorrect according to classical standards. I think, however, the sense -is given. I render _vniversitas_ as district, and Commune might be -embraced in brackets; I would render it _Canton_, but the Swiss Cantons -were not then formed, and the term Commune hardly expresses the sense, -as it is French. I have had in some cases to force translation where -the Latin is absolutely corrupt and wrong. I have aimed to make the -translation, as you desired, strictly according to the Latin, and not -according to what was permissible with the Latin and its collocation.” - -The Honorable John D. Washburn, United States Minister at Bern, in an -article contributed to the American Antiquarian Society of Worcester, -Mass., April, 1890, on the “Foundation of the Swiss Republic,” -referring to the Pact of 1291, says: “The foundation stone on which -it is generally understood that the whole superstructure [of the -Swiss Republic] rests is known as the Pact--Letter of Alliance, -_Bundesbrief_--of 1291. This is not a myth, but, apart, perhaps, from -absolute exactness of date and some extraneous circumstances alleged -to attend it, a well-established record of history. This instrument -well repays a careful study, not only as a wonderfully bold declaration -of modified independence at a very early day, but as especially -interesting to the American student for the remarkable parallels of -thought in the minds of these ancient men, and in the minds of those -who nearly five hundred years later made the preliminary declarations -of American Independence.” - - - - -INDEX. - - - A. - - Aar, water system of the, 415. - - Aarau, peace of, 14. - - Aargau admitted, 16. - conquest of, 13. - - Academy, military, 238. - - Act of mediation, 39. - - Administrative law, 90. - - Agricultural schools, 289. - - Agriculture, 290, 306. - - Alliance, Holy, Switzerland in the, 18. - Letter of, 473, 477. - - Allmend, 181. - future of, 183. - - Alpenglühen, 426. - - Alpenstocks, 375. - - Alphorn, 340. - - Alpine flowers, 371. - hay-making, 326. - - Alps, 354. - - Alsace-Lorraine, 458. - - Altdorf, folkmote in, 155. - - Amendments, constitutional, 50, 51. - - American and Swiss constitutions compared, 54, 56, 59, 63. - - American elections compared with Swiss, 82. - - Appeals to federal tribunal, 109. - - Appellate courts, 136. - criminal, 112. - - Appendix, 473. - - Appenzell admitted, 14. - division of, 141. - Inner, councils in, 159. - Outer, folkmote in, 151. - - Arbitration, intercantonal, 104. - international, 445. - - Armaments, European, 456. - - Army, active, 237. - federal, 233. - strength of, 239. - - Assembly, federal, 42, 65. - local, 158. - powers of, 71. - - Asylum, right of, 466. - - Ausser-Rhoden folkmote, 151. - - Authorities, federal, 49. - - Autonomy, cantonal, 146. - communal, 176, 186. - - Avalanches, 366. - - - B. - - Banquet, communal, 183. - - Basel admitted, 14. - division of, 141. - inheritance of property in, 218. - - Battle of Marignano, 14. - of Morat, 13. - of Morgarten, 11. - of Sempach, 13. - - Beef, dried, 345. - - Bern, 411. - aristocracy of, 423. - codes in, 216. - joins the league, 13. - life in, 423. - name of, 413. - places of interest in, 420. - surroundings of, 425. - - Bills of rights, 57. - - Bise, 23. - - Boundaries, 20. - - Breeds of cattle, 311. - - Brunnen, league of, 11. - - Bundesbrief, 473, 477. - - Bundesgericht, 104. - See _Federal Tribunal_. - - Bundespräsident, 88, 97. - - Bundesrath, 85. - See _Federal Council_. - - Bundesstaat defined, 36. - established, 42. - - Bundesversammlung, 42, 65. - - Bürgergemeinde, 180. - - - C. - - Cæsar and the Helvetians, 9. - - Calvin, character of, 30. - - Calvinism in Geneva, 29. - - Cantonal affairs, federal intervention in, 129. - citizenship, 199. - coinage, 123. - conservatism, 160, 164. - constitutions, 134, 146. - courts, 136. - customs, 160, 164. - differences, 104. - individuality, 144. - institutions, 146. - judges, 136. - land laws, 215. - officials, 141. - revenues, 141. - rights, 60, 146. - sovereignty, 45, 130, 147. - standards, 143. - - Cantons and half-cantons, 141. - area and population of, 469. - Catholic, 18, 29. - chief magistracy of, 133. - coercion of, 90. - eight old, 13. - elections in, 131. - entry of, into confederation, 471. - forest, 12, 13. - history of, 123. - legislation in, 131. - present status of, 125. - Protestant, 29. - relations of, to the communes, 188. - representation in, 131. - sovereignty of, 45, 130, 147. - status of, 38. - - Capital punishment, 48, 51, 139. - - Cassation, courts of, 136. - tribunal of, 112. - - Cataracts, 370. - - Catholic cantons, 18, 29. - - Celtic ancestry, 9. - - Census of 1888, 24, 466. - - Cereals, 306. - - Chalets, 329, 332. - - Chamber, criminal, 112. - of accusation, 112. - - Chamois, 337. - - Chancellery, federal, 49. - - Character of the peasants, 351. - - Chaux-de-Fonds, altitude of, 25. - - Cheese, 315. - - Citizenship, 47. - acquirement of, 178, 200. - American, 193. - ancient Swiss, 191. - cantonal, 199. - communal, 177, 187, 193. - defined, 192, 195. - exit from, 203. - history of, 191. - instruction in its duties, 189. - nature of, 202. - renunciation of, 204. - rights and duties of, 127, 134. - state, defined, 196. - Swiss, 198. - - Climate, 21. - - Codes, cantonal, 215. - - Coercion of cantons, 90. - - Coinage, old cantonal, 123. - - Colonial extension, 457. - - Commerce, 299. - - Commercial courts, 136. - restrictions, 46. - - Common lands, 181. - - Communal assembly, 186. - citizenship, 177, 187, 193. - membership, 177. - by purchase, 178. - officers, 186. - paupers, 188. - relations to the cantons, 188. - rights, 177. - schools, 266. - - Commune defined, 174, 176. - d’origine, 177. - history of, 175. - origin of, 189. - powers of, 186. - - Communes and communities, 135. - area of, 180. - des bourgeois, 180. - des habitants, 180. - double, 180. - local, 150. - national, 150. - population of, 180. - property of, 181, 183. - - Composite state, 42. - - Concert, European, 456. - - Confederation and federation, 37. - Helvetic, 40. - powers of, 45. - reform of, 43. - - Congress of Vienna, 40. - - Conservatism, cantonal, 160, 164. - in government, 62. - - Conservative party, 83. - - Constitution, amendments of, 50, 51. - compared with that of the United States, 54, 56, 59, 63. - nature of, 61. - of 1874, 43. - Swiss, 34. - text of, 44. - - Constitutions, cantonal, 131, 134, 146. - - Convention of 1848, 42. - - Convention of Geneva, 433. - - Copyright, international, 439. - - Corruption, absence of, 81. - - Costumes, 349. - - Council, blood, 159. - communal, 186. - federal, 76, 85. See _Federal Council_. - great, 158, 159. - in Appenzell-interior, 159. - in Unterwald-lower, 159. - national, 65, 66, 68. - of states, 65, 69. - triple, 158. - - Councils, greater, 132. - lesser, 133. - - Courts, cantonal, 136. - commercial, 136. - district, 136, 137. - federal, 111. - of cassation, 136. - supreme, 137. - See also _Federal Tribunal_. - - Courtship, primitive, 347. - - Covenant, original, 12, 473. - - Cows, Swiss, 310, 336. - - Cretinism, 429. - - Criminal courts, 112. - - Criminals, extradition of, 130. - - Curriculum in schools, 267, 268. - - Custom in cantonal business, 160, 164. - - - D. - - Dairy products, 309. - - Decapitation, 141. - - Defensive preparations, 465. - - Democracy, early, 12, 148, 151. - - Department, political, 100. - - Departments, executive, 97. - governmental, 49. - - Dependent classes, 188. - - Dialects, Swiss, 24. - - Diet, general, 39. - - Differences among cantons, 104. - - District courts, 136, 137. - - Dogs, St. Bernard, 27. - Swiss, 422. - - Dried beef, 345. - - Duties on imports and exports, 46. - - - E. - - Écoles des recrues, 236. - - Edelweiss, 371. - - Education, 253. See _Schools_. - military, 236, 238. - religious, 260. - scope of, 278. - - Eidgenossen, 14. - - Eight old cantons, 13. - - Einsiedeln, 27. - - Einwohnergemeinde, 180. - - Elections, 67, 70, 81. - in Ausser-Rhoden, 153. - - Engineering feats, 320. - - Estate in lands, 210, 211. - - European concert, 459. - situation, 450. - - Executive department, 49, 85. - departments, 97. - - Expatriation, right of, 207. - - Exports and imports, 304. - - - F. - - Farms of peasants, 307, 325. - - Federal army, 233. - assembly, 42, 49, 65. - powers of, 71. - authorities, 49. - chancellery, 49. - council, 49, 76, 85. - appeals from, to the assembly, 114. - authority of, 91. - business of, 97. - departments of, 97. - duties of, 88, 90, 96. - election of, 71, 93, 101. - eligibility to, 92, 94. - history of, 94. - judicial powers of, 90. - meetings of, 97. - membership of, 87. - _personnel_ of, 102. - powers of, 91. - salaries of, 96. - tenure of members of, 94, 95. - triennial renewal of, 95. - workings of, 101, 103. - pact, 17. - tribunal, 49, 104. - appeals to, 109. - compared with the Supreme Court of the United States, 115. - defects of, in practice, 120. - election to, 106, 114. - history of, 104. - limited powers of, 114, 115. - membership of, 106, 109. - origin of, 104. - powers of, 106, 114, 115. - seat of, 114. - - Federalism, growth of, 145. - tendency of, 62. - - Federation and Confederation, 37. - - Feudal Helvetia, 10. - - Feudalism, end of, 211. - - Firn, 365. - - First inhabitants, 9. - - Flora, native, 372. - - Föhn, 23. - - Folkmote, 149. - of Ausser-Rhoden, 151. - - Foreign affairs, 100. - policy, 452. - - Forest cantons, 12. - - Forestry, 291. - - Forests, 372. - - Fountains, 417. - - France and Germany, 458. - - Frankish supremacy, 10. - - Freedom of conscience, 47, 54, 56. - of trade, 46. - - Freiburg admitted, 13. - - Fremden-industrie, 323. - - French-speaking Swiss, 24. - supremacy, 15. - - Friendly remonstrances, intercantonal, 104. - - Funeral customs, 349. - - - G. - - Gauls, early, 9. - - Gemeinde-trinket, 183. - - General diet, 39. - - Geneva admitted, 17. - and its lake, 378. - Calvin in, 29. - code Napoleon in, 220. - convention, 433. - - Geography of Switzerland, 19. - - German cantons, testamentary powers in, 220. - empire, relations to, 14. - -speaking Swiss, 24. - - Germany and France, 458. - - Glaciers, 359. - - Glarus and Uri, boundary between, 143. - constitution of, 157. - joins the league, 13. - landsgemeinde in, 157. - - Goitre, 428. - - Government, coördinate branches of, 122. - principles of, 61. - - Grass crops, 315. - - Great council, 158. - powers, the, 455, 459. - - Grisons admitted, 16. - - Guides, 374. - - Guilds, history of, 178. - - Gymnasia, 267. - - - H. - - Half-cantons, 141. - - Handelsgerichte, 136. - - Hapsburg protection, 11. - - Hay-making in the Alps, 326. - - Health resorts, 375. - - Helvetians, ancient, 9, 10. - - Helvetic confederation, 40. - republic, 15. - union, origin of, 12. - - Herdsman’s life, 337. - - History of constitutions, 38. - - Holy Alliance, Switzerland in the, 18. - - Homeless persons, 49. - - Hospice of St. Bernard, 26. - - Houses, legislative, 65, 69, 73. - - - I. - - Ideals, national, 410. - - Independence of cantons, 38. - - Individual rights, 57. - - Individuality, cantonal, 144. - - Industrial schools, 277. - - Industry, 299. - - Influence on European affairs, 453. - - Inheritance of property, 209. - - Initiative, popular, 171, 173. - - Inquest, judges of, 112. - - Intercantonal affairs, 125. - judicial relations, 138. - - International arbitration, 445. - copyright, 437. - labor congress, 448. - law, 448. - unions, 430. - - Introduction, 9. - - Isotherms, 22. - - Italian element, 25. - - - J. - - Jesuits expelled, 31, 48. - - Judges, cantonal, 136. - federal, 109. - of inquest, 112. - their relations to juries, 138. - - Judicial department, 49. See _Federal Tribunal_. - powers, limitations of, 121. - torture, 140. - - Judiciary, cantonal, 136. - - Juf, altitude of, 25. - - Juries in cantonal courts, 138. - - Jury, functions of, 138. - in federal assizes, 112. - - Justice, 136. See _Courts_. - - - K. - - Kuhreihen, 340. - - - L. - - Labor congress, international, 448. - - Ladin, 345. - - Lake-dwellers, prehistoric, 315. - - Lakes, 378. - - Land laws, 209, 212. - cantonal, 215. - - Land, ownership of, 209. - by peasants, 222. - communal, 181. - subdivision of, 222. - - Landammann, re-election of, 160. - - Landammann’s oath, 154. - - Landrath, 157. - - Lands in common, 181. - - Landsgemeinde, 70, 148, 149, 152. - at Altdorf, in Uri, 155. - at Trogen, 151. - functions of, 157. - history of, 148. - in Glarus, 157. - - Landsturm and Landwehr, 237, 239. - - Languages, census of, 470. - spoken, 24. - - Lausanne, the seat of the federal tribunal, 114. - - Law, administrative, 90. - international, 448. - - Laws, cantonal, 130. - summarized, 135. - - Leases of land, 213, 216. - - Legislation, federal, 48, 52. - harmonization of, 131. - initiation of, 73, 76, 89. - - Legislative bodies, _personnel_ of, 79. - sessions of, 78. - department, 49. - houses, 65, 69, 73. - tyranny, 58. - - Legislators, oath of, 79. - - Legislatures, cantonal, 131, 132. - - Legitima portio, 221. - - Letter of alliance, 473, 477. - - Lion of Luzern, 230. - - Liquor traffic, regulation of, 52. - - Literary property, protection of, 437. - - Local assembly, 158. - - Localism and nationalism, 60. - - Love of country, 33. - - Lunéville, treaty of, 16. - - Luzern, becomes a canton, 12. - lake of, 381. - - - M. - - Manufactures, 302. - - Marignano, battle of, 14. - - Marriage customs in Ticino, 346. - laws, 53. - - Material progress, 387. - - Mediæval nobles, 10. - - Mediation, act of, 39. - - Mediatorsbip of Napoleon, 16. - - Meinrad, St., 27, 28. - - Mer de Glace, 364. - - Metric standards, 470. - - Militarism, dangers of, 460. - - Military education, 236, 238. - service, 226, 233, 236. - status, Swiss, 464. - tax, 243. - topography, 451. - - Militia, 237, 239, 249. - - Mineral springs, 375. - - Money, 469. - old cantonal, 123. - - Monks of St. Bernard, 26. - - Moraines, 365. - - Morat, battle of, 13. - - Morgarten, battle of, 11. - - Mountaineering, 373. - - Mountains, 20, 354. - their effect on character, 32. - - Mythenstein, 398. - - - N. - - Name of Switzerland, 19. - - Napoleon’s influence in Switzerland, 16, 39. - - Napoleon’s mediatorship, 16. - - National communes, 150. - Council, 65, 66, 68. - languages, 49. - - Nationalism and localism, 60. - growth of, 145. - - Nationalities of Switzerland, 24. - - Natural beauties, 353. - features of the country, 20. - - Naturalization, 200. - defined, 207. - in the United States, 204, 208. - - Neuchâtel admitted, 17. - history of, 17. - - Névé, 364. - - Nobles, mediæval, 10. - - Normal schools, 265. - - - O. - - Oath of landammann, Appenzell, 154. - nature of, 154. - - Obergericht, 136. - - Office, tenure of, 80. - - Officers, military, 241. - - Officials, cantonal, 141. - - Old cantons, 12, 13. - Catholic party, 31. - - Original inhabitants, 9. - pact, 12, 473, 477. - - Orography of the country, 20, 21, 354. - - Ownership of common lands, 181. - - - P. - - Pact, federal, 17. - original, 12, 473. - - Parliaments, peasant, 151. - - Parties, political, 83. - - Pastoral life, 335. - - Pastures, Alpine, 313. - - Patois, 345. - - Patriotism, 32, 33. - - Pauperism, 188. - - Pay of soldiers, 241. - - Peace of Aarau, 14. - - Peasant home and life, 324, 344. - - Peasant parliaments, 151. - proprietorship, 222. - - Pensions, 242. - - People, character of, 31. - patriotism of, 32, 33. - - Personal rights, 57. - - Pestalozzi, educational work of, 255. - - Petite culture, 325. - - Physical geography, 20. - - Policy, foreign, 452. - - Political department, 100. - parties, 83. - - Polytechnic school, 270. - - Popular initiative, 171, 173. - sovereignty, 168, 174. - vote. See _Referendum_. - - Population, 469. - - Postal union, 435. - - Powers, the great, 455, 459. - - Prehistoric remains, 383. - - Presidency, American, compared with the Swiss executive, 86. - - President of confederation, 88, 97. - - Presidents of legislative bodies, 66, 67, 69, 71, 73. - - Principles of government, 61. - - Procureur-général, 112. - - Progressive spirit, 387. - - Property, communal, 181, 183. - - Propitiator, 137. - - Proprietorship in lands, 211. - - Protection of literary property, 437. - - Protestant and Catholic parties, 18. - cantons, 29. - Reformation, 28. - - Provisions, temporary constitutional, 50. - - Prussian supremacy in Neuchâtel, 17. - - Public life, training for, 95. - - Punishment in schools, 262. - - Punishments, 48. - unusual, 170. - - - R. - - Rack for prisoners, 139. - - Radical party, 83. - - Railways, 317. - - Ranz des Vaches, 340. - - Rath, 157. - - Realschulen, 293, 295. - - Red cross flag, 433. - - Referendum, 74, 77. - benefits of, 169. - cantonal, 172. - compulsory, 172. - defined, 164. - functions of, 165. - history of, 171. - nature of, 50, 56. - optional, 172. - principle of, 171. - veto by, 167, 169. - - Reform, federal, 19. - - Reformation, 28. - - Religion in schools, 260. - - Religious controversies, 18. - differences, 25. - freedom, 47, 54, 56. - statistics, 470. - - Remonstrances, friendly, 104. - - Representation, 68. - in cantons, 131. - - Republic, Helvetic, 15. - - Rhetians, 9. - - Rhone, the, 379. - - Right of asylum, 466. - - Rights, cantonal, 146. - communal, 177. - - Rigi, 382. - - Rivers of Switzerland, 20. - - Roads, 323. - - Romansch language, 345. - - Rütli, story of, 393. - - - S. - - St. Bernard, monks of, 26. - - St. Gallen admitted, 16. - inheritance of property in, 218. - - St. Gothard tunnel, 318. - - Salvation army, 55. - - Scenery, 353, 384. - - Schaffhausen admitted, 14. - - School-houses, 262. - - Schools, 253. - agricultural, 289. - communal, 266. - grades in, 267. - industrial, 277. - art, 286. - manual training in, 282, 296. - military, 238. - normal, 265. - punishment in, 262. - religion in, 260. - straw-platting, 287. - technical, 277. - trade, 285, 288. - - Schützenfest, 249. - - Schwyz, an original canton, 12. - - Scrutin de liste, 68. - des arrondissements, 68. - - Sempach, battle of, 13. - - Shepherd’s life, 337. - - Silk industry, 302. - - Situation, the European, 450. - - Small nationalities, character of, 453. - - Soldiers, pay of, 241. - - Solothurn admitted, 13. - - Sonderbund, 18. - - Sorcery, execution for, 139. - - Sovereignty, cantonal, 45, 147. - popular, 168, 174. - - Staatenbund defined, 36. - - Standards, cantonal, 143. - - Ständerath, 65, 69. - - Stantz, treaty of, 13. - - State, the composite, 42. - - States, council of, 65, 69. - -attorney, 112. - - Statistics, 469. - - Statutory enactments, 52. - - Staubbach, 370. - - Suabian war, 14. - - Supreme Court of the United States compared with - the Swiss federal tribunal, 115-122. - - Swineherds, 339. - - Swiss foreign influence, 452. - mercenaries, 257. - valor, 230, 251. - - - T. - - Tagsatzung, 40. - - Tagwen in Glarus, 158. - - Tax, military, 243. - - Technical schools, 277. - - Telegraph union, international, 435. - - Tell, William, 391. - the national hero, 407. - - Tell’s story, legends parallel to, 401. - - Temporary constitutional provisions, 50. - - Tenant, rights and responsibilities of, 213. - - Testamentary powers, 209. - - Thirty Years’ War, 14. - - Thurgau admitted, 16. - - Ticino admitted, 16. - marriage customs in, 346. - - Topography, military, 451. - - Torture, judicial, 140. - - Tourmentes, 385. - - Tours de scrutin, 68. - - Training of officials, 95. - - Treaty of Lunéville, 16. - of Stantz, 13. - - Trial by jury, 138. See also _Jury_. - - Tribunal, federal, 104. See _Federal Tribunal_. - - Triple council, 158. - - Trogen, folkmote at, 151. - - Troops, cantonal, 234. - federal, 233. - - Tyranny of legislatures, 58. - - - U. - - Union, postal, 435. - telegraph, 435. - - Unions, international, 430. - - Universities, 269. - - Unterwalden, division of, 141. - - Uri, an original canton, 12. - and Glarus boundary, 143. - folkmote in, 155. - - - V. - - Valais admitted, 17. - peasantry, 350. - - Vaud admitted, 16. - land laws in, 217. - - Veto, popular, 167, 169. - - Vice-President, 66. - succession of, to the Presidency, 100. - - Vienna, Congress of, 40. - - Vierwaldstätten, 13. - - Vineyards, 307. - - Vorort, 37, 41. - - Vote, popular. See _Referendum_. - - - W. - - Waldstätten, 12. - - War, Suabian, 14. - Thirty Years’, 14. - - Watchmaking, 303. - - Waterfalls, 370. - - Wedding customs, 370. - - Weights, 469. - - Winds, 23. - - Winkelried, story of, 404. - - Witch-burning, 139. - - Witenagemote, 149. - - Woman’s lot, 343. - - Women, courage of, 251. - - - Y. - - Yodel, 341. - - - Z. - - Zug joins the league, 13. - - Zurich joins the league, 13. - testamentary powers in, 219. - - Zwingli, 28. - - -THE END. - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] Müller, “Histoire des Suisses.” - -[2] “History of the Helvetic Confederation,” Lausanne, 1650. - -[3] See Appendix for original Pact and translation. - -[4] A federal executive officer resembling the French consul. - -[5] The history of Switzerland affords frequent instances of mutual -succors for these purposes. - -[6] After this battle Francis stamped on his medals, “_Vici ab uno -Cæsare victos_” (“I vanquished those whom Cæsar alone had before -vanquished”). - -[7] It was only in 1857 that the anomalous condition of Neuchâtel -ceased. The rights of the kings of Prussia as sovereigns date back -to the cession made of it in 1707 by William of Orange to his cousin -Frederick, first King of Prussia. In 1806 it was granted as a -principality to Marshal Berthier, and so recognized by all the powers -of Continental Europe. The Congress of Vienna restored it to the King -of Prussia, making it, however, a Canton of the Helvetian Republic. -In 1848 a revolution forcibly overturned the authority of the King of -Prussia, and it so remained, in apparent conflict to what had been -formally recognized by all the Great Powers, until 1857, when a treaty -was signed between Austria, France, Prussia, Russia, Great Britain, and -Switzerland, by which it was made independent, to continue to form a -part of the Swiss Confederation, by the same title as the other Cantons. - -[8] Rufus Choate. - -[9] Book xxi., ch. 31. - -[10] The dog Barry, one day, found a little child in a half-frozen -state; he began directly to lick him, and having succeeded first in -restoring animation, and next in the complete resuscitation of the boy, -he induced the child by his caresses to tie himself on his back. When -this was effected, he carried the poor child, as if in triumph, to the -hospice. The body of Barry was stuffed and placed in the museum at -Bern, and may be seen there, with the little vial still hanging to his -neck in which he carried a reviving drink for the perishing traveller. - -[11] Zwingli lost his life in 1531 in the battle of Cappel; though he -fell under another banner than that of the Prince of Peace, he was -acting in obedience to the law of the republic, and accompanied the -army by the express command of the magistrates. He is represented as a -man of great meekness and moderation and charity, and, amidst all the -disputes, was a constant advocate for peace and reconciliation. - -[12] A hair-dresser of Geneva was imprisoned for arranging a bride’s -hair with too much attention to vanity; and a woman was beaten for -singing secular words to a psalm-tune; men were imprisoned for reading -what were considered profane books, and children beheaded for striking -a parent. - -[13] The old curator of the Bern Museum would say to the visitors, -pointing to the portrait of Voltaire, “There is the portrait of the -famous M. de Voltaire, who dared to write AGAINST THE REPUBLIC and -against God.” - -[14] Professor Fiske. - -[15] These words, it may be remarked, are from the same root, _ligo_, -to bind. - -[16] Agreements to furnish soldiers to foreign countries. - -[17] There are many provisions regulating the rights of citizens and -electors, Cantonal and Communal, which are given in Chapters 6 and 9, -and “Chapter on Citizenship.” - -[18] It reads in the French text, “From his natural judge,” the natural -or constitutional judge being the one provided by the terms of the -judicial Constitution, and as contradistinguished from an exceptional -Court created after the appearance of the case to be adjudged. - -[19] See amendment of December, 1887. - -[20] See amendment of June, 1879. - -[21] Homeless persons, _Heimathlosen_. These comprise not only -foreigners who have lost their nationality of origin without having -obtained another, but also natives who are not members of any Swiss -Commune. - -[22] The Constitutional provisions relating to these are fully given in -chapters severally devoted to these Departments. - -[23] The Constitution is officially published in _Romansch_ and -_Ladin_, in addition to the three “national languages.” - -[24] That the Constitution-making and amending power should be vested -in a bare majority of the voting citizens, coupled with a majority -of the Cantons, is considered by some as wanting in that solidity -and security which are the most vital attributes of a fundamental -law. But none of the enactments contained in the Swiss Constitution -can be legally abolished or modified without the employment of the -_Referendum_. And no law which revises the Constitution, either -wholly or in part, can come into force until it has been regularly -submitted by means of the _Referendum_ to the vote of the people, and -has been approved by a majority of the citizens who on the particular -occasion gave their votes, and also by a majority of the Cantons. -It is also provided, that under certain circumstances a vote of the -people shall be taken not only on the question, whether a particular -amendment or revision approved by the Federal Assembly shall or shall -not come into force, but also on the preliminary question whether any -revision or reform of the Constitution shall take place at all. And the -_Referendum_ in all such cases, in the language of the Constitution, is -“obligatory.” The self-imposed checks of the Constitution of the United -States, in this respect of amendment, have been described as “obstacles -in the way of the people’s whims, not of their wills.” The system -of the Initiative for the Swiss constitutional revision (by 50,000 -citizens), though modelled upon one of the alternative methods by which -amendments to the United States Constitution may be proposed, contains -one significant modification of it; the people in the former appear in -their national character and independent of state lines; the same holds -true of the ratification of amendments. - -[25] In 1480 fifteen hundred executions took place in Switzerland. - -[26] By a Federal law to carry out this amendment, the distilled -liquors are sold for cash by the Confederation in _minimum_ quantity -of a hundred and fifty _litres_ (0.88 quart), and the price to be -fixed from time to time by the Federal Council; but it shall never be -less than one hundred and twenty francs nor more than one hundred and -fifty francs per _hectolitre_ (twenty-two gallons) of pure alcohol. -Denaturalized spirits to be sold at cost price for technical and -household use. - -[27] The Swiss Constitution contains 7700 words and 127 articles -(including temporary provisions); that of the United States, 5300 -words, divided into 37 sections. - -[28] “American Historical Association,” vol. i., p. 37. Professor Scott. - -[29] It was the original purpose of the writer to include, as an -appendix to this volume, a translation of the Swiss Constitution; -a faithful search having failed to discover any publication of it -in English. But having ascertained that during the current year two -such translations had appeared, one by Professor Edmund J. James, -University of Pennsylvania, the other by Professor Albert Bushnell -Hart, of Harvard, copies were obtained, and found to meet, in a most -satisfactory and excellent manner, every possible demand for such a -work. However, every important provision, and, in fact, almost the -complete text of the Constitution, appears in the copious citations -from it in the chapters on the Federal Departments, Cantons, Communes, -and the Army. - -[30] John Adams, Works, iv., p. 186. - -[31] Previous to 1874 the members received only twelve francs a day. - -[32] Woodrow Wilson, “The State.” - -[33] Federal legislation may confer upon the Assembly the election or -confirmation of other federal officials. - -[34] This power was exercised in connection with the Neuchâtel -revolution of 1856, the Royalist prisoners and deserters being -amnestied in 1857. - -[35] In 1874 it was fixed by a federal law that the Assembly should -convene on the first Monday in June for the first, and on the first -Monday in December for the second portion of the regular annual session. - -[36] The remuneration of these officials in 1848, when the system was -inaugurated, was much smaller; the President receiving only 6000 francs -a year and each of the other members 5000 francs. - -[37] This election occurs during December of each year on a day agreed -upon by the Assembly. - -[38] Although the Assembly cannot exactly turn out the members of the -federal executive during their term of office, it enjoys such extensive -power of supervision and control over their acts, and, in fact, -exercises so large a part of what is called executive discretion, that -it can practically have very little reason for desiring to remove them. - -[39] “All such laws are adopted by the people, either tacitly or -through the _referendum_; and the judiciary must submit their judgment -on constitutional questions to the will of the people.”--Dubs, “Das -Oeffentliche Recht der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft.” - -[40] Marbury vs. Madison, 1 Cranch, 137. Mr. Madison disregarded the -_obiter_ opinion of the court, and Mr. Jefferson treated it with -contempt. “The federal judges,” he said, “declared that commissions -signed and sealed by the President were valid, though not delivered. -I deemed delivery essential to complete a deed, which as long as it -remains in the hands of the party is as yet no deed. It is _in posse_ -only but not _in esse_, and I withheld delivery of the commissions.” -(Letter to Judge Roane, September 6, 1819. Works, vol. vii. p. 135.) - -[41] “Political Science Quarterly,” June, 1890. C. B. Elliott. - -[42] See also Professor Bryce, “American Commonwealth,” i. p. 237. - -[43] Kent’s Commentaries, i. p. 453. - -[44] Burke. - -[45] A common standard of weights and measures was adopted in 1835, but -the question of the coinage remained unsettled until 1848. - -[46] It was customary, formerly, to deduct from five to ten per cent. -from all property going out of the Canton by inheritance or marriage. -It was also usual, when a person wished to sell land, to recognize a -right in his relatives, or even neighbors, or fellow-citizens of the -Canton, to take the property at an arbitrated value. - -[47] Communities include school, church, and political territorial -divisions, and only the latter are designated as Communes. - -[48] Repealed in 1879, relegating it to the discretion of the Cantons -except as to “political offences.” Since then eight of the Cantons have -re-established capital punishment in their codes. They are the small -Cantons, and represent only twenty per cent. of the Swiss population. -No execution, however, has taken place in any of these Cantons since -1879; two sentences of death have been passed, but in both cases they -were commuted to imprisonment for life. - -[49] Professor Dicey, “Law of the Constitution.” - -[50] These horns are made to imitate the human voice, and have a most -mournful bellow. - -[51] This is done to secure religious equality and to provide for the -representation of the Catholic population in the Communes in which they -are in the minority. - -[52] _Et in corruptissima republica plurimæ leges._--Tacitus. - -[53] Professor Dicey. - -[54] Numa Droz. - -[55] See chapter on citizenship. - -[56] Thomas Jefferson. - -[57] See chapters on “Constitution” and “Cantons.” - -[58] This includes, also, birth abroad of children of American citizens -temporarily residing or travelling in other countries (Rev. Stat. U. -S., Sec. 1993). - -[59] “Citizenship of the United States,” Richman,--“Political Science -Quarterly,” March, 1890. - -[60] “A citizen of a State is now only a citizen of the United States -residing in that State; citizenship of the United States is the primary -citizenship; State citizenship is secondary and derivative, depending -upon citizenship of the United States.” (Slaughter-House cases, 16 -Wallace.) - -[61] The difficulty of obtaining citizenship, at one time, in the -pastoral Cantons, is shown by the fact that no one had done so in lower -Unterwald from 1664 to 1815. - -[62] The successful issue of this suit was due to the vigorous and -determined efforts of the United States consul at Zurich, George L. -Catlin. - -[63] These peasant proprietors do not live scattered amid the fields -which they till, but are disposed to gather in the centre of the -Commune, forming numerous small hamlets. - -[64] Called in the Roman law _legitima portio_, legitimate portion; but -the German law has a better designation for it,--_Pflichttheil_, duty -part. - -[65] In the district of Saffelare, a part of East Flanders, which -nature has endowed with an unproductive but easily cultivated sandy -soil, the territory is composed of 37,000 acres and has to nourish -30,000 inhabitants, all living by agriculture; and yet these peasants -not only grow their own food, but they also export agricultural -produce, and pay rents to the amount of from fifteen to twenty-five -dollars per acre. (Krapotkin, “The Forum,” August, 1890.) - -[66] In the matter of these capitulations the Cantons claimed that, -first, they never granted troops to any prince or state but by virtue -of some preceding alliance; second, they granted troops only for the -defence of the state they were given to, and not to act offensively; -third, that the sovereign never received any subsidy or other -advantages from it. The Cantons contented themselves with giving such -auxiliary troops as were stipulated by their alliance and procuring -a beneficial service for their subjects, without reserving profit to -themselves. But in spite of the contention that these mercenaries -espoused only a just quarrel, such service was a source of social no -less than of political ills, and seriously impaired, for the time, the -dignity and standing of the country. - -[67] _Primi in omnibus prœliis oculi vincuntur._--Tacitus. - -[68] Even the Cantons, from the first institution of their governments -and up to the time the Confederation assumed control of the military -service, never kept in pay any standing troops. During the wars with -the House of Austria the service was performed by militia, who were -paid by the respective Cantons while kept in the field, and dismissed -as soon as the campaign was ended. - -[69] The minimum height for a recruit in the United States army is five -feet four inches, weight one hundred and twenty-five pounds, and chest -measure thirty-two inches. - -[70] United States Revised Statutes, Sec. 1625, makes subject to -enrolment in the militia “every able-bodied male citizen of the -respective States, resident therein,” etc. - -[71] “When the citizens of Geneva were alarmed in the night [the -_Escalade_ of December 12, 1602], in the depth of winter, by the enemy, -they found their muskets sooner than their shoes.”--Rousseau. - -[72] The report of 1887 for the Canton of Bern gives 1,925,580 francs -expended on the cantonal and communal schools, not including the -university. - -[73] In July of this year (1890) a statue of Pestalozzi was dedicated -at Yverdon, on the Lake of Neuchâtel, for it was there that, after -many struggles with adversity, he founded, at the beginning of this -century, the school which was perhaps more deeply and lastingly useful -than any school that ever existed, by spreading the educational tenets -and methods of its famous master throughout Europe, and later across -to America, with contagious force. The unveiling of the monument was -accompanied with a _Cantate patriotique_ by a choir of a thousand -children. The statue represents Pestalozzi with a boy and girl whom he -is instructing by his side, and bears the simple inscription, “Henry -Pestalozzi, 1746-1827. Monument erected by general subscription 1890.” - -[74] The University of Geneva, at the close of the last century, -known as the College of Geneva, and which exerted a wide influence in -Europe, being temporarily suppressed during the revolution which had -taken place, proposed, through its faculty, the transplanting of the -college in a body to the United States. To Washington, who had in view -the devoting of a quite large amount of money to the founding, or to -the support, of institutions of learning, Jefferson wrote a letter -on February 23, 1795, in which he laid before him the plan for the -transferring of this institution to the national capital; and in the -letter Jefferson characterized the College of Geneva as one of the eyes -of Europe in matters of science, the University of Edinburgh being the -other. - -[75] Zurich has made its city forest, the _Sihl-Wald_, a great public -pleasure-ground that pays large sums annually into the city treasury, -besides yielding inestimable dividends in the shape of health and -happiness to the citizens. This forest has been owned by Zurich ever -since 1309, and has been carefully administered for centuries, and is -now managed on the most approved scientific principles by corps of -trained foresters. Last year the net profits were something over eight -dollars an acre, or a total of about twenty thousand dollars, for the -city treasury. Half the annual yield of wood is from thinnings alone. -In the economic treatment of the forest, its value as a pleasure-ground -is not forgotten; the landscape is preserved unharmed, and the place -made thoroughly and pleasantly accessible. - -[76] Early in the seventeenth century a king of Spain came to see a -clock which had been made by Jacques Droz, who resided at Locle, and -whose automatons were much noted. Upon the clock there were seated -a shepherd, a negro, and a dog. As the hour was struck the shepherd -played upon his flute, and the dog fondled gently at his feet. But when -the king reached forth to touch an apple that hung from a tree under -which the shepherd rested, the dog flew at him and barked so furiously -that a live dog in the street answered him. One of the courtiers of the -king ventured to ask the negro, in Spanish, what time it was. There was -no reply, but when the question was repeated in French, an answer was -given. All of them at once voted that the clock was the work of an evil -one. - -[77] It is estimated that 200 francs’ worth of steel will make 525,000 -francs’ worth of common watch-springs. - -[78] On the new federal palace at Bern, in progress of construction in -1890, men were employed to act as turnspits, in immense wheels, for -elevating the large blocks of stone. - -[79] Adams and Cunningham, “The Swiss Confederation.” - -[80] The _Fête des Vignerons_, which occurs once in fifteen years -at one of the villages on the Lake of Geneva, is the most brilliant -festival held in Switzerland, and is accompanied with all the light, -joyous mirth of the ancient Bacchanalian festivals. It is graphically -described in Cooper’s “Headsman.” - -[81] The word _Alp_ is a provincialism, and means an elevated pasture, -and hence the name of the mountains on which the pastures exist. - -[82] Liquid manure fills an important part in the economy of Swiss -husbandry, under the name of _Jouche_ or _Mist-Wasser_ in the German -Cantons, and of _Lisier_ in the French Cantons. They collect in large -casks the drainage of their manure-piles, stables, and hog-pens, and -bring it in carts to the fields, where it is drawn off into wooden tubs -fitted to the shoulders of men, and sometimes of women, who, walking -along the furrows, distribute it in due proportion to each plant, by -stooping to the right and left, the coffee-colored nectar pouring over -their heads. It would be impossible to perform an uncleanly task in a -more delicate manner. - -[83] The great projector did not live to see the accomplishment of his -grand work. - -[84] The construction of the St. Gothard railway stopped this indemnity. - -[85] A report, made in connection with the Swiss National Exhibition -of 1883, calculated that up to 1880, 1002 inns had been built for the -special use of travellers, and that they contained 58,137 beds, an -average of 58 apiece. The capital value of the land, buildings, and -furniture belonging to these was estimated at 320,000,000 francs; the -gross profits on which were 53,000,000 francs, or seventeen per cent.; -this was reduced by deduction of working expenses to 16,000,000 francs, -or five per cent. Of these 1002 inns no fewer than 283 are situated in -positions above three thousand four hundred feet, and 14 are actually -above six thousand five hundred and sixty-two feet in elevation. - -Switzerland only became a “play-ground” within the last century. The -first English guide-book appeared in 1818, by Daniel Wall, of London. -The first of any kind was published in 1684, by Wagner, a Zurich -naturalist, and called “_Index Memorabilium Helvetiæ_.” - -[86] Ruskin. - -[87] When these storms break upon the mountain, be it night or day, the -bells of the village churches are vigorously rung to exorcise the evil -one, and bring the pious villagers on their knees in prayer. - -[88] These are made of maple, linden, and pine by the shepherds -themselves, who bestow much time on their manufacture. The ladles are -made in the shape of shells. The milk-strainer, the measures, and the -milk-hods are all elegantly shaped and very clean. - -[89] The chamois is a small species of antelope, somewhat resembling a -goat. Its hoofs are remarkably cloven, with a protruding border, which -enables it to climb almost perpendicular declivities. Its muscular -power is great: it can leap chasms twenty feet wide, and jump down -rocks the same distance to platforms with only just room enough for its -four hoofs. In the autumn, when strongest and fattest, it is black, in -the early spring gray, and in the summer red. - -[90] It measures four and one-half feet in length and nine to ten feet -from wing to wing extended, weighs as much as twenty pounds, and is of -a rusty brown color. It is a fierce enemy of sheep, goats, dogs, hares, -etc., and has been known to carry off young children. - -[91] The Swiss infant is bandaged into a large piece of cloth,--to -be kept straight, it is explained,--and resembles a pappoose. In the -country churches can be seen old paintings of the Virgin holding the -infant Christ swathed in just the same manner. - -[92] A French writer, Picot, went so far as to say of the peasants of -Valais: “The Valaisans, far from desiring to attract attention from the -world, are jealous of their obscurity, of their ignorance, and even of -their poverty, which they believe essential to their happiness.” Many -localities have their written existence in song or story. The words of -the Vaudois poet, Juste Olivier, “_Vivons de notre vie_,” have sunk -into the hearts of a number of writers who, under their own public -alone, are cherishing and seeking to reproduce the life about them, -dwelling especially upon those local and traditional phases which they -feel daily to be giving way before the march of progress. - -[93] The winds, refrigerated in their passage over fields of ice and -snow, meet there a warm aerial current coming from the plains of Italy. - -[94] Longfellow’s “Hyperion.” - -[95] Virgil. - -[96] The Rhone is made to serve useful as well as æsthetic purposes; -the great water-power of this river has been utilized by diverting that -part passing on the left of the island into a canal, which conducts the -water into a building containing twenty turbines, with four thousand -four hundred net horse-power; this power is utilized in a variety of -ways, from running sewing-machines to supplying power for an electric -light plant; it is an enterprise very profitable to the municipality of -Geneva. - -[97] See Chapter on “Constitution.” - -[98] In the Canton of Vaud, a short distance back from the lake is -_Avanche_ or _Avanches_, the ancient capital of Helvetia; near this -place the Helvetians were defeated by one of Vitellius’s lieutenants, -and “many thousand were slain and many sold as slaves, and after -committing great ravages the army marched in order of battle to -_Aventicum_, the capital of the country.” (Tacitus.) - -[99] The first steamer on a Swiss lake was the “Guillaume Tell,” in -1823, on the Lake of Geneva. - -[100] Whirlwinds of snow, or _tourmentes_ (known in the Grisons), are -tossed aloft by the gale, like the sandy vortices of Africa formed by -the simoom; they are dangerous by blinding the traveller and effacing -the track. - -[101] On this passage of Helvetian history, there is a poem of -exquisite beauty, by Mrs. Hemans, the “Record of Woman:” - - “Werner sat beneath the linden tree, - That sent its lulling whispers through his door, - Even as man sits, whose heart alone would be - With some deep care, and thus can find no more - The accustomed joy in all which evening brings, - Gathering a household with her quiet wings.” - - -[102] This place is evidently a fragment, some seventy-five or one -hundred acres, that has fallen from the mountain, and, lying between -the lake and the rocks, it offered a good point of rendezvous. - -[103] It is a curious fact that Schiller made Franz, the hero of his -“Robbers,” say, “In order to become a finished rascal one must have a -certain national bent; he must live in a certain climate and breathe a -certain rascally atmosphere; so I advise you to go into the Grisons, -for that is, in these days, the Athens of pickpockets.” Schiller -was obliged to apologize, the Council of the Leagues threatening to -withhold the money they had promised to lend the Duke of Wurtemberg if -the offending poet was not punished; he also received an order “never -to write more of the same.” - -[104] In 1796 there appeared in New York an opera in three acts, -adapted by William Dunlap from a dramatic performance published in -London in 1794, called “Helvetic Liberty.” - -[105] A rude weapon much used by the early Swiss, consisting of a club -ending in a massive knob, with spikes protruding in every direction so -as to suggest the name of “morning star.” - -[106] Although it is alleged that five similar feats to Winkelried’s -are on record in Swiss history, only one is recognized and commemorated -by the Swiss. In the village square of Stantz is a marble group -representing Arnold Winkelried in the act of pressing the Austrian -spears into his heart and holding them down, while a second figure -pushes forward to take advantage of the gap. - -[107] The Æneid, vi. 660. - -[108] At the art exhibition held in Bern this year (1890) there were -forty plaster models of statues of William Tell competing for the -one it is proposed to erect at Altdorf, 150,000 francs having been -appropriated for that purpose. - -[109] Lamartine. - -[110] The Aar is perhaps the most interesting water system in -Switzerland, especially if we include its great tributaries, the -Reuss and the Limmat. Rising among the metamorphic wilds of the -Finsteraarhorn, thundering through the granitic dikes of the Grimsel, -breaking its way to the Handeck, and plunging in mad career over the -falls, it dashes on to the clear profound of Brienz, to the softer -beauties of Interlaken and Thun, and, after watering the fertile -table-lands of Bern, receives the sister waters of the Reuss and -Limmat, which it carries, in one dark-green flood, into the main artery -of the Rhine. - -[111] The market for fowls has one feature worthy of imitation -everywhere. In the centre of it stands a man with a miniature -guillotine, who for one centime (a fifth of a cent) will behead the -fowl, and it is done deftly and free of all bloody exposures; the -fowl is firmly held and muffled to prevent outcry, the decapitation -instantaneous, the falling of the head and bleeding concealed, and when -life is extinct and flow of blood ceases, the fowl is nicely wrapped -in paper by the executioner and replaced in the market-basket; it is -certainly a humane substitute for wringing off the neck. - -[112] Means weather-peak, and it is an established barometer in its -neighborhood. - -[113] The western wing of the Bernese Alps presents broad pyramidal -masses of a flattened character. The eastern wing exhibits a complete -contrast in its tapering obelisks and rocky minarets, in its serrated -crests and numerous horns. - -[114] _Alpenglühen_, or sunset-glow, is an exception to the general -laws governing the disappearance of the sunlight by the gradual rise -of the earth’s shadow; it is a kind of second or after-coloring in the -snowy masses, making them stand out from the dark background, though -the general light is constantly diminishing. The peaks are illuminated -till the sun is from 20° to 30° below the horizon; then the general -clearness diminishes, but on the western horizon is a clear segment -of 8° to 10°; but as the air has much less reflecting power than the -snowy mountains, the latter begin to be lighted up again. This second -lighting may be so great that the mountains appear to be actually -illuminated by the sun. - -[115] Since this was written and placed in the hands of the publishers -Congress has passed and the President approved a copyright bill, -aimed at securing reciprocal protection to American and foreign -authors in the respective countries which may comply with its -provisions. While the measure which has become a law is not entirely -satisfactory to the friends of international copyright, and must be -regarded as experimental as to its ultimate results or workings, all -of its advocates feel that it is a huge instalment of justice, and -a gratifying victory gained for the indorsement of the principle of -international copyright. In answer to an inquiry addressed to Mr. A. -R. Spofford, Librarian of Congress, as to the effect of the law on the -relation of the United States to the Bern Convention, he has kindly -made the following statement: “Under the rather uncertain (not to say -ambiguous) meaning of Sec. 13 of the Act of March 3, 1891, two things -seem to be necessary before a foreigner can be entitled to copyright -in the United States: (1) His government must be one that already -grants copyright to Americans (by law or international agreement) on -the same terms as to its own people; (2) the President must certify by -proclamation the fact just cited. - -“Whether the new law was intended to be at once applicable to the -authors of all nations who were parties to the Berne Convention of -1885-86; whether the Executive of the United States has authority now -to accede to this convention, and join the International Union under -the provisions of Article XVIII.; whether this would require the -concurrent action of the President and Senate; or, finally, whether -an act of Congress would be required (as Great Britain had to pass -an act through Parliament to make that country a party to the Berne -International Union), all these appear to me to be open questions, -owing to lack of precision in the Act of March 3, which was passed in -a crowded state of the public business, and not fully digested by a -committee, especially with regard to the Berne Convention.” - -[116] An international arbitration agreement has been drafted by the -nations of North, South, and Central America, and a copy has been sent -to each European government, extending an invitation to signify their -adherence to its provisions. The President of the Swiss Confederation -has submitted to the Federal Assembly this pan-American treaty, with a -recommendation that Switzerland accept the invitation given by the late -International American Conference. - -[117] Adams and Cunningham, “Swiss Confederation.” - -[118] Though without a sea-coast or a ship, Switzerland has recognized -rights even on the sea as a neutral nation; the treaty of Paris of 1856 -respecting neutral flags, neutral goods on vessels of belligerents, and -blockades, was also entered into by the Swiss government in the same -year. - -[119] A hide cut into shoe strings was made to surround a principality -under a bargain to buy,--_Taurino quantum possent circumdare tergo._ - -[120] The annexation of Alsace-Lorraine was really a violation of what -is the sound basis of the principle of the sacredness of nationalities; -a violation of the sacredness of self-government. - -[121] This term is employed to denote the seven nations which were -parties to the Treaty of Berlin,--viz., England, France, Germany, -Austria-Hungary, Russia, Italy, and Turkey. - - - - -Transcriber’s Notes - -Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. 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- font-size: 1.2em; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; } - - -.front {text-align: center; - max-width: 40em; - margin: auto;} - -x-ebookmaker table {width: 95%} - - -/* comment the next line for non-centered poetry */ -.poetry-container {display: flex; justify-content: center;} - -.x-ebookmaker .poetry {display: block;} - - -/* Fonts */ -.cursive {font-family: "Brush Script MT", cursive; } - -.xbig {font-size: 2em;} -.big {font-size: 1.2em;} -.small {font-size: 0.8em;} - -/* Poetry indents */ -.poetry .indent10 {text-indent: 2em;} -.poetry .indent12 {text-indent: 3em;} -.poetry .indent2 {text-indent: -2em;} -.poetry .indent20 {text-indent: 7em;} -.poetry .indent26 {text-indent: 10em;} -.poetry .indent3 {text-indent: -1.5em;} -.poetry .indent4 {text-indent: -1em;} -.poetry .indent6 {text-indent: 0em;} - -/* Illustration classes */ -.illowp100 {width: 100%;} -.illowp35 {width: 15%;} - - - </style> -</head> -<body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Swiss Republic, by Boyd Winchester</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Swiss Republic</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Boyd Winchester</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: February 7, 2023 [eBook #69971]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Andrew Sly, Krista Zaleski and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SWISS REPUBLIC ***</div> -<h1> THE<br> - - SWISS REPUBLIC.</h1> - -<p class="center p6"> BY<br> - <span class="big">BOYD WINCHESTER</span>,<br> - <span class="small"> LATE UNITED STATES MINISTER AT BERN.</span></p> - -<figure class="figcenter illowp35" id="001" style="max-width: 18.1875em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/001.png" alt=""> -</figure> - - -<p class="center p4"> PHILADELPHIA:<br> - <span class="big">J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY</span>.<br> - LONDON: 10 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN.<br> - 1891. -</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> - - <figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="map-small" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/map-small-bw.jpg" alt=""> - <figcaption class="caption"><a href="images/map-lrg.jpg">Larger image</a></figcaption> -</figure> -</div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p class="center p6"> Copyright, 1891, by <span class="smcap">J. B. Lippincott Company</span>.</p> - - -<p class="center p6"> <span class="smcap">Printed by J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia.</span> -</p> -</div> - - -<div class="front"> -<p class="center"> TO</p> - -<p class="center big"> HENRY WATTERSON</p> - -<p class="center p2"> THIS VOLUME IS INSCRIBED, AS A GRATEFUL BUT IMPERFECT TOKEN OF AN INTIMACY - OF MANY YEARS, HOPING HE WILL ACCEPT THE</p> - -<p class="center cursive xbig"> Dedication,</p> - -<p class="center p2"> WITH THE ASSURANCE THAT IT IS NOT MEANT SO MUCH TO - COMPLIMENT HIM, AS MYSELF. -</p> -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="p2 noindent"><span class="smcap">Louisville, Ky.</span>, 1890.</p> -</div> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="PREFACE">PREFACE.</h2> -</div> - - -<p>This book is based upon notes of studies and observations during four -years of diplomatic service in Switzerland, made, at the time, with -eventual publication in view. There is no attempt to treat the subjects -embraced, or rather touched upon, in any historical sequence, but, -by brief hints and random suggestions, to seize the principal and -interesting features of the country and its institutions, the people -and their characteristics.</p> - -<p>The comparative method correlated with cause or effect is used in the -chapters on the government and administration, national and cantonal. -Many familiar facts in Swiss history, and experiences had by the United -States, are introduced to show their relation to and effect upon -certain political ideas. In fact, all through the Swiss federal polity -and that of the United States run not only parallels of illustration, -but lines converging to and pointing out essential truths in popular -government.</p> - -<p>Dating from the “Eternal Covenant” of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden, -concluded in 1291, under all vicissitudes of government and -constitution,—with radical varieties of character, occupation, -religion, language, and descent,—love of liberty and a passionate -devotion to the republic have characterized the people, with “life, -liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” the great objects of -government, federal, cantonal, and communal. During this period of six -hundred years the smallest free commonwealth and the oldest federal -republic in the world presents a valuable stock of political experience.</p> - -<p>It is very difficult for a stranger to discover all that is remarkable -in any country, and perhaps as hard to treat of so<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</span> many different -subjects with such care as to omit nothing that is material. The utmost -endeavor, at least, has been used to be exact, and an effort to give -a more complete view of the modern state of the country than has yet -appeared. There is no design in the “Introduction” to write even an -historical outline; it is not necessary to the purpose of this work; -but only to relate such general facts, as to its former state, as may -serve to discover the causes which gave rise and birth to the present -Confederation.</p> - -<p>Where references to national and local laws or ordinances and leading -historical events are necessary, partial repetition has been deemed -preferable to directing the reader to previous citations.</p> - -<p>As the Swiss, in different Cantons, speak different languages with -several distinct idioms, there is necessarily a great diversity of -nomenclature; the aim has been to follow that locally prevalent, and -especially in the designation of the Cantons by their German, French, -and Italian names.</p> - -<p>The writer has had frequent recourse to the following authorities: -“The Swiss Confederation,” by Sir Francis Adams and C. D. Cunningham, -London; “The Federal Government of Switzerland,” by Bernard Moses, San -Francisco (these two books are of recent date, supplementing each other -well, and constitute the only systematic and valuable publication in -English on the constitutional history and public law of Switzerland); -Woolsey’s “Political Science,” Woodrow Wilson’s “The State,” Freeman’s -“History of Federal Government,” May’s “Democracy in Europe,” -“Encyclopædia Britannica,” Reclus’s “The Earth and its Inhabitants,” -furnish briefer but valuable accounts. Elaborate works in German -and French consulted are Bluntschli’s “Staats und Rechts Geschichte -der Schweiz,” Dubs’s “Das öffentliche Recht der schweizerischen -Eidgenossenchaft,” Droz’s “Instruction Civique,” and Magnenat’s “Abrégé -de l’Histoire de la Suisse.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS.</h2> -</div> - - -<table class="autotable"> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"></td> -<td class="tdr">PAGE</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER I. <span class="smcap">Introduction</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">9</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER II. <span class="smcap">The Federal Constitution</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">35</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER III. <span class="smcap">The Federal Assembly</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">65</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER IV. <span class="smcap">The Federal Council</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">85</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER V. <span class="smcap">The Federal Tribunal</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">104</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER VI. <span class="smcap">The Cantons</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">123</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER VII. <span class="smcap">The Landsgemeinde</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">148</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER VIII. <span class="smcap">The Referendum</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">164</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER IX. <span class="smcap">The Communes</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">174</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER X. <span class="smcap">Citizenship</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">191</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</span></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER XI. <span class="smcap">Land Law and Testamentary Power</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">209</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER XII. <span class="smcap">Military Service and Organization</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">226</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER XIII. <span class="smcap">Education</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">253</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER XIV. <span class="smcap">Technical and Industrial Schools</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">277</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER XV. <span class="smcap">Industry and Commerce</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">299</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER XVI. <span class="smcap">Peasant Home and Life</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">324</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER XVII. <span class="smcap">Natural Beauties and Attractions</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">353</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER XVIII. <span class="smcap">William Tell</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">391</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER XIX. <span class="smcap">Bern</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">411</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER XX. <span class="smcap">Switzerland the Seat of International Unions</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">430</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">CHAPTER XXI. <span class="smcap">Switzerland and the European Situation</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">450</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Population and Soil, Census, 1888</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#POP">469</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Money, Weights, Measures</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#MONEY">469</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Census of 1888</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#AREA">470</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Order and Dates of the Entry of the Twenty-two Cantons into the Confederation</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#ORDER">471</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Appendix</span></td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#APPENDIX">473</a></td> -</tr> -</table> - -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</span> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="h1" >THE SWISS REPUBLIC.</p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.<br> -<span class="small">INTRODUCTION.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>The first inhabitants of Switzerland, according to tradition, were -fugitives from Italy, who had been driven by the Gauls from the country -where now flourish the cities of Genoa and Florence, and who, 600 -<span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span>, found an asylum in the recesses and wilderness of the -valleys above which the Rhine has its source. They were known as the -Rhetians, from the name of their hero Rhetus; hence the country about -the source of the Rhine, embracing the Grisons, is even now called by -some, Rhetia. The Canton of Schwyz claims to have been peopled by the -Cimbrians, who, leaving their original habitations in Sweden, Norway, -and Friesland, conquered their way over the Rhine to the cities of the -Gauls, in the country which is now France. The people of Gaul implored -help from Rome; a strong army was sent against them, defeating and -driving them into the Helvetian mountains. Another tradition says -that they were a race of Gaulic Celts, whom some unknown accident had -guided from the borders of the Rhine and Main to those of the Lake of -Geneva, their collective name being Helvetians, after whom the country -was named in Roman times. The first authentic mention we find of these -people, as a nation, is by Julius Cæsar, who, in the first book of his -“Commentaries,” related the war he waged with the Helvetians, who had -made an irruption into Burgundy during<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</span> his government in Gaul. He -defeated them, and reduced the country to the obedience of the Romans, -annexing it to that part of his government which was called Gallia -Celtica. They lived in subjection to the Roman government till that -empire fell. Among the new kingdoms and principalities that were raised -out of the ruins was the kingdom of Burgundy, composed of a Vandal race -from the Oder and the Vistula. Helvetia was overrun and made a part of -this kingdom in the beginning of the fifth century (409 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>). -Then followed irruptions of Alemanni, Ostrogoths, and Franks. The -division of Switzerland into German- and French-speaking races is -doubtless to be ascribed to these early settlements of different tribes -from Germany and Gaul. In the sixth century (550 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>), the -Franks having subjected the other two, all Helvetia was united to the -crown of France. It was lost to the kings of France during the ninth -century, under the weak reign of Charles the Fat. About the year -870 there sprang up again two new kingdoms of Burgundy, one called -Cis-Jurana and the other Trans-Jurana; the first, at the end of fifty -years, was merged in the latter. In this kingdom was comprehended the -country of Helvetia, and continued part of it till about 1032, when -Rudolph, the third and last king of Burgundy, dying without children, -left all his kingdom to the Emperor Conrad II., whose successors -enjoyed it for two centuries, when it was broken into several petty -sovereignties.</p> - -<p>Feudalism had been rapidly growing up, and, like other parts of Europe, -Helvetia fell under the rule of military chiefs and of powerful bishops -and abbots. A numerous and ancient nobility divided the possession with -ecclesiastical lords; of the former, conspicuous were the Dukes of -Zähringen and Counts of Kyburg, Rapperswyl, and Hapsburg; and of the -latter, the Bishop of Coire, the Abbot of St. Gallen, and the Abbess -of Seckingen. There is no country whose<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</span> history better illustrates -the ambiguous relation, half property and half dominion, in which -territorial aristocracy under the feudal system stood with respect to -their dependants. The power under these princes, to which the country -was subjected, was so limited that it might properly be said to be -under their protection rather than their dominion. In the thirteenth -century the race of the Dukes of Zähringen became extinct, which made -way for the Counts of Hapsburg to enlarge their authority, being raised -afterwards to the Austrian Duchy, and invested with the imperial -dignity in Germany. The Helvetic people placed themselves under the -protection of Rudolph of Hapsburg, with permission to send governors or -bailiffs among them. They were governed with mildness while he lived. -He died, and his son Albert did not tread in his father’s footsteps. -This was the beginning of the fourteenth century, the memorable period -of Rütli and William Tell. A resolution was taken to form a general -insurrection in each Canton, in order to surprise and demolish all the -castles and drive the governors and adherents out of the country. “They -judged that a sovereign unjust towards a vassal, ceased to be himself -protected by justice, and that it was lawful to employ force against -him.”<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">1</a></p> - -<p>The confederates pursued so well the measures agreed on that their -object was easily accomplished, and with rare examples of moderation. -A few years later, a further attempt was made to bring them under -the yoke of the empire, when the brave peasants routed the imperial -army, under Leopold, Duke of Austria, at Morgarten, on the 15th of -November, 1315. This victory confirmed the independence of the three -original Cantons. Soon afterwards followed the perpetual league of -Brunnen, on December the 9th of the same year; there is at Brunnen -this inscription: “<i>Hier geschah der erste<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</span> Bund, Anno 1315, die -Grundfeste der Schweiz</i>” (“Here was the first perpetual league, the -foundation of Switzerland”).</p> - -<p>According to the Swiss historian, Planta,<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">2</a> the Helvetic union, -as founded by the three forest Cantons, called <i>Waldstätten</i>, -composed of Schwyz, Uri, and Unterwalden, bears date from the most -remote periods of their existence, and was framed long before they -knew how to commit it to writing. In 1291 this league was reduced to -writing; the first covenant is in Latin, and begins, “<i>In nomine -Domini, Amen</i>,”<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">3</a> and this form was followed in the several later -covenants at Rütli, 1307, and Brunnen, 1315. Each Canton obligated -itself to assist and succor the others, with its utmost force, and at -its own expense, against all persons or states that should assault -or molest any of them; that neither of the Cantons should submit to -receive any new sovereign without the knowledge and consent of the -others; that none should enter into any alliance or engagement with -any other prince or state without the said consent; and that if any -difference should arise between any two of these confederated Cantons, -the third should be the arbitrator, and obliged to assist that Canton -which submitted to its arbitration against the other that should refuse -it. The express purpose of this league was for self-defence against all -who should attack or trouble them.</p> - -<p>The constitution of each Canton was purely democratic; the supreme -power was vested in the people at large; all males of fourteen years -old in Uri, of fifteen in Schwyz and Unterwalden, having a voice. -Though deputies were chosen to represent the people in the Council of -Regency, and a Landammann, or chief magistrate,<a id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">4</a> was also appointed, -yet the supreme power was exercised by a general assembly held in the -open air. In 1332 Luzern joined the three Cantons, and thus<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</span> arose the -federation of the Four Forest Cantons, <i>Vierwaldstätten</i>. Zurich -came in in 1351, Zug and Glarus in 1352, and Bern in 1353. These eight -Cantons continued until 1481, or a hundred and twenty-eight years, -without increasing their number, and are distinguished by the name of -the <i>Eight Old Cantons</i>. For a long time these Cantons possessed -many distinctive privileges. This league upheld its independence in -1386 against Duke Leopold III., of Austria, in the battle of Sempach, -when the most heroic courage was shown. This resulted in the decree -of Sempach, whereby the eight Cantons agreed to preserve peace among -themselves; to uphold each other; and in war to unite their banners -against the common enemy. The last remnant of ancient Helvetic -territories in Aargau was wrested in 1417 from Frederic, Count of -Tyrol. Though still comprehended within the nominal sovereignty of the -empire, encroachments upon their territory or their political liberties -were no longer dreaded. They were henceforth free from external control -and from contributions imposed by the Germanic Diet. In 1444 followed -the defeat of the Dauphin Louis of France at St. Jacob, and the defeat -of the Burgundians at Morat and Nancy in 1477. In 1481 Solothurn and -Freiburg were admitted. The Cantons then bound themselves under a -treaty effected at Stantz, Canton of Unterwalden, in December of that -year, to two additional articles:</p> - -<p>1. That all the Cantons oblige themselves to succor one another in the -support of the form of government then established in each of them.<a id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">5</a></p> - -<p>2. That a body of military laws therein referred to should be received -throughout the whole nation, and the observation of them enjoined.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</span></p> - -<p>The Emperor Maximilian I. determined to force the Swiss to join the -Suabian League; hence resulted the Suabian war, which was concluded -after the Swiss had gained six victories, by the peace of Basel in -1499. In 1501 Basel and Schaffhausen acceded to the league. In 1512, by -the Milanese war, the Swiss obtained from Milan the territory which at -present forms the Canton of Ticino. In 1515, after losing the battle of -Marignano,<a id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">6</a> an advantageous peace was concluded with France, which -was followed by the first formal alliance with that kingdom in 1521; -and the two countries enjoyed an almost uninterrupted amity for nearly -three hundred years.</p> - -<p>Such was the political state of Switzerland in the beginning of the -sixteenth century; it was an independent federal republic, renowned in -war and distinguished for its ancient political institutions. In the -Thirty Years’ War the Confederates maintained a prudent neutrality, and -the Peace Congress of Münster in 1648, through the mediation of France, -solemnly acknowledged the complete renunciation of Switzerland’s -nominal allegiance to the German empire. From this time until the -outbreak of the French Revolution, in 1789, the history of Switzerland -presents few events of general importance. Appenzell had been united -to the league in 1573, making the number of Cantons thirteen. The -thirteen Cantons took the name of <i>Eidgenossen</i>, a word signifying -confederates, because they bound themselves together as comrades by -oath. This endured without a further change of actual members until -1803. From the peace of Aarau, in 1712 (generally credited to 1718, -since the Abbot of St. Gallen did not accede to it until six years -after its agreement), down to 1798, the Cantons enjoyed the blessings -of seventy-nine years of comparative quiet. The tranquillity enjoyed -was favorable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</span> to the progress of commerce, agriculture, the arts, -and sciences. The French Revolution, which disturbed the peace and -unsettled the political institutions of every country in Europe, -convulsed Switzerland with civil war and anarchy. In January, 1798, a -French army entered Switzerland to assist the Pays de Vaud, which had -declared its independence against the Bernese; Bern was taken and the -Swiss Confederation converted into the “Helvetic Republic, one and -indivisible.”</p> - -<p>The Cantons of Schwyz, Uri, Unterwalden, Zug, Glarus, and Appenzell -declared that they would not accept the laws which had been forced -upon them, and leagued together to resist. These refractory Cantons -were overpowered and coerced, but so gallantly did they maintain their -ground that the French general declared, “that every Swiss soldier -fought like a Cæsar.” It was then ordained by the French that an oath -of allegiance to the new government should be taken in every Canton. -Schwyz, Uri, Unterwalden, and Zug refused obedience to this ordinance. -It was forced upon them and upheld by a costly army, which practised -intolerable exactions and haughty and insolent domination. Geneva -at this time was annexed to France. Lavater styled this epoch “the -first year of Swiss slavery.” The atrocities of the French invasion -of Switzerland excited great indignation in Europe. All that tyranny -the most oppressive, rapine the most insatiate, cruelty the most -sanguinary, and lust the most unbridled, could inflict did that devoted -country experience. The effect on the friends of freedom may be judged -of from the following indignant lines of Coleridge, once an ardent -supporter of the Revolution, in his “Ode to Freedom,” written in 1798:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Forgive me, Freedom! oh, forgive those dreams;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">I hear thy voice, I hear thy loud lament,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">From bleak Helvetia’s icy cavern sent;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">I hear thy groans upon her blood-stain’d streams;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Heroes, that for your peaceful country perish’d,</div><span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</span> - <div class="verse indent2">And ye that, fleeing, spot your mountain snows</div> - <div class="verse indent2">With bleeding wounds, forgive me that I cherish’d</div> - <div class="verse indent2">One thought that ever bless’d your cruel foes;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">To scatter rage and traitorous guilt,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Where peace her jealous home had built;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">A patriot race to disinherit</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Of all that made their stormy wilds so dear.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>When Switzerland became the battle-field of French and Austrian armies, -by the treaty of Lunéville, between the Emperor of Austria and the -French Republic, the independence of the Helvetic Republic, and the -right of the people to adopt whatever form of government they pleased, -were guaranteed; but the irreconcilable dissensions of the French and -National Swiss parties prevented the adoption of any constitution -generally acceptable to the people.</p> - -<p>The withdrawal of the French troops in 1802 led at once to a revolution -in almost every Canton. Again Napoleon, First Consul of the French -Republic, in contravention of the treaty, interfered, and subdued the -movement. Forty thousand French troops took military occupation of -Switzerland. Deputies were ordered to assemble at Paris, and after -long discussion with them, Napoleon, on the 2d of February, 1803, -transmitted to Switzerland what is known as the Act of Mediation, under -which he assumed the title of “Mediator of Switzerland.” In some cases, -what had been subject lands were incorporated into the league, and to -the thirteen old Cantons six new ones were added,—St. Gallen, the -Grisons, Aargau, Thurgau, Ticino, and Vaud.</p> - -<p>The downfall of the arbitrary “Mediator” was for the Swiss, as for -the greater part of Europe, the signal of a happy deliverance. The -apparent interest taken by Bonaparte in the welfare of Switzerland, -and his anxious desire to suit its civil institutions to the local -prejudices and habits of each small community, were wholly military -and political. He looked<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</span> upon Switzerland as a watch-tower between -the three great divisions of Europe, of which the Act of Mediation -secured possession to him, without the trouble of a garrison. Soon -after his defeat at Leipsic in 1813, the Allies invaded Switzerland, -and in December of that year the Swiss Diet met at Zurich and formally -annulled the Act of Mediation. A general council was assembled, and new -articles of confederation agreed upon, known as the Federal Pact, in -September, 1814. This Confederacy was acknowledged by the Congress of -Vienna, November 20, 1815; by which the eight powers, Austria, Russia, -France, England, Prussia, Spain, Portugal, and Sweden, proclaimed -the neutrality of Switzerland and the inviolability of its soil. It -must in justice be said that at that epoch of sweeping annexations -and unblushing bartering of countries, Switzerland was better treated -than she had reason to expect,—Russia and England were her steadfast -friends.</p> - -<p>The nineteen Cantons were increased to twenty-two by the addition -of Geneva, which had been annexed to France under the Directory in -1798, and Neuchâtel<a id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">7</a> (a Prussian possession), and the Valais. -The greater Cantons demanded a return to the old status and their -ante-revolutionary supremacy.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</span> The relapse would have been worse, had -it not been for the Allied Powers, who would guarantee neutrality only -on the condition that the new Cantons be maintained free.</p> - -<p>In 1817 Switzerland, upon the invitation of the Emperor Alexander of -Russia, joined the Holy Alliance. The restoration of peace to Europe, -and the securities obtained for the neutrality and independence of -Switzerland at the Congress of Vienna, gave great encouragement to the -intellectual and material progress of the country, wealth increased, -and industry prospered. Public works of great utility were undertaken, -including noble roads over the passes of the St. Gothard, the St. -Bernard, and the Splügen. In July, 1830, the peace of the country -was suddenly disturbed by the French Revolution. Violent political -agitation broke out in riots and insurrection. Political wrongs were -rudely redressed; but life and property were respected. The general -aim of this movement was to wrest from the aristocratic class and -the capital towns the exclusive privileges which they had gradually -recovered since the beginning of the century, and to increase the -power of the people. The Cantons were forced to reorganize their -constitutions on a more liberal and democratic basis. This movement -naturally drifted into a plan for revising the federal constitution; -but the effort to do this in 1832 was defeated by a popular vote.</p> - -<p>The old religious jealousy of the Catholic and Protestant Cantons -now revived with increased violence. These troubles were attributed -by many to the influence of the Jesuits, and an active agitation was -commenced for obtaining their expulsion. Under the claim that religion -was in danger, delegates from seven Catholic Cantons assembled at -Rothen, in the Canton of Luzern, and formed a separate League, called -the <i>Sonderbund</i>, or separate confederation. In violation of the -Federal Pact of 1815, these Cantons engaged to defend each other by -an armed force, and appointed a council of war to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</span> take all necessary -steps. The Federal Diet, in session at Bern in July, 1847, realized -that prompt action must be taken to suppress a movement which was -threatening the country with a civil war. Friendly negotiation having -failed, the Diet declared the League to be dissolved, and at once -hostilities broke out. A sharp, decisive contest of only eighteen -days’ duration brought the strife to an end; the seceding Cantons were -overwhelmed and forced back to their allegiance.</p> - -<p>The strength of the Confederation being so decisively proved, it -was regarded an opportune time to revive the effort for a thorough -reformation of the federal system. This was accomplished the following -year by the constitution of 1848.</p> - -<p>Swiss history is largely the history of the drawing together of parts -of three adjoining nations for common defence against a common foe, -little by little winning their independence.</p> - -<p>“A liberty that sprang to life in Greece; gilded next the early and -the middle age of Italy; then reposed in the hallowed breast of the -Alps, and descended at length on the coast of North America, and set -the stars of glory there. At every stage of its course, at every -reappearance, it was guarded by some new security; it was embodied -in some new element of order; it was fertile in some larger good; it -glowed with a more exceeding beauty.”<a id="FNanchor_8" href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">8</a></p> - -<p>The name “Swiss” and “Switzerland,” German “<i>Schweiz</i>,” French -“La <i>Suisse</i>,” supposed to be derived from the Canton of Schwyz, -though long in familiar use, did not form the official style of the -Confederation until 1803. Schwyz, according to Gatschet, signifies -“clearing the ground by fire;” and, again, it is derived from “Sweiter” -and “Swen,” two brothers who are said to have founded it; and these -family names, common in Sweden, are now heard in the valleys of Schwyz.</p> - -<p>Switzerland is triangular in shape, and occupies an almost<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</span> -imperceptible space upon an ordinary map of the world. Voltaire used -to say he “shook his wig and powdered the republic.” It is bounded -on the north and east by Germany, on the south by Italy, and on the -west by France; and is situated between latitude 45° 50′ and 47° 50′ -north, and longitude 6° and 10° 25′ east. Its greatest length from -east to west measures two hundred and sixteen miles; its greatest -breadth north and south is one hundred and fifty-six miles. Nearly its -entire boundary is formed by rivers, lakes, and mountains. The Rhine -constitutes almost two sides of its boundary, from the point where the -various streams from the glaciers of the Grisons have met to form a -river into the Lake of Constance, and from its exit thence to where -the Jura Mountains turn its course to the Northern Ocean. The Jura -separates it from France; and with merely an outlet for the Rhone, the -Alps take up the line, dividing its rugged regions from the plains of -Northern Italy. On the eastern side is an entangled mass of mountains; -on the western side is a succession of parallel ridges, separated from -each other by longitudinal valleys. The elevation varies from six -hundred and forty-six feet, at Lake Maggiore, to fifteen thousand two -hundred and seventeen feet on Monte Rosa. Only two per cent. has an -altitude less than one thousand feet, and six per cent. of the whole -surface is covered with snow-fields and glaciers. Two-thirds of its -surface consist of lofty mountain chains and valleys; the remainder a -plain thirteen hundred feet above the level of the sea. That portion -which lies to the east of the Rhine rises from a platform no less than -three thousand two hundred feet in height, even in the valleys. All -of Switzerland, with Savoy, and indeed the Tyrol and other adjoining -countries, lie on a huge mountain. They all have their valleys, it -is true, but their valleys are more elevated than even the hills of -the lower regions. Two of the mightiest European rivers, the Rhine -and Rhone, have their sources in Switzerland. Their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</span> head-waters are -separated only by the tangled mass between the Pizzo Rotondo and -the Oberalp Pass,—the Rhine running towards the east and the Rhone -towards the west. The St. Gothard may be regarded as the central point -of the country, and from its sides these two rivers take their rise -in a great transversal valley of the Central Alps. On the east, the -Rhine, springing from the glaciers, flows through the Grisons to the -north and loses itself in the Lake of Constance, issues from it at -Stein, and flows to the westward as far as Basel, where it commences -its perpendicular course towards the German Ocean. On the west, the -Rhone, rising in the blue and glittering glacier of the same name, -descends through the long channel of the Valais, expands into the Lake -of Geneva, and takes its rapid course to the Mediterranean. Both of -these rivers purify their waters in a large lake; and in their passage -through the same Jurassic range of mountains they both form cataracts -and waterfalls, though separated by that time by an interval of one -hundred and eighty miles. Nine-tenths of the central table-lands of -Switzerland belong to the Rhine system, and only one-tenth to the -Rhone. In addition to these, two great rivers on the north of the St. -Gothard, the Reuss and the Aar, descend in parallel ravines through -rugged mountains, feeding the Lakes of Luzern, Thun, and Brienz; while -on the south its snows nourish the impetuous torrents of the Ticino, -which swells out into Lake Maggiore, and loses itself in the waves of -the Po.</p> - -<p>Within two degrees of latitude, Switzerland contains the climate of -thirty-four degrees. The variety in the vertical configuration of the -country naturally affects its climate, and nearly every valley and -every mountain-side has a climate of its own. Besides “mathematical -climate,” which is expressed by latitude, and depends on the elevation -of the surface of the earth to the sun, modern science gives “physical -climate.” It describes isothermal lines, which do not exactly coincide<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</span> -with the circles of latitude, but diverge to north or south, according -as the temperature is modified by other factors, such as the height -of the land above the sea, the modifying action of mountain chains, -currents of wind and water, and the neighborhood of lakes and sea. -The climate of Switzerland is specially modified by the influences -which spring from the capricious consequences of the nearness of -mountains, which are a bulwark against the periodical agitations of the -atmosphere; they form a great barrier to the northward against the icy -blasts sweeping down from the snow-fields of Russia and Siberia; and to -the south, to the hot Libyan winds blowing across the Mediterranean. -For regular isotherms, it would be idle to seek in such a broken -region. The lakes, which are fed by the glacier waters, have a cooling -effect on the temperature of the summer heat; the temperature of the -water of Lake Brienz does not exceed from 48° to 53° Fahrenheit in the -warmest days. It is a great benefit to the circulation of air which -comes in contact with surfaces so relatively cold, nor do these bodies -of air carry away with them any large amount of moisture, because the -low temperature of the water does not favor any great evaporation. -Within a short distance one may see at the same time all the seasons -of the year, stand between spring and summer,—collecting snow with -one hand and plucking flowers from the soil with the other. In Valais -the fig and grape ripen at the foot of ice-clad mountains; while near -their summits the lichen grows at the limit of the snow-line. There -is a corresponding variety as regards the duration of the seasons. In -Italian Switzerland, winter lasts only three months; at Glarus, four; -in the Engadine, six; on the St. Gothard, eight; on the Great St. -Bernard, nine; and on the Théodule Pass, always. Upon first beholding -the peaks of the Alps, shrouded in their everlasting mantles of snow, -one would little dream that in the valleys beneath ran musical streams -of summer water, with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</span> emerald meadows spreading their velvet cloaks, -dappled with clustering rose-bush, and the sun-loving flowers of the -gardens of the tropics.</p> - -<p>In ancient times writers exhausted their eloquence in painting the -horrors of the climate of the Alps. Livy wrote, “and the snows almost -mingling with the sky, the shapeless huts situated on the cliffs, the -cattle and beasts of burden withered by the cold, the men unshorn and -wildly dressed, all things, animate and inanimate, stiffened with -frost, and other objects more terrible to be seen than described, renew -their alarm.”<a id="FNanchor_9" href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor">9</a></p> - -<p>To-day, within its habitable regions, the climate is distinguished for -being generally temperate, healthful, and invigorating. It enjoys, from -its geographical smallness, immunity from the penalty a vast continent -pays in colossal visitations and vicissitudes of meteorological -conditions.</p> - -<p>The Föhn is a remarkable local wind in Switzerland; it is a strong -southwest or south wind, very hot and dry, formerly supposed to -originate in the Sahara, and flowing in towards the area of low -atmospheric pressure; or to be a tropical counter-current of the trade -winds. Meteorologists now hold that it is engendered by local causes. -Commencing its descent in the northern valleys with a high temperature, -it necessarily increases its temperature and dryness as it passes -into the higher pressure of lower levels; it sweeps through certain -valleys, especially in Glarus and Uri, where old laws enact that when -it blows, every fire in the place, for whatever purpose used, is to be -extinguished, for its violence is often extreme. It is much dreaded, -yet acts beneficially by a rapid polar-like awakening of nature; it is -it which melts most of the snow in the spring, and “without the Föhn,” -says the peasant of the Grisons, “neither God nor the golden sun would -prevail over the snow.” The Bise is the opposite of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</span> the Föhn, a cold, -biting north wind, whose tooth has been sharpened by its passage over -the ice-fields, bringing all the chills of Siberia, and searching one -through and through, eating into the very marrow. This wind is confined -within a narrow area of the country, pouring from the northeast over -the Boden-See, and along the Jura to the Lake of Geneva below Lausanne; -its effect is blighting on the pastures, which it sometimes visits at -untimely seasons, killing even cattle exposed to it in May.</p> - -<p>The German, Burgundian, and Italian nations which joined together to -form the modern Swiss nation, cast away their original nationality, and -made for themselves a new one, forming a nation as real and true as if -it had strictly answered to some linguistic or ethnological division. -These northern and southern nations of Europe have been singularly -intermingled in Switzerland, and in this respect furnish an interesting -study, as a striking exception to the general idea suggested by -the word “nation” as a considerable continuous part of the earth’s -surface, where speakers of a single tongue are united under a single -government. The long persistent division of the Swiss people into -German, French, and Italian stands in marked contrast with the thorough -unity of the nation. They have never been blended into one people, -so far as speaking a common language is concerned. German, French, -Italian, Romansch, and Ladin are spoken within the limits of the -Confederacy. And even the dialects of the German differ so much as to -make communication almost impossible, at times, between the different -villages and towns.</p> - -<p>The census of December 1, 1888, showed the total population of -Switzerland to be 2,933,612. The German-speaking element increased from -2,030,792, in 1880, to 2,092,479, which, taking into account the normal -growth of the population, was no relative increase; the proportion in -both cases being about seventy-one per cent. of the whole. The French, -on the other<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</span> hand, increased from 608,007 to 637,710, which was a -relative increase of from 21.4 to 21.07 per cent., while the Italian -declined actually as well as relatively, the numbers being 161,923 -in 1889, and 156,482 in 1888, or 5.7 and 5.3 per cent. respectively. -The decline of the Italians in Uri and Schwyz may be explained by the -return home of a large number of Italian workmen engaged on the St. -Gothard Railway. It is difficult to explain the large decrease of -Germans in the Cantons of Bern and Neuchâtel, while the French have -increased. In general, the French increase in Switzerland seems to be -at the expense of the Germans, while the German element recovers its -place at the expense of the Italian.</p> - -<p>The region extending from the Lake of Geneva to the Lake of Constance, -and from the foot of the Alps to the foot of the Jura, forms only -one-fourth of Switzerland, so far as area is concerned; but nearly -its whole population, wealth, and industry are concentrated there. -The population is settled in the plains, the hill regions, and the -valleys; there are chalets nearly eight thousand feet high on the -Fleck and Indre Alps, but only one town, viz., Chaux-de-Fonds, in the -Jura of Neuchâtel, has been built at an elevation of more than three -thousand two hundred feet; but there are villages in Alpine valleys -with an elevation of four thousand to five thousand feet, and the -hamlet of Juf, in the dreary valley of the Avers, has an elevation of -six thousand seven hundred feet, and is the highest village in Europe -permanently inhabited.</p> - -<p>In point of religion the Swiss are as sharply divided as they are in -tongue and customs. It is to the increasing efforts of the clergy, -during the many centuries that elapsed between the fall of the Roman -empire and the revival of knowledge, that the judicious historian of -Switzerland ascribes the early civilization and humane disposition -of the Helvetic tribes; and invariably the first traces of order and -industry appeared<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</span> in the immediate neighborhood of the religious -establishments. The traveller will behold with interest the crosses -which frequently mark the brow of a precipice, and the little chapels -hollowed out of the rock where the road is narrowed, and will consider -them so many pledges of security; and he will rest assured that so long -as the pious mountaineer continues to adore the “Good Shepherd” he -will never cease to befriend the traveller or to discharge the duties -of hospitality. That a church, or rather that churches, existed in -Switzerland in the fourth century is proved by the signatures, coming -down from that date, of certain bishops and elders of Geneva, Coire, -and the Valais; and one century later it is known that other places -besides these had been in a measure Christianized. The Fraternity -of St. Bernard was founded in the latter part of the tenth century -by Bernard de Menthon, an Augustinian canon of Aosta, in Piedmont, -for the double purpose of extending bodily succor and administering -spiritual consolation to travellers crossing the Pass of St. Bernard, -where winter reigns during nine months of the year. The idea of -establishing a religious community in the midst of savage rocks, and at -the highest point trodden by the foot of man, was worthy of Christian -self-denial and a benevolent philanthropy. The experiment succeeded in -a degree commensurate with its noble intention: centuries have gone -by, civilization has undergone a thousand changes, empires have been -formed and overturned, and one-half of the world has been rescued -from barbarism, while this piously-founded edifice still remains in -its simple and respectable usefulness where it was first erected, the -refuge of the traveller and a shelter for the poor. The building, -the entertainment, the brotherhood, are marked by a severe, monastic -self-denial which appears to have received a character of stern -simplicity from the unvarying nakedness of all that greets the eye in -that region of frost and sterility. In storms, monks, helpers, and dogs -all go out to search for helpless<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</span> travellers; and during the severe -winter of 1830 both packs of dogs had to be taken out, and nearly all -perished; the names of Barry and Bruno are kept with those of departed -archbishops and monks. These St. Bernard dogs are adapted, by their -instincts, intelligence, and benevolence, to the charitable work in -which they are engaged. The moment they scent a traveller buried in the -snow they announce the fact by setting up a loud bark, but they do not -wait for the arrival of their human companions, but begin at once to -dig into the snow with all their strength. The pure breed is said to be -extinct, but the cross variety still retains many of the good points of -the genuine breed.<a id="FNanchor_10" href="#Footnote_10" class="fnanchor">10</a></p> - -<p>Einsiedeln is a very ancient and celebrated monastery in the Canton of -Schwyz; it is more generally known as the Monastery of “Our Lady of the -Hermits,” and is one of the most famous pilgrim resorts in the world. -It was here that Meinrad, an anchorite of the house of Hohenzollern, -is supposed to have retired in the ninth century, and built a cell -for the worship of the Black Virgin, presented to him by the Abbess -Hildegard of Zurich. He was murdered, and respect for his memory -induced a religious community to establish themselves there. On the -occasion of the consecration of the chapel erected by them, the Bishop, -it is related, was anticipated by angels, who performed the rite to -heavenly music at midnight. Leo VIII. declared this consecration to be -a full and perfect one, and forbade the repetition of the rite; and -Pope Benedict<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</span> VIII. placed Count Meinrad in the catalogue of saints -one hundred and fifty years after his death. The inscription over the -church-door at Einsiedeln is “<i>Hic est plena remissio peccatorum a -culpa et a pœna</i>” (“Here is plenary remission of sins from their -guilt and from their punishment”). There is a copious fountain before -the church, and another tradition has it that the Saviour visited the -shrine and drank from it. This fountain has fourteen jets, carved to -imitate the heads of strange beasts and birds, and the pilgrims must -drink of every one to make sure that they should not miss the right -one, which is said to have refreshed our Lord.</p> - -<p>It has been disputed to whom the priority in the race of reform in -Switzerland belongs, Zwingli or Luther. Zwingli himself declares that -in 1516, before he had heard of Luther, he began to preach the gospel -at Zurich, and to warn the people against relying upon human authority. -The name of Zwingli is always associated by the Swiss with the rise of -Protestantism as that of Calvin is with its triumphant progress.<a id="FNanchor_11" href="#Footnote_11" class="fnanchor">11</a> -This Reformation, introduced by Zwingli and extended by Calvin, -occasioned the fiercest dissensions. Early in the sixteenth century -both Geneva and Zurich became cities of refuge for French, Italian, -and English who were forced to flee from their native lands on account -of their faith. The first edition of the English Bible was printed in -Zurich in 1535. The Reformers separated themselves into Lutherans, -Calvinists, and Anabaptists. It was held to be the duty of each Canton -to force its own faith upon the whole body of the people; church-going -was enforced by fines and corporal<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</span> punishment; staying away from -church on Sunday mornings, in some localities, was followed by a loss -of citizenship. The latter part of the sixteenth and the whole of the -seventeenth century are crowded with controversies and bloodshed; -that violence and those animosities which are found so terribly to -prevail where religious zeal has been abused for the purposes of -intolerance. Nowhere were the doctrines of the Protestant Reformation -more ardently embraced; nowhere was the strange moral phenomenon, -which is to be traced in so many quarters of Europe, more conspicuous -than among the Cantons of Switzerland, the early, exact, permanent, -geographical division, which was realized between the Protestant and -Popish communities; a division which frequently an insignificant stream -or street has been sufficient to maintain for ages. Religious parties, -like glaciers, became at once frozen up in set attitudes and forms, -which no subsequent events have been able to alter. In three instances -controversies on the subject of religion kindled violent and bloody -contests. The most memorable was the war between Bern and Zurich, on -the one part, and five little Catholic Cantons on the other, in 1712. -At the close of the period of the Reformation, seven of the Cantons, -Luzern, Schwyz, Uri, Unterwalden, Zug, Freiburg, and Solothurn adhered -to their ancient Catholic faith; the Cantons of Bern, Basel, Zurich, -St. Gallen, and Schaffhausen adopted the reformed religion; Appenzell -and Glarus recognized both forms of worship. In Geneva, over which the -Duke of Savoy ruled, the effects of the Reformation were peculiarly -important. Calvinism, as it existed at Geneva, was not merely a system -of religious opinion, but an attempt to make the will of God, as -revealed in the Bible, an authoritative guide for social and personal -as well as for moral direction. Moral sins were treated after the -example of the Mosaic law, as crimes to be punished by the magistrates; -“elsewhere,” said Knox, speaking of Geneva, “the word of God is taught<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</span> -as purely, but never anywhere have I seen God obeyed as faithfully.”<a id="FNanchor_12" href="#Footnote_12" class="fnanchor">12</a></p> - -<p>Reprobating and lamenting that the great reformer depended upon the -use of the sword for the extirpation of heresy, let us remember that -Calvin was not only the “founder of a sect, but foremost among the -most efficient of modern republican legislators; and that his genius -infused enduring elements into the institutions of Geneva, and made it -for the modern world the impregnable fortress of popular liberty, the -fertile seed-plot of democracy.” That “theological city,” called by -some the Jerusalem of Switzerland, seems to be pervaded by an endemic -influence inciting to religious discussion and agitation; the eager, -irrepressible spirit of John Calvin walks abroad from his unknown -sepulchre as the <i>genius loci</i>. The Reformation contributed in -Switzerland to the enlightenment of the people and to the maintenance -of a spirit of freedom; but in a political point of view it was the -cause of the gravest evils, which continued long after the original -convulsions. To differences of race and language it added divisions -of religious faith and the conflict of hostile churches. For some -time there was an alliance of clerical aggressiveness and ambition, -with the employment of religion as a political influence. The radical -government of Zurich was violently overthrown on the 6th of September, -1839, in consequence of the nomination of Dr. Strauss to a chair of -theology; thousands of peasants, led by their pastors and singing -hymns, armed with scythes and clubs, entered Zurich, and the government -was forced to dissolve itself. As late as the war of the Sonderbund, -in 1847, religious intolerance appeared to threaten the integrity -of the Confederation; and by an article in the Constitution<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</span> of -1848, and re-enacted in that of 1874, the Jesuits and all affiliated -societies were interdicted throughout the Confederation. Hostility to -the Jesuits was not regarded as hostility to the Catholic religion. -The order of Jesuits, as then existing in Switzerland, could not be -considered purely religious, but partly political, partly sectarian and -controversial, its direct aim being to aggrandize the Church at the -expense of the state, and the Catholic religion at the expense of the -Protestant. From the first of these two tendencies, it was repugnant to -a large portion even of the Catholic world. The whole history of the -Jesuits in Switzerland betokened an organized and systematic teaching -of religion, not exclusively for religious ends, but largely as a means -for procuring political and social ascendency; even to the extent of -reducing it to rule, craft, and professional duty. It was against -this tendency, not against any matters essential to the Catholic -religion, that even the Catholic world protested. The growth of the Old -Catholics, after the Vatican Council of 1870, caused many disturbances -in Western Switzerland, specially in the Bernese Jura. Inaugurated -in the Catholic universities of Germany, it was transplanted for a -complete and more vigorous growth into the soil of Geneva, and there -taking on a logical, consistent, and organized form, it seemed fitted -for the wide propagation and success that marked the great Reformation -of the sixteenth century, to which, in its early stages, it showed -curious points of undesigned coincidence.</p> - -<p>The Swiss serve God and serve Liberty; two facts which go far to -solve all the phenomena of their remarkable history. They hold with -Plutarch that “a city might more easily be founded without territory -than a state without belief in God.” It may be, as Professor Tyndall -contends, that there is “morality in the oxygen of the mountains.” Man -feels himself reduced to nonentity under the stupendous architecture of -these elevated regions which carries his thoughts up to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</span> Creator. -A cultivated and pious mind may find itself stayed and soothed and -carried upward, at some evening hour, by those great symbols of a -duration without an end to a throne above the sky; and this impression -may be deepened until the outward glory reproduces itself in the -inward, and causes it to cry out:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Great Hierarch! Tell thou the silent sky,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And tell the stars, and tell yon rising sun,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Earth, with her thousand voices, praises God.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The lives of the Swiss are in continual struggle with the elements, -the visible power of the Deity; their sober habits, simple, natural, -imaginative, all predispose them to believe; and the Gospel easily -obtained dominion over their faith and feelings.</p> - -<p>The sublime works of nature are equally calculated to arouse sentiments -of patriotism; they are capable of a companionship with man, full of -expression of inexplicable affinities and delicacies of intercourse. -No race of men can dwell in Switzerland, amidst its mountains, its -precipices, its rocks, glaciers, avalanches, and torrents, without -being strong, brave, and resolute. Just as we recognize an elevated -region by its growth of peculiar timber, whether stunted or lofty, -alike in their power of resisting the tempest, and by its hardy plants -characterized by their intense tenacity of life, just so a mountainous -country is indicated by a courageous, athletic, close-knit population -of liberty-loving, patriotic men.</p> - -<p>“<i>Montani semper liberi</i>,” everywhere mountainous regions have -been favorable to a free and manly spirit in the people; in every zone -the mountain races are a free, a pastoral, an unchanging people, rather -confirming Emerson’s hasty generalization as to snow and civil freedom. -In the East the warlike hill-tribes have been less subject to despotic -rule than the milder races dwelling on the plains. The varied grandeur -of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</span> the mountains no less than the awful power of the ocean counts for -something in the perpetuation of distinctive characteristics. But the -spirit of freedom is thought to take a different color from the sea and -from the mountain; in the mountain it is stubborn and resolute; by the -sea it is excitable and fickle. The hill-tribes of Judea kept their -covenant, the tribes of Jordan fell away; those Medes who never changed -their laws descended from the Caspian Alps, those Greeks who sought new -things from day to day were dwellers by the Ægean Sea. Among the vines -and olives in Italian gardens men are soft, poetic, phosphorescent, no -less full of fire than they are fond of change; among the pines and -larches of the Swiss glaciers men are hardy, patient, dumb, as slow to -fume and flash as they are hard to bend and break. The poet Wordsworth -represents that it was the peculiar fortune of Switzerland to enjoy the -influence of mountain and sea at once,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Two voices are there: one is of the sea,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">One of the mountains; each a mighty voice:</div> - <div class="verse indent2">In both, from age to age, thou didst rejoice,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">They were thy chosen music, Liberty.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>There are few principles of action which are more immediately -beneficial to society, and which have received more assiduous -cultivation, than <i>love of country</i>. The Swiss regards his country -with the tenderness of filial affection, and, like the undiscerning -lover, fondly gazes without discrimination upon its beauties and -its deformities.<a id="FNanchor_13" href="#Footnote_13" class="fnanchor">13</a> Enamored of their rocks, ice, and snow, they -look on milder climates and more fruitful plains without one envious -emotion. Deeper down even than the deep-seated differences of race, -language, and creed lies<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</span> the feeling that comes from the common -possession of a political freedom that is greater than that possessed -by surrounding peoples: this is the enduring bond of the Confederation. -Switzerland has demonstrated that democracies are not necessarily -short-lived. The short-lived glory of Athens and its subjection under -the rough foot of the astute Macedonian was not the result of too -much freedom, but because the Greek states had too little unity. In -Switzerland republican institutions can claim to have been fairly -tried and thoroughly succeeded. Dating from the perpetual Alliance -of 1291, the Confederation now counts six centuries; living through -many forms of government, feudal, clerical, imperial, radical, the -League of Cantons never ceased to be a union of republics, and is the -only federal government which has come down from mediæval times to -our own day. We see that the Swiss have lasted well, “for utility is -their bond and not respects.” While in some European countries very -anomalous forms of government have assumed the republican name, it is -gratifying to observe that there is at least one European state in -which republicanism is a fact and a living force properly understood -and properly practised, uniting with as large a measure of individual -liberty all the advantages of careful and judicious legislation, -economy in the administration, and justice in the execution of the -laws to as high a degree as can be found in any country. Every man is -free; every child educated; the sovereign power resides in hands that -defend it in danger and adorn it in peace; a common faith that love -of country, “all for each and each for all,” is better than a love of -self pervades the entire population. Amid powerful monarchies there -is a state without king or nobles, with a well-developed system of -democratic institutions, admirably suited to the genius of the people -and administered with the economy, the wisdom, and the consistency -of a well-regulated family. There the problem of a free commonwealth -was first solved, and popular government<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</span> first made possible. There -are presented some of the most striking examples of democracy in its -simplest form, and of carefully-contrived and durable republican -institutions, to be found in the annals of political history. There is -a government based on the simple but sound philosophy expounded in the -homely observations of the honest old boatman of Geneva, Jean Desclaux, -“If one man rule, he will rule for his own benefit and that of his -parasites; if a minority rule, we have many masters instead of one, -all of whom must be fed and served; and if the majority rule, and rule -wrongfully, why the minimum of harm is done.”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.<br> -<span class="small">THE CONSTITUTION.</span></h2></div> - - -<p>“On the main-land only two little spots at the two extremities of -the old Teutonic world came out of the mediæval crucible with their -self-government substantially intact. At the mouth of the Rhine, the -little Dutch communities were prepared to lead the attack in the -terrible battle for freedom with which the drama of modern history was -ushered in. In the impregnable mountain fastnesses of upper Germany, -the Swiss Cantons had bid defiance alike to Austrian tyrant and to -Burgundian invader, and had preserved in its purest form the rustic -democracy of their Aryan forefathers. By a curious coincidence, both -these free peoples in their efforts towards national unity were led to -frame federal unions, and one of these political achievements is from -the stand-point of universal history of very great significance.”<a id="FNanchor_14" href="#Footnote_14" class="fnanchor">14</a> -Writers, as a rule, properly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</span> consider a federal government, owing to -its nice balances in regard to a division of power between the union -and the members, and in regard to the conflicting interests of the -parts, as a peculiarly delicate and almost unadjustable framework.</p> - -<p>“The federative system,” says Guizot, “is one which evidently requires -the greatest maturity of reason, of morality, of civilization in the -society to which it is applied.” The two poles of a federal government -are independent action of the members in certain things, and a central -power or government which in certain things is equally independent. -The aim is to gain the advantages of the concentrated power of great -states, while retaining the advantages of local interest found in small -states. On the one hand, each of the members of the union must be -wholly independent in those matters which concern each member only. On -the other hand, all must be subject to a common power in those matters -which concern the whole body of members collectively. Switzerland -represents the happy outcome of the first attempt at such a federal -union made by men of Teutonic descent. Complete independence in local -affairs combined with adequate representation in the Federal Council -has effected such an intense cohesion of interests throughout the -nation as no centralized government, however cunningly devised, would -ever have secured. The constitutional history of the confederation is -a study in federalism. First a mere defensive alliance or league;<a id="FNanchor_15" href="#Footnote_15" class="fnanchor">15</a> -then a <i>Staatenbund</i>, or permanent alliance of several small -states, to which the term confederacy nearly corresponds; then a -<i>Bundesstaat</i>, or an organized state with central legislative, -executive, and judicial departments, which answers substantially -to the term federation as usually employed, and as realized in the -Constitution of 1848, and perfected in that of 1874. The distinction -which German publicists have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</span> introduced into political science between -a <i>Staatenbund</i> and a <i>Bundesstaat</i>, constituting the two -chief forms of union between states, is a very valuable one,—the -former word denoting a league or confederation of states; the latter, -a state formed by means of a league or confederation. In order to know -to which of the two classes a given state belongs, we need to inquire -only whether the political body in question has the essential qualities -of a state or not. Confederation and federation; both are composite -political bodies, and in so far different from mere alliances which -form no new state. <i>Staatenbund</i>, or confederation, is rather a -conglomeration of states than a real state; it retains the character of -a contractual combination of states. <i>Bundesstaat</i>, or federation, -implies the advance from the incomplete and transitional form to the -formation of a collective state or union; it is a more highly developed -<i>Staatenbund</i>, the difference is only one of degree in purpose, -form, and powers to carry out the national will. A confederation, by -joining several states in a political association, presents at least -externally the appearance of one state of an international personality; -but yet is not organized into one central state distinct from the -particular states. The management of the collective state is left -either to some particular state as President (<i>Vorort</i>), or to an -assembly of delegates and representatives of all the several states. -The former was the case with the Greek leagues under the hegemony of -Sparta and Athens; the latter with the American Union under the ancient -articles of 1778, and the German confederation of 1815. In a federation -there are not merely completely organized particular states, each -remaining sovereign and independent within the range of such powers -as it does not hand over to the federal authority; but there is an -independently organized common or central state, that within the range -of the powers handed over to it forms a single commonwealth under a -government with its own executive, legislative, and judicial<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</span> branches. -The Achæan league was already in some measure such a federal state. -This form of state first appears in modern times in the Constitution -of the United States adopted in 1787, and subsequently imitated by -Switzerland. The Swiss Confederation previous to 1848 joined the -members of the league only on such terms and for such purposes as -were agreed on, and their common affairs were administered by a -federal Diet. Still each Canton remained perfectly independent in all -its internal concerns; even keeping the right of separate dealings -with foreign governments. There was nothing which could be strictly -called a federal government, whose one will makes the constitution, -and demands obedience from the minority, even of particular Cantons. -The foundation of the Swiss Constitution is the old Swiss league, -which lasted from 1291 to 1798. But there had been simply alliances -between different Cantons, and no real federal constitution existed. -The establishment of the Helvetic Republic, one and indivisible, was -the first attempt at a constitution. The representative democracy of -the United States found a soil ready prepared for it in Switzerland, -to which it was transplanted by French intervention. The constitution -<i>unitaire</i> was imposed on Switzerland most tyrannically, but -it was not in itself a bad one. Under what may be called the French -readjustment of Switzerland, constitutions rose and fell and succeeded -each other in rapid rotation from 1798 to 1803. First appears a project -of the Constitution of March, 1798; by this a single centralized -state was substituted for the thirteen old Cantons. It served with -modifications as the groundwork of another sketched in April of the -same year. This latter was prevented by the outbreak of war between -France and Austria in 1799 from taking root. Another Constitution of -May, 1801, approved by Bonaparte, then First Consul, was acceptable to -few in its political and territorial arrangements. The Cantons became -mere divisions, like counties or departments.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</span> One of its earliest -provisions abolishes the ancient democracies of the Forest Cantons. The -traditions of independence in these older Cantons, and the elements -of internal opposition, were too strong to admit of submission. -The inhabitants of these sequestered regions, communicating little -with the rest of the world, ardently attached to their liberties, -inheriting all the dauntless intrepidity of their forefathers, clearly -perceived that, in the wreck of all their ancient institutions, the -independence of their country could not long be maintained. They saw -that the insidious promises of the French envoys had terminated only -in ruinous exaction and tyrannical rule. Animated by these feelings, -“We have lived,” said they, “for several centuries under a republic -based on liberty and equality; possessing no other goods in the -world but our religion and our independence; no other riches but our -herds; our first duty is to defend them.” This attempt to form the -whole of Switzerland into a united representative system could not -be permanent, and was soon dissolved. Other constitutions followed -in October, 1801, February, 1802, and July, 1802. Then February -2, 1803, came, under the so-called Act of Mediation, a moderately -centralized federal government granted by Napoleon. Old family and -civic privileges were annulled; all Swiss were made equal in the eye -of the law, and vassalage was altogether abolished, and free right of -settlement in any part of Switzerland assured to all. All alliances of -one Canton with another, or with a foreign state, were interdicted. -This was stipulated in consequence of an improper alliance in 1442 by -Zurich with the House of Austria. It was ordained that each Canton -should send one deputy to the general Diet; that they should have -definite instructions and powers of attorney, and should not vote -against their instructions. The functions of the Diet were declared -to be: 1. To proclaim war or peace, and conclude foreign alliances, -which required the consent of three-fourths<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</span> of the Diet. 2. To fix -regulations for foreign commerce, capitulations in foreign service, -and the recruiting of soldiers. 3. To levy the contingent, appoint -commanders of the armed forces, and the foreign ambassadors. 4. To -adopt measures of external utility and settle disputes between one -Canton and another. The act concluded in these terms: “The present act, -the result of long conference with enlightened persons, appears to us -the best that could be devised for the constitution and happiness of -the Swiss. As soon as it is carried into execution the French troops -shall withdraw. We recognize Helvetia as organized by this act as an -independent power, and guarantee the Federal constitution, and that of -each Canton in particular, against the enemies of the tranquillity of -the state.” This act for the remainder of Napoleon’s reign settled the -condition of the Helvetic Confederacy; and although it was peaceful -and prosperous, the Act of Mediation was felt to be the work of a -foreigner and master, and it fell with the extinction of his power. -Here French readjustments came to an end, and after the Congress of -Vienna, March, 1815, guaranteed the neutrality of Switzerland, there -followed in November of the same year the Federal Pact. This was a -looser confederation, and in many respects a return to the state of -things previous to the French Revolution, and restored to the Cantons -a large portion of their former sovereignty. There continued to be -a <i>Tagsatzung</i>, or Diet for general affairs, consisting of -“ambassadors from the sovereign estates,” meaning the Cantons, each -Canton still having only one voice, and three-fourths of the votes -being necessary for war or peace and treaties with foreign powers; but -in other matters of business an absolute majority decides. It fixes the -rate of troops and taxes for federal purposes; gives every Canton the -right to demand defence against internal and external force; provides -for the settlement of disputes between the Cantons; puts an end to all -dependent<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</span> territory and exclusive possession of rights by a class -of citizens; and continues the old plan of having a <i>Vorort</i>. -Military capitulations and conventions concerning affairs of police -or public economy may be made by single Cantons, provided they oppose -no federal principles, nor existing league, nor cantonal rights. -Ambassadors from the league may be sent to foreign powers when -their appointment is thought necessary. In extraordinary cases the -<i>Vorort</i> may be invested with especial powers, and a committee -can be appointed, composed of the officer of the <i>Vorort</i>, who is -intrusted with the management of the federal affairs in conjunction -with other representatives of the Confederation. This representative -committee is chosen by six circles of Cantons each in turn. The Diet -gives the requisite instructions to these federal representatives, and -fixes the duration of their duties, which cease, of course, when there -is a new Diet. When this assembly is not in session, the <i>Vorort</i> -has the charge of federal affairs within the limits existing before -1798. Cloisters and chapters are allowed to continue, but are subject -to taxation like private property; and the Helvetic national debt is -acknowledged. The Federal Pact became unpopular not merely from its -own intrinsic defects and ambiguities, but also from the time and -circumstances of its origin. It was a reactionary instrument, bringing -back the yoke of the patrician families and the extreme Ultramontane -party. The central authority of the Confederation was wreak. It had no -powers, either legislative, executive, or administrative, binding upon -the several Cantons; no provision for the repression of wars between -rival Cantons, nor for the proper restraint of separate alliances with -foreign powers which endangered the peace, if not the independence, of -the federal state; no federal army, no public treasury, no national -mint, no common judiciary, nor any other common marks of sovereignty. -The Diet assembled for little more than deliberation, all matters -of importance being referred to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</span> the determination of the Cantons. -National affairs were discussed in general Diets, as in fact they -had been from the beginning, but they were Diets which lacked the -very essentials of republican government, majority rule, and power of -execution. They depended more upon moral authority than legal powers, -persuading where they could not command obedience. The difficulties of -a union so obviously imperfect and narrow were greatly increased by -the Reformation, which alienated the Catholic and Protestant Cantons, -causing political and religious struggles that culminated in civil war. -There is then a constitutional rest until the next great revolutionary -storm, which swept over so many countries of Europe in 1848, when a -new constitution, modelled in many respects after that of the United -States, was adopted, and superseded the Federal Pact. It changed the -federal union of states into a federal republic; a transition from a -<i>Staatenbund</i> to a <i>Bundesstaat</i>. The stage of confederation -was passed over and the higher state of federation reached; an -organized nation, and at the same time the peoples of the particular -Cantons also possessing organic unity; a Swiss nation, and yet a -Bernese and Genevese people. The Constitution of 1848 was the first -which was entirely the work of the Swiss without any foreign influence. -For the revolution of 1848, which paralyzed Austria, Rome, and Germany, -enabled the Swiss to reassume in full the reins of self-government. -Two legislative chambers were for the first time created, and -invested with the power of enacting laws and issuing orders which -are binding directly on individual citizens. This most important and -far-reaching principle, that the Federal head should operate directly -on individuals and not on states, involved momentous consequences, -forcing the construction of a “Composite State.” The joint action of -the two chambers, constituting the <i>Bundesversammlung</i>, or Federal -Assembly, became a substantive part of the government of every Canton; -and, within the limits of its attributions,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</span> made laws which are obeyed -by every citizen, and executing them through its own officers, and -enforcing them by its own tribunal; powers essential for an effective -federal government. The old Diets never ventured on any undertaking -of public utility, amelioration, or reform, during more than three -hundred years. The Confederation was loose and incomplete even for its -essential objects, mutual defence and foreign relations. The principal -objects of this new constitution were:</p> - -<p>1. The strengthening of the national government, reconciling the -supremacy of the Confederation with the autonomy of the Cantons.</p> - -<p>2. The overthrow of oligarchies.</p> - -<p>3. The protection of the state from the dominion of Rome.</p> - -<p>The first two were attained by the direct provisions of the -Constitution; the third was afterwards promoted by the expulsion of the -Jesuits and their affiliated societies from Swiss territory. A great -benefit was conferred upon the Confederation by the unification of such -matters as coinage, weight, measures, and posts; and the surrender by -the Cantons to the Confederation of the exclusive right to levy duties -at the frontiers of the country. For twenty-four years Switzerland -enjoyed under this Constitution uninterrupted peace and prosperity; the -European wars between 1855 and 1871 did not disturb her neutrality, -though military operations offered great temptation to march across her -territory. In 1872 a project of amendment was submitted conferring upon -the general government many additional powers. By a small popular and -a large cantonal majority it was defeated. The agitation for amendment -continued, and in 1874 a more moderate revision of the Constitution -of 1848 was again presented. This remodelling in 1874 did little more -than work out in a complete and logical form the principles laid down -in 1848; the most marked difference being a further enlargement of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</span> -Federal authority; forming a well compacted union, a Federal state, -each portion of which has its sphere of sovereignty. This revised -Constitution received the sanction of the Federal Assembly, January 31, -1874, was submitted to the popular vote on Sunday, April 19, following, -resulting in a vote of 340,199 in favor of, and 198,013 against, -acceptance. The vote by Cantons was fourteen and a half Cantons for, -and seven and a half Cantons against, acceptance (the votes of the -half-Cantons being counted each as a half vote). The Cantons voting -against the adoption of the Constitution were Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden -(the original three), Luzern, Zug, Freiburg, Valais, and Appenzell -(Inner). A decree of the Federal Assembly, May 28, 1874, after setting -forth that the revised Federal Constitution had received both a -majority of all the votes cast and the approval of a majority of all -the Cantons, says, “That it is, therefore, hereby solemnly declared in -effect, bearing date of May 29, 1874.” The Federal Council, on May 30, -1874, ordered the above decree, together with the Constitution, to be -enrolled in the official collection of statutes of the Confederation, -and the decree to be transmitted to the governments of the Cantons, to -be published by them through posting up in public places. The Federal -system thus established has many features which are strikingly like, -as well as many which are almost as strikingly unlike, those in the -system of the United States. The preamble, and Articles I. and II. of -the Constitution, point out the aim and lay down the fundamental idea -of the Confederation.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="center">IN THE NAME OF ALMIGHTY GOD.</p> - -<p>The Swiss Confederation, desiring to confirm the alliance -of the confederates, to maintain and to promote the unity, -strength, and honor of the Swiss nation, has adopted the -Federal Constitution, following:</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Article I.</span>—The peoples of the twenty-two sovereign -Cantons of Switzerland, united by this present alliance [then -follow the names of the Cantons], form in their entirety the -Swiss Confederation.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Article II.</span>—The purpose of the Confederation is to -secure the independence of the country against foreign nations, -to maintain peace and order within, to protect the liberty and -rights of the confederates, and to foster their common welfare.</p> -</div> - -<p>The Constitution is divided into three chapters, embracing, -respectively, seventy, forty-seven, and four articles, numbered -consecutively throughout the whole. The chapters have subdivisions, -with descriptive titles to the general heads.</p> - -<p>The first chapter is titled <i>General Provisions</i>, and covers a -wide field.</p> - -<p>A literal transcript of the most important provisions of this chapter -will be given.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="center">CHAPTER I.</p> - -<p>The Cantons are sovereign so far as their sovereignty is -not limited by the Federal Constitution, and as such they -exercise all the rights which are not delegated to the Federal -government. All Swiss are equal before the law, with neither -political dependence, nor privilege of place, birth, persons, -or families. The Confederation guarantees to the Cantons their -territory, their sovereignty (within the limits fixed), their -Constitutions, the liberty and rights of the people, the -constitutional rights of citizens, and the rights and powers -which the people have conferred on those in authority. The -Cantons are bound to ask of the Confederation the guarantee of -their Constitutions: this is accorded, provided,—</p> - -<p>(<i>a</i>) That the Constitutions contain nothing contrary to -the provisions of the Federal Constitution.</p> - -<p>(<i>b</i>) That they assure the exercise of political rights -according to republican forms, representative or democratic.</p> - -<p>(<i>c</i>) That they have been ratified by the people, and may -be amended whenever the majority of all the citizens demand it.</p> - -<p>All separate alliances and all treaties of a political -character between the Cantons are forbidden. The Confederation -has the sole right of declaring war, of making peace, and -of concluding alliances and treaties with foreign powers, -particularly treaties relating to tariffs and commerce. No -military capitulations shall be made.<a id="FNanchor_16" href="#Footnote_16" class="fnanchor">16</a> Members of the -Federal Government, civil and military officials of the -Confederation, and Federal Representatives or Commissioners -shall not accept from foreign Governments any<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</span> pension, salary, -title, present, or decoration. The Confederation has no right -to maintain a standing army: every Swiss is subject to military -service. The Confederation may construct at its own expense, or -may aid by subsidies, public works which concern Switzerland -or a considerable part of the country: the Confederation has -the right of general supervision over the water and forest -police measures in the upper mountain regions. It is authorized -to adopt regulations as to the right of fishing and hunting, -especially for the preservation of the large game in the -mountains, and for the protection of birds which are useful -to agriculture or forestry. Legislation pertaining to the -construction and operation of railways is an affair of the -Confederation. It has the right to establish, in addition to -the existing Polytechnic school, a Federal University and other -higher institutions of learning, or assist in their support. -The customs are in the province of the Confederation; it may -levy export and import duties; but the collection of the -Federal customs shall be regulated according to the following -principles:</p> - -<p>1. Import duties.</p> - -<p>(<i>a</i>) Materials necessary to the manufactures and -agriculture of the country shall be taxed as low as possible.</p> - -<p>(<i>b</i>) Likewise all articles which may be classed as -necessaries of life.</p> - -<p>(<i>c</i>) Luxuries shall be subjected to the highest duties.</p> - -<p>2. Export duties shall also be as low as possible.</p> - -<p>3. The customs legislation shall include suitable provisions -for the continuance of commercial and market intercourse across -the frontier.</p> - -<p>The freedom of trade and of industry is guaranteed throughout -the whole of the Confederation: excepted from this rule are -the salt and gunpowder monopolies, the Federal customs, -measures of sanitary police against epidemics and cattle -diseases, import duties on wines and other spirituous liquors, -and other taxes on consumption expressly permitted by the -Confederation, under certain restrictions: but all the import -duties levied by the Cantons as well as the similar duties -levied by the Communes to cease, without indemnity, at the end -of the year 1890. The Confederation has power to enact uniform -provisions as to the labor of children in factories, and as -to the duration of labor fixed for adults therein, and as to -the protection of workmen against the operation of unhealthy -and dangerous manufactures. The business of emigration agents -and of private insurance companies shall be subject to the -supervision and legislation of the Confederation. The opening -of gambling-houses is forbidden (those in existence allowed -until December 31, 1877, to close); necessary measures may -also be taken concerning lotteries. The post and telegraphs -(now includes the telephone) in all Switzerland are controlled -by the Confederation, and the proceeds belong to the Federal -Treasury; the tariff charges shall be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</span> regulated according to -uniform principles in as equitable a manner as possible, and -inviolable secrecy of letters and telegrams is guaranteed. To -the Confederation belongs the exercise of all rights included -in the coinage monopoly: it alone shall coin money, establish -the monetary system, and enact provisions, if necessary, for -the rate of exchange of foreign coins, and to make by law -general provisions as to the issue and redemption of banknotes: -it shall not, however, establish any monopoly for the issue -of banknotes, nor make them a legal tender. The Confederation -fixes the standard of weights and measures. The manufacture -and the sale of gunpowder throughout Switzerland pertains -exclusively to the Confederation (the manufacture and sale of -spirituous liquors was made a Federal monopoly December 22, -1885). Every citizen of a Canton is also a Swiss citizen, and -as such he may participate in the place where he is domiciled -in all Federal elections and popular votes, after having duly -proven his qualification as a voter.<a id="FNanchor_17" href="#Footnote_17" class="fnanchor">17</a> A Federal law shall -establish the distinction between settlement and temporary -residence, and shall at the same time make the regulations -to which Swiss temporary residents shall be subjected as to -their political rights and their civil rights. A Federal law -shall make provision as to the cost of the care and burial -of indigent persons of one Canton who may become sick or die -in another Canton. Freedom of conscience and belief shall be -inviolable; no one shall be compelled to take part in any -religious society or in any religious instruction, or to -undertake any religious act, nor shall he be punished in any -way whatever for his religious views. The person who exercises -the parents’ or guardians’ authority has the right, conformably -to the principles above stated, to regulate the religious -education of children up to the close of their sixteenth year. -The exercise of civil or political rights shall not be abridged -by any provisions or conditions whatever of an ecclesiastical -or religious kind. Religious views shall not absolve from the -performance of civil duties. No person is bound to pay taxes -of which the proceeds are specifically appropriated to the -expenses of any religious society to which he does not belong. -The free exercise of religious worship is guaranteed within -the limits of morality and public order; the Cantons and the -Confederation may take suitable measures for the preservation -of public order and of peace between the members of different -religious bodies, as well as against any interference in the -rights of citizens or of the state by church authorities. -Contests in public and private law which arise out of the -formation or the division of religious bodies may be brought by -appeal before the competent Federal authorities. No bishopric -shall be created<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</span> upon Swiss territory without the consent of -the Confederation; neither the order of the Jesuits nor the -societies affiliated with them shall be suffered in any part -of Switzerland, and all participation of their members either -in church or school is prohibited; this prohibition may be -extended also by Federal ordinance to other religious orders -whose action is dangerous to the state, or disturbs the peace -between sects. The establishment of new convents or religious -orders or the restoration of those which have been suppressed -is forbidden. The civil status and the keeping of records -thereof is subject to the civil authority (taking it away from -the clergy, who were formerly the custodians). The disposition -of burial-places shall belong to the civil authorities; they -shall take care that every deceased person may be decently -interred (to prevent denial of burial by the church). The -right of marriage is placed within the protection of the -Confederation; this right shall not be limited for confessional -or economic considerations, nor on account of previous conduct -or other police reasons; no tax upon admission or similar tax -shall be levied upon either party to a marriage. Freedom of -the press is guaranteed; the Confederation may enact penalties -against the abuse of the freedom of the press when directed -against it or its authorities. The right of petition is -guaranteed. No person shall be deprived of his constitutional -judge, and there shall consequently be no extraordinary -tribunal established.<a id="FNanchor_18" href="#Footnote_18" class="fnanchor">18</a> Ecclesiastical jurisdiction is -abolished. Suits for personal claims against a solvent debtor -having a domicile in Switzerland must be brought before the -judge of his domicile; in consequence his property outside the -Canton in which he is domiciled may not be attached in suits -for personal claims; with reference to foreigners, however, -the provisions of the respective international treaties shall -apply. Imprisonment for debt is abolished. The exit duty on -property is abolished as respects foreign countries, provided -reciprocity be observed. The Confederation shall have power to -legislate:</p> - -<p>1. On civil capacity.</p> - -<p>2. On all legal questions relating to commerce and to -transactions affecting chattels (law of commercial obligations, -including commercial law and law of exchange).</p> - -<p>3. On literary and artistic copyright.<a id="FNanchor_19" href="#Footnote_19" class="fnanchor">19</a></p> - -<p>4. On the legal collection of debts and on bankruptcy.</p> - -<p>Capital punishment abolished;<a id="FNanchor_20" href="#Footnote_20" class="fnanchor">20</a> corporal punishment is -forbidden. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</span> Confederation by law provides for the -extradition of accused persons from one Canton to another; -nevertheless, extradition shall not be made obligatory for -political offences and offences of the press. Measures shall be -taken by Federal law for the incorporation of persons without -a country.<a id="FNanchor_21" href="#Footnote_21" class="fnanchor">21</a> The Confederation has power to expel from its -territory foreigners who endanger the internal or external -safety of Switzerland.</p> -</div> - -<p>The second chapter embraces the <i>Federal Authorities</i>:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="center">CHAPTER II.</p> - -<p>1. The Federal Assembly or Legislative Department.</p> - -<p>2. The Federal Council or Executive Department.</p> - -<p>3. The Federal Tribunal or Judicial Department.<a id="FNanchor_22" href="#Footnote_22" class="fnanchor">22</a></p> - -<p>4. The Federal Chancellery.</p> - -<p>It is provided that the duties of Secretary to the Federal -Assembly and Federal Council shall be performed by a Federal -Chancellery under the direction of a Chancellor of the -Confederation. The Chancellor shall be chosen for the term of -three years by the Federal Assembly at the same time as the -Federal Council. The Chancellery shall be under the special -supervision of the Federal Council.</p> - -<p>5. Miscellaneous provisions.</p> -</div> - -<p>These are three in number:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>1. All that relates to the location of the Federal authorities -is a subject to be determined by the Confederation.</p> - -<p>2. The three principal languages spoken in Switzerland—German, -French, and Italian—shall be considered national languages of -the Confederation.<a id="FNanchor_23" href="#Footnote_23" class="fnanchor">23</a></p> - -<p>3. The officials of the Confederation shall be responsible -for their conduct in office. Federal law shall define this -responsibility and the means of enforcing it.</p> -</div> - -<p>The third chapter directs the method by which the Constitution can be -amended.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="center">CHAPTER III.</p> - -<p>1. The Federal Constitution may at any time be amended.</p> - -<p>2. Each revision shall take place by the ordinary method of -Federal legislation.</p> - -<p>3. If one branch of the Federal Assembly passes a resolution -for amendment of the Federal Constitution and the other does -not approve; or upon the demand of fifty thousand qualified -voters, in either case, the question whether the Constitution -ought to be amended must be submitted to a vote of the Swiss -people, voting yes or no. If a majority of the citizens voting -pronounce in the affirmative, there shall be a new election -of both branches of the Federal Assembly for the purpose of -preparing amendments.</p> - -<p>4. The amended Constitution shall go into effect whenever -it shall receive a majority of all the votes cast, and the -approval of a majority of the Cantons. In determining the -majority of the Cantons, the vote of a half-Canton shall be -counted as half a vote. The result of the popular vote in each -Canton shall be taken as determining the vote of the Canton.<a id="FNanchor_24" href="#Footnote_24" class="fnanchor">24</a></p> -</div> - -<p>The Constitution closes with five articles, styled <i>Temporary -Provisions</i>:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>1. The proceeds of the posts and customs shall be divided -upon the existing basis until such time as the Confederation -shall take upon itself the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</span> military expenses up to this time -borne by the Cantons. The loss which may be occasioned to the -finances of any Canton by the sum of the charges which result -from certain articles of the Constitution shall fall upon such -Canton only gradually.</p> - -<p>2. The provisions of the Federal laws and of the Cantonal -concordats, constitutions or Cantonal laws which are contrary -to this Constitution cease to have effect by the adoption of -the Constitution, or when the Federal laws passed in pursuance -thereof, shall be published.</p> - -<p>3. The new provisions in regard to the powers of the Federal -Tribunal shall not take effect until the passage of the Federal -laws relating to it.</p> - -<p>4. The Cantons shall be allowed a period of five years within -which to introduce the system of free instruction in primary -public education.</p> - -<p>5. Those persons who practise a liberal profession, and who -before the publication of the Federal law provided for by the -Constitution have obtained a certificate of competence from a -Canton or a joint authority representing several Cantons, may -pursue that profession throughout the Confederation.</p> -</div> - -<p>There have been three amendments to the Constitution from the date of -its adoption in 1874 to 1889 inclusive:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>1. In 1879, Article lxv. of the Constitution abolishing capital -punishment was repealed, and in lieu thereof the following -substituted: “No death penalty shall be pronounced for a -political crime.”<a id="FNanchor_25" href="#Footnote_25" class="fnanchor">25</a></p> - -<p>2. In 1885, Article xxxii. of the Constitution was modified -so that drinking-places and the retail trade in spirituous -liquors should be excepted from the guarantee of freedom of -trade and of industry; but the Cantons might by legislation -subject the keeping of drinking-places and the retail trade -in spirituous liquors to such restrictions as are required -for the public welfare. And Article xxxii. <i>bis</i> was -added authorizing the Confederation by legislation to regulate -the manufacture and sale of alcohol. In this legislation -those products which are intended for exportation, or which -have been subjected to a process excluding them from use -as a beverage, shall be subjected to no tax. Distillation -of wine, fruit, and the products of gentian roots, juniper -berries, and similar products are not subject to Federal -legislation as to manufacture or tax. After the cessation of -the import duties on spirituous liquors, as provided for, -the trade in liquors not distilled shall not be subjected by -the Cantons to any special taxes, or to other limitations -than those necessary for protection against adulterated or -noxious beverages.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</span> Nevertheless the powers of the Cantons -defined in the Constitution are retained over the keeping of -drinking-places, and the sale at retail of quantities less than -two <i>litres</i>. The net proceeds resulting from taxation -on the sale of alcohol shall belong to the Cantons in which -the tax is levied. The net proceeds to the Confederation from -the internal manufacture of alcohol, and the corresponding -addition to the duty on imported alcohol, shall be divided -among all the Cantons in proportion to population. Out of -the receipts therefrom the Cantons must expend not less than -one-tenth in combating drunkenness in its causes and effects. -The Confederation shall provide by law that for such Cantons -or Communes as may suffer financial loss through the effect of -this amendment, such loss shall not come upon them immediately -in its full extent, but gradually up to the year of 1895.<a id="FNanchor_26" href="#Footnote_26" class="fnanchor">26</a></p> - -<p>3. In 1887, Article lxiv. of the Constitution was so amended -as to give the Confederation the power to make laws, “On -the protection of new patterns and forms, and of inventions -which are represented in models and are capable of industrial -application.”</p> -</div> - -<p>All amendments to the Swiss Constitution are incorporated in their -logical place in the text immediately upon their adoption.</p> - -<p>Much legislation called for by the mandatory provisions of the -Constitution, and suggested by the discretionary powers vested in -the Confederation, has passed into Federal statutory enactments. A -few may be mentioned. An elaborate law as to military service, tax -for exemption therefrom, and pensions; statutes regulating labor -in factories, containing a wide range of provisions for the health -and safety of employés; the practice of the professions of medicine -and dentistry; the construction and management of railroads; the -protection of literary and artistic property and patents; hunting -and fishing; the control of forests, dikes, and water-courses in the -mountainous regions; the election of members of the Federal Assembly -and organization of the Federal Tribunal; the method of taking the -<i>Referendum</i>; rights of citizenship<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</span> and expatriation; banking and -bankruptcy; emigration and immigration. There are very comprehensive -laws also as to “civil capacity and obligations” and “marriage and -divorce.” The Federal law on “civil capacity and obligation” comprises -more than nine hundred articles, and deals with every imaginable kind -of contract except that relating to the acquisition and transfer of the -ownership of land; this forming part of the independent legislation -of the several Cantons. The law of “marriage and divorce” includes -registration of births and deaths, and presents a law which is a -carefully-prepared, scientific whole. The legal age of marriage; -degrees of consanguineous or other relationship; consent of parents; -rules for notice of intention; provision for verifying the facts -alleged; certification both of the fact and means of the dissolution of -a previous marriage, whether by death or divorce; strict requirements -for publication of the banns; restrictions as to locality within which -the marriage must occur; civil marriage made obligatory; and details of -the conditions under which marriages may be declared void and divorces -granted; these constitute some of the main features of the law.</p> - -<p>The Constitution, with the evolution through Federal laws made -necessary by it, contains much detail, showing the mind of the -German race therein. It is not confined to an enunciation of general -principles, but determines specifically and at length, with some -confusion of repetition and at times distressing prolixity, many -things which, under a general provision, might have been clearly -interpreted to belong, as the case might be, to either the Federal -or Cantonal authority. It contains a large number of articles which -have no reference to the distribution or exercise of sovereign power, -but which embody general maxims of policy or special provisions as to -matters of detail, to which the Swiss attach great importance, and -which therefore they do not wish to be easily alterable. It goes far -beyond that of the United States in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</span> inscribing among constitutional -articles either principles or petty rules which are supposed to have -a claim of legal sanctity. It gives to the Federal authorities power -and supervision over a variety of special interests; a system that may -work well in a small country, but not in one so large as the United -States, with such diversified and local aspects. For these reasons the -text of the Swiss Constitution is not so brief,<a id="FNanchor_27" href="#Footnote_27" class="fnanchor">27</a> nor its language so -terse, as that of the United States, which a famous English statesman -has called, “The most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time -by the brain and purpose of man.” The Swiss Constitution leaves little -room for contention in the construction of its phraseology, meaning -the same thing to-day, to-morrow, and forever. Its written provisions, -stipulations, and guarantees leave little room for the exercise of -“doubtful powers.” With such a mass of detail, the Confederation is not -competent to act directly; the execution of much is left to the Cantons -acting under the supervision of the Federal authorities, which only -interfere where the former neglect or refuse to fulfil their obligation.</p> - -<p>The repeated and remarkable stipulations of the Constitution, reaching -almost every conceivable exercise of religious action and freedom, -present one of its most marked characteristics and radical departures -from that of the United States. The latter contains only two allusions -to the subject. The first in Article VI.: “No religious test shall ever -be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the -United States.” The second in the first amendment: “Congress shall make -no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free -exercise thereof.” Previous to the Swiss Constitution of 1874 there was -no mention of individual<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</span> religious liberty. That of 1848 guaranteed -the free exercise of divine worship to the recognized confessions, -the Roman Catholic and the Reformed (<i>i.e.</i>, the Church Reformed -by Zwingli and Calvin), but forbade the order of Jesuits. It is -manifest that the framers of the Constitution of 1874 were resolved -to effectually suppress the further exercise of the ecclesiastical -narrowness and sectarian antagonism which, as late as the Sonderbund -War of 1847, disturbed the peace and threatened the stability of the -Confederation. The extreme rigor with which these provisions of the -Constitution are enforced, and the latitude of action given under them -to Cantonal authority, do appear at times to be strained to an extent -deaf to both humanity and common sense. In 1888, “Captain Stirling,” of -the Salvation Army, a subject of Great Britain, was sentenced in the -Canton of Vaud to one hundred days’ imprisonment in Chillon Castle for -attempting to proselyte some children. The appeal made in her behalf to -the Federal Council was refused, and she was compelled to complete the -term of her sentence. Surely no danger was threatened that might not -have been averted by her removal to the frontier, or the offence atoned -for by a slight fine. The case presented an appeal to that unknown -quantity, the Swiss sense of the ridiculous. The sanctity of the law is -all very well; but when the law is one against persons who sing hymns -to children in the street, and its terrors are those of Bonnivard’s -prison, the plot of the drama seems hardly equal to the majesty of the -scene. To put a young lady, for so trivial an offence, under triple -bolts and bars for months is a piling up of the agony which indicates a -singular weakness of dramatic resource. Perhaps the military style of -the movements in these days of alarming concentrations on Continental -frontiers may have invested the “colonels” and “captains” in the -Salvationist train, even of the gentler sex, with undue importance -and alarm. It is difficult to reconcile Federal and Cantonal<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</span> action -in Switzerland in this and other instances with the spirit of the -inviolability of freedom of faith and conscience guaranteed by the -Constitution. Religious liberty encounters no little restriction and -abridgment in several of the Cantons. Each Canton has still its own -established Church, supported and ruled by the civil magistrate. In -recent times free churches have been founded in Geneva, Neuchâtel, -and Vaud, and are showing a high degree of spiritual vitality and -liberality. It would be better if it could work out an entire -dissolution of the connection between Church and State throughout the -Confederation, and religion be allowed to take its natural course.</p> - -<p>The Constitution of Switzerland is a conscious and sagacious -reproduction of the Constitution of the United States, with noteworthy -variations called for by the different conditions of the two -commonwealths. The Government of the United States is one of limited -and enumerated powers; “the powers not delegated to the United States -by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved -to the States respectively, or to the people.” The restrictions under -the Swiss Constitution apply mostly to the Cantons. In Switzerland, as -in the United States, there is no single determinate sovereign body -or assembly, or any real sovereign other than the people themselves. -In the Swiss Confederation the popular will does everything; the -legislative power being directly exercised by the body of the people -by way of <i>Referendums</i>. In the Republic of France the tendency -is to centralize the direction of public affairs almost entirely in -the Chamber of Deputies. In the United States it is claimed, with -some color of truth, that the initiative and legislation are being -gradually taken away from Congress by a very occult, but authoritative, -government of committees.</p> - -<p>The separation of persons and functions is most complete in the -United States; the Constitution enforcing a distribution of powers, -and directly or indirectly the powers of every<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</span> authority existing -under it are defined, limited, and carefully regulated. In the -Swiss Constitution these respective powers are not at all clearly -distinguished; in fact, they seem to have been purposely left -indeterminate. There are none of the elaborate checks and interlocking -vetoes found in the United States. It is true the Swiss have the -three organs,—a Federal Legislature, a Federal Executive, and a -Federal Court; but they fail in the strict separation of each of these -departments from and its independence of the other. Said John Adams, -“Here is a complication and refinement of balances, which for anything -I recollect, is an invention of our own and peculiar to us.”</p> - -<p>There is also an entire absence from the Swiss Constitution of any -provisions touching those personal rights and ancient muniments of -liberty designated as the “Bill of Rights;” such as are contained in -the first ten amendments of the Constitution of the United States; -those fundamental principles that guarantee to the individual a sphere -of liberty upon which the government may not encroach; a branch of -constitutional law which it has been the peculiar province of American -political science to develop. This omission from the Swiss Constitution -may have been for the same reason that it occurred in the original -Constitution of the United States; that these rights were sufficiently -implied and understood in any system of free government. These cardinal -rights are claimed by the Swiss to be expressly provided for in the -Cantonal constitutions. Again, it is held that all these inherent and -indefeasible rights are amply secured by the article of the Federal -Constitution requiring the organic law of the Cantons to “insure the -exercise of political rights after republican forms.”</p> - -<p>Hamilton met the objection to the Constitution of the United States -containing no “Bill of Rights,” in the “Federalist” (No. 84), by -saying, “Bills of rights are, in their origin, stipulations between -kings and their subjects, abridgments of prerogative<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</span> in favor of -privilege, reservation of rights not surrendered to the prince. It is -evident, therefore, that, according to their primitive signification, -they have no application to constitutions professedly founded upon the -power of the people, and executed by their immediate representatives -and servants. Here in strictness the people surrender nothing; and as -they retain everything they have no need of particular reservations.” -But Jefferson expressed the prevalent opinion when he wrote, “The -executive in our governments is not the sole, it is scarcely the -principal, object of my jealousy. The tyranny of the legislatures is -the most formidable dread at present, and will be for many years.” -These restraints upon legislative power have proven most fortunate ones -in the United States; for the provision, “No person shall be deprived -of life, liberty, or property without due process of law,” together -with those provisions which forbid the taking of private property -for public use without just compensation, and the enactment of laws -impairing the obligation of contracts, lies at the foundation of all -constitutional protection of private rights in the citizen. Thus a -body of constitutional law has been formed which is not yet completely -crystallized, but is being daily shaped by the decisions of the courts. -In annexing the “Bill of Rights,” the founders of the government may -not have had a correct idea as to what would be the full effect of its -provisions, but the object they had in view was perfectly clear. They -believed that wherever power was placed, it was liable to be abused. -They intended to restrain the impulse of popular majorities, and more -especially to prevent the legislature from becoming despotic and -tyrannous. But the number of rights which can be effectually protected -by the Constitution is very limited; and the legislature must always -retain sufficient power to disturb seriously all social relations, -if it is determined to make use for this purpose of the means at its -command. The utmost that a constitution<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</span> can be expected to do is to -protect directly a small number of vested rights, and to discourage and -check indirectly the growth of a demand for radical measures.</p> - -<p>The power of the general government in Switzerland, as that of the -United States, extends not merely to those affairs which are turned -over to it by the exact words of the Constitution itself, but also -to the relations whose control by the central government appears as -a necessity for its performance of the duties devolving upon it. In -a comparison of the Swiss Federal polity with that of the United -States, it must be borne in mind that the infinite variety in the -local and otherwise peculiar circumstances of different nations, -produces wide discrepancies between governments bearing a common -appellation. There exists, indeed, but little community of opinion -or uniformity of practice beyond the circumscribed limits of those -maxims in politics which are deducible by direct inference from moral -truths. The great mass of those rules and principles which have a more -immediate influence on practice, and give to government its tone and -peculiar organization, are of a description purely local; deriving -their force from local interests, and therefore, however just, are only -applicable in their full extent to the particular case. Hence it is -that constitutions, nominally and externally the same, have little or -no interior resemblance, and in many instances only so far correspond -as to justify us in referring them to one common standard. The United -States and Switzerland have republican states joined in a republican -union, with a division of powers between states and union approximately -the same; and they present the most completely developed types of -that federalism “which desires union and does not desire unity;” the -same problem upon which all civilized peoples have been working ever -since civilization began,—how to insure peaceful concerted action -throughout the whole, without infringing upon local and individual -freedom in the parts; to reconcile<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</span> the welfare and security of the -whole with the local claims and diversified institutions of the -component parts. The Swiss Constitution blends these ends harmoniously -in a government not too centralized to act in the interest of the -localities; but a little too closely wedded to routine to adapt -itself to changing conditions. The federative principle implies the -existence of opposing tendencies, active within a superior agency, -which is capable of regulating their mutual aggression, and of securing -their harmony. Over the two historical forces, <i>Nationalism</i> and -<i>Localism</i>, the federative principle asserts its supremacy, and -gives them simultaneous, correlated, and adequate expression. Under -confederation, both <i>Nationalism</i> and <i>Localism</i> by different -processes increase each its original determinative strength; and the -danger arises that either alone might force a union of but partial -means and incapable of the highest end. The federative principle by -its own creative energy chooses the time and method of its complete -self-assertion, and brings its factors to the work of “forming the -more perfect union.” Thus <i>Nationalism</i> and <i>Localism</i>, -though their methods are in constant warfare, their aim is one,—the -good of the individual, who in his dual relation is an epitome of -the controlling principle. A complete harmony of the two elements -of the federative principle can never be realized; but the tendency -is ever towards harmony, thus placing before our hopes an ideal -state. In constructing his ideal republic, Plato rejects discordant -powers and forces which would bring false harmony, and leaves but two -essential elements: “These two harmonies I ask you to leave,—the -strain of necessity and the strain of freedom, the strain of courage -and the strain of temperance.” In a republic, national will and local -self-rule—the one federative principle—constitute true harmony.<a id="FNanchor_28" href="#Footnote_28" class="fnanchor">28</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</span></p> - -<p>The question of government is a question of the application of means to -an end; that end being, in general terms, the happiness and prosperity -of the people. Government considered as comprehending those laws and -principles which regulate the conduct of the individual in his relative -capacity to the state, being continually present to his mind, must -invariably influence his habits of thinking and acting. The genius of -the organic law, the Constitution, is transfused into the national -mind, and in the character of the citizens we recognize the congenial -spirit of the laws.</p> - -<p>The history of the Swiss Constitution is the history of a confederation -of free Cantons, uniting city and rural communities in a common -league; providing at once for separate autonomies, and for confederate -union and government; insuring mutual protection and a national -policy. It represents a wise and politic union; a union constituting -an honorable European state in the full enjoyment of its ancient -franchises; a union of strength and national life and enduring liberty. -Times and circumstances taught their own lesson; civil and religious -establishments were imperfectly produced, roughly moulded, and slowly -improved, but they were adequate to dispense the blessings of a -free government to a brave and artless people, in a state of great -comparative independence and honor, security and happiness.</p> - -<p>A constitution is valuable in proportion as it is suited to the -circumstances, desires, and aspirations of the people, and as it -contains within itself the elements of stability and security -against disorder and revolution. Measured by this standard, the -Swiss Constitution is an excellent adaptation to the conditions of -a most varied and composite nationality. With a strong paternal -tendency, the Constitution takes cognizance of the citizen at his -birth by registration, and guarding him through life with legislative -scrutiny, vigilant and minute, it insures him a “decent burial.” Yet -this searching, far-reaching,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</span> central authority is administered in -a beneficent and patriotic spirit, with a jealous regard for all the -highest natural rights of man.</p> - -<p>Federalism tends to conservatism; it is almost certain to impress on -the minds of citizens the idea that any provision included in the -organic law is immutable and, so to speak, sacred. History shows that -those states have been most stable and prosperous which, in casting -off an old allegiance or in ordering their political constitutions -afresh, made no more changes than were absolutely needful, and did not -violently snap the tie between the old and the new state of things; -that the best form of government will commonly be that which the events -of its history have given it,—a government which has arisen out of -the events and necessities of the country. Switzerland and the United -States are examples of commonwealths whose success has been largely -owing to the comparatively small amount of change which accompanied -their acquisition of independence. Each has that form of government -which the events of its history have made natural for it. In each the -existing political system is founded on the practical needs of the -time and place. Referring to the preamble of the <i>Declaration of -Rights</i>, wherein the prayer is made, “That it may be declared and -enacted that all and singular the rights and liberties asserted and -declared, are the true ancient and indubitable rights and liberties -of the people of this kingdom,” Burke says, “By adhering in this -manner to our forefathers, we are guided, not by the superstition of -antiquarians, but the spirit of philosophic analogy. In this choice -of inheritance we have given to our frame of policy the image of a -relation in blood, binding up the constitution of our country with our -dearest domestic ties, adopting our fundamental laws into the bosom -of our family affections; keeping inseparable, and cherishing with -the warmth of all their combined and mutually reflected charities, -our state, our<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</span> hearths, our sepulchres, and our altars.” Switzerland -and the United States in their organic law and its application, while -presenting many and essential differences, constitute the only two -genuine and thorough republics in existence; and each system better -suits the position of the nation which has adopted it. Switzerland, -though beyond all others a regenerate nation, was still an old nation; -above all things a system was needed which should preserve everything -and jeopardize nothing. She seized on a rare and happy moment, when -all the despots of Europe had enough to do at home, to reform her -constitution without foreign intermeddling; and she formed a system -which exactly suits the position of a small, free, conservative power, -ready as ever to defend its own, but neither capable nor desirous -of aggrandizement at the expense of others. The Swiss have a way of -keeping their current history to themselves; or the outside world has a -way of not asking for it, which is much the same thing. They are unique -among civilized people for the extreme modesty of their claim upon the -attention of mankind. This might imply the highest qualities or the -lowest; but no one who knows anything of the little republic will doubt -to which of them it is to be assigned. She lives, moves, and works -without fuss or friction; and is constantly solving in her own way some -of the hardest problems of politics. She has found out how to maintain -perfect peace between diverse races and conflicting creeds; to adjust -and harmonize discordant views and principles; and preserve to the -several elements of the confederacy a due proportion of constitutional -authority. This difficult task has been accomplished, not indeed -without frictions, not without armed collisions, and not until after -many trials and experiments; but it has been done, and on the whole -successfully.</p> - -<p>Nothing is so easy as to find fault in every form of government, and -nothing so hard as to show a perfect one reduced to practice. Most of -the plans of government seem to have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</span> been formed like houses built -at several times; for as the old parts of them always deface the new -and render them irregular, so upon the establishment of any new frame -something of the old is still preserved and enters into the frame of -the new, which is not of a piece with it, and consequently spoils its -symmetry. No one can look closely into the Constitution of Switzerland -and fail to discover that, in its provisions, the principles of a -democratic confederation find the elements of sound and vigorous health.</p> - -<p>Enlightened freedom, governed and secured by law, upholds the fabric -of the Constitution; salubrious streams issuing from education and -patriotism, consecrated by religion, mingle with each other, and -unite in diffusing fertility through every channel of the state. The -everlasting league still lives on, to shame the novel and momentary -devices of the kingdoms and commonwealths which rise and fall around -it.<a id="FNanchor_29" href="#Footnote_29" class="fnanchor">29</a></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III. -<br> -<span class="small">THE FEDERAL ASSEMBLY.</span></h2></div> - -<p class="center">Bundesversammlung; Assemblée fédérale.</p> - - -<p>“A legislative, and an executive, and a judicial power comprehend the -whole of what is meant by government.”<a id="FNanchor_30" href="#Footnote_30" class="fnanchor">30</a> We find in Switzerland this -general division of powers, with many interesting and instructive -peculiarities, which give the Swiss federalism an individual character.</p> - -<p>The need for two chambers in a federal state has become an axiom of -political science. Where there is a twofold sovereignty, that of the -whole nation, and that of the states or Cantons, which are joined -together to form it, each sovereignty must be represented in the -legislature. With the two chambers, one representing the people as -a whole, the other the integral parts as constituent members of the -whole, each element is a check upon the other by the coexistence of -equal authority. By the Constitution of 1874, “With reservation of -the rights of the people and of the Cantons the supreme authority of -the Swiss Confederation is exercised by the Federal Assembly, which -consists of two sections or councils, to wit:</p> - -<p>“1. The National Council (<i>Nationalrath</i>; <i>Conseil National</i>).</p> - -<p>2. The Council of States (<i>Ständerath</i>; <i>Conseil des États</i>).”</p> - -<p>Relating to the National Council, the Constitution has eight articles, -viz.:</p> - -<p>1. The National Council is composed of representatives of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</span> the Swiss -people, chosen in the ratio of one member for each twenty thousand -persons of the total population. Fractions of upward of ten thousand -persons are reckoned as twenty thousand. Every Canton, and in the -divided Cantons every half-Canton, chooses at least one representative.</p> - -<p>2. The elections for the National Council are direct. They are held in -federal electoral districts, which in no case shall be formed out of -parts of different Cantons.</p> - -<p>3. Every male Swiss who has completed twenty years of age, and who -in addition is not excluded from the rights of active citizenship -by the legislation of the Canton in which he is domiciled, has the -right to take part in elections and popular votes. Nevertheless, the -Confederation by law may establish uniform regulations for the exercise -of such right.</p> - -<p>4. Every lay Swiss citizen who has the right to vote is eligible as -member of the National Council.</p> - -<p>5. The National Council is elected for three years, and entirely -renewed at each general election.</p> - -<p>6. Members of the Council of States, or of the Federal Council, or -officials appointed by the latter, shall not at the same time be -members of the National Council.</p> - -<p>7. The National Council chooses from among its members, for each -regular or extraordinary session, a President and a Vice-President. A -member who has held the office of President during the regular session -is not eligible either for President or Vice-President of the next -regular session. The same member may not be Vice-President for two -consecutive regular sessions. The President shall have the casting vote -in case of a tie; in elections, he votes in the same manner as any -other member.</p> - -<p>8. The members of the National Council receive a compensation from the -federal treasury.</p> - -<p>The qualification of the elector, as above described, is that of being -in the enjoyment of the “active right of citizenship,”—<i>i.e.</i>,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</span> -not excluded from the rights of a voter by the legislation of his -Canton. This also applies to those who have been deprived of their -civic rights by virtue of the penal law, and in consequence of a -judicial sentence; and in some Cantons embraces insolvents and paupers. -The limitation of eligibility to “lay” Swiss citizens does not -necessarily exclude ecclesiastics, as illustrated in a recent case of a -Bernese clergyman, who, being chosen a member of the National Council, -simply laid aside temporarily, by resignation, his clerical robes; -should he fail any time of re-election he may return to the pulpit. -Naturalized citizens are not eligible until five years after they have -become citizens. The provision forbidding a member to hold the office -of President for two consecutive ordinary sessions makes it possible, -during the life of a National Council, for one-fourth of the Cantons -(even counting the half-Cantons) to be honored with this officer; -and certainly gives but little opportunity for the building up of a -one-man power, just this side of absolute. The power of the presiding -officer of the National Council is too insignificant to justify any -parallel with that of the Speaker of the United States House of -Representatives. A federal law regulates in a uniform manner, and by -ballot, the election for members of the National Council; the execution -of the law is entirely under the direction of the Canton, and in -immaterial details there is a great diversity. There are registers in -each Commune, in which every citizen having a vote must be inscribed. -These registers are open two weeks before the day of the election, -and close three days previous to it. In some Cantons, a card from the -Commune where the voter is registered is left at his house; in others, -he must present himself at the proper office and obtain his card. The -election takes place on the last Sunday in October triennially. The -polls generally are in the churches, and no one is permitted to enter -except upon the presentation of the requisite proof as to his right to -vote. Candidates<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</span> must be elected by an absolute majority of the votes -cast. Should there be a failure of election, a second ballot under the -same conditions is had the following Sunday. If a third ballot becomes -necessary, the election is again repeated the next Sunday, when the -<i>scrutin de liste</i> is restricted to a number not exceeding three -times the number of members to be chosen; and these must be taken in -order from those receiving the largest vote in the previous <i>tours de -scrutin</i>. In this final trial the candidate or candidates, as the -case may be, having a plurality are elected. The members are elected -on a general ticket,—that is, “at large” for the district, not for -the Canton. These districts are called <i>arrondissements</i>, and the -method of voting is known as <i>scrutin d’arrondissement</i>.</p> - -<p>The National Council at present consists of one hundred and forty-five -members, apportioned among forty-nine electoral districts. The -number returned from these districts varies from one to five members -each. The Cantons of Uri and Zug, and the half-Cantons of Obwald, -Nidwald, and Inner-Rhoden compose only one district each. Bern has six -districts and twenty-seven members; Zurich, four districts and sixteen -members. Every elector is entitled to vote for as many members as his -district is entitled to, but not cumulatively. A federal census for -the apportionment of representation is taken every ten years. Members -receive a compensation of twenty francs per day (about $3⁸⁶⁄₁₀₀) when -the National Council is in session,<a id="FNanchor_31" href="#Footnote_31" class="fnanchor">31</a> and a travelling allowance -of twenty centimes per kilometre (a fraction under .03 per mile). A -member loses his <i>per diem</i> if he does not answer the roll-call -at the opening of the day’s session, unless he should appear later and -give to the secretary a sufficient excuse for his dilatoriness. If -subsequently, during that day’s session, there is a vote by roll-call -(<i>appel nominal</i>), or if there is a count of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</span> the House to -ascertain the presence of a quorum, the compensation of the members -whose absence is disclosed is forfeited for that day. This law is not -a “dead letter,” but is strictly enforced, and with a frugal-minded -people tends to keep the members in their seats.</p> - -<p>The Council of States (<i>Ständerath</i>; <i>Conseil des États</i>).</p> - -<p>The space devoted to the Council of States in the Constitution is -one-half of that given to the National Council, and is comprised within -four articles:</p> - -<p>1. The Council of States consists of forty-four representatives of the -Cantons. Each Canton elects two representatives, and in the divided -Cantons, each half-Canton elects one.</p> - -<p>2. No member of the National Council or of the Federal Council may be -at the same time a member of the Council of States.</p> - -<p>3. The Council of States elects from among its members a President and -Vice-President for each regular and extraordinary session. From among -the representatives of that Canton from which a President has been -elected for a regular session, neither the President nor Vice-President -can be taken for the next following regular session. Representatives of -the same Canton cannot occupy the position of Vice-President during two -consecutive regular sessions. When the votes are equally divided, the -President has a casting vote; in elections, he votes in the same manner -as the other members.</p> - -<p>4. Members of the Council of States receive compensation from their -respective Cantons.</p> - -<p>The constitution of the two Houses is manifestly borrowed from the -model of the United States; but it is apparent that the Council of -States does not so closely correspond with the Senate of the United -States as the National Council does to the House of Representatives. It -has no such clearly-defined character as the Senate in distinctively -representing the federal<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</span> feature of the union between the Cantons. -For the mode in which its members shall be elected, the qualifications -which they shall possess, the length of time which they shall serve, -the salary which they shall receive, and the relations they shall bear -to those whom they represent, in fact, every element of their character -as representatives is left to the Canton, and a great variety of -provisions prevail.<a id="FNanchor_32" href="#Footnote_32" class="fnanchor">32</a> The small Cantons in which the people assemble -annually (<i>Landsgemeinde</i>) have their members elected by this -assembly, by the raising up of hands for such or such a candidate. In -other Cantons, including Zurich, Thurgau, and Basel-rural, the whole -Canton forms but one district for the nomination of the members; -the votes are deposited in the ballot-box of the Commune, and are -collected and counted by a cantonal board. In the Cantons having the -representative system, such as Geneva, Freiburg, Ticino, and Bern, they -are chosen by the cantonal legislative body. The terms of the members -vary from one to three years; twelve Cantons elect for one year, twelve -for three years, with Valais holding to the mean of two years. Their -compensation, paid by the Canton, is the same as that received by the -members of the National Council, with the exception of Geneva, where -it is double the amount, or forty francs. When serving on committees -during recess, the members of the Council of States are paid by the -Confederation. The Vice-Chancellor serves as Secretary of the Council -of States.</p> - -<p>The Council of States has no special executive powers apart from the -National Council like the United States Senate; which in some respect -give that body a further strength and dignity of its own. The Swiss -Senate rests solely on its general position as one necessary element of -the federal system. The two branches of the Assembly are co-ordinate, -standing in all<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</span> respects on an equal footing. The work of each -session, so far as known at its opening, is divided between the two -Houses by a conference of their Presidents. The right of initiative -belongs to each House, and to each member of the Assembly. There may be -a shade of superior consequence and dignity attaching to the National -Council. It is designated first in order by the Constitution, it has a -fixed term of service, and when the two Houses are in joint session, -the President of the National Council takes the chair. In the National -Council are to be found the more ambitious and active men in political -life, for the members of the Federal Council are sure to be chosen -from this body. The members of both Houses equally enjoy the usual -privileges and immunities of members of representative bodies. The -two Houses act separately in all strictly legislative matters; coming -together for deliberation in common only for the exercise of certain -electoral and judicial functions.</p> - -<p>The powers of the Federal Assembly are thus set forth in the -Constitution</p> - -<p>1. The National Council and the Council of States have jurisdiction -over all subjects which the present constitution places within the -competence of the Confederation, and which are not assigned to other -federal authorities.</p> - -<p>2. The subjects which fall within the competence of the two Councils -are particularly the following:</p> - -<p>Laws pertaining to the organization and election of federal authorities.</p> - -<p>Laws and ordinances on subjects intrusted by the Federal Constitution -to the Confederation.</p> - -<p>The salary and compensation of members of the federal governing bodies, -and of the Federal Chancellery; the establishment of federal offices, -and determination of their salaries.</p> - -<p>The election of the Federal Council, of the Federal Tribunal,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</span> of the -Federal Chancellor, and of the General of the Federal Army.<a id="FNanchor_33" href="#Footnote_33" class="fnanchor">33</a></p> - -<p>Alliances and treaties with foreign countries, and the approval of -treaties made by the Cantons between themselves or with foreign powers; -such cantonal treaties shall, however, not be submitted to the Federal -Assembly, unless objection be raised to them by the Federal Council or -by another Canton.</p> - -<p>Measures for external safety; for the maintenance of the independence -and neutrality of Switzerland; the declaration of war and the -conclusion of peace.</p> - -<p>The guarantee of the constitutions and the territory of the Cantons; -intervention in consequence of such guarantee; measures for the -internal safety of Switzerland, for the maintenance of peace and order; -amnesty and pardon.<a id="FNanchor_34" href="#Footnote_34" class="fnanchor">34</a></p> - -<p>Measures for securing observance of the Federal constitution; for -carrying out the guarantee of the Cantonal constitutions, and for the -fulfilment of federal obligations.</p> - -<p>The power of controlling the federal army.</p> - -<p>The determination of the yearly budget, the audit of public accounts, -and federal ordinances authorizing loans.</p> - -<p>General supervision of the federal administration and of federal -courts; appeals from the decisions of the Federal Council upon -administrative conflicts of jurisdiction between federal authorities.</p> - -<p>Revision of the Federal constitution.</p> - -<p>3. Both Councils shall assemble once each year in regular session, on -a day to be fixed by the standing orders.<a id="FNanchor_35" href="#Footnote_35" class="fnanchor">35</a> They<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</span> may be convened in -extra session by the Federal Council, or on demand of one-fourth of the -members of the National Council, or of five Cantons.</p> - -<p>4. In either Council a quorum is a majority of the total number of its -members.</p> - -<p>5. In the National Council and in the Council of States, a majority of -those voting shall decide the question.</p> - -<p>6. For federal laws, decrees, and resolutions, the consent of both -Councils is necessary. Federal laws shall be submitted for acceptance -or rejection by the people upon the demand of thirty thousand qualified -voters, or of eight Cantons. The same principle applies to federal -resolutions, which have a general application, and which are not of an -urgent nature.</p> - -<p>7. The Confederation shall by law establish the forms and times of -popular voting.</p> - -<p>8. Members of either Council vote without instructions.</p> - -<p>9. The Councils deliberate separately. But in the case of the elections -(specified in Section 2), of pardons, or of deciding a conflict of -jurisdiction, the two Councils meet in joint session, under the -direction of the President of the National Council. Votes shall be -decided by simple majority of the members of both Councils, present and -voting.</p> - -<p>10. Measures may originate in either Council, and may be introduced by -any member of each Council.</p> - -<p>11. The sittings of both Councils shall, as a rule, be public.</p> - -<p>The law-making department in any sovereign state is the repository -of most power; consequently the constitution of Switzerland, like -that of the United States, after enumerating the powers which shall -be exercised by authority of the general government, confers them in -terms upon the most immediate representative of the sovereignty. In -Switzerland this is the Federal Assembly; in the United States it -is Congress. The scope of powers conferred upon the Swiss Federal -Assembly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</span> enables it to exercise not only legislative, but supervisory, -executive, and judicial functions. The separation of its powers from -those of the Federal Council and the Federal Tribunal—the executive -and judicial departments—is neither clearly set forth nor in practice -is it strictly observed. Cases have occurred, the jurisdiction over -which being involved in so much doubt, the interested parties, from -abundance of caution, submitted their memorials simultaneously to two -of these federal departments. The Swiss Federal Assembly exercises a -power more comprehensive and greater than that given probably to any -legislative body; at least in a republic, where there is a professed -organic distribution of the three great heads. It elects the Federal -Executive, Federal Judiciary, and the Commander of the Army. It is -the final arbiter on all questions as to the respective jurisdiction -of the Executive and the Federal Court. It would appear that there -is no decision of the Executive which cannot be revised by it. It is -the chief power in the land. No veto can intervene nor any judicial -power question the constitutionality of its statutes. Its acts form -the law which the court must execute. The Swiss people, as it were, -speak in each legislative enactment; and the only check or revision to -which it is amenable rests with the people themselves by means of the -<i>Referendum</i>. The authority of the Swiss Assembly, it is true, -exceeds that of the Congress of the United States, and yet it may be -regarded as a weaker body. For while in each case there lies in the -background a legislative sovereign, capable of controlling the action -of the ordinary legislature, the sovereign power is far more easily -brought into play in Switzerland than in the United States. Again, -every ordinary law passed by the Swiss Assembly may be annulled by a -popular vote. The freedom from instruction secured to the members of -the Federal Assembly was first declared in the Swiss Constitution of -1848. The whole history of the representative<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</span> principle proves the -soundness of the doctrine, that the vesting an entire discretion in -the representative is an essential part of the definition. It is not -to the power of instructing the representative that constituents are -to look for an assurance that his efforts will be faithfully applied -to the public service; but it is to the power of reducing him from -the elevation to which their suffrages have raised him. The object to -be obtained is not to compel the representative to decide agreeably -to the opinions of his constituents, for that would be compelling him -often to decide against his better judgment; but it is to force him -to decide with a single view to the public good. It is by leaving him -unshackled with positive instructions, while he is subject to the -ultimate tribunal of the opinion of his constituents, that the end in -view is to be accomplished of bringing into action, in the proceedings -of the legislature, the greatest practicable quantity of intelligence -under the guidance of the purest disposition to promote the welfare of -the community. The view which Burke takes of the relation between a -representative and his constituents is in the main so correct, and is -so luminously expressed, that no one can read it without pleasure and -instruction. The passage occurs in his celebrated speech at Bristol -on the conclusion of the poll. “Certainly, gentlemen,” he says, “it -ought to be the happiness and glory of a representative to live in the -strictest union, the closest correspondence, and the most unreserved -communication with his constituents. Their wishes ought to have great -weight with him; their opinion high respect; their business unremitted -attention. It is his duty to sacrifice his repose, his pleasures, -his satisfactions to theirs; and above all, ever and in all cases to -prefer their interest to his own. But his unbiased opinion, his matured -judgment, his enlightened conscience, he ought not to sacrifice to you, -to any man, or to any set of men living. These he does not derive from -your pleasure; no, nor from the law<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</span> and the constitution. They are a -trust from Providence, for the abuse of which he is deeply answerable. -Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; -and he betrays instead of serving you if he sacrifices it to your -opinion.”</p> - -<p>Neither the Constitution of the United States, nor that of Switzerland, -vests anywhere any power of dissolution of the legislative body. The -Swiss Assembly is chosen for a definite time; when that time is up it -dissolves by the operation of the law; before that time is up no power -can lawfully dissolve it.</p> - -<p>Either the National Council or Council of States can recommend to the -Federal Council that it shall prepare and present for its consideration -certain bills; or a member can suggest one to his own House, and, if -agreeable, the matter will be referred to the Federal Council with -instruction to draft the necessary bill; or the Federal Council itself -presents bills upon its own initiative. The Assembly recommends to the -Federal Council by motions, called <i>postulats</i>, such alterations -or reform in bills submitted by it as seem to them to be proper. If the -Federal Council does not assent to a particular <i>postulat</i> coming -from one of the Houses, it makes a report to that effect to the House, -and if the latter insists upon its view, then a formal proposition is -drawn up, and if carried in both Houses, the Federal Council is bound -to execute its provisions. It must be understood that every bill must -pass through the hands of the Federal Council, and by it laid before -the Assembly. When a bill is presented by the Federal Council, the -House, which has first to take it up, appoints a committee to examine -and report upon it. These committees or commissions are appointed -as the occasion arises,—there being no standing committees,—by -the President of the House and the <i>scrutateurs</i>; constituting -together what is called a <i>bureau</i>. These <i>scrutateurs</i>, four -in the National Council and two in the Council of States, are elected -every session from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</span> the members of their respective Houses; and it -is also their duty to determine and to announce the result, whenever -a vote is had, either by ballot, division, or <i>viva voce</i>; -they occupy an elevated position to the right of the President. On -the submission of a committee’s report, the bill is discussed, and -ultimately either passed with or without amendments, or rejected. -If passed, it goes to the other House, where a similar process is -undergone. When passed by both Houses it becomes law, and is published -as such by the Federal Council in the <i>Feuille fédérale Suisse</i>; -subject, however, to the <i>Referendum</i>, if duly demanded. The -Federal Council, in publishing a law, decree, or resolution not -subject to the <i>Referendum</i>, fixes the date when it shall go -into force, if this is not done in the text of the bill. Generally, -this date is the day of publication. For all measures liable to the -<i>Referendum</i>, what is termed <i>délai d’opposition</i> is named, -being a period of three months, during which the appeal to the popular -vote can be demanded. In case of no appeal being taken, the law goes -into force after the expiration of the three months.</p> - -<p>The daily sittings of the Assembly open at eight o’clock in the morning -during the June session, and nine o’clock during the December session; -the adjournments are usually from one to two o’clock <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> The -sessions never extend beyond three weeks. It requires from the federal -treasury a small sum to defray the entire annual cost of the Assembly. -In the legislative appropriation bill for 1889 the following sums -were provided for the compensation of the two Houses of the Assembly: -<i>Ständerath</i>, salaries and mileage of committees, 10,000 francs; -salary and mileage of translator, 3000 francs; service, 2500 francs; -total, 15,500 francs; <i>Nationalrath</i>, salaries and mileage of -members and members of committees, 200,000 francs; translator, 3000 -francs; service, 3000 francs; total, 206,000 francs. So the entire -outlay of the country for its legislative department for the year was -221,500 francs, or about<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</span> $44,000; one thousand dollars less than is -annually paid to nine members of Congress.</p> - -<p>One in visiting the chambers of the Assembly is much impressed with -the smooth and quiet despatch of business. The members are not -seated with any reference to their political affiliations. There are -no “filibustering,” no vexatious points of order, no drastic rules -of “clôture,” to delay or ruffle the decorum of its proceedings. -Interruptions are few, and angry personal bickerings never occur. -There are no official stenographers, or <i>verbatim</i> reports -made of the proceedings; press reporters represent only the local -papers and furnish a very meagre synopsis of the daily business. The -small gallery set apart for the public is rarely occupied. “Leave to -print” or a written speech memorized and passionately declaimed are -unknown; there are none of these extraneous and soliciting conditions -to invite “buncombe” speeches or flights of oratory for the press -and the gallery. The debates are more in the nature of an informal -consultation of business-men about common interests; they talk and -vote, and there is an end of it. This easy colloquial disposition of -affairs by no means implies any slipshod indifference, or superficial -method of legislation. There is no legislative body where important -questions are treated in a more fundamental and critical manner. -The members of the National Council stand up to speak, while those -of the Council of States speak from their seats. The tri-lingual -characteristic of the country is carried into the Assembly; and within -a brief visit to either House, different members may be heard to speak -successively in German, French, and Italian. If the presiding officer -of either House is a German and cannot speak French, his remarks are -immediately repeated by a French official interpreter who stands at -his side; and with a President who is French and cannot speak German -the process is reversed. The members from the Italian Cantons, as a -rule, understand<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</span> French or German sufficiently not to require special -translation into their tongue. All bills, reports, resolutions, and -laws are published in the three languages. The Swiss have been as -successful in reconciling the difficulties of diverse dialects in the -federal legislature as in the harmonious union of Cantons. It was a -serious obstacle in the way of the union, when the legislature of -the kingdom of the Netherlands, founded in 1814, had three different -languages spoken in its Halls,—Dutch, Flemish, and French. This was -considered to foreshadow the disruption in 1830, as it intensified -every prejudice and difficulty. The <i>personnel</i> of the Assembly -is grave and sedate, dignified and serious. A large majority of the -members are past middle age,—men of education, culture, and experience -in public life. Many of them have held office first in their Communes -and then in their Cantons. It is curious that, in a country where it -is hard to find the court-house or a lawyer’s sign, one-fourth of -the members of the Assembly report themselves as <i>advokats</i>; -next in number come merchants, then farmers, physicians, bankers, and -professors. One-third are given as incumbents of various other cantonal -and communal offices. It is very common for a person to fill at the -same time a federal, cantonal, and communal office, where the duties -do not conflict and belong to the same general class. This is regarded -as both simplifying and cheapening the public service. The very dress -of the members, in its severe sombreness and uniformity, bespeaks the -stable and serious bent of their minds. Scarcely the change of a cravat -would be required for the entire body to appear at a funeral <i>de -rigueur</i>. The oath administered to the members of the Assembly is -calculated to emphasize the high and sacred trust assumed. It runs -thus: “I swear, by God the Almighty! to maintain the constitution and -the laws of the Confederation, faithfully and truly to guard the unity, -power, and honor of the Swiss nation, to defend the independence of the -Fatherland,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</span> the freedom and rights of the people, and its citizens in -the whole, to fulfil conscientiously all duties conferred upon me, as -truly, as God blesses me.” In taking this oath the member stands with -his right hand uplifted, the thumb and first two fingers extended, -indicating the Trinity.</p> - -<p>The members of the Assembly practically enjoy a life-tenure; once -chosen a member, one is likely to be re-elected so long as he is -willing to serve. Re-election, alike in the whole Confederation and -in the single Canton, is the rule; rejection of a sitting member, a -rare exception. Death and voluntary retirement accounted for nineteen -out of twenty-one new members at the last general election. There are -members who have served continuously since the organization of the -Assembly in 1848. Referring to this sure tenure of officials generally, -the President of the Confederation, in a public address, said, “Facts -and not persons are what interest us. If you were to take ten Swiss, -every one of them would know whether the country was well governed or -not; but I venture to say that nine of them would not be able to tell -the name of the President, and the tenth, who might think he knew it, -would be mistaken.” To some extent this remarkable retention of members -of the Assembly may be ascribed to the fact that the people feel that -they are masters of the situation through the power of rejecting all -measures which are put to the popular vote. The position of a member is -haloed with dignity, and is not a place sought from material motives, -a perquisite more than an honor. The absence of this fiscal view of -the office of the legislator brings in its train an equal absence -of the “rotation” notion. The Assembly is not made up on the theory -of mutation or by agencies more malign. Some are fond of declaring -against the caprice and ingratitude of the people, says Mr. Freeman -in his “Growth of the English Constitution,” and of telling us that -under a democratic government neither men nor measures can remain for -an hour unchanged. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</span> spirit which made democratic Athens, year by -year, bestow her highest offices on the patrician Pericles and the -reactionary Phocion, still lives in the democracies of Switzerland, -in the <i>Landsgemeinde</i> of Uri, and the Federal Assembly at Bern. -The ministers of kings, whether despotic or constitutional, may vainly -envy the sure tenure of office which falls to the lot of those who -are chosen to rule by the voice of the people. Grote, who wrote his -“History of Greece” in Switzerland, stated that his interest in the -Swiss Cantons arose from the analogy they presented to the ancient -Greek states; and specially as confirming the tendency of popular -governments to adhere to their leaders with the utmost tenacity of -attachment.</p> - -<p>Corruption at the polls, civic jobbery, the declension of legislative -character, the greed for official pelf,—these evils are not restricted -to any people or country. An imperfect answer as to the cause and -remedy is difficult; a complete answer is impossible. Some of these -evils are connected with political problems that are vexing our -epoch in every state and country where constitutional government -and a liberal suffrage prevail. Switzerland, with a government so -adequate for a simple people and small country, appears to have -firmly resisted the impact of these political ills. Service in the -federal legislature is accepted from a sense of patriotic duty; -neither emolument nor self-aggrandizement being an element of its -membership worthy of consideration. The election of deputies to the -Swiss Assembly is an event which creates no violent commotion or even -general interest in the great body of the people. A large majority -of the candidates are unopposed; there is no opportunity for bribery -to sap the public <i>morale</i>, or any field for the unscrupulous -plying of the disgraceful artifices and incidents which too often -mark a hotly-contested election in the United States. An election, -general or local, is not an occasion of bustle or clamor, turbulence -or revelry; there are no processions, no party badges, no music, no -“pole-raising,”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</span> probably not a speech, and no candidate present when -the exercise of this important privilege is going on. It is an affair -of deliberation and decision, of sobriety and wisdom. The electors -themselves feel that they are called upon to exercise a serious and -elevating duty; the solemn and deliberate act of choosing men to govern -the destinies of a civilized and enlightened people. It may be that -the Swiss elections, being held on Sunday, and the polls often in -the churches, in part contribute to inspire the elector with respect -for himself, for the character which he has to sustain, and for the -institution in which he thus bears an honorable part. It is feared that -the suggestion of such a remedial agency in the United States would be -regarded by our churchmen as <i>ægrescit medendo</i>. The excitement -attending the popular elections in the United States as now conducted -is in the main of a vicious and degrading character. Instead of -infusing into the hearts of the people a spirit of patriotism, leading -them to value the blessings of the government under which they live, -it infuses little but rancor and malignity; giving an opportunity for -the indulgence of vicious passions which are born but do not die with -the emergency; evolving the gross, vulgar morality which, provided you -do no injury to a man’s person or possessions, sees nothing in your -conduct towards him to condemn; which is near-sighted to the turpitude -of slander and misrepresentation directed against him, and blind to -the iniquity of needlessly invading a man’s private life; a morality -which is incapable of comprehending that one source of happiness ought -to be as sacred from wanton encroachment and disturbance as another; -and that visible property is not the only thing which can be purloined -or invaded. These evils are being submitted to, without any strenuous -effort to remove them, as if they were not a mere excrescence, but -formed an integral or essential part of the system, which they deform -and debase.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</span></p> - -<p>There can scarcely be said to be any party alignments in the Swiss -Assembly. It is comparatively free from the “offensive partisanship,” -“pernicious activity,” and system of party organization and activity -which flourish in the United States with exuberant and, in some -respects, ominous vigor. While nominally three political divisions -exist in the Swiss Assembly, the Right, Centre, and Left, the accepted -general classification reduces them to two, Radicals and Conservatives. -The main line of separation is the same perplexing issue running -through all political history, the rivalry between the state and -nation, one seeking to minimize, the other to magnify the sphere of -the central government. The Radicals are those who seek to give the -broadest interpretation to the constitution, so as to enlarge the -field of federal authority. The Conservatives are jealous of every -encroachment upon the traditional prerogative of the Cantons, and -desire to restrict and confine the limits of federal action. The -Radicals are the most numerous, commanding an absolute majority in -both the National Council and the Council of States. Within these -two broad divisions there are many different shades that separate on -questions of a social, religious, and economic character. Then these -grand and subdivisions have an entirely different significance, as -applied to federal or cantonal questions; a Radical as to the one, may -be a Conservative as to the other. The Radical and Conservative of the -Canton of Vaud is by no means the same as the Radical and Conservative -of the Cantons of Zurich and Aargau; the Radical of Geneva is very -different from the Radical of St. Gallen. The two parties are not -distinguished from each other by any systematic respect or disrespect -for cantonal independence. So the purely political question between -privilege on one side and the sovereignty of the people on the other -is one of subordinate moment; the former does not find expression -in any party formula. It is an error to estimate the character and -tendencies of the Swiss parties by the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</span> names which they bear, -Radical and Conservative, in the light of the footing these names -have obtained in every language in Europe, and the strong feelings of -esteem or hatred associated with them. As such they are nowise fully -correct designations of the political divisions, prominently opposed -in Switzerland, and of the points at issue between them. It is not -true that the Swiss Radical desires over-centralization to the extent -of unitary government; but, with the Conservative, holds to the great -theory of local self-government as founded upon these propositions; -that government is most wise, which is in the hands of those best -informed about the particular questions on which they legislate; most -economical and honest when in the hands of those most interested in -preserving frugality and virtue; most strong when it only exercises -authority which is beneficial in its action to the governed. There is -a feeling common to the population of every Canton and Commune, which -puts all idea of any party advocating one concentrated system out of -the question. Madison says, “An extinction of parties necessarily -implies, either a universal alarm for the public safety, or an absolute -extinction of liberty.” Political parties perform functions of the -greatest possible importance; through their organizations is fulfilled -that obligation which is incumbent upon every citizen of a republic, -to give an earnest, careful, and habitual attention to the conduct -of government. Parties are the exponents and representatives of the -great issues that constantly arise in every free community. By the -discussions that arise between them public opinion is formed, the -people educated in their political rights, a due sense of citizenship -generated and fostered; they are a great centripetal force in every -system of home-rule government.</p> - -<p>The strong attachment to party, with its resultant full crop of -political dissension, in the United States has at the same time -awakened a zeal for turning the powers of government<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</span> to profitable -public account, and a sensibility to the exposure of wrong or abuse, -which manifest themselves in a thousand beneficial ways. “It is one -of the advantages of free government,” declares Sir James Mackintosh, -“that they excite sometimes to an inconvenient degree, but upon -the whole, with the utmost benefit, all the generous feelings, all -the efforts for a public cause, of which human nature is capable.” -Switzerland, in the legislative branch of her federal system, gathers -together a body of men remarkable for that generous and patriotic -impulse which moves noble minds to sacrifice private interests to the -public good, and that public spirit that is the sense of duty applied -to public affairs; none of the cowardly and unpatriotic sentiment -expressed in the speech of Cato, “when vice prevails and impious men -bear sway, the post of honor is a private station.” With a Swiss, the -post of honor is always the post of duty, and the call of duty is -loudest from the public service, and secures the ready response of -the best citizens. Nowhere does popular government rest upon a firmer -foundation of public spirit and the willing and active interest of the -people.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.<br> -<span class="small"> - -THE FEDERAL COUNCIL.</span></h2></div> - -<p class="center">Bundesrath; Conseil fédéral.</p> - - -<p>The three main forms of executive embrace the hereditary and -irresponsible king, with or without a responsible ministry; the -single responsible president; and the executive council. The most -typical examples of these are: the constitutional monarchy of England; -the Presidency of the United States; and the Federal Council of -Switzerland. Or, there may be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</span> said to exist four chief ways in which -parliamentary government is worked.</p> - -<p><i>First</i>, that of England, where the executive is the primary and -the legislature the ultimate source of power; the English ministers -have the right of initiative, but they cannot remain in office without -a majority in the House of Commons.</p> - -<p><i>Second</i>, the German plan, where the ministers are solely -dependent upon the Crown, but cannot spend money without parliamentary -sanction.</p> - -<p><i>Third</i>, there is the constitution of the United States, under -which the functions of both branches are clearly defined; the Cabinet -being excluded from Congress, and Congress having no control over it, -further than the confirmation of its members by the Senate.</p> - -<p><i>Fourth</i>, the Swiss system, wherein the executive is as great a -departure from the precedent of the United States, and has produced -something at least as widely different from the President of the United -States, as he differs from an European king. The Swiss constitution -provides no executive head, in the sense of that of the President -of the United States; there is practically no such functionary. The -Swiss executive has, in fact, none of the functions that are given to -the President of the United States, as an independent power in the -State, making him as truly the representative of the sovereign people -as Congress itself. Andrew Jackson, indeed, habitually prided himself -on the privilege of representing the masses; and the use of the veto -by the President is in most cases highly popular, for through it the -President is expected to counterbalance the power of the legislature.</p> - -<p>Not until 1833, was there any project of reform in Switzerland -looking to a special federal executive, apart from all the cantonal -governments. Previously, the federal executive authority was not vested -in any special magistrate or council, but exercised by the council -of one or the other of the three<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</span> directing Cantons, as explained in -the “Introduction.” This had of course the inconvenience, among many -others, of causing the employment of federal authority to be more or -less guided by the politics actually prevalent in each of the three -directing Cantons. Up to 1848, the legislative and executive power -were vested in the same body. Switzerland, in its federal character, -having never known a personal head of any kind, when the old weak Diet -was changed into a real federal government, it naturally limited the -executive power far more than it is limited in the United States; and -the powers left to the executive were no less naturally intrusted, not -to a President, but to a council. Unwilling to trust the executive -power to any single man, it was placed in the hands of a council of -seven. It may be called an impersonal executive. There is nothing about -it to invite the homage of those whose chief object it is to find -something to abase themselves before; its walks cannot be recorded in a -court circular; it holds no drawing-rooms or levées; it pays no one the -honor of a visit, and no one has the honor of being invited to visit -it in return. A legislature chosen for a fixed term, which cannot be -dissolved before the end of that term, chooses an Executive Council, -for the term of its own existence. To such a body no scrap or rag of -royal purple can hang; and it completely refutes the notion that the -executive power of a republic is simply a shadow of kingship, a mere -transfer from a life and hereditary tenure to an elected and limited -term. The organization, powers, and duties of the Federal Council are -defined by the constitution in the following provisions:</p> - -<p>1. The supreme direction and executive authority of the Confederation -shall be a Federal Council, consisting of seven members.</p> - -<p>2. The members of the Federal Council are chosen by the Federal -Assembly for the term of three years, from among all Swiss citizens -eligible to the National Council. But not<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</span> more than one member shall -be chosen from the same Canton. After every general election for the -National Council, the Federal Council shall also be integrally renewed. -Vacancies which occur in the course of the three years are filled, for -the rest of the term, at the ensuing session of the Federal Assembly.</p> - -<p>3. The members of the Federal Council shall not during their term -of office hold any other office, either in the service of the -Confederation or of a Canton, or follow any other pursuit, or exercise -a profession.</p> - -<p>4. The Federal Council is presided over by the President of the -Confederation. There is also a Vice-President. The President of the -Confederation and the Vice-President shall be chosen, for the term -of one year, by the Federal Assembly from among the members of the -Council. The retiring President is not eligible either as President or -Vice-President for the year ensuing. The same member may not hold the -office of Vice-President for two consecutive years.</p> - -<p>5. The President of the Confederation, and the other members of the -Federal Council, shall receive an annual salary from the federal -treasury.</p> - -<p>6. A quorum of the Federal Council consists of four members.</p> - -<p>7. The members of the Federal Council have the right to take part -in the discussions, but not to vote in either House of the Federal -Assembly; and also the right to make motions on any matter under -consideration.</p> - -<p>8. The powers and the duties of the Federal Council, within the -limits of this constitution, are particularly the following: It -directs federal affairs conformably to the laws and resolutions of -the Confederation: it shall care that the constitution, federal laws -and ordinances, and also the provisions of the federal concordats be -observed: it shall take the necessary measures for their execution -either on its own initiative<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</span> or upon complaint, so far as the decision -of such affairs has not been vested in the Federal Tribunal. It takes -care that the guarantee of the cantonal constitutions is enforced. It -proposes bills and resolutions to the Federal Assembly, and gives its -opinions upon the propositions sent to it by the Federal Assembly or -the Cantons. It executes the federal laws and decrees, the judgments -of the Federal Tribunal, as well as the compromises or decisions in -arbitration on questions of dispute among the Cantons. It makes such -appointments as are not intrusted to the Federal Assembly, Federal -Tribunal, or other authority. It examines the treaties made by the -Cantons with one another, or with foreign countries, and approves them, -if proper. It watches over the external interests of the Confederation, -especially in all international relations, and shall, in general, have -charge of foreign affairs. It protects the external safety, and the -independence and neutrality of Switzerland. It protects the internal -safety of the Confederation, and the maintenance of its peace and -order. In cases of urgency, and when the Federal Assembly is not -in session, the Federal Council shall have authority to raise the -necessary troops and employ them, with the reservation that it shall -immediately call the Federal Assembly together, if the number of men -called out shall exceed two thousand, or if they remain in arms more -than three weeks. It has charge of the federal army affairs and all -other branches of administration which belong to the Confederation. -It examines those laws and ordinances of the Cantons which must be -submitted for its approval; it exercises supervision over those -branches of cantonal administration that are placed under its control. -It administers the finances of the Confederation, introduces the -budget, and submits a statement of the accounts of federal income -and expenditure. It supervises the conduct of all the officials and -employés of the federal administration. It submits to the Federal -Assembly at each regular<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</span> session a report of its administration, and -a statement of the condition of the Confederation, internal as well -as external; and recommends to its attention such measures as in its -judgment are desirable for the promotion of the common welfare. It -also makes special reports when the Federal Assembly or either branch -thereof requires it.</p> - -<p>9. The business of the Federal Council is distributed by departments -among its members. This distribution has the purpose only of -facilitating the examination and despatch of business; every decision -must emanate from the Federal Council as a body (a single authority).</p> - -<p>10. The Federal Council and its departments are authorized to call in -experts on special subjects.</p> - -<p>In the exercise of several of its most important functions the -action of the Federal Council is essentially judicial. This is -conspicuously so in its right to examine the agreements made by -Cantons among themselves or with foreign governments; and to judge -of their conformity with the federal constitution. Under the name -of “administrative law,” it passes in a judicial capacity upon the -validity of numerous cantonal laws and ordinances, such as school -affairs, freedom of trade and commerce, patent rights, rights of -settlement, freedom from military service, rights of religious bodies, -validity of cantonal elections, votes, etc. But there is no efficient -instrumentality for the enforcement of the decrees of the Federal -Council against the Cantons in these cases. If a Canton adopts a -measure which the Council on appeal holds to be unconstitutional, and -it declines to conform to the Council’s order, the latter has no direct -way of enforcing it. The two methods of coercing a refractory Canton, -so far tried, have been,—to send a special agent to negotiate with the -cantonal authorities, and should his efforts fail, to quarter troops -and the expense of their maintenance upon the offending Canton, until -it yields; the other method is to keep back from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</span> the Canton subsidies -which are to be provided for local purposes from the federal treasury. -Both of these methods have been found efficacious. The Federal Council -retains, however, under all circumstances, a very affectionate, if not -reverential, tone in its communications to the Cantons, addressing them -as “Faithful and dear confederates,” and closing, “We embrace this -occasion, faithful and cherished confederates, to commend you with -ourselves to divine protection.”</p> - -<p>The Federal Council exercises wider discretionary authority, in the -matter of arrest, of temporary imprisonment, of expulsion from the -territory, and the like, than seems inferable from the terms of the -constitution. A recent decree of the Federal Council forbade public -exhibitions of magnetism and hypnotism. Wherever there is discretion -there is room for arbitrariness, and in a republic, no less than under -a monarchy, discretionary authority on the part of the government means -insecurity for legal freedom on the part of the citizen. The Swiss -constitution apparently is more democratic than that of the United -States, from the fact that it does not vest the veto in any official; -yet in the amount of authority which is allowed to the executive power -over the citizen it is less democratic. Every legislative measure -passes under the inspection of the Federal Council before action -by the Federal Assembly; and the measures adopted by the Assembly -are promulgated by the Council, signed both by the President of the -Confederation and by the Chancellor, the ministerial officer of the -Council; no doubt, in all cases, two signatures are safer than one.</p> - -<p>The Federal Council, rather than to take the initiative, sometimes, -by means of a suggestion from itself, is requested to present to the -Assembly a measure; in this event a rejection of the measure would -not be regarded by the Council in the light of a defeat. During the -recesses of the Assembly the federal Councillors, at the head of -committees designated by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</span> the Assembly or with expert commissions, -meet in different parts of the country, to consider subjects that -are to be brought before the Assembly. The bills are then prepared, -which, with full and careful explanatory reports, are published in the -official journal and carried by the newspapers to every corner of the -Confederation. They are discussed by the people, and when the Assembly -meets it is ready to take action with but little, if any, debate by the -prompt enactment of these recommendations into law, the chief to whose -department the subject-matter appertains being present, when it is -taken up in the Assembly, to give any further information that may be -desired.</p> - -<p>All Swiss citizens eligible to the National Council are declared to -be eligible to the Federal Council. But practically the qualification -of a federal Councillor is <i>prior</i> membership of the National -Council. Primarily the selection of federal Councillors is always made -from among the members of the National Council; and by a strange custom -invariably observed with only one exception since 1848, they are again -triennially returned to the National Council from their respective -districts while still serving as federal Councillors, and with the -full knowledge that within a few days after the convening of the -Federal Assembly they will be again chosen by that body for a new term -in the Federal Council. This necessitates supplementary elections to -fill the vacancies created in the Assembly. Again, at every recurring -election of the National Council, one of the sitting members from each -district wherein a federal Councillor resides, must make room for this -temporary appearance of the federal Councillor in the National Council, -as a condition precedent to his re-election. The sitting members -cheerfully yield to this exigency, conscious that they are standing -aside for a mere <i>locum tenens</i>, and in no wise imperilling the -ultimate return to their seats, after a traditional custom has been -accommodated. One district<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</span> has of late years disregarded this custom, -declining to go through the empty form of electing to the National -Council the federal Councillor residing there, and whose re-election -as federal Councillor is conceded. This one obdurate district may, by -persisting in its course, be the means of the final overthrow of a -practice, which at present involves a double election for six seats -every three years at considerable expense and trouble: and apparently -incapable of any intelligent explanation. Like many customs, it has -simply taken root without any inquiry, and propagates itself without -any opposition. A partial explanation may be discovered in the desire -to preserve the identity of the federal Councillor with his Canton, -and as a renewed declaration that he continues to enjoy the confidence -of, and is in accord upon questions of public policy with, that local -constituency which in all probability he served for many years in -the National Council, before his promotion to the Federal Council. A -federal officer holding his office directly from the Federal Assembly, -and at the same time invested with the popular confidence of a local -constituency equally with the other members of that assembly, presents -a most remarkable assertion of local political autonomy in a purely -national affair.</p> - -<p>Originally these federal Councillors, when during their term elected -to the National Council for the purpose of re-election to the Federal -Council, took their seats in the former when it convened, and exercised -all the functions of a member, yet concurrently holding their -portfolios in the Federal Council for an unexpired term. This twofold -service continued until their re-election for a new term took place, -when they resigned their seats in the National Council, and resumed the -single service of federal Councillors. It is related that one member -of the Federal Council, some years since, only secured re-election by -means of his own vote during his transition service as above described -in the National Council. Of late<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</span> years the exercise of these dual -rights and privileges incident to this most singular condition of -things, while not in violation of any law, has been regarded with -disfavor, and the federal Councillors, during the few days of their -membership triennially in the National Council, confine themselves to -the privileges and rights that attach to a Councillor.</p> - -<p>The geographical assignment of the members of the Federal Council is -well established by an unwritten law, which is faithfully observed; a -well-established usage in the election of the Federal Council assigns -one member to each of the Cantons of Bern, Vaud, Zurich, and Aargau, -and St. Gallen or Thurgau, then one each to the Catholic and Italian -Swiss. The constitutional inhibition of the choice of more than one -member from the same Canton may be regarded as a restriction that -limits the choice without any adequate counter-benefit; it may exclude -from the government statesmen of high merit, and thus diminish the -resources of the state.</p> - -<p>The members of the Federal Council can be and are continually -re-elected, notwithstanding sharp antagonisms among themselves, -and it may be between them and a majority in the Assembly. They -also continue to discharge their administrative duties, whether -the measures submitted by them are or are not sanctioned by the -voters. The rejection of measures approved and proposed by them does -not necessarily injure their position with the country. The Swiss -distinguish between men and measures. They retain valued servants in -their employment, even though they reject their advice. They retain in -the service Councillors whose measures the voters nevertheless often -refuse to sanction. Valuing the executive ability of these men, still -they may constantly withhold assent from their suggestions.</p> - -<p>The Council substantially in its present form came into existence -with the Constitution of 1848; the first election of its members -taking place in November of that year. The election,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</span> therefore, -which occurred on the 13th of December, 1887, was the fourteenth -triennial renewal of the Council, and covered a period of thirty-nine -years. During this period the complete roster of the members embraces -only twenty-seven names; even this small ratio of change resulted -in seven cases from death, and eleven from voluntary retirement; -leaving only two who failed to be re-elected on the avowed ground -of political divergence. This most remarkable conservatism on the -part of the Assembly, in retaining the members of the Council by -repeated re-elections, has survived important issues of public -policy, including several revisions of the constitution, upon which -there was a wide diversity of opinion in the Council; some of whom -actively participated in the discussions, antagonizing the views of -a majority of the Assembly; the Assembly to which they owed their -election and upon which they relied for their retention in office. -Their periodical re-election, though seemingly <i>pro forma</i>, -carries with it a salutary sense of accountableness. This sure tenure -of service in the Federal Council makes those chosen look upon it -as the business of their lives. Without this permanence attached to -the position, such men as now fill it could not be induced to do so. -They are men trained to vigorous personal and intellectual exertion, -who often surrender pursuits yielding a much more profitable return. -Precariousness of tenure in responsible positions discourages one -from engaging in those measures of long-sighted policy or those plans -of necessarily slow accomplishment, in which he might be so shortly -interrupted, and his labors rendered abortive and unavailing. Political -science, the science of wise government, is perhaps that department of -intellectual exertion which requires the greatest powers of mind and -the intensest application. Its facts are multifarious and complicated, -often anomalous and contradictory, and demanding the guidance of clear -perceptions. Its principles are many of them abstruse, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</span> to be -developed by long and close processes of reasoning; and the application -of these principles requires the sagacity of quick observation and -long experience. It is a business which requires as long and arduous -preparation as any profession which can be named; and as entire -devotion to it, with freedom from all other serious or momentous -occupation, when its duties are once undertaken, as the calling of -a lawyer, a physician, a merchant, or an engineer. One chief reason -why there are so many needless, blundering, crude, mischievous, and -unintelligible actions in public life, is that men have not dedicated -themselves to its requirements as a separate study or profession; but -have considered it to be a business which might be played with in their -hours of leisure from more serious pursuits.</p> - -<p>A member of the Federal Council cannot, during his term, “occupy any -other office in the service of the Confederation or a Canton, or -follow any other pursuit, or practise any profession.” He devotes his -entire time and attention to his department, and not a mere casual, -intermitting, and brief attention; or merely giving the refuse of his -time and abilities in passing judgment on what others have devised and -executed. He is obliged to attend to the routine, the detail, and all -the technical niceties of its daily administration.</p> - -<p>The salaries paid to these distinguished officials are not relatively -higher than the wages of the people at large; and are very -insignificant when compared with the compensation accorded for like -services in other countries. Each of the seven members receives an -annual salary of 12,000 francs or $2316; the President of the Council -is given 1500 francs additional, making his salary $2605. This increase -of salary to the President is made under the head of “expenses of -representation,” understood to mean entertainments and kindred purposes -devolving upon this official. The entire annual<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</span> appropriation made for -the maintenance of the executive department will not exceed $17,000.<a id="FNanchor_36" href="#Footnote_36" class="fnanchor">36</a></p> - -<p>The business of the Federal Council is distributed among seven -departments, as follows:</p> - -<p>1. Foreign Affairs.</p> - -<p>2. Interior.</p> - -<p>3. Justice and Police.</p> - -<p>4. Military.</p> - -<p>5. Finance and Customs.</p> - -<p>6. Industry and Agriculture.</p> - -<p>7. Posts and Railways.</p> - -<p>Each one of these departments is presided over by one of the -Councillors. When the Council is integrally renewed by the Assembly -there is no designation or assignment of any department; the members -are simply chosen as federal Councillors, and make the apportionment -among themselves; and an agreeable understanding has always been -reached. According to the constitution this departmental division is -only “to facilitate the examination and despatch of business; all -decisions must emanate from the Council as a whole.” Regular Council -meetings are generally held twice a week. A decision is not valid -unless at least four members are present, and no decision can be -reversed except by four out of the seven, in a session attended by more -than four. The Councillor presides over his department, conducting it -much as an ordinary Secretary would under a cabinet system. In theory, -each is responsible for all, and all are responsible for each. There is -no question of rank, each department is of equal dignity.</p> - -<p>The <i>Bundespräsident</i>, or President of the Confederation, is -merely the chairman for a year of the Federal Council. He is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</span> only -the chief of the executive; he is not himself the whole of it, and -therefore can hardly be called the executive chief of the nation. -His commission as President simply enhances his dignity, and does -not confer upon him any additional power or responsibility. The -other members are his colleagues, not his mere agents or advisers; -he is only <i>primus inter pares</i>. He has no appointive power or -patronage, no veto, no right of even nomination to any position. Not -a single Swiss official at home or abroad is disturbed by the annual -change in the executive head. Few republics have invested a single -magistrate with such large powers as the President of the United -States; few commonwealths have given a nominal chief magistrate -so small a degree of power as belongs to the Swiss President. He -is not a chief magistrate. He is chief of a board, which board, -in its collective capacity, acts as chief magistrate. The central -authority in Switzerland, since the birth of the republic, has -always been vested in a committee; and a committee it is to-day. -The small addition to the salary, giving audience for letters of -credence and recall from diplomatic representatives, precedence on -state and ceremonial occasions, and the right to be addressed as -“<i>Son Excellence</i>,” about exhaust the special privileges, power, -and dignity of the President of the Confederation. He is just as -accessible to the public as any of his colleagues. He has no guards, -no lords in waiting, no liveried ushers, no gewgaws and trappings. -You may go to his official quarters with as little ceremony as you -may call on a private citizen. The stranger may knock at the door -and the chief magistrate of the Confederation bids him to come in. -The new President enters upon the discharge of his duties on the 1st -of January, following his election.<a id="FNanchor_37" href="#Footnote_37" class="fnanchor">37</a> There is no formal or public -installation,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</span> no demonstration, civic or military. The newly-elected -President repairs to his modest chambers in the federal palace at noon, -where alone he receives all who desire to call and pay their respects. -This opportunity is availed of very little beyond the members of the -diplomatic corps, who are expected to tender their congratulations -personally and on behalf of the governments they represent. The writer -was told by a colleague, who had been recently transferred to Bern -from a post with an elaborate court, that on the announcement of the -death of the Swiss President he donned his full diplomatic uniform to -go and tender his official and personal condolence to the bereaved -family. With considerable difficulty he found the executive mansion -in apartments on the third floor of a building of a modest street. -There being no <i>portier</i>, he rang the bell at the street entrance -and ascended the stairs. Reaching the floor of the apartments he was -met at the door by a woman who was wiping her mouth with the corner -of her apron, evidently having been disturbed in a meal. She invited -the diplomat in, and receiving the card, to his surprise, instead -of leaving the room to deliver it, she invited him to be seated and -opened the conversation. He soon discovered that she was the widow -of the deceased President, and a woman of good education, force, and -character. All the organs of the Swiss government have an unassuming -and civic appearance, retaining in a degree the wisdom, moderation, and -simplicity of their ancient manners; those who are invested with high -trusts are ever ready and willing to retire to complete equality with -their fellow-citizens, from the eminence of civil or military station -to which their talents and the call of their country have raised them. -There is nothing of pomp and majesty; the soil is too natural for the -artificial forms of court diplomacy. The manly consciousness of freedom -which creates and finds expression in the constitution elevates the -middle classes who form its chief support; while the direct or indirect -contact with public<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</span> affairs develops the intelligence and strengthens -the character of the citizen.</p> - -<p>In its organization and practical workings, the Swiss executive is -claimed by some to be modelled after a better pattern than that -of the United States, in so far as escaping the great quadrennial -contests, and the passions, ambitions, and disappointments born of them -constituting, as more than once illustrated in the past, the greatest -national peril.</p> - -<p>Previous to 1888, the President of the Confederation <i>ex officio</i> -became chief of what was called “The Political Department,” including -the conduct of foreign affairs. A reorganization was found to be -advisable, and, being formulated by the Federal Council and approved -by the Federal Assembly, came into force on the 1st of January, 1888. -Under this rearrangement of portfolios “Foreign Affairs” is placed on -a new and separate footing and no longer falls to the President of -the current year. This new department retains what belonged to the -“Political Department,” with the exception of the former presidential -functions. It is charged also with the management of commerce in -general, with work preparatory to the negotiation of commercial -treaties, and co-operation in drawing up the customs tariff; also with -matters relating to industrial property, copyright, and emigration; and -covering all the more important relations of Switzerland with foreign -countries. It is the uniform practice for the Vice-President to succeed -the President. In this way every member of the Federal Council in turn -becomes President and Vice-President once during each septennial period.</p> - -<p>Belonging to different political parties, the Councillors frequently -antagonize one another on the floor of the Assembly, but this is not -found to interfere with their harmonious working as an administrative -body. The right of the members of the Federal Council to participate -in the debates and make motions in the Federal Assembly, gives that -body, what the Congress<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</span> of the United States has not, the advantage -of a direct ministerial explanation. Yet that ministerial explanation -cannot be, as it may be in England, mixed up with fears of votes of -censure on one side or of a penal dissolution on the other. Irremovable -by the existing Assembly,<a id="FNanchor_38" href="#Footnote_38" class="fnanchor">38</a> with the question of their re-election -dependent on an Assembly which is not yet in existence, they have less -need than either American or English statesmen to adapt their policy to -meet any momentary cry. Is it not a most excellent political system? -Is not this relation between the legislature and the executive, both -in theory and practice, happily devised? It brings a quick and close -communication between these two great branches, and tends to promote a -good understanding between them. Elected by the Assembly, coming into -office along with it, there is every chance of the Council acting in -harmony with it; and their power of taking a share in the debates at -once enables the Assembly to be better informed on public affairs. -There is much in the Swiss experiment to refute the belief that there -can be no executive power proper, unless it derives its authority from -an independent source, and is made directly by the people, so it may -claim to be equally representative of the people, and to have received -still greater proof of the public confidence. The choice of the -executive by the legislative body may be susceptible to the objection -that it fails to furnish the limit and restraint that each of these -powers should exercise on the other; and that it is entitled to be -regarded as only a <i>Cabinet d’Affaires</i>,—a purely administrative -committee. The history of the Swiss system has developed no unusual -dissensions between these powers, and none are likely to occur. With -the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</span> legislature governed as a rule by motives of public utility, there -is little room for want of harmony with the executive, the simple -function of which is to carry into effect the measures which the -legislature has decreed.</p> - -<p>The present Federal Council of Switzerland is composed of men of -high order of ability, instructed by education and disciplined by -experience. They are men of crystalline integrity, trained familiarity -with the duties of their post, and profoundly patriotic in motive. -Among all the changes and complications of late years, no government -in Europe in its executive action has displayed a higher degree of -practical wisdom than the Federal Council of Switzerland. It acts with -sterling good sense and moderation, the result in a great measure of -that slow and cautious temperament which has ever marked the Swiss -character; traits which perhaps may be traced back to the privations -and distress through which, during a long course of years, they -struggled to the attainment of a dear-bought independence. It presides -over the national interests in an equitable and impartial spirit, -dealing wisely and temperately with the people without encroachment -or oppression, and, if we may judge from the insignificance of their -emoluments, without desire of advantage. The Councillors move in the -surest way, both to the attainment and preservation of power, through -the medium of those qualities which secure the esteem and gain the -confidence of the people. The people, on the other hand, behold -with content and satisfaction the absence of all selfish or ignoble -purpose in the labors of the Councillors; and sacrifice all factious -opposition and interference to the public benefit which they know to be -identified with the vigor, stability, and welfare of the government. It -is not too much to say that in the Federal Council of Switzerland an -honest attempt is made to follow the wise admonition of Cicero in his -“Offices:” “Those who design to be partakers in the government should -be sure to remember the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</span> two precepts of Plato; first, to make the -safety and interest of their citizens the great aim and design of all -their thoughts and endeavor without ever considering their own general -advantage; and, secondly, to take care of the whole collective body of -the republic so as not to serve the interests of any one party to the -prejudice or neglect of all the rest; for the government of a state is -much like the office of a guardian or trustee, which should always be -managed for the good of the pupil, and not of the persons to whom he is -intrusted.”</p> - -<p>There has been some movement to change the mode of appointment to -the executive power of the Confederation. Like other human things, -it is not absolutely ideal in its working. The relations between the -executive and judicial departments are not what they should be, though -much better than they were at the beginning of the constitution. Yet, -on the whole, the working of the Swiss executive during the forty-two -years of its trial has been such that it need not shrink from a -comparison with the working of either of the two better known systems. -The fact of the Council being not directly chosen by the people is -claimed by some to be inconsistent with the “democratic theory.” -Surely it is not wise to exchange at the bidding of a certain abstract -doctrine a system which has worked well for so long, for one which is -not certain to work better, and which might work a great deal worse. -By many constitutional students the actual form of the Swiss executive -is looked on as the happiest of the political experiments of the -present half century. It seems to have escaped both some of the evils -which are incident to kings and some of the evils which are incident -to presidents. It seems more wisely planned, in all events for the -country in which it has arisen, than those forms to which we are better -accustomed.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.<br> -<span class="small"> - -THE FEDERAL TRIBUNAL.</span></h2></div> - -<p class="center">Bundesgericht; Tribunal fédéral.</p> - - -<p>The Swiss Federal Tribunal, in its present form, dating from 1874, -was originally set up in 1848. It is, however, the product of an -historical development extending over nearly six hundred years, -and the history of this period only will explain the exact meaning -of the carefully-balanced and guarded phrases which describe its -jurisdiction. Previous to 1848 there existed two methods for peaceably -settling disputes among members of the Confederation,—<i>friendly -remonstrance</i> and <i>arbitration</i>.</p> - -<p>1. <i>Friendly Remonstrance.</i>—This was the plan adopted in the -two earliest treaties of alliance, those of 1291 and 1315. In both -cases there were only three parties to the treaty,—Uri, Schwyz, and -Unterwalden,—and the object was to settle disputes between neighbors, -and in a friendly and informal way. The “Witan,” or wise men, met -together to heal the quarrel according to the rules of equity and -right. If either party refused to accept their decision, the other -confederates were to enforce obedience.</p> - -<p>2. <i>Arbitration.</i>—This first appeared in 1351, when Zurich joined -the League. It became more common as the number of the confederates -increased, and was the method employed when friendly remonstrance -failed, and when war was not declared. The arrangement as to the place -of meeting, the number and the method of choosing the arbitrators, -and other<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</span> details, varied according to the stipulations contained in -the various treaties by which each Canton had been admitted into the -Confederation. The number of arbitrators was usually fixed at two for -each party, and, in case of disagreement, they selected an impartial -foreman or umpire; “the question of the choice of the foreman,” says -a contemporary historian, “was unquestionably the main point in the -whole system of the Courts of Arbitration, for, generally, he was -the only real and impartial judge.” This method was substantially -the only one employed from 1351 to 1798. During the existence of -the Helvetic Republic, there was established a Central Judiciary -along with a Central Executive and Legislature. It consisted of a -member and an assistant, nominated by each Canton, one-fourth being -renewed annually. It had original jurisdiction over the members of -the executive and of the legislature, and in criminal cases involving -the penalty of death or of imprisonment and banishment. It acted as a -Court of Appeals in civil matters, when the decisions of the inferior -courts were invalid by reason of want of jurisdiction, whether through -informality or violation of the constitution. This court practically -subsisted under Napoleon’s Act of Mediation, set up in 1803. With the -partial restoration of things in 1815 to the <i>status quo ante</i> -1798, came naturally the restoration of the arbitration system, with -reference to which the most elaborate regulations were laid down in -the Federal Pact. This codification legally subsisted till 1848. A -revision was attempted in 1832, when, after the Paris Revolution of -1830, more liberal ideas began to assert themselves in Switzerland, -but it failed through the opposition of the Conservatives. The -Reformers, however, were successful in 1848, and by the constitution -adopted that year, a Federal Court was created, with jurisdiction in -civil and criminal cases, and also a limited jurisdiction in cases -where rights guaranteed by the constitution were alleged to have been -infringed; <i>provided</i> that the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</span> Federal Legislature referred -such cases to it. The court consisted of eleven judges and eleven -substitutes, elected by the Federal Assembly for a term of three years. -The president and vice-president of the court were appointed by the -same body annually. Another attempt at revision was made in 1872, by -which the functions of the court as an interpreter and upholder of -rights guaranteed by the federal and cantonal constitutions would -be very much extended, but it was rejected. There was an appeal on -questions of public law to the Federal Council, from which there was -a further appeal to the Federal Assembly. If the two chambers agreed, -the decision was final; if they disagreed, the decision of the Federal -Council prevailed. This system was found unsatisfactory, as a large -part of the time of the chambers was occupied in the discussion of -mixed questions of law and politics. When the Constitution of 1874 was -adopted, this and many other defects were in a measure remedied.</p> - -<p>The fourth or last division of Chapter II. of the Swiss constitution, -“Federal Authorities,” is devoted to the Federal Tribunal, and declares:</p> - -<p>1. There shall be a Federal Tribunal for the administration of justice -so far as it belongs to the Confederation. There shall be, moreover, a -jury for criminal cases.</p> - -<p>2. The members of the Federal Tribunal and their alternates shall be -chosen by the Federal Assembly, which shall take care that all three -national languages are represented therein. The organization of the -Federal Tribunal and of its sections, the number of its members and -alternates, and their terms of office and salary shall be determined by -law.</p> - -<p>3. Any Swiss citizen who is eligible to the National Council may be -chosen to the Federal Tribunal. The members of the Federal Assembly or -Federal Council, or officials appointed by those authorities, shall not -at the same time belong to the Federal Tribunal. The members of the -Federal Tribunal shall<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</span> not during their term of office hold any other -office, either in the service of the Confederation or any Canton, nor -engage in any other pursuit, nor practise a profession.</p> - -<p>4. The Federal Tribunal shall organize its own chancery, and appoint -the officials.</p> - -<p>5. The judicial authority of the Federal Tribunal shall extend to civil -cases:</p> - -<p>(<i>a</i>) Between the Confederation and the Cantons.</p> - -<p>(<i>b</i>) Between the Confederation on the one part and corporations -or private persons on the other part; when such corporations or private -persons are the plaintiffs, and when the amount involved is of a degree -of importance to be fixed by federal legislation.</p> - -<p>(<i>c</i>) Between Cantons.</p> - -<p>(<i>d</i>) Between Cantons on the one part and corporations or private -persons on the other part upon the demand of either party, and where -the amount involved is of a degree of importance to be fixed by federal -legislation. It further has jurisdiction in suits concerning the status -of persons not subjects of any government (Heimathlosen), and conflicts -between Communes of different Cantons respecting the right of local -citizenship (<i>droit de cité</i>).</p> - -<p>(<i>e</i>) The Federal Tribunal shall, moreover, decide other -cases upon the demand of both parties to the suit, and when the -amount involved is of a degree of importance to be fixed by federal -legislation.</p> - -<p>(<i>f</i>) The Federal Tribunal, with the aid of juries to pass upon -questions of fact, shall also have jurisdiction in criminal cases:</p> - -<p>(1) Involving high treason against the Confederation or rebellion or -violence against the federal authorities.</p> - -<p>(2) Involving crimes and misdemeanors against international law.</p> - -<p>(3) Involving political crimes and misdemeanors which are<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</span> the cause of -the result of such disturbances as call for armed federal intervention.</p> - -<p>(4) Involving charges against officials appointed by a federal -authority upon the application of the latter.</p> - -<p>(<i>g</i>) The Federal Tribunal further has jurisdiction:</p> - -<p>(1) Over conflicts of jurisdiction between federal authorities on the -one part and cantonal authorities on the other part.</p> - -<p>(2) Disputes between the Cantons involving questions of public law.</p> - -<p>(3) Complaints concerning violations of the constitutional rights -of citizens, and complaints of private citizens on account of the -violation of concordats or treaties. Conflicts of administration are -reserved and are to be settled in a manner prescribed by federal -legislation. In all the forementioned cases the Federal Tribunal shall -apply the laws passed by the Federal Assembly, and those resolutions -which have a general import. It shall in like manner conform to all -treaties which have been ratified by the Federal Assembly.</p> - -<p>(<i>h</i>) Besides the cases mentioned, the Confederation may by law -place other matters within the jurisdiction of the Federal Tribunal; in -particular, it may give to that court powers for securing uniformity -in the application of all federal laws passed in accordance with -provisions of the constitution.</p> - -<p>In 1874, within one month after the new constitution came into force, -the Federal Assembly passed a very elaborate law relating to the -Federal Tribunal. The jurisdiction of the court was extended to:</p> - -<p>1. Cases of expropriation for the construction of railways and other -works of public utility.</p> - -<p>2. Questions between the Confederation and railway companies, and the -winding up of the latter.</p> - -<p>3. Cases which by the constitution or the legislation of a Canton are -intrusted to its competency, when such cantonal provisions have been -approved by the Federal Assembly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</span></p> - -<p>As a Court of Appeals under the same federal law it sits:</p> - -<p>4. In cases where federal laws have to be applied by Cantonal -Tribunals, and the amount of the matter in dispute is 3000 francs -at least, or cannot be estimated; where either party appeals from -the judgment of the highest Cantonal Court (by agreement the parties -can make the appeal directly from the lower Cantonal Court, without -going to the Cantonal Court of Appeal). It also decides in cases of -extradition, when the demand is made under an existing treaty, in so -far as the application of the treaty is questioned; it settles boundary -questions between two Cantons, and questions of competence between the -authorities of different Cantons. In questions of jurisdiction between -the Federal Court and cantonal authority, or as to whether it should be -settled by a court of arbitration, the Tribunal itself decides as to -its own competence. In cases where questions between Cantons or between -a Canton and the Confederation come before the court, they come on -reference from the Federal Council. If the Council decides negatively -as to whether a matter ought to come before the court, the Assembly has -the final determination on the point.</p> - -<p>This general organizing act of 1874 fixes the number of members of the -court and the alternates; their terms of office, salaries, and other -details. The number of judges is reduced from eleven to nine, and the -court shall never contain, at any given time, two or more persons -from the same family; the term is extended from three to six years. -The president and the vice-president are to be elected by the Federal -Assembly from among the judges, for the term of two years. The salaries -are fixed at 10,000 francs a year for the judges; 11,000 francs for -the president (or chief justice), and from 6000 to 8000 francs for -each of the secretaries. There must be two secretaries at least, one -from German-, the other from French-speaking Switzerland; both must -speak German and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</span> French, and one also Italian. They are chosen by the -court by ballot, and for a term of six years. The assistant judges or -alternates receive twenty-five francs a day when serving, and a fixed -travelling allowance. These assistant judges only sit in the place of -the judges who are prevented for some reason from sitting in person. -The judges and the secretaries when away from the seat of the court -on official business are paid fifteen francs a day additional, and a -travelling allowance. The vacations of the court must not exceed four -weeks in the year; but either the president or vice-president must -always remain at the permanent seat of the court. Temporary leave -of absence may be granted to the members of the court and to the -secretaries. The judges (but not the assistant judges) are required to -reside where the court is fixed. In cases of elections and in civil -and constitutional causes, seven judges form a quorum, and the number -present must always be uneven (apparently because the president has -no casting vote). A judge, ordinary or assistant, cannot sit when his -relatives of blood, or by marriage in an ascending or descending line, -or collaterals up to and including cousin-german or brother-in-law, are -in any way interested in the case. A judge is similarly disqualified -from sitting, when the affairs of his wards are under consideration, -or in a case in which he has taken any part personally as federal or -cantonal official, or judge, or arbitrator, or counsel; or in affairs -relating to an incorporated company of which he is a member; or when -his Commune or Canton of birth is a party; or when a suit is brought -against the executive or legislature of his Canton of birth. A judge -of either kind, ordinary or alternate, may be objected to by a party -to a suit, if the said judge is an enemy of or dependent on one of -the parties; or since the institution of the suit, as a member of the -court, has expressed his opinion on it; but the Federal Court as a -whole must be accepted by the parties. If by reason of such objections<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</span> -there are not enough members to form a quorum, the chairman selects -by lot from among the presidents of the Supreme Cantonal Courts a -sufficient number of “extraordinary assistant judges,” <i>pro hac -vice</i>. The act designates three thousand francs as the minimum -amount for “degree of importance” to give jurisdiction in cases where a -money value must be fixed by federal legislation.</p> - -<p>All members and officials of the court must be bound by oath to fulfil -the duties of their respective offices; the oath to be administered -to the judges in the presence of the Federal Assembly. This oath -may be taken by a “<i>Handgelübde</i>,” or raising of the hand, in -the case of persons objecting on conscientious grounds to take an -oath. The court is to sit and give judgment in public; this does -not apply to the juries or to preliminary inquiries. The president -settles the order of business and maintains order in court; being -empowered to imprison disobedient persons for twenty-four hours; and -in extreme cases to fine up to a hundred francs and to imprison up -to twenty days. Every year the court must submit an account of the -business transacted by it to the Federal Assembly, which has a right -to criticise any act of the court, but can alter only by a federal -law any of its decisions of which it may disapprove. The officials of -the court have the right of transacting in any Canton, without asking -leave of the cantonal authorities, all business which falls within -their jurisdiction. Each judge is permitted to deliver opinions in -his own dialect. Another federal law regulates with great detail the -costs of the court, which are defrayed out of the federal treasury, and -likewise the fees which are to be paid by parties to the suits. In the -exercise of the criminal jurisdiction the court goes on a circuit. For -this purpose the Confederation is divided into five assize districts. -One of these districts embraces French Switzerland; a second, Bern -and surrounding Cantons; a third, Zurich and the Cantons<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</span> bordering -upon it; a fourth, central and part of east Switzerland; and the -fifth, Italian Switzerland. The court annually divides itself for -criminal business into three sections; a Chamber of Accusation and a -Criminal Chamber, each composed of three judges and three alternates, -and a Court of Criminal Appeal (<i>Tribunal de Cassation</i>), with -five judges and five alternates. Sentences are only valid when the -court consists of five members. The Criminal Chamber decides at what -places in the several districts assizes shall be held. The localities -selected furnish at their own cost places of meeting. The cantonal -police and court officials serve as officers of the court. The court -elects every six years, to hold for the whole term of the court, two -“Judges of Inquest” (<i>Untersuchungsrichter</i>), who are charged -with the preparation of cases. The federal assizes are composed of -the Criminal Chamber and a jury of twelve, elected in the Cantons by -the people, and drawn by lot from the list of the district in which -the assizes are to be held. There is one juror for every one thousand -inhabitants in the first four districts as above given; and one for -every five hundred in the fifth district. With certain exceptions, -every citizen having the right to vote in federal matters is eligible -as a juror. The exemptions are: those of the full age of sixty, those -whose names were placed on the previous list of jurors, and those who -are incapacitated by sickness or infirmity. The names of all the jurors -of the district are placed in an urn, and fifty-four are drawn by lot. -The <i>Procureur-général</i> or states-attorney, appointed by the -Federal Council for the case, has the right to challenge twenty and the -accused also twenty; the remaining fourteen are summoned, and two of -this number are selected by lot to act as substitutes in case of need. -In order to acquit or condemn a prisoner there must be a majority of -at least ten out of the twelve; otherwise, a new trial must take place -with another jury. These federal assizes are of rare occurrence, the -last<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</span> one being at Neuchâtel in 1879, when an anarchist was condemned -for a crime against international law (instigation to the assassination -of sovereigns).</p> - -<p>The power of the court in the matter of claims for violation of rights -of citizens has been exercised with much latitude. The most usual -and proper cases arising under it are: infringements of the federal -guarantee to the citizen of equality before the law, of freedom of -settlement, of security against double taxation, of liberty of the -press, etc. But the court has gone much beyond these; its jurisdiction -has been extended to the hearing of complaints against cantonal -authorities, for ordinary alleged failures of justice, such as could -hardly have been contemplated by the constitution. It has even taken -jurisdiction of cases where the appellant asserts a denial of his claim -by a cantonal judge, grounded upon merely obstructive motives or an -arbitrary application of the law.</p> - -<p>The Constitution of 1874 had as one of its chief objects the -strengthening of the federal judiciary; and by statutes, enacted in -pursuance of the constitutional authority given to the Federal Assembly -to place other matters within the competence of the court, there have -been transferred generally to it the appeals heretofore made from -the Federal Council to the Federal Assembly. There is no purpose to -entirely exclude the legislative branch from judicial action; for the -constitution, in dealing with the Federal Tribunal, expressly provides -that “administrative” cases are reserved to the Assembly; and the act -of 1874 defined the jurisdiction of the Federal Council and Federal -Assembly, under this reservation, to embrace disputes respecting -public primary schools of the Cantons, liberty of commerce and trade, -rights of established Swiss, religious disputes relating to matters of -public law, questions as to the calling out of the cantonal militia, -consumption taxes and import duties, exemption from military service, -and the validity of cantonal elections and votes. In<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</span> all these cases -an appeal lies from the Federal Council to the Federal Assembly. Thus a -wide field of judicial action is withheld from the sphere of the court, -and upon questions which do not appear to possess any “administrative” -character; producing a division of functions which is very anomalous. -There has always existed in Switzerland a very strong current of -opinion, that the court should be occupied exclusively with questions -of public law, and should possess no jurisdiction in matters of private -law. The Federal Tribunal has no officers of its own to execute its -judgments; but its judgments, as well as the decrees of courts of -arbitration in intercantonal conflicts, are executed by the Federal -Assembly; and the Federal Assembly in turn is obliged to resort to -cantonal machinery for the purpose of doing this; so that, in fact, -these judgments finally are executed by the cantonal authorities.</p> - -<p>The Federal Tribunal had no permanent seat from 1848 to 1874, and -met in different places. In 1874, by action of the Federal Assembly, -Lausanne was chosen for its permanent location; the Canton of Vaud, in -consideration of this honor, erected and presented to the Confederation -a <i>palais de justice</i>, the most elegant and commodious public -building in Switzerland.</p> - -<p>No professional qualification is required for eligibility to the -Federal Tribunal; any Swiss citizen eligible for the lower branch -of the Federal Assembly may be elected to the Tribunal. There is -no qualification for any federal office in Switzerland higher than -that for a member of the <i>Nationalrath</i>, or lower House of the -Federal Assembly. Any vote-possessing Swiss, twenty years of age -(except a naturalized citizen, who must wait for five years after his -naturalization), may be President of the Confederation or president of -the Federal Tribunal,—<i>i.e.</i>, chief justice of the Confederation. -It naturally occurs that there should be some better guarantee for -the depth of knowledge and solidity of judgment necessary for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</span> the -intelligent consideration and discreet determination of the responsible -duties attached to these high positions, and which can be the result of -nothing but the thought and experience of more mature years. Certainly -in high judicial life there should be a tact, a ripeness, and a nicety -of judgment, an intuitive apprehension of the relations of things, and -a wisdom, which age indeed does not always bring, but which age alone -can bestow.</p> - -<p>The courts in Switzerland have no place in the political government of -the country. The Federal Tribunal does not simply owe its existence -to the Federal Assembly, but is constitutionally forbidden to pass -upon the validity of the acts of its creator. It is not empowered to -judge of violations of the constitution, or to keep the legislature -within the limits of a delegated authority, by annulling whatever -acts exceed it. According to the Swiss theory, the legislative -department wields supreme power; is the sole judge of its own powers; -and if, therefore, its enactments conflict with the constitution, -they are nevertheless valid, and must operate <i>pro tanto</i> as -modifications or amendments of it. The legislature is deemed to have -the right of taking its own view of the constitution. Its utterance -is the guide for the court, which is always subordinate to it, and -bound to enforce every law passed by it.<a id="FNanchor_39" href="#Footnote_39" class="fnanchor">39</a> How different from the -authoritative position of the courts in the United States, where there -is no department of the government in which sound political views are -more valuable than in the judiciary. No lawyer can be found with the -requisite strength of mind and character to make a good judge on the -Supreme Bench who is not a man of clear, well-defined, and vigorous -political opinions. The interpretation of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</span> more difficult legal -problems calls for the application of those fundamental principles of -government upon which the great parties are founded. In the history of -the United States, parties have been broadly characterized by their -attitude towards the constitution. Their greatest victories have been -won in the decisions of the Supreme Court, as each in turn has been -represented there, and has impressed its views upon the decisions of -the judicature. Marshall, Taney, Chase, are the names which stand as -the high-water marks of the juridic-political history. De Tocqueville, -referring to the Supreme Court, says, “That the peaceful and legal -introduction of the judge into the domain of politics is perhaps the -most standing characteristic of a free people.” The Supreme Court of -the United States is universally regarded as the most perfect instance -of a court exercising the office of guardian and interpreter of the -constitution. It must not be forgotten that, as such, it came into -existence only under the second constitution; previous to 1787, it -was a mere committee of appeals, the judges appointed directly by -Congress, and dependent on it, or on its indirect action. To-day it is -the pivot on which the constitutional arrangements of the country turn. -It determines the limits to the authority, both of the government and -of the legislature; its decision is without appeal; completely filling -the idea held by some writers, that federalism implies the predominance -of the judiciary in the constitution. It is a tribunal which can set -aside a law of Congress, and enjoin the executive from proceeding, -when it is satisfied that either law or proceeding is contrary to the -constitution. It spurns the warning of Lord Bacon to his ideal judge, -in consulting with the king and the state, “to remember that Solomon’s -throne was supported with lions on both sides; let them (the judges) be -lions, but lions under the throne, circumspect, that they do not check -or oppose any point of sovereignty.” Such power no other tribunal in -any country<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</span> of the world possesses. No other country has a court whose -power is absolute to thwart, even the present will of the nation, by -declaring it out of harmony with a fundamental law adopted a century -ago. Caleb Cushing thus addressed the Supreme Court: “You are the -incarnate mind of the political body of the nation. In the complex -institutions of our country, you are the pivot upon which the rights -and liberties of all government and people alike turn; or, rather, -you are the central light of constitutional wisdom around which they -perpetually revolve.” The question of the court being identical with or -independent of the legislature of the supreme or federal government, -and the separation of the legislative and the judicial functions of -government, is strongly set forth in No. 78 of the “Federalist,” -written by Alexander Hamilton:</p> - -<p>“Some perplexity respecting the rights of the courts to pronounce -legislative acts void, because contrary to the constitution, has -arisen from an imagination that the doctrine would imply a superiority -of the judiciary to the legislative power. It is urged that the -authority which can declare the acts of another void, must necessarily -be superior to the one whose acts may be declared void. There is no -position which depends on clearer principles, than that every act of -a delegated authority, contrary to the tenor of the commission under -which it is exercised, is void. No legislative act, therefore, contrary -to the constitution, can be valid. If it be said that the legislative -body are themselves the constitutional judges of their own powers, -and that the construction they put upon them is conclusive upon the -other departments, it may be answered, that this cannot be the natural -presumption, where it is not to be collected from any particular -provisions in the constitution. The interpretation of the laws is the -proper and peculiar province of the courts. A constitution is, in fact, -and must be, regarded by the judges as a fundamental law. It must -therefore belong to them to ascertain its meaning, as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</span> well as the -meaning of any particular act proceeding from the legislative body. If -there should happen to be an irreconcilable variance between the two, -that which has the superior obligation and validity ought, of course, -to be preferred; in other words, the constitution ought to be preferred -to the statute. Nor does the conclusion by any means suppose a -superiority of the judicial to the legislative power. It only supposes -that the power of the people is superior to both; and that where the -will of the legislature declared in its statutes, stands in opposition -to that of the people declared in the constitution, the judges ought -to be governed by the latter, rather than the former. They ought to -regulate their decisions by the fundamental laws, rather than by those -which are not fundamental.”</p> - -<p>Jefferson apprehended encroachments by the Supreme Court, and declared -that it had the power “to lay all things at its feet.” This alarm -proved to be unfounded, and Mr. Jefferson himself, when the court in -his judgment passed beyond the undoubted limits of its authority, did -not hesitate to disregard the opinion of Chief-Justice Marshall, that -it was the duty of his secretary to deliver a judicial commission which -had been signed by his predecessor.<a id="FNanchor_40" href="#Footnote_40" class="fnanchor">40</a></p> - -<p>To many the Supreme Court in its inception seemed the weakest of the -three departments; and it is doubtful if either Madison or Hamilton, -both of whom expected the court to exercise the power of declaring -laws unconstitutional, appreciated the mighty force passing into the -hands of the hitherto<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</span> subordinate power. The judiciary act of 1789 -provided for a review in the Supreme Court of cases where the validity -of a State statute or of any exercise of State authority should be -drawn in question on the ground of repugnancy to the constitution, -treaties, or laws of the United States, and the decision should be in -favor of the validity.<a id="FNanchor_41" href="#Footnote_41" class="fnanchor">41</a> Though in the line of natural development, -and previous to the convention of 1787, asserted in New Jersey, -Virginia, Massachusetts, New York, and North Carolina, the exercise -of the full measure of this power in constitutional law presents an -interesting study in the history of the national and State governments. -A resolution was introduced in Congress in 1824 (Letcher, of Kentucky), -so to amend the judiciary act as to require more than a majority of -the judges to declare a State law void; and in 1830 an attempt was -made to repeal that section of the act, but it failed by a vote of one -hundred and thirty-seven to fifty-one. The doctrine of a co-ordinate -judiciary met with violent opposition in some of the States, notably -in Ohio in 1805, and in Kentucky in 1824 (“old court and new court” -struggle), and in the State of Pennsylvania as late as 1843. This power -to disregard the acts of the legislature and declare them null and void -because contrary to the supreme law of the constitution has been a -source of endless wonder to foreign students of the American system. In -speaking of it, Sir Henry Maine says, “There is no exact precedent for -it, either in the ancient or in the modern world.”<a id="FNanchor_42" href="#Footnote_42" class="fnanchor">42</a> It is a new and -original idea in political science, introduced and applied exclusively -in the courts of the United States. The elevation of the judiciary to -equal rank with the executive and the legislature was the outgrowth of -a natural process of political evolution through a written constitution -and a federal system<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</span> of government. Kent, in referring to the case -of Marbury vs. Madison, writes: “The power and duty of a judiciary -to disregard an unconstitutional act of Congress or of any State -legislature were declared in an argument approaching to the precision -and certainty of a mathematical demonstration.”<a id="FNanchor_43" href="#Footnote_43" class="fnanchor">43</a> The power was -never seriously questioned in the federal courts after that clear and -conclusive opinion, and it was gradually established in all the States.</p> - -<p>The Swiss Federal Tribunal, as a copy, is neither so consistent with -sound theory, nor so safe in practice, as its prototype in the United -States. The two systems meet by very different devices the problems -peculiar to federalism, and especially as concerns the interpretation -of the fundamental pact, or articles, or constitution, on which the -union rests. In the United States, this function is performed in the -last resort by the Supreme Court, and there is perhaps no other part -of our system which has extorted more admiration from foreign critics -than this exalted prerogative of the judiciary. But the Federal -Tribunal of Switzerland is a body of much more limited power and far -less dignity. Even its jurisdiction is determined in part by the laws -rather than by the constitution. In short, this tribunal appears as a -mere instrumentality of the other organs of the government, and not, -like the United States Supreme Court, a mediator between them, or even -a superior above them. The statesmen of Switzerland felt that a method -fit for the United States might be ill-fitted for their own country, -where the latitude given to the executive is greater; and the Swiss -habit of constantly recurring to popular votes makes it less necessary -to restrain the legislature by a permanently enacted instrument. -The Swiss constitution itself almost precludes the possibility of -encroachment upon its articles by the legislative body. When the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</span> -sovereign power can easily enforce its will, it may trust to its own -action for maintaining its rights; when, as in the United States, the -same power acts but rarely and with difficulty, the courts naturally -become the guardian of the sovereign’s will expressed in the articles -of the constitution. The right to declare laws void is not regarded -throughout Europe generally as judicial in its character, and hence -has not been intrusted to the courts; this may furnish a partial -explanation of the incompetence of the Swiss court in that respect. -The Federal Tribunal has been much improved since it was originally -set up, and will doubtless, with the decay of unreasonable jealousy of -the central government on the part of the Cantons, approach more and -more closely the Supreme Court of the United States, of which it is -an avowed copy, so far as Swiss political traditions and prejudices -would permit in 1848 and 1874. It rests with the Federal Assembly to -determine by statutes the particular questions which shall be submitted -to the court; these have already been greatly extended, and the court -will ultimately be given a still more independent and influential -position. The essence of judicial power consists not in judging, but in -laying down the law, or, according to the Roman expression, not <i>in -judicio</i>, but <i>in jure</i>. The purity of justice, the liberty of -the citizens, have gained by the change, and government has not lost in -security. Judicial power should be removed as far as possible from all -warping influence. It should be the great defender of established order -against the legislative and executive departments of government. Its -relation to the law-making and the law-executing powers is peculiarly -delicate and important. There is need that some other power, not -political, removed from the struggles of the present, having no ends -of its own to answer in the future, should have the function to decide -what is the meaning and application of a law; and whether there is any -positive conflict between a new one and a received one, or between a -new<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</span> one and a constitution. This should be a power able to watch over -the constitution, and prevent invasions of it. The highest court can -exercise this guardianship better than any other board of control that -can be devised. The power of the judiciary, under certain conditions, -to pronounce upon the constitutionality of the laws is “a security to -the justice of the state against its power.”<a id="FNanchor_44" href="#Footnote_44" class="fnanchor">44</a> The supreme power of -the court becomes the servant of the federative principle, which as -a mediator between opposing forces is pre-eminently a principle of -justice. The decision is now national, now in favor of the state, and -thus, through interpretation, the constitution is developed, and the -two forces have as free play in the judicial as in the more strictly -political action.</p> - -<p>We speak of three co-ordinate branches and of their working, each in -a separate and defined province; and yet, as must of necessity be -the case in human affairs, the lines of demarcation are not always -clear, and unless confusion is to be endless, a power must exist -somewhere to determine the limits of the separate provinces, and to -decide controversies in regard to them. The power to do this has been -confided under the system of the United States to the courts, in -accordance with the principles of the common law, if not by the express -provisions of the constitution. To the United States Supreme Court is -confided the duty of deciding questions involving the limitations of -the different branches of the government. It diminishes the danger of -collision between the different political bodies among which power -is distributed, because these bodies are not brought into direct -contact, but act each in its own way directly on the people; the -courts regulating conflicts of authority as they arise. The peace, -the prosperity, and the very existence of the Union are invested in -its hands; the executive appeals to it for assistance against the -encroachments<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</span> of the legislative power, and the legislature demands -its protection from the designs of the executive; it defends the Union -from disobedience of the States, and the States from the exaggerated -claims of the Union, the public interests against the interests of -private citizens, and the conservative spirit of order against the -fleeting innovations of democracy. This form of government, with the -immense power it gives to the courts, could not exist among a people -whose reverence for law and submissiveness to its mandates were not -very great, and would not be possible, moreover, if it did not rest on -a popular basis.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.<br> -<span class="small"> - -THE CANTONS.</span></h2></div> - - -<p>Prior to the year 1798, the condition of a Swiss Canton was that of -a great feudal lord, with an aggregate of many separate seigniorial -properties; acquired partly by conquest, partly by purchase. In the -town Cantons, such as Bern, Basel, and Zurich, the town was the -lord, and the country districts were attached to each as dependent -properties. In the rural Cantons, such as Uri and Schwyz, it was an -aggregate of democratic communities, which exercised lordship over -other dependent communities in their neighborhood. The conquered -districts, instead of being created into new Cantons, remained subject, -in some cases to individual Cantons, in others to associations of -Cantons for their members jointly. In the rustic communities the -government was a pure democracy; in the cities it was tempered with a -small mixture of aristocracy. Each Canton had a separate coinage, its -batzen and rapps, kreutzers and schillings, sous and centimes, that -would not<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</span> pass beyond its frontier.<a id="FNanchor_45" href="#Footnote_45" class="fnanchor">45</a> Each Canton had its own agents -accredited to foreign powers. Each Canton kept a custom-house, and -manned a tower at every bridge, at which each load of grass, butt of -wine, sack of corn, and pound of cheese that passed the boundary was -taxed. Every Canton was a distinct body, independent from any other, -and exercising the sovereign power within itself; looking upon the rest -as mere allies to whom it was bound only by such acts to which it had -consented, and when any new thing not comprehended in this agreement -happened to arise, each Canton retained the power of determining the -matter for itself. The idea that the minority of Cantons was bound by -the decision of the majority took root slowly, and internal affairs -depended for settlement on remonstrance and mediation. They were kept -together by the peculiarity of their topographical position, by their -individual weakness, by their fear of powerful neighbors, by the few -sources of contention among a people of such simple and homogeneous -manners, and by their joint interest in their dependent possessions. -The conditions of the country and of its society contributed to -divide instead of to unite the different Cantons. Mountains and lakes -separated them into almost distinct nationalities; they were peopled -by different races, with differences of language, religion, customs, -industries, material interest, and social development,—more than a -hundred parcels of territory, each having its separate history, and -in many cases a far greater difference between the inhabitants than -between the people of Maine and Texas, of Massachusetts and California, -for they were a polyglot people without a community of language, -to which, as a cohesive force, nothing can compare, especially in -a democratic state governed by opinion expressed through universal -suffrage. Many were the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</span> difficulties and dangers through which -the Cantons had to struggle to break up this system and overcome -these causes of dissension. This was gradually accomplished by the -principles of confederation, judiciously and temperately applied to the -circumstances of the country.</p> - -<p>The Swiss Cantons of to-day have very much the political organism of -the United States. They are sovereign in so far as their sovereignty -is not limited by the federal constitution; and as such they exercise -all the rights which are not delegated to the federal government. -The Cantons are units of a federal state, possessed within certain -limits of independent and supreme power. The Swiss constitution, -after guaranteeing to the Cantons their sovereignty, their territory, -their constitutions, etc. (as pointed out in the chapter on the -constitution), again and again reverts to the rights, powers, and -duties of the Canton with that remarkable detail which characterizes -the text of that instrument in everything it touches. These cantonal -provisions are, viz.:</p> - -<p>1. The Cantons have the right to make conventions among themselves upon -legislative, administrative, or judicial subjects; in all cases they -shall bring such conventions to the attention of the federal officials, -who are authorized to prevent their execution if they contain anything -contrary to the Confederation or to the rights of the Cantons. -Should such not be the case, the respective Cantons may demand the -co-operation of the federal authorities in their execution.</p> - -<p>2. By exception, the Cantons preserve the right to conclude treaties -with foreign powers, respecting the administration of public property, -and border and police intercourse; but such treaties shall contain -nothing contrary to the Confederation or to the rights of the Canton.</p> - -<p>3. Official intercourse between the Cantons and foreign governments or -their representatives shall take place through the Federal Council. -But the Cantons may deal directly with the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</span> subordinate officials and -officers of a foreign state in regard to the subjects enumerated (in -Section 2).</p> - -<p>4. In the case of sudden danger of foreign attack, the authorities of -the Canton threatened shall request the aid of other members of the -Confederation, and shall immediately notify the federal government, -without prejudice, however, to the action of the latter. The Cantons -so summoned are bound to give aid. The expenses shall be borne by the -Confederation.</p> - -<p>5. In case of internal disturbance, or when danger threatens from -another Canton, the authorities of the Canton threatened shall -immediately notify the Federal Council, in order that it may take -the necessary measures within the limits of its power, or may summon -the Federal Assembly. In urgent cases the authorities of the Canton -notifying the federal government of its action, may ask the aid of -other Cantons, to which the latter are bound to respond. If the -cantonal government is unable to call for aid, the federal authority, -having the power, may, and if the safety of Switzerland is endangered -shall, intervene without requisition. In case of federal intervention, -the federal authorities shall take care that the provisions of the -constitution guaranteeing the sovereignty of the Cantons be observed. -The expenses shall be borne by the Canton asking the aid or occasioning -federal intervention, except when the Federal Assembly otherwise -decides on account of special circumstances.</p> - -<p>6. In the cases mentioned (Sections 4 and 5), every Canton is bound to -afford undisturbed passage for the troops. The troops shall immediately -be placed under federal command.</p> - -<p>7. The Cantons may require proofs of competency from those who desire -to practise the liberal professions; federal legislation may provide -for certificates of competency valid for the whole Confederation.</p> - -<p>8. Cantons, under the supervision of the Confederation, shall enforce -the federal laws relating to weights and measures.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</span></p> - -<p>9. Every citizen of a Canton is a Swiss citizen. As such (after -furnishing evidence of his right to vote) he can take part at his -place of residence in all federal elections and votes. No one shall -exercise political rights in more than one Canton. Every Swiss citizen -shall enjoy where he is domiciled all the rights of the citizens of -the Canton, as also all the rights of the citizens of the Commune. He -shall, however, have no share in the common property of the citizens or -of the corporation; nor shall he exercise the right to vote in matters -pertaining purely to such affairs unless the Canton by legislation has -otherwise provided. In cantonal and communal affairs he gains the right -to vote after a residence of three months. The cantonal laws relating -to the right of Swiss citizens to settle outside the Cantons in which -they were born, and to vote on communal questions, are subject to the -approval of the Federal Council.</p> - -<p>10. No Canton shall expel from its territory one of its own citizens, -nor deprive him of his rights, whether acquired by birth or settlement -(<i>origine ou cité</i>).</p> - -<p>11. Every Swiss citizen shall have the right to settle at any place -within Swiss territory, if he possesses a certificate of origin or -some similar paper. In exceptional cases the right of settlement may -be refused to, or withdrawn from, those who, in consequence of a penal -conviction, are not entitled to civil rights. The right of settlement -may, moreover, be withdrawn from those who, in consequence of serious -misdemeanors, have been repeatedly punished; and also from those who -become a permanent charge upon public charity, and to whom their -Commune or Canton of origin refuses adequate assistance after having -been officially asked to grant it. In Cantons where the system of local -relief obtains, the permission to settle, if it relates to natives of -the Canton, may be made dependent on the condition that the parties -are able to work, and have not hitherto been a permanent charge upon -public<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</span> charity in their previous place of residence. Every expulsion -on account of poverty must be approved by the cantonal government, -and previous notice given to the government of the Canton of origin. -A Canton in which a Swiss establishes his domicile shall not require -security nor impose any special obligations for such establishment. -Nor shall the Commune in which he settles require from him other -contributions than those which it requires from its own citizens. A -federal law shall fix the maximum fee to be paid the registration -office for a permit to settle.</p> - -<p>12. Persons settled in Switzerland shall, as a rule, be subjected to -the jurisdiction and legislation of their domicile in all that pertains -to their personal status and property rights. Federal law shall -determine the application of this principle, and shall also make the -necessary regulations to prevent double taxation of a citizen.</p> - -<p>13. A marriage contracted in any Canton or in a foreign country, -according to the laws there prevailing, shall be recognized as valid -throughout the Confederation.</p> - -<p>14. The Cantons by law shall provide against all abuse of the freedom -of the press, but such legislation shall be subject to the approval of -the Federal Council.</p> - -<p>15. Citizens shall have the right to form associations, so far as they -are not, either in their purpose or methods, illegal or dangerous to -the state. The Canton by law shall take the measures necessary for the -suppression of abuses.</p> - -<p>16. All the Cantons are bound to treat the citizens of the other -confederated states like their own citizens, both in their legislation -and in judicial procedure.</p> - -<p>17. Civil judgments, definitely pronounced in any Canton, may be -executed anywhere in Switzerland.</p> - -<p>18. The exit duty on property leaving one Canton for another -(<i>Abzugsrechte</i>; <i>la traite foraine</i>) is hereby abolished, -as well as rights of first purchase (<i>Zugrechte</i>; <i>droit de -retrait</i>)<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</span> by citizens of one Canton against those of another -Canton.<a id="FNanchor_46" href="#Footnote_46" class="fnanchor">46</a></p> - -<p>19. The administration of justice remains with the Cantons, save as -affected by the powers of the Federal Tribunal.</p> - -<p>20. The Cantons may, by correspondence, exercise the right of -initiative as to measures in either council of the Federal Assembly.</p> - -<p>The duty of the federal government to intervene for the enforcement -of its guarantee of the “constitutional rights of citizens” in the -Cantons has been declared by the Federal Council in these words: -“When complaints are made regarding the violation of the constitution -in a Canton, and these are brought before the federal authorities, -the latter become in duty bound to investigate them and to form a -decision as to their foundation or want of foundation, and as to -necessary further regulations. For the Confederation guarantees -the constitutional rights of the citizen as well as the rights of -the authorities. The earlier articles of union also guaranteed the -constitutions, but this guarantee was otherwise explained, and many -complaints of unconstitutional proceedings and circumstances were -raised and disregarded. It was desired that these should be no longer -endured, and there was demanded an effective guarantee against -violations of the constitution. Thus arose Article 5 of the federal -constitution, which guaranteed with almost pedantic care the rights of -the nation and the constitutional rights of the citizen. It would, in -fact, be a remarkable relapse into the old view and order of things, a -striking denial of the principles contained in Article 5, if we were to -assume that, in case of a formally presented complaint,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</span> the federal -authorities were free to interfere or not. We hold rather that in such -cases the federal authorities are obliged to take up the complaints and -render a decision regarding them.”</p> - -<p>If a cantonal law violates the federal constitution or a federal -law, the Federal Tribunal will declare it invalid; but in some cases -recourse must be had to the Federal Council. The protection guaranteed -by the constitution applies to disturbances of the peace within a -Canton, to attacks of one Canton on another, or to a foreign attack. -The appeal, as a rule, is to the Federal Council, exceptionally to -other Cantons; with the existing facilities for communication with the -Federal Council, aid is now demanded exclusively from that body. This -feature in the relation of the general government to the Canton, and -Canton to Canton, is very different from that of the United States -to the State, and State to State. The State is more independent than -the Canton of this external interference. It is not obliged to obey -the summons of any other State for help; it has, in fact, no right -to render any such aid. The government in the United States may not -intervene even to preserve order in a State except on the request of -the legislature or the executive of the State.</p> - -<p>A special federal law enumerates the crimes for which one Canton may -demand from another the extradition of criminals. It embraces both -statutory and common-law crimes, and only stops at the limitation -fixed by the constitution, which declares that extradition may not be -rendered obligatory for political offences and those of the press. But -extradition may be refused, in any case, of persons who have acquired -citizenship, or who have settled in a Canton, when this Canton binds -itself to try and punish the accused according to its own law; or -allows a sentence already pronounced in another Canton to be executed -by its own officials.</p> - -<p>The Cantons, not being limited by the terms of the federal -constitution, are left sovereign in matters of civil law (except<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</span> as -regards the civil capacity of persons), the law of land, land rights, -descent and distribution, criminal law, cantonal and local police, -organization of the Communes, public works in general, organization -of schools (within limits of the constitution), the conclusion of -conventions with each other (called concordats), respecting matters -of administration, police, etc. The changes introduced by the present -constitution have had the effect to supplant many of the cantonal laws, -often very dissimilar and conflicting, by federal laws applicable -to the whole Confederation; establishing a uniformity upon many -important relations between the citizens and the state. Revisions of -the fundamental laws of the Cantons have been frequent; most of the -cantonal constitutions are of a recent date. From 1830 to 1874 there -have been twenty-seven total or partial revisions of the cantonal -constitutions. In a large measure these were required to harmonize -them with the federal constitution, first of 1848 and then of 1874. An -amendment to a cantonal constitution becomes valid only when ratified -by the federal authorities; no concrete case being necessary to test -it,—the Swiss procedure to assure the supremacy of the federal -constitution being political, not judicial. Cantonal constitutions -present an infinite variety in their organisms and operations; but -it will be sufficient to give the general features of one of the -two distinctive types, the representative system; the other, the -<i>Landsgemeinde</i> or open Assembly, composed of all the people -possessing votes, is reserved for a separate chapter. In the Cantons -of the representative system the legislative department consists of -but a single house, called the Greater or Grand Council (<i>Grosser -Rath</i>), and in a few of the Cantons known as the <i>Kantonsrath</i> -or <i>Landrath</i>. The members are elected by direct popular vote, -and, with few exceptions, by the secret ballot; from electoral -districts and by <i>scrutin de liste</i>. The average representation -is about one to every one thousand<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</span> inhabitants. In a few Cantons, -representation is not based upon the population, but is determined by -the number of active citizens; and in the Canton of Luzern, the number -of representatives is fixed by the constitution without any regard -to the population, or provision for future reapportionment. Every -vote-possessing citizen is ordinarily eligible for the Greater Council; -the last vestiges of property-qualification having disappeared. The -Canton of Geneva limits eligibility to those who have attained their -twenty-sixth year. In some Cantons functionaries salaried by the state -are excluded. There is a curious diversity presented in the federal and -cantonal age-qualification. A citizen of the Grisons attains political -majority for cantonal electoral purpose at the age of seventeen, or -three years before he can participate in federal elections. In the -Canton of Geneva the citizen only attains his political majority for -cantonal purpose at the age of twenty-one, or one year after he is -a voter at federal elections; and a Genevese can be a member of the -Federal Assembly or the federal supreme court or even President of -the Confederation six years before he is eligible to his cantonal -legislature.</p> - -<p>The terms in the Greater Council vary from one year to five. In many -of the Cantons the members receive no pay; the highest amount paid -is in the Canton of Geneva, and it is only six francs for each day -that there is a sitting. The Greater Council, besides drafting the -laws and decrees, and interpreting, suspending, and repealing them, -is ordinarily invested with legislative power over the organization -of administrations; the supervision of the execution of the laws; -the right of pardon; the ratification of cantonal agreements; the -establishment of cantonal taxes and the mode of their collection; -naturalization; ratification of loans contracted by the Canton; the -acquisition and alienation of cantonal property; public buildings; the -fixing of salaries and emoluments; the surveillance of the executive -and judicial powers, and the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</span> settlement of conflicts of jurisdiction -between these powers; the fixing of the annual budget; the appointment -of the members of the Lesser or State Council, as well as the members -of the Supreme Tribunal. In Geneva, Basel-rural, Zurich, and Thurgau, -the members of the Lesser Council are elected directly by the people. -This Lesser Council, which constitutes the executive power, is -variously called, in the different Cantons, <i>Conseil d’État</i>, -<i>Staatsrath</i>, <i>Standeskommission</i>, <i>Kleinerrath</i>. -Originally it was quite a large body; but recent revisions of the -cantonal constitutions have made a reduction in the number, and it now -consists of from five to seven members, who distribute among themselves -the different departments on the same system as that described of -the Federal Council. The terms vary from two years to four. In some -Cantons the members must be divided as far as practicable among the -several electoral districts. In all the Cantons this executive power -is collegiate,—that is, not vested in a single individual, but in a -commission. Nowhere does the chief magistrate hold the independent -position of an American State governor, but, like the President of -the Confederation, is mere chairman of the council. The salary paid -the members of the executive council is from three to five thousand -francs a year. This Council proposes laws and decrees to the Greater -Council, and watches over the maintenance of public tranquillity and -security, as well as over the execution of the laws, decrees, and -regulations of the Greater Council. It administers the funds of the -state; appoints those executive and administrative functionaries who -are immediately subordinate to it, and watches over them; it has also -the higher surveillance of the communal administrations, the poor, -the schools, and the churches. The qualification for a member of the -executive or Lesser Council is the same as that of the Greater Council; -and in both instances it is uniformly limited to active citizens and -laymen, and they are re-eligible without limit. The executive<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</span> council -in the larger Cantons is represented, in districts established for -the purpose, by <i>Prefects</i>, or <i>Regierungsstatthalter</i>, or -<i>Statthalter</i>, who, associated with two Councillors, compose a -commission for many purposes. Although agents of the executive council, -they are not always appointed by it, but sometimes by the Greater -Council, and often directly by the people. The constitutions of most of -the Cantons say that the legislative, executive, and judicial functions -shall be kept distinct; yet in practice the line of demarcation is -often ignored. The legislative bodies are given an important share -both in the administration and interpretation of the laws. As in -the federal, so in the cantonal constitutions, there is not to be -found that delicate adjustment of the political forces, forming so -conspicuous a feature in the national as well as in the State system of -the United States; that great ingenuity and skill in the contrivances -which prevent the different representative bodies from being mere -fac-similes of each other, and at the same time preserve their equality -in point of power.</p> - -<p>A cantonal constitution usually opens with the declaration that -the “sovereignty resides in the people as a whole” (“<i>auf der -Gresammtheit des Volks beruhe</i>”); and then follows the further -declaration that the people, by virtue of that sovereignty, “give it -[the Canton] the following constitution;” also that this sovereignty -is to be “directly exerted by the active citizens and only indirectly -by the magistrates and officials;” that “the people exercise the -legislative power in co-operation with the cantonal council” (referring -to the right of <i>Initiative</i> and <i>Referendum</i>); and that in -this “it is the duty of every citizen to participate.”</p> - -<p>All the cantonal constitutions contain, in a more or less explicit and -elaborate manner, provisions of this nature, viz.:</p> - -<p>All citizens are equal in the eye of the law and enjoy the same civil -rights; free expression of opinion by word or in writing; the right -of association and of assembly is guaranteed,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</span> subject to no other -restrictions than those of the common law; in libel suits, alleged -defamatory publications must not only be proven to be true, but must -appear to have been made from “honest motives and a righteous purpose;” -house and home right inviolable; house-searching by an official vested -with this power must be in advance carefully explained by the official, -as to the reason for and the extent of the proposed search; innocent -persons sentenced are entitled to restitution and just satisfaction -from the state; father and son, father-in-law and son-in-law, two -brothers, or two brothers-in-law cannot serve at the same time as -members of the executive or judicial department; all citizens subject -to taxation must contribute to the burdens of the state and the -community in accordance with their respective means; small estates -of persons disabled for work, as well as a sum absolutely necessary -for support, shall be exempt from taxation; tax exemptions in favor -of private persons or industrial companies forbidden; no new taxes -on the consumption of any of the necessaries of life to be levied; -cantonal and district officers to receive fixed salaries, all fees -going into the state treasury; organization and management of charity -left to the community;<a id="FNanchor_47" href="#Footnote_47" class="fnanchor">47</a> the state to make suitable contributions -to lighten the burdens of poor communities, and especially to extend -its influence and aid in the education of the children of the poor, -improving the hospital service, and reforming the character and -ameliorating the condition of the neglected and dissolute; to render -assistance and facilities for the development of trades-unions based on -the principle of self-help; to pass laws essential for the protection -of the laboring classes; judicial sentences not to be set aside or -modified by any legislative or administrative authority, except in so -far as the pardoning power is vested<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</span> in the cantonal council. There -are also numerous provisions relating to church affairs and education, -on parallel lines with those of the federal constitution, with the -addition that the former includes the organization and management of -the church communities which are exclusively under cantonal authority.</p> - -<p>The Cantons are left quite free to organize their courts as they -please; justice, in general terms, being administered by the Canton -with recourse in specified cases to the Federal Tribunal. The -cantonal judicial organization presents two well-defined courts: the -district courts (<i>Bezirksgerichte</i> or <i>Amtsgerichte</i>), -which are courts of first instance; and a supreme or appellate court -(<i>Obergericht</i> or <i>Appellationsgericht</i>), which is the -court of final instance. Some of the Cantons have justices of the -peace; these are elected by the Communes for a term of six years, and -have jurisdiction up to fifty francs. Either party to a suit, or the -justice, may demand that two jurors elected by the casting of lots be -summoned to assist in the trial. For the hearing of criminal cases, -there is a trial in a few Cantons by a jury under the presidency of -a section of the supreme-court justices, but in the others a special -criminal court acts without a jury. In three of the large Cantons, -Geneva, Zurich, and St. Gallen, there are special <i>Cassation</i> -courts put above the <i>Obergericht</i>. Zurich and Geneva have also -special commercial courts (<i>Handelsgerichte</i>). In many of the -Cantons the supreme court exercises certain semi-executive functions, -taking the place of a ministry of justice, in overseeing the action -of the lower courts, and of all judicial officers, such as the -states-attorneys. The courts make annual reports to the legislative -council, containing a full review of the judicial business of each -year, discussing the state of justice, with criticisms upon the system -in vogue, and suggestions of reform. These reports are important -sources of judicial statistics. The terms of cantonal judges vary -from three to four and six<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</span> years. The judges of the inferior courts -are elected directly by the people; those of the supreme courts by -the legislative council. In Bern the legislative council also elects -the presidents of the district courts. No qualification for election -to the bench is required except that of being an “active citizen.” -But invariably, to the higher courts at least, competent lawyers are -chosen; and re-election is the rule. The district courts render final -judgments on claims from fifty to two hundred francs. Either party to -the suit has the right to demand that two district judges preside as -associate judges. The district courts, consisting of a president and -four judges, decide as of first resort, and the appellate chambers of -the supreme court, as of second and final resort, all claims exceeding -two hundred francs. The commercial court decides finally all claims -exceeding five hundred francs, provided the defendant is entered -in the commercial register. In proceedings before the district and -commercial courts the claim is first submitted to a justice acting as -<i>propitiator</i>; he summons the parties for the purpose of effecting -an amicable adjustment of their difficulties; if no agreement can be -reached, a lawsuit permit is issued by the justice and handed to -the plaintiff, which he in turn presents to the court. In a majority -of cases the court proceedings are oral; only in exceptional cases, -involving difficult and novel questions or intricate accounts, an -order will be made for written preparatory proceedings. After the -court hears an oral statement of the claim and the defence, it decides -whether further evidence shall be produced, and issues an order setting -forth what must be established by each party in the form of written -testimony; and this must be presented to the court in an accurate and -carefully-prepared form. The judgment of the court is first rendered -orally, and written notice of the same given to the parties. When an -appeal lies, it must be taken within ten days from the receipt of the -above notice. In all cases the plaintiff must make a deposit to cover<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</span> -the costs, but the costs are to be finally paid by the party cast in -the suit.</p> - -<p>Under the constitutional provision, that final civil judgments rendered -in one Canton are executory in any other Canton, sometimes a question -arises as to the obligation of one Canton to carry out the decree of -the court of another Canton. This question must be referred for final -decision to the federal authorities. In only one Canton, that of Uri, -is there a departure from the federal system, and there the cantonal -courts have the power to declare invalid a cantonal legislative -enactment.</p> - -<p>Trial by jury, even for felony, does not universally exist in the -Cantons. The substitution of a tribunal or judicial body instead of -the unitary system, though claimed to be almost tantamount, is far -from fulfilling the essential purpose of a jury. Knowledge, skill, -and strict impartiality belong to the judge; common sense and common -feelings to private individuals on a jury. The judge is deaf, blind, -and inexorable, and knows only the law; the jury is under the influence -of public opinion, or even of public prejudices, which must not be -overlooked altogether, and for the sake of the law itself, of peace -and good government. The jury is, in fact, a legislative as well as a -judicial power, negatively at least, for deciding on law as well as -on fact; they may and do silence the law when they please. Unforeseen -cases occur sometimes where an undue advantage is taken of the law. -The jury may suspend, in fact, its application until it is altered; in -other cases, less uncommon, the strict application of the law would be -directly in opposition to public feelings and prejudices, to the extent -of threatening popular violence and revolution. A judge cannot make the -law bend to circumstances; government cannot yield without disclosing -weakness and encouraging the factious; but the jury, being supposed to -participate in these public feelings, may preserve the peace without -disgrace, by a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</span> sort of innocent denial of justice. A jury of judges, -as the silent part of the bench may be deemed, cannot be ignorant of -the law, and would make themselves gratuitously contemptible if they -pretended to participate in the feelings of the multitude. Besides -the obvious use of juries as a check on judiciary proceedings for the -safety of individuals, the institution is of high political importance. -It is one of the hidden springs upon which the cumbrous machine of -society is, as it were, suspended, and enabled thereby to sustain -accidental shocks without coming to pieces.</p> - -<p>There was abundant justification in the early cantonal criminal -codes for the abolition, by the federal constitution, of capital -punishment<a id="FNanchor_48" href="#Footnote_48" class="fnanchor">48</a> and corporal pains. Many of the codes were not -distinguished for justice, gentleness, or rationality. Nowhere were -witches more relentlessly pursued than in some of the Cantons of -Switzerland. The laws denouncing them were of Draconian severity. Stern -were the ordinances and strange the customs of the older Cantons. -In 1666 an entire family, mother, son, and daughter, were burned in -Unterwalden for practising forbidden arts. No less than one hundred and -fifty individuals were executed at Geneva, in a period of fifty years, -during the seventeenth century, for the capital offence of witchcraft, -denominated <i>lèse-majesté divine au plus haut chef</i>. The last -execution for sorcery was in Glarus in 1782. So late as 1824 a man -was racked in Zug, and in the archives of Obwald appears an entry, in -1840, of a payment of thirty francs to the executioner for beating a -prisoner, who<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</span> had proved refractory under examination, with rods, in -the torture-chamber. The Swiss historian Müller relates that one Sak, -at Bern, was sentenced to be whipped, and led out of the gate by the -executioner, for returning from banishment, and if he returned again -he should be drowned; also Hanns, the public executioner of Bern, was -banished two miles from the jurisdiction of the town for having spoken -immodestly to respectable men and women, and if he returned he should -have his eyes put out. An inn-keeper of Bern, having procured the -seal of a councillor who lodged at his house, made use of it to forge -obligations for sums of money which, supported by false witnesses, he -claimed after an interval of several years; the fraud being discovered, -he was broken upon the wheel, and the witnesses “boiled in a kettle.” -In Zurich, any one clipping the coin, had his fingers clipped off, and -was then hanged. In the council-room of the old Rathhaus of Appenzell -can still be seen an instrument known as the “bocksfutter”; it consists -of a long bench, on which delinquents, ordered to be punished with -stripes, and prisoners, who were obstinate about admitting their -guilt, were wont to be placed, with legs and arms outstretched as if -they were going to swim; but every attempt to move these members was -prevented by enclosing them in iron clamps firmly fastened to the -bench; this preliminary completed, the executioner was called in, and -ordered to give the victim as many strokes with “<i>ochsenziemer</i>” -on the bare body, as the judges might think necessary, to loosen his -tongue or purge him of his offence. Another so-called truth-finder -(<i>wahrheitserforschungsmittel</i>) was a cage, in which one could -neither stand upright nor stretch his legs, but only cower on the floor -in a constrained position. At Freiburg the punishment for stealing five -sous was death by decapitation; and a stranger striking a burgher was -fastened to a post and scalped, while a burgher striking a stranger -paid three sous. Capital punishment was inflicted by cutting off<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</span> the -head, which was done in this manner: the culprit was made fast in an -arm-chair, and a cap placed on his head with a hole in the top, by -which an assistant took hold of his hair, while the executioner, placed -behind, struck off his head with a broadsword.</p> - -<p>There is little or nothing in the Swiss cantonal institutions to -tempt unworthy men into official life. The salaries are nominal, with -very remote chances for any personal aggrandizement. In the local and -municipal administrations, it is difficult, if not impossible, for any -one class to employ the powers of government for purely selfish ends. -Many of the officials serve the Canton, municipality, and community -with motives as honorable as their services are intelligent and -efficient. The Cantons and communities are comparatively free from -debt, and not burdened by excessive taxes. There is a general aversion -to incurring public debts, common to the Swiss, from the federal head -down through the cantonal, municipal, and community administrations. -The revenues of these little states are small, and require strict -economy in every branch of expenditure. Nothing is wasted on useless -consumers and their retainers; an exact account must be rendered of -the employment of the public funds; and precision and publicity in the -keeping of public accounts. The people yields its servants, indeed, -some compensation, but it does not reward them with pensions or with -superabundant influence. It builds up no official class who forget -their citizenship and separate themselves from the mass of the people, -squeezing as many advantages as possible out of their offices, even -to the prejudice of efficient service. The Cantons, upon enumeration, -number not twenty-two but twenty-five, because three of them have -been divided into half-Cantons, making nineteen whole and six half -Cantons. Basel is divided into Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft (urban -and rural); Appenzell, into Ausser-Rhoden and Inner-Rhoden; and -Unterwalden, into Obwald<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</span> and Nidwald (above and below the forests -which formed the boundary between them). The rending of these Cantons -into half-Cantons was the work of party feuds; in one place springing -from political causes, in a second from religious strife, and in the -third from wrangles about wood and grass. Unterwalden was divided -as early as 1366. The division of Appenzell occurred in 1597; the -Catholic magistrates having turned out some Protestant ministers, -so serious a quarrel ensued between the two communions, that other -Cantons were called in as mediators; to restore peace they resorted to -a sort of political divorcement; the Canton was divided between the -two parties, and a river marked the boundary; the Catholics passed -on one side and the Protestants on the other, selling or exchanging -reciprocally their fields and houses. The separation in Basel took -place in February, 1832; the city of Basel maintained that the country -people should either accept the constitution which pronounced them -dependent and inferior, or renounce all connection with her: in vain -the Diet protested against this division, but the city persisted in -the separation rather than put itself on a level with the peasants. -Only in one case, that of Basel, was the division accompanied by any -violence. There is not a great difference between the population of the -halves in the Cantons of Basel and Unterwalden; the urban half, of the -former, having an excess of 12,000, and Obwald, of the latter, 3000; -but the population of Ausser-Rhoden is four and a half times that of -Inner-Rhoden. There is a wide diversity in the area of these several -half-Cantons, not easily accounted for, except in the case of Basel, -where one-half is composed of the city of Basel. Each half-Canton -keeps its own share of sovereign power; each is practically complete -in its state autonomy, the original cantonal integral having little -recognition beyond the representation in the Council of States. In -that body the members from these half-Cantons display, more or less, -the antagonism<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</span> which originally led to the division of their Cantons; -Catholic Appenzell is almost certain to oppose Protestant Appenzell; so -with all of the members from the fractional Cantons, they are arrayed -on different sides of all local questions, seriously impairing their -influence. In extent, population, and wealth, the Cantons are about -equal to a county; still, each is one of the twenty-two confederate -states. The official order of the Cantons corresponds with the -historical date of their entry into the Confederation, except that -Zurich, Bern, and Luzern, after joining the league of small Cantons, -were placed at the head. Uri occupies the first place in chronological -order, and anciently Luzern took the lead, but when Zurich entered -the Confederation, as an imperial city, in 1351, it displaced Luzern -by virtue of its great wealth; and two years later Bern joined the -league, and was awarded the second place on account of its military -power. The standards of the three original Cantons are very suggestive -of their history. The one of Uri represents a bull’s head, with the -broken links of the yoke hanging around the neck; that of Schwyz a -cross, the double symbol of suffering and deliverance; and the banner -of Unterwalden bears two keys, symbolical of the keys of the apostle -St. Peter, and destined to open the iron gates of their long slavery. -Emile de Laveleye, in his “Primitive Property,” gives the following -touching legend as to the method in which the boundary between the -<i>Marks</i> or Communes of Uri and Glarus was formerly fixed: “The two -Cantons are separated by frozen peaks and a lofty chain of mountains -everywhere except at the Klaussen passage, through which one can easily -pass from the valley of the Linth to that of the Reuss. In times past, -there were disputes and struggles between the people of Uri and Glarus -as to the debatable boundary of their pastures. To decide the question, -they agreed that, on St. George’s day, a runner should start at the -first cock-crow from the bottom of each valley, and that the frontier -should be fixed at the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</span> point where they met. The start was to be -superintended by inhabitants of Glarus at Altdorf, and by inhabitants -of Uri at Glarus. The people of Glarus fed the cock, which was to -give the signal to their runner, as much as possible, hoping that, -being in full vigor, it would crow early in the morning. The people -of Uri, on the contrary, starved their cock; hunger kept it awake, -and it gave the signal for the start long before dawn. The runner -started from Altdorf, entered the <i>Schaechenthal</i>, crossed the -top, and began to descend on the other side towards Linth. The Glarus -cock crowed so late that their runner met the one from Uri far down -the slope on his side. Desperate at the thought of the disgrace which -would be reflected on his countrymen, he begged earnestly for a more -equitable boundary. ‘Hearken,’ answered the other, ‘I will grant you -as much land as you can cross, ascending the mountain with me on your -back.’ The bargain was struck. The Glarus man ascended as far as he -could, when he fell dead from fatigue on the banks of the stream called -<i>Scheidbaechli</i> (the boundary line). This is why Urner Boden, -situated on the slope facing Glarus, beyond the division of the water, -belongs to Uri. It is a curious legend in which, as so often in Swiss -history, the citizen gives his life for the good of his country.”</p> - -<p>Individual Cantons have a national character, either because all -their inhabitants belong to one people, as in the German Cantons -of northern and eastern Switzerland, or in the French Cantons of -western Switzerland, or in Italian Ticino; or because one nationality -decidedly prevails, as the Germans in Bern and Graubünden, and the -French in Freiburg and Valais. The result of holding different -peoples together without transforming them into one nationality has -been attained only by allowing each people free course in its local -and inner life. The drift of Switzerland’s history and its political -trend are unquestionably towards a more compact<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</span> nationality. The -constitution was a compromise between the advocates and opponents of -nationalism. Every change from 1814 down to 1874 has taken something -from the Canton and Commune and bestowed it on the Confederation. -In every stage of its historical growth it has been a fight of the -Confederation against the Canton, on behalf of general rights; those -interests of the citizen which are claimed to lie beyond the proper -sphere of local laws and customs. The national government has steadily -extended its influence, every step increasing the authority of the -nation at the expense of the cantonal independence; a steady growth -in national feeling, a constant drift towards a stronger federal -government. Many branches of legislation have been taken away from -the Cantons, which under the constitution of the United States -adhere to the States. The federal government has absorbed numerous -matters of social and economic importance, such as those relating -to railways, telegraph, factories, insurance, debts, marriage, the -law of contract, and general measures of sanitary precaution. “Swiss -democratic federalism tends towards unitarianism. This is no doubt -in part due to the desire to strengthen the nation against foreign -attack. It is also due, perhaps, to another circumstance. Federalism, -as it defines and therefore limits the power of each department of the -administration, is unfavorable for the interference or to the activity -of government. Hence a federal government can hardly render service -to the nation by undertaking for the national benefit functions which -may be performed by individuals.”<a id="FNanchor_49" href="#Footnote_49" class="fnanchor">49</a> Wherever in the history of the -world we find a federation having an internal organization sufficiently -strong to maintain its own existence, we observe an inevitable drift of -power from the several states to the central government, striving to -ascertain over how broad a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</span> field it is expedient and right to extend -the activities of government. Yet it is impossible to study attentively -the march of Swiss affairs without seeing that what really lie next to -the hearts of the people are their cantonal and local institutions; -and while a well-assured nationality is kept up, in event of foreign -danger or common peril, nevertheless, the citizens look for protection -as well as for command to their own cantonal authority. A familiar -colloquialism is often used, which illustrates the relation of the -cantonal to the national feeling,—“My shirt is nearer to me than my -coat.”</p> - -<p>Switzerland, though not extensive in point of superficial surface, -embraces such an extraordinary variety of climate, soil, race, and -occupation as to render the rule of a single central democratic -government, in an especial manner, vexatious. It must of necessity -adhere to a system of Federal Union in preference to that of a -central and universally diffused authority; because in small states, -having each the power of internal legislation, the interests of the -inhabitants are nearly the same, and their influence can be felt and -their wants receive due consideration.</p> - -<p>The Cantons have deep-rooted and peculiar local institutions, in -many cases of great vitality; laws handed down traditionally from -generation to generation, often without having ever been committed to -paper, much less to print. Until 1848 there was not one written and -accepted cantonal constitution. A country where self-government has -longest subsisted, and political institutions been most the subject of -popular discussion and decision, it is at the same time a country in -which innovations are with the most difficulty introduced. You might -alter the whole political frame of government in the French republic -with more facility than you could introduce the most insignificant -change into the customs and fashions of the Swiss democracy. They seem -as immovable as the mountains in which they were cradled. The French -directory,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</span> in the ardor of their innovations, proposed to the peasants -of the Forest Cantons a change in their league, and made the offer -of fraternization, which had seduced the allegiance of so many other -states, but these sturdy mountaineers replied, “Words cannot express, -citizen directors, the profound grief which the proposal to accede -to the new Helvetic League has occasioned in these valleys. Other -people may have different inclinations, but we, the descendants of -William Tell, who have preserved, without the slightest alteration, the -constitutions which he has left us, have but one unanimous wish, that -of living under the government which Providence and the courage of our -ancestors have left us.”</p> - -<p>The Confederation, in striving to make the general organization more -systematic and uniform, must tenderly regard cantonal susceptibilities. -The Swiss federal organization is firmly founded on cantonal -precedents, traits, and features; and their self-assertive vitality and -their direct influence make them the central subject of Swiss politics. -The federal constitution designates the members of the Confederation -as “sovereign Cantons;” and each of the cantonal constitutions says -in effect, “This, under federal supremacy, is a sovereign Canton,” -and each declares that the sovereignty within the Cantons rests on -“the people as a whole.” “Sovereign state” is conspicuous in the -constitution, federal and cantonal. It expresses national instincts, -national experiences, and political education. All the elevating -memories of national history, all the inspiring traditions which -had bred into national sentiment, generation after generation, were -connected with a league of states of almost insulated independence. -Each Canton has always jealously clung to its own individuality and -ancient customs. Every now and then the republic would be split up into -smaller confederations for the purpose of maintaining the rights of -state sovereignty; by these sectional strifes, the idea of isolation -and individuality was handed on, gaining strength<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</span> as it went, and -becoming more and more a political instinct of the Swiss people.</p> - -<p>Switzerland is a microcosm. In these five and twenty little states we -have a miniature resemblance of all the phases of social and political -life; every Canton contributes with friendly emulation to improve -the domestic policy and strengthen the political relations of the -Confederation; if they present no example worthy to be followed as a -whole, there is still much in their detail that will most abundantly -repay our study.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.<br> -<span class="small"> - -THE LANDSGEMEINDE.</span></h2></div> - - -<p>In the republics of the ancient world, where representative assemblies -were unknown, legislative power vested with the citizens, the sovereign -power being exercised by the whole people, acting directly in their own -persons. They met in what we should now call primary assemblies. This -early democracy found its most logical expression in the <i>Comitia</i> -of Rome and the <i>Ecclesia</i> of Syracuse. The <i>Ecclesia</i> -embraced all citizens over twenty-one years of age, unless they had -become liable to any loss of civic rights; it met so frequently, often -once a week, that it would be inconceivable, if we did not remember -that ordinary and professional labor was carried on not by the free -citizens, but by the numerous slaves. The same plan prevailed in the -early Teutonic tribes. Tacitus describes such an assembly, almost in -the words of Homer: “In matters of inferior moment the chiefs decide; -important questions are reserved for the whole community. When a -public meeting is announced, they never assemble at the stated<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</span> time; -regularity would look like obedience; to mark their independent spirit, -they do not convene at once, but two or three days are lost in delay. -Each man takes his seat, completely armed. The king or chief of the -community opens the debate; the rest are heard in their turn, according -to age, renown in war, or fame for eloquence. No man dictates to -the assembly; he may persuade, but cannot command. When anything is -advanced not agreeable to the people, they reject it with a general -murmur; if the proposition pleases, they brandish their javelins; this -is the highest and most honorable mark of applause; they assent in a -military manner, and praise by the sound of their arms.”</p> - -<p>Montesquieu is of the opinion that, in this treatise on the manners of -the Germans, by Tacitus, an attentive reader may trace the origin of -the British constitution; a system which he claims was found in the -forests of Germany. The Saxon <i>Witenagemot</i> was beyond all doubt -an improved political institution, grafted on the rights exercised -by the people in their own country. The author of the “European -Settlements in America” writes: “The Indians meet in a house, which -they have in each of their towns for the purpose, on every solemn -occasion, to receive ambassadors, to deliver them an answer, to sing -their traditionary war songs, or to commemorate the dead. These -councils are public. Here they propose all such matters as concern the -state, which have already been digested in the secret councils, at -which none but the head men assist.”</p> - -<p>During the Middle Ages these assemblies died out, and the right of -making laws passed either to the sovereign or to a representative -body; the older method surviving only in some of the Swiss Cantons. In -Uri, in the half-Cantons composing Unterwalden and Appenzell, and in -Glarus, the law-making body is the Landsgemeinde, the free assembly -of all the qualified voters, the <i>folk-moot</i>. The whole people -come together to pass laws, to nominate magistrates, to administer<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</span> -affairs, just as was formerly the case with the Germans of Tacitus -and the Achaians of Homer; with less pretensions, however, than the -assembly of a Greek city, for it is rather an agricultural democracy, -such as Aristotle commended. It is the direct government dreamed of -by Rousseau, who in his dislike of representative systems wrote the -“Contrat Social,” demanding that the entire community should meet -periodically to exercise its sovereignty. Rousseau suggests that he -was led to the opinions advanced in this work, by the example of the -ancient tribal democracies; yet at a later date he declared that he -had the constitution of Geneva before his mind; and he cannot but have -known that the exact method of government which he proposed still lived -in the oldest Cantons of Switzerland; where by the raising of hands -offices and dignities were distributed, and sanction given to the laws; -where feudalism and royalty had never penetrated, and where the most -perfect liberty reigned, without class struggles or social strife. The -assemblies in the Cantons named are called Landsgemeinden,—that is, -“National Communes.” It is a strictly precise term, implying that the -whole country forms, so to say, a single Commune. This was the case -originally. Later, as different villages were formed, they constituted -separate autonomic Communes; but the great Commune of the Canton, with -the General Assembly of all the inhabitants, the Landsgemeinde, was -maintained. Under the Helvetic republic of 1798 the Landsgemeinde was -abolished, in order to make way for the representative system. It was, -however, re-established under Napoleon’s act of mediation, promulgated -in 1803. The sagacity with which the First Consul discriminated the -most important features in the condition of the Swiss Cantons, may be -appreciated by the following extract from the speech he delivered on -the formation of the internal constitution of the Confederacy: “The -re-establishment of the ancient order of things in the democratic -Cantons,” said he, “is the best<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</span> course which can be adopted, both -for you and me. They are the states whose peculiar form of government -renders them so interesting in the eyes of all Europe; but for this -pure democracy you would exhibit nothing which is not to be found -elsewhere. Beware of extinguishing so remarkable a distinction. I -know well that this democratic system of administration has many -inconveniences; but it is established, it has subsisted for centuries, -it springs from the circumstances, situation, and primitive habits -of the people, from the genius of the place, and cannot with safety -be abandoned. When usage and systematic opinion find themselves in -opposition, the latter must give way. You must never take away from a -democratic society the practical exercise of its privileges. To give -such exercise a direction consistent with the tranquillity of the -state, is the part of true political wisdom.”</p> - -<p>Through a strange and happy combination of circumstances this ancient -custom may still be seen in the Cantons of Uri, Unterwalden, Glarus, -and Appenzell. The homely peasants who tend their own cows and goats -upon the mountain-side, and by patient industry raise their little -crops from the narrow patches of soil, hemmed in by rock and glacier, -meet to discuss the affairs of their Canton, to make its laws, and to -swear to observe them; a parliament of Swiss peasants, differing little -in manner or habits from their forefathers of the thirteenth century. -It affords a rare study in politics; an example of pure democracy -such as poets might imagine, and speculative philosophers design. -It was my privilege to have seen one of these primitive assemblies, -held on the hill-side market-place of Trogen, the seat of government -of Appenzell-ausser-Rhoden. Trogen is in the rolling, grassy, breezy -Appenzell Alps, the home of primitive virtue, the stronghold of Swiss -simplicity, honesty, and courage, and the region of light hearts and -merry tongues. It was the first Sunday in May, from which day the -Appenzellers date all the events of the year.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</span> Leaving St. Gallen for -Trogen, some seven or eight miles distant, in a carriage, about nine -o’clock in the morning of a bright and beautiful day, the main road -and the many branches that entered it, as far as the eye could reach, -were full of peasants making their way on foot to Trogen; every man -carrying in one hand the family umbrella, and in the other an old sword -or ancient rapier, which, on this occasion the law at once commands -him to carry and forbids him to draw, and which is brought out for -this day only from its dignified seclusion; each one wearing a short -green coat, with a stiff high collar, and a silk hat, both bearing -unmistakable evidence of being venerable heirlooms. The convening of -the Landsgemeinde was announced at twelve o’clock M. by heralds, as -a drum and fife corps, with a wonderful uniform of black and white, -the cantonal colors. There were estimated to be present six to seven -thousand voters. No provision was made for seating them, and all stood -during the proceedings, which lasted nearly three hours. The assembly -opened with a silent prayer, the Landammann setting the example, and -instantaneously the thousands of heads were uncovered and bowed, with -an indistinct but audible wave of sound from the speechless lips; then -a national song in which all joined; the Landammann and his colleagues -of the council mounted a rough platform erected in the centre of the -field, draped with black and white, and with two ancient-looking swords -crossed before it. Close attention was given to the Landammann while he -addressed them as “Trusty, faithful, and well-beloved confederates.” -He submitted a report of the administration of affairs for the past -year, and proposed a few new laws and some amendments to the old laws. -These were five in number, only two of which were accepted, by the -raising of hands, the vote being taken without discussion; though each -man had full right to speak his own mind as long as he pleased. The -President, on behalf of the council, took from a bag, not of silk, but -of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</span> plain homespun material, the seal of state and surrendered it -into the hands of those by whom it had been given; and in delivering -up this official charge he concluded with the statement, that he had -not voluntarily injured any one, and asked the pardon of any citizen -who might think himself aggrieved. The President and the members of -the council then retired and took their places as simple citizens in -the ranks of their fellows, leaving the Canton for the time being, -without any executive official, an absolute interregnum. In a few -moments some one in the crowd placed in nomination for re-election the -retiring President, and he was unanimously chosen; the same process -was repeated as to all the other members of the council; they then -returned to the platform and resumed possession of the seal of state. -Some subordinate officials were chosen in a similar manner, all without -opposition except in the case of the <i>grossweibel</i>, for which -place, owing to some charges of intemperance against the incumbent, -there had arisen quite a contest, resulting in a half-dozen names -being placed in nomination, each one of whom submitted his claims in a -few remarks. The vote was taken for the several candidates, in turn, -by uplifted hands, and the executive council found it impossible to -decide who had received the most votes, until five trials were had, -when the old official was declared re-elected. Neither the voting nor -the result of this unusual contest was accompanied with the slightest -manifestation of feeling. The entire proceeding was marked by an -earnest, serious, reverent decorum, as could be found in any church -service. When the newly-chosen Landammann enters upon his office, he -first binds himself by an oath to obey the law, and then administers -to the multitude before him the same oath. There was a heart-stirring -solemnity in hearing the voice of these thousands of freemen, beneath -the canopy of heaven, in firm, clear accent, pledging themselves to -obey the laws which they themselves had made. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</span> Landammann’s oath -was: “To promote the welfare and honor of his fatherland, and to -preserve it from injury; to enforce the constitution and laws of his -country, to protect, defend, and assist widows and orphans, as well as -all other persons, to the best of his power, and as the law and his -conscience teach him; and that neither through friendship, enmity, nor -bribe, nor for any other reason will he be moved to deviate therefrom. -Likewise that he will accept no gifts from any prince or lord, except -for the public purse.” The people swear: “To promote the welfare and -honor of their fatherland, and to preserve it from injury, to protect -its rights and liberties to the best of their power, to obey the laws -of the magistrates as well as to defend the council and court, likewise -to accept presents, bribes or gifts from no prince or lord, except for -the public purse; and that every one to whatever position elected shall -accept it, and do as well as he is able and has the power to do.” The -foregoing oath, after being read to the multitude, was sworn to in a -loud, distinct voice in the following form: “We have well understood -what has been read to us. We will keep it truly and steadfastly, -faithfully, and without fear, so truly as we wish and pray that God -may help us.” The laws adopted by the Landsgemeinde of Appenzell in -reference to these official oaths are very peculiar. They bear date -1634, and read: “Because an oath is a thing through which good law and -order must be maintained, so for that reason it is highly necessary -to consider it, in itself, seriously and well, humbly praying to God, -the heavenly Father, that through his Holy Spirit he may enlighten our -hearts, so that we may know what a true and false oath is, and may in -time with the chosen ones live up to it eternally: Amen! A genuine oath -is a considerate and solemn invocation and declaration to the true -God, as the proper guardian of my heart, to be witness and judge of -my sworn declaration or promise, to bless my body and soul if I swear -in truth and sincerity, and if, on the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</span> contrary, I swear falsely, to -punish my body and soul. At the same time every Christian who swears -an oath shall lift up three fingers, by which will be signified the -supreme power of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost; -but the two last fingers shall remain bent back against the hand, and -thereby will be represented the entire submission of soul and body to -the supreme power of God. Now the man who is so forsaken and so hostile -to himself as to reject in his heart what he professes in such a way -with his mouth, in the face of the all-seeing God, swears a false oath. -He swears, as if he said, I will rather be shut out from the community -and benefaction of Christendom; or as if he said, the name of God and -of our Saviour Jesus Christ shall never prove a help and comfort to me -at the time when soul and body shall be separated; or as if he said, -the grace of God, the redemption of Jesus Christ, and the strength -of the Holy Ghost shall be entirely lost and thrown away on me, poor -sinner. Finally, whoever swears falsely speaks as if he said, as I -swear false to-day, so do I make myself guilty of this judgment, that -my soul, which is indicated by the fourth finger, and my body, which is -indicated by the fifth finger, shall be separated from every claim of -the All Holy, and be deprived eternally and forever of the refreshing -sight of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hereby can every Christian perceive -and understand what is the meaning and effect of a false oath, and -take heed against it, for the salvation of the soul. God guard us all -eternally and forever from sorrow and grief: Amen!”</p> - -<p>The Landsgemeinde at Uri is attended with much more display and -elaborate ceremonial than that of Appenzell, and a description of it -is here taken from Mr. Freeman’s essay on the “Growth of the English -Constitution:”</p> - -<p>“It is one of the opening days of May; it is the morning of Sunday; -for men there deem that the better the day the better the deed; they -deem that the Creator cannot be more<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</span> truly honored than in using, in -his sphere and in his presence, the highest of the gifts which he has -bestowed on man. From the market-place of Altdorf, the little capital -of the Canton, the procession makes its way to the place of meeting at -Bözlingen. First marches the little army of the Canton, an army whose -weapons never can be used save to drive back an invader from their -lands. Over their heads floats the banner, the bull’s head of Uri, the -ensign which led men to victory on the fields of Sempach and Morgarten. -And before them all, on the shoulders of men clad in a garb of ages -past, are borne the famous horns<a id="FNanchor_50" href="#Footnote_50" class="fnanchor">50</a> whose blast struck such dread into -the fearless heart of Charles of Burgundy. Then, with their lictors -before them, come the magistrates of the commonwealth on horseback, -the chief magistrate, the Landammann, with his sword by his side. The -people follow the chiefs whom they have chosen to the place of meeting, -a circle in a green meadow, with a pine forest rising above their head, -and a mighty spur of the mountain-range facing them on the other side -of the valley. The multitude of freemen take their seats around the -chief ruler of the commonwealth, whose term of office comes that day -to an end. The assembly opens; a short space is first given to prayer, -silent prayer, offered up by each man in the temple of God’s own -rearing. Then comes the business of the day. Thus year by year, on some -bright morning of the springtide, the sovereign people, not intrusting -its rights to a few of its own number, but discharging them itself in -the majesty of its corporate person, meets in the open market-place -or in the green meadow at the mountain’s foot, to frame the laws to -which it yields obedience as its own work, to choose rulers whom it can -afford to greet with reverence as drawing their commission from itself. -You may there gaze<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</span> and feel what none can feel but those who have seen -with their own eyes, what none can feel in its fulness more than once -in a lifetime, the thrill of looking for the first time face to face on -freedom in its purest and most ancient form.”</p> - -<p>The Landsgemeinde exercises two equally important functions. First, it -elects the principal officers of the Canton, the Landammann and his -substitute, the treasurer, and the chief of the cantonal militia; it -also appoints the deputies for the Federal Assembly. These cantonal -functionaries are paid but nominally; their duties are light, and the -small claim which they make on the individual causes them to appear -a universal duty of the citizen. It belongs to the Landsgemeinde to -sanction all cantonal laws, and all treaties which are concluded with -other Cantons or with foreign states. With the exception of Glarus, -the legislative power is exercised in this sense, that it accepts or -rejects as a whole the propositions which are made to it, without the -power to introduce changes in them. In Glarus the constitution invests -the Landsgemeinde with power to modify or reject the propositions -which are made to it, or refer them to the triple council finally, -either to report on them or to decide. The constitution of Glarus also -contains this provision: “The people are responsible only to God and -their consciences for the exercise of their sovereignty in the May -Assembly. What must guide the May Assembly is not, however, caprice -without limit and without condition; it is justice and the good of -the state which are alone compatible with it. The people are obliged -to vote according to these principles in taking annually the oath of -the May Assembly.” In all of the Cantons, having these assemblies, -the proposition to be submitted must be made public a certain time in -advance. The administrative power is ordinarily confided to quite a -numerous council, called Rath or Landrath. The functions of this body -are extensive. It watches over the enforcement of the constitution, -federal and cantonal;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</span> regulates in their general organization public -instruction, financial, military, and sanitary administration, public -works, charity, except the legal provisions regarding the province -and obligations of inferior authorities; receives the reports of the -administration of all the functionaries of the Canton; deliberates -upon the proposed laws to be presented to the Landsgemeinde, through -the intermediary of the triple council; and watches over the execution -of what the laws or decrees of the Landsgemeinde prescribe to it. In -Nidwald the council has, besides, judicial function. In Glarus, Uri, -and Obwald there have been organized, side by side with the Landrath, -special authorities to which have been transferred all the judicial -functions formerly granted to the Landrath. About the Landrath are -grouped various bodies, evidently formed from it by addition or -reduction. The double and the triple or Great Council are nothing but -the council of the Landrath itself, doubled or tripled by the addition -of new members, whom the territorial divisions appoint in the same -manner and in the same proportion as the first. In Glarus, for example, -each local assembly (<i>tagwen</i>) adds two members to the one which -it appoints to form a simple council. Thus the triple council is -composed there of one hundred and seventeen members, as follows:</p> - -<p>(1) Of the nine members of the Commission of State.</p> - -<p>(2) Of thirty-five members appointed by the <i>tagwen</i> following -fixed proportions.</p> - -<p>(3) Of seventy members appointed by the same assemblies, following the -same proportions.</p> - -<p>(4) Finally, of three Catholic members, appointed by the same council, -and of which one forms a part.<a id="FNanchor_51" href="#Footnote_51" class="fnanchor">51</a></p> - -<p>The principal functions of the triple council are to watch<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</span> over the -council and the tribunal, to establish the project of the budget -of receipts and expenditures, and to convoke the Landsgemeinde in -extraordinary assembly. The process of addition is applied in many -ways in Appenzell-interior; it is applied in particular to the little -council, which is charged with the principal judicial powers. This -body judges sometimes as a weekly council; it is then only a section -of the little council; sometimes with a simple addition, again with -the reinforced addition. Finally, with a last reinforcement, it forms -what is called the council of blood (<i>Blutrath</i>). As there are -councils formed by addition, so there are others formed by reduction, -as, for example, the weekly council of Unterwald-lower. It is appointed -by the Great Council (Landrath) and chosen from its body. It is the -executive, administrative, and police authority, subordinated to the -Great Council. It is composed of the Landammann, as President, and -of twelve members appointed for two years. It assembles in ordinary -session on Monday of each week, and in extraordinary session, when -convoked by the President, and as often as there is need. The third -and remaining authority in this pure democracy is the Commission of -State. It is appointed by the Landsgemeinde, and replaces the council, -for affairs of lesser importance. In Glarus this commission is divided -into two sections, to expedite business. The first is composed of all -the members of the commission; and the second, of three members, the -President included, alternating among themselves after a manner of -rotation, established by the commission. The first section (or the -commission <i>in pleno</i>) is charged with the correspondence of -foreign states, the federal authority, and the Confederate states; -with giving preliminary advice upon questions referred to it, or even -with deciding them by the council. The second section is charged -with the ratification of deeds of sale and of wills, with decisions -upon the prolongation of the terms for the liquidation<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</span> of bankrupt -estates, etc. The Commission of State of Appenzell-exterior has also -the surveillance of the administration of the Communes. The Landammann -presides over the Landsgemeinde, the double or triple council, the -council or Landrath, and the Commission of State. He receives all the -despatches addressed to the authorities presided over by him, and he -is bound to make them known at the next session. He keeps the seal of -state, signs and seals concordats and conventions. He watches over the -execution of the decrees of the Landsgemeinde, the Councils, and the -Commission of State, in so far as the execution is not intrusted to a -special authority. The re-election of the Landammann is universal; and -the office, though always filled by an annual selection, becomes almost -hereditary in a single family.</p> - -<p>Customs still exercise a considerable empire in these Cantons, and -the Landsgemeinde makes but few laws; there is none of the confusion -and uncertainty that come from a multiplicity of laws; a source to -which was imputed a great part of the miseries suffered by the Romans -at the time when “the laws grew to be innumerable in the worst and -most corrupt state of things.”<a id="FNanchor_52" href="#Footnote_52" class="fnanchor">52</a> The people of these Cantons fill -the idea of Bacon, as to innovation, “to follow the example of time -itself, which indeed innovateth greatly, but quietly and by degrees -scarce to be perceived.” Changes in established institutions must be -considered in reference to existing interests, habits, manners, and -modes of thinking. In vain should we try to promote the common weal -by introducing alterations, however well designed, which have no -hold on the feelings of the people, or are at variance with them, or -which shock their deeply-seated prejudices. There are two different -considerations involved: the propriety of retaining institutions merely -because they have been sanctioned by our ancestors, or transmitted<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</span> -to us through a series of ages; and the propriety of retaining them -because they are strongly settled in the actual habits, tastes, and -prejudices of the people. While it would argue extreme imbecility, -to spare cumbrous or hurtful institutions on no better ground than -the former, it is absolutely indispensable to pay a cautious regard -to the latter. The existing habits, tastes, and prejudices of the -community, equally with the universal properties of human nature, -are material elements of the politician’s calculations. They are all -sources of pleasure and pain, all springs of action which call, on -his part, for tender handling and accurate appreciation. There is -scarcely a question in the whole compass of politics on which there -is a greater unanimity among philosophers and statesmen than there -is on the policy of cautious and gradual, in opposition to rash and -sudden, reforms on the one hand, and to a pertinacious retention of -incongruities and abuses on the other. As to the improvements which -are to be introduced into a political system, their quantity and -their period must be determined by the degree of knowledge existing -in any country, and the state of preparation of the public mind for -the changes that are to be desired. A passage in the correspondence of -Mr. Jefferson contains a highly instructive exposition of his opinion -on this subject, expressed in his happiest manner: “I am certainly,” -says he, “not an advocate for frequent and untried changes in laws and -constitutions. I think moderate imperfections had better be borne, -because, when once known, we accommodate ourselves to them, and find -practical means of correcting their ill effects. But I know also that -laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the -human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened; as new -discoveries are made, new truths disclosed, and manners and opinions -changed with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance -also, and keep pace with the times.” It is well to stand fast in the -old paths; but the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</span> old paths should be the paths of progress; to -shrink from mere change for the sake of change; but fearlessly to -change, whenever change is really needed. All mountain races love the -past, and suspect new things. Their fundamental laws are few and slowly -formed; as slowly formed as they are stoutly held. The constitutions -of the Swiss Cantons were originally of the simplest forms of ancient -democracy. The old democracy, whether absolute or modified in form, -was always direct; modern democracy is, as a rule, representative. It -is obvious that the former presupposes great simplicity of life and -occupation, as in the small communities of mountain valleys; nothing -could render it consistent with the public peace, but the simple -habits of a people of shepherds and husbandmen among whom political -dissensions do not prevail. This substitution of the many for the one -or the few, of the totality of the community for a determinate portion -of it, is an experiment perhaps of insuperable difficulty, except for -very small states, and especially for agricultural or pastoral peoples. -The Landsgemeinde is only able, at most, to announce the general -opinion, to express its approval or its disapproval of a proposition -already known; but altogether incapable of deliberating seriously -on a projected law, or of solving the more complicated problems of -politics. On a wider field and with a more complex society, no such -polity would be possible. To a great nation with extended territories -and large population, the application of the federal principle is -necessary. Therefore in all but four Cantons of Switzerland this -primitive type of government has passed away. That it contains the -germs out of which every free constitution in the world has grown -cannot be denied. A cognate influence, if well considered, will go far -towards accounting for that prodigious resolution and success with -which the ancient commonwealths maintained their national rights. The -whole territories of the Athenian, Spartan, and Roman<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</span> republics, -were originally but a single province; and the whole strength of the -province was concentrated in a single city, the embryo of their future -greatness, the nucleus around which all their subsequent acquisitions -were formed. Within the sacred walls of Rome and Athens, all classes -of citizens assembled like one great united family; they lived, they -consulted, they transacted business together, and together repaired -for public debate or religious devotion, for manly amusement, or -philosophical speculation, to the forum or the temple, the circus or -the portico. Virtuous emulation was roused, the force of public opinion -increased, and the importance of the individual in the general scale -visibly exalted. The Landsgemeinde is self-government in its noblest -reach and simplest form, where every man is legislator, judge, and -executive. What rare simplicity! No wrangling after power, no intrigue -after place, no lust for fame; one thought alone, to live just as their -fathers did, in perfect liberty, and fearing none but God. These simple -democracies in the Cantons of Switzerland, which have existed for a -thousand years, little touched by the stream of European life, deserve -our respect for their long history that is rich in many episodes, and -for the peaceful and happy existence of their people. They furnish -us with a bit of realistic political education, a successful working -example of the purest democracy in the world. It throbs with a vital -sense of government at first hands; every citizen a very live political -entity, and the sense of government very individual. Obstinately -conservative, with a profound disbelief in theory, they remind one -of the ox, which walks straightforward with a slow, heavy, and firm -tread. They take no stock in the fallacy, that a new system, political -or social, can be ordered like a new suit of clothes, and would as -soon think of ordering a new suit of flesh and skin. With sincere -satisfaction and pride, they are given to exclaim, “Thanks to our -sublime resistance to innovations; thanks to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</span> the cold sluggishness of -our national character, we still bear the stamp of our forefathers:”</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“So have old customs there, from sire to son,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Been handed down unchanging and unchanged;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Nor will they brook to swerve or turn aside</div> - <div class="verse indent2">From the fixed, even tenor of their life.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.<br> -<span class="small"> - -THE REFERENDUM.</span></h2></div> - - -<p>The student of politics may always look with advantage to Switzerland -for the latest forms and results of democratic experiments. Federal -laws, decrees, and resolutions require the concurrence of both branches -of the Federal Assembly; but the process does not always end at that -point. Such concurrence is not adequate in all cases for them to come -into force. Article 89 of the constitution declares that “federal laws -are submitted to the people for adoption or rejection on the demand of -30,000 active citizens, or eight Cantons; the same is the case with -federal decrees of a general bearing, and not of an urgent character.”</p> - -<p>This is known as the Referendum, and is supposed to be derived from -the practice of the old Swiss Confederation, when the delegates of -the thirteen independent states of which it was composed had to -<i>refer</i> to their governments for confirmation the decisions -of the Federal Diet. It is one of the most characteristic of Swiss -institutions, and is by far the most original creation of Swiss -democracy. “The Referendum looks at first sight like a French -<i>plébiscite</i>, but no two institutions can be marked by more -essential differences. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</span> <i>plébiscite</i> is a revolutionary or at -least abnormal proceeding. It is not preceded by debate. The form and -nature of the question to be submitted to the nation are chosen and -settled by the men in power, and Frenchmen are asked whether they will -or will not accept a given policy. Rarely, indeed, when it has been -taken, has the voting itself been either free or fair. Deliberation -and discussion are the requisite conditions for rational decision. -Where effective opposition is an impossibility, nominal assent is an -unmeaning compliment. These essential characteristics, the lack of -which deprives a French <i>plébiscite</i> of all moral significance, -are the undoubted properties of the Swiss Referendum. It is a real -appeal to the true judgment of the nation, and the appeal is free from -the coercion, the unreality, and the fraud which taint or vitiate a -<i>plébiscite</i>. The Referendum, in short, is a regular, normal, -peaceful proceeding, unconnected with any revolution, any violence, or -despotic coercion.”<a id="FNanchor_53" href="#Footnote_53" class="fnanchor">53</a></p> - -<p>The Referendum is a kind of substitute for the veto; it gives no power -to modify, no power to substitute; it is a pure negative. It does not -enable the electors to pass laws at their own will; it is a mere veto -on such legislation as does not approve itself to the electorate. It -is a veto lodged in the hands of a sovereign people. A question is -simplified as much as possible, and every citizen has the fullest -opportunity, from the public platform, or in the columns of the press, -or in private conversation, to advocate or deprecate its adoption; -and the entire enfranchised portion of the community is asked to say -“Aye” or “No,” as to whether the law shall become operative. It is a -reference to the people’s judgment of a distinct, definite, clearly -stated law. Under the Constitution of 1848, only such measures passed -by the Assembly as clearly involved constitutional changes were subject -to the Referendum.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</span> The jealousy of the Cantons, lest their own -civil and religious privileges should be invaded, and their fear of -influences, in the central government, adverse to their own sovereign -rights, demanded an unrestricted reference to the popular vote. This -was conceded in the revision of 1874, when the Referendum was extended -to all federal laws and federal decrees, “of a general nature and not -of an urgent character.” The matter now stands thus: no change can be -introduced into the constitution which is not sanctioned by the vote -of the Swiss people. The Federal Assembly, indeed, may of its own -authority pass laws which take effect without any popular vote; but -it is practically true that no enactment, important enough to excite -effective opposition, can ever become a law until it has received the -deliberately expressed sanction of the people. The words “decrees of -a general nature and not of an urgent character” have never received -even a quasi-judicial construction, either from the Federal Council or -from the Federal Assembly, the two organs supervising its execution. -There doubtless has been conflicting and arbitrary action taken under -it. The weight of opinion, as inferred from the line of precedence, -appears to be that resolutions are of a general nature, when they fix -permanent and obligatory rules, either for the citizens or the Cantons, -but not when they apply only to special cases. The whole detail of the -exercise of the Referendum is placed by the constitution, under the -regulation of the Assembly, and in June, 1874, soon after the adoption -of the constitution, a federal law was passed for carrying it out. All -laws and resolutions, on which the popular vote may be demanded, are -to be published immediately after their passage, and copies sent to -the governments of the several Cantons. Through the Cantons they are -brought to the attention of the Communes. The official publication -expressly calls attention to the “date of opposition,” or when the -period for Referendum expires. This period is ninety days, running<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</span> -from the date of the publication of the law. The demand for a popular -vote must be made by written petition, addressed to the Federal -Council, all signatures must be autographic, and the chief officer of -the Commune must attest the right of each signer to vote. If, at the -expiration of the ninety days, the demand is found to have been made by -30,000 voters, the Federal Council fixes a date for taking the popular -vote; this date must be at least four weeks from the date of the notice -given by the Federal Council. The vote is “Yes” or “No,” and a simple -majority of those voting is decisive. Unless, however, the demand -for such a reference is made within the ninety days, the people are -presumed to have given a tacit assent, and the bill becomes a law, and -its execution ordered by the Federal Council.</p> - -<p>Under this peculiar institution, a condition exists, in which the -sovereignty of the people is no longer a speculative doctrine, but a -living reality; it makes a very direct and thorough democracy, and its -application has proven neither ineffective nor unduly obstructive. -Since the adoption of the Referendum, in 1874, there have been vetoed, -among other laws passed by the Assembly, the following: “Modification -of the right of voting,” “Bank-notes law,” “Indemnities payable to the -Confederation by citizens dispensed from military service,” “Political -rights,” “A law respecting certain epidemics,” “Appointment of a -federal secretary of education,” “Creation of a special secretary in -the federal department of justice and police,” “Granting an annual -salary of 10,000 francs for a secretary to the Swiss legation at -Washington,” “Exempting native commercial travellers from taxation -which those of other countries had not to pay,” “Power to Federal -Council to remove criminal cases from a cantonal to the Federal -Tribunal, when there is reason to suspect the fairness of the former.” -The only important laws sanctioned under the Referendum, during the -same period, are the “Marriage law,”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</span> “Factories law,” “Subsidies to -Alpine Railways,” and a general “Banking law.” Also three modifications -of the federal constitution respecting “Patent law,” “Capital -punishment,” and “Spirituous liquor monopoly.”</p> - -<p>At the time of the introduction of the general Referendum, one of -Switzerland’s ablest public men declared that it would be “the greatest -trial to which a republic was ever subjected.” It was apprehended by -some that it would invite, on the part of the populace, interference -with a prudent and independent direction of affairs. Others held it to -be scarcely consistent with the true theory of representation; that it -is of the very essence of representation that the representative body -should stand in the place of the people, possessing their confidence, -exercising their plenary powers, speaking with their voice and acting -with their full consent; otherwise the legislative function is wanting, -and it becomes a mere deliberative council. There is, however, nothing -to show that the Swiss Assembly from this cause lacks weight or -respectability; it compares favorably enough with the law-making body -in any country. It is the primary doctrine of the Swiss Confederation, -that the sovereignty of the people must be absolute, whether exercised -personally, as in some of the rural Cantons, or through their -representatives and the Referendum. This doctrine has been maintained -in Swiss institutions from the earliest time until the present day. So -elaborate a scheme for the passing of federal laws cannot be without -inconvenience; but it is a fundamental principle of the nation, and at -once satisfies the democratic traditions of the people and the natural -jealousies of the several Cantons. It is a true check and safeguard in -making the legislative power directly responsible to public opinion, -and in giving the nation an easy and simple opportunity of marking -that opinion; of testifying their disavowal and rejection. If it, as -alleged, produces a diminution of the feeling of responsibility in -the representative, that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</span> possible disadvantage is outweighed by the -educative effect which it exercises on the great bulk of the citizens. -It tends to give them a keener interest in political questions. Through -it the citizen becomes conscious of his individual influence, and -that his vote contributes appreciably both to the maintenance and -direction of the laws under which he lives, and he is impressed with -the necessity of a careful discharge of his political rights.</p> - -<p>To the confusion and dismay of the strongest advocates of the -Referendum, the measures which they most prized, when so put, have -been negatived. Contrary to all expectations, laws of the highest -importance, some of them openly framed for popularity, have been vetoed -by the people after they have been adopted by the federal and cantonal -legislatures. This result is sufficiently intelligible. It is possible, -by agitation and exhortation, to produce in the mind of the average -citizen a vague impression that he desires a particular change, but -when the agitation has settled down, when the subject has been threshed -out, when the law is before him with all its detail, he is sure to find -in it something that is likely to disturb his habits, his ideas, his -prejudice, or his interest, and so he votes, “No.” Thus it serves as a -guarantee against precipitate legislation in matters of vital concern -to the community; and is considered thoroughly successful by those who -wish that there should be as little legislation as possible. In short, -the Swiss experience with this popular veto on legislation is evidence -that, under certain circumstances, it produces good effects. It does -not hurry on a law, nor facilitate any legislation; it merely forms -an additional safeguard against the hastiness or violence of party; -it is a check on popular impatience. It secures the laws against any -change which the sovereign people do not deliberately approve. The -object of such safeguard is not to thwart the wishes of the democracy, -but to insure that a temporary or factitious majority<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</span> shall not -override the will of the people. It tends to produce permanence in the -tenure of office; it is a distinct recognition of the elementary but -important principle, that in matters of legislation patriotic citizens -ought to distinguish between measures and men; and this distinction -Swiss voters have shown themselves fully capable of drawing. It is an -institution which admirably fits a system of popular government. It is -the only check on the predominance of party which is at the same time -democratic and conservative, as it has demonstrated. It is democratic, -for it appeals to and protects the sovereignty of the people; it is -conservative, for it balances the weight of the nation’s common sense -against the violence of partisanship and the fanaticism of over-zealous -reformers.</p> - -<p>The history of the Referendum in Switzerland confirms the fact that, -as a rule, the people are not favorable to legislation; and that -the necessity must be very great and the good ends aimed at very -manifest, to withstand a direct consultation of the constituencies. -The ancient republics hardly legislated at all. Their democratic -energy was expended upon war, diplomacy, and justice; putting nearly -insuperable obstacles in the way of a change of law. From fundamental -and permanent causes springs this legislative infertility in republics. -Changes are at once conservative and progressive; conservative because -progressive, progressive because conservative. The Referendum reserves -to the people, as the old Swiss expression ran, <i>höchste und grösste -Gewalt</i>, the highest and greatest power. The foremost statesman in -Switzerland, a member at present of the Federal Council,<a id="FNanchor_54" href="#Footnote_54" class="fnanchor">54</a> calls it -<i>l’essai le plus grandiose qu’une République ait jamais tenté</i>, -the grandest attempt ever made by a republic. The constitutional -provision that when a certain number of voters demand a particular -measure, or require<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</span> a further sanction for a particular enactment, -it shall be put to the vote of the whole country, certainly presents -a considerable future before democratically governed societies. -Peradventure the United States may realize the prophecy made by Mr. -Labouchère in the House of Commons, in 1882, that the people, tired -of the deluge of debate, would some day substitute for it the direct -consultation of the constituencies.</p> - -<p>The Referendum is practically in use in the United States for -constitutional amendments, but so far American publicists seem to -regard it quite out of place for ordinary laws, and allege that its -introduction would obscure the distinction on which the whole American -system rests. For this reason the growing tendency of the people, in -the several States, to take a direct part in legislation, even by -means of constitutional amendments, is regarded by the same school of -thinkers as a danger, which, if it goes too far, will be a serious -injury to the American theory of government.</p> - -<p>The principle behind the Referendum is as old as the Swiss nation, -the word coming from the usages of the old Federal Diets, in which -the delegates did not decide matters themselves, but voted <i>ad -referendum</i>, and submitted their actions to the home governments. -The power to veto an ordinary law made by representatives was -established for the first time in modern days, in 1831, in the Canton -of St. Gallen. It was a compromise between the party which wanted to -establish pure democracy, and the party of representative government. -It is, however, only the same old Swiss voter of centuries ago, -telling his member of the Diet to conclude nothing important without -his consent. The demand of 50,000 electors to amend the constitution, -or to repeal or to modify an existing law, is called a “popular -initiative,” and, when made, the Federal Assembly must submit the -question to a vote of the people and the Canton. In every cantonal -constitution, except Freiburg, the right of the people to have all -important legislation subjected in some<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</span> form to popular confirmation -or rejection is recognized. While general assemblies of the people in -the Cantons to make the laws fell into desuetude, popular franchise and -complete freedom of election were not enough to satisfy the democratic -sensibilities of the Swiss. They were still jealous of the plenary -powers of their delegates, and insisted that their deliberations when -formulated into laws, should be referred to the sovereign people. -Previous to the French revolution, the governments of the different -Cantons had largely fallen into the hands of a limited number of -aristocratic families. The laboring classes were crushed under -enormous burdens by the nobility in the rural districts, and by the -rich <i>bourgeoisie</i> in the cities. Artificial barriers were placed -about the freedom of commerce and labor in the interest of these more -powerful classes. The period of reaction following the Napoleonic era -was unfavorable to the development of popular institutions. Since the -cantonal revolutions of 1830 there has been a general return to the -principle known as the Referendum; and after the federal Constitution -of 1848, by which the constitution of a Canton could only be revised -on the demand of an absolute majority of the citizens, the policy -of extending the principles of the Referendum to its fullest limits -rapidly grew in favor. There are two forms of Referendum existing in -the Cantons, <i>compulsory</i> and <i>optional</i>; the one requiring -the reference of every law passed by the Great Council before it -acquires validity; and in the other, a discretionary power of reference -is reserved to the people. The first is regarded as the more practical -and satisfactory; the chief objection to the latter being the agitation -occasioned in procuring the necessary signatures, producing excitement, -diverting the thoughts of voters from the real question at issue, -and thus giving an undue bias to public opinion, and a character of -partisanship to the resulting Referendum.</p> - -<p>The number of signatures required in the optional Referendum<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</span> varies, -according to the size of the Canton, from five hundred to one thousand -voters, and the time within which it must be made, usually thirty -days from the passage of the law and its official publication. The -compulsory Referendum exists in the seven Cantons of Zurich, Bern, -Solothurn, Grisons, Aargau, Thurgau, and the Valais, and in the rural -half-Canton of Basel. In Schwyz and Vaud both forms obtain. In Zurich -a popular vote must be taken upon all changes in the constitution, -new laws, concordats, and the appropriation of an amount exceeding -250,000 francs, or an annual expenditure exceeding 20,000 francs. -The power of the cantonal council in Zurich is further limited by -the <i>initiative</i>. Any voter, if supported by one-third of the -members present at its next sitting, or any 5000 voters, may demand -the passing, alteration or abolition of a law, or of a decision of -the council. The optional Referendum exists in the seven Cantons of -Luzern, Zug, Schaffhausen, St. Gallen, Ticino, Neuchâtel, Geneva, and -the urban portion of Basel. Generally speaking, laws, concordats, and -sometimes resolutions of cantonal councils are submitted to optional -Referendum. It exists for financial matters, in different gradations -in other Cantons, from 500,000 francs in Bern to 50,000 francs in -Schwyz. The <i>initiative</i> as to revision of the constitution -prevails in all of the Cantons upon certain conditions, and the demand -of voters varying in number from 1500 to 5000; with the exception -of Bern and Valais, where there is no <i>initiative</i>. As before -stated, Freiburg is now the only Canton in which the sovereignty of -the people is not thus directly exercised; all the others, with the -exception of those where there is still a <i>Landsgemeinde</i>, possess -either a <i>compulsory</i> or an <i>optional Referendum</i>; and in -two instances both. A few Cantons have introduced an <i>imperative -initiative</i>, by petition from a fixed number of voters, demanding -action upon a certain matter by the cantonal council; whereupon the -council must<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</span> take a vote upon it, and then submit it to a popular -vote, even if the action of the council upon it has been unfavorable.</p> - -<p>This combination of representative institutions with the direct -exercise of popular sovereignty is well calculated to promote the -welfare of the people, occupying the peculiar position in which the -Swiss are placed. The discipline of self-government in the Commune, -and the training afforded by an effective system of popular education, -have qualified them for the practice of direct democracy. With the -Swiss legislature standing above the executive and judiciary, we might -call Switzerland a parliamentary republic, if it were not for another -power, which stands not only in the final theory, but even in the daily -practice, of the constitution, above the legislature. This power is -the people themselves. The Referendum shows clearly where the seat of -sovereignty in Switzerland is located.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.<br> -<span class="small"> - -THE COMMUNES.</span></h2></div> - - -<p>The lowest unit in the political system is that which still exists -under various names, as the Mark, the Gemeinde, the Commune, or the -Parish, the analogue of the precinct or township in the United States. -The communal system of Switzerland is peculiar in many respects, and -presents one of the most instructive lessons which modern political -life furnishes of the working of village communities.</p> - -<p>The Swiss Commune, speaking comprehensively, is a political and -civil division, standing midway between a political body and a joint -stock company: a corporation, in one sense, endowed with perpetuity, -and holding landed and other property; also a political entity, -embracing all the burghers<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</span> for economical purposes,—that is, for -the administration and enjoyment of the usufruct of the communal -property; and embracing all the inhabitants for legislative and -administrative purposes, with a great variety of local exceptions and -limitations. The right of the Cantons and the several Communes to -modify these features results in endless divergencies. Being an area -of local self-government, and possessed, to a high degree, of freedom -in self-direction, the Commune is not far from being an independent, -autonomous entity, forming an <i>imperium in imperio</i>, both -politically and economically. Forming the simplest division in the -Confederation, still it is of vital importance; its personality to the -Canton being what the Canton is to the nation. It inspires with its -common life, not simply a life of political activity, but of common -social and economical interests. It is so intimately bound up with all -existing rights that its wishes are largely paramount in federal and -cantonal action. Having so genuine and vigorous a political, social, -and economical life of its own, in which the faiths, hopes, passions, -and duties of the citizen are involved, the Commune may be considered a -small republic with indefinite rights.</p> - -<p>The Swiss Commune is of very ancient origin, and claims to have been -founded on the idea that civic rights and freedom were disconnected -from mere birth or ownership of land, stress being laid instead on -quasi-corporate union; one of the many forms of the <i>gens</i> or -clan, in which it is no longer a wandering or a merely predatory body; -but when, on the other hand, it takes the form of an agricultural -body, holding its common lands, and forming one component element of a -commonwealth. The independence of the Swiss Commune has survived from -the days of the primitive village community; that gathering of real or -artificial kinsmen, made up of families, each living under the rule, -the <i>mund</i>, of its own father; that <i>patria potestas</i> which -formed so marked and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</span> lasting a feature of the Roman law, and is to-day -respected by the Confederation, designedly preserved by legislation, -and jealously guarded by the people.</p> - -<p>The integer of Swiss political society is not the individual, not -the household; the Commune is the Switzer’s ideal of a social and -political system. The Swiss Society of Public Usefulness, in a pamphlet -published in 1871, called “Souvenir de la Suisse,” with the purpose of -presenting the Swiss republic as a model to the French soldiers, who -at that time under Bourbaki had retreated into Switzerland, declares: -“Our laws proceed from this great principle, that our institutions are -truly free and popular, only in so far as our Communes are free; we -move from low to high, the Commune is the centre of our life, and there -can be no true development of liberty, except so far as it proceeds -from the Communes, from the centre to the circling lines, from the -simple to the composite.” Mr. Numa Droz, chief of foreign affairs in -the Swiss Cabinet, in his “Instruction Civique,” a text-book in the -Swiss public school, says: “The Commune is almost the state in a small -compass; to employ an illustration from natural history, it is one of -the cells of which the social body is composed. It is certain that a -much-developed local right contributes to the strength and prosperity -of the state. The Communes must have perfect liberty in rivalling one -another in their efforts to satisfy and advance the interests they -have in charge. So, care must be taken not to reduce them to a uniform -level, which would stifle all spirit of initiative, every desire for -improvement. The Communes were the first and principal nurseries of -democracy, and are still so in many countries. In their bosom the -citizens are best able of training themselves for public life, of -familiarizing themselves with administrative questions, and learning -how to deal with them. They are the natural nursery grounds, whence the -state legislators and public servants come. A citizen, reared in the -practical school<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</span> of communal life, will always understand better the -popular wants than one whose political education has been obtained in -the offices of federal administration.”</p> - -<p>The commission appointed by the National Council to prepare a revised -constitution for the Confederation, in their report, May, 1871, say: -“The liberty of the Swiss Commune is justly considered as the school -and cradle of our political liberties.”</p> - -<p>The Swiss constitution expressly recognizes communal citizenship and -rights. In declaring that every Swiss citizen shall enjoy at his place -of residence all rights of the citizens of the Canton, as also, all -rights of the citizens of the Commune, it makes this reservation: “He -shall, however, have no share in the common property of citizens or of -the corporation, nor shall he exercise the right to vote in matters -pertaining purely to such affairs, unless the cantonal laws determine -otherwise.” It further provides that “No Canton shall deprive any of -its citizens of his rights, whether acquired by birth or settlement,” -referring to the citizenship derived from his “Commune d’Origine.” -Every child born of registered citizens becomes, by birth, a citizen -of the Commune, and thereby also a citizen of the Canton, and of -the Confederation. He shares all political rights, exercises them -according to established rule, is supported by the communal funds -when in distress, and assists in bearing all Communal burdens. He -is therefore fully entitled to every Swiss privilege, when his name -once stands in the communal register, and of these sacred rights he -cannot be alienated. All whose names are not thus registered are of -the “homeless” (“Heimathlosen”), a word of melancholy significance in -Switzerland.</p> - -<p>Membership of a Commune comes by descent or purchase; and marriage -confers on the wife the communal citizenship of her husband. In the -first, that of descent, the right of the Commune depends not on place -of birth or domicile, but on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</span> descent from parents who are citizens of -the Commune, even though they live outside of it. It is not unlike the -old Roman municipal law, which was also based on <i>origo</i> from a -particular <i>municipium</i>. In the second, that of purchase, it is -of the essence of a Commune that the stranger should be admitted to -membership only on such terms as the Commune itself may think good. -In every case it is regarded as a privilege and an affair of sale. A -man of any craft or creed may apply for admission, but the Commune is -the judge of whether his prayer will be granted or not. More or less -inquiry will be made as to his antecedents, his ability to support -himself, and his belongings; but, at all events, it is a business -transaction, and the price varies according to the value of the -communal property, the age, condition in life, and number in the family -of the applicant. So much for a wife and each child; a boy is taxed -more than a girl, for in the course of time the one may add by marriage -to the burden of the Commune, and the other may lessen it by marrying -into another Commune. In some, the craft and calling are regarded; in -a few, where they are in part a congregation with a common faith in -charge, religious considerations may weigh more than any thought of -worldly goods. A foreigner is usually charged more than a native. In -olden time this discrimination extended to citizens of other Cantons, -and the last trace of this distinction was only abolished in 1871 by -the Commune of Lausanne. Some Communes are closed, but many remain open -for additional members. Under any circumstances, it is a privilege to -be bought, and the tariff varies from 50 to 5000 francs, or from ten to -one thousand dollars. This operates as a tax on Swiss citizenship, of -which the Commune is the necessary basis.<a id="FNanchor_55" href="#Footnote_55" class="fnanchor">55</a></p> - -<p>Originally, entrance into the Guilds, or <i>Zünfte</i>, was the only -road to citizenship in the Commune. These corporations<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</span> or guilds had -certain monopolies and political privileges. It was a prominent feature -of the time that every mass of men, in any way whatever associated, -was also incorporated. They were necessary for the protection of the -humble burgher and infant industry against an unruly aristocracy, as -well as, in some cases, for the transmission of knowledge and skill. -Without them the cities would never have performed their high service -in the promotion of civilization, and the acknowledgment of the -burgher’s rights. The various trades were separated by these guilds, -but within them the employer and the employed had a common interest. -Their effect was to strengthen the rights of their members and to raise -the dignity of their masters. Under the reign of Henry I., surnamed -the Fowler, when that awful catastrophe came over all the central part -of Europe, the irruption of the terrible and ferocious Magyars, who -swarmed westward from Hungary, spreading horror and desolation wherever -they went, and Helvetia, being exactly in their course and unfortified -against such an invasion, suffered fearfully, he compassionated its -helpless condition and took pains to fortify the cities and towns. -The peasantry, however, were so attached to their free mountain lives -that often, in spite of all danger, they could not be persuaded to -come into the towns. So, in order to induce them to do so, Henry -conferred very many privileges on the citizens of the towns, and in -this way laid the foundation of the guild and burgher class. All the -members of the guilds had to be burghers of the particular Commune. -The systematic education and gradual development of the artisan class, -their progress in technical skill and in wealth, their privilege of -carrying arms under the banner of their corporation or guild, their -permanent connection with the interests and prosperity of the town, -all tended to awaken in the artisans a sense of their importance. -As the administration of justice became general, government became -national, and skill and knowledge were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</span> so diffused that no special -protection, by way of monopolizing guilds, was any longer deemed -necessary. In order to check the tendency of members of poor Communes -to establish themselves in more prosperous ones, a practice prevalent -when the property was held in common by all the inhabitants, there -was a close corporation constituted, called the Burgher Commune, to -the members of which the communal property was limited; the remaining -inhabitants being excluded from participation in it, as well as in the -local administration. It soon came to pass, with increased facility of -communications, that in most Communes the majority of the inhabitants -were not burghers. It was necessary to raise taxes to meet the public -expenditure, and it was not admissible that the burghers alone should -administer the Commune to the exclusion of all others who dwelt within -its limits. Hence in many Cantons there came to be a double Commune; -that of the burghers who kept their property and only looked after -the interests of their own members, especially of those who were -poor; then there was that of the inhabitants forming a municipality, -embracing the whole of the population and providing for the public -service. The former is known as the <i>Commune des bourgeois</i> or -<i>Bürgergemeinde</i>; the latter, <i>Commune des habitants</i> or -<i>Einwohnergemeinde</i>. This dual communal organism has given rise to -much political contention, the Radicals desiring to abolish all Burgher -Communes and to establish what is termed a “unique” Commune of all the -inhabitants; but to this the Conservatives of all shades are strongly -opposed.</p> - -<p>There is no limit as to the area or population of the Commune. In -the Canton of Bern there are 509 Communes, the largest embracing a -population of 44,000, and the smallest 35; many have less than 200 -inhabitants. Some are rich and extensive, others are poor and small. -Rules and regulations differ, but each Commune is free and independent -in itself, subject only to the supervision of the Canton.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</span></p> - -<p>Every Commune owns some land, some wood, and some water-right, in -common fee. These constitute the communal fund, in which each member -has an equal share. The allotment of land is so made that every one may -have a part in the different kinds, forest, pasture, and arable. Each -Commune manages its common property very much its own fashion, but from -the general similarity of their circumstances and conditions, certain -uniform methods pervade their management. It is with these general -features we will deal. All the Communes which have arable lands, allot -them among their members upon an equitable basis; consequently one -will see a large number of small squares of land growing different -crops, and resembling a checker-board; each one constitutes the share -of a member of the Commune; and one hundred and twenty-nine gleaners -have been counted in a field, thus subdivided, of less than six acres. -A large part of the land of each Commune is preserved as a common -domain, called <i>Allmend</i>, signifying the property of all. It -means land which is held and used, as the word itself indicates, in -common; and by common usage the name <i>Allmend</i> is restricted in -some Communes to that portion of the undivided domain situated near -the village, and which is under cultivation. These common lands may -be divided into three general classes, forest, meadow, and cultivated -land (<i>Wald</i>, <i>Weide</i>, and <i>Feld</i>). Some Communes have -in addition lands where rushes are cut for litter (<i>Riethern</i>), -and others where turf is cut for fuel (<i>Torfplätze</i>). The economic -corporation, which owns the <i>Allmends</i>, is distinct from the -political body which constitutes the Commune. The right exercised -by the Communes over their domain is not a right of “collective -ownership,” it is a right of “common ownership.” The domain does not -belong to a collection of individuals, it belongs to a perpetual -corporation. The individual has no share in the landed property, -but merely a right to a proportional part of the produce. Then in -some are the old<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</span> burghers and the new burghers. The former are the -lineal descendants of those who were burghers for hundreds of years, -and they only own these lands in common; the latter are those, or -the descendants of those, who, having come in from other Cantons or -Communes, settled in the place, and have no rights of any kind in -the common land. The land may be common to all the old burghers of a -Commune equally; it is then said to belong to the Commune; or it may -belong to sections of the old burghers, as, for instance, to those who -reside in a particular class of families; and again these may hold it -either simply for their own use or for the promotion of some defined -object. The right of common, with rare exception, cannot be assigned, -transferred, or let, except to Communers; it is a right inherent in -the person. As a rule, the right belongs to every separate couple of -hereditary usufructuaries, who have had “fire and light” within the -Commune during the year or at some fixed date. The girls and young -men therefore very commonly keep their own little <i>ménage</i>, -even though they have to go to their daily work at other people’s -houses; and if they have remained the whole week away from their home, -they come back on Sunday evening to make “fire and light” in their -habitations. A young man when he marries can claim the right; this rule -is extended to a widow or orphans living together, and sometimes to -every son who attains the age of twenty-five, provided he lives in a -separate house. Natural children, whose parentage is known, may also -claim their share. To the communer, his native soil is a veritable -<i>alma parens</i>, a good foster-mother. He has a share in it by -virtue of a personal inalienable right, which no one can dispute, and -which the lapse of centuries has consecrated. It does not simply give -its members abstract rights; it procures them also in some measure -the means of existence. It provides a valuable resource for indigent -families, and preserves them at least from the last extremity of -distress. It supplies the expenses<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</span> of the school, the church, the -police, and the roads, besides securing to its members the enjoyment -of property. In a few Communes the wine and bread, which is the -fruit of their joint labor, forms the basis of an annual banquet, at -which all the members of the Commune take part, and is known as the -<i>Gemeinde-trinket</i>.</p> - -<p>In 1799 the Swiss republic forbade all partition of communal land, -declaring, “these lands are the inheritance of your fathers, the -fruit of many years of toil and care, and belong not to you alone, -but also to your descendants.” There are, however, indications of a -tendency in Switzerland—which stands alone in the world as a land -that has maintained both the free political institutions and the -communal system of property, of the times before feudalism—towards a -disintegration of the <i>Allmend</i>. Thus, in the Canton of Glarus, -the commonable Alps are let by auction for a number of years, and, -in complete opposition to the ancient principles, strangers may -obtain them. A project was recently submitted to the Grand Council -of Bern, to facilitate the dissolution of the Communes, and to allow -of the realization of their property by the members. It received -little support, but was significant of the existence of a sentiment -that may some day become formidable and aggressive. Common property -still plays a very important part in the economic life of the Alpine -Cantons, but private property is spreading considerably. Facilities -for transportation, the substitution of machinery for manual labor, -the accumulation of capital, and all the marvellous revolution and -progress of industrial life, have brought about conditions which -render the system of commonable lands no longer the best. Families -can be supported without this common use, and, in most cases, better -without it than with it. It might be shown that, when capital exists -in abundance, this common use is a hinderance to the greatest possible -production of food for the people. No system that has been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</span> assailed -by such conditions has ever been able to maintain itself. It will be -no defence of it, to say that it has hitherto been a good and workable -system, and that the long ages of its existence have proved it to be -so. This is what might have been said, and doubtless was said with -truth, but without effect, of every system, not only of agronomy, -but of everything else that was ever established in the world. This -is the logic of sentiment, of habit, of custom, of tradition, and of -those who think that they have interests distinct from and superior to -the interests of the rest of the community, and of those who cannot -understand what is understood by the rest of the world. It is, however, -no match for the logic of facts, and of the general interest, the -public good. That must ever be the strongest logic, as well as the -highest law. If, then, this common use of land should be overturned -by capital, notwithstanding its long history and all that may be said -on its behalf, we may infer that it was the absence of capital which -brought it into being and maintained it. The abolition of common -lands, or <i>Allmends</i>, the disappearance of communal property into -private ownership, would not involve the existence of the Commune or -impair the value of its most salient features. The Commune forms a -distinct part of the state organism, as constituted by the cantonal -power; it is a society of citizens for the purpose of exercising -the rights of election, legislation, and administration; it has -functions, as to certain affairs, in which it is vested with a certain -autonomy; its institutions, estates, and donations, within the limits -of the cantonal constitution, being under its exclusive authority -and direction. It is as administrative units, presenting an orderly -and systematic arrangement, giving the population an opportunity to -exercise an immediate influence on affairs, and quickly awakening -the public spirit, that the Communes possess their most essential -importance. The reason that the republican system is so firmly -established in Switzerland is, that it has<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</span> its roots in these minute -districts forming the principal forces of political and administrative -life. Freedom is best served by breaking up commonwealths into small -self-governing communities. They decentralize the government. A free -state is free, not so much because its executive or even because its -legislature takes a certain shape, as because its people are free to -speak their minds and to act as they choose, within the limits of the -law, in all matters, public and private. That is the best form of -government that best secures these powers to its people. In Switzerland -national freedom has grown out of personal and local freedom. The -Confederation is a union of independent Cantons, the Cantons a union -of autonomous Communes. Political life is localized, centripetal, -intense, expressing itself in social and civic forms. The parts come -before the whole, the smaller units are not divisions of the whole, -but the whole is made up by the aggregation of the smaller units. Each -stage—Commune, Canton, Confederation—is alike self-acting within its -own range. Many of the Cantons changed from oligarchies to democracies, -many rose from the rank of subjects to the rank of confederates; in -all, their institutions rested on an ancient and immemorial groundwork -of Communes; and whatever is new in them has grown naturally and -consistently out of the old. During the time when the greater Cantons -were aristocratically governed, some by a hereditary class of -patricians, others by the exclusive corporation of burghers, communal -liberty was retained as the basis of the cantonal organization, and -through its influence, the republic, the political ideal of the people, -had its deep root in the popular character and customs; therefore the -transition from an aristocratic to a representative republic was easy -and natural, when, in harmony with modern theories, civil liberties -were extended to all classes.</p> - -<p>Switzerland has 2706 Communes, divided as to nationality, 1352 -German, 945 French, 291 Italian, and 118 in the Grisons,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</span> where the -Romansch language is used. These Communes as an area of general -state administration serve for electoral districts, and as voting -districts for the Referendum. Their powers are numerous. They provide -for all the public services within their limits, much after the -manner of a Canton; they possess a sort of local police, which keeps -order day and night in their territory, is present at fairs and -markets, having an eye to the public houses, and watches over rural -property. Other communal officials maintain the public buildings, -roads, fountains, look after the lighting, take measures against -fires, superintend schools and religious matters, and supply aid -to the poor both in sickness and health. In the small Communes -there is only a municipal council, composed of not less than four, -elected directly by the members of the Commune in a general assembly -(<i>Gemeinde-Versammlung</i>), one of whom is made presiding officer -and called the <i>Syndic</i> or <i>Maire</i>. In the large Communes -there are two councils, one legislative and the other executive. A -greater or less number of Communes in each Canton form a district, -presided over by a <i>Prefect</i> (<i>Regierungsstatthalter</i>) who -represents the cantonal government. The functions of the communal -assemblies extend to: voting the budget, receipts and expenses; the -determination and apportionment of taxes; the choice of president -and functionaries of every kind, with the right of controlling and -dismissing them; administration of property belonging to the Commune; -acceptance or modification of all communal regulations; foundation -of churches, charitable institutions, hospitals, school-houses and -prisons. The assembly or legislative council elects the communal or -executive council, and the president of this body is the chief official -of the Commune. Every citizen is eligible to the communal council, who -is domiciled in the Commune, and a qualified voter in the communal -assembly. The qualifications which entitle every citizen in the Commune -to vote in the communal assembly require that he must have attained<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</span> -his twentieth year, be <i>sui juris</i>, in full enjoyment of the -general civil and political rights of the citizen, and be under no -temporary civil or criminal disability. Paupers and those who have not -paid their taxes cannot vote; those, too, who from intemperate habits -have been prohibited from frequenting public houses are not allowed to -vote during that probationary period. The principal matters assigned -to the supervision of a communal council embrace: the local police, -including residents and establishments in the Commune; guardianship, -embracing orphans and those not capable of managing their own property -(for any improvident citizen may be made a ward, and the control of -his property taken away from him); the poor, relieving them as far -as possible from the communal funds, and when this is insufficient, -to seek voluntary contributions; public instruction, appointing -the teachers in the primary schools and paying their salaries; -levying taxes upon the landed property, capital and revenue, for the -administration of the Commune, when revenues of communal property are -insufficient. The habit of borrowing money on the security of communal -credit has obtained but little footing; far from being disposed to -spare themselves by throwing burdens on their successors, they rather -think it necessary to get together and keep together a capital which -shall produce interest, a school fund, a poor fund, so the weight -of annual taxation for these purposes may be lightened. In general, -every citizen of a Commune must serve his two years in any office -to which he is elected, unless excused, from the fact that he is -already filling some public position, or that he is sixty years old -or in bad health; every one takes his turn of office, as he takes, in -earlier days, his spell of school, and in his later days, his spell -of camp. Non-members of the Commune, if Swiss citizens, by virtue of -a constitutional provision, have within it equal rights, excepting in -respect of the communal property; nor can they be subjected<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</span> to taxes -or other contributions than those imposed on their own citizens. Every -inhabitant of a Commune must be inscribed at the police office, and -be prepared at all times to show that he is really a member of the -Commune; if he removes to another Canton he must be fortified with this -evidence of his communal citizenship, or he will not be allowed to -remain. This regulation is strictly enforced in every case, specially -where the party is in any danger of becoming a public burden. Every -Commune, under this strict police surveillance, is absolutely protected -against being compelled to support the vagrants or beggars of other -Communes. The idea that it is the duty of the Commune to take care of -its poor, the unfortunate, and incapable is firmly planted in the mind -and breast of every member. They will try to prevent an hereditary or -professional pauper from acquiring a domicile in the Commune, and to -return to their own Communes shiftless persons that are apt to need -aid, but are ready to relieve every case of destitution which fairly -belongs in the Commune.</p> - -<p>The control of the Canton over the Communes in early times was only -nominal; it consisted in finding fault and proposing amendments that -were not adopted; any semblance of cantonal interference, in the way -of inspection and suggestions, being resented by the Communes. Of -later years there has been a gradual and systematic improvement in -the relation of the Canton and the Commune; and increased activity -of cantonal superintendence has effected a better management of the -Commune. The common funds as well as the common obligations have -been subjected to more efficient rules, without at all extinguishing -the principle of distinct communal management. Communal accounts are -referable to the Canton for investigation and correction. Where great -irregularities are discovered (which occurred once), the Canton has the -right to put a Commune under guardianship; a Commune might,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</span> indeed, -under certain circumstances be forced into bankruptcy. The Constitution -of 1874 largely extended this cantonal supervision over the Commune, -and modified many extraordinary powers hitherto exercised by it. Some -writers look upon the Commune as representing an “antiquated form of -corporation,” to which the modern era is opposed; a sort of mediæval -fraternity for the existence of which no plausible ground can be -found. Others still contend that the Communes form the true unities, -through which, by equilibration of the interests of each, the wants -of the whole are more wisely and effectively served. The republic of -Switzerland can largely trace its foundation, historically, to a free -communal constitution. It forms the solid foundation of the whole -organization. In the Commune, the citizen himself feels that he is -connected with his fellow-members by the bonds of a common ownership; -and with his fellow-citizens, by the common exercise of the same -right. With him the fair motto of the French, “Liberty, Equality, and -Fraternity,” is no empty formula inscribed on the tablets of public -documents. His liberty is complete, and has been handed down from -remote antiquity; equality is a fact sanctioned by all his laws; -fraternity is not mere sentiment, it is embodied in institutions which -make the members of the same Commune members of one family, partaking, -by equal right, in the hereditary patrimony. It would be unnatural -if he was not deeply attached to an administration in which he takes -so constant and essential a part. It is to him, also, the nursery -of independence, and the training-school for higher politics; not -controversial, office-seeking, electioneering politics, but politics -as including in one and the same comprehensive signification, as in -the vocabulary of a free country it should be, all the relations and -obligations of the citizen to the state. The rights and duties of a -citizen are themes of daily interest and discussion in the Commune, -and are taught in all its secondary and superior schools; every one is -instructed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</span> and encouraged to take a personal and intelligent interest -in what concerns the public weal, to be familiar with the public -business, to the interchange of ideas, and to the give-and-take of -civic life generally. He is taught that no man liveth to himself in a -republic, but every man has public duties, every man is a public man, -every man holds one high, sacred, all-embracing office, the office of a -free citizen.</p> - -<p>Switzerland, with its Communes, fully answers Aristotle’s definition -of a state, as “the association of clans and village communities in a -complete and self-sufficing life.” Small bodies are more closely united -and more vigorous in the pursuit of their end than large communities; -this results from their leading more easily to personal friendships, -and from the circumstance that, in a limited circle, men are brought -more frequently and immediately into contact with one another. By this -means their sympathetic feelings become more deeply interested in the -common welfare; they see more clearly that they are pursuing a common -object, and perceive the importance of vigorous co-operation on the -part of each member of the association. Amid so small a number, each -person feels that his single vote and exertions are of consequence, -and the thought of this excites in him a sense of responsibility, and -inspires him with a more lively interest in that government of which -he himself is an efficient member. Every man who fills a communal -station, however humble, is conscious that he is playing his part in -the presence of the whole miniature republic, and that his conduct is -every moment exposed to a minute and jealous scrutiny. By all these -circumstances public virtue is stimulated, corruption checked, mutual -sympathy heightened, patriotic zeal inflamed, and the union of public -with private interests clearly and substantially demonstrated. “It -is not by the consolidation or concentration of powers, but by their -distribution, that good government is effected. Were not this great -country already divided into<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</span> States, that division must be made, -that each might do for itself what concerns itself directly, and what -it can so much better do than a distant authority. Every State again -is divided into counties, each to take care of what lies within its -local bounds; each county again into townships or wards, to manage -minuter details; and every ward into farms, to be governed each by -its individual owner. It is by this partition of cares, descending in -gradation from general to particular, that the mass of human affairs -may be best managed for the good and prosperity of all.”<a id="FNanchor_56" href="#Footnote_56" class="fnanchor">56</a></p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.<br> -<span class="small"> - -CITIZENSHIP.</span></h2></div> - - -<p>In the old days of the Swiss Confederation, the days of the -<i>Staatenbund</i>, when no part of the internal sovereignty had been -given over to any central power, the citizen of any Canton was regarded -and treated as a foreigner in any other Canton; he was as strictly a -<i>metoikos</i> as a Corinthian who had settled at Athens, having no -voice in the government either of the Canton or Commune into which -he removed. All Swiss citizens who settled in <i>Gemeinden</i>, or -Communes, of which they had not the hereditary burghership, answered -exactly to the Greek <i>metoikos</i>; being in every important respect -strangers in the places where they themselves dwelt, and where, -perhaps, their forefathers had dwelt for generations. Down to 1815, -it was left to each Canton to determine for itself the conditions -under which persons from without could settle and gain citizenship; -and for the first time, under the Constitution<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</span> of 1848, a general law -governing this matter was adopted; and it was still further extended -and elaborated by that of 1874.<a id="FNanchor_57" href="#Footnote_57" class="fnanchor">57</a> The good example of the United -States, where it had already been constitutionally provided that -“the citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and -immunities of citizens in the several States,” was followed in the -present Swiss constitution; giving every Swiss citizen equal federal -and cantonal rights, in whatever part of the Confederation he may -settle. The two higher franchises, those of the Confederation and the -Canton, are assured to him at his place of domicile as fully as to a -native thereof; but to the lower franchise of the Commune he can be -admitted only by a special grant, or by the effect of some special -cantonal enactment. Communal questions, even including citizenship, -are left to the legislation of the Canton and of the Commune itself, -the federal constitution only providing that one domiciled in the -Commune shall not be discriminated against as to taxation. The mere -fact of indefinite residence and contribution to the local taxes -no more gives one a right to communal than it would to American -citizenship. Membership in the Commune is the determining factor of -Swiss citizenship. Modern states generally recognize nationality -as a personal relation not mainly dependent on place of birth or -domicile, but on descent from members of the nation and personal -reception into its membership, place of birth and domicile coming in -to complete the notion. Midway between these comes the Swiss principle -of membership in the Communes, which forms the basis of membership of -the Canton (<i>Cantonsbürgerrecht</i>), and that, in turn, of the Swiss -Confederation (<i>Schweizerbürgerrecht</i>). Citizenship in Switzerland -is primarily an affair of the Commune, from which the broader -conception of citizenship in the Canton and the Confederation<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</span> must be -reached. The “right of origin” is the great imprescriptible right and -muniment of Swiss citizenship, and the production of a certificate of -<i>Commune d’Origine</i> secures the constitutional right “to establish -residence at any point in Swiss territory.” The lines of distinction -between these several conceptions are not clearly presented, even to -the minds of the Swiss themselves.</p> - -<p>Under Article XIV., amendment of the Constitution of the United States, -“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to -the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of -the State wherein they reside.” The two methods indicated in which -one may become a citizen of the United States are very simple and -intelligible; first, by birth in the United States;<a id="FNanchor_58" href="#Footnote_58" class="fnanchor">58</a> and, second, -by naturalization therein. The only qualification as to either method, -applies to the first, requiring that a citizen by birth must not only -be born within the United States, but he must also be “subject to the -jurisdiction thereof,”—meaning that whole and complete jurisdiction -to which citizens generally are subject, and not any qualified and -partial jurisdiction, such as may consist with allegiance to some -other government. The process of naturalization, whereby one renounces -any foreign allegiance and takes upon himself the obligations of -citizenship, is equally simple, being effected by proceedings -under general laws prescribed by Congress; which is empowered by -the constitution “to establish an uniform rule of naturalization.” -The Fourteenth Amendment, in the clause above quoted, certainly -recognizes that there is a citizenship of the United States, and also -a citizenship of the several States; and that the two coexist in the -same persons. It is no longer possible to conceive of such a status -as citizenship of a State unconnected<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</span> with citizenship of the United -States, or of citizenship of the United States, with a residence in a -State, unconnected with citizenship of the State. The States cannot -naturalize; the act of naturalization by the United States is the grant -of citizenship within the State where the naturalized person resides. -It is only in the Territories and other places over which the State has -ceded exclusive jurisdiction to the United States that there can be -a citizenship of the United States unconnected with citizenship of a -State. There are in the United States system:</p> - -<p>1. The several bodies of electors which compose the several States, in -their character of sovereign and independent political communities, -united as such by the constitution, and which are alone invested with -political rights and charged with political duties.</p> - -<p>2. The several bodies of citizens, which compose the several States in -their character of separate civil societies, each of which bodies is -immediately subject to the government and entitled to the protection of -the particular State to which it belongs, but does not necessarily have -a voice or share in the government, state or federal.</p> - -<p>3. The common body of citizens of the United States, that is to -say, the citizens of each State and Territory, as “entitled to all -privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States.”</p> - -<p>These privileges and immunities have always been construed to mean -such rights and privileges as are in their nature fundamental, such -as belong of right to the citizens of all free governments, such as -at all times have been enjoyed by the citizens of the several States -from the time of their becoming free, sovereign, and independent. -Recognizing the distinction between the inhabitants of a State and -its citizens, Mr. Caleb Cushing defines the latter as the “sovereign, -constituent ingredients of the government.” To the same effect speaks -Mr.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</span> Chief-Justice Waite in the United States vs. Cruikshank: “Citizens -are members of the political community to which they belong. They are -the people who compose the community, and who in their associated -capacity have established or submitted themselves to the dominion -of a government for the promotion of their general welfare, and the -protection of their individual as well as their collective rights.”</p> - -<p>The political community in a State differs from the civil community; it -is less numerically, but it comprehends special privileges. Membership -therein implies the possession, not only of the civil rights, but of -the privilege of participating in the sovereignty. Whereas membership -in the civil community alone implies merely the possession of the -civil rights,—<i>i.e.</i>, the rights of personal security, of -personal liberty, and of private property.<a id="FNanchor_59" href="#Footnote_59" class="fnanchor">59</a> Under the Articles of -Confederation, the States constituting only a league, citizenship of -the so-united States was a thing inconceivable; accordingly the only -citizenship then possible, as a legal fact, was citizenship of the -State. National citizenship was introduced for the first time by the -Constitution of 1787. Still that constitution contained no definition -of citizenship of the United States. Under the provision that “the -citizens of each State shall be entitled to all the privileges and -immunities of citizens in the several States,” a person going from -one commonwealth into another, acquired no other status than that -held by the race or class to which he belonged in the commonwealth -into which he went. The only sense in which a citizenship of the -United States existed was in the provisions where it appears as a -qualification for office. The phrase “citizen of the United States” -is employed three times, as to eligibility for the several positions -of President, Senator, and Representative in Congress. From<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</span> the -adoption of the constitution to the time of the ratification of -the Fourteenth Amendment thereto, the existence of such a thing as -citizenship of the United States, in the sense of a citizenship -independent of the citizenship of the several States, was hardly -admitted. Then citizenship of the United States was not primary and -paramount, but secondary and subordinate; it was only an incident of -State citizenship. Story wrote in his Commentaries: “It has always -been well understood among jurists in this country that the citizens -of each State in the Union are <i>ipso facto</i> citizens of the -United States.” Said Mr. Calhoun, in his speech on the “Force Bill,” -delivered in 1833, “A citizen at large, one whose citizenship extends -to the entire geographical limits of the country without having a local -citizenship in some State or Territory, a sort of citizen of the world, -such a citizen would be a perfect nondescript; not a single individual -of this description can be found in the entire mass of our population.” -Mr. Justice Curtis, in his dissenting opinion in the Dred Scott case, -took the position that citizenship of the United States was dependent -entirely upon citizenship of some one of the several States as such. -Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Curtis agreed that the power of Congress, under the -constitution, “to establish an uniform rule of naturalization,” was -simply the power “to remove the disabilities of foreign birth.” On the -other hand, Mr. Justice Marshall, in 1832, held, in the case of Gassies -vs. Ballon, that a naturalized citizen of the United States, residing -in any State of the Union, was a citizen of that State. Marshall and -Curtis, in their respective views, represented the difference which -obtained between the advocates of State rights and their opponents, -on the question of citizenship of the United States. By the adoption -of the Fourteenth Amendment this was all changed, and is now placed -beyond controversy. The principle is inverted.<a id="FNanchor_60" href="#Footnote_60" class="fnanchor">60</a> Citizenship<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</span> of the -United States now depends in no way upon citizenship in any State or -Territory, but merely upon birth in the United States, coupled with -subjection to the jurisdiction thereof, or upon naturalization. The -term “subject to jurisdiction,” must be construed in the sense in which -the term is used in international law, as accepted in the United States -as well as in Europe; and by this law the children born abroad of -American citizens are regarded as citizens of the United States, with -the right, on reaching full age, to elect one allegiance and repudiate -the other, such election to be final. If the Fourteenth Amendment -furnished an exhaustive and comprehensive definition of citizenship, -such children would not be citizens. That it does not furnish such -definition is intimated by Mr. Justice Miller in the Slaughter-House -cases, and by Mr. Justice Field in his dissenting opinion. In the same -cases it was decided that the privileges and immunities appurtenant -to citizenship of the United States were different and distinct from -those appurtenant to State citizenship; being merely those special and -limited privileges and immunities arising from the special and limited -scope under the constitution of the federal or United States authority. -The theory laid down in the Slaughter-House cases suggests a query as -to the converse. Cannot a person in a substantial sense be a citizen -of a State and at the same time not be a citizen of the United States, -the Fourteenth Amendment to the contrary notwithstanding? Is it not -within the power of a State to grant to an alien, residing within its -limits, all the rights and privileges enjoyed by its native-born or -naturalized citizens, so far as such rights and privileges are under -control of the State?—that is, to naturalize an alien to the extent -of its own exclusive jurisdiction, even to the extent of voting for -United<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</span> States officials, thus practically making him a member of the -political community in the United States. Said the Supreme Court, -through Chief-Justice Taney, in the Dred Scott case: “We must not -confound the rights of citizenship which a State may confer within its -own limits and the rights of citizenship as a member of the Union;” -and Mr. Pomeroy, in his “Constitutional Law,” writes: “While it is -settled that the Congress of the United States has exclusive authority -to make rules for naturalization, it must not be understood that the -States are deprived of all jurisdiction to legislate respecting the -rights and duties of aliens. They may permit or forbid persons of alien -birth to hold, acquire, or transmit property; to vote at State or -national elections, etc. These capacities do not belong to the United -States citizenship as such.” It is true that the constitution of the -United States makes no one a member of the <i>political</i> body, a -capacity which comes only with citizenship of the State; and therefore -it confers the right to vote upon no one. That right comes even to the -“citizens of the United States,” when they possess it at all, under -State laws, and as a grant of State sovereignty. The amendment, Article -XV., confers upon citizens of the United States a new exemption; -namely, an exemption from discrimination in elections on account of -race, color, or previous condition of servitude; and to the extent -that, should it be needful to protect this exemption, Congress may -provide by appropriate legislation. The Fifteenth Amendment endows the -individual with the potentiality of enfranchisement, not its actuality, -and did not absolutely make him an elector. It did not deprive the -people of the States of the discretion, in their primary capacity, to -decide who of their number should enjoy the political franchise. It -simply forbade them to adopt a particular rule of discrimination.</p> - -<p>The Swiss constitution goes far beyond that of the United States -in dealing with citizenship, and the rights, civil and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</span> political, -thereto commonly appertaining. It practically reverses the system as it -exists in the United States. There are no citizens of Switzerland and -<i>ipso facto</i> citizens of the Canton “wherein they reside.” To the -contrary, “every citizen of a Canton,” the constitution declares, “is a -Swiss citizen.” In the words of an eminent Swiss writer, “The national -citizenship proceeds from below.” As to the electoral body, while in -the United States it is determined by the State, within the limitations -of the Fifteenth Amendment, in Switzerland, with the exceptions as to -communal corporate matters, it is fixed by the Confederation in its -organic law, with provisions clear and full. Swiss political active -citizenship is derived from above, proceeding from the Confederation, -and from this source descending to the Canton and the Commune. The -individual once admitted to cantonal citizenship, the Confederation -steps forward and invests him with its nationality, and asserts its -exclusive dominion over him as an elector, declaring he may take part, -in any place where he has acquired residence, in all federal elections -and votes. Coming from any part of the Confederation and taking up his -residence in a Canton, he may, after a residence of three months there, -enjoy in his place of settlement all the rights of a citizen of the -Canton; and with these, also, the rights of a citizen of a Commune, -except as to the common property and corporation. The Confederation, -under the constitution, is charged with fixing, by law, “the limits -within which a Swiss citizen may be deprived of his political rights.” -Swiss citizenship, as defined in the constitution,—“Every citizen of -a Canton is also a Swiss citizen,”—is far from being so accessible -as the simple terms of its definition might imply. It is a difficult, -tedious, and expensive process. As the cantonal citizenship precedes -the federal, so the communal citizenship precedes the cantonal. Every -Swiss citizen must belong to some Commune. He must possess a Commune -of origin, which in French is called “<i>Bourgeoisie</i>,”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</span> and in -German “<i>Bürgergemeinde</i>.” If not obtained by inheritance, then he -must purchase it at what the Commune sees proper to charge; only a few -poorer Communes having free admission, or at least with trifling fees.</p> - -<p>The foreigner, seeking Swiss citizenship, must first show that he has -resided in Switzerland during the two years preceding his application, -and that there is nothing in his relations to his native country -that will involve prejudice to the Confederation by his admission to -Swiss citizenship. These conditions being satisfactorily complied -with, he is granted by the Federal Council authority to be received -as a citizen of a Canton and of a Commune; and for which permit he -pays the Confederation thirty-five francs. The Federal Council, with -considerate regard for the serious undertaking of the applicant, -allows two years within which the permit may be used, and if, at -the expiration of that period, it be desired, will renew it upon -the payment of a small additional tax. On receiving the permit the -holder sets out to find communal citizenship, as the first essential -step. This, as described, is practically a matter of purchase. With -this acquired, he must supplement it with cantonal citizenship, and -of that Canton in which the Commune is located, otherwise it is of -no avail. The agreement for communal membership is always predicated -upon the favorable action of a Canton, and the consideration is not -paid until its action is had. The cantonal citizenship is the <i>pons -asinorum</i>,—it is the cap-stone, and the most difficult to secure. -The permit from the Federal Council is freely given; the communal -admission a question largely of francs, with some slight inquiry as to -character and condition; but the Canton considers the petition from -a different and higher stand-point. The Canton is not particularly -concerned about the applicant being able-bodied and possessed of those -qualities and conditions which insure contribution from him rather -than distribution to him from the common property<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</span> of the Commune. The -Canton has regard to whether the applicant will be a desirable citizen, -and not to the material aspects which are paramount with the Commune. -It occurs, not infrequently, that a successful purchaser of communal -membership fails as a petitioner to pass the cantonal ordeal.<a id="FNanchor_61" href="#Footnote_61" class="fnanchor">61</a> The -granting of a cantonal or communal naturalization without the previous -approval of the Federal Council is void; and the federal authority to -acquire citizenship is equally futile, until followed up by cantonal -and communal naturalization according to the laws of the Canton. This -involved process that hedges Swiss citizenship, and the cost of its -selection in a desirable Commune, have deterred many foreigners who -have taken up their permanent residence in Switzerland, from making -any attempt for its acquisition. The number of this class at present -is estimated to be nearly ten per cent. of the whole population; and -the Federal Council is considering the policy of amending the law, so -that naturalization may be more easily effected, in order to convert -a great portion of these strangers into Swiss citizens. When Swiss -citizenship is once obtained, by birth or naturalization, it is not -easily lost or set aside. In this the federal constitution determines -the conduct of the Canton, and does not permit it “to banish one -of its citizens from its territory, or deprive him of the right of -citizenship.” The “right of township or origin,” the highest and -firmest right of citizenship, is a sacred and imprescriptible right, -which the constitution places above any power to take away or impair. -By virtue of the constitutional authority of the Confederation, “to -fix the conditions upon which foreigners may be naturalized, as well -as those upon which a Swiss may give up his citizenship in order -to obtain naturalization in a foreign<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</span> country,” a federal law was -enacted in 1876. It provides that “a Swiss citizen may renounce his -citizenship if he has no domicile in Switzerland, and if he is enjoying -fully all civil rights according to the laws of the country where -he resides, and that he has already acquired citizenship in another -country, or the assurance of its being granted for himself, his wife, -and minor children. The declaration of renunciation is to be submitted -in writing, accompanied by the required statement, to the cantonal -government, which will notify the respective communal authorities, -in order to inform such parties as are interested, and a term of -four weeks is fixed for presenting objections.” The Federal Tribunal -decides in such cases, where objection is made to the renunciation; -and in event of no objection being made, or if made and judicially -overruled, then the discharge from cantonal and communal citizenship -is pronounced and entered on record. This discharge includes Swiss -citizenship or denationalization, and dates from its issue and delivery -to the applicant; it also extends to the wife and minor children, when -they are domiciled or living together, and if no special exceptions -be made in regard to them. The widow or the divorced wife of a Swiss -citizen, who has renounced his nationality, and such children of a -former Swiss citizen, as were minors at the time of such renunciation, -may request of the Federal Council to be readmitted as citizens. -This privilege will not be granted to the widow or divorced wife, -unless the application be made within ten years after the dissolution -of the marriage; nor to the children, unless made within ten years -after attaining their majority. After the expiration of these -periods, the parties in either case must acquire citizenship in the -manner prescribed for aliens. The substance, indeed, the identical -phraseology, of this law was anticipated by the Federal Council in -its answer, made in 1868, to an appeal from the British government, -relating to expatriation and naturalization.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</span> The Council closed its -answer in these words: “The right of Swiss citizenship ceases only -with the death or by the voluntary renunciation, by the person who -possesses it, of his cantonal and communal right of citizenship, and by -the release which a competent authority, cantonal and communal, gives -him. But this emancipation from the ties which bind him to the state -is not granted until the proof exists, in due form, of the acquisition -of citizenship in a foreign country.” It is manifest that the entrance -to and exit from Swiss citizenship is by no means through a broad and -open door. The firm tie which binds him with “hoops of steel” to his -country is not loosed by the mere acquisition of citizenship in another -country; but proof must be submitted that he was under no disability -at the time of doing so, and that he is in the full enjoyment of all -the civil rights of his adopted country. In the event of a member of a -Commune moving to another Canton, who does not thereby divest himself -of his original communal citizenship, and fails to secure membership in -the Commune where he settles (for one may become a member of several -Communes), he assumes a citizenship of a twofold nature, and therefore, -as explained in the chapter on “Communes,” there exist in many Communes -two governments,—a citizens’ government and a political government, -distinguished as the community of citizens and the community of -inhabitants or settlers. This principle also results in a dual national -citizenship, and consequently conflicting claims of correlative rights -and duties. To provide against embarrassing contingencies that might -arise from this situation on the part of Swiss who have acquired -citizenship in a foreign state,—without the required formal and -expressed voluntary declaration of renunciation, with its equally -formal and expressed acceptance to render it valid,—the federal law of -1846 declares that “persons who, in addition to Swiss citizenship, are -citizens of a foreign country, are not entitled to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</span> the privileges and -the protection accorded to Swiss citizens, during their residence in -such a foreign state.”</p> - -<p>It is this imprescriptible feature of Swiss communal citizenship, so -deeply embedded in the public sentiment of the country and engrafted in -the organic law, that has stubbornly blocked the way to all efforts, -on the part of the United States, to negotiate with that country a -naturalization treaty. Such treaties of reciprocal naturalization -exist between the United States and all the European nations, except -the two absolute monarchies of Russia and Turkey, whereby it is -stipulated that domicile of certain duration and naturalization shall -be recognized by both parties as terminating the previous relation. To -repeated invitations from the United States to Switzerland looking to -the conclusion of a similar treaty, the same answer always came from -the Federal Council,—“The conception of the imprescriptibility of the -Swiss citizenship, closely interwoven as it is with the views of the -Swiss people, and recognized by various cantonal constitutions as a -fundamental right, would make it impossible for Switzerland to conclude -a treaty, whereby a citizen, after a longer or shorter absence, would -lose his Swiss nationality.” In fact, to accede to this request, it -would be necessary to obtain an amendment to the Swiss constitution, -asserting federal control over the question. At present there is no -Swiss citizenship except as it is derived from the Canton and Commune; -and the Confederation is powerless to deal internationally with it. -The Swiss contention that a Swiss who becomes a citizen of any other -country, without specific exemption under the law, is held to the -obligations of Swiss citizenship, does not distinctly embrace the -doctrine of return and domicile <i>animo manendi</i> in Switzerland. -The Swiss Federal Tribunal has even asserted jurisdictional powers with -respect to Swiss naturalized and resident in a foreign country.</p> - -<p>The latitude given cantonal and communal officials in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</span> construction -of the federal law of 1876, and the survival of a great body of -antiquated cantonal enactments and communal ordinances, which slowly -and reluctantly yield to federal legislation, complicate and render -almost impossible a compliance with its provisions. It has been held -that a renunciation, though presented in proper form, could not -be entertained, because the party was under “guardianship.” Not a -guardianship under which the law places a minor, but a guardianship -authorized by cantonal and communal laws; under which any improvident -adult citizen may be placed,—and these local officials are disposed to -classify under this head those who emigrate, and propose subsequently -to make a renunciation of Swiss citizenship, specially should any -inheritance fall to them in the Cantons or Communes. These persons -are coerced to return to Switzerland to obtain the possession and -enjoyment of such property; or by prolonged absence permit it to -escheat, and swell the common fund. Again, a very common ground of -objection to renunciation is the alleged fear that the party may at -some time, in the future, return to his native country and become a -public charge; and this is persisted on in spite of the assurance that -he has become a citizen, say, of the United States, a <i>bona fide</i> -resident therein, invested with all the privileges and subject to all -the obligations pertaining thereto, and if from indigence, sickness, -or other cause he should become unable to maintain himself, he has a -claim in common with and to the same extent as other citizens of the -United States in the provisions made by law for persons reduced to that -unfortunate condition, in the State in which he might happen to reside -at the time of such contingency. In a recent case (1889), that of “Carl -Heinrich Webber (of Philadelphia) vs. The City Council of Zurich,” the -plaintiff had left Switzerland during his minority, and in due course -of time was naturalized in pursuance of the statute, and desired to -secure possession of his property in Zurich for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</span> purpose of transfer -to the United States. This was resisted by his guardian, on the ground -that while his renunciation in its preparation and presentation met -the requirements of the law, still he had left Switzerland without -the consent of his guardian, and therefore could not legally acquire -the domicile in the United States necessary for naturalization there. -This plea of the guardian was sustained by the Council of Zurich, and -Webber denied his property. On an appeal to the Federal Tribunal, this -decision was overruled, only on the ground that the guardian had given -an implied assent to the young man’s change of domicile; the court -adding that otherwise the plea, as made and sustained by the lower -court, would have been affirmed.<a id="FNanchor_62" href="#Footnote_62" class="fnanchor">62</a> The judicial doctrine, which so -long obtained, that no one could expatriate himself without express -authority of law, has given way, in principle and practice, to the -natural and fundamental right to transfer allegiance, and that every -man should be allowed to exercise it with no other limitation than the -public safety or interest requires. The sound and prevalent doctrine -now is that a citizen or subject, having faithfully performed the past -and present duties resulting from his relation to the sovereign power, -may at any time release himself from the obligation of allegiance, -freely quit the land of his birth or adoption, search through all -the countries a home, and select anywhere that which offers him the -finest prospect of happiness for himself and posterity. This right -rests on as firm a basis and is similar in principle to the right -which legitimates resistance to tyranny. Two elements, each equally -important, enter into expatriation,—the one is emigration out of -one’s native country, and the other is naturalization in the country -adopted. All lexicographers and all jurists define naturalization<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</span> in -one way. In its popular etymological and legal sense, it signifies the -act of adopting a foreigner and clothing him with all the privileges of -a native citizen or subject. This naturalization cannot do under the -Swiss contention; for the national allegiance of the Swiss cannot be -thrown off and another substituted in its place without the assent of -the sovereign holding the former. Naturalization in a foreign country -should operate, from the time of its completion, as an extinguishment -of the original citizenship; it should work absolute expatriation in -law as it does in fact. A citizen who has in good faith abjured his -country and become a subject of a foreign nation should to his native -government be considered as denationalized; leaving it to the law of -the land of his birth, whether or how he shall become repatriated. As -forcibly expressed by a former Secretary of State at Washington: “The -moment a foreigner becomes naturalized, his allegiance to his native -country is severed forever. He experiences a new political birth,—a -broad and impassable line separates him from his native country.”</p> - -<p>The right of expatriation is fully and positively established in the -United States, by an act of Congress, in these words: “Whereas, the -right of expatriation is a natural and inherent right of the people, -indispensable to the enjoyment of the rights of life, liberty, and -the pursuit of happiness; and, whereas, in the recognition of this -principle, this government has frequently received emigrants from all -nations, and invested them with the right of citizenship; and, whereas, -it is claimed that such American citizens, with their descendants, -are subjects of foreign states, owing allegiance to the governments -thereof; and, whereas, it is necessary to the maintenance of public -peace that this claim of foreign allegiance should be promptly and -finally disavowed; therefore any declaration, instruction, opinion, -order, or decision of any officer of the United States, which denies, -restricts, impairs, or questions the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</span> right of expatriation is declared -inconsistent with the fundamental principles of the republic.”</p> - -<p>Naturalization in the United States is a valuable privilege, which -is considerately granted to those who desire its advantages and are -willing to undertake its duties. The process is a decree of a court of -record, upon the satisfactory establishment by the applicant of his -lawful eligibility to the privilege of their nationality. The United -States cannot admit of qualified naturalization, subject to the consent -of the country of origin; nor can the United States Courts, in which -the judicial power of naturalization is vested, take cognizance of the -consent of a foreign state as a precedent condition to naturalization. -The admissibility of a change of allegiance in the United States, -without any co-operation or consent of the country of origin, is -plainly implied from the very statute itself; which requires conditions -of residence, of personal character, of publicity, and of abjuration -under oath of allegiance to every other government, and especially -to that of the country of birth, with sworn allegiance to the United -States. These are all indispensable for the completion of an act of -expatriation, and no more; and he who is in this manner endowed with -the nationality of the United States, thereby dissolves all ties of -native allegiance, and is clothed with all the rights and privileges -that pertain to a native citizen, and entitled to the same degree of -protection whether at home or abroad.</p> - -<p>Citizenship is an attribute of national sovereignty, and not merely -of individual or local bearing. It is a sacred right, full of grave -consequences, granted with solemn formalities, and its existence should -always be well defined and indisputable. Between friendly States, -naturalization and expatriation should be reciprocal; and with an equal -measure of obligation. Conventional adjustment is alone adequate to the -removal of the most prolific source of constantly-recurring<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</span> friction -and tension, inevitable, in the absence of treaty stipulation.</p> - -<p>The persistency of Switzerland upon this question in a policy so much -at variance with all the liberal views of civilized nations, exhibiting -a stubborn conservatism and irrational disinclination to change her -laws to meet generally accepted principles and the requirements -of her external relations, might well subject the Swiss to the -characterization, applied at one time by Cobden to the English people, -as “the Chinese of Europe.”</p> - -<p>All laws controlling States in their relations with one another are the -slow result of growth, coming from an ever-increasing and ever-varying -necessity; rendering any assumption of logical consistency not only -impossible, but in many instances wrong, if not dangerous, to the -inevitable concurrence of doctrines demanded by general usage and -international amity.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.<br> -<span class="small"> - -LAND LAW AND TESTAMENTARY POWER.</span></h2></div> - - -<p>There can be no better security for the stability of the institutions -of a country than by enlisting a large number of the people in their -support, by giving them a stake in the prosperity of the soil. It is -the highest public interest that landed property should easily get -into those hands by which it can be turned to the best account; that -the title to property in land should be sure and incontestable; and -that there should be no legal obstacle to the subdivision of land, -when the natural economy tends to it, so that the number of small -land-owners shall not be artificially reduced by imperfection in the -law. The larger the number of land-owners in a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</span> country, the more who -have an interest in the soil they till, the more free and independent -citizens there are interested in maintenance of public order. There -is no ballast for a man like that of having a little earth, his own, -about his feet. Cultivating his own field, growing a part of his -food-supply, lodged under his own roof,—these make life pleasanter -and labor lighter. The thoughts, feelings, lives of those who live -under these conditions are of a higher order than the thoughts, the -feelings, the lives of those who do not. Property is the essential -complement of liberty. Without property man is not truly free. Whatever -rights the political constitution may confer upon him, so long as he -is a mere tenant he remains a dependent being; a free man politically, -he is socially but a bondsman. There is no country in Europe where -land possesses the great independence, and where there is so wide a -distribution of land-ownership, as in Switzerland. The 5,378,122 acres -devoted to agriculture are divided among 258,639 proprietors, the -average size of the farms throughout the whole country being not more -than twenty-one acres.<a id="FNanchor_63" href="#Footnote_63" class="fnanchor">63</a> The facilities for the acquisition of land -have produced small holders, with security of tenure, representing -two-thirds of the entire population. There are no primogeniture, -copyhold, customary tenures, and manorial rights, or other artificial -obstacles to discourage land transfer and dispersion. No entails -aggregating lands and tying them up, so that no living person shall -be full owner, but a mere tenant for some unborn child. No family -settlements with “tenants in common in tail,” with “cross-remainders in -tail,” till some tenant-in-tail reaches the age of twenty-one years, -when he may be able with the consent of his father, who is tenant for -life, to bar the entail with all the remainders. There is no belief, -in Switzerland, that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</span> land was made to minister to the perpetual -elevation of a privileged class; but a wide-spread and positive -sentiment, as Turgot puts it, that “the earth belongs to the living, -not to the dead;” nor, it may be added, to the unborn. The natural -forces of accumulation and dispersion are not hampered by ninety-nine -years building leases, perpetual and irredeemable rent, or heavy -expense of conveyance; but are in every way encouraged, simplified, and -facilitated by the laws federal and cantonal. The wars of the fifteenth -and sixteenth centuries exercised, indirectly, considerable influence -on Swiss land tenure, by breaking up the large properties—monastic, -conventual, and private—which had for some time been steadily -augmented; and produced a reaction in favor of gradual redistribution. -This wider dissemination of land among the people was carried on -without rudely shocking or violating proprietary rights, as far as the -few recalcitrant owners permitted it to be done; certainly with not a -tithe of the legislative injustice or coercion, with which a greater -part of these accumulations had been made. It is from this period that -the existing system of land tenure in Switzerland may be said really -to date. The feudal rights asserted by certain Cantons over others, -which took the form of landed charges, were all swept away at the -time of the setting up of the Helvetian Republic, in 1798. Since the -commencement of this century, and especially since the constitutions -of 1830 were framed, the land throughout the whole of Switzerland has -been completely emancipated,—the system of peasant proprietorship -working side by side with that of small tenant farmers. The survival -of the Commune, intact with its various property rights in fee-simple -and usufruct, does not conflict with or impede the general tendency to -discourage the centralization of landed property in the hands of the -few. For it has come to be axiomatic with the Swiss that the effort to -acquire land is the mainspring of the life of the peasant, the root -of his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</span> industry, of his painstaking, frugal, and saving life. The -solid, sterling elements of the Swiss peasant’s character are traced -by all the native writers to their source in the educative power of -property,—property in land.</p> - -<p>There exists no federal land code in Switzerland. Contracts relating -to the sale and purchase of lands, easements, and mortgages are -governed by the law of each Canton. In general, all questions as to the -devolution of property, by will or upon intestacy, are regulated by the -Cantons, and not within the competence of the Confederation. There is -an official survey containing a plan of each Commune, with the parcels -of land, their areas, annual values, and peculiarities indicated, of -which any one may have a copy under a fixed schedule of charges. The -federal code of obligations, adopted in 1861, contains twenty-five -articles relating to leases of land. It was claimed at the time of the -passage of this law, by some of the ablest lawyers, to be an assumption -by the government of a very doubtful power, an interference with the -ownership of the soil, and the infringement of an exclusive right -guaranteed to the Cantons. The friends of the measure contended that -its provisions did not involve the title or ownership of realty, but -only had to do with the rights of persons, which clearly fell within -the competency of the Federal Assembly. This view obtained. While -it is difficult to examine this elaborate act and its far-reaching -provisions, without a conviction that it bears a very close and strong -relation to the ownership of soil, in the popular apprehension of that -term, still its satisfactory operation has silenced all opposition, -and it is now believed to be accomplishing desirable ends that could -not otherwise be so efficiently done. It may be of interest to note -some of the leading provisions of this law. All contracts for leases -are required to be written. If the farm be delivered to the tenant -in a condition unsuitable for the purpose for which it was rented, -the tenant may<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</span> renounce the lease. If deteriorations or restrictions -not mentioned in the covenant take place, without the tenant’s fault, -he may demand proportionate reduction of rent or renounce the lease, -if proper restitution is not made within a reasonable time. Urgent -repairs of any kind, required during the lease, are to be made by the -tenant. The lessor has the right to retain all the movables belonging -to the farm, as security for the payment of his rent, for the past -current year. This, however, does not include effects, which, under -the laws relating to debt and bankruptcy, are exempt from execution. -The lessor has the right to appeal to the authorities to compel a -tenant, who threatens to abandon the farm before paying the rent, to -leave property behind him on the place in value sufficient to cover the -amount due. A tenant cannot be relieved from rent when, through his own -fault or even from any accident in which he was directly concerned, -he is unable to enjoy the use or benefit of the lease. If implements, -stock, etc., are included in the lease, each party must furnish the -other with a specific inventory duly subscribed, with an estimate of -their value. The lessor must bear the expense of any repairs, on a -large scale, which may become necessary during the lease, as soon as -he receives notice of such from the tenant. The tenant must make a -conscientious use of the land, according to the stipulations of the -lease, and especially to keep it in a good state of cultivation. The -tenant cannot alter the existing mode of cultivation or cropping to -the damage of the land or the prejudice of a subsequent lease. He must -conform with all local laws and customs as to paths, foot-bridges, -ditches, dikes, hedges, roofs, aqueducts, etc., and must replace all -implements and tools of small value which may have become worn out. -The tenant cannot underlet without consent of landlord, regardless of -duration of lease. In absence of special agreement as to payment of -rent, it must be paid according to the local custom, and in event of -extraordinary<span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</span> accident by which he loses a considerable portion of -his year’s product, if in no way due to any fault on his part, and -if not covered by insurance, or taken into consideration in fixing -the rent, he may demand a proportionate reduction. In the absence of -agreement or well-defined custom, each party has the right to give the -other notice, which as to the land must be at least six months before -the 11th of November. With this notice in cases of long leases, where -circumstances arise to render its continuance intolerable to either -party, it may be terminated, with an equitable indemnity to the other -party; this indemnity, even when referred to the courts for adjustment, -must not be less than one year’s rent. If, on the expiration of the -lease, the tenant remains in possession with the landlord’s knowledge -and without his objection, the lease will continue in force from year -to year, until the six months’ notice is given by one of the parties. -When a tenant fails to pay his rent at the time it falls due, the -lessor may give him notice that if not paid within sixty days the -lease will be cancelled; in that event the tenant loses his right -to the growing crops, but he must be reimbursed for the expenses -incurred in their cultivation, to be credited on arrears of rent. The -lessor has the right to cancel a lease when the tenant neglects to -keep the farm in good order; or if, after receiving notice, he fails -to execute any necessary repairs within the period designated by the -landlord. In event of a tenant’s bankruptcy, the lease expires <i>ipso -facto</i>, when such bankruptcy is declared. At the expiration of a -lease the tenant must hand over the farm and everything specified in -the inventory, just as they are at the time of delivery, with indemnity -for any injury resulting from want of proper care on his part; and no -compensation is due him for improvements merely the result of ordinary -care. The tenant must leave on the land the straw and manure of the -preceding year; if, however, it exceeds what he received when taking -possession, he can claim<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</span> compensation for the difference. The outgoing -tenant, at the expiration of the lease, has the right to compensation -for any increase on the original valuation of the farm which is the -fruit of his labor and outlay; this is sometimes ascertained to a -nicety by means of a system of chemical testing of the soil.</p> - -<p>It seems almost incredible that a federal law should be so -circumstantial, rather than lay down the general principles upon -a question of the lease of land and leaving it to the Cantons or -Communes to supply the details, in conformity with the varying local -elements that must enter into it, from the great diversity of soil, -products, and customs. This law is but another illustration of that -patient and minute exactness which distinguishes all Swiss federal -legislation, aiming to cover every possible contingency that may arise -of construction or enforcement.</p> - -<p>It is to the cantonal civil codes we must turn for the body of the land -laws. These codes appear to be derived from three distinct sources, -corresponding with the ethnical division of the people,—the Roman, -the Old Germanic, and the Napoleonic codes. The Cantons of Geneva, -Neuchâtel, and the western portion of the Canton of Bern, known as -the Jura-Bernois, have the code Napoleon almost in its entirety. The -codes of Vaud, Freiburg, Valais, and Ticino are based on the old Roman -law, harmonized in some features with the code Napoleon. The Cantons -of St. Gallen, Appenzell, Uri, Schwyz, Obwald, Glarus, and Basel-Stadt -are still governed by ancient statutes or customs, without any defined -codes. The remaining Cantons, constituting what is known as German -Switzerland, have their land laws framed on the old Germanic code, with -an admixture of the code Napoleon. There were no cantonal land codes -previous to 1819; the oldest one, that of Vaud, dates from that year. -A summary of the law, in a few of the representative Cantons, will be -sufficient.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</span></p> - -<p>Bern has two separate codes; the western or Jura district having -adopted the code Napoleon, while the other portion of the Canton -still adheres to the old Germanic code, with some alterations and -improvements grafted on to it. The sale of land is absolutely free -and unrestricted; the only formality consisting of a contract drawn -up and signed by both parties and deposited at the cantonal registry -office, for which there is a small registration fee, divided between -the Canton and Commune. The ordinary duration of an original lease is -from five to ten years. The lessee is in no way bound to any particular -rotation of crops, and any attempt to exhaust the soil unfairly is -very unusual. The outgoing tenant must deliver to his successor the -farm in no worse condition than that in which he found it; and if the -requisite amount of manure, etc., is not forthcoming, he must replace -the deficiency. Only one-third of the landed property is at the -absolute disposal of the testator, the remaining two-thirds must be -divided in equal portions among the children. The only way a testator -may favor a child is to bequeath to him that portion (one-third) which -the law allows him to dispose of <i>ad libitum</i>, as an addition to -his distributable share. Should, however, the wife survive her husband, -she enjoys the absolute use of all of his property for her life, with -no power to alienate or deal with it in any way, save with the consent -of the Committee of Wards, a body to be found in every Bernese Commune. -Failing of wife or children, the property is divided equally among -the heirs at law, should there be no will disposing of the available -one-third. There is an exception, not embodied in the code, but founded -in an immemorial custom, which prevails in the extensive valley of the -Emmenthal, where the youngest son inherits by right all the landed -property at the decease of both parents, subject to an annual indemnity -paid to his brothers and sisters, who in this way hold a preferred -lien on the land. The origin of this custom is thus explained: Motives -of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</span> safety formerly induced the proprietors of land to live within the -walls of Bern, where they had their house and establishment, which -passed to the eldest son, instead of land. The custom has held together -the exceptionally large farms in this valley, some running up to a -hundred and fifty acres each.</p> - -<p>In the Canton of Vaud the sale and acquisition of landed property are -as unrestricted as in that of Bern. One-half of it is at the disposal -of the testator, the other half must go to the children in equal -proportions. Failing of issue, and if the deceased dies intestate, and -be unmarried or a widower, his brothers and sisters succeed to half -of the property and his parents to the other half. If none of these -members of the family survive, the property is divided equally among -the ascendants in the paternal and maternal line. In this Canton, -where the breeding of cattle forms so important an industry, certain -legislation closely allied to the occupation of the soil is worthy -of a passing notice. This is known as <i>Cheptel</i>,—the contract -by which one party undertakes to supply another with a certain -number of cattle to tend and feed under specified conditions. The -<i>Cheptel</i> is of several kinds. In one, the hirer has the right to -the milk, work, and manure of the cattle, the increase and loss being -equally divided. It is illegal for the two parties to enter into any -contract by which the hirer undertakes to bear all losses. Then there -is <i>Cheptel à moitié</i>,—where two owners of cattle, who do not -possess a sufficient number to lease them, each on his own account, -join together and lease their stock to a third party, sharing the -profit and loss with him on the same condition and terms as in the case -first described. The third class of <i>Cheptel</i> is where the tenant -farmer rents the landlord’s cattle in conjunction with the farm, on the -condition of his taking all risks, and that when the lease expires he -shall leave behind a herd of cattle of the same value as that at which -the original herd was estimated; all the profits from these cattle go -to the farmer<span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</span> until the lease expires; the manure, however, belongs to -the farm, and must be used for its exclusive benefit.</p> - -<p>In the Canton of Basel the testator can only dispose of that part of -his estate which falls to his heirs. If those heirs be children, he may -by will deprive them of at most one child’s interest or share, not in -any case to exceed the fourth part of the entire estate. If the heirs -be parents, he can dispose of one-half of the estate, or more by the -assent of the latter, written and properly authenticated. If the wife -survives, she is entitled, in the absence of a marriage settlement, -to two-thirds of the estate. A marriage settlement may entirely annul -the operation of the community of property which otherwise prevails. -In this case the entire estate of the deceased husband or wife falls -to the heirs. Sons and daughters share alike. Brothers and sisters are -regarded alike whether both or only one of the parents are the same. -In the absence of descendants, parents share equally as heirs; if one -of the latter is deceased, the survivor takes the whole. Descendants -of a deceased heir, who are within the fifth degree of consanguinity, -share equally the part which would have fallen to their ancestors. -Illegitimate children inherit from the mother, but not from the father, -unless legitimated by marriage of the parents.</p> - -<p>In the Canton of St. Gallen a testator, in case he leaves but one -child, can dispose, by a will or otherwise, of one-half of the -property; if two children, only one-third; and if three or more, not -more than one-fourth. In event of having no legal heirs, he may dispose -of three-fourths of his property, the remaining one-fourth passing to -the Canton. If the heirs be father, mother, or other near relations, -he is not permitted to dispose by will of more than one-half. If there -are relations beyond that degree, and within the tenth degree, he -may dispose of two-thirds. If the wife survives, she is entitled to -one-half the estate; however, if there be children also, then<span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</span> the wife -takes only a child’s part. Sons and daughters share alike, with this -modification: the sons have the preference of the real estate; tools -and implements, if they are mechanics; books or libraries, if they are -professional men; for which, however, they must pay a fair price to the -other heirs. Two per cent. of all property disposed of by will goes to -the Canton. Any person eighteen years old and of disposing mind may -make a will. Every will must be attested by three witnesses, two of -whom must be able to write their names. A woman’s property brought into -the marriage remains her property; the interest only to be appropriated -by the husband for the benefit of the family.</p> - -<p>In the Canton of Zurich there is no limitation as to right of testator -to dispose of his property by will, except as to interest of surviving -wife. When the wife survives she is first entitled to withdraw the -property she brought into the marriage, also the household furniture, -in case it does not exceed one-fourth of the net estate; and if there -be children, she takes the usufruct of one-half of the estate, or the -fee-simple of one-eighth; if there be no children, but parents of -the deceased living, she takes the usufruct of the whole estate, or -fee-simple of one-fourth; if only grand-parents living, the fee-simple -of one-half and the usufruct of the other half. If the wife marries, -the usufruct is reduced one-half. As to sons and daughters,—in -the father’s estate the sons have a preferred right to take the -real estate, with the appurtenances, against payment of a moderate -valuation; sons also have a preferred right to take the property -pertaining to the paternal industry, such as tools, professional -implements, cattle, etc., without, however, any deduction from the -actual value thereof; sons take without compensation the paternal -wardrobe, arms, outfit, and seal. Family records go to the oldest son -without charge. The common paternal inheritance is divided equally -among sons and daughters. In the maternal estate the clothing,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</span> house -linen, and washing utensils go to the daughters without charge; also -the jewelry, valuables, and savings of the mother, if they do not -exceed in value five-one-hundredths of the estate, any excess over that -must be paid for by them. The common maternal inheritance is divided -equally, but the sons have the preference of the real estate, against -payment of its full value.</p> - -<p>In the Canton of Geneva the code Napoleon, or <i>Code Civil -Français</i>, substantially exists, that Canton having been a part of -the French <i>Département du Léman</i> from 1798 to 1814.</p> - -<p>The notion of family co-proprietorship prevails extensively in the -German Cantons, and testamentary power is much limited. In 1865 the -Canton of Appenzell relaxed so far as to decree that it was an anomaly -in this day of advanced civilization that a free citizen who enacted -laws for himself (referring to the Landsgemeinde of the Canton) should -be fettered, as in the benighted times of the past, in his testamentary -powers, and that, therefore, he should thenceforward have the right -to dispose by will of <i>one-fiftieth</i> of his property, if he had -children, and of <i>one-twentieth</i> if he had none. In the Canton -of Zurich, previous to the Bluntschli’s code, those who had children -were obliged to leave them all their property, and, failing of issue, -the relations, of whatever degree, had a right to their legitimate -share. In Glarus the consent of the heirs is necessary before the -smallest legacy can be made by the testator. In the Canton of Nidwald -the question of the validity of a legacy is submitted to a jury, who -are empowered to decide whether such legacy is just and in conformity -with the position of the testator, the testator’s children, and the -legatee. The three Cantons of Schaffhausen, Thurgau, and the Grisons, -which place restrictions on the free disposal of inherited property, -are more liberal as to acquired property. In Southern Switzerland, -except in the Cantons of Freiburg and Valais, the law goes so far -as absolutely to forbid special contracts<span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</span> made with regard to -successions,—except in the case of husband and wife,—so that the -testamentary power may remain free and untrammelled as to all property -at the disposal of the testator when he comes to die. There is a -manifest tendency to facilitate the disposal by will of property in -general, in view of the more extended movements of the population, and -the consequent dispersion of family. The laws of enforced succession -are being gradually modified or repealed. In point of fact, the Swiss -laws make little or no distinction between real, personal, and mixed -property in connection with testamentary power, and there is a vast -dissimilarity in the legislation and practice of the several Cantons. -Through all the varying degrees, in almost every Canton, there will -be found some limitation to parental freedom of bequest intervening -for the protection of the child. In some a distinction is made between -inherited and acquired property, but it is the same principle asserting -itself, the “<i>légitime</i>,” the portion secured by law to the -heir,<a id="FNanchor_64" href="#Footnote_64" class="fnanchor">64</a> over which the testator is forbidden to exercise the power of -disposition, and under the term “children,” by some cantonal codes, are -included descendants of whatever degree, who, however, take together -as representatives of the stock from which they spring. No such -thing as a law of entail exists in any Canton. In reference to these -restraints on the power of bequeathing property by will, which at one -time existed in all the continental states, and in France restricted -within the narrowest limits, Adam Smith wrote: “By interfering to so -extreme an extent in the disposal of a man’s property, it lessens the -motives to accumulation; while, by rendering the children in a great -measure independent, it weakens the parental authority, and has the -same mischievous operation over an entire family that the law of entail -has over a single child. This,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</span> however, is not its worst effect. This -and every similar system inevitably tends to occasion too great an -increase of agricultural population, and to reduce landed property into -portions so minute that they neither afford sufficient employment to -the families occupying them nor allow of their being cultivated and -improved in the best and most efficient manner.” A few Cantons have -become alarmed at this infinitesimal subdivision of their soil, as -prejudicial to agricultural enterprise and causing emigration to take -place from the pastoral districts. The Cantons of Aargau, Thurgau, -and Solothurn have passed laws fixing the limit to the subdivision -of land at a minimum ranging from five thousand to twenty thousand -square feet. The excess to which subdivision may run is illustrated in -the Canton of Bern, where a case is reported of a cherry-tree in the -Oberland found to belong to seven different proprietors; and it is also -related that the people of that section are distinguished for being so -stiff-necked in sticking for their rights that an article of furniture -has been known to be sawed into so many parts that each member of a -family might have his share. Notwithstanding the opinion of political -economists, the Swiss know that this subdivision has worked as an -efficient auxiliary in making their soil a source of national comfort -and well-being, and a barrier against land accumulation to prop up a -ruling class, so common in many of her neighbors. No sort of social -distinction or political privilege is associated with land-ownership in -Switzerland. The cultivator, who, as a rule, is the proprietor,—for it -is rare to find a farm which is not worked by the owner,—is shorn by -neither rent nor taxes. The land fulfils its duty and guarantees the -tiller a fair enjoyment of the produce, a fair share in the sheaves -he reaps. Poets, historians, and philosophers, who love to dwell on -the simple virtues of the children of nature, find their Utopia in -Switzerland, where the households, each with its little tract of land, -represent a larger proportion<span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</span> of the population than can be found -in any other country. This distribution of small properties among -the peasantry forms a kind of rampart and safeguard for accumulated -property in other forms. It may be called the lightning conductor that -averts from society dangers which might otherwise lead to violent -catastrophes. The concentration of land in large estates among a small -number of families, is a sort of provocation of levelling legislative -measures. There are no influences more conservative, or more conducive -to the maintenance of order in society, than those which facilitate -the acquirement of property in land by those who cultivate it,—“’Tis -wonderful sweet to have something of one’s own.”</p> - -<p>There is no influence fraught with more danger than that which -concentrates the ownership of the soil in the hands of the few, by -impediments, legal or fiscal, to prevent lands freely passing from -the hands of the idle into those of the industrious. Neither extreme -poverty nor extreme opulence is the thing to be desired. Pauperism and -plutocracy alike are the parents of vice in private and revolution -in public life. The genius of revolution truly exclaims, “With -wings twain do I fly;” of these wings one is discontented labor, -the other is over-reaching wealth. The system of the subdivision -of the soil among a multitude of small proprietors, for the most -part energetic, industrious cultivators of their own holdings, is -eminently conservative in its influence, and contributes in no small -degree towards maintaining the national spirit of independence and -self-reliance, the happy and contented condition of the Swiss peasant -proprietors; at once the strength and the safety of the Confederation. -This Swiss peasant has not only the responsibilities of a capitalist -on a small scale, but also those qualities of foresight, thrift, and -sobriety that such responsibility inspires. He has his home with the -dignity, stimulus, and all the civilizing influence of ownership.</p> - -<p>“A great proprietor is seldom a great improver.” Private<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</span> appropriation -of land is deemed to be beneficial; because the strongest interest -which the community and the human race have in the land is that it -should yield the largest amount of necessary or useful things required -by the community. The spectre of “excessive subdivision” of the soil, -once so potent an influence, has lost all its terror. It was Cobden -who wished to remove all remonstrances to the easy and economical -transfer of land, and to develop a process by which, under the natural -operation of a free exchange, the laborer might be re-settled on the -soil from which, in his energetic and suggestive phrase, the “laborer -had been divorced.” It was Mill who, in his powerful chapters on -peasant proprietors, clearly showed that “free trade in land” was the -condition under which the economic good of man can be best effected; -that a small or peasant proprietary is the most thriving, the most -industrious, the most thrifty of cultivators, and that under small -free holdings the capacities of the soil are developed to the fullest -possible extent, and the rate of production raised to the very largest -amount. Those who fancied that peasant proprietors must be wretched -cultivators have seen that some of the best agriculture in the world -is to be found in Switzerland, where such properties abound.<a id="FNanchor_65" href="#Footnote_65" class="fnanchor">65</a> -These peasant proprietorships have neither bred over-population nor -converted the country into a “pauper warren.” The existence of peasant -properties has come to be regarded by philanthropists as eminently -desirable, and the removal of all obstacles to it has become an aim of -advanced politicians. Daniel Webster, in an address delivered before -the Massachusetts<span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</span> Constitutional Convention in 1821, referring to the -relation of civil liberty to property, as regards its security and -distribution and that the degree of its distribution settles the form -of government,—aristocratic, if the property is held by the few, and -popular, if held by the many,—said in reference to France: “A most -interesting experiment, on the effect of a subdivision of property, -is now making in France. It is understood that the law regulating the -transmission of property in that country now divides it, real and -personal, among all the children equally, both sons and daughters; -and that is, also, a very great restraint on the power of making -dispositions of property by will. It has been supposed, that the effect -of this might probably be, in time, to break up the soil into such -small subdivisions, that the proprietors would be too poor to resist -the encroachments of executive power. I think far otherwise. In respect -to this recent law of succession in France, I would, presumptuously -perhaps, hazard a conjecture, that if the government do not change -the law, the law in half a century will change the government; and -that this change will be, not in favor of the crown, as some European -writers have supposed, but against it. These writers only reason -upon what they think correct general principles in relation to this -subject. They acknowledge a want of experience. Here we have had the -experience; and we know that a multitude of small proprietors, acting -with intelligence, and that enthusiasm which a common cause inspires, -constitute not only a formidable, but an invincible power.”</p> - -<p>Just fifty years from the date of Mr. Webster’s prophecy the present -republic was set up,—the government not having changed the law, the -law changed the government. It is this race of peasant proprietors -that has given France her wonderful recuperative power, enabling her -to emerge again and again <i>per varios casus, per tot discrimina -rerum</i>. From them her national life receives a vigor and unity which -no reverses<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</span> seem to dominate and no blunders to ruin. Upon them she -must rely for the maintenance of her liberties, so gloriously conquered -in the past and embodied in her present institutions.</p> - -<p>If men have but some share of comfort and property in the country, -they will abide there, for that is really the place provided for them. -“Towns, the haunt of pride, luxury, and inequality, foster the spirit -of revolt: the country begets calm and concord, the spirit of order and -tradition.” Under the old Roman system the city was the important unit; -under the Teutonic element the land was brought into prominence and -the possessor of it into power. The dominant member of society was the -landowner and not the citizen. In ancient society the “citizen” need -own no land; in the modern society of the feudal age the “gentleman” -could not be such without owning land.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.<br> -<span class="small"> - -MILITARY SERVICE AND ORGANIZATION.</span></h2></div> - - -<p>Attached alike to liberty and to arms, the Swiss are no less famous -for their undaunted intrepidity than their simple and pure democracy. -From early times the hardy mountaineers of the Alps were eminently and -splendidly martial. History is full of their steadiness and bravery on -the field of battle. When Rome was in its highest military glory, its -armies under the Consul Lucius Cassius were routed by the Helvetians -on the shores of Lake Leman, 111 <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> The two armies are -supposed to have met about where the Rhone falls into the lake, and -the conquerors of all Italy, the masters of Greece and Macedonia, -who had carried their victorious armies over Asia and Africa, were -overcome by a people hitherto unknown. Julius Cæsar speaks of their -“military<span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</span> virtue and constant warfare with the Germans.” Livy and -Tacitus refer to them as a people originally of the Gallic nation, -“renowned for their valor and their exploits in war.” About the middle -of the fourteenth century attention began to be attracted towards these -mountaineers, and great was the wonder that cavalry, which made the -only effective part of the federal armies of those ages, should be -routed by men on foot; that warriors sheathed in complete steel should -be overpowered by naked peasants who wore no defensive armor, and were -irregularly provided with pikes, halberds, and clubs, for the purposes -of attack; above all, it seemed a species of miracle that knights and -nobles of the highest birth should be defeated by mountaineers and -shepherds. The repeated victories of the Swiss over troops having -on their side numbers and discipline, and the advantage of the most -perfect military equipment then known and confided in, plainly -intimated that a new principle of civil organization as well as of -military movements had arisen amid the stormy regions of Helvetia. The -signal victory over Charles the Bold of Burgundy, in which they routed -the celebrated Burgundian <i>ordonnance</i>, constituting the finest -body of chivalry of Europe, demonstrated their capacity as infantry. -This, no doubt, contributed to the formation of that invincible Spanish -infantry which, under the Great Captain and his successors, may be said -to have decided the fate of Europe for more than half a century. The -“Swiss whiskered Infantry” became distinguished in all the continental -wars by pre-eminent valor and discipline. Their principal weapon was a -pike about eighteen feet long; and, forming in solid battalions, which, -bristling with spears all around, received the technical appellation -of the <i>hedgehog</i>, they presented an invulnerable front on every -quarter, and received unshaken the most desperate charges of the -steel-clad cavalry on their terrible array of pikes. In the Granadine -war (1484), among the volunteers that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</span> flocked to the Spanish camp was -a corps of Swiss infantry, who are thus simply described by Pulgar: -“There joined the royal standard a body of men from Switzerland, a -country in upper Germany; these men were bold of heart and fought on -foot. As they were resolved never to turn their backs upon the enemy, -they wore no defensive armor except in front, by which means they were -less encumbered in fight.” The astonishing success of the French in the -Italian wars (1494) was largely imputable to the free use and admirable -organization of their infantry, whose strength lay in the Swiss -soldiers they had. Machiavelli ascribes the misfortunes of his nation -chiefly to its exclusive reliance on cavalry; this service, during the -whole of the Middle Ages, being considered among the European nations -so important that the horse was styled by way of eminence “the battle.” -The arms and discipline of the Swiss were necessarily different from -those of other European nations. The hill-sides and the mountain-tops -and the deep valleys of Switzerland have felt as frequently as any -part of Europe the mailed footstep of the warrior, and run as red with -his blood. Zschokke, in his history, remarks that, in its wars of the -last five hundred years, but particularly those growing out of the -great French revolution, “battle-field touched battle-field.” During -the long struggle for their liberties, they found that their poverty, -with at that time a barren and ill-cultivated country, put it out of -their power to bring into the field any body of horse capable of facing -the enemy. Necessity compelled them to place all their confidence in -infantry. With breastplates and helmets as defensive armor, together -with long spears, halberds, and heavy swords as weapons of offence, -they formed into large battalions, ranged in deep and close array, -presenting on every side a formidable front to the enemy. They repulsed -the Austrians, they broke the Burgundian Gendarmerie, and, when called -to Italy, bore down with irresistible force every enemy<span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</span> that attempted -to oppose them. Bacon, in his “History of King Henry VII.,” says: “To -make good infantry, it required men bred not in a servile fashion -but in some free manner. Therefore, if a state run most to noblemen -and gentlemen, and that the husbandmen and ploughmen be but as their -workfolks or laborers, you may have a good cavalry, but never good, -stable bands of foot, in so much as they are enforced to employ bands -of Swiss for their battalions of foot.” It was a trusty sword these -brave and hardy peasants offered. Some thought that nature certainly -only meant the Swiss for two classes, soldiers and shepherds. It -is easy to convert husbandmen into good soldiers. According to the -institutions of the Lacedæmonians, the employments of husbandmen and -soldiers were united, as alike the highest training-schools for the -qualities that make the best citizen and the best soldier. The plough -was readily exchanged for the sword by those engaged in peaceful -occupations that seemed to place them at an immeasurable distance -from the profession of a soldier. Happy had it been for Switzerland -had she gained nothing beyond simple liberty in her contest with her -ancient masters, and had continued to cherish pure and healthful -feelings. When peace had crowned their heroic struggles, their warlike -spirit sought in foreign states the excitement and military glory -which were denied them at home. The cravings of avarice and the thirst -of plunder are inseparable from the pride of victory. While the -hardy mountaineers exulted in the defeat and humiliation of Austrian -chivalry, they purchased their triumph, for a time at least, at the -expense of the simplicity of their nature. They accepted the dangers -and privations of soldiers fighting battles in which their own country -bore no part. They became the ready agents of the highest paymaster. -These military capitulations dated from the period of the Burgundian -war. Treaties were often concluded between<span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</span> foreign governments and -one or more Cantons.<a id="FNanchor_66" href="#Footnote_66" class="fnanchor">66</a> They made a trade of war, letting themselves -out as mercenaries. The Holy Father himself entered the list of -bargainers, and in 1503 Pope Julius III. engaged the first of those -Swiss life-guards whose name became famous in Europe. From Louis XI. to -Louis XV. the Swiss are said to have furnished for the French service -over half a million men. In the wars between the French king and the -Emperor Maximilian, in 1516, the Swiss fought on both sides. In its -last extremity, it was neither in its titled nobility nor its native -armies that the French throne found fidelity, but in the free-born -peasant soldiers of Luzern. Of the undaunted ranks of the Swiss guard, -defending the French royal family at the Tuileries on the 10th of -August, 1792, seven hundred and eighty-six officers and soldiers fell -in the place where they stood, unconquered even in death; and for two -days their bodies lay in the gardens of the palace and the streets near -by, exposed to the derision and insults of the frantic populace.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Go, stranger! and at Lacedæmon tell</div> - <div class="verse indent2">That here, obedient to her laws, we fell.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>To their memory a colossal lion, twenty-eight feet long by eighteen -feet high, carved by Thorwaldsen out of the face of a solid sandstone -rock, in high relief, was dedicated in 1821<span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</span> at Luzern. The lion is -holding the <i>fleur-de-lis</i> in his paws, which he is endeavoring -to protect, though mortally wounded by a spear which still remains in -his side. Above the figure is the inscription: “<i>Helvetiorum fidei -ac virtuti</i>.” When the afternoon sun falls upon this effigy, it is -reflected beautifully in the dark pool close below; the gray rock rises -perpendicularly some little height above and ends in a crown of acacias -and drooping bushes and creepers.</p> - -<p>The fame of the Swiss, in every war which desolated Europe from the -fifteenth century down, rose to an extraordinary pitch; but this -influence, which, as the hired soldiers of belligerent powers, they -exercised in the affairs of Europe, was neither conducive to the weal -of the state nor worthy of the Swiss people. Addison wrote in 1709 of -them: “The inhabitants of the country are as great curiosities as the -country itself; they generally hire themselves out in their youth, and -if they are musket-proof till about fifty, they bring home the money -they have got, and the limbs they have left, to pass the rest of their -time among their native mountains.” He also relates that “one of the -gentlemen of the place told me, by way of boast, that there were now -seven wooden legs in his family; and that for these four generations -there had not been one in his line that carried a whole body with him -to the grave.”</p> - -<p>From their being so frequently in the personal service of foreign -potentates, the name of Switzer with some writers became synonymous -with guards or attendants on a king. The king in “Hamlet” says: “Where -are my Switzers? Let them guard the door.” In 1594, Nashe, in his -“Christ’s Tears over Jerusalem,” states that “Law, Logicke, and the -Switzers may be hired to fight for anybody.” Even the French were -so ungrateful as to chide the Swiss by saying, “We fight for honor, -but you fight for money;” to which the Switzer rejoined, “It is only -natural that each of us, like the rest of the world, should fight for -what he has not got.” These Swiss<span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</span> soldiers were in great demand and -liberally paid. They were not only hardy and patient of fatigue, but -bold in action and obedient in discipline. The very sight of them -alarmed the enemy, suggesting a passage in Tacitus of which every -soldier will probably feel the truth, “The eye is the first to be -vanquished in battle.”<a id="FNanchor_67" href="#Footnote_67" class="fnanchor">67</a> Then these troops were as noted for their -fidelity to the service they engaged in as for their courage; and in -all their history there is scarce to be found any example of treachery.</p> - -<p>From the dawn of the Reformation there was produced a material -change, and its effects were chiefly visible in the improvement of -moral feeling and the growing aversion to this mercenary service. The -Constitution of 1848 altogether swept away this system of military -capitulations. At the time of the adoption of the constitution there -was only one such convention in force, being that of the King of -Naples and several of the Cantons; but public sentiment was so greatly -aroused by their participation in the defeat of the revolution, that -the Cantons were compelled to recall them, and thus the last of these -capitulations came to an end. There were certain bodies of troops who, -bearing the Swiss name or composed for the most part of Swiss soldiers, -still continued to fight for foreign governments; and to prevent this, -as far as possible, a federal law in 1859 prohibited every Swiss -citizen from entering, without the consent of the Federal Council, -those bodies of foreign troops which were not regarded as national -troops of the respective states. This did not hinder individual -citizens from enrolling themselves in the national troops of a foreign -state. To further avoid any complication of foreign relations through -such military connection, the cantonal constitutions first forbade the -reception of pensions and titles from foreign states; and a similar -provision was embodied in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</span> federal Constitution of 1874, whereby -“members of the federal government, civil and military officials of the -Confederation, and federal representatives or commissioners, shall not -accept from foreign governments any pension, salary, title, present, -or decoration. Decorations shall not be worn in the Swiss army, nor -shall titles conferred by foreign governments be borne. Every officer, -under-officer, and soldier shall be forbidden to accept any such -distinction.”</p> - -<p>The first approach towards the establishment of a federal army -was after Swiss independence had been recognized at the peace of -Westphalia, when the Confederation in 1648 adopted an arrangement -called the “<i>Defensional</i>,” by which, in case of urgent danger, -the Federal Diet could call upon the several Cantons to supply troops -for the general defence, in such numbers as were stipulated. In 1848 it -was proposed that the Confederation should be charged with the entire -military administration. This was rejected. In 1874 the effort was -renewed, and this most important power was substantially vested in the -Confederation by the constitution adopted that year, which contains the -following provisions:</p> - -<p>Every Swiss is subject to military service. Each soldier receives -without expense his first equipment, clothing, and arms. The arms -remain in possession of the soldier, under conditions prescribed by -federal legislation. The Confederation enacts uniform laws on fees for -exemption from military service:</p> - -<p>The federal army consists:</p> - -<p>1. Of the cantonal military corps.</p> - -<p>2. Of all Swiss who, though not belonging to such military corps, are -yet subject to military service.</p> - -<p>The Confederation exercises control over the federal army and the -material of war provided by law.</p> - -<p>In cases of danger, the Confederation has the exclusive and direct -control over all troops, whether incorporated in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</span> federal army or -not, and over all other military resources of the Cantons.</p> - -<p>The Cantons may exercise control over the military forces of their -territory, so far as this right is not limited by the federal -constitution or laws.</p> - -<p>Laws on the organization of the army are an affair of the -Confederation. The execution of the military laws within the Cantons is -intrusted to the cantonal authorities, within limits fixed by federal -legislation, and under the supervision of the Confederation.</p> - -<p>The entire military instruction and arming of the troops are under -the control of the Confederation. The clothing and equipments and -subsistence of the troops are provided by the Cantons; but the Cantons -are credited with the expenses therefor, in a manner to be determined -by federal law.</p> - -<p>So far as military reasons do not prevent, bodies of troops are -formed out of the soldiers from the same Canton. The composition of -these bodies of troops, the maintenance of their effective strength, -and the appointment and promotion of the officers are to be reserved -to the Cantons, subject to general rules to be established by the -Confederation.</p> - -<p>On payment of reasonable indemnity, the Confederation has the right -to use or acquire drill-grounds and buildings intended for military -purposes within the Cantons, together with the appurtenances thereof. -The terms of the indemnity shall be fixed by federal law. The Federal -Assembly may forbid public works which endanger the military interests -of the Confederation.</p> - -<p>No decoration or title conferred by a foreign government shall be -borne in the federal army. No officer, nor non-commissioned officer or -soldier, shall accept such distinction.</p> - -<p>The Confederation has no right to keep up a standing army.<a id="FNanchor_68" href="#Footnote_68" class="fnanchor">68</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</span> -No Canton or half-Canton, without the permission of the federal -government, shall keep up a standing force of more than three hundred -men; the mounted police (<i>gendarmerie</i>) is not included in this -number.</p> - -<p>By these provisions, while the military system, as a whole, has fallen -under the authority of the Confederation, many important details are -left to be exercised by the Cantons. Upon them devolves the responsible -duty of carrying the federal laws into execution. They appoint all -officers below the rank of colonel, keep the military registers, -provide the equipments, uniforms, and necessary stores for the troops -(to be reimbursed by the Confederation), recruit and maintain the -effective strength of the body of troops formed within their respective -limits. The infantry, field artillery, and cavalry are all recruited by -the Cantons and called cantonal troops; the engineers, guides, sanitary -and administrative troops, and the army train are recruited by the -Confederation and called federal troops. The enrolling of men belonging -to the same Canton, as far as practicable, in the same corps is known -as the <i>système territorial</i>. Every man fights under the banner -of his own Canton, follows the regiment of his own Commune, keeps -step with the company of his own hamlet, or dies beside his brother, -son, or neighbor. These were the tactics of nature, and probably of -heroism, with mutual enthusiasm and reciprocal attachments, with common -interests and similarity of manners; like the children of Israel who -went out to battle, each “under the colors of the house of his father.”</p> - -<p>For the proper execution and furtherance of the constitutional -provisions, several federal laws have been enacted, establishing these -general rules:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</span></p> - -<p>Every Swiss citizen is subject to military service from the time he -enters his twentieth year to the close of his forty-fourth year of age. -There are seven classifications of officials who are exempted, during -the time they are in office or employed:</p> - -<p>1. Members of the Federal Assembly during the session of the Assembly.</p> - -<p>2. Members of the Federal Council, the Chancellor of the Confederation, -and the clerks of the Federal Tribunal.</p> - -<p>3. Those employed in the administration of the post and telegraph (the -latter now includes the telephone); employés in government arsenals, -workshops, and powder magazines; directors and wardens of prisons; -attendants in public hospitals; members of cantonal and communal -police, and frontier guards, or <i>Landjäger</i>.</p> - -<p>4. Ecclesiastics who do not act as army chaplains.</p> - -<p>5. Those employed in the public schools, only so far as it would -interrupt their school duties.</p> - -<p>6. Railroad officials and employés of the steamboat companies that have -received concessions from the government.</p> - -<p>7. All those who have been deprived of their civil rights by sentence -of court are excluded from the service.</p> - -<p>The omission of the members of the Federal Tribunal from the list of -exempts, while the executive and legislative officials, together with -the clerks of the Tribunal, are embraced, can be accounted for only -upon the principle of <i>inter arma silent leges</i>.</p> - -<p>When a Swiss citizen reaches his twentieth year he must present -himself at the levy of troops of the Canton of his domicile and be -enrolled. This must be done before an application for exemption can -be made. The raw recruits are sent direct to one of the <i>Écoles -des Recrues</i>, for which the Confederation is divided into eight -territorial departments, for infantry, for cavalry and artillery, -three each, and two for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</span> engineers. The federal military forces, or -<i>Bundesauszug</i>, are divided into three distinct classes:</p> - -<p>1. The <i>Élite</i> or active army, in which all citizens are liable to -serve from the age of twenty to thirty-two.</p> - -<p>2. The <i>Landwehr</i> or first reserve, composed of men from the age -of thirty-two to forty-four.</p> - -<p>3. The <i>Landsturm</i>, consisting of men from seventeen to fifty, -not incorporated in the <i>Élite</i> or <i>Landwehr</i>. This last -reserve cannot, as a rule, be called upon for service beyond the -frontier. Men are not discharged from the <i>Élite</i> until their -successors have been enrolled, and in case of war the Federal Council -is authorized to suspend discharges both from the <i>Élite</i> and the -<i>Landwehr</i>. The recruits at the <i>Écoles des Recrues</i> undergo -a course of instruction for periods ranging from forty-five to eighty -days, after which they are drafted into the different arms of the -service, and (with the exception of the cavalry, who turn out annually) -are called out on alternate years for a course of training (<i>cours de -répétition</i>), continuing from sixteen to twenty days. Periodically, -once or twice a year, the troops of a number of Cantons assemble for -a general muster. The infantry soldier has five periods of training -during the ten years he remains in the <i>Élite</i> or active service:</p> - -<p>First year, forty-five days as a recruit.</p> - -<p>Third year, sixteen days as a trained soldier.</p> - -<p>Fifth year, sixteen days as a trained soldier.</p> - -<p>Seventh year, sixteen days as a trained soldier.</p> - -<p>Ninth year, sixteen days as a trained soldier.</p> - -<p>Total, one hundred and nine days.</p> - -<p>The cavalry is called out annually instead of biennially, and as a -compensation for this additional drill service, the men are discharged -from the <i>Élite</i> two years sooner than the infantry, or at the age -of thirty.</p> - -<p>The standard of height required of the recruit is five feet one -and a half inches, and the chest measurement in no case<span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</span> less than -thirty-one and a half inches.<a id="FNanchor_69" href="#Footnote_69" class="fnanchor">69</a> Men not of the required height, -if specially fitted, by profession or business, for service in the -administrative troops or as drummers, trumpeters, armorers, or other -military handicraftsmen, may be recruited to serve in these capacities -if their height is not less than five feet five-eighths of an inch. The -number of recruits examined annually—that is to say, the number of -young men who become subject every year to military service—is about -thirty thousand. A permanent corps of one hundred and eighty-seven -instructors of various grades, and representing all the arms of the -service, is maintained. The members of this corps are about the only -permanently paid officers of the Swiss army. But they must have -undergone a thorough course of education and passed an examination at -one of the training establishments erected for the purpose. The centre -of these is the military academy at Thun, near Bern, maintained by the -Confederation, and which supplies the army both with the highest class -of officers and with teachers to instruct the lower grades.</p> - -<p>Besides this academy or <i>Central Militär-Schule</i> there are special -training-schools for the various branches of the service, especially -the artillery and the <i>Scharfschützen</i> or picked riflemen. During -the period of instruction eight hours is laid down as the minimum -of daily drilling. The arms, clothing, and personal accoutrements -remain in the possession of the soldier, and he is expected to keep -each article in good condition and in readiness for inspection at -any moment; and he is not permitted to wear his uniform except when -on active duty. The inspection of arms, accoutrements, etc., is made -annually, and is conducted with much strictness; any repairs needed are -ordered to be done at the owner’s expense; and negligence in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</span> complying -with the law subjects the party to a fine, and in some instances to -imprisonment. At the termination of the <i>Élite</i> service, the -uniform is retained by the recruit, but the arms and accoutrements -are surrendered to the Canton. Horses are provided for the cavalry -in this manner: the horses are first purchased by the government -through officers designated for that purpose; these are sent to the -government cavalry stable, thoroughly broken, then sold to such cavalry -recruits as may require them. The sale is made at public auction to -the recruits, and one-half of the price at which the animal is knocked -down is paid by the Confederation and the other half by the recruit. -One-tenth of the recruit’s share, however, is refunded to him at the -end of each year’s service, so that after ten trainings the horse -becomes his personal property. During the years of service the horse -remains at the disposal of the government, but in fact is only required -during the annual drill, and in the interval remains in the possession -of its part owner, at his own cost. He may work the animal, but it -cannot be let out for hire or lent, and he is responsible for its care -and good condition. If the horse dies in the service, one-half of the -value of the recruit’s share is refunded to him; if, on the other hand, -the horse dies when not in the service, the recruit pays the government -a corresponding amount, unless he can show that the death was in no way -occasioned by carelessness or culpable negligence. The same liability -is incurred in case of injury to the animal, unless it occurred from -ordinary fair usage. In either case, if the recruit be found in fault -he is compelled to provide himself with another horse. These horses -are inspected at least once a year by military veterinary surgeons. -Mounted officers must provide their own horses. In time of war the -<i>Piketstellung</i> can be declared by the Federal Council, by which -the sale of horses throughout the Confederation is forbidden.</p> - -<p>The strength of the several lines of the army in 1888, as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</span> obtained -from an official of the military department, was—<i>Élite</i>, -117,179, <i>Landwehr</i>, 84,046, which, with the <i>Landsturm</i>, -reckoned at 200,000, gave in case of extreme emergency an available -force of 401,225.</p> - -<p>The <i>Landsturm</i> has recently been divided into two classes, the -<i>armed Landsturm</i> and the <i>auxiliary forces</i>; the latter is -composed of pioneers, administrative troops, guides, and velocipedists: -both of these classes, under a federal law of 1887, when called out, -are placed on the same footing, with reference to the rights of -combatants, as the <i>Élite</i> or the <i>Landwehr</i>. The first line, -or <i>Élite</i>, must be regarded as the only active force homogeneous -in its parts and complete in its equipment. Preference for infantry -is still preserved among the Swiss, the cavalry representing only -one twenty-seventh of the force. This disproportion may be somewhat -ascribed to two facts: first, on account of the expense involved in -the advance payment to be made on the purchase of a horse, and then -that in Switzerland cavalry would hardly ever be required except for -reconnoitring or vedette duties. The election on the part of recruits -to join the cavalry is voluntary; but having selected that branch they -must remain in it.</p> - -<p>The Vetterli rifle, with a magazine containing eleven cartridges, -has been used by the army; but after long and thorough experiments -under government expert commissions with the Rubin rifle, a later and -improved patent, in June, 1889, it was accepted, and is being rapidly -substituted. The budget for 1890 contains an appropriation of 5,734,600 -francs for the purchase of these rifles and 3,000,000 francs for -ammunition.</p> - -<p>The highest rank in the Swiss army is that of colonel. In the event of -war the Federal Assembly nominates a general, who takes command till -the troops are disbanded. The only officer at present in the service -who has held that temporary rank is General Herzog, the commander of -the troops in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</span> 1871, and who is now doing regular duty as a colonel. -Then come lieutenant-colonel, major, captain, and first lieutenant; -these constitute the commissioned officers. The non-commissioned -officers are sergeant-major, quartermaster-sergeant, sergeant, and -corporal. Colonels command divisions and brigades; lieutenant-colonels, -regiments; majors, battalions; and captains, companies. The Cantons -nominate officers up to the rank of <i>commandant de bataillon</i>, -subject to the approval of the federal military authorities. Officers -of higher rank than <i>commandant de bataillon</i> hold their -commissions from the Federal Council. Then there is a general staff -or <i>État major</i>, appointed by the Federal Council, consisting of -three colonels, sixteen lieutenant-colonels or majors, and thirty-five -captains. The chief of this staff is appointed by the Council for a -term of three years, and is practically in charge of the forces during -peace.</p> - -<p>The pay of the army, like all branches of public service in -Switzerland, is on a very economical scale. With the exception of -the members of the general staff and corps of instructors (the -former substantially constitutes the latter), who are permanently in -the service, officers and privates only receive pay during active -service,—that is, during the short drill periods or in time of war. -The commander-in-chief (who only serves in time of war) receives fifty -francs per day.</p> -<table class="autotable"> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"></td> -<td class="tdc"> Francs.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Colonel commanding division receives</td> -<td class="tdr"> 30</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Colonel commanding brigade <span style="margin-left: 2em;">”</span></td> -<td class="tdr"> 25</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Colonel <span style="margin-left: 10.8em;">”</span></td> -<td class="tdr"> 20</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Lieutenant-Colonel <span style="margin-left: 6.2em;">”</span></td> -<td class="tdr"> 15</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Major <span style="margin-left: 11.6em;">”</span></td> -<td class="tdr"> 12</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Captain <span style="margin-left: 10.9em;">”</span></td> -<td class="tdr"> 10</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> First Lieutenant <span style="margin-left: 7.6em;">”</span></td> -<td class="tdr"> 8</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Second Lieutenant <span style="margin-left: 6.6em;">”</span></td> -<td class="tdr"> 7</td> -</tr> -</table> - -<p class="p2">Personal allowance for uniform and equipments:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</span></p> - -<table class="autotable"> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"></td> -<td class="tdc"> Francs.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> For officers not mounted</td> -<td class="tdr"> 200</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> For officers mounted</td> -<td class="tdr"> 250</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> For equipment of horses</td> -<td class="tdr"> 250</td> -</tr> -</table> - -<p>The private soldiers are paid eighty centimes per day, and from this a -sum, to be fixed by the chief of the corps, is deducted to meet certain -contingent personal expenses of the private. Rations in the field -daily embrace 750 grammes of bread; 375 of fresh meat; 150 to 200 of -vegetables; 20 of salt; 15 of roasted coffee; 20 of sugar. Commutation -to officers is one franc per day. If a private furnishes his own -coffee, vegetables, and wood, a proportionate allowance is fixed by the -Federal Council. The rations are the same during the drilling terms, -but the pay is reduced to fifty centimes per day. The constitution -declares that “soldiers who lose their lives or suffer permanent injury -to their health in consequence of federal military service shall be -entitled to aid from the Confederation for themselves or their families -in case of need.”</p> - -<p>A federal law grants pensions:</p> - -<p>1. Up to 1200 francs in case of complete blindness, the loss of both -hands, or both feet, or other injury causing absolute incapacity to -earn a living.</p> - -<p>2. Up to 700 francs in case of partial incapacity for work.</p> - -<p>3. Up to 400 francs in case where business or calling must be changed -to one less profitable, in consequence of injury.</p> - -<p>4. Up to 200 francs when this change is necessitated in a modified -degree.</p> - -<p>Pensions to widow, children, or parent:</p> - -<p>1. Widow without children up to 350 francs; with children up to 650 -francs.</p> - -<p>2. Children one or two, each 250 francs; more than two, total of 650 -francs.</p> - -<p>3. Father or mother (where no widow or children), 200 francs; if both -living, total of 350 francs.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</span></p> - -<p>4. Each brother or sister (when neither widow, children, nor parent -survive), 100 francs each.</p> - -<p>5. Grandfather or grandmother (where neither widow, children, parents, -nor brother or sister survive), 150 francs; if both living, 250 francs -total.</p> - -<p>These amounts may be increased in special and meritorious cases. Women -divorced or living apart from their husbands, and children eighteen -years of age, are not entitled to receive pensions.</p> - -<p>Every Swiss citizen subject to military service, whether he resides -in the Confederation or not, who does not personally perform it, is -subject in lieu thereof to the payment of an annual tax in money. -Foreigners established in Switzerland are likewise subject to this tax, -unless they are exempt therefrom by virtue of international treaties or -belong to states in which the Swiss domiciled there are neither liable -to military service nor to the payment of any equivalent tax in money. -This is the only direct tax levied in the Confederation; and the gross -sum realized is shared proportionately between the Confederation and -the Canton.</p> - -<p>Exempt from this tax are:</p> - -<p>1. Paupers assisted by the public charity fund, and those who by -reason of mental or physical infirmity are incapable of earning their -subsistence, or who have not a sufficient fortune for the support of -themselves and family.</p> - -<p>2. Those rendered unfit through previous service.</p> - -<p>3. Swiss citizens in foreign countries, if they are subject to a -personal service or to an exemption tax for the same in place of -domicile.</p> - -<p>4. The railway and steamboat employés during the time when they are -liable to the military service organized for the working of the -railways and steamboats in time of war.</p> - -<p>5. Policemen and the federal frontier guards.</p> - -<p>This military tax consists in a personal tax of six francs,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</span> and of -an additional tax on property and income; the amount exacted from any -one tax-payer not to exceed 3000 francs per annum. The additional tax -is one franc and a half for each one thousand francs of net fortune, -and one franc and a half for each one hundred francs of net income. -Net fortunes less than 1000 francs are exempt, and from the net income -are to be deducted 600 francs. Net fortune is the personal and real -property after deducting debts of record, chattels necessary for -household, tools of trade, and agricultural implements. Real estate and -improvements are assessed for this tax at three-fourths of their market -value. In computing the property of a person for this tax, half of the -fortune of the parents, or if not living, then of the grand-parents, is -included, proportionately to the number of children or grandchildren, -unless the father of the tax-payer shall himself perform military -service or pay the exemption tax.</p> - -<p>Net income embraces:</p> - -<p>1. The earnings of an art, profession, trade, business, occupation, -or employment. The expenses incurred to obtain these earnings are -deducted, also necessary household expenses, and five per cent. of the -capital invested in the business.</p> - -<p>2. The product of annuities, pensions, and other similar revenues.</p> - -<p>From the age of thirty-three to the completion of the military age, -only one-half of the tax is exacted. The Federal Assembly has the right -to increase the tax to double the amount for those years in which the -greater part of the <i>Élite</i> troops are called into service. The -military tax for Swiss citizens residing abroad is calculated every -year by special rolls, and the persons advised by the officials of -the Canton of their birth, if their address be known, otherwise by -public advertisement. The tax for exemption is paid in the Canton where -the tax-payer is domiciled when the rolls are prepared. Parents are -responsible for the payment of the tax for their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</span> minor sons, and for -those sons who, though of age, remain a part of the household. The -period for prescription is five years for tax-payers present in the -country, and ten years for those absent from the country. The Cantons -are charged with making out the annual rolls and collecting the tax. -By the end of January following the year of the tax the Cantons must -remit to the proper federal official the half of the gross product -collected. A portion of this is assigned by the Federal Assembly to -the fund for military pensions. In each Canton there is a tribunal -to pass upon appeals on the correctness of the rolls of tax-payers. -All disputes arising as to the tax are referred to and decided by -the Federal Council. With a view of insuring a uniform application -of the law of military service, the Confederation reserves supreme -supervision; and the ultimate decision upon all questions arising out -of the operation of it, and likewise upon decrees relating to the -imposition and collection of the tax, rests with it. The estimated -receipts from this tax for the share of the Confederation are placed in -the budget for 1889 at 1,330,000 francs. An eminent Swiss publicist, -Dr. Dubs, in criticising this tax-law, asserts “that in many points it -is equally irrational, and, in the construction of its details, leads -moreover to further absurdities of all kinds, of which undoubtedly the -claiming to tax those in foreign countries and the taxation of the -heir’s possible expectations form the highest point.” He might have -added that this tax, so far as levied upon incomes of persons liable -to military service but exempted therefrom by reason of disability -or other cause, partakes rather of the character of a law to raise -revenue than as providing a penalty for the non-performance of military -service. The failure to render such service on the part of one enjoying -a specified income is not more heavily punished than the failure of -one with less or no income. The operation of this tax has caused much -complaint on the part of citizens of the United States<span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</span> “established” -in Switzerland. Nearly all of the European states have concluded -treaties with Switzerland, since the enactment of this “military -tax-law,” bringing themselves within the conditions it prescribes for -the exemption of their citizens “established” in Switzerland, from any -personal service or any tax in lieu thereof.</p> - -<p>The citizens of the United States residing in Switzerland, of whom -there are quite a number engaged in prosperous and large industries, -still come under the treaty concluded between Switzerland and the -United States in 1850, long previous to the passage of the tax-law -(1878), Article II. of which reads: “The citizens of one of the two -countries, residing or established in the other, shall be free from -personal military service, but they shall be liable to the pecuniary or -material contributions which may be required by way of compensation, -from citizens of the country where they reside, who are exempt from -that service.” This article seems to contemplate the imposition of -a penalty for the non-performance of a duty from which the party is -specially exempted. It is susceptible of a plausible argument, that a -proper construction of this article does not warrant the collection -of the tax imposed by the Swiss law of 1878, from the United States -citizens residing there. For this tax is not in fact a “pecuniary -contribution” required from citizens of Switzerland who are exempt from -personal military service, but is a tax required only from citizens -who by reason of their age are subject to military service, but who in -consequence of physical or other disability cannot perform it. That -the words, “by way of compensation,” were not intended to qualify the -phrase, “pecuniary or material contribution,” but refer to, “shall be -free from personal military service.” Should a citizen of the United -States residing in Switzerland prefer to render personal military -service rather than pay the tax, his service would not be accepted; he -would be informed that by virtue<span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</span> of the treaty with his country he -is “free from personal military service, but liable to the pecuniary -or material contribution,” and he must pay his tax,—“your money and -not your service is what we wish.” If his service was accepted, it -would carry an implication of the right to enforce either personal -service or in lieu thereof the payment of a commutation tax for -exemption. The language of the treaty obviously contemplated only such -general contribution as might be required of all classes of citizens, -and excludes the idea of a special tax levied upon an exceptional -class. During the last war in the United States the tax exemption or -commutation, to which a certain class of citizens were subjected by the -draft law, did not interfere with domiciliary rights. There is to-day -no exaction on the part of the United States government from foreign -citizens domiciled or established within them, of any pecuniary or -material contributions of a military nature; nor is it believed that -there is any such exaction on the part of any of the States.<a id="FNanchor_70" href="#Footnote_70" class="fnanchor">70</a> The -Swiss construction of the treaty, as to the liability of the United -States citizens residing therein to this tax, was substantially -conceded by our Department of State in 1876, and left the remedy to be -sought by an international treaty. The Swiss government has indicated -its willingness to enter upon the negotiation of such a conventional -agreement to effect the relief of United States citizens from this tax, -after the manner prescribed by the law of 1878, and which was promptly -acted upon by all the European powers. The government of the United -States has not found it expedient to do this. Many difficulties are -suggested.</p> - -<p>In parts of Switzerland there has appeared some dissatisfaction with -the military service and tax. It is alleged to be an unnecessary -waste of money expended on the country’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</span> armed forces, draining its -limited resources to no practical purpose, and that an unprofitable and -irksome task is imposed upon them by this assessment. The statesmen of -Switzerland stand united in the expression that it is the only way to -be sure of their neutrality being respected; as was abundantly proven -by the prompt presence of the federal troops compelling Bourbaki’s -corps of 80,000 men, when in 1871 they were driven into the Swiss -territory, the moment they crossed the line, to lay down their arms; -and thereby saved the German army from crossing the frontier of the -Confederation and engaging the French on Swiss soil. The President of -the Confederation, in his address to the <i>Tir fédéral</i> of 1887, -voiced the prevailing sentiment when he said: “The government of -Switzerland would remain foremost in maintaining peace and pride in -its arts as the supreme glory of the republic; and would constantly -endeavor to preserve her neutrality, but to do this she must not -rely altogether on treaties, but also look to her own strength and -energy; to keep her soldiery in condition to show that the adequacy -of the Confederation to all the needs of national life is, in no -single department, taken on trust. He therefore would urge them to -be assiduous in improving military training, to add such training to -the education of the youth, to hold rifle contests and to perfect -drills, all of which should be animated by a free fraternal spirit.” -Notwithstanding the constitution forbids the Confederation to keep a -standing army, or any Canton to have more than three hundred men as a -permanent military body, every able-bodied Swiss is a soldier of the -republic; not on paper merely or by legal and constitutional fiction, -but <i>actually</i>. The necessity of self-defence forced Switzerland -to be the very first power in which universal liability to military -service was introduced in Europe, many years and even centuries before -other countries had recognized the principle, which is now almost -universal. The Swiss army is based<span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</span> upon a “voluntary-compulsory” -system. It is essentially a force of militia intended for defensive -purposes only. Admirable as it is in a military and economic sense, it -is scarcely more than a summer holiday, compared with the rigid and -grinding martial duties under the other European systems. Two things -make it a light burden, if not a diversion, for the Swiss. They have a -strong natural military instinct coming down through generations.<a id="FNanchor_71" href="#Footnote_71" class="fnanchor">71</a> -Then this instinct is in every possible manner encouraged and developed -by the government, the Canton, and the Commune. The elements of drill -begin with the very first week of a boy’s schooling, as soon as he can -stand erect or poise a stick. All kinds of games are practised that -tend to open and expand the chest, to nerve the limbs, give carriage -to the form, and serve to strengthen, temper, and adjust it. All these -exercises fit him and, in fact, contemplate his becoming in time a -soldier. He not only learns in his youth the elements of drill and the -use of arms, but habits of obedience, order, and cleanliness; and even -those yet higher duties of a camp, the will to mingle class with class, -to put down personal hopes and seek no object but the public good.</p> - -<p>The <i>Schützenfest</i>, liberally encouraged by the government, is -held biennially. This is in many respects the parallel of the ancient -Greek festival game, which served the purpose of keeping alive the -national spirit. It is the most important and popular public gathering -in Switzerland; the entries for the various prizes running as high as -100,000. It is uniformly opened by a formal address from the President -of the Confederation and attended by all the leading men of the -country. It is a national fête day. Then there are the <i>Sociétés de -tir</i>, cantonal and communal shooting societies, which number<span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</span> about -1600, with over 100,000 members. These societies compete one with the -other, and in event of their conforming to certain regulations receive -subsidies from the Confederation. These regulations require:</p> - -<p>1. Every member of the <i>Élite</i> or <i>Landwehr</i> must, on -application, be admitted to the club, if he is able and willing to pay -his share of the expense for targets, markers, etc.</p> - -<p>2. The club must number at least twenty members.</p> - -<p>3. The firing exercises must be done with the regulation arms and -ammunition; each soldier must use his own gun; regulation targets must -be had, and at least ten shots fired at every meeting, at each of the -distances named.</p> - -<p>4. To receive the subsidy, every member of the club must annually take -part in at least three firing exercises, and must fire a total of fifty -shots, of which at least ten must be at one of the regulation distances -and regulation targets.</p> - -<p>Every Swiss man therefore is drilled, armed, and ready to turn -out and fight; in his house, within arm’s reach, must hang his -gun, his uniform, and sword. The <i>concierge</i> who accepts your -<i>pourboire</i> may be a captain in the line, and the driver of -your <i>voiture</i> a corporal. Some one, writing of the universal -fusion between the military and civic elements, tells this incident: A -gentleman called to see a lawyer on business; asking the servant if the -lawyer was in, he answered, “The colonel is not here, sir, but you can -see the major.” So the visitor was shown in, and saw the major, who was -the lawyer’s partner, and when he made a statement of his business, he -was told, “That is not in my department, the captain will look after -it.” The captain was the firm’s clerk, and while talking to him, a -second clerk came into the office, whom the captain saluted, saying, -“Good day, lieutenant.”</p> - -<p>In the public schools even the girls receive some training which fits -them to be useful auxiliaries in the army. They learn to stanch the -flow of blood, to dress a gunshot wound,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</span> and to nurse the sick; they -know some chemistry and are quick at sewing, binding, dressing, and -such medical arts. And if need, they would march in line with knapsacks -on their backs, as their mothers did in times past. The Helvetic women -fought against the army of Octavianus Augustus in 16 <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span>, and -when all was lost, hurled their young children at the Roman soldiers -and rushed forward to meet their own death. In the old days of trial -by judicial combat, <i>assumere duellum</i>, the chronicles of 1288 -contained this curious entry: <i>Duellum fuit in Bern inter virum et -mulierem, sed mulier prevaluit</i>. Not only men but women fought at -the battle of Stantz, and among the killed were counted one hundred -and thirty women. During the French invasion of 1798, upward of eight -hundred women took up arms in the <i>Landsturm</i>, and bore all the -fire of the enemy in the last actions. At Fraubrunnen two hundred and -sixty women received the enemy with scythes, pitchforks, and pickaxes; -one hundred and eighty were killed, and one of them, whose name was -Glar, had two daughters and three granddaughters who fought by her -side,—these six heroines all were found among the dead. In the Swiss -Reformed Church, in administering the sacraments of the Lord’s Supper, -the men go up first and the women afterwards, with the single exception -of Geiss, in Appenzell, where, on account of their service at the -battle of Amstoss, the women go up first.</p> - -<p>The Swiss owe their reputation to their freedom, and their freedom -to their valor. Their military spirit is entirely free from greed -of territory, lust of power, “the pride, pomp, and circumstance of -glorious war,” and other forces far from admirable in their motive, -which give prominence and predominance to modern armaments; it is -inspired by motives of civic manhood and manly self-assertion. A small -and by no means rich nation that relaxes not from its attitude of -defence is less likely to be attacked, though surrounded by powerful -and ambitious<span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</span> neighbors, than another nation which possesses wealth, -commerce, population, and all the sinews of war in far greater -abundance, but is unprepared. The more sleek the prey, the greater -is the temptation, and “no wolf will leave a sheep to dine upon a -porcupine.”</p> - -<p>The spirit which animated the brave old Swiss was not that of revenge, -or plunder, or bloodshed. They fought simply when and because it was -necessary to insure the liberty of their native land. It was a sense of -duty rather than love of glory that strengthened and filled them with -an invincible heroism and inspired them with the sentiment so often -heard on the battle-field, <i>Wir müssen unsere Pflicht thun</i> (“we -must do our duty”). The set of military regulations drawn up after the -battle of Sempach, more than five hundred years ago, might furnish a -model for to-day; a few taken at random will show their tenor:</p> - -<p>1. Not to attack or injure any church or chapel unless the enemy have -retired into it.</p> - -<p>2. Not to insult any females.</p> - -<p>3. It is forbidden to any man to straggle for the sake of plunder, or -to appropriate to himself any part of the booty, which must all be -reported and be divided equally in good faith.</p> - -<p>4. Every Swiss engages to sacrifice his life or property, if required, -for the defence of his countrymen.</p> - -<p>5. No Swiss shall abandon his post even when wounded.</p> - -<p>6. No Swiss shall take away anything from any of his countrymen either -in peace or war.</p> - -<p>War has been the great training school of hardihood, endurance, -courage, self-sacrifice, and devotion to public duty. There is no -profession more favorable to the growth of noble sentiment and manly -action than that of the soldier; and to its beneficial action in the -formation of States, every page of history bears flaming testimony. A -great German professor<span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</span> declares: “Our army is not simply the organized -power of the state; it is also a great school, nay, our greatest -school for the masses, of intellectual culture, morals, politeness and -patriotism.” Let the Swiss ever cherish and imitate the simple lives, -the undaunted courage, the obstinate and enduring spirit, and the lofty -patriotism of their ancestors who, in the great contests which rolled -round the fort of their mountains, died on the fields of Morat and -Morgarten.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.<br> -<span class="small"> - -EDUCATION.</span></h2></div> - - -<p>No inquiry can be more important than that which proposes to discover -the legitimate purpose and the best course of general education. All -men, how much soever they may be distinguished from each other by a -variety of circumstances, connections, and pursuits, have yet one -common set of duties to perform; and it is in forming this character, -and imparting the ability to discharge these duties, that the business -of what may be called, in the most general sense, a good education, -properly consists. Such an education may, therefore, fitly be described -to be that course of discipline which is accommodated to man, as he is -man; which is to lay the firm foundation of excellence in future life; -and by which it is designed to effect the highest preparatory culture -of his whole nature. It happens, however, that the foundation of those -virtues which are to render us useful and happy must be laid at a time -when we are least willing to receive instruction,—when we are in -search rather of amusement for our imagination than of employment for -our reason. Aware of these difficulties, the instructors of mankind -have been in all<span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</span> ages solicitous to discover popular and efficacious -methods for their admonitions. Theories once embraced as judicious -and complete are succeeded by others which, in turn, are declared -as erroneous and defective. Plans at present deemed ill-concerted -or impracticable are the same which it was once thought reasonable -to adopt. Where government, national or state, insists upon having -every child given over to it for the first and formative educational -period, it assumes an infinite responsibility for the judicious and -reasonable training of the young committed to its care. And they have, -in turn, the right to conclude that the instruction given is that, of -all others, which the wisdom and wit of the age have pronounced to -be the most beneficial and important for them to receive. The system -of education is proportionately more enlightened and liberal as the -liberty of the subject is the basis and aim of the constitution. The -interested caution of a despotic government cares not to open too wide -every avenue to science. The state of public instruction is one of the -greatest glories of Switzerland. There is no country where primary -instruction is more developed and more wide-spread. A Switzer will tell -you that every child in the Confederation, unless under the school age -or mentally incapacitated, can read and write. This is true to the -extent that the exceptions to the rule are not sufficient to constitute -an illiterate class. Keeping school is the permanent business of -the state, and the attention to it is not merely a fixed and formal -business, but an unceasing and engrossing duty. A school is one of the -first things present to the eyes of a Swiss child, and one of the last -things present to the mind of a Swiss man. On reaching a certain age, -the right to stay at home and play ceases; the school seizes the child, -holds him fast for years, and rears him into what he is to be. The two -great items of expense which figure in the budget of a Swiss Canton -are the roads and public instruction. The sum bestowed on the latter -is immense, relatively to the total means of the Canton,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</span> standing far -ahead of the disbursements for military service, which, in Europe, is -a startling fact. On the continent, with the exception of Switzerland, -the cost of the public forces, even in times of absolute peace, is -estimated to be nearly fourteen times that of the public schools.<a id="FNanchor_72" href="#Footnote_72" class="fnanchor">72</a> -The passion for public education, and the large expenditure so -cheerfully made for its support, are but natural in the land that gave -birth to Rousseau, Pestalozzi, and Fellenberg. John Henry Pestalozzi, -born at Zurich in 1746, was the most celebrated of Swiss educational -reformers and philanthropists. His system furnished the basis and gave -the first impetus to the public school organization; it furnished also -a model for the rest of Europe, and especially for Germany. The main -features of this system, with the improvements made upon it, are to-day -regarded in Switzerland as the chief corner-stone of their superb -educational condition. His whole school apparatus consisted of himself -and his pupils; so he studied the children themselves, their wants and -capacities. “I stood in the midst of them,” he explains, “pronouncing -various sounds and asking the children to imitate them. Whoever saw -it was struck with the effect. It is true, it was like a meteor which -vanishes in the air as soon as it appears. No one understood its -nature. I did not understand it myself. It was the result of a simple -idea, or rather of a fact of human nature, which was revealed to my -feelings, but of which I was far from having a clear consciousness. -Being obliged to instruct the children by myself, without any -assistance, I learnt the art of teaching a great number together; -and as I had no other means of bringing the instruction before them -than that of pronouncing everything to them loudly and distinctly,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</span> -I was naturally led to the idea of making them draw, write, or work, -all at the same time.” Combining the experience with the ideas he had -received many years before from Rousseau, he invented his system of -object-lessons. The Yverdon Institute had soon a world-wide reputation. -Many came to wonder, many to be educated, many to learn the art of -education. Pestalozzian teachers went from it to Madrid, to Naples, to -St. Petersburg. Kings and philosophers joined in doing it honor. While -Pestalozzi did not invent the principle that education is a developing -of the faculties rather than an imparting of knowledge, he did much to -bring this truth to bear on early education, and to make it not only -received, but acted on. We must, at least, concede to him the merit, -which he himself claims, of having “lighted upon truths little noticed -before, and principles which, though almost generally acknowledged, -are seldom carried out in practice.” The motive power of his career -was the “enthusiasm of humanity.” He never lost faith in the true -dignity of man, and in the possibility of raising the Swiss peasantry -to a condition worthy of it. “From my youth up,” he says, “I felt what -a high and indispensable human duty it was to labor for the poor and -miserable, that he may attain to a consciousness of his own dignity -through his feeling of the universal powers and endowments which he -possesses awakened within him, so that he may be raised not only above -the ploughing oxen, but also above the man in purple and silk who lives -unworthily of his high destiny.” It is claimed of him that he was the -first teacher to announce convincingly the doctrine that all people -should be educated; that, in fact, education is the one good gift to -give to all, rich or poor, and, unlike any other giving, it helps and -does not hinder self-help. Pestalozzi was no friend to the notion of -giving instruction always in the guise of amusement, contending that -a child should very early in life be taught the lesson that exertion -is indispensable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</span> for the attainment of knowledge. At the same time -he held that a child should not be taught to look upon exertion as an -evil; he should be encouraged, not frightened, into it. “An interest,” -he claims, “in study is the first thing which a teacher should endeavor -to excite and keep alive. There are scarcely any circumstances in which -a want of application in children does not proceed from a want of -interest; and there are, perhaps, none in which the want of interest -does not originate in the mode of teaching adopted by the teacher. I -would go so far as to lay it down as a rule that, whenever children are -inattentive and apparently take no interest in a lesson, the teacher -should always first look to himself for the reason. Could we conceive -the indescribable tedium which must oppress the young mind while the -weary hours are slowly passing away, one after another, in occupations -which it can neither relish nor understand, could we remember the -like scenes which our own childhood has passed through, we should no -longer be surprised at the remissness of the school-boy, creeping -like a snail unwillingly to school. We must adopt a better mode of -instruction, by which children are less left to themselves, less thrown -upon the unwelcome employment of passive listening, but more roused by -questions, animated by illustrations, interested and won by kindness.”</p> - -<p>The efforts of Pestalozzi went down in clouds, and when he died, at the -age of eighty-one, in 1827, he had seen the apparent failure of all his -toils. He had not, however, failed in reality. And when twenty years -later the centenary of his birth was celebrated by school-masters, not -only in his native country but throughout Germany, it was found that -Pestalozzian ideas had been sown, and were bearing fruit, over the -greater part of central Europe. Even to-day school-masters might learn -much from Pestalozzi, in aiming more at a plan of education founded -on a knowledge of human nature, and its modes of instruction which -shall better develop their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</span> pupils’ faculties. The true functions -of Pestalozzi, it is alleged, were to educate ideas, not children. -Even those who are most averse to theoretical views, which they call -unpractical, will admit, as practical men, that their methods are -probably susceptible of improvement, and that even a theorist might -lead them to make many observations which would otherwise have escaped -them; might teach them to examine what their aim really was, and -then whether they are using the most suitable methods to accomplish -it. Such a theorist is Pestalozzi. He points to a high ideal, and -bids us measure our modes of education by it. When Switzerland would -honor Pestalozzi’s name, the monument she built was more than brass -or bronze. It was a school,—a school where the memoirs of the man -were carved, not on wood or stone, but in the minds of happy, growing -youths, the fortunate beneficiaries of a system whose foundation he -laid.<a id="FNanchor_73" href="#Footnote_73" class="fnanchor">73</a> Down to 1848 all the public schools in Switzerland had been -in the hands of the Cantons; in the federal constitution, adopted at -that time, it was provided that the Confederation might establish a -university and a polytechnic school. A proposition for a university was -soon thereafter submitted and rejected. Subsequently a law was passed, -in 1854, establishing a federal polytechnical school. In view of the -antagonism existing between the German, French, and Italian Cantons, -and the social friction that followed between<span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</span> the adherents of the -different creeds, it was found important that the Confederation should -be in a position to strengthen and direct the forces which make for -unity, and attention was directed to the vital forces which proceed -from a wisely-arranged system of public instruction. This resulted -in more extensive power being conferred upon the Confederation, in -the revised Constitution of 1874, with respect to education. The -27th Article of the Constitution declares: “The Confederation has -the right to establish, besides the existing polytechnical school, -a federal university and other institutions for higher instruction, -or may assist in the support of said institutions. The Cantons shall -provide for primary education, which must be adequate, and shall be -placed exclusively under the direction of the civil authorities. It is -compulsory, and in the public schools free. The public schools shall -be open to the adherents of all religious sects without any offence -to their freedom of conscience or of belief. The Confederation shall -take the necessary measures against such Cantons as shall not conform -to these provisions.” Primary instruction was first made compulsory -under this Constitution of 1874. The promotion and organization of the -elementary education are left in the hands of the Cantons, subject to -the control of the Confederation; but it must be exclusively under the -civil authority. This does not exclude the clergy—if not Jesuits—from -the position of teachers and other school officers, but simply -requires, if occupying these positions, they must stand on the same -footing as laymen. No person who belongs to a religious order, claiming -allegiance paramount to the state, can be a teacher in the public -schools. The provision guaranteeing freedom of conscience and belief -is complied with by the Cantons in a way suitable to their wants. -Religious instruction is usually given on fixed days, at stated hours, -so that every facility for absenting themselves is afforded to children -whose parents wish them only to receive secular instruction.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</span> In many -instances the religious instruction is confined to truths common to -all Christians, and to readings from the Bible. In reference to the -relation of the schools to religion in Switzerland, Matthew Arnold -reported: “Whoever has seen the divisions caused in a so-called logical -nation like the French by this principle of the neutrality of the -popular school in matters of religion might expect differently here. -None whatever has arisen. The Swiss communities, applying the principle -for themselves and not leaving theorists and politicians to apply it -for them, have done in the matter what they consider proper, and have -in every popular school religious instruction in the religion of the -majority, a Catholic instruction in Catholic Cantons, like Luzern, a -Protestant in Protestant Cantons, like Zurich; and there is no unfair -dealing, no proselytizing, no complaint.” The first school-year varies -from five to seven years of age, and runs up to twelve, except in -a few Cantons, where it extends to the fourteenth, fifteenth, and -sixteenth years. Primary instruction is left to the determination -of the several Cantons, only it must be, under the constitution, -“adequate.” With the exception of the Canton of Solothurn, where all -children must receive their primary instruction in the public schools, -a person is not obliged to send his children to the public school. He -is perfectly free to have them instructed wherever he wishes, provided -they receive an education, at least as good as that which is given in -the public schools. Parents who neglect or refuse to do one or the -other are cited before the authorities and subject to a fine, and -in case of a repetition of the offence to imprisonment. In most of -the Cantons the gratuity covers books and other school-materials to -children of indigent parents. There is no class of vagrant or destitute -children which the system fails to reach; even to those too poor to -obtain proper food and clothing, both public and private assistance -are freely rendered. The obligation resting upon the Confederation -to see that the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</span> Cantons meet the constitutional requirements has so -far not been supplemented by any federal legislation, prescribing the -method of such enforcement, or imposing any penalties for disregard -of the law. Certain Cantons having failed to do their duties in this -respect, the Federal Assembly in 1882 instructed the Federal Council to -take steps to insure a general compliance with the provisions of the -constitution. The Council proposed the creation of a Federal Department -of Public Instruction, with a number of inspectors, whose duty it -would be to enforce the law. So soon as the Assembly submitted this -suggestion in the form of a federal law, nearly two hundred thousand -citizens demanded its subjection to the <i>Referendum</i> (30,000 was -sufficient to do so), and upon the taking of the popular vote, it was -rejected by the extraordinary majority of 146,129. It was an indignant -protest against what was regarded as an attempted interference with -their local home-government of the schools. Therefore the details -of school administration, organization, and inspection still remain -in the hands of the educational department of each Canton. In some -Cantons inspectors are appointed by the educational department; in -others, it is voluntarily conducted by a board composed chiefly of -professional men,—pastors or persons of influence. These inspectors -decide as to the course of studies, the books to be used, and act as a -sort of tribunal to hear and decide all controversies that may arise -between the teachers and the local authorities. As a rule, women are -not eligible as school inspectors. Every Commune, in addition to the -inspectors, has a school commission, elected by the communal assembly. -They are charged with providing sufficient school accommodation, and -keeping the buildings in repair; also to visit the schools and see -that any suggestions made by the inspector have been properly carried -out. The Commune provides the sites for the school buildings, and -these are erected at the joint expense of the Commune and Canton.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</span> -Great attention is given to the construction of these school-houses, -as to their comfort and convenience; the windows must face the east -or southeast, and the benches so arranged that the light falls upon -the pupil’s left hand. Then there is sure to be a large and grassy -plot for the children’s play-ground, with a fountain of pure water on -it, shady trees, and all the accessories for athletic exercise. The -school-house is the most commodious, modern, and handsome edifice to -be seen in a Swiss town. One may look in vain for the court-house and -town-hall, but on the most central and costly site is the school-house, -the pride of every city square and village slope. The schools are not -mixed, and when the Commune is not able to sustain separate schools, -the boys attend in the morning, and the girls in the afternoon. -Saturday is not a holiday. Each class has so many hours of schooling -for the week, apportioned among the six days. Every form of corporal -punishment is forbidden. No bodily pain, no bodily shame, is suffered -in the schools. Chastisement, it is claimed, first brutalizes a child; -second, makes him cowardly; and, third, blunts his sense of shame, -which must soon form the bulwark round virtue. “A lad has rights,” -says the Swiss teacher. “We cannot stint his food, we cannot lock him -up, we cannot crown him with a dunce’s cap, or we cannot make a guy -of him. Our discipline is wholly moral; our means are prizes, good -words, all leading up to public acts of honor. Should we have any -incorrigible ones, they are expelled, but expulsion is a very serious -matter, and must be exercised under prescribed rules, with due notice -to parents and the school officials; and at first only temporary and -conditional, and never final and absolute, without the formal sanction -of the school commission. This emergency rarely occurs. A threat or -admonition suffices, for expulsion is considered only one degree from -ruin.” Obedience which is rendered merely because there is a sense of -authority about the commander destroys<span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</span> the sympathetic relation which -should exist between the teacher and pupil. The best and only true -discipline is that which is secured, not through habits created from -the will of the teacher, says Professor Shaler, of Harvard, but won -through the exercise of the will of the pupil; only when accomplished -by sympathetic stimulus, is the effect truly educational. Manliness, -sincerity, and conscientiousness are its legitimate fruits; it fosters -honesty and truthfulness more than any regimen discipline.</p> - -<p>The pupil’s manners and appearance are also cared for. He is taught -how to appear and act no less than how to read and write; how to walk, -stand, and speak; that his hands and face should be kept clean, as -well as his papers and books. A blot upon his page and a smudge upon -his face are regarded as equally bad. “A book befouled,” the teacher -tells us, “with grime is wasted, and our simple economical habits will -not suffer such waste; turn over any of these books, which are in -daily use, no leaf is torn or dog-eared, nor the covers defaced with -scribbling.” The same observation would apply to the school furniture -and building. The desks, though extremely plain, look as if they are -daily washed and polished; not a spot nor splash of ink to be seen -on their surface, not any evidence of the bad boy’s knife; the large -corridors and spacious stairways show no scratch or scrawl; the wall -free from fingermarks and inscriptions, and no bits of paper on the -floor. The children, representing all classes of society, from the -patrician to the poorest peasant, are neatly and comfortably clad; none -dirty, ragged, or shoeless. To an expression of surprise at this, we -are informed “that if a child comes to school with face begrimed or -clothes torn, he is washed, cleaned, and mended up, and then sent home; -the mother gets ashamed on finding that some other woman, or it may be -a man, has had to wash her child; the child also becomes mortified, -and it is never necessary to repeat the treatment.” The moment that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</span> -a pupil is on the street he has passed from the circle of his home, -and that moment has commenced the school’s authority. The regulations, -printed on slips and dropped in every house, contain, among a score of -others, the following rule relating to conduct on the street: “Delay -of any kind between the scholar’s home and school is not allowed. No -whooping, yelling, throwing stones and snow-balls, teasing children, -ridiculing age or deformity can be endured. Grown persons shall be -met with kind civility, politely greeted as they pass, and thus shall -honor be reflected on the school.” There is very little contumacious -absence from school. The children have the habit of going to school as -a matter of course, and the parents equally the habit of acquiescing -in their going. The Federal Factory Act of 1877, with a purpose of -preventing any interference with attendance at school, forbids the -employment, in a mill or public workshop, of any child until he has -attained the age of fifteen. And every Swiss <i>recruit</i> for -military service is required to pass an <i>examen pédagogique</i>, -with a view of enabling the authorities to ascertain the degree of -instruction attained by the youth of the country. This examination -consists of arithmetic, geography, and Swiss history; and those who -do not come up to the minimum educational standard are required to -undergo instruction at the <i>recruit</i> school, and the odium -attendant upon this is found to exercise a marked beneficial effect on -the education of the peasantry. The teachers of the primary schools -are nominated by the school inspectors and elected by the Communal -Assembly. Teachers of the higher schools are appointed by the Cantonal -Director of Education and confirmed by the Board of Educational -Department. They are elected for a term of six years, and after -service on a differential scale are retired on a pension of not less -than one-half of their salary at the time of their retirement. Each -Commune decides for itself whether male or female teachers shall be -employed. The teachers are<span class="pagenum" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</span> trained for a period of four years in one -of the cantonal normal schools. In the Grisons and Neuchâtel, normal -schools are attached to the secondary schools, but in the Cantons of -Zurich, Bern, Luzern, Schwyz, Freiburg, Solothurn, St. Gallen, Aargau, -Thurgau, Ticino, Vaud, and Valais separate establishments exist. The -students are usually lodged and boarded at the actual cost; and free -and half-free places are open for those unable to pay in full. Each -Commune must pay to the primary school-teacher a minimum salary of -550 francs, but these salaries will run from 600 to 1000 francs, with -free lodging and fuel, the latter being an important item of expense. -Those in the larger towns receive from 1200 to 1700 francs, secondary -school-teachers are paid from 2200 to 2500 francs, and teachers in the -gymnasiums an average of 3300 francs. The Cantons assist the Communes -in augmenting the lower salaries and in the payment of the pensions. -After thirty years of service, or in case of disability or illness -contracted in the line of professional duty, teachers may retire on -the pension above indicated. In some Cantons, after five years of -service, 100 francs are added to the salary, and an additional 100 for -each <i>quinquennium</i>. In Basel a female teacher, after ten years -of service, is entitled to a supplemental salary of 250 francs per -annum; after fifteen years, 357 francs per annum, and then on voluntary -retirement, after fifteen years of service, a pension for life equal to -two per cent. on the amount she was being paid at time of retirement. -Thus the Swiss teacher has pragmatic rights,—that is, he has a legal -claim to a fixed salary, and to a retiring pension in case of age or -illness. The Swiss teacher is to his pupil a father and companion. -He leads and assists on the play-ground the same as he does in the -school-room; a free and unrestrained companionship, beautiful as it is -beneficial, unmixed with foolish fondness or paternal pride. Together -they will run and leap and laugh and dance and sing as well as learn. -The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</span> hours of study past, the pupil and teacher wander to the forests -and the field; together pluck wild flowers and plants; together climb -the hills, cross lakes and streams, searching for curious rocks and -plants, learning again from them the lessons of the day. This is the -very essence of education: for a man who professes to instruct to get -among his pupils, study their character, gain their affections, and -form their inclinations and aversions, together with that affectionate -vigilance which is experienced in the best home-circle. These men -regard the school as a psychological observatory, where they are to -practise the very difficult art of discovering the capacities of the -pupils, receiving them with a tender consideration for the good and -evil they bring with them, and with an apt adjustment of the resources -of education to their individual needs. The primary or communal schools -come first in number. In every hamlet, where there may be twenty girls -and boys, the communal officials must provide a school-house and hire -a master. These are supposed to embrace the pupilage for the first -five or six school-years. The lessons average from twenty to thirty -weekly, and they have annual vacations from ten to twelve weeks. The -children who are old enough to assist in work at home are only required -to attend one-half of the day during the harvest season, or other busy -times. In some instances there is provided for this class what is known -as the supplementary school, which is held only on two mornings of -the week; the aim being to help the pupil retain what he has already -learned in the primary school until he can again resume his regular -attendance. A curious custom prevails in some of these communal schools -with respect to the supply of the necessary firewood in winter. Every -boy or girl must contribute a piece; and in winter the children may be -constantly seen tearing down-hill, each with a log of wood tied to a -<i>luge</i> (little sledge) as his contribution to the school-fire.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</span></p> - -<p>The course of study in the primary school embraces:</p> - - - - -<p> 1. Religion. -</p> - -<p> 2. Native language. -</p> - -<p> 3. Arithmetic. - -</p> -<p> 4. Writing. -</p> - -<p> 5. Physical and political geography. -</p> - -<p> 6. History of Switzerland. -</p> - -<p> 7. Elements of civic instruction. -</p> - -<p> 8. Drawing. -</p> - -<p> 9. Elements of natural science. -</p> - -<p> 10. Singing. -</p> - -<p> 11. Gymnastics; and -</p> - -<p>12. (For the girls) Manual work in knitting and sewing. -</p> - - - -<p>Connected with the primary schools in some Cantons is the -<i>secundar-schule</i>, or secondary school; this school is open on -Sundays and in the evenings, during the winter months; and the course -includes book-keeping, business composition, such as letters, bills, -contracts, and obligations of various kinds appertaining to trade -and industry. In many Cantons the secondary or advanced division of -the primary school is free, and attendance compulsory; in others, -attendance optional, with a nominal charge of five francs. The course -is three years for boys and four for girls. In the Cantons of Zurich -and Luzern, the children from the primary schools are given four -years of gratuitous instruction in these supplementary schools. By -the last accessible report, it appears there were in attendance at -the primary schools 455,490 pupils, under the care of 8763 teachers. -Sixteen Cantons provided 437 secondary schools, with 20,500 pupils. -The <i>intermediate</i> schools present much variety, and have only -one feature in common, in that they represent a higher grade than the -primary, with an enlarged and more deepened course of study. They -extend to elements of literature in the mother tongue, composition of -an advanced kind, reading of classical authors,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</span> higher mathematics, -and foreign languages (which practically are confined to French for -the German and Italian Cantons, and to German for the French Cantons); -geography and history also become much extended.</p> - -<p>These schools, however, do not have any pretensions beyond what their -title of <i>intermediate</i> indicates. There are several grades -of these intermediate schools, such as the <i>district school</i> -and <i>under-gymnasium</i>. In these, still more advanced literary, -technical, and artistic instructions are given. The ancient languages, -Greek, Latin, natural history, physics, and chemistry are taught. -Many of them are free, and in no case does the fee exceed 25 to 40 -francs for the scholastic year. The greater portion of the expense -of these schools is defrayed by the Communes, some of the cantonal -governments assisting. The Canton of Bern pays one-half the salaries -of the teachers, and pensions meritorious and indigent pupils from 50 -to 100 francs per annum. The highest grade of an intermediate school -is the high-school or <i>gymnasium</i>. The course is from three to -six years, and is preparatory for the university. Pupils who obtain a -“certificate” at the close of the gymnasium curriculum are, as a rule, -enabled to enter the university or the polytechnic without examination. -These schools are all subject to cantonal control and supported by -them, except in a few of the largest towns, where they are under -municipal authority, and then the towns bear much of the expense. With -the exception of the federal palace, the most costly structure in Bern -is the <i>gymnasium</i>, and the same relative superiority prevails as -to these school buildings throughout Switzerland. The age for admission -is from fifteen to seventeen years, with a fee from 10 to 100 francs -covering the annual session. There are 58 of these <i>gymnasiums</i>, -with 12,500 students. As a fair sample, the weekly curriculum of a -first-class girls’ <i>gymnasium</i> in Bern may be given:</p> - -<p>Monday, history; Tuesday, religion; Wednesday, arithmetic;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</span> Thursday, -religion; Friday, French; Saturday, religion, eight to nine o’clock.</p> - -<p>Monday, German; Tuesday, French; Wednesday, geography; Thursday, -singing; Friday, German; Saturday, French, nine to ten o’clock.</p> - -<p>Monday, arithmetic; Tuesday, natural history; Wednesday, German; -Thursday, history; Friday, natural history; Saturday, geography, ten to -eleven o’clock.</p> - -<p>Monday, gymnastics; Tuesday, singing; Wednesday, French; Thursday, -German; Friday, arithmetic; Saturday, arithmetic, two to three o’clock -<span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span></p> - -<p>Monday, drawing; Tuesday, readings; Wednesday, holiday; Thursday, -book-keeping; Friday, readings; Saturday, holiday, three to four -o’clock <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span></p> - -<p>There are four <i>universities</i> in Switzerland, located respectively -at Basel, Bern, Zurich, and Geneva. The one at Basel was founded in -1460, and in the early Reformation times was one of the most famous -institutions in Europe; attracting Erasmus, of Rotterdam, from his -professorship at Cambridge, and the German Œcolampadius, one of the -most learned men of his country, and to whose patient teaching and -moderate temper was due no little of the taking root of the Reformed -doctrines in Switzerland.<a id="FNanchor_74" href="#Footnote_74" class="fnanchor">74</a> Each university contains the four -faculties of law, theology, medicine, arts and philosophy, and will -compare<span class="pagenum" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</span> favorably in teaching-power, apart from the mere accessories -of endowments and splendid buildings, with any universities to be -found in Europe. The tuition depends on the number and character of -the faculties attended, varying from 2½ to 10 francs per week, and 100 -to 200 francs per annum. The degree conferred is equivalent to that -of “Doctor” in the German, and “Bachelor” in the French universities. -The matriculation of these universities by the last report was 2371, -including 107 female students, and employing 200 teachers. In addition -to these universities, of the same rank with them is the Polytechnic -at Zurich, founded in 1854. This is, in fact, the only educational -institution which is directly and exclusively under the control of -the Confederation. The federal authorities do not interfere with the -methods of instruction and matters of detail in the different schools -that may be assisted by the Confederation. The total annual expenditure -of the Polytechnic is about 500,000 francs, and is defrayed by the -government. Extensive improvements and additions are in course of -construction, under a federal appropriation of 1,000,000 francs for -that purpose.</p> - -<p>The Polytechnic comprises seven distinct schools, with courses varying -from two and a half to three and a half years, viz.:</p> - - -<p> 1. Architectural.</p> -<p> 2. Civil engineering.</p> -<p> 3. Mechanical engineering.</p> -<p> 4. Chemical technology (including pharmacy).</p> -<p> 5. Agriculture and farming.</p> -<p> 6. Normal school.</p> -<p> 7. Philosophical and political science.</p> - -<p>There are two hundred distinct courses of lectures given during the -year, by forty-five professors and thirteen assistants, in the German, -French, and Italian languages. The average number of students is from -seven to eight hundred, and they<span class="pagenum" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</span> represent almost every nation. -The female students number from fifty to sixty. The charge for a -complete course in any one of the polytechnical schools varies from -400 to 500 francs. Between all Swiss schools, from the primary to the -university, there is an “organic connection;” the university, in the -natural continuation and correspondence, crowning the work begun in the -primary school. The Swiss method of teaching is never mechanical; it -is gradual, natural, and rational. It is patient, avoids over-hurry; -content to advance slowly, with a firm securing of the ground passed -over. The fundamental maxim is from the intuition to the notion, -from the concrete to the abstract, founding habits alike of accurate -apprehension and clear expression. The system is not wooden, but -appreciates that variety in mental food is as important as in bodily -nourishment for healthy growth; that children at school are often -tired and listless, because they are wearied and bored. From this the -Swiss school finds relief in drill, gymnastics, singing, and drawing. -Especially do music and drawing play a leading part in the programme. -It is natural for children to imitate; thus they acquire language, -and thus, with proper direction and encouragement, they find pleasure -in attempting to sing the melodies they hear, and to draw the simple -objects around them. By drawing, the eye is trained as well as the -hand; the attention to the exact shape of the whole and the proportion -of the parts which is requisite for the taking of an adequate sketch -is converted into a habit, and becomes productive both of instruction -and amusement. The Swiss system seeks to adapt the methods to the -mental process; every effort is made to interest the pupil and to make -learning palatable, and, like Lucretius, “to smear the rim of the -educational cup with honey.” It is a common practice in schools of the -United States to give children the rule for doing a sum, and then test -them by seeing if, by that rule, they can do so many given sums right. -The notion of a Swiss teacher is, that the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</span> school-hour for arithmetic -is to be employed in ascertaining that the children understand the rule -and the processes to which it is applied. The former practice places -the abstract before the concrete, the latter works in the opposite -way. The Swiss instruction aims to render the pupil capable of solving -independently and with certainty the calculations which are likely to -come up before him in ordinary life. In a word, the Swiss possess and -follow a carefully-matured science of pedagogy. If a school is fate to -a Swiss child, the vision comes to him in the likeness of a fairy; it -is made, by public and private acts, a centre of happy thoughts and -pleasant times; it shares the joy of home and the reward of church. The -children have tasks to do at home nearly equal to the tasks at school. -The hours of study, school-work, drill, and home-work are frequently -from ten to twelve a day. Indeed, you may say, these Swiss children -must tug at learning in a way that would create a rebellion with the -young American. In spite of these long hours and manifold duties, the -attention is never unduly strained, and, at intervals, never exceeding -two hours, the class disperses for a few moments to the corridors or -play-grounds for recreation and a romp. No people can boast of so many -schools in proportion to population, or of a system of education at -once so enlarged and simplified, so instructive and attractive, so -scientific and practical. Healthy, for it takes care of the body as -well as the mind; practical, for it teaches drawing, which is the key -of all industrial and mechanical professions; moral and patriotic, -because it is founded on love of country. In many countries it is a -political or governing class which establishes popular schools for the -benefit of the masses. In Switzerland it is the people, the Communes, -which establish and sustain the schools for their own benefit. The -same general equality of conditions prevails as in the United States, -and these schools are freely used by all classes. This is as it should -be in a free commonwealth, where character<span class="pagenum" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</span> and ability are the only -rank, and men are thrown together in later life according to the groups -they form at school. Every child of superior merit, however humble and -poor, has an equal chance to mount the highest round of the educational -ladder. This building of human minds means business in Switzerland. -Everywhere you find a school,—a primary school, a supplementary -school, a secondary school, a day school, evening school, school for -the blind, school for the deaf, industrial school, commercial school, -linguistic school, intermediate school, gymnasium or high-school, -university, polytechnical school, schools of every sort and size, class -and grade, with the happy motto carved over many a door: “Dedicated to -the Children.” It is a business, standing far ahead of petty politics -and hunting after place, or the worship of Mammon; a business that, -when nobly done, brings bountiful return in love of order, law, right, -and truth.</p> - -<p>The Swiss cantonal constitutions declare that the happiness of the -people is to be found in good morals and good instruction; and that, -in a free country, every citizen should have placed within his reach -an education fitting him for his rights and duties. Every Canton -has in its constitution some expression embodying the idea that the -business of a public teacher is to make his boys good citizens and -good Christians. In some Cantons the distinct announcement is made -that the true end of public instruction is to combine democracy with -religion. In that of Zurich it is announced: “The people’s school -shall train the children of all classes, on a plan agreed upon, to be -intelligent men, useful citizens, and moral, religious beings.” In -Luzern it is laid down that “the schools shall afford to every boy and -girl capable of receiving an education the means of developing their -mental and physical faculties, of training them for life in the family, -in the Commune, in the church, and in the state, and of putting them -in the way of getting their future bread.” In Vaud it is declared -that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</span> “teaching in the public schools shall be in accordance with -the principles of Christianity and democracy.” In fact, the organic -law of each and every Canton demands a system of public education, -sound, solid, moral, and democratic. They all bespeak the early and -imperishable impress of that great Swiss educational reformer who, -more than a century ago, uttered the memorable invocation: “Patron -saint of this country, announce it in thunder tones through hill and -valley that true popular freedom can only be made possible through the -education of man!” Since the two zealous Irish monks, Columban and -Gall, went to the continent, <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 585, and the latter founded -the famous monastery of St. Gallen, the descendants of the Helvetii -have powerfully contributed to European civilization and progress; -learning and science finding a home not only at St. Gallen, but at -Basel, Zurich, Geneva, and Bern. In the age of the Carlovingians, more -than a thousand years ago, the Abbey of St. Gallen was the most erudite -spot in Europe. It had the original manuscript of Quintilian, from -which the first edition was published. The art of printing, when in its -infancy everywhere else, had already been carried to a high degree of -perfection at Basel; and the crusaders, who conquered Constantinople, -met there <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 1202. Geneva was early distinguished in the -annals of literature and science as well as for progress in the arts. -Learned men, some of the exiles of Queen Mary’s reign, among whom was -Whittingham, who married Calvin’s sister, devoted “the space of two -years and more, day and night,” to a careful revision of the text of -the English Bible, and the preparation of a marginal commentary upon -it. The result of these labors was the publication, in 1560, of the -celebrated Geneva Bible. The cost of this was defrayed by the English -congregation at Geneva. Queen Elizabeth, to whom it was dedicated, -granted a patent to John Bodley, the father of the founder of the -Bodleian Library, for the exclusive right of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</span> printing it in English -for the space of seven years. Its advantages were so many and great -that it at once secured and—even after the appearance of King James’s -Bible—continued to retain a firm hold upon the bulk of the English -nation. While Switzerland can hardly be said to possess a truly -national literature, it has always maintained a very good literature -in German and in French; but these literatures are not the expression -of a common national life. The Swiss have displayed remarkable powers -in science, in political philosophy, in history, and in letters. -Among the distinguished workers in these intellectual fields may be -mentioned Lavater, whose eloquence, daring, and imagination as a -physiognomist procured European celebrity; Pestalozzi, the originator -of a system of education to which he devoted a life of splendid -sacrifice; De Saussure, the indefatigable philosopher, the inventor -of a thermometer for ascertaining the temperature of water at all -depths, and the electrometer for showing the electrical condition of -the atmosphere; Bonnet, the psychologist; Gesner, the poet, whose -“Death of Abel” has been translated into many languages; Müller, a -historian remarkable for his patience in research, picturesque writing, -and disgust for traditionary tales, and who is reported to have read -more books than any man in Europe, in proof of which they point to his -fifty folio volumes of excerpts in the town library of Schaffhausen; -Zwingli, the Canon of Zurich and the co-laborer of Calvin, a man of -extensive learning, uncommon sagacity, and heroic courage; Mallet, -the illustrious student of antiquities of Northern Europe; Constant, -philosopher of the source, forms, and history of religion; Sismondi, -a writer of history, literature, and political economy; Necker, -brilliant in politics and finance, and his celebrated daughter, Madame -de Staël; Rousseau, who fired all Europe with his zeal for the rights -of the poor and the free development of individual character, and who -wielded the most fertile and fascinating pen that ever was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</span> pointed in -the cause of infidelity; D’Aubigné, the well-known historian of the -Reformation; Agassiz, the greatest naturalist of his age, and Guyot, -his compatriot and fellow-worker, to whom we owe the inception of -that system of meteorological observations called the Signal Service; -Haller, Horner, Dumont, and many others who won an honorable place in -learning and literature. The remarkable resources of its modern schools -and universities, and the zeal of the rising generation for learning, -promise well for the intellectual future of Switzerland. To be quick -in thought and quick in action; to have practical, scientific, and -technical knowledge; to be capable of appreciating new facts, and of -taking large views; to be patient and painstaking; to have the power of -working mentally for distant objects; to have an instinct of submission -to law, both to the laws of society, which aim at justice to all and -at order, and to the laws of nature, submission to which enables a man -to use effectually his own powers and to turn to account the powers of -nature; to raise life into a higher stage; to give to every one free -opportunities for participation in the knowledge and moral training, -combined with freedom and political equality, which will elevate the -idea of humanity,—these are the moral and intellectual qualities -with which the Swiss school system would fain endow the whole people. -Just as their old agrarian system made land, so their new educational -system is making intellectual training common to all. The powers it -confers are now, in a sense, common pastures, upon which all may keep -flocks and herds; common forests, from which all may get fuel and -building-materials; and common garden ground, by the cultivation of -which all may supply their wants. The quaint words of John Knox contain -a sentiment still potent in Switzerland, “That no father, of what -estate or condition that ever he may be, can use his children at his -own fantasie, especially in their youthhood; but all must be compelled -to bring up their youth in learning and virtue.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.<br> -<span class="small"> - -TECHNICAL AND INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“The noble craftsman we promote,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Disown the knave and fool;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Each honest man shall have his vote,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Each child shall have his school.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - - -<p>A French writer has compared a well-arranged plan of public instruction -“to a railway system, with its main line, stations, junctions, and -branch lines. Just as passengers on a railway get out at the different -stations, so the children who, from pecuniary necessity or social -position, are compelled to earn their livelihood leave school at -any point of this course; all, according to the amount of knowledge -they have acquired, are able to take their place in the social -stratification.”</p> - -<p>As it is the duty and interest of railway managers to give facilities -for all classes of passengers, so it is the duty and interest of the -state to provide for all who travel the road of learning, leaving to -the operation of natural laws, in both cases, the fixing of proportions -of way and through fares.</p> - -<p>Education as the acquiring of information is one thing: it is quite -another thing to develop the human forces by a thoughtfully-planned -course of training, mentally, physically, and morally fitting one -for “complete living.” Educational methods in every age have been -the outgrowth of the social conditions of the time, and are, as a -rule, found to be in accordance with the beliefs and principles by -which nations are controlled. A new definition of culture is being -constructed, one which shall embrace the industries and the mechanical -arts. Industrial processes and occupations are claiming recognition<span class="pagenum" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</span> -in school and college courses, both for the sake of the encouragement -and assistance they may render to the industrial classes, and because -the familiarity with them is felt to be required by the wants and -demands of the age. It is not a rebellion against the old methods as -bad in themselves. It does not necessarily interfere with or involve -any loss to the traditional studies of the school-room. It is not an -attempt to substitute the labors of the workshop for the legitimate -intellectual training of the school, inasmuch as the shop-practice, -if properly arranged, would be in the nature of change and rest, -and even of recreation to the pupil, bringing him back fresher and -brighter to his studies. The alternation is stimulating. Change of -occupation is proverbially almost as refreshing as rest. The pupils -pass from the shop to the class-room, and conversely, with a new zeal -and zest for their tasks in either department. It means the addition -of practice to theory, experiment to knowledge, the correct eye and -skilful hand to the developed brain; that the youth sent forth from -school shall be fitted not only for professions and clerkships, but -for the heat and task of active life, and for the skilled labor which -is so sorely needed. There exist much general misapprehension and no -little grave misrepresentation as to industrial schools and manual -training, and an attempt in some quarters to confound them with the -stupefying effect of long-continued toil. It is not contemplated to -swing too far the pendulum of school reform, or to present a panacea. -It is proposed to supplement the older scholastic culture with that -which will make it take a firmer hold upon men’s minds, and will bring -the school into closer harmony with the time-spirit. Let there be no -interference, much less any extinction of the classical system. We -have come to regard that as a sacred thing and unassailable. Let it -remain impregnable to all the attacks of iconoclasts and reformers. -The Latin and Greek languages and the science of mathematics<span class="pagenum" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</span> come -recommended to us by all experience, signed and countersigned, as it -were, by the testimony of ages as the basis of every system of liberal -culture. They furnish a grateful vicissitude of genial and severe -studies; while the one awakens the sensibilities, refines the taste, -enlarges the conception, enriches the memory, and invigorates the -power of moral judgment; the other, by a course of mental gymnastics -as rigid as it is perfect, develops to the utmost the great faculties -of attention, analysis, and generalization. No scholar can doubt that -they must always form an indispensable element in any scheme of liberal -instruction, by which all the powers and emotions of our moral and -intellectual nature may be so touched, quickened, directed, exercised, -and informed, as to attain their largest measure of capacity. But, -side by side with the higher institutions of learning, there should -be established schools where the sciences in their relations to the -arts and industries shall be specific branches of instruction and -training; the addition of a sufficient amount of work in the handling -of tools and the manipulation of materials to a good sound education -in languages, mathematics, history, and science. Young people should -be prepared to take a broad and intelligent part in the life of an age -which is eminently scientific and practical; an age which has to do -with a world of fierce competition, in which trade is not despised, -while science of every kind is a means of making a livelihood; an age -which demands an education that seeks to arm a man as well as to adorn -him, <i>armer</i> and <i>orner</i>. There is no warrant for applying -the term educational to any sort of knowledge which does not increase -the power of its possessor, and so make him the more able to satisfy -his needs and desires without disorder and waste. The measure of this -ability is the measure of a country’s economic progress. Industrial -training has an economical and moral as well as an educational value. -As Professor Huxley puts it, we cannot continue in this age<span class="pagenum" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</span> “of full -modern artillery to turn out our boys to do battle in it, equipped only -with the sword and shield of an ancient gladiator.”</p> - -<p>With many education is looked upon merely as a mental training -whose sole object is to place the mind in a state fit to receive -future impressions. This may be all very well for those who are -never to feel the keen struggle for existence; but for a vast and -constantly-increasing majority who are doomed to a bread-winning life, -the main purpose of education should be to make the youthful mind -“a supple, effective, strong, and available instrument for whatever -purpose it may be applied to.” Less than three per cent. of the boys -of this country can hope to make a living by the practice of the -professions. Less than twenty per cent. of the boys enter high schools, -and less than half of those who enter complete the course. The first -duty of man is to work, and the first object of education should be -to fit him for that work; to make him not the slave but the master -of what it has imparted, the manipulator and not the mere receptacle -of its power. Every year adds to the necessity of supplementing the -muscular power of the laborer and artisan with that mental energy which -only comes of education. Men in the busy corners of the globe are -multiplying day by day, and multiplying more rapidly than the means -of supporting life. Unskilled labor, or, as technically defined, the -“labor of quantity,” is being ousted by the iron sinews and fiery pulse -of the steam-engine and the machine. Man, as the mere owner of muscle, -is being edged out by these most powerful competitors. Merely as an -agent of physical force, as the possessor of the power of labor, the -steam-engine is a competitor which drives him easily out of the market, -and more and more unskilled labor is passing away by the development of -the forces which mechanical science has discovered. As the world goes -on, we must expect mechanical force to be more varied, more<span class="pagenum" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</span> powerful, -and cheaper, and the competition of the human limbs to become more -helpless. But there is one region where the machine can never follow -the human being, and that is in the exercise of thought. In skill, in -the cultivation of the mind, in the power of applying the powers of -thought to the laws of nature, in all that we call skilled labor of -the highest kind, in that man must always have a monopoly and need -fear no encroachment. Science teaching, as applied to that instruction -which familiarizes the student with the universe in which he lives, -and makes him in the presence of the great laws and forces of nature -not a stranger, but a child at home, must be recognized as one of the -great moulding influences of the time; it is at the foundation of -material progress; it is the basis on which much of the manufacturing -industry and commerce rests; many of the deep social ameliorations of -the day are due to its influence; and popular education must be brought -into closer relations with it. The industrial world has been made by -scientific discovery, and its prosperity must largely depend on the -spirit of scientific knowledge among the masses of its workers. It -is only by the practical application of such knowledge to industrial -processes that a country can hope to hold its own in the struggle -of national competition. The genius of invention has succeeded in -producing by machinery cheap and serviceable imitations of almost every -necessary of life, hitherto the exclusive product of skilled labor. The -artisan is daily becoming more and more the servant of automatic tools. -Every industry is tending to centralization in a few hands, and from -human to mechanical hands. If the workshop is to compete successfully -with the factory, it must do so by superior taste and finish in that -higher sphere of methodical, technical, rational labor whither the -finest inventions cannot follow in the domain of thought. It is here, -and only here, the laborer can hope to hold his own against the great -power he has himself brought forth. It is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</span> here the means of increased -subsistence must be found. One of the most anxious subjects of public -care is to discover methods by which the masses of the people shall be -able to maintain themselves in a prosperous, decent, and comfortable -condition. In bare, unskilled labor the satisfaction for this want is -not to be found. The Swiss have foreseen that the industrial victory -must be won on the intellectual field, the association of manual work -with technical training and scientific research; and the necessity -for that delicacy of touch and accuracy of eye, that have made their -mechanics in many departments the best in the world, to be further -educated and prepared for supremacy in a field of wider range and more -varied scope. In this way art may regain an influence over manufacture, -which, though not lost, is certainly jeopardized by the introduction -of machinery. The whole tendency of modern trade has been in the -direction of wholesale transactions, which, while favoring the hundred -and the gross, have neglected the piece or the example. We miss in the -manufactures which we turn out the individual touch of the workman, and -we have gained a dead level of uninteresting achievement at the expense -of intelligence, originality, and variety. The demand for old designs -in furniture, or silver or iron work, pushed to undue excess, perhaps, -by the caprice of fashion, is after all a healthy protest against the -monotonous and mindless excellence of the machine-made article. There -is a difference between learning a trade and learning the principles -of a trade. The object is not always to teach the “technic” of an -industry, because that can be done only in the workshop, but it may -be to teach the science and art upon which all technics are really -based. Manual training is of course training to manual labor, which has -been called the “study of the external world.” While in all technical -education the sciences and arts must be illustrated by practical -examples, the main object is to so instruct masters and workmen -that they can pursue their craft with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</span> dignity and intelligence, -without professing to teach the craft itself. The need for technical -instruction arises from the fact that ordinary educational systems are -not fitted to promote the rapid development of trade, manufactures, and -commerce. The education of the industrial classes should bear on their -occupations in life. The life of a laborer is spent in dealing with -things which he has to convert into utilities. In this conversion he -must take the properties inherent to each kind of matter and convert -them into utilities by an intelligent application of forces, which -he may guide but cannot alter. No man can create new properties in -matter or subject it to the action of new forces. When working-men get -a higher life, a life of intelligence and knowledge, they then can -develop improvements in their industries by an economical application -of force, and a wise use of properties in material. Not mere handicraft -skill, with ten fingers disassociated from the head and the heart, -can sustain mechanical industry. Machinery, when rightly understood -and applied, will prove the greatest means of intellectual elevation, -for its very purpose is to substitute the thought of the brain for -the toil of the hand and the sweat of the brow. How excellent the -old Greek poet is when natural forces are made substitutes for human -labor: “Woman!” he exclaims, “you have hitherto had to grind corn, let -your arms rest for the future! It is no longer for you that the birds -announce by their songs the dawn of the morning. Ceres has ordered the -water nymphs to move the mill-stones and perform your labor.” Technical -education is to train the pupils to handiness; to supplement mental -activity with physical dexterity. The object of teaching girls to sew -is not necessarily to train professional dress-makers, but to make -them careful and tidy in their homes. Workshop instruction is not to -make boys carpenters and cabinet-makers, but to enable them to learn -any trade more easily and make them generally handy. It is no small -part of the value of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</span> such training that the workman may be fitted to -render his home more commodious, to arrange a shelf or cupboard, to -repair a broken piece of furniture, or possibly to decorate his humble -home. But whether or not, in after years, the student sees proper to -become or by necessity is driven to a professional use of his technical -knowledge, this is not involved in the idea and system of its pursuit. -Its purpose is that, when he leaves school, he shall carry with him -an education serviceable for any occupation of life; to develop a -dexterity of hand which will prove valuable under any circumstances, -and at the same time furnish him with a means of healthy enjoyment. It -is a simple recognition of the fact that a large number of the children -must be destined to make their living by industrial labor. There is -certainly something in the operation of learning a trade that is akin -to capitalizing. The youth works in the training-school, and he defers -to the future the final results of the process. He lays up wealth, as -it were, by doing that which avails only to give him a larger income -hereafter. It is much as if he put money into the banks. It has always -appeared as though a purely scholastic education makes children averse -to manual labor; that it results too much in every boy and girl leaving -school desirous of engaging in work which is neither manual nor, what -is mistermed, menial. It brings too often to expectant parents the -disappointment experienced by Sir Francis Pedant, in Fielding’s comedy; -that gentleman, it will be remembered, was very angry when he found -that, instead of instilling into his boy at Oxford, as per contract, -“a tolerable knowledge of stock jobbery,” his tutor had fraudulently -crammed him with the works of all the logicians and metaphysicians from -“the great Aristotle down to the learned modern Burgersdicius.” “Have I -been at all this expense,” exclaimed Sir Avarice, piteously, “to breed -a philosopher?”</p> - -<p>As a fundamental rule, it may be accepted that the knowledge<span class="pagenum" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</span> which is -best for use is also best for discipline, since any other supposition, -as Herbert Spencer has shown, would “be utterly contrary to the -beautiful economy of nature, if one kind of culture were needed for -the gaining of information, and another kind were needed as a mental -gymnastic.” The best end of any education is to equip boys and girls -to earn their own living when they grow up, and to perform efficiently -the duties to which they may be called when they reach the estate of -manhood and womanhood; giving them that most valuable of all gifts -on earth—personal independence—the capacity to stand on their own -feet and look the world in the face, to take care of themselves, and -those who belong to them. The question of technical and industrial -education has received much intelligent consideration and very -extensive application in Switzerland. Since 1884 the Confederation, to -encourage the existing technical schools as well as the establishment -of new ones, has been granting annual subsidies, which are becoming -more and more liberal. The Polytechnic at Zurich, to which reference -has been made in the previous chapter, is now well known as a model -school of practical life, with mechanics, physics, and arts under a -thoroughly scientific curriculum. Trade and industrial schools, as -distinguished from polytechnical,—genuine establishments for teaching -homely trades,—have been made a prominent as well as a compulsory -feature in many of the Swiss educational systems. In some form these -are to be found in every Canton, furnishing instruction in one or more -branches of handiwork,—the boys preparing to become skilled workmen -and competent foremen; and many a girl, though an indifferent scholar, -by being taught cutting, needle-work, cooking, nursing, and methodical -habits—accomplishments that bear so closely upon the happiness and -the very existence of home—will enable her to be a useful wife and -good mother. Trade-schools in Switzerland are of ancient origin, -having an<span class="pagenum" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</span> intimate connection with the great impulse which the watch -industry of French Switzerland received in the latter half of the last -century. In the year 1770 a journeyman watchmaker, named Louis Faigare, -applied to Professor Saussure for some information connected with his -trade, which the then means of ordinary public instruction did not -afford to his class. The professor accommodated him, and from this -resulted a series of lectures, or rather <i>conversaziones</i>, held -in the great scientist’s drawing-room. The audience increasing to such -proportions, it was found advisable to secure suitable quarters, and a -club was formally organized under the title of <i>Société des Arts de -Genève</i>. This club, so modest in its inception, has survived all the -mighty political tempests of a troubled age,—the violent annexation -of the Genevese republic to France and its restoration to the Helvetic -union,—and to-day enjoys a high rank among learned societies, and -numbers in its list of members some of the most eminent names of modern -science. This is the parent of the celebrated Horological School in -Geneva, with its branches at Chaux-de-Fonds, Neuchâtel, Biel, Fleurier, -and St. Imier. Pupils are received in these schools when they have -passed their fourteenth year, and the course is from three to four and -one-half years. For the artistic education, there is a special school -devoted entirely to the art of decorating watches, which has become a -very important branch of the industry.</p> - -<p>There is also in Geneva a school of industrial art, the organization -and work of which are substantially the same as the one at Munich, -and the two are considered the best in Europe. This school is under -the direction and administration of the Council of State of the -Canton, which delegates one of its members to act as president of the -commission which administers its affairs. Two classes of students -are admitted, viz., regular scholars, who attend regularly and -continuously either a general course of art study or some particular -branch,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</span> such as carving, bronze founding, goldsmith’s work, etc.; -and special students, apprentices, workmen, and others who arrange -to receive instruction at stated hours. The pupils produce work -which has a commercial value, and objects made in the school are -kept for sale, a part of the money thus received being paid to the -student executing the work. The courses of study embrace modelling -and carving in plaster, stone, and wood; <i>repoussé</i> work in -metals; painting in water-color, in enamel, and on china; casting and -chasing of bronze and the precious metals; work in wrought iron and -engraving, besides the regular work of drawing-schools in general, -such as drawing from the cast, from plants and flowers, and from the -living model. The school occupies a very fine and spacious building, -erected a few years ago at a cost of about $160,000, and is furnished -with very admirable and adequate appliances, not only for study but -for the execution of art-work on a considerable scale. The pupils are -of both sexes, and there is no distinction of or separation between -them in the organization of the classes. The discipline of the school -is very strict, the time of each pupil coming in and going out being -carefully noted, and the utmost regularity of attendance, during the -hours covered by his course, being required of each pupil. All the -regular pupils are also required to attend the evening schools of the -city. Encouragement and recognition of ability and application are made -in the form of prizes, which are awarded by means of competition or -<i>concours</i> held at different times, and on such subjects as are -announced from time to time. The methods of study and discipline are -all sensible and practical.</p> - -<p>More humble in their first stages, but scarcely inferior as to -practical results, are the Swiss straw-platting schools. These have -succeeded, in a few years, in developing a veritable new industry, -commanding markets in the utmost corners of the earth. Some of the -poorest portions of the sub-Alpine districts<span class="pagenum" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</span> have become well-to-do -and flourishing, and at least one little hamlet, not to be found in -the guide-books a few years ago, is now from this trade a thrifty -town of some ten thousand inhabitants. The higher instruction in this -particular industry extends to the cultivation and acclimatization -of various kinds of foreign grasses, furnishing from the coarsest to -the finest qualities of straw. In the mountain districts there are -schools for teaching the manufacture of children’s toys, for which the -Swiss pine is admirably adapted. Then, in those sections where osiers -(a species of willow) can be cultivated, establishments for learning -basket-making have been started. In Zurich there is a “Dressmakers’ -Institute,” from which annually “graduate” thirty to forty -<i>Couturières Parisiennes</i>. At Winterthur there is a shoemakers’ -school, with a peripatetic staff of professors who give lessons -wherever a class may be formed. This school also issues publications -relating to its aims, one of the latest being quite an exhaustive and -scientific treatise on the structure of the human foot, and giving -the technical side of the new government regulations concerning the -manufacture of army boots and shoes.</p> - -<p>Other handicrafts have followed the example set by the shoemakers. The -joiners, cabinet-makers, silk-weavers, jewellers, and even to umbrellas -and parasols, each have their cheap and, in many cases, free-training -schools. The knit goods of Switzerland, so largely imported to the -United States, do not owe their introduction to cheap Swiss labor, but -simply to their superior quality, the result of the excellent training -all girls obtain at school; knitting being regarded as an indispensable -acquirement. Drawing, industrial as distinguished from artistic, is -taught in all Swiss schools; not as an accomplishment, but as of -paramount utility. It is considered that “drawing” lies at the bottom -of all industrial training, enabling one to delineate with precision -that which he wishes to express better than he can do it with the -language of the pen.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</span> In his “Proposed Hints for an Academy,” Benjamin -Franklin classed “drawing” with the three “R’s” as subjects necessary -for all. It ranks with them because it is the language of form in every -branch of industry from the most simple to the complex. It makes the -workman more exact, more efficient, and more careful; it is always -convenient and often very useful. A trade which, either by law or -immemorial usage, is assumed to require a more exacting apprenticeship -is wood-carving; a Swiss product that enjoys world-wide reputation, -and has long been a source of considerable revenue to the country. -The schools for wood-carving have a fully organized faculty, and the -word faculty is used advisedly, for the classes have an almost amusing -resemblance to an academic course. There are lectures with manipulatory -demonstrations in the use of the plane, saw, lathe, and all needed -tools, and also on the distinctive characteristics of various woods. -A school for ornamental work and design in wood-carving at Brienz is -supported by the Canton; and at Interlaken the wood-workers enjoy, -free of charge, the services of a “Master Modeller,” furnished by the -Canton. There are separate schools for the study of wood-engraving, -sculpture, and art cabinet-making. The agricultural and forestry -departments of the Polytechnic, in its “technology,” as signifying -science applied to industrial arts, has advanced these interests to -positions that otherwise could never have been attained. Switzerland -in physical respects is not a bountiful motherland, neither the -climate nor soil is good for agriculture, yet it is surprising what -good results are obtained through the general diffusion among the -agricultural class of much technical information, susceptible of easy -apprehension and ready application. Swiss agriculture, to make any -return, cannot be a mechanical routine, but must be intelligent if not -scientific.</p> - -<p>What is known as practical farming would not return the seed and labor -involved. As an intelligently and scientifically-directed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</span> industry, -it has assumed a prosperous and profitable condition. The agricultural -course in the Polytechnic is thorough and comprehensive. It covers -the mechanical and chemical composition of the soil; the scientific -basis as to the rotation of crops; the periods of growth at which -plants take their nitrogen; how draining improves land; and many other -similar matters varied in their application, but ruled by fixed laws, -and which must be learned outside the daily experience and observation -of farm-life. In the single crop of grass, which is of such great -value in its relation to the extensive Swiss dairy interest, in its -cultivation, grazing, and harvesting, the suggestions and counsel -emanating from the agricultural department of the Polytechnic have -been of incalculable value. The amount of this crop, from a cold and -barren soil, and the uses to which it is turned would seem incredible -to the American farmer. The Swiss farmer, to accomplish so much, -must know something of the chemical analysis of the grass, both in -the natural and dried state; the feeding value of like weight in the -different varieties, in an equally moist or dry condition; the final -stage of growth which they ought to be allowed to attain; suitability -for permanent or other pastures; the adaptability of grasses for -certain soil; their duration, ability to resist drouth, and strength -to over-power weeds. Then come questions of hay-making, ensilage, -the management of old and new grass-lands; on these and many others -the peasant is enlightened and constantly advised, not only by the -Polytechnic but from cantonal agricultural schools at Rütte (Bern), -Strickhof (Zurich), Sursee (Luzern), and at Brugg (Aargau). There is -an institution for experimental vine growing at Lausanne; a school of -gardening at Geneva; and dairy schools at Sornthal (St. Gallen), and -Trayveaux (Freiburg). From time to time lectures and short courses of -instruction are given in different parts of the country on horticulture -and vineculture, fodder-growing, cattle-breeding, by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</span> which some -knowledge of the theory and technical details of agricultural science -is given, with the view of awakening a spirit of enterprise in the more -remote districts of the country. Forest culture and forest preservation -may be considered a necessity in Switzerland, for its influence in -checking the sudden and disastrous floods so common in the mountain -streams, and in the protection and maintenance of the steep hill-sides -which constitute so large a portion of the agricultural area of the -country. While riparian trees are gross water-users, and usually -deciduous, such as the sycamores, alders, willows, cottonwoods, etc., -upon the mountains the trees are of a different class, and their effect -is without known exception beneficial to irrigators and water-users in -the valleys below. The denudation of mountain districts is followed -by increased torrent or flood action and diminished regular flow in -springs and streams, often by the entire desiccation of these. There -is a department in the Polytechnic devoted to forestry, from which is -supplied a large body of thoroughly educated foresters, who find ready -employment under the federal and cantonal forest departments.<a id="FNanchor_75" href="#Footnote_75" class="fnanchor">75</a> The -course of study is of the most advanced character, and requires three -years for its completion. There are, besides, many local and primary -forest schools, having spring and autumn terms of three to four weeks -each, and they are assisted by federal subsidy. By a federal law of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</span> -1885, there was added to the forest department of the Polytechnic, a -school for forest experiment connected with meteorological stations, -thereby supplementing this already excellent school with the means of -accurate, scientific, and regular meteorological observations, in their -close and important alliance with matters of forest culture.</p> - -<p>It is under the supervision of these educated foresters and trained -wood-rangers that, on the mountain-side, apparently but a forbidding -rock, by constant, careful, and scientific attention, are found -oak-, beech-, birch-, and pine-trees in large quantities and of good -dimensions. Each tree is carefully looked after and preserved, and -trained so that they shall not interfere with each other; each has its -fair share of space and light. In this work nature and man’s labor and -thought give to the forest an abundance of moisture, and between the -frequent storms and showers, abundant floods of sunlight and warmth. -It is this intelligent care and attention that enables a tree to take -root and grow to its normal size on what is apparently little more -than towering and weird piles of sheer rocks. The vast treeless West -and the reckless wasteful deforesting of American woodlands will soon -render forest culture and protection a necessity in the United States. -Never was a country so lavishly supplied with forest flora of all the -qualities in all gradations. No country ever used its wood materials -so lavishly; squandering a wealth of timbers before its true value was -known. It is time to husband the remnant with more intelligence and -to stop its wasteful destruction. Why should sylviculture not present -an inviting field for business enterprise, or be quite as fascinating -to watch the development of a collection of trees as that of a herd -or flock? Our landholders, who are accustomed to garner crops in a -hundred days from planting, have a natural shrinking from a seed which -may not mature a crop in a hundred years. But it can be shown that -growing wood on waste-lands enhances<span class="pagenum" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</span> the value of the remainder of -the farm by more than the planting and care have cost; and that the -first instalment of a forest-crop is not so remote as is generally -believed. The best varieties of wood can be grown as easily as the -poorest, and the demand for certain forest products is rapidly becoming -more urgent. The tree-growth enriches rather than impoverishes the -ground. Forestry not only beautifies the farm, but between woodland -and plough-land is established that balance which must be preserved -to insure the most equitable distribution of moisture and climatic -conditions most favorable to the productiveness of the soil and the -better health of the people. Almost every Commune in Switzerland has -its <i>realschule</i>, where children from the primary school have the -opportunity of a higher education, specially adapted to fit them for -commercial and industrial life. These schools take the place of the old -and now practically extinct system of apprenticeship. The handiwork -and technical schools embrace instruction in drawing, modelling, -practical reckoning, elements of geometry (especially surface and -body measurements), book-keeping in French and German, physics, -chemistry, and technological branches, ceramics, and <i>aquarelle</i>. -The schools for girls include singing, drawing, fancy or handiwork, -letter-writing, book-keeping, casting accounts, sewing by hand and -machine, dress-making (pressing, cutting, and trimming), besides a -knowledge of different kinds of wares, how to tend plants and flowers, -and even the art of treating the sick and wounded. From these schools -all have access to the Polytechnic, where each professor is an -acknowledged authority in the branch of service with which he deals. In -all the higher schools and universities every encouragement is given to -students to qualify themselves for technical pursuits. The secret of -Switzerland’s material success lies in the liberality of its conception -of public education. Its primary schools are graded with good secondary -schools for scientific education,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</span> and these lead to remarkable -technical institutions with great completeness of organization. If -any country appears by nature unfit for manufactures it is surely -Switzerland. Cut off from the rest of Europe by frowning mountains, -having no sea-coast and removed therefore from all the fruits of -maritime enterprise, having no coal or other sources of mineral wealth, -Switzerland might have degenerated into a brave semi-civilized nation -like Montenegro. Instead of this it proudly competes with all Europe -and America in industries for which it has to purchase from them the -raw materials and even the coal, the source of power necessary to -convert them into utilities. Other countries have become sensible of -the superiority which skilled education can confer, and they have not -been slow to take advantage of it. The United States are justly proud -of their common-school systems as they exist in the several States. -They have done a great deal for public education, and are progressing -by their own force and by the general sympathy of the community. Mr. -Edward Atkinson, in summing up the elements that have contributed to -the vast gain in the conditions of material welfare in the United -States, names seven, and assigns the third position in importance to -the “systems of common schools which are now extending throughout the -land.” The tendency to be guarded against is that in education as -applied to the whole mass of the people, what is desirable and charming -and decorative be not put before what is absolutely useful; not to take -the garnish first and leave the solid meat to take care of itself. -When it comes to deal with the large masses of the community who must -work, and to whom it is, so to speak, a matter of life and death, the -question to be considered is whether they shall work well prepared -with the utmost assistance which the accumulated knowledge and skill -of the community can give them, or whether each man shall be left to -fight his own way and learn his own industry for himself. The country -wants more handicraftsmen,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</span> the school produces too many scriveners. -The country is crying out for skilled laborers, and the school sends it -clerks or would-be gentlemen of leisure. The farmers and working men -want wives who can make a home neat and happy, and who understand the -wise economy of limited resources, and the school sends them women fit -only to be governesses. The system of education in the United States -sends too many boys into trading, teaching, the professions, or “living -by their wits.” They imbibe a spirit that shuns what are termed the -“humble callings,” and crowd, at starvation wages, the occupations of -the counter and desk. They grow up to feel and believe that the bread -which has been gained by the sweat of the brow is less honorably earned -than that which is the product of mechanical quill-driving. Therefore -the United States have a plethora of men who, as described by President -Garfield, are “learned so-called, who know the whole gamut of classical -learning, who have sounded the depths of mathematical and speculative -philosophy, and yet who could not harness a horse or make out a bill -of sale, if their lives depended upon it.” There is need of a public -education that, while it gives to the mind fleet and safe modes of -reasoning, shall at the same time, in a corresponding degree, develop a -clear sight, a firm arm, and a training suitable for the various trades -and occupations which are essential elements of a prosperous national -life. The utility of such acquirements is not their chief virtue; it -is their permanence in the mental armory, for eyes and hands not only -respond to cultivation as readily as brains, but the trained eye and -skilled hand do not slough off their acquirements like the weary brain. -All through the United States scientifically and technically trained -foreigners, fresh from their “<i>realschulen</i>,” are pushing out -classically-educated young men from their desks and stools and taking -the places of profit which belong to them by national inheritance. -American spirit, capacity, and energy are unrivalled,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</span> and require only -an equal training and opportunity to insure an earnest of unbounded -success in establishing and maintaining the future eminence of the -country in the world’s great field of human art and human industry.</p> - -<p>The question of manual and industrial instruction is not confined in -its interest only to those connected with the organization of schools -and systems of education, as bearing entirely on the development -and activity of the whole circle of intellectual faculties, but it -relates to a deep and far-reaching political problem that thoughtful -statesmen contemplate with serious concern. Might not the spirit of -cheerful domestic industry, which the extension of educated handiwork -is calculated to promote, do much to correct the evils of intemperance, -violence, and social discontent which are assuming such alarming -symptoms? The moral influence it exerts might produce a revolution for -the better and a well-ordered commonwealth of labor. The habits of -order, exactness, and perseverance fostered by manual training have an -incalculable moral value. The ranks of the unemployed and misery and -crime are largely recruited from the ranks of youth who are without any -adequate training to earn an honest livelihood. With a more general -dissemination of the rudiments of useful trades and employments there -would be secured a larger share to productive labor,—for it would put -brains into it and make it alike more honorable and profitable. It -would tend to remove whatever disadvantage has heretofore attached to -industrial occupations on grounds of dignity and the niceties of the -social scale. When young America is trained for mechanical pursuits -under the same roof and amid the same surroundings as he is trained for -preaching and pleading, when he is made to feel at school that the same -distinction is to be earned by skilful doing as by skilful dosing, the -necessity for all the more or less sincere, but very wordy, extolling -of the dignity of labor, which employs so much of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</span> our energy at -present, will be removed. And when the mechanic has acquired industrial -skill, not at the expense of his mental training, but along with it -and as a necessary part of it, the crafts themselves will assume the -old dignity and importance which once they had, but which they have -lost in these days of false and foolish artificial standards by which -men measure each other. The units or grains of society are continually -moving to and fro between the scum and the dregs, from capital to labor -and labor to capital, from wealth to poverty and poverty to wealth. But -rich and poor, professional and artisan alike, have a common interest -in strengthening the bulwarks against the dangers that menace honest -society,—against nihilism, socialism, communism, and all kinds of -vagabondage. Educated industry is the talisman. The strength of the -republican pyramid is in its base, and it is in the lower social layer -that the true character of a country’s need in common-school education -must be looked for. A Nihilist lecturer recently stated that there are -four hundred schools in Europe whose sole work is to teach the use -of explosives. If the Old World is thus diligently sowing the seeds -of discontent and rebellion, scattering some of them on our own too -prolific soil, teaching that to brute-force alone can humanity look for -the redress of its wrongs, how much more necessary it becomes to show -the world that not in killing each other, but in helping each other -to live, is the only possible solution of social difficulties. Unless -the school can teach respect for labor, it will never be learned, and -unless it is learned, and learned practically, the upheavals which of -late years have disturbed society will grow in frequency and violence. -Pericles, the great Athenian, describing the glory of the community of -which he was so illustrious a member, said, “We, of Athens, are lovers -of the beautiful, yet simple in our tastes; we cultivate the mind -without loss of manliness.” But Athenian society rested on slavery, -and the drudgery was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</span> performed by those who had no share in the good -things which the citizens could enjoy. Our object should be to bring -Periclean ideas of beauty, simplicity, and cultivation of mind within -reach of those who do the hard work of the world. It can be done, -and should be done, in a way to advance the skill and develop to the -highest form of practical energy the skill of our handicraftsman and -the manliness of his life; giving him an education that will enlarge -his mind, improve his morals, instruct his industry, and thereby -advance the power, the prosperity, and the peace of the State. The -future will, practically speaking, belong to the technically educated, -for no amount of natural “smartness” can compete with education in -particularities. Raw material, forming a capital advantage, has been -gradually equalized in price and made available to all by improvements -in locomotion; and henceforth industry must be sustained, not by a -competition of local and popularly designated “natural advantages,” but -by the inexorable competition of intellect in all of its manifold and -overpowering evolution. If a country would not be left behind in the -race, if it desires to find any satisfactory solution for the deepest -and most inscrutable problem of the time, if it wishes a complex and -high civilization, to be maintained secure from all the dangers which -the presence of unprosperous and unfed millions must bring upon a -country, it should do its utmost to give a healthy and wide development -to the industrial education of the masses; such systematic instruction -as shall enable them to carry to the factory, to the laboratory, -to the quarry, to the mine, to the farm, that scientific knowledge -which is required to deduce practice from theory, to give dignity as -well as efficiency to labor, and to connect abstract principles with -the industrial pursuits of life; in a word, to provide an education -which will develop for each man and woman the faculties that nature -has given in such a manner that they may be as active and profitable -and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</span> prosperous members of the community as possible; an education -beautiful by its adaptment, subservient by its use, and salutary by -its application; an education that teaches in what way to utilize -those sources of happiness which nature supplies, and how to use all -the faculties to the greatest advantage of ourselves and others; an -education that heeds the advice of Professor James Blake: “Let us -head-train the hand-worker and hand-train the head-worker. For manual -and head-training together form the only education. Apart from the -practical advantages, it has an ethical value in enabling men and women -to use all their faculties, for no man can distort himself by exclusive -attention to one order of faculties, and especially by neglecting to -keep good balance between the two fundamental co-ordinates of his -being, body and mind, without finding the distortion repeating itself -in moral obtuseness and disorder.”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.<br> -<span class="small"> - -INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE.</span></h2></div> - - -<p>It is a popular mistake that Switzerland, industrially, occupies -a stagnant condition in the scale of nations, and exists for -picturesqueness alone. It is equally a mistake to think that its main -staples are wood-carving and hotel-keeping. The circumstances which -so long prohibited any advance in commerce and agriculture are to be -found in the peculiarities of the physical character of the country -and the absence of capital. Switzerland had no sources of mineral nor, -under the conditions of former times, of agricultural wealth. It could -not maintain a large population on its own resources; nor could it -have cities, the inhabitants of which, either like those of Flanders, -by the easy terms upon which they might get the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</span> raw materials, could -have manufactured for others; or like those of Venice, Genoa, and of -the cities of Holland, might have become common carriers. They could -have had no commerce, except with their surplus cheese. The amount -of this that could be spared was so small, and the transportation so -difficult, that but little could be made of it, and the whole of this -little was wanted for the necessaries of life,—such as the useful -metals, etc.,—which the Swiss were obliged to procure from abroad. -There was no margin for saving, and so there could be no accumulations -of capital. For long ages the most assiduous industry could supply -the Swiss with only the necessaries of life, and barely with them, -even when aided by the surplus cheese. Agriculturists in a rude way, -they lived on the land which supported them and their families, -and feeling no further pressing need, their untrained intelligence -could form no conception of the advantages of the social union and -commercial interdependence of a more civilized state of society. This -condition no longer exists. By the aid of new means of transportation -and communication, and by the substitution of machinery for manual -labor, the motive power for which nature furnishes in abundance, the -people are becoming prosperous and capital is accumulating. For many -ages the poorest country in Europe, it is rapidly progressing towards -becoming, in proportion to the amount of its population, one of the -richest. The position taken to-day by Switzerland in the trade and -commerce of the world is remarkable, when the various natural obstacles -are considered,—such as absence of raw material for its industries, -great distance from the sea-coast, with costly and difficult means of -transportation, and restrictive customs established by neighboring -countries. It does not possess a single coal-mine, canal, or navigable -stream. It is practically dependent for all its metals on foreign -supply. Asphalt is the only raw mineral product the export of which -exceeds the import, and this is found only in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</span> Canton of Neuchâtel, -where the output is very large and of a superior quality. Inland, -without ships or seaport, and therefore deprived of the advantages -of direct exportation and importation, its commerce must be effected -through the four conterminous countries of France, Germany, Austria, -and Italy. Therefore, while every mart in the world is familiar with -its manufactures, it is almost ignored in the commercial statistics -of nations. The high protective policy so universally adopted by the -neighboring countries, where for a long time the best markets for -Swiss goods were found, has forced the Swiss manufacturers to extend -their trade to transmarine markets, involving not only a vast amount -of competition, but far more risk and uncertainty attending sales -than in doing business in markets nearer home. Then four-fifths of -the Swiss exports to countries other than the contiguous ones consist -of silk goods, embroideries, and watches, which may be classed, in -a general sense, as luxuries; and, in seeking a foreign market, -encounter the highest duty. On the other hand, its importations are -cotton, machinery, cereals, food-supply, and raw materials for its -manufacturers,—that will not admit of a corresponding heavy import -duty. The remedy heretofore partially found in special commercial -treaties has become almost futile by the rapid blocking of the -provisions of the “most favored nation” clauses. These have practically -lost their purpose and force by each party to the treaty persisting -in the enlargement and accentuation of its own customs provisions. In -an address recently delivered by the President of the Confederation, -at a national agricultural exposition, referring to the depression -of that industry, he said: “The political existence of Switzerland -is at present not threatened or endangered from any quarter, but it -is different with its economical existence, which causes us from day -to day increased solicitude on account of the increase of unjust -burdens imposed at all our neighboring frontiers. The first to feel -this condition were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</span> our manufacturers, who demanded a tariff of -retaliation, and now the farmers complain that they are suffering from -a denial of the same protection. Indeed, we are to-day the witnesses -of an eager race in the parliaments of many countries to raise the -duties on importations from their neighboring states until the wall -is so high that nothing can pass. Is this to be the grand coronation -of the labor and civilization of the nineteenth century,—the century -of steam, electricity, the piercing of the St. Gothard, the Suez and -Panama canals? No! Such a condition cannot endure. Let me express the -hope that the time will come when, from the excess of the evil, good -will result; that the people will realize that such a condition leads -to general poverty, while liberty of exchange is the surest foundation -of general prosperity.”</p> - -<p>With these great natural and artificial obstacles to contend with, -Switzerland is nevertheless a commercial and manufacturing state. Its -industries are prosperous and show a constantly-increasing vitality -and importance, and its citizens are growing rich and famous in the -commerce of Europe. Its silks, ribbons, embroideries, braided straws, -watches, and cheese go to every quarter of the globe. There is no -state in Europe in which there is so great a general trade per head of -population. The commerce of Italy, with a population nearly ten times -greater, is only about double that of Switzerland; and the difference -between Austrian and Swiss commerce is even still more remarkable. The -silk industry is the oldest in Switzerland, being already established -at Zurich and Basel in the latter half of the thirteenth century. -Ticino is the only Canton where there are filatures for reeling the -cocoon into silk. Italy, China, and Japan are the great sources -of supply of raw materials to the silk manufacturers,—the former -supplying nearly four-fifths of all the organzines; of the raw silk, -the supply comes largely from Yokohama. Cotton began to be manufactured -in Switzerland in the fifteenth century, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</span> power-loom weaving was -introduced in 1830. Twisting, spinning and white-goods weaving, and -cotton printing are of very considerable importance. Embroidered goods -have attained a great development, and furnish a heavy export trade -from eastern Switzerland, especially in the Cantons of St. Gallen and -Appenzell. Little of this beautiful work is now done by hand, machinery -having reached marvellous perfection. Aniline colors, the wonderful -dyes which the skill of modern chemists has evolved from bituminous -tar, and the manufacture of flavoring extracts, from the products of -coal-tar and petroleum, constitute a thriving export business at Basel. -Watchmaking is essentially a Swiss industry, and has been the most -important industry in Geneva since 1587, and by a combination with -jewellers, making a union between mechanical industry and art, has -given Geneva a world-wide reputation.<a id="FNanchor_76" href="#Footnote_76" class="fnanchor">76</a> Watchmaking is done entirely -by piece-work, and sixty master workmen are required to make a single -watch. The work is divided among so many different persons, each one -of whom makes a specialty of one particular piece, and spends his -life making duplicates of this. The work is performed in the people’s -houses, the fronts of which present an uninterrupted row of windows -arranged without intermediate spaces, as the object is to admit all the -light possible. Every member of the family assists in some way. When -the house is put to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</span> rights, the wife drags a table to the window, gets -out her magnifying-glass, and goes to work on a watch-spring.<a id="FNanchor_77" href="#Footnote_77" class="fnanchor">77</a> If -there be a son or daughter, each produces his quota. These different -parts, when gathered up by the watch merchant, are found to fit each -its special place with mathematical niceness.</p> - -<p>The Swiss federal custom-house returns classify all imports and exports -under three chief heads, viz., “live-stock,” “<i>ad valorem</i> goods,” -and “goods taxed per quintal.” No returns are published of the value -of either the imports or exports, but only the quantities are given. -The principal imports are grain and flour, cattle for slaughter, sugar, -coffee, fruit, poultry, eggs, and wine; all being articles of food. -Of textile stuffs, silk, cotton, and woollen. Other articles include -chemicals for industrial purposes, leather and leather goods, hosiery -and ready-made clothes, iron and iron ware, live animals, coal and -coke, other metals and hardware, including machinery, wood, furniture, -petroleum, gold and silver bullion for coinage. Cattle, horses, wheat, -and flour are imported from Austria-Hungary; raw cotton from the -United States and Egypt; manufactured cotton goods from England; wool -chiefly from Germany; coal from the Rhine districts of Germany. The -principal exports are: textile products, watches and jewelry, cheese -and condensed milk, wine and beer, machinery, cattle, hides and skins, -dye-stuffs, furniture and wood carvings. The Swiss tradesmen are shrewd -in their bargains, honest in their reckonings, contented with small -gains and small savings. They are the Scotch of continental Europe.</p> - -<p>In Switzerland we find the primitive husbandry of the mountain -flourishing side by side with modern industrial commercial enterprise. -Of much Swiss agriculture it is still true,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</span> “<i>pater ipse colendi -haud facilem esse viam voluit</i>.” The minute division of the land -and the cheapness of labor do not justify the general use of modern -labor-saving agricultural implements. For cutting, threshing, and -winnowing purposes the scythe, flail, and winnowing-basket are used. -The scythe is apparently an exact counterpart of that which is seen in -the hands of “Time” in the school primer. The plough would adorn an -archæological collection; requiring four horses and three men to work -it, and cutting only one furrow. Instead of the harrow or cultivator, -a number of women and children, armed with clubs, go over the ground -after it is ploughed, and pulverize the surface. Swiss soil is but -little desecrated by the “devil-driven machinery of modern times;” and -the Swiss farmer has been equally faithful in regarding the first and -disregarding the second advice given in the distich of Pope,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Be not the first by whom the new are tried,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Nor yet the last to lay the old aside.”<a id="FNanchor_78" href="#Footnote_78" class="fnanchor">78</a></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The peasant farmer must needs apply a high order of management and -economy. This economy must be discerning, and he cannot take readily to -new ideas that do not assure him a better result for his hard-earned -money. This close farming yields very fair results to the small owners, -who, with their sons and daughters, have an interest in the soil and -a taste for the business. However, each change in the way of modern -improvement in its turn is fighting for establishment. The old methods -have prescription, tradition, custom to support them; the new, utility -and necessity. In the early stage, what was needed for each Swiss -peasant farmer was a little bit of land, a cow or two, a spade, a -manure basket, and a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</span> wife to carry it. This was the caterpillar stage. -They are very gradually passing into the butterfly stage. They are -beginning to evolve the capacity for collecting and turning to account -capital, the distilled essence of all property without which the land -cannot be made much of now. Life to-day does not require the tough -hide, the strong sinews, the gross stomach, the adstriction to a single -spot of the old life; on the contrary, a vastly enlarged mobility, both -of body and mind, a readiness for turning anything to account, and for -entering on any opening have become necessary. If what is wanted and -needed cannot be found at home, be willing and disposed to go seek it -elsewhere.</p> - -<p>Owing to great difference in elevation of the surface, there is much -diversity in the production of Switzerland. In the valleys the summer -heat is tropical, while the surrounding heights are robed in perpetual -snow. “From the lowest level on the southern slope of the Alps, say -about six hundred and fifty feet, where the lemon, the almond, and -the fig ripen in the open air, and thence ascend to an elevation of -nine thousand five hundred feet, where every vestige even of the most -primitive artificial cultivation ceases, we might trace nearly every -species of vegetable growth known in Europe.”<a id="FNanchor_79" href="#Footnote_79" class="fnanchor">79</a></p> - -<p>Cereals are grown up to three thousand six hundred feet; rye -succeeds up to five thousand nine hundred feet in the Grisons, and -to six thousand five hundred feet on the sunny slopes of Monte Rosa -and Pontresina. Irrespective of exceptional cases we may say that -cultivation ceases at three thousand nine hundred and fifty feet, -and above this height all forms of vegetation are small and poor, -consisting of low scrubs, stunted firs, and mournful larches. As a -general rule, vegetation reaches a higher point in eastern and southern -Switzerland than in the northwest. It is therefore not the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</span> absolute -height which determines the boundary of the growth of plants so much as -the disposition and form of the mountains and valleys. Another point -affecting materially the whole phytological covering of a country -is the nature of the geological formation on which the plants grow. -One-half of the country lies above the region of agriculture. The total -area of land under cultivation in Switzerland is, in figures, 5,378,122 -acres; of which, 1,715,781 acres, or 31.9 per cent., are meadow land, -and 1,962,656 acres, or 36.5 per cent., are pasturage. The arable land -covers an area of 1,533,093 acres, or 28.5 per cent., of the whole; -vineyards 87,714 acres, or 1.6 per cent.; while the ground devoted -entirely to gardening purposes may be estimated at about 78,870 acres, -or 1.5 per cent. The area of cultivated land is steadily diminishing, -as the meadows prove more remunerative. Good arable land, being so -limited, commands a very high price, from $300 per acre to $1500 -and $2000 per acre for choice vineyard lands. About one-half of the -arable land is sown in grain; the remainder being used for potatoes, -turnips, green maize, clover, vetch, etc. Both the federal and cantonal -governments have shown an active interest in fostering and promoting -the agricultural prosperity of the country; and an agricultural bureau -is attached to one of the federal departments at Bern. The cultivation -of the grape is closely identified with Swiss agricultural interests, -and with few exceptions the hill-sides on the Lake of Geneva have been -since the earliest periods of history planted with the generous vine. -There exist records to prove that some of these vineyards have been -bearing uninterruptedly for five hundred years. The reader will readily -suppose that the materials have been often renewed. One above another -these vineyards extend along the lake to the height of two thousand -feet. They are formed with persevering industry upon these precipitous -slopes by means of parallel walls, whose narrow intervals are filled -with earth<span class="pagenum" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</span> that has been carried up by the peasants in baskets upon -their backs from below; and in the same way they must every season be -abundantly covered with manure. These successive terraces are reached -by steps frequently cut with infinite labor in the hard rock, and -with every economy of the land. Every inch of the ground is valuable, -because only on the side of certain hills will these vines come to -perfection. These lands, after being purchased at so high a rate, need -constant attention; for the soil is washed away from these steeps -beneath the stone walls, and must be replaced every spring; every clod -of earth is a great treasure, and they carefully collect the earth -which has been thrown out of a ditch to fill up their vineyard patches. -A square foot of land is reckoned to produce two bottles of wine -annually. Every portion of a vine is used; the stems and leaves serving -as food for the cattle; the husks, after being pressed and wedged into -round moulds, then dried, are used for fuel, burning something as -peat does. In many houses of this section the cellars are enormously -large, with a capacity as high as a million bottles each; and they are -often used as the common sitting- and reception-room.<a id="FNanchor_80" href="#Footnote_80" class="fnanchor">80</a> Vineyards -also flourish on the slopes surrounding the lakes of Neuchâtel, Biel, -and Zurich; in the valleys of the larger rivers and certain plains of -northern Switzerland they are found to a small extent. Still, the wine -produced is not sufficient for the demand, and over 15,000,000 gallons -are annually imported; in this consumption the great number of tourists -who come every season must be taken into account.</p> - -<p>Growing grass and fodder, cattle-breeding, and cheese-making are the -most important branches of Swiss agriculture.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</span> For ages the forest -Cantons had little tillable land reclaimed, and from difficulty of -communication with the outside world the people were thrown almost -entirely upon their own scanty local resources. With hardly any -means of getting supplies from without, with very little land for -cultivating cereals, and in the days before maize and potatoes, their -chief reliance was upon their cows. It is very much so even at this -day, but in those days the reliance was all but unqualified. Their -cows supplied them not only with a great part of their food, but -also, through the surplus cheese, with tools, and everything else -they were incapable of producing themselves, from the singularly -limited resources of their secluded valleys. The Switzer was then the -parasite of the cow. There were no ways in which money could be made; -there were no manufactures and no travellers; and so there were no -inn-keepers to supply travellers, nor shop-keepers to supply the wants -of operatives, manufacturers, and travellers; and there were none who -had been educated up to the point that would enable them to go abroad -to make money with which they might return to their old home. If the -general population had not had the means of keeping cows, they would -not have had the means for livelihood. The problem therefore for them -to solve was,—how was every family to be enabled to keep cows? The -solution was found in the <i>Allmends</i>,—lands held and used in -common. The natural summer pastures were common, and every burgher -had the right to keep as many cows upon them in the summer as he had -himself kept during the previous winter with the hay he had made from -his labor-created and labor-maintained patch of cultivated ground, or, -as it was called, prairies; or, if as yet he had no prairies, with the -dried leaves and coarse stuff he had been able to collect from the -common forest. This system was both necessary and fair. It originated -in the nature of the country, and its then economical condition, and -in turn it created the Swiss life and character. Every one<span class="pagenum" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</span> knows La -Fontaine’s story of Perrette going to the market to buy eggs; the -eggs are hatched into chickens, the chickens produce a pig and then a -calf, and the calf becomes a cow. This dream of Perrette’s is daily -realized by the Swiss peasant farmer. He picks up grass and manure -along the road; he raises rabbits, and with the money they bring he -buys first a goat, then a pig, next a calf, by which he gets a cow -producing calves in her turn. Milk is the great thing desired by the -pastoral people, and not to possess a milk-giving animal is esteemed -such a misfortune that, as a little solace to the poor, cream is in -certain places regularly distributed to them on the third Sunday in -August. Switzerland varies, through a decennial period, from thirty -to thirty-five head of horned cattle to every hundred inhabitants, -yet it actually imports butter and cattle. It consumes more animal -food than the contiguous countries, viz., twenty-two kilos. of meat, -twelve kilos. of cheese, five of butter, and one hundred and eighty-two -of milk per head per annum. To the Swiss may be applied the words of -Cæsar as to the ancient Britons: “<i>Lacte et carne vivunt</i>.” The -country is well adapted for the keeping and breeding of cattle, being -favored with good grass, water, and air. Large sums are expended by the -various cantonal governments upon schemes for the improvement of the -breed of cattle and for the facilitation of their transport from the -place of production to the market. The cattle for milking, draught, -and fattening are not kept and treated separately with a single object -only being kept in view; the Swiss cow is expected to unite all these -qualities at one time within herself. It is believed that a cow is -positively benefited by being put to the plough, especially if the -work be done in the morning; and few bullocks, but many cows, are -frequently seen serving various draught purposes, not with the yoke, -but with harness similar to that used for the horse. A cow which, at -the time of calving, fails to give eighteen litres (litre = .88 quart) -of milk is not considered of any value. A<span class="pagenum" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</span> fair average for the Swiss -cow is ten quarts of milk per day the milking year through, and five -thousand three hundred and fifteen pounds of milk per cow is an annual -average yield for the milking season of nine months. In England the -famous short-horned cows furnish only an average of four thousand -six hundred and eighty-eight pounds, and the highest average of milk -received at the best dairies of the State of New York reaches a little -over four thousand pounds, making a difference in favor of Swiss cows -of over thirteen hundred pounds. The federal government makes an annual -appropriation for the improvement of cattle, and in the distribution -of the subsidy confines itself to those Cantons where cattle-breeding -receives local assistance and encouragement. All subsidies are made -subject to various conditions to secure the fullest benefit therefrom. -These require an annual examination of all breeding-bulls to be held -at a district show; prize bulls must be used in the Canton for at -least one year after the awarding of the prize; breeding-bulls must be -registered, and none unregistered may be so used; prize cows must also -remain a certain time in the Commune, and must not leave the Canton -before calving. The Swiss have superior breeds of cattle for yield of -milk, aptitude for fattening, and capability of working, as well as -handsome in appearance. From reports made by United States consuls, -the two best-known and highly-prized breeds of cattle appear to be the -parti-colored and the brown; the difference prevailing in each being, -mainly, in point of size and greater or less degree of fineness. The -parti-colored breed is seen at its best in the valleys of the Simme, -Saane, and Kander, in the Gruyère and Bulle districts, and generally -over the western and northern parts of Switzerland. They are large, and -among the heaviest cattle in Europe; their ground color is white, and -it is marked with dun, reddish-yellow, or black; the milk from these -cows is admirably adapted for making cheese and butter. Some of the -most famous cheeses known to the market are from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</span> the milk of these -“fleck” or spotted cows. They fatten kindly, and, owing to strength and -size, are well suited for draught purposes. The brown race consists of -a heavy Schwyz breed, the medium-size breed from Unterwalden and part -of the eastern Cantons, and the smaller mountain breed. It has been -called the “turf-breed,” and is considered to be more ancient than the -parti-colored. It is mostly found in Schwyz, Zug, Luzern, and Zurich. -The brown Schwyz is a beautifully-formed cow of mouse color, running -into brown; large, straight back, usually with white streak; short, -light horns, two-thirds white with tips black; nose tipped dark gray, -with light borders; udder large, white, and smooth; usual weight about -twelve hundred to thirteen hundred pounds, those kept in the higher -Alps weigh about nine hundred pounds. There is a breed in the Valais -known as the Hérens, which is considered by many to be a separate -and primitive race. These animals, having short, stout bodies, are -admirably suited to the steepest and most inaccessible pasturage; they -are readily fattened, the quality of their meat is greatly prized by -butchers, and they are renowned for their enormous powers of draught. -In 1880 a great impulse was given to the careful breeding of cattle -by the establishment of four herd-books. It is alleged that the great -number of good cows of pure blood help to make the Swiss herd-book a -failure. It began life with as many “pure bloods” as most herd-books -contain after twenty years’ existence. At the international show of -Paris, in 1878, every Swiss cow exhibited bore away a prize. They have -competed also with exhibits from Holland, England, and Denmark, and -other famous cattle and milk-producing districts of Europe. Good Swiss -cows sell from 500 to 1200 francs each. These fine milk-, butter-, -and cheese-producing animals are fed only on grass and hay the year -through; occasionally a little dry bran may be added. From May to -September the cows in the neighborhood of the mountains are<span class="pagenum" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</span> herded on -the upper Alps, and this rich, nutritious, short Alpine grass sustains -for nearly four months multitudes of as beautiful cattle as are to -be found in the world. All the mountain pasturages go by the name of -Alp,<a id="FNanchor_81" href="#Footnote_81" class="fnanchor">81</a> and comprise “voralpen,” used in the spring; “mittelalpen,” -middle or intermediate pasture, remaining free of snow from the -first of June to the end of September, and “hochalpen,” sometimes -nine thousand feet high, for sheep and goats. Except when on these -Alpine pastures, the cows have only house-feeding, and, there being -no grazing-fields aside from the Alps, the cows of the plains are -stall-fed through the entire year. In the summer the fresh-cut grass is -fed to them. It is economy to cut the grass and carry it in as against -permitting the meadows to be trampled, grass wasted, and the animals -worried with flies. The cattle-stables are long, low, rectangular -attachments to the barns. They are always built of stone, with walls -about two feet thick. The stalls are usually ceiled over head, and -often plastered throughout; the floors stone or cement, and bedded -with poor hay, straw, or saw-dust, and a tight-fitting; oak door is at -the end of the rectangle. These barns are very warm, but thoroughly -ventilated, and the stalls are clean and nice beyond comparison. The -cows are marched out to exercise, air, and water daily; they are -curried and cared for the same as fine horses; their coats are brushed -until they shine, and the animals are evidently vain of their beauty. -In this, as in other cases, man’s regard for the lower animals appears -to be rewarded by an increase in their intelligence. The universal -reasons given for thus penning up these cows are: “It saves feed,” -“the cows give more milk for the warmth,” “there are no flies to worry -them,” and “more manure is obtained.” The peasant, pointing to the -manure heap, will say,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</span> “Out there is where the per cents. are made.” -As grass and hay are almost exclusively fed, it is requisite that -these be of the best quality and of sufficient quantity. There is a -great variety and succession of green crops for feeding in the house, -almost the year round, carefully cultivated. A moist climate, frequent -appliance of liquid manure,<a id="FNanchor_82" href="#Footnote_82" class="fnanchor">82</a> and the practice of growing fruit-trees -in the meadows prevent drought in Switzerland. Then much moisture -comes from the incessant filtration of the melting glaciers which -are constantly dissolving under the heat of the sun. The conditions -of moisture and sunshine give to the country its abundance of grass, -causing it to grow anywhere. You see it rapidly establishing itself -on the tops of roadside walls. On a heap of stones lichens and moss -soon appear, and, by their decay, in time fill the interstices, then a -mantle of turf creeps over it. In excavations on hill-sides, where the -mountain torrent brings down successive avalanches of rocky detritus, -each successive layer in turn and in time becomes consolidated with -mould and then covered with turf. Indeed, a greater part of the valleys -consists of nothing but a film of soil superimposed on fragments of -rock. There are two or three grass crops in Switzerland yearly,—the -first in the beginning of May, the second at the end of July, and often -another early in October. The mountains intercept winds and clouds, -making the amount of precipitation large. The clouds are generally -intercepted by the mountains at an elevation of five thousand feet, -and then descend in rain;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</span> higher up the precipitation is in the form -of snow. There is great difference in annual waterfalls, the greatest -being as we approach the Alps, whether from the north or south. The -annual rainfall is thirty-five inches at Basel, sixty-four and a half -inches at Interlaken, sixty-nine at Schwyz, rising to eighty-eight on -the Grimsel and one hundred and two on the St. Bernard, and falling -at Lugano to sixty-three. The percentage of snow in the total annual -rainfall varies from sixty-three on the St. Bernard to six at Geneva. -The importance of this precipitation may be understood when it is -recalled that a precipitation of twenty-eight inches is considered -essential to agricultural security. The meadows are aided in no less -degree than the climate by constant fertilizing and extraordinary care -in the way of watering, draining, etc. A Swiss acre of good grass-land -is worth, in the richer and more populous Cantons, from 1500 to 2000 -francs. Milk, and what is made from it, constitute the most important -resource of the peasant’s income. The manufacture of cheese is one -of the most ancient industries of the country, instruments for this -purpose having been found in different parts among the ruins of the -“Lake-dwellers,” whose date is anterior to all historical records. -On wedding occasions it was formerly the custom to present the -bride and bridegroom with a large cheese, the joint contribution of -their relatives; and this cheese was handed down, generation after -generation, as a family register, on which were inscribed births, -deaths, and marriages. Cheeses bearing date of 1660 are still to be -seen. In some parts of the country cheese forms the staple food of -the people, and the laborers are often paid with it. There are no -fewer than five thousand five hundred cheese-making factories, and -nearly 13,000 tons are exported annually, the value of which is over -$7,000,000.</p> - -<p>In 1887 there were exported to the United States 4,262,000 pounds, at -an invoice valuation of $658,000. During the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</span> Alpine pasture season -the cheese is made in the little stone huts or <i>sennes</i> of the -herdsmen, and brought down in the autumn; the herdsman will descend -from the pastures with a cheese weighing from one hundred and fifty -to one hundred and seventy-five pounds on his shoulders. The larger -the cheese the better its quality. Each cow is supposed to yield a -hundred-weight of cheese during the summer months. The average of fat -contained in the milk of the best Swiss cows is three and three-tenths -per cent., though in a few cases it may show four to four and a -half per cent. of fat or oil. The several varieties of cheese are -classified: either according to consistency of material, as <i>dur</i>, -<i>ferme</i>, and <i>mou</i> (hard, firm, and soft); or according to -the proportion of fatty matter, as <i>gras</i>, <i>migras</i>, or -<i>maigre</i> (rich, medium, or thin); or according to the coagulation, -whether by rennet (<i>à pressure</i>) or by sour milk (<i>à lait -aigre</i>). The better kinds of Swiss cheese are as much the products -of skill and high art as the Swiss watch and Swiss embroidery. The -best and most abundant, retaining nearly all the elements of the -milk, with its nutritive value, is the <i>Emmenthal</i>, known as the -<i>Schweizerkäse</i>, and is made in the valley of the Emme, Canton -of Bern. This is a round cheese eighty to one hundred centimetres in -diameter, ten to fifteen centimetres thick, and weighing from fifty to -one hundred kilos. or more. Next in importance is the <i>Gruyère</i>, -called after the village of that name in Freiburg, around which it is -asserted grow succulent herbs of aromatic juices, that perfume the -milk of which this cheese is made, that is so well known and highly -appreciated throughout the world. Another celebrated cheese is the -<i>Schabzieger</i>, or green cheese, known as the Sago or Sapsago. Its -manufacture dates back to the tenth century, and it is still largely -produced in the Canton of Glarus. The peculiarity of this cheese is due -partly to the method of coagulation, and partly to treatment with the -<i>Schabziegerklee</i>, a plant grown for the purpose in Schwyz. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</span> -analysis of the <i>Emmenthal</i> and <i>Gruyère</i> cheeses is given: -the former, water, 34.92; fatty matter, 31.26; caseine, 29.88; salts, -3.94: the latter, water, 34.57; fatty matter, 29.12; caseine, 32.51; -and salts, 3.80. There is at Cham the largest and most successful -milk-condensing factory in the world, with branch establishments in -England, Germany, and Orange County, New York. It uses the milk of -not less than six to seven thousand cows, and its product is known -far and wide. At Romanshorn, also, the Swiss Alpine Milk Exporting -Company does an immense export business of pure milk produced from -healthy, grass-fed cows. These companies claim to have satisfactorily -solved the problem of condensing and preserving milk without altering -its original composition, either by the addition of sugar or other -preservative substances. Switzerland is veritably the land “flowing -with milk and honey, and cattle upon a thousand hills.” Great attention -is paid to apiaries; the honey is famed for its aroma and delicacy; -though some tourists are disposed to doubt if that which is on every -breakfast-table is all the product of the little busy hymenopteran.</p> - -<p>The first railway on Swiss soil was a short piece from St. Louis to -Basel, opened in 1844; but the first purely Swiss line was that from -Zurich to Baden, opened in 1847; yet Switzerland has to-day more -railways in proportion to area than any other country of Europe. Its -railroad mileage per ten thousand population, stands third in Europe, -being exceeded only by Sweden and Denmark; and in outlay for the same -per capita, it comes second, England being first. By a federal law of -1872, the right to grant concessions to railroads was vested solely -in the Confederation, but the co-operation of the Cantons was to be -sought in the preliminary negotiations. The revised Constitution of -1874 expressly sanctioned the condition into which railroad affairs -had been brought by previous legislation; for the 23d article repeats -the constitutional<span class="pagenum" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</span> provisions of 1848 regarding public works, and -another article is added; the 26th declaring that “legislation on the -construction and management of railroads belongs to the Confederation.” -All railroad companies, whether confined to a single Canton or running -within the limits of more than one, and of whatever length, from trunk -lines down to the shortest funicular, desiring a concession, must first -apply to the Federal Council, submitting the necessary documents and -information. These are at once transmitted by the Federal Council to -the cantonal government or governments through which the projected -railway proposes to run, and negotiations take place between cantonal -authorities and representatives of the railway as to the concessions -asked for, under the presidency of a delegation of the Federal Council, -including the chief of that particular department. After the Federal -Council has settled the terms of the concession, it sends a message, -with the text of the proposed conditions, to the Federal Assembly for -their consideration. The ultimate decision rests with the Federal -Assembly, and they may grant a concession even if the Canton opposes -it. The purchase of the Swiss railways by the Confederation has -been much discussed of late years, but so far without any result. -The Confederation has left the development of railroads to private -enterprises, and never exercised its right of subsidies to railways -except in the case of the St. Gothard Company, which pierced the Alps -with a tunnel of incalculable value to the whole of Switzerland. By -this tunnel Switzerland overcame the isolation resulting from an -altitude above the sea; linking north and south, central Europe and -Italy, in new bonds of amity, and opening through the very heart of -the Alps a new highway for the nations. It is one of the greatest -triumphs of modern engineering, one of the grandest monuments of human -skill. It is the longest tunnel in the world, being fifteen kilometres -long, or nearly nine and a half miles; one and a half miles longer -than the Mont<span class="pagenum" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</span> Cenis tunnel. In addition to the great tunnel there -are fifty-two smaller tunnels approaching it, making a total length -of tunnels in getting through the Alps fifteen miles. The St. Gothard -railway proper extends from Immensee, in Switzerland, to Chiasso, in -Italy, a distance of one hundred and thirteen miles, and there are in -all not less than fifty-six tunnels, comprising more than one-fifth -of the whole line, or twenty-three miles of tunnelling. The width of -the great tunnel is twenty-six feet and the height nineteen feet. It -requires, at express-train speed, sixteen minutes to pass through it. -It is about one thousand feet below Andermatt, and five thousand to -six thousand five hundred feet below the peaks of the St. Gothard. The -preliminary works were begun at Göschenen, on the north side, June the -4th, and at Airolo, on the south side, July the 2d, 1872. Louis Favre, -of Geneva, was the contractor.<a id="FNanchor_83" href="#Footnote_83" class="fnanchor">83</a> On February 28, 1880, a perforation -from the south side penetrated the last partition between north and -south sections, and the workmen on either side exchanged greetings. On -the 22d of May, 1882, the first train passed over the line, and every -town from Luzern to Milan celebrated the completion with banquets and -excursions; and its business, passenger and traffic, at once assumed -immense proportions. The construction cost 56,000,000 francs; which was -partly paid by subventions from Switzerland, Germany, and Italy, the -conditions and respective amounts of which were the subject of a treaty -between these governments. It penetrates the mountain like a corkscrew, -making four complete loops within a distance of twenty miles, in order -to attain the requisite elevation, when it emerges into daylight only -to enter again the main tunnel. The waters of the Reuss and the Ticino -supplied the necessary motive power for working the screws attached -to the machinery for compressing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</span> the air. The borers applied to the -rock the piston of a cylinder made to rotate with great rapidity by -the pressure of air, reduced to one-twentieth of its ordinary volume; -then, when they had made the holes sufficiently deep, they withdrew the -machines and charged the mines with dynamite. After the explosion, the -<i>débris</i> was cleared away and the borers returned to their place. -This work was carried on day and night for nearly ten consecutive -years. The official report shows that three hundred and ten of the -workmen were killed by accidents during the building of the tunnel, -and eight hundred and seventy-seven were wounded or received minor -injuries. The work was done by Italians; no others would accept so much -toil and danger for so little pay. There were used in its construction -2,000,000 pounds of dynamite and 700,000 kilos. of illuminating oil. -The problem of keeping the temperature and atmosphere of the tunnel -within a limit involving perfect safety to persons passing through it, -proved one of the most difficult encountered. It was satisfactorily -solved by the establishment of immense steam-pumping machines, which -constantly throw in an ample supply of fresh air, and maintain a -temperature never rising above 20° Celsius or 68° Fahrenheit. There -is at present being projected, by the Italian and Swiss governments, -the Simplon tunnel, to pierce the Alps about midway between Mont Cenis -and St. Gothard, which will be one kilometre longer than the St. -Gothard,—that is, sixteen kilometres, or about ten miles in length.</p> - -<p>In practical engineering the Swiss may challenge rivalry with any -other nation. The suspension bridge at Freiburg, constructed in 1834, -at that time had the largest single curve of any bridge in the world, -being nine hundred feet in length, and one hundred and eighty high. -One of the most daring feats of modern engineering is the cog-wheel -railway up to Pilatus-culm, on the Lake of Luzern, six thousand seven -hundred and twenty-four feet high. The road-bed is of solid<span class="pagenum" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</span> masonry -faced with granite blocks. Streams and gorges are traversed by means -of stone bridges. There are seven tunnels from thirty to three hundred -feet in length. The rack-rail, midway between and somewhat higher than -the tracks, is of wrought steel, and has a double row of vertical cogs -milled out of solid steel bars. The locomotive and car containing -thirty-two seats form one train, with two movable axles and four -cog-wheels gripping the cogs, and which, on downward trips, can be -controlled by vigorous automatic brakes. The speed of the locomotive -is two hundred feet per minute. The road has an average gradient of -about one foot in every two. Another piece of skilful engineering and -of much scientific interest is the new electric mountain railway up the -Burgenstock, also on the Lake of Luzern, it being the first application -of this powerful agent to a mountain railway. The primary source of -the motive power is three miles away, where an immense water-wheel of -one hundred and fifty horse-power has been erected. This works two -dynamoes, each of thirty horse-power. The electricity thus generated is -transmitted for three miles across the valley, by means of insulated -copper wires, to another pair of dynamoes, the negatives of the first, -placed in a station at the head of the railway. Here the electric -force is converted into mechanical power by the ordinary connection -of leather belts, gearing the dynamoes, to two large driving-wheels -of nine feet diameter. Then by shafting and cogs the power is carried -on to an immense wheel of sixteen feet diameter, and around this -passes a wire rope with each end connected to the cars. One man only -is required to control the motion of the cars. The whole apparatus -for this purpose is arranged compactly before him, and no scientific -knowledge is required to manage it. Switzerland has developed the use -of electricity to a greater extent, probably, than any other country; -the mountain streams furnishing a power ready to hand, and the Swiss -in every possible way are utilizing it for electrical purposes. There -is a railway<span class="pagenum" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</span> to the summit of the Jungfrau being projected that will -surpass all existing works of the kind. It will be built entirely in -the rim of the mountain, in order that it may be completely safe from -storms, avalanches, and landslips. The tunnel will be on the western -slope, which is very steep but the shortest route. It will start from -Stegmalten, two miles from Lauterbrunnen, a point two thousand eight -hundred feet above the sea, running a southeasterly direction, under -the Mönch and the Silver Horn, to the summit. The road is estimated -to be twenty-one thousand four hundred and fifty feet in length, and -will run as close beneath the surface of the mountain as possible. -The engineers supervising the construction are Herr Köchlin, who was -one of M. Eiffel’s principal assistants in building the lofty tower -in Paris, and Colonel Locher, of Luzern, the constructor of the Mount -Pilatus Railway. The cost is put at 56,000,000 francs, and it is to -be completed within five years. The magnitude of this work is shown -in the statement that the quantity of rock necessary to be removed is -thirteen times that taken from the St. Gothard tunnel. At Winterthur -and Schaffhausen, locomotives, other engines and heavy machinery of -superior character, are being made, with occasional shipments even to -the United States. The recent movement of Switzerland, following the -example of other civilized nations, in adopting a patent law, will give -a new impulse to the natural mechanical genius of its citizens, and -the resultant establishment of other prosperous manufacturing plants. -This patent law, which went into effect November, 1888, protects -only material objects and not <i>processes</i>. This feature is said -to be due to the efforts of the manufacturers of aniline colors and -chemicals, whose interest would be injuriously affected by a law as -comprehensive as that of the United States, which protects “useful -arts” and “compositions of matter” as well as tools and machines.</p> - -<p>If a country’s roads be the “measure of its civilization,”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</span> Switzerland -would be easily first. Many of the roads, specially in the Alpine -districts, represent an immense cost and the boldest engineering. There -is not in the country a road for the use of which toll is charged; -for, to their apprehension, a toll would be a contradiction of the -very purpose for which the road was made. There is a road-master -(<i>wegmeister</i>) for every Commune, but he is appointed and paid by -the Canton. Though there is so much rainfall, the soil being permeable -and favorable to the percolation of the water, the roads, even after -a heavy rain, rapidly become dry and clean; everywhere you find them -as skilfully constructed and vigilantly repaired as the drives through -a park; the cost of their construction and maintenance is defrayed by -cantonal and communal taxation. The importance of the mountain roads -is recognized by a provision in the constitution, by which the Cantons -of Uri, Grisons, Ticino, and Valais receive an annual indemnity on -account of their international Alpine roads; to Uri 80,000 francs; to -Grisons 200,000 francs; to Ticino 200,000 francs; to Valais 50,000 -francs, with an additional indemnity of 40,000 francs to the Cantons -of Uri and Ticino for clearing the snow from St. Gothard road, so long -as that road shall not be replaced by a railroad.<a id="FNanchor_84" href="#Footnote_84" class="fnanchor">84</a> These sums are -to be withheld by the federal government if the roads are not kept in -suitable condition.</p> - -<p>The “<i>fremden-industrie</i>,” or exploitation of foreigners, is -not the least profitable industry of the country. There are over 400 -mountain resorts, and, in fact, for months the entire country is -one great consolidated hotel company.<a id="FNanchor_85" href="#Footnote_85" class="fnanchor">85</a> Palatial hostleries<span class="pagenum" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</span> with -metropolitan <i>menus</i> and <i>salles à manger</i>, bengal lights -and brass bands, reached by cable roads, are perched on crags where -only the eagle used to build his eyrie or the chamois seek refuge. -In July and August a quarter of a million tourists fill this little -mountain country through its length and breadth with their joyfulness -and jargon. This annual irruption constitutes a perennial well-spring -of good fortune to many branches of industry and to a large number of -Swiss people.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.<br> -<span class="small"> - -PEASANT HOME AND LIFE.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Mid the murmurings of his fountains,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And the echoes of his mountains,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Where the lordly eagle soars,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Where the headlong torrent roars,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">He is, as he was meant to be,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Poor and virtuous, calm and free.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - - -<p>The industry, thrift, helpfulness, and simple contentment of the Swiss -peasants, next to the natural scenery, attract our attention. One -must respect their laborious industry, frugality, and perseverance, -and regret that so much toil, with such close and unfailing economy, -should have such meagre<span class="pagenum" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</span> results. Dwelling among the crags and clouds, -their flats mostly water and their slopes mostly ice, they get out of -their little holdings every farthing that they will yield, and squander -nothing. There is a kind of manliness in their never-ending struggle -against the niggardliness and severity of nature; out-braving and -beating its hard opposition. Sharp-pressing need spurs them to wring -a difficult and scant subsistence from the mountain-steeps. Secluded -and poor, yet brave and cheerful, they recall the lines from the -description of the old Corycian peasant:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“And wisely deem’d the wealth of monarchs less</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Than little of his own, because his own did please.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Every little scrap of ground is turned to the best account. If a few -square yards can anywhere be made or reclaimed the requisite labor is -not grudged. Many of these sturdy people compel an incredibly little -spot of ground to yield them enough, and some to spare. This surprising -product from a soil, much of it very poor, is due to the perfection -of spade-work; each field, or rather patch, has the perfection of -shape given to it to facilitate cultivation and drainage. This -small cultivator, only with spade in hand, can fertilize the waste -and perform prodigies which nothing but his love of the land could -enable him to accomplish. These peasants have a proverb that “if the -plough has a ploughshare of iron, the spade has a point of gold.” In -the mountainous districts the land is reclaimed by this <i>petite -culture</i>. In fact, the man makes the very soil. He builds terraces -along steep inclines, lining them with blocks of stone, and then packs -the earth to them, transforming the mountain and the rock into a little -patch where he plants a vine or raises a little oats or maize. Up the -heights of rocks which even goats cannot climb, on the very brow of the -abyss, the peasant goes, clinging to the precipice with iron crampers -on his feet in search of grass. He hangs on the sides<span class="pagenum" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</span> of the rocks -which imprison the valley and mows down a few tufts of grass from -craggy shelves. The hay thus gathered is called <i>wildheu</i>, and the -reaper <i>wildheuer</i>. This peasant mountain-mower is essentially -<i>sui generis</i>. He is accustomed to all the perils of the mountain, -and the day before the mowing season begins—a day fixed by communal -decree—he bids farewell, perhaps for the last time, to his wife and -children. His scythe on his shoulder, armed with his iron-shod stick, -provided with his clamp-irons, a cloth or a net rolled up in his bag, -he sets out at midnight, in order that the dawn may find him at his -work. During the two months of hay-harvest he only goes down to the -village three or four times to renew his supply of food or linen. By -this hard and perilous occupation an Alpine mower makes from three to -five francs a day, his food not included; and many times under some -projecting rock he must seek a bed and pass the night. Once dried, this -wild hay is carefully gathered into a cloth or net and carried down to -the first little plain, where it can be made into a stack, which is -loaded with large stones to prevent it being blown away. In winter, -when everything is covered with snow, the mower climbs again the -perpendicular sides of the mountain, carrying his little wooden sledge -on his shoulders. He loads it with hay, seats himself on the front, -and shoots down with the swiftness of an arrow. At times, the snow -softened by the warm wind which blows upon the heights, is detached -in an avalanche behind him, and swallows him up before he reaches the -valley. This aromatic hay, composed of the nourishing flora of the high -Alps, of delicate and succulent plants, of the wild chrysanthemum, the -dwarf carline thistle, the red-flowered veronica, the Alpine milfoil -with its black calyx, the clover with its great tufts, and the meum, -an umbelliferous plant, gives a delicious milk, and is greatly sought -after for the fattening of cattle. In these steep solitudes where the -grass is found, the life of man is so exposed and accidents are so -frequent<span class="pagenum" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</span> that the law forbids there should be more than one mower in -a family. With him it is a fight for life, not infrequently conducted -to the death. At all times great charges of wrath hang over him,—a -beetling crag, a stream of stones, a cataract of ice, a moving field of -snow, the flash that rends his roof, the wind that strips his trees, -the flood that drowns his land, against each of these messengers of ill -he must hold a separate watch, and must learn to brave each danger when -it comes, alike by flush of noon and in the dead of night. The little -valley below lies at the mercy of these ice- and storm-engendering -heights. Year by year the peasants fight against its being extorted -from their dominion. Yet this feeble community in the valley, by their -stout hearts and virtuous lives, continue to make it smile on the -frowning mountains:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Durum! sed levius fit patientia</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Quicquid corrigere est nefas.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>It is a strange and savage reverence which the peasants feel for the -mountains. They seem to grow like each other in spirits, even as a man -and wife who live in peace grow like each other year by year. With no -people is the love of home and the native soil so strongly developed. -To return to his village in the midst of his beloved mountains is the -constant dream of his life, and to realize it he will endure every -privation and bind himself to the hardest and most painful toil. -One hope possesses him,—to see again the snows, the glaciers, the -lakes, the great oaks, and the familiar pines of his country. It is a -sentiment so human—of home, of kindred, of the accustomed locality, of -country—that has fostered itself on him and binds him to the spot with -a chain he has no power to break. The Almighty himself has implanted -in the human breast that passionate love of country which rivets with -irresistible attraction the Esquimau to his eternal snows, the Arab to -his sandy desert, and the Swiss to his rugged mountains:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Cling to thy home: if there the meanest shed</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Yield thee a hearth and shelter for thy head,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And some poor plot, with vegetables stored,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Be all that Heaven allots thee for thy board,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Unsavory bread and herbs that scatter’d grow</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Wild on the river-bank or mountain brow,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Yet e’en this cheerless mansion shall provide</div> - <div class="verse indent2">More heart’s repose than all the world beside.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>There is a quietness and a sombre severity in the lives of these -peasants. In spite of occasional merry-making, pleasure-seeking is -rare. They have no great sensibility or expression of joy, but a -composed satisfaction, a kind of phlegmatic good humor, marks the -boundary of their happiness. Many visitors to the country are disposed -to complain of the plainness of their demeanor; that their speech is -rough and their style hard. The simple abruptness of the peasant’s -greeting is not without its charms. How far one feels from the -obsequious manners of the city, from profuse and insincere compliments! -Is there not to some extent in all this a philosophical basis? In -general, is it not true that the members of a republic, conscious of -their independence and self-importance, adhere less scrupulously to the -conventional regularity of forms? Again, the extreme politeness which -sometimes characterizes the subject of an arbitrary government may be -the result of that policy which introduces and encourages an exterior -air of civility as the mark of subordination and respect. The Swiss -peasants have neither the time, disposition, nor necessity to affect -these elegant improvements,—fopperies of a trifling and superficial -elegance which frequently serve merely to soften the deformities of -vice. They are delightfully natural human beings, human nature simple -and unabashed, and manifest a courteous consideration for each other’s -comforts and sensibilities. They have no occasion to assert offensively -that equality of right which nobody denies, and they respect each -other’s rights as they do their own. There are no castes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</span> to clash, -no lower class to assert itself in rudeness, and no higher class to -provoke rudeness by insolent assumption. They maintain old-fashioned -habits of courteous hospitality, and the workmen in the field will -shout out to the passer-by a kindly <i>guten tag</i> or <i>guten -abend</i>, with the <i>a</i> prolonged beyond the amen of a chant, and -the children invariably take off their caps or drop a courtesy. Even -the pastoral beggars present a species of attractive mendicity, as the -little children come out to meet you with offerings of Alpine roses, -cherries on their branches, and strawberries in the leaves, extending -their hands, with the common entreaty—<i>bitte, bitte</i> (pray do).</p> - -<p>We hear a great deal of the peasant’s chalet. Though very picturesque -in appearance, as they glisten in the sunbeams on the slopes or dot -the pastoral valleys, these chalets are by no means such charming -dwellings as often pictured. Owing to the original abundance of timber, -it was almost the only material employed in the building of these -houses. There are practically three styles: the so-called block-house, -in which the logs are laid one upon the other, notched at the ends -so as to fit into each other at the angles where they cross; the -post-built house, in which upright posts and a strong framework are -filled in with planks; and the <i>riegelhaus</i>, with brick or stone. -All soon become dark-brown of hue, and are quaint and distinctive in -form. They are covered with low flat roofs of shingles, weighted with -stones to prevent them from being carried away by the wind; the roofs -overhang the walls like the brim of a hat, widened to protect the -face from the rain, and are frequently shaped and sculptured by the -knife with curious and patient skill. There is a peculiarly sheltered -look in the broad projection of the thatched roofs, which, with the -thick covering of moss, and their visible beams, making all kinds of -triangles upon the ancient plaster of the walls, are very odd and -attractive things. The low panelled rooms are innocent of gilding and -of painting, but are cleanliness itself.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</span> Hollow niches over the doors -contain statues of the Virgin, heroes, or saints. The plain benches, -tables, cupboards, and chairs are made of the whitest wood, and are -so scoured, washed, and polished that to paint or varnish them would -be to defile them. Most articles of furniture are quaintly shaped and -ornamented, old looking, but rubbed bright and in good preservation, -from the nut-cracker, curiously carved, to the double-necked cruet, -pouring oil and vinegar out of the same bottle. They are heated with -porcelain stoves, cylindrical in shape, two and a half to three feet -in diameter, reaching from the floor almost to the ceiling, and bound -with bright brass rings to give them strength. These stoves are built -of white enamelled tile, which is two or three inches in thickness, and -the blocks of tile are put in layers, the inside of the stove being -lined with heavy fire-brick, leaving the flue not more than ten inches -in diameter. From this wall of fire-brick run a series of small valves -up and down and around, carrying the hot air to a number of caps at the -top and bottom of the stove, and thence into the room. Wood or turf is -used, and it is astonishing how little fuel is necessary. A fire is -started in the morning, the damper remains open until the gases have -all passed up the chimney, and only the smouldering ashes remain, then -the damper is closed, and no more fuel is needed for twelve hours; if, -before retiring, the process of the morning be repeated, it will remain -warm through the entire night. The stoves are not unsightly, but in -many instances ornamental, having a clean and well-polished surface, -with doors and caps of brass highly burnished. In the centre of the -stove is a receptacle for warming dishes or keeping a supply of hot -water. The stoves are placed close up in the corner, or form part of -the partition between rooms so as to be out of the way and heat two -rooms.</p> - -<p>To some cottages there is an outside stair leading to the second -story, or even to the third, if there be one, for these<span class="pagenum" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</span> houses are -frequently the property of several owners. The peasant who, in the -Valais, possesses the third part of a mule and the fourth part of a -cow, has often only the half or third of a house. “The Jura cottage -has no daintiness of garden nor wealth of farm about it,—it is indeed -little more than a delicately-built chalet, yet trim and domestic, -mildly intelligent of things other than pastoral, watch-making and the -like; though set in the midst of its meadows, the gentian at its door, -the lily of the valley wild in the copses hard by. My delight in these -cottages, and in the sense of human industry and enjoyment through the -whole scene, was at the root of all pleasure in its beauty.”<a id="FNanchor_86" href="#Footnote_86" class="fnanchor">86</a></p> - -<p>Within and without these chalets are mural inscriptions and symbols:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent4">“Quarter’d o’er with scutcheons of all hues,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">And proverbs sage, which passing travellers</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Linger to read, and ponder o’er their meaning.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>They are put upon the beam, upon panels, carved in the cornices -everywhere to catch the eye. They are most various in character, -friendly welcomes, praises of their native land, exhortations to unity, -to freedom, and to courage. On the great projecting beam supporting the -roof, called <i>sablière</i>, are often painted, amid ornaments and -flowers, the initials J.M.J. (Jesus, Mary, and Joseph), as well as the -name of the man for whom the house was made, and that of the master -carpenter who built it. Those of the Bernese Oberland have inscriptions -reminding man of his duty and the solemnity of life; of which the -following are samples:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent4">“The friends from whom we needs must part</div> - <div class="verse indent6">’Twill pleasure give to meet again.</div><span class="pagenum" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</span> - <div class="verse indent4">’Gainst malice, lies, hypocrisy,</div> - <div class="verse indent6">Closed may this house forever be.”</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent4">“My God, my strength, whom I will trust,</div> - <div class="verse indent6">A buckler unto me;</div> - <div class="verse indent4">The horn of my salvation</div> - <div class="verse indent6">And my high tower is He.”</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“On account of one day, be afraid of all days.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Many of the inscriptions are from the Bible, and thus not only the -churches, but public buildings and private houses teach morality. In -the Grisons you see on many the arms of the three leagues engraved; one -will bear a cross, another a wild goat, a third a man on horseback, and -above them the lines carved,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent4">“These are the arms of the Grisons,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">On the mountains their strongholds lie;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">God will have the graciousness</div> - <div class="verse indent4">To preserve their liberty.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>This inscription is on a church-bell, dating back four centuries: -“Vivos voco, mortuos plango, fulgura frango” (“I call the living, I -mourn the dead, I break the lightning”).</p> - -<p>The stone chalets in Ticino have their fronts painted pink, and -decorated in Italian fashion, with garlands of flowers and symbolical -vases, pouring out wine and milk. The finest of these houses are not -ducal palaces, the poorest are never hovels. A real Swiss cottage is -as much adapted to Swiss scenery as the Gothic is suited to the holy -and sublime feelings of devotion; there is a fitness in the subdued -color of the resin from the larch to an association which requires -extreme simplicity; the same cottage painted white would be found -offensive and obtruding. Near by is the barn, a wooden bridge thrown -over the entrance, with a long and gradual ascent, that conducts the -wagons loaded with hay to the loft. Some of these are as generous in -size and as well built and equipped as the best Pennsylvania barns. -It may be that the dwelling, barn,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</span> and dairy are all under one roof; -but if so, they are separated with a scrupulous regard to neatness. -All wastes are corded and covered up outside like so many piles of -treasure, to renew the soil when summer comes round. This <i>fumier</i> -is the special pride of the peasant, and is frequently an imposing -object, arranged in layers, with the straw rolled and platted at the -sides; it stands proudly by the roadside and often the ornament of the -front yard. Everything is in its place; order reigns by virtue of some -natural law. There is a kind of Robinson Crusoe industry about their -houses and their little properties; they are perpetually building, -repairing, altering, or improving something. Thought and care are day -by day bestowed on every bit of ground to secure a sufficiency of the -things that will be needed in the long winter. Every plant is treated -by itself as though it was a child; every branch pruned, every bed -watered, every gourd trained. From hour to hour the changes in the -heavens are observed and what they import considered; for they may -import a great deal; the time allowed for bringing the little crops -to maturity is so short that the loss of sunshine for a few days may -cause anxious thought. It is a sight which awakens reflection and -touches the heart. There is much of healthy purity prevailing around -these cottage homes. Every one, according to his means, endeavors to -make the homestead an ornament to the grassy and elm-shadowed wayside. -The green rock-strewn turf comes up to the door, and the bench is -along the wall outside. Flowers surround and adorn the windows, the -luscious clusters of the vine ripen above the porch, and the little -violet creeps over the stone steps or hangs in a sunny niche, its -flowers gleaming remotely. Nothing can be more charming than the large -carnations which often brighten the dark larch or pine-wood chalets, -with their glossy red blossoms hanging from the windows and balconies. -The pleasant vine-sheltered door seems to hospitably invite<span class="pagenum" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</span> the -imagination of the passer-by into the sweet domestic interior of this -cottage life. And there is about the inner life of these humble homes -a something one may almost say of sanctity, which is not so apparent, -at all events on the surface of things, in splendid mansions. Their -splendor is transmuted money, there is no poetry in it; if hearts are -moved by it, it is not in that fashion or to that issue that it touches -them. Quite different with these quiet and secluded homes. There every -object has a pleasing history. There industry has accumulated its -fruits, frugality its comforts, and virtue diffused its contentment. -The care that is taken of it tells you how hard it had been to come by. -You read in it a little tale of the labor, the self-denial expended -on its acquisition; it is a revelation of an inner life which you are -the better for contemplating and for sympathizing with. Shut off from -the world, untainted by luxury, unstained by avarice mid lonely toil, -practising the simple forms of life and faith, maintaining bravely and -contentedly a hard struggle in their Alpine glens, these peasants are -on better terms with life than many people who are regarded to have -made a better bargain. “To watch the corn grow or the blossoms set, to -draw hard breath on the ploughshare or spade,” have attractions for -them, not accounted for in the meagre train of advantages and comforts -they bring, and must be sought in the inspiration of the poet,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Happy the man whose wish and care</div> - <div class="verse indent4">A few paternal acres bound;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Content to breathe his native air</div> - <div class="verse indent4">On his own ground.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Whose flocks supply him with attire;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Whose trees in summer yield him shade,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">In winter fire.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Often the cottage is perched on a mountain crag, and the peasant must -be sleepless and prompt, for he lies down with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</span> danger at his door and -must rise to meet it when the moment comes. There is a continual menace -of desolation and ruin:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“No zephyr fondly soothes the mountain’s breast,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">But meteors glare and stormy glooms invest.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>At dusk you see a cottage on a shelf of rock, a hut in which the -shepherd churns his milk, a bit of soil in which he grows his herbs, -a patch of grass on which his heifers browse, a simple cross at which -his children pray. At dead of night a tremor passes through the -mountain-side, a slip of earth takes place, or a “thunderbolt of snow” -which no one hears, rings up the heaven. At dawn there is a lonely -shelf of rock above, a desolate wreck of human hopes below, and</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“The gentle herd returns at evening close,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Untended from the hills, and white with snows.”<a id="FNanchor_87" href="#Footnote_87" class="fnanchor">87</a></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Some of the Alpine districts are entirely pastoral, where naught save -cow-herd’s horn and cattle-bell is heard. In the spring it is a pretty -sight to see the groups of cows with tinkling bells start for the -mountains. The bells are nearly globular, thin, and light, of different -sizes, from one foot to two inches in diameter; they are various in -pitch, all melting into one general musical effect, forming in right -harmonious proportion to produce the concord of sounds without any -clashing tones, just as the song of many birds does.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“The tintinnabulation that so musically swells</div> - <div class="verse indent2">From the bells, bells, bells, bells.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The cows are assembled in herds on the village green, and to the call -of the herdsmen they begin their march to the mountain<span class="pagenum" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</span> pastures. Each -herd has its queen, who leads the procession. The choice of the queen -depends on her strength and beauty. Great care and expense are incurred -in the ambition to procure one peerless animal for this purpose, and -in order to develop a combative and fearless spirit they are said -to be fed on oats soaked in spirits. The queen wears a finer collar -and larger bell than the others. Proud of her superior strength, she -seems, with the calmness of a settled conviction, to be defying her -companions, and to be seeking—impatient for combat—some antagonist -worthy to measure strength with her. See</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“How gracefully yon heifer bears her honors!</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Ay! well she knows she’s leader of the herd,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And take it from her, she’d refuse to feed.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>At the end of the herd marches the bull, with his compact body, little -pointed horns, curly hair, and, if he is of a wicked temper, a plate of -iron over his eyes. Then comes the train of dairy-girls and cow-herds, -who tend the cows in the summer pasturages, with wagons loaded with the -implements of their calling, the milking-stool, peculiarly constructed -pails, and the wooden vessels in which milk is carried up and down the -precipices to the chalet.<a id="FNanchor_88" href="#Footnote_88" class="fnanchor">88</a> When different droves meet, it is almost -sure to happen that the two queens defy each other to single combat. -The herdsmen themselves promote these struggles, and are very proud -of the victory of their own queen cow. The herds begin by browsing -on the grass at the foot of the mountain, and then gradually, as the -snow disappears and is replaced by a fresh carpet of verdure, they go -higher, mounting insensibly till in the month of August they reach<span class="pagenum" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</span> -the summit of the Alp. Then in September they descend slowly and by -degrees, as they went up. On their way up the mountain, if the start be -made too early in the spring, the water may be found high, and the herd -stops at the edge of the torrent, afraid to cross. The chief herdsman -seeks the parsonage, knocks at the door, and explains to the curé the -critical situation of the herd, and begs his prayers and blessings.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Il faut que vous nous disiez une messe</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Pour que nous puissions passer.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The shepherd leads a more solitary and perilous life in the mountains -than the herdsman, living on polenta and cheese, and for drink, water -or skimmed milk; and a little hay spread on a plank serves for a bed. -The highest and steepest parts of the Alps are apportioned to the -grazing of sheep and goats. Indeed, sometimes the sheep are carried up -one by one on men’s backs, and left there till the end of the summer, -when they are carried down, considerably fattened, in the same fashion. -Here the shepherd passes months, his only companions besides his flock -are the chamois,<a id="FNanchor_89" href="#Footnote_89" class="fnanchor">89</a> who, in the moonlight, cross the snow-fields, -the glacier, or bound over the crevices and come to pasture on -the grassy slopes; and the snow-partridge, or white hen, and the -<i>laemmergeier</i>, or bearded vulture, a bird whose size surpasses -that of the eagle,<a id="FNanchor_90" href="#Footnote_90" class="fnanchor">90</a> and who<span class="pagenum" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</span> circles around these peaks as he -watches for his prey, and, by a sharp blow of his wing, to precipitate -into the chasm any animal he can take unawares and defenceless. Alas! -for the poor shepherd belated in a snow-storm, seeking vainly to -recover the lost track; when the wind seems like some cruel demon, -buffeting, blinding, maddening, as along ways rendered unfamiliar by -the drifts he plunges, helpless, hopeless; fainter and more faint, -until at last there comes the awful moment when he can fight no longer, -and he sinks powerless down, down into the soft and fatal depths; the -drift sweeps over him,—he is lost as surely as “some strong swimmer in -his agony” who sinks in mid-Atlantic among the boiling surge.</p> - -<p>When the flock is taken to the Alps, the sheep, instead of being driven -before the shepherd, regularly follow him as he marches majestically -in front,—tall, thin, sunburnt, and dirty,—armed with his long -iron-pointed stick. Behind him the whole mountain is covered with -a moving mass of gray fleeces; other shepherds and Bergamese dogs, -with long woolly hair, the most vigilant of guardians, are scattered -at different points in this “living flood of white wool surging like -foaming waves.” The sheep do not disperse to feed until the chief -shepherd, turning his face round to them, either by a whistle or notes -from his pipe, seems to remind them that it is proper to do so. This -leader or captain literally marches abroad in the morning piping his -flocks forth to the pasture with some love sonnet, and his “fleecy -care” seem actually to be under the influence of his music. It is -by whistling that thousands of sheep are guided, the straying lambs -called back, and the dogs sent out and checked. In September, when the -shepherds bring down their flocks from the mountains, their wives and -children, who have remained in the plain making hay, the harvest, the -vintage, and gathering in of other fruits, go to meet them with songs -and waving flags. In the evening the whole village rejoices, dancing -goes on, and it is everybody’s festival:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“At night returning, every labor sped,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">He sits him down, the monarch of a shed;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Smiles by his cheerful fire, and round surveys</div> - <div class="verse indent2">His children’s looks, that brighten at the blaze;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">While his loved partner, boastful of her hoard,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Displays her cleanly platter on the board.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The shepherds are happy men, content with their lot, loving their -free and nomad mountain life with its long lazy times of rest and its -moments of perilous activity. No simpler, honester, braver hearts are -to be found anywhere.</p> - -<p>There is also the female swine-herd, who daily takes to pasture the -pigs and goats. She tends them all day on some stony, irreclaimed waste -land. In the evening when she returns with her four or five score, each -porker knows his own home in the village; some run on in advance of the -herd to get as soon as possible to the supper they know will be ready -for them; others do not separate themselves from the herd till they -arrive at the familiar door. Behind the swine follow the goats with -distended udders,—the poor man’s cow. They, too, disperse themselves -in the same fashion, from the desire to be promptly relieved of their -burden. Last of all come the deliberately-stepping, sober-minded cows. -The tinkling of their bells is heard over the whole of the little -village. In a few minutes the streets are cleared; every man, woman, -and child appear to have followed the animals into the houses to give -them their supper or to draw the milk from them, or, at all events, -to bed them for the night. Thus do these peasants from their earliest -years learn to treat their dumb associates kindly, almost as if they -were members of the family, to the support of which they so largely -contribute. They begin and end each day in company with them, and are -perfectly familiar with the ways and wants of the egotistic pig, of the -self-asserting, restless goat, and of the gentle, patient cow.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</span></p> - -<p>Sound travels far in these mountain solitudes, and the bells of the -flocks may be heard through them night and day. This concert of -cow-bells and of sheep-bells, suddenly heard in solitude and repeated -by the echoes, like a distant and mysterious choir, is one of the -features of Alpine life that most powerfully impress the feelings and -take hold of the imagination.</p> - -<p>The mountains’ response to the “alphorn” is most singular and -beautiful. When the tune on the horn is ended, the Alps make, not -an echo, but a reproduction of it, in an improved and heightened -character; they take up, as it were, and chant the air again with -infinite sweetness and a dancing grace that is delightful. They seem to -constitute a natural instrument of music, of which the horn is but the -awakening breath. The writer, on behalf of the New England Conservatory -of Music, Boston, requested of the Swiss government samples of musical -instruments of Swiss origin. In answer an “alphorn,” of ancient form, -well constructed and of superior tone, was furnished, accompanied with -the statement that, after careful investigation, it was believed to be -the only musical instrument of “Swiss origin.” Distance softens the -tone of the “alphorn,” and assimilates it more nearly to the flute-like -sweetness of the echo which seems a sort of fairy answer coming out of -some magical hall in the rock. The tone is powerful, and the middle -notes extremely mellow.</p> - -<p>The peasants call and answer their companions from peak to peak in -musical notes. The <i>Ranz des Vaches</i>, German <i>Kuhreihen</i>, -are a class of melodies prevailing and peculiar to the herdsmen. There -is no particular air of this name, but nearly every Canton has its own -herdsman’s song, each varying from the others in the notes as well as -in the words, and even in the dialect. There are as many songs and airs -which go by this name as there are valleys in Switzerland. A verse of -one, as rendered in the Canton of Appenzell, runs:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_341">[Pg 341]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“The cow-herds of the Alps</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Arise at an early hour.</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<p class="center">CHORUS.</p> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">Ha, ah! ha, ah!</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Come all of you,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Black and white,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Red and mottled,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Young and old;</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Beneath this oak</div> - <div class="verse indent2">I am about to milk you,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Beneath this poplar</div> - <div class="verse indent2">I am about to press,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Liauba! Liauba! in order to milk.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>It is a song of melancholy, of the homesickness in which the absent -Swiss sees again, as in a musical vision, the chalet in which he was -born, the mountain where the herds shake their mellow bells as they -graze. It is, however, only in the refrain that is heard the melancholy -note, in this <i>Liauba! Liauba!</i> thrown lingeringly to the winds, -and going from echo to echo, till it expires like a lament, and is -lost like a sigh in the infinite depths of the valley. The herds are -said to love and obey its strains. Without anything striking in the -composition, it has a powerful influence over the Swiss. Its effect on -Swiss soldiers absent in foreign service was so great, giving rise to -an irrepressible longing to return to their own country, that it was -forbidden to be played in the Swiss regiments in the French service, -on pain of death. All the music of the mountains is strange and wild, -having most probably received its inspiration from the grandeur of the -natural objects. Most of the sounds partake of the character of echoes, -being high-keyed but false notes, such as the rocks send back to the -valleys when the voice is raised above its natural key in order that it -may reach the caverns and savage recesses of inaccessible precipices. -The Swiss <i>yodel</i>, with its falsetto notes, is heard everywhere. -Nor must the sounds<span class="pagenum" id="Page_342">[Pg 342]</span> of the landscape be forgotten. With the bleating -of the flocks and the chimes of the cow-bells are mingled the murmuring -of the bees, the running streams, whispering pines, the melancholy -voice of the goat-herder, and the plaintive whistle of the mountain -thrush.</p> - -<p>Every member of a Swiss family produces his share. The whole family -take up their daily work before sunrise, suspend it only for their -meals, and end it only when the candles are put out at early bedtime. -The feeble efforts of old age and the petty industry of childhood -contribute to the sum of human toil. Children all work with their hands -for the common support, they help the elders in the common family -interests as soon as they can rock a cradle, drive a cow, or sweep a -floor; they thus acquire at home habits of application and industry -which stand them in good stead in after life. The little ones who are -taken by their parents to the field and are too young to work have -bells fastened to their belts, not for amusement, but, as the mothers -explain, “when we are in the fields and the children wander away, -thanks to the bells, we can always hear and find them, and, besides, -the sound of the bell drives away the serpents.”<a id="FNanchor_91" href="#Footnote_91" class="fnanchor">91</a> Even the infant in -its baby-carriage passes the day amid the scenes of labor in which it -will soon be called to join. The women are not exempt from work, even -in the families of very substantial peasant proprietors. A stranger, -seeing the smart country girls at work about the cows’ food or in the -harvest field, perhaps barefooted, is apt to consider it as a proof of -extreme destitution. This is a mistake; it is merely the custom of the -country. A well-to-do peasant’s daughters, who are stylishly dressed on -Sundays, may be seen in the fields during the week. You see the sturdy -sunburnt<span class="pagenum" id="Page_343">[Pg 343]</span> creatures in petticoats, but otherwise manlike, toiling side -by side with their fathers and brothers in the rudest work of the farm. -They wear a broad-brimmed straw hat, and as the breeze blows back -its breadth of brim, the sunshine constantly adds depth to the brown -glow of their cheeks. In the absence of the men the women do all the -work,—mow the grass, cut the wood, look after the cattle, make the -cheese, bake the bread, and spin the wool. Whether they are employed -in spreading the litter on the floor of the stable, in carrying the -pails foaming with the freshly-drawn milk, or in turning up with long -wooden rakes the newly-mown hay, all their different labors resemble -festivals. From one hill to another, above the bed of the mountain -torrent, they reply to the songs of the young reapers by chanting -national airs, it may be <i>Rufst du, mein Vaterland</i> (“callest -thou, my country”)! Their voices resemble modulated cries emitted by a -superabundance of life and joy; musicians note them down without being -able to imitate them; they are indigenous only on the waters or on -the green slopes of the Alps. The distinction between the sexes as to -labor in Switzerland has passed the temporary stage of evolution. Is -it not true everywhere that women are entering a new era of self-care; -that they are undertaking not only office-work, but professions, and -trades, and farm-work? and the change is going on with great speed. -The woman of fifty years ago would not only have refused to undertake -what the woman to-day achieves; she would have failed in it if she had. -The field of housework was in the last century vastly wider than it -is to-day; yet woman filled it. She spun and wove and knit as well as -sewed; and each household was a factory as well as a home. This sort -of work was differentiated by machinery and taken away from our houses -and wives. For a time woman was made more helpless and dependent than -ever before. But a readjustment appears to be going on. Woman has gone -out of the house and followed work. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_344">[Pg 344]</span> sex is developing a robustness -and alertness and enterprise that we had attributed to man alone; it is -a revolutionary change in the mental adaptability, physical endurance, -and business capacity of woman.</p> - -<p>The Swiss peasants may not shine by brilliant qualities or seductive -manners, but they are strongly framed, broad-chested, powerful, calm -in countenance, frank and open in expression, with bright eyes, and -largely sculptured features, but of rather heavy gait. The women are -active in figure, with expanded shoulders, supple arms, elastic limbs, -blue eyes, and healthy complexions. Light hair largely predominates, -ninety out of one hundred have hair of the different shades that make -auburn, from the very light-brown to the very fair, but few have red -hair, and scarcely any black. A mixture of manly beauty and feminine -modesty is harmoniously blended in their physiognomy; they appear -robust without coarseness; and their voices are soft and musical, -common to dwellers in cold countries. With these peasants where the -homespun is not unknown every one eats the bread of carefulness. They -are frugal and sparing in food; in the larder there is left little for -the mice at night. The diet of rye bread, milk, cheese, and potatoes -is at least wholesome, for they are all produced at home. They use -but little fresh meat, and mostly vegetables and bread. Of the latter -they are the champion consumers, it being estimated that the yearly -bread consumption is as high as three hundred and six pounds <i>per -capita</i>. Meeting children on the country road or village street, you -are sure to find almost every one of them munching bread, and it will -be entirely guiltless of sugar or jam. With the poorer classes meagre -cheese is the staple food. This is made of skimmed milk, and if not -positively bad, this negation of badness is its only virtue. Also dried -or mummy beef is much used. In the high mountain valleys the air is -so dry that for nine months out of the twelve meat has no tendency to -decomposition;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_345">[Pg 345]</span> availing themselves of this favorable condition, they -kill in the autumn the beef, pork, and game they will require for the -ensuing year. It is slightly salted and hung up to dry; in three or -four months’ time it is not only dried, but also cooked, at least the -air has given it all the cooking it will ever receive. It has become as -dry and hard as a board, and internally of the color of an old mahogany -table; externally there is nothing to suggest the idea of meat, and it -is undistinguishable from fragments of the mummies of the sacred bulls -taken from the catacombs at Memphis. Strange as it may appear, when -cut across the grain in shavings no thicker than writing-paper, it is -found not badly flavored, nor unusually repugnant to the process of -digestion. What is lacking in quality of the peasant’s food is made up -in quantity or rather the frequency with which it is partaken of. There -is early breakfast, lunch at nine <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span>, called from its hour -<i>s’nüni</i>, dinner at twelve, lunch again at four <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span>, -called <i>s’vierli</i>, and supper. It is astonishing to see how much -solid flesh, good blood, and healthy color can be produced by such -inferior and limited diet.</p> - -<p>The language of the peasants is characterized by rough gutturals -and the force with which dentals and hissing sounds are pronounced, -a sing-song accent, with numerous diminutions, contractions, and -omissions of the final syllable. There is much of what is designated -under the general name of <i>patois</i>,—a mixture of Celtic, Latin, -and Italian words; a Babylonish dialect,—a parti-colored dress of -patched and piebald languages. This corrupt dialect is very sonorous -and very harmonious, but is the relic of an almost extinguished -antiquity. In the Engadine, and the remote valleys of the Swiss Alps -adjoining Italy and the Tyrol, the peasants use the Romansch and Ladin; -the latter is more musical, and to give an idea of it the following -verse from a popular song is transcribed:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_346">[Pg 346]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent4">“Montagnas, ste bain!</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Tu gad e valleda,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Tu fraischa contreda,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Squir eir in mi adsinga,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Montagnas, ste bain!”</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent4">“Ye mountains, adieu!</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Thou vale with green bowers,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Fresh meadows and flowers,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">When from you I must sever,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Ye mountains, adieu!”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The peasants still observe many manners and customs of the olden times: -some the imprints of the early influences of the Burgundians, others of -the Alemanni and the Ostrogoths. The separation by the mountain ranges -of populations near and akin to each other, which led to the formation -of so many dialects, also favored the growth and long continuance of -local customs and traditions, giving to many localities a strongly -marked individuality.</p> - -<p>In one part of the Canton of Ticino a very quaint marriage ceremony -prevails. The bridegroom dresses in his “Sunday best,” and, accompanied -by as many relatives and friends as he can muster for the fête, goes -to claim his bride. Finding the door locked, he demands admittance; -the inmates ask him his business, and in reply he solicits the hand of -the maiden of his choice. If his answer be deemed satisfactory, he is -successively introduced to a number of matrons and old maids, some, -perhaps, deformed and badly goitered. Then he is presented to some big -dolls, all of whom he scornfully rejects amid general merriment. The -bewildered bridegroom, with his impetuosity and temper sorely tried, -is then informed that his lady love is absent, and he is invited in -to see for himself. He rushes in, searches from room to room until he -finds her ready to go forth in the bridal-dress to the church. These -obstacles thrown across the path of accepted suitors, in order<span class="pagenum" id="Page_347">[Pg 347]</span> to -test their fidelity or to restrain their ardor, are of very ancient -origin. Who has not read of the self-imposed task of Penelope or of -Atlanta, in classic fable; or the story of Brunhilde, in the Norse -mythology, when Gunther’s courage and skill were tested not in vain? In -other remote places the peasants still observe the old German idea of -regulating matrimonial affairs by the Sundays of the month, each Sunday -having a distinct part and significance assigned to it and designated -in turn,—Review Sunday, Decision Sunday, Contract Sunday, Possession -Sunday. On the first the girls appear in dress-parade for the benefit -of the young men with hymeneal hearts. Then they separate, each one -to ponder for a week over the image which caught his or her fancy. -On the following Sunday the enamored swains are permitted to bow to -the objects of their choice; if the bow is returned with a pleasant -smile, he feels encouraged; if his salute is returned coldly, he is -correspondingly discouraged. The third Sunday he is interviewed by -the parents of the young lady, and, if character and conditions are -satisfactorily established, the marriage is arranged to be celebrated -on Possession Sunday. In Uri a citizen was not allowed to marry a -stranger without paying to the village a fine of 300 francs. In many -places the local spirit is strong as to social relations, and the -youth in one Commune who would court a girl of another district meets -a rude reception from her fellow-villagers. During the fourteenth -century the attendants at a wedding were limited to a very few guests. -In Zurich the most distinguished personage dared not invite more than -twenty mothers of families to the wedding feast, nor have more than two -hautboys, two violins, and two singers. The bridegroom paid for the -wedding dinner, the cost of which was fixed so much <i>per capita</i> -for every invited male, married female, and maiden; the allowance for -the first was double that of the second, and four times that of the -third. In other Cantons the wedding was a grand occasion,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_348">[Pg 348]</span> an imposing -and public affair in which the whole village was expected to take -part. In the house of the newly-married pair there were open tables, -and drinking, dancing, and feasting went on all night. But these -Pantagruel repasts are now no longer in fashion anywhere. The day fixed -for the wedding, among the peasants, is always Sunday. In the morning, -before going to church, the invited guests meet at the bride’s house -to partake of wine, soup, and fritters. After the marriage ceremony, -the party go in procession to the bridegroom’s house, where dinner is -served; the priest delivers a long discourse, and other orators hold -forth. In the evening there is dancing, and at the stroke of midnight -the guests form a ring round the wedded pair and take off their -crowns, and, after a few words of encouragement, they are left alone. -In some places a man was not permitted to marry unless he had certain -possessions, and could show himself able to defend his homestead from -fire and robbers; he must have arms and uniform, hatchet, bucket, and -ladder. Custom, at least, was law to a woman. She must have acquired -a sufficient stock of linen and have learned many domestic arts; thus -Swiss women became famous for their linen, and a girl would begin -laying up her stock of household and domestic articles <i>pour mon cher -petit ménage</i> long before she met her partner for life. The custom -of Saturday-night visits among the young peasant people, whose daily -labors keep them away during the week, still prevails. On Saturday -night the young Swiss comes under the window of the fair lady to whom -he intends paying his addresses, or with whom he only wishes to become -acquainted. Being visiting-night, and expecting company, she is at the -window, neatly dressed, and admits or rejects the petition, for which -her suitor is not at any trouble of improvisation, for it is according -to a received form, learned by heart, and generally in verse; and the -answer is in verse also. The young man, permission obtained, climbs -up to the window,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_349">[Pg 349]</span> and there he sits on the sill and is offered some -refreshments. According as his views are more or less serious, and he -proves more or less acceptable, he is allowed to come into the room or -suffered to remain outside.</p> - -<p>The last solemnities, those of death and burial, have among the -peasants of the Latin Cantons something violent and passionate in their -character. For several Sundays after the funeral the women, dressed in -mourning with a head-band across the forehead, meet in the cemetery -around the grave, and, in a mournful and harrowing concert, renew -their tears and lamentations. The nearest relations carry the coffin; -little children follow, dressed as angels, all in white, with crowns -on their heads; then come the <i>white penitents</i>, dressed in their -death-shirt, or the robe of the brotherhood. White is the mourning -color, and persons with whom you meet with a broad white band on their -dress have lost a member of their family.</p> - -<p>The picturesque costumes of the Swiss peasantry, which formerly were -the pride and distinguishing marks of the several Cantons, have almost -disappeared; their use being confined to holidays, festivals, or as -advertisements at public resorts. The Bernese have their snow-white -shift-sleeves rolled up to the shoulder exposing to view a sinewy -sunburnt arm, the dark-red stays laced with black in front, silk -aprons, silver chains, and buckles, colored skirts just short enough to -show a home-made white stocking, a heavy gaiter shoe, a beehive-shaped -hat, and long yellow hair in a single plait hanging down nearly to the -heels, along a back made very straight by the habit of carrying pails -of milk and water on the head. In French Switzerland long tresses, -trimmed with black ribbon, descend on each side of the neck, a narrow -dark bodice restrains the waist, the bosom is covered by a chemise -plaited in a thousand folds and whiter than snow, a short and ample -under-petticoat leaves the leg exposed above the ankle, and red garters -full in sight. These costumes really have nothing to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_350">[Pg 350]</span> recommend them -except their peculiarity; there is something very irresponsive in them, -adding nothing to the beauty of person or grace of bearing, but simply -tending to make the wearers, like Lord Dundreary’s girls, “look more -or less alike, generally more alike;” none of them are pretty except -on paper, yet even the ugliest of them all, worn by the homeliest -women, help to make up the sum of national peculiarities and add to the -picturesqueness. The men affect immensely broad pants, a large round -coat high in the collar, short in the waist, with two little ludicrous -tails in the very small of the back, and a soft beaver hat pushed -sideways on the head; the complete appearance is sometimes suggested -of a walking porpoise. The present ordinary male and female dress is -somewhat sombre, little use of bright color is made, and regard is had -for that which will wear best and require least washing; the material -is either undyed homespun woollen cloth or coarse blue frieze, and the -garments are clumsily made, stiff and heavy.</p> - -<p>Human character appears to consist of two opposite varieties: one -that makes a fetich of the past, and shrinks from changes as from a -rude immorality; the other, that dashes forward impatiently after -progression and development. In most states these temperaments are -brought together in the diversity of persons, and the reforming and -conserving influences work out in harmony the course of society. -But in Switzerland can be found peasant communities where nothing -but conservatives are generated. Time seems to have slumbered among -them for centuries; their character has continued ancient in modern -times.<a id="FNanchor_92" href="#Footnote_92" class="fnanchor">92</a> They have always been and will<span class="pagenum" id="Page_351">[Pg 351]</span> ever be peasants. They are -religious, unaffected, industrious people; shepherds, agriculturists, -artisans, soldiers, patriots, and, above all, freemen, full of song, -labor, and fight. They wish to be ruled by habits rather than laws, -with traditional customs as a legislative code. What matters if the -storm rages, and if it snows, if the wind blusters in the pine forest, -if a man shut up in his cottage has but black bread and cheese, under -his smoky light and beside his fire of turf? Another kingdom opens to -reward him, the kingdom of inward contentment; his wife loves him and -is faithful; his children round his hearth spell out the old family -Bible; he is the master in his home, the owner and protector; and if so -be that he needs assistance, he knows that at the first appeal he will -see his neighbors stand faithfully and bravely by his side,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent4">“And each shall care for other,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">And each to each shall bend,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">To the poor a noble brother,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">To the good an equal friend.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Quite a different world from the every-day world of railways and -electricity; this carefully got-up world, gloved and starched, that -scorns the unbought charm and the sublime simplicity, the severe and -contented virtue, of the children of nature. The peasant in rags, -coming out of his larch forest, brings with him a breath of wild -nature; and the young girl, mounted on her donkey, fresh and rosy as -the rhododendrons, is as simple and natural as they. This blue-bloused -son of the soil, trained to the habits of order by centuries of -freedom, understands his rights and has been taught at school his -civic<span class="pagenum" id="Page_352">[Pg 352]</span> duties, and knows something of the laws and the constitution -of his country. Inquire of him, and you will probably learn that he -is a Deputy and a Communal Councillor, and may one day be President -of the Confederation. There is much of all that constitutes both the -good man and the good citizen distributed throughout the peasants. In -their great cathedral of nature, the harsh clamor and ceaseless unrest -of the outer world find but little place and less concern. Rejecting -those factitious wants which luxury creates, the expense and way of -living are proportioned to their small means, and every one, sooner -or later, is sure of something which he enjoys in quiet and security. -The very spirit of picturesqueness hovers over their mountain homes, -and lingers in their peaceful vales whispering of a past fraught with -quaint traditions and glorious memories; and of a present, full of -self-supporting energy, reciprocal dispositions to neighborly help, -a spontaneous tendency to order, forethought, plodding industry, -sobriety, and contentment.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“And e’en those hills that round his mansion rise</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Enhance the bliss his scanty fund supplies.</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Dear is that shed to which his soul conforms,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And dear that hill which lifts him to the storms;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And as a child, when scaring sounds molest,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Clings close and closer to the mother’s breast,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">So the loud torrent, and the whirlwind’s roar,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">But bind him to his native mountains more.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_353">[Pg 353]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII.<br> -<span class="small"> - -NATURAL BEAUTIES AND ATTRACTIONS.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“A wilderness of sweets: for nature here</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Wanton’d as in her prime, and play’d at will,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Her virgin fancies pouring forth more sweet,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">While above rule of art, enormous bliss.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - - -<p>No spot in Europe can compare with Switzerland in loveliness and rural -charms; in variety, boldness, and sublimity of scenery; in tonic, -steel-strong air, a fine intoxicant of mental and physical joy and -power. It is a land of valleys, exquisite in their loveliness, enriched -by numberless streams, lakes, mountains, peak, and pass:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Hills peep o’er hills, and Alps on Alps arise.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Nowhere else, in one quarter of the globe, has nature laid her hand -on the face of the earth with the same majesty; no other division -of it presents the same contrasts in a panorama so astonishing; no -other exhibits so surprising a diversity of landscapes, caverns and -waterfalls, fields of ice and cascades, green and broad mountain-sides, -pastoral abodes and smiling vales, winding and rocky paths, aerial -bridges and infernal glens, eternal snows and luxuriant pastures, -forests of dark larches and congress of hoary mountains, austere -loveliness and lofty nobleness:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Ever charming, ever new,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">When will the landscape tire the view?</div> - <div class="verse indent2">The mountain’s fall, the river’s flow,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">The wooded valleys, warm and low;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">The windy summits wild and high,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Roughly rushing on the sky;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Town and village, tower and farm,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Each give to each a double charm.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_354">[Pg 354]</span></p> -<p>If the Neapolitan be moved to call the environments of his capital -“<i>un pezzo del cielo caduto in terra</i>” (“a bit of heaven fallen -upon the earth”), the Swiss may more modestly claim that they have that -piece of the Garden of Eden only which the angels of the legend lost -on their way. It is impossible to convey a vivid, and at the same time -an accurate, impression of grand scenery by the use of words. Written -accounts, when they come near their climax, fall as much below the -intention as words are less substantial than things.</p> - -<p>The <i>mountains</i> come first in the glory and charm of Switzerland’s -natural beauties and attractions. They encompass us on every hand; fill -our eyes when we are walking and haunt our dreams during sleep,—so -beautiful, so majestic, and yet so lovely. Grandeur of bulk and mass -is conjoined with splendor and fulness of detail; form and shape are -crowned with soaring peak and matchless line; and the summits mingle -with that sky which seems to be the only fitting background for the -eternal hills. On the face of a topographical map Switzerland appears -to consist chiefly of mountains lying near together, or piled one upon -another, as if the story of the Titans was realized, and with narrow -valleys between them. Of the western, central, and eastern Alps, -constituting the whole Alpine system, a part of the first, the whole -of the second, and none of the third division belong to Switzerland. -The entire giant fabric, rising concentrically and almost abruptly from -the surrounding plains, offers its grandest development in Switzerland -and Savoy. There are points of view in Switzerland whence the array -of Alpine peaks, semicircular in form, presented at once to the eye, -extends for more than one hundred and twenty miles, and comprises -from two hundred to three hundred distinct summits, capped with snow -or bristling with bare rocks. The Swiss Alps are divided into several -sections,—the Pennine Alps, the Helvetian Alps, the Rhetian Alps, and -the Bernese Alps; all radiate from a central group, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_355">[Pg 355]</span> St. Gothard -being the key of the entire system, and all converge upon it. The -Pennine are the loftiest, including Mont Blanc,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent10">“the monarch of mountains:</div> - <div class="verse indent4">They crown’d him long ago,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">On a throne of rocks, in a robe of clouds,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">With a diadem of snow.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>It is true that Mont Blanc is in Upper Savoy, just across the Swiss -frontier, but it is a part of the same wonderful formation, and few -people think of it without passing it incontinently to the credit of -Switzerland.</p> - -<p>Then come the Finsteraarhorn and Monte Rosa, being, next after Mont -Blanc, the two highest mountains in Europe. The most important ranges -are the Alps, which run along the Italian frontier, the Bernese -Oberland, and the Juras, which separate Switzerland on the west from -France. Of the Bernese Alps the Finsteraarhorn, Jungfrau, Eiger, and -Schreckhorn are the most conspicuous. As to height, the Alps are -divided into the High Alps, rising from eight thousand to fifteen -thousand feet above the level of the sea, and covered with perpetual -snow and ice; the Middle Alps, beginning at about five thousand five -hundred feet above the sea and rising to the point of perpetual -congelation; and the Low Alps, commencing with an elevation of about -two thousand feet. The actual height of the Swiss mountain fluctuates -as much as twenty-five feet, owing to the varying thickness of the -stratum of snow that covers the summit. Some present pure white peaks; -some are black and riven under the frown of imperious cumuli; some -have cornices, bosses, and amphitheatres; others have blue rifts, -snow precipices, and glaciers issuing from their hollows,—“a chaos -of metamorphic confusion, paradoxical conglomerates, strata twisted, -pitched vertically or upside-down, levels changed by upheavals or -depression.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_356">[Pg 356]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“As Atlas fix’d, each hoary pile appears</div> - <div class="verse indent2">The gather’d winter of a thousand years.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>A mountain guide will enumerate for you the names of the celebrated -summits, as a cicerone points out the most illustrious figures in a -museum of sculpture. Each of these mountains has its biography,—its -history,—which the guide will be sure to relate. One takes life, it -is a sanguinary homicidal Alp; another, on the contrary, is humane, -hospitable, it offers safe sheltering-places to strayed travellers. -The Matterhorn is a great storm-breeder.<a id="FNanchor_93" href="#Footnote_93" class="fnanchor">93</a> The Schreckhorn is a peak -of terror, the grimmest fiend of the Oberland; the Finsteraarhorn is a -black peak of the Aar; Diablerets (Devil’s Strokes) is a name given to -another in consequence of its terrible landslips, which have caused a -popular superstition that, like Avernus, it is the portal of hell, and -haunted by evil spirits. Differing in form, altitude, and color, each -of them has its physiognomy and its character, and even “its soul,” as -Michelet says.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Veil’d from eternity, the Jungfrau soars,”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>not a single massive pyramid, but a series of crests rising -terrace-fashion above each other, with a zone of névés and glaciers. -The pure, unsullied snow which always covers this mountain, it is -supposed, gave occasion to its name, which signifies “the virgin.” It -is a prime favorite with the Swiss,—the great Diana of the Oberland -range. There is some spell, some mysterious potency in it. A sight -never to be forgotten, is to behold the marble dome of this stately -temple of nature, kindling in the fire of the setting sun, or silvering -in the light of a full moon, with the gold-fringed clouds playing -wantonly about,—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_357">[Pg 357]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“To bathe the virgin’s marble brow,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Or crown her head with evening gold.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>On the Wengern Mountain, in full view of the Jungfrau, in 1816, Byron -composed three of his noblest poems,—“The Prisoner of Chillon,” the -third canto of “Childe Harold,” and “Manfred,” in the latter of which -he describes the Jungfrau as</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent10">“This most steep, fantastic pinnacle,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">The fretwork of some earthquake,—where the clouds</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Pause to repose themselves in passing by.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>All the Alps have, more or less, naked excrescences, which rise above -the crest of the range, and which, in the language of the country, are -not inaptly termed “dents,” from some fancied and plausible resemblance -to human teeth.</p> - -<p>Professor Tyndall, writing of the wondrous scene presented by the -Swiss mountains, says: “I asked myself, how was this colossal work -performed? Who chiselled these mighty and picturesque masses out of -a mere protuberance of the earth? And the answer was at hand. Ever -young, ever mighty, with the vigor of a thousand years still within -him, the real sculptor was even then climbing up the eastern sky. It -was he who raised aloft the waters which cut out the ravines; it was he -who planted the glaciers on the mountain slopes, thus giving gravity -a plough to open up the valleys; and it is he who, acting through -the ages, will finally lay low these mighty mountains, rolling them -gradually seaward, sowing the seeds of continents to be, so that the -people of another earth may see mould spread and corn wave over the -hidden rocks which at this moment bear the weight of the Jungfrau.”</p> - -<p>Mountains at once excite and satisfy an ideal in the soul, which holds -kin with the divine in nature. They ennoble life by their majesty -and fortify it by their stately beauty. The human mind thirsts after -immensity and immutability,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_358">[Pg 358]</span> and duration without bounds; but it needs -some tangible object from which to take its flight, something present -to lead to futurity, something bounded from whence to rise to the -infinite. “Earth has built the great watch-towers of the mountains, -and they lift their heads far up into the sky and gaze ever upward -and around to see if the judge of the world comes not.”<a id="FNanchor_94" href="#Footnote_94" class="fnanchor">94</a> Their -cloud-capped summits are awful in their mysterious shrouds of darkness, -and their sudden thunder crashing amid overhanging precipices is often -terrible in its shock. With many their gloomy sublimity, hard, jagged, -and torn, produces an uncomfortable feeling: Goethe wrote, “Switzerland -with its mountains at first made so great an impression upon me that -it disturbed and confused me, only after repeated visits did I feel -at my ease among them.” There is something inexpressibly interesting -in their society, their age, their duration without change, and their -majestic repose; their fixed, frozen, changeless glory. The sun rolls -his purple tides of light through the air that surrounds their summits, -but his beams wake no seed-time and ripen no harvest. The moon and -the stars rise and move, and decline along the horizon, century after -century, but the sweet vicissitudes of the season and of time move -not the sympathies of these pale, stern peaks, over which broods one -eternal winter. Upon them the vivifying and ordering syllables of -creation seem never to have passed; a realm of chaos reserved to the -primeval empire of the <i>formless</i> and the <i>void</i>; where there -is brilliance without warmth, summer without foliage, and days but no -duties. Beneath the overwhelming radiance of a world of light, whose -reflection makes every valley beneath them rejoice, these giants flaunt -their crowns of snow everlastingly in the very face of the sun. They -are so sharply defined and distinct that they seem to be within arm’s -reach; apparent nearness, yet a sense<span class="pagenum" id="Page_359">[Pg 359]</span> of untraversable remoteness, -like heaven itself, at once the most distant from us and the nearest. -Their angle of elevation, seen from a distance, is very small indeed. -Faithfully represented in a drawing, the effect would be insignificant; -but their aerial perspective amply restores the proportions lost in the -mathematical perspective. “Mountains are the beginning and end of all -natural scenery,” and there is no Landseer for Alpine pictures. They -are too vast and too simple; and the scene, though its objects are so -few, is too expanded for the canvas.</p> - -<p>The <i>Glaciers</i> of the Alps, frozen streams of ice, are remarkable -phenomena of nature, and possess the greatest interest for geologists. -The name <i>Glacier</i> is French; the German word is <i>Gletscher</i>, -and the Italian <i>Ghiacciaio</i>. Ruskin calls them “silent and solemn -causeways, broad enough for the march of an army in a line of battle, -and quiet as a street of tombs in a buried city;” Longfellow describes -them as “resembling a vast gauntlet, of which the gorge represents the -wrist, while the lower glacier, cleft by its fissures into fingers, -like ridges, is typified by the hand.” With the exception of the -Engadine, where the limits do not begin below ten thousand and seventy -feet, in the other parts of Switzerland the limit of the glaciers and -of the eternal snow is met with at eight thousand seven hundred and -forty to nine thousand one hundred and eighty feet. The average height -of the snow-line fluctuates according to north or south aspect, and -greater or less exposure to the south wind, but in exceptionally warm -summers, the snow completely melts away on summits having an altitude -of over eleven thousand feet. The common expression, the “line of -perpetual snow,” is misleading; it is only correctly used to indicate -the altitude above which the mountains always appear white, because at -that height it is merely the surface which at times thus gets partially -melted. These masses of ice or glaciers are called streams, because,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_360">[Pg 360]</span> -though imperceptibly, they really move along; they are continually -descending towards the valley from the mountain-tops:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“The glacier’s cold and restless mass</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Moves onward day by day.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Their immobility is only apparent, they move and advance without -ceasing. Careful investigation has ascertained the rate of motion of -a glacier to be as much as two feet in twenty-four hours; but it is a -curious fact that the whole stream does not move at the same rate; the -centre moves quicker than the sides and drags them after it. Agassiz, -the Swiss naturalist, began in 1842 a series of careful observations -on the Aar glacier, taking up his abode in a little hut constructed on -purpose, and called the “<i>Hôtel des Neuchâtelois</i>.” Men mocked -at him when he set up his stakes on the glacier to discover the rate -of the invisible motion, but he persisted in his minute, painstaking -labors, futile and inconsequential as they seemed to the unscientific -mind, till he plucked out from every glacier in Switzerland the heart -of its mysterious movement. He held that the differences in speed -between different and sundry parts of the same glacier were the results -of unequal density and of unequal declivity. Savants differ as to -the causes which set the glacier in motion. Schaelzer holds that its -expansion arises from thaw; Professor Hugi is of the same opinion, that -the glacier, like an enormous sponge filled with aqueous particles, -expands and grows larger when it freezes. Of all the theories that of -De Saussure is the most generally accepted. He attributes the forward -movement of a glacier to gravitation,—that is to say, to the pressure -of the superior masses on the inferior. Certain naturalists affirm that -the glaciers add to their power by their own cold, and that in time, -without the intervention of some new natural phenomenon, they will -eventually extend themselves downward into the valleys that lie on the -next level<span class="pagenum" id="Page_361">[Pg 361]</span> beneath, overcoming vegetation and destroying life. There -must be a limit somewhere to the increase of the ice, and it is almost -certain that these limits have been attained during the centuries that -the present physical formation of Switzerland is known to have existed. -As a whole, the contest between heat and cold ought to be set down as -producing equal effects.</p> - -<p>The constant heavy pressure on the glacial ice, and the tension -resulting from obstacles in the channel followed by it, cause splits -of large masses to occur, and force them so far to separate that there -is no chance of regelation. These splits are the <i>crevasses</i> -met with in many glaciers, and one of the most dangerous features -to climbers, especially when they are concealed by a treacherous -coating of snow. The transverse crevasses are so close together and -form such a bewildering labyrinth that it requires a good pilot and -experienced guide to steer clear of their difficulties. In proportion -as the glacier develops, these crevasses or fissures enlarge. Some -of them form into deep valleys, abysses, and unfathomable gulfs. If -one falls into a crevasse, it is alleged he hears everything that -is said above him, but cannot make himself heard. The ice of these -fissures has tints of extraordinary fineness and delicacy; it is of -a pale and tender blue, but if you detach a piece to examine it in -full light, its beautiful ideal blue color disappears, and you have -nothing in your hand but a pale, colorless block. The crevasses, at -times all lined with the purest, smoothest snow, open up like great -alcoves, hung in clouds of ice with delicate ornaments thrown on them -by the wind. They modify and change every spring, when the winter’s -accumulation of snow melts under the action of the heat, and the frost -of the nights incorporates it with the glacier. The guides, therefore, -before conducting parties at the beginning of the season, sound the -old crevasses, and study the new features of the glacier, its curves, -its bridges of snow suspended in the air, its abysses covered with a -frail surface, its<span class="pagenum" id="Page_362">[Pg 362]</span> fantastic architecture of staircases and terraces -of ice. The glacier ice, made of annual beds disposed in vertical bands -of white and blue, does not resemble ordinary ice, which is homogeneous -throughout; it is granular, traversed by a multitude of small canals, -by a net-work of veins in which a bluish water circulates, and which -penetrates the whole thickness of the ice. The water that escapes from -a glacier is either black, like ink, or green, like absinthe, or white, -like milk; it is always troubled, and charged with mud or earth full of -fertilizing matter. So, while the glaciers make the higher valleys into -a land of desolation and misery, lower down on the slopes that drink -life from its flood, it is a garden, an orchard, a rich vine country, -smiling hill-sides, shaded with trees and crowned with flowers. While -a glacier is a stream of ice, it is not formed of frozen water, but -of frozen snow. The snow of the mountain-top is a fine dry powder, -which is formed into a granular mass by the action of the sun shining -on it in the middle of the day; what is thus partially melted quickly -freezes again each evening into globular forms, consequently a glacier -is not slipping like ordinary ice. This process has gone on for unknown -ages. Geologists think that the glaciers of the present day are “mere -pigmies as compared to the giants of the glacial epoch;” and that their -action has had much to do with the architecture of the Alps; that the -ice exerts a crushing force on every point of its bed which bears -its weight, and the glaciers would naturally scoop out and carve the -mountains and valleys into the slopes which we now see; and that the -plains of Italy and Switzerland are covered with <i>débris</i> of the -Alps. These geologists are pretty well agreed that the Lake of Geneva -was excavated by a glacier. Whatever may be thought of the erosive -theory, there is no doubt that these dreary wastes of ice are of great -use in the economy of nature. They are the locked-up reservoirs, the -sealed fountains which immediately fertilize the plains of Lombardy, -the valley of the Rhone, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_363">[Pg 363]</span> of Southern Germany, and from which the -vast rivers traversing the great continents of our globe are sustained. -The summer heat, which dries up sources of water, first opens out their -bountiful supplies. When the rivers of the plain begin to shrink and -dwindle within their parched beds, the torrents of the Alps, fed by the -melting snow and glaciers, rush down from the mountains and supply the -deficiency. Professor Hugi’s hypothesis, that the glacier is alive, -is often suggested by the singular noises produced by the forcing of -air and water through passages in the body of the glacier. In the eyes -of the credulous mountaineers who live in the silence which broods -over the sombre cliffs, the glacier is a place of grief and exile, -of penance and punishment, of expiation and tears, such a place as -described by Dante in his “Inferno,” where</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent12">“... various tongues,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Horrible languages, outcries of woe,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Accents of anger, voices deep and hoarse,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">With hands together smote, that swelled the sounds,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Made a tumult that forever whirls</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Round through that air, with solid darkness stained,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Like to the sand that in the whirlwind flies.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The peasants tell old stories of ice-gods ruling and thundering with -strange sounds, and the “lamentations and loud moans” of prisoners -in these frozen caves. The legends people the glaciers only with -gloomy, unhappy beings, trembling with fear, weighed down by some -malediction. Professor Helm has made a careful survey of the Alpine -glaciers, and reckons them at eleven hundred and fifty-five, of which -Swiss territory includes four hundred and seventy-one. He estimates -the total superficial area of these glaciers between three thousand -and four thousand square kilometres; the area of the Swiss glaciers is -put down as eighteen hundred and thirty-nine square kilometres. They -begin in the Canton of Glarus,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_364">[Pg 364]</span> extend to the Grisons, thence to the -Canton of Uri, and finally down to Bern. Of these Swiss glaciers, one -hundred and thirty-eight are of the first rank,—that is, over four -and three-quarters of a mile long. Eight glaciers unite at the foot -of Monte Rosa, seven at the foot of the Matterhorn, and five at the -foot of the Finsteraarhorn. The <i>Mer de Glace</i>, which surrounds -the Bernina, is more than sixteen leagues in circumference. Its -tempestuous waves, with azure reflections like lava, pile themselves -in the defiles, precipitate themselves into the gorges, or run by a -rapid descent into the depths of the valleys; sometimes they leap up -between two points of rocks, dart into space, and remain suspended -above the abyss till the day when their frozen sheet is broken up and -hurled into its depths. There are few grander sights than the Bernina, -with its boldly contoured granitic rocks and its glaciers creeping low -down into the valleys. The Canton of Grisons, of which the Engadine -forms a part, counts more than one hundred and fifty glaciers. The -great ice-fields of the Bernese Oberland consist of one hundred and -eight to one hundred and twenty square miles in extent, and are the -most extensive in Europe. The boundaries are the Valais, the Grimsel, -the valley of the Aar, and the Gemmi, and spread over more than two -hundred and thirty thousand acres. The longest glacier is the <i>Gross -Aletsch</i> of the Bernese Oberland; it is fifteen miles long, and has -a basin forty-nine and eight-tenths square miles, and a maximum breadth -of nineteen hundred and sixty-eight yards. The Rhone glacier is admired -for its natural beauties, more especially on account of its terminal -face, furrowed by huge crevasses. The lowest point to which a Swiss -glacier is known to have descended is three thousand two hundred and -twenty-five feet, attained by the Lower Grindelwald glacier in 1818. -As to the thickness of the glaciers there exist no reliable data. In -the series of investigations and measurements made by Professor Agassiz -on the Aar glacier, fifty years ago, he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_365">[Pg 365]</span> excavated to a depth of two -hundred and sixty metres (over eight hundred and thirty feet), and -did not get to the bottom. He estimated the depth of the Aar glacier, -at a point below the junction of the Finsteraarhorn and Lauter-Aar -glaciers, at four hundred and sixty metres, or about fifteen hundred -and ten feet. In viewing these glaciers no one, however sceptical, -however unimaginative, can doubt the honesty of the great fiery Swiss -naturalist’s belief in the historical reality of a glacial epoch, that -this part of Switzerland is the natural result of the terrific orgy and -dynamic force of profound glaciation, and that</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent20">“Yon towers of ice</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Since the creation’s dawn have known no thaw.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The upper part of the glacier is known as the <i>Névé</i> or -<i>Firn</i>, and it is the lower part alone which is designated -among the Swiss as the glacier. The névés are those fields of -dazzling snow which extend above the zone of the glaciers, and their -incessant transformation produces the glaciers. This snow of the -névés does not resemble that lower down; it is harder, colder, and -has the appearance of needles of pounded ice or little crystallized -stars, and the alternations from frost to thaw give to this snow the -brilliance of metal and a consistency approaching that of ice. The -name <i>Moraine</i> is given to those piles of stones, pebbles, blocks -of rock, <i>débris</i> of all sorts that the glacier brings down with -it in its course, and which it gets rid of as soon as possible. “The -glacier is always cleansing itself,” and if it expands, it breaks up -and disperses its moraine; it pushes it, throwing out and piling on -the sides even the largest blocks of stone. If, on the contrary, it -contracts, part of this chaos of <i>débris</i>, left in its place, -becomes covered by degrees with a carpet of turf. When two glaciers -descend by opposite valleys, abutting on the same bed, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_366">[Pg 366]</span> meet, their -moraines mingle with one another, and are sometimes piled up till they -attain a width of almost a thousand feet and a height of about seventy. -The <i>Moulins</i> form conduits for the surface-water, to carry it to -the under-ground streams flowing beneath the glacier.</p> - -<p>Enormous masses of snow accumulate in some angle or on some ledge of -the mountains until they either fall by their own weight or are broken -off by oscillations of the air, or the warm ground thaws the lower -stratum, and then the mass begins to slide, gaining in bulk and speed -in its course. This is the terrible <i>avalanche</i>, and dwellings -and even entire villages are buried from thirty to fifty feet deep. It -sometimes descends with a force which causes it to rebound up the side -of the opposite mountain. The avalanche produces a prodigious roar, not -a reverberation of sound, but a prolongation of sound more metallic -and musical than thunder, and may be heard at a great distance. An -avalanche may be set in motion by a very trifling disturbance of the -air: the flight of a bird, the cracking of a whip, the conversation of -persons going along, sometimes suffices to shake and loosen it from the -vertical face of the cliffs to which it is clinging:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Ye toppling crags of ice,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Ye avalanches, whom a breath draws down</div> - <div class="verse indent2">In mountainous o’erwhelming.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">The cutting away of trees, at one time a common cause of -avalanches, is forbidden by a federal law:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Altdorf long ago had been</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Submerged beneath the avalanches’ weight,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Did not the forest there above the town</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Stand like a bulwark to arrest their fall.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>There is a distinction between summer and winter avalanches. The -former are solid avalanches formed of old snow<span class="pagenum" id="Page_367">[Pg 367]</span> that has acquired -almost the solidity of ice. The warmth of spring softens it, loosens -it from the rocks, and it slides down into the valleys; these are -called “melting avalanches,” and they regularly follow certain tracks -which are embanked like the course of a river with wood or bundles -of branches. The most dreaded and terrible avalanches—those of dry -powdery snow—occur only in winter, when sudden squalls and hurricanes -of snow throw the whole atmosphere into chaos. They come down in sudden -whirlwinds, with the violence of a waterspout, and in a few minutes -work great destruction.</p> - -<p>The most memorable avalanche in Switzerland occurred in 1806, when -one of the strata of Mount Rossberg, composed of limestone and flint -pebbles, nearly three miles long, one thousand feet broad, and one -hundred feet thick, precipitated from a height of three thousand feet -and annihilated the three prosperous villages of Goldau, Busingen, -and Lowerz, and killed four hundred persons. Enormous blocks, some of -them still covered with trees, shot through the air as if sent from a -projectile or tossed about like grains of dust. In 1501 a company of -soldiers were swallowed up by an avalanche near the St. Bernard. At -Fontana, in the Canton of Ticino, in 1879, the church and town-hall -were destroyed and many lives lost. On this occasion, within a space -of five minutes, no less than three hundred and fifty thousand cubic -metres of earth and rock came down from a height of four thousand three -hundred feet. In the same year an avalanche came rushing down the -westerly slope of the Jungfrau into Lauterbrunnen valley, a distance -of about seven thousand feet. Its peculiar feature was that, not only -along its course, but even on the opposite side of the valley, twelve -hundred feet away, the atmospheric pressure, which its rapid movement -generated, was so great as to level entire forests. In the Rhone -valley, in 1720, a single avalanche destroyed one hundred and twenty -houses at Ober-Gestalen, killing eighty-eight persons and four hundred -head<span class="pagenum" id="Page_368">[Pg 368]</span> of cattle. The victims were buried in a trench in the churchyard, -where an inscription, still existing, records the event in these words: -“God! what a grief, eight and eighty in one grave!” In the Grisons, the -whole village of Selva was buried, nothing remained visible but the -top of the church-steeple, and Val Vergasca was covered for several -months by an avalanche one thousand feet in length and fifty in depth. -The extraordinary power of the wind, which at times accompanies an -avalanche, is well known and dreaded. A case is recorded in which a -woman, walking to church, was lifted up into the air and carried to -the top of a lofty pine, in which position she remained lodged until -discovered and rescued by the returning congregation. The avalanche -exhibits a striking picture of ruin which nature inflicts upon her own -creations; she buildeth up and taketh down; she lifts the mountains -by her subterranean energies, and then blasts them by her lightnings, -frosts, thaws, and avalanches:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“As where, by age, or rains, or tempests torn,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">A rock from some high precipice is borne;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Trees, herds, and swains involving in the sweep,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">The mass flies furious from the aerial steep,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Leaps down the mountain’s side, with many a bound,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">In fiery whirls, and smokes along the ground.”<a id="FNanchor_95" href="#Footnote_95" class="fnanchor">95</a></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Every movement that is grand or beautiful in the course of rushing -waters seems to be the mission of mountain streams to illustrate. The -fierce rivers rush over rocks with such aimless force that the violence -of the torrent creates a back sweep of the overdriven, mad waves; here -and there in the bed of these rivers are seen blocks of stone, many of -them as large as a good-sized house, heaped up most strangely, jammed -in by their angles, in equilibrium on a point, or forming perilous -bridges over which you may with proper precaution pick your<span class="pagenum" id="Page_369">[Pg 369]</span> way to the -other side. The quarry from which the materials of this bridge came is -just above your head, and the miners are still at work,—air, water, -frost, weight, and time. Other blocks are only waiting for the last -moment of the great lever of nature to take the horrid leap, and bury -under some hundred feet of new chaotic ruins the trees and the verdant -lawn below. All round is the sound of water, the beat of the waves on -the shore, the onward flowing of the river, the rush of the torrent, -the splash of the waterfall, or the bubbling of some little stream; -everywhere the music of a hurrying stream accompanies you. Every valley -has its roar and rush of water and cataracts leaping to join the chorus -of torrents below, making one appreciate Wordsworth’s line,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“The cataracts blow their trumpets from the steep.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">There is something which fascinates more in the free -life, the young energy, the sparkling transparency, and merry music of -the smaller streams. The upper Swiss valleys are sweet with perpetual -streamlets, that seem always to have “chosen the steepest places to -come down for the sake of the leaps, scattering their handfuls of -crystals this way and that, as the wind takes them, with all the grace, -but with none of the formalism of fountains, until at last they find -their way down to the turf, and lose themselves in that, silently; -with quiet depth of clear water furrowing among the grass-blades and -looking only like their shadows, but presently emerging again in -little startled gushes and laughing hurries, as if they had remembered -suddenly that the day was too short for them to get down the hill.” On -summer days even the glaciers are furrowed with thousands of threads -of water; innumerable little rills, which run and sparkle over its -sides like streams of quicksilver, and which disappear suddenly in the -moulins, at the bottom of which invisible canals join the extremity of -the glacier. At night all these brooklets are silent, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_370">[Pg 370]</span> stopped; -the cold congeals and imprisons them in a thin coating of ice, which -evaporates again the next day. Of these mountain streams our own poet -Bryant writes,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Thy springs are in the cloud; thy stream</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Begins to move and murmur first</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Where ice-peaks feed the noonday beam,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Or rain-storms on the glacier burst.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">It is easy to have cascades in Switzerland, with its -vast bodies of snow at an elevation which does not preclude melting -in summer, and from which the water has to find its way down rocky -precipices, sometimes thousands of feet. The most noted of these -cascades are the <i>Giessbach</i> and the <i>Staubbach</i>. The first -consists of a succession of seven cascades, embowered in foliage, -leaping from a height of eleven hundred feet, and finally losing -themselves in the waters of the Lake of Brienz; the soft winds swing -the spray as light as a mist of the sunrise or the gentle sway of a -bridal veil, while the rainbow hues rest like kisses on its silver -threads. The Falls of Staubbach, or <i>Fall of Dust</i>, is well named; -it is so ethereal, or dust-like, that it appears at times about to sail -away like a cloud on the wings of the wind; it apparently creeps down -from its lofty rock, a thousand feet on high, and seems to throw itself -timidly into the abyss, and to win slowly against the mass of air. This -retarded appearance in the fall is caused by its being broken into -mist soon after it leaves the shelf over which it is precipitated. In -its centre the fall is purely vapor; but the rock advancing somewhat -towards the base, it collects again into water as it strikes it and -forms a stream at the bottom. It has been compared by poets to “the -tail of the white horse on which death was mounted,” and called a -“sky-born waterfall,” and Goethe describes it,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Streams from the high,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Steep, rocky wall,</div><span class="pagenum" id="Page_371">[Pg 371]</span> - <div class="verse indent2">The purest fount;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">In clouds of spray,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Like silver dust,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">It veils the rock</div> - <div class="verse indent2">In rainbow hues</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And, dancing down,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">With music soft,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Is lost in air.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Wherever the sun can get at the naked rock of the mountain, from July -to September, and find an open fissure, there vegetation climbs, and -clinging, establishes itself, and flourishes, and blooms. Charming -colonies of little flowers seem to have emigrated from the valleys, -and come to hide themselves in the cold deserts, where the brevity of -their life appears to enhance the beauty of their color. To better -resist the hoar-frost, they grow in thick tufts closely pressed -against each other. The rocks are velvet with lichens and mosses, that -anchor their roots into a mass of granite, grappling with a substance -which, when struck with steel, tears up its tempered grain and dashes -out the spark. There are familiar pinks, blue-bells, a species of -forget-me-not, a small star-shaped flower of a deep metallic blue -shading upon green, that flashes through the grass with a moist, -lustrous softness,—it is the smaller gentian, so dear to the poet’s -heart and verse. Then great rose-colored beds of rhododendrons; azaleas -of vivid carmine; golden arnicas, with their stately bearing, like rays -of sunshine turned into flowers; in every direction, orchids, diffusing -a strong odor of vanilla; and the narcissi, which are visible a great -distance, and their odor wafted by the wind, is no less penetrating -than that of an orange grove; the Alpine rose, of which Ruskin says, -“when the traveller finds himself physically exhausted by the pomp -of landscape, let him sink down on his knees and concentrate his -attention on the petals of a rock-rose.” Against the cliffs are rich -clumps of the peerless, delicately-cut <i>Edelweiss</i>; called by -the botanists<span class="pagenum" id="Page_372">[Pg 372]</span> “<i>Gnaphalium alpinum</i>.” It is a peculiar plant -of delicate construction that grows under the snow; containing very -little sap, so that it can be preserved a long time; the blossom is -surrounded by white velvety leaves, and even the stem has a down upon -it. The possession of one is proof of unusual daring, and to gather it, -the hunter, tempted by its beauty and by his love (for it is immensely -valued by the Swiss maidens) climbs the most inaccessible cliffs on -which it grows, and is sometimes found dead at the foot with the flower -in his hand. No art can simulate its beautiful, ermine-like bloom, and -experiments have been made to cultivate it in other places, but it -changes its character and becomes transformed into a new species; in -its Alpine home alone will it flourish, and there must it be sought, -and adorn the hat as the badge of triumph for the Alpine climber. The -mountain is really a botanical garden; the Swiss flora is the largest -on the European continent, in proportion to the area it covers. The -varied local influences and conditions resulting from such a broken -surface, and differences of altitude concur in producing the graduation -and unbounded variety of botanical specimens.</p> - -<p>Trees are also present in great abundance and variety, increasing the -enchantment of the view with their leafy clothing, which, by partly -concealing, adds charm of mystery to the prospect. There are specimens -of noble chestnuts and walnuts, grand old oaks, larches, and gigantic -pines. The walnut-trees disappear at a height of twenty-five hundred -feet; chestnuts and beeches cover the slopes a little higher; to these -succeed the firs, which seem to have sown themselves in a luxuriant -way, some standing alone in green gracefulness, others growing in -pretty little miniature groves; then the knotted oaks, holding by -their strong roots to the precipitous sides; and the burly pines that -flourish at far greater altitudes than either, seeming to require -scarcely any earth, but grasping with their strong, rough roots the -frozen rock, out of which, somehow, they contrive to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_373">[Pg 373]</span> draw moisture. -Some of the ancient pines on the Jungfrau are supposed to have stood -the blasts of winter for a thousand years; they are affirmed to be as -high as one hundred and sixty feet, and to measure twenty-four feet in -circumference. It is their peculiar conical form which enables them to -bow to, and thus resist the force of, the storm. The pine is the king -of the mountains; he strikes his club-foot deep into the cleft of the -rocks, or grasps its span with conscious power; there he lifts his -haughty front, like the warrior monarch that he is,—no flinching about -the pine, let the time be ever so stormy. His throne is the crag and -his crown is a good way up in the heavens, and as for the clouds, he -tears them asunder sometimes and uses them for robes. Then the stern, -deep, awfully deep roar that he makes in a storm. When he has aroused -his energies to meet the storm, the battle-cry he sends down the wind -is heard above all the roar and artillery of thunder, and when the -tempest leaves him, how quietly he settles to his repose,—the scented -breeze of a soft evening breathes upon him and the grim warrior king -wakes his murmuring lute, and through his dusky boughs float sweet and -soothing sounds. Higher still than the pine are the larches, a wood -highly valued; and at last comes the creeping pine, struggling against -the wind and cold: it is the highest climber among Alpine trees, and is -the immediate neighbor of the glacier.</p> - -<p>The perils of wandering in the high Alps remain terribly real, and are -only to be met by knowledge, courage, caution, skill, and strength; -for rashness, ignorance, carelessness, the mountains still leave no -margin, and to these three-fourths of the catastrophes which shock us -are to be traced. Mountaineering without guides is not a thing to be -encouraged. The mountaineer’s instinct on rock and ice is an art quite -as subtle and complex as the art of the seaman or the horseman. The -senses all awake, the eye clear, the heart strong, the limbs steady -yet flexible, with power of recovery in store and ready<span class="pagenum" id="Page_374">[Pg 374]</span> for instant -action should the footing give way, such is the discipline which these -terrible ascents impose. The mountain guides are not ignorant, they -are licensed only after severe examination. They are obliged to take -courses of study; they are taught topography, and how to read a map -and find their way by it; to use the compass and the other instruments -that are indispensable in journeys of exploration; they are also taught -how to bind up wounds, so as to be able to do what is necessary at -once in case of accident; in a word, they are brave, modest, affable, -sunburnt, and scarred men, who have planted a flag on every summit, -and who have lent to the stern and awful mountains the romance of -mountaineering. It is understood that a true Swiss guide is literally -“faithful unto death;” that he does not hesitate to risk his own life -for the sake of his charge, and that instances are known in which it -has not only been risked but actually sacrificed. Many accidents in -mountain-climbing have resulted from an insane effort to dispense with -the services of accredited guides, or disregarding their directions. -In the short space of not quite a month, in 1887, eighteen tourists -lost their lives; one accident on the Jungfrau involving the loss -of six. The fate of blind guides and those they lead is set forth -in unmistakable terms by the Scriptures. Choose for your guides the -hardy men who have learned their business thoroughly, who have been -chamois hunters from their youth, who have lived on the mountains from -their birth, and to whom the snows and rocks and the clouds speak -a language which they can understand, and then accident is almost -impossible. Roping is the common and safest precaution, especially for -ice traversing. A slip-knot is passed over each climber’s head and -shoulders and drawn tight under the arms. It cannot be particularly -pleasant, for at times the one in front makes a spring, forgetting -others are tied behind him, and takes them unawares, nearly pulling -them off their feet; then, on the other hand, oblivious<span class="pagenum" id="Page_375">[Pg 375]</span> of the person -behind you, suddenly you are checked in the middle of your jump, -perhaps, over a crevasse, or when standing in a little niche on a -steep wall of ice a thousand feet high. The graceful alpenstock, so -often seen in the hands of Swiss tourists inscribed with its roll of -triumph, must be taken <i>cum grano salis</i>. Many of them have never -done service beyond mountain hotel parlors, broad piazzas, and great -dining-rooms. They can be bought with “records” complete and shining, -and therefore are not as closely related to mountain-climbing as one -might suspect them to be. It is refreshing to see young lads stalking -about with these alpenstocks and ice-axes, like conquerors amid a -subject race. What lofty scorn they have for every man who has not -ascended the highest peak, and yet they never dared to try it! They -call themselves mountaineers, and at evening and in bad weather stalk -and lounge about the hotel, moody, terrible, and statuesque; they -speak to none but to other young braves, with whom they perpetually -mutter dark things about horrid places and cutting the record. No; -good mountaineering is the education of a lifetime begun in childhood, -and these pretentious youths are no more mountaineers than their boots -are. Under proper precautions, and with an experienced guide, it is -glorious and healthful exercise, and for purposes of science has been -of incalculable value.</p> - -<p>In the later Middle Ages invalids came to <i>Baden</i>, in the Canton -of Aargau, for the sake of the mineral waters; and the springs of -<i>Pfäffers</i> were known in 1242, and the waters considered very -efficacious, particularly in the case of persons “who had been -tortured.” These places are still visited, but the air-cure of the -mountain has almost superseded them. Jean Jacques Rousseau expressed -surprise that “bathing in the salubrious and beneficial mountain air -had not yet become one of the great resources of medical science or of -moral education.” There would be no occasion to-day for at least one<span class="pagenum" id="Page_376">[Pg 376]</span> -part of his surprise. The Swiss mountains have developed well-defined -and well-known health phases. They have become mediciners, and the -snow-clad peaks and the upper snow-clad valleys are being looked to -by physicians for the relief of certain ailments not easily remedied -by other means. Davos Platz and St. Moritz, in the Engadine, are -among the most familiar regions famed for the climatic treatment -of disease,—possessing remarkable health-giving properties in -lung trouble. It is the exquisite purity of the air, exercise, and -especial modes of life which the mountains impose that serve as the -chief medicine, and give these heights their beneficial virtues. The -rarefaction has its own and special effect. The breathing becomes -quicker, deeper, and fuller. One breathes fifteen to twenty-five per -cent. less air to produce a given weight of carbonic acid. The action -of the air on the blood in the lungs seems to be facilitated with -decreasing density; one, however, must ascend over two thousand feet -before the lighter air-pressure begins to make itself appreciable, -but for every one thousand feet additional the difference in the -rarefaction becomes of a very marked character. Here the law of “use -and disuse of organs” is illustrated in typical fashion,—parts of -the lungs but little used in ordinary life are brought freely into -use,—one is forced to breathe deeply, thus the vital capacity is -enlarged, and, by favoring exercise of little-used parts banishes the -tendency to disease from one of the seats of life. This so-called -diaphanous rarefied air is not air, it is a celestial ether; and so -with the sun, though it is hot, what you feel is not heat, it is a -permeating, invigorating, life-creating warmth. This warmth, then, -which the sun imparts to this ether pervades your lungs, your heart, -and reaches to your very bones. This virginally pure air makes you -conscious of a lighter and of a quicker life, an unknown facility -in breathing, and a lightness of body. Its electric freshness is a -brilliant vitality,—it is rest, inspiration, resolve. Then you are<span class="pagenum" id="Page_377">[Pg 377]</span> -surrounded with pine forests, and the bright sun is constantly raising -into the air from their trunks, branches, and leaves myriad molecules -of their resinous exudations. On ascending a mountain the mean annual -temperature decreases on an average of one degree Fahrenheit for every -three hundred and forty-nine feet. The value of fresh air and exercise -is a sentiment possibly as old as humanity itself. It is the same -spirit which animated Hippocrates and Galen when those classic worthies -discoursed upon the art of nature-cure. We really travel in circles in -the case of disease-cure, as in most other things. None the less may we -be thankful that, in our circular search after knowledge, we have come -upon the beaten track of ancient days, and have enlarged the wisdom -which of old showed forth the benefits of a cloudless sky and a pure -ether.</p> - -<p>There are walks and excursions in the mountains for all, for the -invalid as for the cragsman; roads that are marvels of audacity, -crossing tremendous gorges, clinging in dizzy places along the -precipices at the foot of which is heard the boiling torrent, then -sweeping around sudden corners and angles; roads will wind among the -hills which rise steep and lofty from the scanty level place that -lies between them, whilst the hills seem continually to thrust their -great bulk before the wayfarer, as if grimly resolute to forbid his -passage, or close abruptly behind him when he still dares to proceed. -There are broad avenues overarched with spreading elms and maples, -with vistas reminding one of the nave and aisles of a large cathedral. -The mountain-paths are so pretty and charming; they wander about so -capriciously and fancifully; they run so merrily over the moss in the -woods, and beside the murmuring brooks; they climb so cheerfully up the -slopes and hill-sides; they lead you through so much of freshness, and -perfume, and varied scenery, that the pleasures of sight soon make you -oblivious of bodily fatigue. The cemeteries placed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_378">[Pg 378]</span> among these wooded -rocks and pastoral hills recall the wish of Ossian, “Oh, lay me, ye -that see the light, near some rock of my hills; let the thick hazels be -around, let the rustling oak be near; green be the place of my rest, -and let the distant torrent be heard.”</p> - -<p>Switzerland is rich in aquatic landscapes; no country except Norway -and Sweden has such a number of inland lakes. The Lakes of Geneva, -Luzern, Zurich, Thun, Neuchâtel, Bienne, and Zug are all historic, and -have been the subject of numerous pen-pictures. The Lake of Geneva -is the largest of Western Europe, being fifty-seven miles long, and -its greatest width nine miles; it has its storms, its waves, and its -surge; now placid as a mirror, now furious as the Atlantic; at times -a deep-blue sea curling before the gentle waves, then a turbid ocean -dark with the mud and sand from its lowest depths; the peasants on -its banks still laugh at the idea of there being sufficient cordage -in the world to reach to the bottom of the <i>Genfer-See</i>. It is -eleven hundred and fifty-four feet above the sea, and having the same -depth, its bottom coincides with the sea-level; the water is of such -exceeding purity that when analyzed only 0.157 in 1000 contain foreign -elements. The lake lies nearly in the form of a crescent stretching -from the southwest towards the northeast. Mountains rise on every side, -groups of the Alps of Savoy, Valais, and Jura. The northern or the -Swiss shore is chiefly what is known as a <i>côte</i>, or a declivity -that admits of cultivation, with spots of verdant pasture scattered at -its feet and sometimes on its breast, with a cheery range of garden, -chalet, wood, and spire; villas, hamlets, and villages seem to touch -each other down by the banks, and to form but one town, whilst higher -up, they peep out from among the vineyards or nestle under the shade of -walnut-trees. At the foot of the lake is the white city of Geneva, of -which Bancroft wrote, “Had their cause been lost, Alexander Hamilton -would have retired with his bride to Geneva, where nature<span class="pagenum" id="Page_379">[Pg 379]</span> and society -were in their greatest perfection.” The city is divided into two parts -by the Rhone as it glides out of the basin of the lake on its course -towards the Mediterranean. The Arve pours its turbid stream into the -Rhone soon after that river issues from the lake. The contrast between -the two rivers is very striking, the one being as pure and limpid as -the other is foul and muddy. The Rhone seems to scorn the alliance and -keeps as long as possible unmingled with his dirty spouse; two miles -below the place of their junction a difference and opposition between -this ill-assorted couple is still observable; these, however, gradually -abate by long habit, till at last, yielding to necessity, and to the -unrelenting law which joined them together, they mix in perfect union -and flow in a common stream to the end of their course.<a id="FNanchor_96" href="#Footnote_96" class="fnanchor">96</a> At the -head of the lake begins the valley of the Rhone, where George Eliot -said, “that the very sunshine seemed dreary mid the desolation of ruin -and of waste in this long, marshy, squalid valley; and yet, on either -side of the weary valley are noble ranges of granite mountains, and -hill resorts of charm and health.” At the upper part of the lake are -Montreux, Territet, and Vevay, sheltered from the north wind by the -western spurs of the Alps, and celebrated for their beauty, and beloved -of travellers; places of cure and convalescence for invalids, where -the temperature even in winter is of extreme mildness, having a mean -during the year of 48° Fahrenheit at seven o’clock in the morning, -57° at one o’clock in the afternoon, and 50° at nine o’clock in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_380">[Pg 380]</span> -evening; with a barometer register of 28¾ inches at the level of -the lake. Standing at almost any point on the Lake of Geneva, to the -one side towers Dent-du-Midi, calm, proud, and dazzling, like a queen -of brightness; on the other side is seen the Jura through her misty -shroud extending in mellow lines, and a cloudless sky vying in depths -of color with the azure waters. So graceful the outlines, so varied -the details, so imposing the framework in which this lake is set, well -might Voltaire exclaim, “<i>Mon lac est le premier</i>,” (my lake is -the first). For richness combined with grandeur, for softness around -and impressiveness above, for a correspondence of contours on which -the eye reposes with unwearied admiration, from the smiling aspect of -fertility and cultivation at its lower extremity to the sublimity of -a savage nature at its upper, no lake is superior to that of Geneva. -Numberless almost are the distinguished men and women who have lived, -labored, and died upon the shores of this fair lake; every spot has a -tale to tell of genius, or records some history. In the calm retirement -of Lausanne, Gibbon contemplated the decay of empires; Rousseau and -Byron found inspiration on these shores; there is</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Clarens, sweet Clarens, birthplace of deep love!</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Thine air is the young breath of passionate thought;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Thy trees take root in love.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Here is Chillon, with its great white wall sinking into the deep -calm of the water, while its very stones echo memorable events, -from the era of barbarism in 830, when Count Wala, who had held -command of Charlemagne’s forces, was incarcerated within the tower of -this desolate rock during the reign of Louis le Débonnaire, to the -imprisonment of the Salvation Army captain.<a id="FNanchor_97" href="#Footnote_97" class="fnanchor">97</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_381">[Pg 381]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Lake Leman lies by Chillon’s walls;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">A thousand feet in depth below,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Its massy waters meet and flow;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Below the surface of the lake</div> - <div class="verse indent2">The dark vault lies”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">where Bonnivard, the prior of St. Victor and the great asserter of the -independence of Geneva, was found when the castle was wrested from the -Duke of Savoy by the Bernese.</p> - -<p>Along the shores of Lake Geneva the Romans had many stations and posts, -vestiges of which are still visible.<a id="FNanchor_98" href="#Footnote_98" class="fnanchor">98</a> The confusion and the mixture -of interests that succeeded the fall of the Empire gave rise in the -Middle Ages to various baronial castles, ecclesiastical towns, and -towers of defence, the ruins of which still stand on the margin of the -lake or on the eminences a little inland,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Chiefless castles breathing stern farewells</div> - <div class="verse indent2">From gray but leafy walls, where ruin greenly dwells.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The Lake of Luzern, <i>Vierwaldstätter-See</i>, is hardly a single -sheet of water, but is composed of a group of seven basins, some joined -to each other by narrow straits, others intersecting each other at -right angles, giving extreme variety to its breadth; its extreme length -in a diverging line is twenty-four miles; its widest part, taking -in the two arms of Küssnacht and Alpnach (southwest to northeast), -is twelve miles, but the average breadth is much less. There are -repeated eclipses of the landscapes caused by abrupt turnings, bold -promontories, and the amphitheatrical closing in of the mountain -strips, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_382">[Pg 382]</span> again opening up to view. It is scarcely possible to -imagine any combination of beautiful water and bold mountains more -striking, more effective, and more lovely than the scenes that meet -the view in traversing this lake. A dozen different mountains advance -into the lake and check themselves suddenly in the depths of the -gloomy waters. Bare, steep, turret-like rocks hanging amid the clouds; -rich, lawn-like grass in the intervening glades, sparkling with -cottages and gardens, succeed and blend with each other in infinite -alternation. <i>Pilatus</i> and the <i>Rigi</i> guard the approach to -the lake. The former is full of mysterious legendary pools associated -with the haunting spirit of Pontius Pilate. No less than thirty-five -writers have treated of its supernatural apparitions, but a very -natural supposition traces the name to a corruption of <i>pilea</i> -or <i>pileatus</i>,—from the cap of clouds always on its summit. -The Rigi, the most frequented belvedere in the world, stands between -the lakes of Luzern and Zug. It is its situation, rather than its -elevation, which renders it famous. Its summit is little less than six -thousand feet above the level of the sea, but it stands in the midst -of most lovely scenery, and from its top is presented an extensive -panoramic view scarcely equalled anywhere in the Alps. The sunrise -from the Rigi is a spectacle that every tourist contemplates with -eager pleasure. Brilliant in dazzling whiteness stand the mountains -under the first light of the morning; it begins to kindle on their -tops its glowing beacon; suddenly the sunbeams strike their crowns and -convert them into a boss of gold; first the tallest presents a gilded -summit while the others wait in silence, then they, in the order of -their height, come afterwards, relaxing, as the sunbeams strike each -in succession, into a blush and smile. The splendor of the whole -spectacle, when the sun streams all the magic of his beams to cast upon -the land an enchantment greater than its own, is such as to overwhelm -the soul with admiration and astonishment. All who sleep at the -<i>Culm</i>, or<span class="pagenum" id="Page_383">[Pg 383]</span> topmost point, may expect to be awakened by the sound -of a wooden horn, about sunrise, when every one gets up with the hope -of a splendid prospect—a hope often disappointed:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Nine weary, up-hill miles we sped,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">The setting sun to see;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Sulky and grim he went to bed,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Sulky and grim went we.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Seven sleepless hours we tossed, and then,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">The rising sun to see,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Sulky and grim we rose again,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Sulky and grim rose he.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The Lake of Zug, or Zuger-See, is set like a fine pearl in a necklace -of woods and gardens, fertile fields and hills, over which white houses -are scattered like tents. Its banks are graceful, and in its waters -are reflected rich and varied vegetation; near by are wide marshes -dotted with pools, in the midst of which great water-lilies shine, and -a few islets covered with vegetation, looking like baskets of flowers -floating in the water.</p> - -<p>The Lake of Thun is the golden gate-way to the Bernese Oberland, and -its wealth and variety of scenery is the pride of that Canton.</p> - -<p>The Lake of Zurich, while not pretending to vie with the others in -stern and rugged magnificence, is unsurpassed in pastoral beauty; on -either side rise gently-sloping hills of fruitful vineyards, at the -foot of which, lining the shores, are prosperous villages. Here have -been discovered the earliest traces of human activity, back in the age -of Stone and Lake-Dwellers. Excavations from the old basin of the lake -have hinted that it has tales to tell and secrets to reveal which for -ages on ages may have been safely hidden beneath its deep waters.</p> - -<p>The Swiss lakes differ in color; some appear to be green as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_384">[Pg 384]</span> malachite, -and others blue. The water appears commonly of a bluish-green, shading -into blue, with a slightly milky hue in the summer, especially when -fed by the glacier streams, which bring down a quantity of finely -triturated rock. Whenever a lake has high mountains rising from its -edge, the hue is a purple-blue. The transparency of the lake waters is -quite surprising; in many of them minute objects can be seen at a depth -of fifty feet, and even lower down, as clearly as if viewed through -a glass. There is a quiet luxury of excitement, without exercise, in -voyaging in the well-appointed steamers on calm Swiss lakes, which -present a shifting panorama of hill and river scenery.<a id="FNanchor_99" href="#Footnote_99" class="fnanchor">99</a></p> - -<p>There is much difference of opinion as to when the natural beauties and -attractions of Switzerland appear to the best advantage. The larger -number of strangers see the country only in its summer charms; it -is a season when the mountains assume a greater brilliance of color -and grandeur of form, the lower atmosphere being cleared of its dark -mists as the clouds lift and give an ever-increasing flood of light. -This greater altitude of the clouds brings the mountains into fuller -sunshine, with their coloring more intense, their forms more massive, -and the blue of the sky behind them deeper and clearer.</p> - -<p>Those who see the sun rise each morning in glory over the Alps, and -glowing all day, set in a flood of crimson over the pines, only to -return in the splendor of the after-glow on the glacier and snow, claim -that autumn is a better time for realizing this sum of marvellous -beauty; that it is the season of crimson and gold, when the landscapes -take on incomparable magnificence, when the transformation of the woods -is fairy-like, when the oaks are surrounded with a golden aureola, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_385">[Pg 385]</span> -beeches are dyed in vivid red and yellow, and all the wooded hills, -orchards, hedges, and bushes form, as it were, a marvellous symphony -of color, of warmer shades, and tints of an infinite tenderness. Then -comes the advocate of winter, who says, “You should see the loads -of snow, falling almost perpendicularly in thick, heavy flakes, or -whirled about by the wild wind; on the calming of the snow-storm, you -should see the heavy brown clouds in the south assume a tinge more -and more golden and bright, till the first patch of blue sky bursts -forth amidst the gigantic masses, and at last permits the winter sun, -far down in the south, to gladden the earth with a brief sight of the -source of light and life;” and that the trees are more beautiful in -the hoar-frost than in summer or autumn glory; the pines, with their -branches bent, “stand like harpers hoar, with beards that rest on their -bosoms,” and the taller trees seem to beckon with their long, white -arms, like ghosts.</p> - -<p>The snow, which long after it has fallen lies as pure and stainless -as the raiment of angels, is the crowning glory of a Swiss winter. It -has an intensity of whiteness which gives a new force to “whiter than -snow.” St. Matthew describes the Lord’s transfiguration raiment as -“white as the light,” but St. Mark as “exceeding white as snow.” This -Alpine snow is light materialized, and snow etherealized—solidified -light. With the snow nature transfigures all the landscape; at one -sweep of her broad brush all the clumsy touches with which man has -marred the beauty of the world are effaced, the hills are rounded to a -riper beauty, the fields lie smooth and white and fair, an unwritten -page waiting as for the bold outlines of some new design.<a id="FNanchor_100" href="#Footnote_100" class="fnanchor">100</a> The -mountain air appears to give additional brilliancy even to the rainbow, -as it rests on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_386">[Pg 386]</span> the turbid blackness of the clouds; it looks so near, -and every band of color so broad and distinct, filling the very air -with the haze of its colors; seeing a rainbow following an Alpine -thunder-storm, one can well conceive how, before it was known what -produced the storm and the rainbow, the one was taken for the wrath and -the other for the smile of God.</p> - -<p>“All things are good, as their Creator made them, but everything -degenerates in the hands of man; improving, man makes a general -confusion of elements, climates, and seasons; he defaces, he confounds -everything, as if he delighted in nothing but monsters and deformity;” -these are the first words of the “Æmilius,” and the key-note of the -author’s philosophy. Conceding that man’s work does not deserve this -unqualified condemnation, and is in many respects most admirable, one -must regret to see the work of nature in Switzerland so ruthlessly -spoiled and disfigured; to see the telegraph-pole and the factory -chimney rear themselves against the horizon of every landscape; -mountain fastnesses and remote valleys consecrated to the charms of -nature alone, resounding with the whistle of the locomotive and the -stroke of the hammer; the iconoclastic hand of material enterprise, -divested of all sentiment, reaching out into every nook and corner -where the Divine Artist has surpassed himself in his handiwork, -to discover and develop new commercial opportunities. One now -goes by steam in place of <i>diligence</i>, and the lovers of the -characteristic may well regret that the <i>couleur locale</i>, so -dear to strangers, is fast disappearing. No more the post-carriage -takes you in its moving house, with the sound of jingling bells, -the cracking of the driver’s whip, and the notes of the horn waking -up the echoes of the woods. No longer the white oxen tug up the -steep mountain; no longer the chat with the village gossips at each -post-station; the mid-day halt, where one dives into castle, church, -or old courtyard; the chaffering for some local trifle; the antique -furniture<span class="pagenum" id="Page_387">[Pg 387]</span> of the salon; the early walk before the coach was ready,—it -is all, all, almost gone. In things spiritual and things temporal -alike, our modern mania is to carry with us our own life, instead of -accepting that which we find on the spot. Alpine touring has become -a highly-organized institution, brought to perfection by everything -that administrative genius, capital, and science can give. All the -inscriptions on the votive offerings discovered around the ruins of the -Temple of Jupiter Penninus on the Great St. Bernard, and which come -down to the latest periods of the Roman Empire, are filled with warm -expression of gratitude for having escaped the extraordinary perils of -the passage. Even in the days of Pliny, several hundred years after -the first passage of the Alps by the Roman troops, and even after -the establishment of a station at Sion, in the Valais, it was spoken -of as a “most hidden part of the earth, in the region of perpetual -night, amid forests forever inaccessible to human approach.” The -courage, skill, and ingenuity of man have overcome all these formidable -dangers. Though the mountains are still lofty and precipitous, safe -and convenient passes have been found practicable, and paths have been -contrived, upon these giddy heights, over which the maiden threads -without a thought of danger. The rushing torrents are loud and furious -in the descent to the valley; but they have been bridged over by -stone and timber, or perhaps by the fallen pine, and the peasant boy -sings cheerily, as he strides across the foaming stream. Steam and -electricity make the railway train emulate the agility of the chamois, -and carry the public across precipices to a height of seven thousand -feet. There is scarcely a point of view that attracts tourists, a -summit that climbers make fashionable, but at once the mountain is -rent and insulted; it is stripped of its beautiful forests, iron rails -are screwed to its wounded and bleeding side, and you are carried up -like a bundle of luggage, with no roadside halts under the trees, no<span class="pagenum" id="Page_388">[Pg 388]</span> -flowers gathered by the wayside, no rustic inns hidden under the firs, -but all along station-masters, ticket-collectors, and stations; or -<i>chaises-à-porteur</i>, and long lines of mules file up the Alps, -carrying Saratoga trunks and cases of Clicquot to the level of the -eternal snows. Mountain summits are no longer reserved for those who -arrogantly pride themselves on superior soundness of wind and limb, but -are equally accessible to the blind, halt, and lame. The circular-tour -ticket has brought these summits within reach of everybody’s purse and -everybody’s legs. Greed of gain and competition are rapidly producing -the effect of false mountains, sham mountains, built by contractors -and shareholders; a mountain at a fair that the people ascend a franc -for the round trip; where the tourist is nothing but a number, and is -always dining between two trains, at the buffet of an international -railway station. There is a tendency all the world over to the loss -of the true sense of natural beauty; and forest solitudes and quiet -valleys must retreat before the spirit of Mammon, and succumb to -factories and foundries. Yet are not the natural beauties of a country -an inestimable treasure to it, and, from a business view, is it wise, -lightly to give away what money cannot buy, nor modern art create? -With commercial and economic disadvantages difficult to overcome, -it would appear the wiser policy for Switzerland to check the rapid -transformation of the beautiful and the venerable into cheap and -tasteless novelties, with their cast-iron uninterestingness. Nature -has done all for Switzerland, from its pure and radiant air to its -mountains, lakes, and wild flowers, which spring up as though Aphrodite -were still there, “to sow them with her odorous feet.” This marvellous -and rare beauty of nature is too often taken as a matter of course, and -“holy men, in recommending of the love of God to us, refer but seldom -to those things in which it is most abundantly and immediately shown; -though they insist much on His giving of bread and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_389">[Pg 389]</span> raiment and health, -they require us not to thank Him for that glory of His works which He -has permitted us alone to perceive; they tell us often to meditate in -the closet, but they send us not, like Isaac, into the fields at even.”</p> - -<p>Fortunately, the grandeur of Alpine scenery cannot be altogether -destroyed, though seriously injured, by the spade, the pickaxe, and -the blasting-powder. There is a poetry of science, even of practical -science, and the invaluable and ubiquitous engineer cannot after all -do much to the everlasting hills, except here and there a simple climb -may be made simpler still, and an opening effected through what looks -like one of the permanent barriers of the world. The physical geography -of Switzerland is still a stupendous unit. Man may enormously modify -its surface, but its original conditions remain dominant, forcing a -stern recognition of their supremacy; mountain-ranges may be passed or -surmounted; they have never yet been lowered or removed; Switzerland -will ever be mastered by its sublime physical features. While much of -the simplicity which was formerly the attraction of the country has -passed away, never to be restored, still it presents an unrivalled -scene, in picturesque combination, with advantages of atmospheric -relief, and aided by the contributing glories of a luminous and -sensitive sky. There is beauty of every sort; beauties to enrapture -every sense; beauties to satisfy every taste; forms the grandest and -loveliest; colors the most gorgeous and the most delicate; harmonies -the most soothing and the most stirring; the sunny glories of the -day; the pale grace of moonlight; the silent pinnacles of aged snows; -tropical luxuriance; the serenity of peerless sunsets; the sublimity of -unchallenged storms; pomp of summits and world of clouds; witchery of -water, sky, and mountain; a very cluster of delights and grandeurs, to -enchant the vision and animate the spirit,—warming commonplace persons -into something approaching to poetic fervor, and persons of genius<span class="pagenum" id="Page_390">[Pg 390]</span> to -pour forth their inspirations in verse or lofty prose. You may have -read the most vivid and accurate description, yet the reality will -burst upon you like a revelation; a few cherished hallucinations may be -uncovered to the raw air of truth, but you will look again and again, -day after day, and a perennial glory will surround the kaleidoscopic -panorama, “ever charming, ever new,” photographing it in the mind -forever. Scarcely a day, or an hour of the day, when there is not -being produced, scene after scene, picture after picture, glory after -glory, and working still upon an inexhaustible source of constant and -perfect beauty. It is indeed a beautiful land, meriting the words of -the Psalmist, “a fair place, the joy of the whole earth.” It is a place -where all save the spirit of man seems divine; so fascinating, that, -like Virgil, who on his death-bed longed to view once more the nymphs -of Bacchus as they danced on the banks of the river of Peloponnesus, -one who has visited Switzerland sighs again for its glorious sun, -its delicious air with the shivering freshness of the glacier, its -magnificent scenery, its gorgeous mountains, its valleys of idyllic -beauty, its beautiful roads shaded by hedges, its streams bordered with -hazel copses, its forests carpeted with moss, its corners of shade and -solitude with freshness and luxurious ease, its happy and tranquil -retreats, and its asylums for modest pleasure or for calm repose:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Who first beholds those everlasting clouds,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Those mighty hills, so shadowy, so sublime,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">As rather to belong to heaven than earth,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">But instantly receives into his soul</div> - <div class="verse indent2">A sense, a feeling, that he loses not;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">A something that informs him ’tis an hour</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Whence he may date henceforward and forever?”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_391">[Pg 391]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII.<br> -<span class="small"> - -WILLIAM TELL.</span></h2></div> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Almighty powers! That was a shot indeed;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">It will be talked of to the end of time.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - - -<p>Trite and worn out as the subject may appear, it is impossible by any -amount of familiarity to divest the historical legend of William Tell -of its undying charm; and he who has visited the scene, so far from his -interest in it being exhausted, has only been made more enthusiastic -in its favor. It is a perfectly simple and natural story, when read in -the light of the times, the circumstances that led up to it, and the -impulses which sustained it throughout.</p> - -<p>Nearly in the centre of Switzerland, around the Lake of Luzern, were -the Forest Cantons of Schwyz, Uri, and Unterwalden; defended on the -north by the stormy waves of the lake, on the south by inaccessible -peaks and glaciers, on the side of Germany by precipices and unbroken -forests, and the Rigi in the midst. This district was inhabited by a -shepherd race; the elevated and barren site of their habitations had -secured them from the cruel caprices of the petty tyrants who ruled -over the lower valleys, and they governed themselves under the forms of -a republic. Rudolph of Hapsburg, the father of the founder of the House -of Austria, a distinguished soldier and leader of the Zurich troops, -the son of an Alsatian landgrave, had his castle near the confluence -of the Reuss and Aar, and in 1257 was voluntarily chosen by the people -as their governor. Sixteen years later he ascended the imperial throne -of the Roman Empire of Germany; for eighteen years he kept the throne, -and, remembering that he was by birth a native of Switzerland, he -protected his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_392">[Pg 392]</span> countrymen from oppression, and was esteemed for his -humanity, prudence, and valor. He gave firm assurance that he would -treat them as worthy sons of the Empire, with inalienable independence; -and to that assurance he remained true till his death, which happened -in 1291. His son, Albert, who had been made Duke of Austria, ascended -the throne. He was grasping and eager to make territorial acquisitions. -He desired to be first Duke of Helvetia, and proposed to these Forest -Cantons that they should sever their relationship, as a province -of the German Empire, and become a member of his Dukedom. Though -Emperor of Germany, he was Duke of Austria, and his ambition was to -aggrandize the Austrian House. The peasants rejected his proposition. -Jealous of this remnant of independence, which the snows and rocks -had left to the peasants of upper Helvetia, he undertook to subjugate -them. Failing to seduce them by diplomacy or pretended kindness, he -sent <i>landvogts</i>, or governors, to reside in their midst; these -governors bore the title of Imperial Bailiffs. Instead of sending, as -was usual, some noblemen for imperial governors, whose functions were -only those of high judges in capital crimes, he sent two dependants of -his family, men whose dispositions were as hostile and cruel as their -orders. Their mission was to goad and persecute the people into some -act of rebellion, that might be used as a pretext for reducing them to -the level of common slavery. There were two of these bailiffs, Berenger -and Gessler, the former stationed at Sarnen, the latter at Altdorf; -they were unbounded in their tyrannies, using their powers wantonly, -with all the stings of insolent authority. Gessler was the most cruel; -he pillaged private property, imprisoned husbands, carried off the -wives, and dishonored the daughters. It was now the beginning of the -fourteenth century, and the country was in a degraded and miserable -condition. The land groaned under violence; the despotism was distant -and delegated; the sovereign too far<span class="pagenum" id="Page_393">[Pg 393]</span> removed to hear the universal -lamentation. It became intolerable. A few brave hearts reasoned, -that God had never granted power to any emperor, king, or bailiff to -commit such injustice; and that death was preferable to a continued -submission under so ignominious a yoke. The wife of Werner Stauffacher, -of Schwyz, being brutally treated by one of the bailiffs’ officers, in -the absence of her husband, on his return reporting the affair to him, -exclaimed, “Shall we mothers nurse beggars at our bosoms, and bring up -maid-servants for foreigners? What are the men of the mountains good -for? Let there be an end of this!”<a id="FNanchor_101" href="#Footnote_101" class="fnanchor">101</a> Stauffacher sought the counsel -of Walter Fürst, of Uri, and Arnold Melchthal, of Unterwalden; and -these three, from the result of that counsel, became famous as</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“The Patriot Three that met of yore,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Beneath the midnight sky,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And leagued their hearts on the Rütli shore</div> - <div class="verse indent4">In the name of liberty.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Being well acquainted with the most injured, the most intrepid, and -the most implacable of their countrymen, they determined to see them, -and ascertain whether they would be willing to risk their lives in -defence of their liberties. If the blood of the martyrs is the seed of -the church, no less true is it in all history, that the insolence of -tyranny is the cradle of liberty. Rütli, so called from the uprooting -and clearing of the trees (German, <i>ausgereutet</i>), a secluded -field below Seelisberg, in the Canton of Uri, on a steep, small -promontory<span class="pagenum" id="Page_394">[Pg 394]</span> standing out from the mountain and surrounded on three -sides by the waters of the lake, was the spot chosen for their council -chamber.<a id="FNanchor_102" href="#Footnote_102" class="fnanchor">102</a> On the night of the 7th of November, 1307, descending -from their mountains, or crossing the lake in small fishing-boats, came -the patriot three, each, as he had agreed to do, bringing ten true -and brave herdsmen, stout of heart and strong of limb. They silently -gathered at the lonely spot, as they had concerted. The love of native -soil, the feeling of freedom and security under the protection of the -laws of the country, the feeling of being ill treated and subjugated -by a foreign debauchee, a determination to throw off so obnoxious -a yoke—all these great and good qualities were shared by these -untutored, but heroic, noble-minded peasants. A handful of patriots, -meeting at midnight, and attesting the justice of their cause to the -Almighty Disposer of events, the God of equity and mercy, the protector -of the helpless; calm and united, proceeding to the delivery of their -country; retaining all the serene forbearance of the most elevated -reason, amid the energies and the fury of vindictive right. They could -bear to die, but not to be subdued:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“They linked their hands,—they pledged their stainless faith</div> - <div class="verse indent2">In the dread presence of attesting Heaven,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">They knelt, and rose in strength.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>They met to interchange oaths, and not to utter exciting speeches; -“words could not weigh in the balance with that decisive night, -brooding under cover of its darkness the resurrection of a nation, with -those mountains, stars, rocks, and waves, and with the sword ready to -be drawn in the most sacred of causes.” They were summoned, and were -bidden in a few brief sentences, uttered in a low tone, to choose; -and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_395">[Pg 395]</span> they chose wisely and greatly; they chose liberty, born of the -heavens, breathing of all their odors, and radiant with all their -hues. With hands uplifted to the starry firmament, Fürst, Stauffacher, -and Melchthal, with subdued and slow accent, their comrades repeating -after them, proclaimed, “We swear in the presence of God, before whom -kings and people are equal, to live or die for our fellow-countrymen; -to undertake and sustain all in common; neither to suffer injustice, -nor to commit injury; to respect the rights and property of the Count -of Hapsburg; to do no violence to the imperial bailiffs, but to put an -end to their tyranny.” One of the men who at that momentous assembly -engaged each other by the pledge of “All for each and each for all,” -was William Tell, a fisher of the lake and a hunter of chamois, of -Bürglen, a half-hour from Altdorf in Uri, and a son-in-law of Walter -Fürst. In the mean time, Gessler thought he perceived that the people -walked abroad with more confidence, and carried in their looks a -haughtier expression; when satisfied that the spirit of resistance was -ripe, with a view to confirm his suspicions, he determined to put down -by force the first symptoms of disaffection, and invented a crime to -trap the most daring and dangerous. His hat, surmounted by the Austrian -crown, was placed on the top of a pole, erected in the market-place of -Altdorf, and all who passed by were ordered to uncover their heads, and -bow submissively before this symbol of the imperial sovereignty:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“It is the lord governor’s good will and pleasure</div> - <div class="verse indent2">The cap shall have like honor as himself;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And all shall reverence it with bended knee</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And heads uncovered....</div> - <div class="verse indent2">His life and goods are forfeit to the crown</div> - <div class="verse indent2">That shall refuse obedience to the order.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Guards were posted round the pole, and ordered to arrest all who -refused thus to pay homage. It happened that William<span class="pagenum" id="Page_396">[Pg 396]</span> Tell was passing, -and failed to pay the required homage. He was instantly seized and -taken before the bailiff. The bailiff first tried to extract from -Tell whether his conduct had been premeditated, and if so, who were -his friends and abettors; but he remained stubbornly silent. Gessler, -incensed at his contumacy, determined to punish him, and, the offence -being one unknown to the land and of his own invention, he was likewise -compelled to invent a punishment. Tell had only one child, a boy, who -was with him at the time, and, as all peasants were accustomed to the -cross-bow, Gessler condemned him to shoot from off his son’s head an -apple, saying, “Know, audacious bowman, that thy own art shall serve to -punish thee.” The lad was blindfolded, the apple placed on his head, -and Tell led away to his position:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“And let him take his distance,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Just eighty paces, as the custom is,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Not an inch more or less.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>To one side stood the cruel Gessler to watch the dreadful archery. Tell -looked well to his aim, and let the arrow fly:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“See Roman fire in Hampden’s bosom swell,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And fate and freedom in the shaft of Tell.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The twang of the bow was heard, and the eager crowd for the moment held -their breath; then a joyful shout proclaimed that the child was safe, -and the apple was pinned by the unerring arrow. Gessler observing that -Tell had a second arrow, inquired why it was. “It was the custom of the -archers,” he answered. Being further pressed, with the promise that -he might speak freely without fear of losing his life, and excited by -those generous emotions of resentment which a brave and simple race -have seldom the discretion to repress, he replied, “That was reserved -for you, had the first arrow hit my son.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_397">[Pg 397]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“If that my hand had struck my darling child,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">This second arrow I had aimed at you,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And be assured, I should not then have missed.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The tyrant, exasperated by the candid reply of Tell, said to him, “I -have promised thee life, but thou shalt spend it in a dungeon.” He -was pinioned by the guards, and thrown into Gessler’s boat, and they -started for the castle of Küssnacht at the other end of the lake. Soon -a dangerous surge came on, such as at certain seasons occurs suddenly, -produced by contrary winds. The boat was in imminent peril from this -tempest. Tell being a skilful boatman, and familiar with the sunken -rocks and dangerous reefs of the long narrow lake, was unbound, placed -at the helm, and ordered to land the boat. He at once steered straight -to a flat piece of rock beneath the sharp sides of the Achsenberg. No -sooner had the boat touched than Tell seized his bow, sprang on to -the narrow ledge, and, at the same time, with his foot pushed back -the frail craft into the angry waters. Quickly finding his way up the -rock, and knowing where his enemy must land, he hastened there, and -as Gessler approached, shot him through the heart. “A wife, Lucretia, -liberated Rome; a father, William Tell, disenthralled Helvetia.”</p> - -<p>No one can go to that rock-framed, mountain-embosomed, “that -sacred lake withdrawn among the hills,” and so well known as the -Vierwaldstättersee, or Lake of the Four Forest Cantons, and specially -that part famed as the theatre of Tell’s exploits, and called the -Urnersee (or Uri Lake), and examine the historic spot and see the -numerous evidences, many of them contemporaneous, without being -convinced that William Tell was as much an historical personage as -Julius Cæsar, Napoleon Bonaparte, or George Washington; and that he -lived, acted, and died, as the legend relates. One visiting these -various places, must feel the force of what Latrobe wrote: “There -is something in the grandeur and magnificence of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_398">[Pg 398]</span> scene which -surrounds you, which gently but irresistibly opens the heart to a -belief in the truth of the page upon which the events which have -hallowed them are recorded. Whatever a man may think, however he may -be inclined to question the strength of the evidence upon which the -relations of these facts rest while in his closet, I should think there -are but few sufficiently insensible and dogmatical to stand firm and -bar their hearts against the credibility which steals over them while -contemplating the spots themselves.”</p> - -<p>At a bend of the lake, a short distance from Brunnen, there rises from -the water a slender rock pillar, some eighty feet in height. This is -the <i>Mythenstein</i>, a noble monument, fashioned in the morning of -the world by Nature herself, for the bard who was to hymn the rise of -Helvetian freedom and the praise of its hero. The rock bears in golden -letters the simple inscription:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Dem Sänger Tell’s</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Friedrich Schiller</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Die Urkantone</div> - <div class="verse indent2">1859.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>(“To the bard of Tell, Friedrich Schiller, the original -Cantons, 1859.”)<a id="FNanchor_103" href="#Footnote_103" class="fnanchor">103</a></p> -</div> - -<p>A little farther on, opposite Brunnen, at the foot of the rocky -ramparts of Seelisberg, lies a long meadow, Rütli-platte, where, the -peasant tradition says, the spirits of the Patriot Three sleep in the -rocky caverns, ready to awaken in their country’s hour of danger:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_399">[Pg 399]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“When the battle-horn is blown</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Till Schreckhorn’s peaks reply,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">When the Jungfrau’s cliffs send back the tone,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Through their eagles’ lonely sky;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">When Uri’s beechen woods wave red</div> - <div class="verse indent4">In the burning hamlet’s light,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Then from the cavern of the dead</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Shall the sleepers wake in might!</div> - <div class="verse indent2">They shall wake beside their forest sea,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">In the ancient garb they wore,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">When they link’d the hands that made us free</div> - <div class="verse indent4">On the Rütli’s moonlight shore.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>We now reach on the eastern bank, projecting into the lake, the -platform of rock, Tellsplatte, with its little chapel marking the -spot where Tell leaped ashore and escaped from Gessler’s boat. After -the expulsion of the bailiffs and the demolition of their castles, it -became customary among the Swiss to make pilgrimages to this place; -and in 1388, only a little more than thirty years after the death -of Tell, the Canton of Uri erected this chapel in the presence of a -hundred and fourteen persons who had been acquainted with Tell. Müller -the historian suggests as a reason why there were only a hundred and -fourteen persons who had known Tell to gather together, not much more -than thirty years after his death at the erection of the chapel, -was, that Tell did not often leave Bürglen, and the deed, according -to the ethics of that period, was not likely to attract inquisitive -wonderers to him. It was Tell’s deed alone; the people had no part -in Gessler’s death, the hour which they had agreed upon for their -deliverance had not come. All the old chronicles agree as to the -erection of the chapel and the persons present. The chapel was restored -in 1883, the old frescoes being carefully removed, and now preserved -in the Council House of Altdorf. The restored chapel has four large -frescoes of artistic merit. On the back wall above the altar, to the -left is the “Leap from the boat;” to the right the “Death of the -tyrant;” on the north wall<span class="pagenum" id="Page_400">[Pg 400]</span> the “Apple scene;” on the southern wall -the “Oath of Rütli;” this last fresco is very frequent in Switzerland, -representing the Patriot Three (<i>Les Trois Suisses</i>, or <i>Die -Drei Schweizer</i>); one holding a short-handled flag with a cross -upon it; the central one leaning on a spear; and a third sustaining a -tall standard which rests on the ground; all wearing their swords. On -Sunday following Easter, annually, a procession of boats, appropriately -decorated, proceeds slowly to this chapel, consecrated by art, -religion, and patriotism to the great deeds or yet greater thoughts of -its olden time hero, and a solemn memorial service is held. Near by at -Küssnacht there is another chapel marking the place where Gessler was -shot, and over the door is an illustrated painting with the date 18th -of November, 1307, and under it the inscription,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Here the proud tyrant Gessler fell,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And liberty was won by Tell;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">How long ’twill last, you ask, and tremble:</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Long as the Swiss their sires resemble.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>At the upper end of the lake, retired a short distance, is Altdorf, the -capital of Uri. Here in the public square are two fountains. The pillar -in the centre of one of them is surmounted by a figure of Tell holding -his boy under one arm and pressing his bow to his bosom with the other; -it marks the spot where Tell stood when he launched the fearful arrow. -The other fountain is placed on the supposed site of the lime-tree by -which the boy stood awaiting his father’s unerring aim. A figure of -Gessler indicates where the pole bearing the hat and crown was erected; -close to the second fountain is an ancient square tower, on the outside -of which are painted the scenes of Tell’s history. Near by Altdorf runs -the small stream of Schächen, where Tell met his death in 1354: seeing -a child fall into the swollen stream as he passed that way, he plunged -in to rescue it, and, being old and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_401">[Pg 401]</span> feeble, lost his life. The museum -at Zurich contains the cross-bow of Tell; the little hamlet of Bürglen, -his birthplace, has many reminiscences to show; old houses in Altdorf, -Arth, and Schaffhausen are frescoed with representations of facts in -his history. In Schaffhausen is a fountain having an old stone figure -of Tell with the bow and arrow, on the base of which is the date 1682.</p> - -<p>But we are told that history records six other apple-shooting feats, -performed by different individuals before and after the time of Tell. -It is difficult to see how this decides whether Tell was a real -character or not. Such skill in marksmanship was not rare in the days -of archery. A similar, indeed identical, feat is mentioned of the -Scandinavian hero Egill, who was commanded by King Nidhung to shoot -an apple from the head of his son. Egill, like Tell, took two arrows, -and, on being asked why, replied, as Tell did to Gessler, “To shoot -thee, tyrant, if I failed in my task.” Similar stories are recorded of -Eindridi, of Norway; of Hemingr, challenged to the display of skill by -King Harald, son of Sigurd, in 1066; of Toki, or Palnatoke, the Danish -hero, in 1514; and of William of Cloudesley, who, to show the king his -skill in shooting, bound his eldest son to a stake, put an apple on his -head, and at a distance of three hundred feet cleft the apple in two. -This is described by Percy in his “Reliques:”</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“I have a son is seven years old,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">He is to me full dear;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">I will hym tye to a stake</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And lay an apple upon his head,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And go sixscore paces hym fro,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And I myself with a broad arrow</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Will cleve the apple in two.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>In modern times the same skill is seen with the gun instead of -with the cross-bow. Snuffing a candle, cutting a string, barking a -squirrel, breaking glass balls thrown in the air,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_402">[Pg 402]</span> are all, perhaps, -more difficult than for a firm hand and a steady eye to pick off an -apple from the head of a boy. The same thing was done in the seventh -century that is recorded of Tell in the fourteenth century, <i>ergo</i> -William Tell is a myth,—this is the question reduced to a logical -form. Any one may see that such an inference is absurd. Yet this is the -greatest fact that has been adduced to prove that Tell’s heroism is a -mere figment of the past. To believe in one tradition and repudiate -the other is not less arbitrary than unphilosophic. Voltaire, whose -function it was to deny, even sneered at the existence of the men -of Rütli simply on account of “the difficulty in pronouncing their -names.” The story of Tell is told in the chronicle of Klingenberg, -that covers the close of the fourteenth century; then again in 1470, -in the “Ballad of Tell,” one of the chief treasures in the archives of -Sarnen; in the “Chronicles of Russ,” 1482; and by Schilling, of Luzern, -in 1510, who had before him a “Tell-song;” and the chronicle of Eglof, -town clerk of Luzern, in the first half of the fifteenth century. The -first to clothe these traditions in the dress of historical narration -of great substantial clearness was the celebrated Swiss chronicler, -Ægidius Tschudi, of Glarus, in 1570. All the early Swiss and German -historians, Stettler, Huldrich, and Müller, sanction it. Then it -furnished Florian with the subject of a novel in French, 1788; Lemierre -with his tragedy of <i>Guillaume Tell</i>, 1766; Schiller with a -tragedy in German, <i>Wilhelm Tell</i>, 1804; Knowles with a tragedy in -English, <i>William Tell</i>, 1840. In 1829, Rossini, the most famous -composer of the land beyond the mountains, wove the magic of his music -round Schiller’s greatest drama with the Italian opera of <i>Guglielmo -Tell</i>, the delight of the musical world.<a id="FNanchor_104" href="#Footnote_104" class="fnanchor">104</a> Smollett, in his -sublime “Ode to Independence,” thus alludes to Tell:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_403">[Pg 403]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent3">“Who with the generous rustics sate</div> - <div class="verse indent4">On Uri’s rock, in close divan,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And wing’d that arrow, sure as fate,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Which ascertain’d the sacred rights of man.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Goethe writes: “I picture Tell as an heroic man, possessed of native -strength, but contented with himself, and in a state of childish -unconsciousness. He traverses the Canton as a carrier, and is -everywhere known and beloved, everywhere ready with his assistance. He -peacefully follows his calling, providing for his wife and child.” Sir -James Mackintosh, one of the most impartial of historians, visited the -region associated with the name and deeds of Tell; he examined history, -and became perfectly convinced of the existence of the mountain hero, -and of the truth of the part he played in Switzerland when</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Few were the numbers she could boast,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">But every freeman was a host,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And felt as though himself were he</div> - <div class="verse indent2">On whose sole arm hung victory.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Thus a seemingly unimportant event in the remote Alps became the -key-note of European thought, literature, art, and language; for it -inspired not only statesmen, historians, orators, and poets, but -painters, sculptors, and composers. It influenced and exercised pen, -pencil, and chisel, and expanded the vocabulary; for who has not seen, -heard, read <i>Wilhelm Tell</i> in his own or some other language?</p> - -<p>The legend of Tell has a companion piece doubtless as mythical to the -sceptical, being of the same historic period, and occurring at the -battle of Sempach. This was one of the great battles which terminated -the long and obstinate struggle begun at Rütli, and, like all other -famous achievements, is remembered in connection with a special example -of personal self-sacrifice; still it passes historical scrutiny -unchallenged, though no better authenticated, and in many respects -more<span class="pagenum" id="Page_404">[Pg 404]</span> contentious than the heroism of Tell. On the 9th of August, 1386, -Duke Leopold was marching against Zurich to fight the last battle -which Austria presumed to try against the Forest Cantons. He had the -flower of the Austrian nobility, 4000 knights and barons, each with his -own vassals, forming an army of veterans in columns 20,000 strong. A -handful of brave Swiss, numbering 1400 stout and fearless mountaineers, -went out on foot to meet them; they came up with the enemy at Sempach. -The mail-clad warriors, dismounting from their steeds, presented a -solid and impregnable barrier of lances; the Swiss were rudely armed -with halberds and <i>morgensterne</i>.<a id="FNanchor_105" href="#Footnote_105" class="fnanchor">105</a> According to their ancient -custom, they knelt in silent prayer; arising, they placed themselves -in column, presenting an angle, and charged. Again and again they -dashed against these protruding lances that stood as firm as a wall -of stone. Out of their little number sixty had died in vain; hearts -seemed ready to fail; the Austrians were beginning to open in order to -surround them. At this crisis Arnold Winkelried, “a trusty man amongst -the confederates,” dropped his weapon, and, rushing forward, cried out, -“I will open a way to freedom; protect my wife and children!”<a id="FNanchor_106" href="#Footnote_106" class="fnanchor">106</a> -Being of great size and strength, he clutched as many of the enemy’s -lances as his arms could embrace, gathered their points and buried them -in his bosom, and as he fell drew his enemies with him. Before the -Austrians could extract them his companions took advantage of the gap, -rushed over his expiring body into the ranks of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_405">[Pg 405]</span> the enemy; a breach -being made in the wall of mailed warriors, what seemed an inevitable -defeat was turned into glorious victory. “Heed not the corpse,” says -Byron’s Saul to his warriors and chiefs, admonishing them as to what -they are to do should the lance and the sword strike them down in the -front. Sempach is a story of thrilling heroism, and in little over half -a century was followed by the battle of St. Jacob in 1444, when 1600 -Swiss met a predatory invasion of the French, a corps of 8000 horse and -a large detachment of infantry, in all numbering over 20,000, called -Armagnacs, the disbanded mercenaries of the English war, led by the -Dauphin, afterwards Louis XI. Though they might have retreated without -loss, the Swiss determined rather to perish on the spot, and fought -with heroic fury, tearing the enemy’s arrows from their wounds to send -them back dripping with blood. Their valor and terrible sacrifice never -were surpassed. The Dauphin lost 6000 men; and of the 1600 Swiss, -only ten lived to tell the tale, and they were immediately proscribed -throughout Switzerland for having deserted their comrades. A monument -is erected near the Birs, on the battle-field, consisting of a figure -of Helvetia at the top with four dying soldiers on the pedestal, with -the inscription: “Our souls to God, our bodies to the enemy.” At -Morgarten, in 1315, 1300 Swiss routed Leopold’s army of over 20,000, -killing 9000, when</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“There were songs and festal fires</div> - <div class="verse indent4">On the soaring Alps that night,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">When children sprung to greet their sires</div> - <div class="verse indent4">From the wild Morgarten fight.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then there is the battle fought near Wessen, in the Canton of Glarus, -where 350 Swiss attacked 8000 Austrians and gained the field. Eleven -pillars are erected on the field of battle to mark the places where -the Swiss rallied, for history says they were repulsed ten times, -but, rallying the eleventh,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_406">[Pg 406]</span> broke the enemies’ line and put them to -flight with great slaughter. This victory is celebrated every year; -the people, in procession, fall upon their knees at each pillar, sing -a <i>Kyrie</i> and thank God for so signal a victory. When they come -to the last pillar, one of their orators makes a eulogy of the three -hundred and fifty, and, when he has finished, reads over a list of -their names,—just as the Spartans caused the names of their three -hundred to be cut in brass, to transmit their memories to posterity. -There are, in addition, such duels of individual valor recorded as men -fighting when mortally wounded, like Fontana, of Grisons, who cried -out, “Do not stop for my fall, it is but one man the less;” or like -John Walla, of Glarus, who met alone and put to flight thirty horsemen. -These events, and many others well authenticated and unhesitatingly -accepted in Swiss history, sound infinitely more of knight-errantry -than the story of Tell.</p> - -<p>Macaulay holds that intense patriotism and high courage are peculiar -to people congregated in small spaces. Acts of unflinching bravery -and of a noble self-immolation in the cause of conscience, duty, -and freedom have been conspicuous in Swiss history. As habits of -courage are formed by continual exposure to danger, the hazardous -state, the perils and hardships which they hourly encountered, braced -their nerves to enterprises of hardihood and daring. Turbulent times -created a necessity for great sacrifices and daring exploits, and on -the same principle, that the supply of a commodity in transactions of -commercial life is generally found to be commensurate with the demand, -the frequent call for heroic achievements raised up the patriots who -were to perform them. There may be something in the deeply religious -character of the Swiss favorable to this virtue. Cicero maintained that -a belief in the immortality of the soul and a future state of rewards -and punishments was indispensable to the steady sacrifice of private -interests and passions to the public good. Some, perhaps, in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_407">[Pg 407]</span> their -brighter visions of fancy, would aspire to those blessed abodes amidst -the laurel groves of Paradise, which the poet of Mantua has assigned to -the self-devoted victims of patriotic enthusiasm:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Hic manus ob patriam pugnando vulnera passi.”<a id="FNanchor_107" href="#Footnote_107" class="fnanchor">107</a></div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The renown, likewise, of the heroes of ancient stories is indebted for -no inconsiderable portion of its brightness to their mode of warfare, -which, by rendering personal courage more effective, rendered it at -the same time the object of higher estimation. Prodigies of valor, by -which the fate of a kingdom is decided, are now rarely performed, and -victory inclines much more to the side of skill than either of physical -strength or individual prowess.</p> - -<p>With the Swiss no fable hangs about the deeds of William Tell and -Arnold Winkelried or the battles of Morgarten, Sempach, and St. Jacob. -They are the common glory of the people, their most cherished heritage; -but it is in William Tell their pride centres. His very name to this -day stirs the Swiss heart with the deepest emotions of pride and -patriotism.</p> - -<p>All the mementoes connected with his history are cherished with the -fondest affection and veneration. Tell’s chapel is the Mecca of all -Switzerland. The admiration for his character is an unbounded national -passion. Every emotion of patriotism, national gratitude, and ardent -love of liberty seems to find its readiest mode of utterance in -passionate expressions regarding this heroic man. Ballads are sung to -his memory, and in every popular gathering one may hear the familiar -words from the old Swiss song,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent4">“William Tell, he scorned the hat,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">To death condemned was he for that,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Unless an apple, on the spot,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">From his own child’s head he shot.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_408">[Pg 408]</span></p> -<p>In canvas and marble his effigy adorns the national and cantonal -capitals and the public buildings generally. On mountain, rock, and -lake his history is carved indelibly.<a id="FNanchor_108" href="#Footnote_108" class="fnanchor">108</a> “It cannot be otherwise,” -says the honest peasant; “it did so happen, and I believe it; not to -believe it would be treason to my country.” In 1760, a pamphlet, under -the title of “Fable Danoise,” was issued by a clergyman of Bern named -Freudenberger attacking the historical character of this legend. It so -aroused the patriotic indignation of the people that no one dared to -give it circulation, and the government of the Canton of Uri caused the -book to be publicly burned.</p> - -<p>In the presence of so many memorials of the deeds of this hero, -sustained by evidences of an antecedent and general popular conviction, -and feeling that these things are entitled to have some weight, it is -difficult to feel any sympathy with the doubts which bookish students -have suggested as to the reality of Tell’s existence. No one can visit -the lake, the rock, the fountains, the chapel, read the story painted -on wall and tower, hear the local traditions in every man’s mouth, -witness the annual festivals, study the history of Switzerland, and -consider the character of its people, then think of Tell as a myth, -more than he would say that Switzerland and all its heroic people -have been a fable since Uri’s handful of patriots rid it of Gessler’s -despotism. No! The simple story bears a striking analogy to the -primitive and pastoral people who commemorate the name and actions of -this hero. They know that no character of the thirteenth and fourteenth -centuries is better attested in their history, and will religiously -regard him as one of the noblest men that ever lived, so long as the -Finsteraarhorn and Jungfrau present themselves in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_409">[Pg 409]</span> vast firmament -as the ever-enduring symbols of liberty. “The artlessness of Tell’s -history resembles a poem; it is a pastoral song in which a single -drop of blood is mingled with the dew upon a leaf or a tuft of grass. -Providence seems thus to delight in providing for every free community, -as the founder of their independence, a fabulous or actual hero, -conformable to the local situation, manners, and character of each -particular race. To a rustic, pastoral people like the Swiss is given -for their liberator a noble peasant; to a proud, aspiring race, such as -the Americans, an honest soldier. Two distinct symbols, standing erect -by the cradles of the two modern liberties of the world, to personify -their opposite natures; on the one hand, Tell with his arrow and the -apple; on the other, Washington with his sword and the law.”<a id="FNanchor_109" href="#Footnote_109" class="fnanchor">109</a></p> - -<p>The doubt thrown upon the existence of Tell came from an influence -that bears upon things of a graver import. They originated at the -time when religion was dead, and when rationalism, with an appearance -of erudition, was rife. Many critics formed theories of their own in -regard to Homer and the ancient writers and heroes in general. Book -after book was issued from the press filled with the most absurd -theories. Every student who came from a university had the ambition -to write a book. Each one thought himself a veritable Daniel come to -judgment; nearly every historical character was a being of imagination. -They did not stop with human characters, they laid hold upon the Word -of God. Moses became a myth in their hands; and Job was a mere story -in poetry, like the Arabian Nights; Ecclesiastes was the blating of -an Epicurean philosopher no longer young. Good, however, came out of -this evil. The best men were led to examine the basis on which the -truth stands, and to study more profoundly than ever the “faith once -delivered to the saints,”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_410">[Pg 410]</span> and the result was the overthrow of this -school of specious reasoning and crude theories. The details of Tell’s -story, at last, do not signify much; they form only the drapery of -the figure, which stands to this day one of the few heroes who have -been able so to forget themselves, and so to inspire other men with -self-forgetfulness, as to obtain with them a nation’s freedom. And thus -Tell lives, safely, in the people’s songs and in the faithful hearts of -his countrymen.</p> - -<p>Ideals, the symbols of the truth which we conceive, of the beauty -which we imagine, and of the good which we long for, have as great -an influence in the world as <i>ideas</i>, if not even greater. High -ideals and loyalty to them are virtues which are requisite to the -existence and safety of a progressive society. We cannot afford to -surrender the least of our high and pure ideals to the iconoclasm that -would declare every grand historical character to be apocryphal; a -spirit that revels in the breaking of images simply for the pleasure -of breaking, even if chiselled by the hand of Praxiteles; a folly not -content with robbing us of Tell and his apple, but would deprive us -of Newton’s apple, too, and vainly talks of a cryptogram lurking in -Shakespeare’s dramas, which points to his mythical existence. We have -too few immortal names identified with their country’s glory. Let us -not seek to inquire too minutely into their title to fame, to see if it -is embarrassed by vague and contradictory traditions; but let us rather -associate their names with the greatness, the virtue, the durability of -their race, and invoke blessings on them down “to the last syllable of -recorded time.”</p> - -<p>In this day, so given to materialism, pitiful rivalries, and ignoble -ambitions, we want more hero-worship, a greater reverence of heroism, a -more just and delicate appreciation of individual worth, the traditions -of noble deeds, and the “passion of philanthropy;” and not to believe -that all men are much of a sameness, and the old days in which the -gods<span class="pagenum" id="Page_411">[Pg 411]</span> lived on earth are forever gone. There are certain great events -embalmed in tradition that it will not do to question, and which, if of -doubtful historical support, it is unwise to disturb, as they are so -many incentives to noble deeds, and should be cherished in our hearts -even as an inspiring fiction. It is easy for cynics to deride heroism, -and scoff at the superiority of ideal existence over the facts of life. -But it is not good to be confined to what the physical eye can see, and -refuse to use the eye of faith and imagination. Enthusiasm lives and -flourishes with imagination and idealism; and together they purify, -as well as ennoble, every nature they touch. They paint the world and -men as they should be; all that human heart can do; all of which human -nature, at its highest, is capable. The craving for the real is good -and healthy, but it ought by no means to be set in opposition to the -craving for the ideal, for</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“A deeper import lurks in the legends told our infant years</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Than lies upon the truth we live to learn.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX.<br> -<span class="small"> - -BERN.</span></h2></div> - - -<p>From the end of the thirteenth century Bern was the great, -influential, and growing town of Switzerland; rich, enterprising, and -self-asserting. For the sake of securing their friendship, it made -citizens of many of the nobility who lived far from the city walls, and -established guilds with many valuable privileges. Some of these guilds -still exist, and a membership is quite an expensive privilege, costing -from 8000 to 10,000 francs; besides the applicant must possess property -to the value of 15,000 francs. In early times<span class="pagenum" id="Page_412">[Pg 412]</span> Bern held a firm grasp -on the lands from Aargau to Lake Leman. Besides conquering them, it -largely bought out the neighboring territorial nobility. It was the -feudal idea, taking root and growing in mediæval times, that the right -of government was as property, and the possession of landed property -was looked on as carrying with it a kind of right of government. The -whole early history of Bern is the greatest example in modern times -of an inland city ruling over a great collection of subject towns and -districts. It was an aristocratic republic, having been founded as -a refuge for the inferior nobility from the oppression of powerful -counts. The rapid development of industry within its substantial -walls attracted also peasants, artificers, and tradesmen, who flocked -in from the neighborhood. The burghers secured many privileges, and -were eligible to the highest offices; but they generally concurred -in the election of members of the patrician family. These young -patricians were literally apprenticed to political life by the singular -institution of the <i>Ausserstand</i>, a copy of the real commonwealth, -with councils and magistrates of its own, and the <i>Schultheiss</i>, -or chief magistrate of the mimic republic, was commonly elected a -member of the Great Council of the real one.</p> - -<p>The French Revolution submerged the aristocracy in a general Helvetian -republic, and, when the flood had passed, the ancient landmark could -only be partially restored. The Bernese, however, continued to -acknowledge the ascendency of these noble families, what few were left -to them, whose ancestors had been the founders of the city, and whose -courage, virtues, and patriotism had secured the confidence of the -people. It was not until 1847, under the influence of the Sonderbund -excitement, that the last vestige of class privilege was abolished, and -perfect equality of all citizens before the law established; political -rights granted to every male citizen over twenty years of age, -civil administration<span class="pagenum" id="Page_413">[Pg 413]</span> and justice organized after modern democratic -principles, guaranteeing the rights of man, and promising trial by jury.</p> - -<p>Tradition has it that Bern was founded by Berchtold V., Duke of -Zähringen, in 1191. Being persistently opposed both by the Alpine -and the Burgundian nobles, who took up arms against him, he met and -defeated them twice in the field, and then began to look about for a -suitable site, at an equal distance from both parties, where he might -build a town larger and more important than any that yet existed. -Different derivations are given for the name of Bern; some etymologists -say it is a corruption of the Celtic name of Verona; but the only one -that satisfies the Bernese is that given by the old recorder Justinger, -who wrote at the end of the fourteenth century, “How the town was -called Bern:” There were many wild animals in the oak woods, and Duke -Berchtold determined that the town should be called after the first -that was caught there; so the first that was caught was a bear, and the -town received its name from <i>Bären</i>, the Swabian for bears; and -the Duke also gave the burghers a shield and armorial bearings, namely, -a black bear on a white field. A bronze statue of the Duke is erected -in the cathedral promenade, upon which is the inscription, <i>E bellua -cæsa sit urbi futuræ nomen</i> (“from a monster slain, let there be -a name to the future city”). The Emperor Frederick II. declared Bern -a free city of the empire in 1218, and confirmed its privileges by a -charter, which is still preserved in the archives. Its first prominence -was in 1339, when in June of that year the Bernese, under Ulric von -Erlach, were completely victorious over the allied forces, and struck -the death-blow to the feudal nobility of western Helvetia. In 1405 the -greater part of the city was destroyed by fire, but was soon rebuilt -on the same site. In 1798 it was plundered by the French. Immediately -after their entrance into the city, the French soldiers made themselves -masters of its treasure, which, no doubt, was one<span class="pagenum" id="Page_414">[Pg 414]</span> of the motives and -most immediate cause of the invasion and attack. The exact amount -taken was never ascertained, but by the most moderate estimate made it -reached 20,000,000 francs; everything of value that could be taken away -became the prey of the victors.</p> - -<p>From the date of its accession to the Confederation, in 1351, Bern -has been one of the most conspicuous and influential of Swiss towns. -The history of the city is the history of the Canton, and in some -measure it is the history of the Confederation. From 1798 to 1815 the -Federal Diet met in turns at Zurich, Bern, Luzern, Freiburg, Solothurn, -and Basel. From 1815 to 1848 the three cities of Zurich, Bern, and -Luzern were the seats of the government, the Diet sitting biennially -in each place in turn. This system of having three capitals did not -work satisfactorily, and the necessity for the country possessing one -centre was generally seen. Zurich and Luzern surrendered their claims, -and Bern became the central and fixed capital of the Confederation in -1848, the Canton assuming the cost of erecting the necessary public -buildings. It is also the capital of the largest and most populous -Canton, which has a population of 539,305, out of a total for the -Confederation of 2,933,612, or nearly one-fifth. It is the most -important of the sisterhood by its territory, wealth, and population, -and may be called the Empire Canton of the Confederation. The city -itself contains a population of about 50,000, with a superficial -surface of an American village of 2500 people. No great city in -Switzerland overtops the rest and draws them into moving around it -by its mass and weight. Population and wealth are not concentrated -in “enormous and apoplectic heads upon a bloodless body,” as great -cities were designated by Mirabeau. The largest Swiss towns would be -fifth-rate towns in the United States. The Swiss villages are on the -declivities of the Alps; the towns either on advanced promontories -or on the borders of the lakes. They are all<span class="pagenum" id="Page_415">[Pg 415]</span> small, and contain -none of the monuments which mark the luxury of great nations. They -are municipalities rather than capitals, to whom the nature of the -country and the smallness of the population have denied the power of -increase. Many of these towns are located with a view to the natural -defence, furnished by the topography of the site, and were originally -walled places of refuge. They resemble those towns of prehistoric Italy -described by Virgil, as “perched on precipices of rocks, with rivers -gliding beneath their antique walls.” Bern occupies a bold promontory -of sandstone rock, seventeen hundred and ten feet above the sea, and -its position in early times entailed great strategical advantages. -It is nearly surrounded by the Aar, a bold, strong tributary of the -Rhine, which rises in the southeast mountains of Bern, and carries to -its mouth the waters of fourteen Cantons. A sudden bend of the stream -encloses the town on all sides but one. The magnificent slopes to this -rapid river are in some places covered with turf, and supported in -others by lofty terraces planted with trees.<a id="FNanchor_110" href="#Footnote_110" class="fnanchor">110</a> It is not an easy -matter to account for the first impression you receive on entering -Bern; you certainly feel that you have got to an ancient and remarkable -place. Passing under any of its old gate-ways for the first time, one -feels as if he had strayed upon a stage conscientiously prepared for -the playing of a mediæval comedy or tragedy. No town in Switzerland has -been so preserved from the hands of the spoiler and the restorer; the -whole town is a sort of informal museum of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_416">[Pg 416]</span> archæology. A small portion -that has grown up around the Federal Palace, which was erected on the -outskirts of the old town, when it was made the permanent capital in -1848, is modern in appearance. That which constitutes the town proper -is composed of ancient houses of an early age, with curiously frescoed -and carved fronts, and many remnants of ancient architecture. The main -streets are broad and regular, the houses constructed of sandstone of -a grayish-blue color, found in the adjoining hills; in other streets, -the tall, thin houses are clustered together as if to use as little as -possible of the margin which nature and industry have drawn so closely -around them. These houses are six, seven, and eight stories high. Every -floor, with the exception of the first, which in all probability is -used for business purposes, accommodates a family, and, among the poor -classes, several families. It would be difficult to find a town where -every part of the house is so fully put to use and little waste or idle -room. It is doubtful if a dozen families in Bern each occupy an entire -house, and a very small number more than a flat of one floor. All the -houses, including the most ancient, are admirably constructed for this -multiform occupancy, and Swiss domestic life, as practised in Bern, is -a fine art of many centuries’ growth. The walls being very thick, the -front windows are made to serve the purpose of verandas. They have neat -iron railings encircling them, swung on hinges, and when thrown outward -are both a protection and a rest for inclining against. In all pleasant -weather these are the favorite places to sit. Furnished with bright -red or orange cushions, and probably those on no two floors being -uniform in figure, they present from the street a novel and variegated -spectacle; touching up the projecting balconies, highly worked and of -a glossy black, and complementing the green Venetian shutters. These -houses preserve a mediæval physiognomy; the pomp and strength of feudal -Switzerland are called up before our mind when we<span class="pagenum" id="Page_417">[Pg 417]</span> look at the solid -walls, at the buttresses which support them, and their steep peaked -roofs.</p> - -<p>The streets are kept scrupulously clean, as much so as the floor of a -well-kept house; a gang is constantly at work sweeping and carrying -off the dirt as soon as any can be found. Entering the town from the -south, two gate-ways are passed, at short distances from each other, -beneath towers which mark epochs in the extension of its walled period. -In the upper portion of these gate-ways, still standing over the empty -arches, where there is no longer a gate to shut, peaceful pigeons have -a cote. They are the only wardens and watchful sentinels to challenge -the passer-by. The fronts of the houses rest upon arcades, which form -covered walks and are lined with shops. The heavy piers of the arcades -exclude the sun, making the shops dark, and the arcade as damp as it is -gloomy. All these objections are felt to be more than compensated by -the protection furnished from the long winter’s snow. The streets are -provided with numerous public fountains of strange devices. They are -sculptured and decorated, as if the people loved the water and wished -to heighten the pleasure of seeing, welcoming, and using it. This water -is brought a great distance from mountain streams, and ceaselessly -pours its limpid stream through the open viaducts, and at convenient -places is diverted into gigantic stone basins; it is never muddy, and -is always delightfully cool. Through each of the principal streets flow -additional subterraneous streams of this water, furnishing the best of -sewers. This is one of the most pleasing sights common to the smallest -Swiss village,—the abundance of good water with which it is supplied; -it is ever in sight; overflowing, sparkling everywhere, for every use -of man and beast. These fountains resemble those of an Eastern well; to -them daily come all the women of the village for the water they will -require for their families; and they have other uses, the milk vessels -and the cooking utensils are for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_418">[Pg 418]</span> the most part washed there, and on -certain days they are surrounded by groups of <i>blanchisseuses</i>. -Here, too, the daily news of the village is discussed. Besides their -beauty and convenience, these fountains are a species of living records -of the taste and manners of past ages. Many date from the sixteenth -century, and are ornamented with colossal representations of Swiss -warriors, clad in steel, with wasp-shapes and stuffed breasts, wearing -diminutive caps, contrasting with their vast exuberance of beard and -stern countenances; then come goddesses, archers, bagpipers, and -one—the terror of children—the <i>kinder-fresser-brunnen</i>, or -“child-gormandizer-fountain.” Upon the top of a stone pillar, ten -feet high, is seated an obese-looking old man; he has the head and -shoulders of one poor baby in his gaping mouth, in the very act of -swallowing; a bag full of similar choice morceaus hangs around his -neck, and they are apparently struggling to escape the fate of their -comrade. In one hand of this ogre are the lower extremities of the -child whose head he is masticating, and in the other a basket full of -urchins to finish his repast; two or three of these have gotten out -of the basket, and are scampering off around the pedestal. There is a -very beautiful fountain in front of the Federal Palace, adorned with -a statue of Berna. But it is the effigy of the bear that perpetually -recurs to the eye in various forms and armor; it is the ensign of Bern, -its heraldic animal, and cherished with religious care as the palladium -of the state. On a fountain in the street of Justice, the Canton is -represented in a militant attitude, by the figure of a bear in armor, -with sword, belt, and banner; another fountain has a bear attending a -cross-bowman as his squire; and the equestrian statue of Rudolph von -Erlach is supported at the corners by four life-sized bronze bears -as helmet-bearers. From the day of the legend connecting Bruin with -the city’s foundation the bears have played a prominent part in local -heraldry, that sage and grave beast being cunningly reproduced<span class="pagenum" id="Page_419">[Pg 419]</span> in -print, coin, stone, wood, and confectionery of great artistic and -amusing caricatures. The effigy appears upon the cantonal coat-of-arms, -and is inseparably connected with the conquests of the warlike -burghers. As a memorial of the seven hundredth anniversary, in 1891, -of the foundation of the city, the municipal council intend opening a -competition for designs of the statue of a bear more modern than that -which has already existed for seven centuries. Every visitor to Bern -is certain to see the <i>Bärengraben</i>, the bears’ den, containing -the live animals. It is told that a whimsical old lady left a handsome -estate to the town to maintain a family of bears. In 1798 they became -associated with the spoliation of Bern, as they had been with its rise -and prosperity. They were transported to Paris by Napoleon’s troops, -the huge cage containing the father of the family having upon it an -inscription not yet forgotten by the Bernese, “<i>Avoyer de Berne</i>.” -For some time these bears, like the eagles of Geneva, held their court -in the <i>Jardin des Plantes</i>, where the Gallic cock flapped his -new-fledged wings and crowed over all the beasts in Europe—whether -rampant or couchant—upon the field of honor. Only one lived to return -to his home at the general restoration of the spoils; but this one was -the aristocrat <i>Martin</i>, whose descent was traced directly from -the pair given to the town by Réné of Lorraine, the ally of Bern in -the war against Charles the Bold. Others were subsequently presented -by friends of the town in Russia, and the family circle now numbers -half a dozen. During the summer they enjoy a great feast from the -constant stream of tourists, who persuade them to perform many antics -by throwing them bread, fruits, and vegetables, of which they are fond; -they literally lay themselves out for your amusement, catching these -things lazily as they roll about on their backs. In the centre of the -dens a pine stem is erected, and renewed annually; on this the bears -take air and exercise, and practise a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_420">[Pg 420]</span> variety of gymnastics, to the -great amusement of the spectators.</p> - -<p>Probably next in interest to the bear-pit comes the -<i>Zeitglockenthurm</i>, or clock-tower. A minute or two before the -hour strikes, a wooden chanticleer, as large as life, seated on a -projection of the tower, flaps his wings and crows a warning twice, -and at the corresponding time after the striking of the hour he -repeats his salutations. A figure, representing Father Time sitting -on a throne, marks the hour by reversing his hour-glass, a mail-clad -figure strikes the hour on the bell at the top of the tower, then a -circle of bears emerge and move round Father Time, who at every stroke -of the bell slowly opens his mouth and inclines his sceptre as if he -himself were rather bored with Time. Of other objects of interest there -may be mentioned the military depot, erected at a cost of 5,000,000 -francs, and used as a drilling-school for that military district; the -Federal Palace, a handsome stone structure of the Florentine style, and -though only in use since 1852, will soon be relegated to subordinate -federal offices and a more modern and capacious building, now under -construction, will take its place as the federal capitol; a public -library, founded at the time of the Reformation, and containing more -than fifty thousand volumes; a museum where is to be seen the stuffed -skin of the famous St. Bernard dog Barry, who rescued and saved the -lives of more than twenty persons overcome in snow-storms and drifts; -botanical garden; mint; University, with its faculties of law, -medicine, theology, science, languages, etc.; art gallery, and numerous -scientific collections, and societies; arsenal with its mediæval -treasures, and a most complete system of charitable institutions, -including foundling, orphan, blind, mute, and lunatic asylums. The -Münster, or Cathedral, is an immense Gothic structure, dating from -1421, with a most elaborate sculptured group on the principal portal, -representing the last judgment and the wise and foolish virgins;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_421">[Pg 421]</span> it is -otherwise adorned with endless carvings in stone and flanked with two -lofty square towers, which still remain in an unfinished condition; few -sacred edifices on the continent are better calculated to make a strong -impression. In front of the Cathedral stands the fine bronze equestrian -statue of Rudolph von Erlach, the brave defender of Bern at Laupin; -it is a name celebrated in the Confederation for five hundred years. -An ancestor led his countrymen in the fourteenth century, and Rudolph -led the forces of the Canton against the French invasion at the close -of the eighteenth century; descendants of the name still live in Bern -and enjoy the highest respect and esteem of the people. The Cathedral -<i>platz</i>, a small well-shaded park, raised and walled at a great -expense, a hundred and eight feet above the river, overhangs the lower -town, built on the narrow margin of the rapid Aar. The outer wall bears -an inscription that, in 1654, a young student’s horse, frightened by -some boys, plunged over this precipice with his rider, the horse being -killed, but the rider escaped with only a broken arm and leg, and -survived the accident thirty years as a preacher.</p> - -<p>On market day, Tuesday in each week, the streets of Bern are crowded -with booths and tables exposing for sale every sort of merchandise, -garden and farm products, and live animals, from a goat to a cow, a dog -to a horse; pigs and lambs are held in the embrace of their owners, -happy and contented with the nursing-bottle. The <i>Abattoir</i>, just -out of the town, on the banks of the river, with its handsome buildings -and beautiful grounds, sooner suggests to the passer-by an attractive -pleasure resort than a public slaughter-house.<a id="FNanchor_111" href="#Footnote_111" class="fnanchor">111</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_422">[Pg 422]</span> Much of the garden -truck and all the dairy product are brought into market in small carts, -heavy and stoutly built, pulled by two dogs, one on each side of the -shafts, between which is the woman to uphold and guide it, and for -this motive power a woman and a dog or a boy and a dog tug together -in friendly yoke-fellowship. Dogs are used throughout Switzerland for -all light draught purposes; and not always very light, for these dogs -have been bred through generations for this purpose, until they have -almost the bone and strength of a small horse or ox. They do not seem -to be of any distinct canine family, varying much in size, color, and -appearance,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Both mongrel, puppy, whelp, and hound,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">And curs of low degree.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>They serve the twofold purpose of beasts of burden and vigilant -guardians; the moment the woman stops and puts down the shafts of the -cart the dogs go beneath it and lie down, but their eyes never leave a -stranger who comes near, and he would find it dangerous to attempt to -touch anything in the absence of their mistress. In the evening, when -readiness is made to return home, these dogs express their pleasure -with a deep-mouthed barking, forming a chorus of corresponding variety -to their breeding; as in procession they pass through the streets -this barking becomes a deafening yelp; in their struggle to pass one -another, the carts being lightened of their loads, often the women are -unable to check them with their own force and that of the brakes, with -which the cart is provided, and a general stampede occurs. The dogs -are highly valued and kindly treated by their owners; passing along -at noon, when the women and the dogs are taking their dinner<span class="pagenum" id="Page_423">[Pg 423]</span> side by -side from their respective tin buckets, you will find that the dogs are -not eating of the crumbs which fall from their master’s table, but are -furnished with rather a more generous repast. The law limits how many -pounds these dogs shall pull, but the woman may pull all she can.</p> - -<p>Though Bern is the national and cantonal capital, it has an essentially -small-town, provincial system of life. There is no capital in Europe -more remote from the stir and impulse of the world’s activities. -Isolated by its insignificance rather than by any geographical -position, free from all extraneous influences, it maintains a mummy -condition, bound up in the swaddling-clothes of quaint customs and -antiquated ideas. It has been within this generation that a butcher -of the town made the advertisement that “all persons, without respect -of religion, can have fresh meat every day.” To the stranger, life in -Bern soon stagnates into a fearsome weariness. There is absolutely -nothing to break the <i>tædium vitæ</i> unless you devote yourself -to the task of doing it. From the first of December to the middle of -April there is an annual hibernation. Silence reigns in the streets, -and the tradesmen will tell you they do not make enough to pay for -their light. Amusements are few and too poor to lure one from his -melancholy, and, tired with all things else, the weary heart must -seek new life and joy in nature. Yet the very silence and absence of -bustle, a certain stateliness and reserved demeanor in the inhabitants, -showing it not to be a money-making town, imply that its importance at -some time must have sprung from more solid and permanent sources than -trade can afford, and that another spirit animated its inhabitants. -Aristocratic pride is still excessive, and the antique simplicity of -its magistrates, the plain and easy manners they uniformly preserve in -their intercourse with the people, are not by any means at variance -with the assertion. For that external simplicity and affability -to inferiors is one of the characteristics of the aristocratic -government;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_424">[Pg 424]</span> all assumption of superiority being carefully avoided -when real authority is not in question. Zurich suggests the idea of a -municipal aristocracy; Bern of an ancient one. In the one we think we -see citizens of a town transformed into nobility, in the other ancient -nobles who have made themselves citizens. By the side of those gigantic -terraces, of those fine fountains, those massive arches and noble -shades you now see none but simple and solid dwellings, yet scarcely -any beggarly ones; not an equipage to be seen, but many a wagon, -with a fine team of horses or oxen, well appointed in every way. The -aristocracy of Bern, in times past, was distinguished by its elegant -accomplishments and the splendid ornaments and furniture of its houses, -heirlooms of the wall and of the cupboard, which were the pride of -generations. The value of the furniture of a Bernese patrician, called -Zeguti, was ascertained by his last will, <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 1367, to be -equal to the public revenue of the city for one year. The aristocratic -Bernese officials of those days had under their door-bells written: -“<i>Ici on sonne et attend.</i>” Bern is in the centre of one of -the most beautiful landscapes in Europe; the country is broken, but -cultivated like a garden, and so well wooded as to resemble a vast -park. Every town in Switzerland possesses some feature of originality, -and none are destitute of lovely and refreshing walks; but there is -none richer in umbrageous roads, or where they are kept in better -repair, than Bern. Graceful foot-paths wind among the fields, which -are little encumbered with fences or hedges, and roads as good as -those which are seen in pleasure-grounds. The fine wood of Bremgarten, -with its magnificent avenues of trees, extends almost to the very -gates of the town, and is reached by a boulevard lined on each side -with limes, which in their season perfume the air. A more beautiful -or highly-cultivated region is scarcely to be found than the banks of -the Aar in its vicinity. The environs abound in views over hill and -dale, over wood and river; and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_425">[Pg 425]</span> the most unobservant cannot fail to -remark how superior in brilliancy of color and elegance of form even -the wayside flowers appear; the very weediest of weeds seem attractive -and ornamental. In the rare pure air of this mountainous section the -whole plant population becomes, as it were, refined and aristocratic. -Then Bern looks from her peninsula on the beauties and snows of her -Oberland, a continuous chain the most regular in all Switzerland, and -the most imposing and pompous panorama that can be found in the whole -realm of mountains. In the grand barrier which separates Bern from -the Valais there are six celebrated peaks, commencing on the east -with the Wetterhorn,<a id="FNanchor_112" href="#Footnote_112" class="fnanchor">112</a> then the Schreckhorn, the Finsteraarhorn, -the Eiger, the Mönch, and the Jungfrau, ranging in height from twelve -thousand to fourteen thousand and twenty-six feet. They all pierce the -empyrean, but the Finsteraarhorn overtops all the others. They look -so sharp and wildly precipitous that the bare thought of standing on -any one of them would make you shudder. The horizontal extent of this -range is vast, the grouping magnificent, the scene unparagoned. They -present bold outlines cut sharply against the sky, summits veiled with -clouds, crests alternately gently rounded or rugged and broken, noble -slopes, steep precipices, outlines of mingled grace and boldness.<a id="FNanchor_113" href="#Footnote_113" class="fnanchor">113</a> -In the course of a clear day there is a beautiful variety of aspect, -bright, pure, rich, harmonious,—from the dark shadows cast by the -rising sun, the brilliancy of mid-day, the violet hues at sunset, and -the ashy and almost ghostly paleness of evening. Imagine frozen snow -piled in the heavens<span class="pagenum" id="Page_426">[Pg 426]</span> and stretching miles across the boundary of -an otherwise beautiful view, having its sides shaded by innumerable -valleys, with here and there a patch of hoary, naked rock, and the -upper line all tossed into peaks and swelling ridges, like the waves -of a colossal ocean. The grandest scene of all, and seen in greater -perfection at Bern than any other point in Switzerland, is that brief -period when the majestic architecture of the Alps, with its capitals -and bastions, is flushed with the warm light of the lowering sun; when -the <i>Alpenglühen</i><a id="FNanchor_114" href="#Footnote_114" class="fnanchor">114</a> (<i>Abendglühen</i>) bathes the stern faces -of the ramparts with a flood of light and shade such as only nature -can produce from the rarest tints of infinite beauty. As the sun sinks -lower the ruddiness of his light seems to augment until the filaments -resemble streamers of flame; when the sun sinks deeper the light is -gradually withdrawn, all is cold and gray again; the stars come out all -at once and leave the mountain like a desolate old man whose</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent26">“Hoary hair</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Stream’d like a meteor in the troubled air.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The vapor at times causes a great deal of refraction, and above the -clouds rises the whole of the Oberland to an altitude which seems -greater than usual; every peak and all the majestic formation are -clearly visible, though the whole range<span class="pagenum" id="Page_427">[Pg 427]</span> appears to be severed from the -earth and to float in the air; the line of communication is varied, -and while all below is enfeebled by the mist, the snow and ice above -throw back the fierce light of the sun with powerful splendor. The -people of Bern, of all conditions and ages, may be seen, day after -day, waiting and watching for the <i>Alpenglühen</i>. As the hour of -sunset approaches, the numerous little parks which furnish a view -begin to fill up with the old and young; with the first announcing ray -of the <i>Alpenglühen</i> the children cease to be boisterous, the -fingers that ply the knitting-needle are still, the laborer at work -pursues his vocation sedately, and all gaze in silent admiration. Bern -abounds in these humanizing, tranquillizing, and health-giving parks -or promenades, ornamented with beds of bright flowers and provided -with comfortable seats. Although the Alps are not necessary to render -the views from these parks pleasant, yet there they are, to add a -background of sublimity to a foreground of surpassing loveliness. The -Aar flows towards Bern in a northwest direction, through a valley -of some width and several miles in length: to this fact the Bernese -are indebted for their fine view of the Oberland Alps, which stretch -themselves exactly across the mouth of the gorge at a distance of forty -miles in an air-line. There is a story of a king, who said he dearly -wished he had never had any picture or statue in his palace so that he -could once again have, even for a moment, the crude, sincere delight of -a boy staring at a wax-work group. The Bernese will never have need to -frame such a wish. To them their Oberland will always be new, a picture -that can never fade, a strain of music which can never sound tuneless -or harsh.</p> - -<p>But in this sin-cursed world</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“The sea of fortune doth not ever flow;</div> - <div class="verse indent4">She draws her favors to the lowest ebb;</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Her tides have equal times to come and go;</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Her loom doth weave the fine and coarsest web.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_428">[Pg 428]</span></p> -<p>This same <i>Alpenglühen</i> casts its kaleidoscopic rays directly at -the foot of the Oberland on eyes that are incapable of appreciating the -wealth of beauty that is around and above them. Here are a most sadly -afflicted people; here prevail, to a remarkable degree, <i>goitre</i> -and <i>cretinism</i>. We find in Juvenal, “<i>Quis tumidum guttur -miratur in Alpibus?</i>” (“Who wonders at goitres in the Alps?”) -Congenital cases are not infrequent, but, in a majority of instances, -it makes its appearance on a child at about the age of twelve or -fourteen. The size these goitrous growths may attain is extraordinary, -hanging down on the breast, enormous and unsightly things, recalling -the description in “The Tempest,”—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“When we were boys,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Who would have believed that there were mountaineers</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Dew-lapp’d like bulls, whose throats had hanging at ’em</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Hideous wallets of flesh.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>In some portions of this district, the goitre or swelling of the -thyroid gland in front of the neck is so prevalent that</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Optimus ille est</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Qui minimus urgetur.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>It is not painful, and not always apparently inconvenient, and the -few who are free from it are laughed at and called “goose-necked.” -A stranger once entering a church in the neighborhood where but few -were absolutely free from these unseemly appendages, during service -the congregation betrayed improper curiosity, and the pastor, after -a sharp reproach for their want of manners, reminded them that it -was not the fault of the poor man “if he had no goitre.” By some -it is actually considered, in a mild form, to be desirable; for it -possesses a positive money value in furnishing exemption from military -service. Now and then these monstrous excrescences become too large -to be borne, and the poor victims crawl on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_429">[Pg 429]</span> the ground because they -cannot walk upright under the weight. There is a popular as well -as scientific belief that water is the vehicle of the poison that -produces it; that it is impregnated with <i>tufa</i> or <i>tuf</i> -a calcareous matter, whose tendency to concrete among the glands of -the neck, aided, perhaps, by stagnant evaporation of narrow villages, -produces these wenny protuberances. This goitrous condition is often -accompanied with an imperfect or arrested state of mental development -known as <i>cretinism</i>, a distinct and most distressful form of -idiocy. The <i>cretin</i> has an enormous head that drops listlessly -on the breast; a vacant countenance; goggling eyes; thick tongue -hanging out over moist, livid lips; mouth always open, full of saliva, -and exposing decayed teeth; limbs misshapen; and wanting at times -even the power of articulation. Many are deaf and dumb,—in fact, -physical abortions, with every sign of bodily and mental imbecility. -Few of these poor creatures can do any work, and many are even -incapable of taking care of themselves, and not safe to leave alone. -These distorted, mindless people, of semi-human attributes, excite a -pitying disgust by their loathsome appearance, lolling tongue, obscene -gestures, degraded appetites, and senseless gibberish as revolting as -their aspects. The word <i>cretin</i> is thought to be derived from -the older <i>cretins</i> of the Alps, whose name was a corruption of -<i>Chrétien</i> or <i>Christianus</i>, and who, being baptized, and -idiots, were supposed to be “washed from original sin” and incapable -of actual sin. Cretinism is regarded by physicians as hereditary, for -it appears in the most pronounced type in successive generations of -the same family. This unfortunate district borders on the most fertile -and beautiful valley in Switzerland, the Emmenthal, the rich plain in -the northern part of the Canton of Bern, noted for its cheese and its -<i>schwingfeste</i> (winnowing-festivals). Here the peasants are sturdy -and strong of aspect, and on Sunday the men may be seen<span class="pagenum" id="Page_430">[Pg 430]</span> walking among -their acres like lords of the soil, in their immaculate shirt sleeves -of a fulness suggestive of episcopal dignity. It was the neat houses, -comfortable dresses, highly-cultivated and generous soil, giving a -cheerful and prosperous look to the face alike of the people and the -country in this section, that caused so high an authority as Burke to -write, “That he had beheld throughout Switzerland, and above all in the -Canton of Bern, a people at once the happiest and the best governed on -earth.”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX.<br> -<span class="small"> - -SWITZERLAND THE SEAT OF INTERNATIONAL UNIONS.</span></h2></div> - - -<p>It is not a little surprising—when we consider the great and rapid -advance that has been made during the last century in diplomacy, -jurisprudence, statesmanship, and political economy, and, indeed, in -the multifarious branches of knowledge,—that international relations, -upon which depend to such an extent the most precious interests of the -nations and of all mankind, should remain so long in a condition very -crude, indefinite, and incomplete. The “mills of God grind slowly,” -but the mills of human government seem even more tedious and rusty. -Now that, in the advance of intelligence and civilization, the nations -have passed from the self-subsistent stage of national life into the -dependent one; now that, through the great discoveries of modern -times, the nations have been brought together, compacted into one -community, and the interests of all have been blended; now that “the -separate threads of national prosperity have been entangled in the -international skein,” publicists have found it necessary to enlarge -their opinions and judgments, so as to represent,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_431">[Pg 431]</span> not the narrowness -of local prejudice, but the breadth and depth of the whole mind of -civilized mankind. This tendency has found practical expression in -international treaties, with objects neither sectarian nor political; -concerning not individuals alone, not nations alone, but the whole -community of man. With aims the most comprehensive, desirableness -and practicability manifest, they are founded in a philanthropy -seeking to promote the honor and welfare of every nation, and to -bring additional blessings to every home and every heart in the wide -world. International unions, with their noble and beneficent objects, -constitute the fellowship of nations, under the dominion of law, in -the bonds of peace. Central bureaus are required for the management of -these unions, and it needed but little reflection to discover that the -Swiss republic presented peculiar advantages for their location. Its -neutrality stood guaranteed by the powers; it could not come under any -suspicion of political ambition or territorial aggrandizement; it was -thus mapped out to be a neutral state, with every reasonable prospect -of this <i>status</i> being sustained. This neutrality, with its strong -assurance of immunity from “all entangling alliances” and the untoward -complications of war or foreign occupation, and the central position in -Europe with convenience of communication with the principal European -capitals, were in themselves sufficient to recommend Switzerland. -Then the Swiss possess perhaps the most marked genius of any people -for the administration of an office; the government itself is surely -the most laborious, the most economical, the least pretentious, yet -withal systematic, thorough, and efficient; the same sobriety of -demeanor, conscientious discharge of duty, with painstaking, patient -labor at their desks, pervade the entire Swiss bureaucracy; these were -distinct and all-important advantages. And, last, the supposition -that affairs which influence the conduct and affect the interests of -nations might be discussed amid its mountains with a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_432">[Pg 432]</span> calmness and -candor which the contemplation of nature inspires, contributed no -little to the cheerful consensus as to the propriety of its selection -for the seat of the bureaus. There are now a sufficient number of these -unions, with their central bureaus or seats established in Bern, to -confer upon the Confederation a singularly conspicuous position of -distinction and usefulness. Uncontaminated by the ambitions of its -neighbors, Switzerland offers to contending nations a quiet spot in -which to settle their disputes by the peaceful means of arbitration. It -is not only a place of occasional conventions, but also the official -headquarters of a host of continuous international agreements, -commercial treaties and unions, which render peace and freedom -necessary, and therefore secure within its borders.</p> - -<p>The first step from which resulted the concentration of these bureaus -in Switzerland was taken in 1863. In that year a private committee, -composed of different nationalities but animated by one noble impulse, -assembled at Geneva to consider the practicability of making some -better provision for the protection of the wounded in battle, the -inadequacy of existing official means to meet the humane requirements -of the sick and wounded soldiers in great wars having long been -painfully apparent. It will always redound to the honor of Switzerland -that upon its soil the first formal international conference was held -with a view to the mitigation of some of the horrors of war. On that -occasion the institution of national aid societies was organized, and a -few Swiss gentlemen were formed into an international committee for the -purpose of constituting, on their neutral territory, an intermediary -for the aid of similar societies in all countries. This committee -soon discovered that their movement was everywhere attracting the -attention and winning the warm approbation of all humane people, and -determined to place it upon a broader and firmer basis. They requested -the Swiss Federal Council<span class="pagenum" id="Page_433">[Pg 433]</span> to propose to such other governments, as -it deemed expedient, that a diplomatic conference should be held -in Switzerland, to discuss and, if possible, give the undertaking -international character and support. The Federal Council promptly -acceded to the memorial of the committee, and the invitation, as -desired, was officially extended in the name of the Swiss government. -Many of the leading powers accepted the invitation, and accredited -delegates to the conference, which assembled the following year in -Geneva. This conference was brought to a successful conclusion by the -signing of the memorable “Geneva Convention of August 20, 1864,” by -the representatives of sixteen governments. Within four months it was -ratified and formally acceded to by eight European states, and at the -present date has been joined by a grand total of thirty-three states. -This convention embraces a wide field of practical philanthropy, being -designed to remove soldiers when sick or wounded from the category -of combatants, affording them relief and protection without regard -to nationality. This protection extends to all persons officially -attached to hospitals or ambulances, and to all houses so long as -they contain invalid soldiers. Inhabitants of a locality occupied -by a belligerent army, and who are engaged in the care of the sick -and wounded, are likewise included; provision is also to be made for -the return of invalid soldiers to their respective homes. “While the -gun-carriage bears its death-dealing burden across the battle-field, -in the ruts which rushing artillery wheels have torn up follow quickly -the ambulance wagons of this Christian brotherhood, bringing hope -and succor to the wounded.” The insignia of hospital and ambulance -is the Swiss flag, with its colors reversed, a red cross on a white -ground; and individuals in their employment wear a white armlet -with a red cross, and every red-cross flag must be accompanied, in -time of war, by the national flag of those using it. It is no mean -distinction for the Swiss Confederation<span class="pagenum" id="Page_434">[Pg 434]</span> that its national emblem is -so intimately and exclusively associated with this great exhibition of -international humanity. It is a grand and elevating education, a wise -and philanthropic conception embodying the best principles of social -science, and that true spirit of charity which counts it a sacred -privilege to minister to one’s fellow-men in time of suffering. To -supply material wants, great as this may be, is not all of its mission; -it seeks to carry to men’s hearts the message of universal brotherhood, -with “peace on earth, good will to men” as its ensign. The United -States gave their adhesion to this convention in 1882, and in the -conferences had since that date, among the large number of delegates -assembled, composed of royalties, nobilities, military and scientific -celebrities, no one commanded more respectful attention or contributed -more to the deliberations than a lone feminine delegate who bore the -credentials of the United States. The name of Clara Barton is known -the world over in connection with the burning cross on a snow-white -field. To her labors are largely due the widening of the scope of the -red-cross activities, and the assimilation of its workings to the -advance plans already put in execution in her own country. These plans -were chiefly of her own suggestion, and she had been instrumental in -their reduction to successful use, for which she found opportunity in -the late civil war, and subsequently during the Franco-German war, -when she followed the German army into Paris, working faithfully alike -in French and German camp; when all the nations of Europe rang with -praises for her splendid work. She then first became acquainted with -the Red Cross Society, and at once united with it; returning home with -the iron cross of Baden on her breast, she organized the Red Cross -Society of the United States, and was made its president. Her influence -mainly contributed to the favorable action of the United States in -joining this convention in 1882.</p> - -<p>In 1865, one year after the conclusion of the Red Cross<span class="pagenum" id="Page_435">[Pg 435]</span> Convention, -occurred the initiative of the International Telegraph Union upon the -signature of the Convention of Paris. For a time the Union dispensed -with a central administration, and at the conference held in Vienna in -1865 the policy of having a shifting administration, as between the -capitals where the conferences took place, was seriously considered, -but the necessity for a fixed and central administration was finally -conceded, and the Swiss Confederation was asked to take charge of it. -The central office was organized without delay at Bern. Correspondence -was opened with thirty-seven telegraphic administrations, twenty-six -of which belonged to the contracting states and eleven to private -corporations. The last report from the bureau-director shows the -number of state administrations corresponding with the central -office to be forty; in addition to these are ten cable or submarine -companies and eleven private land companies. The budget for 1888 -reports the total expense of this bureau at 84,000 francs, or about -$16,500, an incredibly small outlay for so important and responsible a -work, involving an extensive line of correspondence and at times the -adjustment of very technical questions. The bureau issues an official -gazette, <i>Le Journal Télégraphique</i>. To this union the United -States do not belong, having no government control over the telegraph -companies.</p> - -<p>Next came the Postal Union in 1874, and immediately upon the exchange -of ratifications of the convention a year later the central office -was likewise organized at Bern. Correspondence opened with twenty-one -postal administrations, which have now increased to forty-seven; -the annual budget is $15,700, making the contributive share of a -first-class state only a little over $600 per annum, and about half -that sum for a second-class state; certainly a very inconsiderable -tax for so essential a service. The chiefs or directors of the two -above-mentioned unions possess administrative ability that would -readily command in the United States three times the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_436">[Pg 436]</span> sums paid them. A -journal, <i>L’Union Postale</i>, published monthly, in three languages, -English, German, and French, is conducted by the bureau, and enjoys a -large circulation among those interested in knowing something of this -clearing-house process of international mail-matter.</p> - -<p>Passing mention may be made of two more limited but very useful -conventions concluded in Switzerland,—one for the extermination of -phylloxera and the other for the regulation of the transportation of -goods by railway. The first had its origin at a conference of persons -interested in the culture of the vine, held at Lausanne in 1877, -and a convention to establish a union was signed at Bern in 1878 by -several states, with the object of promoting joint protection against -a disease which had caused such serious losses to vine-growers. Bern -was agreed upon as the seat of all future meetings, and this union, -which continues to obtain adhesions, is in active and beneficial -operation. The Railway Transportation Union is, from the very nature -and difficulty of the matters involved, one of slow evolution, but -conferences are from time to time held, and its friends do not despair -that it will ultimately result in the text of an international union -with its bureau at Bern; this union, however, cannot expect to embrace -any but the continental states.</p> - -<p>A most important event in the history of these unions was the -conclusion, at Paris, in 1883, after ten years’ negotiation, of -the Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, with a -supplemental protocol signed at Rome in 1886. By the terms of the -convention Switzerland assumed the responsibility for the management of -the central administration, and the bureau joined the others at Bern. -There are sixteen states in this union, the last accession being that -of the United States, which was made on the 30th of May, 1887.</p> - -<p>Lastly, and one very properly following close on that for the -protection of industrial property, came the Union for the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_437">[Pg 437]</span> Protection -of Literary and Artistic Property. This, the result of conferences -in 1884, 1885, and 1886 at Bern, was secured by the signature of -the convention on the 9th of September, 1886, and the ratification -exchanged 5th of December, 1887, with ten adhering states. The central -bureau, like those preceding it, was placed under the high authority of -the Swiss Confederation, and is consolidated with its sister Bureau of -Industrial Property. It issues an ably edited monthly journal, <i>Le -Droit d’Auteur</i>.</p> - -<p>The failure of the United States to adhere to this convention, it -was apprehended by many, would deprive the Union of much of its -contemplated value and practical results. This sentiment found -expression in terms of the most sincere and respectful regret on -the part of the delegates representing the signing states. At the -Bern Conference of 1886, to which the writer was commissioned as a -consultative delegate, he submitted the following statement explanatory -of the attitude of the United States towards the conference:</p> - -<p>“Through a circular note of the Swiss Federal Council the United States -have been invited, in concert with the other powers represented in -the Copyright Conference held here in September, 1885, to instruct -and empower a delegate to attend this conference, and to sign on -behalf of the United States the International Convention for the -General Protection of Literary and Artistic Property, drafted <i>ad -referendum</i> by the conference last year, and a copy of which -draft convention, with additional article and <i>protocole de -clôture</i>, had been submitted to them. The United States again -find it impracticable to depute a delegate plenipotentiary, and are -constrained to withhold from any formal participation, as a signatory -to the International Convention which resulted from the deliberations -of 1885, and the transformation of that convention into a complete -diplomatic engagement. To exhibit their benevolence, however, towards -the principle involved, the United<span class="pagenum" id="Page_438">[Pg 438]</span> States desire, with, the pleasure -of this conference, to be represented here, and has conferred upon me -the honor to attend this conference as such representative, provided -that my attendance is fully recognized and admitted to be without -plenipotentiary powers; but under the limitation and reservation that -the United States, not being a party to the proposed convention, -reserve their privilege of future accession, under provisions of -Article XVIII. thereof, which declare that ‘countries which have -not joined in the present convention, and which by their municipal -laws assure legal protection to the right whereof this convention -treats, shall be admitted to accede thereto on their request to that -effect.’ While not prepared to join in the proposed convention as a -full signatory, the United States do not wish thereby to be understood -as opposing the measure in any way, but, on the contrary, desire to -reserve without prejudice the privilege of future accession, should it -become expedient and practicable to do so. Should any question exist -that the representation of the United States here, though under the -specific and express limitation of a consultative delegate, is such -a participation as would suffice to exclude them from the category -of the ‘countries that had not joined in the present convention,’ -and therefore to deprive them of the privilege of future accession, -in event they desire to avail themselves of it, I wish to reiterate -and emphasize the fact, that the course of the United States in -commissioning a delegate is in nowise intended or to be construed as -a participation in the result of the conference, either by acceptance -or rejection. The position and attitude of the United States is one -simply of expectancy and reserve. The Constitution of the United -States enumerates among the powers especially reserved to Congress, -that ‘to promote the progress of science and the useful arts, by -securing for limited terms to authors and inventors the exclusive right -to their respective writings and discoveries;’ which implies that -the origination and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_439">[Pg 439]</span> limitation of measures to those ends rest with -the legislative rather than the treaty-making powers. Copyright and -patents are on the same footing of regulation by federal legislation, -and the executive branch of the government cannot be unmindful of -the continued pendency of its consideration by the legislative -department, or disregard the constitutional right of that department -to conclude international treaties on this important subject. The -question of international copyright is one of great interest to -the United States. In fact, few other countries can lay claim to -greater concern than that naturally felt by people distinguished for -enlightened, extensive, and growing intellectual life, and while not -infringing upon the constitutional prerogative of Congress to initiate -and conclude copyright legislation, likewise to define the rights -of aliens and citizens within its jurisdiction, the Executive, in -his first annual message to Congress, inviting its attention to the -conference of last September, said, ‘action is certainly desirable to -effect the object in view;’ and the Secretary of State for foreign -affairs, in his official despatches relating to this conference, -freely expresses his concurrence with the principle sought to be -enunciated by the proposed convention, and conveys the hope that the -time is not distant when rights of property in the creation of the mind -may be universally secured under conditions favorable alike to the -author and to the world’s right to share in the diffusion of ideas. -That the brain that creates is entitled to and should receive its -just and full compensation, is a sentiment having its origin in the -inherent sense of honesty. Literary property has been to some extent -recognized in all ages, and is to-day guaranteed in almost every State -by domestic legislation. This recognition and guarantee should be -without distinction of nationality and without regard to political -frontiers. It is a matter of congratulation, and redounds much to -the credit of the Swiss government, through whose active efforts -this movement was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_440">[Pg 440]</span> successfully inaugurated, and supplemented by the -patient and intelligent labor of the several conferences assembled -here at its invitation, that a just and permanent settlement, once for -all, of the grave question of the protection of works of literature -and art, so long and unjustly denied, is about to be realized by the -instrumentality of a uniform, efficacious, and equitable international -convention.”</p> - -<p>At the close of these remarks the president of the conference thanked -the delegate from the United States, and assured him that the -“accession of the United States would be received at any time with joy -by all the contracting states, and he but reflected the sincere wish of -all present in hoping that within a measurable time the United States -will request that a place be made for them in the Union.”</p> - -<p>It is time that the position of the United States on this important -subject should be set free from the thraldom of that short-sighted -selfishness which has hitherto fettered and degraded it. The Congress -of the United States should seek suggestion from those sentiments of -elevated justice and public honesty which are the sources of judicial -counsel, and should act in that spirit of permanent and comprehensive -wisdom, justice, and right which alone gives assurances of deep and -expanding benefits, as well to nations as to individuals. In the -absence of international copyright, just and fair compensation for -native literary and artistic property is out of the question. American -authors ask no protection, they demand no aids, no bounties; they -simply ask not to be subjected to this discrimination against domestic -talent that puts them at a cruel disadvantage with foreign competitors, -the fatal usage of whose cheap reprints, “without authorial expenses,” -has become an inveterate and crushing system. They ask only the -privilege of meeting these competitors on equal terms in a fair -contest. Literary property is the only kind of personal property not -protected by the law when the owner is not a citizen<span class="pagenum" id="Page_441">[Pg 441]</span> of the United -States. To the foreign owners of patents and trade-marks, which are -so analogous to copyright, protection ample and easily enforced is -accorded. It is half a century since Prussia first set the example of -granting international copyright. In 1837 a law was passed that every -country might secure copyright for its authors in Prussia upon granting -reciprocity. This was followed by England in the succeeding year. -France set the example, during the Empire, of forbidding the piracy of -books and works of art of foreigners, before obtaining reciprocity. -Property in ideas, dating back in England to the Statutes of Anne, -was recognized in the Constitution of the United States, and is now -conceded in every civilized country by legislative enactment. The same -legal protection in the matter of ideas which is given to the natives -of the state, is now accorded to the foreigner and outsider by all -nations of high civilization except the United States. The right to -profit by the product of the brain should secure for the author “that -justice which is not a matter of climates and degrees.” The principle -of copyright being admitted, it cannot logically be confined to state -lines or national boundaries. Grant that it is difficult to give -literary rights the well-defined nature and tangible form of what is -known, technically, as real or personal property; still, outside of the -ethical or abstract right, copyright is a modern development of the -principle of property which commends itself to every sentiment of honor -and justice, regardless of any obscurity which may have surrounded or -inspired its conception. Who steals a man’s book may, indeed, steal -trash, but, at least, it is his own trash, more closely his own than -his purse. In a high state of civilization, a man’s book should be -everywhere regarded as his property, and should ever be protected as -scrupulously as if it were a pair of shoes, upon the construction of -which he has also expended his time, his thought, his patience, and -such talent and skill as he possesses. The sophistical<span class="pagenum" id="Page_442">[Pg 442]</span> plea that the -culture and education of our people are to be imperilled, and the cost -of books to be placed beyond the reach of the masses, is the mere weak -subterfuge of those who are unwilling to be disturbed in their wrongful -appropriation of the labor of others. The reverse of this claim has -been abundantly shown. France has had an international copyright law -for years, and series of books are issued there for five cents, and -even two cents a number; it is the same with Germany; and these cheap -publications represent all that is best in the literature of their -respective countries. The spirit of literary ambition and activity is -daily becoming greater and more diffused among the people of the United -States, quickening and nourishing into life the seeds of a vigorous -and vast native literature. It is impossible to determine the elements -which must conspire to form and build up a native literature. It is -a mystery, not solved to the satisfaction of scholars, why it should -have put forth so early and transitory a bloom in Italy; why it should -have ripened so late in Germany and Scotland; why in England alone it -should know no vicissitudes of seasons, but smile in eternal spring. -But we may be confidently assured that a people to whom Providence has -given a stirring history, a land abounding in landscapes of beauty and -grandeur, and a high degree of mental activity, extending the range of -knowledge and scattering its seeds among all classes without price, -cannot and will not remain long without an extensive and superior -native literature. The literature of a people is the noblest emanation -and truest measure of the intellect and earnestness and progression of -that community. But there can be no decided literature, national in -its basis, original in its character, independent in its aim, in any -country where authorship is not a firm, reliable, and safe possession. -Already the peer of the proudest in military achievements and material -prosperity, truth, freedom, and civilization never presented a richer -field and a brighter<span class="pagenum" id="Page_443">[Pg 443]</span> future for intellectual laborers than is to be -found in the United States. Inexhaustible materials sleep in the womb -of the morning, awaiting the forming hand of letters to seize and -vitalize these mighty elements. The day must come when the pre-eminence -of the United States in the field of material products will be rivalled -by the existence of a literature as aspiring, as copious, and as -brilliant as the spirit, resources, and destiny of the country; an -American literature, breathing American ideas, and teaching respect -and admiration for American government, furnishing to the young men -and women of an impressionable age books which are American books, not -foreign books; not the cheap books of fiction dedicated, as Matthew -Arnold has said, to the “Goddess of Lubricity.”<a id="FNanchor_115" href="#Footnote_115" class="fnanchor">115</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_444">[Pg 444]</span></p> - -<p>The international unions, indicated as having their seats in Bern, -it must not be forgotten, are practically the only ones which the -world has to show. The <i>Bureau du Mètre</i> in France, the only -cognate institution in another country partaking of an international -character, cannot be reckoned in the same class, being scientific and -not commercial. It is noteworthy, as evidence of the high consideration -given to these international unions, or rather to the location of their -central bureaus in Switzerland, by its statesmen, that the directorship -of the Postal Bureau was on its establishment accepted by an eminent -member of the Federal Council, who thus voluntarily surrendered -virtually a life-tenure position of the highest dignity, coupled with -the certainty of succeeding to the Presidency of the Confederation, -to assume a more laborious and responsible post, with little, if any, -increase of salary. The acquisition by Switzerland of these important -bureaus, with the world-wide scope of their operation, is properly -regarded as forming a more effectual guarantee for its preservation -as an independent state than any other that could be devised. These -unions cannot fail to be also productive of a progressively improving -understanding among all the states composing them, enabling their -several systems to be compared, useful discoveries shared, legislation -simplified and assimilated, the science of statistics facilitated, and -efforts, not merely for the development of commercial, but also of -the intellectual needs of their respective people, wisely stimulated -and directed. These beneficent consequences must favorably reflect -on the state furnishing the safe and common ground upon which this -great work can be peaceably and skilfully prosecuted, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_445">[Pg 445]</span> elevate -it to an exceptional plane of importance and security, giving it an -international function which is interesting to note. It will not -do, in connection with these international bodies and episodes in -Swiss history, to omit reference to the fact that the first great -international court of arbitration of modern times had its sessions -in Geneva, in 1872, by virtue of the Treaty of Washington between -Great Britain and the United States to arbitrate what was known as -the “Alabama Claims.” Over this most memorable court a distinguished -citizen of Switzerland was chosen to preside. It was such an imposing -spectacle, and the results were so important, as to give an old process -a new dignity and reputation; and to awaken a fresh interest in the -project of a permanent international high court of arbitration. To this -project the Swiss Federal Council has been frequently addressed to lend -its kindly offices. It is a project that every philanthropic publicist -would be happy to see made practicable. Insurmountable difficulties -seem to interpose, yet the fact of great states submitting their -disputes to a body of impartial arbitrators for decision, and not the -arbitrament of war, is not a new one, but of very ancient origin, old -as history. As a principle, it has received the approval of sovereigns -and statesmen, parliaments and congresses. The chief powers of Europe -gave their sanction to it by the Treaty of Paris in 1856, and the -government of the United States has, upon more than one occasion, given -approval to it as the means of settling international controversy.<a id="FNanchor_116" href="#Footnote_116" class="fnanchor">116</a> -Barbarians and early people fought<span class="pagenum" id="Page_446">[Pg 446]</span> because they liked it, as the -chivalrous Maoris did, and the Mussulmans, and the ancient Greeks. The -romance and poetry of these people are all about war; it was their -sport, their industry, their occupation; there was no other way to -wealth and the heart of woman. Even the ancient Teutones regarded war -as a great international lawsuit, and victory was the judgment of God -in favor of the victor. Civilized people fight because they cannot help -it, not because they like it. Civilized nations of to-day are supposed -to act from motives of justice and humanity, and not upon calculations -of profit, or ambition, or in the wantonness of mere caprice. Nations -are now regarded as moral persons, bound so to act as to do each other -the least injury and the most good. There is a growing international -consciousness that, considered in the abstract, unconnected with all -views of the causes for which it may be undertaken, war is an evil, and -that it should yield to some plan of adjusting international quarrels -more consonant with the present boasted Christian civilization. War, it -is true, has its great conquests, its pomps, its proud associations, -and heroic memories, yet there is murder in its march, and humanity and -civilization, genius and statesmanship, are things to blush for if they -fail to realize that</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Peace hath her victories</div> - <div class="verse indent2">No less renown’d than war,”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">and that these words convey a profound principle, and not merely an -abstraction too refined to be reduced to practice.</p> - -<p>The trend of events is towards a peaceable settlement of international -differences. National temperaments are being levelled by the ease of -intercourse. The world is more and more assimilating to a condition -like that of a great family, in which the individual nations, as -members, are linked together by interests, which disputes ending in -wars only impair and cannot benefit. The principle in early Roman law -was that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_447">[Pg 447]</span> every stranger is a public enemy. The opposite prevails -to-day with civilized peoples, that the normal relation between nations -is one of peace and friendship. Unconquerable time itself works on -increasingly, bringing the nations nearer to one another in the -natural and orderly development of close international intercourse, -strengthening the community of mankind. A deep meaning and philosophic -truth is contained in the words of Vattel, “International justice is -the daughter of economic calculations.” These international unions are -most powerful auxiliaries in removing the hinderances that lie between -nations; through them the lesson is being objectively taught that great -nations are so dependent upon each other, that any disturbance in a -particular one is felt by the others, and that when their friendly -relations are interrupted, the civilized world suffers. Through -this influence nations are beginning to take a wider view of their -mutual duties and relations, and appeal to reason and conscience in -international dealings finds a response and an application which could -not have been expected earlier. These unions generate a spirit that -turns its regard to the circuit of the globe, and to an inspiration in -which international relations obtain a higher form and a more assured -security, with no purpose to interfere with particular states or their -complete autonomous organism, or to oppress nations, but the better -to secure the peace of the one and the freedom of the other. The best -human arrangements cannot completely insure the world against civil -war. This ideal can be only approximated. It would be vain to look for -a political millennium, for a time when the “only battle-field will -be the market open to commerce and the mind open to new ideas,” when -nations shall enjoy the boundless blessings offered them in the perfect -freedom of human industry and in the reign of a perpetual peace,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“When the war-drum throbs no longer and the battle-flags are furled</div> - <div class="verse indent2">In the parliament of man, the federation of the world.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_448">[Pg 448]</span></p> -<p>The latest movement, on the part of Switzerland, in the inauguration -of international legislation, relates to “international law” and the -“interest of the working-classes.” The former was organized, in 1888, -at Lausanne, the seat of the Swiss Federal Tribunal, and formed the -“Institute of International Law;” the subjects discussed comprised the -common features of the conflict of civil laws; the conflict of the laws -relative to marriage and divorce; joint stock companies; encounters -at sea; extradition; occupation of unclaimed territory, according -to provisions of the Treaty of Berlin; international regulation of -railways, telegraphs, and telephones in time of war; and the manner -and limit of expulsion of strangers from the territory by governments. -The second, relating to the “interest of the working-classes,” was -foreshadowed by an article from the pen of M. Numa Droz, the chief -of the Foreign Department in the Swiss Cabinet, and published in -the <i>Revue Suisse</i> of February, 1889. In this article M. Droz -announced that Switzerland was about to invite the other nations of -Europe to a congress, in which projects for improving the condition of -the laboring classes of Europe would be discussed. He expressed his -confidence that only good could come from such an official gathering, -and stated that Switzerland would consider it “as a great source of -pleasure to offer cordial hospitality to the first European conference -in the interest of labor legislation.” The distinguished and official -authorship of this article caused it to attract much attention, and -it received very favorable comment from the continental press. As -indicated by M. Droz, within a short time after the appearance of -his article, the Swiss Federal Council issued an invitation to the -European manufacturing states to send representatives to a conference -in September, 1889, at Bern, to consider the “well-being of the -working-classes,” and the organization of an “International Labor -Congress.” At the same time it<span class="pagenum" id="Page_449">[Pg 449]</span> suggested the following questions -for consideration: Prohibition of Sunday work; fixing of a minimum -age for the employment of children in factories, and a limitation of -working-hours for young people; prohibition of the employment of minors -and women in peculiarly unhealthy or dangerous industries; limitation -of night-work; the adoption of a settled plan for the attainment -of these objects. The second annual session of this conference was -recently held at Berlin, by the invitation of the Emperor, who -recognized that he could no longer depend on the army to repress -industrial discontent. Should these conferences succeed in ameliorating -the condition of the laboring classes throughout Europe, and thus lift -from those countries the darkest and most angry cloud that now hangs -over them, it will be the brightest jewel in the crown of Switzerland’s -hegemony in the great work of international unions.</p> - -<p>It can no longer be denied that it is possible to unite the whole -globe in such organizations, now that international law, with its -hypothesis of the union of many states in one humanity, extends over -the greater part of the inhabited earth. There is a steadily-increasing -interdependence of the nations of the world, especially of those which -give themselves to commerce and manufactures, and alike of those -which need a foreign field for a share of their capital. These ties -unite them alike for good and evil, and render the prosperity of each -dependent on the equal prosperity of all the rest. When this great -truth is well understood, it may, perhaps, become the peacemaker of -the world. Nations have their defects and passions like individuals, -and well-established international laws, conventions, and unions -are necessary to protect the weak and helpless from the strong and -ambitious.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_450">[Pg 450]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI.<br> -<span class="small"> - -SWITZERLAND AND THE EUROPEAN SITUATION.</span></h2></div> - - -<p>Switzerland has no small influence on the affairs of Europe, as well -by its situation as by its warlike genius. There is much of history, -but still more political anomaly, written in the very conglomerate map -of Switzerland. It is a land of unfulfilled destiny. The eye traces -its great water-courses into the most important countries of civilized -Europe, and recognizes the lines down which potent influences, social -and political, are to descend. Its political boundaries do not coincide -with those of nature; they are erratic, the result of wars and -political vicissitudes. On the one hand, France shoots out spurs of her -territory into Switzerland, and Switzerland, on the other hand, by the -force of circumstances, has overlapped Italian ground, taking in Ticino -south of the main chain of the Alps, which is Italian in climate and -flora; a large part of the Grisons is east of the Rhine, and of the -ranges separating it from Tyrol; while Schaffhausen and a couple of -villages in the Canton of Basel are altogether on the north side of the -line, the German town of Constanz is to the south of the line. Again, -if a Swiss wishes to pass from the Rhine valley to Geneva by the south -bank of the lake, he must cross French territory in order to do so. The -southwest frontier of Switzerland stops at Geneva, instead of extending -to the Jura, which forms its natural frontier. Military writers have -pointed out that the easiest route for an investing force from Germany -would be through Switzerland; and similarly for a force from France, -over the Jura, by Zurich, to the Rhine at Schaffhausen. “That a power -which was master of Switzerland could debouch on the theatre of -operations of the Rhone,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_451">[Pg 451]</span> the Saône, Po, or Danube; from Geneva an army -could march on Lyons, from Basel it could gain the valley of Saône by -Belfort, from Constance the Danube could be reached; Italy could be -invaded, and the lines of defence of that country against France and -Austria turned.”<a id="FNanchor_117" href="#Footnote_117" class="fnanchor">117</a></p> - -<p>This potential position of Switzerland, a prominent point of moral -and political contact between powerful and somewhat antagonistic -powers, on the one side confining the limits of the German empire, and -on the other setting bounds to the French republic, naturally gives -rise to many speculations. The gamut of these is frequently run by -the newspapers; Germany making overtures for a treaty undertaking to -protect Switzerland’s neutrality; France negotiating for the occupation -by Switzerland of the Chablais and Faucigny districts, in Upper Savoy, -in accordance with the treaties of 1815 and 1830, thus preventing the -intervention of Italy as against France; then the right of Switzerland -to occupy certain districts of Savoy, in case of war, is held by the -German authorities to have been settled by the Congress of Vienna and -needs no further discussion; on the other hand, it is alleged that this -right was subsequently denied by Napoleon III., after the annexation -of Savoy to France; and as a culmination, Germany makes a serious -proposition to Italy for the partition of Switzerland, but Italy -declines the offer, preferring to have a little neutral and friendly -republic than a great military empire as her neighbor; the proposition -is submitted to France in turn, and also declined, as the greater -portion of Switzerland being Teutonic in race and tongue, France -could get but a small fragment and Italy a still smaller. The theory -is also advanced of making Switzerland, Alsace-Lorraine, Luxemburg, -and Belgium into a sort of federated block of neutral territory, the -inviolability of which all the rest of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_452">[Pg 452]</span> Europe should solemnly pledge -itself to accept. Regardless of these diplomatic tergiversations -Switzerland continues to be governed according to the choice of its own -people, and not according to the <i>bon plaisir</i> of foreign powers. -The sort of negative which the Swiss government practises, and which -is what the position of the country specially requires, is displayed -both in the theory and execution of the Swiss federal system, and by -a great prudence in foreign policy. Its policy since the beginning of -the sixteenth century has been neutrality. The object of the Congress -of Vienna in guaranteeing the neutrality of Switzerland was primarily -strategical; it was also felt to be essential that steps should be -taken to prevent any one power from gaining possession of the line of -the Alps upon the breaking out of a fresh war.<a id="FNanchor_118" href="#Footnote_118" class="fnanchor">118</a> The appreciation -of this danger was strongly expressed by the First Consul of France, -in an address issued in 1803, wherein he announced: “I would have gone -to war on account of Switzerland; I would have sacrificed a hundred -thousand men, rather than allowed it to remain in the hands of the -parties who were at the head of the last insurrection; so great is the -influence of its geographical position upon France. The interests of -defence bind Switzerland to France; those of attack render it of value -to other powers.” Switzerland bears relations to the great powers of -contemporary civilization, in some respects, even more remarkable than -those which the little strip of soil along the Jordan, at the meeting -of the continents, bore to the civilizations of antiquity. Like that -of Palestine, its situation, while affording small temptation to -aggression upon its neighbors, is supremely advantageous for defence, -for isolation from foreign influence; and yet, at the same time, for -the exercise of effective<span class="pagenum" id="Page_453">[Pg 453]</span> influence outward upon the coterminous -nations. To these advantages it adds another, in its polyglot -facility of communication with the most important nations of Europe. -Preserving its ancient character, content within itself, constituting -a confederated republic, which, by its good order and industry, -morals and laws, rivals in age the oldest monarchy with its stability -of self-government,—the greatest of these monarchies cannot afford -to despise its friendship. Not only securing and protecting its own -liberty, but it has been the arbiter of the fate of other people. It -has given examples of those qualities by which men may be so ennobled -that they are respected even amid their comparative poverty and -weakness; heroes, though too few to be feared by the weak, they are too -brave to be insulted by the strong.</p> - -<p>In Europe, powers of apparently inconsiderable greatness have usually -brought about its most decided changes, or at least have most -influenced its historical course. Thus did Venice in the times of the -Crusades, and Switzerland during the Burgundian and Italian wars; as -Holland at the commencement of the eighteenth century gave a new form -to Europe, so did Sweden predominate in the seventeenth century, and -in the earlier half of that age surpass France herself in splendor. -It seems to be a capital necessity of great states to have something -placed between them that may relieve the severity of their mutual -friction; an arm of the sea; an impassable mountain; a small neutral -state, one not strong enough to play a great part in foreign politics, -but, with a modest policy, absorbed in domestic affairs; any of these -may be of great importance to limit and moderate the dangerous currents -of great politics. This was illustrated by the action of Austria, -after the partition of Poland and the consequent juxtaposition of -Russia, offering to restore its part of Poland for the purpose of -reconstituting that kingdom. The present age in Europe differs entirely -from that of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_454">[Pg 454]</span> Middle Ages. Then the general tendency was to small -states, now it is to large ones. Then there existed a number of petty -monarchies and republics; the unity of the Roman empire was ideal -rather than actual. The tendency to form larger states began with -England, and is seen on the continent after the latter part of the -fifteenth century, and has not yet reached its limits. Everywhere there -is a tendency to the formation of large and important states, speaking -for the most part one language throughout their whole territory. It -is promoted by the quickened impetus of trade and commerce, increased -military and financial resources, improved and extended communication, -and by the entire development of modern civilization. This progress -towards the establishment of extensive and consolidated nationalities -is conspicuously found in the present German empire. Though in no sense -a restoration of the Holy Roman Empire, it is a real restoration of the -ancient German kingdom, and the Kaiser fairly represents the German -kingship from which the thirteen ancient Cantons gradually split off. -Russia is practically the only Slavonic state; Italy comprises nearly -all the Italians, except a few resident upon the head and eastern side -of the Adriatic Gulf; France has by her losses in the Franco-Prussian -war become more French, since neither Alsace nor Lorraine is inhabited -by people of the Gallic race; Spain and Portugal comprise the entire -Spanish Peninsula; Austria is a great mongrel state and represents no -national aim, but is composed of fragments of various nationalities. -The national question in the British Islands is not settled, and may -end in separation or more probably in the formation of a federation. -The smaller semi-independent principalities of Servia, Roumania, -Bulgaria, East Roumelia are simply materials out of which a second -Slavonic state may at some time be formed, perhaps under the authority -of Russia. The natural fate of Holland is absorption into Germany; -of Belgium, absorption<span class="pagenum" id="Page_455">[Pg 455]</span> into France. Turkey—how this cumberer of -the earth can be disposed of without kindling a general European -conflagration is a question that puzzles the wisest statesman. This -unification might be made to play a beneficial part in checking war and -improving the European situation; but so far it has merely essayed a -science of combination, of application, and of deception, according to -times, places, and circumstances. In the process of absorption there -has not been shown much disposition to take questions of ethics into -consideration in dealing with weaker peoples; even self-interest seems -at times to be a less strong motive than the desire to annoy one’s -neighbors. Bentham somewhere proves that there is such a thing as -“disinterested malevolence;” and if it exists at all, it is certainly -to be discovered in the action of these great European powers. Many of -them present vicious systems of military and coercive governments; vast -empires resting upon bayonets and semi-bureaucracy, an anachronism and -an incubus upon the true development of national life. All these great -powers are monstrous outgrowths of warlike ambition and imperial pride -in different degrees and under different conditions. On nearly every -battle-field great questions of dynastic and national reconstruction -have hung in the balance; military operations have been the decisive -factors. Huge military systems are abnormal, the morbid results of the -spirit of war and domination, of national selfishness and revolutionary -violence. The game of kings has become the impact of armed peoples. -The Congress of Vienna settled the affairs of Europe upon a basis -which endured with but few changes for almost fifty years; the great -treaty of Berlin of 1878, in form an act of restitution as well as of -peace, has become as dead a letter as the treaty of Paris of 1856. -Principles of older date and less questionable validity than treaties -patched up with premature jubilation obtain; and the solemn irony of -Prince Talleyrand,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_456">[Pg 456]</span> that “non-intervention is a diplomatic term, which -signifies much the same as intervention,” has become axiomatic. It is -no exaggeration to speak of Europe as an armed camp, with the dogs -of war pulling heavily on their chains. Armies of men stand scowling -into one another’s eyes across a fanciful frontier, marked by a few -parti-colored posts. In spite of all European assurances of “cloudless -political horizons” and “luxuriant international olive-branches,” -the perfection of armaments and the augmentation of already enormous -armies go faithfully on. Every one who visits Europe must be amazed -at the military influence that everywhere dominates, especially on -the continent. “Above the roar of the city street sounds the sharp -drum-beat of the passing regiment; in the sweet rural districts the -village church-bell cannot drown the bugle peal from the fortress on -the hill. France sinks millions in frontier strongholds, Russia masses -troops in Poland and on the Pruth, Austria strengthens her fortresses -in Galicia, and Germany builds railways to the Rhine and bridges -to span its yellow flood.” There is no European peace, except that -peace described by Hosea Biglow, which was “druv in with bag’nets.” -Montesquieu, the upright magistrate, who, living under despotic rule, -nevertheless insisted that by the Constitution of France its king -was not absolute, sought in the records of history to discern the -tendency of each great form of government, and has left his testimony -that “<i>L’esprit de la monarchie est la guerre et l’agrandissement; -l’esprit de la république est la paix et la modération</i>” (“the -spirit of monarchy is war and aggrandizement; the spirit of a republic -is peace and moderation”).</p> - -<p>An armed truce is preserved out of mutual terror; if tranquillity -exists, it is not the repose of reasonable, kindly powers, but the -crouching attitude of relentless rivals dreading the enemy whom they -hate, and afraid of the destructive weapons which support modern -warfare, making the “mowing down”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_457">[Pg 457]</span> no longer figurative, but horribly -literal. Sheer force holds a larger place than it has held in modern -times since the fall of Napoleon; and the will to take, without better -reason than the power to hold, is naked and undisguised. One of the -most melancholy forms which this aggression has taken, and seems -destined to occupy so much of the future energies of imperialism, -is the partition and exploitation of the vast African continent -and the defenceless islands of the Pacific. It is done in the name -of “civilization,” and called <i>l’occupation des territoires sans -maître</i>. In the Pacific Ocean the work has been nearly completed, -Samoa and Hawaii remaining as almost the last abodes of aboriginal -sovereignty. Colonial extension and annexation is a veritable European -Pandora’s box; war is constantly threatened for the sake of localities -whose very names were previously unknown, and whose possession would -seem of no practical importance. Since Dido tricked the Numidian king -in her survey and purchase of a site for Carthage,<a id="FNanchor_119" href="#Footnote_119" class="fnanchor">119</a> the world has -been in constant trouble upon the subject of boundaries, and a very -large proportion of the wars between nations, like lawsuits between -individuals, have arisen over disputed boundary lines. The cry of -“fifty-four forty or fight,” the national watchword of the United -States in 1846, has found an echo in every age. Between England and -Russia smoulders the Central Asia and Turkish empire question; between -England and France the matter of Egyptian occupation; Italy and France -have their quarrel over Tunis and Tripoli, and the Mediterranean -generally. Then there is the crux of the Balkan peninsula, where -Austria and Russia glower at each other across the Carpathians; this -Eastern question is opened as often as the temple of Janus, and, like -that temple, its opening means war. So it goes; when pushed under<span class="pagenum" id="Page_458">[Pg 458]</span> -at St. Petersburg, alarm makes its appearance in Paris; and when -silenced on the Rhine, it causes itself to be heard among the Balkans. -Russia lowers across Europe from the east, patiently waiting, and not -fearing central European alliance, confident some day, by natural -expansion, of overshadowing all eastern Europe, and gathering at will -and in its own good time all the Slavonic people under its suzerain -guardianship. France casts a dark shadow from the west, while the -“<i>furor Teutonicus</i>” and the “<i>furie Française</i>” flourish -perennially in the blood-feud which has Alsace-Lorraine for its bitter -badge.<a id="FNanchor_120" href="#Footnote_120" class="fnanchor">120</a> France looks with natural uneasiness at the iron circle in -which the unity of Germany and Italy is circumscribing her influence -and expansion. The tremendous struggle with Germany, with its crushing -defeat and the provinces torn away, left a wound that will not heal, -but with its gloomy memories and poignant regrets, with its latent but -unfailing suggestion of revenge, too frequently guides her policy. -While a united Germany made short work with the French emperor, it left -France exasperated, and probably in a less unsound condition than at -any previous moment since 1789.</p> - -<p>Germany, with the huge mass of Russia on one side and the lithe -strength of France on the other, must sleep in armor; during any -respite from the partisans of <i>la revanche</i> on the one frontier or -a murmur of Panslavism from Moscow, Germany confronts serious problems -with her congeries of states. It remains to be seen how Germany will -get on without the large, comprehensive, incomparable skill and the -mettle of unyielding determination with which the Iron Chancellor laid -all international questions under tribute to the <i>Vaterland</i>. -This continental entanglement points to England as holding the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_459">[Pg 459]</span> -balance of power; jealous of Russia’s encroachments in the east, -jealous of Austria, jealous of the power of Germany, worried with a -certain uneasiness that “the circles of the morning drum-beat” may be -broken, England finds in this situation much food for contemplation -and conjecture. All European movements, especially on the part of the -Great Powers,<a id="FNanchor_121" href="#Footnote_121" class="fnanchor">121</a> profess to have no other object than to preserve -their “political equilibrium” or the “balance of power.” Excepting the -wars of religion, most European wars of the last three centuries have -sought justification in this pretext, which is but another phase of the -boundary question. Up to a very recent date the English Parliamentary -grants for supplies needed to support the army were expressly recited -to be made for the purpose “of preserving the balance of power in -Europe.” The “European Concert,” with its brood of auxiliaries, in the -<i>modus vivendi</i>, <i>status quo</i>, and <i>entente cordiale</i>, -interlarded with numerous <i>pourparlers</i>, separating <i>re -infecta</i>, is not the harmonious institution its musical title would -indicate; but disagreements are constantly arising as to who shall be -<i>chef de musique</i> and who shall play second fiddle. It is a mere -decorous synonyme for “European discord.” When not having in view a -general scheme of spoliation, it is looking to the carving out the -shape, the conditions, and the destinies of the remaining small states, -with a cynical indifference as to the weal or wish of the populations. -European powers are simply racing in the absurd and ruinous rivalry -for the mightiest battalions and the heaviest budgets. Under the plea -of <i>si vis pacem para bellum</i> each one is striving to steal a -march upon its neighbors, absolutely blind to the obvious fact that -with each fraction of accelerated speed in one all the rest perforce<span class="pagenum" id="Page_460">[Pg 460]</span> -quicken their pace. The danger of this much misused axiom, which -advises the securing of peace by preparing for war, brings a crushing -burden of apprehension; it involves conduct that betrays designs of -future hostility, and if it does not excite violence, always generates -malignity with a sly reciprocation of indirect injuries without the -bravery of war or the security of peace. From such a condition some -chance tide rather than any chosen course may any day cause a rupture. -Nations drift into war, and peace is rarely disturbed by serious -matters. The commercial necessities of Europe cannot much longer bear -the severe strain of this unnaturally swollen and crushing militarism, -a conscription so ruthless which demands one inhabitant out of every -hundred and takes one producer out of every twenty, transferring him -from the ranks of tax-payers to the ranks of tax-consumers. This strain -must be lessened or it will infallibly snap; the people are merely -the soldiers of an army, they are drilled rather than governed; the -workman is getting tired of going to his labors carrying a soldier upon -his back; the masses are coming to regard appeals to their patriotism -as full of bitter mockery, being mere appeals to kill their neighbors -or distant races that they and their children may be more permanently -enslaved at home. A universal revolt is inevitable against exactions so -intolerable, idiotic, and inhuman. If those alone who “sowed the wind -did reap the whirlwind” it would be well, but the mischief is that the -madness of ambition and the schemes of diplomacy find their victims -principally among the innocent and the unoffending. The cottage is sure -to suffer for every error of the court, the cabinet, or the camp, like -the torrent which originates, indeed, in the mountain, but commits -its devastation in the vale. If there is no check on this increasing -demand upon the lives and property of the masses, “this devouring -mischief of militarism which is consuming the vitals of Europe,” the -mightiest<span class="pagenum" id="Page_461">[Pg 461]</span> potentate may find that he has to face a combination of -the toiling and suffering classes against which all his weapons will -be futile. “Great,” says Carlyle, “is the combined voice of men, the -utterance of their instincts, which are truer than their thoughts; it -is the greatest a man encounters among the sounds and shadows which -make up this world of time.” There is no constitution and no despotism -which could stand against it for a moment. The modern emperor is only -an apparition in comparison with the imperial muscle and bone of his -ancient prototype; no longer he is regarded as the “deputy elect of -the Lord,” whom the “breath of worldly men cannot depose.” A revolt, -political in its aims but economic in its origin, will take place; an -economic revolt tending to change the economical conditions of the -masses and a political revolt tending to modify the very essence of the -political organization, demanding that these vast armies be disbanded, -the swords turned into ploughshares, and the victory of the industrial -over the military type of civilization be established. A revolution -toward the final abolition of feudalism with its arbitrary privileges -for the few and its excessive burdens for the many, toward the fuller -participation of the people in the work of government and their more -efficient protection in the enjoyment of the fruits of their labor. -Otherwise the dilemma is a sad one,—to remain a colossal arsenal or -become a wild field of devastation; war would mean destruction of human -life and of the elements of national prosperity beyond precedent. -Whether these immense armaments will be peacefully discontinued or war -ensue as the only solution, and if so, what will be its effect on the -map of Europe, are all momentous questions beyond the ken of man. The -powers leagued together in the Triple Alliance may, if favored by the -wealth and maritime power of England, serve as a potent guarantee for -the maintenance of peace. This European drama is unfolding its actions -slowly, so that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_462">[Pg 462]</span> no one can tell what it will bring forth; constantly -new novelties are being introduced upon the stage with an increasing -number of hints of stranger things to come. The prominent persons -in the play, though preserving a romantic air of mystery, manage -constantly to throw off a multiform mass of suggestions, speculations, -and visions. What is developing astonishes the mind while it fascinates -the imagination, for it seems to be nothing less vast and portentous -than the passing away of the whole existing order of things almost -without notice, certainly without comprehension. What proportions this -gigantic, this politico-social movement will assume, how much of what -is old it will leave standing, what the new order will be like, these -are questions which Europe’s brain has not yet fairly grasped, much -less tried to answer.</p> - -<p>There is a strong continental opinion that in the event of war -Switzerland can hardly hope to successfully maintain the position -assumed by it in 1870; that it occupies too small a space in the great -chart of European political and military calculations to have much -weight attached to its views. With less confidence in treaty guarantees -than in the maxim of Cromwell, whose Ironsides were taught to “put -their trust in God and keep their powder dry,” Switzerland will heed -the advice given in the reply of the German chancellor, when asked -in 1870 to what extent Swiss neutrality would be observed, said, “to -the extent to which you yourselves respect the device of the Scottish -Order of the Thistle, ‘<i>nemo me impune lacessit</i>.’” Switzerland -can no longer rely upon its mountain wall, which for so many ages, -combined with other geographical advantages, formed a safe breastwork -against the invader. Nature herself seemed to have thrown her arms -around Helvetia to protect her from the invader; and by encompassing -her with inaccessible mountains, tremendous precipices, and stupendous -masses of eternal ice, to make her, as Frederick the Great of Prussia -described the lords of Savoy,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_463">[Pg 463]</span> “kings by virtue of their locality.” The -craggy escarpments, bastioned with horrid precipices, parapeted and -battlemented with eternal snow, were the ramparts of the cradle of her -liberty; they played a great part:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“That like giants stand</div> - <div class="verse indent2">To sentinel enchanted land.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then Switzerland was self-contained, and enemies could not get at it. -It could say with the Psalmist, “I will lift mine eyes unto the hills, -from whence cometh my help.” “We did not fear,” said the shepherds of -Uri, “the armies of France; we are <i>four hundred</i> strong, and if -that is not sufficient, <i>four hundred</i> more in our valley are -ready to march to the defence of the country.” In the same spirit wrote -the Council of Bern, “A handful of Swiss is a match for an army; on -our own soil, with our mountains behind us, we can defy the world.” -The Helvetic Confederacy made the greatest and most powerful nations -of Europe tremble in the fifteenth century; but Switzerland is no -longer defended by natural frontiers; its two great cities, that of -Geneva on the one side, and Basel upon the other, lie open to the -invader, and the occupation of two or three points upon its railway -system (which but for its army could be easily reached) would paralyze -its defence; the strength with which nature had endowed Switzerland -under the old condition of things has been wellnigh cancelled by -the grand appliances of modern science, wealth, and organization. -Modern Switzerland is now no stronger than any other part of Europe. -Defence no longer can be intrusted to natural ramparts, the Alps, and -mountaineers, led by the sound of the horn, and armed with the bow -of Tell. The strength of Switzerland is exactly proportioned to its -armed force; numerical strength preponderates in military fields, and -victory attends the largest army. This implies no impeachment of Swiss -courage and patriotism; that love of country, wrought<span class="pagenum" id="Page_464">[Pg 464]</span> into a great -and noble sentiment, which summons to its aid every better portion of -human excellence; that exalted power which gives vigor and efficacy to -our exertions as citizens, which strengthens our constancy and animates -our valor, which heightens our contempt of danger and inflames our -impatience of oppression. There is no safer criterion of the virtue and -happiness of a people than the height to which their attachment for -their country is raised, and the difficulties which they are prepared -to encounter in rescuing it from danger or exalting it to glory. As -patriotism is always more intense in small states, where union for the -purposes of self-preservation is more indispensably necessary, so the -same institutions which have engaged the affections of the Swiss will -likely inspire them with the courage and wisdom requisite for their -defence. Switzerland will be prepared in event of a rearrangement of -the map of Europe, by which it is likely to be effected, to demand a -voice in the general summing up. Even to the diplomatist, who, wanting -to reach an understanding, must have something behind it to command -attention and respect, and exclaims, “Don’t trouble me with your -arguments, tell me with what force you will back them,” Switzerland -is not without an answer. The republic is not unprepared for war, as -already shown in the chapter on the army; every man in shop and field -would start into a soldier at the bugle’s call; a soldier armed, -equipped, and ready for the march. Great sacrifices are willingly made -in order to keep on foot an admirable democratic army. All the adjuncts -for making this army a mobile factor in the field are under the Swiss -system complete and in thorough working order. It could put into the -field and maintain effectively 200,000 men, to prove that Switzerland -was not a “mere geographical expression,” but a very formidable entity. -The Swiss General Dufour, in a letter addressed to the French minister -of war, just before the war broke out in 1870, after giving the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_465">[Pg 465]</span> size -of the Swiss army, added: “Beyond all these defences we can count upon -the national spirit in the heart of every citizen; a resolution to -protect our independence and neutrality, let the storm break on us from -whatever side it may.” What 200,000 brave Swiss sharpshooters might do -defending their liberty in those mountain fastnesses no European army -would care to learn by close experience. Their stout hearts and hardy -arms will be ever ready, as in preceding ages, to vindicate against -countless hosts their personal liberty and the independence of their -country.</p> - -<p>The Swiss government is not unaware that its neutrality may at any -time be endangered; that a small state is always in danger when it -stands in the way of the arms or the ambition or the greed of the -great ones, that if its territory offers a convenient route for the -rival armies, they would not hesitate to brush away its neutrality, in -spite of all guarantees, as the Allies did in 1814. Accordingly for -years past the government has been quietly but steadily preparing to -defend the country in such an event. The plan, so far, consists in the -fortifications of the summit of St. Gothard; the plateau of Andermatt -commands not only the base of the St. Gothard, but the valleys, and -whoever is able to hold it can prevent any passage across Switzerland -from south to north. Since 1885 nearly 10,000,000 francs have been -spent on the strengthening of this commanding position; forts have -been placed so as to confront each of the four roads by which alone -the stronghold can be passed, and it is thought that a large force -of troops make it convenient to be cantoned in the vicinity, ready -to make the most of the facilities for repelling intrusion when the -occasion requires. They certainly could offer stubborn resistance to -any junction being effected between portions of the German and Italian -armies. The military Alpine roads, Furka, Ober-Alp, and Axenstrasse, -are all kept in good condition by liberal appropriations.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_466">[Pg 466]</span></p> - -<p>Ever since 1830, when the religious refugees from France, England, and -Flanders sought shelter there, and who, Sismondi relates, were wont -to fall down on their knees and bless God when they came in sight of -the Swiss mountains, the <i>right of asylum</i> has been a difficult -question for Switzerland, occasioning constant diplomatic collision. -In 1838 the demand of the French government for the expulsion of Louis -Napoleon, which was declined by Switzerland, almost led to war, and -it was probably only avoided by his voluntary departure. Switzerland -has never flinched from this sacred and most embarrassing duty of -hospitality to the oppressed. The influx of political fugitives from -the despotic countries of Europe, seeking shelter from their pursuers, -has involved it in many a bitter discussion with powerful neighbors, -but it has stood firm in maintaining the sanctity of its principles and -soil, in the face of their overwhelming force and domineering spirit. -A determined rejection of foreign interference in its domestic affairs -has been maintained, and when in 1847 the blockade or cordon was -established, all access to the rebel district was forbidden to foreign -agents. Under the constitution the federal authorities have the right -to expel from Swiss territory any foreigners whose presence endangers -the internal or external security of the Confederation. An asylum is -offered to the members of all parties suffering political persecution, -as long as they show themselves worthy of such consideration by -peaceful conduct. The republic, however, grants them no asylum, if, -while on its territory, they continue their intrigues and attacks on -the existence and security of other states. It preserves a faithful -regard for its international obligations, and, as an evidence of its -firm determination to fulfil them, keeps a federal official, known -as the <i>Procurator General</i>, whose duty it is to prosecute any -foreigners, socialists, nihilists, and <i>agents provocateurs</i>, and -other dangerous types, who abuse the hospitality of the country for the -shelter and promotion of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_467">[Pg 467]</span> schemes endangering either its international -peace or internal security. In July, 1890, Germany gave notice to -Switzerland that the treaty between the two countries, regulating the -“settlement of foreigners,” would not be renewed at its expiration, -which occurs at the end of 1891. This question of asylum involves in -its handling the utmost skill and judgment; anything like bravado or -anything like servility would be equally out of place. A dignified -and wise discretion is necessary to enable Switzerland to continue to -offer a safe refuge to the proscribed victims of the endless political -revolutions and counter-revolutions of the surrounding nations, but -it is believed, complicated as it is with delicate entanglements of -diplomatic relations, and suspicions of countenancing schemes of -anarchy, it will continue to meet every exigency of the question with -an honest and fearless policy.</p> - -<p>If the acquisition of power has a certain tendency to weaken the ties -of federal union, we should expect that a Confederacy, deprived by -natural as well as adventitious circumstances of all pretension to -political power, would for that reason possess in a superior degree the -merit of stability. Everything that sets in motion the springs of the -human heart, engages the Swiss to the protection of their inestimable -privileges. Bold and intrepid; a frame fitted to endure toil; a soul -capable of despising danger; an enthusiastic love of freedom; an -abhorrence of the very name or emblem of royalty illustrated in ages of -heroic and martial exploits, that with steadfast and daring enterprise -built up a nation and a state; with these qualities they will, if the -necessity comes, bear in mind the warning of their own Rousseau, “Ye -free nations, remember this maxim, freedom may be acquired, but it -cannot be recovered.” In the moment of peril the Swiss will be moved -by the spirit of their brave old Landammann, who answered the Duke of -Burgundy: “Know that you may, if it be God’s will, gain our barren and -rugged mountains; but, like our<span class="pagenum" id="Page_468">[Pg 468]</span> ancestors of old, we will seek refuge -in wilder and more distant solitudes, and when we have resisted to the -last, we will starve in the icy wastes of the glaciers; men, women, and -children, we will be frozen into annihilation together, ere our free -Switzer will acknowledge a foreign master.”</p> - -<p>There may be a deeper danger awaiting Switzerland, to which no -spirit, however vigorous and resolute, can be commensurate—a danger -from within and not from without. The nation which, by the adverse -circumstances of numerical inferiority, poverty of means, or failure -of enterprise, cannot sustain its own citizens in the acquisition of a -just renown and material welfare, is deficient in one of the first and -most indispensable elements of strength. A small state is apt to waste -its strength in acts too insignificant for general interest, frittering -away its mental riches, no less than its treasure and blood, in -supporting interests that fail to enlist the sympathies of any beyond -the pale of its own borders; glory and strength, like riches, finding -themselves, and being most apt to be found, where their fruits have -already accumulated. If from any source evil should come to this little -republic, in the patriotic words of its latest historian, “Generations -will point to the spot where it arose and flourished, and will say, -Here once lived a free, self-governing people, a small but active -republic, with remarkable institutions, with a famous and memorable -history.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_469">[Pg 469]</span></p> - - -<p class="center" id="POP">POPULATION AND SOIL, CENSUS, 1888.</p> - -<table class="autotable"> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> Order.</td> -<td class="tdl"> <span class="smcap">Cantons.</span></td> -<td class="tdr"> Population.</td> -<td class="tdr"> Total area.</td> -<td class="tdr"> Productive.</td> -<td class="tdr"> Unproductive.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdl"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"> Sq. km.</td> -<td class="tdr"> Sq. km.</td> -<td class="tdr"> Sq. km.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 1</td> -<td class="tdl">Zurich</td> -<td class="tdr"> 339,014</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1,724.7</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1,616</td> -<td class="tdr"> 108.7</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 2</td> -<td class="tdl">Bern</td> -<td class="tdr"> 539,305</td> -<td class="tdr"> 6,889</td> -<td class="tdr"> 5,385.7</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1,503.3</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 3</td> -<td class="tdl">Luzern</td> -<td class="tdr"> 135,780</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1,500.8</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1,369</td> -<td class="tdr"> 131.8</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 4</td> -<td class="tdl">Uri</td> -<td class="tdr"> 17,284</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1,076</td> -<td class="tdr"> 477.7</td> -<td class="tdr"> 598.3</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 5</td> -<td class="tdl">Schwyz</td> -<td class="tdr"> 50,396</td> -<td class="tdr"> 908.5</td> -<td class="tdr"> 660.2</td> -<td class="tdr"> 248.3</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 6</td> -<td class="tdl">Unterwalden</td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdl"> Obwald</td> -<td class="tdr"> 15,032</td> -<td class="tdr"> 474.8</td> -<td class="tdr"> 399.4</td> -<td class="tdr"> 75.4</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdl"> Nidwald</td> -<td class="tdr"> 12,524</td> -<td class="tdr"> 290.5</td> -<td class="tdr"> 217.9</td> -<td class="tdr"> 72.6</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 7</td> -<td class="tdl">Glarus</td> -<td class="tdr"> 33,800</td> -<td class="tdr"> 691.2</td> -<td class="tdr"> 448.6</td> -<td class="tdr"> 242.6</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 8</td> -<td class="tdl">Zug</td> -<td class="tdr"> 23,120</td> -<td class="tdr"> 239.2</td> -<td class="tdr"> 194.3</td> -<td class="tdr"> 44.9</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 9</td> -<td class="tdl">Freiburg</td> -<td class="tdr"> 119,562</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1,669</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1,469.6</td> -<td class="tdr"> 199.4</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 10</td> -<td class="tdl">Solothurn</td> -<td class="tdr"> 85,720</td> -<td class="tdr"> 783.6</td> -<td class="tdr"> 717.8</td> -<td class="tdr"> 65.8</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 11</td> -<td class="tdl">Basel</td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdl"> Stadt</td> -<td class="tdr"> 74,247</td> -<td class="tdr"> 35.8</td> -<td class="tdr"> 30.4</td> -<td class="tdr"> 5.4</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdl"> Landschaft</td> -<td class="tdr"> 62,133</td> -<td class="tdr"> 421.6</td> -<td class="tdr"> 405.6</td> -<td class="tdr"> 16</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 12</td> -<td class="tdl">Schaffhausen</td> -<td class="tdr"> 37,876</td> -<td class="tdr"> 294.2</td> -<td class="tdr"> 281</td> -<td class="tdr"> 13.2</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 13</td> -<td class="tdl">Appenzell</td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdl"> Ausser-Rhoden</td> -<td class="tdr"> 54,200</td> -<td class="tdr"> 260.6</td> -<td class="tdr"> 253.6</td> -<td class="tdr"> 7</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdl"> Inner-Rhoden</td> -<td class="tdr"> 12,906</td> -<td class="tdr"> 159</td> -<td class="tdr"> 144.4</td> -<td class="tdr"> 14.6</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 14</td> -<td class="tdl">St. Gallen</td> -<td class="tdr"> 229,441</td> -<td class="tdr"> 2,019</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1,713.5</td> -<td class="tdr"> 305.5</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 15</td> -<td class="tdl">Grisons</td> -<td class="tdr"> 96,291</td> -<td class="tdr"> 7,184.8</td> -<td class="tdr"> 3,851.6</td> -<td class="tdr"> 3,333.2</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 16</td> -<td class="tdl">Aargau</td> -<td class="tdr"> 193,834</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1,404</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1,341.7</td> -<td class="tdr"> 62.3</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 17</td> -<td class="tdl">Thurgau</td> -<td class="tdr"> 105,091</td> -<td class="tdr"> 988</td> -<td class="tdr"> 835.6</td> -<td class="tdr"> 152.4</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 18</td> -<td class="tdl">Ticino</td> -<td class="tdr"> 127,148</td> -<td class="tdr"> 2,818.4</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1,880</td> -<td class="tdr"> 938.4</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 19</td> -<td class="tdl">Vaud</td> -<td class="tdr"> 251,296</td> -<td class="tdr"> 3,222.8</td> -<td class="tdr"> 2,728.8</td> -<td class="tdr"> 494</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 20</td> -<td class="tdl">Valais</td> -<td class="tdr"> 101,837</td> -<td class="tdr"> 5,247.1</td> -<td class="tdr"> 2,409.9</td> -<td class="tdr"> 2,837.2</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 21</td> -<td class="tdl">Neuchâtel</td> -<td class="tdr"> 109,037</td> -<td class="tdr"> 807.8</td> -<td class="tdr"> 572.3</td> -<td class="tdr"> 235.5</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 22</td> -<td class="tdl">Genève</td> -<td class="tdr"> 106,738</td> -<td class="tdr"> 279.4</td> -<td class="tdr"> 232.9</td> -<td class="tdr"> 46.5</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdl"> Total</td> -<td class="tdr"> 2,933,612</td> -<td class="tdr"> 41,389.8</td> -<td class="tdr"> 29,637.5</td> -<td class="tdr"> 11,752.3</td> -</tr> -</table> - -<p class="center" id="MONEY">MONEY, WEIGHTS, MEASURES.</p> - -<table class="autotable"> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Franc</td> -<td class="tdl"> Cents, 19.3.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> One hundred centimes</td> -<td class="tdl"> One franc.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Metre, equal to</td> -<td class="tdl"> 1.094 yards.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Kilometre, equal to</td> -<td class="tdl"> .621 mile.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_470">[Pg 470]</span></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Metric quintal, or metre centner, equal to</td> -<td class="tdl"> 100 kilogrammes, or 2 cwt. nearly (1 cwt. 3 qrs. 24½ ƚbs.).</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Square kilometre, equal to</td> -<td class="tdl"> .386 square mile.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Hectare, equal to</td> -<td class="tdl"> 2½ acres nearly (2 acres, 1 rood, 35½ poles).</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Centner, equal to about</td> -<td class="tdl"> 110¼ ƚbs.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Cubic metre, equal to</td> -<td class="tdl"> 1.308 cubic yards.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Litre, equal to</td> -<td class="tdl"> .88 quart.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Hectolitre, equal to</td> -<td class="tdl"> 22 gallons.</td> -</tr> -</table> - - -<p class="center p2" id="AREA">CENSUS OF 1888.</p> - -<p class="center" >AREA—PRODUCTIVE AND UNPRODUCTIVE LAND.</p> -<table class="autotable"> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="3"> <i>Productive Land.</i></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Forest</td> -<td class="tdr"> 7,714.2</td> -<td class="tdl"> square kilometres.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Vineyards</td> -<td class="tdr"> 305.0</td> -<td class="tdl"> <span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">”</span><span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">”</span></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Cultivated</td> -<td class="tdr"> 21,618.3</td> -<td class="tdl"> <span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">”</span><span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">”</span></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Total</td> -<td class="tdr"> 29,637.5</td> -<td class="tdl"> <span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">”</span><span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">”</span></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="3"> <i>Unproductive Land.</i></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Glaciers</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1,838.8</td> -<td class="tdl"> square kilometres.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Lakes</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1,386.1</td> -<td class="tdl"> <span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">”</span><span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">”</span></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Cities, villages, and outer buildings</td> -<td class="tdr"> 161.8</td> -<td class="tdl"> <span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">”</span><span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">”</span></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Area of railroads, turnpikes, etc., rivers and rocky wastes </td> -<td class="tdr"> 8,365.6</td> -<td class="tdl"> <span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">”</span><span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">”</span></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Total</td> -<td class="tdr"> 11,752.3</td> -<td class="tdl"> <span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">”</span><span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">”</span></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="3"> <i>Population as to Confessions.</i></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Protestants</td> -<td class="tdl"> </td> -<td class="tdr"> 1,724,869</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Catholics</td> -<td class="tdl"> </td> -<td class="tdr"> 1,189,662</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Jews</td> -<td class="tdl"> </td> -<td class="tdr"> 8,384</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Others</td> -<td class="tdl"> </td> -<td class="tdr"> 10,697</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="3"> <i>As to Languages.</i></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> German</td> -<td class="tdl"> </td> -<td class="tdr"> 2,092,479</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> French</td> -<td class="tdl"> </td> -<td class="tdr"> 637,710</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Italian</td> -<td class="tdl"> </td> -<td class="tdr"> 156,482</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"> Others</td> -<td class="tdl"> </td> -<td class="tdr"> 8,565</td> -</tr> -</table> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_471">[Pg 471]</span> - - -<p class="center p2" id="ORDER">ORDER AND DATES OF THE ENTRY OF THE TWENTY-TWO CANTONS INTO THE -CONFEDERATION.</p> - -<table class="autotable"> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> Order<br> of entry.</td> -<td class="tdl"> French name.</td> -<td class="tdl"> German name.</td> -<td class="tdr"> Year.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 1</td> -<td class="tdl"> Zurich</td> -<td class="tdl"> Zürich</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1351.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 2</td> -<td class="tdl"> Berne</td> -<td class="tdl"> Bern</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1353.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 3</td> -<td class="tdl"> Lucerne</td> -<td class="tdl"> Luzern</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1332.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 4</td> -<td class="tdl"> Uri</td> -<td class="tdl"> Uri</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1291.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 5</td> -<td class="tdl"> Schwytz</td> -<td class="tdl"> Schwyz</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1291.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 6</td> -<td class="tdl"> Unterwalden</td> -<td class="tdl"> Unterwalden</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1291.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdl"> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Le haut</span></td> -<td class="tdl"> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Obwald</span></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdl"> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Le bas</span></td> -<td class="tdl"> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nidwald</span></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 7</td> -<td class="tdl"> Glaris</td> -<td class="tdl"> Glarus</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1352.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 8</td> -<td class="tdl"> Zoug</td> -<td class="tdl"> Zug</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1352.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 9</td> -<td class="tdl"> Fribourg</td> -<td class="tdl"> Freiburg</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1481.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 10</td> -<td class="tdl"> Soleure</td> -<td class="tdl"> Solothurn</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1481.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 11</td> -<td class="tdl"> Bâle</td> -<td class="tdl"> Basel</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1501.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdl"> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ville</span></td> -<td class="tdl"> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Stadt.</span></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdl"> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Campagne</span></td> -<td class="tdl"> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Landschaft.</span></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 12</td> -<td class="tdl"> Schaffhouse</td> -<td class="tdl"> Schaffhausen</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1501.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 13</td> -<td class="tdl"> Appenzell</td> -<td class="tdl"> Appenzell</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1573.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdl"> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rhodes-Extérieures</span></td> -<td class="tdl"> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ausser-Rhoden.</span></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"></td> -<td class="tdl"> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rhodes-Intérieures</span></td> -<td class="tdl"> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Inner-Rhoden.</span></td> -<td class="tdr"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 14</td> -<td class="tdl"> St. Gall</td> -<td class="tdl"> St. Gallen</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1803.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 15</td> -<td class="tdl"> Grisons</td> -<td class="tdl"> Graubünden</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1803.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 16</td> -<td class="tdl"> Argovie</td> -<td class="tdl"> Aargau</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1803.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 17</td> -<td class="tdl"> Thurgovie</td> -<td class="tdl"> Thurgau</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1803.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 18</td> -<td class="tdl"> Tessin (It. Ticino)</td> -<td class="tdl"> Tessin</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1803.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 19</td> -<td class="tdl"> Vaud</td> -<td class="tdl"> Waadt</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1803.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 20</td> -<td class="tdl"> Valais</td> -<td class="tdl"> Wallis</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1814.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 21</td> -<td class="tdl"> Neuchâtel</td> -<td class="tdl"> Neuenburg</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1814.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> 22</td> -<td class="tdl"> Genève</td> -<td class="tdl"> Genf</td> -<td class="tdr"> 1814.</td> -</tr> -</table> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_472">[Pg 472]</span> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_473">[Pg 473]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="APPENDIX">APPENDIX.</h2> -<p class="h3"> - -COPY OF THE LATIN “PACT OF 1291” IN THE ARCHIVES OF SCHWYZ.</p> -</div> - -<p>In nomine domini Amen. Honestati consulitur, et vtilitati publice -prouidetur, dum pacta, quietis et pacis statu debito solidantur. -Novereint igitur vniversi, quod homines vallis Vranie, vniversitasque -/ vallis de Switz, ac conmunitas hominum intramontanorum vallis -inferioris, maliciam temporis attendentes, ut se, et sua magis -defendere valeant, et in statu debito melius consevare, fide / bona -promiserunt, inuicem sibi assistere, auxilio, consilio, quolibet ac -fauore personis et rebus, infra valles et extra, toto posse, toto -nisv, contra omnes ac singulos, qui eis vel alicui de ipsis, aliquam / -intulerint violenciam, molestiam, aut iniuriam, in personis et rebus -malum quodlibet machinando, ac in omnem eventum quelibet vniuersitas, -promisit alteri accurrere, cum neccesse fuerit ad succurrendum. / et -in expensis propriis, prout opus fuerit, contra inpetus malignorum -resistere, iniurias vindicare prestito super hiis corporaliter -inuramento, absque dolo servandis, antequam confederationis forman -iuramento vallatam, presentibus innovando, / Ita tamen quod quilibet -homo iuxta sui nominis conditionem domino suo conuenienter subesse -teneatur et seruire. Conmuni etiam consilio, et fauore vnamimi -promisimus, statuimus, ac ordinauimus, vt in vallibus prenotatis, -nullum / iudicem, qui ipsum officium aliquo precio, vel peccunia, -aliqualiter conparauerit, vel qui noster incola vel provincialis non -fuerit aliquatenus accipiamus, vel acceptemus.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_474">[Pg 474]</span></p> - -<p>Si uero dissensio suborta fuerit, inter aliquos conspiratos, -prudencio— / res de conspiratis accedere debent, ad sopiendam -discordiam inter partes, prout ipsis videbitur expedire. et que pars -illam respuerit ordinationem, alii contrarii deberent fore conspirati. -Super omnia autem, inter ipsos extitit / statutum, ut qui alium -fraudulenter, et sine culpa tracidauerit, si deprehensus fuerit uitam -ammittat, nisi suam de dicto maleficio valeat ostendere innocenciam, -suis nefandis culpis exigentibus. et si / forsan discesserit nunquam -remeare debet. Receptatores et defensores prefati malefactoris, a -vallibus segregandi sunt, donec a coniuratis prouide reuocentur. -Si quis uero quemquam de conspiratis, die sev / nocte silentio, -fraudulenter per incendium uastauerit, is numquam haberi debet pro -conprouinciali. Et si quis dictum malefactorem fovet et defendit, -infra valles, satisfactionem prestare debet dampnificato. Ad / hec -si quis de coniuratis alium rebus spoliauerit, vel dampnificauerit -qualitercumque, si res nocentis infra valles possunt reperiri, servari -debent, ad procurandum secundum iusticiam lesis satisfactionem. Insuper -nullus capere / debet pignus alterius nisi sit manifeste debitor, vel -fideiussor, et hoc tantum fieri debet de licencia iudicis speciali. -Preter hec quilibet obedire debet suo iudici, et ipsum si neccesse -fuerit iudicem ostendere infra / sub quo parere potius debeat iuri. Et -si quis iudicio rebellis extiterit, ac de ipsius pertinasia quis de -conspiratis dampnificatus fuerit, predictum contumacem ad prestandam -satisfactionem, iurati conpellere tenentur / uniuersi. Si uero guerra -vel discordia inter aliquos de conspiratis suborta fuerit, si pars -vna litigantium, iusticie vel satisfactionis non curat recipere -complementum, reliquam defendere tenentur coniurati. Supra / scriptis -statutis, pro conmuni vtilitate, salubriter ordinatis, concedente -domino, in perpetuum duratis. In cuius facti euidentiam presens -instrumentum, ad petionem predictorum confectum, Sigiliorum prefatarum -/ trium vniuersitatum et vallium est munimine roboratum. Actum Anno -domini. M.CC.LXXXX. primo. Incipiente mense Au-gu-sto.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_475">[Pg 475]</span></p> - - -<p class="center h3">TRANSLATION.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">In the name of the Lord—Amen!</span></p> - -<p>Virtue is promoted and utility provided for by the state so long as -covenants are firmly established with a proper basis of quiet and -peace, therefore, let all men know that the valley of Uri and the -entire district of the valley of Schwyz and the community of the -intramontane people of the lower valley, while regarding the evil -character of the times, with the view of being able more efficiently -to protect themselves and their interests, and better to preserve them -in their proper condition, have promised in good faith mutually to -stand by one another with their help, advice, and undivided support, -in their persons and property, within and without the valleys, with -their entire force and united effort against all men and singular -who shall inflict upon them or upon any one of them any violence, -molestation or injury in plotting any evil against their persons and -property, and every district has promised to another in every event to -make haste whenever it shall be necessary to render it help. They also -(have promised) at their individual expense to resist, as it shall be -necessary, the attacks of the evil-intending, to avenge wrongs, having -taken their oath corporal touching the faithful preservation of these -presents from change before the ratification by oath of the instrument -of Confederation. So, however, that any and every person is to be held -to be subject to and to serve his Lord exactly according to the terms -of his obligation. We also have promised, decided, <i>and more</i>, -ordained by common resolve and unanimous assent that we will not, to -any extent, accept or acknowledge any judge who shall secure the office -itself at some price, or by money, by any other device, or who shall -not be one of our inhabitants or a provincial.</p> - -<p>But if a disagreement shall arise among any of the Confederates, the -more discreet of them ought to come forward to allay the variance among -the parties just as it shall appear to them to be expedient, and the -party which shall reject the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_476">[Pg 476]</span> settlement <i>decided upon</i>, it were -proper for the other Confederates to be their adversaries.</p> - -<p>Moreover, above all things, it has been ordained among them that he who -shall wrongfully and without provocation murder another, if he shall -be arrested, shall lose his life, as his heinous wrong-doing demands, -unless he shall be able to show his innocence touching the alleged -crime, and if perchance he shall leave the country, he must never -return, the harborers and defenders of the aforesaid malefactor are to -be cut off from the valleys until they be recalled with due foresight -by the Confederates. But if any one shall in the daytime or in the -silence of night maliciously injure any one of the Confederates by -burning, he ought never to be regarded as a fellow-provincial. And if -any one harbors and defends the alleged evil-doer within the valleys, -he ought to render satisfaction to the person who has sustained the -loss. In addition, if any one of the Confederates shall rob another of -his property or otherwise inflict loss upon him, if the property of the -offending party can be found within the valleys, it ought to be held -for procuring satisfaction for the injured according to justice.</p> - -<p>Moreover no one ought to take the pledge of a second unless this one -be clearly a debtor or security, and this ought to be done only in -accordance with a special license of a judge. Furthermore, any and -every one ought to obey his judge, and to indicate the very judge, if -it shall be necessary, under whom he by choice assumes the obligation -to obey the law. And if any one shall show himself defiant of the -decision of a judge, and in consequence of his perverseness any of the -Confederates shall be damaged, all who are under oath are held to force -the aforesaid obstinate one to render satisfaction. But in case war -or violent division shall arise among any of the Confederates, if one -party of the disputants is not disposed to receive the award of justice -or satisfaction, the Confederates are held to defend the remaining -party.</p> - -<p>The statutes above written are wholesomely ordained in behalf of the -public advantage with an unlimited duration,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_477">[Pg 477]</span> the Lord consenting -thereto. As an evidence of this act the present instrument, made -according to the petition of the aforesaid persons, is confirmed by the -authority of the seals of the aforementioned districts and valleys. -Done in the year of the Lord 1291, in the beginning of the month of -August.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>The above translation was kindly made by Professor W. E. Peters, of -the University of Virginia, and in transmitting it he says: “I send -you a literal rendering of the Pact, the original is exceedingly rough -and incorrect according to classical standards. I think, however, the -sense is given. I render <i>vniversitas</i> as district, and Commune -might be embraced in brackets; I would render it <i>Canton</i>, but -the Swiss Cantons were not then formed, and the term Commune hardly -expresses the sense, as it is French. I have had in some cases to force -translation where the Latin is absolutely corrupt and wrong. I have -aimed to make the translation, as you desired, strictly according to -the Latin, and not according to what was permissible with the Latin and -its collocation.”</p> - -<p>The Honorable John D. Washburn, United States Minister at Bern, in an -article contributed to the American Antiquarian Society of Worcester, -Mass., April, 1890, on the “Foundation of the Swiss Republic,” -referring to the Pact of 1291, says: “The foundation stone on which -it is generally understood that the whole superstructure [of the -Swiss Republic] rests is known as the Pact—Letter of Alliance, -<i>Bundesbrief</i>—of 1291. This is not a myth, but, apart, perhaps, -from absolute exactness of date and some extraneous circumstances -alleged to attend it, a well-established record of history. This -instrument well repays a careful study, not only as a wonderfully -bold declaration of modified independence at a very early day, but -as especially interesting to the American student for the remarkable -parallels of thought in the minds of these ancient men, and in -the minds of those who nearly five hundred years later made the -preliminary declarations of American Independence.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_478">[Pg 478]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_479">[Pg 479]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="INDEX">INDEX.</h2> -</div> - - -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst"> A.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Aar, water system of the, <a href="#Page_415">415</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Aarau, peace of, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Aargau admitted, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">conquest of, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Academy, military, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Act of mediation, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Administrative law, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Agricultural schools, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Agriculture, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Alliance, Holy, Switzerland in the, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Letter of, <a href="#Page_473">473</a>, <a href="#Page_477">477</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Allmend, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">future of, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Alpenglühen, <a href="#Page_426">426</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Alpenstocks, <a href="#Page_375">375</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Alphorn, <a href="#Page_340">340</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Alpine flowers, <a href="#Page_371">371</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">hay-making, <a href="#Page_326">326</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Alps, <a href="#Page_354">354</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Alsace-Lorraine, <a href="#Page_458">458</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Altdorf, folkmote in, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Amendments, constitutional, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> American and Swiss constitutions compared, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> American elections compared with Swiss, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Appeals to federal tribunal, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Appellate courts, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">criminal, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Appendix, <a href="#Page_473">473</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Appenzell admitted, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">division of, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Inner, councils in, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Outer, folkmote in, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Arbitration, intercantonal, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">international, <a href="#Page_445">445</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Armaments, European, <a href="#Page_456">456</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Army, active, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">federal, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">strength of, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Assembly, federal, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">local, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">powers of, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Asylum, right of, <a href="#Page_466">466</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Ausser-Rhoden folkmote, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Authorities, federal, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Autonomy, cantonal, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">communal, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Avalanches, <a href="#Page_366">366</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst"> B.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Banquet, communal, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Basel admitted, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">division of, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">inheritance of property in, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Battle of Marignano, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">of Morat, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">of Morgarten, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">of Sempach, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Beef, dried, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Bern, <a href="#Page_411">411</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">aristocracy of, <a href="#Page_423">423</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">codes in, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">joins the league, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">life in, <a href="#Page_423">423</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">name of, <a href="#Page_413">413</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">places of interest in, <a href="#Page_420">420</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">surroundings of, <a href="#Page_425">425</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Bills of rights, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_480">[Pg 480]</span></li> - -<li class="indx"> Bise, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Boundaries, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Breeds of cattle, <a href="#Page_311">311</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Brunnen, league of, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Bundesbrief, <a href="#Page_473">473</a>, <a href="#Page_477">477</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Bundesgericht, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">See <i>Federal Tribunal</i>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Bundespräsident, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Bundesrath, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">See <i>Federal Council</i>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Bundesstaat defined, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">established, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Bundesversammlung, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Bürgergemeinde, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst"> C.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Cæsar and the Helvetians, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Calvin, character of, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Calvinism in Geneva, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Cantonal affairs, federal intervention in, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">citizenship, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">coinage, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">conservatism, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">constitutions, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">courts, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">customs, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">differences, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">individuality, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">institutions, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">judges, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">land laws, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">officials, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">revenues, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">rights, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">sovereignty, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">standards, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Cantons and half-cantons, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">area and population of, <a href="#Page_469">469</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Catholic, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">chief magistracy of, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">coercion of, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">eight old, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">elections in, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">entry of, into confederation, <a href="#Page_471">471</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">forest, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">history of, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">legislation in, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">present status of, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Protestant, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">relations of, to the communes, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">representation in, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">sovereignty of, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">status of, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Capital punishment, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Cassation, courts of, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">tribunal of, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Cataracts, <a href="#Page_370">370</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Catholic cantons, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Celtic ancestry, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Census of 1888, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_466">466</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Cereals, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Chalets, <a href="#Page_329">329</a>, <a href="#Page_332">332</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Chamber, criminal, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">of accusation, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Chamois, <a href="#Page_337">337</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Chancellery, federal, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Character of the peasants, <a href="#Page_351">351</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Chaux-de-Fonds, altitude of, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Cheese, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Citizenship, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">acquirement of, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">American, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">ancient Swiss, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">cantonal, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">communal, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">defined, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">exit from, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">history of, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">instruction in its duties, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">nature of, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">renunciation of, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">rights and duties of, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">state, defined, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Swiss, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Climate, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Codes, cantonal, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Coercion of cantons, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Coinage, old cantonal, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Colonial extension, <a href="#Page_457">457</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Commerce, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_481">[Pg 481]</span></li> - -<li class="indx"> Commercial courts, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">restrictions, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Common lands, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Communal assembly, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">citizenship, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">membership, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">by purchase, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">officers, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">paupers, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">relations to the cantons, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">rights, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">schools, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Commune defined, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">d’origine, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">history of, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">origin of, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">powers of, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Communes and communities, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">area of, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">des bourgeois, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">des habitants, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">double, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">local, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">national, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">population of, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">property of, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Composite state, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Concert, European, <a href="#Page_456">456</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Confederation and federation, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Helvetic, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">powers of, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">reform of, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Congress of Vienna, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Conservatism, cantonal, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">in government, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Conservative party, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Constitution, amendments of, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">compared with that of the United States, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">nature of, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">of 1874, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Swiss, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">text of, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Constitutions, cantonal, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Convention of 1848, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Convention of Geneva, <a href="#Page_433">433</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Copyright, international, <a href="#Page_439">439</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Corruption, absence of, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Costumes, <a href="#Page_349">349</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Council, blood, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">communal, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">federal, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>. See <i>Federal Council</i>.</li> -<li class="isub1">great, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">in Appenzell-interior, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">in Unterwald-lower, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">national, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">of states, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">triple, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Councils, greater, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">lesser, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Courts, cantonal, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">commercial, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">district, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">federal, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">of cassation, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">supreme, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">See also <i>Federal Tribunal</i>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Courtship, primitive, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Covenant, original, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_473">473</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Cows, Swiss, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>, <a href="#Page_336">336</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Cretinism, <a href="#Page_429">429</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Criminal courts, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Criminals, extradition of, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Curriculum in schools, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Custom in cantonal business, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst"> D.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Dairy products, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Decapitation, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Defensive preparations, <a href="#Page_465">465</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Democracy, early, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Department, political, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Departments, executive, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">governmental, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Dependent classes, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Dialects, Swiss, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Diet, general, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Differences among cantons, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> District courts, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Dogs, St. Bernard, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_482">[Pg 482]</span></li> -<li class="isub1">Swiss, <a href="#Page_422">422</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Dried beef, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Duties on imports and exports, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst"> E.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Écoles des recrues, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Edelweiss, <a href="#Page_371">371</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Education, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>. See <i>Schools</i>.</li> -<li class="isub1">military, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">religious, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">scope of, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Eidgenossen, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Eight old cantons, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Einsiedeln, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Einwohnergemeinde, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Elections, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">in Ausser-Rhoden, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Engineering feats, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Estate in lands, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> European concert, <a href="#Page_459">459</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">situation, <a href="#Page_450">450</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Executive department, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">departments, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Expatriation, right of, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Exports and imports, <a href="#Page_304">304</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst"> F.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Farms of peasants, <a href="#Page_307">307</a>, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Federal army, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">assembly, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">powers of, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">authorities, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">chancellery, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">council, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">appeals from, to the assembly, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">authority of, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">business of, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">departments of, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">duties of, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">election of, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">eligibility to, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">history of, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">judicial powers of, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">meetings of, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">membership of, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2"><i>personnel</i> of, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">powers of, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">salaries of, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">tenure of members of, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">triennial renewal of, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">workings of, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">pact, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">tribunal, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">appeals to, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">compared with the Supreme Court of the United States, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">defects of, in practice, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">election to, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">history of, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">limited powers of, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">membership of, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">origin of, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">powers of, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">seat of, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Federalism, growth of, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">tendency of, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Federation and Confederation, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Feudal Helvetia, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Feudalism, end of, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Firn, <a href="#Page_365">365</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> First inhabitants, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Flora, native, <a href="#Page_372">372</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Föhn, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Folkmote, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">of Ausser-Rhoden, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Foreign affairs, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">policy, <a href="#Page_452">452</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Forest cantons, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Forestry, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Forests, <a href="#Page_372">372</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Fountains, <a href="#Page_417">417</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> France and Germany, <a href="#Page_458">458</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Frankish supremacy, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Freedom of conscience, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">of trade, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Freiburg admitted, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Fremden-industrie, <a href="#Page_323">323</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> French-speaking Swiss, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">supremacy, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_483">[Pg 483]</span></li> - -<li class="indx"> Friendly remonstrances, intercantonal, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Funeral customs, <a href="#Page_349">349</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst"> G.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Gauls, early, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Gemeinde-trinket, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> General diet, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Geneva admitted, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">and its lake, <a href="#Page_378">378</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Calvin in, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">code Napoleon in, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">convention, <a href="#Page_433">433</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Geography of Switzerland, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> German cantons, testamentary powers in, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">empire, relations to, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">-speaking Swiss, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Germany and France, <a href="#Page_458">458</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Glaciers, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Glarus and Uri, boundary between, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">constitution of, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">joins the league, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">landsgemeinde in, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Goitre, <a href="#Page_428">428</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Government, coördinate branches of, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">principles of, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Grass crops, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Great council, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">powers, the, <a href="#Page_455">455</a>, <a href="#Page_459">459</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Grisons admitted, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Guides, <a href="#Page_374">374</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Guilds, history of, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Gymnasia, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst"> H.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Half-cantons, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Handelsgerichte, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Hapsburg protection, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Hay-making in the Alps, <a href="#Page_326">326</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Health resorts, <a href="#Page_375">375</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Helvetians, ancient, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Helvetic confederation, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">republic, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">union, origin of, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Herdsman’s life, <a href="#Page_337">337</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> History of constitutions, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Holy Alliance, Switzerland in the, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Homeless persons, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Hospice of St. Bernard, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Houses, legislative, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst"> I.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Ideals, national, <a href="#Page_410">410</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Independence of cantons, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Individual rights, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Individuality, cantonal, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Industrial schools, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Industry, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Influence on European affairs, <a href="#Page_453">453</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Inheritance of property, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Initiative, popular, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Inquest, judges of, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Intercantonal affairs, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">judicial relations, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> International arbitration, <a href="#Page_445">445</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">copyright, <a href="#Page_437">437</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">labor congress, <a href="#Page_448">448</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">law, <a href="#Page_448">448</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">unions, <a href="#Page_430">430</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Introduction, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Isotherms, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Italian element, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst"> J.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Jesuits expelled, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Judges, cantonal, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">federal, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">of inquest, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">their relations to juries, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Judicial department, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>. See <i>Federal Tribunal</i>.</li> -<li class="isub1">powers, limitations of, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">torture, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Judiciary, cantonal, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Juf, altitude of, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Juries in cantonal courts, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Jury, functions of, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">in federal assizes, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Justice, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>. See <i>Courts</i>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_484">[Pg 484]</span></li> - - -<li class="ifrst"> K.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Kuhreihen, <a href="#Page_340">340</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst"> L.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Labor congress, international, <a href="#Page_448">448</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Ladin, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Lake-dwellers, prehistoric, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Lakes, <a href="#Page_378">378</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Land laws, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">cantonal, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Land, ownership of, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">by peasants, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">communal, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">subdivision of, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Landammann, re-election of, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Landammann’s oath, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Landrath, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Lands in common, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Landsgemeinde, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">at Altdorf, in Uri, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">at Trogen, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">functions of, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">history of, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">in Glarus, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Landsturm and Landwehr, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Languages, census of, <a href="#Page_470">470</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">spoken, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Lausanne, the seat of the federal tribunal, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Law, administrative, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">international, <a href="#Page_448">448</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Laws, cantonal, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">summarized, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Leases of land, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Legislation, federal, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">harmonization of, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">initiation of, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Legislative bodies, <i>personnel</i> of, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">sessions of, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">department, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">houses, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">tyranny, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Legislators, oath of, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Legislatures, cantonal, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Legitima portio, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Letter of alliance, <a href="#Page_473">473</a>, <a href="#Page_477">477</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Lion of Luzern, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Liquor traffic, regulation of, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Literary property, protection of, <a href="#Page_437">437</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Local assembly, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Localism and nationalism, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Love of country, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Lunéville, treaty of, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Luzern, becomes a canton, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">lake of, <a href="#Page_381">381</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst"> M.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Manufactures, <a href="#Page_302">302</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Marignano, battle of, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Marriage customs in Ticino, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">laws, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Material progress, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Mediæval nobles, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Mediation, act of, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Mediatorsbip of Napoleon, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Meinrad, St., <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Mer de Glace, <a href="#Page_364">364</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Metric standards, <a href="#Page_470">470</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Militarism, dangers of, <a href="#Page_460">460</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Military education, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">service, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">status, Swiss, <a href="#Page_464">464</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">tax, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">topography, <a href="#Page_451">451</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Militia, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Mineral springs, <a href="#Page_375">375</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Money, <a href="#Page_469">469</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">old cantonal, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Monks of St. Bernard, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Moraines, <a href="#Page_365">365</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Morat, battle of, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Morgarten, battle of, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Mountaineering, <a href="#Page_373">373</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Mountains, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_354">354</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">their effect on character, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Mythenstein, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst"> N.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Name of Switzerland, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Napoleon’s influence in Switzerland, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_485">[Pg 485]</span></li> - -<li class="indx"> Napoleon’s mediatorship, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> National communes, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Council, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">languages, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Nationalism and localism, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">growth of, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Nationalities of Switzerland, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Natural beauties, <a href="#Page_353">353</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">features of the country, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Naturalization, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">defined, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">in the United States, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Neuchâtel admitted, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">history of, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Névé, <a href="#Page_364">364</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Nobles, mediæval, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Normal schools, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst"> O.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Oath of landammann, Appenzell, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">nature of, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Obergericht, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Office, tenure of, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Officers, military, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Officials, cantonal, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Old cantons, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Catholic party, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Original inhabitants, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">pact, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_473">473</a>, <a href="#Page_477">477</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Orography of the country, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_354">354</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Ownership of common lands, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst"> P.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Pact, federal, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">original, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_473">473</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Parliaments, peasant, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Parties, political, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Pastoral life, <a href="#Page_335">335</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Pastures, Alpine, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Patois, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Patriotism, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Pauperism, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Pay of soldiers, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Peace of Aarau, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Peasant home and life, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>, <a href="#Page_344">344</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Peasant parliaments, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">proprietorship, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Pensions, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> People, character of, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">patriotism of, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Personal rights, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Pestalozzi, educational work of, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Petite culture, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Physical geography, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Policy, foreign, <a href="#Page_452">452</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Political department, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">parties, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Polytechnic school, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Popular initiative, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">sovereignty, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">vote. See <i>Referendum</i>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Population, <a href="#Page_469">469</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Postal union, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Powers, the great, <a href="#Page_455">455</a>, <a href="#Page_459">459</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Prehistoric remains, <a href="#Page_383">383</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Presidency, American, compared with the Swiss executive, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> President of confederation, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Presidents of legislative bodies, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Principles of government, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Procureur-général, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Progressive spirit, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Property, communal, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Propitiator, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Proprietorship in lands, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Protection of literary property, <a href="#Page_437">437</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Protestant and Catholic parties, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">cantons, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Reformation, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Provisions, temporary constitutional, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Prussian supremacy in Neuchâtel, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Public life, training for, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Punishment in schools, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Punishments, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">unusual, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst"> R.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Rack for prisoners, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Radical party, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_486">[Pg 486]</span></li> - -<li class="indx"> Railways, <a href="#Page_317">317</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Ranz des Vaches, <a href="#Page_340">340</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Rath, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Realschulen, <a href="#Page_293">293</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Red cross flag, <a href="#Page_433">433</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Referendum, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">benefits of, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">cantonal, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">compulsory, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">defined, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">functions of, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">history of, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">nature of, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">optional, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">principle of, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">veto by, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Reform, federal, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Reformation, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Religion in schools, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Religious controversies, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">differences, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">freedom, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">statistics, <a href="#Page_470">470</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Remonstrances, friendly, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Representation, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">in cantons, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Republic, Helvetic, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Rhetians, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Rhone, the, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Right of asylum, <a href="#Page_466">466</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Rights, cantonal, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">communal, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Rigi, <a href="#Page_382">382</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Rivers of Switzerland, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Roads, <a href="#Page_323">323</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Romansch language, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Rütli, story of, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst"> S.</li> - -<li class="indx"> St. Bernard, monks of, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> St. Gallen admitted, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">inheritance of property in, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> St. Gothard tunnel, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Salvation army, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Scenery, <a href="#Page_353">353</a>, <a href="#Page_384">384</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Schaffhausen admitted, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> School-houses, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Schools, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">agricultural, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">communal, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">grades in, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">industrial, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>.</li> -<li class="isub2">art, <a href="#Page_286">286</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">manual training in, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">military, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">normal, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">punishment in, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">religion in, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">straw-platting, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">technical, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">trade, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Schützenfest, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Schwyz, an original canton, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Scrutin de liste, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">des arrondissements, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Sempach, battle of, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Shepherd’s life, <a href="#Page_337">337</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Silk industry, <a href="#Page_302">302</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Situation, the European, <a href="#Page_450">450</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Small nationalities, character of, <a href="#Page_453">453</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Soldiers, pay of, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Solothurn admitted, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Sonderbund, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Sorcery, execution for, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Sovereignty, cantonal, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">popular, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Staatenbund defined, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Standards, cantonal, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Ständerath, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Stantz, treaty of, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> State, the composite, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> States, council of, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">-attorney, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Statistics, <a href="#Page_469">469</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Statutory enactments, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Staubbach, <a href="#Page_370">370</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Suabian war, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Supreme Court of the United States compared with the Swiss federal tribunal, <a href="#Page_115">115-122</a>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_487">[Pg 487]</span></li> - -<li class="indx"> Swineherds, <a href="#Page_339">339</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Swiss foreign influence, <a href="#Page_452">452</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">mercenaries, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">valor, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst"> T.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Tagsatzung, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Tagwen in Glarus, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Tax, military, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Technical schools, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Telegraph union, international, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Tell, William, <a href="#Page_391">391</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">the national hero, <a href="#Page_407">407</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Tell’s story, legends parallel to, <a href="#Page_401">401</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Temporary constitutional provisions, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Tenant, rights and responsibilities of, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Testamentary powers, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Thirty Years’ War, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Thurgau admitted, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Ticino admitted, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">marriage customs in, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Topography, military, <a href="#Page_451">451</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Torture, judicial, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Tourmentes, <a href="#Page_385">385</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Tours de scrutin, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Training of officials, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Treaty of Lunéville, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">of Stantz, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Trial by jury, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>. See also <i>Jury</i>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Tribunal, federal, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>. See <i>Federal Tribunal</i>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Triple council, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Trogen, folkmote at, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Troops, cantonal, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">federal, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Tyranny of legislatures, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst"> U.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Union, postal, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">telegraph, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Unions, international, <a href="#Page_430">430</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Universities, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Unterwalden, division of, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Uri, an original canton, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">and Glarus boundary, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">folkmote in, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst"> V.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Valais admitted, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">peasantry, <a href="#Page_350">350</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Vaud admitted, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">land laws in, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Veto, popular, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Vice-President, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">succession of, to the Presidency, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Vienna, Congress of, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Vierwaldstätten, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Vineyards, <a href="#Page_307">307</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Vorort, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Vote, popular. See <i>Referendum</i>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst"> W.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Waldstätten, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> War, Suabian, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">Thirty Years’, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Watchmaking, <a href="#Page_303">303</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Waterfalls, <a href="#Page_370">370</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Wedding customs, <a href="#Page_370">370</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Weights, <a href="#Page_469">469</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Winds, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Winkelried, story of, <a href="#Page_404">404</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Witch-burning, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Witenagemote, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Woman’s lot, <a href="#Page_343">343</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Women, courage of, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst"> Y.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Yodel, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>.</li> - - -<li class="ifrst"> Z.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Zug joins the league, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Zurich joins the league, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1">testamentary powers in, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>.</li> - -<li class="indx"> Zwingli, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</li> -</ul> - - - -<p class="center p4">THE END.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="FOOTNOTES">FOOTNOTES</h2> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">1</a> Müller, “Histoire des Suisses.” - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">2</a> “History of the Helvetic Confederation,” Lausanne, 1650. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">3</a> See Appendix for original Pact and translation. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="label">4</a> A federal executive officer resembling the French consul. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5" class="label">5</a> The history of Switzerland affords frequent instances of -mutual succors for these purposes. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6" class="label">6</a> After this battle Francis stamped on his medals, “<i>Vici -ab uno Cæsare victos</i>” (“I vanquished those whom Cæsar alone had -before vanquished”). - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7" class="label">7</a> It was only in 1857 that the anomalous condition of -Neuchâtel ceased. The rights of the kings of Prussia as sovereigns date -back to the cession made of it in 1707 by William of Orange to his -cousin Frederick, first King of Prussia. In 1806 it was granted as a -principality to Marshal Berthier, and so recognized by all the powers -of Continental Europe. The Congress of Vienna restored it to the King -of Prussia, making it, however, a Canton of the Helvetian Republic. -In 1848 a revolution forcibly overturned the authority of the King of -Prussia, and it so remained, in apparent conflict to what had been -formally recognized by all the Great Powers, until 1857, when a treaty -was signed between Austria, France, Prussia, Russia, Great Britain, -and Switzerland, by which it was made independent, to continue to form -a part of the Swiss Confederation, by the same title as the other -Cantons. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_8" href="#FNanchor_8" class="label">8</a> Rufus Choate. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_9" href="#FNanchor_9" class="label">9</a> Book xxi., ch. 31. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_10" href="#FNanchor_10" class="label">10</a> The dog Barry, one day, found a little child in a -half-frozen state; he began directly to lick him, and having succeeded -first in restoring animation, and next in the complete resuscitation -of the boy, he induced the child by his caresses to tie himself on -his back. When this was effected, he carried the poor child, as if -in triumph, to the hospice. The body of Barry was stuffed and placed -in the museum at Bern, and may be seen there, with the little vial -still hanging to his neck in which he carried a reviving drink for the -perishing traveller. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_11" href="#FNanchor_11" class="label">11</a> Zwingli lost his life in 1531 in the battle of Cappel; -though he fell under another banner than that of the Prince of Peace, -he was acting in obedience to the law of the republic, and accompanied -the army by the express command of the magistrates. He is represented -as a man of great meekness and moderation and charity, and, amidst all -the disputes, was a constant advocate for peace and reconciliation. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_12" href="#FNanchor_12" class="label">12</a> A hair-dresser of Geneva was imprisoned for arranging a -bride’s hair with too much attention to vanity; and a woman was beaten -for singing secular words to a psalm-tune; men were imprisoned for -reading what were considered profane books, and children beheaded for -striking a parent. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_13" href="#FNanchor_13" class="label">13</a> The old curator of the Bern Museum would say to the -visitors, pointing to the portrait of Voltaire, “There is the portrait -of the famous M. de Voltaire, who dared to write <span class="smcap">against the -Republic</span> and against God.” - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_14" href="#FNanchor_14" class="label">14</a> Professor Fiske. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_15" href="#FNanchor_15" class="label">15</a> These words, it may be remarked, are from the same root, -<i>ligo</i>, to bind. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_16" href="#FNanchor_16" class="label">16</a> Agreements to furnish soldiers to foreign countries. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_17" href="#FNanchor_17" class="label">17</a> There are many provisions regulating the rights of -citizens and electors, Cantonal and Communal, which are given in -Chapters 6 and 9, and “Chapter on Citizenship.” - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_18" href="#FNanchor_18" class="label">18</a> It reads in the French text, “From his natural judge,” -the natural or constitutional judge being the one provided by the -terms of the judicial Constitution, and as contradistinguished from -an exceptional Court created after the appearance of the case to be -adjudged. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_19" href="#FNanchor_19" class="label">19</a> See amendment of December, 1887. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_20" href="#FNanchor_20" class="label">20</a> See amendment of June, 1879. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_21" href="#FNanchor_21" class="label">21</a> Homeless persons, <i>Heimathlosen</i>. These comprise -not only foreigners who have lost their nationality of origin without -having obtained another, but also natives who are not members of any -Swiss Commune. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_22" href="#FNanchor_22" class="label">22</a> The Constitutional provisions relating to these are fully -given in chapters severally devoted to these Departments. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_23" href="#FNanchor_23" class="label">23</a> The Constitution is officially published in -<i>Romansch</i> and <i>Ladin</i>, in addition to the three “national -languages.” - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_24" href="#FNanchor_24" class="label">24</a> That the Constitution-making and amending power -should be vested in a bare majority of the voting citizens, coupled -with a majority of the Cantons, is considered by some as wanting -in that solidity and security which are the most vital attributes -of a fundamental law. But none of the enactments contained in the -Swiss Constitution can be legally abolished or modified without the -employment of the <i>Referendum</i>. And no law which revises the -Constitution, either wholly or in part, can come into force until it -has been regularly submitted by means of the <i>Referendum</i> to -the vote of the people, and has been approved by a majority of the -citizens who on the particular occasion gave their votes, and also by -a majority of the Cantons. It is also provided, that under certain -circumstances a vote of the people shall be taken not only on the -question, whether a particular amendment or revision approved by the -Federal Assembly shall or shall not come into force, but also on the -preliminary question whether any revision or reform of the Constitution -shall take place at all. And the <i>Referendum</i> in all such cases, -in the language of the Constitution, is “obligatory.” The self-imposed -checks of the Constitution of the United States, in this respect of -amendment, have been described as “obstacles in the way of the people’s -whims, not of their wills.” The system of the Initiative for the Swiss -constitutional revision (by 50,000 citizens), though modelled upon one -of the alternative methods by which amendments to the United States -Constitution may be proposed, contains one significant modification of -it; the people in the former appear in their national character and -independent of state lines; the same holds true of the ratification of -amendments. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_25" href="#FNanchor_25" class="label">25</a> In 1480 fifteen hundred executions took place in -Switzerland. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_26" href="#FNanchor_26" class="label">26</a> By a Federal law to carry out this amendment, the -distilled liquors are sold for cash by the Confederation in -<i>minimum</i> quantity of a hundred and fifty <i>litres</i> (0.88 -quart), and the price to be fixed from time to time by the Federal -Council; but it shall never be less than one hundred and twenty francs -nor more than one hundred and fifty francs per <i>hectolitre</i> -(twenty-two gallons) of pure alcohol. Denaturalized spirits to be sold -at cost price for technical and household use. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_27" href="#FNanchor_27" class="label">27</a> The Swiss Constitution contains 7700 words and 127 -articles (including temporary provisions); that of the United States, -5300 words, divided into 37 sections. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_28" href="#FNanchor_28" class="label">28</a> “American Historical Association,” vol. i., p. 37. -Professor Scott. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_29" href="#FNanchor_29" class="label">29</a> It was the original purpose of the writer to include, as -an appendix to this volume, a translation of the Swiss Constitution; -a faithful search having failed to discover any publication of it -in English. But having ascertained that during the current year two -such translations had appeared, one by Professor Edmund J. James, -University of Pennsylvania, the other by Professor Albert Bushnell -Hart, of Harvard, copies were obtained, and found to meet, in a most -satisfactory and excellent manner, every possible demand for such a -work. However, every important provision, and, in fact, almost the -complete text of the Constitution, appears in the copious citations -from it in the chapters on the Federal Departments, Cantons, Communes, -and the Army. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_30" href="#FNanchor_30" class="label">30</a> John Adams, Works, iv., p. 186. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_31" href="#FNanchor_31" class="label">31</a> Previous to 1874 the members received only twelve francs -a day. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_32" href="#FNanchor_32" class="label">32</a> Woodrow Wilson, “The State.” - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_33" href="#FNanchor_33" class="label">33</a> Federal legislation may confer upon the Assembly the -election or confirmation of other federal officials. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_34" href="#FNanchor_34" class="label">34</a> This power was exercised in connection with the Neuchâtel -revolution of 1856, the Royalist prisoners and deserters being -amnestied in 1857. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_35" href="#FNanchor_35" class="label">35</a> In 1874 it was fixed by a federal law that the Assembly -should convene on the first Monday in June for the first, and on the -first Monday in December for the second portion of the regular annual -session. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_36" href="#FNanchor_36" class="label">36</a> The remuneration of these officials in 1848, when the -system was inaugurated, was much smaller; the President receiving only -6000 francs a year and each of the other members 5000 francs. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_37" href="#FNanchor_37" class="label">37</a> This election occurs during December of each year on a -day agreed upon by the Assembly. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_38" href="#FNanchor_38" class="label">38</a> Although the Assembly cannot exactly turn out the members -of the federal executive during their term of office, it enjoys such -extensive power of supervision and control over their acts, and, in -fact, exercises so large a part of what is called executive discretion, -that it can practically have very little reason for desiring to remove -them. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_39" href="#FNanchor_39" class="label">39</a> “All such laws are adopted by the people, either tacitly -or through the <i>referendum</i>; and the judiciary must submit their -judgment on constitutional questions to the will of the people.”—Dubs, -“Das Oeffentliche Recht der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft.” - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_40" href="#FNanchor_40" class="label">40</a> Marbury vs. Madison, 1 Cranch, 137. Mr. Madison -disregarded the <i>obiter</i> opinion of the court, and Mr. Jefferson -treated it with contempt. “The federal judges,” he said, “declared that -commissions signed and sealed by the President were valid, though not -delivered. I deemed delivery essential to complete a deed, which as -long as it remains in the hands of the party is as yet no deed. It is -<i>in posse</i> only but not <i>in esse</i>, and I withheld delivery -of the commissions.” (Letter to Judge Roane, September 6, 1819. Works, -vol. vii. p. 135.) - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_41" href="#FNanchor_41" class="label">41</a> “Political Science Quarterly,” June, 1890. C. B. Elliott. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_42" href="#FNanchor_42" class="label">42</a> See also Professor Bryce, “American Commonwealth,” i. p. -237. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_43" href="#FNanchor_43" class="label">43</a> Kent’s Commentaries, i. p. 453. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_44" href="#FNanchor_44" class="label">44</a> Burke. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_45" href="#FNanchor_45" class="label">45</a> A common standard of weights and measures was adopted in -1835, but the question of the coinage remained unsettled until 1848. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_46" href="#FNanchor_46" class="label">46</a> It was customary, formerly, to deduct from five to ten -per cent. from all property going out of the Canton by inheritance -or marriage. It was also usual, when a person wished to sell land, -to recognize a right in his relatives, or even neighbors, or -fellow-citizens of the Canton, to take the property at an arbitrated -value. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_47" href="#FNanchor_47" class="label">47</a> Communities include school, church, and political -territorial divisions, and only the latter are designated as Communes. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_48" href="#FNanchor_48" class="label">48</a> Repealed in 1879, relegating it to the discretion of the -Cantons except as to “political offences.” Since then eight of the -Cantons have re-established capital punishment in their codes. They are -the small Cantons, and represent only twenty per cent. of the Swiss -population. No execution, however, has taken place in any of these -Cantons since 1879; two sentences of death have been passed, but in -both cases they were commuted to imprisonment for life. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_49" href="#FNanchor_49" class="label">49</a> Professor Dicey, “Law of the Constitution.” - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_50" href="#FNanchor_50" class="label">50</a> These horns are made to imitate the human voice, and have -a most mournful bellow. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_51" href="#FNanchor_51" class="label">51</a> This is done to secure religious equality and to provide -for the representation of the Catholic population in the Communes in -which they are in the minority. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_52" href="#FNanchor_52" class="label">52</a> <i>Et in corruptissima republica plurimæ -leges.</i>—Tacitus. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_53" href="#FNanchor_53" class="label">53</a> Professor Dicey. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_54" href="#FNanchor_54" class="label">54</a> Numa Droz. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_55" href="#FNanchor_55" class="label">55</a> See chapter on citizenship. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_56" href="#FNanchor_56" class="label">56</a> Thomas Jefferson. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_57" href="#FNanchor_57" class="label">57</a> See chapters on “Constitution” and “Cantons.” - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_58" href="#FNanchor_58" class="label">58</a> This includes, also, birth abroad of children of American -citizens temporarily residing or travelling in other countries (Rev. -Stat. U. S., Sec. 1993). - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_59" href="#FNanchor_59" class="label">59</a> “Citizenship of the United States,” Richman,—“Political -Science Quarterly,” March, 1890. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_60" href="#FNanchor_60" class="label">60</a> “A citizen of a State is now only a citizen of the United -States residing in that State; citizenship of the United States is the -primary citizenship; State citizenship is secondary and derivative, -depending upon citizenship of the United States.” (Slaughter-House -cases, 16 Wallace.) - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_61" href="#FNanchor_61" class="label">61</a> The difficulty of obtaining citizenship, at one time, in -the pastoral Cantons, is shown by the fact that no one had done so in -lower Unterwald from 1664 to 1815. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_62" href="#FNanchor_62" class="label">62</a> The successful issue of this suit was due to the vigorous -and determined efforts of the United States consul at Zurich, George L. -Catlin. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_63" href="#FNanchor_63" class="label">63</a> These peasant proprietors do not live scattered amid the -fields which they till, but are disposed to gather in the centre of the -Commune, forming numerous small hamlets. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_64" href="#FNanchor_64" class="label">64</a> Called in the Roman law <i>legitima portio</i>, -legitimate portion; but the German law has a better designation for -it,—<i>Pflichttheil</i>, duty part. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_65" href="#FNanchor_65" class="label">65</a> In the district of Saffelare, a part of East Flanders, -which nature has endowed with an unproductive but easily cultivated -sandy soil, the territory is composed of 37,000 acres and has to -nourish 30,000 inhabitants, all living by agriculture; and yet -these peasants not only grow their own food, but they also export -agricultural produce, and pay rents to the amount of from fifteen to -twenty-five dollars per acre. (Krapotkin, “The Forum,” August, 1890.) - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_66" href="#FNanchor_66" class="label">66</a> In the matter of these capitulations the Cantons claimed -that, first, they never granted troops to any prince or state but -by virtue of some preceding alliance; second, they granted troops -only for the defence of the state they were given to, and not to act -offensively; third, that the sovereign never received any subsidy -or other advantages from it. The Cantons contented themselves with -giving such auxiliary troops as were stipulated by their alliance and -procuring a beneficial service for their subjects, without reserving -profit to themselves. But in spite of the contention that these -mercenaries espoused only a just quarrel, such service was a source of -social no less than of political ills, and seriously impaired, for the -time, the dignity and standing of the country. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_67" href="#FNanchor_67" class="label">67</a> <i>Primi in omnibus prœliis oculi -vincuntur.</i>—Tacitus. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_68" href="#FNanchor_68" class="label">68</a> Even the Cantons, from the first institution of their -governments and up to the time the Confederation assumed control of the -military service, never kept in pay any standing troops. During the -wars with the House of Austria the service was performed by militia, -who were paid by the respective Cantons while kept in the field, and -dismissed as soon as the campaign was ended. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_69" href="#FNanchor_69" class="label">69</a> The minimum height for a recruit in the United States -army is five feet four inches, weight one hundred and twenty-five -pounds, and chest measure thirty-two inches. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_70" href="#FNanchor_70" class="label">70</a> United States Revised Statutes, Sec. 1625, makes subject -to enrolment in the militia “every able-bodied male citizen of the -respective States, resident therein,” etc. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_71" href="#FNanchor_71" class="label">71</a> “When the citizens of Geneva were alarmed in the -night [the <i>Escalade</i> of December 12, 1602], in the depth of -winter, by the enemy, they found their muskets sooner than their -shoes.”—Rousseau. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_72" href="#FNanchor_72" class="label">72</a> The report of 1887 for the Canton of Bern gives 1,925,580 -francs expended on the cantonal and communal schools, not including the -university. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_73" href="#FNanchor_73" class="label">73</a> In July of this year (1890) a statue of Pestalozzi was -dedicated at Yverdon, on the Lake of Neuchâtel, for it was there that, -after many struggles with adversity, he founded, at the beginning of -this century, the school which was perhaps more deeply and lastingly -useful than any school that ever existed, by spreading the educational -tenets and methods of its famous master throughout Europe, and later -across to America, with contagious force. The unveiling of the monument -was accompanied with a <i>Cantate patriotique</i> by a choir of a -thousand children. The statue represents Pestalozzi with a boy and girl -whom he is instructing by his side, and bears the simple inscription, -“Henry Pestalozzi, 1746-1827. Monument erected by general subscription -1890.” - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_74" href="#FNanchor_74" class="label">74</a> The University of Geneva, at the close of the last -century, known as the College of Geneva, and which exerted a wide -influence in Europe, being temporarily suppressed during the revolution -which had taken place, proposed, through its faculty, the transplanting -of the college in a body to the United States. To Washington, who had -in view the devoting of a quite large amount of money to the founding, -or to the support, of institutions of learning, Jefferson wrote a -letter on February 23, 1795, in which he laid before him the plan for -the transferring of this institution to the national capital; and in -the letter Jefferson characterized the College of Geneva as one of the -eyes of Europe in matters of science, the University of Edinburgh being -the other. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_75" href="#FNanchor_75" class="label">75</a> Zurich has made its city forest, the <i>Sihl-Wald</i>, -a great public pleasure-ground that pays large sums annually into -the city treasury, besides yielding inestimable dividends in the -shape of health and happiness to the citizens. This forest has been -owned by Zurich ever since 1309, and has been carefully administered -for centuries, and is now managed on the most approved scientific -principles by corps of trained foresters. Last year the net profits -were something over eight dollars an acre, or a total of about twenty -thousand dollars, for the city treasury. Half the annual yield of wood -is from thinnings alone. In the economic treatment of the forest, its -value as a pleasure-ground is not forgotten; the landscape is preserved -unharmed, and the place made thoroughly and pleasantly accessible. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_76" href="#FNanchor_76" class="label">76</a> Early in the seventeenth century a king of Spain came to -see a clock which had been made by Jacques Droz, who resided at Locle, -and whose automatons were much noted. Upon the clock there were seated -a shepherd, a negro, and a dog. As the hour was struck the shepherd -played upon his flute, and the dog fondled gently at his feet. But when -the king reached forth to touch an apple that hung from a tree under -which the shepherd rested, the dog flew at him and barked so furiously -that a live dog in the street answered him. One of the courtiers of the -king ventured to ask the negro, in Spanish, what time it was. There was -no reply, but when the question was repeated in French, an answer was -given. All of them at once voted that the clock was the work of an evil -one. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_77" href="#FNanchor_77" class="label">77</a> It is estimated that 200 francs’ worth of steel will make -525,000 francs’ worth of common watch-springs. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_78" href="#FNanchor_78" class="label">78</a> On the new federal palace at Bern, in progress of -construction in 1890, men were employed to act as turnspits, in immense -wheels, for elevating the large blocks of stone. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_79" href="#FNanchor_79" class="label">79</a> Adams and Cunningham, “The Swiss Confederation.” - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_80" href="#FNanchor_80" class="label">80</a> The <i>Fête des Vignerons</i>, which occurs once in -fifteen years at one of the villages on the Lake of Geneva, is the most -brilliant festival held in Switzerland, and is accompanied with all -the light, joyous mirth of the ancient Bacchanalian festivals. It is -graphically described in Cooper’s “Headsman.” - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_81" href="#FNanchor_81" class="label">81</a> The word <i>Alp</i> is a provincialism, and means an -elevated pasture, and hence the name of the mountains on which the -pastures exist. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_82" href="#FNanchor_82" class="label">82</a> Liquid manure fills an important part in the economy of -Swiss husbandry, under the name of <i>Jouche</i> or <i>Mist-Wasser</i> -in the German Cantons, and of <i>Lisier</i> in the French Cantons. They -collect in large casks the drainage of their manure-piles, stables, -and hog-pens, and bring it in carts to the fields, where it is drawn -off into wooden tubs fitted to the shoulders of men, and sometimes of -women, who, walking along the furrows, distribute it in due proportion -to each plant, by stooping to the right and left, the coffee-colored -nectar pouring over their heads. It would be impossible to perform an -uncleanly task in a more delicate manner. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_83" href="#FNanchor_83" class="label">83</a> The great projector did not live to see the -accomplishment of his grand work. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_84" href="#FNanchor_84" class="label">84</a> The construction of the St. Gothard railway stopped this -indemnity. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_85" href="#FNanchor_85" class="label">85</a> A report, made in connection with the Swiss National -Exhibition of 1883, calculated that up to 1880, 1002 inns had been -built for the special use of travellers, and that they contained -58,137 beds, an average of 58 apiece. The capital value of the -land, buildings, and furniture belonging to these was estimated at -320,000,000 francs; the gross profits on which were 53,000,000 francs, -or seventeen per cent.; this was reduced by deduction of working -expenses to 16,000,000 francs, or five per cent. Of these 1002 inns -no fewer than 283 are situated in positions above three thousand four -hundred feet, and 14 are actually above six thousand five hundred and -sixty-two feet in elevation. - -<p class="hang" style="margin-left: -1.5em;">Switzerland only became a “play-ground” within the last century. The -first English guide-book appeared in 1818, by Daniel Wall, of London. -The first of any kind was published in 1684, by Wagner, a Zurich -naturalist, and called “<i>Index Memorabilium Helvetiæ</i>.”</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_86" href="#FNanchor_86" class="label">86</a> Ruskin. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_87" href="#FNanchor_87" class="label">87</a> When these storms break upon the mountain, be it night or -day, the bells of the village churches are vigorously rung to exorcise -the evil one, and bring the pious villagers on their knees in prayer. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_88" href="#FNanchor_88" class="label">88</a> These are made of maple, linden, and pine by the -shepherds themselves, who bestow much time on their manufacture. -The ladles are made in the shape of shells. The milk-strainer, the -measures, and the milk-hods are all elegantly shaped and very clean. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_89" href="#FNanchor_89" class="label">89</a> The chamois is a small species of antelope, somewhat -resembling a goat. Its hoofs are remarkably cloven, with a protruding -border, which enables it to climb almost perpendicular declivities. Its -muscular power is great: it can leap chasms twenty feet wide, and jump -down rocks the same distance to platforms with only just room enough -for its four hoofs. In the autumn, when strongest and fattest, it is -black, in the early spring gray, and in the summer red. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_90" href="#FNanchor_90" class="label">90</a> It measures four and one-half feet in length and nine to -ten feet from wing to wing extended, weighs as much as twenty pounds, -and is of a rusty brown color. It is a fierce enemy of sheep, goats, -dogs, hares, etc., and has been known to carry off young children. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_91" href="#FNanchor_91" class="label">91</a> The Swiss infant is bandaged into a large piece of -cloth,—to be kept straight, it is explained,—and resembles a -pappoose. In the country churches can be seen old paintings of the -Virgin holding the infant Christ swathed in just the same manner. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_92" href="#FNanchor_92" class="label">92</a> A French writer, Picot, went so far as to say of the -peasants of Valais: “The Valaisans, far from desiring to attract -attention from the world, are jealous of their obscurity, of their -ignorance, and even of their poverty, which they believe essential to -their happiness.” Many localities have their written existence in song -or story. The words of the Vaudois poet, Juste Olivier, “<i>Vivons -de notre vie</i>,” have sunk into the hearts of a number of writers -who, under their own public alone, are cherishing and seeking to -reproduce the life about them, dwelling especially upon those local and -traditional phases which they feel daily to be giving way before the -march of progress. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_93" href="#FNanchor_93" class="label">93</a> The winds, refrigerated in their passage over fields of -ice and snow, meet there a warm aerial current coming from the plains -of Italy. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_94" href="#FNanchor_94" class="label">94</a> Longfellow’s “Hyperion.” - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_95" href="#FNanchor_95" class="label">95</a> Virgil. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_96" href="#FNanchor_96" class="label">96</a> The Rhone is made to serve useful as well as æsthetic -purposes; the great water-power of this river has been utilized by -diverting that part passing on the left of the island into a canal, -which conducts the water into a building containing twenty turbines, -with four thousand four hundred net horse-power; this power is utilized -in a variety of ways, from running sewing-machines to supplying power -for an electric light plant; it is an enterprise very profitable to the -municipality of Geneva. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_97" href="#FNanchor_97" class="label">97</a> See Chapter on “Constitution.” - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_98" href="#FNanchor_98" class="label">98</a> In the Canton of Vaud, a short distance back from the -lake is <i>Avanche</i> or <i>Avanches</i>, the ancient capital of -Helvetia; near this place the Helvetians were defeated by one of -Vitellius’s lieutenants, and “many thousand were slain and many sold as -slaves, and after committing great ravages the army marched in order of -battle to <i>Aventicum</i>, the capital of the country.” (Tacitus.) - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_99" href="#FNanchor_99" class="label">99</a> The first steamer on a Swiss lake was the “Guillaume -Tell,” in 1823, on the Lake of Geneva. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_100" href="#FNanchor_100" class="label">100</a> Whirlwinds of snow, or <i>tourmentes</i> (known in -the Grisons), are tossed aloft by the gale, like the sandy vortices -of Africa formed by the simoom; they are dangerous by blinding the -traveller and effacing the track. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_101" href="#FNanchor_101" class="label">101</a> On this passage of Helvetian history, there is a poem of -exquisite beauty, by Mrs. Hemans, the “Record of Woman:” - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent2">“Werner sat beneath the linden tree,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">That sent its lulling whispers through his door,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Even as man sits, whose heart alone would be</div> - <div class="verse indent4">With some deep care, and thus can find no more</div> - <div class="verse indent2">The accustomed joy in all which evening brings,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Gathering a household with her quiet wings.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_102" href="#FNanchor_102" class="label">102</a> This place is evidently a fragment, some seventy-five -or one hundred acres, that has fallen from the mountain, and, lying -between the lake and the rocks, it offered a good point of rendezvous. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_103" href="#FNanchor_103" class="label">103</a> It is a curious fact that Schiller made Franz, the -hero of his “Robbers,” say, “In order to become a finished rascal one -must have a certain national bent; he must live in a certain climate -and breathe a certain rascally atmosphere; so I advise you to go into -the Grisons, for that is, in these days, the Athens of pickpockets.” -Schiller was obliged to apologize, the Council of the Leagues -threatening to withhold the money they had promised to lend the Duke of -Wurtemberg if the offending poet was not punished; he also received an -order “never to write more of the same.” - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_104" href="#FNanchor_104" class="label">104</a> In 1796 there appeared in New York an opera in three -acts, adapted by William Dunlap from a dramatic performance published -in London in 1794, called “Helvetic Liberty.” - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_105" href="#FNanchor_105" class="label">105</a> A rude weapon much used by the early Swiss, consisting -of a club ending in a massive knob, with spikes protruding in every -direction so as to suggest the name of “morning star.” - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_106" href="#FNanchor_106" class="label">106</a> Although it is alleged that five similar feats to -Winkelried’s are on record in Swiss history, only one is recognized -and commemorated by the Swiss. In the village square of Stantz is a -marble group representing Arnold Winkelried in the act of pressing the -Austrian spears into his heart and holding them down, while a second -figure pushes forward to take advantage of the gap. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_107" href="#FNanchor_107" class="label">107</a> The Æneid, vi. 660. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_108" href="#FNanchor_108" class="label">108</a> At the art exhibition held in Bern this year (1890) -there were forty plaster models of statues of William Tell competing -for the one it is proposed to erect at Altdorf, 150,000 francs having -been appropriated for that purpose. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_109" href="#FNanchor_109" class="label">109</a> Lamartine. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_110" href="#FNanchor_110" class="label">110</a> The Aar is perhaps the most interesting water system -in Switzerland, especially if we include its great tributaries, the -Reuss and the Limmat. Rising among the metamorphic wilds of the -Finsteraarhorn, thundering through the granitic dikes of the Grimsel, -breaking its way to the Handeck, and plunging in mad career over the -falls, it dashes on to the clear profound of Brienz, to the softer -beauties of Interlaken and Thun, and, after watering the fertile -table-lands of Bern, receives the sister waters of the Reuss and -Limmat, which it carries, in one dark-green flood, into the main artery -of the Rhine. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_111" href="#FNanchor_111" class="label">111</a> The market for fowls has one feature worthy of imitation -everywhere. In the centre of it stands a man with a miniature -guillotine, who for one centime (a fifth of a cent) will behead the -fowl, and it is done deftly and free of all bloody exposures; the -fowl is firmly held and muffled to prevent outcry, the decapitation -instantaneous, the falling of the head and bleeding concealed, and when -life is extinct and flow of blood ceases, the fowl is nicely wrapped -in paper by the executioner and replaced in the market-basket; it is -certainly a humane substitute for wringing off the neck. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_112" href="#FNanchor_112" class="label">112</a> Means weather-peak, and it is an established barometer -in its neighborhood. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_113" href="#FNanchor_113" class="label">113</a> The western wing of the Bernese Alps presents broad -pyramidal masses of a flattened character. The eastern wing exhibits a -complete contrast in its tapering obelisks and rocky minarets, in its -serrated crests and numerous horns. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_114" href="#FNanchor_114" class="label">114</a> <i>Alpenglühen</i>, or sunset-glow, is an exception -to the general laws governing the disappearance of the sunlight by -the gradual rise of the earth’s shadow; it is a kind of second or -after-coloring in the snowy masses, making them stand out from the -dark background, though the general light is constantly diminishing. -The peaks are illuminated till the sun is from 20° to 30° below the -horizon; then the general clearness diminishes, but on the western -horizon is a clear segment of 8° to 10°; but as the air has much -less reflecting power than the snowy mountains, the latter begin to -be lighted up again. This second lighting may be so great that the -mountains appear to be actually illuminated by the sun. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_115" href="#FNanchor_115" class="label">115</a> Since this was written and placed in the hands of the -publishers Congress has passed and the President approved a copyright -bill, aimed at securing reciprocal protection to American and foreign -authors in the respective countries which may comply with its -provisions. While the measure which has become a law is not entirely -satisfactory to the friends of international copyright, and must be -regarded as experimental as to its ultimate results or workings, all -of its advocates feel that it is a huge instalment of justice, and -a gratifying victory gained for the indorsement of the principle of -international copyright. In answer to an inquiry addressed to Mr. A. -R. Spofford, Librarian of Congress, as to the effect of the law on the -relation of the United States to the Bern Convention, he has kindly -made the following statement: “Under the rather uncertain (not to say -ambiguous) meaning of Sec. 13 of the Act of March 3, 1891, two things -seem to be necessary before a foreigner can be entitled to copyright -in the United States: (1) His government must be one that already -grants copyright to Americans (by law or international agreement) on -the same terms as to its own people; (2) the President must certify by -proclamation the fact just cited. - -<p class="hang" style="margin-left: -1.5em;">“Whether the new law was intended to be at once applicable to the -authors of all nations who were parties to the Berne Convention of -1885-86; whether the Executive of the United States has authority now -to accede to this convention, and join the International Union under -the provisions of Article XVIII.; whether this would require the -concurrent action of the President and Senate; or, finally, whether -an act of Congress would be required (as Great Britain had to pass -an act through Parliament to make that country a party to the Berne -International Union), all these appear to me to be open questions, -owing to lack of precision in the Act of March 3, which was passed in -a crowded state of the public business, and not fully digested by a -committee, especially with regard to the Berne Convention.”</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_116" href="#FNanchor_116" class="label">116</a> An international arbitration agreement has been drafted -by the nations of North, South, and Central America, and a copy has -been sent to each European government, extending an invitation to -signify their adherence to its provisions. The President of the Swiss -Confederation has submitted to the Federal Assembly this pan-American -treaty, with a recommendation that Switzerland accept the invitation -given by the late International American Conference. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_117" href="#FNanchor_117" class="label">117</a> Adams and Cunningham, “Swiss Confederation.” - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_118" href="#FNanchor_118" class="label">118</a> Though without a sea-coast or a ship, Switzerland has -recognized rights even on the sea as a neutral nation; the treaty -of Paris of 1856 respecting neutral flags, neutral goods on vessels -of belligerents, and blockades, was also entered into by the Swiss -government in the same year. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_119" href="#FNanchor_119" class="label">119</a> A hide cut into shoe strings was made to surround a -principality under a bargain to buy,—<i>Taurino quantum possent -circumdare tergo.</i> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_120" href="#FNanchor_120" class="label">120</a> The annexation of Alsace-Lorraine was really a violation -of what is the sound basis of the principle of the sacredness of -nationalities; a violation of the sacredness of self-government. - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<a id="Footnote_121" href="#FNanchor_121" class="label">121</a> This term is employed to denote the seven nations which -were parties to the Treaty of Berlin,—viz., England, France, Germany, -Austria-Hungary, Russia, Italy, and Turkey. - -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter transnote p6"> - -<h2>Transcriber’s Notes</h2> - -<p>Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. -Variations in hyphenation and accents have been standardised -but all other spelling and punctuation remains unchanged.</p> -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SWISS REPUBLIC ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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