The early
history of each member of the Confederation, and of the
Confederation itself, shows that they always professed to belong
to the Empire, trying to become immediately dependent on the
emperor in order to prevent oppression by middle lords, and to
enjoy practical liberty. The Empire itself had now become very
much of a shadow; cities and princes were gradually asserting
their own independence, sometimes breaking away from it
altogether. Now, by. the time of the Burgundian War, the
Confederation stood in a position analogous to that of a
powerful free imperial city. As long as the emperor's nominal
Empire. rights were not enforced, all went well; but, when
Maximilian,. in his attempt to reorganize the Empire, erected in
1495 at Worms an imperial chamber which had jurisdiction in all
disputes between members of the Empire, the Confederates were
very unwilling to obey it - partly because they could maintain
peace at home by their own authority, and partly because it
interfered with their practical independence. Again, their
refusal to join the " Swabian League," formed in 1488 by the
lords and cities of South Germany to keep the public peace, gave
further offence, as well as their fresh alliances with France.
Hence a struggle was inevitable, and the occasion by reason of
which it broke out was the seizure by the Tyrolese authorities.
in 1499 of the Munsterthal, which belonged to the "
Gotteshausbund," one of the three leagues which had gradually
arisen in Raetia. These were the " Gotteshausbund " in 1367
(taking in all the dependents of the cathedral church at Chur
living in the Oberhalbstein and Engadine); the " Ober " or "
Grauer Bund " in 1395 and 1424 (taking in the abbey of Disentis
and many counts and lords in the Vorder Rhein valley, though its
name is not derived, as often stated, from the " grey coats " of
the first members, but from " grawen " or " grafen," as so many
counts formed part of it); and the " League of the Ten
Jurisdictions " (Zehngerichtenbund), which arose in the
Frattigau and Davos valley (1436) on the death of Count
Frederick of Toggenburg, but which, owing to certain Austrian
claims in it, was not quite so free as its neighbours. The first
and third of these became allied in 1450, but the formal union
of the three dates only from 1524, as documentary proof is
wanting of the alleged meeting at Vazerol in 1471, though
practically before 1524 they had very much in common. In 1497
the Ober Bund, in 1498 the Gotteshausbund, made a treaty of
alliance with the Everlasting League or Swiss Confederation, the
Ten Jurisdictions being unable to do more than show sympathy,
owing to Austrian claims, which were not bought up till 1649 and
1652. Hence this attack on the Munsterthal was an attack on an "
associate " member of the Swiss Confederation, Maximilian being
supported by the Swabian League; but its real historical
importance is the influence it had on the relations of the Swiss
to the Empire. The struggle lasted several months, the chief
fight being that in the Calven gorge (above Mals; May 22, 1499),
in which Benedict Fontana, a leader of the Gotteshausbund men,
performed many heroic deeds before his death. But, both sides
being exhausted, peace was made at Basel on the 22nd of
September 1499. By this the matters in dispute were referred to
arbitration, and the emperor annulled all the decisions of the
imperial chamber against the Confederation; but nothing was laid
down as to its future relations with the Empire. No further real
attempt, however, was made to enforce the rights of the emperor,
and the Confederation became a state allied with the Empire,
enjoying practical independence, though not formally freed till
1648. Thus, 208 years after the origin of the Confederation in
1291, it had got rid of all Austrian claims (1394 and 1474), as
well as all practical subjection to the emperor. But its further
advance towards the position of an independent state was long
checked by religious divisions within, and by the enormous
influence of the French king on its foreign relations.
With the object of strengthening the northern border of the
Confederation, two more full members were admitted in 150rBasel
and Schaffhausen - on the same terms as Fribourg and Soleure.
The city of Basel had originally been ruled by its bishop, but
early in the 14th century it became a free imperial city; before
1501 it had made no permanent alliance with the Confederation,
though it had been in continual relations with it. Schaffhausen
had grown up round the Benedictine monastery of All Saints, and
became in the early 13th century a free imperial city, but was
mortgaged to Austria from 1330 to 1415, in which last year the
emperor Sigismund declared all Duke Frederick's rights forfeited
in consequence of his abetting the flight of Pope John XXII. It
bought its freedom in 1418 and became an " associate " of the
Confederation in 1454.
A few years later, in 1513, Appenzell, which in 1411 had become
a " protected " district, and in 1452 an " associate " League
member of the Confederation, was admitted as the thirteenth full
member; and this remained the Thirteen number till the fall of
the old Confederation in 1798. Round the three original members
had gathered first five others, united with the three, but not
necessarily with each other; and then gradually there grew up an
outer circle, consisting of five more, allied with all the eight
old members, but tied down by certain stringent conditions.
Constance, which seemed called by nature to enter the League,
kept aloof, owing to a quarrel as to criminal jurisdiction in
the Thurgau, pledged to it before the district was conquered by
the Confederates.
In the first years of the 16th century the influence of the
Confederates south of the Alps was largely extended. The system
of giving pensions, in order to secure the r i ght of enlisting
men within the Confederation, and Italy. of capitulations, by
which the different members supplied troops, was originated by
Louis XI. in 1474, and later followed by many other princes.
Though ' a tribute to Swiss valour and courage, this practice
had very evil results, of which the firstfruits were seen in the
Milanese troubles (1500-1516), of which the following is a
summary. Both Charles VIII. (1484) and Louis XII. (1 499 for ten
years) renewed Louis XI.'s treaty. The French attempts to gain
Milan were largely carried on by the help of Swiss mercenaries,
some of whom were on the opposite side; and, as brotherly
feeling was still too strong to make it possible for them to
fight against one another, Lodovico Sforza's Swiss troops
shamefully betrayed him to the French at Novara (1500). In 1500,
too, the three Forest districts occupied Bellinzona (with the
Val Blenio) at the request of its inhabitants, and in 1503 Louis
XII. was forced to cede it to them. He, however, often held back
the pay of his Swiss troops, and treated them as mere hirelings,
so that when the ten years' treaty came to an end Matthew
Schinner, bishop of Sitten (or Sion), induced them to join
(1510) the pope, Julius II., then engaged in forming the Holy
League to expel the French from Italy. But when, after the
battle of Ravenna, Louis XII. became all-powerful in Lombardy,
20,000 Swiss poured down into the Milanese and occupied it,
Felix Schmid, the burgomaster of Zurich, naming Maximilian (Lodovico's
son) duke of Milan, in return for which he ceded to the
Confederates Locarno, Val Maggia, Mendrisio and Lugano (1512),
while the Raetian Leagues seized Chiavenna, Bormio and the
Valtellina. (The former districts, with Bellinzona, the Val
Blenio and the Val Leventina, were in 1803 made into the canton
of Ticino, the latter were held by Raetia till 1 797.) In 1513
the Swiss completely defeated the French at Novara, and in 1515
Pace was sent by Henry VIII. of England to give pensions and get
soldiers. Francis I. at once on his accession (1515) began to
prepare to win back the Milanese, and, successfully evading the
Swiss awaiting his descent from the Alps, beat them in a pitched
battle at Marignano near Milan (Sept. 13, 1515), which broke the
Swiss power in north Italy, so that in 1516 a peace was made
with France - the Valais, the Three Raetian Leagues and both the
abbot and town of St Gall being included on the side of the
Confederates. Provision was made for the neutrality of either
party in case the other became involved in war, and large
pensions were promised. This treaty was extended by another in
1521 (to which Zurich, then under Zwingli's influence, would not
agree, holding aloof from the French alliance till 1614), by
which the French king might, with the consent of the
Confederation, enlist any number of men between 6000 and r6,000,
paying them fit wages, and the pensions were raised to 3000
francs annually to each member of the Confederation. These two
treaties were the startingpoint of later French interference
with Swiss affairs.
HISTORY]
4. In 1499 the Swiss had practically renounced their allegiance
to the emperor, the temporal chief of the world according to
medieval theory; and in the 6th century a great number of them
did the same by the world's spiritual u chief, the pope. The
scene of the revolt was Zurich, and the leader Ulrich Zwingli
(who settled in Zurich at the very end of 1518). But we cannot
understand Zwingli's career unless we remember that he was
almost more a political reformer than a religious one. In his
former character his policy was threefold. He bitterly opposed
the French alliance and the pension and mercenary system, for he
had seen its evils with his own eyes when serving as chaplain
with the troops in the Milanese in 1512 and 1515. Hence in 1521
his influence kept Zurich back from joining in the treaty with
Francis I. Then, too, at the time of the Peasant Revolt (1525),
he did what he could to lighten the harsh rule of the city over
the neighbouring rural districts, and succeeded in getting
serfage abolished. Again he had it greatly at heart to secure
for Zurich and Bern the chief power in the Confederation,
because of their importance and size; he wished to give them
extra votes in the Diet, and would have given them two-thirds of
the " common bailiwicks " when these were divided. In his
character as a religious reformer we must remember that he was a
humanist, and deeply read in classical literature, which
accounts for his turning the canonries of the Grossmunster into
professorships, reviving the old school of the Carolinum, and
relying on the arm of the state to carry out religious changes
(see ZwINGLI). After succeeding at two public disputations (both
held in 1523) his views rapidly gained ground at Zurich, which
long, however, stood quite alone, the other Confederates issuing
an appeal to await the decision of the asked-for general
council, and proposing to carry out by the arm of the state
certain small reforms, while clinging to the old doctrines.
Zwingli had to put down the extreme wing of the Reformers - the
Anabaptists - by force (1525-1526). Quarrels soon arose as to
allowing the new views in the " common bailiwicks." The
disputation at Baden (1526) was in favour of the maintainers of
the old faith; but that at Bern (1528) resulted in securing for
the new views the support of that great town, and so matters
began to take another aspect. In 1528 Bern joined the union
formed in December 1527 in favour of religious freedom by Zurich
and Constance (Cliristliches Burgrecht), and her example was
followed by Schaffhausen, St Gall, Basel, Bienne and Muhlhausen
(1528-1529). This attempt virtually to break up the League was
met in February 1529 by the offensive and defensive alliance
made with King Ferdinand of Hungary (brother of the emperor) by
the three Forest districts, with Lucerne and Zug, followed
(April 1529) by the " Christliche Vereinigung," or union between
these five members of the League. Zurich was greatly moved by
this, and, as Zwingli held that for the honour of God war was as
necessary as iconoclasm, hostilities seemed imminent; but Bern
held back; and the first peace of Kappel was concluded (June
1529), by which the Hungarian alliance was annulled and the
principle of " religious parity " (or freedom) was admitted in
the case of each member of the League, while in the "common
bailiwicks " the majority in each parish was to decide the
religion of that parish. This was at once a victory and a check
for Zwingli. He tried to make an alliance with the Protestants
in Germany, but failed at the meeting at Marburg (October 1529)
to come to an agreement with Luther on the subject of the
Eucharist, and the division between the Swiss and the German
Reformations was stereotyped. Zwingli now developed his views as
to the greater weight which Zurich and Bern ought to have in the
League. Quarrels, too, went on in the " common bailiwicks," for
the members of the League who clung to the old faith had a
majority of votes in matters relating to these districts. Zurich
tried to cut off supplies of food from reaching the Romanist
members (contrary to the wishes of Zwingli), and, on the death
of the abbot of St Gall, disregarding the rights of Lucerne,
Schwyz and Glarus, who shared with her since 1451 the office of
protectors of the abbey, suppressed the monastery, giving the
rule of the land and the people to her own officers. Bern in
vain tried to moderate this aggressive policy, and the Romanist
members of the League indignantly advanced from Zug towards
Zurich. Near Kappel, on the 11th of October 1531, the Zurich
vanguard under Goldli was (perhaps owing to his treachery)
surprised, and despite reinforcements the men of Zurich were
beaten, among the slain being Zwingli himself. Another defeat
completed the discomfiture of Zurich, and by the second peace of
Kappel (November 1531) the principle of " parity " was
recognized, not merely in the case of each member of the League
and of the " common bailiwicks," but in the latter Romanist
minorities in every parish were to have a right to celebrate
their own worship. Thus everywhere the rights of a minority were
protected from the encroachments of the majority. The "
Christliches Burgrecht " was abolished, and Zurich was condemned
to pay heavy damages. Bullinger succeeded Zwingli, but this
treaty meant that neither side could now try to convert the
other wholesale. The League was permanently split into two
religious camps: the Romanists, who met at Lucerne, numbered,
besides the five already mentioned, Fribourg, Soleure, Appenzell
(Inner Rhoden) and the abbot of St Gall (wikh the Valais and the
bishop of Basel), thus commanding sixteen votes (out of
twenty-nine) in the Diet; the Evangelicals were Zurich, Bern,
Schaffhausen, Appenzell (Ausser Rhoden), Glarus. and the towns
of St Gall, Basel and Bienne (with Graubunden), who met at Aarau.
Bern had her eyes always fixed upon the Savoyard lands to the
south-west, in which she had got a footing in 1475, and now made
zeal for religious reforms the excuse for resum- Vaua by ing her
advance policy. In 1526, Guillaume Farel, Bern. a preacher from
Dauphine, had been sent to reform Aigle, Morat and Neuchatel. In
1532 he came to Geneva, an ancient city of which the rule had
long been disputed by the prince-bishop, the burgesses and the
house of Savoy, the latter holding the neighbouring districts.
She had become in 1519 the ally of Fribourg, in 1526 that of
Bern also; and in 1530, by their influence, a peace was made
between the contending parties. The religious changes introduced
by Farel greatly displeased Fribourg, which abandoned the
alliance (1534), and in 1535 the Reformation was firmly planted
in the city. The duke of Savoy, however, took up arms against
Bern (1536), who overran Gex, Vaud and the independent bishopric
of Lausanne, as well as the Chablais to the south of the lake.
Geneva was only saved by the unwillingness of the citizens. Bern
thus ruled north and south of the lake, and carried matters with
a high hand. Shortly after this John Calvin, a refugee from
Picardy, was, when passing through Geneva, detained by Farel to
aid him, and, after an exile from 1538-1541, owing to opposition
of the papal party and of the burghers, who objected to Bernese
rule, he was recalled (1541) and set up his wonderful theocratic
government in the city, in 1553 burning Servetus, the Unitarian
(see Calvin and Servetus), and in 1555 expelling many who upheld
municipal liberty, replacing them by French, English, Italians
and Spaniards as new burghers, whose names are still frequent in
Geneva (e.g. Ca.ndolle, Mallet, Diodati). His theological views
led to disputes with the Zurich Reformers, which were partly
settled by the Consensus Tigurinus of 1549, and more completely
by the Helvetic Confession of 1562-1566, which formed the basis
of union between the two parties.
By the time of Calvin's death (1564) the old faith had begun to
take the offensive; the reforms made by the Council of Trent
urged on the Romanists to make an attempt to recover lost
ground. Emmanuel Philibert, duke of Savoy, the hero of St
Quentin (1557), and one of the greatest generals of the day,
with the support of the Romanist members of the League, demanded
the restoration of the districts seized by Bern in 1536, and on
the 30th of October 1564 the Treaty of Lausanne confirmed the
decision of the other Confederates sitting as arbitrators
(according to the old constitutional custom). By this treaty Gex,
the Genevois and the Chablais were to be given back, while
Lausanne, Vevey, Chillon, Villeneuve, Nyon, Avenches and Yverdon
were to be kept by Bern, who engaged to maintain the old rights
and liberties of Vaud. Thus Bern lost the lands south of the
lake, in which St Francis of Sales, the exiled prince-bishop of
Geneva (1602-1622), at once proceeded to carry out the
restoration of the old faith. In 1555 Bern and Fribourg, as
creditors of the debt-laden count, divided the county of
Gruyere, thus getting French-speaking subjects. In 1558 Geneva
renewed her alliance with Bern, and in 1584 she made one with
Zurich. The duke of Savoy made several vain attempts to get hold
of Geneva, the last (in 1602) being known as the " escalade."
The decrees of the Council of Trent had been accepted fully by
the Romanist members of the League, so far as relates to dogma,
but not as regards discipline or the relations TheCounter- of
church and state, the sovereign rights and juris diction of each
state being always carefully reserved. tion. The
counter-Reformation, however, or reaction in favour of the old
faith, was making rapid progress in the Confederation, mainly
through the indefatigable exertions of Charles Borromeo, from
1560 to 1584 archbishop of Milan (in which diocese the Italian
bailiwicks were included), and nephew of Pius IV., supported at
Lucerne by Ludwig Pfyffer, who, having been (1562-1570) the
chief of the Swiss mercenaries in the French wars of religion,
did so much till his death (1594) to further the religious
reaction at home that he was popularly known as the " Swiss
king." In 1574 the Jesuits, the great order of the reaction,
were established at Lucerne; in 1 579 a papal nuncio came to
Lucerne; Charles Borromeo founded the " Collegium Helveticum "
at Milan for the education of fortytwo young Swiss, and the
Catholic members of the League made an alliance with the bishop
of Basel; in 1581 the Capuchins were introduced to influence the
more ignorant classes. Most important of all was the Golden or
Borromean League, concluded (Oct. 5, 1586) between the seven
Romanist members of the Confederation (Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden,
Lucerne, Zug, Fribourg and Soleure) for the maintenance of the
true faith in their territories, each engaging to punish
backsliding members and to help each other if attacked by
external enemies, notwithstanding any other leagues, old or new.
This league marks the final breaking up of the Confederation
into two great parties, which greatly hindered its progress. The
Romanist members had a majority in the Diet, and were therefore
able to refuse admittance to Geneva, Strassburg and Muhihausen.
Another result of these religious differences was the breaking
up of Appenzell into two parts (1597), each sending one
representative to the Diet - " Inner Rhoden " remaining
Romanist, " Ausser Rhoden " adopting the new views. We may
compare with this the action of Zurich in 1555, when she
received the Protestant exiles (bringing with them the
silk-weaving industry) from Locarno and the Italian bailiwicks
into her burghership, and Italian names are found there to this
day (e.g. Orelli, Muralt).
In the Thirty Years' War the Confederation remained neutral,
being bound both to Austria (1474) and to France (1516), and
neither religious party wishing to give the other an excuse for
calling in foreign armies. But the troubles in Raetia threatened
entanglements. Austria wished to secure the Miinsterthal
(belonging to the League of the Ten Jurisdictions), and Spain
wanted the command of the passes leading from the Valtellina
(conquered by the leagues of Raetia in 1512), the object being
to connect the Habsburg lands of Tirol and Milan. In the
Valtellina the rule of the Three Raetian Leagues was very harsh,
and Spanish intrigues easily brought about the massacre of 1620,
by which the valley was won, the Romanist members of the
Confederation stopping the troops of Zurich and Bern. In 1622
the Austrians conquered the Prattigau, over which they still had
certain feudal rights. French troops regained the Valtellina in
1624, but it was occupied once more in 1629 by the imperial
troops, and it was not till 1635 that the French, under Rohan,
finally succeeded in holding it. The French, however, wished to
keep it permanently; hence new troubles arose, and in 1637 the
natives, under George Jenatsch, with Spanish aid drove them out,
the Spaniards themselves being forced to resign it in 1639. It
was only in 1649 and 1652 that the Austrian rights in the
Prattigau were finally bought up by the League of the Ten
Jurisdictions, which thus gained its freedom.
In consequence of Ferdinand II.'s edict of restitution (1629),
by which the status quo of 1552 was re-established - the
highwater mark of the counter-Reformation - the abbot of St Gall
tried to make some religious changes in his territories, but the
protest of Zurich led to the Baden compromise of 1632, by which,
in the case of disputes on religious matters arising in the "
common bailiwicks, " the decision was to be, not by a majority
of the cantons, but by means of friendly discussion - a logical
application of the doctrine of religious parity - or by
arbitration.
But by far the most important event in Swiss history in this age
is the formal freeing of the Confederation from the empire.
Basel had been admitted a member of the League in 1501, two
years after the Confederation had been practically freed from
the jurisdiction of the imperial Empire. chamber, though the
city was included in the new division of the empire into "
circles " (1521), which did not take in the older members of the
Confederation. Basel, however, refused to admit this
jurisdiction; the question was taken up by France and Sweden at
the congress of Munster, and formed the subject of a special
clause in both the treaties of Westphalia, by which the city of
Basel and the other " Helvetiorum cantones " were declared to be
" in the possession, or almost in the possession, of entire
liberty and exemption from the empire, and nullatenus subject to
the imperial tribunals." This was intended to mean formal
exemption from all obligations to the empire (with which the
Confederation was connected hereafter simply as a friend), and
to be a definitive settlement of the question. Thus by the
events of 1499 and 1648 the Confederation had become an
independent European state, which, by the treaty of 1516, stood
as regards France in a relation of neutrality.
In 1668, in consequence of Louis XIV.'s temporary occupation of
the Franche Comte, an old scheme for settling the number of men
to be sent by each member of the Confederation to the joint
army, and the appointment of a council of war in war time, that
is, an attempt to create a common military organization, was
accepted by the Diet, which was to send two deputies to the
council, armed with full political powers. This agreement, known
as the Defensionale, is the only instance of joint and unanimous
action in this miserable period of Swiss history, when religious
divisions crippled the energy of the Confederation.
Throughout the t 7th and 18th centuries the Confederation was
practically a dependency of France. In 1614 Zurich for French
the first time joined in the treaty, which was renewed in 1663
with special provisions as regards the Protestant Swiss
mercenaries in the king's pay and a promise of French neutrality
in case of civil war Aristo- in the League. The Swiss had to
stand by while cracy. Louis XIV. won Alsace (1648), Franche
Comte (1678) and Strassburg (1681). But, as Louis inclined more
and more to an anti-Protestant policy, the Protestant members of
the League favoured the Dutch military service; and it was
through their influence that in 1707 the " states " of the
principality of Neuchatel, on the extinction of the Longueville
line of these princes, decided in favour of the king of Prussia
(representing the overlords - the house of Chalon-Orange) as
against the various French pretenders claiming from the
Longueville dynasty by descent or by will. In 1715 the Romanist
members of the League, in hopes of retrieving their defeat of
1712 (see below), agreed, while renewing the treaty and
capitulations, to put France in the position of the guarantor of
their freedom, with rights of interfering in case of attack from
within or from without, whether by counsel or arms, while she
promised to procure restitution of the lands lost by them in
1712. This last clause was simply the surrender of Swiss
independence, and was strongly objected to by the Protestant
members of the Confederation, so that in 1777 it was dropped,
when all the Confederates made a fresh defensive alliance,
wherein their sovereignty and independence were expressly set
forth. Thus France had succeeded to the position of the empire
with regard to the Confederation, save that her claims were
practically asserted and voluntarily admitted.
Between 1648 and 1798 the Confederation was distracted by
religious divisions and feelings ran very high. A scheme to set
up a central administration fell through in 1655, through
jealousy of Bern and Zurich, the proposers. In 1656 a question
as to certain religious refugees, who were driven from Schwyz
and took refuge at Zurich, brought about the first Villemergen
War, in which the Romanists were successful, and procured a
clause in the treaty asserting very strongly the absolute
sovereignty, in religious as well as in political matters, of
each member of the League within its own territories, while in
the " common bailiwicks " the Baden arrangement (1632) was to
prevail. Later, the attempt of the abbot of St Gall to enforce
his rights in the Toggenburg swelled into the second Villemergen
War (1712), which turned out very ill for the defeated
Romanists. Zurich and Bern were henceforth to hold in severalty
Baden, Rapperswil, and part of the " common bailiwicks " of the
Aargau, both towns being given a share in the government of the
rest, and Bern in that of Thurgau and Rheinthal, from which, as
well as from that part of Aargau, she had been carefully
excluded in 1415 and 1460. The only thing that prospered was the
principle Of " religious parity," which was established
completely, as regards both religions, within each parish in the
" common bailiwick." The Diet had few powers; the Romanists had
the majority there; the sovereign rights of each member of the
League and the limited mandate of the envoys effectually checked
all progress. Zurich, as the leader of the League, managed
matters when the Diet was not sitting, but could not enforce her
orders. The Confederation was little more than a collection of
separate atoms, and it is really marvellous that it did not
break up through its own weakness.
In these same two centuries, the chief feature in domestic Swiss
politics is the growth of an aristocracy: the power of voting
and the power of ruling are placed in the hands of a small
class. This is chiefly seen in Bern, Lucerne, Fribourg and
Soleure, where there were not the primitive democracies of the
Forest districts nor the government by gilds as at Zurich, Basel
and Schaffhausen. It was effected by refusing to admit any new
burghers, a practice which dates from the middle of the ,6th
century, and is connected (like the similar movement in the
smaller local units of the " communes " in the rural districts)
with the question of poor relief after the suppression of the
monasteries. Outsiders (Hintersasse or Niedergelassene) had no
political rights, however long they might have resided, while
the privileges of burghership were strictly hereditary. Further,
within the burghers, a small class succeeded in securing the
monopoly of all public offices, which was kept up by the
practice of co-opting, and was known as the " patriciate." So in
Bern, out of 360 burgher families 6 9 only towards the close of
the 18th century formed the ruling oligarchy - and, though to
foreigners the government seemed admirably managed, yet the last
thing that could be said of it was that it was democratic. In
1749 Samuel Henzi (disgusted at being refused the post of town
librarian) made a fruitless attempt to overthrow this oligarchy,
like the lawyer, Pierre Fatio at Geneva in 1707. The harsh
character of Bernese rule (and the same holds good with
reference to Uri and the Val Leventina) was shown in the great
strictness with which its subject land Vaud was kept in hand: it
was ruled as a conquered land by a benevolent despot, and we can
feel no surprise that Major J. D. A. Davel in 1723 tried to free
his native land, or that it was in Vaud that the principles of
the French Revolution were most eagerly welcomed. Another result
of this aristocratic tendency was the way in which the cities
despised the neighbouring country districts, and managed
gradually to deprive them of their equal political rights and to
levy heavy taxes upon them. These and other grievances (the fall
in the price of food after the close of the Thirty Years' War,
the lowering of the value of the coin, &c.), combined with the
presence of many soldiers discharged after the great war, led to
the great Peasant Revolt (1653) in the territories of Bern,
Soleure, Lucerne and Basel, interesting historically as being
the first popular rising since the old days of the 13th and 14th
centuries, and because reminiscences of legends connected with
those times led to the appearance of the " three Tells," who
greatly stirred up the people. The rising was put down at the
cost of much bloodshed, but the demands of the peasants were not
granted. Yet during this period of political powerlessness a
Swiss literature first arises: Conrad Gesner and Giles Tschudi
in the 16th century are succeeded by J. J. Scheuchzer, A. von
Haller, J. C. Lavater, J. J. Bodmer, H. B. de Saussure, J. J.
Rousseau, J. von Muller; the taste for Swiss travel is
stimulated by the publication (1793) of the first real Swiss
guide-book by J. G. Ebel (q.v.), based on the old Deliciae;
industry throve greatly. The residence of such brilliant foreign
writers as Gibbon and Voltaire within or close to the
territories of the Confederation helped on this remarkable
intellectual revival. Political aspirations were not, however,
wholly crushed, and found their centre in the Helvetic Society,
founded in 1762 by F. U. Balthasar and others.
The Confederation and France had been closely connected for so
long that the outbreak of the French Revolution could not fail
to affect the Swiss. The Helvetian Club, E the French founded at
Paris in 1790 by several exiled Vaudois and Fribourgers, was the
centre from which the new ideas were spread in the western part
of the Confederation, and risings directed or stirred up. In
1790 the Lower Valais rose against the oppressive rule of the
upper districts; in 1791 Porrentruy defied the prince-bishop of
Basel, despite the imperial troops he summoned, and proclaimed
(November 1792) the " Rauracian republic," which three months
later (1793) became the French department of the Mont Terrible;
Geneva was only saved (1792) from France by a force sent from
Zurich and Bern; while the massacre of the Swiss guard at the
Tuileries on the 10th of August 1792 aroused intense
indignation. The rulers, however, unable to enter into the new
ideas, contented themselves with suppressing them by force, e.g.
Zurich in the case of Sta.fa (1795). St Gall managed to free
itself from its prince-abbot (1795-1797), but the Leagues of
Raetia so oppressed their subjects in the Valtellina that in
1797 Bonaparte (after conquering the Milanese from the
Austrians) joined them to the Cisalpine republic. The Diet was
distracted by party struggles and the fall of the old
Confederation was not far distant. The rumours of the vast
treasures stored up at Bern, and the desire of securing a
bulwark against Austrian attack, specially turned the attention
of the directory towards the Confederation; and this was
utilized by the heads of the Reform party in the Confederation -
Peter Ochs (1752-1821), the burgomaster of Basel, and Frederic
Cesar Laharpe (1754-1838; tutor, 1783-1794, to the later tsar
Alexander I.), who had left his home in Vaud through disgust at
Bernese oppression, both now wishing for aid from outside in
order to free their land from the rule of the oligarchy.
x xv,. 9 Hence, when Laharpe, at the head of some twenty exiles
from Vaud and Fribourg, called (Dec. 9, 1797) on the Directory
to protect the liberties of Vaud, which, so he said (by a bit of
purely apocryphal history), France by the treaty of 1565 was
bound to guarantee, his appeal found a ready answer. In February
1798 French troops occupied Miihlhausen and Bienne (Biel), as
well as those parts of the lands of the prince-bishop of Basel
(St Imier and the Munsterthal) as regards which he had been
since 1579 the ally of the Catholic members of the
Confederation. Another army entered Vaud (February 1798), when
the " Lemanic republic " was proclaimed, and the Diet broke up
in dismay without taking any steps to avert the coming storm.
Brune and his army occupied Fribourg and Soleure, and, after
fierce fighting at Neuenegg, entered (March 5) Bern, deserted by
her allies and distracted by quarrels within. With Bern, the
stronghold of the aristocratic party, fell the old
Confederation. The revolution triumphed throughout the country.
Brune (March 16-19) put forth a wonderful scheme by which the
Confederation with its " associates " and " subjects " was to be
split into three republics - the Tellgau (i.e. the Forest
districts), the Rhodanic (i.e. Vaud, the Valais, the Bernese
Oberland and the Italian bailiwicks), and the Helvetic (i.e. the
northern and eastern portions); but the directory disapproved of
this (March 23), and on the 29th of March the " Helvetic
republic, one and indivisible," was The proclaimed. This was
accepted by ten cantons only as well as (April 12) the
constitution drafted Republic. by Ochs. By the new scheme the
territories of the Everlasting League were split up into
twenty-three (later nineteen, Raetia only coming in in 1799)
administrative districts, called " cantons," a name now
officially used in Switzerland for the first time, though it may
be found employed by foreigners in the French treaty of 1452, in
Commynes and Machiavelli, and in the treaties of Westphalia
(1648). A central government was set up, with its seat at
Lucerne, comprising a senate and a great council, together
forming the legislature, and named by electors chosen by the
people in the proportion of 1 to every loo citizens, with an
executive of five directors chosen by the legislature, and
having four ministers as subordinates or " chief secretaries." A
supreme court of justice was set up; a status of Swiss
citizenship was recognized; and absolute freedom to settle in
any canton was given, the political " communes " being now
composed of all residents, and not merely of the burghers. For
the first time an attempt was made to organize the Confederation
as a single state, but the change was too sweeping to last, for
it largely ignored the local patriotism which had done so much
to create the Confederation, though more recently it had made it
politically powerless. The three Forest districts rose in
rebellion against the invaders and the new constitutions which
destroyed their ancient prerogatives; but the valiant resistance
of the Schwyzers, under Alois Reding, on the heights of
Morgarten (April and May), and that of the Unterwaldners (August
and September), were put down by French armies. The proceedings
of the French, however, soon turned into disgust and hatred the
joyful feelings with which they had been hailed as liberators.
Geneva was annexed to France (April 1798); Gersau, after an
independent existence of over 400 years, was made a mere
district of Schwyz; immense fines were levied and the treasury
at Bern pillaged; the land was treated as if it had been
conquered. The new republic was compelled to make a very close
offensive and defensive alliance with France, and its directors
were practically nominated from Paris. In June - October 1799
Zurich, the Forest cantons and Raetia became the scene of the
struggles of the Austrians (welcomed with joy) against the
French and Russians. The manner, too, in which the reforms were
carried out alienated many, and, soon after the directory gave
way to the consulate in Paris (18 Brumaire or Nov. Io, 1799),
the Helvetic directory (January 1800) was replaced by an
executive committee.
The scheme of the Helvetic republic had gone too far in the
direction of centralization; but it was not easy to find the
happy mean, and violent discussions went on between the "
Unitary " (headed by Ochs and Laharpe) and " Federalist "
parties. Many drafts were put forward and one actually submitted
to but rejected by a popular vote (June 1802). In July 1802 the
French troops were withdrawn from Switzerland by Bonaparte,
ostensibly to comply with the treaty of Amiens, really to show
the Swiss that their best hopes lay in appealing to him. The
Helvetic government was gradually driven back by armed force,
and the Federalists seemed getting the best of it, when (Oct. 4)
Bonaparte offered himself as mediator, and summoned ten of the
chief Swiss statesmen to Paris to discuss The Act matters with
him (the " Consulta " - December 1802). Mediation. He had long
taken a very special interest in Swiss matters, and in 1802 had
given to the Helvetic republic the Frickthal (ceded to France in
1801 by Austria), the last Austrian possession within the
borders of the Confederation. On the other hand, he had made
(August 1802) the Valais into an independent republic. In the
discussions he pointed out that Swiss needs required a federal
constitution and a neutral position guaranteed by France.
Finally (Feb. 19, 1803) he laid before the Consulta the Act of
Mediation which he had elaborated and which they had perforce to
accept - a document which formed a new departure in Swiss
history, and the influence of which is visible in the present
constitution.
Throughout, " Switzerland " is used for the first time as the
official name of the Confederation. The thirteen members of the
old Confederation before 1798 are set up again, and to them are
added six new cantons - two (St Gall and Graubunden or Grisons)
having been formerly " associates," and the four others being
made up of the subject lands conquered at different times -
Aargau (1415), Thurgau (1460), Ticino or Tessin (1440, 1500,
1512), and Vaud (1536). In the Diet, six cantons which had a
population of more than 10o,000 (viz. Bern, Zurich, Vaud, St
Gall, Graubunden and Aargau) were given two votes, the others
having but one apiece, and the deputies were to vote freely
within limits, though not against their instructions. Meetings
of the Diet were to be held alternately at Fribourg, Bern,
Soleure, Basel, Zurich and Lucerne - the chief magistrate of
each of these cantons being named for that year the " landamman
of Switzerland." The " landsgemeinden," or popular assemblies,
were restored in the democratic cantons, the cantonal
governments in other cases being in the hands of a " great
council " (legislative) and the " small council " (executive) -
a property qualification being required both for voters and
candidates. No canton was to form any political alliances abroad
or at home. The " communes " were given larger political rights,
the burghers who owned and used the common lands became more and
more private associations. There was no Swiss burghership, as in
1798, but perfect liberty of settlement in any canton. There
were to be no privileged classes or subject lands. A very close
alliance with France (on the basis of that of 1516) was
concluded (Sept. 27, 1803). The whole constitution and
organization were far better suited for the Swiss than the more
symmetrical system of the Helvetic republic; but, as it was
guaranteed by Bonaparte, and his influence was predominant, the
whole fabric was closely bound up with him, and fell with him.
Excellent in itself, the constitution set forth in the Act of
Mediation failed by reason of its setting.
For ten years Switzerland enjoyed peace and prosperity under the
new constitution. Pestalozzi and Fellenberg worked out their
educational theories; K. Escher of Zurich embanked the Linth,
and his family was thence called " von der Linth "; the central
government prepared many schemes for the common welfare. On the
other hand, the mediator (who became emperor in 1804) lavishly
expended his Swiss troops, the number of which could only be
kept up by a regular blood tax, while the " Berlin decrees "
raised the price of "many articles. In 1806 the principality of
Neuchatel was given to Marshal Berthier; Tessin was occupied by
French troops from 1810 to 1813, and in 1810 the Valais was made
into the department of the Simplon, so as to secure that pass.
At home, the liberty of moving from one canton to another
(though given by the constitution) was, by the Diet in 1805,
restricted by requiring ten years' residence, and then not
granting political rights in the canton or a right of profiting
by the communal property. As soon as Napoleon's power began to
wane (1812-1813), the position of Switzerland became endangered.
Despite the personal wishes of the tsar (a pupil of Laharpe's),
the Austrians, supported by the reactionary party in
Switzerland, and without any real resistance on the part of the
Diet, as well as the Russians troops, crossed the frontier on
the 21st of December 1813, and on the 29th of December the Diet
was induced to declare the abolition of the 1803 constitution,
guaranteed, like Swiss neutrality, by Napoleon. Bern headed the
party which wished to restore the old state of things, but
Zurich and the majority stood out for the nineteen cantons. The
powers exercised great pressure to bring about a meeting of
deputies from all the nineteen cantons at Zurich (April 6, 1814,
" the long Diet "); party strife was very bitter, but on the
12th of September it decided that the Valais, Neuchatel and
Geneva should be raised from the rank of " associates " to that
of full members of the Confederation (thus making up the
familiar twenty-two). As compensation the congress of Vienna
(March 20, 1815) gave Bern the town of Bienne (Biel), and all
(save a small part which went to Basel) of the territories of
the princebishop of Basel (" the Bernese Jura "); but the
Valtellina was granted to Austria, and Muhlhausen was not freed
from France. On the 7th of August 1815 the new constitution was
sworn to by all the cantons save Nidwalden, the consent of which
was only obtained (Aug. 30) by armed force, a delay for which
she paid by seeing Engelberg and the The Pact of 181.5. valley
above (acquired by Nidwalden in 1798) given to Obwalden. By the
new constitution the sovereign rights of each canton were fully
recognized, and a return made to the lines of the old
constitution, though there were to be no subject lands, and
political rights were not to be the exclusive privilege of any
class of citizens. Each canton had one vote in the Diet, where
an absolute majority was to decide all matters save foreign
affairs, when a majority of three-fourths was required. The
management of current business, &c., shifted every two years
between the governments of Zurich, Bern and Lucerne (the three "
Vororte "). The monasteries were guaranteed in their rights and
privileges; and no canton was to make any alliance contrary to
the rights of the Confederation or of any other canton.
Provision was made for a Federal army. Finally, the Congress, on
the 20th of November 1815, placed Switzerland and parts of North
Savoy (Chablais, Faucigny and part of the Genevois) under the
guarantee of the Great Powers, who engaged to maintain their
neutrality, thus freeing Switzerland from her 300 years'
subservience to France, and compensating in some degree for the
reactionary nature of the new Swiss constitution when compared
with that of 1803.
5. The cities at once secured for themselves in the cantonal
great councils an overwhelming representation over the
neighbouring country districts, and the agreement of 1805 as to
migration from one canton to another was Re f orm. t deform.
renewed (1819) by twelve cantons. For some time there was little
talk of reforms, but in 1819 the Helvetic Society definitely
became a political society, and the foundation in 1824 of the
Marksmen's Association enabled men from all cantons to meet
together. A few cantons (notably Tessin) were beginning to make
reforms, when the influence of the July revolution (1830) in
Paris and the sweeping changes in Zurich led the Diet to declare
(Dec. 27) that it would not interfere with any reforms of
cantonal constitutions provided they were in agreement with the
pact of 1815. Hence for the next few years great activity in
this direction was displayed, and most of the cantons reformed
themselves, save the most conservative (e.g. Uri, Glarus) and
the advanced who needed no changes (e.g. Geneva, Graubunden).
Provision was always made for revising these constitutions at
fixed intervals, for the changes were not felt to be final, and
seven cantons - Zurich, Bern, Lucerne, Soleure, St Gall, Aargau
and Thurgau - joined together to guarantee their new free
constitutions (Siebener Concordat of March 17, 1832). Soon
after, the The Pact of 1815. question of revising the Federal
pact was brought forward by a large majority of cantons in the
Diet (July 17), whereon, by the league of Sarnen (Nov. 14), the
three Forest cantons, with Neuchatel, the city of Basel, and the
Valais, agreed to maintain the pact of 1815 and to protest
against the separation of Basel in two halves (for in the reform
struggle Schwyz and Basel had been split up, though the split
was permanent only in the latter case). A draft constitution
providing for a Federal administration distinct from the cantons
could not secure a majority in its favour; a reaction against
reform set in, and the Diet was forced to sanction (1833) the
division of Basel into the " city " and " country " divisions
(each with half a vote in the Diet), though fortunately in
Schwyz the quarrel was healed. Religious quarrels further
stirred up strife in connexion with Aargau, which was a canton
where religious parity prevailed, later in others. In Zurich the
extreme pretensions of the Radicals and freethinkers
(illustrated by offering a chair of theology in the university
to D. F. Strauss of Tubingen because of his Life of Jesus, then
recently published) brought about a great reaction in 1839, when
Zurich was the " Vorort." In Aargau the parties were very evenly
balanced, and, when in 1840, on occasion of the revision of the
constitution, the Radicals had a popular majority the aggrieved
clerics stirred up a revolt (1840), which was put down, but
which gave their opponents, headed by Augustine Keller, an
excuse for carrying a vote in the great council to suppress the
eight monasteries in the canton (Jan. 1841). This was flatly
opposed to the pact of 1815, which the Diet by a small majority
decided must be upheld (April 1841), though after many
discussions it determined (Aug. 31, 1843) to accept the
compromise by which the men's convents only were to be
suppressed, and declared that the matter was now settled. On
this the seven Romanist cantons - Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden,
Lucerne, Zug, Fribourg and the Valais - formed (Sept. 13, 1843)
a " Sonderbund " or separate league, which (February 1844)
issued a manifesto demanding the reopening of the question and
the restoration of all the monasteries. Like the Radicals in
former years the Romanists went too far and too fast, for in
October 1844 the clerical party in Lucerne (in the majority
since 1841, and favouring the reaction in the Valais) officially
invited in the Jesuits and gave them high posts, an act which
created all the more sensation because Lucerne was the " Vorort."
Twice (December 1844 and March 1845) parties of free lances
tried to capture the city. In December 1845 the Sonderbund
turned itself into an armed confederation, ready to appeal to
war in defence of the rights of each canton. The Radicals
carried Zurich in April 1845 and Bern in February 1846, but a
majority could not be secured in the Diet till Geneva (Oct.
1846) and St Gall (May 1847) were won by the same party. On the
20th of July 1847, the Diet, by a small majority, declared that
the Sonderbund was contrary to the Federal pact, which on the
16th of August it was resolved to revise, while on the 3rd of
September it was decided to invite each canton to expel the
Jesuits. Most of the Great Powers favoured the Sonderbund, but
England took the contrary view, and the attempt of Metternich,
supported by Louis Philippe, to bring about European
intervention, on the plea of upholding the treaties of Vienna,
was frustrated by the policy of masterly inactivity pursued by
Lord Palmerston, who delayed giving an answer till the forces of
the Sonderbund had been defeated, a friendly act that is still
gratefully remembered in the country. On the 29th of October the
deputies of the unyielding cantons left the Diet, which ordered
on the 4th of November that its decree should be enforced by
arms.. The war was short (Nov. 10-29), mainly owing to the
ability of the general, G. H. Dufour (1787-1875), and the loss
of life trifling. One after another the rebellious cantons were
forced to surrender, and, as the Paris revolution of February
1848, entailing the retirement of Guizot (followed three weeks
later by that of Metternich), occupied all the attention of the
Great Powers (who by the constitution of 1815 should have been
consulted in the revision of the pact), the Swiss were enabled
to settle their own affairs quietly. Schwyz and Zug abolished
their landsgemeinden," and the seven were condemned to pay the
costs of the war (ultimately defrayed by subscription), which
had been waged rather on religious than on strict particularist
or states-rights grounds. The Diet meanwhile debated the draft
constitution drawn up by Johann Conrad Kern (1808-1888) of
Thurgau and Henri Druey (1799-1855) of Vaud, which in the summer
of 1848 was accepted by fifteen and a half cantons, the minority
consisting of the three Forest cantons, the Valais, Zug, Tessin
and Appenzell (Inner Rhoden), and it was proclaimed on the 12th
of September.
The new constitution inclined rather to the Act of Mediation
than to the system which prevailed before 1798. A status of "
Swiss citizenship " was set up, closely joined to cantonal
citizenship; a man settling in a canton not Constitution p ? g
of 1848.
being his birthplace got cantonal citizenship after a residence
of at most two years, but was excluded from all local rights in
the " commune " where he might reside. A Federal or central
government was set up, to which the cantons gave up a certain
part of their sovereign rights, retaining the rest. The Federal
Legislature (or assembly) was made up of two houses - the
Council of States (St y nderat), composed of two deputies from
each canton, whether small or great (44 in all), and the
National Council (Nationalrat), made up of deputies elected for
three years, in the proportion of one for every 20,000 souls or
fraction over io,000, the electors being all Swiss citizens. The
Federal council or executive (Bundesrat) consisted of seven
members elected by the Federal Assembly sitting as a congress;
they were jointly responsible for all business, though for sake
of convenience there were various departments, and their
chairman was called the president of the Confederation. The
Federal judiciary (Bundesgericht) was made up of eleven members
elected for three years by the Federal Assembly sitting in
congress; its jurisdiction was chiefly confined to civil cases,
in which the Confederation was a party (if a canton, the Federal
council may refer the case to the Federal tribunal), but took in
also great political crimes - all constitutional questions,
however, being reserved for the Federal Assembly. A Federal
university and a polytechnic school were to be founded. All
military capitulations were forbidden in the future. Every
canton must treat Swiss citizens who belong to one of the
Christian confessions like their own citizens, for the right of
free settlement is given to all such, though they acquired no
rights in the " commune." All Christians were guaranteed the
exercise of their religion, but the Jesuits and similar
religious orders were not to be received in any canton. German,
French and Italian were recognized as national languages.
The constitution as a whole marked a great step forward; though
very many rights were still reserved to the cantons, yet there
was a fully organized central government. Almost the first act
of the Federal Assembly was to exercise the power given them of
determining the home of the Federal authorities, and on the 28th
of November 1848 Bern was chosen, though Zurich still ranks as
the first canton in the Confederation. Soon after 1848 a
beginning was made of organizing the different public services,
which had now been brought within the jurisdiction of the
central Federal authority. Thus in 1849 a uniform letter post
service was established, in 1850 a single coinage replaced the
intricate cantonal currencies, while all customs duties between
cantons were abolished, in 1851 the telegraph service was
organized, while all weights and measures were unified (in 1868
the metrical system was allowed, and in 1875 declared obligatory
and universal), in 1854 roads and canals were taken in hand,
while finally in 1855 the Federal Polytechnic School at Zurich
was opened, though the Federal university authorized by the new
constitution has not yet been set up. These were some of the
non-political benefits of the creation of a Federal central
executive. But in 1852 the Federal Assembly decided to leave the
construction of railways to private enterprise and so had to buy
them up in 1903 at a vastly enhanced price.
By this early settlement of disputes Switzerland was protected
from the general revolutionary movement of 1848, and in later
years her political history has been uneventful, though she has
felt the weight of the great European crises in industrial and
social matters.
The position of Neuchatel, as a member of the Confederation (as
regards its government only) and as a principality ruled by the
king of Prussia, whose rights had been expressly recognized by
the congress of Vienna, was uncertain. She had not sent troops
in 1847, and, though in 1848 there was a republican revolution
there, the prince did not recognize the changes. Finally, a
royalist conspiracy in September 1856 to undo the work of 1848
caused great excitement and anger in Switzerland, and it was
only by the mediation of Napoleon III. and the other powers that
the prince renounced (1857) all his rights, save his title,
which his successor (the German emperor) has also dropped. Since
that time Neuchatel has been an ordinary member of the
Confederation. In1859-1860the cession of Savoy (part of it
neutralized in 1815) to France aroused considerable indignation,
and in 1862 the long-standing question of frontiers in the
Vallee des Dappes was finally arranged with France. In 1871 many
French refugees, especially Bourbaki's army, were most
hospitably received and sheltered. The growth of the Old
Catholics after the Vatican Council (1870) caused many
disturbances in western Switzerland, especially in the Bernese
Jura. The attack was led by Bishop Eugene Lachat (1819-1886) of
Basel, whose see was suppressed by several cantons in 1873, but
was set up again in 1884 though still not recognized by Bern.
The appointment by the pope of the abbe Gaspard Mermillod
(1824-1892) as " apostolic vicar " of Geneva, which was
separated from the diocese of Fribourg, led to Monseigneur
Mermillod's banishment from Switzerland (1873), but in 1883 he
was raised to the vacant see of Lausanne and Geneva and allowed
by, the Federal authorities to return, but Geneva refused to
recognize him, though he was created a cardinal in 1890. An
event of great importance to Switzerland was the opening of the
St Gotthard tunnel, which was begun in 1871 and opened in 1882;
by it the Forest cantons seem likely to regain the importance
which was theirs in the early days of the Confederation.
From 1848 onwards the cantons continually revised their
constitutions, always in a democratic sense, though after the
Sonderbund War Schwyz and Zug abolished their " landsgemeinden "
(1848). The chief point was the introduction of the referendum,
by which laws made by the cantonal legislature may (facultative
referendum) or must (obligatory referendum) be submitted to the
people for their approval, and this has obtained such general
acceptance that Fribourg alone does not possess the referendum
in either of its two forms. It was therefore only natural that
attempts should be made to revise the federal constitution of
1848 in a democratic and centralizing sense, for it had been
provided that the Federal Assembly, on its own initiative or on
the written request of 50,000 Swiss electors, could submit the
question of revision to a popular vote. In 1866 the restriction
of certain rights (mentioned above) to Christians only was swept
away; but the attempt at final revision in 1872 was defeated by
a small majority, owing to the efforts of the anti-centralizing
party. Finally, however, another draft was better liked, and on
the r9th of April 1874 the Revised new constitution was accepted
by the people-141 cantons against 71 (those of 1848 without
Tessin, but with Fribourg and Lucerne) and 340,199 votes as
against 198,013. This constitution is still in force, and is
mainly a revised edition of that of 1848, the Federal power
being still further strengthened. Among the more important
novelties three points may be mentioned. A system of free
elementary education was set up, under the superintendence of
the Confederation, but managed by the cantons. A man settling in
another canton was, after a residence of three months only,
given all cantonal and communal rights, save a share in the
common property (an arrangement which as far as possible kept up
the old principle that the " commune " is the true unit out of
which cantons and the Confederation are built), and the
membership of the commune carries with it cantonal and federal
rights. The " Referendum " was introduced in its " facultative "
form; i.e. all federal laws must be submitted to popular vote on
the demand of 30,000 Swiss citizens or of eight cantons. But the
" Initiative " (i.e. the right of compelling the legislature to
consider a certain subject or bill) was not introduced into the
Federal Constitution till 1891 (when it was given to 50,000
Swiss citizens) and then only as to a partial (not a total)
revision of that constitution. By the constitutions of 1848 and
1874 Switzerland has ceased to be a mere union of independent
states jointed by a treaty, and has become a single state with a
well-organized central government, to which have been given
certain of the rights of the independent cantons, but increased
centralization would destroy the whole character of the
Confederation, in which the cantons are not administrative
divisions but living political communities. Swiss history
teaches us, all the way through, that Swiss liberty has been won
by a close union of many small states, and we cannot doubt that
it will be best preserved by the same means, and not by
obliterating all local peculiarities, nowhere so striking and
nowhere so historically important as in Switzerland.
M. Numa Droz (who was for seventeen years-1876 to 1892 - a
member of the Federal executive, and twice, in 1881 and in 1887,
president of the Swiss Confederation) expressed the opinion
shortly before his death in December 1899 (he was born in 1844)
that while the dominant note of Swiss politics from 1848 to 1874
was the establishment of a Federal state, that of the period
extending from 1874 to 1899 (and this is true of a later period)
was the direct rule of the people, as distinguished from
government by elected representatives. Whether this distinction
be just or not, it is certain that this advance towards
democracy in its true sense is due indirectly to the monopoly of
political power in the Federal government enjoyed by the Radical
party from 1848 onwards: many were willing to go with it some
part of the way, but its success in maintaining its close
monopoly has provoked a reaction against it on the part of those
who desire to see the Confederation remain a Confederation, and
not become a strongly centralized state, contrary to its past
history and genius. Hence after 1874 we find that democratic
measures are not advocated as we should expect by the Radicals,
but by all the other political parties with a view of breaking
down this Radical monopoly, for it is a strange fact that the
people elect and retain Radical representatives, though they
reject the measures laid before them for their approval by the
said Radical representatives. For these reasons the struggle
between Federalists and Centralists (the two permanent political
parties in Switzerland), which up to 1874 resulted in favour of
the Centralists, has been turning gradually in favour of the
Federalists, and that because of the adoption of such democratic
institutions as the Referendum and the Initiative.
The general lines on which Swiss politics have run since 1874
may be most conveniently summarized under three headings - the
working of the political machinery, the principal political
events, and then the chief economical and financial features of
the period. But it must be always borne in mind that all the
following remarks relate only to Federal politics, those of the
several cantons being much more intricate, and of course turning
more on purely local differences of opinion.
1. Political Machinery. - The Federal Constitution of 1848 set
up a permanent Federal executive, legislature and tribunal, each
and all quite distinct from and independent of any cantonal
government. This system was a modified revival of the state of
things that had prevailed from 1798 to 1803, and was an
imitation of the political changes that had taken place in the
cantonal constitutions after 1830. Both were victories of the
Centralist or Radical party, and it was therefore but natural
that this party should be called upon to undertake the Federal
government under the new constitution, a supremacy that it has
kept ever since. To the Centralists the Council of States (two
members from each canton, however large or small) has always
been a stumbling-block, and they have mockingly nicknamed it "
the fifth wheel of the coach." In the other house of the Federal
legislature, the National Council (one member per 20,000, or
fraction of over ro,000 of the entire population), the Radicals
have always since its creation in 1848 had a majority. Hence, in
the Congress formed by both houses sitting together, the
Radicals have had it all their own way. This is particularly
important as regards the election of the seven members of the
Federal executive which is made by such a Congress. Now the
Federal executive (Federal Council) is in no sense a cabinet,
i.e. a committee of the party in the majority in the legislature
for the time being. In the Swiss Federal Constitution the
cabinet has no place at all. Each member of the Federal
executive is elected by a separate ballot,;'and holds office for
the fixed term of three years, during which he cannot be turned
out of office, while as yet but a single instance has occurred
of the rejection of a Federal councillor who offered himself for
re-election. Further, none of the members of the Federal
executive can hold a seat in either house of the Federal
legislature, though they may appear and speak (but not vote) -in
either, while the Federal Council as such has not necessarily
any common policy, and never expresses its views on the general
situation (though it does as regards particular legislative and
administrative measures) in anything resembling the " speech
from the Throne " in England. Thus it seems clear that the
Federal executive was intended by the Federal Constitution of
1848 (and in this respect that of 1874 made no change) to be a
standing committee of the legislature as a whole, but not of a
single party in the legislature, or a " cabinet," even though it
had the majority. Yet this rule of a single political party is
just what has taken place. Between 1848 and the end of 1908, 38
Federal councillors were elected (24 from German-speaking, 12
from French-speaking and 2 from Italian-speaking Switzerland,
the canton of Vaud heading the list with 7). Now of these 38
three only were not Radicals, viz. M Paul Ceresole (1870-1875)
of Vaud, who was a Protestant Liberal-Conservative, Herren Josef
Zemp (1891-1908) and Josef Anton Schobinger (elected 1908), both
of Lucerne and Romanist Conservatives, yet the Conservative
minority is a large one, while the Romanists form about
two-fifths of the population of Switzerland. But despite this
predominance of a single party in the Federal Council, no true
cabinet system has come into existence in Switzerland, as
members of the council do not resign even when their personal
policy is condemned by a popular vote, so that the resignation
of Herr Welti (a member of the Federal Council from 1867 to
1891), in consequence of the rejection by the people of his
railway policy, caused the greatest amazement and consternation
in Switzerland.
The chief political parties in the Federal legislature are the
Right, or Conservatives (whether Romanists or Protestants), the
Centre (now often called " Liberals," but rather answering to
the Whigs of English political language, the Left (or Radicals)
and the Extreme Left (or the Socialists of varying shades). In
the Council of States there is always a Federalist majority,
since in this house the smaller cantons are on an equality with
the greater ones, each indifferently having two members. But in
the National Council (167 elected members) there has always
(since 1848) been a considerable Radical majority over all other
parties. The Socialists long worked under the wing of the
Radicals, but now in every canton (save Geneva) the two parties
have quarrelled, the Socialist vote having largely increased,
especially in the town of Zurich. In the country the antiRadical
opposition is made up of the Conservatives, who are strongest in
the Romanist, and especially the Forest, cantons, and of the "
Federalists " of French-speaking Switzerland. There is no doubt
that the people are really anti-Radical, though occasionally led
away by the experiments made recently in the domain of State
socialism: they elect, indeed, a Radical majority, but very
frequently reject the bills laid before them by their elected
representatives.
2. Politics. - The cantons had led the way before 1848, and they
continued to do so after that date, gradually introducing
reforms all of which tended to give the direct rule to the
people. The Confederation was bound to follow this example,
though it adopted a far more leisurely pace. Hence, in 1872 a
new Federal Constitution was drafted, but was rejected on a
popular vote by a small majority, as it was thought to go too
far in a centralizing direction, and so encountered the combined
opposition of the Conservatives and of the Federalists of
Frenchspeaking Switzerland. The last-named party was won over by
means of concessions as to military matters and the proposed
unification of cantonal laws, civil and criminal, and especially
by strong provisions as to religious freedom, since the "
Kulturkampf " was then raging in French-speaking Switzerland.
Hence a revised draft was accepted in 1874 by a considerable
popular majority, and this is the existing Federal Constitution.
But it bears marks of its origin as a compromise, and no one
party has ever been very eager to support it as a whole. At
first all went smoothly, and various very useful laws carrying
out in detail the new provisions of the constitution were
drafted and accepted. But divisions of opinion arose when it was
proposed to reform the military system at a very great
expenditure, and also as to the question of the limitation of
the right to issue bank-notes, while (as will be seen under 3
below) just at this time grave financial difficulties arose with
regard to the Swiss railways, and in consequence of Prince
Bismarck's antifree trade policy, which threatened the
prosperity of Switzerland as an exporting country. Further, the
disturbed political state of the canton of Ticino (or Tessin)
became more or less acute from 1873 onwards. There the Radicals
and the Conservatives are nearly equally balanced. In 1872 the
Conservatives obtained the majority in this canton, and tried to
assure it by some certainly questionable means. The Radicals
repeatedly appealed to the Federal government to obtain its
armed intervention, but in vain. In 1876 the Conservatives at a
rifle match at Stabio fired on the Radicals, but in 1880 the
accused persons were acquitted. The long-desired detachment of
Ticino from the jurisdiction of the foreign dioceses of Como and
Milan was effected in 1888 by the erection of a see at Lugano,
but this event caused the Radicals to fear an increase of
clerical influence. Growing impatient, they finally took matters
in their own hands, and in September 1890 brought about a bloody
revolution. The partial conduct of the Radical Federal
commissioner was much blamed, but after a state trial at Zurich
in 1891 the revolutionists were acquitted, although they loudly
boasted of their share in this use of force in political
matters.
From 1885 onwards Switzerland had some troubles with foreign
powers owing to her defence of the right of asylum for fugitive
German Socialists, despite the threats of Prince Bismarck, who
maintained a secret police in Switzerland, one member of which,
Wohlgemuth, was expelled in 1889, to the prince's huge but
useless indignation. From about 1890, as the above troubles
within and without gradually subsided, the agitation in the
country against the centralizing policy of the Radicals became
more and more strongly marked. By the united exertions of all
the opposition parties, and against the steady resistance of the
Radicals, an amendment was introduced in 1891 into the Federal
Constitution, by which 50,000 Swiss citizens can by the "
Initiative " compel the Federal legislature and executive to
take into consideration some point in the Federal Constitution
which, in the opinion of the petitioners, requires reform, and
to prepare a bill dealing with it which must be submitted to a
popular vote. Great hopes and fears were entertained at the time
as to the working of this new institution, but both have been
falsified, for the Initiative has as yet only succeeded in
inserting (in 1893) in the Federal Constitution a provision by
which the Jewish method of killing animals is forbidden, and
another (in 1908) prohibiting the manufacture or sale of
absinthe in the country. On the other hand, it has failed (in
1894) to secure the adoption of a Socialist scheme by which the
state was bound to provide work for every able-bodied man in the
country, and (also in 1894) to carry a proposal to give to the
cantons a bonus of two francs per head of the population out of
the rapidly growing returns of the customs duties, similarly in
1900 an attempt to introduce the election of the Federal
executive by a popular vote and proportional representation in
the Nationalrat failed, as in 1903 did a proposal to make the
elections to the Nationalrat depend on the Swiss population
only, instead of the total population of the country.
The great rise in the productiveness of the customs duties (see
3 below) has tempted the Swiss people of late years to embark on
a course of state socialism, which may be also described as a
series of measures tending to give more and more power to the
central Federal government at the expense of the cantons. So in
1890 the principle of compulsory universal insurance against
sickness and accidents was accepted by a popular vote, in 1891
likewise that of a state or Federal bank, and in 1898 that of
the unification of the cantonal laws, civil and criminal, into a
set of Federal codes. In each case the Federal government and
legislature were charged with the preparation of laws carrying
out in detail these general principles. But in 1897 their
proposals as to a Federal bank were rejected by the people,
though another draft was accepted in 1905, so that the bank
(with a monopoly of note issue, a provision accepted by a
popular vote in 1891) was actually opened in 1907. At the
beginning of 1900 the suspicion felt as to the insurance
proposals elaborated by the Federal authorities was so keen that
a popular demand for a popular vote was signed by 117,000 Swiss
citizens, the legal minimum being only 30,000: they were
rejected (May 20, 1900) on a popular vote by a nearly two to one
majority. The preparation of the Federal civil and criminal
codes has progressed quietly, drafts being framed by experts and
then submitted for criticism to special commissions and public
opinion, but finally the civil code was adopted by the Federal
Assembly in December 1907. By a popular vote in 1887 the Federal
authorities were given a monopoly of alcohol, but a proposal to
deal similarly with tobacco has been very ill received (though
such a monopoly would undoubtedly produce a large amount), and
would pretty certainly be refused by the people if a popular
vote were ever taken upon it. In 1895 the people declined to
sanction a state monopoly of matches, even though the unhealthy
nature of the works was strongly urged, and have also resolutely
refused on several occasions to accept any projects for the
centralizing of the various branches of military administration,
&c., though in 1897 the forests high up on the mountains were
placed under Federal supervision, while in 190z large Federal
grants in aid were made to the cantons towards the expenses of
primary education, and in 1908 the supervision of the employment
of the power derived from rivers and streams was given to the
Confederation. Among other reforms which have recently been much
discussed in Switzerland are the introduction of the obligatory
referendum (which hitherto has applied only to amendments to the
Federal Constitution) and the extension of the initiative (now
limited to piecemeal revision of the Federal Constitution) to
all Federal laws, &c. The first-named scheme is an attempt to
restrain important centralizing measures from being presented as
laws (and as such exempt from the compulsory referendum), and
not as amendments to the Federal Constitution.
Besides the insurance project mentioned above, two great
political questions have engaged the attention of the Swiss.
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