Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 22.djvu/830

 794 SWITZERLAND [HISTOKY. 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 100,000 (viz., Bern, Zurich, Vaud, St Gall, Graubiinden, 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 Freiburg, Bern, Solothurn, Basel, Zurich, and Lucerne, the Government of each of these cantons becoming, by virtue of the presence of the diet, the executive of the Confederation, its chief magistrate being named the "landamman of Switzerland." The "lands- gemeinden," or popular assemblies, were restored in the democratic cantons, the cantonal governments in other cases being in the hands of a "great council" (legisla- tive) 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 becoming 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. 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. The pact For ten years Switzerland enjoyed peace and prosperity of 1815. under the new constitution. Pestalozzi and Fellenberg worked out their educational theories ; K. Escher of Zurich embanked the Linth,andwas thence called "von derLinth"; 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 Wallis was made into the department of the Sim- plon, 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 (1812-13), the position of Switzerland became endangered. Despite the personal wishes of the czar (a pupil of La Harpe'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 Kussian troops, crossed the frontier on December 21, 1813, and a few days later 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"), but party strife was so bitter that many questions had to be referred to the congress sitting at Vienna. The congress decided (March 20, 1815) that Wallis, 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), and as compensation gave Bern the town of Bienne (Biel) and all (save a small bit which went to Basel) of the territories of the prince-bishop of Basel (" the Bernese Jura ") ; but the Valtelline was granted to Austria, and Miihlhausen was not freed from France. The diet accepted this decision, and on August 7, 1815, the new constitution was sworn to by all the cantons save Nidwald, the consent of which was only obtained by armed force, a delay for which she paid by seeing Engel- berg and the valley above (acquired by Nidwald in 1798) given to Obwald. By the new constitution the sove- reign 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 November 20, 1815, placed Switzerland and parts of North Savoy (Chablais, Faucigny, and part of the Gene- vois) under the guarantee of the great powers, who engaged to maintain their neutrality, thus freeing Swit- zerland 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. V. The cities at once secured for themselves in the Attempts cantonal great councils an overwhelming representation at reform, over the neighbouring country districts, and the agreement of 1805 as to migration from one canton to another was renewed 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 (December 27) that it would not interfere with any reforms of cantonal con- stitutions 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.y., Geneva, Graubiinden). 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, Solothurn, St Gall, Aargau, and Thurgau joined together to guarantee their new free constitutions (Siebener Concordat of March 17, 1832). Soon after, the 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 (November 14), the three Forest cantons, with Neuchatel, the city of Basel, and Wallis, 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