The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1872-04-14

A writer in the Liverpool Journal com
piles the following interesting account o.
the social and political institutions of the
Swiss from Mr.. Hepworth Dixon's book:
!, How foreign these are to our English
form Of life may be judged from a state
mene Of them placed, for dramatic pro-
Riisty, in the mouth of an engineer from
Berne. "Just note," he is made to say,
chow far We are race apart; We have no
Kings, no subjects; every man is free. We
nave no noble class, no pauper class, no
standing army, no official church. We
nave no language of our own. We have
no man among us owns the best part of .
Canton, as Russian prince the best part
OF province and III E"glist duke the best
part OF shire. Nine ,n~u in ten are owners
OF the coil they gruze and plOw." The
| Government Of Switzerland, as known to
foreign nations, is the Federal Assembly,
seated at Berne. There meet the two Houses
OF which 1t Is composed - the National
council: whose number varies according to
population, one member being chosen for
every $1,000 souls; and the Council of
states, whose number is fixed at forty four,
each Canton sending two members, and
each ha'i Canton one member, to the Board.
apart, eacl, of these sections of the Assem-
Oily has power defined by law together,
they are sovereign and their acts beyond
appeal. In union they elect the Federal
President, whose term of Office is one
year only, the Federal Council, the Fed
eral Chancellor, the Federal Repre-
sentatives, and the Federal General.
The Federal Constitution can be revised at
any time, and if one branch of the Assem-
ply propose revision which the other
branch refuses, the question must be put
to popular VOTE. Such o Constitution as
this is Democratic enough in the popular
sense and of course it is with Federal
Switzerland that foreign Governments have
to deal. But to the native Swiss, Govern.
I mene Is represented in another form. For
him the political unit is the Commune, and
here Democracy is so very much like DIES
potism that, but for the name of the thing,
there can be little choice between the two.
The ell.being of the people is the supreme
Law! law but it is for the people, as a whole, that
gard for individuals, Each Commune or
parish is small Republic, having its as
sembly, composed of all the members of
the Commune. These elect the Mayor and
Council, who serve two years at least, and
may be kept in Office six. They are the
like fathers of an old type than those fami-
liar to the present generation. If their
power Ia great, their duties seem to be |
multifarious. They have entire charge of
the estates of the Commune; they guard
the fields from torrents and the sheds from
|
away such persons as taey find improbable
members of their guild. Accordingly. no
pauper class is allowed to grow up. If a
man be idle or fool, he must go. His fare
is paid to Paris or New York, and the Com
mune thinks itself we'll rid Of him. A nan
OF any craft or creed may claim to have his
part In the Commune he inhabits; but be-
fore his claim be granted he has to produce
proofs OF nationality, good conduct, ability
to support himself and his belongings, and
foe
he seeks. But this is not all. The pater-
nal governors may not like his looks or his
religious faith. A dwarf, cretin or
cripple would be turned adrft by any Com
munai Mayor without word. In Neuf-
chatel and Yaud Jew, in Appenzell-inuer- /!
Rhoden Lutheran, would have no chance. i
AS Commune is in part guild with COM !
mon property in trust, in part q copgreoa- l
ton with common faith in charge, the re- Z
iigious question sometimes weighs more 9
than any thought Of worldly goods. 1t ID, y
OF course, in its former capacity that the II
Commune imposes a fine upon marriage. !,
married couple may have children who y
VIII have mouths that may need to be fed G
oy the Commune, and it is therefore reason q
aoie that the increased responsibility should Y
10 PROVIDED for. This business of marriage -
g, indeed, serious one. In many cantops 81
man can only marry on the license of his y
Mayor, who may decline to grant it on
many grounds. The man NAV be too D.
,,oung or too old; he may be cripple u
he girl he seeks may not be of his Canton; Ct
lis character may be dubious; almost any =,
eason will suffice for refusing to add to N =!
ne prospective expenses of the Commune. ri
'hus individual liberty is carefully subordi. pr
ated to the material well being of the 81
hole Parish-as interpreted by the wisdom IN ~
the Mayor and Council. A Swiss Com M
une, indeed, realizes the idea of an Eng- hi
sh trades union. Another Distinguishing pc
art of Swiss life is the place occupied by &c &c
10 school. ga Swiss child" says Mr.. OF
ixon, "dreams of school as urchins in an m
ngIish city dream of work. He knows it WI
his fate in life. He sees his brother and oG
8 sister go to school, he sees them bring WI WI
cir lessons home, he sees them rise at s '
'Wn to learn their tasks. If he is stout 1 1o
limb and clear of sight his time will o ou
me, and he must also troop to school. as as
/ coming to n certain age-in some the vi vi
Q of six, in some of seven-his right to o we
~ at home and play at top ard make Sn
i'd pies will cease. He is a member of ml
. commune, and the Commune will not a De
fer him to live and die like pig. The scl
wi inn md MI Ii,