SWITZERLAND.

Switzerland is situate in western Europe, having France on the west, Germany on the north, Austria on the east and south-east, and Savoy and Piedmont on the south-west. This country was anciently called Helvetia, from its first known inhabitants: its more modem name is supposed to be derived from the canton of Schwytz, the cradle of Swiss independence. Little is known of the inhabitants of Switzerland till about one hundred years before Christ, when the Cimbri, a race of barbarians inhabiting the northern regions now known as Friesland and Sweden, crossed the Rhine and extended their conquests into Gaul. Several of the Helvetian tribes, tempted by the immense spoils gained by the Cimbri, entered into an alliance with them, and carried their united ravages nearly to the mouths of the Rhone. In this extremity the Gauls applied for assistance to the Romans, who speedily sent a powerful army to their assistance, under the command of the consul Lucius Cassius. This force, however, was suddenly attacked on the banks of the lake of Geneva, by the Tigurini, a tribe of the Helvetii, led by a young general named Divico The Romans were totally defeated, the consul and his lieutenant Piso left dead on the field, and the survivors only permitted to retreat after they had given hostages and marched under the yoke. Emboldened by this success, Divicorejoined the Cimbri, and with their united forces crossed the Alps and entered Italy itself, where, however, they were defeated by Marius with tremendous slaughter, and the few who escaped sought refuge among the fastnesses of the Helvetian mountains.

For nearly half a century after this decisive defeat, the Helvetii confined themselves to their own country. But the recollection of the rich pastures and fertile plains of Gaul outlived the terror of the Roman arms, and made them resolve once more to quit their rocky fastnesses. After spending three years in preparation, they set out with their wives and families, cattle and possessions, led by the same Divicowho had commanded their fathers fifty years before. The number who marched out on this expedition is computed at 368,000 souls, of whom 92,000 were ablebodied warriors.

The Roman province of Gaul was at that time under the government of Julius Caesar, and that consummate general no sooner heard of the emigration of the Helvetians than he took effectual measures to defeat their plans. After some abortive attempts at negociation, he attacked and defeated them in two engagements with tremendous slaughter. Their strength and spirit were completely broken, and, overwhelmed with shame and grief, their numbers reduced to scarcely 110,000, they returned to their desolated country and rebuilt their ruined habitations. In order to watch and overawe them, Caesar erected a fortress at Noviodunum (Nyon), on the banks of the lake of Geneva, and established several other garrisons in different parts of the country.

The Helvetii were at first the allies of the Roman people, but in the reign of Augustus they were reduced to complete subjection, and their country remained in the condition of a Roman province for upwards of three centuries, and underwent various reverses of fortune, according to the prosperous or adverse fortune of the empire to which it was subject. When the innumerable swarms of barbarians issuing from the unknown regions of the north and east overran Italy and destroyed the Roman empire, Switzerland also became their prey. The Goths established themselves in that portion of the country which bordered on Italy; the Burgundians fixed their residence on both sides of the Jura, on the lake of Geneva, and in the lower Valais, as far as the Aar; and the Allemanni took possession of the country to the eastward of that country, and of great part of Germany.

After this state of affairs had continued about a century, a new swarm of adventurers obtained the ascendency. These were the Franks, another German race, who, after traversing the Netherlands, gained possession of the whole of Gaul, and pouring their resistless myriads into Switzerland, forcibly dispossessed the inhabitants, and at length, after various changes, succeeded in obtaining exclusive dominion over the whole of Rhaetia and Helvetia. Rhaetia and the country between the lake of Constance and the Rhine, the Aar and St Gothard, in which German was the current language, were united to Suabia, while Geneva, the Valais, Neuchâtel, and the present country of Berne, Soleure, Freyburg, and Vaud, the districts in which Romance was the prevailing language, were united to Savoy, under the denomination of Little Burgundy. The Franks introduced into Helvetia the feudal system and other peculiar institutions and laws of the Germanic tribes. To them also the inhabitants were indebted for the blessings of the Christian religion, which contributed powerfully to the progress of civilization, and the revival of the country from its waste and desolate state. Switzerland remained subject to the Franks till after the death of Charlemagne, when, in consequence of the feuds of that monarch’s successors, the vast empire which he had founded was entirely dismembered, and Switzerland was portioned out among France, Italy, and Germany. But this arrangement was of short duration, for the disorders and confusion produced by the continued wars enabled the provincial governors to throw off all allegiance to their feudal superiors, or to secure real independence while yielding nominal obedience. Switzerland was thus divided into a great number of petty states, generally engaged in hostilities with each other, and seldom uniting among themselves unless when menaced by some great and common danger. Such a case presented itself in the reign[7:21:43] of the emperor Henry I. surnamed the Fowler. An immense horde of barbarians, known by the name of Hungarians, issued from the east and the shores of the Black Sea, and overran Italy and Germany, burning and destroying wherever they came. In order to protect the inhabitants from the fury of these ruthless invaders, Henry built walls around a number of defensible places, to which all, in case of need, might fly for the security of their lives and property. In this manner Zurich, St Gall, Basel, and various other places, rose from petty hamlets to towns of considerable strength and numerous population. About the same period the bailifs of the emperor built and fortified Berne, Freyburg, and various other towns. A ninth of the free and nobler class of inhabitants were required to occupy these national fortresses, and they received the same political organization and rights as the more ancient cities of Germany. This was the first foundation of the class of burghers, who in process of time came to be a third estate in the kingdom. In proportion as the wealth and importance of the towns augmented, the citizens were eager to extend their rights and privileges. They availed themselves of every opportunity to purchase their emancipation from the feudal dominion of the bishops, abbots, and monasteries, to whose authority they had long been subjected; and in a short time the burghers were able to bid defiance to the nobles, and even to balance the political weight of the clergy.

The affairs of Switzerland continued in this state without any material alteration until the year 1290, when Rudolp of Hapsburg, whose castle was situated in the canton of the Aar, and who, besides possessing manorial rights and great influence in Schwytz, had held the office of imperial bailif of several towns, was elected emperor of Germany. This prince, though inhabiting a distant country, continued throughout his life to be strongly attached to Switzerland. He conferred new honours on its nobles, and granted additional privileges to its towns, or confirmed those which they already enjoyed. Rudolp was succeeded by his son Albert, whose ambition and rapacity soon alienated the affections of both his German and his Swiss subjects. Two of the imperial bailifs, Herman Gessler and Berin-guer of Landenberg, who were appointed over the Waldstatten (the three cantons of Schwytz, Unterwalden, and Uri), subjected the inhabitants to every species of insolence and oppression. Gessler, in particular, was guilty of so many acts of wanton cruelty that he was at length put to death by the famous William Tell, w ho thus paved the way for the deliverance of his countrymen. Three patriots, whose names are still revered throughout the republic, Werner from the canton of Schwytz, Walter Hurst from Uri, and Arnold from Unterwalden, formed a conspiracy against the Austrian governors; and their measures were concerted with such wisdom, and executed with so much courage and intrepidity, that they obtained possession of every fortress of any considerable strength or importance. The three cantons formerly mentioned having thus achieved their independence, held a meeting on the 7th of January 1315, and laid the foundation of the Swiss confederation. Shortly after this revolt of the forest cantons, the emperor Albert was murdered by his nephew and some other nobles; but his son Duke Leopold marched against the cantons with a powerful army. The Schwytzers waited his arrival at Morgarten, on the slope of the mountain Sattel, and, notwithstanding the disparity of their forces, routed the Austrians with great slaughter; and it was with no small difficulty that the duke himself escaped, leaving most of his officers and an immense number of his soldiers dead upon the field.

In 1332 the inhabitants of Lucerne formed a perpetual league with the Waldstatten; and in 1351 the citizens of Zürich, having thrown off the yoke of the aristocracy, joined the Swiss republic, and on account of the power and wealth of the town it was promoted to the chief rank. Zug joined the confederation in 1352, and Berne in the following year. To the latter, in consideration of its importance, was assigned the second place of precedence.

Duke Leopold III. of Austria viewed the extending confederation with jealousy and alarm, and various quarrels having taken place between him and the cantons, hostilities were at length commenced. The duke, with a numerous force, chiefly composed of cavalry, marched rapidly towards the interior of the country, and on the 9th of July 1386 encountered the Swiss in the neighbourhood of Sempech. The battle was long and fiercely contested, but at length the Swiss patriots gained a complete victory; the duke himself was slain, and more than 600 of the higher and lower nobility, with about 2000 of their less distinguished adherents, were left dead on the field.

Two years after the battle of Sempech, the Austrians stormed Naefels, a small town in the canton of Glaris. The garrison retreated from the town as far as Mount Rute, where they took up a strong position, and awaited the approach of the enemy. The Austrians maintained the fight for some time with great ardour, but were in the end overthrown and put to flight. The bridge of Weser was broken down by the weight of the fugitives, and above 3000 common soldiers, and 183 knights, were slain in the battle, or drowned in the lake and in the river. These defeats induced Duke Leopold IV. to enter into a truce with the cantons for seven years, during which the Swiss contrived by various means to extend their territory and to increase their power.

With the exception of the disputes which took place between the people of the canton Appenzell, and of the Valais and Rhaetian Alps, with their lords, and of the civil war which arose between Zürich and Schwytz relative to the right to some lands, no event of much importance occurred in the history of Switzerland till the year 1474, when Louis XI. of France induced the Swiss to make a diversion in his favour, by falling on the territory of Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, who had advanced to the very walls of Paris, and threatened Louis with the loss of his throne. This unprovoked attack induced the duke to offer terms of peace to the king of France, and the emperor of Germany, with whom he was at the same time at war; and these monarchs accepted his offer, leaving their late allies to meet his whole vengeance as they best might. Peace was no sooner concluded, than Charles determined to inflict condign punishment on them for their unjustifiable aggression, and in the spring of 1476 crossed the Jura with an army of sixty thousand men. He encountered the army of the confederates near the town of Grandson, and after a desperate conflict was totally defeated with the loss of a thousand men. His camp, with an immense booty, fell into the hands of the Swiss. A few months after, he was defeated, with prodigious slaughter, in a second action, near the little town of Morat; and two years later, when the duke was slain in the battle of Nancy, the Burgundians paid the confederates the sum of 150,000 florins to make peace with them.

These repeated victories procured for the Swiss the reputation of being the best soldiers in Europe; and a considerable number of them were hired to fight the battles of foreigners. The sudden wealth acquired by plunder and pensions excited its possessors to profusion and extravagance; their morals became corrupted, and the simple republican spirit almost disappeared. A spirit of cupidity and pride displayed itself among the rulers, and dissipation and love of plunder among the people; and the Swiss became notorious throughout Europe as the hirelings of any potentate who had battles to fight and gold to squander. Domestic troubles and feuds generally prevailed; the peace and security of the country were disturbed to such a degree by an armed and desperate banditti of disbanded soldiers and idle vagabonds, that in 1480, during the short[7:21:44] space of three months, nearly 1500 assassins and robbers were condemned to death.

The confederates had been faithfully supported in their wars by the towns of Freyburg and Soleure, and in 1481 these requested to be admitted into the confederation. Their request was warmly supported by the town cantons; but the mountaineers of the forest cantons objected to it, and the dispute ran so high, that at a general congress of all the confederates, the deputies were at the point of coming to blows, and the confederation was threatened with dissolution. This catastrophe was happily averted by the eloquent remonstrances of a pious hermit, called Nicholas Laven-brugen. His simple but pathetic appeal had the effect of removing their differences, and Soleure and Freyburg were received into the Swiss confederation.

In the year 1497, the Grisons entered into a treaty offensive and defensive with the confederate cantons. This alliance gave great offence to the emperor Maximilian, who immediately collected his troops, and marched both against the Grisons and their Swiss allies. Battle after battle took place, in all of which the Austrians were defeated; and the emperor having lost 20,000 of his troops in eight months, and finding further exertions useless, concluded a peace with the Swiss at Basel in September 1499, by which he acknowledged their unconditional independence as a nation. This war, called the Suabian war, was the last the Swiss had to sustain for their independence. For three centuries after this date no farther attempts were made against the liberties of the Swiss cantons, which assumed their station as an independent power in Europe. The towns of Basel and Schaffhausen were received into the confederation in 1501, and Appenzell was added in 1513, and completed the number of thirteen cantons, which have constituted the Helvetic body till within our own times, namely, Zürich; Schwytz, Uri, Unterwalden, the three Waldstatten or forest cantons; Lucerne, Claris, Zug, Berne, Freyburg, Soleure, Basel, Schaffhausen, and Appenzell. Besides these, there were various confederates and associates who were in alliance with the cantons, and entitled to assistance in case of foreign attack. These were the abbot of St Gall, the city of the same name, the towns of Mulhausen and Bienne, the Grisons and the Valais, the republic of Geneva, and the county of Neuchâtel.

Switzerland had scarcely obtained rest from her political wars, when religious disputes arose among the cantons, and converted into fierce enemies those who had lately fought side by side in defence of their liberties. The unscrupulous sale of indulgences by the agents of Pope Leo X. in Germany, Switzerland, and the other countries, led to a searching inquiry into the whole of the papal system, and caused vast multitudes to renounce altogether the authority of the church of Rome. In no country did the doctrines of the Reformation create a greater excitement, or meet with more zealous supporters, than in Switzerland. The inhabitants of Zürich, Berne, Schaffhausen, Basel, St Gall, and the Grisons, as well as of many parts in the neighbourhood of Geneva and Neuchâtel, eagerly adopted the opinions of Calvin and Zuinglius, while the people of the Waldstatten, and of Soleure and Freyburg, being more secluded and ignorant, and more under the control of the priests, continued staunch in their support of the papal authority. Fierce animosities speedily arose between the reformed and the popish cantons, and various sanguinary wars were carried on for many years. During these internal broils, the territory of the confederation was violated and their rights infringed without remonstrance; and such was the divided state of the cantons, that Austria, their ancient enemy, might easily have subdued them, but for the jealousy of the other great powers. To prevent this danger, they, in concluding the treaty of Westphalia in 1648, formally recognised the independence of the Swiss confede ration. But though Switzerland was thus secured against the invasion of any of the greater powers, it continued to be torn by internal dissensions. The arbitrary manner in which the large towns levied taxes upon the people of the country, and of the smaller towns and villages, caused great dissatisfaction, especially in the territories of Berne and Lucerne, and at length the peasantry rose up in rebellion against their rulers; and it was not until after considerable bloodshed that the revolt was quelled, and several of the chiefs who were taken alive were tried, condemned, and executed. Scarcely had this insurrection terminated when religious quarrels again broke out between the Protestants and the Romanists. Till near the close of the seventeenth century, Switzerland was distracted by the dissensions arising from this cause; and in 1703, the whole of the Protestant and of the Catholic cantons were openly arrayed against each other, and a civil war of several years’ duration ensued. The immediate cause of the war was a quarrel between the people of Toggenburg and their superior the abbot of St Gall, who had endeavoured in a fraudulent manner to deprive them of their privileges. Zürich and Berne took part with the people, while the Catholic cantons espoused the cause of the abbot. Several battles were fought, and at length an army of Catholics, 12,000 in number, encountered 8000 Bernois at Villmergen. The conflict lasted six hours, and in the end the Catholics were completely routed, leaving 2000 of their number dead upon the field. A peace was soon after concluded on terms advantageous to the victors.

From this period till towards the close of the eighteenth century, the state of Switzerland underwent no material alteration; and their internal discord paved the way for external aggression, and rendered them an easy prey to the grasping ambition of the French republic,. In 1797, the French government, which had previously interfered in the affairs of Switzerland, manifested a determination to take possession of that country, and evidently sought for a pretence to come to an open rupture. The Swiss government placed their only hope in a passive neutrality, which in the end proved their ruin. For the sake of peace they submitted with the utmost servility to the imperious and insulting demands of the directory; but their humiliation did not save them from destruction. The emissaries of France laboured but too successfully to incite dissensions among the people, and the French rulers made these dissensions a pretext for their interference with the constitution of the country. In this way the bailiwicks of Valtelina, Chiavenna, and Bormio, which had been for centuries dependent on the Grisons, were incorporated with the Cisalpine republic. Insurrections broke out in several of the cantons, and were rendered triumphant by the assistance of the French arms. The inhabitants of Berne, Soleure, Freyburg, and especially of the Waldstatten, made a brave but ineffectual stand in defence of their rights and liberties. The most horrible excesses were committed by the French soldiers; the towns were successively rifled of their public property, and great part of the country was laid waste, and many of the inhabitants reduced to utter destitution. A new constitution was framed by the French directory, which provided that Switzerland should form a single republic, one and indivisible, under a central government to be established at Aarau. The country was divided into twenty-two cantons, and the supreme authority was committed to two councils and an executive directory, in whom was vested the appointment of prefects and other authorities for the various cantons, which were thus transformed into departments, with the loss of their independence as separate states. After this new constitution was established, a treaty was made with France, by one of the articles of which the Swiss republic was bound to furnish to its new ally a force of 18,000 men; and thus all the miseries of the conscription[7:21:45] were made familiar to the Swiss, as they had previously been to the French population. Great miseries were suffered by the people, from the excesses of every kind committed by the French troops, and their heavy requisitions and exactions. The small canton of Unterwalden refused to swear fidelity to the new constitution of the Helvetic republic, but after a desperate struggle it was subdued; the inhabitants were massacred without distinction of sex or age; and that district, once peaceful and happy, was left a scene of horrible desolation. During the campaign of 1799, Switzerland was the theatre of the struggle between the great powers of Austria, Russia, and France. The mountain cantons were in consequence utterly ruined, a considerable part of the country rendered uncultivated, and the population reduced to little short of actual starvation. The Helvetic directory was suppressed in 1800, and an executive commission substituted in its room; and about seven months after, this commission dissolved the councils and convoked a new legislature. A general diet was called in September 1801, for the purpose of re-organizing the constitution of the country. Meanwhile the treaty which was signed at Luneville between France and Austria, guaranteed the independence of the Helvetic republic, and the French troops were consequently ordered to evacuate Switzerland. Their departure was the signal for a general revolt. All the old factions were awakened afresh. The Pays de Vaud formed itself into a single republic; Uri, Schwytz, and Unterwalden took up arms against the Helvetian government; and the towns of Zürich, Basel, and Schaffhausen renounced their allegiance. A civil war appeared inevitable, when Napoleon Bonaparte offered himself as arbitrator between the contending parties, and ordered Marshal Ney to advance with a body of troops to the frontiers of Switzerland to enforce compliance with his mandates. The existing government was dissolved, a provisional government established, and deputies from all the cantons were ordered to assemble at Paris to deliberate upon a constitution for their country. Several months were spent in debates; and Napoleon, after he had heard and reflected on their representations, promulgated an act of mediation, which appears to have been drawn up with a view of reconciling opposite factions, and of fairly meeting various interests. It restored the old federative system, but introduced very considerable improvements. The act of mediation was promulgated 19th February 1803; and the Helvetic general government having been dissolved, and the new constitution put in force, the French troops finally evacuated the country.

From that time till 1814 Switzerland enjoyed internal peace; and during the gigantic wars which at that momentous period raged throughout Europe, this country rested in security amid the din of battles and the crash of falling empires, and made rapid progress in the arts of industry, and in the career of intellectual and social improvement. On the downfall of Napoleon the act of mediation was dissolved. The integrity of the country was guaranteed by the congress of Vienna in 1815. The territories formerly dependent on the bishop of Basel, which had been annexed to France, together with Valais, Neuchâtel, and Geneva, were ceded to it as new cantons, and a constitution, based on the act of mediation, was framed for the whole cantons, now amounting to twenty-two. On the 7th of August 1815 the federal compact was finally signed by all the deputies in the diet assembled at Zürich. The deputies then repaired in procession to the cathedral, where they bound themselves by a solemn oath, and in the name of their constituents, to the faithful observance of its enactments.

During the fifteen years which elapsed from 1815 to 1830, Switzerland enjoyed profound tranquillity. The general condition of the country was prosperous, and education was improved in several districts; but the civil and criminal laws remained in a defective state; the press was under a strict censorship, and various anomalies existed in the institutions of many of the cantons. Petitions were from time to time presented for the revision of the constitution of 1814, but were everywhere rejected by the councils. The first alteration of this state of things took place in the canton of Ticino in May and June 1830, and the example was speedily followed by all the other representative cantons of Switzerland. The new constitution established equality of political rights among all the citizens of the state; the direct system of electing all the members of the legislature, the elections to take place every four years; separation of the three powers, legislative, executive, and judicial; publicity of debates; liberty of the press, subject to fixed laws against libels; inviolability of person and property, and the right of petition. No tax can be imposed unless it is sanctioned by a majority of two thirds in the great council. The present constitution cannot be modified until twelve years shall have elapsed from its enactment, and then any alterations proposed in it must be submitted to the approval of the primary assemblies of the people. These alterations in their constitution were peaceably adopted by the most of the cantons; but in some of them popular tumults arose, which however were speedily suppressed by the firmness and prudence of the diet.

In 1834 the tranquility of Switzerland was endangered by a considerable body of Polish, German, and Italian refugees, who had taken up their residence in Switzerland. In the month of January, some hundreds of these refugees made a sudden attack on the dominions of the king of Sardinia, in expectation of combined attacks and insurrections in other parts of the Sardinian monarchy. The Sardinian government made strong remonstrances to the confederation concerning this violation of the neutrality of the Swiss territory; and the courts of Austria, Prussia, and other German states, whose territories border on Switzerland, joined in these remonstrances. After some negociations, the matter was brought to an amicable termination by the Swiss governments promising in future to send away from their territory all those who should attempt to disturb the tranquillity of the states.

An attempt was made in the diet of 1832, and again in that of 1834, to procure a revision of the federal pact, but it terminated without any result. The last eight years have been years of severe trial for Switzerland, but she has safely passed through them, and has succeeded in maintaining both lier internal tranquillity and her external independence.

Switzerland lies between 45° 50' and 47° 40' north latitude, and 6° and 10° 30' east longitude. Its extent from east to west is about 210 miles, and from north to south about 130 miles. Its area is estimated to contain about 11,000 square geographical miles. Switzerland forms part of the high land of central Europe. It rises above the plains of Lombardy on the south, and the plains of Dijon or Burgundy on the west. On the east it is connected by the Alps with the high lands of Tyrol and Bavaria, and on the north it adjoins the elevated plain of Suabia; from which it is separated only by the bed of the Rhine. It is bounded by mountains on the west, south-west, and east, but is open to the north on the side of Germany. The lower parts of Switzerland are generally more than 1200 feet above the level of the sea, and nearly 1000 feet higher than the plains of Lombardy, but the greater part of the surface is much higher. In point of romantic and picturesque scenery, Switzerland is reckoned the finest country in Europe. It is a singular assemblage of high mountains, deep valleys, rivers, and lakes. Two distinct ranges of mountains traverse Switzerland; the chain of the Jura, which stretches from south-west to north-east, and is about 240 or 250 miles in length, and from thirty-five to forty in breadth; and the chain of the Alps, which is much more extensive, and covers the greater part of the country with its [7:21:46] numerous branches. The former occupies the western part of Switzerland, stretching from near the western extremity of the lake of Geneva along the boundary between France and the Pays de Vaud, and then enters the canton of Neuchâtel, which it almost entirely covers, as well as the north-west part of Berne and the greater part of Soleure and Basel, and the north-west part of Aargau. The range of the Jura is divided from the mountains of the Black Forest by the vale of the Rhine; and its eastern boundary is marked by the lakes of Neuchâtel and Bienne, and the valley of the Lower Aar from the confluence of the Thicle to the junction of the Aar with the Rhine. The Jura consists of several parallel ridges, of which the most eastern is generally the highest. It is precipitous and abrupt towards Switzerland, but becomes gradually lower on the side of France. It does not attain above one third of the height of the Alps, its principal summit in Switzerland being from 5500 to 5300 feet high, but in proportion to its height it is colder than the region of the Alps. The valleys formed by the Jura run parallel with the direction of the chain, are narrow and short, and some of them very elevated and cold. The Jura is principally formed by calcareous rocks of a grayish ash or bluish colour, and in some places mixed with marble.

The great chain of the Alps forms the highest part of the continent. The main ridge, called the Pennine Alps, forms the boundary between Switzerland and Italy, and separates the basin of the Upper Rhone on the north from that of the Po on the south. To the south of Mont Blanc the Alps consist of a single chain, with many lateral projections or spurs, chiefly on the west side. Eastward they are divided into two great ranges, which enclose the valley of the Upper Rhone, and meet at Mount St Gothard, which may be regarded as the centre of the Alpine system of Switzcrland. Four ranges diverge from this point; the Bernese Alps to the west; the Alps of Glaris; and the northern Grisons to the north-east; the south-east branch, which forms the southern boundary of the Grisons on the side of Italy; and the south-west branch, which connects the St Gothard with the Pennine Alps. Between these ranges there are four large valleys, those of the Rhone, the Reuss, the Upper Rhine, and the Ticino. To the north-east of the group of St Gothard is the country of the Grisons, the whole surface of which is studded with elevated ridges and peaks. In this Alpine region there are not less than sixty deep valleys. The mean breadth of the highest portion of the Alps does not exceed 100 miles, but it widens considerably as they proceed eastward. (For an account of these mountain masses, their geology, climate, and natural history, see Alps.)

North of the Alpine region and east of the Jura lies the table-land of Switzerland, which is the finest and most productive of the whole. It slopes from south to north, from the foot of the Alps to the Rhine and the lake of Constance, and includes the cantons of Vaud and Freyburg, the greater part of Berne, Lucerne, and Aargau, the whole of Zürich, Zug, Thurgau, and part of St Gall. The elevation of the table-land varies from 1200 to 1800 feet above the sea. Its surface is furrowed by numerous valleys, which generally run from south-east to north-west. Each of these valleys is divided by its river, and various ranges of wooded hills follow the course of the streams.

The Rhine, the chief river of Switzerland, is formed by the streams which rise in the Alps of the Grisons, and receive the waters of all the glaciers of that lofty region. After leaving the country of the Grisons, it receives on its left bank the Tamina from the canton of St Gall, and on its right bank the Ill from the Austrian territory. It then flows through or rather forms the lakes of Constance and Untersee. On issuing from the latter, at the town of Stein, it flows in a general west direction, but by a tortuous course, as far as Basel, forming the natural boundary of Switzer land on the north side for a direct distance of about seventy miles. By means of the Thur, the Aar, and the Birs, it receives the waters of three fourths of Switzerland. At Basel the Rhine is about 500 feet broad; here it turns to the north, and soon after leaves the Swiss territory. The Rhone is formed by different streams from Mount Furca, at the north-eastern extremity of the Valais, at the height of 5500 feet above the sea. Descending rapidly to Oberwald, it proceeds in a south-west direction as far as Martigny, where it turns abruptly to the north-west, and continues in that course to its entrance into lake Leman. It issues out of this lake again at Geneva, below which it receives the Arve from the valley of Chamouny, and quits the Swiss territory near Chanci, the last village of the canton of Geneva. The Inn descends from Mount Bermina. The Adda rises from the base of Mount Gallo, and falls into the lake of Como. The Ticino issues from Mount Gries, and traverses the lake Maggiore in Italy. The Aar flows through the lakes of Brientz and Thun, and forms lofty cataracts before its junction with the Rhine. The Limmat, a rapid stream, which rises in the Alpsof Glaris, flows through the lake of Wallerstadt: after marking the limits between the Schwytz and St Gall it forms the lake of Zürich, and, flowing through part of the cantons of Zürich and Aargau, enters the Aar below the confluence of the Reuss. The Thur rises in the mountains of High Toggenburg, in the canton of St Gall, and enters the Rhine below Rheinau.

The Leman lake, or lake of Geneva, the great reservoir of the Rhone, spreads in the form of a crescent, its northern bank being about fifty-four miles in length, and its southern bank about forty-six. Its breadth near the middle is about nine miles, but it becomes much narrower towards Geneva. The surface of the lake is 1200 feet above the level of the sea. Its greatest depth is about 1800 feet, and its area 340 square miles. It receives several streams, the principal of which are the Dranse from the Alps of Savoy, and the Vevayse and Venoge from the Swiss side. Lake Leman is known to have been frozen over only twice, in a. d . 762 and 805. The lake of Constance, or Boden See, is about forty-five miles long and ten miles wide. Its area is about 290 square miles, and its greatest depth is 1800 feet. One or two steam-boats run upon the lake of Constance. The Waldstatten See, or lake of the four cantons, is about twenty-six miles in length. The southern part of it, called the lake of Uri, is a sheet of deep water, eight miles long and between one and two broad, running from south to north between two ranges of mountains almost perpendicular; a narrow channel unites it with the middle basin, which is about nine miles in length and about two wide. Another narrow strait leads from the middle into the western basin, called the lake of Lucerne, which is the widest and finest of the three. The lake is about 1400 feet above the level of the sea, and its greatest depth is 1000 feet. The country around the Waldstatten See is the cradle of Swiss independence, and is full of recollections of the exploits of its heroes. A steam-boat plies between Lucerne and Fluellen, the port of Altorf. The lake of Zurich, formed by the Limmat, is twenty-four miles long, and from one mile to two miles wide. Its greatest depth is 600 feet, and its surface is about 1300 feet above the level of the sea. A steam-boat plies on this lake between Zürich and Rapperswyl. The lake of Neuchâtel is about twenty-five miles in length, and five miles broad throughout one half of its length. It is about 1400 feet above the sea, and its greatest depth is about 350 feet. A steam-boat plies daily on this lake. Besides these there are several other lakes of considerable dimensions, such as the lake of Wallerstadt, formed by the Limmat, eleven miles in length, and the lakes of Brientz and Thun, both formed by the Aar; the latter thirteen miles long, its greatest depth 800 feet, and more than 1900[7:21:47] feet above the sea. A steam-boat plies on this lake, which is much visited by tourists from Berne. The fish which these lakes contain are pike, trout, salmon, lato, and umber, a very delicate fish, occasionally exported to Paris, and sold at a very high price.

The minerals and metals most abundant in Switzerland are porphyry, marble, and alabaster; iron, lead, zinc, cobalt, and bismuth. Arsenic and antimony are found in veins and in masses, rock-crystals are very common, sulphur is collected in many places, and particles of gold are found in the sands of some rivers, as the Rhine, the Aar, the Adda, and the Reuss; strata of bituminous wood are worked in several valleys, and the inhabitants use it for fuel.

Switzerland contains a greater number of mineral springs than any other country in Europe. The most frequented of these are the springs at Pfeffers and Leuk. The acidulated springs of St Maurice, in the canton of the Grisons, the baths of Gurnigel in Berne, and those at Baden, are also well known.

Switzerland is the central point where three great European races and languages meet, and is not more remarkable for the variety of its physical features, than for the moral and religious diversities of its population. The Deutsch or German Swiss occupy the cantons of Zurich, Lucerne, Uri, Schwytz, Unterwalden, Glaris, Zug, Appenzell, St Gall, Thurgau, Schaffhausen, and Aargau, a great part of Basel and Berne, a considerable portion of Soleure, Freyburg, Valais, and Grisons, some communes of the canton of Vaud, and the commune of Bosco in the canton of Ticino, forming about two thirds of the whole population of Switzerland. The French Swiss occupy the cantons of Neuchâtel and Geneva, nearly the whole of Vaud, part of Freyburg, Soleure, and Valais, and the Jura portions of Basel and Berne, and form about one fifth of the entire population. The Italian Swiss inhabit the canton of Ticino, some valleys of the Grisons, and a few places in the Valais. To these are to be added the Romans or Rhse-tians, who are found in small numbers in the Grisons, the Oberland, towards the sources of the Rhine, and the upper part of the Engardine. Their language more nearly resembles Latin, or ancient Roman, than that of their Italian neighbours.

Before 1798 Switzerland consisted of a confederation of states of three very different kinds: 1. Thirteen cantons; 2. the subjects or vassals of these cantons; and, 3. the allies of these cantons. The federal bond which united the various cantons and their allies was very loose. There was not in Switzerland any permanent sovereign body, or central government, or standing federal magistrate, equally acknowledged by all. No important question could be decided in the general diets, unless it had been previously debated and decided on in the councils of each of the cantons. The cantons were not even allied to all; the three forest cantons alone were allied to every one of the other cantons. The subjects of the Swiss were either subjects of certain particular cantons, or common bailiwicks subject to all the cantons. The whole population of the thirteen cantons at the close of last century was about 1,000,000; that of their subjects was about 250,000; and that of their associates and confederates, and the subjects of these confederates, amounted to nearly half a million more. Altogether the territory belonging to the Helvetic federal body contained a population of about 1,700,000.

Switzerland now forms a confederation of twenty-two cantons, united for the defence of their common liberty and independence, and security against attacks from abroad, as well as for the preservation of order and tranquillity in the interior. They guarantee each other reciprocally their respective territories. For these purposes a contingent of troops is furnished by each canton when required, in the proportion of one to fifty of its population; and a pecuniary quota, for defraying the military and other general expenses of the confederacy, is paid by each canton in proportion to its property and resources. A war-fund is also formed to meet exigencies; and for this purpose a federal duty is levied on foreign goods imported into Switzerland which are not articles of first necessity. The diet fixes the tariff as well as the rates to be paid by each canton. The united federal contingents of all the cantons, which must be disciplined and furnished with clothes and arms, ready to march when required, amount to about 34,000 men, and the reserve, in case of need, to as many more. The general affairs of the confederation are intrusted to a council or diet, composed of deputies from the cantons, who vote according to the instructions of their respective governments. Each canton has only one vote, although it may send more than one deputy to the diet. The diet meets for two successive years by turns, at the capital of each of the directing cantons of Lucerne, Zurich, and Berne, the burgomaster or avoyer of which acts as president for the turn, with the title of Landmann. The diet usually meets on the first Monday of July, at the capital of the directing canton, and has the power of making war and peace, alliances with foreign powers, appointing diplomatic agents, and disposing of the military force. The ordinary sessions of the diet last about five weeks. Before closing its yearly session, it gives its instructions to the directing canton, to which the management of the general affairs is intrusted when the diet is not sitting. The directing canton is assisted in its duties by a federal chancery, consisting of a chancellor and secretary, both appointed by the diet. An extraordinary meeting of the diet may be convoked by the directing canton, whenever urgent circumstances may require it, or simply on the demand of five cantons.

The provisions of the federal pact are liberal and equitable in their spirit. One of them states, that “the enjoyment of political rights can never in future be the exclusive privilege of any one class of citizens in any one canton. Free importation and exportation of provisions, or merchandise, or cattle, shall be allowed from one canton to another without any import or export duties. The property of chapters and convents which exist in several cantons is guaranteed, but at the same time it is liable to the public charges and taxes, like any other private property.” It will be seen by the above statements that the federal government of Switzerland has, properly speaking, no permanent executive, and the diet is merely an assembly of delegates from the various cantons, who decide according to the instructions given by their respective governments. Many attempts have been made to give more influence to a central authority; but the resistance to any system of centralization and unity has been so strong, and the apprehensions of encroachments on the part of any general government upon the sovereign independent authority of the different cantons so widely spread, that all proposals for modifying the federal convention have hitherto failed. The independence of the different cantons has been singularly preserved. Revolutions which have completely changed the constitution and the laws of one district have had little or no influence upon another. The boundary of a canton has bounded the most marked and violent political commotions. Civil war itself has not spread beyond the narrow sphere of local interests. Though in the different cantons the inhabitants enjoy an almost absolute equality of rights and privileges, yet these advantages cease as soon as they pass the narrow local territory to which they belong; and the general character of a Swiss citizen has no immunities spreading over the whole of Switzerland.^[1. Bowring’s Report, p. 5. ][7:21:48] The constitutions of the twenty-two cantons may be ranged into three classes. The first class is that of the pure democracies, consisting of the old mountain cantons, Scliwytz, Uri, Unterwalden, Glaris, Zug, and Appenzell. To these may be added the Grisons and the Valais, which at first were only allies of the Swiss, but are now integral parts of the confederation. The second class of cantons consists of those in which aristocratic privileges had been enjoyed for centuries by the principal town of the canton. These cantons are Zürich, Berne, Freyburg, Soleure, Lucerne, Basel, and Schaffhausen; but their constitutions underwent a thorough change in 1830, and the country districts were then admitted to the enjoyment of equal privileges with the towns. The third class is that of the new cantons formed since 1803, out of the former bailiwicks; namely, Aargau, Thurgau, Vaud, Ticino, and St Gall. The constitutions of these cantons were also rendered more popular in 1830, and framed on the principle of equality of rights among all classes of the citizens. Two cantons have not been enumerated in any of the above classes, Geneva and Neuchâtel. The institutions of the former at one time resembled those of the aristocratic cantons, but they have now been established on a popular basis. The latter is a constitutional monarchy, of which the king of Prussia is prince. In the representative cantons of Berne, Lucerne, Aargau, Ticino, and Geneva, a property qualification is required for members of the legislature.

The different branches of agriculture are well understood in Switzerland. The extent and fertility of the pastures are favourable to the breeding of cattle. The oxen are remarkable for their size; and the cows, particularly the short-horned breed in the valleys of Gruyères, are much prized in different countries. The horses are strong and hardy, but the mule is the most common beast of burden in the mountains. The central and south-eastern cantons are chiefly dependent on their agricultural productions.

The commercial relations of Switzerland are of great importance, and her manufactures have gradually forced their way into all the markets of the world, however remote or seemingly inaccessible. This result is the more remarkable, as Switzerland neither produces the raw material which she manufactures, nor, when manufactured, has she any port of outlet, except on such conditions as her maritime neighbours impose upon her; and yet, in spite of these obstacles, her progress has been almost unexampled in manufacturing prosperity. Capital is rapidly increasing, through the influence of unrestricted industry. Activity is everywhere visible both in the trading and the agricultural districts. Wages are comparatively low in many of the departments of industry, the necessary result of the general cheapness of most of the articles of consumption; a cheapness which again is the cause and consequence of the free egress and ingress of all commodities. The land is for the most part released from tithes and taxes, and the people subject to very trifling fiscal burthens. The great secret of the commercial prosperity of Switzerland is,—industry has been left to itself. Capital has not been diverted by legislative interference from its natural tendencies. The consumer has been allowed to go to the cheapest market, the producer to the dearest; and the present position and prospects of Swiss industry furnish abundant evidence of the wisdom of this policy. The prohibitory system adopted by the surrounding states excited at first some alarm among the manufacturers of Switzerland; but their anxieties on this subject have now ceased, and the narrow policy of their neighbours has only had the effect of forcing the Swiss into a wider and more profitable field, which they have been able successfully to explore to the extent of their capitals and their means of production. Many of the manufacturers, who had formerly been strenuous advocates for heavy custom-house duties on foreign articles, are now convinced by experience that their views were erroneous.

The various forms of government in Switzerland have proved to some extent a cause of embarrassment and difficulty to her national commerce. No prohibition is laid by any of the states on the import, export, or transit of any article; but each canton maintains the right to stipulate the conditions of ingress and egress, and the transport of merchandise is necessarily impeded by the collection of tolls at the different frontiers. Many attempts have been made by the most intelligent merchants to equalize the transit-duty, and to remove the charges and embarrassments of so many local administrations, by some general plan; but as the tolls are one of the main sources of local revenue, the cantons have been unwilling to abandon them for any national and general object.

A very considerable amount of trade is carried on between France and Switzerland, the frontier territory being extensive, the language in those districts identical, and the customs of the adjacent provinces substantially the same. On an average of fourteen years the annual imports into France from Switzerland amount to L.454,345, the annual exports from France to Switzerland to L.1,094,554. The principal articles imported from France are wine, oil, madder, brandy, alcohol, salt, fruit, sugar, coffee, and colonial produce, silk, woollen, and cotton manufactures, and articles of fashion in great variety. There is no duty, except a nominal one, on any of these articles, while France receives from Switzerland some horned cattle and cheese, both of which pay enormous duties; and ribbands, linens, and threads, all subject to large custom-house imposts. There is also a considerable export of watches and jewellery, which is principally in the hands of contraband traders. The unfriendly and hostile tariff of France has naturally produced much discontent in Switzerland, while it is a notorious fact, that the protection afforded to French manufactures, by highly raised or prohibitory tariffs, has not produced its intended results; that no manufacturing industry has suffered such violent shocks, or seen such terrible reverses, as the industry of France.

The Prussian commercial league caused at its origin a considerable alarm, and appeared to menace Switzerland with a serious reduction of exports to Germany. But time and experience have diminished these apprehensions.

The imports from England are cast iron, steel, pewter, tin, fine hard ware, a small quantity of printed cottons, woollen stuffs, tea, pottery, India and China silk, dyeing ingredients, and colonial productions, when they are cheaper in England than in the continental ports of Europe. Switzerland, on the other hand, furnishes very few articles to England; and these principally consist of embroidered muslins, Turkey-red calicoes, and a few printed goods upon the same red ground.

After the peace of 1815, the Swiss merchants, finding themselves precluded, by the prohibitive system, from almost the whole of the European markets, directed their attention to the United States of America, and gradually extended their relations with the southern parts of that continent. Throughout the whole of that hemisphere, the consumption of their manufactures has increased from year to year. Besides this new market for the sale of their goods, they have made some experiments in the East Indies, and these have now acquired some importance. They have likewise a few consumers in the states of Barbary, Egypt, Illyria, Greece, Turkey, and Persia.

The Swiss cantons which are the most distinguished for their wealth and industry, and for their general prosperity, are Zürich, Basel, Geneva, St Gall, Neuchâtel, Appenzell, and Aargau. The canton of Appenzell has manufactories of muslins, cottons, and silks, and receives a considerable quantity of cotton yarns from England. Neuchâtel exports con-[7:21:49] siderable quantities of wines and cheeses, and has very extensive manufactories of watches and jewellery, lace and printed cottons. Within these few years the making of sparkling wine has been greatly extended. The principal manufactures are watches, printed cottons, and lace. The probable production of printed cottons in Neuchâtel is now about 80,000 pieces per annum, each containing about thirty-two English yards. Watch-making is carried on to an immense and increasing extent in the mountainous districts of this canton, in the French portion of the canton of Berne, and in the town and neighbourhood of Geneva. It has been a source of wealth and comfort to many thousands of the inhabitants, who, in the remote villages of the Jura, have gathered around them a large portion of the enjoyments of life. Switzerland has long furnished the markets of France; and though the names of certain French watchmakers have obtained a European celebrity, yet an examination into this trade has elicited the fact, that not ten watches are made in Paris in the course of a year, the immense consumption of France being furnished from Switzerland, and the Swiss works being only examined and rectified by the French manufacturers. The contraband trade into France was immense, but they are now admitted into that country at six per cent. for gold, and ten per cent. for silver watches; and a considerable quantity pays regularly this moderate duty. The Jura Mountains have been the cradle of the most exquisite productions of the mechanical arts. During the winter, which lasts from six to seven months, the inhabitants are almost imprisoned in their dwellings, and occupy themselves in those works which require the utmost development of skilful ingenuity. Nearly 120,000 watches are produced annually in the elevated regions of Neuchâtel. The largest proportion of these is exported to the United States of America. It is not easy to state the exact number of workmen who are engaged in watchmaking, because nearly the whole of the population are more or less occupied in this branch of industry, which they carry on in their own houses and amidst their own families. The manufactures of Neuchâtel are admitted into Prussia on diminished duties. Watches and such articles pay only one half of the duty stipulated by the tariff.

The main source of the trade in the canton of Thurgau is the manufacture of cotton, flax, and silk, with their various establishments for weaving, printing, and dyeing. The exports are principally wine, fruit, and cider, oats, brandy, linen, cattle, &c. The imports principally consist of iron, iron-wares, and metal manufactures, salt, woollen goods, fine cloths, sugar, coffee, chicoy, madder, drugs, and dye-stuffs, tobacco, wheat, fine cotton yarns, &c.

The canton of Schaffhausen possesses a considerable transit trade, which is facilitated by the navigation of the Rhine. This canton has suffered more than any other from the Prussian commercial league, its principal export being wine, of which the German markets were the main seats of consumption. Nature has blessed this small district with a fertile soil, which places it in the class of the agricultural rather than that of the commercial cantons of Switzerland.

Basel is almost entirely a commercial and manufacturing territory; its industry is principally engaged in the production of ribbands and some silks. The former are exported to the value of about 10,000,000 of French francs. About one half of these goes to the United States, the remainder is sent to Germany, France, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, &c. Since 1814, and particularly within a few years, the progress of Basel has been very great, both as regards the quantity and the quality of its manufactures.

The manufactures of Zurich are of ancient date. The silk manufacture of this town dates as far back as the thirteenth century, and it still forms a very important article in the trade of this canton. The silk manufactures of Zurich consist of florentines, gros de Naples, gros de Berlin, marcelines, taffetas, serges, levantines, silk handkerchiefs, a few shawls, &c. The number of looms at present employed in the silk trade may be reckoned at 10,000; and the total annual produce of the silk manufacture of Zürich has been estimated at L.600,000 sterling. The silk manufacture of Switzerland is constantly increasing, and it is in the town and canton of Zürich that it is most extensively carried on. Great improvements have been made, and are constantly making, in this branch of industry. Zürich also possesses some cotton manufactures. About 800,000 pieces of cotton are manufactured yearly. The imports of Zürich consist mainly of cotton yarns from England, woollen cloths, bark, straw hats, linens, furs, glass, stationery, wheat principally from Suabia, wine from France, Neuchâtel, and Vaud, brandy, fruits, tobacco, fir-wood, cotton and silk, wool and colonial cattle, butter and cheese, minerals, &c.

The principal manufacture of Aargau is cotton in its various branches; the second in importance is that of silk. The exportation of these articles is principally to Italy, Piedmont, the northern states of Germany, Turkey, and North and South America. The principal articles of import are wheat, wine, salt, and leather, iron and other metals, hard ware, tobacco and snuff, hemp and flax, chicoy, oil, raw cotton, cotton twist, fine cotton manufactures from England, woollen cloths, raw silk, spices, drugs, dye-stuffs, dry goods, indigo, &c.

The canton of Geneva, for its small extent of surface, presents a remarkable scene of manufacturing industry. Jewellery, watches, and musical boxes, are three of the most important branches of trade, employing a great number of hands, and imparting the utmost activity to a commerce which conveys these productions to all quarters of the globe. The watchmakers of Great Britain buy largely both in Geneva and Neuchâtel. The average annual export to England is from 8000 to 10,000 watches, and the average price about L.10 sterling. The jewellery sent from Geneva to England represents a value of about L.60,000 per annum. In an article of such small bulk as a watch, it has been found impossible to guard against illicit introduction; the contraband trade is consequently very large, and scarcely a single watch pays the duty of twenty-five per cent. The smuggling is carried on almost wholly by French houses, who reap the profits of the smuggling premium, and who, it appears by the small amount of seizures, really run scarcely any risk. The English consumer pays the gains of the French smuggler, and pays too for that damage, delay, and risk which accompany fraudulent transactions. Of other sorts of merchandise Geneva exports annually about 120,000 quintals. The amount of British manufactures sold in the canton is estimated at about L.200,000 per annum. One half of this is supposed to be consumed in the town and neighbourhood, the other half is smuggled into France.

There are several striking peculiarities in the condition and employments of the labouring classes of Switzerland. There are few weaving factories or buildings in which the labouring weavers are congregated together. Their looms are in their own abodes, which are scattered over the country. They receive from the manufacturer the chain and the woof, and return to him the woven article. Weaving can hardly indeed be called a manufacturing industry; it is a sort of domestic labour, associated with, and often subordinate to, agricultural employment. It is in fact but one of two means of existence, the labouring population being only in part dependent on it. It is very common to find many looms in the cottage of a small farming labourer, the whole of which may be worked by its members when the weather, or the seasons, or other circumstances, withdraw them from the field. In the common apartment of the family of the country people, one or two members of the family may be seen weaving, and carrying on at the same[7:21:50] time their household occupation; sometimes working in their gardens, and contributing in turns their assistance in the cultivation of their fields, and the labour of agriculture in general. The quality and neatness of the articles produced are evidently rendered inferior by this custom; but, on the other hand, it is more economical, and during a slackness of trade the workman who possesses a garden and a little ground suffers less. In almost every part of Switzerland, with the exception of those mountain heights which are incapable of cultivation, agricultural labour affords resources when wages fall or markets are glutted, so that the pressure of want is generally light and temporary.

The working classes in Switzerland are divided into four different sections, viz. manufacturers, weavers, winders, and embroiderers. There are manufacturers of every order and description, from the individual who only manufactures the quantity which himself and his family can weave, up to those who employ a hundred weavers or embroiderers; for the manufacturer who employs embroiderers does not engage in weaving. These manufacturers, who either sell their goods unbleached to the traders at home, or bleached to foreigners, breakfast upon coffee and milk, butter, honey, or green cheese. Their dinner is composed of soup and bouilli, potatoes, or porridge. Their beverage is cider or milk. Many of them sup upon coffee, and they seldom drink wine. This class is in general very economical. They take a great interest in public affairs, and pride themselves particularly upon their probity and honour. They furnish the greatest number of magistrates, and from among them are principally chosen all the parochial authorities.

The weaver, as soon as it is possible for him to do so, purchases a piece of ground, or at least a small house; and very frequently the manufacturer furnishes him with the means. The acquisition of landed property is greatly promoted in Switzerland, by the facility with which money may be borrowed upon mortgage. This class of working proprietors forms the great mass of voters in the popular assemblies.

All the weavers in Switzerland make use of coffee, milk, oatmeal, and potatoes, which compose their principal food. They work from thirteen to fourteen hours a day. They earn from 1s. 10d. to 9s. 2d. a week; but the greatest number only earn from 3s. 8d. to 5s. per week. The winders, many of whom are old people of both sexes, earn from 1d. to 3d. sterling a day. The embroiderers, who are generally women or young lads, earn on an average about 6½d. a day. In Neuchâtel the ordinary rate of wages is, for male domestics, from L.8 to L.12 sterling, and for females, from L.4 to L.6 sterling, per annum. The average wages of agricultural labourers are from ls. ld. to ls. 8d. per day. The wages of artisans vary extremely, the lowest being about 9d. and the highest 11d. per day. The wages of watchmakers may be calculated at from L.55. 10s. to L.83. 5s. per annum; but workmen are generally paid by the job.

Provisions are very cheap in Switzerland. In the canton of Appenzell, a pound of bread weighing 20 ounces is worth 4 kreutzers, rather less than 1½d. In Neuchâtel, the loaf of white bread is from 2d. to 2½d.; meat, from 4d. to 5¼d.; butter, from 9½d. to 10d. the pound of 17 ounces. The measure of potatoes weighing from 33 to 34 pounds, is worth from 10d. to 1s. 1¼d.; milk, l¼d.; and wine from 3d. to 6d. the bottle.

In Switzerland the clergy are supported by the state. The cost of the church establishment in Zürich is L.8000 per annum, being 9d. for each individual. The clergy amount to 271. In Neuchâtel the maximum salary of a clergyman is L.121, the minimum L.72, and the average L.83. There are 34 clergymen in this canton, which gives one to every 1647 persons. The Protestant religion is professed by the cantons of Basel, Berne, Vaud, Schaffhausen, Zürich, Geneva, and Neuchâtel. Soleure, Freyburg, Lucerne, Zug, Schwytz, Unterwalden, Uri, Ticino, and Valais, have continued Romanists. The cantons of Aargau, Glaris, Thurgau, St Gall, Appenzell, and the Grisons, contain a mixture of Romanists and Protestants.

Education is very generally diffused throughout Switzerland. In Appenzell every one is instructed; and for many years past the law does not allow any person to be admitted to the sacrament who cannot read; and the greater part of the population can also write, and have acquired the rudiments of arithmetic and singing. In Neuchâtel a considerable sum is paid by the state for the purpose of education. Every commune is required to provide a schoolmaster, and education is made obligatory throughout the principality. There is no person under the age of forty who is unable to read and write; and it is extremely difficult to find a person who does not also know how to calculate, and who is not well acquainted with his civil and political rights. To religious instruction much attention is paid. Before being admitted to the sacrament, the young men are obliged to attend for a certain number of years on the public ordinances, as well as to receive private lessons from their own pastors. In Basel both the primary and superior schools are good; and for many years the poor have been obliged to send their children to school for a course of elementary instruction, which occupies them until their tenth or twelfth year. The means for educating them are furnished by the poor-fund. In this manner children are prevented from entering too young into the factories, or from being employed in too laborious occupations.

At Hofwyl, in the canton of Berne, the establishments of Mr de Fellenberg for the maintenance and education of poor children, and his institution for the instruction of schoolmasters, have been attended with that success which might have been expected from efforts prompted by pure benevolence and guided by sound judgment.

In Aargau every district of 120 children must have at least one primary and one superior sch∞l. In every circle, the population being from 15,000 to 20,000 souls, there are from five to six secondary schools, and in the capital a gymnasium and a school of art. Besides this, there is a normal school for the instruction of teachers. The cost of these establishments is paid partly by the communes, and partly from the state funds. In Thurgau, every child, on reaching the age of five years, must be sent to school. Of the whole proceeds of the land-tax, two fifths have been applied to the purposes of education. A model-school for the education of teachers, established at Krutzlingen in 1833, under the superintendence of Mr Wehrlea, a pupil of Fellenberg, has had great success. Funds are cheerfully and liberally voted by the legislature. In 1834 more than one fifth of the whole population was attending the schools.

The poor in Switzerland are supported by a poor-law, greatly assisted however by voluntary contributions. The general law is that each parish shall take care of its own poor, but the arrangements in the different parishes respecting paupers are very various.

The administration of justice in Switzerland is prompt and economical. In Neuchâtel, for example, a verdict obtained in the Court of First Instance, might be pressed through all its stages, even to the confiscation of property to any amount, at a cost of less than 6s. 8d. sterling, and with a delay of only three weeks, there being three stages of appeal, each one allowing of a week for appearance and answer. While the cost to suitors is small, the cost to the public is equally so. In the district of Valangin, consisting of 6104 souls, the expenses for the administration of civil justice for 1834 amounted to less than five sixths of a farthing per individual; yet there are 122 trusteeships of minors, lunatics, &c., committed to the charge of the civil tribunals. There are on an average seventy causes per[7:21:51] annum, the average cost of which to the suitors was about 4s. 6d. per suit. The cost of the criminal tribunals of the same district was about L.140 sterling.

The taxes in Switzerland are extremely light. In Neuchâtel they amount on an average to about 4s. 8d. per inhabitant yearly; in Aargau, to 2s. 6d.; in the canton of Vaud, to 4s. 8d. The whole amount of taxes paid per individual in Thurgau, is not more than one fifth of what is paid in England per individual for the poor-rates alone. In Zürich the poor-rates are less than 2½d. per annum for each inhabitant. The civil expenditure is little more than 10d. and the military expenses less than 6d. for each.

Savings banks are very generally established in Switzerland, but the working classes seldom deposit in them any of their earnings. They are principally made use of by the children, for whom their parents deposit their savings, in order to purchase for them an equipment when their first attendance at the Lord’s Supper gives them the rights of citizens. Servants and artists also place their savings in these banks; but the ambition of the workmen is to invest the fruits of their economy in the acquisition of a house, or of a small portion of land.

In 1817 the population of Switzerland amounted to 1,687,900, in 1827 to 1,916,000, in 1836 to 2,177,420, of whom 130,500 were Protestants, 870,000 Roman Catholics, about 3000 Jews, and a few Moravians and Anabaptists. German is spoken by about 1,560,000 people, French by 450,000, Italian by 124,000, Rumonsch and Ladin by about 42,000 in the Grisons. The following table exhibits an account of the population, &c. in 1838. (b. q. )
[table]

*Switzerland being both a German and a French country, most of the principal places have both a German and a French name. Sometimes, however, there is also an Italian name, as Bellinzona; and some of them have even three forms, as Chiavenna, Cleven, Cleves, the first of which is the Italian, the second the German, and the third the French form of the same name.