Italy, by the Archduke Charles, Hotze, and Suwarow, they were to be
driven out of Switzerland. Marshal Massena, who had succeeded
Schauenburg in the command of the French troops, had at the commencement
of the war seized Graubuenden, and forced it, free state though it was,
to join the Helvetic Republic to which it so strongly objected. But in
May, 1799, it was recaptured by Hotze, a gallant swordsman of Swiss
birth;[87] who had risen to the rank of field-marshal in the Austrian
army. Hotze drove the French from the central highlands, Roverea
likewise taking a prominent part in the expedition. About this time the
Archduke Charles entered Switzerland at Schaffhausen, and, carrying all
before him, advanced to Zurich. This city, after various skirmishes in
its neighbourhood, he seized on the 4th of June, forcing Massena to
retire to the heights beyond the Limmat river. But now a cessation of
hostilities intervened for some months, owing to differences between
Austria and Russia, and with this came a change of tactics. Archduke
Charles withdrew, and his place was taken by Korsakow with a Russian
army forty thousand strong. A plan was now agreed upon under which
Suwarow should join Korsakow from Italy, and they should then combine
their forces in a grand attack on the French, on September 26th. This
Massena was determined to prevent. By admirable manoeuvring he
disposed his eight divisions about Eastern and Central Switzerland, his
force amounting to no fewer than seventy-five thousand men. The
highlands of Schwyz, Uri, and Glarus, were held by Lecourbe, a skilled
strategist, thoroughly at home in the Alps, and the entrance to the St.
Gothard pass was blocked. Marshal Soult gave battle to Hotze in the
marshy district between Lake Zurich and Walensee, on the 25th of
September, with the result that Hotze was slain, and the Austrian force
retired from Swiss soil. Wherever the Austrians had gained a footing,
the reactionists had taken advantage of it to re-establish the _status
quo_. On the 25th and 26th of September, Massena attacked the Russian
forces under Korsakow, at Zurich. This second battle of Zurich--the
fighting was continued (from outside) into the very streets--resulted in
the complete defeat of Korsakow. Fortunately the city itself, having
remained neutral, escaped violent treatment, but Lavater was unfortunate
enough to be struck by a shot during the engagement, whilst carrying
help to some wounded soldiers.[88]
[Illustration: DILIGENCE CROSSING THE SIMPLON PASS.]
Quite unaware of what was being done in Switzerland, Suwarow reached the
heights of St. Gothard on the 24th of September, and, finding the pass
occupied by the enemy, cut his way through in brilliant style. Whilst
some of the Russians--at Teufelsbrueche, for instance--held in check the
French, the larger portion of their army scrambled down the steep rocks
lining the Reuss, amidst the French fire. Wading across the rapid
torrent they hurried down the valley to Flueelen, intending to push on to
Lucerne and Zurich. But to their great dismay they found no road
skirting Uri lake, and all the boats removed. They were thus locked up
in a labyrinth of mountain fastnesses, the outlets from which were
blocked by their foes. In this desperate strait there was nothing for it
but to proceed over the mountains as best they might, by any rough path
which might present itself. In reality, however, these passes were no
highroads for armies, but only narrow paths used by occasional shepherds
or huntsmen. Devoted to their leader, the Russian troops toiled up from
the sombre Schaechenthal, and along the rugged Kinzig pass, pursued by
their enemies. On reaching Muotta they learned the disheartening news
that Korsakow had been defeated. No wonder that down the weather-beaten
face of the brave old general, the tears rolled as he gave the order to
retreat. But Suwarow was not inclined to sit still and repine, and
undaunted by his recent terrible struggle against nature, at once
resumed his march across the toilsome Pragel pass into the canton of
Glarus, where he had good hopes of finding Austrian friends. But on his
arrival he learnt that the Austrians had left the neighbourhood. Thus
baffled once more, and unable to get to the plains at Naefels on account
of the enemy, he was compelled to retreat again, and again attempt the
terrible passage across the mountains. Striking across the Panixer pass,
which rises to the height of eight thousand feet, he found himself
confronted by greater difficulties than before. Snow had lately fallen,
and all traces of the path had disappeared. For five terrible days the
force decimated, dying with cold, hunger, and fatigue, unshod--their
boots were entirely worn out--struggled along those wintry regions,
creeping like caterpillars up walls of snow and over icy peaks. Hundreds
of men and horses fell into the hidden crevices, down which also many a
piece of artillery fell with sudden crash. Fully one-third of the
gallant band perished during that fearful passage. The worn and famished
survivors reached Graubuenden on the 10th of October, and thence made
their way into Austrian territory. Suwarow had failed, but immortal
glory attaches to the memory of the dauntless and resolute old general.
The non-success of the foreign invasions meant also the failure of the
reactionists in their attempt to overthrow the "Helvetic Republic."
Indescribable misery was the consequence of the foreign wars, and it was
intensified by the French occupation, and especially by the disgraceful
system of spoliation practised by the French generals and agents,
Mengaud, Lecarlier, Rapinat, &c. A few examples of the treatment
Switzerland received at the hands of the French "liberators" may be
given. Urserenthal, one of the Uri valleys, was called upon during the
year Oct. 1798 to Oct. 1799, to provide food for a total of 861,700 men,
and a pretty hamlet in Freiburg for twenty-five thousand, within half a
year. During four months, Thurgau spent one and a half million francs,
and the Baden district well-nigh five millions, in provisioning French
troops within a year. All protestations of inability on the part of the
inhabitants were useless; Rapinat[89] and others, like vampires, sucked
the very life-blood out of the unfortunate Swiss. The "Helvetic
Republic" had its noble side, it is true, but the French occupation, by
which it was maintained, and which indeed was the outcome of it, caused
the Helvetic scheme to be regarded by the people at large with disgust
and hatred.
The brightest side of the "Helvetic Republic" was seen in the remarkable
efforts of noble patriots--foremost amongst them Rengger and Stapfer--to
mitigate the effects of all these calamities by promoting, in spite of
all difficulties, or against all odds of the time, the material and
ideal interests of the people. Both Rengger and Stapfer were highly
cultivated men, and both were ministers of state, the former holding the
portfolio of finance, the latter that of arts and sciences. Rengger
directed his efforts to the improvement of trade and agriculture; one of
his practical efforts being the introduction of English cotton-spinning
machines. Stapfer, on the other hand, worked for the spread of popular
education. "Spiritual and intellectual freedom alone makes free," he
maintained. He himself had been born in one of the new enfranchised
subject lands, it may be noted parenthetically. He drew up a remarkable
scheme of national education, a scheme embracing the child in the
primary school, and the young man in the National University. This dream
of a national university, by the way, is still unrealized,[90] but
Stapfer intended that it should crown his whole system of national
education, and should combine German depth with French versatility and
Italian taste. Most of Stapfer's grand scheme remained untried through
want of means and time, but it was a very remarkable scheme for that
day. Yet much was done. Numerous schools sprang up, and every canton had
its educational council and its inspector of schools. Lucerne, which had
hitherto been quite behindhand in these matters, now founded schools in
all its communes (by 1801), and Aarau established a gymnasium. Some four
thousand children from the wasted and ruined country districts were
brought into the towns and educated; whilst numerous journals were
started, and many literary and art societies founded. Perhaps Stapfer's
chief title to honourable remembrance is his appreciation of, and his
assistance to, Pestalozzi. Leaving Stanz on account of confessional
differences, the great philanthropist established his famous school at
Burgdorf, winning for himself by it European renown.
These noble efforts towards national advancement intellectually are the
more admirable as the country was convulsed with constitutional
struggles. From the first days of the Revolution, there had sprung up
two political schools, the Centralists, who[91] wished to see one single
state with one central government; and the Federalists, who clung to
the historical traditions of their fatherland, and to the _status quo
ante_ of 1798. These latter desired to see cantonal self-government
preponderating over the central authority. It was a struggle to the
death between advanced Liberals and stout Conservatives. Within the
short space of five years, the country saw no fewer than four _coups
d'etat_, complete overthrowings of government and constitution. We can
notice only the chief points in the history of these changes. The first
shock came with the change in France from the Directory to the
Consulate, and the return of Napoleon from Egypt, on the 9th of
November, 1798. Ochs, detested as the tool of France by nearly all the
Swiss, was hurled from his eminence; and La Harpe following suit, the
Swiss Directory was replaced by an executive committee. The Peace of
Luneville, February, 1801, left the Swiss free to chose their own form
of government, but Napoleon himself gradually went over to the
Federalist view. Drafts of new constitutions followed each other in
quick succession, each in its turn being upset by that which followed.
The sketch of La Malmaison, drawn up by the Federalists, restored the
Tagsatzung, and the independence of the cantons, May, 1801. Another
overthrow, and then Alois Reding rose to the position of first
Landammann, and head of the Conservative government (Oct. 28, 1801).
Chivalrous and of unflinching resolve, Reding lacked the pliancy
necessary for a statesman, and desired to see Vaud again placed under
the rule of Bern. "Sooner shall the sun turn from west to east,"
fiercely exclaimed Napoleon, "than Vaud shall go back to Bern." Reding
was deprived of his office, and shut up at Aarburg, a fate that befell
him on several other occasions under Bonaparte. In July, 1802, Napoleon
withdrew the French troops from Swiss territory, with the view
ostensibly of complying with the treaty of Amiens, but in reality to
show the Swiss how powerless they were without his help. This was the
signal for a general outbreak of civil war, humorously called
_Stecklikrieg_, or _Guerre aux batons_, in allusion to the indifferent
equipment of the soldiery. The Helvetic Government which was then in
power fled from Bern, and took up its quarters at Lausanne. Its small
force was defeated at Avenches by the Federalists, who pushed on to the
Leman city, when an order to lay down their arms reached them from
Paris. Through the medium of General Rapp, Napoleon offered his services
as "mediator" in the civil troubles of Switzerland, and at his heels
followed Marshal Ney, with an army of forty thousand men to enforce
order.
FOOTNOTES:
[86] The utter failure clearly shows how little such a centralization of
government, leaving the cantons no scope for action, could suit the
separate states of the Confederation at any time. The name "canton" was
first used in French treaties with Switzerland, and became thenceforward
the general term. It had not come into use even so late as the Helvetic.
[87] He was a native of a large village in the Zurich district.
[88] He lingered on suffering from his wound for a whole year, and then
died, distinguished to the very last by his love for all mankind, and
for his country especially.
[89] The following lines, common in men's mouths afterwards, tell their
own tale:--
"La Suisse qu'on pille et qu'on ruine
Voudrait bien que l'on decidat
Si Rapinat vient de rapine,
Ou rapine de Rapinat."
[90] And not very likely to be realized, as the respective cantons cling
to their four universities and two academies, which are their pride.
[91] In German, _Centralisten_ or _Unitarier_.
XXXI.
THE MEDIATION ACT AND NAPOLEON.
(1803-15.)
From a constitutional point of view this period--the mediation period
(1803-13)--is the most satisfactory portion of the epoch between the
French revolutions of 1789 and 1830. It suited Napoleon's fancy to
assume the position of a directing providence to the Alpine lands. And,
finding that the federalists and the centralists of Switzerland--the
_laudatores temporis acti_ and the progressivists--were quite unable to
agree upon a compromise, it pleased him to give the country a new
constitution. He stopped their squabbles by summoning the "Helvetic
Consulta" to Paris. Sixty-three deputies, of whom but fifteen were
federalists, obeyed the call, many of the foremost statesmen among them.
Those who disobeyed the summons, like Reding and his party, were
arrested (Nov., 1803). In the official gazette Napoleon was pleased to
speak of the Swiss nation as one that had "always stood out in history
as a model of strength, courage, and good manners," and he expressed a
wish that the Swiss should "aim at good government, and should sacrifice
their party feelings to their real interests, to glory, and
independence." Thus complimentary was his language, and the painstaking
care and thoughtful consideration he brought to bear on the
reorganization of Swiss affairs presents the great despot under a
singularly amiable aspect; and the Mediation Act which he drew up would,
but for the selfish _arriere pensee_ running through it, be one of his
noblest and most beneficent political acts.
From the drafts and data presented by the Conference Napoleon, in two
months (Nov. 25th-Jan. 24th), drew up his famous scheme. Laying it first
before the whole assembly, he then had selected an inner committee of
ten for a further and final consultation. This took place on Jan. 29th
at the Tuileries, the sitting lasting from one o'clock to eight in the
evening. The French commissioners[92] afterwards stated that they had
never witnessed such a scene, and that "never had the First Consul
devoted such close attention, even to the most important matters of
European politics." The Swiss party, representing both the political
sections, and the four French Commissioners, sat round the table,
Napoleon himself in the middle of them, beaming with graceful
amiability. The proposals respecting the three classes of cantons were
read out, and two of the delegates, Stapfer of whom we have heard
before, and Hans von Reinhard,[93] were called upon to express their
respective views. A general discussion followed, the Consul giving the
closest attention to every detail. His own speeches showed an intimate
acquaintance with Swiss matters, and whilst full of practical wisdom,
also evidenced his real interest and sympathy with the little republic.
He pointed out that Switzerland was quite unlike any other country in
its history, its geographical position, in its inclusion of three
nationalities and three tongues. The characteristics and the advancement
of three nations had, in fact, to be considered and maintained. Nature
itself had clearly intended that it should be a federal state. To the
Forest Cantons, to which he avowed the whole republic owes its
characteristic hue, he restored the time-honoured _landsgemeinde_, "so
rich in memories of the past"; to the city cantons he gave back their
ancient councils, re-fashioned in accordance with modern ideas; and to
the subject lands he gave autonomy. The position of these last in the
past was, he averred, incompatible with the modern character of a
republic, and his elevation of them into new cantons is the special
merit of his scheme. Meeting the views of the federalists by giving
independence or home-rule to each canton, he also met those of the
centralists by planning a well-organized central government in the form
of a _Tagsatzung_ with enlarged powers. At the head of this he placed a
Swiss Landammann with almost _plein pouvoir_. Napoleon selected as
first Landammann a man he highly esteemed--Louis d'Affry, of Freiburg,
son of Count d'Affry. Both father and son had served in France as
officers and statesmen, and Louis was one of the few who had escaped the
massacre at Paris in 1792. He was a perfect courtier, mild and
conservative in his views. It is worth mentioning that during the
_intermezzo_, which occurred at five o'clock, when refreshments were
handed round, the Consul, standing by the mantelpiece, with a circle of
delegates round him, talked incessantly on Swiss politics and spared no
pains to impress on his hearers how much Swiss interests were bound up
with those of France. There was no mistaking his meaning, which, to do
him justice, he did not attempt to conceal. The members of the
Conference, whom Napoleon treated all through with marked distinction,
were quite alive to the danger threatening their country, but trusted
that some turn of the wheel might avert it. After this parley the Consul
redrafted the Mediation Act, and presented it in person on the 19th of
February for signature, afterwards taking leave of the whole deputation.
La Harpe gained for the Swiss the countenance of the Emperor Alexander,
and Prussia and Austria were engaged in a territorial squabble, and no
interference took place. An epoch of peace and prosperity followed the
general amnesty (April 15, 1803) granted by the Mediation Act. The
period of quiet was broken only by the Bockenkrieg in 1804, a rising in
which an attempt was made by the country folk of the Zurich Canton to
stand against the unredeemed land rents and tithes still due to the
city.[94] The insurrection was put down by force.[95] Six new cantons
were formed by the new Act--Buenden, St. Gall, Thurgau, Aargau, Vaud, and
Ticino; and these were added as equals to the thirteen _Alte Orte_, the
management of its own affairs being granted to each. The liberal
principles inaugurated by the "Helvetic" were to a great extent borne in
mind, though the lower orders were still excluded from direct political
representation. Mercenary wars, military movements, and leagues between
separate cantons, were strictly forbidden; but so, also, was forbidden
the maintenance of a federal army, save a small force to maintain order,
and thus the country was robbed of adequate means of defence. Freiburg,
Bern, Soleure, Basel, Zurich, and Lucerne, became in their turns
managing or dictatorial cantons for one year at a time. That is, they
were the seats of the Diet, and their chief magistrate--schultheiss or
burgomaster, as the case might be--became Landammann. To the larger
cantons, _i.e._, those having not less than one hundred thousand
inhabitants, two votes at the Diet were assigned, to the smaller, one
vote. It is not necessary to go into more minute details here, as there
are numerous constitutional changes to be noted between that period and
the year 1874.
Thus, whatever may be thought of Napoleon's ultimate aims, it was owing
to him that Switzerland enjoyed quiet, prosperity, and perfect
self-government at a time when Europe generally was torn by quarrels and
steeped in war. The Swiss people gave their whole attention to home
affairs, and to the striving after intellectual and material progress,
as they had done in the Helvetic days, but now with more success.
Benevolent societies were founded, high schools established, and
institutions for the advancement of letters, science, and art, sprang
up. Many men of note mightily stirred the ideal side of life; amongst
them we may mention the novelist, Zschokke,[96] of Aargau; Martin
Usteri, the poet-artist; and George Naegeli, the Saengervater, or "Father
of Song." Both these latter were of Zurich, and Naegeli gave a great
impulse to the founding of musical societies, and did much to spread the
art of singing so common in the German districts, and especially
cultivated at Basel and Zurich. Pestalozzi established a new school at
Yverdon in Vaud; and his friend and former pupil, Von Fellenberg, of
Bern, the superior of his master in practical management, founded his
famous institution at Hofwil. This comprised a whole series of schools,
high schools, schools for the middle class, agricultural schools, and
elementary schools for the poor. Pater Girard, a friend of Pestalozzi,
at Freiburg, did for the Catholics much what these men did for the
Protestants. Another noble and devoted man was Escher, who, though of
aristocratic birth himself, was yet an ardent worker for the benefit of
the poorer classes. His chief work was the canalization of the Linth
between Walensee and the Lake of Zurich, by means of which some
twenty-eight thousand acres of unhealthy swamp became valuable
agricultural land. For this labour of love, to which he sacrificed his
health, the Diet decreed to him and his family the honourable addition
of "Von der Linth."[97] The introduction of machinery gave a great
impetus to trade and industry. In 1800 the cloisters of St. Gall were
turned into the first Swiss spinning mill, and during the following
decade four more mills were started in the canton. In 1808 Heinrich
Kunz, the "King of spinners on the Continent," laid the foundations
(Zurich) of the first of his numerous mills. In 1812 the great firm of
Rieter and Co., whose machines soon gained a world-wide reputation,
started business at Winterthur.
Yet all was not smooth in the little Swiss state. Switzerland was
compelled not only to enter into a close defensive alliance with France,
but to keep the French army constantly supplied with sixteen thousand
Swiss soldiers. So great was the drain of this "blood-tax," that in
some cantons even the prisons had to be opened to enable the levy to be
made up. Switzerland was made an _entrepot_ for English contraband
goods; and the decree of Trianon, in 1810, ordered the confiscation of
these, and placed a tax on English goods of half their value. All this
weighed heavily on Switzerland, and the Landammann's touching
representation to Napoleon, that twenty thousand families were rapidly
becoming breadless, passed unheeded. In 1806 the despot gave Neuchatel
to his favourite general, Berthier, and in 1810 he handed over Ticino to
Italy, on the pretext that that district was harbouring English
contraband goods. The same year he joined to France the Valais district,
where he had a few years earlier (1802) constructed the famous Simplon
road into Italy. The Swiss naturally protested against these
mutilations, but he threatened to annex the whole country, and D'Affry
and Reinhard, who stood in favour with him, had much ado to calm his
temper. When, however, the impetuous Sidler, of Zug, and the heroic
Reding, defied him, and advised an armed resistance at the Diet,
Napoleon sent word to Reinhard that he would march fifty thousand men
into the country, and compel the Swiss to unite with France.