fatal Russian expedition, into which his pride and reckless ambition
tempted him in 1812, was followed by the terrible disaster of Leipsic,
"the battle of the nations." The allied armies marched to Paris, and
compelled the abdication of the emperor. This turn of events naturally
affected the position of the Swiss very greatly, but, quite content with
their new constitution, they declined to join the allied states. At the
command of the Landammann, Von Reinhard, General von Wattenwil placed
his scanty forces, numbering some fifteen thousand men, along the
frontier to enforce neutrality if possible. But on the approach of the
allied forces Wattenwil saw that resistance would be madness, and gave
orders to his men to withdraw, and be careful not to provoke
hostilities. About Christmas time in 1813, the combined Austrian and
German troops--Alexander was for sparing the Swiss--to the number of one
hundred and seventy thousand, marched right across the country on their
way to the French capital. On the whole little material injury was done
to the country, but the Mediation Act, by the very reason of its origin,
was bound to fall. On the 29th of December the Diet was compelled to
decree its own extinction. The Peace of Paris, on the 31st of May in the
following year, guaranteed Switzerland its independence. A new
constitution was to come later on.
The overthrow of the Mediation Act plunged Switzerland into fresh
troubles. All the reactionary elements came to the surface. Bern revived
her old pretensions to the overlordship of Vaud and Aargau; and
Freiburg, Solothurn, Lucerne, and the Forest Cantons, acting on the same
lines, supported Bern in her claims. Zurich, on the other hand, stood
out for the nineteen cantons, and headed the opposition to Bern. Again
there was seen the deplorable spectacle of a divided state, with two
confederations and two diets. One of these, with its headquarters at
Lucerne, was, however, forced to dissolve, by foreign pressure, chiefly
through to the influence of D'Istria, the Russian ambassador at Zurich.
All the cantons now sent representatives to the Diet held in this
last-named city, with the view of drawing up a new federal pact. But
party strife was very bitter, and the session lasted from April 6, 1814,
to the the 31st of August, 1815, an extraordinary length of time hence
it was called the "Long Diet." The protracted proceedings were caused
chiefly by Bern, which obstinately refused to abate her pretensions to
the two districts (Vaud and Aargau). There were, however, many minor
points of difference, all tending to embitter and prolong the session.
It was clear that a settlement could only be brought about by a
compromise, and great concessions on the part of some of the members. As
a matter of fact several things were left unsettled. This Zurich
constitution was to be laid before the Vienna Congress, which opened on
the 3rd of November, 1814, and which was to disentangle many knots in
European politics.
Monarchs, princes, ambassadors, ministers, and generals, from all the
states, met at the gay city on the Danube, to rearrange the map of
Europe. The story of this strange international gathering is well known,
with its Vanity Fair of fine ladies and gentlemen, its magnificent
fetes, balls, masquerades, steeplechases, and gaities innumerable. It is
said that Francis I. spent no less than thirty millions of florins on
entertaining his guests, and the gay scene and high spirits formed a
strange contrast with the previous despondency prevailing on the
Continent generally. The "_Congres danse, mais ne marche pas_," was the
saying that went abroad. Yet it was not strange that men felt glad. The
weight of Napoleon's hand was now removed, and the world breathed more
freely. All the sufferings of the last quarter of a century were
forgotten, and, it is to be feared, the lesson to be learnt from them
was not learnt. The changes were too many, too sudden, and too sweeping
to permit anything to take root. But the seeds left behind by the
revolutions and wars will blossom and bear fruit later on. Every sound
movement must develop gradually. In this way only can we account for the
reactions, the return to the old lines of constitution and social life,
after the fall of Bonaparte.
Switzerland had many points to settle at the Congress, and, indeed, to
the despair of the members, seemed inclined to bring forward all her
domestic squabbles. On the whole, the commissioners showed much goodwill
towards Switzerland, and took great pains to make that country a strong
outpost against French extensions. Von Reinhard, the first Swiss
representative at the Congress, gained much praise by his dignity and
astuteness, and the Emperor Alexander entered fully into his liberal
views and aspirations, coinciding with those of La Harpe. Bern and her
pretensions, which were as strong as ever, gave most trouble, Vaud and
Aargau naturally insisting on retaining their independence. At length a
compromise was arranged, and the larger portion of the see of Basel
(Bernese Jura, &c.), and Bienne being given to Bern. The bailiwicks of
the _laender_ redeemed their freedom by purchase; the rest of the
cantons, more generous, required no compensation. Subject lands were set
free for good, and the country received its present boundaries. Ticino
had been restored by Napoleon, and Valais, Geneva, and Neuchatel, were
admitted as cantons on an equality with the rest, and thus we get the
now familiar number of twenty-two cantons. The list was closed, though
by a strange anomaly Neuchatel still continued to be not only a Swiss
canton, but a Prussian duchy. Geneva was, as it were, rounded off by the
addition of Versoix (Gex), and some Savoy communes.[98] Geneva had long
wished to be received into the Federation, and great was her rejoicing
now that her dream was realized. Thus Switzerland received the great
boon of independence, and was placed under the protection of the Great
Powers. Buenden lost her appendages, Valtellina, Chiavenna, and Bormio,
which went to Austria, but gained in return the district of Raezuns. The
new constitution assigned to Switzerland is decidedly inferior to the
"Mediation Act." There was a revival of the old system of narrow
prerogatives; the several cantons gaining _plein pouvoir_ as against the
federal authorities; the cities retaining their preponderance over the
rural districts, and the wealthy and the aristocracy their power over
their poorer brethren. Military matters alone were better provided for.
Thus we shall presently find that Revolution had to begin her work over
again. Bern, Zurich, and Lucerne became in turn the seat of the Diet,
and one vote only was allotted to each canton. Midwalden offered a
fanatical opposition to the new constitution, but was compelled to give
way, and had to forfeit Engelberg, with its famous cloister and the
whole valley, which was given to Obwalden.
FOOTNOTES:
[92] Barthelemy, Roederer, Fouche, and Desmeunier.
[93] This Hans von Reinhard was burgomaster of Zurich and Landammann; he
belonged to one of the old aristocratic families of his native city.
[94] The liquidation of this territorial debt was a most complicated
matter, and plays an important part in the risings of the rural
districts, yet the rightly cautious city had to consider various other
interests besides those of the country folks. Many benevolent city
institutions for the sick and poor were maintained by the income drawn
from country dues.
[95] "It is meet that the country districts should cease their antipathy
to the city, or they deserve to fall again under its authority,"
Napoleon had remarked, during the Paris Conference, to the Zurich
representatives, Reinhard and Paul Usteri. He added that the personal
character of the representatives was a guarantee that they would
reconcile the two parties they represented.
[96] A German by birth.
[97] Escher died soon after the completion of the Linth Canal (1822),
and the Diet erected to his memory a monument in Glarus Canton. A
characteristic story respecting him is worth repeating. Some poor man
seeing him standing hard at work up to his waist in water exclaimed,
"Why, sir, if I were as rich as you, I shouldn't work at all." "That's
just why God has given you no wealth," was Escher's quiet reply.
[98] She objected to receiving the larger strip of Savoy and French land
(on the lake and the Rhone), which the Congress wished to assign her,
for fear of being absorbed by Catholicism, and, moreover, she was
anxious not to alarm her old friends. The facts were and are often
misrepresented. Chablais and Faucigny, once temporarily held by Bern,
were declared neutral, and placed under the guarantee of the Powers.
That is, in case of war, Swiss troops quarter the district, as in
1870-71.
XXXII.
SWITZERLAND UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF 1815-48.
The history of the thirty-three years following 1815 may, so far as
Switzerland is concerned, be summed up in this description--it was a
protest, latent at first and afterwards open and declared, of the Swiss
people against the decrees of the Vienna Congress, which tended to stop
the wheel of progress. The Swiss struggled onwards through the conflicts
of political development, and battled against all that was a hindrance
to them in the constitution of 1815, the Powers looking on with
misgiving if not with dismay the while not understanding the signs of
the times. Yet, by 1848, when the thrones of Europe were again shaken by
revolutions, Switzerland had gained that for which it had been
struggling, and had settled down into a peaceful and regenerated
_Bundestaat_. We have shown how the settlement of 1815 was in many ways
a return to old lines in both Church and State. Speaking generally, the
Church gained greatly by the new constitution, the return of the
Jesuits was favoured, the religious establishments were still maintained
at a rate which really exceeded the financial possibilities of the
state, and the clergy were given a free hand. Then the old power of the
aristocracy was largely re-established, and the cities were given their
former great preponderance over the country districts. Bern, for
instance, receiving two hundred seats in the Council, as against
ninety-nine. The reactionary _regime_ from 1815 to 1830, was, in fact,
politically a blank, though towards its close some of the cantons began
to carry measures of reform. Amongst these was Ticino, into which some
fatal abuses had crept. To make up for their political deficiencies, and
to rekindle their smouldering patriotism, the Swiss, as they had done
before, turned to the past history of their country. They founded
patriotic and literary clubs, and established liberal and benevolent
institutions. Monuments were erected at classical spots--Morat, St.
Jacques, the lion monument, and so forth. Eminent painters like Vogel
and Didary chose national historical events for their canvas; and Rudolf
Wyp composed the fine national anthem, "_Rufst Du mein Vaterland_."[99]
A naturalists' club at Geneva, a students' association at Zofingen, and
a society of marksmen--still in existence--were started, whilst the old
Helvetic Society of the eighteenth century left behind its mere
theorizings and discussions, and became an active political club. All
these things tended greatly to spread and promote Swiss liberalism, of
which many noble champions had sprung up, now and in the previous
period, like the veteran trio--Victor von Bonstetten, the friend of
Madame de Stael, La Harpe, and Usteri; like Troxler, Zschokke, Monnard,
Von Orelli and others, far too numerous even to name here. Under such
men Switzerland moved on. "No human efforts can succeed in permanently
leading back mankind to the old lines of a past and less enlightened
age. To struggle onwards, and to reach the end aimed at is the
quickening stimulus in every thinking being." Such were the encouraging
words of Usteri, a champion whom the party of progress regarded as an
oracle. Military matters received a great impetus by the formation of a
central school for officers at Thun, and the increase of the army from
fifteen thousand to thirty thousand men. It hardly needs to be said that
when the struggle of the Greeks for independence began they had the
hearty sympathy and support of the Swiss.[100]
In 1830 the revolution of July hurled from his throne Charles X., and
raised to his place Louis Philippe. Strangely enough the effects of this
movement were felt almost more abroad than in France itself. Certainly
its influence on Switzerland was very considerable, and it hurried on
various changes of a sweeping character in that country, changes,
however, which had been long preparing. Constitutional struggles, both
federal and cantonal, crowded the next few years, and confessional
difficulties tended not a little to quicken them. With nearly all the
states, excepting some of the _laender_, the chief object now became the
revision of their charters, so as to make them more consistent with the
principles of popular rights and equality. Glarus, Uri, and Unterwalden
were as yet averse to making changes, however justifiable and desirable
they might seem to the rest of the country. The reforms were for the
most part quietly carried out, but there were popular oppositions and
stormy disputes in places. Bern was at first inclined to be
conservative, but once embarked on the sea of reformation, sided
strongly with the more progressive Zurich. Freiburg returned a crowd of
fifty-seven priests and seventeen professors, all of the Jesuit order,
and these ousted Girard, the Catholic Pestalozzi, from his noble work at
St. Michael's College. Zurich proceeded in a peaceful and interesting
fashion. Here as in other cases the city had a great preponderance of
political power over the country districts of the canton. The fourteen
thousand citizens elected one hundred and thirty representatives, as
against the eighty-six assigned to the two hundred thousand rural
inhabitants. The cause of the country folk was ably and without
bitterness championed by two eloquent speakers, Guyer and
Hegetschweiler; and a motion was carried which allotted to the rural
districts two-thirds of the seats on the council board. This "day of
Uster," as it was called, proved a great landmark in political
development. The sovereignty of the people was now the basis on which
reforms were made. The foundation was laid for better administration,
and social improvement and provision was made for necessary revisions of
the constitution. To safeguard their constitutions against the
influence of reactionists, seven cantons entered into a
league--_Siebner-Concordat_--March, 1832. They were Bern, Zurich,
Lucerne, Solothurn, St. Gall, Aargau, and Thurgau.
[Illustration: INTERLAKEN, FROM THE FELSENEGG.]
Less satisfactory was the course of events in Schwyz, Basel, and
Neuchatel. In Schwyz a temporary separation into the two semi-cantons of
Inner and Outer Schwyz was caused by the refusal of the former to grant
equal rights to the latter, which had been formerly subject or purchased
land mainly. Basel, the city of millionaires and manufactures, was able
by her overwhelming importance to hold her supremacy over the rural
districts, and thus arose the division into Baselstadt, and Baselland,
which latter had Liestal as its _chef lieu_. But all this after a civil
strife of three years. Basel city joined the Catholic League formed at
Sarnen, in November, 1832, as a counterblast to the _Siebner-Concordat_.
Uri, Inner-Schwyz, Unterwalden, Valais, and Freiburg also joined this
league. The inhabitants of Neuchatel had a double object, the
reformation of their constitution, and their separation, if possible,
from Prussia, the double _regime_ being greatly disliked. An attempt was
made on the castle, but it failed, and the Federation re-established
order, and the old _status quo_. The royalist party in Neuchatel now
aimed at a severance from Switzerland.
But the natural consequence of constitutional revision in the separate
cantons was the revision of the federal pact, with the view of
strengthening the bonds which joined the states. The draft of a new
constitution for Switzerland was presented at Lucerne in July, 1832, by
the moderate party, but it failed, as so many other attempts have done
which clashed with the selfishness of those cantons, that thought more
of the question of cantonal home-rule than of the weal of the country as
a whole. A far-seeing policy required that the central government should
be strengthened, that the Diet should be made thoroughly capable of
protecting Swiss interests, both in the country itself and abroad. That
the Diet was quite incapable of enforcing its decrees for the general
good was plainly shown by the condition of things in Basel, alluded to
above.
With all these drawbacks, however, the period from 1830-1848 witnessed a
true regeneration--social, political, intellectual. Never had education
made such marvellous progress. It is to this period that the country
owes that revival of educational zeal and that improvement in schools
and methods of teaching, which are the great glory of modern
Switzerland. Canton vied with canton, and authority with authority, in
their noble enthusiasm for education. Zurich, Bern, Thurgau, Solothurn,
Vaud--all these founded excellent teachers' seminaries. Primary schools
were improved, and secondary schools established in every canton, and in
all the more important cities gymnasiums were founded. At Zurich these
time-honoured institutions, the Chorherrenstift and the Carolinum, were
in 1832 converted into the present gymnasium and university, and Bern
made similar establishments in the following year. Thus were being
gradually realized the noble aspirations of the "Helvetic" period, those
of Stapfer particularly.
Unfortunate conflicts with foreign powers, however, not seldom arose.
Fugitives from other countries then as now made Switzerland their abode,
and many of them abused her hospitality, and entangled her in
dissensions with foreign governments, exactly as we find happening at
the present moment. Many of the political _emigres_ were men of great
note, but space will permit of our noticing only two, Louis Philippe,
and Louis Napoleon, afterwards Napoleon III. The Prince de Chartres
lived for some years in Graubuenden, occupying under the name of Chabaud,
the position of mathematical master in an educational establishment of
repute at Reichenau. Singularly enough he afterwards refused to the man
who was to succeed him on the throne of France, the privilege of shelter
in Swiss lands, that is to say, he objected very strongly. For in 1838
he suddenly requested that the Swiss Diet should give up Louis Napoleon,
on the plea that he was an intriguer. This request was in reality a
demand, and was more than the Swiss could stand. Napoleon was in fact a
Swiss burgess, having become naturalized, and having passed through the
military school at Thun, and become a captain in the Swiss army. His
mother had for some time lived with her son in the castle of Arenenberg
(in the Canton of Thurgau), which she had purchased soon after 1814.
Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Kern, representative of that state in the
Diet, the Swiss Government were able to disprove the charge made against
Louis Napoleon, and the Diet firmly refused to expel the prince. France
enraged threatened war to her "turbulent neighbour," and actually set on
foot an army of twenty-five thousand men. Thoroughly roused, the Diet
sent troops to the frontier, amidst general acclamations, Geneva and
Vaud being conspicuous in their endeavours to protect their boundaries.
These two cantons were specially thanked by the central government. The
prince, however, cleared away difficulties by quitting the Swiss
soil.[101]
The Zurich conflicts of 1839, called "Zurichputsch," from a local word
meaning push or scramble, claim a moment's attention. That canton had
perhaps more thoroughly than any other carried through a reorganization
of its legislature and administration. It had establishment a most
complete system of schools, graded from the primary school up to the
University, whose chairs were occupied by men who made the city a real
intellectual centre--by Oken, Hitzig, Schweizer, Von Orelli, Bluntschli,
and others. Things marched too rapidly however. Dr. Scherr, a
rationalist German _emigre_, was at the head of an excellent
training-college for teachers, but refused to allow biblical teaching to
be given. Then the Government, anxious to make the city of Zwingli a
centre of freethought, appointed the famous Strauss, author of the
"Leben Jesu," to a vacancy on the university staff, despite the warnings
of the native professors. The country people rose in wild frenzy, being
urged on by the reactionary party, which desired to regain the reins of
government. So great was the feeling against the appointment, that
Strauss was pensioned off even before he saw the city. Even yet the
excitement was very great, and, led by Pastor Hirzel, the rural
inhabitants flocked into Zurich in great numbers. The Council was
obliged to resign, and for a considerable period the reactionists had
the power in their own hands. A few persons, but not many, were killed
during the disturbances. The effects of this _contre-coup_ in the most
advanced city of the republic were soon felt in other places, in Ticino,
Lucerne, and Freiburg, where conservative governments were returned,
and codes altered accordingly. Zurich and Lucerne left the
_Siebner-Concordat_.
But the event which stands out more prominently than any other during
this period is the Sonderbund war of 1847. This conflict, which
threatened the very existence of the state, forms the prelude to the
European disturbances of the following year. This dispute of 1847 is the
old struggle between the centralists and the federalists, or rather the
progressivists and the reactionists, the dispute being intensified by
religious differences. The chief points in the conflict must be briefly
noted. In some of the cantons the Catholics, though in a minority, had
advantages over the Protestant population, and when, in 1841, Aargau was
revising its constitution, the latter demanded to be put on an equal
footing with their Catholic brethren. This was flatly refused, and an
embroilment took place in the canton, some of the monasteries taking a
leading part in fomenting the quarrel. The rising, however, came to
nought, and the Diet, on the motion of Keller, suspended the monastic
houses, on the plea that they were hotbeds of intrigue. This step was
clearly in opposition to the principles of the Constitution of 1815, and
for years caused great trouble. It is impossible to give here minutely
the story of the disputes: suffice it to say, the Diet compromised
matters by extending forgiveness to four of the cloisters that had kept
aloof from the rising (1843). But in 1844 Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Zug,
Freiburg, and Valais, formed a secret league--that of Sarnen had long
since fallen through--to protect Catholic interests, and appointed
Jesuits to the highest offices in the state. The entrance of the order
at the Vorort created great excitement, but the Diet abstained from
intervening, fearing to make matters worse. Two hapless expeditions of
"Free Lances" now took place, the liberals from Lucerne and other
cantons attempting to carry that city. The attempts utterly failed, and
naturally so, seeing in how disorganized a condition the partizans were.
But in January, 1847, the Protestants managed to get a majority at the
Diet, and demanded the dissolution of the Sonderbund, as it had got to
be called by that time. The foreign courts--Paris, Vienna, Berlin, and
others--sided with the Swiss Sonderbund, being anxious to retain the
_status quo_ of 1815; France and Austria particularly sending money and
promises of further support. England alone favoured the Protestants of
Switzerland, and rendered them a great service. Palmerston was all
against foreign intervention, and when the Powers issued a manifesto
against the Swiss, he kept it back till Nov. 30th, when all was quietly
settled. Meanwhile the Sonderbund organized a Council of War, and
prepared for action. The Diet did all in its power to reconcile the
contending religionists, and the English ambassador at Bern strongly
recommended moderation and mutual concessions.[102]