Part 24

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 Nägeli, the Sängervater, or "Father of Song." Both these latter were of Zurich, and Nägeli 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 _entrepôt_ 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 Neuchâtel 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.

But the tide was beginning to turn; Napoleon had passed his zenith. The 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 fêtes, 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 "_Congrès 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 Neuchâtel, 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 Neuchâtel 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. Bünden lost her appendages, Valtellina, Chiavenna, and Bormio, which went to Austria, but gained in return the district of Räzuns. 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] Barthélemy, Röderer, Fouché, 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 _régime_ 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 Staël, 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.

Less satisfactory was the course of events in Schwyz, Basel, and Neuchâtel. 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 Neuchâtel had a double object, the reformation of their constitution, and their separation, if possible, from Prussia, the double _régime_ 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 Neuchâtel 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 _emigrés_ 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 Graubünden, 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]