792 



SWITZERLAND. 



The number of marriages in 1889 was 20.691 : 

 of births, 84,279; of deaths, 62,818; excess of 

 births over deaths, 21,461. The number of emi- 

 grants in 1888 who went beyond the seas was 

 8,430, of whom 6,966 were destined for North 

 America, 1,419 for South America, 23 for Aus- 

 tralia, 7 for Asia, and 15 for Africa. . The Gov- 

 ernment has proposed to subject foreigners, who 

 numbered 238,313 in 1888, to the military tax. 



Finances. The receipts of the Federal Gov- 

 ernment in 1889 were 65,571.700 francs, of which 

 27,636,051 francs were derived from customs and 

 22,823,496 francs were postal receipts. The ex- 

 penditures were 64,435,605 francs, of which 24,- 

 003,169 francs, the expenditure for military pur- 

 poses, and 20,530,655 francs, the expenses of the 

 post-office, were the chief items. 



The debt of the Confederation on Jan. 1, 1890, 

 amounted to 59,023,636 francs, and the value of 

 productive investments was 105,116,062 francs, 

 inclusive of 12,489,352 francs of special funds. 



Commerce. The value of the special imports 

 in 1889 was 954,229,000 francs, of which 270,- 

 002,000 francs represent imports from Germany, 

 262,302,000 francs' worth came from France, 

 140,803,000 francs from Italy. 106,491,000 francs 

 from Austria-Hungary, 50,781,000 francs from 

 Great Britain, 29,759,000 francs from Belgium, 

 26,159,000 francs from Russia, 7,877,000 francs 

 from the Netherlands, 7,333,000 francs from the 

 rest of Europe. 25,283,000 francs from the Unit- 

 ed States, 4,589,000 francs from the rest of Amer- 

 ica, 7,762,000 francs from Asia, 13,182,000 francs 

 from Africa, and 1.906,000 francs from Australia 

 and Polynesia. The sum of the exports was 

 710,895,000 francs, of which 184,606.000 francs 

 were shipped to Germany, 142,281,000 francs to 

 France, 105,950,000 francs to Great Britain, 76,- 

 139,000 francs to the United States, 53,489,000 

 francs to Italy, 38,534,000 francs to Austria- 

 Hungary, 12,831,000 francs to Russia. 10.988,000 

 francs to Belgium, 4,155,000 francs to the Nether- 

 lands, 25,689,000 francs to other European coun- 

 tries, 25,560,000 francs to other American coun- 

 tries besides th% United States, 27,329,000 francs 



to Asiatic countries, 3,036,000 francs to Africa, 

 and 2,308,000 francs to Australia and Polynesia. 



The imports of cereals were of the value of 96,- 

 795,000 francs: silk thread, 88,131,000 francs; 

 raw silk, 60,685,000 francs ; animals, 47,405,000 

 francs; cotton. 45,180,000 francs; woolens, 42,- 

 090,000 francs ; wine, 32,662,000 francs ; apparel, 

 27,397,000 francs ; coal, 26,550,000 francs ; cotton 

 goods, 25,829,000 francs ; iron, 22,550,000 francs ; 

 chemicals, 20,577,000 francs; sugar, 18,454,000 

 francs; silk maugfactures, 16,052,000 francs; ma- 

 chinery and cars, 15,575,000 francs ; coffee, 14,- 

 372,000 francs ; wool, 14,317,000 francs ; timber, 

 11,233,000 francs; leather, 10,708,000 francs; 

 leather goods, 9,346,000 francs. The principal 

 exports were silk manufactures of the value of 

 129,073,000 francs; cotton manufactures, 128,- 

 769,000 francs : watches, 98,743,000 francs ; silk 

 thread, 75,443,000 francs; cheese, 30,030,000 

 francs ; cotton thread, 24.683.000 francs ; machi- 

 nery and cars, 21,905,000 francs ; animals, 16,311,- 

 000 francs; raw silk, 10,777,000 francs; woolen 

 yarns, 10,695,000 francs ; milk, 10,374,000 francs ; 

 coloring matters, 10,309,000 francs; gold and 

 silver work, 8,769,000 francs; hides and skins, 

 8.504,000 francs ; apparel, 7,036,000 francs. Of 

 the imports 31'5 per cent, were agricultural, 18'5 

 per cent, pastoral, 1'8 per cent, forestry, 7*4 per 

 cent, mining, and 40*8 per cent, industrial prod- 

 ucts. The exports were divided in the propor- 

 tion of 14'1 per cent, of pastoral products and 

 85-9 per cent, of articles of manufacture. 



Railroads. The length of railroad lines in 

 operation in 1888 was 2,858 kilometres, not reck- 

 oning 67 kilometres owned by foreign companies. 

 The receipts for that year were 82,283,477 francs, 

 and the running expenses 43,850,883 francs. 



Postal and Telegraph Service. The post- 

 office in 1889 transmitted 71,357,000 domestic, 

 and 32,430,000 foreign letters and postal cards ; 

 17,867,000 domestic, and 84,624,000 foreign 

 printed inclosures ; and money orders of the 

 value of 353,607,000 francs. 



The length of the state telegraph lines in 1889 

 was 7,152 kilometres; the length of wires, 17,- 

 872 kilometres ; the length of private lines, 1,127,- 

 000 kilometres ; the length of wires, 6,563 kilo- 

 metres. The number of dispatches was 3,732,- 

 902, of which 1,912,500 were internal, 1,194,677 

 international, 505,364 in transit, and 120,361 

 connected with the service. The receipts were 

 3,991,925 francs, and the expenses 3,417,694 

 francs. 



The Army. Every Swiss citizen capable of 

 bearing arms is under obligation to serve, if 

 called upon, in the Auszug or regular army from 

 his twentieth to his thirty-second year. Actual 

 service is confined to a short period of instruc- 

 tion and a few weeks of annual drill. From the 

 thirty-third to the forty-fourth year service is 

 owed in the Landwehr, and under the law of 

 Feb. 15, 1887, the entire male population belongs 

 to the Landsturm between the ages of seventeen 

 and fifty. Those who do not serve in person pay 

 6 francs and an annual tax not to exceed 300 

 francs, or half that amount for the Landwehr. 

 The army in 1890 numbered 1,205 staff and non- 

 active officers in the Auszug and 297 in the 

 Landwehr ; 96,562 infantry in the Auszug and 

 64,237 in the Landwehr; 2,910 cavalry in the 

 Auszug and 2,830 in the Landwehr; 17,654 



