SWITZERLAND. 



January 1, 1872, the troops of tho line num- 

 I..T.-I 18.000 in.-n, the reserve forces 19,000, 

 and tho laii.lvii.-rii 11,000. The naval force, 

 in 187-', roiiMstod of 21 vessels (4 iron-clods), 

 with an armament >f 172 guns. 



Tin- imports, in I s7l, amounted to 26, 788,000 

 specioilal.-r*; In 1878, to 84,928,000. Theex- 

 . in Js,i, to -20,189,000 specie dalers; in 

 1873, to 20,768,000. 



The movement of shipping, in 1872, was as 

 follows: 



The commercial navy, at the end of 1878, 

 >ted of 7,447 vessels, of a total burden 

 of 592,997 commercial lasts (1 last = 2.1 tons). 

 The aggregate length of railroads in operation 

 at the end of 1878 was 502 kilometres ; tho 

 aggregate length of telegraph-lines, 6,238 kilo- 

 metres; of wires, 9,643 kilometres. 



The Swedish Diet was opened by the King 

 on January 19th. In his opening speech, while 

 speaking of the foreign relations of Sweden, 

 the King laid special stress on the visit of the 

 Crown-prince of Germany, as a proof of the 

 friendly connections of Sweden and Germany. 

 < >n closing tho Diet, May 22d, tho Kinir r<- 

 ! with special satisfaction to the passage 

 new law on commercial navigation, ami 

 t > tho increased appropriations for educational 

 purposes. 



SWITZERLAND, a republic of Central 

 Europe, consisting of twenty-two cantons, 

 three of which are divided each into two inde- 

 pendent half-cantons. The supreme legisla- 

 tive and executive authority is vested in a 

 Parliament of two Chambers, the Stiiiulerath, 

 or State Council, and the Nationalrath, or 

 National Council. The first is composed of 

 forty-four members, two for each canton. 

 The Nationalrath consists of 135 representa- 

 tives of the Swiss people, chosen in direct 

 election, at the rate of one deputy for every 

 20,000 souls. Both Chambers united are called 

 the Federal Assembly, and as such represent 

 the supreme Government of the republic. 

 The chief executive authority is deputed to a 

 Federal Council, consisting of seven members, 

 elected for .three years by the Federal Assem- 

 bly. The President and Vice-President of the 

 Federal Council, who are the first magistrates 

 of the republic, are elected by the Federal As- 

 sembly for the term of one year, and are not 

 reeligible till after the expiration of another 

 year. The President of the Federal Council 

 for the year 1874 was K. Schenck, of the can- 

 ton of Bern ; Vice-President, Dr. E. Welti, of 

 the canton of Aargau. President of the Na- 

 tional Council for the session of the Federal 

 Assembly, beginning in June, 1874, K. Feer 

 Herzog, of the canton of Aargau ; Vice-Presi- 

 dent, L. Ruchonnet, of the canton of Vaud. 

 President of the State Council, A. Kochlin, of 



the canton of Basel ; Vice-President, J. K. P. 

 Morel, of the canton of St.-Gall. 



Area of Switzerland, 15,992 iquare mile*. 

 Population, according to the census of 1670, 

 2,669,147, of whom 1,566,847 (68.7 per cent.) 

 were Evangelical ; 1,084,869 (40.6 per cent.) 

 Catholics; 11,435 members of Christian sue to, 

 and 6,996 Jews. 



The total revenue of the Confederation in 

 the year 1873 amounted to 84,843,168 francs; 

 the expenditures to 33,618,825 francs. The 

 budget for 1874 estimated the revenue at 87,- 

 061,000 francs ; the expenditures at 87,071,000 

 francs. The liabilities of the republic amount- 

 ed, in 1873, to 29,288,181 ; as a set-off against 

 which there is Federal property amounting to 

 29,487,829 francs. 



The strength and organization of the armed 

 forces of Switzerland were as follows, at the 

 end of 1878. 



The aggregate length of Swiss railways, in 

 1874, was 1,573 kilometres; that of telegraph- 

 lines, in 1873, 5,843 kilometres; of wires, 14,- 

 109 kilometres. 



The revision of the Federal Constitution 

 which, in 1873, had been made by the Federal 

 Council,* was submitted to a popular vote on 

 April 19, 1874. The new revision strengthens 

 the authority of the central Government in 

 matters military, legal, and especially eccle- 

 siastical. The control of the Confederation 

 over the army has hitherto been, more espe- 

 cially as far as the line is concerned, of the 

 loosest and feeblest kind ; and the cantons look 

 with keen jealousy on any infringement of their 

 existing power to manage their own contingent 

 of the Federal army. But it is evident that 

 the victories of Germany, due in chief measure 

 to the homogeneous organization, have im- 

 pressed the more thoughtful of the Swiss people 

 with the untrustworthiness of disjointed and 

 segregated battalions in time of war, and more 

 especially in the event of a sudden emergency. 

 The partial assimilation of the law, which va- 

 ries almost inconceivably in the various can- 

 tons, is another main object of the revision, 

 and every thing has been done by those who 

 \ere intrusted with drawing it up to avoid 

 exciting unnecessary opposition. It would be 

 impossible at once to pass a uniform code of 

 laws for the entire Confederation, and it is 

 intended only to provide for the gradual intro- 

 duction of the more urgent reforms, in a style 

 likely to be acceptable to the cantons which are 



* See ANNUAL CTCLOPJSDIA for 1878, article SWITZUU 

 LAND 



