720 



SWITZERLAND. 



was addressed to the Federal Council, and was 

 rejected by that body on March 26, 1874. The 

 Catholics then appealed, in March, 1875, from 

 the decision of the Federal Council to the 

 Federal Assembly, invoking the provision of 

 the new constitution, adopted since that de- 

 cision, which declares that no canton shall 

 expel a citizen from its territory. In the dis- 

 cussion that folio wed it was stated that another 

 appeal had been made to the Federal Council, 

 raising this question of the applicability of the 

 new constitution to the case, and a delegate 

 from Bern moved that, in view of this fact, no 

 action should be taken by the Assembly until 

 the decision of the Federal Council had been 

 given upon this new point. This motion was 

 agreed to. On March 27th the Federal Coun- 



cil issued an order, inviting the Government of 

 Bern to report, at as early a day as possible, 

 whether it proposed to continue in force for 

 any considerable period of time the decree in 

 question ; and, if so, to communicate the rea- 

 sons which, in its view, would render necessa- 

 ry the further maintenance of such an excep- 

 tional measure. On May 31st the Federal 

 Council pronounced the decree of expulsion in- 

 compatible with the existing constitution, and 

 directed the Government of Bern to revoke it 

 within two months. On June 13th the can- 

 ton appealed to the Federal Assembly from 

 this decision. This body sustained the decision 

 of the Executive, but extended the time for the 

 revocation of the decree until the middle of 

 November. 



BERN. 



The Catholic Board of Education of St. -Gall 

 passed a resolution, on January 29th, transfer- 

 ring the religious instruction to the school- 

 teachers, as the priests had not submitted to 

 the exclusion of the dogma of infallibility and 

 the syllabus from this instruction; and, if the 

 priests should refuse such children communion 

 and confession, Old Catholic priests were to be 

 appointed. 



On January 3d the Council of the canton of 

 Geneva repealed that article of the new re- 

 ligious law which prescribed that the vote of 

 at least one-third of the Catholic voters was 

 necessary to elect the parish priests. 



In the cantons of Bern and Geneva the 

 church councils, in the beginning of February, 

 gave permission to the Old Catholics to use 

 the Catholic churches. 



The elections for the Grand Council of the 

 canton of Ticino took place in February. The 

 result was a victory for the Catholics, who, dur- 



ing the war of the Sonderbund in 1847, and 

 ever since, had been out of power. 



The elections for the Federal Assembly took 

 place on October 31st. The result did not 

 change the complexion of either Chamber, the 

 Liberals retaining a majority in both Houses. 



A terrible storm visited the canton of Ge- 

 neva and the French frontier on July 8th. It 

 was accompanied with hail, and the stones 

 were of enormous size. The glass in all the 

 windows in the district where the storm raged 

 was demolished, and many persons were killed 

 and injured. 



Twenty-two hundred workmen, employed 

 on the St.-Gothard Tunnel, struck work on 

 July 29th, and became riotous. They gathered 

 at the northern entrance of the tunnel and 

 blocked it. The Swiss Government sent a body 

 of troops to the spot, who dispersed the rioters, 

 killing four of them and wounding a large num- 

 ber of others. 



