II44 SWITZERLAND 



rate of advance as regards the chief towns is stationary, while in the purely agricultural 

 or pastoral communes a considerable decrease is to be noted. But the larger towns 

 have all very much more numerous populations than in 1900. So Zurich has advanced 

 to 188,930 (from 150,703) and hopes soon to reach the figure 200,000; Basel to 135,163 

 (from 109,161), Geneva to 125,550 (from 104,796), Bern to 85,095 (from 64,227), 

 and Lausanne to 64,142 (from 46,732). No other Swiss town has more than 40,000 

 inhabitants, though' " Great St. Gall " (when the fusion of St. Gall with the neighbour- 

 ing communes of Tablat and Straubenzell .is effected) will (on the results of 1910) 

 number 75,105 souls, and so rank as the 5th most populous town in Switzerland. 



The most striking feature of the census of 1910, however, is the great increase 

 in the number of the non-Swiss residents in Switzerland, which has risen to 565,296 or 

 about 15 per cent (as against 383,424 or 12 per cent in 1900). The influx is all but 

 wholly made up of members of the working class from Germany, France, and Italy, 

 seeking better wages and freedom from compulsory military service. Naturally 

 it is the great towns, and especially those near the frontier, which contain the vast 

 majority of these foreigners, though many Italian navvies and masons are employed 

 on the construction of new lines of railway. The matter has caused much discussion 

 in Switzerland, for it is of importance from the point of view of the Poor Law and of 

 the Army. But, quite apart from the various international treaties by which foreign 

 powers have secured the rights of their subjects, there are many objections to the 

 compulsory naturalisation of these non-Swiss, even though this be limited to children 

 born in the country, but of foreign parentage. The chief objection perhaps is that, 

 as Swiss and Cantonal citizenship can only be obtained by previous admittance as 

 a member of a commune, the communes have the last word and in many cases are not 

 desirous of increasing the number of those entitled to use the communal property 

 (pastures, &c), and so ask prohibitory entrance fees. Further, even if the fees were 

 made lower by law or if the poorer communes should charge lower fees, so small a 

 proportion of native-born Swiss inhabit their commune of birth (only 385 per cent 

 in 1900, and probably not over 30 per cent now), that the connection of the new burgh- 

 ers with the communes of which they became members would be simply a paper bond, 

 though those communes might be put to heavy charges in case these new .burghers 

 came under the provisions of the Poor Law. The same would be the case with the 

 domicile of the newly naturalised. The creation of a new status of Swiss citizenship 

 (apart from Cantonal or Communal burghership) has been proposed, but such a course 

 would involve difficulties not only with the communes but with the cantons as well. 

 It has been found too, in practice, that the lowering of the entrance fees has not at- 

 tracted a great proportion of the foreigners resident in Switzerland, many of whom 

 are there for political reasons, while many Swiss employers prefer to employ foreign 

 workmen at lower wages (being not liable to be called out to do military service) rather 

 than to have only Swiss workmen. Such difficulties, however, are part of the price 

 which Switzerland pays for its international position, which in itself is productive of 

 great benefit. 



Agriculture. On April 21, 1911 a new census was taken of the cattle of all kinds in 

 Switzerland, the number being 1,254,950 as against 1,497,904 in 1906. Every category has 

 decreased in number, save rows and bullocks, which show a slight increase. This striking 

 decrease is to be accounted for in part by the rise in the price of milk, due to the preference 

 of the peasants for producing that article (largely for export in a condensed form or as cheese) 

 rather than for cattle breeding, so that the native supply of meat does not keep pace with 

 the rise in the population and the consequent greater demand. It is said indeed that the 

 native meat supply is now but \ of the quantity demanded. But as the import of live 

 cattle is hindered by the danger of bringing in infectious diseases, while Germany and France 

 do not look with favour on the passage of live stock through their respective territories, 

 the import of dead meat has now greatly exceeded that of live stock. But here comes in a 

 further difficulty, the high figure of the import duties on dead meat. The situation has 

 become so awkward that the Federal Government has had to consent to a (provisional) 

 lowering of the duties so as to enable frozen meat from the Argentine to be brought in, this 

 being sold at a cheaper price; naturally this policy does not approve itself to the peasants or 

 butchers, but has become almost a necessity, owing to the general rise in prices. 



