SWITZERLAND. 



745 



800 crowns, including 1,247,800 crowns of ex- 

 traordinary expenditure on railroad construc- 

 tion. The national debt amounted, on June 

 30, 1884, to 106,831, 600 crowns, and was offset 

 by 135,438,300 crowns of reproductive invest- 

 ments. 



The Conflict with Sweden. The diplomatic 

 affairs of Norway have hitherto been confided 

 to the direction of the Swedish Minister of 

 Foreign Affairs. Johan Sverdrup, following 

 up the victory won for the constitutional lib- 

 erties of Norway in 1884, demanded that the 

 foreign relations of the united kingdoms should 

 be directed by a Council of State, consisting of 

 three Swedish and three Norwegian members, 

 under the presidency of the King. King Oscar 

 assented to the proposition, but in Sweden it 

 met with much opposition, and led to the re- 

 tirement of Baron Hochschildt, the Foreign 

 Minister. The Norwegian Prime Minister inti- 

 mated that if the Swedes would not accede to 

 a joint diplomacy, Norway would exercise her 

 constitutional right to conduct her diplomatic 

 affairs independently of Sweden. The idea ot 

 the dissolution, since the events of the last two 

 years, has taken root in Sweden as well as in 

 Norway. In Sweden its advocates are the 

 conservative believers in a strong government 

 and upholders of the kingly prerogative. The 

 only way they see to arrest the spread of lib- 

 eral theories in Sweden is to cut loose from 

 Norway, and thus escape from the contagion of 

 Norwegian radicalism. Another class of Swed- 

 ish Conservatives are so imbittered over the 

 success of the Norwegians in the constitutional 

 conflict that they would not shrink from an 

 attempt to suppress the Norwegian Constitu- 

 tion and incorporate Norway in the Swedish 

 monarchy. A royal decision in favor of a 

 Common Council of State for Foreign Affairs 

 was published May 15, 1885. As it involves a 

 change in the fundamental law, it requires the 

 ratification of the Norwegian Storthing and 

 also of the Swedish Diet. The Conservatives 

 of Sweden, more royalist than the King, have 

 become greatly excited over the concessions 

 that King Oscar is inclined to make to the Na- 

 tionalists in Norway, particularly the agree- 

 ment of May 15, and openly accuse him of be- 

 traying the interests of the Swedish father- 

 land. 



SWITZERLAJVD, a federal republic in central 

 Europe. The legislative and executive au- 

 thority of the confederacy is vested in the 

 State Council, composed of forty-four mem- 

 bers, chosen by the twenty-two cantons, and 

 the National Council or Nationalrath, chosen 

 by direct election at the rate of one member 

 for every 20,000 inhabitants. Every male 

 citizen over twenty years of age is a voter. 

 Clergymen are not eligible. The Chambers 

 united form the Federal Assembly. The ex- 

 ecutive authority is delegated to the Bundes- 

 rath, or Federal Council, consisting of seven 

 members, chosen for three years by the Fed- 

 eral Assembly. The President and Vice-Presi- 



dent of the Federal Council are elected by the 

 Federal Assembly for one year, and are not 

 eligible for the next consecutive term. 



The President of the Confederation for 1885 

 was Dr. K. Schenk, of the canton of Bern, who 

 had charge of the Political Department in the 

 Federal Council. Dr. A. Deucher, of Thurgau, 

 had the direction of the Interior; L. Ruchon- 

 net, of Vaud, the Department of Justice and 

 Police; F. W. Hertenstein, of Zurich, Military 

 Affairs ; B. Hammer, of Solothurn, Finance and 

 Customs; N. Droz, of Neufchatel, Commerce 

 and Agriculture; Dr. E. Welti, of Aargau, 

 Posts and Railroads. Dr. Deucher was on 

 Dec. 15, 1885, elected President for 1886, and 

 N. Droz Vice-President. The departments 

 were distributed as follows : Political Depart- 

 ment, President Deucher ; Interior, Schenk ; 

 Justice, Ruchonnet ; Military, Hertenstein ; 

 Finance, Hammer; Commerce and Agricult- 

 ure, Vice-President Droz; Posts and Rail- 

 roads, Welti. 



Area and Population. The area of Switzerland 

 is 15,892 square miles. The population in 1880 

 was 2,846,102. The number of emigrants in 

 1884 was 8,975, of whom 7,809 went to North 

 America. The city of Geneva in 1880 con- 

 tained 50,043 inhabitants, or, including the 

 suburbs, 68,320 ; Zurich, with its suburbs, had 

 75,956; Basle, 61,399; Bern, 44,087. The 

 number of Swiss in the United States in 1885 

 was 133,702. 



Commerce. Of 22,222,177 metric quintals of 

 goods imported in 1884, 13,662,332 quintals 

 came from Germany, 5,948,271 from France, 

 1,395,637 from Italy, and 1,215,937 from Aus- 

 tria. The total weight of the exports was 

 3,426,896 metric quintals. The values of im- 

 ports and exports in 1883 are officially esti- 

 mated as follow, in francs : 



Communications. The length of railroads in 

 operation at the beginning of 1884 was 2,960 

 kilometres, including the 64 kilometres of the 

 St. Gothard system. 



The length of telegraph lines at the close of 

 1884 was 6,874 kilometres, of wires 16,618 

 kilometres. The number of dispatches in 

 1884 was 2,942,767, comprising 1,724,989 in- 

 ternal, 835,429 international, 291,882 transit, 

 and 90,467 official telegrams. 



The number of letters forwarded in 1884 

 was, including postal-cards, 87,083,978, of 

 which 27,902,732 were foreign. The receipts 

 of the post-office were 15,384,151, the expenses 

 14,202,284 francs. 



The Army. The military law of 1874 requires 

 every able-bodied citizen to serve twelve years 

 in the Auszug and twelve years in the Land- 



