810 



SWITZERLAND. 



The Army and Navy. The land troops are di- 

 vided into the line, the landvaern, and the 

 landstorm. The troops of the line number 

 750 officers and 18,000 men. The naval forces 

 in July, 1886, were 4 monitors, 2 frigates, 2 

 corvettes, 29 gunhoats, and 6 torpedo-boats. 



Commerce. The total value of the imports in 

 1885 was 145,605,000 crowns; the value of the 

 exports, 101,938,000 crowns. The imports 

 from the United States were valued at 7,363,- 

 000 crowns, the exports to the United States 

 at 431,000 crowns. 



Railroads, Posts, and Telegraphs. The length of 

 railroad in operation in 1886 was 975 miles. 



The post-office in 1885 forwarded 14,382,615 

 internal letters, and 19,701,403 in all. 



The state telegraph lines in 1886 had a 

 total length of 975 miles, with 8,525 miles of 

 wire. 



Session of the Storthing. The Storthing met 

 in February. There were 82 members belong- 

 ing to the Left, while the Eight counted 32 

 votes. During the preceding session a law was 

 passed allowing ex-ministers and councilors of 

 state to be elected to the Storthing without re- 

 spect to their residence. Helliesen and Holm- 

 boe, members of the deposed Selmer ministry, 

 were elected under this act; but the Storthing 

 decided that it did not apply to state council- 

 ors who had been removed from office on im- 

 peachment. 



The democratic ministry was unable to show 

 the promised surplus for 1886- 1 87, and only 

 succeeded in avoiding a deficit by cutting down 

 the military expenditure. 



SWITZERLAND, a federal republic in central 

 Europe. The executive department is the Fed- 

 eral Council, composed in 1886 as follows: 

 President of the Federation, Dr. A. Deucher; 

 Vice-President, N. Droz; Chief of the Political 

 Department, Dr. Deucher ; of the Interior, Dr. 

 K. Schenk; of Justice and Police, L. Ruchon- 

 net; of Military Affairs, F. W. Hertenstein; 

 of Finance and Customs, B. Hammer; of Com- 

 merce and Agriculture, K Droz ; of Posts and 

 Railroads, Dr. E. Welti. For 1887, Droz was 

 chosen President, and Hertenstein Vice-Presi- 

 dent. (For area and population, see tl Annual 

 Cyclopaedia" for 1885.) 



Commerce. The total value of the special 

 imports in 1885 was 755,452,000 francs; of 

 the domestic exports, 659,964,000 francs. The 

 imports of precious metals were 36,667,000 

 francs; the exports, 36,734,000 francs. The 

 exports of watches to the United States de- 

 clined in value from 13,238,489 francs in 1882 

 to 11, 146,010 francs in 1883, 7,469,704 francs 

 in 1884, and 6,303,940 francs in 1885. The 

 exports of cheese showed a constant increase 

 up to 1883, but since then have fallen off. 



Communications. The length of railroads laid 

 by the close of 1884 was 1,740 miles. The 

 number of passengers carried in 1884 was 23,- 

 488,640. The receipts were 71,645,230, and 

 the expenses 38,534,915 francs. 



The number of letters carried in 1885, in- 



cluding postal-cards, was 55,349,363 internal, 

 and 30,301,492 foreign. 



The telegraph lines in 1885 had a length of 

 4,345 miles, with 10,480 miles of wire. The 

 number of dispatches was 3,007,556 in 1885. 



A commission reported in November on a 

 projected tunnel through the Simplon, recom- 

 mending a tunnel 16,070 metres long, begin- 

 ning at Gondo, at an altitude of 820 or 830 

 metres. The cost of a double- track tunnel 

 was estimated at 62,500,000 francs ; that of a ' 

 single-track tunnel sufficiently large for the 

 traffic, at 53,000,000 francs. 



The Army. The regular army, or Bundesaus- 

 zug, comprises all able-bodied men from twen- 

 ty to thirty-two years of age, and the Land- 

 wehr those between thirty-two and forty-four 

 years of age. The regular army on Jan. 1, 

 1886, had an effective strength of 117,179 

 troops, and the Landwehr of 84,046. 



A law was passed for the organization of 

 the Landsturm. This division of the army, 

 consisting of citizens capable of bearing arms 

 who have passed their fortieth year, had pre- 

 viously no legal status, and in the event of war 

 could be treated by the enemy as the French 

 francs tireurs were treated in the war of 1870. 

 There are estimated to be 200,000 efficient 

 soldiers of this class in Switzerland. The law 

 provides for enrolling men of over fifty as 

 volunteers. 



Finances. The revenue of the Federal Gov- 

 ernment in 1885 was 48,392,697 francs, of 

 which 21,191,437 francs were derived from 

 customs. The total expenditure amounted to 

 46,278,685 francs. The debt of the Federation 

 on Jan. 1, 1886, was 35,713,485 francs. 



Before separating, on December 24, the Na- 

 tional Assembly, in view of the warlike situa- 

 tion in Europe, voted the means for the imme- 

 diate purchase of war material, and for placing 

 the army in a state of readiness. 



Proposed Tariff Changes. The Swiss Govern- 

 ment entered into a treaty of commerce for 

 five years with Germany on May 23, 1881. 

 Since that date many of the German duties 

 have been so increased that the export trade 

 with Germany in many articles has fallen off, 

 while Switzerland maintains the same low 

 tariff as formerly. In the beginning of June 

 the Federal Council notified the German Gov- 

 ernment that a revision was desired. Confer- 

 ences on the subject began in Berlin on Novem- 

 ber 1. The Federal Council proposed to the 

 Federal Assembly a revision of the general 

 tariff, increasing the duties on about one hun- 

 dred articles, including linen, woolen, and cot- 

 ton manufactures, tobacco, beer, flour, meat, 

 butter, shoes, and clothing. Pending the en- 

 actment of this measure and its approval by 

 the popular vote, the Federal Council decided 

 to avail itself of a clause of the tariff law of 

 1851, and convert the existing duties into re- 

 taliatory duties, in order to obtain favorable 

 terms in the tariff negotiations with Germany 

 and other countries. 



