SWITZERLAND
361
SWITZERLAND
limited by the federation. There was an' assembly to
represent the individual states called the Oouncil of
States (Slamlerat), and one to represent the entire
Swiss nation called the National Council (Xational-
ral), which formed together the legislative body of the
Confederation. The executive authoritj- was in the
hands of a body called the Federal Council. The
cantons, however, still retained the right of levying
taxes, of police supervision, of the administration of
justice, and religious affairs, and all legislation regard-
ing schools. The universities of Switzerland also all
remained cantonal institutions; they exist at the pres-
ent time in Basle, Zurich, Berne, (Jeneva, Lausanne,
Fribourg, and Neuchatel. Foreign affairs, the army,
customs, postal administration, and coinage were
transferred to the federation. The Constitution was
revised in 1874, and on 9 April of this year the new
Constitution was accepted; with a few partial changes
it is still in existence. It rests on the principles of a
decided centraMzation as regards the army and the
judiciarj', and, unfortunately, contains also severe
articles directed against the Catholic Church (pro-
hibition of houses of Jesuits, of the founding of new
monasteries, etc.). A federal supreme court was
estabUshed for the entire Confederation. In many of
the cantons a strong movement began for making the
cantonal constitutions more democratic, and during
the last decades new constitutions have been intro-
duced in a large number of them. The creation of a
common code of law for civil and criminal cases was
transferred to the Confederation. The railways were
made state property by the purchase of the larger rail-
ways from the companies owning them, the purchase
being confirmed in 1S9S; in this way their administra-
tion belongs to the Confederation.
The Common"we.\lth. — .Switzerland forms a con- federation made up of the following twenty-two can- tons, three being divided into half-cantons. The can- tons have sovereign authority in all matters which are not under the jurisdiction of the Confederation. These competencies, however, frequently conflict, as in matters respecting the army, sanitary officers, and police supervision of foreigners. The decisions of the Federal Government are generally executed by the cantonal Governments. The main matters under the jurisdiction of the Confederation are: Intercourse with other countries and the exclusive right to make treaties with them and to direct the foreign policy; since 1898 the entire domain of civil and criminal law, for the purpose of unifying these two codes, although, with the exception of the Federal Court, the organiza- tion of the courts belongs to the cantons; the army, all legislation, and the supervision of legislative work; the right to carry out public works that benefit a consider- able part of the country; further, the riglit of general supervision over water and forest inspection. The Confederation also established a federal polytechnic high school at Zurich, the supervision of which belongs exclusively to the federal authorities, while all other schools are cantonal and receive in part subventions from the Federal Government. The Federal Govern- ment owns and has the control of the customs, j)ost- office, telegraph and telephone, coinage (since 190.i the monopoly of the issuing of bank-notes has been given to the federal national bank), the manufacture and sale of powder, wholesale selUng of alcohol. Trade inspection is also largely regulated by federal law, and the Government has the right to introduce sickness and accident insurance; a law in reference to these was accepted by the nation in 1912. Since they were made state property the larger, standard-gauge rail- waj's have been carried on by the Federal Govern- ment. The Constitution of the Confederation guar- antees freedom of faith and conscience, as well as freedom of worship. Notwithstanding this, the Con- stitution forbids the recei)tion of Jesuits and aflfilliated orders and the founding of new monasteries, while the
establishment of new dioceses in Switzerland is made
dependent on the consent of the Confederation. All
these special ordinances refer only to the CathoUc
Church.
The federal authorities are: (1) legislative; (2) executive; (3) judicial. (1) The legislative authoritj' is the Federal Assembly, composed of two concurrent chambers: the National Council and the Council of St.ates. The National Council is elected directly by the people for three years, there being a deputy for each 20,0(X) inhabitant.s, or for a fraction over 10,000 inhabitants of a canton. For this purpose Switzer- land is divided into federal electoral districts. The election is direct and the ballot secret. All Swiss citizens over twenty years of age, who are not pre- vented by cantonal laws from exercising political rights, are entitled to vote. AU citizens entitled to vote are also entitled to hold office. The Council of States consists of 44 deputies, of whom each canton appoints two, and each half-canton one. The mem- bers of the Council of States are elected, according to the law of each canton, either by the people of the canton, or by the cantonal council, which is the can- tonal legislative body. The passage of a law requires the agreement of both the States and National Coun- cils. These two councils unite in the Federal Assem- bly for certain matters, especially for the election of the executive authorities and of the members of the Federal Court, for voting upon petitions for pardon, for settling disputes as to jurisdiction between federal authorities. The nation has the right of the referen- dum; when 30,000 citizens entitled to vote, or eight cantons of Switzerland, make the demand, any- federal law and any generally binding federal ordi- nance, if not of a pressing nature, must be laid before the nation, so that the latter by a majority vote can accept or reject it. In 28 cases during the years 1874-1906 in which the referendum vote was taken, the law or the federal decision was rejected in 19 cases. The people also have an initiative in matters respect- ing the Federal Constitution, inasmuch as 50,000 citi- zens entitled to vote may petition for a change in the Constitution upon a definite point. The Federal Assembly also can present a similar demand for a change in the Constitution.
(2) The executive authority is the Federal Council, which is composed of seven members, elected by the joint Federal Assembly for three years. Any citizen eligible to the National Council can be elected to the Federal Council. The president of the Federal Council is elected each year by the Federal Assembly, as is also the vice-president; the president cannot be re-elected for the ensuing year. The Federal Council is responsible for the exercise of its office to the Federal Assembly, yet the rejection by the chambers of a biU offered by a member of the Federal Council does not necessitate the dismissal of the respective member. The executive administration of the Confederation is divided into seven departments, each of which is under the direction of a member of the Federal Council; the Department of Foreign Affairs, which is always under the direction of the president of the Confederation; the Department of the Interior, which controls the numerous federal subven- tions, supervises game and fish inspectors, weights and measures, and directs the sanitary inspectors, and the execution of the laws respecting food; the Depart- ment of Justice and Police; the Mifitarj- Department; the Department of Finance and Customs; the De- partment of Commerce, Industrj', and Agriculture; the Post-Office and Railway Department. (3) The judicial authority is the Federal Court at Lausanne. Up to 1912 the court consisted of nineteen members; when the number was raised to twenty-four, to which should be added nine substitute members. The fed- eral judges are elected for six years by the Federal Assembly. The court is divideid into three sections;
