As the Swiss, in different Cantons, speak different languages with several distinct idioms, there is necessarily a great diversity of nomenclature; the aim has been to follow that locally prevalent, and especially in the designation of the Cantons by their German, French, and Italian names. The writer has had frequent recourse to the following authorities: “The Swiss Confederation,” by Sir Francis Adams and C. D. Cunningham, London; “The Federal Government of Switzerland,” by Bernard Moses, San Francisco (these two books are of recent date, supplementing each other well, and constitute the only systematic and valuable publication in English on the constitutional history and public law of Switzerland); Woolsey’s “Political Science,” Woodrow Wilson’s “The State,” Freeman’s “History of Federal Government,” May’s “Democracy in Europe,” “Encyclopædia Britannica,” Reclus’s “The Earth and its Inhabitants,” furnish briefer but valuable accounts. Elaborate works in German and French consulted are Bluntschli’s “Staats und Rechts Geschichte der Schweiz,” Dubs’s “Das öffentliche Recht der schweizerischen Eidgenossenchaft,” Droz’s “Instruction Civique,” and Magnenat’s “Abrégé de l’Histoire de la Suisse.” CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE INTRODUCTION 9 CHAPTER II. THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION 35 CHAPTER III. THE FEDERAL ASSEMBLY 65 CHAPTER IV. THE FEDERAL COUNCIL 85 CHAPTER V. THE FEDERAL TRIBUNAL 104 CHAPTER VI. THE CANTONS 123 CHAPTER VII. THE LANDSGEMEINDE 148 CHAPTER VIII. THE REFERENDUM 164 CHAPTER IX. THE COMMUNES 174 CHAPTER X. CITIZENSHIP 191 CHAPTER XI. LAND LAW AND TESTAMENTARY POWER 209 CHAPTER XII. MILITARY SERVICE AND ORGANIZATION 226 CHAPTER XIII. EDUCATION 253 CHAPTER XIV. TECHNICAL AND INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS 277 CHAPTER XV. INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE 299 CHAPTER XVI. PEASANT HOME AND LIFE 324 CHAPTER XVII. NATURAL BEAUTIES AND ATTRACTIONS 353 CHAPTER XVIII. WILLIAM TELL 391 CHAPTER XIX. BERN 411 CHAPTER XX. SWITZERLAND THE SEAT OF INTERNATIONAL UNIONS 430 CHAPTER XXI. SWITZERLAND AND THE EUROPEAN SITUATION 450