s of Swiss history have been
only too frequently stained. A general election takes place every
three years. The salary of the representatives is four dollars a day,
which is forfeited by non-attendance, and about five cents a mile for
travelling expenses. On the other hand, the Council of States is
composed of forty-four members, two for each of the twenty-two
Cantons. The length of their terms of office is left entirely to the
discretion of the Cantons which elect them, and in the same manner
their salaries are paid out of the Cantonal treasuries. There are
certain special occasions when the two houses meet together and act in
concert: first, for the election of the Federal Council, which
corresponds in a general way to our President and his Cabinet;
secondly, for the election of the Federal Tribunal; thirdly, for that
of the Chancellor of the Confederation, an official whose duties seem
to be those of a secretary to the Federal Council and Federal
Assembly, and fourthly, for that of the Commander-in-Chief in case of
war. The attributes of the Swiss Federal Tribunal, though closely
resembling those of our Supreme Court, are not identical with them,
for the Swiss conception of the sovereignty of the people is quite
different from our own. Their Federal Assembly is the repository of
the national sovereignty, and, therefore, no other body can override
its decisions. The Supreme Court of the United States tests the
constitutionality of laws passed by Congress which may be submitted to
it for examination, thus placing itself as arbiter over the
representatives of the people; but the Federal Tribunal must accept as
final all laws which have passed through the usual channels, so that
its duty consists merely in applying them to particular cases without
questioning their constitutionality.

If there is a certain resemblance between the Federal Assembly and our
Congress, and between the Federal Tribunal and our Supreme Court,
there is on the other hand a striking difference between the Federal
Council and our presidential office.

The Swiss Constitution does not intrust the executive power to one
man, as our own does, but to a Federal Council of seven members,
acting as a sort of Board of Administration. These seven men are
elected for a fixed term of three years, out of the ranks of the whole
body of voters throughout the country, by the two Houses, united in
joint session. Every year they also designate, from the seven memb