of the Jesuits, a
survival of the war of 1848, to the so-called Heimatlosen, or those
who have no commune of origin, and to the police appointed to control
the movements of foreign agitators seeking the asylum of the country,
all these have a purely local interest, and need not be especially
examined.

What, then, is the peculiar mark and symbol of the Swiss Constitution,
taken as a whole? When all has been said and done, the most
characteristic provisions are those which introduce forms of direct
government or of pure democracy, as the technical expression is. The
supremacy of the legislative branch, as representing the people, the
peculiar make-up of the Federal Council, the limited powers of the
Federal Tribunal, and above all the institution of the referendum, are
all evidences of this tendency toward direct government. In the
Cantonal governments the same quality is still more apparent, for it
is from them that the Swiss Federal Constitution has borrowed the
principles which underlie these characteristic provisions. In point of
fact, representative democracy has never felt quite at home in
Switzerland; there has always been an effort to revert to simpler,
more straightforward methods; to reduce the distance which separates
the people from the exercise of their sovereignty; and to constitute
them into a court of final appeal.

In view of the marvellous stability which the pure democracy of
Switzerland has displayed, there is something comical in the horror of
all forms of direct government expressed by most constitutional
writers. De Tocqueville, whom we honor for his appreciation of our own
Constitution, declares "that they all tend to render the government of
the people irregular in its action, precipitate in its resolutions,
and tyrannical in its acts." Mr. George Grote also condemns the
referendum, and of course one cannot expect pure democracy to be
praised by Sir Henry Maine, who believes that "the progress of mankind
has hitherto been effected by the rise and fall of aristocracies." On
the other hand it is refreshing to hear Mr. Freeman and Mr. Dicey
actually discussing the practicability of introducing the referendum
into the English political system.

After all, is not this very quality of directness a great
recommendation, when we consider the rubbish which at present clogs
the wheels of our political machinery, the complications which confuse
the voter and hide the real issues from his comprehension?