orm new
lawless sects among the people," he should be taken by the magistracy,
supported of course by the allies, and punished "in honor, body and
life, or according to the form laid down for that crime." What was now
to be done in the territories held by Zurich and Bern in common with
the Five Cantons? Could the former permit the inhabitants, who wished
for reform and sought aid for its introduction, to be punished by the
_vogts_ (bailiffs) perhaps with fire and sword, merely because their
religious convictions were not those of a part of their rulers? Then
the possibility of a war, even within the limits of the Confederacy,
was expressly provided for, and in that event the Austrian quota was to
be 6,000 foot-soldiers, 400 horsemen and a supply of artillery. Other
associates beyond the Confederacy had likewise permission to join the
alliance and "march against the enemy and rebels within, in full force
and at their charges." Finally, what was afterward regarded as an act
of special injustice to the cities of Zurich and Bern and the chief
cause of the unhappy turn of the religious war, the prohibition of the
necessaries of life was made also a principle of this alliance, a
lawful mode of fighting, and preferred and recommended in case strife
should break out.

As soon as the two cities had received certain information that the
alliance was concluded, before the documents were yet delivered to the
Diet by King Ferdinand, they instituted a convention of the collective
cantons, not embraced in the alliance. All, with the exception of
Freiburg, were present at it. A resolution was now passed to send an
embassy to Luzern and into the Five Cantons, praying for the
abandonment of a connection, which would necessarily shake the
Confederacy to its very foundations. This embassy of the seven states
was joined by delegates from the allied cities of St. Gall, Chur,
Muehlhausen and Biel.

But the animosity of the parties had already grown to such a height
that little was to be hoped for from conciliatory measures. Still many
were found on both sides, who continued to favor peaceful counsels and
desire a dispassionate, and, above all, a national discussion of the
questions at issue. Some months previous to this, the Council at Zug
had written to that of Zurich: They were not willing to believe in the
rumor of hostile intentions against the Zurichers and designs of
pillage among the peasantry on the further side of Lake Zurich: then