532 SWITZERLAND gees, who gathered in Switzerland in conse- quence of the revolutionary movements of 1830, involved the country in serious difficul- ties with the great powers, which complained of the liberty granted to them by the federal diet. The latter endeavored to conciliate the powers by several resolutions restricting the liberty of the refugees (in 1834 and 1838), and even by the expulsion of some of the lead- ing me^i among them (1836); yet the diplo- matic collisions continued. The demand of the French government in 1838 for the expul- sion of Louis Napoleon, who had been since 1832 a citizen of the canton of Thurgau, was declined by Switzerland, and almost led to a war, which was only avoided by his voluntary departure. An occasion for new religious con- tests was given by the conference at Baden in 1834, at which delegates of Bern, Basel Coun- try, Aargau, Thurgau, Lucerne, Solothurn, and St. Gall undertook to regulate the relations of the Roman Catholic church in a manner which was rejected by the pope and the bishop of Basel as contrary to the rights and the spirit of the church. The articles of the con- ference provoked several insurrections, espe- cially in the canton of Aargau, the govern- ment of which, to punish the revolted Catho- lic districts, decreed in 1841 the abolition of all the convents. Against this measure most of the Catholic cantons and the ambassador of Austria protested, as a direct violation of that article of the constitution of 1815 which guaranteed the continuance of convents and chapters. Upon the representations of the federal diet Aargau restored four female con- vents, a concession which did not satisfy Aus- tria and the Catholic cantons; but the fed- eral diet by 12 votes dismissed the subject from its docket (Aug. 81, 1843). A cause of still greater trouble was a motion, made by Aargau at the diet of 1844, for the expulsion of the Jesuits from Switzerland. It was. laid on the table by the diet ; but when the Catho- lic Vorort Lucerne resolved (Oct. 24, 1844) to call the Jesuits to a cantonal institution, a great excitement spread throughout Switzerland. Two volunteer expeditions (December, 1844, and March, 1845) were undertaken for the purpose of overthrowing the government of Lucerne, but both were unsuccessful. On the other hand, the governments of Vaud, Bern, and^Zurich, which had voted against the ex- pulsion, had to give way to others which were in favor of the project. As thus the danger threatening the existence of the schools of the Jesuits increased, the cantons which either had called Jesuits to cantonal institutions, or which patronized them (viz., Lucerne, Uri, Schwytz, Unterwalden, Zug, Fribourg, and Valais), strengthened a separate alliance (Son- derbund) which had already been formed in 1843, and appointed a council of war for the emergency of a civil contest. A motion of Zurich at the diet of 1845 to declare the Son- derbund dissolved received only 10 votes, but a change of government of Geneva and St. Gall secured for the motion a majority of 12 J votes on July 20, 1846. One Protestant can- ton (Neufchatel), one Protestant half canton (Basel City), and one Catholic half canton (Appenzell Inner Rhodes) voted with the cantons of the Sonderbund. In September another resolution declared the expulsion of the Jesuits from all Switzerland. The diet collected an army of nearly 100,000 men under the command of Gen. Dufour, and on Nov. 4 resolved to execute the decree of July 20 by force of arms. The Sonderbund had raised a force of 36,000, which was to be supported by a Landsturm of 47,000 men. The isolated Fri- bourg was first attacked, and surrendered after an insignificant skirmish. On Nov. 23 the army of the Sonderbund was routed at Gislikon, near the frontier of the canton of Lucerne, the coun- cil of war, the government of Lucerne, and the Jesuits fled, and all the seven cantons sub- mitted. In this war Lucerne was the head and centre of the seven Catholic cantons. Austria, France, and Prussia had openly declared du- ring the war their sympathy with the Sonder- bund, and in 1848 issued a joint note to Switz- erland, demanding that the 'cantons of the Son- derbund be evacuated, and no change be made in the constitution of 1815, except by the con- sent of all the cantons. But the revolutions of 1848 drew off the attention of the great powers from Switzerland, and gave the latter an opportunity to hasten a thorough reforma- tion of .the federal constitution. The commit- tee of revision began its labors on Feb. 17, 1848, and on June 27 the draft of the consti- tution was submitted to a direct vote of the people. A majority of the cantons and a large majority of the total population voting in favor of it, it was promulgated Sept. 12. In the same year the canton of Neufchatel declared itself independent of Prussia, which entered against this act an inefficient protest. On Sept. 2, 1855, the royalists of Neufchatel made an attempt to overthrow the government of the canton and to reestablish the sovereignty of the king of Prussia. The movement was at once suppressed (Sept. 3), but led to serious complications with Prussia, which demanded the unconditional pardon of the captured roy- alists. The demand was supported more or less by all the great powers of Europe; and when the federal council refused to accede to it, Prussia broke off diplomatic relations, and made some warlike demonstrations. "When, however, France and England promised their intercession with Prussia in behalf of a recog- nition of the independence of Neufchatel. in case Switzerland would release the roycilist prisoners, their advice was followed by the federal council. Prussia in 1857, at a con- ference of the great powers in Paris, resigned for ever its claims to Neufchatel. In 1860 Switzerland protested against the annexation of Savoy to France, as a violation of the trea- ties of 1564 and 1816, by which the neutrality
