WORKMEN ABROAD.

115

they do not spend any considerable portion of their
scanty earnings in drink.
it said,” remarks Mr. Petre, “that as a general
rule they bear up mantfully against hard times,

sustained by the consciousness of a higher intelli- |

gence than that of the labouring class below them,
| and also by a pride of caste.” In Norway, drunken-
ness formerly prevailed to such a terrible extent
that about fourteen years ago the Government

made an inquiry into the matter, and in 1859 a|

work was published by Eilert Sundt a member of
the University of Christiania, in which he gave
some statistics that startled the Storthing into the
legislation for which England is still waiting. The
manufacture of finkel (corn-brandy) was forbidden
except in certain licensed distilleries.
was forbidden in the rural districts, so that the
farmer wishing to have alcoholic drink in his house-
hold must lay in a stock when he visits tlie capital
or some other of the principal towns. The diffi-
culty thus placed in the way of obtaining drink
has weakened the drinking habit and diminished
drunkenness. In Sweden the decrease of drunken-
ness during the last six years is one of the most
remarkable features in the great improvement
of the general moral and social bearing and
character of the people. This improvement is
attributed in large measure to the substitution of
Friday for Saturday as pay day. But there are
other causes, which are well worth mentioning at
the present time. In the first place, the chief
Swedish drink, drantvin, has become much dearer
by reason of the increased excise, which is even

now, however, only ls. 4d.a gallon, Then there

is a further tax on the retail trade in the shape of :

licences for selling on the premises. Thirdly, there
isva Permissive Bill, by which a parish or town can
either entirely prohibit or limit the sale of brandy.
The revenue accruing from the retail sale of brandy
and the licences of brandy-shops, does not go into
the pockets of the person who sells, but is divided
between the parish and the county, in the pro-

portion of three-fifths to the first and two-fifths to |
In Gothenburg, a society, which has |
been formed for the purpose of promoting sobriety

the second.

among the working classes, has farmed the licence
of keeping brandy-shops in Gothenburg and its
suburbs. With a view of attaining this end it has
greatly restricted the number of these places, and
converted them into respectable eating-houses,
where brandy, wine, and malt liquors also are sold.
Strict rules for promoting sobriety and order are
kept up. No brandy is sold on credit. No person
is allowed to drink to intoxication, and no brandy
is sold to minors. All the profits arising from
these shops are handed over to the municipal
authorities, and go towards diminishing municipal

taxation. The profits in Gothenburg during one

“To their honour be |

| well to describe it at greater length than that of

The sale |
| possess not only special funds set apart for the

year exceeded 10,0007. In Saxony, which is the
most thrifty of all the German States, the married
working man drinks beer very sparingly, and as

a result is enabled to gaye a surprisingly large
proportion of his small wages. But of all Euro-
pean countries, none is so prosperous as Switzerland.
Its condition is, indeed, so unique, that it will be

the other countries already named.

The Swiss Confederation, though its population
numbers little over 2,500,000 persons, contains
three nationalities, German, French, and Italian,
and is split up into twenty-five semi-independent
cantons. Each canton is divided into administrative
districts (préfectures) and political communities
(communes). The great majority of the communes

poor, the clergy, and the schools, but a considerable
amount of land, which constitutes the common pro-
perty of the indiyidual members, of these small
communities, who have obtained the rights of
The
estimated value of the communal property held
by the communes, independent of the cantons, was
in 1864, 23,474,128/., which would give 91. 7s. per
head. In no other country is property so equally
divided. In Canton Berne, nearly five-sixths of the
population have a direct interest in the soil. Politi-
cally and socially there is almost perfect equality.
Almost every thing is settled by the popular yoie,
and in Canton Zurich, even the clergy are selected in
this manner. Military service is obligatory upon
all Swiss citizens between the ages of twenty and
forty-four, with a few exceptions, and the result is,
that for home defence Switzerland possesses the
cheapest army in the world, and one most easily
mobilised. On the other hand, this system, though
actually costing little in money, involves a heavy
tax upon industry, in the compulsory absence of the
industrial classes from their work during the time
of training. If little is spent upon the military
budget, the educational budget is probably the
largest in the world in proportion to the revenues.
The amount is about 134 per cent. of the revenues.
The primary schools are supported mainly by the
communes, but get a grant from the cantons. At-
tendance at school is compulsory between the ages
of six and sixteen, and neglect to comply with the |
rule involves a fine or even imprisonment on the |
part of the parents. In Geneva, education is free;
in Berne an almost nominal fee is paid. There is
very little necessity for resorting to compulsion.
Afterreaching the age of sixteen, the hours of educa-
tion are diminished, but even then the greatest care
is taken that the children shall not be overworked. |
Every possible facility is given for their instruction

in their special calling. Institutions have been

established in every part of the country, with the

12

citizenship either by birth or by purchase.