Although they are only held in temporary occupancy, the Allmends are always admirably cultivated. In this respect they arequite different from the communal lands of the Russian village, although under exactly the same agrarian system. To beconvinced of this, there is no necessity to go to far-off valleys. Two steps from Interlaken, the focus of fashion which somany thousands visit every year, the Allmend of Boeningen may be visited: it covers the whole delta formed by theLutschine at the point where it falls into the Lake of Brienz. Looking at this surface from a neighbouring height, theAmeisenhügel on the Scheinige-Platte for instance, one sees it divided into a large number of small squares of land, occupiedby different crops, potatoes, vegetables or flax, and here and there planted with fruit trees. They are so many small gardensof a few ares , cultivated with the spade, well manured, and well cleaned. The produce answers to the excellence of thecultivation. The Allmend contains 270 juchart ; 343 families have a share in it, and each lot comprises 7 parcels. Thisextreme morcellement is retained, that every one may have a part in the different kinds of land.
These associations of commoners are real republics. Their form of government deserves attention, as they might serve as themodel for the political organization of autonomic communes. To give some idea of it, we will analyze the constitution of thecommunity of Gross in the canton of Schwytz. The constitutional rules of the land communities of several villages in thecanton,Egg, Trachslau, Einsiedeln, Dorf-Binzen, Enthal, Bennau, Willerzell,contain nearly identical dispositions. They aresubject to revision from time to time.
In the Gross community, all the commoners above the age of eighteen assemble, of absolute right, every year in April toreceive the report of accounts, and to regulate current affairs. In case of necessity, the president convokes the assembly, Genossengemeinde , for an extraordinary session. All officers are re-elected every two years; and no one may refuse todischarge the office to which he is nominated. An official report is kept of all resolutions. The executive power is vested inthe hands of a council of seven, elected by the assembly. This council directs the management of the forest; divides thetimber and firewood; apportions the arable; represents the corporation for judicial purposes; and executes works notexceeding 60 francs, all others having to be voted by the general assembly. It imposes fines and damages in case of a breachof the regulations; and, when necessary, presents indictments to the judicial authorities. The council assembles on thesummons of the president. Members, not unavoidably prevented from attending, are fined in case of absence; they arerewarded by exemption from the days' work which they would have to render with the other commoners.
The president is elected by the general assembly, which he has to convene at any time on the requisition of a hundredmembers. He receives 80 francs, and for extraordinary days he receives a further payment. The other officers are the cashier,who keeps the accounts, and receives and pays out the common fund; the secretary, who draws up the official reports andcarries on correspondence; the overseer of works, the forester and the auditor of accounts. All are paid, and are responsiblefor their acts.
Thus the administration of these land communities is, it will be seen, very complete; it stands midway between that of apolitical body and a joint-stock company. The commoners manage their own joint interests and collective property,according to precise and well-known rules. The constitutions date from the earliest days of the middle ages; but, having beenconstantly modified and improved, to suit the necessities of the period, they may be safely said to fulfil adequately themission entrusted to them. The collective domain is well managed, and the produce equitably divided.
In the author's opinion, the advantages afforded by these institutions of the middle ages and primitive times are so great thathe attributes to them the long and glorious existence of Swiss democracy. The advantages are alike political and economical.
In the first place, the commoners, by sharing in the administration of the joint domain, undergo an apprenticeship forpolitical life, and are accustomed to take part in the conduct of public affairs. They assist at deliberations, and may join inthem: they elect their delegates, and hear the annual accounts rendered for their discussion and approval; all which is anexcellent initiation into the mechanism of parliamentary government. They are members of real agrarian cooperativesocieties which have existed from time immemorial, and there is thus developed in them all an administrative aptitude,indispensable in a country of universal suffrage. We should not forget that it is in the township that American democracyalso has its roots.
When the natural right of property is really guaranteed to every one, society rests on a firm foundation, for no one isinterested in its overthrow. There is no country where the people are more conservative than in the primitive cantons ofSwitzerland, which have preserved intact the Allmend system. On the other hand, in a country where there are only a smallnumber of proprietors, as in England, the right of property is regarded as a privilege or monopoly; and it is before longexposed to the most dangerous attacks. While, in England, there are a million paupers living on official charity, and theagricultural labourers have neither proper lodging, instruction, nor comfort, the commoners in Switzerland are at leastremoved from the evils of extreme destitution. They have materials for firing, keep for a cow, and the means of growingpotatoes, vegetables, and a little fruit.
