Geneva, August 29, 1864. THIS city has just been the
scene of a most wanton and shocking outrage. It is true that Geneva is a microscopic State,—its politics cannot be expected to command general interest and to excite general sympathies amidst the many complications of immense importance which at this moment are before the world. What is Geneva to most persons more than a mere speck on the map of Europe—a speck associated indeed in the minds of many with pleasant visions of bewitching scenery, and of some few with his- torical reminiscences of some antiquarian curiosity, but for the majority, as regards its present interests and politics, not merely an accidental blank, but a blank which they are quite willing to leave such. Small as Geneva is, I do not hesitate, however, to say that owing to its geographical position close upon the confines of France, the well-known existence of parties ready to promote under given circumstances its fusion into that country, and the in- tense exasperation which has been produced amongst the citizens by the disgraceful event of this week, public attention well de- serves to be called to its politics. Indeed every time I revisit this infinitesimal State of very singular conditions, absorbed as it is into one city which can match now with the great capitals of the Conti- nent in the display of its palaces and the glare of an ostentatious luxury that goes hand in hand with a flashing display of demo- erotic recklessness and licentious turbulence, I cannot resist the stale trick of conjuring up in my mind a spirit of some ancient citizen, and fancying to myself the bewilderment witlr which he would look upon the transformation in every sense which his Geneva has undergone. The once Holy Zion of Puritan saints, that community of God-fearing bigots whose hearts were steeped in the acute acid of an austere Fatalism, men who conceived them- selves to be daily walking in the eyes of a vindictive God, and daily watched with terror for a fancied sign from Him to smite mercilessly His enemies, sombre, stern, uncompromising ascetics of the Sabbatarian school, who looked on every recreation as sinful, and would tolerate no relaxation beyond prayer-meetings and hymning, all this is at present a thing as wholly swept away as the grave decorum and reverence for Elders which once made up the public life of Geneva. Now the wildest democracy is enthroned here in a manner and degree which do not exist in any modern
community ; for it is not the democracy of America or France or the rest of Switzerland, but the unmitieted democracy which existed in Athens, admits the whole sovereign people to direct and ungraduated participation both in the legislative and executive functions of Government, to the entire absence of those subdivi- sions and distinctions which elsewhere all modern society have adopted in some shape or °therm necessary institutions for the sound working of their political machinery. All these improvements have been entirely repudiated by the framers of the Genevese Constitu- tion of 1846, and the result is a state of things which is a political curiosity, and makes a visit to Geneva in my opinion the best possible foot note which any reader of Thucydides can append to his text ; for here he will alone be sble to look upon a whole community convened tumultuously to take judgment by a single vote in a single assembly on a point of executive administration— the members of which are named by poll—and here alone he will find a living example of that problem in Athenian story how a people of turbulent freemen could succumb for years beneath the absolute ascendancy of some individual demagogue, who ruled like a tyrant without being apparently invested with any palpable power for authority above those of his fellow-citizens. The Agora of Athens and Cleon become plainly intelligible by the illustra- tion of Geneva under the fertile of .James Fazy.
The revolution of 1846 was mainly the work of this politician, who then contrived to assume the leading position in his native place through his intimate connection with the triumphant party of Radi- cals, and this position he succeeded in keeping so firmly for a number of years that political power during that time was as absolutely con- centrated in James Fazy as if he were a declared dictator. But so reckless and so unscrupulous was the use to which he applied his ascendancy—above all, so scandalously improvident, not to say shamefully corrupt, was the expenditure of the State Treasury— that of late years the respectable sections of the Radical party, although not abandoning their particular principles, drew away from M. Fazy. Since 1846 the canton of Geneva, with its 70,000 citizens at the outside, has contracted debts to the amount of twenty millions of francs, chiefly for public works, which have been allotted to M. Fazy's private friends, while that gentleman got himself a piece of ground voted in the most prized quarter of the city as a reward for his services to the Republic, whereon he has erected a splendid mansion in which he established a public gambling-table. The consequence of such a cynical disregard of all decency was that a coalition of the old Genevese party and of the respectable Radicals combined at the last three elections to return to the Council of State (which is the executive body) men of Radical politics, but to reject M. Fazy personally. In this way the once absolute demagoguefound himself three times ignominiously defeated in a signal manner, and it was to blot out the stigma of these rejections that M. Fazy screwed up all the strength of his partizans on the recent occasion of an election to fill up a vacancy in the Council of State. Now the opposite party entered upon this contest with so little wish to make it a fight for Reaction against the Democratic Constitution that they offered to support any candidate the Radicals might start short of M. Fazy. This of course did not suit this gentleman, and the contest accordingly proceeded, when on opening the electoral urns on Monday, the 22nd August, the Bureau of Inspection found that M. Cheneviere, the Independent candidate, was returned by a majority of 337. Im- mediately the majority of this Bureau, being adherents of M. Fazy, ventured to make the outrageous proposition to set aside the election. A more flagrant violation of legality cannot be conceived than this preposterous attempt. It was simply a proposed coup critat. Ac- cordingly a crowd of citizens, and amongst them were the most respectable members of the community, men of family and station, hastened to the Council of State to protest against such a proceed- ing, and the result was that about three o'clock the customary pro- cession, headed by cantonal functionaries in their robes of office and followed by a file of the winning candidate's friends, sallied forth from the Town Hall to make proclamation of the poll as verified by the Bureau of Inspection in the various quarters of the city. At this point of the story I wish to say that the account I am going to give of what occurred has been arrived at by personal inquiry from a number of individuals who are thoroughly trust- worthy, and who were present on the occasion. I myself did not get into Geneva till the day following the outrage. The procession, after making proclamation at the usual spots in the old town, crossed the great bridge to the right bank of the Rhone and pro- ceeded past the Hotel des Bergues in the direction of the railway station. I have taken great pains to ascertain the nature of this crowd, and every one testifies to its being perfectly peaceable and quite unarmed. It was composed in fact in great part of gentle. men, personal friends of M. Cheneviere. Arrived opposite the English church this crowd was encountered by a body of men who, fresh from storming the' Arsenal of Grand Pre, fired a volley upon it without challenge, without warning, without provocation. Between wounded and killed there were about twenty persons brought down, all of them in the unarmed crowd, for there is not one Radical who can show a scratch which might confirm the impudent assertion that the firing had been in self-defence. Nor was this wanton slaughter in the street all. The Radi- cals fired actually in cold blood across the river, killing one poor man who was standing near the Hotel Metropole, while it was only by great exertions that some of the intoxicated rabble were prevented from discharging three guns loaded with grape- shot upon the fugitives as they were huddled on the bridge. If ever there was a murder it was that of these defenceless beings shot down from behind shelter by men who had laid deliberately an ambuscade for them, and it is impossible to conceive a more atrocious outrage. On receiving the volley the crowd retreated hurriedly back to the Town Hall, and there amidst frantic screams that they would not be shot down like driven game stormed the great arsenal, and having armed themselves threw up barricades. Until late in the night from either side of the river the rival parties eyed each other angrily, and threatened to make the streets run red with blood, when at last the efforts of some zealous peacemakers succeeded in bringing about a truce. Meanwhile the Federal Government at Berne, informed by telegraph of what had happened, despatched Commissioners with troops, and on Tuesday afternoon Geneva was in their occupation. Were the thing to rest here it would not deserve notice, especially in the foreign press. It would sink to the level of a mere street riot of chance occurrence, a thing of no lasting consequences. In any opinion it would be a great mistake to apply this estimate to what has occurred. The blood of old Geneva is thoroughly excited at the outrage which has been com- mitted, and is boiling at fever heat with a thirst to see the culprits brought to justice, I have seen more than one popular demonstra- tion in divers countries, but I must say that I never beheld one more solemnonore visibly penetrated with a palpitating sense of deep emotion, than that which attended the burial of those who fell victims to this dastardly assault. More than ten thousand people of all classes crowded the churchyard to see the last honours rendered to their murdered fellow-citizens, and as I mingled amongst the crowd I heard on all sides expressions of deep resent- ment against the assasains. I afterwards walked about the town. In all the old quarters the shops were closed, but when I canae on the right bank of the Rhone the political feeling of the suburb was sufficiently indicated by a contrary state of things. This division of Geneva into two distinct camps, geographically as well as politically, adds grievously to the danger of the situation. The Federal Government has been charged with the duty of investi- gating into the breach of the peace, and the Commissioners, men of very honourable character, are entrusted with the execution. There is, however, an impression abroad that the Federal authori- ties are at least afraid of proceeding rigorously against the actors, and that they would gladly see the inquiry quashed. This has of course put the anti-Fazy party in a ferment, and it is my opinion that the public indignation which has been shown not merely in Geneva, but all through the Confederation, will effectually prevent any juggling on the part of the Federal judges. Now this secret mis- giving about bringing to thecondign punishment they deserve the mis- creants who have been accomplices in perpetrating such an atrocious crime is connected not with any sympathy for them but with a sentiment of uneasiness as to the tenure which keeps Geneva in union with Switzerland. There is a general apprehension that M. Fazy and -that mongrel coalition which backs him would not only be ready but even glad to throw itself into the arms of France, rather than see the power of the State pass into the hands of the rival party. The combination which has always supported M. Fazy is composed of sections notoriously indifferent to union with Switzerland—the ultra-Catholic population of the Savoyard districts—the rabble of the St. Gervais quarter of the town, and draughts of foreigners, mostly Frenchmen, to whom 111. Fazy's administration has been prodigal of the rights of citizenship. It is not easy to explain on general principles the ground for the political union which has made the zealous Roman Catholics steadily support the extreme Radical politician against men of more Conservative views and certainly much more respectable character. There is a general feeling thathere one stands in presence of a danger all the more to be feared that it lies much in the dark. After the experience of the personal use to which the resources of the State have been turned, the unblushing manner in which it has been treated as a milch cow for the parti- cular benefit of M. Fazy and his companions,—as a property out of which they have been busy in appropriating as much wealth as they can suck, it would be absurd to credit them with patriotism. That the French Emperor should one morning, at M. Fazy's invi- tation, march into Geneva and annex it by conquest is not indeed likely to happen, but what reason is there to assume that those who have shown themselves so devoid of all humanity as deliberately to shoot down unarmed and defenceless men, out of revenge for a lost election, should shrink in their vindictiveness at confirmed defeat from making demonstrations in favour of an annexation to which it is notorious many of them are disposed, and which as cer- tainly is coveted by their especial friends in France ? It is this danger of driving reckless and unscrupulous men to acts which, just because they may prove dangerous to Swiss interests would have attraction for them, that makes men look grave. In spite of these anbarraasments, however, such is the public indignation, not merely in Geneva but in Switzerland generally, that the Federal authori- ties seem to be plucking up heart to proceed with due severity. It is indeed of very great importance that no weakness should be shown in asserting the power of the law, for in a few weeks a second election must take place, and to such a pitch is the resentment wrought of all true citizens of Geneva that it is to be apprehended they will on that occasion be prepared to fight M. Fazy's mob in the streets, and wreak vengeance on them for their past acts if they are in a condition again to behave as they have done. It is felt that the state of things in Geneva has become intolerable for all men of respectability and character, and that the independence of the old city so often triumphantly asserted is now being most insidiously undermined from within by men who, if not all of them conscious traitors, are most certainly mischievous citizens. There is as fine a sense of civic worth and liberty in these old burghers of Geneva as ever existed in any community, and it would be a crying shame to see this ancient commonwealth strangled by the noxious presence of a band of parasitical adventurers.
W. C. C.
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