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Leader (1850-1860), 18th August 1860, Edition 2 of 2, Page 6, MILITARY TRAINING OF THE SWISS YOUTH. SW...

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      734 The Sahirday Analyst And Leader. [Au...

      734 The Sahirday Analyst and Leader . [ Aug . 18 , 1860 .

      Teachers .Of Religion, Not Only A• Clans...

      teachers . of religion , not only a clanship , by livingapart and to themselves , but in peculiarity of manner , conversation , and even dress . ¦ ¦ 'Why should not a minister of the gospel wear coloured clothes , as well as other men , or at ' least conform with common etiquette in the adoption or rejection of black ? Is there any necessity for him always to dress in black , ' as there is for a miller to wear a white hat ? " Are we to believe that the Galilean fishermen left their clothes with their nets , and ordered new suits when they entered their holy mission ? Is there religion in the colour of a coat ? May we all wear black then , oi \ indeed , white as the biblical symbol of purity . A clergyman , in the present day , is known by bis uniform , as Avell as a policeman . He is seen . at a distance and shunned ; the company are silent when he appears , and they are relieved when he disappears . His presence puts an end to all recreative mirth . His staid manner when in their presence leads them to think him a hypocrite , while they know full well that when amongst his brethren he sometimes perpetrates a pun ; cracks a joke , and laughs uproariously over a glass of wine . They believeit is not wicked to do either of these things , and they do not understand the policy of concealing them from their sight . They be ^ nn to think this puritanism a farce , or that religion itself must be all gloom . Ministers thus do not get access to society in its real life ; they can have no experience of its manners , and have no influence in moderating its abuses by their conduct . They may check everv thing wicked when they are present . They dam up the streanTwhich , when they leave , breaks over its barriers , and flows with tenfold force . Better than this would be to moderate its flow cautiously , or to divert its course to purer channels . Until they become men amongst men they cannot have any influence on those with whom they come in contact—men possessed of all natural human feelings and desires , confined by a rational restriction from all excess and immorality—and who believe religion something else than the colour of a coat , or the shaving of a beard . The Christian is only a perfect man , and the duties and responsibilities of the latter ' are not abrogated in the profession of the former . Thenobler the Christian the more . . ..-useful will be the man as a moral , social , and political agent , and the more energetic will be his action in promoting the weUare of the town or country in which he lives and the nation to which he belongs . Religious periodical literature , too , in consequence of its isolation , has had little effect on the great mass of readers of this countryv Xo person receives or reads a sectarian magazine , except those who are members of the sect it represents , or claim an alliance with that sect in some way or others- Therigid orthodox principles whieh the periodical upholds may be confirmed and strengthened in- those who previously adhered to ' them ; but as the readers of the theological monthly or weekly are a strictly and sharply defined class , the doctrines so earnestly urged in its columns never affect those who have no predisposition in their favour . The truths ( if truths ) do iiot gain now believers , from the very fact , that , although they may be addressed to those who doubt , still they are never read by them . Professed Atheistical journals have the same limited power . They never create converts , because their teachings never reach those of an opposite belief . It is the current periodical literature of a nation which gently but irresistibly moulds the religious tone of the people . The religious feelin g of our country has advanced more from the improved tone ofjournals eminently intellemual' ^ nU ^ itel * aT ^ 7-iiiaTr from all the sectarian periodicals of the age . Guv reviews and magazines contain , amidst articles on politics , science , and the fine arts , occasional expressions of earnest devotional feeling , a generous appreciation of the Bible , and an assent to the great truths of revealed religion . Maciktosh , Brougham , and Macatjlay , among others , may be enumerated as having been powerful in reducing a prevailing tendency to scepticism and irreligion , and teaching young inquiring minds that it is not all imbecility or fanaticism to avow belief in the existence of a Supreme Being , to whom , as to the world , we are accountable for our actions , and the motives which engender them .

      Military Training Of The Swiss Youth. Sw...

      MILITARY TRAINING OF THE SWISS YOUTH . SWITZERLAND , one of the smallest , but nevertheless , the freest country in Europe , may serve greater nations as a model in many things , political as well as military . Since her regeneration in 1847 , when she overthrew tho ultramontanist Sonderbund , and remoulded her entire constitution , she has doveloped practical notions of self-government in a manner that entitles her to the admiration equally of the politician and the national economist . This is eminently true ot her military organization . With a population of not quite two milhonsjmd a half , the Helvetic Republic can boast of possessing an efficient army , numbering not less than 178 , 000 men , not counting tho Landsturm , or general levy . All tho disadvantages generally accruing to freedom from a ' large military organization are care-„ fully-avoided-in-this . dof bnsiva ^ stiiblishiuoiit jj . f ^ vitzcxl | ffiiL-JLil . ? I . 9 ^ is a special law of the constitution forbidding the maintenance of a standing nnny . On tho other hand , the law which lays down the liability of every able-bodied citizen to become a deiendcr of his country ' s liberties , is ho framed that neither tho personal comforts nor tho linnmiial means of tho individual arc interfered with in an injurious decree . . From the period of ' eiivliest youth there in , in Switzerland , n . training to irnnK , which permits , tit a Inter age , a soldier to bo formedm an almost incredible time . Moreover , the co « ts of tho military establishment mv , thanks to the truly republican fashion of the administration . *<> astonishingly low that the puwo of the

      common-- wealth is but lightly taxed for that particular branch of the budget . In the excellent wbrk of M . Kolb , who , in the recent Statistical Congress , in London , acted as the Envoy of the Helvetic Government , it is shown , by irrefutable figures , that Switzerland maintains her military organization at a third the expense of that incurred by some other continental States ; and that the same amount of money necessary , for instance , in Hanover , to enable 10 , 000 troops to take the field , will serve the Mountain Confederacy for the same purpose with at least 100 , 000 men . Besides which , the Conscription in other continental countries imposes a much greater burden on the population , even in times of peace , than is the case in Switzerland , where , a few days in the year serve to ' keep the people in effective military order . At the present moment , when England i . s reviving the noble custom of her sires by organizing a volunteer force , it may not be amiss to point somewhat more specially to the manner m which the Swiss form the material for their national militia . All through the Confederacy the rifle is introduced into the ' snorts of boyhood from the tenderest age . There are tirs , or shooting matches , at which boys only compete , beginning at the infantine age of six vears ! Different classes are formed , the most juvenile of which , being too weak to hold the rifle , are supported by their preceptors , the latter guiding them in taking aim , as well as aiding them m the general manipulation of the musket . In the more advanced , ¦ class "' of boys that aid is restricted simply to the prevention of possible harm , and so on , until the youth is permitted to load , take aim . and fire , entirely by himself . This early introduction to the use of arms has implanted in the whole population an intense predilection for the rifle exercise . It takes the place with them of the rowing and cricketing so much in favour with our own youth . But besides shooting , a regular drilling is also given to the Swiss boy , at least in the towns , from the age of eight . At that early stage of life , the future citizen is generally enrolled in the so-called Cadetten Corps to learn military discipline . His equipment consists of a small and light musket ; his uniform , in most cases , is a short green tunic , with black facings . The arms are the property of the . ' ¦ . commune , so that the sons of poor citizens may not find themselves excluded from want of means , in taldng part in these exercises . In the larger towns the corps consist of the different arms ; the elder pupilsformingagrenadier guard ; a selection of the agile and ¦ " vpltigeur company ; others , a train of artillery ; and the remainder , companies of fusrilierS ; During spring and summer , once or several times a-week , instruction is given by experienced masters whom the communal or school authorities engage for the purpose ..- . Generally , _ an officer of the army is . present to control the proceedings . All those who have witnessed military niancKuvres carried out by these i juvenile corps , have testified to the highly interesting appearance of ' boys of so tender an age marching- in good order , and giving- their volley in so manful a manner . A feature peculiarly surprising is the perfect discipline the youngsters manage to preserve . All negligence in the keeping and ' cleansing of their artns , all riotous conduct or sluggishness is punished by detention in school , or by the offenders being compelled to stand din-ing the hours of l-ecreation , as forced sentinels before the door of the school . . ^ In August , every year , they celebrate , in connection with these Cadetten Corps , a ' ' s fete , ' called the Maienzug , or the Jugend - ^ est . ^ ¦ I ^ whole population taking part in if ; the public buildings as well as the streets of the towns being adorned for the day with flags and garlands ; the parents making their appearance in holiday garb ; fairy levies of school girls in white coming tonvard with their governesses at their head to welcome and encourage , by their smiles , the young recruits ; whilst Government , communal , and school authorities place themselves at the head of the festive procession . Amidst the ringing of bells and the rolling of drums , the military part of the day begins with drill exercise and ends with a sham fight , at which there is no stint of powder and noise . In the evening , the corps return to the place of rendezvous , where some of their members , duly arrayed in apron and white cap , are already hard at work preparing to receive the desperate onslaught which the youthful warriors are pretty sure to make on the batlerio dc cuisine . Camp kettles , boiling briskly over camp fires , in true bivouac fashion , are there ready to ninrister to the wants of the mimic combatants . When the meal has been done ample justice to , Terpsichore displaces Maks for the nonce , and away run the heroes of the day to some chosen , dancing ground ¦ under the linden and chestnut trees , where * they trip it merrily with their white-robed playmates , who have long since thought it high time for this part of the day ' s programme to commence . Night comes , " a world too soon , " on the merry scene , and warns the joyous youngsters that the fete , is already at tin end , on which they return to their homes , tho later stragglers , perhaps , with torches burnin ° \ It is a popular festival , dear alike to the child and the parentT a festival in which all classes and agps find it joy to blend . According to place and circumstance , the character of the fete ol course varies . Hut , in the wain , it is what we have attempted to describe . , , , —TlnisTplTrtly "by early havdtrnnung 7 pnrtly * by wcll-Tiieintcd-ret'reiv- - — - — tion , ¦ military ardour is implanted in the youthful In-cast ,-and the materials are formed for an cfliciont Lumlwehr . Perhaps , in this country also ) where the spurts <» f boyhood have not , for co long ; u period , had any military tendency whatever , the time wijl soon arrive when we shall bestir ourselves systematically to fashion the pastimes of youth in accordance with the requirements of n free Commonwealth . If these words can in tiny way contribute to so desirable au end , glad indeed shall we be to have mado tho suggest ion .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 18, 1860, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_18081860/page/6/