A Chief Was Alone Wanting To Give The Impulse; He Was Soon
Found; The Business Was Settled In Forty-Eight Hours; And By The Mediation
Of The French Government, Vaud Was Declared And Acknowledged An Independent
State And For Ever Released From The Dominion Of Bern.
The federative
constitution was then abolished throughout the union, and a general
Government, called the Helvetic Republic, substituted in
Its place; but
this constitution not suiting the genius and habits of the people, nor the
locality of the country, was not of long duration; troubles broke out and
insurrections, which were fomented and encouraged by the adherents of the
old regime. But Napoleon, by a wise and salutary mediation, stepped in
between them, and prevented the effusion of blood, by restoring the old
confederation, modified by a variety of ameliorations. In the act of
mediation, Napoleon contented himself with separating the Valais entirely
from the confederation, and shortly after annexing it to France, on account
of the high road into Italy across the Simplon running thro' that
territory, and which it became of the utmost importance to him to be master
of. The new Helvetic Confederation was inviolably respected and protected
by Napoleon; for never after the act of mediation did any French troops
enter in the Canton de Vaud, or any part of the Union to pass into Italy.
They always moved on the Savoy side of the Lake to enter into the Valais.
This act of mediation saved probably a good deal of bloodshed and in a very
short time gave such general satisfaction, and was in every respect so
useful and beneficial to the Helvetic Union, that in spite of the intrigues
of the Senate of Bern, who have never been able to digest the loss of Vaud,
the Allied Powers in the year 1814 solemnly guaranteed the Helvetic
Confederation as established by the Act of Mediation, merely restoring the
Valais to its independence and aggregating it as an independent Canton to
the general Union.
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