Bern Declared Federal Capital – Franscini

**Bern, 28 N o v e m b e r. In today’s sitting of the National Council Bern waNr. 158, 2 December 1848
Neue Rheinische Zeitung.
s declared the federal capital by 58 votes to 42. Only the approval of the Council of States is now lacking, which the Bern public confidently hopes for. The Council of States will hold a sitting this afternoon at 4 o’clock and take its decision on this matter; as the post leaves at half past four, it will be impossible for me to report the result of this sitting today.

At its sitting yesterday, the Council of States adopted the resolution of the National Council on the Ticino affair unchanged, and it has therefore the force of law. In the discussion, which dragged on at some length, Federal Councillor Franscini, who had arrived the day before, particularly distinguished himself by a speech in favour of the Ticino people. Carteret of Geneva also spoke with much energy in favour of the I t a l i a n refugees, and protested against their being described here in this assembly as ‘guilty persons’, whereas in their endeavours and struggles they deserved the sympathies of all Swiss. That the Ticino people had shown them such lively sympathy proved precisely that they were true Swiss. Despite these and several other decided protests, especially against Article 2, which deprives Ticino of the right of asylum, the whole National Council resolution, as mentioned, was carried by a considerable majority. The German cantons also determined the issue here, although several German deputies also spoke in the Council of States on behalf of the Ticino people.