ch, 1894), and J. Signorel,
Etude de legislation comparee sur le referendum
legislatif (Paris, 1896). Mention may be made of J.
Delpech, Quelques observations a propos du
referendum et des Landesgemeinde suisse, in _Revue
du Droit Public_, April-June, 1906.]

*463. The Initiative.*--The complement of the referendum is the (p. 421)
initiative. Through the exercise of the one the people may prevent the
taking effect of a law or a constitutional amendment to which they
object. Through the exercise of the other they may not merely bring
desired measures to the attention of the legislature; they may secure
the enactment of such measures despite the indifference or opposition
of the legislative body. In current political discussion, and in their
actual operation, the two are likely to be closely associated. They
are, however, quite distinct, as is illustrated by the fact that the
earliest adoptions of the initiative in Switzerland occurred in
cantons (Vaud in 1845 and Aargau in 1852) in which as yet the
referendum did not exist. Among the Swiss cantons the right of popular
legislative initiative is now all but universal. It has been
established in all of the cantons save Freiburg, Lucerne, and Valais.
As a rule, measures may be proposed by the same proportion of voters
as is competent to overthrow a measure referred from the legislature;
and any measure proposed by the requisite number of voters must be
taken under consideration by the legislature within a specified
period. If the legislature desires to prepare a counter-project to be
submitted to the voters along with the popularly initiated
proposition, it may do so. But the original proposal must, in any
case, go before the people, accompanied by the legislature's opinion
upon it; and their verdict is decisive.[613]

[Footnote 613: A. Keller, Das Volksinitiativrecht
nach den schweizerischen Kantonsverfassungen
(Zuerich, 1889).]

IV. THE CANTONAL EXECUTIVE AND JUDICIARY

*464. The Council of State.*--Executive authority within the canton is
vested regularly in an administrative council, variously designated as
a Regierungsrath, a Standeskommission, or a Conseil d'Etat. The
Council of State (employing this phrase to designate each body of the
kind, however named) consists of from five to thirteen members,
serving fo