THE Federal Government has instructed me, by telegram, to notify Your Excellency as follows:
"The international situation, which makes it necessary for the Swiss Confederation to take military measures, leads it to formulate, once again, its unshakable resolve to depart in no way from the principles of neutrality which have been the basis of its policy for many centuries and to which the Swiss people are deeply attached, in that these principles are consonant with their aspirations, their internal organization and their position in relation to other States. By virtue of the special mandate which has just been conferred upon it by the Federal Assembly, the Federal Council formally declares that the Swiss Confederation will preserve and defend, with all the means at its disposal, the inviolability of its territory and the neutrality which the treaties of 1815 and their complementary obligations have recognized as being in the true interests of the whole European political system.
"The Confederation will make it a point of honour to facilitate, as it has during past wars, the impartial activity of humanitarian work which may help to relieve the sufferings arising from a conflict. Relying on the assurances which have been solemnly reiterated, the Federal Council is convinced that the present declaration will be considered as a faithful statement of the implications for the Swiss Confederation of the treaties and international obligations which concern it."
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