THE AGRICULTURAL CREDIT OF THE BANKS OF NAPLES AND SICILY 45 



having been distributed, as the law prefers, by the means of local insti- 

 tutions, especially agricultural consortia. 



The general movement of credit in the period indicated can be specified 

 as follows : rediscount to intermediary institutions 77,360,834.16 liias ; 

 direct loans to agriculturists 2,740,064.21 liras ; direct discount to interme- 

 diary institutions 22,704,684.97 liras. 



§ 3. The Exercice of Agricultural Credit by the Savings-Bank of 

 THE " Banco di napoli " with state funds under the decree 



OF 27 JULY I916. 



• 



The transactions with which the preceding part of this article has dealt 

 represent ordinary credit, that is credit exercised by the savings banks of 

 the Banco di Napoli for every crop and every province mentioned above, on the 

 basis of the laws of 7 July 1901, no. 334, and 2 February 1911, no. 70. In 1916 

 however, in virtue of a lieutenant's decree of 27 July of that year (no. 913), the 

 savings bank of the Bunco di Napoli was authorized to exercise, with funds 

 advanced by the State, extraordinary credit for the growing of cereals only, 

 in the provinces of Foggia, Bari and Campobasso, which had suffered se- 

 rious loss by the failure of harvests for three years and an invasion of field- 

 mice. The sum placed at the disposal of the Treasury for these three pro- 

 vinces, and also for the province of Potenza which was in an analogous con- 

 dition, amounted altogether to 20,000,000 liras (i). According to the afore- 

 said decree this sum was to be employed on subventions, paying interest 

 at the rate of 2 per cent., to provide seeds, fodder for live stock and the ex- 

 penses of cultivation at the rate of not more than 200 liras for every 

 hectare (2) to be «own. Such subventions could be made : a) to 

 landowners and holders of long leases cultivating their lands directly and 

 having a taxable in'^ome amounting to no more than 5000 liras ; b) to 

 farmers bound by any sort of contract. The subventions are granted 

 directly to applicants whenever and vvherever they cannot be granted by 

 the medium of intermediary institutions. 



According to an investigation of the Ministry of Agriculture 

 the aforesaid sum of 20,000,000 liras was, after the number of the affected 

 communes and the importance of their losses had been taken into account, 

 distributed as follows among the provinces affected : 



Liras 



Province of Foggia 12,700,000 



Bari 4,300,000 • 



" " Campobasso 1,000,000 



Potenza 2,000,000 



20,000,000 



(i) By the decree of 6 May X()i7, no. 737, other eight million liras were assigned to the ex- 

 penses of the harvest. 



(a) I hectare = 2.47 acres. 



