54 ITALY - CREDIT 



necessary to settle the question of the right of the Commune to intervene 

 in the affairs of the Monte and the legal form such interference might take. 



" There were three powers," as the diligent historian of this famous 

 institution observes, " that then contended the field with the object of 

 substituting to the greatest extent possible their own influence for that 

 of the central power which, owing to the altered political forms and the 

 administrative difficulties of the moment, was in no position to assert its 

 supremacy in the manner and within the Umits in which the absolute 

 power of the Grand Duke had been exercised in the past " (i). 



These three powers were ; the Prefecture, representing the Govern- 

 ment ; the Municipality, representing the city of Siena ; and the Board of 

 Management of the Monte de' Paschi. 



The municipality, with the intention of affirming its own rights over the 

 two hundred years old institute, appointed a commission to study and pro- 

 pose a definite set of rules. And this commission, while affirming that the 

 Monte ought to preserve its original character, concluded "that there ought 

 to be introduced into its internal organization all those salutary amendments 

 the changed conditions of the time render necessary. And, in the first 

 place, the Monte, which emanated from the Commune, should be entirely 

 given back to the Commune ; to the Commune shoiild be restored full 

 administrative control over it, the appointment of the officers and 

 employees, the initiative in all measures which the Balia reserved en- 

 tirely to itself, which, as they were often imposed by the necessity of the 

 moment and affected by local circumstances could not be more prudently or 

 profitably dealt with than by the Municipality " (2). And it concluded 

 with the proposal of these three reforms: ist. abolition of all caste preference 

 in appointments of officers and employees ; 2nd. introduction of the sink- 

 ing fund system for repayment of loans for long terms ; 3rd. issue of land 

 bonds. 



It is superfluous to give the reasons for the first proposal ; privileges 

 of birth, if they could be justified in 1624, were no longer admissible in face 

 of the principle, embodied in the Italian Statuto of the legal equaUty 

 of all citizens. The other two proposals were already contained in germ in 

 the traditions and customs of the Monte ; while they were under discussion 

 the commission itself abandoned the idea of bonds for that of deposit 

 certificates, but it did not seem to be clear in the matter. 



The rules and regulations and the hst of the officers and employees 

 of the Monte were discussed and approved in various meetings of the Com- 

 munal Council of Siena in September, October and November, 1862. The 

 Government, by Royal Decree of May 14th., 1863. approved that part of 

 the rules abolishing the privilege of the nobles in cases of appointment 

 of members of the board and employees of the Monte; by a later decree 

 it entrusted the Prefect with the appointment of employees ; two years later 

 the management of the Monte decided to adopt, by way of trial, the system 



(i) mbngokzi, op, cU, p. 313 



(2) Sul riordinamento dei Monti riwtiii, page 13. 



