ITALY. 



445 



the clergy in the country districts. In the di- 

 vision of the ecclesiastical wealth a portion 

 would be assigned to elementary and middle- 

 class education, and a portion to the communes 

 where religious bodies reside, for works of pub- 

 lic utility and for educational purposes. The 

 ministry would also bring forward bills for re- 

 forming the system of primary, secondary, and 

 superior instruction. The deficit in the budget 

 for 1864 would amount to about 280,000,000f., 

 if an attempt were not made to reduce the ex- 

 penses and increase the receipts. The Govern- 

 ment would propose a modification of the tax 

 upon incomes not derived from landed property. 

 They would also continue the policy of assimi- 

 lating the laws of the country, and would intro- 

 duce bills for promoting the development of the 

 national wealth, and for the modification of the 

 register stamp tax. 



A notable feature in the electoral campaign 

 was the active participation of the "Catholic 

 Party " (called by their opponents " Black Par- 

 ty," " Codini," etc.), who had generally ab- 

 stained from voting at former elections, at least 

 so far as the annexed countries were concerned. 

 This party, who saw all the changes of 1859 with 

 regret, was subdivided into two well-marked 

 sections by a very important line of demarca- 

 tion. On one side of it were those who abso- 

 lutely refused to accept or be reconciled to the 

 dynastic changes which have become fa-its ac- 

 complis, who were still dreaming of, and labor- 

 ing for, restorations, and who, utterly refusing 

 to recognize the present constitution of Italy as 

 in any sense a legitimate government, declined 

 to take any part in the elections. The more 

 practical section of the " Black " party admitted 

 the faits accomplis to be such, " content," as 

 one of their spokesmen expressed it, " with hav- 

 ing taken no part in bringing them about." 

 These men worked hard at electioneering, and 

 directed their efforts to the salvation of the Pa- 

 pacy, its remaining fragment of temporal power, 

 and to the cause generally of the Church in Italy. 



The advanced Liberals, "Party of Action," 

 " Radicals," " Reds," etc., who would fain use 

 violent and immediate means for carrying out 

 those changes to their ultimate results, and for 

 the completion of Italian unity and independence 

 by the acquisition of Rome and Venice, and 

 who are especially hostile to the French Empe- 

 ror and French influence as being the main ob- 

 stacles in the way of reaching that consumma- 

 tion, were also divided into two well-marked 

 sections; distinguished, these also, by their ab- 

 stinence, or the reverse, from the elections and 

 the work of electioneering. The extreme Red 

 party, the men of the " Unita Italiana," friends 

 of Mazzini, who deny that the unity and inde- 

 pendence of Italy can be completed by, or under 

 the House of Savoy, who abominate monarchy, 

 and hope for the fall of that which exists in 

 Italy, refuse to meddle in any way with the 

 elections. The other, and the more important 

 section of the Left, consist of those who perhaps 

 would fain have seen the reconstitution of 



Italy accomplished under the form of a republic 

 instead of under a monarchy, but who on their 

 side are willing to accept the present order of 

 things, to take the oaths necessary to be taken 

 by a member of the Chamber, and who direct 

 their efforts to driving, as far as may be possible, 

 the political and governmental action of the 

 country toward the accomplishment of' that 

 completion of Italian unity and independence 

 which all, except a few " Austriacanti," equally 

 sigh for, but which those on whom the respon- 

 sibility of governing rests think cannot safely 

 be attempted by the means which the men of 

 the Left would fain use. 



The Government party, "Moderate Liberals" 

 (also called " Malvi," because the leaves of the 

 malva are used as a common lenitive, and are 

 held to be anti-febrile and anti-energetic), was, 

 of course, divided, like all Government parties, 

 into those who are Government men quand 

 meme, supporters of those in power, and men 

 of a more independent stamp whose seat is in 

 the moderate centre of the Chamber, because 

 their opinions properly place them there. Be- 

 yond this distinction, inasmuch as it is from this 

 third political section that Ministers and Cabi- 

 nets must be chosen, there were of course a 

 number of factions, distinguished by preferences 

 for individual chieftains. Ricasoli, Ratazzi, 

 Minghetti, had all, as might be expected, their 

 special friends and supporters among the large 

 body of the moderate party. 



At the election, the Catholic party met with 

 a crushing defeat, only about a dozen of their 

 members being elected. The Radicals, on the 

 other hand, were eminently successful ; for while 

 they had numbered no more than about 50 in 

 the preceding Parliament, they mustered more 

 than 120 tried partisans 'in the new, besides 

 finding among the Government party a fraction 

 ("Third Party") which was found ready to 

 combine with them, in some important questions 

 to defeat the ministry. Garibaldi was elected 

 in three places, Naples, Andria, and Corleto. 

 Three of his officers, Generals Bixio and Fa- 

 brizzi, and Colonel Cairoli, were also returned, 

 each for three colleges. Nicotera, another 01 

 bis followers, and his former dictators in Sicily, 

 Crispi and Mordini, were elected for two dis- 

 tricts each. Mazzini, notwithstanding his 

 avowed hostility to the monarchical principle, 

 came near being elected in Genoa. 



The session of the pew Parliament was 

 opened on November 18th by King Victor 

 Emmanuel in person, who delivered the fol- 

 lowing speech : 



"When I opened Parliament in the city which 

 was the first guardiap of Italy's destinies I always 

 spoke words of encouragement and hope, and my 

 words have always been followed by prosperous 

 events. It is with the same confidence that I speak 

 to you here, where we also shall be able to vanquish 

 all obstacles for the complete vindication of our 

 autonomy. My Government welcomed, from defer- 

 ence to the Papacy, and for the satisfaction of the 

 religious interests of the majority of the population, 

 the proposals for negotiations, which it broke ofi 



