ITALY. 



451 



to the expenses of 1889-'90, and 32,807,534 lire 

 to meet the deficit of 1890-'9l, leaving 152,181,- 

 072 lire toward meeting the eventual deficit, 

 which, according to the scheme of expenditure 

 marked out by the Government, would run 100,- 

 000,000 lire beyond this amount. The military 

 appropriations for 1890 were about 6,000,000 lire 

 below those of the previous year. The amount 

 of the army budget in the estimates for 1890-'91 

 is 278,000,000 lire. By means of economies and 

 new resources the Minister of the Treasury ex- 

 pected to restore the equilibrium, disturbed since 

 1886, even in 1890-'91. 



The Army. The military law of Aug. 6, 1888, 

 fixed the term of active service in the permanent 

 army at five years for the infantry, four years in 

 the cavalry, and three years in the artillery and 

 engineers. The infantrymen remain on the 

 rolls of the permanent army for four and the 

 cavalrymen for five years, at the end of which 

 they both are transferred to the territorial militia. 

 The men of the other arms having completed 

 their term of service with the colors, are liable' 

 to be called out for service with the permanent 

 army for five or six years longer, at the end of 

 which they pass into the mobile militia, in which 

 they serve twelve years before being transferred 

 to the territorial army. The second category of 

 recruits, consisting of those who draw the higher 

 numbers, are enrolled in the permanent army 

 for eight and in the mobile militia for four 

 years, before they pass into the territorial militia, 

 while the recruits of the third category, com- 

 posed of young men who can not be spared from 

 their families, who receive only a month's train- 

 ing, are liable to duty in the territorial militia for 

 the full period of nineteen years, but only for gar- 

 rison duty, unless required in the field as a last 

 reserve. The system of one-year volunteers, 

 copied from Germany, releases conscripts pos- 

 sessing a superior education, on passing a spe- 

 cial examination and paying the sum of 1,500 lire, 

 or in the cavalry 2,000 lire, from further active 

 service after they have passed a year with the col- 

 ors. The annual contingent of recruits of the first 

 category has been 76,000 ; of these, 13,000 who 

 are designated by the lots they draw, are granted 

 unlimited leave of absence after two years of 

 service with the colors. The budget for 1890 

 provides for a recruit of 82,000 men. 



The second category averages 34,000, and the 

 third 44,000 men annually. The army is organ- 

 ized in 12 corps, each consisting of 2 divisions 

 of from 12 to 15 battalions each. The country 

 is divided into 87 military districts. Each army 

 corps, in case of war, can be supplemented by a 

 reserve division, and 12 divisions more of the re- 

 serves can be brought into the field for offensive 

 operations, besides the Alpine corps of 40,000 

 men and 3 divisions of cavalry, while 12 terri- 

 torial divisions will guard the lines of communi- 

 cation, garrison the fortified posts, and watch 

 the sea frontier. The strategical railroad net 

 is nearly complete, the Alpine approaches are 

 blocked by strong forts, and Rome has been 

 made a first-class fortress. 



The standing army on July 1, 1890, consisted 

 of 14,211 officers, and 248,036 rank and file, 

 composed of 24,661 carbineers, 110,017 infantry. 

 13,005 bersaglieri. 9,489 Alpine troops. 10.3o9 

 district troops, 25,639 cavalry, 37,046 artillery, 



8,546 engineers, 1,488 troops of instruction, 2,374 

 sanitary troops, 2,324 administrative troops, 286 

 in the invalid corps, and 4,802 attached to the 

 penitentiary establishments and disciplinary com- 

 pany. The part of the permanent army consist- 

 ed of 11,842 officers and 575,103 men of all arms. 

 The mobile militia numbered 3,776 officers and 

 368,510 men, and the territorial militia 5,224 offi- 

 cers and 1,625,621 men. Counting together the 

 262,247 officers and men serving with the colors, 

 586,945 of all ranks on furlough belonging to the 

 permanent army, 372,286 in the mobile militia, 

 and 1,630,845 in the territorial army, the full 

 strength of the Italian army is 2,852,323 men. 

 The infantry are armed with repeating rifles, of 

 the Vitali-Vetterli system, and carry sword bayo- 

 nets. In March, 1890, the Minister of War ob- 

 tained an extraordinary credit of 17,500.000 lire 

 for the erection of Government powder works for 

 manufacturing the smokeless powder. The minds 

 of military men were disquieted by a probably 

 spontaneous explosion that occurred in May in 

 the part of the powder mill at Avigliana that 

 was devoted to the manufacture of the new 

 powder. 



The Navy. The 12 first-class battle ships of 

 the Italian navy have an aggregate displacement, 

 according to the annual official report for 1890, 

 of 104,065 tons, engines of 87,942 indicated horse- 

 power, an armament of 132 guns, and 5,658 men 

 in their crews. There are 3 armored battle ships 

 of the second class, of 7,734 tons displacement, 

 mounting 22 guns and manned by 727 sailors ; 

 10 unarmored second-class battle ships, having 

 the aggregate displacement of 28,383 tons, armed 

 with 80 guns, and manned by 2,588 sailors; and 

 19 battle ships of the third class, of 15,648 tons 

 displacement, carrying 89 guns, and having 1,927 

 sailors in their crews. The other effective ves- 

 sels in the navy are 17 armed transports, carry- 

 ing 47 guns; 6 school-ships, with 40 guns; 3 

 armored coastguards, with 19 guns; 2 unar- 

 mored gun vessels, with 4 guns ; 46 vessels for 

 port service, with 31 guns; 6 side -wheel gun- 

 boats, with 6 guns; 7 torpedo dispatch boats, 

 with 20 guns ; 50 sea-going torpedo vessels, with 

 100 guns : 38 first-class torpedo boats for coast 

 defense, with 38 guns ; 21 second-class torpedo 

 boats for coast defense ; and 12 torpedo launches. 

 There were in various stages of construction at 

 the beginning of the year 3 great ironclads of 

 the first class, with a total displacement of 40,- 

 456 tons, to be propelled by engines having 45,- 

 600 indicated horse - power ; 6 second-class un- 

 armored battle ships, of 17,329 tons and 43,700 

 horse-power; 8 third-class battle ships; 2 ves- 

 sels for port service ; and 14 sea-going torpedo 

 vessels. The personnel of the navy on Jan. 1, 

 1890, comprised 1,344 officers and 20,429 sailors, 

 marines, gunners, etc. One of the three vessels 

 that were still lacking to make up the comple- 

 ment of 10 monster armorclads was launched at 

 Spezia on Sept. 20, 1890. She is the " Sardegna," 

 the largest vessel in the navy, being 410 feet long 

 and 77 broad. Her displacement is 13,860 tons. 

 Like all the others, except the older " Duilio " and 

 " Dandolo," which are central citadel ships built 

 of iron and steel, she is built entirely of steel, 

 and will have her guns mounted in barbette tow- 

 ers. Like the " Italia " and the "-Lepanto " she 

 has no side armor, but inclined armor 19 inches 



