ITALY. 



453 



increasing, and the demand in England and the 

 United States for sirups and essences made from 

 them is still growing, while the attempts made 

 in Asia Minor and South America to compete 

 in these articles seem to have been unsuccessful. 

 The exports of silk, both in the raw and manu- 

 factured state, is in a favorable condition. The 

 export of cocoons increased from 10,429 quintals 

 in 1888 to 23,060 in 1889. In the two years the 

 raw silk exported, amounting to 50,000 quintals, 

 with the cocoons, constituted 90 per cent, of the 

 exports of raw materials for manufactures. The 

 exports of marble and of sulphur steadily in- 

 crease. Vegetable products, with the exception 

 of lemons, oranges, and nuts, show a consider- 

 able falling off in the foreign demand. In spite 

 of the higher duties the import of breadstuffs 

 increased from 669,789 tons in 1888 to 872,743 

 tons in 1889, yielding over 10,000,000 lire in cus- 

 toms duties. Imports of Indian corn and rice 

 increased no less than those of wheat. A new 

 law on distilling stimulated imports of spirits 

 temporarily. The prohibition of imports of 

 pork and pork products which was first declared 

 against the United States and afterward extend- 

 ed to other countries was in December, 1890, re- 

 moved in respect to German swine, provided im- 

 ports are accompanied by a certificate of a health 

 inspector. 



Navigation. During 1889 the number of 

 vessels engaged in ocean commerce entered at 

 Italian ports was 16,114, of 7,193,422 tons, of 

 which 8,961, of 1,835,378 tons, were Italian, and 

 7,153 of 5,358,044 tons, were foreign. The total 

 number includes 1,580 steamers, of 1,286,325 tons, 

 registered as Italian and 4,972 foreign steamers, 

 of 5,060,886 tons; making 6,552 steamers alto- 

 gether, of 6,347,211 tons. The departures of ocean 

 vessels numbered 15,365, of 6,678,282 tons, in- 

 cluding 6,154 steamers, of 5,858,997 tons. Of the 

 total number of vessels entered 13,752, of 6,514,- 

 169 tons,and of the number cleared, 9,180,of 3,910,- 

 271 tons, carried cargoes. The coasting vessels en- 

 tered numbered 100,676, of 13,712,893 tons, 23,517, 

 of 11,029,839 tons, being steamers. The number 

 cleared coastwise was 100,394, of 14,086,379 tons, 

 including 23,845 steamers, of 11,468,855 tons. 



The number of sailing vessels possessing the 

 national patent declined from 6.727, of 732,494 

 tons on Jan. 1, 1888, to 6,442, of 642.225 tons at 

 the beginning of 1889, while the steam vessels in- 

 creased from 254, of 163,131 tons, with 60,771 

 registered horse-power, to 279, of 182,249 tons, 

 with 63,052 horse-power. 



Railroads. On Jan. 1, 1890, there were 13,- 

 063 kilometres, or 8,112 miles, of railroad open to 

 traffic, besides 2,262 kilometres of steam tram- 

 ways. The railroad receipts in 1889 were 223,- 

 685,592 lire. A large part of the system is state 



Property, although under the law of April 27, 

 885, the operation of the state lines has been 

 transferred to companies. 



Posts and Telegraphs. The number of let- 

 ters carried in the mails during the financial year 

 ending June 30, 1889, was 121,743,000; postal 

 cards, 45,309,000 ; printed inclosures, 171,292,000 ; 

 postal orders, 5.139,000 ; letters posted with de- 

 claration of value, 9,612. The receipts for the 

 year were 44,072,875 lire and the expenses 39,- 

 211,548 lire, 



The length of telegraph lines in operation on 



June 30, 1889, was 35,322 kilometres, or 21,935 

 miles; the length of wires, 126,122 kilometres. 

 There are besides 146 kilometres of submarine 

 cable. The number of paid internal dispatches 

 was 7,078,009 in 1888-'89 ; of international dis- 

 patches, 684,050 ; of official dispatches, 583,246 ; 

 of messages connected with the service, 316,860; 

 of international dispatches in transit, 131,482. 

 The receipts were 14,742,228 lire ; ordinary ex- 

 penses, 13,020,132 lire; extraordinary expenses, 

 599,998 lire. 



Campaign against the Government. The 

 energetic Italian Premier, who before he took 

 office was an advanced Radical, since he carne 

 to the head of affairs has learned to depend less 

 and less on any particular party or parliament- 

 ary combination, and been able to carry his 

 measures, now with the support of the Left, and 

 now by the votes of the Right. The party lead- 

 ers who are ambitious to succeed him and the 

 aspirants for office who would not have been 

 disappointed in the old times, when the average 

 duration of a Cabinet was only a year, have at- 

 tempted various combinations without being able 

 to shake the strong minister, who has shaped his 

 policy in accordance with the general sense of 

 the country, and carried it out with a vigor that 

 gives more satisfaction than even the pliant tact 

 of Depretis, although it has made him many ene- 

 mies and obtained for him the reputation of a 

 dictator who overrides parliamentary institu- 

 tions, who incurs expenditures in advance of ap- 

 propriations and alters the laws by ministerial 

 decrees. 



Crispi has so long been decried as the slave of 

 Bismarck that when the old Chancellor was dis- 

 missed the opponents of the triple alliance raised 

 their heads, and the foes and rivals of Crispi 

 combined in an attack with the confident expec- 

 tation of bringing about his fall. In Lombardy 

 a branch of the Conservative party issued an 

 anti-ministerial platform putting forward popu- 

 lar demands and grievances, and in the south 

 three ex-ministers, with Magliani as their candi- 

 date for the premiership and Nicotera as the real 

 leader behind them, assailed the Government 

 at its weakest point and advanced a plausible 

 scheme for bringing about permanent stability 

 in the finances by limiting African expenditures 

 and reducing the army. In a speech delivered 

 in Naples on April 20 Signor Magliani said that 

 the deficit had become a constant factor, 50,000,- 

 000 lire annually being necessary to establish an 

 equilibrium in the budget. In 1887 there was a 

 deficit of 8,000,000 lire, and an increase of 23,- 

 000,000 lire in the military budget ; in 1888 the 

 deficit was 72,000,000 lire, and the increase in the 

 army estimates 66,000,000 lire ; in 1889 the deficit 

 grew to 234,000,000 lire, and the war expendi- 

 ture was again augmented by 143,000,000 lire ; 

 and in 1890 the balance on the wrong side of the 

 account would probably amount to 70,000,000 

 lire. He did not attack the triple alliance, but 

 condemned the tariff war with France. There 

 was no basis for a coalition between the north- 

 ern Conservatives and the southern Liberals, and 

 the project of a fusion of Conservatives appealing 

 to the masses with socialistic schemes and ex- 

 treme Radicals never took definite shape. 



The popular campaign was abandoned, but in 

 the Chamber the ministry continued to be sub- 



