388 



ITALY. 



would produce an immediate benefit to the 

 treasury of 14,000,000 lire, thereby reducing 

 the deficit for 1869 to 78,000,000 lire, which 

 the' minister hoped would be covered by the 

 development of commercial prosperity. In 

 conclusion, Signor Cambray Digny expressed 

 a hope that the measures indicated would be 

 adopted. He regarded them as of urgent 

 necessity, and if delayed beyond the present 

 year the difficulties of Italian finances would 

 become involved past remedy. The minister 

 stated that the deficit up to the end of 1867 

 was 820,000,000 lire. Signor Oambray Digny 

 concluded his statement as follows: "The 

 total accumulated deficit at the end of 1868 

 should be 630,000,000 lire, instead of 820,000,- 

 000 in 1867. To cover these 630,000,000 there 

 are three resources the current account at 

 the bank, which, however, is not 308,000,000, 

 as had been stated; and issue of Treasury 

 bonds to the amount of 250,000,000 ; and an 

 advance of 100,000,000 from the bank upon 

 the security of ecclesiastical property. The 

 state is also entitled to a loan of 30,000,000 

 from the bank. These resources are, however, 

 partly exhausted, so that there will remain 

 a deficit of 162,000,000, and this can only be 

 removed by a fresh issue of bonds upon the 

 ecclesiastical property, which the Government 

 cannot undertake, according to law, at a lower 

 rate than 80, until after June next. To remove 

 the forced currency would require 540,000,000 

 in gold. At present it is necessary to find the 

 means of paying 378,000,000 due to the bank ; 

 the removal of the false currency would fol- 

 low." The minister proposed a gradual re- 

 moval of the deficit, 78,000,000 of which would 

 be covered in 1869, and the remainder in a 

 total period of twelve years. The entire ex- 

 pense to the state occasioned by the Garibal- 

 dian movement in October was estimated at 

 18,000,000 lire. The ecclesiastical property at 

 present sold had realized 40,349,000 lire. The 

 treasury had at present available the sum of 

 294,000,000, of which about 118,000,000 were 

 to be drawn from the bank, and 66,000,000 in 

 Treasury bonds to be placed in circulation. 



The different financial measures proposed 

 by the minister engaged the almost exclusive 

 attention of the Parliament for more than six 

 months. The Parliament adopted the plan of 

 the Government with but slight modifications. 

 On June 23d the Government concluded a 

 convention for farming the manufacture of 

 tobacco in Italy with Messrs. Stern, of Paris, 

 London, and Frankfort-on-the-Main ; De Ha- 

 ber, of Paris; Schnapper, of Paris, and Jou- 

 bert, of Paris. 



In presenting the result to the Chamber of 

 Deputies, on the 24th of June, the Minister of 

 Finance stated that the operation was intended 

 to cover the deficit of 1868-'69, and that the 

 amount arising from the sale of ecclesiastical 

 property would be reserved for removing the 

 forced currency, which would require a sum of 

 480,000,000 lire. The minister expected not 



only to obtain this sum by the financial opera- 

 tion on the ecclesiastical property, but hoped he 

 would have a surplus on hand toward the liqui- 

 dation of previous deficits. The report of the 

 committee upon the tobacco convention ap- 

 pointed by this Chamber of Deputies was distri- 

 buted among the members of the Chamber on 

 August 1st. It proposes that the advance of 

 180,000,000 lire in gold should be paid by the 

 contractors to the Government within eight 

 months from the approval of the convention, 

 in instalments to be arranged by the Finance 

 Minister. The issuing price of the company's 

 bonds would be settled by arrangement be- 

 tween the Minister of Finance and the con- 

 tractors. The report further proposes that the 

 revenue assured to the Government during the 

 first biennial period should equal the net profit 

 for the year 1868, the same to be determined 

 by arbitration. The arbitrators will be two 

 persons named by the contractors and two by 

 the Minister of Finance, the latter presiding. 

 Both Houses of Parliament adopted the con- 

 vention by a large majority, the Chamber of 

 Deputies on August 8th, by 205 against 161, the 

 Senate on August 22d, by 106 against 11. On 

 October 5th was issued the prospectus of a six 

 per cent, tobacco loan of 9,404,762. the 

 issue being in bonds of 500 and 2,500 francs 

 each. In November, after the reassembling of 

 Parliament, the Minister of Finance issued an 

 appendix to the budget of 1868, showing that 

 the deficit of that year had been reduced from 

 217,000,000 lire to 81,000,000, and that the 

 deficit of 1869 would also be 81,000,000, where- 

 of 70,000,000 would be covered by the proceeds 

 of the sale of the ecclesiastical property. 



The Parliament reassembled after the au- 

 tumn vacation, on the 24th of November. On 

 the next day, Signor Mari was elected presi- 

 dent of the Chamber of Deputies by 185 votes, 

 against 93 given to Signor Crispi, the candi- 

 date of the Left. Signor Mordino, the candi- 

 date of the Eight, was elected vice-president. 

 In reply to a question by Signor Curti, as to 

 what course the Government intended to 

 take after the fresh defiance by the Pa- 

 pacy to Italy given by the execution of 

 Monti and Tognetti, on November 24th, Gen- 

 eral Menabrea said that he did not disguise 

 the political significance of the unjustifiable 

 act of the Pontifical Government, and added : 

 " The Italian Government made every possi- 

 ble effort to avert it, but for the present I can- 

 not reply or accept the discussion upon the 

 question raised by Signor Curti." General 

 Bixio said that one of the condemned men was 

 an Italian citizen, and that the execution should 

 have been prevented at any cost. A vigorous 

 and decided policy, he added, was necessary to 

 restrain the Papacy, and to compel France to 

 cease imposing her dominion at Eome. Gen- 

 eral Menabrea, while sharing the general in- 

 dignation felt by the country and the Parlia- 

 ment, protested against the assertion that Italy 

 suffered humiliation from any foreign power, 



