410 



ITALY. 



Towns. Population. 



Capannori 48,313 



Ancona 45,741 



Parma 45,509 



Prato 39,594 



Arezzo 38,907 



Brescia 38,906 



Forli 38,480 



Fo<#ria 38,138 



Vicenza 37,686 



Bergamo 37,363 



Faenza 36,299 



Cesena 35,870 



Towns. Population. 



Acireale 35,787 



Re^o-io (Calabria). . . 35,235 



Piaccnza 34,985 



Marsala 34.202 



Andria 34,034 



Rimini 33,886 



Trapaui 33,634 



Modena 33,169 



Cagliari 32,834 



Sassari 32,674 



Asti 31,033 



Cremona 30,919 



Tlie navy, on January 1, 1872, consisted of 

 21 iron-clad steamers, carrying 201 guns ; 18 

 screw-steamers, with 338 guns ; and 19 side- 

 wheel steamers, with 90 guns. The naval offi- 

 cers were : 1 admiral, 1 vice-admiral, 10 rear- 

 admirals, 33 captains of ships-of-the-line, 50 

 captains of frigates. 



The merchant navy consisted, on December 

 31, 1870, of 18,822 vessels, with an aggregate 

 tonnage of 1,013,038, among which there were 

 118 steamers of 32,100 tons. 



The aggregate length of railroads in oper- 

 ation was, at the close of the year 1871, 

 6,425 kilometres (1 kilometre=0.62 mile) ; 

 the length of telegraph-lines, on January 1, 

 1871, 16,930 kilometres; the length of tele- 

 graph-wires, 49,946 miles. Receipts from rail- 

 roads, 100,060,000 lire ; from telegraphs, 4,816,- 

 689 lire ; number of telegraph-offices, 1,237 ; 

 of post-offices, 2,504 ; number of letters for- 

 warded through the post-office, 87,600,000; 

 of printed articles, 73,900,000. 



The relations of the Italian Government 

 with the Pope remained throughout the year 

 unchanged. It repeatedly expressed a wish 

 to come to an understanding, on the basis of 

 the " legal guarantees " law of 1871, and the 

 Pope steadfastly refused to recognize in any 

 way whatever the overthrow of his temporal 

 power. On January 1st, the King sent a spe- 

 cial ambassador to the Vatican to tender his 

 Majesty's congratulations to the Holy Father. 

 The ambassador was met by Cardinal Anto- 

 nelli, who informed him that his Holiness was 

 indisposed and unable to receive visits. The 

 Pope, in an address to a great number of 

 Roman citizens, who called on him on March 

 10th, declared that it was impossible for two 

 authorities to exist simultaneously at Rome, 

 and to work together harmoniously. Similar 

 addresses Avere, in the course of the year, 

 made to many other deputations. On April 

 19th, Signor Ferrari asked, in the Chamber of 

 Deputies, whether the ministry intended to 

 present diplomatic documents relative to the 

 relations with foreign powers. He also asked 

 what had been the state of Italy's relations 

 with the powers since the arrival of the Gov- 

 ernment at Rome, and in what relation she 

 stood to the Vatican. 



The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Signor Vis- 

 conti-Venosta, said he had no intention of pub- 

 lishing diplomatic correspondence concerning 

 Roman affairs. He added : " The Italian Gov- 

 ernment has wished to prove, not by dispatches, 

 but by facts and experience, that the great re- 



ligious institution of the papa'cy is respected 

 in all its spiritual functions. There have not 

 been any negotiations or exchange of docu- 

 ments. The Catholic Governments have mani- 

 fested to us to the full extent their solicitude 

 for the Pontiff and religious interests, but they 

 have, at the same time, evinced their desire to 

 maintain cordial relations with Italy upon the 

 only possible basis, which is that of accom- 

 plished facts. All the powers give us proofs 

 of a moderation which serves to facilitate the 

 policy of peace, to which the Government per- 

 sists in devoting all its efforts." 



On June 19th the Pope addressed a letter 

 to Cardinal Antonelli, deploring the threatened 

 enforcement of the law suppressing convents 

 in Italy, as a violation of international law. 

 He says that the constant encroachments on 

 the rights of the Church, by the Government 

 of Italy, violate morality and justice. Only 

 a regard for the highest interests prevents, the 

 head of the Church from leaving Rome. The 

 conflict between the Holy See and the Italian 

 Government is inevitable, and reconciliation is 

 impossible. The Pope cannot submit to such 

 usurpations, and he requests Antonelli to pro- 

 test against them to the foreign powers. On 

 November 16th the Government sent a parch- 

 ment security for the annual sum allowed to 

 his Holiness in accordance with the legal guar- 

 antees voted by the Italinn Government off 

 the book of the public debt of Italy. This 

 security was accompanied by a letter from 

 Signor Sella. Cardinal Antonelli replied that 

 the Pope could not receive the sum offered, 

 which was the application of one article of a 

 law not accepted by the Holy See. In the 

 Consistory, held on December 23d, the Pope 

 delivered an allocution, in the course of which 

 he severely censured the persecution of the 

 Church by the Italian Government. The pur- 

 pose to destroy her was shown in the acts of 

 the Italian Government, which compelled the 

 clergy to serve in the army, and imposed 

 heavy taxes on church property. He solemnly 

 protested against the bill then pending in the 

 Italian Parliament for the suppression of re- 

 ligious corporations, and declared that title to 

 property acquired by this means would be null 

 and void. He repeated his censures of those 

 who encroached on the rights of the Church. 



The session of Parliament, which had been 

 opened on November 27, 1871, was prorogued 

 on July 5, 1872. The Parliament did little or 

 nothing while awaiting the labors of a com- 

 mittee appointed to examine the financial so- 

 lution proposed by Minister Sella. There was 

 much important work which the body conld 

 have performed, but the great money question 

 to such extent absorbed the general interest 

 that the members preferred to indulge in re- 

 peated adjournments. On March 2d Signor 

 Minghetti (ex-Premier) presented to the Cham- 

 ber the report of the committee. Thc/ollow- 

 ing are the principal conclusions of the report: 

 The committee accepts the proposal to issue 



