ITALY 



arrived at Tripoli and disembarked 15,000 rifles which were distributed among the Arabs, 

 The Italian Government then sent an ultimatum to that of Turkey on the 28th, and no 

 satisfaction having been obtained declared war on the 2gth. It is unnecessary here to 

 deal with the events of the war itself, which are fully narrated in Part I: Sect. i. of 

 the YEAR-BOOK. On November 4th, Italian sovereignty was extended to Tripoli- 

 tania and Cyrenaica by Royal Decree. Towards the end of November a conflict broke 

 out with France in consequence of the arrest and search by Italian warships of the 

 two French steamers Carthage and Manouba suspected of carrying Turkish officers and 

 contraband; the incident led to a violent outburst of anti-Italian hysteria in France, 

 and although it was eventually referred to arbitration, it made the Italian public 

 realise how little it could count on French sympathy, and served to strengthen the 

 somewhat weakening bonds of the Triple Alliance. On February 22nd, Parliament 

 reassembled, and the bill for converting the sovereignty decree of November 4th into 

 law was voted by an overwhelming majority amidst scenes of great patriotic enthusiasm. 



Various attempts at mediation were made by the Powers, but without success. 

 In July, 1912 however, negotiations were instituted between unofficial Italian and 

 _. _ Turkish delegates in Switzerland, and after laborious discussions, during 



which the situation in the Balkans became menacing and Montenegro 

 declared war against Turkey, the peace preliminaries were signed at Ouchy on October 

 i4th, and the final treaty on the i8th. Turkey renounced her sovereignty over Libya 

 and undertook to withdraw her troops, the Sultan preserving only his spiritual 

 authority as Khalif over his former subjects, while Italy agreed to restore the Aegean 

 Islands to Turkey as soon as the Turkish troops had quitted Libya, but the inhabitants 

 were guaranteed liberal reforms and local autonomy. This settlement did not arouse 

 much enthusiasm in Italy, as many believed that, the Balkan States having now 

 declared war against Turkey, Italy might have put herself at their head and eventually 

 acquired great moral prestige throughout the Near East. But the objects for which 

 the war was fought had been achieved, and in view of the situation in the near East the 

 Italian Government wished to have its hands free. 



Throughout the campaign officers, soldiers and sailors had shown great bravery, 

 discipline and staying power, while the organisation of the army and the navy proved 

 excellent. Some of the commanders, however, came in for much criticism, and the 

 general conduct of the campaign, inspired apparently by political rather than by military 

 considerations, was disapproved of by a part of public opinion. The total expenses of 

 the undertaking are estimated at 458,000,000 lire, including the value of supplies not 

 all of which have been used up, and it is remarkable that this sum was paid for out of 

 the budget surpluses of the last few years, redeemable Treasury bills, Treasury reserves, 

 credits with banks, etc., no loan having been raised nor fresh taxation levied. On the 

 conclusion of peace the Treasury still had 386,000,000 lire at its disposal. Business 

 was not very much affected by the war, and indeed Italian exports during the period 

 from January ist to September 3oth, 1912, in spite of the suspension of trade with 

 Turkey, had increased by 117, 000,000 lire over those of the corresponding period of 1911, 

 and the imports by 59,000,000 lire, while the State's principal revenues, from October 

 ist, 1911, to September 3oth, 1912, had increased by 79,000,000. 



In the field of domestic politics there is little during 1912 to be recorded. An unsuc- 

 cessful attempt on the King's life by an anarchist named D'Alba on March i4th gave 

 occasion for enthusiastic demonstrations of loyalty, showing how deeply 

 po?Hics" attached to the Monarchy the Italian people had become. The various 

 Government bills the Insurance Monopoly, the extension of the franchise 

 and payment of members although not popular, were voted by Parliament without 

 much opposition, as there was a general determination not to embarass the Ministry 

 as long as the war lasted. The Socialist party, which had been gradually losing its 

 hold over the masses for some time past, now found itself wholly out of touch with 

 popular feeling concerning the war, and while it officially condemned the enterprise 

 many of its leaders refused to put party before country, and were " excommunicated " 



