ITALY. 



417 



The strength of the Italian array, on July 1, 

 1875, was as follows: 



The navy consisted, on September 1, 1875, 

 of the following classes of vessels: 



The movement of the special foreign trade, 

 from 1871 to 1874, was as follows : 



The movement of navigation, in 1874, is ex- 

 hibited by the following table : 



The organization called the Italian National 

 Church is a body which has taken its rise from 

 the action of the clergy who have been dis- 

 satisfied with the action of the Roman Curia, 

 and have cultivated the national ideas. It 

 originated in Naples, in the Soeietd Emancipa- 

 trice, e di Mutuo Soccorao, del Sacerdozio Ita- 

 liano, which was founded in 1862. It has for 

 its organ the Emancipatore Cattolico, a journal 

 published at Naples. Recently the organi- 

 zation has been reconstituted for all Italy. 

 Canonico Trabucco had been chosen to be its 

 VOL. xvi. 27 A 



bishop, but he died before he was consecrated 

 Luigi Prote-Giarito has since been chosen 

 bishop, at a general election at which 10,250 

 votes were cast. Of these, 1,657 votes were 

 cust at Naples, 904 at Trani, 892 at Rome, 276 

 at Sorrento, 130 at Messina, 126 at Reggio, 63 

 at Syracuse, and the remainder at other places. 

 The sessions of the Italian Parliament were 

 opened January 6th by King Victor Eman- 

 uel with an address, in which he referred to 

 the negotiations which had been undertaken 

 by the Government for the purchase of the 

 peninsular railroads; to the generally pros- 

 perous condition of the country ; to the prog- 

 ress and efficiency of the army and navy, of 

 which he spoke with pride; to the existence 

 of friendly relations with foreign states ; to 

 the recent visits of the Emperors of Germany 

 and Austria ; and to the condition of affairs 

 in the East. On the last subject he said : " I 

 have deemed it expedient to participate in 

 the negotiations between the great powers, 

 with the object of aiding in the reCstablish- 

 ment of tranquillity in the East, and assur- 

 ing the welfare of the Christian population. 

 The Sultan received the proposals favora- 

 bly." Signor Biancheri was elected Pres- 

 ident of the Chamber of Deputies, defeating 

 Signor Depretis, the candidate of the Left. 

 On the Ifith of March Signor Minghetti pre- 

 sented the financial statement of the Govern- 

 ment, showing that the deficit in 1875 had 

 been only 28,000,000 lire, and that the esti- 

 mates promised a surplus for 1876 of 10,000,- 

 000, and for 1877 of 15,000,000. This show- 

 ing of brilliant results in financial management 

 could not, however, save the administration 

 from the assault which had been planned upon 

 it by the Opposition. A coalition had been 

 formed by the Tuscans, the Centre, and the 

 Left, under the lead of Pernzzi, for the over- 

 throw of the cabinet, and it brought its forces 

 into play March 18th, during a discussion upon 

 the grist-tax. Signor Morana had offered a 

 motion unfavorable to the Government, to 

 which Minister-President Minghetti said that, 

 if the ministry had to retire from office, it 

 would, in doing so, leave the country tranquil, 

 in excellent relations with foreign powers, and 

 with its finances restored. He moved that the 

 question be adjourned. This motion was lost 

 by a vote of 181 to 242. At the next sitting 

 of the Chambers, March 20th, Signor Min- 

 ghetti announced that the ministry had re- 

 signed. It was generally considered that the 

 question of the grist-tax was only nominally 

 the occasion of the fall of the Minghetti min- 

 istry, as the coalition against them was really 

 based upon opposition to their scheme for the 

 purchase of the railways. A new ministry 

 was formed, with Signor Depretis at its head. 

 It was selected from the Radical and Progres- 

 sive party, and was composed of members five 

 of whom were from the northern districts 

 and four from the southern districts, while the 

 centre of the country was not represented in 



