ITALY. 



453 



tower and the funnels and hatchways. Three 

 other monster ironclads are not so large, but 

 carry equally heavy guns. There are two 

 more, not yet launched. Eight other armored 

 vessels are of older types and lighter armor 

 and armament. There are three smaller iron- 

 clads, placed in the second class. Four pro- 

 tected cruisers, with rams and torpedo equip- 

 ment, are under construction, and more are 

 contemplated. The Italian navy has 11 war- 

 vessels of the first class completed, with 7 in 

 progress, and 3 of the second class. There 

 are to be 12 torpedo-vessels, one of which is 

 completed. The number of torpedo-boats 

 completed is 55, while 28 are building. 



Finances. In 1880 the revenue exceeded the 

 expenditure by 19,000,000 lire. In 1881 there 

 was a surplus of 51,000,000 lire, and in 1882 

 of 94,500,000 lire. Since then the expendi- 

 tures for the reorganization of the army, mon- 

 ster ironclads, the fortification of the capital 

 and other defensive works, the construction of 

 new railroads, the interest on the new loan 

 for the establishment of a gold currency in 

 the place of irredeemable paper, the remission 

 of the Hour, salt, and land taxes, and the so- 

 called ultra-extraordinary expenditures for the 

 relief of sufferers from floods and the Ischia 

 earthquake, on account of cholera, and for 

 the African expedition, have made it impos- 

 sible for the Minister of Finance to keep the 

 disbursements below the amount of the re- 

 ceipts. In 1883 there was a trifling deficiency 

 of 106,471 lire, and in the first half of 1884, 

 when the fiscal year was changed so as to end 

 OD June 30, one of 5,496,531 lire. The ac- 

 counts for the eighteen months of 1884-'85 

 show a surplus of 35,335,530 lire, yet to cover 

 the extraordinary expenditures in that period, 

 and in 1885-'86 the minister was authorized 

 to sell ecclesiastical estates of the value of 

 40,000,000 lire. The revised estimates for 

 1885-'86 showed a deficit of 10,904,847 lire, 

 but in his electoral address in May, 1886, the 

 Prime Minister said that the receipts had ex- 

 ceeded the estimates by 35,000,000 lire. The 

 budget for 1886-'87 makes the ordinary re- 

 ceipts 1,525,412,598 lire; the extraordinary 

 receipts 193,614,541 lire; total receipts 1,719,'- 

 027,139 lire, and the ordinary expenditures 

 1,423,916,040 lire; the extraordinary expendi- 

 tures 276,313,120 lire; total, 1,700,229,160 lire. 

 The budget provides for the sale of public 

 property and the creation of new debt to the 

 total amount of 41,101,917 lire, and for the 

 expenditure of 142,450,000 lire on the con- 

 struction of railroads. The receipts from rail- 

 roads and other public property are estimated 

 at 76,681,378 lire ; from direct taxes, 391,565, 

 716 lire; from stamps, registration, etc., 187,- 

 388,000 lire ; from customs, excise, and mo- 

 nopolies, 594,927,245 lire; from various taxes, 

 76,502,000 lire; from the postal and tele- 

 graph services, 75,524,825 lire. The ordinary 

 expenditure for the army is fixed at 220,- 

 106,618 lire, the extraordinary expenditure at 



37,185,000 lire. The ordinary expenditure 

 for the navy is 71,315,660 lire, the extraordi- 

 nary expenditure 14,016,000 lire. For public 

 works the ordinary expenditure is reckoned 

 at 78,529,878 lire, and the extraordinary at 

 185,983,274 lire. 



The interest on the 5 per cent, consolidated 

 debt in 1886 amounted to 441,949,063 lire, and 

 on 3 per cent, consols to 6,408,080 lire. The 

 total interest on debts of all descriptions in 

 1885-'86 was 534,304,418. 



Equalization of the Land-Tax. The rural pop- 

 ulation of Italy have suffered more than the 

 agricultural class in other countries, chiefly on 

 account of excessive taxation. The Govern- 

 ment had long promised relief, and when in 

 1885 the question was still kept in the back- 

 ground, dissatisfaction was shown in the 

 Chamber by a portion of the Government ma- 

 jority. In 1884 an extensive strike occurred 

 among the wretchedly paid farm-laborers in 

 the province of Rovigo, and in 1885 one in 

 Mantua. A commission appointed to study 

 the question of land reform made a volumi- 

 nous report at the end of 1884, in which the 

 chief recommendation was that wheat should 

 be cultivated less, and wine and olives more. 

 The reduction and equalization of the land- 

 taxes have occupied the attention of every gov- 

 ernment from the foundation of the united 

 kingdom. The cadastral surveys, twenty-two 

 in number, are from fifty to a hundred years 

 old. Much productive land, especially in South 

 Italy, is classed as waste, and escapes taxation 

 altogether. In other places the taxes amount 

 to 60 per cent, of the rent. In the north the 

 land is, on the whole, more heavily burdened 

 than in the south. The communal and pro- 

 vincial taxes have been constantly increased. 

 The project of tax reform, worked out by a 

 committee, of which Minghetti was chairman, 

 was at last brought before the Chamber in 

 November, 1885. It was opposed by the great 

 proprietors of the south and others who were 

 interested, but finally passed on Feb. 6, 1886, 

 by a vote of 290 against 91. The average rate 

 of taxation is fixed at 3*70 lire per hectare. 

 The new survey and valuation will take twenty 

 years, but some of the grosser inequalities are 

 to be removed immediately. Another law, 

 proposed by the Minister of Agriculture, is ex- 

 pected to improve the badly organized credit 

 system, and facilitate the raising of money on 

 mortgages. 



Parliamentary Conflict. Toward the end of 

 1885 the majority began to split up, and the 

 ministry was subjected to attacks from mem- 

 bers of the Right and the Center, as well as 

 from the regular opposition. Depretis was 

 accused of having broken all his promises and 

 performed no part of his programme of Stra- 

 della ; Robilant of having compromised Italy 

 by his interference in the Bulgarian question, 

 and missed opportunities for territorial gains ; 

 and Magliani of having brought out, instead of 

 the promised surplus, a deficit in the accounts 



