489 



ITALY. 



In 1899 there would probably be a surplus of 

 000,000 lire, possibly 21,000.000 lire, which could be 

 devoted to the reduction ..f the |*a|K-r currency, an 

 operation calculated todimim-h the gold premium. 

 The equilibrium of the budget in these three years 

 had been attained without new impost*, notwith- 

 standing the losses involved in the revision of the 

 land tax. and to consolidate this situation Signor 

 Lnxtati thought it necessary to . i,. . k the increase 

 nates, wnteh otherwise would soon reach 100,- 

 000.000 lire a year, and gradually reduce them to 

 68,000,000 lire, to reduce African expenses, >n which 

 2^00.000 lire would U' saved by the transfer .>! 

 - . . '. Hid I : falisfonn and dimin- 



. treasury debt, substituting registered 1 

 itQjOOO^OOO lire of the 4-per-cent, treasury bill-. 

 which amounted at the end of 1897 to 265,000,000 

 lire, and gradual! v leaving off 90,000.000 lire more. 



The Army. Tne obligation to serve in the army 

 begins at the age of twenty and lasts nineteen years, 

 r three years with tne colors, or six years in 

 the reserve of the permanent army, three or four 

 years in the mobile militia, and 'seven years in 

 the territorial militia. The present peace eff. 

 was i: 1*497 at 205,000 men. By th,. law 



of Julv 12, 1896, the contingent called to serve 

 with the colors was fixed at 98,000 men, and all 



- capable of bearing arms and not required 

 for the support of families were placed in the 

 second category, which receives from two to six 

 months of military instruction. By the law of .lun.- 

 28, 1817. there ire in time of peace 12 corps darmte, 

 each roni|iri-ini: '2 divi-ions, except one corps of 8 

 divisions. ilistribute<l in 88 military districts. The 



ve strength of the army in' 1897 was as fol- 

 lows : General staff, 290 officers ; 340 battalions of 

 infantry and 98 district companies, 8,017 officers 

 and 143.750 men; 144 squadrons and 24 cavalry 

 depots, 960 officers and 23,590 men ; 207 field bat- 

 teries. 7<; c'.m panics of fortress artillery, and 40 

 companies of train, 1,739 officers and 34,980 men ; 

 64 companies of engineers and 10 companies of 

 train, 597 officers and 8,969 men; 12 sanitary com- 

 panies. 585 officers and 2,593 men ; 12 com mis-a rial 

 companies. 325 officers and 2,036 men ; admin 

 tive officers, 1,185; 1'J legions of carabineers, 551 

 officers and 23,945 men; military schools, 1,388 

 men; veterinary corps. 191 officers; total, 1 1. 1 :^ 

 officers and 141,151 men. not indudine the African 

 troops. The number of horses and mules was 



In case of war armies will be formed, each 

 consisting of 3 or 4 army corps and 1 division of 

 cavalry. Each corps tTarmtc comprises 32 officers 

 and 209 men at headquarters, 2 or:} divisions of 

 infantry. 1 regiment of berxaglieri, 2 divisions of 

 artillery, with 48 guns, 1 regiment of cavalry, 1 ar- 

 tillery park, 1 park of engineers, 1 park of telegraph 



u of sanitary troops, 1 section of 

 ussariat troops, severafcolu inn- of provisions, 

 and a reserve commissariat park. Th. 



army consists of 14,438 officers with 

 lors, 9,890 officers on leave from the perma- 

 army or with the mobile milit ilicers 



of the territorial militia, 1,279 officers in the au\ 

 iliary services, and 6,086 officers of the reserve, 

 making the total of officers :? 11.151 rank 



and file wrving with the color- in the permanent 

 army and 501.527 in the permanent army on : 

 of absence; 849,204 rank and file of the mobile 

 militia; and 296,386 in the territorial army: total 

 war strength, 1,424,698 officers and men. not' includ- 

 ing 86898 in the second cate-ory, who have re- 

 ceived a partial military training, and the third 

 category, consisting of 1.506.775 men with scarcely 

 any military instruction, who are in-ribe.l in the 

 territorial militia. 



Gen. Pelloux's army-reorganization bill was 



adopted by ber by 103 votes apiii 



and passed" the & 



The chief feature is the retention of 1'J ami) . 



as against the proposal made by dm. Ricotti in 

 1896 to reduce them to 10. Under c. n. Pel! 



sc-heme the average peace -ircnu'th of i-arh 



vill U- rai- to * s . whereas Gen. 



i proposed to fix the minimum pear, -i ivn-i h 

 at 110 men in order l<> improve the quality of the 



troops in case of mol.ili/.at ion. The ordinary army 



e-timates for the financial \ 



lire. 'I -ti mates are I 



small-liore rifle- needed to complete the armament 

 ..f the regular infantry and the niol.ile militia. 

 "H> lire are de\..|ed to the improvement . 

 frontier defenses. 



The NJIM. The Italian navy -..ntains the bar- 

 bette ships ' L. panio " and " Italia." of I.'I.'.HMI and 

 15,654 tons displacement, lit inches of annr <>n tin- 

 i 17-inch guns, besides smaller 



lie former having a -| 



latter of 17*8 knots; tl 



and "S.cil,a." of i:!,H93, 18,8<l. and 18, 

 with 11-inch armor, carrying i:!--in. h gun- in their 

 liarltettes. with a powerful seeonda- and 



capable of making from ls^ |,, -JO knots: the 

 " l>aiiria." - An . ' ami " 1 : ^I()^o- 



sini." of ov.-r 1 U'OO \u<. having is-inch plates 

 and a similar armament, \\ith a speed of ]<; i 



knots: the turret snipe M Dandolo " and "Dnilto," 



l.'i-knot vessel-, with 'J'J-inch armor 

 one 4 10-inch and the other -1 17'7-inrli L r nn- in \ he 

 central citadel; the old ironclads " I'ale-tn. " and 

 " AlTondati.re" : and. in process of construction, the 

 " Ainmirau'lio di Saint-l'.oii " and "Kmmannelr l-'ili- 

 l'.-rto,"of 9,800 tons, with 10-inch armor, can 

 4 10-inch guns in l>arlette. and de-i^ned to steam 

 18 knots. Of cruisers then- are 1 of 8,500 and (5,840 

 tons, armed with Id-inch and li-inrh gun-, and en- 

 gin.-d for a speed of 20 knots, and ."i moi 

 4,000 and 5,000 tons, with a speed of 13 knots and a 

 strong armament of (J-inch and lesser guns. The 

 torpedo fleet c<>n-isN of first -da< and HI s. 

 class ton M -do boats, each armed with 2 gun-. 

 the third class, and 6 of the fourth class. In the 

 new battle ships now building the protect i. 

 li.-iter than in the monster ironclads. The 10-inch 

 belt of steel armor extends all the way round, and 

 the heavy guns are coupled at each end of the ar- 

 mored redoubt containing the secondary armament. 



It is intended to replace the 120-ton L r i(Il- ill the 



earlier battle ships with lighter on.--. The / rwnnel 

 of the Italian navy in IS'.H; con-j-t.-d of 1 .:,!'. olli- 

 cers, 18.822 noncom'mi ioned ofl 

 ners, Stokers, pilot-, and seamen, and -l.ls'.i m;. 

 :tnd gunners on shore : total. 'J i 



The veaiels in oonrae of construction in 1C 



in adiliti'ni to the 2 fir-t-da- battle ship-. -1 of the 

 second class, 2 small crui-. r-. and a nun/ 

 pedo boats and torpedo catcher-. The organic law 

 of 1887 cont<-mplated a navy of 'js new battle -hips, 

 supplemented by (!1 torp.-do boats, to be built in 

 ei-ht years at a i-o-t of 1 (:,.( KKI.O(K lire. The finan- 

 cial oonditioQ of the Government ha- prevented this 

 programme from being carried out. The ordinary 

 naval ' >r t he financial year 1898 amounted 



to 88,800.000 lire. Admiral I'.rin a-k.-d for an ex- 

 traordinary credit of 7.OO0.04HI lire, making up a 

 im of 'Jt;.(KM.(MK lire to be spent on new con- 

 struction. The ChamlKTs approved the prop 

 for the resumption of new construction and for 

 restorini: the efliciency of the existing fleet, which 

 had suffered much daring the period of financial 

 depression from the reduction of the personnel, 

 economy in fuel, and the decrease of expenditure 

 on maintenance. The increase voted for 1898 was 



