ITALY. 



451 



Finance. The large deficits which occurred 

 for many years after the establishment of the 

 kingdom, amounting in the single year of 1866 

 to 617 million lire, were reduced to 128 mill- 

 ions in 1876. Since that year there has been 

 a surplus each year. The revenue has nearly 

 trebled since 1861, but the expenditures have 

 but slightly increased in fifteen years. The 

 budget estimates for 1881 gave a surplus of 

 7,810,369 lire, but the actual excess of receipts 

 in that year amounted to 50,887,238 lire ; the 

 receipts amounting to 1,518,535,464, and the 

 expenditures to 1,467,648,226 lire. There have 

 been large extraordinary expenditures in recent 

 years, amounting to 678 million lire in 1882, 

 in which year new debts figured in the extraor- 

 dinary receipts for 668 millions. The total 

 ordinary revenue of that year was stated in 

 the budget as 1,360,842,338 lire: extraordinary 

 receipts, 837,061,600 lire ; total receipts, 2,197,- 

 904,028 lire; total expenditure, 2,179,403,868 

 lire. 



The budget for 1883 gives the total ordinary 

 revenue as 1,300,353,714 lire; extraordinary 

 revenue, 149,313,962 lire ; total revenue, 1,544,- 

 361,667. The ordinary expenditures are stated 

 as 1,344,541,100 lire; extraordinary expendi- 

 tures, 192,685,085 lire ; total, 1,537,226,185 

 lire. The amount of new debts is set down as 

 28,151,705 lire; of sales of ecclesiastical and 

 domanial property, etc., 24,172,005 lire. The 

 extraordinary receipts and disbursements for 

 the construction of railroads is stated as 89,- 

 233,807 lire. 



The public debt, which stood at 2,437,000,- 

 000 lire in 1860, was increased by the deficits, 

 which constantly recurred after the establish- 

 ment of the monarchy, to 11,162,561,000 lire 

 in 1881, of which the consolidated debt consti- 

 tuted 8,079,526,000 lire ; the redeemable debt, 

 at 3 and 5 per cent., 1,667,505,750 lire ; the 

 floating liabilities, represented by treasury 

 bonds and notes, 475,529,250 lire; and the 

 paper currency, 940,000,000. For the redemp- 

 tion of the paper currency a loan of 729,745,- 

 000 lire was raised in 1881 -'82. Against the 

 paper currency and treasury bonds certificates 

 of the funded debt, to the amount of 1,150,- 

 000,000 lire, were deposited by the Govern- 

 ment. The expenditures for interest provided 

 for in the budget of 1883 are 526,665.577 lire, 

 of which 437,649,383 lire represent the interest 

 on the consolidated debt; 3,225,000 lire, the 

 permanent dotation to the Holy See, which has 

 been refused by the late and the present Pope, 

 and is paid over to the ecclesiastical fund; 

 40,702,076 lire, interest on loans not inscribed 

 in the libro grande; 33,929,495 lire, interest on 

 various unfunded debts; and 11,159,623 lire, 

 interest on treasury bonds and other floating 

 liabilities. The expenditure for amortization 

 in 1882 amounted to 3,671,584 lire. 



In 1884 the tobacco monopoly reverts to 

 state administration. In the budget estimates 

 for 1884-'85, presented to the Chamber in 

 November, 1883, a surplus is shown of 6,975,- 



000 lire. The receipts of the treasury in 1883 

 exceeded those of the preceding year by more 

 than 32 million lire. 



Resumption of Specie Payments. On the 12th 

 of April the treasury was ready, in accordance 

 with the law of April 7, 1881, to exchange gold 

 or silver for the paper money, which had been 

 the currency of the country for many years, 

 and was only exchangeable at a large discount 

 for French or English gold. Before the date 

 of resumption the discount sank to a nominal 

 figure. The Government had prepared for the 

 resumption of specie payments by accumulat- 

 ing 600 million lire in gold and silver. The 

 operation of drawing this large supply from 

 other countries without producing a monetary 

 crisis had been conducted with skill and fore- 

 thought. The stock at first accumulated con- 

 sisted of 444 millions in gold and 156 millions 

 in silver. Through various transactions of the 

 treasury this proportion was changed, until, on 

 the day of resumption, the stock of metal 

 coined in national pieces consisted of 517,222,- 

 230 lire of gold coins and 82,770,730 lire in 

 five-lire pieces. The stock of gold originally 

 acquired was composed of bars and foreign 

 coins to the value of 152,931,585 lire, national 

 gold coins to the value of 245,290,600 lire, and 

 45,777,795 in drafts on other countries. The 

 153 millions were made up of 23^ million 

 francs in bars, 59f millions in Eussian impe- 

 rials, 53 millions in American eagles, 10 mill- 

 ions in sovereigns, 5J millions in German 

 crowns, and 1 million in Spanish coins. The 

 largest sums were sent -to Italy in 1882, viz., 

 238 millions of gold and 66| millions of silver, 

 against 150 millions of gold and 16 millions of 

 silver in 1881. The largest supply came from 

 France, which furnished 147i millions, 66J 

 millions of French, million of foreign, and 80| 

 millions of silver. America supplied 65f mill- 

 ions of her own gold; Germany, 5$ millions 

 of her own and 60 millions of foreign gold ; 

 England, 59J millions of foreign gold ; Italy, 

 58 millions of her own; Austria, foreign coins 

 to the amount of 38 millions; Russia, 25J 

 millions of her own gold; Australia, 10 mill- 

 ions of her own gold ; Denmark, 5% millions 

 of her own gold ; Belgium, 2J millions of her 

 own ; and Spain, & million of her own gold. 

 Switzerland furnished i million in gold and 4 

 millions in five-franc pieces. 



When the treasury and the agencies through- 

 out the kingdom were opened for the exchange 

 of coin for paper, there was a rush of people to 

 the counters, who were actuated mostly by 

 motives of curiosity. The actual amount re- 

 deemed, exclusive of the one and two lire and 

 fractional notes, which were called in, was 

 insignificant, the total for the -first day being 

 only 2$- million lire. The total amount of Gov- 

 ernment currency outstanding was 950 million 

 lire, so that when the accumulated 600 mill- 

 ions are exchanged there will still be 350 mill- 

 ions of forced paper currency, which amount 

 the Government intends to leave in circulation, 



