King Humbert opened the Italian Parliament on the 10th inst.
in a speech in which he prophesied confidently of peace,. and lauded the sympathy which the British Government had shown for the Italians in Africa. He would con- tinue his African policy. The body of the speech was, however, devoted to internal affairs, and promised, after the equilibrium of the Budget had been secured, to "settle with firmness and dignity the grave problem of communal finance." Great reductions in expenditure are still to be made, and the jurisdiction of the Courts over high functionaries is to be extended,—a threat levelled, we conceive, at the practice of corruption. The speech is greatly applauded throughout Italy ; but there is evidently much doubt whether the new Parliament will do what is required of it. A spirit of faction has already been manifested, and observers expect a "campaign of calumny," the cleavages between the parties being so deep that but for the Army there might be civil war. There is a radical difference of opinion on foreign policy which cannot be smoothed away, the whole Opposition inclining to conciliate France. Crispi will not take that line, for which it is said even the King sometimes hankers, thus encouraging the enemies of the Ministry. Crispi's grand majority, therefore, which exceeds a hundred, is an imperfect guarantee of the success of his proposals.
Previous page
