The new Italian Ministry, under the presidency of Signor Giolitti,
will, it is stated, adhere strongly to the Triple Alliance; but it will make it its first business to restore the finances, and if possible, enrich Italy by removing obstacles to industry. Great retrenchments are to be made if Parliament will permit, which is doubtful; Africa is to be almost abandoned, and the Army is to be reduced in expense if not in numbers. Signor Crispi intends to support the new Cabinet, and it is stated that those who compose it, though little known to the outside world, are men of much official experience and energy. Admiral Brin, the new Minister for Foreign Affairs, seems to be regarded with suspicion in France; but in truth it is the King who governs in this department, and his policy has not been changed. It remains to be seen whether any skill, or any energy either, can rectify a deficit which is really two millions a year, without a serious reduction in the Army, a new and drawing tax, or such a recasting of the civil estab- lishments as will bring all the cultivated class of Italy to the feet of their representatives praying for protection against dismissals, which reduce so many families to poverty. Signor Giolitti is a Piedmontese, and can therefore be hard; but the majority of the Deputies regard places as fitting provisions for the sons of influential supporters.
