, 1880-11-03

been the condition of Italy, if France had
conquered 10 1870, or from answering it
by the open avowal of o belief that Italy
would have been allowed to be little more
than d satrapy of the greater nation.
1.-THE conduct OF France ia the Tunisian
Question ought sufficiently to enlighten
U.s." observes even go judicious and moder-
ate an authority as the Nuova Anthologia
of Rome.
If we examine the circumstances of the
dispute between Italy and France OF Tunis
we shall not fail to be struck by the total.
ly divergent dispositions with which the
two Powers approached the consideration
Of the affair. The Italians all through
declined to ~exaggerate the Importance of
the controversy. It was a commercial
dispute, q piece of trade rivalry, and it
should be settled upou that ground. The
shipping company of Signor Rubattino
had long en- oyed a valuable carrying trade
between Sardinia. Sicily, Italy, and the
Tunisian mainland, but had been seriously
hampered in the development of its
enterprise by the absence of direct
communication with the capital OF the
hey. An English company had, how
ever, constructed a line OF railway between
Goletta and the city of Tunis, and the
possession of this line became an early
object of the ambition of the Italian shift
ping company. Three years ago. Siguor
Rubattino believed that he had secured on
favourable terms the purchase of the
Tunis-G oletta line, and earnest-money
having been paid in confosrity WIN the
Roman law, II was WIN profound surprise
that the Italians learnt that a subsequent
bargain had been ostensibly completed,
between the English proprietors and the
Franco Algerian Company which owned
the rail way between Bona and Guelma.
The disappointment became matter of liti-
cation in London, and though the Court
looking to the fact that the French Com
pany had outbid Signor Rubattino, declin-
cd to award the disputed line directly to the
italian claimants, if decided TO set it up
anew for auction; and on this occasion the
Rubattino Company became the def
mite purchasers, at an immensely enhanced
price, both over the French bid and over
the original terms which the French com
petition had caused to fall through. Down
to this point there seems to have beeu no
dppCaiuuCc vi u pUlItlCut CiCluChSS az 'Noo'
upon the surface /; aud if France bad not
been represented at Tunis by a Consul
OF exceptionally sensitive patriotism and
corresponding energy OF character, it is
possible that Signor Rubattino would
have been allowed to retire with his costly
bargain, and the ultimate fate of the com
bined shipping and railway enterprise
would have been left to be settled exclu-
sively according to the general laws OF
commercial profit and loss.
At this point, however, political consi-
derations did intervene, and before these
considerations were removed, matters ap.
peared at some moments to wear o very
disturbed aspect indeed, It has since
been pretended that it was the action of
the Italian Government, in according a
guarantee to the new purchase of signor
Rnbattino, which really introduced the
element of political interference and
national jealousy. Tt does not seem, how
ever, that this contention has much
foundation in fact. The Navigation Com
pany, already for years directed by Signor
Rubattino, bad always enjoyed this guar
antee, which, according to the ideas OF
protecting and fostering native industries
more common 10 other countries than In
our own, had nothing extraordinary about
it. When shipping business between
Italy and .,Tunis became combined with
the business of railway carriage between
the mort of Tunis and Tunis itself, under