Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1893-01-20


unity was moving, but how was the union
to be brought about2 This difficult situa-
ton was solved by one of the most pictur-
esque of the heroes of the Italian revolu-
tioRary struggle-Garbaldi gathered
force of volunteers at Genoa, seized two
steamers, May ,, 1850, and sailed for Sici-
ly, apparently against the wishes of the
Sandman government, but really with its
connivance Garibaldi landed on the
western end of the island, the people were
ripe for revolution, and by the end of June
he was master of the whole island. In
August he crossed to the mainland, and
after little resistance, and amid universal
rejoicing, he took possession of Naples
Sept. :, 1860. The surprising feature of
the struggle was that, after he had overrun
Sicily and most of the Neapoltan kingdom
so easily, he should meet with the most de-
termined opposition in the little fragment
of territory about Capua and Gaeta. Here
the NeapOlitan king was at bay with 49,
600 men, while the pope, anxious not to
have Victor Emmanuel for a neighbor on
the south as well as the north, had been
raising an army of volunteers from Catho-
lie countries. But Sardinia's determine
ton was soon taken; she had gone too far to
withdraw, and on Sept. IL the troops Of
Victor Emmanuel invaded the papal states,
the people welcomed them, the papal army
was easily defeated, and Victor Emmanuel,
despite the threats and storming of the
pope, was in the possession of the whole
Of the papal states save only the little sec
ton about Rome known as the "Patrimo-
ny OF Peter" The Neapoitan king made
a brave and honorable resistance, but in
February, 1861, Gaeta fell and with its
fall the Bourbon kingdom of Naples came
to an end.
In the new Sandman parliament which
met at Turin in January, 1861, % out of
the 26 millions on the peninsula were rep
resented. 1t was a great occasion whose
importance the represen atiyes of the peo-
pie recognized. No provincial designation
was fitting for the enlarged kingdom, and
one of the first acts of the new govern
ment was to take the name Of the king
and kingdom of Italy. But one event
marked with sadness the triumph of the
time--the death of Cavour, which occur
red in the height of his fame, June 6,
1861.
The acquisition of Rome and Venice
was now alone wanting to complete the
uniiication of Italy, but the hope for their
addition to the kingdom seemed vain. The
course of European politics, however, in the
decade from 1850 to 1870 gave both these
territories to Italy in a totally unlooked-for
way. 1t was through the rise of Prussia
and the contest with Austria for the lead
/ ership of Germany that possession of Ven
ice came. Bismarck, who had been slow
/ ly preparing for the struggle, made an alli-
| ance with Italy, agreeing that when the
/ war come it should last till Venice was in
! Italian hands In June and July. 1866,
IL Al. 81 ,1ls
/ trary to all expectation it was short and
| decisive. On July , the Austrians were
| overthrown at KOnigsgr;itz, Austria hast
ened to make peace, and Venice was hand
! ed over to Napoleon III. to be transferred
| by him to Victor Emmanuel.
Nor did Rome come in a less unlocked
/ Tor way. In the summer of 1870 the am
| bition of Napoleon led him to declare his
! ill-starred war on Prussia. With the first
of the Prussian victories the French troops
were withdrawn from Rome, Victor Em-
manuel saw his opportunity, and in Sep
| TENDER, 1870, he marched his troops on
Rome. On the 10Th of that month they
entered the city, and the temporal power
of the papacy, the Oldest existing sover-
| eighty in Europe, was at an end. The
work was done. Italy was at last united.
1 1t was a glorious and marvellous series of
events that in eleven years-from 1850 to
! lS70-had made a nation where jealous
states had existed for a thousand years.
The government of modern Italy is a
! constitutional monarchy, whose policy is
carried out by eleven ministers appointed
| by the king, but representative of the ma
! jority in the Italian parliament, and re-
! spOnsible to that body. The parliament
| itself, like our Congress, consists of an up
per and lower house, but the upper house
| is made up of an unlimited number
of persons whom the king may see fit to
nominate, who have held high Office under
the government, have gained distinction in
science, art or literature, or who pay taxes
to the extent of 5000 yearly. The APP
pointments are for life, and the senate
numbers about go. The lower house is
the more important body. 1t consists at
present of sos members elected by those
of the male inhabitants who can read and
write, are over p years of age, and pay at
least 1920 year in taxes.
The pope has been and is most disturb
ing factor in Italian affairs. BY law
passed just after the capture of Rome he
was given the palaces of the Vatican and
the Lateran. In these enclosures the Ital-
ian law does not run. They are not under
! lllC lldllhu pOpC 10 uOb
an Italian subject. To compensate for his
loss of revenue the government assigned
him the sum of S640,00 year. But both
Plus TX. and the present pope have refused
to touch this money or recognize the ar
rangements, and have stubbornly declared
themselves prisoners deprived of their
rightful territorial possessions. The ques-
ton seems as far from settlement as ever.
In its foreign relations Italy retains its
membership in the triple alliance with Ger
many and Austria, against Russia and
France, which she was induced to enter by
Bismarck, and by the Italian dislike of
France for Napoleon's course in desert
ing their country in the war of 1859 and
for his long defence of the papal power in
Rome. This alliance, with the great standing
army and the heavy naval equipment which
it requires, coupled with the other military
undertakings of Italy, is enormously ex-
pensive. The public debt, which in 1850
was sos million dollars, is now 2600 mil.
lions. The great danger of the country is
from excessive taxation and national bank
ruptcy. In some parts of the country the
annual tax averages SIS head.
But if the government has spent money
lavishly on war material, it has not been