Italy has at last a new Ministry, in which Signor
Giolitti is Premier, and all the Ministers except two may be said to be men of the Under-Secretary kind. They are, however, sup- posed to be capable men, especially the Foreign Minister, Signor Brin, and they will be supported by Signor Crispi, whose pupils some of them are. Their policy is to be one of severe retrenchment, with as little reduction of the Army as the state of the Treasury will allow. There is not much hope that the policy will be carried out. The Italians intend to save the national credit, but it is their peculiarity never to adopt large or decided measures so long as they can be staved off. Once cornered, Italians do great things; but there is a good deal of the Spanish reliance on " to-morrow " lingering Among them. It may be taken as certain, however, that the King, who is a financier by instinct, will intervene strongly before the national credit is impaired.
