The recently born heir to the throne of Italy is
to be named Humbert, and is to be styled Prince of Piedmont, to the indignation of many extremists, who hoped that he would have been styled Prince of Rome as a defiance to the Pope, and rather to the disappointment of the Neapolitans, who would have liked the King's early title of Prince of Naples to be the regular designation of the heir to the throne. The event has been a cause of satisfaction to the Italians, who have for a fortnight been greatly worried by riots in almost all the cities, caused by strikers, who stopped the distribution of gas, interfered with the railways, and in one or two important places prevented the manufacture of bread. The movement was not organised to secure shorter hours or more wages, but was a protest against the employment of gendarmes against some strikers in Sicily, of whom one or two were shot during a collision with the police. The affair appears to reveal a rather dan- gerous spirit among Italian workmen ; but the agitation has died away, with no other result than to deepen the conviction among Italian Conservatives that if the Socialists get the chance they will employ force, and that, therefore, they should be regarded as a party disloyal to the kingdom. That is not a healthy impression ; but Italians are not longing for a Republic, Socialist or other.
Previous page
