The Montesi Affair The resignation of the Italian Foreign Minister,
Signor Piccioni, in order to defend the interests of his son in the Montesi affair, rapidly followed by the arrests of Pietro Piccioni and Ugo Montagna, are further and encouraging signs that the Italian Government is at last determined to bring the truth to light. Pietro Piccioni is in custody on a charge of manslaughter; the fact that Ugo Montagna is not actually in custody need not encourage fresh misgivings—as it appears to have done even in Italy—for a kind of open arrest' is, as explained in these columns last week, a feature of Italian criminal law, and Montagna faces a lesser charge, that of aiding and abetting. The long delays' that have already occurred have put the Italian Government itself, and the Christian Democratic party, in the position of defendants in the court of world opinion, but decisive action now would still enable them to leave the box in no worse shape than other defendants who, even after a damaging cross-examination, have been found Not Guilty.
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