The new Italian Ministry is trying seriously to remedy the
shameful condition of affairs in Sicily. The Premier, who is a Sicilian and understands the island, has appointed a Senator, Count Codronchi, Civil Commissioner of Sicily, with the whole power of the executive government, and with special authority to control municipalities, and to revise pro- vincial and municipal expenditure. This reform does not touch the root of the mischief, the condition of the land- tenure, which is less adapted to the needs of the island than that of Ireland was in its worst days, but the Commissioner will be able to suppress the infamous jobbing which has pre- vailed in the collection of local taxes. The " rates " in Sicily are cruelly heavy, and nobody pays them who can bribe suffi- ciently, or who has influence with the municipal bodies.
