The presence of Baron Sonnino, Italy's trusted Foreign Minister, at
Queen's Hall was an event of international importance, as the Premier cordially recognized at the outset of his speech. Baron Sonnino, who is famous in Italy for his unwillingness to speak or even appear in public, overcame his prejudices and delivered an admirable little address on the friendship between Great Britain and Italy, manifested most clearly at the time of the Rieorgimento and confirmed anew in this war. Italy, said Baron Sonnino, was fighting to free her oppressed brethren from Austria, and also to secure for the future the rights of nations, both small and great. Dante's dream in the De Monarchia of a universal monarchy was out of date, but the great poet's aspiration towards a happier organization of the peoples might still inspire us.
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