THE ITALY OF TO-DAY*
IN the winter of 1878-79, M. de Laveleye, the eminent Belgian political economist, paid a visit to Italy, and recorded his im- pressions in letters to a friend. These letters, first published in the Revue de Belgique, form a volume of much interest at the present time, containing, as they do, not merely M. de Laveleye's own impressions of men and things, but the opinions of many leading men in Italy with whom he had opportunities of con- versing. It might, perhaps, have been more satisfactory to the reader had M. de Laveleye recast his material, so as to prevent repetitions, or to bring together in one place the facts and views bearing on one particular subject ; but what is lost by the discursiveness of the letters as now published, is probably com- pensated for by the more vivid presentment of men and things which is in this way given. And the leading ideas of the author are always sufficiently visible. No matter with whom he may be talking, or on what subject, M. de Laveleye's thoughts soon revert to the condition of the Italian people. His mind is most deeply interested in their well-being, in the progress of educa- tion, of social reform, and of ideas of government amongst them. He sees in Italy an old country, as it were, made young again, but carrying with it into its renewed youth many of the defects, bad habits, and vices even of its former existence. We in England too often forget that the regeneration of Italy was by no means accomplished when its petty principalities and tributary dominions became one under the House of Savoy, and are accordingly little interested in Italian progress. The fact, however, is that this union was only the first step in the re- modelling of Italian life and institutions. Her statesmen had and have before them an enormous task, and cannot even now lay aside all fears of failure. On the contrary, many elements of danger to Italian unity exist to-day ; and some may possibly be stronger now than they were when the last remnant of division was removed by the entry of Victor Emanuel's troops into Rome, in September, 1870.
For example, the Italians, as M. de Laveleye often points out, have not yet acquired the art of parliamentary government, or rather of government by parliamentary parties. They have elections of representatives who sit in Rome, and there is a ministry responsible to this parliament, but parties in the ordi- nary sense are almost non-existent. Hence one great hindrance to the proper conduct of public business, and the accomplish- ment of urgent reforms. A Ministerial crisis is an event liable to occur in Italy any day. No majority is sure of its members for an hour. On some slight pretext, a new combination may be formed in an evening, and next day a no-confidence vote be carried. The Deputies may be patriots in a sense, but in Parliament they act as only men, and break into cliques whose aims there is no following. The causes of this state of things are various. M. de Laveleye records a conversation he had with Signor Minghetti, the eminent Italian states- man, on this subject ; and according to him, apart from the question of ordinary electoral reform, the chief cause of the shifty character of Italian Parliamentary majorities lies in the absence of real division in opinions. The famous Jesuit snot d'ordre of Pio Nono, forbidding Roman Catholics to become either electors or members of the new Italian Parliament, has had the effect of keeping the clerical and religious party out of Parliament, and those who appear there, are all, therefore, more or less, "emancipated " persons, between whom the fundamental causes of difference are slight. According to another eminent Italian, Signor Luzzatti, whose views are cited, the divisions of Right, Centre and Left, into which the Chamber of Deputies is separated, have no correspondence with the same terms in other countries. In the Italian Chamber, the Right are doc- trinaire Liberals, and their leaders, Sella and Minghetti, would anywhere else belong to the Radical Left. All that is distin- guishable between the Right and the Left is a difference in tendency. The latter party, now in the majority, shows more disposition to lean on the people, and to be guided by its wishes towards practical reforms, than the former, but with this differ- ence, its views are essentially the same. In short, the attitude of the two is summed up in a sentence. The Left says, "Tout • L'Italis Actuelle: Laftres ti un Anti. Par Emile de Laveleye. London: HaeLette and Co.
pour le peuple, et par le peuple ;" and the Right says, "Tout pour le peuple, raais sans le peuple." In time, perhaps, this curious state of things will right itself, but at present the absence of well-defined parties is a serious evil, and many long for the day when ecclesiasticism will take its share in the con- flict for superiority. The religious question, however, is, according to M. Laveleye's informants, at present in abeyance in Italy. The State has abolished the religious orders, and turned their establishments into schools or museums and art galleries, without let or hindrance. Hostility has not even been stirred amongst the rural working clergy, who, besides, appear to be mere ordained peasants, endowed with little glebes, which they cultivate like their neighbours. Left in undisturbed possession of these glebes, the Cares appear to be in favour of Italian unity, rather than otherwise. The more active hostility of the organised religious orders has, however, nearly as little effect, by reason of the ex- treme irreligion of the Italian people. They are, it is said, a people without a faith. Belief in a God, S. lfinghetti declared, is disap- pearing, even among the women, and a melancholy declaration it is. But although faith seems to be dormant or dying, it is quite possible that Italy may before long find herself face to face with some most difficult ecclesiastical questions. There is the question of the position of the Pope, who has grown, and promises yet to grow, more powerful since the temporal sovereignty ceasel than before ; and should the disestablishment of the rural clergy be carried by the Radical Parliament, the quiescent peasantry in cassocks may become partisans against Italian unity in every village.
After all, however, the principal dangers of Italy at the pre- sent time appear to spring not from clericalism, nor from the Italia-Irredenta cry, nor even from sentimental Republicanism, but from the hard, grinding misery of the masses of the people. Save in Piedmont, where a sturdy race thrives in some sort on the land, the condition of the peasantry is indescribably bad. They have been ground down alike by the grievous taxation rendered necessary to enable Italy to pay her way, and by the selfishness of the landed proprietary.
In the centre and south of Italy especially, the people often live in a kind of agony of want, and many thoughtful leaders of opinion dread the spread of anarchic ideas subversive of all Government, should this state of things be allowed to continue. That these apprehensions are by no means groundless is shown by the prevalence of brigandage in many parts of Italy and in Sicily,
and, above all, by the wide-spread ramifications of the Camorra, a kind of secret conaraderie, which tyrannises over individuals
and communities alike. Reading the descriptions of the miseries which M. de Laveleye saw with his own eyes, one wonders, indeed, that crime of all kinds is not more prevalent than we know it to be. What, for instance, could be sadder than this picture of the peasantry in the neighbourhood of Albano ?—
" Few persons are to be seen in the fields and woods around Albano, but such as you do see are usually clad in rags. Their look is dull and heavy. You never hear them laugh or sing. There is no fdte on Sundays, no music or dancing, not even promenading. The men loaf about the streets, with their jackets flung over their shoulders, or drink in the cafés and wine-shops ; and the women sit on the door-steps. Even the children have no amusement."
The whole population lives in the villages and small towns, and there are no little farms scattered about the country, where their dwellings are usually half in ruins, sordid, and dirty beyond description. The dream of a free, happy Italy is yet far from realisation. Agriculture is necessarily very backward under such a state of things, and as long as taxation remains so burdensome, little can be done to improve it. The Govern- ment, however, is trying to abolish the grist tax, that most ob- noxious of imposts ; and with time, patience, and economy, things may mend. But economy is not, according to M. de Laveleye, a virtue of Italian statesmen ; and he frequently cen- sures them for the ready way in which they vote away large sums for the luxuries displayed in ministerial bureau; or objects of no greater importance.
M. de Laveleye has much to say about the progress of educa- tion in Italy, having been naturally much in the company of professors and teachers. His account is, on the whole, cheering. In the towns particularly, much zeal is shown to promote the instruction of the people, and the religious difficulty nowhere presents itself. The contrast, in this respect, to what is seen in Belgium is a constant wonder to the observant writer, although it indicates a religious apathy which has serious drawbacks.
Religious instruction appears to be given in the primary schools
of Italy by lay teachers without let or hindrance, the attitude of the Clergy being one of complete indifference as to what the State may do in such matters. The secondary schools and lyceums are numerous and well attended, and more and more attention is being paid to the education of women, who are now admitted to at least nine of the universities. At Naples Univer- sity three young women were students, one following medicine, another the sciences, and the third philosophy. One of the best features to be noted is the evident interest of many among the Italian nobility in the progress and instruction of the people.
These are but a few of the many subjects of interest dis- cussed or touched upon in this pleasant and instructive little book, but we cannot extend its survey further. We may, how- ever, give, in conclusion, M. de Laveleye's summing-up of the situation. As will have been gathered, he is not hopeless of Italy, but he thinks her dangers in the future by no means small. In her favour he counts the fact that her frontiers are, save in one small particular, well defined, and that she has no outside foes to fear. The national dynasty is likewise popular everywhere, and the army well trained and free from political divisions. The nobility is progressive and intelligent, the country has many centres of enlightenment, and the people are quick to learn, laborious when allowed to reap the fruits of their labour, and frugal. No great city accumulates masses of workmen, and there is no religious fanaticism even among the clergy. These are all good points, but the picture has a dark side, which must not be overlooked. A chief element of danger M. de Laveleye declares to lie in the unequal distribution of wealth, and consequent misery of the masses of the population. The taxes are heavy, and on the increase, State possessions and communes alike abusing their credit and borrowing for unproductive expenditure. Hence arise, in the South especially, secret societies like the Camorra and Mafia, causing in certain towns a sort of reign of terror, and all over the South the security of life and property is less than in any other civilised country. Justice, too, is slow and imperfect, the verdict of juries being often a veritable scandal. The police is insufficient. Political influences are abused, and the Parliamentary machine works badly, while the Press is too often the mere organ of personal interests or of small coteries. Add to these the dangers from the Papacy and from an ambi- tions foreign policy, and it will be seen that Italy has plenty of disquieting elements within her borders. If she keep the peace, or if her neighbours do so, her internal difficulties may be got over, but commotions in Europe might cause the over- throw of the present regime. From the present Pope, M. de Laveleye does not, apparently, expect much trouble. Leo XIII. is, he says, a diplomat, and will not attempt to restore the temporal power of the Papacy, but rather seek to obtain the supremacy of Roman Catholicism in Italy and elsewhere by a show of quietness and submission.
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