question, pleaded the urgency of the situation, and called upon the Chamber to ratify the action of the Ministry.

The position of the Ministry at the opening of the session, although attacked from many quarters, seemed stronger than ever. The ecclesiastical question promised to give rise to much bitter controversy, it having been greatly envenomed by the speech delivered in the Austro-Hungarian delegations by Count Kalnoky. This speech had caused considerable excitement in Italy, and was regarded as an indiscreet intervention of an ally in internal affairs. Signor Cavalotti took the opportunity of contrasting with it the correct tone on the same subject assumed by M. Ribot in the French Chamber. After several sittings had been devoted to the debate, Signor Rudini replied that he would never consent to the intervention of foreign Governments in Italian affairs, and—addressing at the same time the friends of Signor Crispi and the Extreme Left--that if they had hoped to find on the Ministerial bench Neo-Guelphs they were mistaken, they would only find Liberals and Ghibellines. At length, on the proposal of Signor Curioni, the Chamber, taking note of the declarations of the Government, and expressly approving its management of internal ecclesiastical policy, by 248 to 62 votes passed to the orders of the day. The relations of Austria and Italy were the subject of further debate with reference to the occupation of Pelagosa islands, situated in the Italian waters of the Adriatic. On the most important of them the Austrian Government had erected a lighthouse, and had otherwise occupied the others. In the absence of any official correspondence, it was difficult to carry on a debate, but Signor di Rudini promised a communication on the subject.

The text of the Commercial Treaties with both Germany and Austria-Hungary was laid before Parliament shortly before Christmas (Dec. 17), accompanied by an exposé des motifs, in which the Ministry insisted upon the advantages of an alliance which should, by binding together the material interests of 120 millions of people, directly advance the cause of European peace. Relying upon the popular feeling of satisfaction aroused by these treaties, the Ministry felt strong enough to face without anxiety the debate on the Catenaccio. The attack was begun by the eminent economist, Signor Ellena, who in a vigorous speech showed how the taxes, thus summarily imposed, would weigh most heavily upon the poor. The Minister of Finance, Signor di Colombo, admitted that it was unfortunately to the mass of the population that the Government had to look for the 20 millions of lire which he hoped the taxes would produce, and that personally he was prepared to face the unpopularity which their imposition would doubtlessly bring upon the Ministry. The general discussion was brought to a close by a vote of confidence carried by 248 to 124, the majority being composed of members of the Right, of the Right Centre, and of a section of the Left

numbers exclusively Cavalotti and Comte possibility of an ap

Centre, whilst the minority drew its from the Left and the Extreme Left. Ferrari, however, as if indicating the proaching re-arrangement of parties, withdrew from their former colleagues, whilst Signor Crispi tried by all the means in his power to pose as leader of the Opposition to the exclusion of Signor Zanardelli. These tactics only resulted in strengthening the position of the Government by weakening that of their opponents, for on the following day (Dec. 18) the Catenaccio was voted by 207 to 75 votes.

The new Ministry had thus reached the close of the year under the most encouraging auspices from a Parliamentary point of view; but they had before them many serious difficulties to surmount. It was important to reconcile the retrenchments necessitated by the state of the Budget with the satisfying the demand of work for the unemployed. From this serious duty the Government did not seek to escape by shirking their responsibilities, and the Minister of War, General Pelloux, openly declared that in the case of a war the great difficulty would be to feed the families of those serving in the field, and that so far no solution of this problem had been found.

CHAPTER II.

I. GERMANY.

THE first half of the year was marked by the death, within a few weeks of each other, first, of the ablest opponent of the Government at Berlin since the establishment of German unity, and then of one of its principal founders. On March 14, Dr. Windthorst, leader of the Clerical party in the Imperial Parliament of Germany and the Chamber of Deputies of Prussia, and Prime Minister of Hanover before its annexation to Prussia, died at Berlin in his seventy-ninth year. "His little Excellency," or "the Pearl of Meppen," as he was called, was the most influential political leader in Germany. He was the only deputy who was sometimes more than a match for Prince Bismarck, and his loss was deeply felt by the party which he had led. Dr. Windthorst's disappearance from the political scene was a severe blow to the German clericals and to the Vatican, but the impression it produced was for a time completely eclipsed by the sudden death of Count Moltke, which took place at Berlin, in his ninety-first year, on April 24, after he had been present at a sitting of the Reichstag. The Prussian Diet and the German Parliament adjourned on the following day, and all classes, from the Emperor downwards, joined in the public manifestations of sorrow for the loss of their great national hero.

The Emperor's fondness for making speeches, which is almost as great as his passion for travelling, was manifested in some curious

and characteristic utterances. In an address to the Diet of Brandenburg, on February 22, he said :

:

"I am very well acquainted with the attempts of the present time to disquiet men's minds. The spirit of disobedience is creeping through the land, clothed in a bright and seductive garment. It is trying to confuse the minds of my people and of the men devoted to me. It makes use of an ocean of printer's ink to hide the ways which must be clear to everybody who knows me and my principles. I will not let myself be led astray by that. It may give pain to my heart to see how misunderstood are the aims which I pursue. But I cherish the confidence that all whoare well disposed to the Monarchy, and all those who wish me. well-and, above all, the men of Brandenburg-have not wavered for a moment, and have never lost faith in what I have done.

"We must press forward and work, and we must struggle at home. If the whole is to prosper, do not conceal from yourselves that sacrifices of private interests must here and there be made. Our present parties are founded on interests, and often pursue these interests too closely. It was the high merit of my predecessors that they never joined parties, but always stood above them, and that they succeeded in uniting the several parties for the good of the whole. Well, you see how success has crowned these endeavours for the good of the whole and for the progress and prosperity of our work. I hope and express the firm confidence that each of you, in his work and sphere of influence, will understand that he is to work and labour for the whole, that he must stand faithfully at my side and help me.

"I do not believe that the men of Brandenburg will hesitate to follow me on the paths I tread. You know that I regard my whole position and my task as given me by Heaven; that I am called in the name of a higher Being, to whom I must one day give account. I can therefore assure you that no evening and no morning passes without a prayer for my people, or, especially, without a thought of my Mark of Brandenburg. Well, Brandenburgers, your Margrave is speaking to you! Follow him through thick and thin on all ways on which he shall lead you."

On May 5, at a banquet at Düsseldorf, he made the following remarks on his home and foreign policy :

"The Prince of Wied was kind enough to allude to my labours for the welfare of the Empire. That is a duty attendant upon my position, and I shall rejoice if, by the aid of Heaven, I am enabled to govern my country, in the future as in the past, in peace. Could I but hold the peace of Europe in my hand, I would at least take care that it should not be broken. At any rate, I shall do all that in me lies to see that the blessings of peace are preserved to us.

"In domestic affairs also we have had much to do, but we are gradually putting things on a firm foundation. You need only

glance at the number of Bills that have either been passed by overwhelming majorities of the representatives of the people, or are approaching that stage. It is clear, therefore, that the ways into which I, with my Government, have struck, are the right ways. While I stick to those paths I have to answer to my conscience and to God alone, and I shall not deviate from them one inch.

"I know very well that you especially are looking eagerly towards Berlin. This Province, with its great industrial establishments, and the thousands employed in them, may be compared to the heart, with its many arteries. It has sometimes beaten faster, sometimes threatened to beat no more. I hope to stop all that. You may rest assured that no trouble will be too great, no work too laborious, that may be necessary for justice to be done to industry, both to employers and to employed. In order to make this possible it is, of course, the duty of the Ruler and of the Government to seek such connections abroad as may enable our industry to compensate itself for the trade of which some States are trying to deprive it, and I can inform you that the Austrian Commercial Treaty was drafted yesterday. I have reason to believe that you will derive all possible benefit from it.

"I am deeply grateful to the city of Düsseldorf for its warm reception. I am firmly convinced that, like the sons of the other Provinces, the sons of this Province also, who fought so gallantly and well for the glory of the Empire in 1870, will follow me.. Now, as ever, I am assured that salvation lies in co-operation. That is one of the results of Monarchy. There is only one master in this country, and I am he. I shall suffer no other beside me."

Three days afterwards he thus addressed the students at Bonn, on the subject of duelling, at one of their beer meetings:

"It is my firm conviction that every youth who enters a corps or beer-drinking and duelling club will receive the true direction of his life from the spirit which prevails in them. It is the best education which a young man can get for his future life, and he who scoffs at the German students' corps does not penetrate their real meaning. I hope that as long as there are German corps students the spirit which is fostered in their corps, and which is steeled by strength and courage, will be preserved, and that you will always take delight in handling the duelling blade. There are many people who do not understand what our duels really mean, but that must not lead us astray. You and I, who have been corps students, know better than that. As in the middle ages manly strength and courage were steeled by the practice of jousting or tournaments, so the spirit and habits which are acquired from membership of a corps furnish us with that degree of fortitude which is necessary to us when we go out into the world, and which will last as long as there are German universities. You have been good enough to refer to my son.

(the Crown Prince), and I give you my hearty thanks for doing 80. I trust that the young man when he is advanced enough will matriculate here and join your clubs, and that he will then meet with the same kindly sentiments that were extended to me. And now a word to those young freshmen who are but beginning to lead a corps life. Train your courage, your discipline, and your obedience, without which we cannot as a State continue to live, and I trust that many officials and officers will emerge from your midst."

Perhaps the most remarkable, however, of his speeches was that delivered in December to the recruits of the Foot Guards at Potsdam, shortly after he had shocked the German Liberals by writing in the visitors' book at Munich the words "Suprema lex regis voluntas":"Recruits, you have before the priest and the altar sworn fealty to me. You are too young to understand the true meaning of the words you have just spoken, but be diligent in following the instruction which will be given to you. You have, my children, sworn allegiance to me. That means that you have given yourselves to me body and soul. You have only one enemy, and that is my enemy. With the present Socialist agitation I may order you-which God forbid ! -to shoot down your relatives, your brother, and even your parents, and then you must obey without a murmur."

Second only in importance and interest to the Emperor's utterances were those of Prince Bismarck, who, in his retirement at Friedrichsruh, continued to exert a powerful influence on German public opinion. Hearing that a meeting of South German peasants had decided to oppose a policy depriving Germany of the corn duties, and giving her the Jesuits instead, he expressed approval, and added that he earnestly desired the preservation of the German peasantry; and in receiving a deputation from Aix-la-Chapelle on January 17, the Prince said -"People are already beginning to break off bits from various parts of the edifice of the Empire, which, however, is firmly built."

On April 30 he was elected (chiefly by the votes of the National Liberals) by a large majority to the German Parliament as member for Geestemünde, and during the election he made the following statement of his political faith in a speech to the Conservative Club at Kiel :

"People often ask the meaning of Conservative. Literally translated, it means conserving, but the conserving does not consist in always advocating what the Government of the day may desire. For that element is subject to change, but the foundations of Conservatism are constant. It is, therefore, not necessary, nor even useful, that the Conservative party should be Ministerial under all circumstances. Conservative and Ministerial views do not always coincide. As a Minister, I was often enough opposed by the Conservatives, and did not reproach them on that account,