Valona Occupied.
Soon/no
Foreign
Minister.
mport duty on wheat was reduced by more than one-half
make up for the rise in freights, and in Dec. it was removed altogether. By somewhat relaxing the export prohibition Italy saved Switzerland from famine and sent large shipments of sugar to Britain.
Internal affairs aroused little interest, as public attention was
monopolized by the war, and even the death of Pope Pius X.
and the election of Benedict XV. passed almost unnoticed. On
Oct. 9 Gen. Grandi resigned from the War Office on account of a
isagreement with Gen. Cadorna over the needs of the army, and
as succeeded by Gen. Zupelli (a native of the unredeemed
provinces), who provided the chief of the staff with the necessary
supplies. A week later the Marquis di San Giuliano died, and
the premier temporarily took charge of the Foreign Office.
Throughout the autumn anarchy had been spreading in Albania and soon after the outbreak of war Prince William of Wicd and the foreign contingents had departed. The Greeks had seized the opportunity to invade and devastate South Albania, and Italy feared that they or one of the belligerent Powers might occupy Valona, which would be a serious menace to Italian security. A landing party from the Italian fleet began by occupying the islet of Saseno, which dominates Valona harbour, on Oct. 30. On Dec. 26 sail- ors landed in the town, followed by a regiment of infantry.
A new Cabinet crisis now occurred. Sig. Rubini, the Treasury Minister, refused to supply the funds required for the army unless they were immediately covered by correspond- ing increases of revenue. Sig. Salandra, however, realizing that a new scheme of financial reform required time, whereas military necessities were urgent, backed up Gen. Zupelli; Rubini resigned on Oct. 31, and the whole Cabinet followed suit. But the King, after consulting the leading statesmen, entrusted Salandra himself with the formation of a new ministry. This was accomplished by Nov. 5; the chief innovation was Baron Sonnino at the Foreign Office, an appoint- ment which strengthened the Cabinet considerably; other new appointments were Orlando (Justice), Grippo (Education), Daneo (Finance), and Carcano (Treasury). Thus the Cabinet came to represent practically every section of the Chamber except the Extreme Left. On Dec. 3 Parliament met, and Sig. Salandra in a dignified speech explained the reasons for Italy's neutrality and insisted on the necessity for the nation to be well armed so as to defend her interests and realize her aspirations. It was on this occasion that the premier pronounced the famous and much-discussed phrase about " sacro egoismo," i.e. the duty of subordinating everything to the higher interests of the country.
The intervention of Turkey on the side of the Central Empires affected Italy very closely, for there was every reason to doubt that the limitation of the Holy War, proclaimed by the Sultan at Germany's suggestion, to the territories held by the Entente Powers would be respected. These doubts proved indeed justified, and there was a recrudescence of rebellion among the tribesmen of Libya, fomented by German as well as bv Turkish agents. On Dec. 17 Prince von Billow, the new German ambas- sador, arrived in Rome with the mission of exerting all his influence, through his aristocratic and political Italian connexions, to secure Italy's neutrality to the end of the conflict.
The year 1915 did not begin auspiciously for Italy; on Jan. 13 an earthquake of unusual severity was felt over a large part of Central Italy, and destroyed Avezzano and many other smaller towns and villages in the Abruzzi and the provinces of Caserta and Rome. The total number of victims was 30,000.
The diplomatic activity of the Government was now greatly intensified. The current in favour of intervention was growing ever stronger, in spite of Prince von Billow's efforts and Fore/jrn the pacifist tendencies of certain classes. But both tio X as. a Sig. Salandra and Baron Sonnino were determined that Italy should not emerge from the European conflict without realizing at least a part of her aspirations, ac- quiring some of the Italian districts of Austria and correcting
- e iniquitous frontiers of 1866 designed to leave the country
the mercy of invasion. As early as Dec. 1914 the Italian
Government had called Austria's attention to the fact that the
invasion of Serbia tended to destroy the balance of power in the
Balkans; Art. 7 of the Triple Alliance Treaty gave Italy, in these
circumstances, a right to compensation. Austria at first rejected
this claim in toto, then admitted it grudgingly, but offered
Italy by way of compensation territories belonging to her
enemies (Nice, Corsica and Tunisia were mentioned). Baron
Sonnino, however, insisted that only territories already in
Austrian possession could form a basis for negotiation. To this
Austria gave evasive replies and then offered a small part of the
Trentino, to be ceded after the war. But Sonnino replied that no
territorial cession could be considered unless it was to be made at
once. Germany did her best to bring about an agreement between
Italy and Austria, and tried hard to induce Austria to be more
conciliatory. Austria having at last reluctantly accepted the
principle of immediate cession, Sonnino presented Italy's
minimum demands. These were: the Trentino as far as the
frontiers of the Napoleonic kingdom of Italy, a strip of territory
in the Isonzo valley comprising Gorizia, Gradisca and Monfal-
cone, and the Curzola group of islands in the middle Adriatic,
to be ceded to Italy; Trieste and the N.W. part of Istria to form
an independent state; Italy to have a free hand in Albania.
In return Italy would remain neutral to the end of the war.
But Austria, still convinced that Italy had no intention of going
to war and was merely bluffing, continued to raise objections,
in spite of the extremely candid remarks of the German Govern-
ment. Italy now came to the conclusion that agreement was
impossible and that war was inevitable.
Negotiations for intervention were opened with the Entente, and on April 26 an agreement was concluded with Britain, France and Russia known as the Pact of London; it was in p^ot reality a memorandum presented by Italy and agreed London. to by those Powers, and completed by military and naval conventions. Italy was to conduct the war against the Entente's enemies with all her means, and was to receive the following compensation at the end of the war: The whole of the Trentino and South Tirol as far as the natural geographic frontier, i.e. the Brenner range; the city and district of Trieste; the county of Gorizia and Gradisca; Istria to the Quarnero, including Volosca and the Istrian islands; the islands of Cherso and Lussin and some adjoining smaller islands; Dalmatia as far as Cape Planka, with some of the Dalmatian islands; Valona and its district; and full possession of Rhodes and the Dodecanese. In Southern Asia Minor she was to have a zone of influence and a share in its partition if it should be effected. If Great Britain and France obtained any part of the German colonies in Africa Italy was to be compensated by French and British colonial territories adjoining her own possessions. The E. coast of the Adriatic from Cape Planka to the Voyusa was to be neutralized, except from a point S. of the Sabbioncello peninsula to 10 km. S. of Ragusa Vecchia. The Croatian coast, with Fiume, and the Dalmatian coast S. of Cape Planka, was to go to Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro. If a neutral Albanian state were created its foreign policy was to be under Italian guidance 1 , but if Britain, France and Russia so desired Italy would not oppose the cession of the northern and southern districts of Albania to Serbia, Montenegro and Greece. The Pact of London was kept secret, but most of its clauses soon became known. It was first published by the Russian Bolshevists after the revolution in 1917.
The poet Gabriele D'Annunzio, by his fiery eloquence, largely influenced Italian public opinion in favour of intervention, particularly by his speeches at Quart near Genoa and in Rome. On May 3 Italy declared that the Alliance with Austria was at an end. Prince von Billow, TrtpUce. realizing that this meant war, made a last desperate effort to save the situation through Sig. Giolitti's ambition. That politician could not resign himself to be out of office at this critical juncture, and, as his friends declare, he genuine- ly believed that Italy's interests could best be served by neutrality. On the eve of the reopening of Parliament he returned to Rome, and, although the premier had informed him that the Alliance was dissolved and that Italy had contracted obligations
