In the meanwhile there had been another Cabinet crisis. On March 12 Sig. Nitti, finding himself unable to conduct the
Government in the face of the growing opposition, Nitti resigned. But as no one could be found ready to
Cabinet assume office, he was again entrusted with the for- structed. mation of the Cabinet, which included Sig. Bonomi
(War), Schanzer (Finance), Luzzatti (Treasury), Torre (Education), De Nava (Public Works), Falcioni (Agriculture), Alessio (Post Office) and Raineri (Liberated Provinces) ; the other ministers retained their portfolios, but the Transport Ministry was suppressed. Count Sforza, High Commissioner at Constan- tinople, was made Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs. The new Cabinet was not well received in the Chamber, and on a vote of confidence it only got 250 votes to 195 (June 30). The Chamber voted in favour of continuing the uneconomic policy of selling bread under cost price, and proposed to make up the deficit by a bill confiscating war profits.
On April 17 1920, the Supreme Council met at San Remo under the presidency of Sig. Nitti, Britain being represented
by Mr. Lloyd George and Lord Curzon, France by Council"" M. Millerand, and Italy by Sig. Nitti and Senator
Scialoja. Some of the other Allied Governments were also represented, and numerous military, naval and air experts and commercial specialists were present. The bases of the treaty with Turkey were there laid down, and the Adriatic question was also raised. Mr. Lloyd George and M. Millerand stated that the only alternatives were the Memorandum of Dec. 9 or the Pact of London. Of the two the latter found more favour in Italian circles, especially in the army, because the former, while providing an unsatisfactory solution of the Fiume problem, .gave Italy an impossible eastern frontier. But before the Italian delegation could come to a decision, M. Trumbich, the Yugoslav Foreign Secretary, telegraphed to Sig. Nitti stating that the Yugoslavs preferred direct negotiations with Italy as more likely to lead to an. amicable solution. The premier having agreed to this, the Adriatic question was adjourned to an Italo-Yugoslav meeting, and the conference broke up on the 26th. Senator Scialoja met the Yugoslav delegates, MM. Paschich and Trumbich, at Pallanza on May 10; but in the meanwhile Sig. Nitti's parliamentary position had become worse again owing to the general dissatisfaction at his internal policy, and on the i2th the Cabinet, outvoted by 193 to 112, resigned; the crisis, of course, broke up the Pallanza conference.
After a protracted interval, during which Sig. Bonomi was entrusted with the formation of a Cabinet but failed, Sig. Nitti
was again sent for, and on May 21 succeeded MM/*' * n composing a ministry for the third time, with
the following changes: Ruini (Colonies), Falcioni (Justice), De Nava (Finance), Schanzer (Treasury), Rodino, of the Partito Popolare (War), Peano (Public Works), Micheli (Agriculture), Abbiate (Industry), Paratore (Post Office) and La Pegna (Liberated Provinces). But even at its third reincarnation the Nitti Ministry was stillborn, and found little favour in any quarter. The arrest of all Dalmatians and Fiumani in Rome, ordered by Nitti, in consequence of a riot between a patriotic students' demonstration and the police in Rome on May 24, provoked violent indignation throughout Italy. The premier's failure to solve the Adriatic problem alienated his remaining supporters. His fall at last came over his bread policy. On June 4 the Cabinet issued a decree raising the price of bread to 1.50 lire per kgm., but Sig. Nitti, yielding to the Socialists, withdrew it five days later. The Cabinet now resigned, and Nitti's premier- ship came to an end.
With Nitti's fall, Giolitti was the only man capable of forming a Government. The wheel had come full circle in Italian politics.
The advent of Sig. Giolitti at first caused some alarm a'over'n. in Allied countries. But the composition of his Cabi- meat. net, constituted on June 16, to some extent dispelled
both fears and expectations. It comprised Count Sforza as Minister for Foreign Affairs; Meda, of the Partito Popolare, at the Treasury ; Tedesco, afterwards replaced by Facta (Finance) ; Bonomi (War) ; Luigi Rossi (Colonies) ; the eminent philosopher
Benedetto Croce (Education) ; Peano (Public Works) ; Labriola, a reformed revolutionary Socialist (Labour) ; Alessio (Industry) ; Fera (Justice); Micheli (Agriculture) and Sechi (Marine). The ministry contained only two pure Giolittians Tedesco (after- wards substituted by Facta) and Peano; the other ministers represented all shades of Constitutional opinion, from the Catholic Meda to the Radical Alessio and the ex-revolutionist Labriola. On June 24 Giolitti presented various treaties to Parliament for ratification and laid several bills before the Chamber the obligatory conversion of bearer shares and bonds into nominative certificates, so as to prevent evasion of the new levy on capital j 1 the confiscation of war profits; the increase of sundry taxes; a bill for enforcing the cultivation of cereals, and one instituting an inquiry into war expenditure. On the 27th Sig. Meda made his financial statement for 1920-1, which showed a deficit of one milliard for ordinary expenditure; but the extraordinary expenditure, including the sale of bread under cost, raised the deficit to 14 milliards.
No appreciable change was made in Italy's foreign policy. Public feeling towards the Allies had not been too cordial for some time past. With Czechoslovakia relations were cordial, while Italian sentiment towards the Poles and the Rumanians was also friendly. Towards the Yugoslavs alone there was antagonism. With regard to the ex- enemy states feeling had certainly changed since the Armistice. Now that the Habsburg Monarchy was broken up and the Alpine frontier satisfactorily settled, Italy felt no longer any bitterness towards Austria. Against Germany there had never been the same hatred as against the Habsburg Monarchy, and the hard attitude of the French over the execution of the Peace Treaty produced a certain reaction in Germany's favour. In the Allied conferences Italy's representatives, while admitting the neces- sity for disarming Germany, always tried to introduce a spirit of conciliation, for the common good of Europe; and in this they usually found themselves in agreement with their British colleagues. For Hungary there was also a certain amount of sympathy, and Italy was much relieved when that country suc- ceeded in liberating itself from Bolshevism under Bela Kun. With regard to the League of Nations the Government and public opinion were rather sceptical. The fact that President Wilson was the author of the idea was not a recommendation in Italy. A small group of earnest and high-minded men, of whom the late Sig. Bissolati and Senator Rurfini were the most eminent, strenuously advocated the League's principles, while Senator Tittoni, Italy's representative on the Council and the Assembly, supported them with vigour and ability. Still, the League found considerable support both among the Radicals and among the Catholics'. The Pope, in his encyclical of May 23, while authoriz- ing Catholic heads of states, for the first time, to visit Rome, ex- pressed his hope for its success.
In June trouble had broken out in Albania. Gen. Ferrero, who had commanded the Italian forces there during the war, had proclaimed an Italian protectorate in June 1917, but the legal status of Italo- Albanian relations had never been properly defined. Italian troops had occupied all Albania south of the Voyusa, and in the last months of the war had pushed beyond the river; some civil officials had also been appointed. After the Armistice the rest of Albania was also occupied, but unfortunately the officers and civil officials who had at first taken a real interest in the people were recalled, and were succeeded by others who were less sympathetic; this proved a cause of some discontent. The various agreements whereby Italy was to hand over parts of Albania to Greece and Yugoslavia aroused great dissatisfaction. An Albanian Government had been formed at Tirana, and the Italian garrison had been reduced to a minimum; and in the spring of 1920 Albanian bands began to be formed, composed largely of men who during the war had been armed and trained by the Italians. On June 5 they attacked various Italian outposts, and some of the smaller outlying gar- risons, including that of Tepeleni, were surrounded and captured. Valona itself was attacked on the i ith, and some of the Albanians
'This measure was finally dropped.
