PART VI

MUSSOLINI THE “FASCISTA PRIME MINISTER”

MUSSOLINI THE “FASCISTA PRIME MINISTER”

We deem it superfluous to linger over a detailed analysis of the separate speeches delivered by Benito Mussolini after 1st November 1922, the day on which, by the will of the people, he rose fully equipped to the dignities and responsibilities of power.

Foreigners are to a great extent ignorant of the origin, the character and the evolution of the Fascista movement, owing to the lack of literature on the subject outside Italy. They have, however, already had the means of appreciating the qualities of strength, balance of mind, and foresight revealed from the very first by the Italian Fascista Premier. Although European public opinion may be logically entitled to an attitude of reserve in the face of the crisis of evolution and renovation through which Italy is passing, it is certain that the young President of the Council—of humble birth, and risen to power by a remarkable combination of circumstances—romantic, daring, ingenious, tempestuous—stands now the principal figure in the arena of world politics.

A NEW CROMWELL IN THE PARLIAMENT

Speech delivered in the Chamber, 16th November 1922.

_Hon. Mussolini._ Honourable Members,—(Signs of great attention.)—I perform to-day in this hall an act of formal deference towards you for which I do not expect any special gratitude.

I have the honour of announcing to the Chamber that His Majesty the King, by a Decree of 31st October, has accepted the resignations of the Hon. Luigi Facta from the office of President of the Council and of his colleagues, Minister and Under-Secretaries of State, and has asked me to form the new Ministry. On the same day His Majesty has appointed me President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of the Interior and of Foreign Affairs, etc.

For many years—for too many years—crises in the Government took place and were solved by more or less tortuous and underhand manœuvres, so much so that a crisis came to be regarded as a regular scramble for portfolios, and the Ministry was caricatured in the comic papers.

Now, for the second time in the brief space of seven years, the Italian people, or rather the best part of it, has overthrown a Ministry and formed for itself an entirely new Government from outside, regardless of every Parliamentary designation.

The seven years of which I speak lie between the May of 1915 and the October of 1922. I shall leave to the gloomy partisans of super-Constitutionalism the task of discoursing, more or less plaintively, about all this. I maintain that revolution has its rights; and I may add, so that everyone may know, that I am here to defend and give the greatest value to the revolution of the “black shirts,” inserting it intrinsically in the history of the nation as an active force in development, progress and the restoration of equilibrium. (Loud applause from the Left.) I could have carried our victory much further, and I refused to do so. I imposed limits upon my action and told myself that the truest wisdom is that which does not forsake one after victory. With three hundred thousand young men, fully armed, ready for anything and almost religiously prompt to obey any command of mine, I could have punished all those who have slandered the Fascisti and thrown mud at them. (Approval on the Right.) I could have made a bivouac of this gloomy grey hall; I could have shut up Parliament and formed a Government of Fascisti exclusively; I could have done so, but I did not wish to do so, at any rate at the moment. Our adversaries remained in their shelters and then quietly issued forth and obtained their freedom, of which they are already taking advantage to set traps for us and slander us, as at Carate, Bergamo, Udine and Muggia.

I have formed a Coalition Government, not with the intention of obtaining a Parliamentary majority, with which at the moment I can perfectly well dispense, but in order to gather together in support of the suffering nation all those who, over and above questions of party and section, wish to save her.

From the bottom of my heart I thank all those who have worked with me, both Ministers and Under-Secretaries; I thank my colleagues in the Government, who wished to share with me the heavy responsibilities of this hour; and I cannot remember without pleasure the attitude of the Italian working classes, who indirectly encouraged and strengthened the Fascisti by their solidarity, active or passive. I believe also that I shall be giving expression to the thoughts of a large part of this assembly, and certainly of the majority of the Italian people, if I pay a warm tribute to our Sovereign, who, by refusing to permit the useless reactionary attempts made at the eleventh hour to proclaim martial law, has avoided civil war and allowed the fresh and ardent Fascista current, newly arisen out of the war and exalted by victory, to pour itself into the sluggish main stream of the State. (Cries of “Long live the King!” The Ministers and a great many deputies rise to their feet and applaud.)

Before arriving here we were asked on all sides for a programme. It is not, alas! programmes that are wanting in Italy, but men to carry them out. All the problems of Italian life—_all_, I say—have long since been solved on paper; but the will to put these solutions into practice has been lacking. The Government to-day represents that firm and decisive will.

THE FOREIGN POLICY OF THE FASCISTA GOVERNMENT

Same speech delivered in the Chamber, 16th November 1922.

_Hon. Mussolini._ Honourable Members,—Our foreign policy is the business which chiefly concerns us at the present moment. I shall speak of it at once, as I think that what I am going to say will dispel many apprehensions. I shall not touch upon all the questions connected with the subject, because, in this sphere as in all others, I prefer actions to words.

The fundamental principle upon which our foreign policy is based is that treaties of peace, once signed and ratified, must be carried out, no matter whether they are good or bad. A self-respecting nation cannot follow another course. Treaties are not eternal or irreparable; they are chapters and not epilogues in history; to put them into practice means to try them. If in the course of execution they are proved to be absurd, that in itself constitutes the possibility of a further examination of the respective positions.

I shall bring before the consideration of Parliament both the Treaty of Rapallo and the Agreements of Santa Margherita, which are derived from it.

Agreed that treaties, when once perfected and ratified, must be loyally carried out, I go on to establish another fundamental principle, which is the rejection of all the famous “reconstructive” ideology. We admit that there is a kind of economic union or interdependence among European countries. We admit that this economic life must be reconstructed, but we refuse to think that the methods hitherto adopted will succeed in doing so. Commercial treaties concluded between two Powers—the basis of the closest economic relations between nations—are of more value in the reconstruction of the European economic world than all the complicated and confused general plenary conferences, whose lamentable history everybody knows.

As far as Italy is concerned, we intend to follow a policy which will be dignified and at the same time compatible with our national interests. (Loud applause.) We cannot allow ourselves the luxury of a policy of foolish altruism, or of complete surrender to the desires of others. _Do ut des._ For Italy to-day has a new importance which must be reckoned with adequately, and this fact is beginning to be recognised beyond her boundaries. We have not the bad taste to exaggerate our powers, but neither do we wish to belittle them with excessive and useless modesty.

My formula is simple: “Nothing for nothing.” Those who wish to have concrete proofs of friendship from us must give us the same. Fascista Italy, just as she does not intend to repudiate treaties for many reasons, political, moral and economic, does not intend, either, to abandon the Allies—Rome is in line with London and Paris; but Italy must assert herself and impose upon the Allies that strict and courageous examination of conscience which has not been faced by them from the time of the Armistice up to the present day.

Does an Entente still exist in the full sense of the word? What is the position of the Entente with regard to Germany and Russia? with regard to an alliance between these two countries? What is the position of Italy in the Entente, of the Italy who, not solely by reason of the weakness of her governors, lost strong positions in the Adriatic and the Mediterranean, who did not obtain any colonies or raw materials, who is literally crushed under the load of debts incurred in order to obtain victory, and whose most sacred rights, even, were held in question? In the conversations I intend to have with the Prime Ministers of England and France, I mean to face clearly and in its entirety the question of the Entente and Italy’s position within it.

As a result of this, alternatives will arise; either the Entente, finding a way of settling her inward perplexities and contradictions, will become a really solid homogeneous body, with evenly distributed forces, with equal rights and equal duties, or her hour will have struck, and Italy, regaining her freedom of action, will turn loyally with a new policy to the work of safeguarding her interests.

I hope that the first eventuality will be realised, particularly in view of the new uprising in the East and the growing intimacy between Russia, Turkey and Germany. But, however it may be, we must get beyond conventional phrases. It is time, in fact, to abandon diplomatic expedients, which are renewed and repeated at every conference, in order to deal directly with historical fact, by which alone it is possible to decide one way or another the trend of events. Our foreign policy, which aims at protection of our interests, respect of treaties and the settling of our position in the Entente, cannot be described as adventurous and imperialist, in the vulgar sense of the word. We want to follow a policy of peace that will not, however, be at the same time suicidal.

In order to refute the pessimists who expected catastrophic results to follow upon the advent of the Fascisti to power, it is enough to remind them that our relations with the Swiss are perfectly friendly, and that a commercial treaty, already in the process of formation, will further contribute towards strengthening them when it is completed; that they are perfectly correct as regards Yugoslavia and Greece; we are on good terms with Spain, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Roumania, and the other Baltic States, where of late Italy has gained a great deal of sympathy, and where we are trying to make commercial agreements; and on equally good terms with the other States.

As far as Austria is concerned, Italy will keep faith as regards her promises, and will not neglect to enter into economic relations with her as well as with Hungary and Bulgaria.

We maintain, as regards Turkey, that what is now an accomplished fact ought to be recognised as such at Lausanne, with the necessary guarantees as to trade in the Straits, European interests and the interests of the small Christian communities. The situation which has arisen in Islam is going to be carefully watched. When Turkey has got what belongs to her she must not try to obtain more. There will come a day when it will be necessary to say, “Thus far and no further!” The danger of complications in the Balkans, and in consequence in Europe in general, can be avoided by firmness, which will have an increased effect in proportion to the loyalty of the Allies’ conduct. We do not forget that there are 44,000 Mohammedans in Roumania, 600,000 in Bulgaria, 400,000 in Albania, and 1,500,000 in Yugoslavia; a world which the recent victory of the Crescent has exalted, at any rate secretly.

As far as Russia is concerned, Italy believes that the moment has come to face the question of her relations with that country in their actual reality; but this apart from internal conditions in that country, with which we, as a Government, do not wish to interfere, since in our turn we shall admit of no interference in our home affairs. In consequence we are disposed to consider the possibility of a definite solution of the situation. As regards the presence of Russia at Lausanne, Italy has supported the most liberal point of view and does not despair of its eventual triumph, although thus far she has only been invited to discuss the single question of the Dardanelles.

Our relations with the United States are very good, and I shall make it my care to see that they are improved, especially as regards a close economic co-operation. A commercial treaty with Canada is on the point of being signed. We are on cordial terms with the republics of Central and South America, and especially with Brazil and the Argentine, where millions of Italians live. They must not be denied the possibility of taking part in the local political life around them, which will not estrange them from, but rather bind them all the closer to their Mother Country.

As for economic and financial problems, Italy will maintain in the approaching conference at Brussels that debts and reparations form an indivisible binomial.

In order to carry out this policy of dignity and regard for our national interests, we need to have at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs a central staff competent to deal with the new necessities of the national life and of the increased prestige of Italy in the world. (Applause.)

THE POLICY OF FASCISMO FOR ITALY: ECONOMY, WORK AND DISCIPLINE

Same speech delivered in the Chamber, 16th November 1922.

_Hon. Mussolini._ Honourable Members,—The policy we shall follow as regards the country itself can be summed up in three words: economy, work and discipline. The financial problem is a fundamental one, the balancing of the State Budget must be accomplished as soon as possible by a régime of careful administration, intelligence in the use of money, the utilisation of all the productive forces of the nation and the removal of the trappings of war. (Loud applause.) For further information as regards the financial question, which, though serious, is open to rapid improvement, I refer you to my colleague Tangorra,[11] who will give you information when the financial measures are discussed.

Footnote 11:

Late Minister of Finance.

He who talks of work, talks of the productive middle classes in the towns and in the country. It is not a question of privileges for the first or for privileges for the second, but of the safeguarding of all the interests which are in accordance with national production. The proletariat which works, and whose well-being concerns us, though not from weak demagogic motives, has nothing to fear, nothing to lose and everything to gain from a financial policy which preserves the balance of the State and prevents bankruptcy, which would have a disastrous effect, especially among the humbler classes.

Our policy as regards emigration must free itself of an excessive “paternalism,” while, at the same time, an Italian who emigrates must know that his interests will be securely guarded by the representatives of his country abroad. The growth of the prestige of a nation in the world is in proportion to the discipline it shows at home. There is no doubt that the internal condition of the country has improved, but it is not yet as I should like to see it. I do not intend to indulge myself in easy optimism. I am no lover of Pangloss. In the big cities, and in all the towns in general, there is peace; instances of violence are sporadic and peripheral; but, at the same time, these also must cease. The citizens, no matter to what party they belong, shall have freedom of movement; all religions shall be respected, with particular regard to the dominant faith, Catholicism; statutory liberty shall not be infringed and the law shall be made to be respected at all costs!

The State is strong and will prove its power equally where all classes of citizens are concerned, including illegal Fascismo, because it would now be irresponsible illegality and without any justification. I must add, however, that almost all the Fascisti have submitted to the new order of things. The State does not mean to abdicate for anyone, and whoever opposes it must be punished. This explicit statement is a warning to all citizens, and I know will be particularly pleasing to the Fascisti, who have fought and won in order to have a State which would make itself felt in every direction with inexhaustible energy. It must not be forgotten that, besides the minority that represent actual militant politics, there are forty millions of excellent Italians who work, by their splendid birth-rate perpetuate our race, and who ask, and have the right to obtain, freedom from the chronic state of disorder which is the sure prelude to general ruin. Since sermons, evidently, are not enough, the State will put the army it has at its disposal in order by a process of selection and improvement. The Fascista State will form a perfectly organised and united police force, of great mobility and with a high moral standard; while the army and navy—glorious and dear to every Italian heart—withdrawn from the vicissitudes of Parliamentary politics, reorganised and strengthened, will represent the last reserve of the nation both at home and abroad.

Gentlemen, from the last communication issued you will learn what the Fascista programme is in detail with regard to each individual Ministry. I do not wish, as long as it is possible to avoid it, to govern against the wishes of the Chamber; but the Chamber must understand the peculiar position it holds, which makes it liable to dismissal in two days or in two years. (Laughter.) We ask for full powers, because we wish to take full responsibility. Without full powers you know perfectly well that not a penny—a penny I say—would be saved. By this we do not intend to exclude the possibility of voluntary co-operation, which we shall cordially accept, whether it be from deputies, senators or single competent citizens. We have, every one of us, a religious sense of the difficulty of our task. The country encourages us and waits. We shall not give you further words but facts. Let us solemnly and formally pledge ourselves to balance the Budget, and we shall do it. We wish to have a foreign policy of peace, but, at the same time, it must be dignified and firm; and we shall have it. None of our enemies, past or present, need deceive themselves about the rapidity of our advent to power. (Laughter; comments.) Our Government has a formidable hold upon the hearts of the people and is supported by the best elements in the country. There is no doubt that in these last days an enormous step has been taken towards spiritual unity. The Italian nation has found herself again, from the north to the south, from the Continent to those generous islands which shall no more be forgotten—(Applause.)—from Rome to the industrious colonies of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Gentlemen, do not throw useless words at the nation; fifty-two requests to speak on my lists is too much. Let us work, rather, with pure hearts and ready brains to assure the prosperity and the greatness of the country.

And may God help me to carry my arduous task to a victorious end. (Loud applause. Many deputies come down to congratulate the President.)

“CONSCIENTIOUS GENERAL DIAGNOSIS OF THE CONDITIONS OF THE COUNTRY AND ITS FOREIGN POLICY”

Sitting of 27th November 1922, Senate.

_Hon. Mussolini._ Honourable Senators,—I have listened with deep interest and attention to all the speeches touching upon various subjects which have been delivered in this hall. The Ministers directly concerned can answer to the different individual questions. I shall limit myself to confuting some of the statements which can be said to be of a general order. Of course if the vote of the Senate be unanimous, it will please me—(Laughter.)—but you must not believe that unanimity flatters me excessively. I entertain a thorough contempt for those who have more or less clamorously sided with me in these last days. They are so often the kind of people who follow the fair wind and are ready to tumble headlong over to the other side when the wind changes direction. (Laughter.) I prefer sincere enemies to doubtful friends.

Of the speeches delivered in this hall some have a particular importance, as for instance that, generally optimistic, of Senator Conti, which reminded me of the analogous speech, also optimistic, delivered in the Chamber by the Hon. Buozzi. This favourable view of economic conditions in Italy, coming thus from a head of the proletariat and a head of the great Italian industries, is a curious coincidence and certainly of good omen.

_A Neat Surgical Operation._ I owe a special answer to Senator Albertini. I admire his firm faith in pure Liberalism, but I take the liberty to remind him that Constitutionalism in England, Liberalism in France, in fact all the ideas and doctrines which have in common the name of Liberalism, spring out of a fierce revolutionary travail without which, to-day, Signor Albertini would not, very probably, have been able to pay these tributes to pure Liberalism.

How was it possible to find a way out of this internal crisis, which every day was becoming more alarming and distressing? A temporary and transitional Ministry was no longer possible. It did not solve the problem, it hardly delayed it. Consequently in two, three or six months’ time at the most, with that mobility of opinions and desires that characterised certain Parliamentary circles, we should have found ourselves where we were at the beginning, with nothing gained but the failure which would have aggravated the crisis. (Hear, hear!)

After having thought over the matter deeply, therefore, and having clearly realised the ironic paradox, becoming every day more manifest, of the existence of two States—one the actual State itself and the other which nobody succeeded in defining—I said to myself at a certain moment that only a neat surgical operation could make one compact State of the two and save the fortunes of the nation.

Senator Albertini must not think that this decision was other than the result of long meditation; he must not think that I had not well considered all the dangers and risks of this illegal action. I willed it deliberately. I dare to say more than this—I forced it on. To my mind there was no other way except by revolution to revive a political class grown enormously tired and discouraged in all its sections; and since experience teaches something, or ought to teach something, to intelligent men, I at once set limits and established rules for my

## action. I have not gone beyond a certain point, I did not in the least

become intoxicated by victory, nor did I take advantage of it. Who could have prevented me from closing Parliament? Who could have prevented me from proclaiming a Dictatorship with two or three men? Who could withstand me? Who could have withstood a movement which consisted not only in 300,000 membership cards but in 300,000 rifles? Nobody. It was I who, for love of our country, said that it was necessary to subordinate impulse, sentiment and personal ambition to the supreme interests of the nation; and it was I who put the movement at once on constitutional lines.

I have formed a Ministry with men from all parties in the House. I did not hesitate to include a member of the old Cabinet. I gave importance to technical efficiency and paid no attention to political labels. I formed a Coalition Ministry and I presented it to the Chamber. I asked for its judgment and its vote and I found that Chamber a little changed. But when I found out that not less than thirty-three orators had presented thirty-six orders of the day, I said to myself that perhaps it was not necessary to abolish Parliament, but that the country would be glad to see it enjoying a holiday for a certain period. (Laughter.) I have, therefore, no intention of dismissing the Chamber, of destroying all the fruits of the Liberal revolution. I can boast of all this philosophically from a point of view which might almost be called negative. But philosophy must be silent in the face of political necessity. Let us speak frankly! What is this Liberalism, this Liberalism put into practice? Because if there is anyone who believes that, to be a true Liberal, it is necessary to give some hundreds of irresponsible people, fanatics and scoundrels, the power of ruining forty millions of Italians, I refuse absolutely to give them this power. (Applause.) Gentlemen, I have no fetishes, and where the interests of the country are concerned the Government has the right to intervene. If it did not do so, it would be inadequate the first time and the next time suicidal.

_Respect for the Constitution._ I do not intend to deviate from the Constitution or to improvise. The example of other revolutions has shown me that there are some fundamental principles in the life of the people that must be respected. (Hear, hear!) I do not intend that national discipline shall be any longer merely a word. I do not intend that the law shall be any longer a blunt weapon. (Hear, hear!) I do not intend that liberty shall degenerate into licence. I do not intend, either, to remain above the fray among those who love, who work for, and who are ready to sacrifice themselves for the nation, or, on the other hand, among those who are ready to do the reverse.

It was for just such a foolish “Rolandism” that this last Government failed. One cannot remain above the fray when the moral forces which are the foundation of the national community are at stake; and nobody can say that a national policy, understood thus, is reactionary. For me all these names of Left and Right, of Conservative, Aristocracy and Democracy are so many empty academic terms. They serve occasionally to distinguish, but more often to confuse.

I shall not follow an anti-proletariat policy, for reasons national, and other than national. We do not want to oppress the proletariat; we do not want to drive it back into humiliating conditions of life. On the contrary we want to elevate it materially and spiritually; but not because we think that the masses, the populace, could create a special type of civilisation in the future. Let us leave this kind of ideology to those who profess themselves to be ministers of this mysterious religion. The reasons for which we wish to follow a policy of proletarian welfare are quite different. They lie in the interests of the nation; they are dictated by the reality of facts, by the conviction that no nation can be united and at peace if twenty millions of workmen are condemned to live in humiliating and inadequate conditions of life. And it may be, nay, it is certain, that our labour policy—or rather anti-demagogic policy, because we cannot promise the paradise we do not possess—will ultimately prove to be much more useful to those same working classes than the other policy which, like an oriental mirage, has hypnotised and mystified them into a vain attitude of waiting. (Approval.)

_The Military Organisation of Fascismo._ “What will you do with the military organisation of Fascismo?” I have been asked. This military organisation gave Rome an imposing spectacle. There were 52,000 “black shirts,” and they left Rome within the twenty-four hours prescribed by me. They obey. I dare even to go further and to say that they have the mysticism of obedience! I do not intend to disperse these exuberant forces, not only for the sake of Fascismo itself, but in the interests of the nation. What I shall impose upon Fascismo is the discontinuance of all the acts for which there is now no necessity—(Hear, hear!)—those small, individual and collective acts of violence which are rather humiliating to everyone, which are often the result of local situations and could with difficulty be associated with the big problems of the different Italian parties. I am sure that what might be called “illegal Fascismo,” now happily on the decline, will soon end altogether. This is one of the conditions of that pacification to which my friend Senator Bellini alluded; but in order that this pacification may succeed, the other side must also cease their ambushes and acts of violence.

_Foreign Policy._ I thank the Senate for not having dwelt too much on foreign policy. I am particularly glad that Fascismo has universally accepted with enthusiasm my firm decision as regards the application of treaties, because if I do not allow illegality in internal policy, still less shall I allow it in foreign affairs. (Hear, hear!) So let it be clear to all inside this hall and out. Foreign policy will be in the hands of one man alone, of the man who has the honour of representing and directing it; because there cannot be an unlimited division and diffusion of responsibility, and foreign policy is too difficult and delicate a matter to be thrown as occupation to those who have nothing better to do. (Laughter.)

I can then tell the Hon. Barzilai that I shall keep the Ministry for Foreign Affairs for myself. At bottom the Ministry of the Interior is a Ministry of Police, and I am glad to be the head of the police. I am not in the least ashamed of it. On the contrary, I hope that all Italian citizens, forgetting certain atavisms, will recognise in the police one of the most necessary forces for the welfare of our social existence. But, above all, I intend to follow a line of foreign policy which will not be adventurous, while, at the same time, it will not be characterised by self-sacrifice. (Strong approval.) Certainly miracles are not to be expected in this field, as it is impossible to cancel in a conversation, even in a dramatic one of half an hour, a policy which has been the result of other conditions and of another period of time.

I think that foreign policy should have as its supreme aim the maintenance of peace. This is a fine ideal, especially after a war that has lasted four years. Our policy, therefore, will not be that of the Imperialists who seek the impossible, while, at the same time, it will not necessarily rest upon the negative formula according to which one should never have recourse to force. It is well to keep the possibility of war in sight; it cannot be discarded _a priori_, because in that case we should find ourselves disarmed with the other nations in arms. (Great applause.)

But I have no illusions, for, in accordance with my temperament, I disdain all easy optimism. People who see things through rose-coloured spectacles make me laugh; I often pity them. I think, however, I have already succeeded in something, and in no small thing either, which will have no small results. That is to say, I think I have succeeded in making the Allies and other peoples of Europe, who had not yet attained a true vision of Italy, see her as she really is. Not as something vaguely prehistoric, not the Italy of monuments and libraries—all most respectable things—but Italy as I see her born under my eyes, the Italy of to-day, overflowing with vitality, prepared to give herself a new lease of life, pregnant with serenity and beauty; an Italy which does not live like a parasite on the past, but is prepared to build up her own future with her own forces and through her own work and martyrdom.

This is the Italy which has now flashed, be it ever so vaguely, before the eyes of the representatives of other nations, who henceforward must be convinced, whether they wish it or not, that Italy does not intend to follow in the wake of others, but intends to vindicate her rights with dignity, and with no less dignity to protect her interests. (Approval.)

_God and the People._ I have been admonished in turn by all those who have spoken in this hall. They have said to me: “The responsibility which you take is enormously heavy.” Yes! I know it and I feel it. Sometimes, intensified by a deep and vibrating expectancy, it almost crushes me. At these times I have to gather all my force, to arm myself with all my determination, in order to keep before me the interests and the future of our country. Well I know that it is not my interests that are at stake. Certainly, if I do not succeed I am a broken man. These are not experiments that can be tried twice in a lifetime. But my person is of little value. Not to succeed would not mean much to me personally, but it would be infinitely serious for the nation. (Hear, hear!) I intend to take the helm of the ship, and I do not intend to yield it to anybody. But I shall not refuse to take on board all those who wish to form my crew, all those who wish to work with me, who will give me advice and suggestions, who will, in a word, give me their invaluable and indispensable co-operation.

In the other Chamber I invoked the help of God. In this—and I hope my words will not be taken as mere rhetoric—I shall invoke the Italian people. In doing this I might feel that I was walking in the steps of Mazzini, who made a union between God and the people. But if, as I hope and earnestly desire, the people will be disciplined, laborious, and proud of this their glorious country, I feel I shall not fail to arrive at my goal! (Ovation; the Ministers and many Senators advance to congratulate the orator.)

“I REMAIN THE HEAD OF FASCISMO, ALTHOUGH THE HEAD OF THE ITALIAN GOVERNMENT”

Speech delivered in London, 12th December 1922, before the Fascisti.

Fascisti! You must feel that in this last month the Italian people have raised themselves considerably in the eyes of all the other nations. Everybody knows now that a new and vigorous Italy was born in those historic days of October. Remember that the revolution was great, but that it is not over, indeed that it has hardly begun. Hard tasks and heavy responsibilities await us. I remain the head of Fascismo, although the head of the Government. Beneath these official clothes, which I wear as a duty, I shall keep the Fascista uniform, just as I wore it before His Majesty when he summoned me to form a new Cabinet.

Fascista Italy, I assure you, is in very strong hands. All our enemies know that every attempt at revolt will be inexorably crushed. The old Italy is dead and will not come to life again. The men who gave their lives in the war will prevent it; those who fell in the Fascista war, no less sacred and necessary, will prevent it; the living will prevent it. We, here and everywhere, are ready for any battle so that we may uphold the foundations of our race and of our history. The time has come to face serenely the sons of other nations. The era of renunciations and obligations is past; the head of the Government tells you this. You asked me to come here upon this occasion of the inauguration of the London section of the Fascista Party. I present you with your banner; keep it as you keep alive the flame of that faith for which so many fine young men have died, keep it for the fortunes of Italy and Fascismo.

“OUR TASK IN HISTORY IS TO MAKE A UNITED STATE OF THE ITALIAN NATION”

Speech delivered 2nd January 1923, upon the occasion of the Ministerial Reception in Palazzo Chigi at Rome, in answer to the Hon. Teofilo Rossi, Minister of Industry and Commerce, who had concluded his address to the President by saying: “The victorious Greeks returning from Troy through the storm cried: ‘Nil desperandum Teucro duce et auspice Teucro.’ We in our turn will say: ‘_Nil desperandum_ while at the helm of the State there is a man like Benito Mussolini.’”

Dear Colleagues,—Let me first of all say how happy I am that we should have met in these magnificent rooms which furnish evidence of the strength and beauty of our race, and are also a testimony of our victory, as, if I am not mistaken, these were the apartments of an enemy’s Embassy.[12]

Footnote 12:

Palazzo Chigi, at present Ministry for Foreign Affairs, formerly was the seat of the Austrian Embassy to the Quirinal.

I was very much touched by the words spoken just now by our colleague Rossi. The nation as a whole is not deceived, and follows with brotherly sympathy the work of our Government. It is aware of the difficulties we have to overcome: difficulties which arise from the double work of demolition and reconstruction which we have undertaken simultaneously. The nation, little by little, is being restored to order. There are more than ten thousand communes in Italy, and there is no reason to fear a catastrophe because there is a quarrel, without any particular positive importance, in one of them during the critical days of Saturday and Sunday.

All this does preoccupy me, however, and I intend by every means possible to get the nation back into a state of general discipline that will be above all sects, factions and parties.

There was an Italian people who had not yet become a nation; the travail of fifty years of history and, above all, the last war has made them a nation. The task in history which awaits us is this: to make a State of this nation, that is to say, a moral idea which is personified and expressed in a system of individual, responsible hierarchies composed of men who, from the first to the last, feel it a pride and a privilege to fulfil their duty.

This work, seen from the standpoint of historical development, cannot be completed in two months and probably not even in two years. But this is the direction in which our Government is working, and every decision we make and every act we achieve is guided by the necessity of establishing one united State, which will be the only depositary of our history and of the future and the strength of the Italian nation.

It is a difficult and arduous undertaking. But life would not be worth living if we did not face these tasks, and if we had not the satisfaction of having met them all the more serenely for their difficulty.

No! I am certain that we shall not frustrate the legitimate hopes of the Italian people. We can and we will adopt a policy of wisdom and severity towards the people and towards ourselves. We must foster the ideals of the nation, and deal relentlessly with the slightest manifestation of lack of discipline.

I, too, should like to quote from the tales of ancient Greece. When the Spartan mothers presented their departing sons with their shields, it was with these words: “Either with this or on it.” Now I should like our programme to be inspired by this idea, for with this programme, and with this only, shall we win.

Through our efforts, our work and our suffering will rise that powerful, prosperous and peaceful Italy of which we dream, which we long for and desire to see! Long live Italy!

THE ADVANCE IN THE RUHR DISTRICT

Speech delivered at Rome, 15th January 1923, before the members of the Cabinet.

_The Prime Minister._ Honourable Colleagues,—The most important event of these last few days in the international world has been the French advance on the Ruhr. It is well to establish clearly the attitude of Italy with regard to this advance, since, for political reasons and also for reasons connected with the Stock Exchange, it has purposely not been properly estimated.

It is necessary to go back to the Conference of Paris, and the rejection of Bonar Law’s proposals on the part of Italy, France and Belgium, in order to understand the line of conduct adopted by the Italian Government. It is a fact that each one of the Powers in the Entente has taken up an attitude of its own, due to its own particular conditions. Without taking into consideration the Americans, who have withdrawn their troops from the Rhine, this is the position of the Powers.

England has not joined with France, but has not decided, at any rate up to the present, to recall her troops from German soil, nor has she changed in her friendly attitude towards France, as was set forth by the most recent communications from the Foreign Office.

France, interested in the problem of reparations, has, upon the basis of the deliberations of the Commission appointed to enquire into this question, sent into the Ruhr a Board of Control for the production of coal and, later, troops for the purpose of protection.

Belgium has afforded France some military co-operation and undivided political support.

Italy has only given political and technical support, sending her engineers to the Ruhr. Our country could not isolate herself without committing a very grave mistake. She could not exclude herself entirely from any operation of control taking place in a region of coalfields, and, therefore, of fundamental importance in European and Italian economics.

As regards the project for a continental alliance directed against England, such an idea simply does not exist. The Italian Government never suggested such a thing, and, in any case, would never have been able to consider the possibility of a continental union against England, both on account of her importance in the economic life of the Continent and of existing relations between Italy and that country.

It is true, on the contrary, that the Italian Government had advised France to limit, as far as possible, the military character of the advance in the Ruhr district, and not to reject all possibilities of agreement in this burning question. But if this understanding, which would give peace to Europe, were to be realised, it is the opinion of Italy that it could not come about without the co-operation of England. Italy, which has no coal, cannot afford the luxury of renunciations and isolation, but it is as well to make it clear—because it is the truth—that Italian policy upon this occasion, as upon all others, is inspired by considerations of a general nature, as decided in the Memorandum of London, for the protection of Italian interests and of European economics generally. The Italian Government thinks that if there is a possibility of agreement—and it works in this direction—it would be a grave mistake on the part of Germany to refuse it.

It seems as if a _détente_ between the French command and some of the industrial magnates of the Ruhr district has already taken place. As for the mass of the workmen, it appears as if they do not intend to put insuperable difficulties in the way of the work of control.

The payment of the quota for the 15th January is postponed until the end of the month. There are, therefore, fifteen days of useful time, sufficient to mend the situation. It does not seem improbable that the French will support the Italian project presented at London upon the subject of reparations.

As for the attitude of the Soviet Government, it appears to be very circumspect, and has not changed from that previously manifested, though only in words, towards the German proletariat.

From Lausanne comes satisfactory news. I have the pleasure of announcing that, in some of the very delicate questions which seemed to be leading to a rupture, such as that of minorities, if an agreement has been reached, it has been due to the wise and level-headed work of the Italian Delegation.

(Without discussion, the declarations of the Prime Minister are unanimously approved.)

_The Great Fascista Council._ My colleagues in the Cabinet will certainly have read with attention the deliberations of the Great National Council of the Fascisti, and have noticed the importance of their character.

It is an essentially political organisation, which, however, does not encroach in any way upon the sphere of action of the Government, represented by the Cabinet. In fact none of the legislative measures passed or to be passed by the Cabinet were made the subject of discussion by the Fascista Council. All its decisions are of a purely political nature. Thus they have definitely settled the character of the national militia. They have constituted the organisation which is to establish relations between Fascisti and Nationalists, as well as those between Fascismo and the other parties which loyally co-operate with the Government and the organisations of employers already in existence before the formation of the analogous Fascista groups.

Important also is the vote by which the associations of ex-soldiers (including the disabled) who have entered the sphere of the State have been asked to give men for the purposes of administration. The declaration of loyal devotion to the Monarchy is both magnificent and solemn, and dispels every little misunderstanding of interested dabblers in politics on that score, for whom the warning that closed the proceedings of the Great Council came opportunely—the warning, that is to say, that the Government—note, the Government—will inexorably crush every attempt at direct or indirect opposition to its authority.

The Great Fascista Council has also sent messages to the working people of Italy, who are in the process of re-establishing active discipline amongst themselves, and who accept the provisions of the Government, even the hardest, because they are sure that they are inspired by purely national necessity.

Thus the essentially historic function of the Great Fascista Council at this moment is clearly outlined. The Council will support and safeguard the action of the Government, and perform in the party and in the nation the work of general political orientation which must serve as a base for the work of the Government itself. (The Council of Ministers approves the declarations of the Prime Minister.)

THE GOVERNMENT OF SPEED

Speech delivered at Rome, 19th January 1923, at the headquarters of the Motor Transport Company.

_Hon. Mussolini._ I warmly thank Commendatore De Cupis and all the workmen—I was going to say my colleagues—for the warm welcome I have received. If my minutes were not numbered, I should like, here in the presence of the “controllers of the steering wheel,” to sing the praises of speed, in this the epoch of speed. The times in which we live no longer allow of a sedentary egoistical life; everything must be on the go, everybody must raise the standard of his activity, both in the offices and in the factories where the work is done—(Applause.)—and the Government, which I have the honour to represent, is the Government of speed, that is to say, we get rid of all that is stagnant in our national life.

Formerly the bureaucracy dozed over deferred decisions, to-day it must proceed with the maximum of rapidity. (Applause.) If we all go ahead with this energy, good-will and cheerfulness we shall surmount the crisis, which for that matter is already partly overcome.

I am pleased to see that Rome also is waking up and can offer us sights such as these works. I maintain that Rome can become an industrial centre. The Romans must be the first to disdain to live solely upon their memories. The Coliseum and the Forum are glories of the past, but we must build up the glories of to-day and of to-morrow. We belong to the generation of builders who, by work and discipline, with hands and brains, desire to reach the ultimate and longed-for goal, the greatness of the future nation, which will be a nation of producers and not of parasites.

THE MARCH OF EVENTS ON THE RUHR THE POSITION OF ITALY

Speech delivered at Rome, 23rd January 1923, before the Cabinet.

_The Prime Minister._ Honourable Colleagues,—Since the last meeting of the Cabinet, the situation on the Ruhr has become more complicated, and this also from the social point of view, as the result of the closing down of the factories and the outbreak of strikes in the mines and public services of the occupied zones.

In order to understand the attitudes of the different Powers and the fact that these attitudes have not undergone any changes worthy of note, it is necessary to summarise briefly the events of these last few days of high tension, political and economic.

The period of time granted for the Moratorium having elapsed on 15th January, France and Belgium have caused a Mission of Control to be sent to the mines in the Ruhr district, escorted by protecting troops, and have extended the area of territory occupied in the Ruhr district as far as Dortmund. On 16th January the French Government gave notice that the industrial magnates on the Ruhr had declared that they had received orders from the German Government not to hand over any more coal. The German Minister for Foreign Affairs himself communicated these instructions to our Ambassador at Berlin.

France and Belgium were not, therefore, receiving any more coal, even when payment was made in advance. In the face of the German resistance, the French and Belgian troops have proceeded to requisition the coal deposits at the pitheads, the factories and the railway stations, and have also taken other serious steps of a political and military order. Italian experts, sent only to take part in economic operations of control, received orders to limit their co-operation to that which concerned coercive measures of a political nature.

Such an attitude was clearly faced and decided in Paris. On the strength of the decision made on 26th December by the Commission of Reparations, which reported the failure of Germany, as regards Italy also, to supply wood, France and Belgium decided to proceed to the exploitation of the Crown and Communal forests in the Rhine territory. Germany had, besides, made it known that coal supplies and cattle would be refused to France and Belgium, by way both of reparation and restitution.

The Commission of Reparations in its decision of 16th January verified this intentional failure on the part of Germany from the 12th January, and notified it to the Government. As a result of this, France and Belgium decided to take possession of the west customs frontier of Germany in the occupied zone. The Italian Government took over control of the customs and also of the forests, this being included among the measures which the Italian Memorandum had reserved as a security in the case of the concession of the Moratorium; but it asked the French Government what was going to be the extent to which the action was to be carried. The French Government replied that the occupation of the Ruhr was not of a military character, but was for the protection of French technical bodies, which were very numerous in the occupied area. The Italian Delegate, who was already on the High Commission of the Rhine, which directs the exploitation and also the control of the mines, has received orders to take part in those deliberations which have an economic and financial character, and to abstain from attending those which are political.

As I said before, the attitudes of the Great Powers have not altered to any great extent. England seems officially uninterested in what happens on the Ruhr, but this has not prevented the English Representative on the Rhine High Commission from declaring in the name of his Government that he will be present at the deliberations, abstaining from recording his vote when he thinks it best; but he adds, also, that his Government will not oppose the carrying out of the provisions in the zone occupied by the English troops which still remain on the Rhine. As you see, it is not England’s intention to accentuate the difference between her policy and that which is, at present, adopted by France.

Mediation on the part of Italy was spoken of, which might have led later to a direct Anglo-Italian intervention, both at Berlin and Paris. An offer of real mediation does not exist, and could not be made without the certainty that it would be accepted with a certain favour. It would be a grave mistake to expose Italian policy to a failure of this sort. It is a fact that the Italian Government did warn the Germans of the danger of the blind-alley situation in which she has voluntarily placed herself, and in which she seems determined to stay. She also called the attention of France, in a friendly manner, to the complications, not only economic but also political and social, which might arise from the occupation of the Ruhr.

_The Work of the Italian Government._ Matters standing thus, the Italian Government cannot at present change its attitude, because no step it took now would alter the general situation or exercise a preponderating influence in the decisions of the Governments most involved. The opinion of the Italian Government is that the situation on the Ruhr has not yet reached the stage at which a solution must necessarily be found, and only when that moment arrives will it be able, perhaps, to have an influence on the situation itself.

As for the Moratorium which President Poincaré has decided to propose to the Germans, in view of the fast approaching date of payment, 31st January, it is worthy of note that it will include some of the points made in the Italian Memorandum of London, namely the two years’ Moratorium and the German internal loan.

As far as America is concerned, having once withdrawn her troops from the Rhine, she has not altered her policy of neutral inactivity.

One understands that the events in the Ruhr district have caused a general uneasiness over the whole of Europe, especially in the countries which form the Little Entente. Rumours which spoke of mobilisation and the concentration of troops upon some of the frontiers have proved unfounded and exaggerated. As regards Russia, beyond reports of certain political activities on the part of the Third International, carried on with a view to taking advantage socially of the events on the Ruhr, there is no definite news of serious preparations for military intervention on a large scale. At Lausanne, the reaction of the situation on the Ruhr is being felt, and is arousing an increased intransigence on the part of Turkey.

To sum up: The policy of Italy must be inspired first of all by the defence of her own interests, though, at the same time, due note must be taken of considerations and needs of a general order. It is a question whether, by a more exact valuation of the conditions put forward in the Italian Memorandum of London, the grave complications which exist to-day would not have been avoided. At any rate the Italian Government will take careful and speedy measures to avoid any further difficulties and re-establish as soon as possible a release of tension throughout Europe, which might make it possible to face the problem of reparations and debts under other conditions.

(The Cabinet at the end express entire approval of the line of foreign policy adopted by the Prime Minister.)

THE RUHR, THE CONFERENCE OF LAUSANNE AND THE PORT OF MEMEL

Speech delivered at Rome, 1st February 1923, before the Cabinet.

_The Prime Minister._ With reference to foreign affairs, the situation, as far as Italy is concerned, cannot be said to have altered much in the interval which has elapsed between the last Cabinet meeting and to-day.

The German resistance on economic grounds has provoked aggravation of the measures—both military and political—which are being taken by France and Belgium, but from which Italy, following her previous line of conduct, has kept apart.

The complications which were—or could have been—feared, so far have not occurred. Fresh factors have not entered into the close duel which is being fought on the Ruhr. Russia has not altered her attitude as a State, although the dominating party continues to give clamorous verbal demonstrations of solidarity with the German proletariat.

The serious disquietude which had been manifested by the Powers of the Little Entente is diminishing. There had been rumours—more or less without foundation and spread, perhaps, with the object of producing complications—of plans for repeating in Hungary what France had done on the Ruhr, which were attributed to one State or another. These have given Italy the opportunity of confirming and clearly establishing her attitude of opposition to any movement which could extend the conflict to other zones or give the opportunity of attacking the validity of the treaties of peace already concluded.

The Italian Government has been and is following attentively the coal situation on the Ruhr, above all as regards its reaction on other events. I can say that all internal measures, reduction of the train services, including those from abroad, and contracts for fresh supplies, have been quickly and diligently carried through, because, whatever may happen, no paralysis of our industrial activity or of our communications must result. In connection with the supplies of raw materials, I have the pleasure to announce to the Cabinet that the Italian Government has succeeded in concluding a favourable agreement with the Polish Government for oil.

As I said last time, the events on the Ruhr have had the most serious consequences in the developments at the Conference of Lausanne, which has now arrived at its last stage. The Italian Delegation has carried out successful work there with the object of obtaining peace in the East.

The Italian Government has not been among the last to recognise the legitimate rights of Turkey, and thinks to-day that it would not be in her interests to entrench herself in a position of absolute intransigence. It may be that Turkey has not realised the extensive programme that was laid down by the Grand National Assembly of Angora, but it cannot be denied that a great part of that programme has been put into execution, since the Turks from Angora have returned not only to Smyrna but to Constantinople and Adrianople, and have got their way, it can be said, in questions of the highest importance, such as that of the domination of the Straits and that of Capitulations.

Taken as a whole, although the general situation continues to be very critical, there seems to be a small ray of light upon the horizon. The

## action of the Italian Government is directed decidedly towards a policy

of general peace.

As regards the question of Memel, the Italian Government has pursued a temperate policy, inspired by principles of equity and justice. It is not possible to do less than recognise the rights of Lithuania over that port, but the Lithuanian Government cannot be allowed to substitute itself for the Allied Powers in deciding its fate.

We, then, have remained in an attitude of solidarity with the Allies in the measures taken for facing the situation there. But we have, on the other hand, tried effectively to reduce those measures to the necessary minimum, avoiding those of such a nature as to provoke further complications.

RATIFICATION OF THE WASHINGTON TREATY OF NAVAL DISARMAMENT

Chamber of Deputies. Sitting of 6th February 1923.

_The Prime Minister._ Honourable Members,—I do not think that it is worth while losing time in a general discussion upon the qualities of men, good and bad, and upon the question as to whether the war of 1914 will be the last or the one before the last. That would be perfectly idle and would only lead to academic discussions. Let us, instead, turn our attention more practically to the Project of Law which I have presented.

The Convention of Washington was closed a year ago. Now the delay in the ratification of the treaty on the part of Italy has already had ambiguous and, I should almost say, unfavourable consequences in the international world. It will be a good thing, then, to proceed at once to complete this act.

The Conference at Washington shared the fate of all the conferences. It opened with great hopes, flashing before our eyes the possibility of eternal peace. Then the concrete results frustrated these hopes. I confess that I do not believe in perpetual and universal peace. In the life of the peoples, notwithstanding ideals—noble and worthy of respect—there exist the permanent factors of race, and the greatness and decadence of nations, which lead to differences often only settled by a recourse to arms. Now it is not a case of weighing these conventions with a view to peace; they represent a breath, a pause, and it is useless to enquire if they have been laid down for idealistic or for business reasons. In any case I declare that Italy did well to adhere to this Convention. If she had not done so, we should have appeared in the eyes of the world as Imperialists and jingoists, which is far from what we have in our hearts and minds. The fact that the Government asks the Chamber for this ratification gives an idea of the general trend of the Fascista foreign policy. (Applause.)

(The ratification of the Treaty is approved of without discussion, only the Communists being against it.)

MESSAGE FROM THE HON. MUSSOLINI TO THE ITALIANS IN AMERICA UPON THE OCCASION OF THE SIGNING OF THE CONVENTION FOR THE LAYING OF CABLES BETWEEN ITALY AND THE AMERICAN CONTINENT

The National Government, which has worked indefatigably for three months to set the country going upon the path to better fortunes, has in these days signed the Convention for the laying of cables which are to put our country into communication with you, who represent it in the numerous, rich and patriotic colonies beyond the Atlantic.

The enthusiasm for this work, so necessary to our life as a great nation, seemed at one time to have died down, but to-day with the rise of youth upon the scenes of Italian politics, that which it seemed would be relegated to some remote future has been transformed into a concrete and almost immediate reality. It is not you, who suffer almost more than any the pangs of homesickness for our adored country, who need to be shown the usefulness and necessity of this undertaking, which will be carried through in the shortest space of time possible. It will render frequent, daily and, above all, free the communications between the forty million Italians who live in our beautiful peninsula and the six millions who live beyond the ocean. All the Italians who can give financial and moral support must co-operate so that the undertaking may succeed. The Italian Government does not appeal in vain to its emigrant citizens, because it knows that distance makes the love of their country stronger and more intense.

The cables, which in two or three years will bind together Italy and the Americas across the boundless ocean, are like a gigantic arm which the country stretches out to her distant sons to draw them to her and to make them share more intimately her griefs and her joys, her work, her greatness and her glory.

MUSSOLINI.

ROME, _6th February 1923_.

FOR THE CARRYING OUT OF THE TREATY OF RAPALLO

Prefatory remarks to the Deputies, 8th February 1923, accompanying the Project of Law presented by the Hon. Mussolini, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister.

_The Prime Minister._ Honourable Members,—Last November I began my statement to Parliament of the programme of the National Government as regards foreign policy with the following words:

“The fundamental principle upon which our foreign policy is based is that treaties of peace, once signed and ratified, must be carried out whether they are good or bad. A self-respecting nation cannot follow another course. Treaties are not eternal or irreparable; they are chapters and not epilogues in history; to put them into practice means to try them. If in the course of execution they are proved to be absurd, this in itself may constitute the new element which may open the possibility of a further examination of the respective positions.”

The preceding Government had undertaken to present to Parliament the Agreements concluded at Santa Margherita, and signed at Rome on the 23rd October last. This undertaking I now fulfil.

These Agreements, contrary to what has been stated by someone, do not contain any new political pledges on the part of Italy, but regulate the relations between the Commune of Zara and the surrounding territory of Dalmatia, make clear some recognised rights on the part of citizens who are Italian by option, and endeavour, by means of friendly agreements, to find a possibility of giving and assuring a peaceful and industrious life to the troubled city of Fiume.

Owing to the way in which it is drawn up—whether on account of its diffuseness in those clauses which touch upon territorial questions, and its brevity in others, or whether on account of the seeming precedence given to the task of the commissions which ought, according to the letter of the treaty itself, to proceed exclusively to the settlement of territorial questions, while for the commissions to which were entrusted the settlement of other questions, limits were established, _a priori_, of a certain amplitude (Art. VI.)—the Treaty of Rapallo has given Yugoslavia the opportunity of maintaining that it was necessary first to effect the evacuation of the territories over which the sovereignty of the Serbo-Croat-Slovak Kingdom had been recognised, and then of proceeding to the stipulations of the agreements for the regulation of the new relations between the two countries.

They tried to justify this with arguments of a political nature. That is to say, they saw, in the first place, that the opposition met with in various Italian political spheres to the transactions concluded at Rapallo had stirred up the discontent and opposition of the Yugoslavs to the treaty; secondly, that the suspended execution of the Territorial Clauses, evidently attributed to some Italian parties, had given the impression to the Yugoslavs that Italy did not want to proceed to the carrying out of the treaty; thirdly, that, in consequence, the parliamentary opposition to a policy of friendliness towards Italy had become very marked, and rendered extremely difficult the adoption of direct provisions for the favourable regulation of these relations; and lastly, that if, instead, the prearranged course had been followed—that of proceeding, say, first to the evacuation of the territories—a radical change of position would have been realised, which would have allowed of the conclusion of more favourable agreements.

In Italy, on the other hand, the discontent was increased by an idea, entertained by many, that the new State, which had also arisen as the result of Italy’s victorious war, ought to give to the citizens, and in Italian interests, privileges no less great than those granted by the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, not taking into account that a national State, newly formed, may have particular exigencies and susceptibilities. The contrast of such opposite tendencies ended by creating in the relations between the two countries an atmosphere of uneasiness, which has at times reached an acute stage. And in Italy, the intransigence of some circles found justification, above all, in the weakness of the Governments, inasmuch as they had ground for fearing that all our rights would be trodden underfoot the moment we no longer had tangible securities in our hands. By the Agreements which are now handed to us, the Government of Belgrade has recognised the necessity of determining the régime which will have to regulate the reciprocal relations of the new boundaries before passing to the definite execution of the Territorial Clauses.

As for the substance of the Agreements, it is my conviction that their greater or less efficacy will depend upon the spirit in which they are carried out, because never, perhaps, has it been so true, as in this case, that the most perfect pacts become empty formulas if a doubtful or hostile spirit is brought to their execution.

I observe, in conclusion, that the uncertainty which has been manifested in the foreign policy of Italy as regards the Treaty of Rapallo has created a situation unfavourable to her, often preventing her from taking a decided attitude, which would have been in her interest, in most essential questions of a general nature, and making her appear in a light contradictory to her position as a Great Power.

My intense, though brief, experience of Government has shown me that it is not possible to carry out a strong foreign policy without having decisive and clearly defined attitudes as regards the other States.

Italy must get away from this weak situation, must regain her full liberty and efficiency of action also in this sphere. We shall, therefore, carry out the treaty resolutely and loyally, exacting its scrupulous observance. We shall watch over this as is our right and duty. And we wait for time to pass definite judgment upon the soundness and the fate of to-day’s Conventions.

With this understanding, I ask you, Honourable Members, to approve of the following Project of Law:

“Full and entire execution is given to the Agreements and Conventions signed at Rome on 23rd October 1921, between the Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of the Serbs, the Croats and the Slovenes for the execution of the Treaty of Rapallo of 12th November 1920.”

THE AGREEMENTS OF SANTA MARGHERITA, ITALY AND YUGOSLAVIA

Chamber of Deputies. Sitting of 10th February 1923.

_The Prime Minister._ Honourable Members,—With the approval of the Agreements of Santa Margherita, there came to an end what might be called “the Foreign Policy week” of the Italian Government; a week that might also be called pacific, since it began with the ratification of the Convention of Washington, which represents a pause in the great naval armament, and ends with the approval of the Agreements of Santa Margherita, which are the consequence of the Treaty of Rapallo already ratified and partly carried out.

In closing this week of the life of Parliament, I realise that the Chamber has done good work, and that it has during this session undoubtedly raised, in some ways, its prestige in the country. (Comments.) The questions with which the Chamber has dealt are large; they are not concerned with treaties and bills of minor importance, as some have said.

I refuse to embark, as was attempted on the Left, upon the usual discussions of a general character which do not conclude anything. While I am on this bench, the Chamber will not be changed into an electoral meeting.

_No Discussion._ There is nothing to discuss as regards home policy; that which happens, happens because it is my direct and clear desire and in accordance with my precise orders, and for which I naturally assume full personal responsibility. (Comments.)

It is useless, therefore, to go to the police officials, because the orders are mine. It does not affect me to know of the existence of a plot, in the sense usually attributed to that word; this will be settled by competent authorities. But there are those who thought that they would fight with impunity against the State and Fascismo. By now they must be disillusioned; and they will be more so in the future. The difference between the Liberal and Fascista States consists precisely in this: that the Fascista State does not defend itself only, but attacks, and those who intend to slander it abroad and to undermine its authority at home must be warned that their manœuvres bring with them unforeseen consequences. The enemies of the Fascisti must not be surprised if I treat them severely as enemies.

As regards the speech of Filippo Turati, my old fighting scent did not deceive me when a few days ago I refused the advances which came to me from that quarter through Gregorio Nofri, who, having been in Russia, felt the overpowering necessity of becoming anti-Bolshevist. Strayed sheep do not enter my fold. I am still faithful to my old tactics. I do not seek anybody. I do not refuse anybody. I put faith above all in my own forces. This is why, lately—after the meeting of the Great Fascista Council—I desired that there should be a closer union with those parties with which, fighting on national ground, friendly relations can be established for common work. But all this, let it be said at once, has not been done for parliamentary purposes, but for the sake of cohesion, unity and the pacification of the country.

I agree wholly with that which the Hon. Cavazzoni said yesterday with regard to the eight-hour day. I declared, before a meeting of eight hundred printers, that the eight-hour day represents an inviolable conquest on the part of the working classes. To-day there are those who dream of setting on foot a long discussion because opposing ideas are attributed to this and that member of the Cabinet. I give definite notice that the Government, in one of its forthcoming meetings, will decide once and for all the question of the eight-hour day. This having been said, and I hope that everybody will understand also the sense of all I have not said, I pass on to the subject of foreign policy.

_A Circumspect Policy of Activity._ In the meantime, I cannot accept the statement of the Hon. Lucci, who makes out that I am original. In the first place, he must give me time. In the second, there is no originality in foreign affairs, and I refuse to be original, if this originality would result in the slightest damage to my country. (Applause.) And I cannot accept, either, his too idealistic point of view. I see the world as it really is, that is to say, a world of unbounded egoism. If the world was Arcadia, it would be pleasant to amuse oneself with nymphs and shepherds; but I do not see anything of all this, and even when the more or less respectable standards of great principles are displayed, I see behind them interests which seek for a footing in the world. If all foreign policy were brought into the region of pure idealism, it would certainly not be Italy who would refuse to join in. But it is not so; hence all that the Hon. Lucci says belongs to the music of the most distant spheres. (Laughter.)

When I first took up my position on this bench, there was a moment of trepidation in certain sections of international politics. It was thought that the advent to power of Fascismo would mean, at the very least, war with Yugoslavia. After a few months, international opinion is fully reassured. The foreign policy of Fascismo cannot be, especially in these historic times, other than extremely circumspect, though at the same time very active.

The nation, having issued from the splendid and blood-stained travail of the war, is now fully intent on the work of building up its political, economic, financial and moral life. To compel it to make an effort which was not absolutely necessary, would be to follow an anti-national and suicidal policy. At London, as at Lausanne, Italian foreign policy has pursued this direction; at Lausanne, above all, the work of the Italian Delegation has been highly appreciated. If peace was not concluded there, it was not the fault, in any way, of Italy.

On the other hand, it is not good to speak too pessimistically of the development of affairs in the Eastern Mediterranean. It must not be thought that a certain harmless showing of teeth, sometimes the result of reciprocal restlessness, means the beginning of a war. I think that if Greece is prudent and the Entente remains firmly united—as in the case of their ships in the port of Smyrna—that Turkey too, since she has realised a large part of the programme laid down at Angora, will become reasonable. There is no reason, therefore, to fear military complications in Europe. Still Italy will keep a careful look-out that the disturbances resulting upon the events in the Ruhr district shall not have serious consequences among the countries of the Danube basin.

The situation on the Ruhr is stationary. I declare once again that Italy could not have followed a different line of policy. The time for fine gestures is past, as they are useless. The attitude which was advocated by certain elements on the Left would have been equally useless. We could not have prevented the French from marching on the Ruhr, and we might have encouraged the German resistance. Also the other plan of our mediation could not have been carried out, because no mediation of any kind is possible if it is not asked for and welcomed. (Applause.) Besides, England has limited herself to non-technical participation in the operations on the Ruhr, but has not pushed her difference of opinion with France to the point of withdrawing her troops from the Rhine. It is opportune to add that France has not asked us, up to now, for formal and concrete assistance. Should this happen, it is evident that Italy should reserve to herself the right of exposing all the complex system of the relations between the two countries. (Loud applause.)

_The Last Phase of the Adriatic Drama._ As to the Agreements of Santa Margherita, of which the Chamber is asked to approve, they represent the last phase of our sad and lamentable Adriatic drama. I could here reply in detail, I could show the Hon. Chiesa, for example, how only yesterday, 9th February, I received a telegram from Belgrade to this effect: “The Ministry of Yugoslavia communicates that orders have been sent to the authorities of Spalato that the premises of the school shall be evacuated and put at the disposal of the school itself, and that the house which adjoins the Church of Santo Spirito shall be emptied and handed over.” I could correct other inaccuracies, but it is not my business, it is not worth while to descend to the discussion of detail. I am always of the opinion that this Convention must be carried out in order to test it. At the same time, I do not feel like defending, at too great a length, a treaty of which I did not approve when it was concluded, and which I still hold to be, as regards a great many of its clauses, absurd and harmful to Italian interests. But matters, to-day, stand thus: either the treaty must be definitely enforced or denounced. Since, in present conditions, it cannot be denounced, for that would mean the reopening of all difficulties, there remains nothing but its loyal and scrupulous application on our part, as loyal and scrupulous as the application on the part of Belgrade will have to be. (Applause.)

To wait indefinitely for events which may occur is the worst of systems at this moment. It is necessary to put an end to a situation which has become unbearable and which gave us all the disadvantages without assuring us of what might be the advantages of clearly defined relations. Moreover it is difficult to understand why the Treaty of Rapallo, of all the treaties which have been made from the beginning of history, should be the only one irreparable and perpetual. No treaty has ever withstood new conditions of affairs developed by the progress of time. The essential thing, to my mind, is to place ourselves in such a position that an eventual revision will enable us to vindicate our eternal rights with dignity and power. (Applause.)

_The Government in favour of Fiume and Zara._ By the application of the Agreements of Santa Margherita the Fascista Government gives a solemn proof of its probity, its spirit of decision and of absolute loyalty. Belgrade must do the same. Yugoslavia must take into account the intrinsic value of this act, and follow, where the Italians who remain in Dalmatia are concerned, a policy of freedom and judicious action; as a policy which would tend to suppress the Italian element in Dalmatia would not be tolerated by the Fascista Government. (Applause.) By the ratification of these Agreements the Government offers Yugoslavia the opportunity of furthering the economic relations between the two countries.

The Government, which has already done all it can, within the limits of its possibilities, for Fiume and Zara, will continue to work with the utmost energy and diligence for these two cities. The evacuation of Susak having been carried out—and of Susak only, because the Delta and Porto Baros will still be occupied by our troops until Fiume has become juridically a perfect State—Italy will continue to interest herself in the fate of Fiume, so that she may be restored in a short time to her ancient splendour.

As for Zara, her destiny is serious and difficult, and I, for one, understand the tragedy of that city and the suffering of all the Italians scattered in Dalmatia up as far as Cattaro. But Zara, the sentinel of Dalmatia, is ready to bear, with the spirit of absolute national discipline, the completion of the last act of the Adriatic drama.

The Government will meet its needs immediately, because Zara must live, because Zara beyond the Adriatic represents one of the most vital portions of the Italian people. And the people of Zara and Dalmatia may be sure that the Government will watch over their fate with the most loving care. These are not merely words spoken to help them through this difficult time; deeds will follow them.

As for public, national opinion, it is unanimous in feeling that these Agreements had to be applied in order that Italy might be free in the ever closer international competition, free to carry out a policy of defence of her interests and free to influence with increasing activity the course of events. I think that the best part of the Italian people agree in this line of home and foreign policy. (Applause.)

QUESTIONS OF FOREIGN POLICY BEFORE THE SENATE. THE RUHR; FIUME; ZARA AND DALMATIA

Sitting of the Senate, 16th February 1923.

_The Prime Minister._ Honourable Senators,—After having written the prefaces and the introductions to the Bills, and after the speech made in the other branch of Parliament, I do not think that there remains much to say.

The very rapidity of the discussion itself bears witness to the fact that all these treaties and agreements are already, in a certain sense, superseded. By this I do not wish to deny their importance, but it is a question of treaties and conventions of some time back, and life to-day moves at a very great rate. I do not disguise the fact that in continuing the eternal theory of conferences, people have reason to show a certain scepticism about the likelihood of results. (Laughter.)

_Why Italy intervenes._ Senator Crespi tried to carry the discussion on to general ground—the burning ground of debts and reparations. He demands new pacts; but there are none. Perhaps there cannot be any. With reference to a recent appeal for Italy’s intervention in this matter, if responsible members of Governments, and especially those engaged or interested in the conflict, turned to Italy, the only nation in the world which, at this moment, is following a policy of peace—(Applause.)—I should not hesitate one moment in answering the appeal.

There is a new factor, Senator Crespi, which it would be a good thing to take into consideration, though it is one which tends to stifle rather than arouse enthusiasm. It is that England and the United States have come to an agreement. England has undertaken to pay her debts to America. It is no good, therefore, for us to entertain too many illusions about the likelihood of a cancellation of our debts. It would be perfectly just, I think, from the strictly moral point of view; but the criteria and principles of absolute morality do not as yet guide the relations of the peoples. (Approval.)

It was said in a foreign Parliament that Italy had attempted to mediate between France and Germany. No such attempt was ever made. My duty was to make investigations in the European capitals, and I have done so. But having gathered that there was no possibility of proceeding in that direction, I drew back, as to continue would have been a great mistake. I think, however, that the crisis has reached its culminating point. It is a question now of knowing whether the Entente still exists and still will exist. (Comments.)

I do not think that I shall be revealing secrets if I say here what meets the eye of anyone who reads the daily news in the papers. Not a single event has occurred, not a single question arisen, without the problem of the unity of action of the Entente having been brought forward. Of necessity in this political situation there can be no improvised action and still less originality. All foreign policies, not excluding that of Russia, which is simply terrifying in form and method, are of a cautious and circumspect nature at this moment. There is no reason why Italy should follow a different course. When it is a question of the interests of our nation and of forty million inhabitants who have the right to live, it is necessary to be careful about improvisations, and it is necessary to take into account that, besides our wishes, there are also the wishes of others.

If we had coalfields; if we had in some way solved the problem of raw materials; if we could dispose of large reserves of gold in order to keep up the value of our money, we could follow a given policy, even one of generosity towards Germany. But we cannot afford the luxury of prodigality and generosity when we have to toil to carry on life, when we have to summon all our energies to avoid falling into the abyss.

And so you will agree with me, Honourable Members, that Italy could not keep aloof from that which is taking place on the Ruhr, could not deprive herself of participation in an economical and technical capacity. It is always better, in my opinion, to be present, because sometimes complicated problems find unexpected solutions. It was not possible to run the risk capriciously of not being present, in the event—not at all improbable—of an economic agreement, as regards iron and coal, between Germany and France. (Applause.)

_Zara and Dalmatia._ Coming to the Agreements of Santa Margherita, I understand perfectly the grief and anguish expressed in the words of Senators Tamassia and Tivaroni. Undoubtedly sentiment is a great spiritual force, both in the lives of individuals and of peoples, but it cannot be the one dominating influence of foreign policy.

It is necessary to have the courage to say that Italy cannot remain for ever penned up in one sea, even if it is the Adriatic. Beyond the Adriatic there is the Mediterranean and other seas which can interest us. The Treaty of Rapallo was, in my opinion, a lamentable transaction, which was the result of a difficult internal situation and of a foreign policy which was not marked by its excessive autonomy. And here allow me to repeat that a strong and dignified foreign policy cannot be carried out if the nation does not present a daily example of iron discipline. (Approval.) I do not think that these Agreements of Santa Margherita sign the death warrant of Zara and Dalmatia. With the last concessions we have saved the use of the Italian language for our brothers there. Now I think it was Gioberti who said that where the language is spoken there is the nation. For this reason, if these brothers of ours can speak, write and learn in their mother tongue, I think that already one of the foundations of their Italian nationality is saved.

For a decade the Italians of Zara and Dalmatia have resisted the furious attempts at denationalisation made by the Hapsburg Monarchy. In those days Italy could not give active assistance to those brothers; now you see that she has another realisation of herself. Those brothers of ours, who might have felt themselves forgotten if the Agreements of Santa Margherita were applied by another nation, cannot feel the same when the definite and necessary application of the Treaty of Rapallo is carried out by the Government over which I have the honour of presiding and of which the members are those who won the victory. (Applause.) We firmly believe that the strict and scrupulous application of the Agreements of Santa Margherita on our part, as well as on the part of Yugoslavia, will save the Italian character of Zara and Dalmatia. There is no need for me to repeat that treaties are transactions, and are like the steps of an equilibrist. No treaty is eternal and perpetual; all that is happening to-day under our eyes gives us clear warning.

_The Question of Fiume._ We shall then carry out these Agreements immediately and loyally. It must not be thought that the Third Zone is a kind of vast continent, and that in it we have immense forces. It is a question of the territory round Zara and a group of islands; all told, we have only 120 policemen, 18 custom-house guards, and 20 soldiers. At Susak we have a battalion of infantry. It will be a case of turning them back to the line of Eneo, because until it is known what is to become of Fiume, Porto Baros and the Delta, they will remain under the control of Italian troops. (Applause.) What is this Arbitration Commission? It represents an attempt to bring about the existence of that more or less vital creature, first conceived at Rapallo, known as the Independent State of Fiume. (Laughter.) One thing is certain, at any rate, and that is that there are three Italians on the Commission. And another thing is certain, and that is that it is not absolutely necessary for Fiume to become a new province of the realm. That there should actually be a prefect at Fiume is to me a secondary matter; the important thing is that Fiume shall keep her spirit sound and intact, that she shall remain Italian, and that such means shall be found that shall make her a city which lives in itself and for itself and not only through the largess of the Italian State. (Loud applause.)

The Government, which sometimes makes deeds precede words, has already taken steps for the provision of Zara, economically, politically and spiritually. The same has been done for Dalmatia. It is necessary to admit frankly that since the coming of the Fascista Government the Yugoslavs have been less intransigent with regard to us. There is no doubt that the definite carrying out of the Treaty of Rapallo is the cause of great grief to the citizens of Fiume and Zara, of Dalmatia and many in the old kingdom.

(Cries of “It is true.”)

_Mussolini._ At other times there might perhaps have been difficulties. But the Government over which I have the honour of presiding does not hesitate; it faces difficulties, I was almost going to say seeks them. I intend to regulate as soon as possible all that more or less successful heritage of foreign policy left me by my predecessors. It is no good being alarmed by what happens. I have what I dare to call a Roman conception of history and life. Things must never be thought to be irreparable. Rome did not believe in the irreparable, even after the battle of Cannæ, when she lost the flower of her generation. On the contrary, you will remember that the Senate went out to meet Terentius Varro, who, having wished to undertake the battle against the advice of Paulus Æmilius, was certainly one of those responsible for the defeat. Rome fell, and rose up again; she marched slowly, but she marched; she had a goal to reach, and she intended to reach it. Italy, our Italy, the Italy which we carry in our hearts, and which is our pride, must be like this; the Italy which accepts her destiny when it is imposed, by hard necessity, but only while she prepares her spirit and her forces to overcome it some day. (Loud and prolonged applause, many Senators advance to congratulate the Prime Minister. Silence being once more established, Mussolini continues.)

I propose that the Senate, having concluded the discussion suspended yesterday evening, should be adjourned. I do not know for how long. The Government must be left free to work and to prepare work for the Chamber and the Senate.

Meanwhile, I feel the necessity of thanking the President, who has directed the proceedings with that tact and high wisdom for which he is known. I am glad that the Senate, in approving of these political and commercial treaties—which are two aspects of the same policy—has thus brought to a conclusion a part of our foreign policy. I beg the President to accept the expression of my profound admiration.

_Tittoni, President of the Senate_, replies, reciprocating the words of the Prime Minister and praising his spirit and his patriotic faith. He pays tribute to the way in which the Hon. Mussolini has assumed, with a firm hand, the direction of public interests.

A REVIEW OF EUROPEAN POLITICS IN THEIR RELATION WITH ITALY

Speech delivered before the Cabinet, 2nd March 1923.

_The Prime Minister._ Honourable Colleagues,—The situation on the Ruhr has remained stationary during these last weeks. While the two disputants seem to settle themselves more rigidly in their respective positions of passive resistance on the part of Germany and active pressure on the part of Belgium and France, England has not changed her attitude of benign disapproval and Italy has neither increased nor reduced the number of technical experts representing her on the Ruhr. So far there has not arisen the new factor which would lead, in one sense or the other, to the solution of the crisis. This new factor could consist either in a direct proposal made by one disputant to the other, or in a request for mediation, or in the modification, on a political basis, of the aims which France says she has in view—aims of an economic nature, which so far have not gone beyond the limit of the payment of reparations—or else in an increase of the opposition of England which would lead to the withdrawal of her troops from the Rhine.

It seems, however, clear—notwithstanding the solicitations of an element of the advanced democracy—that England maintains her attitude of circumspect waiting, without impatience or precipitation. The war, which at the present moment has for its theatre the basin of the Ruhr, is one of attrition, and it may yet last for some time, in spite of the general expectation all over Europe of a rapid conclusion. As I have already said both in the Senate and the Chamber, Italy will not refuse her assistance in any attempt that may be made to render normal the situation in Central Europe as soon as possible, and of this she has given tangible proof in the help afforded, before any other country, to Austria. The solidarity which Italy was bound to show towards France upon the common ground of reparations, has given rise to projects of greater importance, which might have been interpreted in certain circles as having been directed against other Powers or to the exclusion of some one of them. An official declaration on the part of the Government has established the truth of the matter. The campaign in certain papers has not been approved of and still less authorised. That it is very opportune that friendly and cordial relations should exist between Italy and France is the sincere conviction of my Government. It is very much to be desired that the economic relations between these two neighbouring countries shall be intensified and strengthened, and the Government has worked in this direction in concluding the recent commercial agreement. But this has nothing to do with a real treaty of alliance, as has been suggested in certain sections of public opinion. The Fascista Government intends on the whole to follow a line of foreign policy as far as possible autonomous, and it could never adhere to alliances which did not protect the interests of Italy in the highest degree and which did not constitute a solid guarantee of peace and prosperity for Italy in

## particular and Europe in general.

Fascista Italy cannot and will not adhere to a system of alliances which does not take into account these fundamental premises. For her to pledge herself in any way definitely while the Entente is still in a state of crisis, and there are still many obscure points in the general situation in the world, would be unpardonable.

_Turkey and Peace._ No reliable news has hitherto reached us as to the intentions of the Government at Angora concerning the acceptance or non-acceptance of the projected treaty presented by the Allies to the Turkish Delegation at Lausanne. Information is contradictory, because, whereas on the one hand it is said that, in spite of the moderating influence of Mustapha Kemal and Ismet Pasha, the Assembly of Angora has shown itself adverse to some of the conditions already accepted by the Turkish Delegation at Lausanne and intends to re-discuss the projects of the treaty, article by article; on the other hand, especially from British quarters, it is continually said that the Turks seem favourably disposed towards the rapid conclusion of peace.

Whatever may be the decision of the Government at Angora, it must be remembered that, once the deliberations of the Assembly are at an end, the Turks will, by means of the Secretary-General of the Conference, who remains for the present at Lausanne, give a definite reply to the Allies concerning eventual requests and proposals.

Between the Governments at Rome, London and Paris there is in consequence an active diplomatic correspondence in progress with the object of establishing the common line of action to be adopted by the Allies in certain important questions, such as that of Capitulations and those concerning the Economic Clauses, as well as the course to be adopted in the eventual resumption of the work of the Conference, if the Turkish proposals are such as to furnish a serious basis for discussion. The British Government is showing itself to be very rigid in this respect and seems not to wish to allow discussion upon other than these three points:

(_a_) The formula of the Turko-Grecian reparations.

(_b_) The formula of the judicial guarantees for foreigners.

(_c_) Economic Clauses.

As regards the first, it is a question of putting in the hands of an Arbitration Commission the reciprocal claims of the two countries, since the Turks do not even admit that the Greeks have any claims to present. For the second, it is a question of finding a formula which will provide more efficient guarantees for foreigners where the searching of private houses and arrests are concerned; and as regards the third, of resuming the discussion and negotiations upon all economic questions and of handing them over to another commission to be dealt with apart from the treaty of peace.

The Italian Government is fully convinced of the necessity of bringing about the conclusion of this peace in order that grave dangers, derived from the actual situation in the East, may be avoided, and in order that normal conditions, favourable to the free exercise of trade and industry, may be re-established. Although we are resolute in demanding from Turkey the acceptance of the really moderate conditions proposed by the Allies, we do not think, however, that every and any request, not connected with the three points mentioned above, made by Turkey, should be excluded _a priori_, but rather that the possibility of examination without preconception should always be considered where some well-defined and limited proposal is concerned.

As to procedure, the British Government would be inclined towards the renewal of the discussion at Constantinople, while the Italian Government, realising the dangers which would menace the success of the negotiations in the surroundings of the Turkish capital, would prefer that it should take place at Lausanne with a limited gathering of technical delegates.

In any case it will not be possible to make a definite decision about this before knowing the answer of the Turkish Government, which is to be decided by the vote of the Grand Assembly.

_Memel and the Polish Frontier._ The question of Memel has been solved in theory, and it is not probable that in practice overpowering obstacles will be met with, since in the solution the rights of both the Lithuanians and the Poles have been taken into account.

This incident has afforded an opportunity of examining generally the still uncertain position of Poland with regard to her boundaries. It seemed to the Italian Government that such uncertainty was pregnant with dangers, and that it was of the utmost importance to arrive, as soon as possible, at the recognition of the frontier, the delimitation of which is reserved for the Allied Powers by the Treaty of Versailles. Consequently, at the Conference of Ambassadors at Paris, the Government proposed that such a delimitation should be proceeded with at once, a proposal which, not having appeared at first to meet with the approval of the other representatives, has recently been presented again by the French Government, and to which we, for the sake of consistency, have adhered.

As far as the boundaries between Lithuania and Poland are concerned, we should have preferred the League of Nations to have been called upon to pass an opinion, so that the largest number of States possible should be interested in guaranteeing the decision. Our Allies, however, having drawn attention to the fact that the procedure of the League of Nations is of a length and tediousness which, at the present moment, it is better to avoid, we have also adhered on this point to the French proposal to hand the question over to the Conference of Ambassadors.

We truly hope that Poland and Lithuania will accept the decisions which the Conference of Ambassadors thinks it just to make. And this is one of those typical cases in which Poland and Lithuania must take into account the inevitable necessity of sentiment yielding to reason.

_The Problems of the Adriatic. Fiume; Abbazia; Zara._ The Italian Delegation and part of that of Yugoslavia have already arrived at Abbazia. At present work has not begun, but will begin as soon as possible. At our request the Government at Belgrade has replaced Admiral Priza by Signor Rybar as her representative. The accusations against Admiral Priza, as a participator in the legal proceedings which led to the condemnation and death of Nazario Sauro, are well known. The Government at Belgrade showed itself to be appreciative of the eminently moral reasons for our objection and consented to the substitution—even at the cost of facing the criticism of the Italophobe opposition—with a good-will which seems an excellent omen for the future.

Our Delegation, too, to the Commission for the Evacuation of the Third Zone is already at Zara, and since the Yugoslav Delegation has also arrived, work can begin at once.

An incident which occurred the night before last, when abuse of Zara and Italy was shouted from a passing Yugoslav steamer within sight of that port, has already evoked spontaneous and immediate apologies from the Yugoslav consul to our prefect. But I have urged Belgrade to prevent such deplorable, although unimportant, incidents from occurring again.

I must say that, hitherto, the Yugoslav Government has shown itself to be animated on the whole by excellent feeling, and loyally co-operates in seeking to smooth the way in this period of important and delicate negotiations which has just begun.

As for the attitude of the national elements at Zara and Fiume, they remain inspired by a high sense of discipline and recognition of the necessity of subordinating private interests to the general welfare of the nation.

_The Conference of the Südbahn._ The work of the Conference of the Südbahn for the purpose of technical and administrative reorganisation has made sufficient progress. Both the States interested and the company have presented their proposals for amendments, in which they try, without interfering with the basis of the projects under discussion, to lessen the financial burden.

The project of the agreement concerning through traffic, which contains regulations guaranteeing the regularity of the organisation of the railways, facilities for the customs and sanitary services, and the setting in order of the international stations, as well as regulations regarding the railway rates of the through trains, has already been discussed. The States have shown themselves to be of one opinion with regard to the intentions of the project, which tend to unite in a special convention all the different regulations which have issued from the treaties of peace and the projects of the Convention concluded at Barcelona and Portorose.

The project, moreover, is directed particularly towards reviving the powers of the Convention of Berne in respect of international traffic. The scheme of agreement for the technical and administrative reorganisation of the Südbahn admits the possibility of direct control on the part of the State as well as on the part of the company. It aims also at the maintenance of that unity of commercial direction which, without offending the sovereignty of the States with regard to tariffs, will allow of international traffic and the direct despatching of goods, and will take into account the special exigencies of trade which require

## particular measures and which, not being prejudicial to the States, will

be advantageous as regards the economic relations between them.

The work of the Conference will probably last another week on account of the complicated and difficult character of the various financial, technical and administrative problems to be solved.

THE ITALO-YUGOSLAV CONFERENCE FOR THE COMMERCIAL TREATY

Opening address delivered in Rome at the Palazzo Chigi, on 6th March 1923, before the members of the Conference.

Gentlemen,—I am particularly glad to open this meeting and welcome cordially the delegates of the Kingdom of the Serbs, the Croats and the Slovenes. I attach great importance to this meeting and to its results, which I am confident will be excellent.

You know that at Abbazia the Adriatic question is being settled, so that at the present time the field may be cleared of those special problems which up to to-day have not permitted an understanding with Yugoslavia.

Along with that of Abbazia, this meeting, convened with the object of linking together more closely commercial relations between the two countries, attains a great importance. Italian public opinion and the Fascista Government consider that, together with political relations, there must be close and profitable economic ties.

I am certain that the Italian delegates will make every effort to arrive at this agreement and I do not doubt that the Yugoslav Delegation will do the same. This will be in the common interest of the two countries. (Applause.)

“HISTORY TELLS US THAT STRICT FINANCE HAS BROUGHT NATIONS TO SECURITY”

Speech delivered at the Ministry of Finance on 7th March 1923, where Mussolini officially handed over to the Minister, Hon. de Stefani, the Budgets of Home and Foreign Affairs, to be revised in accordance with a decision of the Council of Ministers.

Honourable Ministers, Colleagues, Gentlemen,—It might be asked, Why such fuss, why so many soldiers for a ceremony which could be described as purely administrative, such as the consignment of my two Budgets to the Finance Minister? We must answer this question thus: For various motives, some more plausible than others. The solemnity which accompanies this ceremony serves to demonstrate the immense importance the Government attaches to a rapid restoration of financial normality. We have formally promised to make a start towards balancing the State Budget, and with this promise we wish to keep faith at whatever cost. We must be convinced that if the whole falls, the part falls too; and that if the economic life of the nation falls in ruin, all that is in the nation—institutions, men, classes—is destined to suffer the same fate.

And why these soldiers? To show that the Government has strength. I declare that, if possible, I want to govern with the consent of the majority of the people, but whilst waiting for this consent to be formed, to be nourished, to be strengthened, I collect the maximum available force. Because it may happen, by chance, that force may aid in rediscovering consent, and, at any rate, should consent be lacking, force still remains. In all the measures—even the most drastic—the Government takes, we shall put before the people this dilemma: either accept them from a high spirit of patriotism or submit to them. This is how I conceive the State, and how I understand the art of governing the nation.

I am glad to find myself before you—(continued the President, turning to the officials of the Ministry of Finance present at the ceremony)—because the Minister has spoken very favourably to me of the high officials of the Ministry of Finance. He told me that some of you often work up to sixteen hours a day. Well done! Those are long hours, but it is a splendid example. But if they were not sufficient, it would be necessary to work even twenty hours. Only thus, gentlemen, shall we rise up out of the sea of our present difficulties and reach the shore.

We must inculcate in our spirit a sense of absolute discipline. We must consider that the money of the Treasury is sacred above everything else. It does not rain down from Heaven, nor can it even be made with a turn of the printing press, which, if I could, I would like to smash to pieces. It is made out of the sweat, it might be said of the blood, of the Italian people, who work to-day, but who will work more to-morrow. Every _lira_, every _soldo_, every _centesimo_ of this money must be considered sacred and should not be spent unless reasons of strict and proved necessity demand it. _The history of peoples tells us that strict finance has brought nations to security._ I feel that each one of you believes in this truth, which is fully proved by history.

With this conviction I bid you farewell. (Applause.)

“IT IS NOT THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM OF EUROPE ALONE THAT WE HAVE TO RESTORE TO ITS FULL EFFICIENCY”

Speech delivered at the Palazzo dell’ Esposizione in Rome, on 18th March 1923, before the International Congress of the Chambers of Commerce.

Gentlemen,—The Government over which I have the honour to preside and which I represent is glad to welcome you to Rome and offers you a deferential and cordial greeting, which I extend also to the foreign representatives, who have wished to honour us by their presence. The fact that your important Congress is held in the capital of Italy, only five months after the events which gave the control of public affairs to the youthful forces of war and of victory is the best declaration to the world that the Italian nation is rapidly returning to the full normality of her political and economical life. In a meeting like this I shall not linger on the former, but shall briefly dwell on the latter subject.

The economic policy of the new Italian Government is simple. I consider that the State should renounce its industrial functions, especially of a monopolistic nature, for which it is inadequate. I consider that a Government which means to relieve rapidly peoples from after-war crises should allow free play to private enterprise, should renounce any meddling or restrictive legislation, which may please the Socialist demagogues, but proves, in the end, as experience shows, absolutely ruinous.

It is, therefore, time to remove from the shoulders of the producing forces of every nation the last remains of that machinery which was called the trappings of war and to examine economic problems, no longer with a state of mind veiled by the influence of particular interests, as they had to be examined during the war. I do not believe that the aggregate of forces, which in industry, in agriculture, in commerce, in banking, in transportation may be called by the world-name of capitalism, is near its downfall, as certain doctrinarians belonging to the Social-Extremists have claimed. One of the great historical experiences of which we have been witnesses proves that all the systems of associated economics which do away with private initiative and individual effort fail more or less pitifully in a short time. But free initiative does not exclude an agreement between groups, which will be realised all the easier when there is a loyal protection of each separate interest. Your Chamber of Commerce follows exactly this programme of enquiry, and of stabilisation, of co-ordinating and conciliating the various interests. You are here in Rome to discuss the best means to revive the great currents of trade which, before the war, had increased general wealth and brought all people to a high standard of living. These are weighty and delicate problems which often cause discussions of a political and moral nature. To solve them we must be guided by the conviction that _it is not the economic system of Europe alone that we have to restore to its full efficiency_, but that there are also countries and continents which may offer a field for a larger economic activity in the near future. It is not without significance that the powerful Republic of the United States has sent such a large number of her representatives to Rome. It means that, if official political America still keeps an attitude of reserve, economic America feels that she cannot remain indifferent to what may or may not be done in Europe.

There is no doubt that Governments—beginning with mine—will examine with the utmost care and give due weight to the decisions which are arrived at by this Congress. (Loud cheers.)

“ONLY THOSE WHO PROFITED BY THE WAR GRUMBLED AND STILL GRUMBLE, CURSED AND STILL CURSE AT THE WAR”

Speech delivered on 29th March 1923, in Milan, at Villa Mirabello, before blind ex-soldiers.

My dear Comrades!—When a little time ago one of your officers told me that you never grumbled at the war, even when Italy seemed overwhelmed, I was not surprised because only those who profited by the war grumbled and still grumble, cursed and still curse at the war. Those who have performed their duty do not grumble, do not curse, but accept their sacrifice with Roman simplicity and austerity.

When I am amongst the maimed I live again the greatest days of our war. And I declare to you that a Government which did not bear you in mind would be unworthy, and would only be worthy of being overthrown by the fury of the people.

But the Government which I represent is entirely formed of men who have fought from the Stelvio to the sea of Trieste, and such men cannot ignore the sacrifices accomplished.

I express to you here this morning all my brotherly sympathy and admiration as an ex-soldier, as a man, as an Italian, and I embrace you all. And by this act I intend to honour and exalt all those who contributed to the greatness of the mother country by the deeds accomplished and by the shedding of their blood. (Applause.)

“PATRIOTISM IS NOT FORMED BY MERE WORDS”

Speech delivered at Arosio, near Milan, on 30th March 1923, before ex-soldiers suffering from shell-shock.

Fellow-Soldiers,—I did well to accept your courteous invitation, in the first place, as it always gives me great pleasure to offer to my comrades of the trenches the proof of my fraternal sympathy as a soldier, as a man, as an Italian, and as the head of the Government.

As I said yesterday to the blind ex-soldiers at Villa Mirabello, so I say to you. The Government intends to protect you, intends to satisfy your requests, to defend your material and moral rights.

Your invitation has given me the opportunity to see this splendid work, which represents the results and the harmonious synthesis of faith in your undertakings and of noble love for our country.

Everything that is done for the maimed and for ex-soldiers is a small thing in face of the sacrifice of so many Italians who gave their life on the battlefields or who shed their blood.

What is done here is not only a manifestation of piety, it is an expression of national solidarity and of conscientious patriotism. Because patriotism is not formed by mere words, it is formed by deeds, by example, by showing oneself worthy before one’s own conscience of the quality of being Italian.

The Government intends to exalt all the forces of the country, all the moral forces arising from our victory; it means daily and disinterestedly to defend all those who by their deeds and their blood have contributed to this glorious victory. (Applause.)

QUESTIONS OF FOREIGN POLICY BEFORE THE CABINET

Speech delivered before the Cabinet on 7th April 1923.

_The Abbazia Conference._ Colleagues,—The Commission appointed according to the Agreements of Santa Margherita, which met, as is known, on 1st March, started its work by the arrangement for the evacuation of Susak, which took place on the following day. It is opportune here to note that the Italian Delegation wished to express to the world and to the Italian troops its gratitude for the courteous and chivalrous behaviour during the whole occupation of Susak.

The Commission decided, at that time, a provisional settlement for communication and traffic between Fiume and Susak, which was made effective for two months, in view of the eventuality of the prorogation of the sittings of the Commission. The frontier traffic between Castua and the adjacent territories was also organised.

With reference to the military operations, the Serbo-Croatian-Slovak Delegation has at once recorded an objection, on the grounds that with the evacuation of Susak, it did not consider that that stipulated by the Agreements of Santa Margherita had been carried out, seeing that the Delta and Porto Sauro remained occupied by Italian troops. Against this assertion the Italian Delegation replied that Italy had carried out to the letter the provisions of the Agreements of Santa Margherita, which refer purely and simply to the evacuation of Susak.

Apart from this objection, the Commission has continued its work and the Italian Delegation has put forward a project for a Consortium in the port of Fiume between the three interested States. Such a project, in a general way, attributes to Fiume the character of an international port, leaving the possibility of the enjoyment of special privileges and guarantees to each of the contracting States for a freer development of the traffic which affects them. With regard to such a project, the Serbo-Croatian-Slovak Delegation has put forward its objections, presenting on its own account a draft of a project, according to which the Sauro Basin and the Delta would be excluded from the port of Fiume and assigned exclusively to Yugoslavia.

The Italian Delegation has formally declared that it could not accede to any pact whatsoever which, destroying the unity of the port of Fiume, would irremediably damage the future of the new State, and, in answer to the objections raised by the Serbo-Croatian-Slovak Delegation to the Italian project, our Delegation has presented another plan, in which full consideration was given to the said exceptions. But, in the course of the following discussion, the points of view of the two Delegations could not be reconciled. The sittings were suspended on 24th March, to be resumed shortly.

_The new Lausanne Conference._ Following the counterproposals put forward by the Government of Angora, the British Government has convened in London an Inter-Allied meeting in order to examine what modifications to the drafting and the substance of the Peace Treaty presented to the Turks on the 30th of last January may be possible. The Allied Representatives at this meeting have decided to invite the Turks to resume as soon as possible at Lausanne the discussion with the Allied experts and have at the same time come to an agreement as to the line of conduct to follow in such a discussion.

In the text of the reply sent to the Government of Angora, which has been published, the Allies have deemed it opportune to insert some remarks and objections on certain points of special importance, as for example that regarding the removal of the Economic Clauses asked by the Turks, to which the Allies cannot accede; that concerning some part of the judiciary declarations and the Turkish demands relative to substantial modifications of the Territorial Clauses already agreed upon, such as that of Castelrosso, whose restoration to Turkey could not be countenanced.

It is to be hoped that the good-will that both parties have the intention of displaying in the imminent negotiations of Lausanne may bring about speedily the conclusion of peace in the East, which corresponds with the warmest wish and interest of the Italian Government.

_Italo-Polish Relations._ Mr. Skrzynski came to Milan to express to me the gratitude of Poland for the friendly attitude of Italy in the determination of the Polish frontier, which took place recently. Expressing a personal view, I mentioned to him the advisability of a larger extension of autonomy to the population of Eastern Galicia. I profited by the occasion to examine with the Minister for Foreign Affairs some concrete points, which, with regard to oil and coal, concern more closely our commerce. I recognised with satisfaction the friendly disposition which animates the Polish Government and I was struck with the impression that whenever important Italian enterprises should wish to develop their activity in Poland, they would find there the best of welcomes. The representatives of some Italian firms of standing, moreover, are now already in negotiation at Warsaw, and the results, I hope, will in a short time confirm the favourable attitude of the Polish Foreign Minister.

_The Visit of the Austrian Chancellor Seipel._ In the conversations I had at Milan with the Austrian Chancellor, both parties expressed the reciprocal desire and interest to improve further relations between the two countries. The Chancellor has warmly thanked the Italian Government for the helpful action on behalf of Austria and has asked our support for the satisfactory solution of all problems which might contribute to the economic reconstruction of the Republic. I gave favourable assurances and, consequently, have accordingly hastened the negotiations already begun for a commercial agreement and I have had examined numerous questions which had been dragging on unsolved for some time.

It is to be hoped that, the last difficulties having been removed, the Commercial Treaty may be signed within a few days. The Clauses of the Portorose Conventions, signed and not ratified by the contracting

## parties, will be included in it. The Chancellor has asked that the small

Austrian properties in Italy and the historical Austrian Institute in Rome should be restored to Austria, as was done for Germany. While I declared myself favourable to his requests, I have, for my part, reminded him of the situation of Italian property in Austria and have obtained from the Chancellor satisfactory assurances concerning this and other subjects. With reference to the Conventions signed at the Conference of Rome, some of which have notable importance for Italy, the Chancellor has promised to proceed to their ratification without further delay.

_The Commercial Relations with Austria._ The negotiations with Austria are being conducted with a spirit of the greatest good-will on both sides, in order to arrive in a short space of time at an agreement which should establish regular and profitable relations between the two countries and also after the first period, during which the economic relations between the two States are regulated by the Treaty of St. Germain. If some difficulty still remains, this is due in the first place to the fact that it is not the case of negotiating pacts which, with regard to their application and their consequences, could remain restricted to the exchanges between the two neighbouring States, but are destined to have a repercussion also on our relations with the other States which, for their imports into Italy, enjoy the “most favoured nation” clause.

This fact, independently of the specially favourable conditions by which certain important industries, competing with ours, are working in Austria, compels us to be very cautious in adhering to the many Austrian requests, and all the more that, for financial and other reasons, Austria is herself not in a position to meet our demands to the extent which is essential to us. The two Delegations have, however, already arrived at an agreement on most of the questions which have been the subject of reciprocal demands, and now certain controversies remain to be solved which, although they offer the greatest interests for both sides, it is to be hoped may be solved with satisfaction to all.

Special attention has been paid by the two Delegations to the study of the questions relative to the traffic through the port of Trieste and the regulation of the frontier traffic for the protection of the interests of the populations of the zone near the frontier of the two States. On this subject agreement may be said to be complete.

_The Commercial Treaty with Yugoslavia._ The negotiations with Yugoslavia, which should lead to the regulation of all the economic and financial questions still pending between the two States, have been conducted so far on the Treaty of Commerce, which, except for the part concerning the Italian proposals on the tariffs, may be said to be already agreed upon by the two Delegations. With reference to the other subjects under examination, of which only a small part has been possible to discuss at the same time as the negotiations for the Commercial Treaty, the Yugoslav Delegation is now awaiting further instructions from Belgrade. Besides the commercial negotiations I have mentioned, there are others proceeding for a Commercial Treaty with Spain. Negotiations will shortly be opened for commercial agreements with Siam, Finland, Esthonia, Lithuania, Lettonia and Albania.

(After a short discussion, in which several Ministers participated, the Cabinet approved the declarations of the Prime Minister.)

“MINE IS NOT A GOVERNMENT WHICH DECEIVES THE PEOPLE”

Speech delivered at the Palazzo Municipale on 2nd June 1923, to the _contadini_ of Rovigo.

Fascisti,—How shall I find adequate words to thank you for this magnificent welcome? A few moments ago your mayor gave voice to the greeting of the city and the province. To-day I have passed through your fertile lands, furrowed by rivers, exploited by your tenacious work. All Italy must be grateful to this industrious people, who, too, having realised the beautiful and supreme interests of the nation, has now all the more the right to be treated with greater friendship and consideration.

I know that I am speaking to an assembly where workers are certainly in enormous majority. Well, I say to them with calm words and with a still calmer conscience that the Government which I have the honour to represent is not, cannot, and will never be against the working classes. (Loud applause.) Six months of Government are still too few for a programme to be carried through, but, to my mind, they are sufficient to give an idea of its _directives_ which to-day are precise and sound. _Mine is not a Government which deceives the people._ (Applause.) We cannot, we shall not, make promises if we are not mathematically sure of being able to fulfil them. The people have been too long deceived and mystified for the men of our generation to continue this low trade.

We have traced a furrow, very clear-cut and deep, between that which was the Italy of yesterday and that which is the Italy of to-day. In the latter, all classes must have a sphere of action for their fruitful co-operation. The struggle between classes may be an episode in the life of a people, it cannot be the daily system, as it would mean the destruction of wealth, and, therefore, universal poverty. The co-operation, citizens, between him who labours and him who employs labour, between him who works with his hands and him who works with his brains, all these elements of production have their inevitable and necessary grades and constitutions. Through this programme you will attain a state of well-being and the nation prosperity and greatness. If I were not sure of my words I would not utter them before you on such a solemn and memorable occasion. (Applause.)

(At this point of the speech an aeroplane piloted by Ferrarin was executing some daring evolutions just above the Palazzo Municipale, from where Mussolini was speaking. The Prime Minister stopped for a few seconds following Ferrarin’s evolutions, then went on:)

Fascisti! The other day I was passing in one of those aeroplanes over your town. That flight was profoundly significant, as it was meant to show that six months of tenure of office have not yet nailed me down into my Presidential easy chair and that I, as you, as all of you, am still ready to dare, to fight, if necessary, to die, so that the fruits of the great Fascista revolution may not be lost!

Long live Fascismo! Long live Italy! (Loud applause.)

“IN TIME PAST AS IN TIME PRESENT, WOMAN HAD ALWAYS A PREPONDERANT INFLUENCE IN SHAPING THE DESTINIES OF HUMANITY”

Speech delivered at Padua at the first Women’s Fascista Congress, on 2nd June 1923.

Ladies,—If I am not mistaken, this, which is inaugurated here to-day, is the first Women’s Fascista Congress of the “three Venices.” The title and the field covered by this first Congress of yours are full of profound significance. Fifty years ago one could not speak of the “three Venices”! Venice herself, after the magnificent years of heroism of 1848 and 1849, was still held by the shackles of foreign slavery. In 1866 we liberated Venice, one of the Venices. Fifty years afterwards we liberated the other two—that which has as its boundary the devoted and impregnable Brenner, and the other which has as its boundary the not less devoted nor less impregnable Nevoso.

Fascisti do not belong to the multitude of fops and sceptics who mean to belittle the social and political importance of woman. What does the vote matter? You will have it! But even when women did not vote and did not wish to vote, _in time past as in time present, woman had always a preponderant influence in shaping the destinies of humanity_. Thus the women of Fascismo, who bravely wear the glorious “black shirt,” and gather round our standards, are destined to write a splendid page of history, to help, with self-sacrifice and deeds, Italian Fascismo.

Do not trust the little stuffed owls, the yelling monkeys or, indeed, any representative of the lower zoological orders, who believe they practise politics, but could be called by a more infamous name. Do not believe those who talk of crises within the ranks of Fascismo;—these are details, mere episodes in the great event, and they, after all, concern men, not masses. When Fascisti have not to strike the enemy, they can well afford themselves the luxury of internal quarrels. But if the enemy should begin to raise his head again and intensify the character of his more or less stupid opposition, then Fascisti will again become solidly united. Then “Woe to the vanquished!” (Applause.) And since the opportunity is propitious, I would like to tell you, women of Fascismo, and the Fascisti of all Italy, that the attempt to sever Mussolini from Fascismo or Fascismo from Mussolini is the most useless and grotesque attempt that could be conceived. (Applause.) I am not so proud as to say that I who speak and Fascismo are one; but four years of history have now clearly shown that Mussolini and Fascismo are two aspects of the same thing, are two bodies and one soul or two souls in a single body. I cannot forsake Fascismo, because I have created it, I have reared it, I have strengthened and I have chastened it, and I still hold it in my fist, always! It is, therefore, quite useless for the old screech-owls of Italian policy to pay me their foolish court. I am too shrewd to fall into this ambush of the commercial mediocrities of village fairs. I can assure you, my dear friends, that all these little vipers, all these cheap politicians will be bitterly disillusioned.

To think that I could become brutalised in Parliamentary bureaucracy is to believe an absurdity. Although I come from the working class, I have a spirit too aristocratic not to feel disgust for low Parliamentary manœuvres. We shall continue our march vigorously (added the Hon. Mussolini, raising his voice), because this has been imposed on us by destiny. We shall not turn back, nor shall we even mark time. I have already said that we did not want to push matters to extremes only to see ourselves driven back by the swing of the pendulum. I prefer, as I wrote in an article, which aroused some interest—I prefer to march on continually, day by day, in the Roman way, in the way of Rome who is never reconciled to defeat; of Rome who welcomed Terentius Varro coming from Cannæ, although she knew that he had given battle against the opinion of Consul Paulus Æmilius and was, in a certain degree, responsible for the defeat; of Rome who after Cannæ forbade matrons to sally forth, so that their grief-stricken bearing should not shake the strength of the citizens; of this Rome who re-wrote continually the chapters of her history, who found in every ill-success the incentives to endurance, to steadfastness, to strengthen her spirits, to harden her nerves, to light the flame of passion! This is the Rome of whom we dream; the Rome in whom all hierarchies are respected, those of strength, beauty, intelligence, and human kindness; the Rome who struck hard at her enemies, but then raised them up again and made them share her great destiny; the Rome who left the utmost liberty to the beliefs of her subject-peoples, provided only that they obeyed her!

Giuseppe Mazzini used to say that power is but the unity and perseverance of all efforts put together. Well, Italian power, Fascista power, the power of all the new generations which expand in this superb spring of our life and history, will be the result of the unity of our efforts, of the tenacity of our work. After all, what do Fascisti ask for? They are not ambitious or factious. They have the sense of limitation and of their responsibility. And I am sure of interpreting your thought, the deep craving of your soul, if I say that Fascisti, from the first to the last, from the leaders to the led, ask only one thing: To serve with humility, with devotion, with steadfastness, our beloved Mother Country, Italy! (The speech was greeted with enthusiastic applause.)

“SO LONG AS THESE STUDENTS AND THESE UNIVERSITIES EXIST, THE NATION CANNOT PERISH AND BECOME A SLAVE, BECAUSE UNIVERSITIES SMASH FETTERS WITHOUT ALLOWING THE FORGING OF NEW ONES”

Speech delivered at the University of Padua on 3rd June 1923.

Mr. Chancellor, Professors, My Young Friends,—It is not I who honour your University, it is your University which honours me, and I must confess that, although on account of my laborious dealings with men I am a little refractory to emotions, to-day, being among you, I feel deeply touched.

We have known each other for some time, from 1915, from the days of that May always radiant. I remember that the students of Padua hung up at the doors of this University a big paper puppet representing a politician about whom I do not wish to express any opinion now. But that act meant that the youth of the University of Padua did not want to hear about ignoble diplomatic bargains—(Applause.)—did not want to sell its splendid spiritual birthright for a more or less wretched mess of pottage. The University of Padua, the students, who were not degenerate descendants of those Tuscan students who went out to die at Curtatone and Montanara, wished then to be the vanguard, to take up their post in the fighting line, carrying with them the reluctant ones, chastening the pusillanimous, overthrowing the Government and going out to fight, to sacrifice and death, but also to honour and glory.

From that time I know that among you there are faithful followers and that this University among all the others is truly an active centre of faith and of intense patriotism. If I look back for a moment to the rolling by of centuries, I recognise in this University a great fountain at which thousands of men of all countries, of all generations, of all races, have quenched their thirst.

The Government which I have the honour to represent repudiates, at any rate in the person of its chief, the doctrine of materialism and the doctrines which claim to explain the very complex history of humanity only from the material point of view, to explain an episode, not the whole of history, an incident, not a doctrine. Well, this Government prizes individual, spiritual and voluntary qualities, holds in high esteem the Universities, because they represent so many glorious strong points in the life of the people. In fact I do not hesitate to state that if Germany has been able to resist the powerful influence of Bolshevism, it is due, above all, to the strong University traditions of that people.

A people with an ardent spirit and with genius like ours is necessarily a well-balanced and harmonious one. The Government understands the enormous historic importance of Universities, has a respect for their noble traditions and wishes to raise them to the heights of modern exigencies. All this cannot be done at once, as everything cannot be accomplished in six months. All that we are doing at present is to clear the ground from all the débris which the rotten political caste has left us as a said inheritance. (Applause.) How could a Government composed of former soldiers ever disparage Universities? It would not only be absurd but criminal! From the Universities have come out by the thousands volunteers and by tens of thousands those magnificent warriors who used to assault the enemy’s trenches with a superb contempt of death. They are our comrades whose memory we bear engraved in our hearts. You will write their names on your gates of bronze, but their memory will be more imperishably engraved in our spirit. We cannot forget them, as we cannot forget that out of the Universities came by thousands the “black shirts,” those “black shirts” who, at a given moment, put an end to the inglorious vicissitudes of Italian politics, who took by the throat with strong fingers all the old profiteers who appeared, to the exuberant impatience of the new Italian generations, always the more inadequate for their paralysing decrepitude. (Applause.) Well, so long as there are Universities in Italy—and there certainly will be for a long time—and so long as there are young men to attend these Universities and to become acquainted with the history of yesterday, thus preparing the history of to-morrow, so long as there are such young men, the doors of the past are definitely shut. I guarantee it formally! But I add further that _so long as these young men and these Universities exist, the Nation cannot perish and it cannot become a slave, because Universities smash fetters without forging new ones_. (Applause.) If to-morrow it were again necessary, either for causes arising within or without the frontiers, to sound again the trumpet of war, I am sure that the Universities would again empty themselves to re-populate the trenches. (Loud applause.)

And now that you have rejuvenated me by twenty years, I would like to sing with you the “Gaudeamus Igitur.” After all, Lorenzino dei Medici was right when he sang: “How beautiful is youth!” Well, my young friends, there can never be for us as individuals the certainty of the morrow, but there is the supreme and magnificent certainty of the morrow for us as a nation and as a people.

And with the students’ hymn, let us utter in Latin a simpler word, _Laboremus_. To work with dignity, with probity and with cheerfulness, to assault life with earnestness and to meet it as a mission, trying to fulfil the categorical injunction left us by our dead. They command us to obey and to serve, they command us discipline, sacrifice and obedience.

We should really be the last of men if we failed to do our clear duty. But we shall not fail. I who hold the pulse of the nation and who carefully count its beats, I who sometimes shudder in the face of the heavy responsibilities which I have assumed, feel in me a hope, nay a vibration, of a supreme certainty which is this: that, by the will of the leaders, by the determination of the people, and by the sacrifice of past, present and future generations, Imperial Italy, the Italy of our dreams, will be for us the reality of to-morrow. (Loud applause.)

ITALY’S FOREIGN POLICY REGARDING GERMAN REPARATIONS, HUNGARY, BULGARIA, AUSTRIA, YUGOSLAVIA, TURKEY, RUSSIA, POLAND AND OTHER COUNTRIES

Speech delivered at the Senate on 8th June 1923.

Honourable Senators,—The speech that I have the honour of delivering before your illustrious Assembly may appear analytical, because in it I propose to touch on several questions and to speak decisively upon several problems, especially with regard to internal policy.[13] By this I do not delude myself to be able to convince those who are my opponents in _malâ fide_, nor to disperse completely the small opposition which nourishes itself on detail, and is the effect of personal temperament.

Footnote 13:

The speech on Internal Policy here referred to will follow this one on page 306.

You will not be surprised if I begin with foreign policy, even if it happens that this is the field in which serious and founded opposition does not exist, and it may be legitimately said that our policy is endorsed unanimously by the nation.

As I have already said on other occasions, the foreign policy of the present Government is inspired by the necessity for a progressive revaluation of our diplomatic and political position in Europe and in the world. It is a fact that, except for territorial acquisitions bounded by the Brenner and the Nevoso, frontiers wrested by long and bloody wars, Italy was excluded in the Peace of Versailles and other successive treaties from all other benefits of an economic and colonial nature. Solemn pacts signed during the war have lapsed and have not been replaced. The position of inferiority assigned to Italy has weighed and still weighs heavily on the economic life of our people. It is useless to dwell upon recriminations of the past. We must rather seek to regain the ground and time lost. There is no doubt that from October to to-day the situation has notably improved.

The other Powers, whether allied or not, know that Italy intends to follow an energetic and assiduous policy for the protection of her natural and vital interests, intends to be present wherever, directly or indirectly, they are at stake, because this is her right and her definite duty; but at the same time she is in favour of that line of conduct in general policy which tends to bring back as quickly as possible to a normal state the economic situation of our continent. Italy, who too is marching rapidly towards her readjustment, sees this re-birth continually disturbed by general outside factors. There is, therefore, a definite Italian interest in hastening the pacific solution of the European crisis.

_The Position of Italy and Reparations._ All such crises, since the Treaty of Versailles onwards, have been dominated by the one problem: Reparations. In the face of this problem the fundamental position of Italy is as follows:

1. Germany can and must pay a sum which now seems universally fixed and which is very far from the many hundreds of milliards talked of on the morrow of the Armistice;

2. Italy could not tolerate territorial changes which would lead to a political, economic or military hegemony in Europe;

3. Italy is prepared to bear her quota of sacrifice, if it is necessary to obtain what is called European reconstruction;

4. The Italian Government maintains to-day more than ever, above all after the last German Note, that the problem of reparations and that of Inter-Allied debts are intimately connected and are in a certain sense interdependent.

There is no doubt that the occupation of the Ruhr has contributed to render the crisis of the Ruhr extremely acute, and therefore to a certain extent hastened a solution.

It will not be inopportune to recall, considering the rapidity of events, that the French and Belgians went to the Ruhr on account of the declarations of a series of failures of the supplies in kind by Germany, admitted also by England, at any rate as regards that of wood, and the failure of the Conference of Paris.

It is certainly worth while to fix exactly in their essential lines the main features of the Italian, English and German projects, in order to have a picture of the situation as regards its agreements and divergencies, and to see what conjectures we can form as to a possible settlement. This will also serve to explain why Italy was not able to accept the Bonar Law scheme at Paris, and why she had to reject the recent Cuno-Rosenberg Memorandum.

The Italian project reduced the German debt to fifty milliards of gold marks, proposed a moratorium of two years, during which Germany would continue the supply of reparations in kind, accepted the distribution of German payments according to the quotas fixed at Spa, by which the Italian quota was put at five milliards of gold marks, fixed the payment of one part of the “C” bonds by means of the security given by the other ex-enemy States, used the remainder of the “C” bonds to settle the debt to America, agreed to the taking of economic pledges as a guarantee of the German payments, and finally, as regards the payments of the reparations owed by Austria, Bulgaria and Hungary, asked for a pledge for the acceptance of the proposals which England had deferred putting forward—proposals, that is, of annulling those debts.

The Italian quota of reparations, which the Italian project fixed at five milliards of gold marks, was thus reduced in the English project to less than half; whilst cancelling the bonds, it partly abolishes to our detriment German solidary responsibility for minor ex-enemy debts and rendered impossible the execution of the agreement of March 1921, which ensures important advantages to Italy upon the basis of the “C” bonds. The larger percentage reserved on the seventeen milliards, representing the interest of the moratorium capitalised to 1923, could not be used for the payment of American debts, in consideration of the aleatory nature of these seventeen milliards.

I do not recall all this to reopen discussions, but only to make clear the main outlines of that which was and remains a noteworthy attempt to find a solution for this grave problem; an attempt which contains worthy elements which can be usefully taken up again in case of a definite settlement.

The conclusion of an agreement between England and America on the problem of debts—the work of the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Baldwin, to-day Prime Minister, followed shortly after the presentation of the English project.

Any idea of this debt being itself cancelled, or even of a simple compensation through the payment of reparations, is excluded from this agreement. The obligation to pay, although facilities may be accorded concerning both the number of years in which it must take place and the interests due, is solemnly affirmed and put into execution. In England the Speech from the Throne strongly emphasised this agreement. Even taking into account the diversity of economic strength and the totality of sacrifices borne, it could not remain without effect upon the importance of the whole question for the other European Powers.

_Analysis of the German Project._ If we compare the English and Italian projects with the German, the inacceptability of the latter appears evident. As is known, one of the fundamental points of the last German project concerns the consolidation of the actual debt of Germany, especially in kind, at the figure of twenty milliard gold marks, with an additional ten milliards, the payment of which depends upon the decision of an International Commission. Deducting the interest, these twenty milliards are reduced to fifteen, and the sums necessary must be found by international loans; and in the very probable eventuality that by 1927 the twenty milliards have not been subscribed, an annuity will be paid which represents five per cent. interest plus one per cent. for the redemption of the loan. Finally, in the German project any provision or regulation for the guarantees demanded is lacking. The total German debt, which in the English and the Italian projects is fixed at the figure of fifty milliards, in the German project is reduced to less than a third, and it is difficult, if not impossible, to determine in it the Italian quota and the sacrifice demanded from Italy.

In view of the representations, especially of England and Italy, Germany has recognised her proposals as insufficient, and yesterday the German Ambassador, Neurath, presented to me the new German Note, on the contents and nature of which I cannot pronounce an opinion for evident reasons, as in consequence of this Note diplomatic action with all the Allies must be taken up. I will only say that the German Note no longer demands the preliminary evacuation of the Ruhr as a condition for negotiation. This might make us believe in a renunciation on the part of Germany of that passive resistance, the utility of which—even for German aims—appears ever more doubtful, and whose cessation would help towards a more rapid attainment of a solution.

_Italy and Hungary._ But the problem of reparations is not only Franco-German, it is also Hungarian, Bulgarian and Austrian.

It is useful to define the stage which has been reached with regard to these ex-enemy countries. The total of the Hungarian reparations, which is fixed by the Treaty of Trianon, has not yet been determined by the Reparations Commission, and Hungary up to to-day has only furnished limited supplies in kind. The Hungarian Government, alleging the disturbed economic and financial conditions of the country caused by the serious depression of the krone, has recently put forward the necessity to contract a foreign loan, which, if it is to succeed, should be guaranteed by the custom duties, by the tobacco monopoly, and, if needs be, by other resources. Hence arises the necessity for such resources to be freed for an adequate period from the claims of reparations. A Memorandum precisely to this effect has been recently presented by the Hungarian Minister in Paris to the Reparations Commission.

The Italian Government, having examined the question from a technical point of view, has deemed it indispensable to concede to Hungary the temporary relinquishment of certain resources, so that she may proceed to her own economic restoration by means of loans to be contracted abroad. Italy has, therefore, shown herself favourable to the above Hungarian request, with the addition of certain conditions necessary to guarantee her own rights, on which point she is in agreement with the British Government.

_Agreement with Bulgaria for Payment._ With reference to Bulgarian reparations, Italy, Great Britain and France came to an agreement on 21st March with the Bulgarian Government to facilitate the payment of her debt of 2250 million gold francs fixed by the Treaty of Neuilly, by dividing it in two parts; one of 550 millions to be paid by instalments beginning in October of this year, and the other 1700 millions not to be claimed before thirty years.

Bulgaria has pledged herself by this agreement to reserve for the regulation of her debt the revenues of her customs and has already passed a law to this effect. The agreement has also been approved by the Reparations Commission, with the reservation of our rights for the reimbursement of the expenses of the army of occupation. In fact, negotiations are proceeding with the Bulgarian Government for the regulation of this credit, which enjoys the privilege of priority over other reparations.

Our Government, animated by favourable dispositions as regards all that concerns the settlement of obligations arising from the war, has had no difficulty in accepting such an agreement.

_The Loan to Austria._ Fulfilling the pledge taken by its predecessors in the Protocol of Geneva of 4th October 1922, the Italian Government has co-operated with the Governments which are signatories of the Protocol, in order that the loan in favour of Austria should have a large and ready success. For this purpose the Government has consented to postpone for twenty years, which is the duration of the War Loan, her credits against Austria for the recovery of damages and for bonds of food supply, has given her own guarantee for twenty-five per cent. of a maximum loan of 585 million gold kronen, and has authorised Italian banks to contribute directly to the loan up to the maximum of 200 million lire, including the sixty-eight which Italy had previously lent to Austria, and which, by the terms of the Protocol of Geneva, should have been repaid in cash.

Putting off for a further period the exaction of Austrian reparation, and giving a guarantee and a direct and substantial contribution to the loan in favour of Austria, the Italian Government has wished to offer her co-operation towards the political independence and territorial integrity of the Austrian Republic to which the Protocol of Geneva refers, and to which the United States of America also wish to contribute, confidently subscribing for the first time to a European loan.

_Relations between Italy and Yugoslavia._ Italy’s political line of conduct towards the States of the Little Entente and in general towards the States recently created is substantially inspired by the necessity of exacting the respect and the scrupulous fulfilment of the treaties, because, given the present contingencies, only such a policy can produce quick and pleasing results with regard to an economic settlement of the Danubian States which would contribute to the larger one of Central Europe. On several occasions the friendly and moderate policy of Italy has followed such a course with satisfactory results.

With reference to such a policy the relations between Italy and Yugoslavia have a special importance. The clear attitude taken by the Government with regard to Yugoslavia by proceeding to the definite enforcement of the Treaty of Rapallo has strengthened our legal position, and we are able to rest any further development of our policy on a solid basis. The enforcement of the Agreements of Santa Margherita, which has been necessarily laborious owing to the large extent of the field covered, can be said, however, to proceed on the whole satisfactorily. In spite of the initial difficulties encountered in any exceptional régime, the economic system of the so-called “special zone of Zara” is already in force for the evacuation of the remaining Dalmatian territories, and the various organisations for the regulation of all the intricate questions arising out of the Agreements have been constituted.

_Fiume._ But naturally the most important question to solve is that of Fiume. As is known, it offers the gravest difficulties, since, in order to ensure the future of the commercial life of the town, there must be solved many complex problems of an economic nature which are often in opposition to those of a political character. Undoubtedly the recent long Parliamentary crisis in Yugoslavia, which for a considerable time forced the Government of Belgrade to confine its attentions almost exclusively to internal problems, has heavily weighed against the rapidity of the solution of such a question.

That Government has repeatedly acquainted us with its wishes to solve the question in a satisfactory way as regards the sentiments and the interests of Italy, and has also frankly made known to us the real difficulties with which the Government is faced in asking the populations interested to accept a solution in agreement with the Italian point of view.

_Italo-Yugoslav Commission._ With a view to ensure an atmosphere of greater quiet to the Italo-Yugoslav Commission, the Government of Belgrade has, in the meantime, agreed to transfer the seat of the Commission to Rome. The Yugoslav Delegation has arrived, and between it and the Italian Delegation, which is fulfilling its duty with a high sense of patriotism and political probity, preliminary meetings are taking place with the object of fixing certain fundamental points before resuming official discussions, so that the latter may proceed with the necessary speed without lapsing into a deplorable stagnation, which would be otherwise inevitable in such an arduous task.

_The Conference of Lausanne and the definite Cession of Castelrosso to Italy._ The Conference of Lausanne, which after the well-known suspension of last February resumed its proceedings on 23rd April, is slowly completing them through the no small difficulties of various kinds caused by the delicacy and complexity of the questions under examination. The course followed by the Italian Delegation under any circumstance has always been inspired by the most calm and impartial attitude, and its efficacy has been recognised and generally appreciated at its just worth.

Italy cannot help considering as her vital interests the speedy restoration of a normal state of trade in the East, as well as the economic development and general progress of all the peoples living on the shore of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Although all the questions under discussion have not yet been solved at Lausanne, on some of them, however, which more directly affect our country, an agreement, satisfactory on the whole, has been reached. The Government of Angora has explicitly withdrawn the objection regarding the cession of the island of Castelrosso to Italy, the possession of which on our part could in no way justify an eventual suspicion of Italian aggressive aims with regard to Turkey. Our flag, which has already been saluted from the moment it appeared in the island as a symbol of peaceful well-being, will in the future continue to protect a population which by plebiscite has entrusted itself to us.

_The Juridical Protection of Foreigners in Turkey._ The Italian Government has also obtained the cancellation of those clauses, with regard to our colonies in North Africa, which the agreements concluded after the Libyan War had left in existence, and at the same time the interests of Libyan subjects residing in Turkey, whose rights have been equal to those of Italian citizens, were opportunely protected.

From the opening of the Conference the question of the juridical protection of foreigners has been of the greatest importance. The Conference has agreed in fixing the limits of such protection, including it in a formula which establishes for a period of five years the appointment on the part of the Turkish Government of foreign judges, who are authorised to receive complaints of the sentences and of the proceedings of Turkish magistrates.

At Lausanne there still remain under discussion certain important questions of general interest, such as those relative to the management of the Ottoman Public Debt and others of an economic nature, which I hope may be quickly solved.

_Relations between Italy and Russia._ The present relations with Russia are regulated by the Italo-Russian and Italo-Ukraine Agreements of 26th December 1921. A few days ago the projects for the conversion into law of the Royal Decree of 31st January 1922 were presented to Parliament, by whom the said agreements had been approved, though some opposition had been offered to their practical application. This opposition gave the Russians a pretext for violating the agreement. We mean to remove these obstacles in order to render easier the economic relations between the two countries and pave the way for an understanding resting on a wider basis without excessive illusions, but also without dangerous prejudices.

Relations between the two countries, which possess different economic systems, present enormous difficulties. They are, however, not unsurmountable if on both sides there is a good-will to overcome them. Italian policy towards Russia is clear and cannot give rise to misunderstanding.

The presentation before Parliament of these decrees represents another proof of our intentions and gives us the right to expect from the Government of Moscow the scrupulous fulfilment of the pacts, the execution of the pledge taken to abstain from any act hostile to our Government, and from whatsoever direct or indirect propaganda against the institutions of the kingdom.

_Relations between Italy and the United States._ I do not think it is necessary, considering the brevity of this speech, to enter into further detail. I will only say that the relations between the United States and Italy are particularly cordial, and I am glad to add that both the Government and the American people have fully understood the new political situation in Italy.

_Relations with Poland and other Countries._ The initiative of Italy for the definite determination of the Polish frontiers has cemented even more closely the bonds of cordial friendship which have united the two countries for centuries. Their collaboration continues to be strengthened on economic as well as on political grounds. In these last days the Polish Government has placed important orders with Italian manufacturers.

The conversations and the personal relations I have had with the Ministers of Austria, of Roumania, of Hungary, the recent journey of H.M. the King of England, the commercial treaties concluded and to be concluded, are other signs of that progressive revaluation of our diplomatic position which I referred to at the beginning of this speech.

_Improvement of the Diplomatic and Consular Services._ The Fascista Government, always with the object of this revaluation, as soon as it came into power instructed its representatives abroad to direct their policy outside the confines of the country to the renewed life of Italy, and to face immediately the problem of the means and the men for that end. In fact, the administration of Foreign Affairs, in the face of so many difficulties from outside, already possessed a great difficulty in her own constitution, due to the scanty number of its elements. The tools of our work, which is so delicate abroad, had to be renewed, and rendered suitable, as regards the increase in number of officials and the new conditions of Italy, for the momentous task which they are required to perform.

Instructions have, therefore, been given with effect from the first days of November for the reorganisation of the competition for the Diplomatic and Consular Services, and for Interpreters.

In conclusion I wish to repeat that Italian foreign policy, while it intends to safeguard national interests, wants at the same time to constitute a factor of equilibrium and peace in Europe, and by such a policy I think I interpret the tendencies and the needs of the Italian people. (Applause.)

“THE INTERNAL POLICY”

Speech delivered at the Senate on 8th June 1923, after the one on Foreign Policy (see p. 293).

Honourable Senators,—The problems of public order are problems of the authority of the State. There is no real authority in the State if public order is not perfectly normal. Public order and authority of the State are, therefore, two aspects of the same problem. I ask you if conditions have improved or become worse since last October. (“Improved!”) Some of you give an affirmative answer. I, too, say they have improved. Although, naturally, I am far from being pessimistic and, therefore, from being discontented, I feel that nothing ever goes well enough. But, Gentlemen, when one speaks of public order, one must make comparisons. Even if they are disagreeable, they are necessary. Unrest, uneasiness and sedition are phenomena to be found not only in Italy. If we glance beyond our frontiers we have reason to repeat that, if Messene weeps, Sparta does not laugh! Look at the vanquished peoples and note what happens in Austria and in Germany. Look at the victorious peoples and you will see that only yesterday there was a strike of public officials in Belgium, which has cost the Treasury hundreds of millions of francs. If, then, you glance at the neutral countries, at Spain, you will find there, too, that life is not excessively bright and easy. All this I say for those who, at every small revolver shot fired in one of the twenty thousand villages of Italy, think they have been wounded by a 17–inch shell!

_A Significant Comparison._ But, above all, it is worth while to look at Italy and consider, on one side, her conditions in the years 1918–20 and in the period following 1920–21. The dominating events of the former two years are the occupation of the factories, the permanent strike of the officials belonging to public organisations, carried out in rotation, and by a displacement of all the powers of State authority (Assent.); and, although the incident is extremely painful, one must recall to mind that in the rank and file of that same glorious army of ours occurred an episode at Ancona which proves how deeply sedition had worked its way into the body of the Italian State.

The dominating event of the following two years is the punitive Fascista expedition. Fascisti, from sheer necessity, went out to the assault of the towns in large armed bodies. To-day all this is over. To-day the officials of public organisations do not and will not strike. (Assent.) When the Fascista employees of the Post and Telegraph Offices came to me to protest because my colleague, the Hon. Colonna di Cesaro, had punished them, I told them that if I had been Minister of Post and Telegraphs I should have punished them twice, and I added that, just because they were Fascisti, they would have to recognise the necessity for a strict discipline. (Assent.)

_The State renewed._ The conditions of public order reached their zenith of disintegration during the latter part of the year. In August there was the anti-Fascista strike, which completely paralysed the State. This had no effect; the Fascista forces, in its stead, obtained success. And, from that time, I said that the two must be made one, and that since that State was destitute of all the attributes of virility, while there was a State in power which was rising with great strength and capable of imposing discipline on the nation, it was indispensable for the rising State to substitute itself, by a revolutionary movement, for the other State which was declining. The August anti-Fascista strike was followed by the Fascista occupation of the towns of Bologna and Bolzano. The authority of the State was a complete ruin. There are no more reports of labour conflicts in the papers now.

_The Chamber and the Conflicts._ I am sufficiently impartial to say that in these last days there has been a slight recrudescence of trouble. What is its cause? I tell you quite frankly: the reopening of the Chamber. (Laughter.) The Chamber is the place of questions. By the spectacle it offers to the nation it sows seeds of conflict and discord amongst the impulsive and excitable masses.

Further, the attitude of a section of Italian Liberalism is a very welcome piece of good fortune for the subversive elements, because they constitute for them unhoped-for, unexpected allies, who blow enormous bubbles, which I promise myself to prick with the pin of logic and sincerity before closing my speech. (Assent.) Then perhaps there is this, that certain gentlemen, when they found out that they had not to fear the law of Fascismo or that of the Government, which is slower because it is bound to move in accordance with legal procedure, resumed their bold attitude.

_Elimination of the Subversive Elements._ The measures adopted to restore public order are: First of all the elimination of the so-called subversive elements. There was much clamour after the hauling in of the nets, but in reality it was only a very small affair. Of two thousand who were arrested, those who are still in gaol do not reach the figure of one hundred and fifty. They are in the hands of the judges. They were elements of disorder and subversion. On the morrow of each conflict I gave the categorical order to confiscate the largest possible number of weapons of every sort and kind. This confiscation, which continues with the utmost energy, has given satisfactory results. (Assent.) I had to repress every illegal act.

_The High Grades of the National Militia._ There was another problem with regard to the National Militia: namely the necessity of filling the superior posts, to which had to be appointed men coming from the army with a large personal military experience; this necessity had to be harmonised with the gratitude due to the small heads of Fascista “squadrismo,” the body which, by leaving thousands of glorious dead, had crushed the subversive demagogic elements.

We have solved this problem. All the ranks of superior officers above those of “Seniore” have been assigned to the officers coming from the regular army; all the inferior grades and those of sub-officers have been given to military men, to “squadristi” who had previously seen military life.

Moreover, statistics are always worth more than speeches. Ninety-seven per cent. of the officers of the Militia having a rank superior to that of “Seniore” come from the officers of the regular army. Out of about two hundred and thirty officers superior to the rank of “Seniore,” six are decorated with the Military Order of Savoy, two with Gold Medals, one hundred and thirty with Silver Medals, eighty with Bronze Medals.

As this is a day of explanations, even at the risk of abusing your patience, I must read the list of rewards bestowed on the Chiefs of the National Militia. _General Cesare De Bono_, Field Marshal of the regular army: three Silver Medals, special promotion for war services, “Croce di Guerra.” _General Gandolfo_, Field Marshal of the regular army: two Silver Medals, special promotion for war services. _Hon. Cesare Maria De Vecchi_: four Silver Medals, two Bronze Medals, two “Croci di Guerra.” _Italo Balbo_: one Silver Medal, one “Croce di Guerra.” _Gustavo Fara_, the general well known through all Italy: one Gold Medal, two Silver Medals, special promotions for war services. _Stringa_, Major-General of the regular army: three Silver Medals, one Bronze Medal, disabled in the war. _Ozol Clemente_, Major-General in the regular army: two Silver Medals, “Croce di Guerra.” _Ceccherini_, Major-General in the regular army: three Silver Medals, two Bronze Medals. _Zambon_, Major-General of the regular army: Silver Medal and Bronze Medal. _Guglielmotti_, Major-General of the regular army: two Silver Medals.

After these follow:

_Giuriati_, with two Silver Medals; _Acerbo_, with three Silver Medals (voices: “Bravo!”); _Caradonna_, with three Silver Medals; _Finzi_, with a Silver Medal and two “Croci di Guerra.”

Not to embarrass the modesty of my friends, I shall not continue to read the list of these officers of the National Militia,—(Laughter.)—but this is enough to prove to you that this is a serious institution. And I add that every day it becomes more so, because I mean that it shall be so, because all its chiefs mean it.

It might be asked of us: “Why does the Militia remain?” I shall tell it to you at once: for a very simple reason, to defend Fascismo at home and also abroad. The word “abroad” might alarm you. Well, I tell you that abroad there is a difficult atmosphere for Italian Fascismo. Difficult for the parties of the Right, which, being formed of national elements, cannot feel enthusiasm for a movement that exalts our national qualities; difficult for the parties of the Left, because those elements are our adversaries from the social point of view, knowing that the Fascista movement is clearly anti-Socialist. It is well, therefore, that it should be known that there is in Italy a mighty army of volunteers to defend that special form of political organisation called Fascismo.

The Militia, moreover, has the object of enabling the army to do its own work. The army must fight, must get ready for war. It must not do police work, especially of a political nature, except under absolutely exceptional circumstances, of which now I do not wish to think, even hypothetically. As an example I can tell you that last night, upon my personal instructions, a whole section of Leghorn was blockaded. Well, one hundred carabineers and three hundred black shirts sufficed, whilst the army, the official troops, were sleeping peacefully in their barracks, as was their duty and their right. Moreover, believe me, so long as in Italy they know that, besides some tens of thousands of faithful carabineers, there is this enormous force, attempts at revolt or at sedition will never be dared.

_Modifications to the Statute Law._ Finally, and this is a manœuvre of the last few days, have burst forth in Italy the bold defenders of the Statute, of Liberty and of Parliament. (Laughter.) It seems, listening to these gentlemen, who had for a long time forgotten the existence of the Statute, even as a simple historical document,—(Laughter.)—that the Statute runs a serious risk and that one cannot even discuss nor examine it.

Well, I think that none of you can consider Camillo Cavour as a Bolshevist and a Fascista of 1848. Everybody knows that the Constitutional movement of Piedmont was the work of Cavour. Everybody knows how the political Constitution was granted. At Genoa a tumult arose against the Jesuits, believed supporters of Absolutism. A Commission of Genoese went to Turin and asked for the expulsion of the Jesuits and the calling out of the Civic Guard. But Cavour answered: “This is too little, the times are ripe for something more!” Cavour wrote in his paper, _Il Risorgimento_: “The Constitution must be demanded.” And this was promulgated on the 4th of March. In its preamble it says: “The Statute is the fundamental, perpetual law of the Monarchy.” Four days afterwards the first Constitutional Ministry of Coalition was formed with the Moderate Balbo and the Democratic Pareto.

The phrase “The Statute is the fundamental, perpetual and irrevocable law of the Monarchy” had wounded the ears of the Democrats. Cavour hastened to interpret it in a relative sense. It is worth while to listen attentively to this paragraph of Cavour. “How is it possible,” he said, “how can it be expected that the legislator would have wished to pledge himself and the nation not to make the slightest direct change, to bring the smallest improvement to a political law? But this would mean the removal from the community of the power of revising the Constitution; it would mean the deprival of the indispensable power of modifying its political form according to new social exigencies; this would be such an absurd idea that no one of those who co-operated in the making of this fundamental law could conceive it. A nation cannot renounce the power of changing by legal means its common law.”

After a short time history had to register a first violation of the Statute, which assumed or presumed that, in order to become a member of Parliament, it was necessary to be an Italian citizen. On the 16th of October there was a division between the Right, amongst which there were the Moderates and the Municipals, and the Left, to which belonged the Democrats, called the “burnt heads,” and the Republicans. On the following day these two parties were agreed in unanimously proclaiming above the Statute that all Italians could belong to the Subalpine Parliament. The first to benefit by this violation of the Statute was Alessandro Manzoni; but he declined the mandate by a letter which represents a fine example of correctness and political probity. (Approval.)

Nobody, Gentlemen, wishes to overthrow or destroy the Statute, which rests solidly on firm foundations; but the inhabitants of this building from 1848 up to to-day have changed. There are other exigencies, other needs. There is no longer the Piedmontese Italy of 1848! And it is very strange to notice among the defenders of the Statute those who have violated it in its fundamental laws, those who have curtailed the prerogatives of the Crown, those who wanted the Crown to be entirely outside the politics of the nation, and to become a dead institution. (Loud applause.)

_The Abolition of Parliament?_ They say that this Government does not like the Chamber of Deputies. (Comments.) They say that we want to abolish Parliament and deprive it of all its essential attributes. It is timely to say that the collapse of Parliament is not desired by me, nor by those who follow my ideas. Parliamentarism has been severely affected by two phenomena typical of our days: on one side Syndicalism, on the other Journalism. Syndicalism gathers by its various organisations all those who have special interests to protect, who wish to withdraw them from the manifest incompetence of the political Assembly. Journalism represents the daily Parliament, the daily platform where men coming from the Universities, from Science, Industry, from the experience of life itself, dissect problems with a competence that is very seldom found on the Parliamentary benches.

These two phenomena typical of the last period of capitalist civilisation are those which have reduced the enormous importance which was attributed to Parliament. To sum up, Parliament can no longer contain all the life of the nations, because modern life is exceptionally complicated and difficult.

But this does not mean that we wish to abolish Parliament. We wish rather to improve it, to make it more perfect, make it a serious, if possible a solemn institution. In fact, if I had wished to abolish Parliament, I would not have introduced an Electoral Reform Bill. This Bill logically presupposes the elections, and through these elections there will be deputies—(Laughter.)—who will form Parliament. In 1924, therefore, there will be a Parliament.

But must the Government be towed along by Parliament? Must it be at the mercy of Parliament? Must it be without a will, or a head before Parliament? I cannot admit that.

_The Great Fascista Council._ They say that Fascismo has created duplicate institutions. These duplicates do not exist. The Great Fascista Council is not a duplicate of the Council of Ministers or above it. It met four times and never dealt with problems which concerned the Council of Ministers. With what, then, did the Great Fascista Council deal? In the February meeting it devoted itself to the National Militia and Freemasonry; it paid a tribute to the Dalmatians and to the people of Fiume, and dealt with Fascismo abroad. In the March meeting it arranged the ceremony for the anniversary of the foundation of Rome and dealt with Syndicalism. In its fourth meeting it devoted itself to the Congress of Turin and again to Syndicalism.

All the great problems dealing with State administration, with the reorganisation of armed forces, with the reform of our judiciary circuits, with the reform of the schools, all the measures of a financial nature have been adopted directly by the responsible body, the Council of Ministers.

And then what is the Great Fascista Council? It is the organ of co-ordination between the responsible forces of the Government and those of Fascismo. Among all the organisations created after the October revolution, the Great Fascista Council is the most characteristic, the most useful, the most efficient. I have abolished the High Commissioners, because they duplicated the Prefects and also embarrassed the authority of the latter, who alone have the right to wield authority. But I could never think of abolishing the Great Fascista Council, not even if to-morrow by chance the Council of Ministers were composed entirely of Fascisti.

_Our Magnanimity must not be taken advantage of!_ This Government, which is depicted as hostile to liberty, has been perhaps too generous. The October revolution has not been bloodless for us; we have left dozens and dozens of dead. And who would have prevented us from doing in those days that which all revolutions have done, from freeing ourselves once for all from those who, taking advantage of our magnanimity, now render our task difficult? Only the Socialists of the newspaper _La Giustizia_, of Milan, have had the courage to recognise that if they still exist they owe it to us, who did not wish that, in the first moments of “The March on Rome,” the “black shirts” should be stained with Italian blood. But _our generosity_ must not be taken advantage of!

_Nobody must hope for a Crisis in Fascismo. The Membership of Fascismo._ But nobody must hope for a crisis in Fascismo, which is and will remain simply a formidable party. If you happen to notice that in one of its innumerable sections in Italy there is dissension, do not thus draw the conclusion that Fascismo is in a state of crisis. When a party holds the Government in its hands it holds it, if it wishes to hold it, because it possesses formidable forces to use to consolidate its power with increasing strength. Fascismo is a Syndicalist movement which includes one million and a half of workmen and _contadini_, who, I must say in their praise, are those who give me no trouble. There is, moreover, a political body which has 550,000 members, and I have asked to be relieved of at least 150,000 of these gentlemen. (Laughter.) There is, still, a military section of 300,000 “black shirts,” who are only waiting to be called. These bodies are all united by a kind of moral cement, which might be called mystic and holy, and through which, by touching certain keys, we would hear to-morrow the sounds of certain trumpets!

_The Associations which are included in Fascismo._ They ask us: “Will you then camp out in Italy as an army of enemies which oppress the remainder of the population?” Here we have the philosophy of force by consent. In the meanwhile I have the pleasure to announce that imposing masses of men who deserve all the respect of the nation have joined Fascismo, such as the Association of the Maimed and the Disabled, the National Association of Ex-soldiers. In the wake of Fascismo, moreover, are also included the families of the fallen in war. There are a great many members coming from the people in these three Associations, whilst there is a great solidarity amongst these disabled ex-soldiers and families of the fallen in war. They represent millions of people, and, in the face of this collaboration, must I go and simply seek all the fragments, all the relics of the old traditional parties? Must I sell my spiritual birthright for a mess of pottage which might be offered to me by those who have followed no one in the country? (Loud assent.) No! I shall never do this.

_The Collaboration I welcome._ If there is anybody who wishes to collaborate with me, I welcome him to my house. But if this collaborator has the air of a controlling inquisitor, or of the expectant heir, or of the man who lies in ambush, with the object of being able at a given moment to record my mistakes, then I declare that I do not want to have anything to do with this collaboration. (Bravo!)

Besides, there is a moral force in all this. What was the cause after all which affected Italian life in past years? Italy was passing through a transformation. There were never definite limits. Nobody had the courage to be what he should have been.

There was the bourgeois who had Socialistic airs, there was the Socialist who had become a bourgeois up to his finger tips. The whole atmosphere was made up of half tones of uncertainty. Well, Fascismo seizes individuals by their necks and tells them: “You must be what you are. If you are a bourgeois you must remain such. You must be proud of your class, because it has given a type to the activity of the world in the nineteenth century. (Approval.) If you are a Socialist you must remain such, although facing the inevitable risk you run in that profession.” (Laughter.)

_Taxation and the Discipline of the Italian Population._ The sight which to-day the nation offers is satisfactory, because the Government exercises a stern and, if you like to say so, a cruel policy. It is compelled to dismiss by thousands its officials, judges, officers, railway men, dock-workers; and each dismissal represents a cause of trouble, of distress, of unrest to thousands of families. The Government has been compelled to levy taxes which unavoidably hit large sections of the population. The Italian people are disciplined, silent and calm, they work and know that there is a Government which governs, and know, above all, that if this Government hits cruelly certain sections of the Italian people, it does not do so out of caprice, but from the supreme necessity of national order.

_The Government is One._ Above this mass of people there are the restless groups of practising politicians. We must speak plainly. In Italy there were several Governments which, before the present one, always trembled before the journalist, the banker, the grand master of Freemasonry, before the head of the Popular Party, who remains more or less in the background,—(Applause.)—and it was enough for one of these ministers _in partibus_ to knock at the door of the Government, for the Government to be struck by sudden paralysis. Well, all this is over! Many men gave themselves airs with the old Governments; those I have not received, but have reduced them to tears. (Assent.) For the Government is one. It knows no other Government outside its own and watches attentively, because one must not sleep when one governs, one must not neglect facts, one must keep before one’s eyes all the panorama, notice all the composition and decomposition, the changes of parties and of men. Sometimes it is necessary, as a tactical measure, to be circumspect; but political strategy, at least mine, is intransigent and absolute.

_My only Ambition is to make the Italian People Strong, Prosperous, Great and Free._ I should have finished; in fact I have finished, but I must still add something that concerns me a little personally. I do not deny to citizens what one might call the “Jus murmurandi”—the right of grumbling. (Laughter.) But one must not exaggerate, nor raise bogies, nor have one’s ears always open to dangers which do not exist. And, believe me, I do not get drunk with greatness. I would like, if it were possible, to get drunk with humility. (Approval.) I am content simply to be a Minister, nor have I ambitions which surpass the clearly defined sphere of my duties and of my responsibilities. And yet I, too, have an ambition. The more I know the Italian people, the more I bow before it. (Assent.) The more I come into deeper touch with the masses of the Italian people, the more I feel that they are really worthy of the respect of all the representatives of the nation. (Assent.) My ambition, Honourable Senators, is only one. For this it does not matter if I work fourteen or sixteen hours a day. And it would not matter if I lost my life, and I should not consider it a greater sacrifice than is due. My ambition is this: I wish to make the Italian people strong, prosperous, great and free! (The end of the speech is hailed by a frantic and delirious ovation. All the Senators rise, and the Tribune applauds loudly, whilst the great majority of the Senators go to congratulate the Hon. Mussolini.)

(The sitting is adjourned.)

“AS SARDINIA HAS BEEN GREAT IN WAR, SO LIKEWISE WILL SHE BE GREAT IN PEACE”

Speech delivered from the Palazzo della Prefettura at Sassari (Sardinia) on 10th June 1923.

Citizens of Sassari! Proud people of Sardinia! The journey which I have made to-day is not, and should not be interpreted as, a Ministerial tour. I intended to make a pilgrimage of devotion and love to your magnificent land.

I have been told that, since 1870 to to-day, this is the first time that the head of the Government addresses the people of Sassari assembled in this vast square. I deplore the fact that up to this day no Prime Minister, no Minister, has felt the elementary duty of coming here to get to know you, your needs, to come and express to you how much Italy owes you! (Applause.)

For months, for years, during the long years of our bloody sacrifice and of our sacred glory, the name of Sassari, consecrated to history by the bulletins of war, has echoed in the soul of all Italy. Those who followed the magnificent effort of our race, those who steeped themselves in the filth of the trenches, young men of my generation—proud and disdainful of death—all those who bear in their heart the faith of their country, all those, O men of the Sassari Brigade, O citizens of Sassari, pay you tribute of a sign, of a testimony of infinite love. (Applause.)

What does it matter if some lazy bureaucrat has not yet taken into account your needs? Sassari has already passed gloriously into history. I was grieved to-day when I was told that this town has no water. It is very sad that a city of heroes has to endure thirst. Well! I promise you that you will have water; you have the right to have it. (Applause.) If the National Government grants to you, as it will grant, the three or four millions necessary for this purpose, it will only have accomplished its duty, because while elsewhere young men with broad shoulders worked at the lathe, the people of Sardinia fought and died in the trenches.

We intend to raise up again the towns and all the land, because he who has contributed to the war is more entitled to receive in peace.

A few days ago, on the anniversary of the war, I went by aeroplane to the cemeteries of the Carso. There are many of your brothers who sleep in those cemeteries the sleep which knows no awakening. I have known them, I have lived with them, I have suffered with them. They were magnificent, long-suffering, they did not complain, they endured, and when the tragic hour came for them to advance from the trenches they were the first and never asked why. (Loud applause.)

The National Government which I have the honour to direct is a Government which counts upon you, and you can count upon it. It is a Government sprung forth from a double victory of the people. It cannot, therefore, be against the working classes. It comes to you so that you may tell it frankly and loyally what are your needs. You have been forgotten and neglected for too long! In Rome they hardly knew of the existence of Sardinia! But since the war has revealed you to Italy, all Italians must remember Sardinia, not only in words, but in deeds. (Loud applause.)

I am delighted, I am deeply moved by the reception which you have given me. I have looked you well in the face, I have recognised that you are superb shoots of this Italian race which was great when other people were not born, of this Italian race which three times gave our civilisation to the barbarian world, of this Italian race which we wish to mould by all the struggles necessary for discipline, for work, for faith. (Applause.)

_I am sure that, as Sardinia has been great in war, so likewise will she be great in peace._ I salute you, O magnificent sons of this rugged, ferruginous, and so far forgotten island. I embrace all of you in spirit. It is not the head of the Government who speaks to you, it is the brother, the fellow-soldier of the trenches. Shout then with me: Long live the King! Long live Italy! Long live Sardinia!

(An enthusiastic ovation greeted the last words of Mussolini.)

“MEN PASS AWAY, MAYBE GOVERNMENTS TOO, BUT ITALY LIVES AND WILL NEVER DIE”

Speech delivered at Cagliari (Sardinia) on 12th June 1923, from the Palazzo della Prefettura.

Citizens! Black shirts! Chivalrous people of Cagliari! Of late I have visited several towns, including those which belong to the place where I was born. Well! I wish to tell you, and this is the truth, that no town accorded me the welcome you gave me to-day. I knew that the town of Cagliari was peopled by men of strong passions, I knew that an ardent spirit of regeneration throbbed in your hearts. The cheers with which you welcomed me, the crowd crammed into the Roman amphitheatre, all this tells me that here Fascismo has deep roots. I thank you, therefore, Citizens, from the depth of my heart.

I have come to Sardinia not only to know your land, as forty-eight hours would not be enough for that purpose, and still less would they be enough to examine closely your needs. I know them; statesmen have known them for the last fifty years. Those needs are already before the nation, and if up to to-day they have not yet been solved, this is due to the fact that Rome was lacking that iron will for regeneration which is the pivot, the essence of the Fascista Government’s faith in the future of our country. (Applause.)

Passing through your land, I have found here a living, throbbing limb of the mother country. Truly this island of yours is the western bulwark of the nation; is like a heart of Rome set in the midst of our sea. Amongst all the impressions I have received in coming here, one has struck my heart. I was told that Sardinia, for special local reasons, was refractory to Fascismo. Here, too, there was another misunderstanding. But from to-day the cohorts and the legions, the thousands of strong “black shirts,” the syndicates, the _fasci_, the whole youth of this island is there to show that Fascismo, representing an irresistible movement for the regeneration of the race, was bound to carry with it this island where the Italian race is manifested so superbly. (Applause.)

I salute you, Black shirts! We saw each other in Rome and the groups coming from Sardinia were cheered in the capital. You bear in your hearts the faith which at a given moment drove thousands and thousands of Fascisti from all the cities, from all the villages of Italy, to Rome. (Applause.)

Nobody can ever dream of wrenching from us the fruit of victory that we have paid for by so much blood generously shed by youths who offered their lives in order to crush Italian Bolshevism. Thousands and thousands of those who suffered martyrdom in the trenches, who have resumed the struggle after the war was over, who have won—all those have ploughed a furrow between the Italy of yesterday, of to-day and of to-morrow.

Citizens of Cagliari! You must certainly play a part in this great drama. You, undoubtedly, wish to live the life of our great national community, of this our beloved Italy, of this adorable mother who is our dream, our hope, our faith, our conviction, because men pass away, maybe Governments, too, but Italy lives and will never die! (Loud applause.)

To-day I have visited the marvellous works of the artificial Lake Tirso. They are not only a glory to Sardinia, they represent a masterpiece of which the whole nation may be proud.

I feel, almost by intuition, that Sardinia also, too long forgotten, perhaps too patient, Sardinia to-day marches hand in hand with the rest of Italy. Let us then salute each other, O Citizens!

After this speech of mine, which was meant to be an act of devotion, a bond of union between us, let us salute each other by shouting: Long live the King! (Cheers.) Long live Italy! (Cheers.) Long live Fascismo! (Loud cheers.)

“FASCISMO WILL BRING A COMPLETE REGENERATION TO YOUR LAND”

Speech delivered at Iglesias (Sardinia), at the Palazzo Municipale, on 13th June 1923.

Citizens of Iglesias! Black shirts! Fascisti! Your welcome, so cordial and so enthusiastic, surpasses any expectation. Iglesias has really been the cradle of Sardinian Fascismo. From here sprang the first groups of black shirts; it was, therefore, my definite duty to come and get into touch with you.

You deserve that the Government should remember you, as in this island there is a large reserve of faith and ardent patriotism: I go back to Rome with my heart overcome with emotion.

Since Italy has been united this is the first time that the head of the Government is in direct touch with the people of Sardinia.

One thing only I regret, and that is that the shortness of my visit has not given me an opportunity of seeing more of your beautiful land. But I formally pledge myself to come again and visit your towns and your villages. As the head of the Government I am glad to have found myself amongst industrious, quiet and truly patient people, who have been too long forgotten, indeed almost considered as a far-away colony.

It is well it should be known that Sardinia is one of the first regions of Italy, and it should be known, too, that she gave the largest contribution of lives to our glorious victory.

As the head of the Government I am glad to find myself among the heroic black shirts and to have seen the splendid flourishing conditions of Fascismo, which will bring a complete regeneration to your land.

Here (said the Hon. Mussolini, putting his hand on the standard of Iglesias, which was hoisted near him)—here is the standard, the symbol of pure faith. I kiss it with fervour, and with the same fervour I embrace you, O magnificent people of Sardinia. (Loud applause.)

“AS WE HAVE REGAINED THE MASTERY OF THE AIR, WE DO NOT WANT THE SEA TO IMPRISON US”

Speech delivered at Florence from the balcony of the Palazzo Vecchio, on 19th June 1923.

Black shirts of Florence and Tuscany! Fascisti! People! Where shall I find the necessary words to express the fullness of my feelings at this moment? My words cannot but be inadequate for the purpose. Your solemn, enthusiastic welcome stirs me to the depths of my heart. But it is certain that it is not only to me that you pay this extraordinary honour, but also, I think, to the idea of which I have been the inflexible protagonist.

Florence reminds me of the days when we were few. (Deafening applause.) Here we held the first glorious meeting of the Italian “Fasci di Combattimento.” You remember, we had often to interrupt our meeting to go out and drive away the base rabble. (“Bravo!” Frantic applause.) We were few then! Well, in spite of this huge crowd here assembled, I say that we are still few, not with regard to the enemies who have been put to flight for ever, but with regard to the enormous tasks that lie before our Italy. (Applause.) I said that our enemies have been put to flight, as we shall no more do the honour of considering as enemies certain corpses of the Italian political world—(“Bravo!”)—who delude themselves that they still exist simply because they abuse our generosity. Tell me, then, Black shirts of Tuscany and of Florence, were it necessary to begin again, should we begin again? (Deafening applause and cries of “Yes! Yes!”) This loud cry of yours, more than a promise, is an oath which seals for ever the Italy of the past, the Italy of the swindlers, of the deceivers, of the pusillanimous, and opens the way to “our” Italy, the Italy whom we bear proudly in our hearts, who belongs to us who represent the new generation who adore strength, who is inspired by beauty, who is ready for anything when it is necessary to sacrifice herself to struggle and to die for the ideal.

I tell you that Italy is going ahead. Two years ago, when the bestiality of the red demagogy raged, only twenty aeroplanes entered for the Baracca Cup. Last year they were thirty-five; this year, up to now, ninety. And as we have regained the mastery of the air, so we do not want the sea to imprison us. It must be, instead, the way for our necessary expansion in the world. (Great applause.)

These, O Fascisti, Citizens, are the stupendous tasks which lie before us. And we shall not fail in our aim if each of you will engrave in his own heart the words by which is summed up the commandment of this ineffable hour of our history as a people: “Work,” which little by little must redeem us from foreign dependence; “Harmony,” which must make of the Italians one family; “Discipline,” by which at a given moment all Italians become one and march hand in hand towards the same goal.

Black shirts! You feel that all the manœuvres of our adversaries tending to sever me from you are ridiculous and grotesque. And I hope it will not seem to you too proud a statement if I say that Fascismo, which I have guided on the consular roads of Rome, is solidly in our hand—(“Bravo!”)—and that if anybody should delude himself in this respect I should only need to make a sign, to give an order: “_A noi!_” (Deafening applause.)

Raise up your standards! They have been consecrated by the sacred blood of our dead. When faith has thus been consecrated it cannot fail, cannot die, _will not_ die! (Prolonged applause.)

“I PROMISE YOU—AND GOD IS MY WITNESS—THAT I SHALL CONTINUE NOW AND ALWAYS TO BE A HUMBLE SERVANT OF OUR ADORED ITALY”

Speech delivered on 19th June 1923, at Florence, in the historical Salone dei Cinquecento, where the Municipal Council solemnly bestowed on Mussolini the freedom of the city of Florence.

Mr. Mayor, Councillors, People of Florence, the capital for many centuries of Italian art,—You will notice that—on account of the honour which you pay me—I feel moved. To be made a citizen of Florence, of this city which has left such indelible traces on the history of humanity, represents a memorable and dominating event in my life. I do not know if I am really worthy of so much honour. (Cries of “Yes.” “May God preserve you for the future of our Italy.” Applause.)

What I have done up to now is not much; but oh! Citizens of Florence, my determination is unshakable. (“Bravo!”) Human nature, which is always weak, may fail, but not my spirit, which is dominated by a moral and material faith—the faith of the country.

From the moment in which Italian Fascismo raised its standards, lit its torches, cauterised the sores which infected the body of our divine country, we Italians, who felt proud to be Italians—(“Bravo! Bravo!” Applause.)—are in spiritual communion through this new faith.

Citizens of Florence! I make you a promise, and be sure I shall keep it! I promise you—and God is my witness in this moment of the purity of my faith—I promise you that I shall continue now and always to be a humble servant of our adored Italy! (Prolonged applause.)

“THE VICTORY OF THE PIAVE WAS THE DECIDING FACTOR OF THE WAR”

Speech delivered in Rome on 25th June 1923, from Palazzo Venezia, in commemoration of the anniversary of the Battle of the Piave.

Fellow-Soldiers!—After your ranks, so well disciplined and of such fine bearing, have marched past His Majesty the King, the intangible symbol of the country, after the austere ceremony in its silent solemnity before the tomb of the Unknown Warrior, after this formidable display of sacred strength, words from me are absolutely superfluous, and I do not intend to make a speech. The march of to-day is a manifestation full of significance and warning. A whole people in arms has met to-day in spirit in the Eternal City. It is a whole people who, above unavoidable party differences, finds itself strongly united when the safety of the common Motherland is at stake.

On the occasion of the Etna eruption, national solidarity was wonderfully manifested; from every town, every village, one might say from every hamlet, a fraternal heart-throb went out to the land stricken by calamity.

To-day tens of thousands of soldiers, thousands of standards, with men coming to Rome from all parts of Italy and from the far-away Colonies, from abroad, bear witness that the unity of the Italian nation is an accomplished and irrevocable fact.

After seven months of Government, to talk to you, my comrades of the trenches, is the highest honour which could fall to my lot. And I do not say this in order to flatter you, nor to pay you a tribute which might seem formal on an occasion like this. I have the right to interpret the thoughts of this meeting, which gathers to listen to my words as an expression of solidarity with the national Government. (Cries of assent.) Let us not utter useless and fantastical words. Nobody attacks the sacred liberty of the Italian people. But I ask you: Should there be liberty to maim victory? (Cries of “No! no!”) Should there be liberty to strike at the nation? Should there be liberty for those who have as their programme the overthrow of our national institutions? (Cries of “No! no!”) I repeat what I explicitly said before. I do not feel myself infallible, I feel myself a man like you.

I do not repulse, I cannot, I shall not repulse any loyal and sincere collaboration.

Fellow-soldiers! The task which weighs on my shoulders, but also on yours, is simply immense, and to it we shall be pledged for many years. It is, therefore, necessary not to waste, but to treasure and utilise all the energies which could be turned to the good of our country. Five years have passed since the battle of the Piave, from that victory on which it is impossible to sophisticate either within or beyond the frontier. It is necessary to proclaim, for you who listen to me, and also for those who read what I say, that the _victory of the Piave was the deciding factor of the war_.... On the Piave the Austro-Hungarian Empire went to pieces, from the Piave started its flight on white wings the victory of the people in arms. The Government means to exalt the spiritual strength which rises out of the victory of a people in arms. It does not mean to disperse them, because it represents the sacred seed of the future. The more distant we get from those days, from that memorable victory, the more they seem to us wonderful, the more the victory appears enveloped in a halo of legend. In such a victory everybody would wish to have taken part!

_We must win the Peace!_ Too late somebody perceived that when the country is in danger the duty of all citizens, from the highest to the lowest, is only one: to fight, to suffer and, if needs be, to die!

We have won the war, we have demolished an Empire which threatened our frontiers, stifled us and held us for ever under the extortion of armed menace. History has no end. Comrades! The history of peoples is not measured by years, but by tens of years, by centuries. This manifestation of yours is an infallible sign of the vitality of the Italian people.

The phrase “we must win the peace” is not an empty one. It contains a profound truth. Peace is won by harmony, by work and by discipline. This is the new gospel which has been opened before the eyes of the new generations who have come out of the trenches; a gospel simple and straightforward, which takes into account all the elements, which utilises all the energies, which does not lend itself to tyrannies of grotesque exclusivism, because it has one sole aim, a common aim: the greatness and the salvation of the nation!

Fellow-soldiers! You have come to Rome, and it is natural, I dare to say, fated! Because Rome is always, as it will be to-morrow and in the centuries to come, the living heart of our race! It is the imperishable symbol of our vitality as a people. Who holds Rome, holds the nation!

_The “Black Shirts” buried the Past._ I assure you, my fellow-soldiers, that my Government, in spite of the manifest or hidden difficulties, will keep its pledges. It is the Government of Vittorio Veneto. You feel it and you know it. And if you did not believe it, you would not be here assembled in this square. Carry back to your towns, to your lands, to your houses, distant but near to my heart, the vigorous impression of this meeting.

Keep the flame burning, because that which has not been, may be, because if victory was maimed once, it does not follow that it can be maimed a second time! (Loud cheers, repeated cries of “We swear it!”)

I keep in mind your oath. I count upon you as I count upon all good Italians, but I count, above all, upon you, because you are of my generation, because you have come out from the bloody filth of the trenches, because you have lived and struggled and suffered in the face of death, because you have fulfilled your duty and have the right to vindicate that to which you are entitled, not only from the material but from the moral point of view. I tell you, I swear to you, that the time is passed for ever when fighters returning from the trenches had to be ashamed of themselves, the time when, owing to the threatening attitudes of Communists, the officers received the cowardly advice to dress in plain clothes. (Applause.) All that is buried. You must not forget, and nobody forgets, that seven months ago fifty-two thousand armed “black shirts” came to Rome to bury the past! (Loud cheers.)

Soldiers! Fellow-Soldiers! Let us raise before our great unknown comrade the cry, which sums up our faith: Long live the King! Long live Italy, victorious, impregnable, immortal! (Loud cheers, whilst all the flags are raised and waved amidst the enthusiasm of the immense crowd in the square.)

THE RELATIONS BETWEEN ITALY AND THE UNITED STATES

Speech by the American Ambassador to Rome.

On the 28th June 1923 the Italo-American Association held in Rome a banquet in honour of Mr. Richard Washburn Child, American Ambassador to Italy, and of the Hon. Mussolini, President of the Italian Council. The two distinguished guests delivered the following speeches,[14] which have a special importance, both with regard to Fascismo and to Italo-American relations.

Footnote 14:

The two speeches have been courteously given at his request to Baron Quaranta di San Severino for publication by the American Ambassador, Richard Washburn Child.

The object of this meeting was clearly explained by the Hon. Baron Sardi, Italian Under-Secretary of State for Public Works, in an appropriate address to the illustrious guests (published in full by the Bulletin of the Library for American Studies in Italy, No. 5), in which, after having thanked them in the name of Senator Ruffini, President of the Association, still detained on account of important duties in Geneva, and also in the name of the other members, for the honour they conferred on the Society by their presence, went on to lay stress on the purpose for which the Association exists, namely, to promote a better reciprocal understanding between the American and Italian peoples through the manifold activities of their respective countries.

The Hon. Sardi announced that during the summer months of this year courses of preparation will be inaugurated again for American students who wish to come and visit our country and study our language, literature and history, while for next October, under the patronage of the American Ambassador and the Italian Premier, with the co-operation of American and Italian professors, special industrial and commercial courses are in preparation. The American students will be able to benefit by the use of the valuable library of the Association, which is daily enriched by the competent work of Commendatore Harry Nelson Gay and his collaborators.

The Hon. Sardi, after referring to the fraternity of arms, which during the Great War brought together the soldiers of Italy and America, said that, having returned now to the peaceful spheres of industry and culture, these forms of effort contribute strongly to cement between the two countries that spiritual fraternity which arises out of a better mutual acquaintance with the respective virtues and qualities and a clearer realisation of our aspirations.

The orator concluded by expressing the wish that the Italo-American Association, by the indissoluble union of cultured minds, might be able to intensify the bonds already uniting the United States of America and Italy.

Mr. President and Gentlemen,—It is my privilege to propose a toast to the King and to the spirit of an Italy now stronger and more united than ever before.

I wish to express the earnest hope that my country and yours will continue to stand together in upholding ideals which make men strong instead of tolerating those which make men weak.

During the last eight months Italy has made an extraordinary contribution to the whole world by raising ideals of human courage, discipline, and responsibility. I would be unfaithful to my beliefs and to those of hosts of Americans if I failed to acknowledge the part played by your President of Council, Mussolini, with the people of Italy, in giving to all mankind an example of courageous national organisation founded upon the disciplined responsibility of the individual to the State, upon the abandonment of false hopes in feeble doctrines, and upon appeal to the full vigorous strength of the human spirit.

We have heard a great deal in the last few years about the menace which war brings before the face of the world. I am confident that my people and your people are willing to act together to contribute anything possible to reduce the dangers of war, but I hold the belief, and I think your Premier holds the belief, that worse menaces than war now oppose the progress of mankind. Folly and weakness and decay are worse.

These menaces of weakness are often fostered by men of good intentions, who talk about the need to rescue mankind and about the necessity to establish the rights of mankind.

I want to see leaders of men who, instead of teaching humanity to look outside themselves for help, will teach humanity that it has power within itself to relieve its own distress. I want to see leaders who, instead of telling men of their rights, will lead them to take a full share of their responsibilities.

I do not doubt that the spirit of benevolence is a precious possession of mankind, but a more precious possession is the spirit which raises the strength of humanity so that benevolence itself becomes less of a necessity. He who makes himself strong and calls upon others to be strong is even more kind and loving of the world than he who encourages men to seek dependence on forces outside themselves or upon impracticable plans for new social structures. I do not doubt the good faith of many of those who put forth theories of new arrangements of social, economic and international structure, but they may all be sure that more important than any of these theories is individual responsibility and the growth and spread of self-reliance in the home and in the nation.

I do not doubt that we, Italians and Americans, have a full appreciation of the pity which we ought to confer upon weak or wailing groups or nations or races which clamour for help or favour; but I trust that, even in the competition of peace or war, I shall be the last ever to believe that weak groups or nations or races are superior or are more worthy of my affection than those who mind their own business with industry, strength and courage, and stand upon their own strong legs.

I do not question the motives of many of those who, feeling affectionate regard for the welfare of their fellow-men, hope for a structure of society in which international bodies shall hand down benefactions to communities, and communities shall hand down benefactions to individuals. I merely point out that some nations, such as yours and mine, are beginning to believe that these ideas come out of thoughts which, though easily adopted, are the offspring of a marriage of benevolence with ignorance. In any structure of society which can command our respect and our faith the current of responsibility runs the other way. The doctrine that the world’s strength arises from the responsibility of the individual is a sterner doctrine. The leaders of men who insist upon it are those who will be owed an eternal debt by mankind.

The strength of society must come from the bottom upward. The world needs now more than anything else the doctrine that the first place to develop strength is at home, the first duty is the nearest duty. A strong co-operation of nations can only be made of nations which are strong nations, a strong nation can only be made of good and strong individuals.

When one makes the _fasces_, the first requirement is to find the individual rods, straight, strong and wiry, such as you have found, Mr. President, and so skilfully bound together in the strength of unity. But if they had been rotten sticks you could not have made the _fasces_. Unity in action would have been impossible. The rotten sticks would have fallen to pieces in your fingers.

Mr. President, what the world needs is not better theories and dreams, but better men to carry them out. The world needs a spirit which thinks first of responsibilities before it thinks of rights. It was this spirit which you have done so much to awaken into new life in Italy.

Not long ago I heard a speech made by a foreigner in Italy who is used to dealing with economic statistics. He was trying to account for the new life in Italy on the basis of comparative statistics. I told him he could not do it until he could produce statistics of the human spirit. I told him he could not account for everything in Italy until he could reduce to statistics that wonderful record of the human spirit which in scarcely more than half a century has created the new Italy. I told him he would have to account for the number of Italians who in 1848 and 1859, in the Great War and 1923, had a cause for which they were willing to die. I told him that I was always a nationalist before I was an internationalist, and I would go on being a nationalist, believing in the spirit of strong and upright and generous nationalism, and believing not in theorising nations or whining peoples, but in nations and peoples who develop a national spirit so finely tempered that they offer to the world an example of organisation, discipline and fair play, because they themselves are upright and strong men and can contribute valuably to international co-operation. I said to him that when he could produce statistics on human virtues and human spirit he would be nearer to understanding what made progress in the world. I asked him if he had figures to show the difference between nations which breed men who are ready to die for their beliefs and nations which produce no such men. I asked him to put his figures back in his pocket and go out and talk to the youth of Italy.

Mr. President, the youth of Italy, as in any other country, are the trustees of the spirit of to-morrow. It is a fact which goes almost unnoticed, that the training of masses of youth in the spirit of discipline and fair competition and of loyalty to a cause is largely to be found in athletic games. It is a fact which almost always is forgotten, that nations of history or those of to-day which have engaged in athletic games are the strong nations, and those which have had no athletics are the weak nations. It is a fact almost neglected that nations which can express their spirit of competition in athletics are the nations which have the least destructive restlessness within and are the most fair and, indeed, are the most restrained in their dealings with other nations.

Athletic games teach the lesson that every man who competes must win by reason of his own virtue. No help can come from without. There is no special privilege for anyone. He who wins does so by merit alone. Athletic games, whenever they are carried on by teams, teach the lesson that the individual must put aside his own interests for the good of his group. There must be a voluntary submission to discipline and absolute loyalty to a captain in order to avoid the humiliation of disorganisation and defeat.

Athletic games are not for the weak and complaining, but for the strong and for the lovers of fair play.

Finally, they furnish oft-repeated lessons of the truth that when flesh and muscles and material agencies seem about to fail, human will and human spirit can work miracles of victory.

Because I believe in these ideals for my own country and for yours, I offer through you, for the purposes which the Olympic Committee of Italy will set forth, a small but friendly token of my deep interest in the youth of Italy. (Loud applause.)

THE ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER’S REPLY

Mr. Ambassador,—The discourse which your Excellency has pronounced at this reunion strengthens the bonds of sympathy and fraternity between Italy and America, and has profoundly interested me in my capacity as an Italian and as a Fascista. As an Italian, because you have spoken frank words of cordial approval of the Government which I have the honour to direct. I have no need to add that this cordiality is reciprocated by me and by all Italians. There is no doubt that the elements for a practical collaboration between the two countries exist. It is only a question of organising this collaboration. Some things have been done, but more remain to be done.

I will not surprise your Excellency if I point out, without going into

## particulars, a problem which concerns us directly. I speak of the

problem of emigration. I limit myself only to saying that Italy would greet with satisfaction an opening in the somewhat rigid meshes of the Immigration Bill, so that there could be an increase in Italian emigration to North America, and would greet with similar satisfaction the employment of American capital in Italian enterprises. As a Fascista, the words of your Excellency have interested me because they reveal an exact understanding of the phenomenon and of our movement, and constitute a sympathetic and powerful vindication of it. This fact is the more remarkable because the Fascismo movement is so complex that the mind of a stranger is not always the best adapted to understand it. You, Mr. Ambassador, constitute the most brilliant exception to this rule. Your discourse, I say, contains all the philosophy of Fascismo and of the Fascismo endeavour, interwoven with an exaltation of strength, of beauty, of discipline, of authority, and of the sense of responsibility. You have been able to show, Mr. Ambassador, that in spite of the numerous difficulties of the general situation, Fascismo has kept faith to its promises given before the “March on Rome.” The time intervening since those promises were made has been short, so that only a stupid person would pretend that the work is already completed. I limit myself to saying that I find corroboration by your Excellency that it is well begun.

I am certain, Mr. Ambassador, that all Italians will read with emotion the words which you have pronounced on this memorable occasion. I ask you especially to believe this. I have heard, just now, not a discourse in the manner and strain of an ordinary conventional speech, but a clear and inspiring exposition of the conception of life and history which animates Italian Fascismo. I do not believe that I exaggerate when I say that this conception finds strong and numerous partisans even on the other side of the ocean, among the citizens of a people who have not the thousands of years of history behind them which we have, but who march to-day in the vanguard of human progress. In this affinity of conceptions I find the solid basis for the fraternal understanding between Italy and America. The announcement that you, Mr. Ambassador, are giving a wreath of gold to the Italian youth who will be victor in the next Olympic competition games will win the hearts of all Italian athletes, and of these there are, as you know, innumerable legions.

I thank your Excellency in the name of Italian youth, almost all of whom have put on the “black shirt,” especially the young athletes, and, at the same time that I encourage the Italo-American Society to persevere in the execution of its splendid programme, I declare that my Government will do whatever is necessary to develop and strengthen the economic and political relations between the United States and Italy.

I raise my glass to the health of President Harding and the fortunes of the great American people. (Loud applause.)

“THE GREATNESS OF THE COUNTRY WILL BE ACHIEVED BY THE NEW GENERATIONS”

Speech delivered 2nd July 1923 in Rome, at the Palazzo Venezia, before the schoolboys of Trieste, Nicastro, Castelgandolfo, Vetralla and Perugia and their masters, who were accompanied by representatives of the Roman “balillas,” and had come to Rome to pay homage at the tomb of the “Unknown Warrior,” before which they laid a wreath of beaten iron and kneeling repeated the oath of love and loyalty to the King and the Country. The Hon. Mussolini with the Minister of War, General Diaz; the Under-Secretary of State for the Presidency, Hon. Acerbo; General De Bono, the Director General of Police; Signor Lombardo Radice, the Director General of Primary Schools, and other officials, greeted them. The Hon. Mussolini thus addressed the meeting:

On this radiant morning you have offered the capital a magnificent spectacle. Romans, having lived through many millenniums of history, are rather slow in being impressed by events and are not easily to be carried away by excessive enthusiasm. They have certainly however been filled to-day with admiration at this scene of promising youth which has been offered them by the schoolboys here gathered from all parts of Italy and especially from the “Venezia Giulia,” particularly dear to the heart of all Italians. It was well said that in the dark pre-war days the schools of the National League and in general the schools entrusted to Italian masters represented the centre around which were nursed the hopes and the faith of the Italian race. I am glad to express to you the feelings of my brotherly sympathy. I am pleased to add that the National Government, the Fascista Government, holds in high esteem the scholarly characteristics and has deep respect for the teachers of all grades, of all schools.

The Fascista Government feels and knows that the _greatness of the country, to which all of us must consecrate the best of our energies, will be achieved by the new generations_.

You (continued the Hon. Mussolini, turning especially to the masters), you must be the artificers—as you show you are—of this great Italian restoration.

The task falls on you of blending together in increasing intimacy the intellectual life of the Italians who were slaves to Austria with that of the Italians who rose and sacrificed themselves by hundreds of thousands to break their fetters.

You passed before the Unknown Warrior, and you certainly gathered his spirit; take it to Trieste near the other great spirit of him who was the forerunner of your liberation and of ours: Guglielmo Oberdan! (Loud applause.)

THE SITUATION ON THE RUHR AND OTHER QUESTIONS OF FOREIGN POLICY

Speech delivered 3rd July 1923, at the Council of Ministers.

Honourable Ministers and Colleagues,—From my last detailed declarations of Foreign Policy made at the Senate up to to-day the salient events of international politics are the following:

_The Bulgarian Coup d’état._ The first is the Bulgarian _coup d’état_, following which the opponents of the Fascista Government fell into certain paradoxical misunderstandings. The end of Stambuliski and the advent of Zankoff aroused a certain ferment in some of the countries of the Little Entente. Italy at once took a moderating action in the right quarters and the complications feared were averted.

_The Treaty of Lausanne._ The signing of the Peace Treaty of Lausanne seems imminent.

_The Situation in the Ruhr._ In the last few days the situation in the Ruhr has become aggravated. On one side the passive resistance continues; on the other, the occupation is extended and intensified by measures of a nature increasingly political and military. A general repercussion of this crisis, which seems to have reached its acute stage, is felt by the European exchanges, which are all falling, not excluding the English sovereign, as compared with the dollar.

The attempt made by the Pope, so noble in its humanitarian and European aims, has not modified the situation. On the day after the letter to Cardinal Gasparri there was, on the part of the French, Poincaré’s speech, which had the unanimous approval of the Senate, and, on the same day, the fearful act of “sabotage” which cost the lives of many Belgian soldiers. All this does not represent a _détente_ but an aggravation of the situation.

In the meanwhile, following the solution of the Belgian crisis, it has been possible to resume diplomatic action. Italy participates directly in it, and as soon as she sees the problem on its way to complete solution, will signify her consent to those propositions of the Memorandum of London, from which none of the projects presented afterwards has departed, that is to say: connection of the problem of Reparations with that of Inter-Allied debts; sufficient moratorium to Germany; the fixing of a definite amount; rational scheme for payment; solid guarantees of an economic nature and, hence, renunciation on the part of France of the territorial occupation of the Ruhr.

As for passive resistance, the Italian Government thinks that it is not in Germany’s interest to prolong it, because she cannot hope to weaken France nor can she delude herself that she may obtain outside help.

It is certainly necessary urgently to hasten the possibility of an agreement, as the occupation of the Ruhr has weighed heavily on the economic life of Europe, delaying its recovery.

_Fiume._ As to the question of Fiume, representations have been made to Belgrade so that negotiations might be conducted more equably, in view of the situation of the town and of the necessity of putting on a normal footing the relations between the two countries. (The Council approves the declarations of the Hon. Mussolini.)

THE ELECTORAL REFORM BILL

Speech delivered at the Chamber of Deputies on 16th July 1923.

Honourable Gentlemen,—I should have preferred to speak to this Assembly on that question of Foreign Policy which at this moment interests Italy and fills the world with excitement: I mean the Ruhr. I should have proved that the action of Italy is autonomous, and is inspired by the protection of our interests and also by the need generally felt to get out of a crisis which impoverishes and humiliates our continent. (Assent.) I promise myself to do so shortly, if the Chamber does not have the whim to-day of dying before its time. (Laughter and prolonged comments.) My speech will be calm and measured, although fundamentally forceful. It will be composed of two parts: one that I should like to call “negative,” and another which I shall call “positive.”

After all, I am not sorry that the discussion has gone, little or far, beyond the limits in which it could have been confined. The discussion on the Electoral Bill has offered opportunity to the Opposition to reveal itself, to move, from all its sections, from all its benches, to an attack against the policy and the political system of my Government. It will not surprise you, therefore, if, although not entering into details of all the speeches, I pick out from what has been said by the principal speakers those arguments and those propositions which I must definitely refute.

_Warning to the Popular Party._ As the speech by the Hon. Petrillo was favourable to the Government, it is not worth while to busy ourselves with it. (Laughter.)

I shall give my attention to the speech delivered by the Hon. Gronchi,—a speech fine as regards its form, and perhaps still finer as regards its contents. The Hon. Gronchi has once again offered the Government a collaboration of convenience, as in those _mariages de convenance_ which do not last or which end in ceaseless yawns. (Comment.)

Your collaboration, Gentlemen of the Popular Party, largely consists of details omitted. Your party, too, shows the same weakness. You should set to work and clear them up.

I do not know for how long these elements who wish to collaborate legally with the National Government can still remain united with your party, together with those who would wish to do so but cannot, because their inmost feelings do not allow them this step and this collaboration. You certainly know me well enough to understand that, as far as political discussion goes, I am intransigent. The small fry of the two-fifths and of the three-quarters or some other fraction of this electoral arithmetic does not interest nor concern me. Politics cannot be compared to a retail business. (Assent and comment.) To be or not to be! I am such a poor electoralist that I could even let you have the thirty or forty deputies who satisfy you; but I do not give them to you, as this would be immoral, because it would represent a transaction which must be repugnant to your conscience, as it is to mine. (Assent and comment.) In fact, I cannot accept a kind of Malthusian collaboration! (Laughter and approval.)

_The Russian and the Italian Revolutions both tend to overcome all Ideologies._ The speech delivered by the Hon. Labriola was certainly powerful. He said that Ministerial crises are a substitute for revolution. He should have said “Ersatz,” because substitutes, since the war, are of German origin. That is too like the opinion of a herbalist to be accepted. It may be that the want of Ministerial crises leads to revolution, but here you have an example that shows how excessive Ministerial crises lead also to revolution. But, above all, it astounded me to hear the Hon. Labriola still employ the old vocabulary of second-class Socialist literature, speaking of bourgeoisie and proletariat—two entities clearly defined and perpetually in a state of antagonism. It is certainly true that there is not one bourgeoisie, but there are, perhaps, twenty-four or forty-eight bourgeoisies and under-bourgeoisies. The same can be said of the proletariat. What relation can there be between a workman of the “Fiat” factory—specialised, refined, with tendencies and tastes already bourgeois, who earns thirty to fifty lire a day—what relation can there be between this so-called proletarian and the poor peasant of Southern Italy, who despairingly scrapes his land burnt by the sun? (Assent and comments.)

The Hon. Labriola has said that only the proletariat can give itself the luxury of a dictatorship. This is a mistake which is proved and can be proved. The only example of dictatorship is offered us by Russia. But the Hon. Labriola has written dozens of articles to prove that dictatorship does not exist in Russia and that dictatorship is not “of” but “upon” the proletariat. All those who govern the Russian States are professors, lawyers, economists, literary men, men of talent; that is to say, men coming from the professional classes, from the bourgeoisie.

The fault which the Hon. Labriola lays on us, finding an analogy between the methods and the evolution of the Russian and of the Italian revolution, does not exist. And here I make a simple statement of historical order. It is a fact that both revolutions tend to destroy all the ideologies and in a certain sense the Liberal and Democratic institutions which were the outcome of the French Revolution.

_Italy pulled herself together after Caporetto, because the necessary Discipline of War was imposed on her._ During the last few days use and abuse of a polemic method have been made, that of unearthing the writings and opinions of the past to employ them as a weapon in the present dispute. This is a very wretched system which I am going to use against those who have adopted it.

In his speech the Hon. Alessio has stated that the defeat of the Central Empires was due to the deficiency of their representative organs. This is a totally one-sided explanation. There has been a war; millions of men have fought against the Central Empires and defeated them. Another mistake is to say that after Caporetto Italy pulled herself together because she had regained her liberty. Nothing of the kind! The reason is that the necessary war discipline was imposed upon her. (Loud applause on the Right.) I am not one of those who think that Caporetto was due entirely to the disintegration of the country in rear of the fighting front. It was a military reverse in its causes and development; but there is no doubt that the atmosphere of the country, an atmosphere of leniency and of excessive tolerance, has produced disturbing moral phenomena which must have contributed to our reverse.

_The Dawn of Italian Risorgimento came from the Bourgeoisie of Naples._ The other statement made by the Hon. Alessio, that the Italian Risorgimento represented the efforts of the Italian lower classes, is superficial. Alas! it is not so. The Italian lower classes were absent and often hostile to it. The first dawn of the Italian Risorgimento came from Naples, from that bourgeoisie of intelligent and gallant professional men which in Southern Italy represents a class historically, politically and morally well-defined. (Applause and assent.) Those who at Nola in 1821 hoisted the standard of revolution against the Bourbons were two cavalry officers. All the noble martyrology of the Italian Risorgimento is formed out of elements of the bourgeoisie. Nothing is sadder than the useless sacrifice of the Bandiera brothers. And when you think of the tragedy of Carlo Pisacane you are thrilled! (Applause.) I should like to deny that Giuseppe Mazzini himself can be included in Democracy. His methods were certainly not democratic. He was very consistent in his aims, but how many times was he not incoherent and changeable in his means?

_The Expedition to the Crimea really prepared the way for the Unity of Italy._ And what about Cavour? I think that the event which really prepared the way for the unity of the country was the expedition to the Crimea,—(Comment.)—which represents one of the most noteworthy in history. I recall it because it shows how in solemn hours the decision is left to one man, who must consult only his own conscience. (Applause and comment.) When General Dabormida refused to sign the Treaty of Alliance with France and with England, Cavour, on the same evening of the 1st of January 1855, signed it without consulting Parliament or the Council of Ministers, and signed it above all at his discretion without imposing any condition whatsoever. It was a stroke of rashness that you might call sublime. Cavour himself recognised it, and when writing to Count Oldofredi, he said: “I have taken a tremendous responsibility on my shoulders. It does not matter. Let happen what may. My conscience tells me that I have fulfilled a sacred duty!”

When the soldiers of the small and valiant Piedmont were on the point of leaving, the discussion in the Subalpine Parliament took place, and Angelo Brofferio, a kind of Cavallotti of the time,—(Comment.)—accused Cavour of not having a definite political line of conduct. It is really worth while to read part of this speech, because it closely recalls the speeches which during the present week have been made in this hall.

“Our Ministers,” said Angelo Brofferio, “represent all ideas and all convictions. At one time they become Conservatives and withhold the Jury from the Press; another time they ape the Democrats and raise cries against usurpations of Rome; still another time they throw off the mask and become retrogrades in order to unite with Austria!”

Angelo Brofferio ends with these really singular words: “Where is in this system respect for convention and for constitutional morality?” and, referring to the Treaty, he added: “May God preserve us from that sinister eventuality! But if you agree to this Treaty, the prostitution of Piedmont and the ruin of Italy will be accomplished facts!”

It is curious, also, that another powerful ideologist, certainly sacred to the memory of all Italians, Giuseppe Mazzini, was very much against this Treaty, even to the extent of calling “deported” the Piedmontese soldiers who were leaving for the Crimea and of inciting them to desert! But Garibaldi, a far more practical leader, had an intuition of the fundamental importance of the Treaty of Alliance between Piedmont and Western Powers. “Italy,” said Garibaldi, “should lose no opportunity of unfurling her flag on the battlefield which might recall to European nations her political existence.”

To-day you certainly all agree in recognising that history has shown that Angelo Brofferio was in the wrong and Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, was entirely in the right. (Assent.)

_The Moral Unity of the Italian People._ The speech delivered by the Hon. Amendola is, after that of the Hon. Labriola, more worthy of being analysed. He said: “The Italian people are affected by a moral and spiritual crisis, which is certainly connected with our intervention, with the war, and with the after-war period,” and he concluded by suggesting that it is necessary to give to this Italian people its moral unity. Well, we must be clear. What means “moral unity of the Italian people”? A minimum common denominator, a common field for action, in which all the National Parties meet and understand each other, a general levelling of all opinions, of all convictions, of all parties? For me it is sufficient that moral unity should exist in certain decisive hours of the life of the people. We cannot expect to have it on all days and on all questions. On the other hand I firmly believe that this moral, fundamental unity of the Italian people is already at work. We ourselves see it realised, perhaps not so much by our political work as by the war, which has made Italians know one another, and has thrown them together, making of this small peninsula of ours a kind of family.

Many local boundaries which separated provinces and regions have disappeared. Now we must complete the work. The Hon. Bentini, speaking of the freedom of the Press, to which subject we will return later, quoted the episode of Garibaldi and Dumas. I fully approve the answer given by Garibaldi. But I ask you—if the newspaper _Indipendente_ had, by chance, published news concerning the movements of the Garibaldian troops or discrediting the military action, do you think that Garibaldi would not have suppressed that paper? (Assent and comment.)

_We have the Power—we shall hold it and defend it against all!_ But in the speech by the Hon. Bentini, what is particularly singular is the confusion between tactics and political strategy. To-day it is possible to win many battles and the war can be lost or won. What happened? You had brilliant tactical results, but afterwards you had not the courage of undertaking what was necessary to reach the final goal. You conquered a great many outlying communes, provinces and institutions, and you did not understand that all this was perfectly useless if, at a given moment, you had not become masters of the brains, of the heart of the nation,—(Interruptions on the Extreme Left.)—if, that is to say, you had not the courage of making use of a political strategy. To-day your chance is over, and do not delude yourselves!

History offers certain chances only once. (Assent on the Extreme Right.) But to understand this law it is necessary, Honourable Gentlemen, to keep before you two very simple considerations, and they are these: there has been a war which has shifted interests, which has modified ideas, which has exasperated feelings, and there has also been a revolution. To make a revolution it is not necessary to play the great drama of the arena. We have left many dead on the roads to Rome and naturally anybody who deludes himself is a fool. _We have the power and we shall hold it. We shall defend it against anybody!_

The revolution lies in this firm determination to hold power! (Assent and comment.)

_The Italian People under the Domination of a Liberticidal Government, groaning under the Fetters of Slavery?_ And now I come to the practical side of the discussion.

They speak of liberty. But what is this liberty? Does liberty exist? After all, it represents a philosophical and moral concept. There are various manifestations of liberty. Liberty never existed. The Socialists have always denied it. The liberty of work has never been admitted by you. You have beaten the blackleg when he presented himself at the factories when the other workmen were on strike. (Applause: interruptions by the Extreme Left.)

But then is it really true and proved that the Italian people are under the domination of a liberticidal Government, and groans in the fetters of slavery? Is mine a liberticidal Government?

In the social field, No! I had the courage to transform the eight hours day into a law of the State. (Comments on the Extreme Left.) Do not despise this victory; do not undervalue it. (Assent.) I have approved all the social and pacifist Conventions of Washington. What has this Government done in the political field? It is said that Democracy lies where suffrage is widened. Well, this Government has maintained universal suffrage. And, although Italian women, who are intelligent enough to exact it, had not done so, I have given it, be it only as regards the municipal elections to from six to eight millions of women! No exceptional laws were passed,—(Comments on the Extreme Left.)—and the regulation of the Press is not an exceptional law.

You forget a very simple thing, that the revolution has the right of defending itself. (Approval from the Right: comments.) Is there in Russia liberty of association for those who are not Bolshevists? No! Is there liberty of Press for them? No! Is there liberty of meeting, of vote? No! (Applause: comments on the Extreme Left.) You who are the defenders of the Russian régime have not the right to protest against a régime like mine, which cannot, even distantly, be compared with that of the Bolshevists. (Approval on the Right: comments on the Left.)

I am not, Gentlemen, a despot who remains locked up in a castle protected by strong walls. I circulate freely amongst the people without any concern whatsoever, and I listen to them. (Loud assent.) Well, the Italian people, up to now, have not asked for liberty. (Assent on the Right: comments on the Extreme Left.) At Messina the population which surrounded my carriage said: “Take us out of these wooden huts.” (Assent.) In Sardinia—(you will notice that I am speaking of a region where Fascismo has not tens of thousands of followers as in Lombardy)—in Sardinia, at Arbatax, men came to me with drawn faces; they surrounded me and, pointing out to me a track with a putrid river among the marshy reeds, said to me: “Malaria is killing us!” They did not speak to me of liberty, of the Statute, of the Constitution. It is the emigrants of the Fascista revolution who create this idol which the Italian people, and now, too, foreign public opinion, has largely dismantled. (Loud applause on the Right.)

Every day I receive dozens of Committees, and hundreds of applications are flung on my desk, in which one might say that the urgent needs of each of the eight thousand communes of Italy are represented.

Well, why should all those not come to me and say: “We suffer because you oppress us”? But there is a reason, a fact to which I wish to draw your attention. You say that the ex-soldiers fought for liberty. How does it happen, then, that these ex-soldiers are in favour of a liberticidal Government? (Applause.)

Are force and consent antagonistic elements? Not at all! In force there is already consent, and consent is force in itself and for itself.

But tell me, have you found on the face of the earth a Government, of whatsoever kind, which claimed to make happy all the people it governed? But this would mean the squaring of the circle! Whatever Government, be it even directed by men participating in the Divine wisdom, whatever measure it takes, will make some people discontented. And how can you check this discontent? By force! What is the State? It is the police. All your codes of law, the laws themselves, all your doctrines are nothing if, at a given moment, the police by their physical strength do not make felt the indestructible weight of the law. (Comments and assent.)

_We do not want to abolish Parliament._ They say that we want to abolish Parliament. No! It is not true. First of all, we do not know what we could substitute for it. (Comment.) Parliaments, the so-called Technical Councils, are still in the embryonic stage.

Maybe they represent some principles of life. With such subjects one can never be dogmatic or explicit; but, in the face of to-day’s state of affairs, they represent only attempts. Maybe that in a second stage it may be possible to allot to these Technical Councils a portion of the legislative work.

But, Gentlemen, I beg you to consider that Fascismo is in favour of elections. That is to say, it calls for the elections, in order to conquer the communes and the provinces. It has called for them in order to send Deputies to Parliament; it does not, therefore, seek to abolish Parliament. On the contrary, as I said before and I repeat it, the Government wants to make of Parliament a more serious, if not more solemn institution: it wants, if possible, to bridge over that hiatus which undeniably exists between Fascismo and the country.

_Fascismo is not a transitory Phenomenon. Do not hope that its Life will be short!_ Gentlemen, we must follow Fascismo, I will not say with love, but with intelligence. There must be no illusions. How many times from those benches it was said that Fascismo was a transitory phenomenon! You saw it. It is an imposing phenomenon which gathers in its followers, one might say, by millions. It is the largest mass party which has ever existed in Italy. It has in itself some vital, powerful force, and since it is different from all others, as regards its extent, its organisation, its discipline, do not hope that its life be short!

To-day Fascismo is going through the travail of a profound transformation. You will ask: “When will Fascismo grow up?” Oh! I do not wish it to grow up too soon! (Laughter.) I prefer that it should continue still for some time as it is to-day till all are resigned to the _fait accompli_, and have its fine armour and its virile warlike soul.

There is a fact which is rapidly transforming the essence of Fascismo. The Fascista Party, on one side, becomes a Militia, and, on the other, becomes an administration and a Government. It is incredible what a change the head of a “squadra” undergoes when he becomes an alderman or a mayor. He understands that it is not possible to attack abruptly the Communal Budgets without preparation, but that it is necessary to study them and devote himself to the administrative part, which is a hard, dry, and difficult task. (Applause.) And as the communes conquered by Fascisti number now several thousands, you will conclude that the transformation of Fascismo into an organ of administration is taking place and will be soon an accomplished fact.

_Liberty must not be converted into Licence, and Licence I shall never grant!_ You ask: “When will this moral pressure of Fascismo end?” I understand that you are anxious about it. It is natural, but it depends on you. You know that I should be happy to-morrow to have in my Government the direct representatives of the organised working classes. I would like to have them with me; I would like also to entrust them with a Ministry which requires delicate handling, so as to convince them that the administration of the State is a thing of the utmost complexity and difficulty, that there is little to improvise, that _tabula rasa_ must not be made, as in some revolutions, because afterwards it is necessary to rebuild. You cannot take a corporal of the division of Petrograd and make of him a general, because afterwards you have to call in a Brusiloff! (Comment.) To sum up, so long as opponents exist who, instead of resigning themselves to the _fait accompli_, contemplate a reactionary movement, we cannot disarm. But I say further that the last experience after your attempt at the strike of last year must also have convinced you by now that that road will lead you to ruin; whilst, on the other hand, you ought to take into account, once and for all, if you have in your veins a little Marxist doctrine, that there is a new situation, to which (if you are intelligent and watch over the interests of the classes you say you represent) you should conform. And, moreover, Colombino, who is a friend of Ludovico d’Aragona, can say if I am an enemy of the working classes. I dare him to deny my statement that six thousand workmen belonging to the Italian Metallurgic Consortium work to-day because I helped them and because I did my duty as citizen and head of the Italian Government. (Comment and assent.)

But liberty, Gentlemen, must not be converted into licence. What they ask for is licence, and this I shall never grant! (Loud applause and comment.) You can, if you wish, organise and march along in processions and I shall have you escorted. But if you intend to throw stones at the carabineers or to pass through a street where it is forbidden to do so, you will find the State which opposes you, if necessary by force. (Loud applause on the Right: comment on the Left.)

_Close Analysis of the Electoral Reform Bill._ But this Electoral Law which harasses us so much: is it really a monster? I declare it to you that, were it a monster, I should like to hand it over at once to a museum of monstrosities. (Laughter.) This law, of which I have traced the fundamental lines, but which afterwards has been successively elaborated by my friend the Hon. Acerbo, and re-elaborated by the Commission, I do not know whether for better or for worse,—(Much laughter.)—is a creation, and, like all creations of this world, has its qualities and defects. One must not condemn it as a whole; it would be a great mistake.

You must consider—I say this to you with absolute frankness—that it is a law for us;—(Comments.)—but it involves principles which are ultra-democratic—that of the State election schedule; that of the national constituency, which was the vindication of Socialism, as just now Constantino Lazzari recalled. You say that the struggle is impersonal, that the elections will cause unrest. But who tells you that the elections are near? (Laughter: prolonged comments.) The working of this law is such that a fourth part of the seats is guaranteed to the minorities, while I think that, calling the elections by the present law, the minorities would, perhaps, be further sacrificed. (Assent and comment.) At any rate the impersonality of the struggle withholds from the same struggle that character of harshness which might preoccupy from the point of view of public order. As things stand to-day, elections held on the uninominal constituency or even on the proportional basis would certainly lead to excesses. (Assent.)

_The Government cannot accept Conditions. Either you give it your Confidence or deny it._ I declare that I shall not call elections until I am sure that they will be held in independence and order. (Comment and applause.) I add that while on principle I am, and I must be, intransigent, I entrust myself, in a certain sense, as regards technical discussion, to the competent elements. In this hall there are very many competent elements. They will say how this law can be even more abused or improved. (Comment.) But this is the business of the Chamber, and the Government declares to you that it does not refuse to accept those improvements which would render easier the exercise of the right to vote.

This concerns in a certain sense the Popular Party, which must decide for itself. I have spoken plainly, but I must say not as plainly as has been spoken from those benches. The Government cannot accept conditions. Either you give it your confidence or you deny it. (Assent and comment.)

_On your Vote will depend in a certain sense your Fate!_ I agree with all the speakers who have declared that the country wishes only to be left alone; to work in peace with discipline. And my Government makes enormous efforts to achieve this result and will go on, even if it has to strike its own followers, because, having wished for a strong State, it is only just that we should be the first to experience the consequences of strength. (Loud applause.) I have also the duty of telling you—and I tell you from a debt of loyalty—that on your vote depends in a certain sense your fate! Do not delude yourselves, even in this field, because nobody gets out of the Constitution—neither I nor the others—as nobody can suppose that he is not amply guaranteed according to the spirit and the letter of the Constitution. (Comment.) And then, if things are thus, I tell you, take into account this necessity. Do not let the country have once again the impression that Parliament is far from the soul of the nation and that this Parliament, after having manœuvred for an entire week in a campaign of opposition, has achieved sterile results at the end. Because this is the moment in which Parliament and country can be reconciled. But if this chance is lost, to-morrow will be too late, and you feel it in the air, you feel it in yourselves. And then, Gentlemen, do not hang on political labels, do not stiffen yourselves in the formal coherence of the parties, do not clutch at bits of straw, as do the shipwrecked in the ocean, hoping vainly to save themselves. But listen to the secret and solemn warning of your conscience; listen also to the incoercible voice of the nation!

(The last words of the speech of the Hon. Mussolini, which had been listened to all through with the greatest attention by the Assembly and the Tribunes, are greeted by frantic, repeated applause by the benches of the Right, by the Centre and by many Deputies of the Democratic Left. The ovation lasts for a long time and is intensified by that paid by all the Tribunes.

When the applause is over, all the members of the Government shake hands with the President of the Council, while from the benches of the Right all the Deputies come down to congratulate the Hon. Mussolini, amongst them the Hon. Fera, ex-Minister of Justice, and the ex-Prime Ministers, the Hon. Giolitti, the Hon. Salandra, the Hon. Orlando, and the President of the Chamber, the Hon. De Nicola, who exclaims: “It is the finest speech in the annals of Parliamentary history.”)

The sitting is suspended for half an hour. When it is resumed at 8.10 the Hon. Mussolini agrees to accept the order of the day proposed by Larussa, viz.:

“_The Chamber, reaffirming its confidence in the Government, approves the principles contained in the Electoral Reform Bill, and passes to the discussion of the Articles of the project._”

At 11.10, the operation of voting having been completed, the result is proclaimed, viz.: “_The Chamber of Deputies votes in favour of the Government by a large majority._”

(The sitting is adjourned.)

THE MASSACRE OF THE ITALIAN DELEGATION FOR THE DELIMITATION OF THE GRECO-ALBANIAN FRONTIER

On the 27th of August, General Enrico Tellini, President of the International Commission for the Delimitation of the Greco-Albanian Frontier, the medical officer, Major Luigi Corti, and Lieutenant Mario Bonacini, members of the Mission, were atrociously murdered in Greece, while motoring from Janina to Santi Quaranta.

In consideration of preceding assassinations, of all the concordant information from different sources gathered on the scene of the massacre, and of the persistent campaign of libel and instigation on the part of the Greek Press against Italy and the Italian Military Mission, the Royal Government (the Stefani Agency informs us) has come to the conclusion that the moral as well as implicitly the material responsibility of the massacre falls on the Greek Government. On these grounds the head of the Government, certain of interpreting the sense of indignation of the whole Italian nation, has instructed Commendatore Montagna, Minister at Athens, to present to Greece the following Note containing Italy’s demands.

_Hon. Mussolini’s Note_ to Greece demands on behalf of Italy:

1. Apologies in the most ample and official form, to be presented to the Italian Government at the Royal Italian Legation at Athens through the highest Greek authority;

2. Solemn funeral ceremony for the victims of the massacre, to be celebrated in the Catholic Cathedral at Athens, with the presence of all the members of the Greek Government;

3. Honours to the Italian flag to be paid by the Hellenic Fleet in the bay of the Piraeus to one of our naval divisions, which will proceed there purposely, and this by means of a salute of twenty-one shots fired by the Hellenic ships, whilst the Greek Fleet flies the Italian flag from the masthead;

4. A strict inquiry will be held by the Greek authorities on the scene of the massacre, with the assistance of the Royal Military Italian Attaché, Colonel Perrone, for whose personal safety the Hellenic Government holds itself absolutely responsible. Such an inquiry will have to be conducted within five days of the acceptance of these demands;

5. Capital punishment of the guilty;

6. Indemnity of fifty million Italian lire (about £500,000)—to be paid within five days of the presentation of this Note;

7. Military honours to the remains of the victims upon their embarkation at Prevesa on Italian warships.

MUSSOLINI.

ROME, PALAZZO CHIGI, _29th August 1923_.

FINIS

INDEX

ABBA GARIMA, 164

Abbazia, Conference of, 269, 271, 278–9, 281

Absolutism, 311

Acerbo, Signor, 310, 343; on Electoral Law, 360

Adige, Upper, 109, 111; effect of Austro-German union on question of, 125; Germans in, 109, 131; Fascismo and, 164; Italophobia on, 184–7

Adler, Fritz, 98

Admiralty, Fascisti demand the, 174

Adrianople, 241

Adriatic, eastern shore of, 59; Sauro and the, 74; National Vindications and, 89; Zara and the, 257; Abbazia Conference, 269

Ægean, Bulgaria’s right to a port on the, 125

Albania, rebels in, 21; as a centre of unrest, 125; Commercial Agreement with, 283; massacre of Italian delegation at Janina, 363

Albertini, Senator, 219–20

Alessio, Signor, 350

Alliance, Austro-German, 12; Triple, 22; Republican, 101; Continental, against England, 231; Cavour and Treaty of, with France and England, 351

Alps, the, 60; National Vindications and, 89; Brenner, 107, 192; Julian Alps, 107; Dinaric Alps, 120, 127

Alsace, 100

Amalfi, 113

Ambassadors, Conference of, 268

Ambris, Alcesto de, 9

Amendola, 352

America, cables to, xviii; intervention of, in the war, 53. _See also_ United States

American students, facilities for, in Italy, 335

Ancona, 307

Andreas Hoferbund, 185

Angell, Norman, 11

Angora, National Assembly of, 241; Turkish aspirations, 254; Allied reply to Government of, 280

Arbatax, malaria in, 356

“Arditi,” 74; the Association of, 92

Armenia, oil wells of, 96

Army, Italian, and Fascismo, xii

Arosio, speech 30th March 1923 at, 277

Arpigati, Captain Arturo, 42

Association, of Fighters, 87, 92, 99; of Arditi, 92; of Volunteers, 92; of Garibaldians, 92; of Maimed and Disabled, 316

Athens, Fascismo and “eterie” of, ix

Austria, 12; Italy and the Austro-German Alliance, 12; Austro-German militarism, 16; preparations in, against Roumania, 20; demand for repudiation of Triple Alliance, 22; Republic of, 124; dual monarchy, 187, 249; Commercial Treaty between Italy and, 284; reparations, 295; loan to, 299

Austrian Institute, 281

Austro-Hungarian monarchy, 187, 249

_Avanti_, xvi, 3, 4, 9, 87, 162

Bainsizza, 28

Balbo, Italo, xiii, 310

Baldwin, Mr. Stanley, 296

Balillas, 159, 343

Balkans: Balkan zones of Austria-Hungary, 9; Roumania, 20; Valona, 21, 118; Bulgaria, 125; seeds of war in, 125; Treaty of Rapallo, 125 _et seq._; Montenegro’s independence, 189 _et seq._; Turkey’s success at Lausanne, 213

Bandiera brothers, 351

Baracca Cup, 329

Barbarossa, 27

Barcelona, 270

Barzilai, 224

Battisti, Cesare, 48, 89, 134

Bazzi, 69

Bebel, 26

Belgium, martyrdom of, 12, 14; neutrality, 23; undertaking not to sign separate peace, 19; colonies, 90; ex-President Wilson and, 189

Belgrade, Fiume and the agreement concluded at, 193

Bellini, Senator, 223

Benedict XV., Palestine and, 194; on Ruhr crisis, 345

Bentini, 353

Berchtold, Count, 19, 20

Berne Convention, powers of, respecting international traffic, 270

Bernhardi, von, 26

Bernstein, Edward, and Versailles Treaty, 99

Bersagliere Regt., 11th, Mussolini joins, xvi

Bessarabia, 20

Bezzi, Ergisto, 18, 88

Bianchi, Michele, xiii

Bismarck, 9

Bissolati, Leonida, 158

Black Shirts, Nationalists and, 148; revolution of, a force for progress, 208

Bologna: speech of 24th May 1918 at, 37; speech of 3rd April 1921 at, 134; University of, and Montenegrin independence, 191; Fascista occupation of, 308

Bolshevism: Mussolini saves Italy from, xiv; textile workers’ strike, 68; failure of, in Italy, 73, 167; Mussolini’s fight against, 87, 101; Florence under, 103; Bolshevist element in Italian Socialism, 116; in Trieste, 117, 121; of Russia, 129, 147; the Bolshevist State and the Liberal State, 139; Fascismo and, 166, 179; the Italian Bolshevist world, 178; Germany’s resistance to influence of, 290; Italian losses in crushing, 324; freedom of the Press and, 355

Bolzano, xiii, 163–4; 173, 185, 187, 308

Bonacini, Lieut. Mario, murder of, 363

Bono, General Cesare de, xii, xiii, 309, 343

Bordiga, General, 105

Bourbons, 75, 351

Bourgeoisie, Fascismo and the, 165; Risorgimento and, 50

Breitemburg, Count, 186

Brenner, the: Battisti and, 74; Bezzi and, 88; Italy in possession of, 107; as bulwark against Germany, 110; Paduan valley and, 125; as Italy’s northern boundary, 136; defence of, 184; Mussolini’s declaration to German deputies respecting, 188; Versailles Treaty and, 293

Brest-Litowsk, Treaty of, 44

Brofferio, Angelo, 351–2

Brussels Conference, 1923, 214

Bucharest, Peace of, 44

Budapest, Danube Confederation and, 124; peace of justice, and occupation of, 149, 172

Budget, Italian State, 215, 272–3; Communal, 358

Bulgaria, 10, 125, 213; reparations, 295, 299; _coup d’état_ in, 345

Buozzi, 219

Burian, 20

Cables, conventions relative to, xviii

Cagliari, speech of 12th June 1923 at, 323

Canada, Commercial Treaty with, 214

Cannæ, 288

Capitulations, the, 241, 266

Caporetto, speech after, 30; causes of disaster of, 32; anti-war demonstrations after, 34; national crisis following, 43; German calculations after, 45; Rapallo and, 126; Pact of Rome and, 126; Fascismo and, 135; discipline of war and, 350

Carabineers, xvii, 359

Caradonna, 310

Carducci, 37

Carli, 99

Carso, 28; Italian sentiment for the, 35; Corridoni’s death, 48; insurrection against Trieste on, 118; commemoration ceremony, 120

Carthage, 177

Castelrosso, 280, 302

Castua, 278

Catholicism, Mussolini on, xii

Cattaneo, 53

Cavallotti, 351

Cavazzoni, 252

Caviglia, General, 129

Cavour, Camille, 311; Crimean expedition and, 351

Ceccherini, Maj.-General, xii, 310

Central America, cable to, xviii

Central Empires, 9; war desired by, 27, 72

Cervantes, 114

Cettinge, 190

Chamber of Deputies, Fascista Government and the, 313

Chiesa, 255

Child, Mr. Richard Washburn, speech at Rome by, 335

Chiusa di Verona, 185

Cicerin, Commissioner of Foreign Affairs, Russia, 44

Ciccotti, Ettore, on Italian Fascismo, ix

Cinque Giornate, 28; speech before the monument of, 58; Austrian threat to city of, 135

Cipriani, Amilcare, 5

Civil Law Codes, reformation of, xvii

Class struggle, Mussolini on, 285

Clémenceau, 32, 40, 56; on concessions in Asia Minor, 96

Clemente, Maj.-General Ozol, 310

Coalition Ministry, 221

Coliseum, 234

Colombino, 359

Colonna di Cesaro, 307

Columbus, Christopher, 50

Commerce, Chambers of, International Congress of, 274 _et seq._

Commercial Treaty: with Switzerland, 212; with Canada, 214; with France, 265; with Yugoslavia, 271, 282; with Austria, 281

Committee of Understanding and Action, 93

Committee of Wounded and Disabled Soldiers, 51

Communes, Italian, ix

Communism, x, 116, 334

Comunale, Bologna, speech at the, 37

Constantine, King, 125

Constitution, the, and the Government, 361

_Contadini_, adherents of Fascismo, 316

Conti, Senator, 219

Continental alliance. _See under_ Alliance

Convention, of Washington, 243, 251; for Italo-American cables, 245

_Corriere della Sera_, 163–4

Corridoni Club, 92

Corridoni, Filippo, 48, 59, 71, 88

Corsica, Italians of, 137

Corti, Major Luigi, murder of, 363

Cremona, speech at, 25th Sept. 1922, 158

Crespi, Senator, 161, 258

Crimea, expedition to the, 351

Crispi, Francesco, 108 n.

Cucco, 28

Cuno-Rosenberg Memorandum, 295

Curtatone, 289

Cyrus, 38

Czechoslovakia, Italy’s relations with, 213

Dabormida, General, 351

Dalmatia: Rismondo on, 74; National Vindications and, 89; Italian minorities of, 96; and the victory of Vittorio Veneto, 107; Croats of, 118; Treaty of Rapallo, 125, 262; education of Italians of, 131; care of Italian residents, 132; sufferings of Italians in, 136; Italian unity and, 144; betrayed, 171, 192; Santa Margherita Agreements, 247, 256, 260–1

Dalmine, speech 20th March 1919 at, 63

Dante, 60, 77, 114, 133

D’Annunzio, 77, 114; Mussolini at Fiume with, 103; proclamation to the Croats, 104; legionary occupation of Fiume, 119, 192; the Fiume tragedy, 128–9, 141

Danube Confederation, 124

Danubian States, economic settlement of, 300

D’Aragona, Ludovico, 359

Dardanelles, 214, 241

Death duties, xvii

De Bono, Cesare. _See_ Bono, de, General Cesare

Debt, national, xviii; Italian war, 259

Debt funding agreement, Anglo-American, 259, 296

Debts, inter-allied, and reparations, 294

Deffenu, 88

Del Croix, Carlo, 129

Delegation, Italian massacre of, at Janina, 363

Delta, the, 193, 262, 278

Democracy, meaning of, 36; syndicalism and, 148; Fascismo and, 167–8, 176; and suffrage, 355

Democrats, 92

De Nicola, President of the Chamber, 362

Deutscher Verband, 185–7

_Deutschland über Alles_, 21

Diaz, General, 343

Dictatorship, proletariat and a, 349

Dinaric Alps, 120, 127

Diplomatic and consular services, 305

Dock-workers, Fascisti, 82

“Dolomites of Italian Thought,” the, 114

Dortmund, 235

Dumas, 353

Dunkirk, attack on, 19

Eastern Mediterranean. _See under_ Mediterranean

Economic policy, 274

Economy, Ministry of National, xvii

Edvige, xvi

Eight Hours Day Bill, xvii, 198, 354

Electoral Reform, xvii, 101, 165, 314, 347, 359–60, 362

Elementary schools, religious instruction in, xii

Emigration, 341

Employers and employed, co-operation between, 285

Eneo, 262

England, Russian expectation of financial aid from, 19; Italian confidence in, 46; D’Annunzio’s _coup_ at Fiume and, 104; mandate in Palestine, 194–5; continental alliance against, 231

Entente, the: French and British soldiers at the Piave battle, 59; Italy’s position and, 211–12; the Ruhr advance and, 230; Greco-Turkish affairs and, 254; continued existence of, 259

Entente, Little, 124, 238, 240, 300, 345

d’Esperey, Franchet, 189

Esthonia, xviii, 283

Etna, eruption of, 331

Europe, economic system of, 275

Exchanges, European, 345

Ex-soldiers, blind, 277; National Association of, 316

Facta, Signor, 165, 267

Fara, Gustavo, General, xii, 310

Farinacci, Roberto, 158

Fasci Italiani di Combattimento, 103, 328

Fascio of Fighters, 92; demands of, 132

Fascio Nazionale dei Combattenti, x

Fascismo: part of general historical development of nations, ix; rise of, x; and the Army, xii; “March to Rome,” xii; progress of, xiii; Mussolini summoned to form cabinet, xiii; official song of, xiv; symbol, xv; syndicalism of, 63, 177; aims and programme of, 92, 150; tasks of, 108 _et seq._; patriotism of, 112; sincerity of, 114; not conservative, 115; Communism and, 116, 196; attitude of, towards Socialism, 116, 196 _et seq._; demagogism and, 119; problems of foreign policy, 121 _et seq._, 149 _et seq._; attitude towards the peace treaties, 124; demands of Italian Fascio of Fighters in matters of foreign policy, 132; birth of, 135; imperialism of, 136; not essentially violent, 138, 156; in the Socialist crisis of 1921, 139; attitude in the 1921 elections, 139; Fascista Day, 141; and the Monarchy, xi, 152; the Fascista revolution, 154; attitude of, towards State economic attributes, 155; and the bourgeoisie, 165; and the proletariat, 165; and democracy, 176–7; and the New Provinces, 183; demands regarding the Upper Adige, 187; attitude towards the Popular Party, 201 _et seq._; and the Vatican, 201–3; and Social Democrats, 203; military organisation of, xv, 223; domestic policy, 215; emigration and, 215; foreign policy, 251; Yugoslavian policy, 253; women of, 286; attempt to sever Mussolini from, 287; strength and adherents of, 316; associations included in, 316; Sardinia and, 324; Parliament and, 357; not a transitory phenomenon, 357; an organ of administration, 358; liberty, not licence, under, 358; and the constitution, 361

Fascista Council, Great, xv, 232–3, 314

Fascista Government, work of, xvii; beginnings of, 163–4, 173; “Government of speed,” 234; policy respecting Fiume and Zara, 256; foreign policy, 265, 293 _et seq._

Fascista Party, National, xiv; military organisation, xv; numbers and adherents, 316

Fascista revolt, 76

Fascista State, 169, 173

Federation, of Labour, General, 106, 110; of Seamen, 106

Federzoni, Signor, 190, 192

Fera, Signor, ex-Minister of Justice, 362

Ferrara, speech of 4th April 1921 at, 75

Ferrari, Giuseppe, 78

Ferrarin, 133, 285

Ferrario, General, 192

Fiat factory, 349

Fighters, National Association of, 87, 92, 99; Fascio, 92

Finance, Ministry of, 272–3

Finland, xviii, 283

Finzi, 310

Fiume, 53, 74; National Vindications and, 89; Tardieu and, 96; Mussolini visits D’Annunzio at, 103; international relations and D’Annunzio’s occupation of, 104; Italian acquisition of, 111; Hungary and, 125; the tragedy of, 128; the war between General Caviglia and, 129; the Fascio of, 131; economic annexation of, demanded by the Fascisti, 132; sympathy of Fascista for, 136; Italian unity and, 144; General Ferrario, 192; the Belgrade Agreement, 193; Agreements of Santa Margherita and, 248; Arbitration Commission, 262; Abbazia Conference, 278–9; difficulties of Yugoslav Government, 301; representations to Belgrade, 346

Florence, speech 9th Oct. 1919 at, 103; speeches 19th June 1923 at, 328–9; of the Middle Ages, 113

Foreign Affairs, Ministry of, Fascisti demand, 174

Foreign policy, 121, 132, 149, 251, 278, 293, 345

Forli, xvi

Forum, the, 234

France: Italy’s neutrality in 1914, 12; undertaking not to conclude a separate peace, 19; heroism of, 45; attitude of, towards Fiume question, 104

Franche-Comté, 21

Frankfurt, Treaty of, 9

_Frankfurter Zeitung_, 21

Freedom of the Press, 353, 355

Freemasonry, 201, 314, 318

Galassi, Angelico, 201

Galicia, 20; Eastern, 280

Galileo, 77, 114

Gandolfo, General, 309

Garibaldi, 14, 27, 77, 114, 134; “red shirts” of, 145; Piedmont and, 352; and Dumas, 353

Gasparri, Cardinal, 345

Gay, Harry Nelson, 335

Geneva, Protocol of; loan to Austria, 299; territorial integrity of Austria, 300

Genoa, 113, 311

Gentile, Senator, xii

George V., King of England, visit of, 304

Georgia, 133

Germany: Italy’s neutrality between Triple Entente and Austro-German Alliance, 12; dependence on Austria, 20; and Belgium, 22; Prussian militarism, 23, 60; “Wilsonites” in, 54; imperialist, doomed, 60; war desired by, 72; reparations problem, 124; Upper Adige question and, 125; resistance in the Ruhr, 240; reparations, 294

Gioberti, 261

Giolitti, revelations of, 12; adherents of, in upper bureaucracy, 106; Italian intervention in the war and the followers of, 107; attitude towards Upper Adige question, 188; congratulates Mussolini, 362

Giordani, Giulio, 134

“Giovinezza” (Youth), xiv

Giulietti, Captain, 104

Giuriati, 310

_Giustizia, La_, 315

Goethe, 114

Gorizia, 48; Italophobia in, 184

Grappa, 120

Graziadei, Antonio, 196–7

Graziani, General, xii

Greco-Albanian frontier, massacre of the Italian delegation for delimitation of the, 363

Greece, 10; Italian relations with, under Fascista Government, 212; Italian note to, respecting Janina massacre, 363–4

Grodno, 123

Gronchi, speech on Electoral Reform by, 348

Guardie Regie, abolition of, xvii

Guesde on Socialist nations, 14

Guglielmotti, Maj.-General, 310

Hapsburg, House of, domination of, prevented by the war, 89; war let loose by, 100; attempt of, to present navy to Yugoslavs, 126; Upper Adige and, 185, 187

Harden on Germany’s desire for war, 26

Harding, President, 279

Heraclea coal mines, 96

Hermada, 48

High Commissioners, 315

Hindenburg, 36

Hohenzollerns, the Germany of the, 26, 36; passing of militarism with the, 60; domination of, prevented by the war, 89; Socialists and the, 99; war let loose by the, 100

Holland, colonies of, 90

Hungary: preparations against Roumania, 20; Fiume and, 125; Popular Party and, 201; economic relations with, 213; reparations, 295, 298. _See also_ Austro-Hungarian monarchy

Iglesias, speech 13th June 1923 at, 326

Immigration Bill, 341

Imperial Italy, 292

_Indipendente_, 354

Inter-allied debts, 294, 346

Internal policy, 306 _et seq._

“Internationals,” German, 26

Internationalism, 11

Islam, situation in, 213

Isonzo, fording of the Upper, 31; Caporetto and the, 32; Italian sacrifices beyond the, 48; destruction of the Hapsburg empire, 107; obligation of Italy to pass the, 111; Yugoslav boundaries and the, 127; Italian army’s advance towards, 172

Ismet Pasha, 266

Istria, Slavs in, 131; Fascisti from, 171

Italian-Croat brotherhood, 104

Italian Proletariat, Assizes of the, 105

Italo-American Association, 336

Italo-American Society, 342

Italo-Russian Agreement, 303

Italo-Ukraine Agreement, 303

Italo-Yugoslav Commission, 301

Italy: Socialist Party, 3, 23, 93; Triple Alliance, 22; no ground for remaining neutral, 23; Battisti, Sauro and Rismondo on destinies of, 74; and the Brenner, 74; and the Adriatic, 74; and Dalmatia, 74; Socialist Union, 92; Liberal leaders out of touch with, 165; Monarchy of, 176; Convention with Montenegro, 190; agreements with Yugoslavia, 251; universities of, 291; position of, respecting reparations, 294; War Loan and credits to Austria, 299; relations with Russia, 303; relations with United States, 304; Crimean expedition and the unity of, 351

Jaffa, Conference of, 195

Janina, 363

Japan, conflict between U.S. and, 121–2

Jerusalem, conquest of, 100; Polish immigrants, 195

Jews: English mandate in Palestine, 194 _et seq._; sacrifices by Italian Jews in the war, 195

Journalism, Parliamentarism and, 313

Judiciary Circuits, 314

Jugoslavia. _See_ Yugoslavia

Kaiser, the, 66

Kemal, Mustapha, 150, 189, 266

Kerensky, 33

Klopstock, 114

Labour, Asiatic Utopia and, 82

Labour, General Confederation of, 106, 110; Fascisti demand Ministry of, 174

Labriola, 348–9, 352

Lansing, Mr., on Dalmatian question, 96

Larussa, order of the day on Electoral Reform proposed by, 362

Lausanne Conference, recognition of Turkey’s successes by, 213; safeguarding of European and Christian interests by, 213; Russian representation at, 214; Italian delegation, 232, 241, 254; Ruhr and, 241; Turkey’s legitimate rights, 241; questions of the Straits and of capitulation, 241; Angora Government and, 266; Turks invited to new, 279; cession of Castelrosso, 302; Treaty of Lausanne, 345

Law, Mr. Bonar, proposals of, at Conference of Paris, 230, 295.

Lazzari, Constantino, on Election Law, 360

League of Nations, the: disabled Italian soldiers and, 52; ex-Pres. Wilson and, 52–4; no substitute for victory, 54–5; Germany and, 55; Renan’s prediction falsified, 55–6; Internationalism, 56; difficulties in establishing, 56; dream of, founded on ruins of the old world, 60; Fascismo and, 132; Palestine mandate and, 195; Polish-Lithuanian boundaries, 268

League, National, 343

Legnano, 27, 45

Lenin, effect of gospel of, on Italy’s working classes, ix; results in Russia of gospel of, 44; and Tuscany, 103; Bolshevism of, preferable to other forms, 129; Milan and, 136; an ally of Kemal, 189; production and the Communism of, 196; reactionary policy of, 199

Lerici, Mayor of, 163

Lettonia, 133, 283

Levanto, Fascista programme described at, 150

Liberal State, the: weakness of, 154; superiority of Fascista State over, 163; devoid of spirit, 165; necessity for broadening, 175

Liberticidal Government, 354–7

Liberty, 358

Libyan subjects, 303

Lithuania, commercial treaty with, xviii, 283; Wilna question and, 123; rights of, to Memel, 242, 268; Polish-Lithuanian boundaries, 268

Little Entente. _See_ Entente, Little

Lombardy, iron foundries of, 79; Fascismo in, 356

Lombroso’s classification of men, 54

London: Treaty of (1915), 189; Mussolini’s speech, 12 Dec. 1922 in, 227; Ruhr advance and Italian memorandum of, 231, 238, 346; Italian foreign policy at, 254; Inter-allied meeting at, on draft Peace Treaty with Turkey, 279

Lorenzino dei Medici, 291

Lorraine, reconquest of, 100

_Lotta di classe, La_, 3

Lucci on Mussolini’s foreign policy, 253

Ludendorff, 36

Lupi, Dario, xii

Macedonia, Bulgaria’s right to, 125

Machiavelli, 38

Maeterlinck, 38–9

Maltoni, Rosa, xvi

Manzoni, Alexandro, 313

Marconi, 133

Margherita, Santa, Agreements of. _See_ Santa Margherita

Marx, Karl, 24, 27, 197, 359

Materialism, Mussolini on, 290

Mazzini, 53, 77; Socialism of, 78; the Risorgimento, 145; advocate of Republicanism, 153; on power, 288; Democracy and, 351; Crimea expedition and, 352

Medals, 309

Mediterranean, compensation in, for loss of Sebenico, 96; Socialists and the, 115; a centre of world civilisation, 122; Italian policy in Eastern, 125; Italy as leading power on the, 141–2, 150; Italian losses in, 211; Greco-Turkish affairs in Eastern, 254; Italian interests in Eastern, 302

Melloni, 161

Memel, 241–2, 268

Memorandum of London. _See_ London

Menotti Serrati, Giacinto, 9

Merano, commissioner of, and Upper Adige, 186

Merrheim, 94

Messina, 356

Metallurgic Consortium, Italian, 359

Metz, 53

Michael, Grand Duke, 33

Michelangelo, 114

Milan, Mussolini’s speeches at: 25th Nov. 1914, 3; 25th Jan. 1915, 18; 8th April 1918, 49; 20th Oct. 1918, 52; 11th Nov. 1918, 58; 23rd March 1919, 87; 22nd July 1919, 92; 5th Feb. 1920, 67; 24th May 1920, 71; 6th Oct. 1922, 161; 6th Dec. 1922, 79; 29th March 1923, 276; 30th March 1923, 277

Militarism, Austro-German, 16. _See also under_ Germany

Militia, National, xvii, 309

Miliukoff, 33

Mincio, the, 111

Ministerial departments, reduction of, xvii

Minorities and the Electoral Law, 360

Mirabello, Villa, blind ex-soldiers at, 276–7

Misiano, 129

Mohammedans, 213

Moltke, 9

Mommsen, 202

Monarchy, the, Statute Law and, 312. _See also under_ Fascismo

Montagna, Commendatore, Janina massacre and, 363

Montanara, 289

Montemaggiore as Italian boundary, 127

Montenegro, independence of, 125, 189, 191

Monte Nero, 110

Monte Santo, 28

“Mopsy,” 195

Moratorium for reparations, 235–6, 238

Morgagni, 114

Moscow, Third International at, 195

“Most favoured nation” clause, 282

Mussolini, Arnaldo, xvi, 69

Mussolini, Benito: leader of the Fascio Nazionale dei Combattenti, x; summoned to form cabinet, xiii; saves Italy from Bolshevism, xiv; the “Duce,” xv; career, xv, xvi; family, xvi; foreign policy, xvii; his legislative and administrative work, xvii; character, xix; expulsion from Socialist Party, 3; editor of _Avanti_, xvi, 3; _La lotta di classe_, 3; against reformism, 3; agitator for intervention in the war, 9 et seq.; editor of _Il Popolo d’Italia_, 37; antipacifist, 58; Fascista friend of the people, 63; the “Fascista,” 87; sane conception of problems of foreign policy, 108; against revolutionary policy regarding Fiume, 128; triumph, 134; Fascista Member of Parliament, 183; Prime Minister, 207; Note to Greece on Janina massacre, 363–4. _See also_ Fascismo.

Naples, speech of 26th Oct. 1922 at, 171; Risorgimento and the bourgeoisie of, 150

Napoleon, 114

National League. _See_ League, National

National Militia. _See_ Militia, National

National Vindications, the, 89

Naval disarmament, 243

_Neues Deutschland_, 21

_Neue Zurcher Nachrichten_, 22

Neuilly, Treaty of, 123, 299

Nevoso, the, 120, 136, 184, 192, 286, 329

Nicholas, King of Montenegro, 189, 190

Nitti, Signor, 106

Nofri, Gregorio, 252

Nola, the Risorgimento and, 351

North African colonies, 303

North America, Italian emigration to, 341

Oberdan, Guglielmo, 344

Oldofredi, Count, 351

Olympic Games, 340, 342

Order, measures to restore, 308

Orlando, Cantiere, of Leghorn, xiii

Orlando, Signor, 362

Ortigara, 110

Ottoman Public Debt, 303

Padua, speeches: 2nd June 1923 (Women’s Congress), 286; 3rd June 1923 (at the University), 289

Palestine, 194–5

Pangermanism, xiii, 21, 44

Pareto, 312

Paris Conference, Montenegrin independence and the, 189; failure of, 295

Parliament, Government of Fascisti and, 208, 221, 313, 357; speech in, on Treaty of Rapallo and Agreements of Sta. Margherita, 210; Sub-Alpine, and Cavour, 351

Parma, speech 13th Dec. 1914 at, 9

Passive resistance, 346

Perathoner, Herr, xiii, 164

Petrillo, 347

Petrograd, tyranny at, 33

Piave, the Germans on, 31, 32, 45; Italian resistance on, 48, 59; the “arditi” and, 74; Austrian empire destroyed on, 111, 135, 332; a starting point for the Fascisti in their march to Rome, 160; deciding factor of the war, 332

Piedmont, Cavour and the constitutional movement of, 311, 351–2

Pisacane, Carlo, 78, 351

Po, Valley of (Valle Padana), 42, 125; Socialist exploitation of the masses in, 134; Upper Adige question and, 184

Poincaré, M., 346

Poland, xviii, 100, 123, 195, 213; boundaries, 268, 280, 304; Italian relations with, 304

Pontifical Allocution, Zionism and the, 194

_Popolo d’Italia_, founded, xvi; German-Swiss and the, 21; Mussolini and, 37; Treaty of Rapallo criticised by, 125–6

Popular Party, strike of textile workers belonging to, 68; annual day of, 141; Fascismo and the, 183, 201–3, 318; Electoral Reform Bill and, 347, 361

Porta Pia, breach of, 108, 144

Porto Baros, 193, 256, 262

Portorose Conventions, 270, 281

Porto Sauro, 278

Portugal, colonies of, 90

Post and Telegraph Offices, 307

Potsdam, 59

Prefects, 315

Press, the, 313; jury and, 352; freedom of, 353

_Principe_, the, 38

Priza, Admiral, 269

Proletariat, Italian, intervention and the, 16; Assizes of the, 105

Proudhon, 10

Prussia, 9, 36, 50

Public services, industrialisation of, xvii

Public Works, Ministry of, Fascisti demand, 174

Quadrumvirate meeting, xiii

Quaranta di San Severino, Barone Bernardo, 335

Radice, Signor Lombardo, 343

Raffaello, 114

Railways, 270

Ramanadovich, Commander, 190

Rapallo, Treaty of, 123–4; opinion of Central Committee of the Fascio on, 125; why Italy signed, 126; Dalmatia and, 127, 130; mentioned in Parliament, 210; Agreements of Sta. Margherita presented to Parliament, 247; evacuation of territories claimed by Yugoslavia and, 248; Italian foreign policy regarding, 249; ratification, 251; revision of, 256; application of, 261; enforcement of, 300

Red Cross, German, 21

Reggio Emilia, Congress of, 3

Regguzoni, 88

Religious instruction in elementary schools, xii

Renan, 55

Reparations Commission, 236, 298

Reparations: decision of Reparations Commission, 26th Dec. 1922, 236; decision 12th Jan. 1923, 236; failure of Germany to supply wood, 236; Italian delegate’s mandate, 236–7; Turko-Grecian, 266; Italy and, 294; Italian project, 295; owed by Austria, Bulgaria and Hungary, 295; Italian quota of, 295–6; German project, 297; German Note on, 297; Treaty of Trianon, 298; Allies’ agreement with Bulgaria, 299; loan to Austria, 300. _See also_ Inter-allied debts

Republican Alliance, electoral reform and the, 101

Republican Party, intervention and the, 24; aims of Fascismo and the, 92

Revolution, French, ix, 14, 349; Fascista, 354

Rhine, German threat to Italy from, 45; American withdrawal, 230; Ruhr advance, 230; exploitation of forests, 236

Rismondo on Dalmatia, 74

Risorgimento, Italian, 111, 144–5, 150–1

_Risorgimento, Il_, 312

Roccatagliata, Ceccardi, 18

Rodzianko, 33

Romanoff, House of, 33

Rome, Pact of, 126

Rome, Government of, and Government at Fiume, 128; Bolshevist Congress of, 167; Fascista march on, 171

Rome, speeches of Mussolini at, 24th Feb. 1918, 30; 21st June 1921, 183; 16th Nov. 1922, 207; 2nd Jan. 1923, 228; 6th Jan. 1923, 82; 15th Jan. 1923, 230; 19th Jan. 1923, 234; 23rd Jan. 1923, 235; 1st Feb. 1923, 240; 6th Feb. 1923, 245; 8th Feb. 1923, 247; 10th Feb. 1923, 251; 16th Feb. 1923, 258; 2nd March 1923, 264; 6th March 1923, 271; 7th March 1923, 272; 18th March 1923, 274; 7th April 1923, 278; 8th June 1923, 293; 8th June 1923, 306; 25th June 1923, 331; speech by American Ambassador, 28th June 1923, 335; Mussolini’s reply to American Ambassador, 340; 2nd July 1923, 347; 3rd July 1923, 345; 16th July 1923, 347; Internal Congress of Chambers of Commerce at, 274

Romulus, 38

Ronchi, legions of, 128

Rossoni, Edmondo, xi

Rothermere, Lord, on Mussolini’s work, xiv

Roumania, intervention of, 19; Italian relations with, 213; Mohammedans in, 213

Rovigo, speech at, 2nd June 1923, 284

Ruffini, Senator, 335

Ruhr, Italian policy in the, 230–1, 238–9, 254; Memorandum of London, 231; German Government’s orders as to coal deliveries, 235; Reparations Commission’s report on Germany’s failure, 336; Moratorium, 236–7; control of mines, 236; English representative on Rhine High Commission, 237; Italian mediation, 237, 259; America’s neutrality, 238; Little Entente and, 238, 240; Lausanne Conference, 238, 241; Russia and, 240; train services and, 241; passive resistance, 264, 346; French object, 264; English attitude, 264; reasons for occupation of, 295; extension of occupation, 345; European exchanges, 345

_Ruskoie Slovo_, admission of Russian vacillation in, 19

Russia, commercial treaty with, xviii; undermined by revolution, 12; Entente and financial difficulties of, 19; Leninist policy at Brest-Litowsk, 43; Agrarian revolution, 123; the Baltic States, 123; Panslavism, 123; disagreement over Wilna and Grodno, 123; fate of Poland, 123; Russian Jews and Palestine, 195; relations between Italy and, 303; liberty of association and, 355; freedom of the Press in, 355

Rybar, Signor, 269

Sabotino, 28

St. Germain, Treaty of, unsatisfactory to the victors, 123; Austrian Republic and, 124; Austro-Italian economic relations and, 282

Salandra, Signor, his formula of “sacred egoism,” 16; congratulates Mussolini, 362

Salorno, Pass of, 185

Salute, Fascista, xv

San Terenzo, 163

Santa Margherita, Agreements of, 210; purpose of, 247 _et seq._; approval of, 251; Adriatic question and, 255–6; application of, by Italian Government, 256; effect of, on Zara and Dalmatia, 260–1; Abbazia Conference, 278; enforcement of, 300

Santi Quaranta, 363

Sardi, Baron, 335

Sardinia, soldiers of, 120; Fascisti of, 171; the post-war needs of, 321; Fascismo and, 324; Mussolini in, 320, 323, 326; malaria, 356

Sassari, speech 10th June 1923 at, 320

Sasseno, occupation of, 20

Sauro Basin, 279

Sauro, Nazario, 269

Savoy, Upper, Switzerland, 21; House of, and Italian unity, 176; Military Order of, 309

Scala, the, 25, 59

Schappner, 21

Schools, reform of, 314

Sciesa, Antonio, 161

Sea, Federation of the, 104

Seamen, Federation of, 106

Sebenico, 96

Seipel, 281

Serbia, 10, 12; against separate peace, 19; integrity of, safeguarded, 189

Serbo-Croat-Slovak Delegation at Abbazia, 278

Serrani, 88

Serrati on Tuscany, 103

Sesto San Giovanni, speech at, 1st Dec. 1917, 25

Sèvres, Treaty of: not satisfactory, 123; results of possible failure of, 150; Palestine Mandate, 194

Sforza, Count, on Montenegrin independence, 189, 191

Siam, commercial treaty with, xviii, 283

Silesia, Upper, 123, 189

Sionism. _See_ Zionism

Skrzynski, 280

Smyrna, 124; Entente and, 254

Social-Bolshevism, 108

Social-Communists, 161

Social Democrats, 203

Social-Extremists and economic policy, 275

Socialism, 5; Italian, 97; co-operation with useless, 99; State, 198

Socialist Party, Italian: Mussolini’s expulsion from, 3; irredentism and, 15; intervention and, 27; Dalmine strike and, 63; condemnation of, 69; working class and, 70; anti-Italian nature of, 73; Fascismo and, 92; membership roll, 93, 105; Leninist Socialists, 101; in 1913, 97; Turati, 105; Bolshevist element in, 116–7; Fascisti and, 139, 154; party Socialism and Socialism of Labour distinguished, 197

Socialist Union, Italian, 92

Socrates, 135, 162

Soldiers, Committee of Wounded and Disabled, 51

Soviet, in Italy, 97; in Russia, 123; Fascista policy towards, 133; Italian Communists and the, 197; attitude towards German proletariat, 232

Spa, conference at, 295

Spain, commercial treaty with, xviii, 283; conditions in, 306

Spalato, 255

Sparta, Fascismo and “krypteia” of, ix

Stambuliski, 345

_Stampa_, the, 97

Statute Law, the, 311–12, 356

Stefani, de, xviii, and Budgets, 272

Stelvio, 276

Straits, the. _See_ Dardanelles

Strike, anti-Fascista, 307

Stringa, Major-General, 310

Sturck, 98

Südbahn Conference, 269–270

Sudekum, 99

Suffrage, universal, 355

Susak, 256, 262, 278

Switzerland, Mussolini expelled from, xvi, 21, 22

Syndicalist organisation of Bologna, 37; of the Fascista, 148, 178

Syndicalism, 9, 63, 148, 178, 313–14

Syndicalist corporations, xi

Syndicalists, in Parma, 9; of Bologna, 37; in Dalmine, 63; Syndicate of co-operation, 69; Fascista syndicalism, 63, 148, 178; Fascista syndicates, 81; in Italy generally, 197

Syndicate, of Co-operation, 69; Fascista, 81; National Italian, 197; Confederation of Italian Syndicates, 197

Tacitus, 44

Tamassia, Senator, 260

Tangorra, 215

Tardieu, 95

Taxation, 317

Theseus, 38

Tellini, General Enrico, murder of, 363

Ticino, Canton, 136, 184

Timavo, 48

Tirso, Lake, 324

Tittoni, Senator, 263

Titus, 37

Tivaroni, Senator, 260

Tokyo, circulation of _Our Next War With the United States_ in, 122

Tolstoy, 114, 118

Tonoli, 161

Toscanini, 133

Transylvania, 20

Trento, Fascismo in, xiii; Italian aims and, 53; statue of Dante at, 60; reconquest of, 100; acquisition of, 111; Socialists and, 118; Fascisti of, and Fiume, 131; elections, 173; Fascisti demands concerning, 187

Treves, 14

Trianon, Treaty of, 123; Hungarian reparations, 298

Trieste, 25; Giacomo Venezian and, 48; Adriatic aspirations, 59; reconquest of, 100; speech of 20 Sept. 1920 at, 108; Risorgimento, 111; Socialists and, 118; military sacrifices of 1915, 120; speech of 6 Feb. 1921 at, 121; Fascisti of, and Fiume, 131; Fascisti of, and separation, 171; frontier traffic, 282

Triple Alliance, 12, 22, 23

Triple Entente, 12, 15, 16

Tripoli, war in, 14

Turati, Filippo, 69, 105, 252

Turin, 43

Turkey, 10; Treaty of Sèvres, 125; Kemal Pasha, 150; juridical protection of foreigners, 302–3; Libyan subjects resident in, 303; Ottoman debt, 303. _See also_ Lausanne Conference

Tuscany, 328

Udine, speech of 20 Sept. 1922 at, 143

Ukraine, 195, 303

United States, internationalism and the, 46; democracy of, 49, 110; intervention of, 49, 51; relations with, 214; representatives of, at Economic Congress, 275; agreement with Britain on debt, 296; Austrian loan and, 300; Italian relations with, 304, 335 _et seq._

Unity, basis of, 93, moral, of the Italian people, 352–3

Universal suffrage, 355

Universities, Padua, 289; of Italy, 291

Unknown Warrior, tomb of, 331, 343, 344

Utopia, the Asiatic, 82

Valona, 20, 117, 118

Vanzette, 79

Vatican, the, 202

Vecchi, Cesare Maria de, xiii, 310

“Venezia Giulia,” 343

Venezia Tridentina, 171

Venezian, 134

Venice, 113, 286

Venizelos, 125

Verdi, 77

Versailles, 56

Versailles, Treaty of: revision of, 99, 100; indemnity under, 124; Italy excluded from economic and colonial benefits, 293

Victor Emmanuel III., King, xii

Vidali, 88

Vienna, 11; Danube Confederation, 124; occupation of, 149, 172

Vigevano, Colonel, 190

Vinci, Leonardo da, 114

Vittorio Veneto, 75, 77; vindication of fruits of, xvii, 107, 151, 154, 160, 164; greatness of victory of, 110; Austria crushed at, 135; Fascista Government, the Government of, 333

Votes for Women, 286

War Office, Fascisti demand, 174

War, revolutionary, 23

Warsaw, Italian firms and, 280

Washington Conference on Disarmament, xviii, 243; social and pacifist Conventions of, 355

Waterloo, 5

Wells, H. G., 41

White Federation, 197

Wilna, 123

Wilson, Woodrow, 28, 52, 126, 189

Woman’s Fascista Congress, 286; suffrage, 355

Workers, General Federation of, 198

Working classes, post-war rights of, 63; intervention and the, 69; Fascismo and the, 75; Fascista Government’s policy towards, 80

Workmen, Italian Union of, 66, 69

Yellow immigration, 121

Yugoslavia, pact of Rome, 126; Isonzo and, 127; Porto Barro and the Delta, 193; Mohammedanism in, 213; the Adriatic question, 255; Abbazia Conference, 269; commercial treaty, 271, 282. _See also_ Fiume; Rapallo, Treaty of

Zagabria, 127

Zahn, 21

Zambon, Maj.-General, 310

Zankoff, 345

Zara, 53, 59; Treaty of Rapallo, 125, 262; Fascismo and, 136; Adriatic question and, 192; Agreements of Sta. Margherita, 247, 260–1; Fascista Government and, 256–7; “Special zone of Zara,” 301. _See also_ Yugoslavia

Zocchi, Fulvio, 9

PRINTED BY THE TEMPLE PRESS AT LETCHWORTH IN GREAT BRITAIN

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TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

1. All items mentioned in the ERRATA were corrected. 2. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling. 3. Archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed. 4. Footnotes were re-indexed using numbers. 5. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.