Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 13.djvu/480

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460 ITALY [STATISTICS. money for the alienated property. The result of the whole legis lation from 1855 to 1867 was the abrogation of nearly 50,000 ecclesiastical foundations which were rendering almost no service to he country beyond that of supporting an idle population of more han 60,000 souls. The following figures (Table XXXIII.) sum narize the chief facts of the suppression : Xo. of Religious Houses suppressed. For For Males. Females. Xo. of Individuals pensioned. Males. Females. Xo of j Founda- x , f Eeciesl

  • - cular ! astics

c S y !**** pressed. ! By law of 1866 1,332 585 i 10,658 . 8,286 34,348 23.878 11,889 9,600 46,237 33,478 Bv law of 1867 By law of 1873 for pro vince of Rome } 195 , 57 1.510 565 3,037 1,207 1.02/5 1,343 17,270 14.370 20,863 23,999 By preceding laws Total The total of the real property taken over by the domain up to 31st December 1877 may be estimated as yielding an aggregate revenue of 30,969,465 lire or 1,238,778 and possessing a capital value of 839,776,076 lire or 33,910,430. Of the latter sum ,"(30,649,932 lire represent the property disposed of for the benefit of the state, 75,542,813 the property granted in ernphyteusis, &c. , 8,098,294 the property handed over to Government for administra tive purposes, 125,191,797 the property transferred to lawful claim ants, and 100,293,200 the property not yet alienated. The Fondo pel Culto derives its income from four different sources: (1) as already indicated, from the public funds ; (2) from the buildings still occupied by the ex-monks, &c. , and other property not trans ferred to the domain ; (3) from rents, ground-annuals, livelli, tithes, and other annual dues ; (4) from contributions exacted from the revenues of ecclesiastical foundations still maintained. The third source is especially valuable, yielding in 1876, for example, 13,984,000 lire, and being capable of considerable augmentation under judicious management. The total expenditure of the fund during the ten years from the institution of the same to the close of 1876 amounted to 278,399,592 lire or 11,135,983, distributed <as follows (Table XXXI V.): Lire. Per c-nt. of total. 1. Pensions to clergy, regular and secular 2 Patrimonial burdens 170,959,287 17,761,290 61-41 6-38 3. Taxes 29,912,012 10-74 9,158,028 3-20 5. Expenses of contracts and lawsuits 6. Other miscellaneous expenses 3,774,923 1,322,868 1-36 0-48 7. Restoration and maintenance of churches, &c. 3,224,807 4,907,972 1-15 1 76 0. Paid to tlie state for expenses incurred^ for public worship ) 26,752,95.5 0-61 10. Cost of re-employment of recovered capital Total 10,621,546 278,3110,502 3-82 100 ihe heaviest of these items is one that is gradually diminishing, and will finally become extinct, by the dying out of the pen sioners. On the 31st of December 1876 the deficit of the fund was 48,312,686 lire or 1,932,507, 650,180 lire having been the deficit taken over from the Cassa Ecclesiastics. By 1879 the debt was reduced to 1,688,719 lire. Hitherto only a passing allusion has been made to the legislation relating to the Roman territory acquired after the passing of the Acts above indicated. In the province as distinguished from the TABLE city the only thing requisite was to make the existing measures applicable, but in the case of the city and the suburban districts special enactments had to be provided. According to the census of 1871 there, were in the city and province of Rome 474 monastic establishments (311 for monks, 163 for nuns), occupied by 43*26 monks and 3825 nuns, and possessing a gross revenue of 4,780,891 lire. - Of these, 126 monasteries and 90 convents were situated in | the city, 51 monasteries and 22 convents in the "suburbicariates." The action of the law of June 19th 1873 has left untouched 23 of the monasteries and 49 of the convents, which had either the character of private institutions, or were supported by foreign funds. In the city alone 2977 individuals became recipients of pensions from the fund to the aggregate value of 1,319,832 lire. Table XXXV. furnishes details regarding the suppression and modification of ecclesiastical foundations. For further information, see (!. (. . Bertozzi, <; Xotizie stoiiche e statistiche sul riordinamento dell asse ecclesiastico nel regno d ltalia," in Aniicdi di Staf., 1879 ; and the summary of the same by Bellini in the Archivw di St-ctt., 1880. Education. In the matter of education the kingdom of Italy at the time of its formation might almost be described as a, desert, broken every here and there by an oasis of matchless fertility and luxuriance. The learning of the learned was high, and the ignor ance of the ignorant profound. As late as the census of 1861 it was found that in a population of 21,777,331 there were no less than 16,999,701 "analphabetes," or persons absolutely destitute of instruction, absolutely unable to read. Of children between five and twelve as many as 82 per cent, were in this condition; of those between twelve and nineteen 71 per cent. And, as was natural, the ignorance was greater in the female sex than in the male: while 59 per cent, of the men married in 1866 were obliged to make their mark, 78 per cent, of the women were in like case. In certain parts of the country matters were even worse. M. Natoli found, r.y., that in the Basilicata the illiterate class comprised 912 out of every 1000 inhabitants. It was thus no light task that presented itself to the department of education ; and the progress that has been attained does honour to its activity : in 1879 only 48 per cent, of the bridegrooms and 70 per cent, of the. brides were unable to sign their names. The administration of the education department is not so strictly centralized as it is in France. The minister of public instruction is assisted by a permanent council of fourteen ordinary and seven ex traordinary members nominated by the king and chosen from the upper ranks of the educational profession. And this council has no mere nominal existence ; it meets regularly thrice a week, though it often contains men of European celebrity. Five of its members, selected by the king, constitute a fine arts commission. Another general council the Provcditorato Centrals established in 1867, has special control of secondary and primary instruction. In each of the sixty-nine provinces thereis a consiylio scolasticoor school board, under the presidency of the prefect, which has the right of supcr-

vision in regard to the sanitary and moral state of the provincial

i schools, private as well as public. By the law of 1859 (known as the ! Casati Act) every commune of 4000 inhabitants is bound to maintain - a primary school; but as a matter of fact some of the communes are ! too small and poor to have a school of their own, and are permitted j to send their children to the schools of neighbouring communes. | Elementary instruction is gratuitous, and by the law of 15th July i *1877 the compulsory principle was brought into operation as far as the condition of the communes allows or, in other words, in all i communes of less than 5000 inhabitants provided with one teacher I for every 10CO, in all communes of from 10 r >0 to 12, 000 inhabitants | provided with a teacher for every 1200, and in all the larger com- i mimes with one for every 1500. According to the report published XXXV. Religious Corporations suppressed. Other Foundations suppressed. Ecclesiastical Foundations preserved and subjected to conversion of real property. Xo. of Corpora tions. Income of Real! Property. Income of Xo. of Movable Foumla- Propevty. ; tions. Income of Real Property. Income of Movable Property. Xo. of Founda tions. Income of lU;al Property. Income of Movable Property. Piedmont i .">S lire 253,719 39,943 50,117 1 3.4."6 68^471 6,620 415,155 60,002 5,159 20,125 3,310,841 150,008 1,186,561 489,125 162,521 611,795 lire. 101,061 74,286 14,811 8,289 18,310 7,136 340,279 21,332 441 14,359 4,906,672 31,4-10 787,203 596,427 166,027 711,550 2.877 1.472 878 43 161 749 871 589 164 595 7,443 4.756 6,545 5,486 1.114 1,109 lire. 674,073 166,036 252,919 1,978 33,776 247,433 003.313 1,624,029 325,240 465,334 514,006 053,579 689,026 1,467,814 190,286 248,201 lire. 476,290 125,584 13(i,396 7,136 34,070 204,643 598,693 496,216 264,048 229,546 1,728,003 967,242 1,415,273 249/>22 188,290 3,165 1.221 511 511 389 818 665 524 80 417 53 G 2.716 485 1,184 1 2.419 480 lire. 1,786,060 234,517 423,694 577,486 862,982 408,733 1,722,408 1,882,866 416,035 708,157 680,554 1,644,581 717,09] 1,547,936 946.518 610,294 lire. 787,690 142,013 203,207 133,614 238,082 219,591 574,875 390,048 191,577 140,234 1,122,996 2,063,153 826,283 563,168 1,302,210 284,842 LiRuria ... ! 3(1 L mbria ! (i Marches i 13 Abru/zi and Molise 3 Apulia 15 Kasilicata { 2 Calabnas . 8 Sicily 1053 Tuscany . . 66 Emilia 201 Venefo .... 79 Total 2,170 , (i,8(il 598 7,700,623 34,852 8,847,946 7,767,139 16,121 15,259,921 ; 9,183,583