PART VI MUSSOLINI THE “FASCISTA PRIME MINISTER” (continued 3)

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

323

“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 324has 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.

325I 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.)

326

“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 327among 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.)

328

“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 329pusillanimous, 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.)

330

“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.)

331

“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 332an 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 333that 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 334been, 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.)

335

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.

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 336to 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 337good 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 338bodies 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 339of 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 340competition 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 341this 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 342this 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.)

343

“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.

344The 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.)

345

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 346unanimous 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.)

347

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 348Hon. 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 349herbalist 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.

350Italy 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 351the 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 352not 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, 353more 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 354war 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 355at 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, 356up 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 357force! 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 358some 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, 359that 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 360should 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 361hall 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, 362and 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.)

363

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, 364whilst 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

365