The Domonion. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1917. ITALY'S SECOND RESURRECTION

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3179, 1 September 1917, Page 6

The Domonion. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1917. ITALY'S SECOND RESURRECTION

■ '■' ■ '. ' : . » '-—' , The rise of modern Italy to unity and independence has been described by historians as a "resurrection." It is not too much to Bay that Italy by her entrance into the war on the side of Britain and her Allies has experienced a second "resurrection." Before Italy entered on the present war she was slowly, surely, sinking' into a grave' of' political corruption'as. foul; as that.; from , which.she 'was raised half a century ago by the sufferings and sacrifices of a band of as noble and disinterested patriots as ever breathed. The story of. ber first resurrection is one that' may well be re-read to-day. Therfc are few stories more fitted to iajnitho fires of pure patriotism to a ''/) right, flame", .and to ..'inspire citizens to".make sacrifices for noble ideals, than that of the Sisorgimenlo of Italy. How that story moved and ' inspired the great poets of sixty years ago! Tennyson, Swinburne, Meredith, Whitten, and the two Brownings .were moved by the sufferings of ah en- ■ slaved people and by the courage and sacrifices of their heroes to write some of their finest poems. An Austrian diplomatist of the last century said, with a sardonic laugh, that Italy was only a "ge'ograph- ' ical expression"—she had no place among the nations of the earth. It was a true description of the land then, and this meant gall and wormwood to the. souls of men like Cavour, Mazzini, and Garibaldi,., who would have-given life and all that they had to save Italy from the heel 1 of the Austrian despot and to raise her up to unity and independence These men lived to have the master desires of their lives satisfied. They ■ saw Italy rise to unity and.independence under Victor Emmanuel.. That rise was remarkable-and romantic in th'o"' extreme. The | dash. and'daring of Garibaldi recall the incredible prowess of the mythical knights of the middle ages. Mn. 0 M Trevelyan, in three 01. ui's must, fascinating volumes of modern history that' have come from the Press in. our time, has done justice to this hero, who was the sword of 'the movement-as Cavour- was ih "brain" and Mazzini its soul. WliV-n Garibaldi sailed from Genoa ■in May, .-1860,- with his "thousand volunteers to overthrow the. Kingdom of. Naples, ho looked like a crack-brained adventurer inviting ' destruction; but, strange to. siiy,, m ■six months he had captured Sicily and made 20,000 sold*™ .to , buirender; had crossed the strait . to ■ Southern Italy and had marched almost 400 miles' through the enemy s country to Naples; had.with greattv inferior forces vanquished tin, ting of Naples' army of .40,000! It, is a-story with a thrill, and the : unselfishness of ..Garibaldi was as noble as his courage. He hams ovci the crown, so to speak, of the gie.it Kingdom'of Naples to V.cTo.t Emmakuel, refuses all rewards in ■ moncv or. in titles for' himself and i Chfs children, and with a. bag of L Sd corn in hiß hand, sails |r>s \ little island home. Sir HEMU i Taylor truly sang:— ■ \ Dbthroneil an unjust and the. with- ; To tend his farm." The year lf)U brought round the • iubilee' of the "resurrection ol r" Tl-alv Feasts to celebrate the occasion were held, but there was a skeleton present at those feasts lho best of Italy's sons'were burdened in spirit while the people piped and danced. The handwriting, seemed totbem on the wall, as regards 1 Italy's downfall. Italy, who by. the ■ sacrificed of her herpes,, had risen to unitv and independence, was m s deadly "peril of losing such a heri- .- lS She had been freed from the ' fespotism of Austna only to fall under the despotism of Gcinuny '• "n Austria. A "fag" in » public school is the drudge that is forced „do the most menial offices Dr. ' Dili ON the well-known authority on diplomacy and contemporary ~ hyry P in mi Italy had really become the fag , ot be, nuns without a hireling s reward, and she would soon be a mere geographical expression" instead of a nation. Italy, before she entered

the war, was a striking example of what German peaceful penetration means. By consummate cunning, Bismarck began this peaceful penetration by getting Italy into the snare of the. Triple Alliance. Italy fell into this trap prepared by Bisjurok. At the Berlin Congress, Italy was disappointed at getting none of the spoils that were then gMng, and Bismarck, knowing this, advised her to seize Tunisia. Ho gave this advice secretly and in strict confidence, posing as Italy's friend; and he gave the same- advice, in the same wa-y, to the Ambassador of Franco. Both countries believed that with Germany's apnpproval they could seize Tunisia. Italy, panting for commercial expansion, was prepared to move, but lo ! France" came on the scene and took possession of'the prize. Italy coveted. Italy was furious with France, and looked upon her as her deadly rival and enemy. This'was satisfactory to Bismarck. Italy's dislike of France made more secure to him French provinces he had stolen, franco at this time was thus the object of Italy's dislike and fears, but Italy knew if she warred with France'her old enemy, Austria, wo'uld fall on her flank and rend her and dismember the nation, Jt was this ill-grounded fear of Franco; the outcome of Bismarck's ounning, that led her into the unnatural alliance with Germany and Austria. Italy was soon in tho toils of. her allies'. The world of polities Was controlled by German gold. statesmen flung aside. the mor/il and political ideals of Joseph Mazzini, and walked in tho ways of the American Tammany "boss." For years a corrupt statesman like Giolitti was Italy's uncrowned king, and elections wore bought and sold and the wishes of the people frustrated. The finances and industries of Italy were soon to an appalling extent controlled by Germany. Italy was npt permitted by her allies to reap tho fruits of her war with Turkey at Tripoli. When tho war broke out in 1914 the shame of this German control was felt by niany who were longing for a chance of. breaking away from Germany. The Salandra Cabinet,

,he purest Cabinet that had been n. power for years, resolved almost it once for neutrality, and secretly

they let France know this, and thus a French army of 1,000,000 that would have been needed to guard Franco from. <in Italian attack was

freed, and its freedom meant tho saving of Paris and the smash up of the Huns at'-the Battle of the Marne. Prince Bulow, with his fascinating Italian wife, his huge purse, and his offer of Austrian territory, sought to bribe Italy to fight for Germany or at least to remain neutral. Salandra and bis Cabinet played a waiting game for a time until gunpowder and guns wero stored up in abundance. It was not, however, the Cabinet but a people filled with fury at the treachery of corrupt statesmen controlled by Germany and bought by German gold that led Italy into this war. While Bulow was busy buying up newspapers, and bribing politicians, and talking with anarchists "of funds, revolvers, and packets of dynamite," the peopie opened their eyes and then spoke. Throughout the length and breadth of Italy the cry rang "War ! War ! or a Bepublic." The spell of Germany was broken, and on walls

throughout the land the words wore written, "Death to Giolitti ! Death to Giolitti !" This Judas in terror iled. A united Italy, King, Cabinet, and people possessed by the spirit of Cavour, Mazzini, and Garibaldi, took their places alongside of Britain, their old and best friend, in this war for righteousness and freedom. When Italy en-

iered the war she rose from a pit

that would have been her grave. - Italy to-day is showing tho power of her*new life in various ways. Ber soldiers have done the incredible

and the seemingly impossible in driving the Austrians from their almost impregnable positions among the steep Alpine rocks. Men who have visitedthe Italian seat of war, such as Julian Price, Lord Nortiiclim'e, and the editor of the Edinburgh Review, can hardly find language .to express their admiration for soldiers who made the rocky

hillsides a way to victory. Julian Price saw cliffs that he thought only

the! chamois-could clamber that were surmounted by the "Alpini," who faced shells and machine-guns all

the way. This war has developed .enormously the industrial life of Italy. A thousand machines that were made in Germany, or made iir Italy by Germans, arc now made in Italy by. Italians. "The war," says a recent number of the Edinburgh Review, has made Italy "a great industrial nation." This war is going also- to realiso i the dreams of Italian patriots of'sixty years ago whose sons have never ceased to ■remember- the aspirations of their, sires. The Trentino and Trieste, with their large Italianspeaking populations, who have been forced to live under the hated flag of Austria, will soon bo all under the Italian flag. Already, by her territorial gains, Italy has found compensation for her sacrifices in this "war. In June last the voting Austrian' Emperor returned to Vienna from the Isonzofront in a state of fury and despair at the failure'of his'armies. His state of mind will not be improved to-day when he knows that Italian and. British guns are hammering almost •at the gates of Trieste—a city that has been called the brightest gem of his crown. But in the despair uf tyrants we have the hope of the world's peace and freedom.