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* CAVOUK. 383 CAVOUR. that must be looked to for active sujinort in establishiiij: the new Ualy as asrainst Au?tiia. He tliciefore devoted liis energy to winiiin-; the man who was then directing the destinies of France — the new Kniperor Xapoleon. A min- isterial crisis occurred on his return to Pied- mont, and Cavour became the liead of the (!V- ernmcnt. holding the posts of Minister of Finance and ]Uesident of the Council. He gave his im- mediate attention to the material development ot the kingdom, the rehaliilitation of its finances, ami to various reforms, such as the legalization of civil marriage, the suppression of the mendi- cant orders, and the encouragement of secular education. In 18.')4 he saw, in an alliance with France and England against Russia, an oppor- timity to bring Sardinia into the councils of Europe. He brought about the alliance, in s]nte of the oi)positioii of every one in the country excepting the King and the ministers. Ten thou- sand troops of the reorganized Sardinian Army were dispatched to the Crimea. It was a dan- gerous game, and might have failed but for the fatuous policy of Austria, upon which Ca- vour had counted. The Sardinian contingent won the respect of their allies, Austria's weak course destroyed her primacy in Continental af- fairs, and at the Congress of Paris (see Paris, CoxGRESs of), in 1S5C, Cavour accomplished his great object in compelling the representa- tives of the Powers to admit Sardinia to their councils and to take up the condition of Italy for international consideration. At the con- gress Cavour stood for the aspirations of Italy, and while he gained nothing directly for Sar- dinia, he secured recognition as an Italian leader, which he desired more. It was Italy, rather than Sardinia or Piedmont, of which he always spoke and thought. While these events were passing he was also engaged in a struggle with the Church over the disestablishment of the religious orders. The Congress of Paris left the issue between Austria and Sardinia very sharply defined, and made war almost inevitable. Cavour's energies were devoted to jireparing for the struggle. He increased taxation, but developed the resources of the country to meet the new burdens. In 1858 he severed political relations with Ttat- tazzi, who .supported the King in the affair of the Countess Alirafiori. (See Victor Ejimaxuel I.) After the unsuccessful attempt of the Ital- ian fanatic Orsini upon the life of Xapoleon III., the secret meeting at Plombi&res was held between the French Kniperor and Cavour (July, 18.58), at which the agreement was made which was to bring France to the side of Italy in the contest with Austria. Cavour's masterful diplo- macy is well illustrated in coniieetion with the Austrian War. To the Englishman, !Mr. Odo Rus- sell, who did not Iwdieve Austria would be so un- wise as to declare war. Cavour said, in the spring of 18.50, that he would force her to do so, and named the first week in May as the time. A few days before that time Austria had actually committed the desired indiscretion. The royal speech to Parliament, January 10, 1850. pre- pared by the King, but revised by Cavour and Xapoleon III., voiced the spirit of united Italy against the foreign oppressor. Xapoleon hesi- tated on the verge of war. and sought to have a congress held, and England proposed that all the Italian States should be admitted; hut Austria lost its chance of retaining its hold on Italy by refusing to accede to the English proposal, and demanding the unconditional dis- ariiiaiiicnt of .Sardinia. .Vuslria's oll'ensive ulti- matum to Sardinia left no alternative for Xa- pcdcon but to support his ally. In the campaign nf 18.59 (see Italy) the ^■ar ilinister. La Mar- mora (q.v.). took command of the Sardinian forces, and Cavour assumed the onerous duties of Minister of War. When Xapoleon, who had declared that Italy should be free '"from the Alps to the Adriatic," made with Austria the Peace of Villafranca, without consulting his ally, and thus abandoned the Italian cause at a time when the expulsion of Austria from the peninsula seemed certain, Cavour was frantic with rage and grief. He resigned his ollice and went into retire- ment at Leri, feeling that this Iwtrayal of Italy had disgraced him: but in reality he had become the idol of an Italy which now learned to know the depth of his jiatriotism and tu: far-sighted- ness of his policy. The new Ministry under Rat- tazzi proved unequal to the situation ; in Eng- land, the return of the Whigs to power under Lord Palmerston enlisted that country more at^- tively in the Italian interest ; and in .January, 18G0, Cavour returned to his post at the head of the Government. The cession of Savoy and Xice to France, in return for the union of north- ern Italy, had been agreed u])on at Plombi^rcs, and Cavour now took his stand upcm the execu- tion of the pledge. It was one of the hardest tasks of his life, and the act for which lie has been most criticised. The next move in the campaign for the union of Italy came from southern Italj-, in the form of an insurrection in Sicily against the Bourbon Government. This, and Garibaldi's violation of international comity in conducting an expedition in aid of the Sicilian revohilionists, were not planned or promoted by Cavour: but when they had become facts he characteristically winked at their irregularity and prepared to check excesses and to make the most of any opportunity they might offer. When Garibaldi crossed the Straits of Messina and entered the Xeapolitan mainland, Cavour sent a Sardinian army into Umbria and the Marches, and another great step toward Ital- ian unity was taken in the contest for southern Italy and the Papal domains. Garibaldi's arbi- trary methods made him Cavour's antagonist at this time, though the two men always respected and appreciated each other. ( See Gariuaidi. ) On (Ictober 11, ISfiO. true to his lifelong principles, Cavour secured the passage of a bill by the Pied- montese Parliament authorizing the Government to incorporate such provinces in central and southern Italy as should express their desire therefor by a plebiscite. At the beginning of 1801 all Italy, except Venetia and Rome, was iniitcd, and on February 18 the first Italian Parliament met in Turin. Cavour now sought to complete the historic Italy by having Rome made the capital, and in ^lay a vote of Parlia- ment to that effect was passed; but Cavour did not live to see this consummation brought about, nor to see the annexation of Venetia. He died in Turin. June (i, 18fil, worn out by the excessive labors and cares of his public life. Count Cavour never married. The one brief romance of his youth brought color and inspira- tion into his life through a woman's devoted and unselfish love, hut not even her name is known, and the attachment was far greater on her part