Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/58

* ITALY. 42 ITALY. ■court for ofTensei? not cnf.Tiizaljle by the pretor, and lia.s appellate jurisdiction over appeals from tlio decisions of the prelor. There are twenty courts of appeal in Italy, each of which is' divided into chamliers. Their aniwUate jurisdiction extends to decisions of the ■civil and correctional tril)unals. In each ap- pellate court district there are one or more courts of assize, composed of a judge of the Court of Appeal and two assessors, and <;enerally a jury of fourteen men. The criminal jurisdiction of the Court of Assize e.tends to crimes punish- al)le by imprisonment for a long period of time, to oll'enses against the security of the State, and to press ofTenses. The highest judicial tribunals in Italy are the courts of cassation, of which there are five, one at Florence, one at Naples, one at Palermo, one at Turin, and one at Rome. Each is composed of a first president, several presi- dents of sections, and from eight to si.tcen judges. Each is divided into two chambers, one civil, the other criminal. Each is the court of last resort within its own district, but, unlike the Supreme Court of the United States, has power only to quash the decisions of the lower courts on account of errors in law, and send them back for rehearing. Like all European courts, they have no power to declare statutes null and void on account of their repugnance to the Ccmstitution. As in France, the so-called rseparation of justice from administration exists, and a series of administrative tribunals, modeled after those of France, have been created. The highest of these is the judicial section of the Council of State. A source of danger to the Italian judiciary is its lack of independence as over against the administration. The judges are irremovable after three years of service, but they may be transferred to less desirable judicial stations by the Jlinister in the 'interest of the service.' It is claimed that this power has been abused to the detriinent of the judicial service. Colonies. The history of the colonial expan- sion of Italy is the same as of its military ex- pansion — an attempt to keep abreast with the great powers in the most costly anil ruinous of activities without having tirst developed the pro- ductive .sources at home. The colonial policy has been advocated by Italian statesmen as a means of increasing foreign commerce, because in other countries it has served as an outlet for overflow- ing industry and trade. The result has been disastrous to the Oovemment and country alike. After spending about .$".5,000,000 on the African possessions Italy has been forced to abandon most of its ambitious schemes. See section Bis- tory in this article. The present Italian possessions include the colony of Eritrea on the Red Sea, with an area of about n.5.000 square miles, and a population in isnn of more than 320. .')00: and Italian Somali- land, with an area of 100,000 square miles, and a population of 400.000. A trading company known as "Societa .^noniraa Conniiercialc Italiana del Benadir" has charge of most of the administra- tion of the latter colony, but, although the com- pany is supposed to derive a considerable revenue from its operations in Africa, the Oovemment has to contribute more than .$1,000,000 annually to «over the deficit of administration. Monet. X^'eights, and Measubes. As a mem- ber of the Latin Union, Italy has the same monetary system as France (so far as the stand- ard of money and coinage is concerned, not the method of issuing paper money). The amount of fractional silver coinage to which Italy is entitlcil under the provisions of the Union has been fixed at about $40,000,000. The coins are the same in value, size, and fineness as those in France, except that the name liraf/i/i/r. lire) is .substituted for franc, and centesimo for cen- time. The metric system applies to all weights and measures. PopiT-ATiox. Italy ranks sixth among the countries of Euro])e with respect to population, coming after France. The following table shows the area and population bv provinces in 1.S81 and lliol. pROaNCES AND COMPAR- TIMEXTI Area in square miles Population 1881 Poiuil.ition 1901 1,950 2.882 2,553 3.955 729,710 635,400 675,926 1,029,214 812.022 641 172 745.3.57 1.127.760 Turin 11,340 3,070,250 3,326,311 Clenoa 1,582 455 760,122 132,251 935,483 145,461 2.037 892,373 1,080,944 Bergamo 1.098 1.845 1,091 695 912 1.223 1.290 1,232 390,775 471,568 515,050 302,138 295,728 1,114,991 469,831 120,534 4.57.983 537,690 576,276 327,802 312,329 Milan 1,442,767 496,916 Sondrio 126,425 Lombardy 9,386 3,680,615 4,278,188 Ancona 762 796 1.087 1,118 267,338 209,185 239.713 223,043 302,460 245,883 261,953 Pesaro e Urbino 254,453 Marches 3.763 939,279 1,064.749 Umbria, Prov. Perugia 3.748 572,060 644,367 Latium, Prov. Rome.. 4.663 903,472 1,206,354 Aquiladegli Abruzzi 2,484 1.691 1,138 1,067 353,027 365.434 343,948 254,806 .397.645 366 341 371.293 Terarao 307,086 Abruzzi eMolise 6.380 1,317,215 1,442,.365 Avellino 1,172 818 2.033 350 1.916 392.619 238.425 714,131 1,001,245 550,157 402.898 257.101 783,495 1,1.35.906 562.978 Caserta 6.289 2,896,577 3,142,378 Bari delle PugUe 2.065 2,688 2,623 679.499 356.267 553.298 823,998 418,510 706,915 Lecce Apulia 7,376 1,589.064 1,949,423 Basilicata, Pro%dnce Poteuza 3,845 524,504 490,000 Belluno 1,293 823 685 960 2,541 934 1,188 1,052 174.140 397.762 217,700 375,704 501,745 356,708 394,065 396,349 191 400 Padua 443,100 2?2 005 410.684 594 334 Udine 400.0.30 422,3.55 446.521 9,476 2,814.173 3,130,429