ce in the Crispi cabinet. The product was a
ministry supported by the groups of the Centre and the Left, but
opposed by those of the Right and of the Extreme Left. Parliament was
dissolved and during the ensuing November were held national elections
in which, by exercise of the grossest sort of official pressure, the
Government was able to win a substantial victory. The period covered
by Giolitti's ministry--marked by a cringing foreign policy, an almost
utter breakdown of the national finances, and the scandals of 1893 in
connection with the management of state banks, especially the Banca
Romana--may well be regarded as the most unfortunate in Italian
history since the completion of national unity. The revelations made,
November 23, 1893, by a committee appointed by Parliament to
investigate the bank scandals were of such a character that the
Giolitti ministry retired from office, November 24, without so much as
challenging a vote of confidence. After prolonged delay a new ministry
was made up, December 10, by Crispi, whose return to power was
dictated by the conviction of the nation that no one else was
qualified to deal with a situation so desperate.

*435. The Second Crispi Ministry, 1893-1896.*--The second Crispi
ministry extended from December, 1893, to March, 1896. Politically,
the period was one of extreme unsettlement. Supported by the Centre
and the Left, substantially as Giolitti had been, the Government
suppressed disorder, effected economies, and entered upon an ambitious
attempt at colonial aggrandizement in East Africa. But it was opposed
by the Extreme Left, a large portion of the Right, and the adherents
of Giolitti, so that its position was always precarious. In December,
1894, Giolitti produced papers purporting to show that Crispi himself
had been implicated in the bank irregularities. The effort to bring
about the premier's fall failed, although there ensued a veritable war
between the cabinet and the chambers, in the course of which even the
appearance of parliamentary government was abandoned. In the elections
of May, 1895, the Government was victorious, and it was only by reason
of public indignation arising from the failure of the Eritrean
enterprise that, finally, March 5, 1896, Crispi and his colleagues
surrendered office.

III. THE ERA OF COMPOSITE MINISTRIES, 1896-1912 (p. 395)

During the period which was terminated by the retirement of Crispi the
successive ministri