itti cabinet maintained steadily
its position until December 2, 1909, although, as need hardly be
observed, during these three and a half years there were numerous
changes in the tenure of individual portfolios.

*439. Second Sonnino and Luzzatti Ministries, 1909-1911.*--Upon the
retirement of Giolitti there was constituted a second Sonnino
ministry, composed of elements drawn from all of the moderate groups
from the Liberal Right to the Democratic Left. The programme which it
announced included electoral reform, the improvement of primary (p. 397)
education, measures for the encouragement of agriculture,
reorganization of local taxation, reduction of the period of military
service to two years, and a multiplicity of other ambitious projects.
Scarcely more fortunate, however, was the second Sonnino government
than had been the first, and, in the midst of the turmoil attending
the debates upon a Shipping Conventions bill, the premier and his
colleagues felt themselves forced to retire, March 21, 1910.

Giolitti refused to attempt the formation of another ministry, and the
task devolved upon the former minister of finance, Luzzatti. In the
new cabinet the premier and one other member represented the Liberal
element of the Right; one member represented the Centre; three were
adherents of Giolitti; two were Radicals; one was a Socialist; and two
professed independence of all groups. Whatever of advantage might be
supposed to accrue from a government which was broadly representative
could legitimately be expected from this combination; although the
composite character of the ministry, it was well enough understood,
must of necessity operate to the detriment of the Government's unity
and influence. The programme which the Luzzatti ministry announced was
no less ambitious than that put forward by its predecessor. Included
in it were the establishment of proportional representation, the
extension of the suffrage, measures to remedy unemployment and other
industrial ills, compulsory insurance for agricultural laborers,
resistance to clerical intrigue and the prevention of anti-clerical
provocations, and the usual pledge to maintain the Triple Alliance.

*440. Giolitti and the Left, 1911-.*--The life of the Luzzatti
government covered barely a twelvemonth. March 29, 1911, Giolitti
returned to the premiership, signalizing his restoration to power by
avowing in the Chamber a programme of policies which, for the time at
least,