for the existing government; not even the sort of
attachment, valueless though it be, which the lazzaroni of Naples have
for their Bourbon princes. It is incredible, if any such a feeling did
exist, that it should refuse to give any sign of its existence at such a
time as the present.

With respect to the actual pecuniary cost of the Papal government, it is
not easy to arrive at any positive information; I have little faith in
statistics generally, and in Roman statistics in particular; I have,
however, before me the official Government Budget for the year 1858. Like
all Papal documents, it is confused and meagre, but yet some curious
conclusions may be arrived at from it. The year 1858 was as quiet a
year, be it remembered, as there has been in Italy for ten years past. It
was only on new year's day, in 1859, that Napoleon dropped the first hint
of the Italian war. The year 1858 may therefore be fairly regarded as a
normal year under the present Papal system. For this year the net
receipts of the Government were,

Scudi.
Direct Taxes . . . . 3,011571
Customs . . . . . . 5,444729
Stamps . . . . . . . 947184
Post . . . . . . . . 111848
Lottery . . . . . . 392813
Licences for Trade . . 174525
Total 10,082670

Now the census, taken at the end of 1857, showed a little over 600,000
families in the Papal States. The head therefore of every family had, on
an average, to pay about 16 sc. and a half, or 3 pounds. 7_s_. 9_d_.
annually for the expenses of the Government, which for so poor a country
is pretty well. Let us now see how that money is professed to have been
spent,

The net expenses are,

Scudi.
Army . . . . . . . . 2,014047
Public Debt . . . . 4,217708
Interior . . . . . . 1,507235
Currency . . . . . . 15115
Public Works . . . . 681932
Census . . . . . . . 88151
Grant for special
purposes to Minister
of Finance . . . 1,415404
Total 9,949592

Now the Pontifical army is kept up avowedly not for purposes of defence,
but to support the Government. The public debt of 66 millions of scudi
has been incurred for the sake of keeping up this army. The expenses of
the Interior mean the expenses of the police and spies, which infest
every town in the Papal dominions, and the grant for Special Purposes,
whatever else it may mean, which is not clear, means certainly some job,
which the Government does not li