Diplomatic and Consular Representatives. 1. OF HONDURAS IN GREAT BRITAIN. Consul-General.- Guillermo Binney, accredited October 17, 1882. 2. OF GREAT BRITAIN IN HONDURAS. Minister and Consul-General.-J. P. Harriss-Gastrell. Statistical and other Books of Reference concerning Honduras. 1. OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS. Gaceta Oficial de Honduras. Conayagua, 1888, Report on the Trade and Commerce of Truxillo in 1887, in No. 364 Consular Reports.' London, 1888. Diplomatic and Report on Honduras in 'Reports of H.B.M.'s Consuls.' Part III. 1884. London, 1884. Report on Honduras in 'Reports of the Consuls of the United States,' No. 82. London, 1887. Trade of Central America with Great Britain, in Annual Statement of the Trade of the United Kingdom in the year 1888.' Imp. 4. London, 1889. 2. NON-OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS. Bates (H. W.), Central and South America. London, 1882. Fröbel (Julius), Seven Years' Travel in Central America, 8. London, 1853. Gonzalez (D.), Geografia de Centro-America. San Salvador, 1878. Lombard (Thomas R.), The New Honduras. New York, 1887. Marr (Wilhelm), Reise nach Central-America. 2 vols. 8. Hamburg, 1863. Pelletier (Consul E.), Honduras et ses ports. Documents officiels sur le chemin-de-fer interocéanique. 8. Paris, 1869. Reichardt (M.), Centro-America. 8. Braunschweig, 1851. Scherzer (Kari, Ritter von), Wanderungen durch die mittelamerikanischen Freistaaten Nicaragua, Honduras und San Salvador. 8. Braunschweig, 1857. Soltera (Maria), A Lady's Ride across Spanish Honduras. London, 1884. Squier (E. G.), Honduras: Descriptive, Historical, and Statistical. 8. London, 1870. ITALY. (REGNO D'ITALIA.) Reigning King. Umberto I., born March 14, 1844, the eldest son of King Vittorio Emanuele II. of Italy and of Archduchess Adelaide of Austria. Succeeded to the throne on the death of his father, January 9, 1878. Married, April 22, 1868, to Queen Margherita, born November 20, 1851, the only daughter of the late Prince Ferdinando of Savoy, Duke of Genoa. Son of the King. Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, born November 11, 1869. Sisters of the King. I. Princess Clotilde, born March 2, 1843; married, January 30, 1859, to Prince Napoleon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte, born September 9, 1822; offspring of the union are Napoleon Victor, born July 18, 1862; Louis, born July 16, 1864; and Lætizia, born December 20, 1866. II. Princess Pia, born October 16, 1847; married, September 27, 1862, to the late King Luis I. of Portugal. Nephews of the King. Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Puglie, born January 13, 1869; Prince Vittorio Emanuele, Count of Turin, born November 24, 1870; Prince Luigi Amedeo, born January 30, 1873; Prince Umberto-Maria, born June 22, 1889-children of the late Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta. Aunt of the King. Princess Elisabetta, born February 4, 1830, the daughter of King Johann of Saxony; married, April 30, 1850, to Prince Ferdinando of Savoy, Duke of Genoa; widow February 10, 1855; re-married, in 1856, to the Marquis of Rapallo. Offspring of the first union are:-1. Princess Margherita, born November 20, 1851; married, April 22, 1868, to King Umberto I. 2. Prince Tommaso of Savoy, Duke of Genoa, vice-admiral, born February 6, 1854, married, April 14, 1883, to Princess Isabella, daughter of the late Prince Adalbert of Bavaria; offspring, Prince Ferdinando Umberto, born April 21, 1884. The origin of the reigning house is not historically established; but most genealogists trace it to a German Count Berthold, who, in the eleventh century, established himself on the western slope of the Alps, between Mont Blanc and Lake Leman. In the end of the eleventh century the Prince of Savoy acquired the countries of Turin and Susa. Count Amadeus, in 1383, founded a law of primogeniture which greatly strengthened the family, leading to the immediate acquisition of the territory of Nice. In 1416 the Counts of Savoy adopted the title of Duke; in 1418 they acquired the Principality of Piedmont; and in 1713 they obtained the island of Sicily, with the title of King. Sicily had to be exchanged, in 1720, for the isle of Sardinia, to which henceforth the roya dignity remained attached. Genoa and the surrounding territory were added to the Sardinian Crown at the peace of 1815. The direct male line of the House of Savoy died out with King Carlo Felix in 1831, and, the existing Salic law prohibiting the accession of females, the crown fell to Prince Carlo Alberto, of the house of Savoy-Carignano, a branch founded by Tommaso Francesco, born in 1596, younger son of Duke Carlo Emanuele I. of Savoy. King Carlo Alberto, the first of the house of Savoy-Carig nano, abdicated the throne March 23, 1849, in favour of his son, the late King Vittorio Emanuele II. By the Peace of Zürich, November 10, 1859, King Vittorio Emanuele II. obtained Lombardy, with the exception of Mantua, part of the Papal States, and the Duchies of Parma and Modena. On March 11, 1860, annexation to Sardinia was voted by plébiscite in Parma, Modena, the Romagna, and Tuscany; on October 21, Sicily and Naples (including Benevento and Pontecorvo, part of the Papal States), and on November 4, Marche and Umbria. The first Italian Parliament assembled in February 1861, and declared Vittorio Emanuele King of Italy. The remaining part of Lombardy and Venetia were added to his dominions in 1866 (October 21). Finally, the Papal States (Province of Rome), having been taken possession of by an Italian army (September 20, 1870), after the retreat of the French garrison, were, after a plébiscite, annexed to the Kingdom October 2. The Dotazione della Corona,' or civil list of the King, has been settled at 14,290.000 lire. Out of this the children of the late Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta, have an Appannaggio,' or State allowance, of 400,000 lire; his cousin Prince Tommaso, Duke of Genoa, an allowance of 400,000 lire. The private domains of the reigning family were given up to the State in 1848. Constitution and Government. The present Constitution of Italy is an expansion of the 'Statuto fondamentale del Regno,' granted on March 4, 1848, by King Charles Albert to his Sardinian subjects. According to this charter, the executive power of the State belongs exclusively to the sovereign, and is exercised by him through responsible ministers; while the legislative authority rests conjointly in the King and Parliament, the latter consisting of two Chambers-an upper one, the Senato, and a lower one, called the 'Camera de' Deputati.' The Senate is composed of the princes of the royal house who are of age, and of an unlimited number of members, above forty years old, who are nominated by the King for life; a condition of the nomination being that the person should either fill a high office, or have acquired fame in science, literature, or any other pursuit tending to the benefit of the nation, or, finally, should pay taxes to the annual amount of 3,000 lire, or 1201. On April 14, 1886, there were 315 senators. The deputies of the lower House are elected according to the electoral law of September 24, 1882, which introduced the scrutin de liste, by ballot, by all citizens who are twenty-one years of age, can read and write, and pay taxes to the amount of 19 lire, or 80 centesimi. Members of academies, professors, persons who have served their country under arms for two years, and numerous other classes, are qualified to vote by their position. The number of deputies is 508, or 1 to every 57,000 of the population (census 1881). The number who had the right to vote in 1886 was 2,420,327. The number who voted in 1886 was 1,415,801, or 58.5 per cent. of those who had the right to vote. For electoral purposes the whole of the Kingdom is divided into 135 electoral colleges or districts, and these again into several sections. No deputy can be returned to Parliament unless at least one-eighth of the inscribed electors appear at the poll. A deputy must be thirty years old, and have the requisites demanded by the electoral law. Incapable of being elected are all salaried Government officials, as well as all persons ordained for the priesthood and filling clerical charges, or receive pay from the State. Officers in the army and navy, ministers, under-secretaries of State, and various other classes of functionaries high in office, may be elected, but their number must never be more than forty, not including the ministers and the under-secretaries of State. Neither senators nor deputies receive any salary or other indemnity, but are allowed to travel free throughout Italy by rail or steamer. The duration of Parliaments is five years; but the King has the power to dissolve the lower House at any time, being bound only to order new elections, and convoke a new meeting within four months. It is incumbent upon the executive to call the Parliament together annually. Each of the Chambers has the right of introducing new bills, the same as the Government; but all money bills must originate in the House of Deputies. The ministers have the right to attend the debates of both the upper and the lower House; but they have no vote unless they are members. The sittings of both Chambers are public; and no sitting is valid unless an absolute majority of the members are present. The executive power is exercised, under the King, by a ministry divided into the following 11 departments: 1. The Presidency of the Council and the Ministry of the Interior.— Francesco Crispi, Minister of the Interior 1877-88. Reappointed Minister of the Interior April 4, 1887, and President of the Council of Ministers July 29, 1887. 2. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs.-Francesco Crispi (interim). 3. The Ministry of Finance.-Federico Seismit Doda, Minister of Finance 1878. Reappointed March 9, 1889. 4. The Ministry of the Treasury.-Giovanni Giolitti. Appointed March 9, 1889 5. The Ministry of Justice and of Ecclesiastical Affairs.-Giuseppe Zanardelli, Minister of Public Works 1876-77; Minister of Justice 1881-83. Reappointed Minister of Justice April 4, 1887. 6. The Ministry of War.-General Ettore Bertolè Viale, Minister of War 1867-69. Reappointed Minister of War April 4, 1887. 7. The Ministry of Marine. -Benedetto Brin, Minister of Marine 1876-78. Reappointed Minister of Marine March 30, 1884. 8. The Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture.—Luigi Miceli. Appointed December 31, 1888. 9. The Ministry of Public Instruction.-Paolo Boselli. Appointed February 17, 1888. 10. The Ministry of Public Works.-Gaspare Finali. Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture 1873-76. Appointed Minister March 9, 1889. 11. The Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs.-Pietro Lacara. Appointed May 10, 1889. LOCAL GOVERNMENT. The two principal elective local administrative bodies are the communal councils and the provincial councils. According to the law of February 10, 1889, each commune has a communal council, a municipal council, and a syndic. Both the communal councils and the municipal councils vary according to population, the members of the latter being selected by the former from among themselves. The syndic is the head of the communal administration, and is a Government official; he is elected by the communal council from among its own members, by secret vote, in all the chief communes of provinces and districts, and in other communes having more than 10,000 inhabitants. In other communes the syndic is appointed by the King from among the communal councillors. Each province has a provincial council and a provincial commission, the members varying according to population. The council elects its president and other officials. The provincial commission is elected by the council from its own members. It conducts the business of the province when the latter is not sitting. Both communal and provincial councils are elected for five years, one-fifth being renewed every year. The communal council meets twice and the provincial once a year in ordinary session, though they may be convened for extraordinary purposes. All communal electors are eligible to the council except those having an official or pecuniary interest in the commune. Persons not resident in the province, or having no solid interest in it, or who do not pay taxes on movable property, as well as officials in any way interested in the province, are ineligible to the provincial councils. Electors must be Italian citizens, twenty-one years of age, able to read and write, be on the parliamentary electoral list, or pay a direct annual contribution to the commume, of any nature, or comply with other conditions of a very simple character. |