RF TURCO-ITALIAN WAR.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 166, 12 July 1912, Page 6

RF TURCO-ITALIAN WAR.

(To the Editor.) Sir, must again- ask you to allow ime a. win.-ill space to reply to 'the letter ! signed "Muhoirtmed iMacaoco," the purj pose of Willi is apparently to discredit certain statements made my mc in a previous U-'tter of the 7th ultimo. Fortunately lor mo, 1 rest the force and weight of my turgmnvnts on accurate fade;, and propose with tlhat end in view, to trans-la.'! c sonic abstracts from the Italian 'Budget 1»11-1!>12, presented to the House of Deputies by the Minister of FlnaiMV, Hon. Tedesco, in -November, 1911. dealing with the -finance in i general for 'that period, and aLso from a I I most influential daily paper, the j "Stampa"' the '•Press"), published in Turin, Italy, on Thursday, 16th May last. The Minister of Finance, in his financial statement, 1011-12, informed the llou/w -that for the last financial year they Irad a. surplus of .")9.000.000 lire (£2.iiCO.OOO) after paying full interest on loan*, and seating aside of lire 4-1.000,000 (£1.7ti0.000)- .being for war purposes. The .Minister also in submitting the estimate for the year 1912-13, anticipated, after providing for war purposes, the Sinn of lire 143,000,000 (£5.720,----0001, 'besides oCher concessions, that he ■would show a balance over the expenditure of at least 50.000.000 lire ( £'2.000.----000). But <hirin<r his speech he told the Ibowse that in all probability at the end ■af .the iin-anciiil year 1012-13 the surplu-5 would be. found to be a great deal more. On the other 'hand, dealing with the latest period (the returns referred to in ''Ija. Ntaropa"), .this paper states '.tihal there has been a phenomenal increase in the exports generally, as against 'the ■previous period. 1911. which speaks volI umes for the profrress and prosperity of I the Italian fmaJK'rei as a whole. "La iSbunpa." says: "The total revenue of the customs for tire fin* four months. ending 30th April, 1912, exceeded thai of -the previous period (1!»11) liy lire j ,000.000 ( C3.0S0.0O0). The imports 'are Tallied at lire 736,331,103 ( £453.----i 2-4-4), about a decrease of lire .">G.345.-493 j (over £M">3.Sl«i) on the correspondjin£ period 1911." Among the chief important it-ems ;vh«-'h contributed to the {Treat in<-rease in the exports was siijc, ■lire 146,000.000 ( £ 0,840.000). So where is .the American interviewer and llacaeeo'e contention, that the ercports. silk I espcxiially, have dwindled to almost j nothing? 1 may «l<=o f»tate for the inI formation of the American and llacacco Jtliat the Rajiic of Italy has a war fund, j VhicJi was started in ]Kt!6, amounting ! now -to pomertiinjt like <11X).000,000 lire i (£36.000.000) vvhicli in case of war is ! placed at -the djspoaai of the Italian .Government, and so far as I know. n/>r. i a cent of this fond Has been taken out j since, not even at ihr time of .the A,bya- ' sinia war in lSf-<i. The then Italian , Oovemnwrrt, rather iiiian draw upon ■ 'Chat reserve fiuv.l dec.klT?<l to call a spe- ! cml short period ~oan of lire 40.000,000 i 1.600,000) internally, to carry out such war, and vhis loan was covered in ■ a «=hort space of time twonty-fcrid. The ; ioan has since been paid off, without ! extra 'taxation placed upon her people. iln conclusion I still adhere to •what I ; Ikist> already stated in my previous let--1 tsr. tihat the ]Italian finances are aibeo- ; hi'iely sound, and t3iat fhe Italian patri- ! otic seutimrart in very -much alive to .the ; prescrrt situation las we here in New j Zealand, the, United Kingdom, ami the j-whole of the British possessions were, Idarinp the Boer War) a situation of loy|a.]ty to their flag, -which so far as the I Italians are concerned, ineairs the annegation, at all costs, of Tripoli and Oyrenmca, thus freeing for once and for . oil, thaS. country at any rate, from the I tyranny and slavery winch -Uiey have , been eu-bjected to for years gone hv at the hands of the Turk?. ■Regarding <Jhe influence of the Italians among Hie Arabs friendly to them, so fax as I can judge by the accounts in tire Home papers, a <rfpat deal has been aeoorrrplished for the .benefit and care of the Arabs, ami it .is apparent thj;t 'the j influence of «nod is becoming more wide- | Bpread every (fay.—l am, etc, JOHN H. EAGNI.