1894 in Italy


Events from the year 1894 in Italy.

[Kingdom of Italy]

Events

January

February

  • February 28 – Prime Minister Crispi reveals the "evidence" for a widespread conspiracy in parliament: the so-called "International Treaty of Bisacquino", signed by the French Government, the Czar of Russia, Giuseppe De Felice Giuffrida, the anarchists and the Vatican, with the goal to detach Sicily from the rest of the country and put it under a Franco-Russian protectorate. The Radical deputy Felice Cavallotti ridicules the conspiracy of Crispi.

April

May

June

  • June 5 – Prime Minister Crispi resigns, but is ordered to reorganise his Cabinet.
  • June 16 – Failed attempt to kill Prime Minister Francesco Crispi by the anarchist Paolo Lega. In this climate of increased the fear of anarchism, Crispi was able to introduce a series of anti-anarchist laws in July 1894, which were also used against socialists. Heavy penalties were announced for “incitement to class hatred” and police received extended powers of preventive arrest and deportation.

July

  • July 17 – Battle of Kassala between Italian troops and Mahdist Sudanese forces. The Italians are victorious, and capture the town of Kassala.
  • July 19 – A package of anti-anarchist laws and public safety measures is enacted.
  • July 28 – The former governor Bernardo Tanlongo of the Banca Romana, the main defendant in the Banca Romana scandal and several of his subordinates are acquitted by the Court.

October

  • October 10 – Foundation of the Banca Commerciale Italiana as the successor of the Credito Mobiliare that collapsed during the Italian banking crisis of 1893–1894. The bank specializes in loans to industry, especially to companies in shipping, textiles, and electricity in Northern Italy.
  • October 22 – The Socialist Party is dissolved by Crispi applying the law of July against subversive associations.

November

December

  • December 10 – An agreement between the Government and the Bank of Italy about the liquidation of the Banca Romana is approved. The Bank of Italy is entrusted with the treasury services throughout Italy. To balance the budget Finance Minister Sidney Sonnino announces increased taxes on alcohol, sugar and cotton, as well as an increased tariff on cereals.
  • December 11 – Giolitti presents a series of documents that testify to the relations of Crispi with the Banca Romana scandal at the Chamber of Deputies, known as the "Giolitti envelope". A committee of five was appointed to examine the new evidence, including Felice Cavallotti, one of Crispi’s main allies.
  • December 15 – The contents of documents submitted by Giolitti to the Chamber of Deputies are made public. Notes of the Banca Romana cashier implicate Prime Minister Crispi, as well as the former president of the Chamber, Giuseppe Zanardelli, Giolitti's former Treasury Minister, Bernardino Grimaldi and other ex-Ministers. Some journalists received 200,000 lire and others 75,000 lire for press and election services. Letters from the former manager of the Banco Romana, Bernardo Tanlongo, explained that the deficit of the bank was due to disbursements to Ministers, Senators and members of the press.
  • December 16 – In the Chamber of Deputies, Prime Minister Crispi denounces the Giolitti documents as a mass of lies. Deputy Matteo Imbriani wants the report be discussed at once. The motion was lost by a vote of 188 to 176. The Parliament is prorogated by decree amidst increasing protests, but rumours of the Cabinet's resignation are unfounded. Five battalions of infantry have been brought to Rome to quell eventual riots.

Births

Deaths