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 like to avow.  The only parts, therefore, of the expenditure which can be fairly said to be for the benefit of the nation, are the expenses of the Currency, Census and Public Works, amounting altogether to 785198 scudi, or not a twelfth of the net income raised by taxation.  Commercially speaking, whatever may be the case theologically, I am afraid the Papal system can hardly be said to pay.

CHAPTER III.  THE MORALITY OF ROME.