The debates upon this subject in the Council of State were long and animated. The peasantry, ignorant and superstitious, clung to their old prejudices, and could not easily throw aside the shackles of ages. Many of these religious communities were wealthy, the recipients of immense sums bequeathed to them by the dying. There was no _legal_ right, no right but that of revolution and the absolute necessities of the State, for wresting this property from them. But it was manifest to every intelligent mind that the Neapolitan kingdom could never emerge from the stagnation of semi-barbarism without the entire overthrow of many, and the radical reform of the remainder of these institutions. At length a law, very carefully matured, was enacted, suppressing a large number of these religious orders, and introducing essential changes into those which were permitted to survive. The possessions of those which were abolished, generally consisting of large tracts of land, reverted to the State, and were sold at auction in small farms. The money thus raised helped replenish the bankrupt treasury. The poor monks, expelled from their cells, with no habits of industry, and no means of obtaining a support, received a life pension, amounting to a little more than one hundred dollars a year. The three abbeys of Mount Cassin, Cava, and Monte Vergine contained very considerable libraries, and were the depots of important records and manuscripts. These were intrusted to the keeping of a select number of the most intelligent monks. It was their duty to arrange and catalogue the books and manuscripts, and to search out those works which could throw light upon the sciences, the arts, and the past history of the realm. They retained the buildings, the necessary furniture, and received a small additional stipend. There were some passes through the mountains which were perilous in the winter season. Upon these bleak eminences houses of refuge were erected, to shelter travellers and to help them on their way. In each of these twenty-five monks were placed. Their labors were arduous, as often all the necessaries of life had to be brought upon their backs from the plains below. They received a frugal but comfortable support. The salaries of the hard-working clergy were increased. The vases and ornaments from the suppressed convents were distributed among those poorer parishes which were in a state of destitution. The furniture of the convents was transferred to the civil and military hospitals. The pictures, bas-reliefs, statuary, and other objects of art were collected for the national museum which the King wished to establish. The mendicant friars, who had sufficient education, were intrusted with the instruction of the children.