There are no means of ascertaining, even by approximation, the total number of mendicants. It depends, too, in part on many causes continually varying; such as good or bad harvests, hard or mild winters, and the changes of employment in those trades which afford subsistence to many hands. It is spread, however, over the whole country, but in different degrees. In the valleys of the Alps it scarcely exists; in those of the Apennines it is considerable, as is generally the case where chestnuts are the ordinary food of the lower orders. If a labouring man, not domiciled in the place of his residence, finds himself, from accident or illness, unable either to earn his living, or to reach his home, the authorities, both of his temporary residence, and of the places that lie in his route homewards, are required to supply to him the means of travelling. In Turin, a small pecuniary assistance is given to all workpeople who wish to return to their own homes, but this is not a general practice. _Destitute Able-bodied._ _Are there any establishments for the reception of the destitute able-bodied and their families, in which they are set to work, and furnished with food and clothes?_ There are none. The only attempt of the sort was one made some years ago at Raconis, and it failed almost immediately, among difficulties and bad consequences of every description. An establishment called Ergastolo exists near Turin, in which young vagrants are confined and kept to constant work; but although a person may be committed to it without trial on a simple order from the police, it is considered rather as a house of correction than a workhouse. There are still convents at whose doors soup, bread, and other kinds of food are distributed. But this deplorable practice is not now sufficiently prevalent to produce a sensible effect except in some parts of the Genoese coast, where the mendicant orders are the most numerous, and the poverty the greatest. Many charitable institutions have ecclesiastical forms and names, but their attention is almost confined to the sick and the impotent. When a bad harvest or a hard winter occasions much distress, the municipal authorities, either spontaneously or on the suggestion and with the aid of the government, undertake public works in order to give employment to the able-bodied. This is more frequent in the large towns, such as Turin and Genoa. _To what extent do they obtain relief in kind and in money?_ They never receive either from the government or from the municipal authorities; what they get is from private charity. But on some great occasions, such as the anniversary of the Restoration of the Monarchy, or the celebration of the King’s Birth-day, food and clothes are distributed among some of the most needy families.