“ A combatant in the volunteer corps during the war of 1848, he returned to Brescia after the defeat of Novara, and for a time earned a livelihood by teaching law, but was molested by the Austrian police and forbidden to teach in consequence of his refusal to contribute pro-Austrian articles to the press. ”

“ Minister of public works in the first Depretis cabinet of 1876, and minister of the interior in the Cairoli cabinet of 1878, he in the latter capacity drafted the franchise reform, but created dissatisfaction by the indecision of his administrative acts, particularly in regard to the Irredentist agitation, and by his theory of repressing and not in any way preventing crime, which led for a time to a perfect epidemic of murders. Overthrown with Cairoli in December 1878, he returned to power as minister of justice in the Depretis cabinet of 1881, and succeeded in completing the commercial code. ”