Vincenzo Calenda di Tavani

In 1886 he was appointed senator and in December 1893 he was appointed Minister of Justice in the government led by Francesco Crispi.[1] He thus had a leading role in the policy of repression of the workers' and peasants' movement, starting with the proclamation of the state of siege in Sicily following agitation of the Fasci Siciliani, and proceeding with special legislation approved by Parliament in July 1894. These laws established forced domicile, cracked down on incitement as well as support for crime in the press, and banned all associations and meetings "which have as their object the de facto subversion of social orders".[4][5]

Calenda’s policy saw the suppression of all attempts by left-wing groups to call strikes and demonstrations. He issued circulars to magistrates on topics such as "vigilance over the subversive press", "on subversive propaganda in the army", "about the seizure of the Workers' Hymn of Filippo Turati".[4]

Calenda also played a key role in supporting Crispi during the complex legal and parliamentary manouevres following the acquittal of the defendants in the Banca Romana scandal. Even before the trial ended, Calenda made clear to the Chamber on 6 June 1894 that the government intended to impeach the police officials and judges who had investigated the case, who were suspected of having covered up the role of Crispi’s rival Giovanni Giolitti in the scandal.[4]

On 4 August 1894 Calenda set up a commission of inquiry to "examine whether the judicial officials who took part in the investigation of the trial all did their duty, and propose disciplinary or other measures that were deemed appropriate" The commission found fault with the conduct of the magistrates, and Calenda decided to transfer some of them while seeking the outright removal of others. The struggle between supporters of Crispi and Giolitti continued in parliament and the press through 2894 and 1895. Efforts to bring Giolitti to trial were ultimately unsuccessful as Crispi's position in the Chamber grew weaker as his own role in the scandal came increasingly into question.[4]

In the meantime Calenda pursued other projects as Minister of Justice. In June and July 1895 he presented to the Chamber six proposals for the reform of criminal proceedings. These proposals were widely considered to be a distraction from the work of a comprehensive new code of criminal procedure that had been going on for five years. in November 1895 therefore the Senate commission proposed not to bring Calenda’s proposals to the floor for discussion. A few months later the Crispi government fell and Calenda returned to his previous position ss attorney general at the Naples Court of Cassation.[4]