His speech on the 7th of March 1850, in which he said that,
"Piedmont, gathering to itself all the living forces of Italy, would be
soon in a position to lead our mother-country to the high destinies to
which she is called," made a deep impression, for it struck the first
note of encouragement after the dark days of the preceding year. He
supported the ministry of which Massimo d' Azeglio was president in its
work of reform and restoration, and in October of the same year, on the
death of Santa Rosa, he himself was appointed minister of agriculture,
industry and commerce. In 1851 he also assumed the portfolio of finance,
and devoted himself to the task of reorganizing the Piedmontese
finances. By far the ablest man in the cabinet, he soon came to dominate
it, and, in his anxiety to dominate the chamber as well, he negotiated
the union of the Right Centre with the Left Centre (a manoeuvre known as
the _connubio_), and promoted the election of Urbano Rattazzi to the
presidency of the chamber. This, which he accomplished without d'
Azeglio's knowledge, led to a split between that statesman and Cavour,
and to the latter's resignation. Cavour has been blamed for not
informing his colleagues of the compact, but for public reasons it was
not desirable that the _connubio_ should be discussed before it was
consummated. D' Azeglio indeed bore no malice, and remained Cavour's
friend. Cavour made use of his freedom to visit England and France
again, in order to sound public opinion on the Italian question. In
London he found the leaders of both parties friendly, and Lord
Palmerston told him that if the constitutional experiment in Piedmont
succeeded the Italian despots were doomed. At this time Sir James Hudson
was appointed British minister at Turin, where he became the intimate
friend of Cavour and gave him valuable assistance. In Paris, Cavour had
a long interview with Prince Louis Napoleon, then president of the
republic, and he already foresaw the great part which that ruler was
destined to play in Italian affairs. He also met several Italian exiles
in France.

On Cavour's return he found the country in the throes of a new cabinet
crisis, in consequence of which, on d' Azeglio's recommendation, he was
invited to form a ministry. By the 4th of November he was prime
minister, a position which he held with two short interruptions until
his death. He devoted the first years of his premiership to developing
the economic resources