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field of destruction in a hundred combats, come now to fertilize, with a more benign 
and beneficial means, the soil of their country; but, without leaving unheeded the im- 
portant functions still confided to the army at the present time, it has ordered the re- 
turn to their homes of the reserves of 1871 and 1872, meditating, moreover, the imme- 
diate granting of numerous temporary licenses, to the end that, with the concurrence 
under all these measures of some 140,000 men in aid of the productive forces of the 
country, the result of peace may be more positive, the first and most perceptible 
benefits being distributed among all the provinces. 
But thereis still more: the government, seeking its inspiration in the necessities of the 
country, as well as in the lively desires and sentiments of His Majesty the King, always 
_ heedful of the welfare and prosperity of his people, finds nothing to interfere with fur- 
thering, now that the occasion is propitious, a plan, the happy realization of which 
would compensate in a certain degree for the want of other means which are not per- 
mnitted for the present by the situation of the public treasury and the general state of 
the country, in order to furnish capital to the farmer and abundantly diffuse the teach- 
ings of modern science, to the end of giving a correct solution to the difficult problem 
of obtaining from the soil the largest possible returns. 
Trusting that the tranquillity of the nation will admit of it, and that all Spaniards 
of willing minds, inspired by the holy love of country, are to merge their spirits and 
their activity, their sentiments and their desires in the common aspiration of the hap- 
piness of the country, under the institutions which constitute the whole of the existing 
legality, guaranteeing public order by means of its attitude and its conduct, the gov- 
ernment, which prides itself on being conservative and tolerant, now thinks of realizing 
one of its most elevated purposes and most ardent desires, avoiding, for the present, 
any further sacrifice of men on the part of the productive portion of the country, and 
leaving, for the present year, those who ought to have entered into the conscription, in 
the embrace of their families, in the peacefulness of their firesides, in the honest and 
reproductive occupation of agriculture. 
It is to be hoped that, with the favor of Divine Providence which has so visibly been 
‘vouchsafed to our beloved King, the latter may be enabled to attain so marked a glory 
in the commencement of his reign, bringing with it so much good fortune to the coun- 
try and so much satisfaction for the government. 
But to the evils which the war has caused to our agriculture, there are, unfortunately, 
in these moments others to be added, which, being likewise extraordinary although 
of different character, threaten agricultural production in an extreme degree, if, by all 
available means, the revivification of the millions of germs of locusts, lying latent in 
immense tracks of territory throughout thirteen provinces of the kingdom, be not pre- 
vented. 
The government already, with the sanction of the Cortes, is on the point of obtain- 
ing, in so far as may be possible, the indispensable resources needed in order to aid the 
districts most afflicted by the plague, and which, of themselves, possess the least means 
for combating it, and is preparing the proper measures for the just appropriation of 
the funds, and to the end that the service may be performed with the efficiency and 
rapidity demanded by circumstances; but it is needful to make the result assured in 
combating this new enemy, which is one of the most destructive by reason of his vo- 
racity, spreading his ravages through the terribleness of his infinite numbers. It is 
necessary to destroy him at his birth, to arrest him in his path, to put him to flight 
whenever he is able to cause the most damage, to pursue him without quarter, confining 
him to certain localities at least, in order that all Spain may not feel his ravages, may 
not weep over the terrible losses he is able to cause, and that he may not bring after 
him, in the track of his desolating march, misery, famine, and every manner of conflicts. 
The districts which are, perhaps, the most invaded are those wherein the least popu- 
lation exists, wherein arms are lacking for so resolute and arduous a campaign, where- 
in the plow never enters, neither are the civilizing fruits of cultivation obtained. 
Immense extents of land turned into pasturage are those always preferred by such in- 
sects, in order to the better assure their pernicious reproduction, far from the towns 
and centers of population, distant from cultivated lands, and where, safe from the pur- 
suits which may be attempted by the husbandman, after their development is suffi- 
ciently complete and they have strength to spread themselves in thick black swarms, 
they rise, clouding the light of the sun, to fall like an avalanche which destroys and 
lays bare everything before it upon the most fertile and verdant places, there, where 
vegetation displays itself most luxuriantly and most proudly. 
To avoid such terrible extremities, franght with such dire consequences, it is imper- 
ative to hasten with efficacious and opportune means, furnishing men and resources 
without loss of time. 
The public treasury makes, as has been already said, the sacrifice which its situation 
allows. The hands which are lacking, our army can supply them, giving up for such 
noble labors those who may not be, for the present, indispensable for the fulfillment of 
the duties pertaining to that branch of the service. 
In this manner, at the same time that the soldier maintains his obligation in the 
