720 



KOUMANIA. 



length Col. Maican-Dumitresco, director of the 

 Military School and president of a commission 

 for the trial of weapons, was arraigned before 

 a court-martial for demanding a bribe of 40,- 

 000 lei for recommending a revolver from Capt. 

 Dimancea, its inventor. As the investigation 

 proceeded it was found that the go-between in 

 this transaction, the English commercial agent 

 Broadwell, who represented the firm of Sir 

 William Armstrong, had paid the brother of 

 the culprit, Gen. Maican, commander of the 

 flotilla, a heavy bribe while lie was secretary of 

 the Ministry of War, and thus induced him to 

 reveal the sealed bids for two new cruisers. 

 While the trial of the two officers was pending, 

 the Chambers met in February, 1888, and 

 members of the United Opposition gave notice 

 of interpellations affecting the personal charac- 

 ter of many men connected with the Govern- 

 ment. Bratiano had emerged from the parlia- 

 mentary elections with a majority of full two 

 thirds. The new Chamber of Deputies was 

 composed of 126 Ministerialists, 49 members of 

 the United Opposition, 7 Independents, and 1 

 Socialist. Although Bratiano obtained a vote 

 of confidence of two to one, the situation was 

 such that he offered his resignation on March 

 2, 1888, and Prince Ghika attempted to form a 

 coalition Cabinet. He failed because the lead- 

 ers of the Opposition imposed unacceptable 

 conditions, and the Bratiano Cabinet was re- 

 constructed, Ministers Raduchihai, Statesco, 

 and Gheorghian, of the Departments of the In- 

 terior, Justice, and Domains and Commerce, 

 retiring. The Cabinet as reconstituted was 

 composed as follows: President of the Council 

 and Minister of War, Joan C. Bratiano ; Min- 

 ister of Foreign Affairs, M. Pherekyde; Min- 

 ister of Public Instruction and Worship, C. 

 Naku, who assumed provisionally the portfolio 

 of the Interior ; Minister of Public Works, P. 

 S. Aurelian ; Minister of Commerce, M. Gane ; 

 Minister of Justice, M. Giani. The troubles of 

 the Bratiano-Sturdza ministry were precipi- 

 tated by the revelations of bribery in the War 

 Department, from which Gen. Angelesco had 

 retired some time before the attacks in the 

 Chamber impelled Bratiano to carry out his 

 frequently declared intention of resigning. 

 When he was, nevertheless, induced to resume 

 the helm, and the same ministry, with slight 

 changes, returned to power, the Opposition re- 

 doubled its attacks, and in the press wholesale 

 charges of maladministration and corruption 

 were brought. The Russian minister at Bu- 

 charest, Ilitrovo, spurred on the malcontents. 

 The Opposition, not content with the violent 

 scenes that they enacted in the Chambers, ar- 

 ranged popular demonstrations and mass meet- 

 ings. The Government attempted to put a 

 stop to these by issuing a police regulation for- 

 bidding public gatherings. Several meetings 

 were broken up by the military, who wounded 

 many persons. This suppression of the right 

 of assemblage was the occasion of a stormy sit- 

 ting in the Chamber on March 26. It had the 



approval, however, of a large section of the 

 trading community of Bucharest, and they of- 

 fered a dinner to the Prime Minister, who was 

 hooted by the people on his way to the saloon. 

 In the evening the deputies of the Opposition 

 went to the royal palace, and, while a mob 

 gathered in front shouting for the dismissal of 

 the ministry, they demanded an audience with 

 the King in order to lay before him the wishes 

 of the people. King Carol sent word to the 

 spokesman, Lascar Catargio, the ex-Premier 

 and leader of the Old Conservative party, that 

 he would not receive him before morning. The 

 street before the palace was cleared by the 

 military, and finally the deputation of legisla- 

 tors left the palace. On the following day an 

 appeal that was signed by all the Opposition 

 members of the Senate and Chamber was dis- 

 tributed from the office of the " Epoca" news- 

 paper, and in accordance therewith the mem- 

 bers marched with bared heads through the 

 streets to the legislative hall, in order thus to 

 express their grief at the bloodshed that had 

 occurred. The guards were unable to keep out 

 the crowd that followed, and in the struggle 

 many revolver-shots were tired, some of them 

 by deputies. One of the doorkeepers was 

 killed. Troops were sent on the demand of 

 Gen.Lecca, President of the Chamber, and many 

 persons were arrested, among them two depu- 

 ties, Nicholas Fleva, ex-Mayor of Bucharest, 

 and M. Philipesco, and the editors of the 

 "Epoca" and the " Independence Roumaine." 

 Opposition politicians meanwhile made in- 

 cendiary addresses to the people on the streets. 

 In the judicial inquiry evidence was brought 

 to show that many of the Radical deputies 

 were armed, and that from the direction of the 

 shots the intention was to kill Bratiano, who 

 happened to be absent in audience with the 

 King. On the 31st a vote of want of confi- 

 dence in the ministry, coupled with a demand 

 for the liberation of the imprisoned deputies, 

 was lost by 90 against 42 votes, and a simple 

 motion for the release of the deputies by 83 

 against 45 votes, after which the Government 

 party carried, by a majority of 8V against 36, a 

 vote of confidence based on the charges against 

 the Opposition of disturbing the peace of the 

 land and jeopardizing its political position by 

 intemperate speeches and shameless newspaper 

 attacks, and finally violating the privacy of the 

 King and the independence of Parliament, 

 when every member was free to exercise the 

 fullest liberty of criticism. The personal ques- 

 tions that had been brought up made it impos- 

 sible for the Cabinet to remain in office, and 

 Bratiano was determined not to head another 

 ministry, whatever might be its composition. 

 The King appealed to Prince Demeter Ghika, 

 the President of the Senate, and when he for 

 the second time declined, turned to the Young 

 Conservatives because the leaders of the Lib- 

 eral Opposition and of the Old Conservatives 

 had made themselves impossible by their con- 

 nection with the recent disturbances. Theodor 



