710 



SPAIX. 



Communications. The railroads in operation 

 at the beginning of 1895 had a total length of 7,543 

 miles. The post office forwarded in 1894: In the 

 interior service, 81,322,000 letters, 668,000 post cards, 

 47,400,000 journals, circulars, and parcels, and 117,- 

 000 money letters of the declared value of 137,277,- 

 000 francs ; in the exterior service, 19,244,000 let- 

 ters, besides 184,000 in transit, 408,000 post cards, 

 19,637,000 journals, circulars, and parcels, besides 

 48,000 in transit, and 39,000 letters of the declared 

 value of 31,825,000 francs. The receipts were 23,- 

 979,681, and expenses 11,656,873 francs. The Gov- 

 ernment telegraph lines in 1893 had a length of 18.- 

 248 miles, with 41,141 miles of wire. The number 

 of dispatches was 2,886,800 in the internal and 

 1,279,459 in the international service; receipts were 

 7,671,092 and expenses 5,613,033 pesetas. 



Political Affairs. Politics and legislation 

 hinged in 1896 on the military and financial ques- 

 tions involved in the subjugation of the Cuban peo- 

 ple, complicated later by the insurrection in the 

 Philippine Islands. When Gen. Martinez Campos 

 returned at the beginning of February he was 

 hooted by the populace for his failure to put down 

 the rebellion, and his view that the granting of re- 

 forms, even autonomy, was the only way of ending 

 the Cuban troubles found little support. On send- 

 ing out Gen. Weyler to carry on a vigorous cam- 

 paign against the rebels the Government cast about 

 for means to carry on the war. The Cuban bonds 

 in the possession of the treasury found a sale in 

 Paris and other places only at a continually falling 

 price, and this resource was nearly exhausted. It 

 was resolved to amend the tariff so as to produce 

 more revenue. The municipal scandals in Madrid, 

 where 21 councilors were criminally indicted for 

 corrupt malpractices, contributed to the difficulties 

 of the Canovas Government. On Feb. 19 a bomb 

 was exploded by anarchists in the garden of the 

 royal palace. On Feb. 26 the ministry decided, in 

 view of the grave political and military situation 

 and the feverish state of public feeling, to dissolve 

 the Cortes. The election of Deputies was appointed 

 for April 12 and for Senators a fortnight later, and 

 May 11 was the date fixed for the new Cortes to 

 meet. The resolution of the United States Senate 

 in favor of recognizing the belligerent rights of 

 the Cuban revolutionists caused an outburst of 

 popular passion and war feeling against the United 

 States in the principal cities of Spain. In Madrid 

 20,000 men attempted a street demonstration, but 

 the troops and police prevented the crowd from 

 congregating and guarded the American legation. 

 In Barcelona a mob of 10,000 men on March 1 tore 

 American flags to shreds and stoned the United 

 States consulate in spite of the efforts of the police 

 and soldiers to protect it. The Republicans, who 

 had favored Cuban autonomy, took a prominent 

 part in the anti-American demonstrations. The 

 Government answered the resolution of the United 

 States Senate by ordering the preparation of 6 war 

 ships for dispatch to the West Indies and the fitting 

 out of 50 merchant steamers with armaments. The 

 War Department made preparations to send to 

 Cuba 20,000 additional infantry and 5,000 cavalry. 

 The Spanish Government promptly expressed regret 

 for the insults offered by the Barcelona mob to the 

 United States consulate. Further riotous demon- 

 strations of students, with burning of American 

 flags, led to the closing of the universities. There 

 were fresh demonstrations in Valencia, Barcelona, 

 and other towns against the United States. The 

 one in Valencia, which was organized by Republic- 

 ans, necessitated the proclamation of martial law. 

 At Bilboa a mob attacked the American consulate. 

 Senor Elduayen resigned as Minister of Foreign 

 Affairs in order that the Duke of Tetuan, who had 



begun the negotiations with the United States, 

 might return to complete them. 



The elections to the Cortes resulted in an in- 

 creased Conservative majority. The manipulation 

 of the returns in Madrid caused a general protest, 

 and led to the suspension and prosecution of the 

 election officers. The composition of the new Cham- 

 ber was as follows : Conservatives, 301 ; Liberals, 

 102 ; Carlists, 10 ; Independents, 8 ; Dissentient Con- 

 servatives, 8; Republicans, 3. The speech from the 

 throne read by the Queen Regent on the assembling 

 of the Cortes declared that the reforms embodied in 

 the law of March 15, 1895, would not be applied in 

 Cuba or in Puerto Rico until the rebellion was entirely 

 suppressed and peace restored, after which it would 

 be necessary to give to both islands an economical and 

 administrative personality of an exclusively local 

 character. The correct conduct of the American 

 republic in the presence of the Cuban insurrection 

 was alluded to as a proof of the loyal friendship 

 that has existed unbroken between the two countries 

 during the whole national existence of the United 

 States. 



June 7 a bomb explosion that killed 15 persons 

 and severely injured 50 in a religious procession at 

 Barcelona drew attention once more to the anarch- 

 ists, who on the same day exploded dynamite car- 

 tridges outside of a priest's house in Madrid. On 

 June 10 a man was arrested with a bomb in his 

 hands. In connection with the Barcelona outrage 

 47 arrests were made. The judicial investigation 

 brought out the fact, that the crime had been de- 

 cided upon at a meeting of 60 anarchists. The 

 actual perpetrator was a native of Marseilles, a 

 well-educated man. A very stringent bill for the 

 better prevention and repression of anarchist out- 

 rages was immediately introduced into the Cortes 

 and eventually became law. The bill provides that 

 such crimes shall be tried by court-martial and that 

 guilty persons, including accomplices, shall be pun- 

 ished with death. The Barcelona anarchists were 

 tried by court-martial and eight of them were sen- 

 tenced to be shot. 



The Senate rejected the proposition of Prof. 

 Comas to abrogate the protocol of 1877 with the 

 United States. The Cortes granted without debate 

 the request of the Colonial Minister for permission 

 to raise money as needed on Cuban credit for the 

 prosecution of the war. The Cuban bonds of 1890, 

 which the Government had sold to raise funds thus 

 far, at prices ranging from 90 down to 55, are guar- 

 anteed by the Spanish nation according to the royal 

 decree of September, 1890. French investors had 

 bought a large number in order to protect them- 

 selves as holders both of Cuban and Spanish securi- 

 ties. Cuban certificates had been taken as collateral 

 for advances of the Bank of Spain, the Bank of 

 Paris, the Transatlantic Company, and other houses, 

 to the amount of 675,000,000 pesetas. To raise the 

 money for sending 40,000 or 50,000 additional troops 

 and carrying on another winter's campaign in Cuba, 

 Minister Castellano proposed to pledge the Spanish 

 tobacco monopoly. The cost of the Cuban war. al- 

 ready $7.500,000 a month, with the proposed increase 

 in the army would amount to $10,000,000. The 

 Cuban treasury was empty, and the troops remained 

 unpaid. Spanish production was curtailed through 

 the drafting of reserves to take the place in the 

 Peninsular army of the 125,000 men who had al- 

 ready been sent out to Cuba. About 40,000 young 

 men fled to France to escape conscription. The 

 Minister of Finance, in his budget presented on June 

 20, estimated the deficit for 1895 at 25,000,000 pese- 

 tas, and for 1896 at 22,000,000 pesetas. The extraor- 

 dinary estimates amounted to 236,000,000 pesetas, 

 to be raised partly on the tobacco monopoly and by a 

 navigation tax and partly borrowed from an English 



