642 



SPAIM. 



the revolution, and shall definitively retire into 

 private life." 



This letter was- read in the Council of Min- 

 isters, and created a profound impression as an 

 unmistakable indication of the undercurrent 

 of feeling and opinion in Spain. To add to 

 this dissatisfaction of the people, difficulties 

 were increasing in Cuba; the accounts re- 

 ceived from thence were uniform as to the bad 

 prospects of the Spaniards. The execution 

 of General Prim's order, that all rebels cap- 

 tured with arms in their hands should be shot 

 without any kind of trial, created a very bad 

 impression. The revolt in favor of Don Carlos, 

 which was considered abandoned, was kindled 

 afresh. A band of four hundred men invaded 

 Catalonia, other armed bodies showed them- 

 selves in Valencia and the mountains of To- 

 ledo. On the other hand, the Eepublicans 

 perfected an organization and published a 

 manifesto favoring a federative republic for the 

 entire Peninsula. The affairs became more per- 

 plexing than ever. The " provisional " condi- 

 tion of things continued which had begun since 

 the flight of the ex-Queen. No step was taken 

 toward any definite settlement. Besides this, 

 the Cuban difficulty was very troublesome. 

 The idea of selling the island to the United 

 States, if ever seriously entertained, was given 

 up. The prospect of the insurgents being 

 recognized by the United States was becoming 

 brighter, and Spanish pride threatened to drive 

 the Government into war at any risk. Gen- 

 eral Prim had an interview with the Emperor 

 of the French on September 16th, but it did 

 not seem to result in any thing beyond advice. 



The chances of the Duke de Montpensier, the 

 king of Portugal, and his father the ex-Kegent 

 of Portugal, having become apparently hopeless, 

 the choice of the Duke of Genoa for the vacant 

 throne was favorably entertained in Spain. But 

 the difficulty of obtaining a suitable candidate 

 for the throne imparted more and more strength 

 to the idea of prolonging the Provisional Gov- 

 ernment for three years. Influential members 

 of all parties were in favor of it. Even the 

 Kepublicans were not opposed to it, as they 

 would thereby gain time for carrying out their 

 plans. 



While in Europe and the United States the 

 opinion became prevalent that Spain could not 

 suppress the insurrection in Cuba by force, 

 she grew more and more determined to re- 

 tain the colony at any price. Prim telegraphed 

 from Paris to the Ministry of War that no 

 sacrifice should be spared, to maintain the 

 honor of Spain, and to quell the insurrection 

 in Cuba. But the insurgents were offered rep- 

 resentation in the Cortes, religious freedom, 

 and the right of establishing independent in- 

 stitutions of credit. 



The volunteers of Tarragona having mani- 

 fested republican tendencies, and assumed an 

 attitude hostile to the Government, the author- 

 ities ordered them to be disarmed. Several 

 commandants of tho volunteers at Barcelona 



protested against this order, and refused to dis- 

 arm their battalions. They erected barricades, 

 and took possession of the public buildings in 

 the a/rrondissement of Carmen. After being 

 legally summoned to disperse, they were at- 

 tacked by the troops, who destroyed the barri- 

 cades, and completely defeated the insurgents. 

 Order was restored, and numerous prisoners 

 were taken and placed on board the ships 

 in the harbor. There were many killed and 

 wounded. 



On September 28, the Council of Ministers, 

 under the presidency of the Regent, agreed to 

 propose to the Cortes the Duke of Genoa as a 

 candidate for the vacant throne. His family, 

 in reply to the Spanish Government, declared 

 that the prince would only accept 'the crown 

 of Spain if the Cortes elected him by a ma- 

 jority of two-thirds. King Luiz of Portugal 

 addressed the following characteristic letter 

 to the Duke de Soule" relative to tho Spanish 

 throne : 



PALACE OF MAFRA, September 27, 1869. 



MY DEAR DUKE : Observing that certain journals 

 persist in affirming that in consequence of combina- 

 tions made in Paris I am about to abdicate the crown 

 of Portugal in favor of my son under the regency of 

 my august father, and to accept that of Spain ; seeing, 

 besides, that this ill-founded report is assuming a 

 certain consistency, and that resolutions of such grav- 

 ity and so foreign to my ideas are attributed to me, 

 I request you, my dear Duke, to contradict that state- 

 ment as promptly as possible. If Providence has 

 reserved days of painful trials for Portugal, I con- 

 fidently hope that with the love of the country, and 

 with the sincere alliance between liberty and the 

 throne, I shall be able to resist these terrible eventu- 

 alities. Honored in being at the head of your nation, 

 I shall know how to accomplish the duties which a 

 regard for our institutions and devotedness to my 

 country impose upon me. Born a Portuguese, I desire 

 to die the same. Your affectionate LUIZ. 



Formidable republican bands concentrated 

 in Catalonia, and compelled the Government to 

 send troops against them. The critical state of 

 affairs induced General Prim, as president of 

 the Council of Ministers, to declare in the Cor- 

 tes on October 2d as follows : 



It is with pain that I have to draw the attention of 

 the Cortes to the state of perturbation which prevails 

 in the country. The Government has no personal 

 feelings against those who have taken up arms to op- 

 pose the institutions the nation has adopted ; but it 

 will do what the country and the Cortes have the 

 right to expect from it namely, to reestablish order. 

 The Government finds itself under the necessity of 

 having recourse, with the sanction of the Cortes, to 

 extraordinary measures, for the ordinary means at 

 its disposal are, at this moment, insufficient. The 

 Government promises that the extraordinary measures 

 shall be employed no longer than the present state 

 of war shall exist. The people who have'taken arms 

 under the republican flag, have been unable to sustain 

 any combat of importance, but at various points they 

 have destroyed the railways and telegraphs. The 

 prime minister mentioned the lines intercepted and 

 added that the damage committed would entail great 

 sacrifices on the country. He then proceeded as fol- 

 lows: I can give the Cortes and the country the 

 assurance that the rebels shall not triumph, for they 

 cannot, and, if the Chamber accords what the Govern- 

 ment asks, order will be speedily reestablished. The 

 Government declares that it will not enter upon any 



