700 



SPAIN. 



upon the proposition to censure the Govern- 

 ment, brought forward by the adherents of 

 Sefior Zorrilla, a counter-motion was submitted 

 by Senor Ochoa, providing for the granting of 

 entire liberty to religious societies throughout 

 Spain, and the suppression of the decrees of 

 the Provisional Government, of which Sefior 

 Zorrilla was a member, relative thereto. Pend- 

 ing this, a motion was made to declare the sit- 

 ting of the Cortes permanent, and a spirited 

 discussion followed. The Government event- 

 ually demanded its rejection as a Cabinet ques- 

 tion, but their opponents had the majority, 

 for, upon a division of the House, the motion 

 was found to be adopted by a vote of 173 to 

 118. Admiral Malcampo, President of the 

 Council of State and head of the ministry, at 

 once mounted the tribune and read a royal 

 decree proroguing the sitting of the Cortes 

 without delay. The King then summoned to 

 his presence the presidents of the two Houses 

 for consultation as to the grave aspect of 

 political affairs, and it became known that the 

 ministry had resigned in a body. 



At the municipal elections held on Decem- 

 ber llth, the republicans carried one-half of 

 the capitals of the provinces, and a large 

 number of smaller towns. The ministerial 

 crisis ended, toward the close of December, in 

 the formation of a new Cabinet, which was 

 composed as follows: Sagasta, President of 

 the Council and Minister of the Interior ; Mal- 

 campo, Minister of the Marine ; De Bias, Min- 

 ister of Foreign Affairs ; Candau, Minister of 

 Public Works; Topete, Minister of the Colo- 

 nies; Angulo, Minister of Finances; Gamin- 

 des, Minister of War; and Groizard, Minister 

 of Justice. 



On April 12th the representatives of Spain, 

 and the allied South American republics with 

 which Spain had been at war, agreed in the 

 peace conference, held at Washington, under 

 the presidency of Mr. Fish, upon the following 

 convention : 



Agreement of armistice or general truce between 

 the plenipotentiaries of Spain and those of Bolivia, 

 Chili, Ecuador, and Peru. 



ARTICLE 1. By this convention the suspension of 

 hostilities existing de facto between Spain on the one 

 hand and the allied republics of Bolivia, Chili, Peru, 

 and Ecuador, on the other, is changed into an ar- 

 mistice or general truce. 



ART. 2. This armistice shall last indefinitely, and 

 it cannot be broken by any of the belligerents until 

 three years after express and explicit notification 

 shall have been given by one to the other of the in- 

 tention to renew hostilities. In this case such noti- 

 fication must he made through the Government of 

 the United States. 



ART. 3. Each of the "belligerents, during the con- 

 tinuance of this _ armistice, shall have the privilege 

 of free commercial intercourse with the neutral na- 

 tions in all those articles considered to be of lawful 

 trade in time of peace, all restrictions on neutral 

 commerce therefore ceasing. 



ART. 4. The present convention shall be ratified 

 bv the respective Governments, and the ratifications 

 will he exchanged in the State Department at Wash- 

 ington within four months from the date of this con- 

 vention, April! 2, 1871. 



ART. 5. The Governments which may not have 

 sent their ratification of this convention within the 

 term fixed in the preceding article may exchange 

 their ratifications within the following two months. 



ART. 6. If any of the Governments, owing to cir- 

 cumstances out of their control, shall not he ahle to 

 exchange ratifications of this convention within the 

 terms fixed in the preceding articles, they shall be 

 granted the delay they may request from the other 

 party without a new convention. 



ART. Y. The proceedings of ratification and ex- 

 change shall not interfere with the continuance of 

 the conferences designed for peace negotiations. 



HAMILTON FISH, Secretary of State. 



MANEICO LOPEZ EGBERTS, Plenipotentiary 

 of Spain. 



MANUEL FEEYEE, Plenipotentiary of Peru. 



JOAQUIM GODOY, Plenipotentiary of Chili. 



ANTONIO FLOEES, Plenipotentiary of Ecuador. 



MANUEL FEEYEE, in representation of Bolivia. 



The resistance of the native Cubans to Span- 

 ish rule continued throughout the year. The 

 reports from Spanish and Cuban sources about 

 the occurrences widely differ, and the estab- 

 lishment of the truth in many particular cases 

 would be a difficult task. On January 19th the 

 Cuban General Cornelio Porro, and other in- 

 surgents, came into Puerto Principe and sur- 

 rendered themselves. On January 30th Count 

 Valmaseda, who on December 13, 1870, had 

 succeeded General de Roda as Captain-General 

 of Cuba, received a letter from Edward Ma- 

 chado, Secretary of the Cuban House of Rep- 

 resentatives, beseeching clemency. Machado 

 wrote that the House to which he belonged 

 had dissolved, and that the members thereof 

 were looking after their personal safety. Ac- 

 cording to the same letter, Miguel G. Gutier- 

 rez, Vice-President of the Cuban Republic, 

 was with his son wandering about in the 

 woods. Proclamations issued by President 

 Cespedes in January, and by Ignacio Agra- 

 monte, who signed himself general-in-chief 

 of the Cuban forces, expressed an abiding faith 

 in the final success of the national cause. In 

 March the Spanish troops in Cuba took the 

 oath of allegiance to King Amadeo and the 

 Constitution. The volunteers only took the 

 oath of fealty to the King, but not to the Con- 

 stitution. On April 13th the Bishop of Ha- 

 vana arrived at Havana, on his return from the 

 Vatican Council, but was refused permission to 

 go ashore, as the volunteers suspected him of 

 a secret sympathy with the cause of Cuban 

 independence, and the commanders of the 

 volunteers, on whose vote the Government 

 of Madrid had made the permission to land 

 dependent, voted (seven out of ten) against 

 allowing him to enter Cuba. Skirmishes 

 and engagements between the Spanish troops 

 and the Cubans continued to be of frequent 

 occurrence, but were in general of no military 

 importance. An engagement near Mayari, on 

 February 16th, was claimed by the Cubans as a 

 great victory ; while in July an official report 

 of the Captain-General announced a crushing 

 defeat of Rafael Quesada, who had just landed 

 with two hundred men on the coast near 

 Guantanaino. In August the Cuban Generals 



