746 



SPAIN. 



candidates who will support the Government. 

 The minister, remarking next that it is an in- 

 variable rule with the Eadical party, and, 

 consequently, with the present Government, 

 to respect public opinion and obey the laws, 

 adds that, thanks to the moderation and loy- 

 alty of the Government, the general condition 

 of the country has been undergoing a favor- 

 able change since the appointment of the new 

 ministry. Individual rights and constitutional 

 privileges are upheld even in those parts which 

 are disturbed by the civil war. The rebellion 

 is now dying out in the north, and is almost 

 entirely subdued in Catalonia. Referring to 

 the financial position, Senor Zorilla is glad to 

 find that the injured credit of Spain is recov- 

 ering, and capital is again forthcoming. The 

 good administration of public affairs, based on 

 rigorous economy, is sufficient to restore to 

 the finances their usual resources. The Gov- 

 ernment considers that the moment has ar- 

 rived for giving effect to the great reforms 

 promised by the revolution. The minister 

 enumerates these reforms, which will be car- 

 ried out with the concurrence of the Cortes. 

 Sefior Zorilla concludes by saying that the 

 Government is determined to solve the prob- 

 lem of identifying democracy with liberty, 

 stability with progress, monarchy with the 

 people, and the interests of all parties with 

 the most complete enjoyment of all rights. 



On July 19tli, while the King and the Queen 

 were returning from the garden into the Pal- 

 ace of Buen Retiro, at midnight, five men, who 

 had posted themselves in the calle Arnal, fired 

 upon the carriage of their Majesties. Neither 

 the Queen nor the King was hurt. One of the 

 assassins was killed upon the spot by the at- 

 tendants. Two others were captured. The 

 greatest indignation at this attempt was ex- 

 pressed by the entire population of Spain. 



The election held in August resulted in a 

 complete victory of the new Radical ministry. 

 Out of the 406 Deputies composing the Con- 

 gress, Sefior Zorilla's party, the Radicals, 

 numbered 296. It was, moreover, expected 

 that the Republicans, who numbered about 80, 

 in all sincere and honest efforts to effect prac- 

 tical reforms, would vote with the Govern- 

 ment, that thus the system of trial by jury 

 would be established, negro slavery abolished, 

 the financial position of the country looked 

 fairly in the face, conscription for the army 

 discontinued, the relations between Church 

 and state modified, the position of the clergy 

 clearly defined ; in short, that the various prac- 

 tical reforms the revolution promised to effect 

 would be carried out. The Conservatives pro- 

 fessing adhesion to King Amadeus only num- 

 bered 10 in the Congress ; those whose sympa- 

 thies were with Prince Alfonso, 14. Out of 200 

 composing the Senate, the Radicals had 144; the 

 Republicans, 1 6 ; while the Conservatives, dy- 

 nastic and anti-dynastic, had the remaining 40. 



On September 15th the King opened the 

 session of the new Cortes. In his speech from 



the throne, he stated that the efforts to rees- 

 tablish diplomatic relations with the Papal See 

 had so far proved unavailing; but he did not 

 despair of seeing remedied a situation so afflict- 

 ing to him, hoping that the Pope's wisdom and 

 prudence would persuade him of the King's 

 veneration for his person and respect for his 

 spiritual power, as also of his determination to 

 study the deeds and ideas of the age, and to 

 maintain religion according to the decree es- 

 tablished in full right by the sovereign will of 

 the Spanish nation. The speech then referred 

 pleasantly to the recent provincial journey and 

 the friendly relations with foreign powers, and 

 censured the clergy for their share in the Car- 

 list insurrection. The promised reforms in 

 Cuba would be carried into effect as soon as 

 the rebellion was over. The deficit in the 

 budget was announced, and the Cortes \vas 

 called upon to provide means for meeting it. 



The powers of nearly all the Deputies and 

 Senators having been "verified," the Congress 

 and Senate were definitely ''constituted" on 

 September 16th, with the following result : 



Congress. Senor Nicolas Maria Rivero, 

 President (elected by 176 against 30 votes) ; 

 Sefior Nicolas Salmeron, First Yice-President ; 

 Sefior Pasar6n y Lastra, Second Vice-Presi- 

 dent ; Duke de Veragua, Third Vice-Presi- 

 dent ; Sefior Mosquera, Fourth Vice-President ; 

 Senor Cayo Lopez, First Secretary; Sefior 

 Calvo Ascensjo, Second Secretary ; Sefior Mo- 

 reno Rodriguez, Third Secretary ; Sefior Mo- 

 rayta, Fourth Secretary. 



Senate. Sefior Laureano Figuerola, Presi- 

 dent (elected by 58 against 3 votes) ; Senor Ci- 

 priano Montesino, First Vice-President ; Mar- 

 quis de Perales, Second Vice-President ; Sefior 

 Luis Maria Pastor, Third Vice-President ; Se- 

 nor Fernando de Castro, Fourth Vice-Presi- 

 dent ; Sefior Federico Balart, First Secretary ; 

 Sefior Vicente- Fuenmayor, Second Secretary ; 

 Sefior Saturnino Vargas Machuca, Third Secre- 

 tary ; Sefior Eduardo Benot, Fourth Secretary. 



The two Presidents have long been known 

 in Spanish politics. Sefior Salmeron, the First 

 Vice-President of the Congress, is one of the 

 most eloquent of the old (Prim) Progresista 

 party. The First Vice-President of the Sen- 

 ate, Sefior Montesino, is a nephew of Espar- 

 tero, and has been in Parliament many years. 

 He was" one of the few members of the Cortes 

 of Queen Isabella who had the courage to 

 stand up for religious liberty in his place in 

 Parliament. He studied railway-engineering 

 in England, and has attained great eminence 

 in that profession, as well as great perfection 

 in the English language. He is the managing 

 director of the Southern Railway line. Like 

 his uncle, he is a thorough Liberal, and is also, 

 like him, modest and retiring. Sefior Fer- 

 nando de Castro, the Fourth Vice-President 

 of the Senate, is one of the fathers and found- 

 ers of popular education in Spain. He was for 

 a long time Rector of the Madrid University. 

 He is one of the most learned men Spain ever 



