714 



SPAIN. 



the republic to be the form of government of 

 tlie nation, leaving to tbe constituent ( 

 the organization of this form of government. 

 With regard to the permanent form of gov- 

 ernment to be adopted, the ministry officially 

 observed a non-committal attitude, although 

 most of the members individually did not hesi- 

 Ute to declare in favor of a federal republic. 

 On February 24th, the young republic had its 

 first ministerial crisis; Fiu'u.rus, Castelur, 1'i 

 y Margall, and F. Salmeron, remained mem- 

 bers of the new ministry, while Juun Tebuan 

 became Minister of Finance; Eduardo Chao, 

 Minister of Commerce and 1'ublie Works; Jos6 

 Cristobal Sorni, Minister of the Colonies ; Gen- 

 eral Acosta, Minister of War; and Admiral 

 Oreivo, Minister of the Navy. In several 

 places the establishment of the republic was 

 attended by disturbances of the peace ; thus, in 

 Montilla, five prominent conservative citizens 

 were massacred, and eight houses burned. 

 As the army appeared to the Government to 

 be entirely untrustworthy, a new military law 

 was passed, which abolished conscription, and 

 provided for recruiting by the enlistment of 

 volunteers ; in cases of emergency, the Gov- 

 ernment was authorized to mobilize the re- 

 serve. In a new circular, Castelur assured the 

 foreign powers that the republic was defi- 

 nitely established, and asked them not to do- 

 lay any longer the formal recognition ; but 

 only the United States and Switzerland imme- 

 diately responded (February 25th). At the 

 beginning of March a great excitement was 

 produced by a motion to adjourn the National 

 Assembly, and to proceed to the election of a 

 constituent Cortes. Themnjority of the Cortes 

 belonging to the former Radical (monarchical) 

 party, distrusted the ministry ; the latter 

 threatened to resign ; in Madrid, an outbreak 

 of the Republican party was feared, and in 

 Barcelona, threatening demonstrations were 

 made by the Republicans. The Radicals, final- 

 ly, agreed to accept a compromise proposed by 

 General Primo de Rivera, by which the new 

 elections were adjourned to May 10th, and the 

 meeting of the Constituent Assembly to June 

 lit; the right of voting was extended to all 

 men of twenty-one years of age, and the elec- 

 tion of a standing committee, with executive 

 powers, was provided, which was to represent 

 the Chambers during their adjournment. This 

 motion was adopted by 118 against 19 vote*. 

 In Madrid it was reported that twenty-two 

 provinces were determined no longer to recog- 

 nize the authority of the capital in case the 

 dissolution of the Assembly should be still 

 farther postponed. The prime minister him- 

 self repaired to Valencia and Barcelona, in or- 

 '!' r to calm the excitement. The discipline in 

 the army did not improve. In Malaga the 

 volunteer* assumed themselves the supreme 

 command, and in Catalonia and Andalusia the 

 Federal Republican party displayed a great 

 strength. The provincial council of Barcelona 

 acted like the government of an independent 



state, dismissed the troops at pleasure, and 

 reciilisted them as volunteers. In Cutuloniu. 

 ami Alicante the Internationals showed them- 

 selves very active, and denounced the repub- 

 lic of the bouryeoitie, and the authorities e\ ery- 

 w lu-re appeared almost powerless. The prime.- 

 minister, Figm-ras, was enthusiastic-ally re- 

 ceived in his native city, Barcelona, but he 

 had to connive at the ultra-federal dcinoi 

 tions. After his return he mode the immedi- 

 ate adjournment of the National Assembly and 

 the election of- the Standing Committee u cabi- 

 net question. The Assembly reluctantly con- 

 ceded the demand of the prime minister, cleric. 1 

 the Standing Committee, which consisted of 

 members of all political parties, though a ma- 

 jority were known not to sympathize* with 

 the Republican majority of the ministry, and 

 suspended its sessions. One of its last acts 

 provided for the abolition of slavery in Porto 

 Uico, which was to take place immediately af- 

 ter the publication of the law in the official 

 gazette, but the emancipated slaves were re- 

 quired to serve as hired laborers for three more 

 years, with their former masters, or the - 

 Political rights were to be conferred upon 

 tin -in rive years after their emancipation. The 

 indemnification of the masters was to bo ex- 

 clusively borne by the budget of Porto Ilico. 

 The official gazette at the snme time pub. 

 a law on the organization of eighty battalions 

 of "Voluntaries do la Republic.-!," each bat- 

 talion to contain six companies of one hundred 

 men each. In consequence of the earnest re- 

 monstrances of the Spanish Government, 

 France ordered a stricter prohibition of tile 

 export of arms across the frontier. In several 

 provinces, a tendency manifested itself to de- 

 clare themselves independent of the central 

 Government in Madrid. This spirit of inde- 

 pendence especially showed itself in Malaga, 

 where a large force of volunteers preserved or- 

 der, but at the sumo time did not allow the cen- 

 tral Government to send troops or gensdunm s 

 into the city. Nobody seemed to recpcct the, 

 orders of the Government in Madrid ; tbe taxes 

 were not delivered into the public Treasury, 

 and a special tax was imposed upon the citi- 

 zens to meet the expenses for tin- volunteers. 

 In File me de Cantos, and other places of I'-- 

 trcmadura, new troubles were caused by the 

 Communists; in Burguillos seventeen villas 

 were burned down, and the proprietors were 

 coerced into signing documents, in which they 

 reded their property to the commune. In Ca- 

 diz, Salvochea, who for five years had been at 

 tin- head of all revolutionary movements in 

 and around Cadiz, was elected mayor. In 

 Catalonia the energy of the new Captain-Gen- 

 eral Velarde succeeded in fully restoring mili- 

 tary discipline. The greatest d-mircr to the 

 republic was in the open hostility between 

 the majority of the ministry and tin* more con- 

 servative majority of the Standing Comn; 

 When'the committee met, on April 23d, and, 

 with the exception of Figueras and PI y Mar- 



