774 



SPAIN. 



The army of Spain was reorganized in 1868, 

 after the model of that of France. Since then 

 the laws on the organization of the army have 

 been repeatedly modified, and further changes 

 were expected. The force in Spain was to 

 number about 216,000 men. The army in 

 Cuba consisted of about 60,000'men, namely, 

 54,400 active army, 4,000 reserve, 1,500 militia. 

 The army in Porto Rico consisted of 9,400 

 men ; that in the Philippines, of 9,000. Total 

 number of troops in the colonies, 78,10*. For 

 military purposes, the kingdom is divided into 

 five districts, or ''capitanias generales," at the 

 head of each of which stands a captain-general, 

 with the rank of field-marshal. 



The fleet, in 1874, was composed as follows : 



Of sailing-vessels, there were one frigate (28 

 guns), two corvettes, one transport, two pon- 

 toons. The navy was manned, in 1872, by 9,700 

 sailors and 5,000 marines, and commanded by 

 2,344 naval officers and 144 marine officers. 



The following table exhibits the trade of 

 Spain during the years 1868 and 1869 ; the 

 value being expressed in reals (one real = 4.8 

 cents) : 



The merchant navy in 1873 consisted of 

 3,069 sea-going vessels, of 678,886 tons, of 

 which 2,867, of 540,211 tons, were sailing- 

 vessels, and 202, of 138,675 tons, were steamers. 



The aggregate length of the railroads in 

 operation amounted, on January 1, 1874, to 

 5,426 kilometres (1 kilometre = 0.62 m.) ; the 

 aggregate length of the telegraph-lines, on Jan- 

 uary 1, 1871, to 11,754 kilometres. 



The new year opened with another coup 

 d'etat. On January 2d the session of the Cor- 

 tes was reopened, and the President of the Re- 

 pubic, Sefior Castelar, read his message, ex- 

 pressing himself favorably on the situation of 

 the country. The message was received coldly 



by all parts of the House, except when an allu- 

 sion to Cartagena provoked murmurs from the 

 Left, and counter-cheers when Sefior Olias, of 

 the Eight, moved a vote of thanks to the Gov- 

 ernment. A member of the left, Santamaria, 

 moved the " previous question." President 

 Castelar declared that the Government would 

 immediately resign if the previous question 

 were taken into consideration. Sefior Salme- 

 ron, the President of the Cortes, bitterly up- 

 braided Sefior Castelar for this course, as 

 endangering public order. Castelar retorted 

 that the Government still held itself responsible 

 for public order, and renewed the threat of 

 resignation. Santamaria withdrew the mo- 

 tion, amid loud cries of " Vote ! vote ! " At 

 seven the House adjourned. It met again at 

 eleven. In reply to a new attack upon the 

 policy of the Government by Salmeron, Castelar 

 declared the Government policy republican in 

 the best sense, though not democratic and 

 socialistic. His alliance with the Radicals was 

 necessary for protection against the Intransi- 

 gentes, who destroyed republicanism by pro- 

 voking reaction. He declared that, with the 

 present Cortes, all government was impossible, 

 and that no ministry could last eight days. 

 The vote of thanks was nevertheless lost by 

 120 against 100. Castelar then presented the 

 resignation of the cabinet, and the sitting was 

 suspended to form a new ministry. Palanca 

 was elected President. Suddenly the Captain- 

 General of Madrid, General Pavia, entered the 

 Cortes with a strong military force, and sent 

 his aide-de-camp to inform the President of the 

 Cortes that it must disperse. For five minutes 

 there were loud cries and protests, General 

 Soceas and others threatening resistance, but 

 the officers answered that the troops would 

 fire if the deputies did not immediately retire. 

 At this instant two shots were fired in the air 

 by the soldiers. The House then broke up 

 immediately in great confusion. No resistance 

 was made by any one, consequently there was 

 no bloodshed and no attempt at arrest. All 

 the deputies were allowed to go quietly home. 

 General Pavia had seized the Home-Office in 

 order to get the control of the telegraph. He 

 next strongly occupied with troops and artil- 

 lery all the principal points, especially the 

 Calle Toledo, the Belleville of Madrid. He 

 rode round the town himself, inspecting the 

 arrangements, which were so thorough that 

 the Intransigentes had no chance of a success- 

 ful resistance. An order was issued that all 

 but the new national militia were immediately 

 to give up their arms on pain of prosecution. 

 The cafes and shops were at first shut, but 

 many afterward reopened. The day was fine, 

 and there were large crowds in the streets. 

 There was naturally much excitement, but lit- 

 tle alarm. The municipal authorities of Sara- 

 gossa, Barcelona, and Valencia, made an at- 

 tempt to oppose the new. Government, but the 

 troops succeeded without much difficulty in 

 crushing the movement. 



