SPAIN. 



709 



one-third elected by corporations. All grandees 

 of Spain, possessing an income of over fifty 

 thousand pesetas, are also entitled to a seat in 

 the Senate. The Chamber of Deputies is to be 

 elected for five years, one deputy for fifty 

 thousand inhabitants. The King has the right 

 to dissolve the Chamber and the elective sen- 

 ators, and new elections are to take place with- 

 in three months. The King also appoints the 

 President and Vice-President of the Senate, 

 and has an absolute veto. The magistracy is 

 to be irremovable. At the beginning of Sep- 

 tember the three ministers, Castro, Cardenas, 

 and Orovio, who represented the ultra-royal- 

 ists, being averse to the maintenance of univer- 

 sal suffrage, sent in their resignation in oppo- 

 sition to the wishes of Sefior Canovas, who 

 urged that the Government ought to respect 

 the state of affairs legally established, and leave 

 to the future Cortes the task of modifying the 

 electoral law, if any alteration should then be 

 considered necessary. After a session of six 

 hours, in which Canovas tried to prevent a 

 rupture, the whole ministry resigned. The 

 King thereupon requested Sefior Canovas to 

 form a new cabinet, but he declined the task 

 on the ground that, having for a long time 

 presided over a cabinet which represented the 

 conciliation of the old parties, he ought not to 

 remain in power at the head of one party only. 

 King Alfonso consequently expressed his grati- 

 tude to the late premier, and intrusted Gen- 

 eral Jovellar with the formation of a new 

 ministry, which was, on Sept. llth, constituted 

 as follows : President of the Council and Min- 

 ister of War, General Jovellar; Minister of 

 Foreign Affairs, Alcala Galiano ; Minister of 

 Justice, Calderon Collantes ; Minister of Ma- 

 rine, Duran y Lira ; Minister of Finance, Sa- 

 lavierra ; Minister' of the Interior, Romero 

 Robledo ; Minister of Public Works, Martin 

 Herrera ; and Minister of Colonies, Ayala. 



In a circular note to the bishops, the papal 

 nuncio, Mgr. Simeoni, demanded religious unity 

 and the execution of the Concordat of 1851, 

 and called attention to the fact that otherwise 

 the good feeling existing between the Vatican 

 and the cabinet would be disturbed. The Con- 

 cordat of 1851 enforced the principle of reli- 

 gious exclusiveness to its utmost extent. The 

 Catholic religion is declared the only ruling 

 one in Spain, while every other religion is pro- 

 hibited. The other articles have reference 

 to the schools and to the sale of obnoxious 

 books. In reply to a Spanish note called forth 

 by Cardinal Simeoni's circular, the Vatican 

 further stated that it did not desire to embar- 

 rass the new Spanish Government; it parti- 

 cularly wished to assist it, but only by such 

 means as would be truly efficacious, and which 

 would not permit the rupture of that sacred 

 tie which has always been the glory of Spain. 

 Religious unity, which was now sought to be 

 banished, could not impede the development 

 of civilization, but was on the contrary its true 

 beacon. It was the duty of the papacy to 



combat not civilization, which was brought 

 forward merely as a pretext, but the corrup- 

 tion invading the hearts of nations. In ad- 

 hering to the positions taken, the papacy 

 believed it rendered great service not only to 

 the Spanish Government, but to all Spain. 

 The conduct of the papal nuncio and of the 

 Vatican must be regarded from this point of 

 yiew. But, if Spain, moved by extreme neces- 

 sity, wished to draw up an understanding on 

 the same principles under another form, the 

 papacy would be open to negotiation, with 

 the object of introducing acceptable modifica- 

 tions into the Concordat. After each one had 

 declared its views, it was to be seen how far 

 the Vatican could accept the draft of the new 

 constitution. In conclusion the Vatican ac- 

 cepted the declaration of the Spanish Govern- 

 ment that it was desirous of coming to an un- 

 derstanding, and stated that instructions to 

 negotiate had been given the nuncio at Ma- 

 drid. On November 28th King Alfonso came 

 of age, being eighteen years old. The day 

 was celebrated in various ways. On Decem- 

 ber 2d another ministerial change occurred. 

 The following new ministers entered their 

 offices on that day: Canovas del Castillo, Pres- 

 ident of the Ministerial Council ; Calderon 

 Collantes, Minister of Foreign Affairs ; Martin 

 Herrera, Minister of Justice ; and Torreno, 

 Minister of Public Works. The other heads 

 of departments remained unchanged. On De- 

 cember 22d General Jovellar resigned his posi- 

 tion as Minister of War, in order to accept the 

 position of Captain-General of Cuba, and Gen- 

 eral Ceballos was appointed in his place. 



At the close of the year a royal decree was 

 promulgated, convoking the Cortes for Feb- 

 ruary 15, 1876. Deputies and Senators were 

 to be elected by universal suffrage on this oc- 

 casion only. The elections were to commence 

 on the 20th of January in Spain. The decree 

 further provided that the towns in Biscay and 

 Navarre, which would be free from the pres- 

 ence of hostile factions, should elect deputies 

 and senators for the parts of those provinces 

 occupied by the enemy. Another decree was 

 issued imposing penalties upon the press for 

 attacks upon the King, the. royal family, and 

 the constitutional monarchy, and instituting a 

 tribunal composed of three judges, in each of 

 the royal courts, to try newspaper offenses. 



The proclamation of Alfonso as King of 

 Spain had no effect on the Carlist movement. 

 The following official dispatch was issued from 

 the Carlist headquarters : " The Alfonsist pro- 

 nunciamiento produces no change in the Carlist 

 situation. There is no defection in the Carlist 

 army. The Carlist army will be strengthened 

 and that of the enemy weakened by the change. 

 As heretofore, the contest must be decided by 

 the armies in the field." On January 13th a 

 battle took place at Santa Coloma de Fames, 

 in which the united Carlist bands of the prov- 

 ince of Gerona, under the command of Saballs, 

 Huguet, and others, were completely routed. 



