SPAIN. 



741 



skins and leather to 17,000,000 ; exports 5,300,- 

 000 ; the imports of textile materials to 87,- 

 400,000, exports 8,500,000 ; the exports of es- 

 parto to 9,200,000 ; the imports of timber, etc., 

 to 34,200,000, exports 1,300,000 ; the total im- 

 ports of raw materials to 161,800,000, the ex- 

 ports to 190,600,000 pesetas. The imports of 

 glass amounted to 4,100,000 pesetas; of metal 

 wares to 32,500,000 ; of machines, etc., to 73,- 

 700,000; of yarns to 22,300,000, of textile 

 manufactures to 62,300,000; of furniture to 

 4,600,000 ; the exports of corks to 11,800,000; 

 the imports of paper and playing cards to 7,- 

 600,000, exports 5,500,000; the total imports 

 of manufactured articles to 207,100,000 pesetas, 

 the total exports to 17,300,000 pesetas. The 

 imports of drugs, chemicals, and colors amount- 

 ed to 15,800,000 pesetas, exports 6,000,000; 

 imports of gums, fats, and oils, 10,000,000, 

 exports 15,600,000 ; miscellaneous imports 

 173,100,000, exports 86,100,000 pesetas. 



Shipping. The tonnage entered at Spanish 

 ports in 1882 was 2,681,569, 620,820 tons 

 under the Spanish and 2,060,749 under for- 

 eign flags; the tonnage cleared, 6,234,833. 



The merchant navy on Jan. 1, 1884, counted 

 1,902 vessels, ranging from 50 to 4,256 tons, 

 including 426 steamers. 



Railroads, Mails, and Telegraphs. The railroads 

 in operation Sept. 1, 1884, had a total length 

 of 8,889 kilometres ; under construction 3,444. 



The number of private internal letters, post- 

 al-cards, and circulars forwarded in 1882-'83 

 was 83,611, 522, of official 8,124,760; the num- 

 ber of international letters, etc., 19,295,460; 

 the money value declared in valuable inclos- 

 ures, 1,807,153,267 pesetas. The receipts of 

 the post-office were 14,628,705, the expendi- 

 tures 7,203,833 pesetas. 



The length of telegraph lines in 1883 was 

 17,173, of wires 41,850 kilometres. The num- 

 ber of messages was 3,019,831, including 198,- 

 515 connected with the service, 2,087,180 in- 

 ternal, 654,214 international, and 79,922 in 

 transitu. The receipts were 5,151,480 pesetas. 



The Army* The effective of the peninsular 

 standing army for 1883-'84 was fixed by a de- 

 cree of July 18, 1883, at 94,849 men, increased 

 by 28,000 men during the three months devoted 

 to the instruction of recruits. The effective of 

 the army in Cuba was fixed at 25,653 men, 

 that of the army in Porto Rico at 3,302 men, 

 that of the army in the Philippines at 7,870 

 men. The garde civile, which is subordinated 

 to the Ministry of War in matters of instruc- 

 tion and discipline, but in matters of service 

 subject to the instructions of the Ministry of 

 the Interior, numbered 780 officers and 14,- 

 756 men. The carabiniers or customs guard 

 at tho frontier and the ports consisted of 92 

 companies and 22 sections of horse. 



The Navy. The war fleet in 1884 counted 5 

 ironclad frigates with 60 guns, 9 screw-frigates 

 with 220 guns, 5 cruisers of the first class, and 

 1 paddle-steamer reckoned in the first class; 

 5 paddle, 10 screw steamers, and 1 armed 



transport placed in the second class ; 1 moni- 

 tor, 1 floating battery, and 33 steamers in the 

 third class ; and 56 small gunboats and 3 tor- 

 pedo-boats. The personnel of the navy con- 

 sisted of 673 naval officers and 14,000 sailors, 

 376 officers and 7,033 marine infantry. 



Change of Ministry. When Don Alfonso called 

 Canovas to the head of the ministry in 1879 

 after Gen. Martinez Campos, the former Pre- 

 mier, had been disowned by the Conservative 

 party on account of the liberal reforms advo- 

 cated by him, most of the other political lead- 

 ers were either Carlists or Republicans. When 

 Sagasta came out in favor of the dynasty and 

 joined with Martinez Campos to form the Fu- 

 sion party, the King felt constrained to call the 

 new party to power, more particularly on ac- 

 count of its influence in the army. The Sagas- 

 ta ministry was in turn upset by the Monarch- 

 ical Democracy, afterward called the Dynastic 

 Left, a new party, which demanded liberal re- 

 forms, formed by Marshal Serrano, the Duke 

 de la Torre, and his nephew Gen. Lopez Do- 

 minguez, who separated from the Fusionists, 

 and Moret, the parliamentary orator. The di- 

 vision in the Liberal party was so irreconcilable 

 that the Posad a-Herrara Cabinet was unable 

 to carry out the programme of the Dynastic 

 Left. There was a conservative reaction on 

 account of the socialistic ferment and the re- 

 publican conspiracy in the army. The revision 

 of the Constitution, civil marriage, the reor- 

 ganization of the army, free trade, and univer- 

 sal suffrage, were questions on which there was 

 not unanimity of opinion even in the Dynastic 

 Left. Posada was unable to obtain the support 

 of Sagasta and his followers for any satisfactory 

 legislative policy. As the Liberals were hope- 

 lessly divided, the King took the bold course 

 of recalling the Conservatives. He was not 

 moved by a desire to upset constitutional prin- 

 ciples, but simply wished to find a working 

 Cabinet that would tranquillize the public mind, 

 which was seriously unsettled by the political 

 turmoil. He had the approval of several of 

 the ministers when he invited Canovas del 

 Castillo to form a Cabinet, which was consti- 

 tuted Jan. 18, 1884. In Spain political ques- 

 tions have never yet been decided by the arbit- 

 rament of the popular vote, which can at any 

 time be obtained in its favor by the govern- 

 ment of the day. While the rest of the Posada- 

 Herrara Cabinet were desirous of terminating 

 the crisis in the regular constitutional way by 

 a dissolution and new elections, Sefior Posa- 

 da, who was always conservative in his tenden- 

 cies, counseled the course followed by the King, 

 and even Moret, formerly a Republican, depre- 

 cated a new election, not because he expected 

 a rejection of the ministerial programme, but 

 because he dreaded an expression of the popu- 

 lar mind, which would go beyond the projects 

 of the Dynastic Left and bring in question the 

 continuance of monarchical government. 



Four members of the new ministry sat in 

 the former Canovas Cabinet and occupied the 



