SPAIN. 



807 



ural interest of the State. A committee was 

 appointed to draft a constitution and by-laws 

 for a permanent organization to be submitted 

 to a subsequent convention. This body met 

 in Columbia on November 9, and adjourned on 

 the 10th. The report of the Committee on 

 Constitution was adopted, and the Fanners' 

 Association of South Carolina organized. 



Earthquake. Charleston and the neighboring 

 region were visited on the evening of August 

 31 by the severest earthquake in the annals of 

 the city. See EARTHQUAKES. 



Growth of the State. A statement compiled 

 by the Charleston "News and Courier" exhib- 

 its the industrial condition of the State for the 

 year as compared with 1880, as follow : 



The value of the exports for South Carolina in 1880 

 was $21,559,763 ; in 1886, $19,734,779, a decrease of 

 $1,824,984. The value of imports was, in 1880, $231,- 

 435; in 1885, $524,171, an increase of $292,736. 

 The total railroad mileage of the State in 1880 was 

 1,403 ; in 1886, 1,754, an increase of 351 miles. The 

 total tonnage transported by railroads in 18bO was 

 1,288,468 tons; in 1886, 2,103,573, an increase of 

 815,105 tons. The total earnings of the railroads in 

 1880 was $4,108,040 ; in 1886, $6,429,289, an increase 

 of $2,321,105. In 1880 there were 2,078 manufactur- 

 ing establishments in South Carolina, with a capital 

 of $11,205,894, and the value of their products was 

 $16,738,008; in 1886 there were 3,242 establishments, 

 with a capital of $21,327,970, and the value of manu- 

 factured products was $29,957,551. The increase was 

 1,164 establishments. $10,122,076 of capital, and $13,- 

 213,543 in new products. In 1880, 80,000 tons of ferti- 

 lizers were shipped out of the State ; in 1886, 196,804 

 tons, an increase of 116,814 tons. In 1880 the farm- 

 ers purchased $7,359,462 worth of supplies on time ; 

 in 1886 the amount so purchased was $5,037,968, a 

 decrease in the value of such purchases of $2,321,494. 



SPAIN, a monarchy in Southern Europe. 

 (For area, population, and form of govern- 

 ment, see "Annual Cyclopaedia" for 1885.) 

 The Queen-Regent, Maria Christina, widow of 

 Alfonso XII, and daughter of the Archduke 

 Carl Ferdinand of Austria, was delivered of a 

 male child on May 17, 1886. The King was 

 named Alfonso Leo, taking his second name 

 from the Pope, and will reign as Alfonso XIII. 

 His mother is to remain Regent until he reaches 

 his legal majority at the completion of his six- 

 teenth year. 



The Council of Ministers, constituted Oct. 9, 

 1886, is composed as follows: President, P. 

 Mateo Sagasta ; Mirister of Foreign Affairs, 

 S. Moret; Minister of Grace and Justice, M. 

 Alonso Martinez ; Minister of Marine, Admiral 

 Arias ; Minister of Finance, M. Puigcerver, ap- 

 pointed in August, 1886 ; Minister of War, G. 

 Castillo ; Minister of the Interior, Cas- 

 tillo ; Minister of Commerce and Agriculture, 

 Navarro Rodrigo; Minister of the Colonies, 

 M. Balaguer. 



Railroads, Posts, and Telegraphs. The length 

 of railroads completed on Jan. 1, 1886, was 

 5,740 miles. The number of letters, postal- 

 cards, and circulars carried in the mails in 

 1883 -'84 was 118,394,708 domestic, and 34,- 

 343,456 foreign. The telegraph lines in 1884 

 had a length of 11,155 miles, with 27,150 miles 



of wires. The number of dispatches was 3,281,- 

 885, of which 2,048,459 were paid internal mes- 

 sages, and 749,845 international. The receipts 

 were 5,881,767 pesetas. 



The Army. The standing army in 1886 num- 

 bered 83,808 infantry, 14,364 cavalry, 11,340 

 artillery, with 392 guns, and 4,279 engineers. 

 The war effective was 734,679 infantry, 21,- 

 452 cavalry, 30,355 artillery, and 7,163 engi- 

 neers, besides 6,953 troops in the territorial 

 army of the Canaries, 15,302 of the civic guard, 

 and 10,940 in the frontier guard. The troops 

 in the colonies, not included in the above state- 

 ment, consisted of 25,342 men in Cuba, 3,566 

 in Porto Rico, and 11,016 in the Philippine 

 Islands. The total peace effective of the Span- 

 ish army is 182,379 men, with 16,495 horses, 

 and 416 guns; the war effective, 869,353 men, 

 23,467 horses, and 484 guns. 



The Navy. The war fleet in 1885 consisted 

 of 5 armor-clad frigates, 8 other frigates, 11 

 cruisers, 7 corvettes, and 111 other vessels of 

 all kinds. The largest ironclad hns a displace- 

 ment of 7,200 tons and 5^-inch armor. In 

 Cuba and Porto- Rico there are 35 gunboats, 

 each armed with a 100-pounder pivot-gun. 



Finances. The budget for the year ending 

 June 30, 1887, estimates the total receipts at 

 940,530,725 pesetas, or francs, of which 283.- 

 724,000 are derived from direct taxes, 131,729.- 

 000 from indirect, 131.340,000 from customs, 

 273,205,000 from stamps and regies, 26,012,725 

 from reproductive state property, and 94,520,- 

 000 are carried over. The expenditures are 

 calculated at 923,446,869 pesetas. 



Dissolution of the Cortes. The Cortes was 

 called together in December, 1885, for the pur- 

 pose of swearing in the Regent and giving cer- 

 tain ministers powers to enable them to carry 

 on the business of the Government. Romero 

 Robledo contested the presidency of the Con- 

 gress with his former ministerial colleague, 

 Canovas del Castillo, who was elected by 222 

 votes to 112 for Robledo. The latter openly 

 attacked Canovas in the Chamber, and though 

 the position of Sagasta and his party was 

 strengthened through the split in the Conserv- 

 ative party, when the Republicans endeav- 

 ored by an interpellation, on Jan. 5, 1886, to 

 add to the political turmoil, the Prime Minis- 

 ter determined to dissolve the Cortes, which 

 was at once prorogued. The Queen took the 

 oath before the Cortes on Dec. 30, 1885. 



The New Cortes. The Government, as usual, 

 obtained an overwhelming majority in the 

 new Cortes. The senatorial elections gave 136 

 seats to the Ministerialists, besides 14 to be 

 filled by nomination, while 26 partisans of 

 Canova were elected, 4 followers of Romero, 

 2 candidates of the Dynastic Left, 4 Republi- 

 cans, and 8 Independents. In the House of 

 Deputies the ministry won 310 seats against 121 

 that went to members of the various opposi- 

 tion parties. The elections took place, without 

 disturbances of any character, on April 26. 



The Cortes were opened on May 10. "With 



