808 



SPAIN. 



reference to the complaints of work and the 

 labor demonstrations that had taken place in 

 Madrid and other places, the ministry declare! 

 in the address that they would occupy them- 

 selves with the welfare of the working popu- 

 lation, and with social, economic, commercial, 

 and colonization questions. They promised to 

 bring in a law for the extension of the elect- 

 oral franchise, and announced changes in the 

 army and a reorganization of the navy. Ca- 

 novas proclaimed his unswerving opposition to 

 the broadening of the franchise and the other 

 reforms guaranteed in the resolution of 1885, 

 while the dynastic Liberals attacked the min- 

 istry for attempting to satisfy the nation with 

 delusive hopes and empty promises ; and the 

 Republicans denounced the monarchy as a for- 

 tress of falsehood, misrule, and corruption. 



The regency, under the direction of Sagasta, 

 assumed a conciliatory attitude toward the Re- 

 publican party, and Castelar strove to restrain 

 the revolutionary tendencies among them. The 

 ministry declared that even Zorilla was in- 

 cluded in the truce, and would be welcome to 

 come to Spain and take part in parliamentary 

 'life. Sagasta promised the realization of the 

 resolution passed by the Chamber in 1855, 

 called the guarantee law, in favor of extension 

 of the franchise, trial by jury, and other popu- 

 lar demand*. He even declared that if the 

 nation pronounced clearly in favor of the re- 

 public he would accept the decision. When 

 afterward, in the debate on the address in 

 Juiy, he recalled that declaration, Salmeron, 

 the leader of the Progressive Republicans, 

 shouted: "The country is witness that you 

 have renounced the way of peace ! You are 

 then answerable for the events that you have 

 invoked ! " He proclaimed for his party the 

 "sacred right of revolution." 



Military Revolt in Madrid, In the night of Sep- 

 tember 19 a number of Republican officers at- 

 tempted to begin a revolution in Madrid. Three 

 or four hundred infantry and cavalry soldiers, 

 under the direction of Gen. Villafranca, left 

 their barracks and marched through the streets 

 shouting for the republic. Many civilians 

 joined the insurgents, and killed the colonel, 

 Mirasol, and a lieutenant-colonel who resisted 

 them. Count Mirasol, formerly an adjutant 

 of King Alfonso, was commander of an artil- 

 lery regiment. The Gavellano regiment of in- 

 fantry declared for the republic and the revo- 

 lution in their barracks. Col. Sergaminaga 

 and some other officers forced a part of the 

 mutinous troops into obedience. The others 

 broke down a wall that separated them from 

 the Albuera regiment of cavalry that had risen 

 at the same time. The rebellious troops rushed 

 in disorder through the streets to the Atocha 

 railway-station. Gen. Villafranca accompa- 

 nied them in uniform on his horse. Gen. Ve- 

 larde went to the station, in the hope that his 

 presence would recall his troops to their duty. 

 He was stopped by a lieutenant and a band of 

 citizens, and, when he refused to cheer for the 



republic, was shot by a civilian. Gen. Pavia, 

 Governor-General of Madrid, ordered out the 

 gendarmerie, who cleared the streets, and at 

 one o'clock, three hours after the first rising, 

 led two regiments of hussars and a battery of 

 artillery, who were joined on the route by an- 

 other regiment and four other batteries, against 

 the rebels, who were posted at the station. 

 The artillery arsenal, near the railroad, was 

 stormed by the insurgents, and the guns were 

 carried off. They received the advancing troops 

 of Gen. Pavia with musketry and artillery fire. 

 A part of the rebels departed at two o'clock 

 by train for the town of Alcala, where they 

 expected assistance from the cavalry regiment 

 stationed there. The rest, except sixty men, 

 who gave themselves up, were put to flight. 

 Gen. Villafranca, who was a brigadier without 

 a command, was captured in Roblejas. He 

 and the five other officers who were arrested 

 refused to make any statement or explanation. 

 Insurrections occurred in other parts of the 

 country, and many skirmishes took place. The 

 day after the revolt there were cries for the 

 republic and tumults in Madrid, but the state 

 of siege was proclaimed, disorderly persons 

 were roughly handled, and many citizens were 

 sent to jail. There was a combat in the prov- 

 ince of Gerona on the 24th, and the rebels were 

 driven across the border into France. Besides 

 Count Mirasol and Gen. Velarde, six other offi- 

 cers and many soldiers were killed by the reb- 

 els. There were supposed to have been from 

 8,000 to 10,000 troops in and around Madrid 

 who were implicated in the conspiracy. The 

 whole country was placed under military law, 

 and arrests were made for several weeks in 

 great numbers. Gen. Villafranca was con- 

 demned to death on October 2. The Cabinet 

 at first refused to entertain the proposition to 

 pardon the offenders who were sentenced to 

 death; but they were finally compelled by the 

 dangerous temper of the people to take a mild- 

 er course. Viliafranca's sentence was com- 

 muted to exile on the Island of Fernando Po. 

 Twenty-seven others were sent to the penal 

 colonies in Africa. 



Cabinet Changes. The revolutionary attempt 

 had for its result a Cabinet crisis and a recon- 

 stitution of the ministry. The Moderates were 

 victorious in the struggle, because the insur- 

 rection had produced a reactionary drift, and 

 united the conservative elements. The Demo- 

 crats were dissatisfied with the composition of 

 the Cabinet, and declared that the new Cabi- 

 net had no title to continuance unless it made 

 the guarantee law a reality. The new Minis- 

 isters of War and Marine are officers of high 

 professional reputation, who have taken no 

 part in politics. In the Ministry of Public 

 Works and Education a Radical was replaced 

 by a member of the Right Center. The Min- 

 istry of the Interior was given to another Mod- 

 erate Liberal. The Minister of the Colonies, 

 on the other hand, belongs to the Extreme Left 

 of the Government party. At the opening of 





