K<r.M AN! A. 





culture. Industry, Commerce, and Domains; 

 (i. n. .M. Yladeseo, Minister of War. Tin- ('un- 

 live juul.luiiiini.-t leader-. \ N I,,, by various 

 combinations sought to replace (In- homoffenOOUl 

 adminisi ration of Hratiano, wviv divided <in 

 questions both of home and of foreign policy. 

 The Kussophile sentiment, which laid no pp.-- 

 T being rcali/cd while the National Liberals 

 were in power, \\a- n -pn -.-ntt-d in the new iiu'n- 

 i-terial combinations ; but so also was Bratiano's 

 policy of drawing near to the Triple Alliance, 

 which the Ru--ophiles -ought to discredit by 

 i-allin^ it tin- per-onal policy of tlic King. They 

 looked to Rus-ia as a helper through whoso aid 

 Roumanian independence, so far from brinjr ex- 

 tinguished, would lie consolidated ly the annex- 

 ation of the Roumanian part of ifungnry and 

 the extension of Koiimanian protection over the 

 Wallachian commnnities in Old Servia. Mace- 

 donia, and Albania. An Irredentist agitation 

 was -tailed regarding oppressions suffered by 

 the Roumanians of Transylvania at the hands 

 of the Magyars. In domestic affairs some of 

 the ineniliers of the old Boyar party were in- 

 clined to accept the democratic projects of the 

 .lunimists or \oung Conservatives and other- to 

 ally themselves with the seceding Liberals. The 

 Cabinet was occupied during the early part of 

 1891 in working put a new tariff, which was 

 adopted and went into force on July 1, 1891, till 

 which date the commercial conventions with 

 various countries were prolonged. The com- 

 mercial war with Austria-Hungary was aban- 

 doned, and low fiscal rates of duty were placed 

 on all articles except a few that compete with in- 

 dustrial products of Roumania, which were sub- 

 jected to high protective duties. The Junimist 

 leader, Carp, was invited to join the ministry, 

 but declined, because Gen. Mano would not 

 agree to a dissolution of the Senate, which was 

 opposed to reform projects. On Feb. 26 the 

 ministry was defeated in the Senate on an edu- 

 cational bill, and on March 3 a new ministry 

 was formed through a combination of the Ca- 

 targi and Verneseo groups, in which the Aus- 

 trophile Junimists had no place. It consisted 

 of the following members : President of the 

 Council, without a portfolio, Gen. J. E. Floresco ; 

 Minister of the Interior, Lascar Catargi ; Minis- 

 ter of Finance, G. Vernesco; Minister of For- 

 eign Affairs, C. Esarco ; Minister of Public 

 Works, C. Olanesco ; Minister of Agriculture, 

 Ilario Isvorano ; Minister of Education and 

 Worship, G. D. Theodoresco ; Minister of War, 

 Col. Jaquies Lahovary. Although composed of 

 Russophile elements, the ministers announced 

 that they would adhere to the foreign policy of 

 their predecessors. The Chamber, on considering 

 the ministerial declaration on March 5, passed a 

 vote of censure, and the King granted to Ca- 

 targi nnd his friends the privilege of dissolving 

 the Chamber of Deputies and directing the new 

 elections, which were held in April. In the 

 electoral campaign the Junimists and the Lib- 

 erals coalesced on a common agrarian platform 

 advocating the distribution of crown lands 

 among the peasantry and the establishment of 

 agricultural banks and of schools and colleges. 

 Notwithstanding their powers of official pres-ure 

 the Liberal-Conservative Ministerial party failed 

 to secure for itself a majority the seats in the 



Chamber, \>t it obtained & working majority in 

 the new ( hunilx-r, which wax convoked h 



iinary M-MOU on May 11, bv MI 

 with indejK-iident n.. 

 War secured a credit of .1.'>,<KM).000 li-j f 

 completion and armament of the fortifi- 

 thus Diving ofTcn-e lo th- 



remained away from the ci-li-brnli-.n of lh<* 

 I wenty-Hfth anniversary of the King's n-ign. 

 In June a question 'ding a contem- 



plated marriage of Prince Ferdinand that di- 

 rected the dyna-ty and pi\i- i on,-, rn ; 

 ministers and the politicians out of ofllce. who 

 wen- al-o con-lilted by the King in r- 

 to the betrothal of the'heir to the thr- 

 Helene Vacarcsco, a Roumanian lady who waa 

 a companion and jimtiytr of Queen Kii-abeth. 

 The Prince declared that he would retiom. 

 rights to the succession rather thiri give -up the 

 idea of marrving the lady of his choice. The 

 ministers and otherstate-men .-aid that ho could 

 not succeed to the throne if he married a mem- 

 ber of a family that was involved in Roumanian 

 party politics. The common people were j. 

 with the thought of having a Roumanian < v ' 

 C^uecn Elisabeth strove to counteract the oppo- 

 sition of the courtiers and politicians until she 

 was prostrated by the excitement of the conflict. 

 and went to Italy to recover from a nervous mal- 

 ady that attacked her, accompanied by Helene 

 Vacaresco. The King was advised to obtain n 

 divorce, or have his wife placed in seclusion, a- 

 a way out of the dilemma, but .-aid he would 

 rather abdicate. He went to Italy, and finally 

 persuaded the Queen and his nephew to renounce 

 the project of the marriage. The Catargi and 

 Vernesco groups could not work harmoniously. 

 and on July 13, to prevent open conflicts and a 

 vote of censure, the extraordinary session was 

 closed. On Aug. 2, Theodoresco went out of 

 the Cabinet, and was succeeded by Prof. P< ny. 

 The Vernesco section was thereby left in the 

 minority. The friction continued until V. 

 co and his followers retired, and Catargi formed 

 a Conservative ministry of the following compo- 

 sition: President of the Council and Minister 

 of the Interior, L. Catargi; Minister of Do- 

 mains, Gen. Mano ; Minister of Foreign Affairs, 

 Alexander Lahovary: Minister of Finaii. 

 Stirbex; Minister of War, (ien. Lahovary; Min- 

 ister of Public Works, C. Olanesco : Minister of 

 Justice, Sturdxa Skejano; Minister of Public 

 Instruction, Demcter Jonesco. The mil: 

 were sworn in on Dec. 9. The Cons, rvativt s 

 alone could not command a majority. Th- 

 Cabinet was defeated on a vote of confidence in 

 tlie chamber. But the King was unwilling to 

 trust the weak and discredited National Liberal 

 party with the control of the elections that were 

 to take place in February, isifj, and the: 

 Catargi was allowed another chance. After long 

 negotiations lie came to an agreement with the 

 Junimists led by P. Carp, accepting their pro- 

 gramme of agrarian and other reforms. Oen. 

 Mano, Sturd/a, and StirK-y retired, and on Dec. 

 ;!(> the Cabinet was recoii-tViu ted by the :i> 

 sion of Carp as Minister of Domain-. ' 

 and Agriculture; of his di-ciple T. T !: -00 as 

 Minister of Kducation; of German! . 

 of Finance ; and of A. Marghiloman H 

 of Justice. 



