SPAIN. 



Liberals, or Liberal-Fasionist*, led by s-n..r 

 Saga.sta, mill theConscrvalhcs, uiulrr the leadi r- 



slll|l of Scrtor CllllOVHS, lIllTr Were III.' - 



K..IM.TI. \ Koblcdo's Reform Party. SciVir ('as- 

 tclar'.s Republicans, the Federalists, tin- Xorillisi 

 Republicans, the Martisis, the Carlisls. and the 

 Socialists. Almiit USN seats were won by the 

 Conservatives, including in Puerto Uico ami 'JO 

 in Culm, where the Autonomists largely abstained 

 t'rniii voting. Against tin- (iovermnent. were 88 

 Fusioni>l>. ','? Republicans, i:t Roinerisls, 10 of 

 tin- Cuban Oppo>ition, 8 Carli-t>. 8 Marlists, ami 

 J 1'iirrto Rican Autonomists. Of the Republi- 

 cans, about two fifths were followers of Sal|ner<>n, 

 while the other Republican seats were nearly 

 equally divided among the Xorillists or Revolu- 

 tionary party, the Possibilists, and the Federal- 

 ists, with whom the Castelur Republicans uniti-d. 

 Of Sagasta's Fusion party about three eighths 

 were Constitutional Liberals, one fourth were 

 Democrats, one fifth were Liberal Conservatives. 

 and one sixth (iama/ist Protectionists. The 

 Senatorial elections gave seats to 150 Conserva- 

 tives, 19 Fusionists. 7 Reformists, 2 followers of 

 Senor Mart os, 1 llepublican, and 1 Carlist. 



The Cortes were opened on March 2 by the 

 Queen in a speech of clear import, promising the 

 continuance of the reform legislation begun by 

 the Fusionist Cabinet, and the completion of the 

 new laws of worship, justice, and civil adminis- 

 tration ; a protective tariff which would effect an 

 equilibrium of the budget ; reforms in the penal 

 code and in the army and navy regulations ; an 

 amnesty for political offenders, but without the 

 restitution of military grades ; measures for the 

 advantage and protection of the working classes : 

 reforms in the public accounts, in municipal and 

 provincial government, in education, in the regu- 

 lation of railroads and of mines, and in the pat- 

 ent laws; liberal electoral laws for the West In- 

 dies ; and a thorough reformation of the finances, 

 including retrenchments sufficient to meet the 

 deficit, new credits only for the augmentation of 

 the navy, the consolidation of the floating debt, 

 and measures to improve the condition of the 

 notes of the Bank of Spain. The continuance of 

 negotiations with France in regard to the front- 

 ier in Guinea was announced, as well as the set- 

 tlement of claims on Morocco. The commercial 

 treaties had been denounced with a view to nego- 

 tiate new ones that would conform to the pro- 

 tectionist policy, and an understandin-: with the 

 United States for a new convention was looked 

 for. At the beginning of the session the Prime 

 Minister introduced a bill prohibiting Sunday 

 work in industrial and commercial establish- 

 ments for minors under the age of eighteen 

 years, and for workmen of all ages in establish- 

 ments belonging to the state or to municipali- 

 ties. A bill which engrossed the attention of the 

 public, and was regarded by many as mischiev- 

 ous, proposed to empower the Bank of Spain 

 to increase its issue of notes to 1 .fiOO.OOO.OCX) 

 pesetas on condition that it should increa-e 

 its metallic reserve from one fourth to one 

 third of the amount of notes issued, one half to 

 be held in gold and one half in silver, with fur- 

 ther power to enlarge its circulation Indefinitely, 

 provided that emissions beyond the 1.1 500,000,000 

 pesetas be seen red by reserves of half their amount 

 in metal. The object of the bill was to enable 



tin- bank to iid\a' to the <i. .\i-rii- 



Wllieh needed WK),<H)0,<<X) I'M-M-IU- to pu> for Inil- 



road*, th.- new Meet, anil other | 



men!-. Tli- ax |.a*M-d limited tl,. 



i.-Mle to 1,;,<M>,IMKI,000 IH-M-III-S which \a- (] 



the cxi-iiii- maximum, HIM! extended the bank'* 



charter till llni'J; and in return forthc^-i 



MO|I> the (inverillllellt re.eUcd All lnhni 



1 .")().( HM),< MM) p. -cm- |,, r thirl\ \.ar without in- 

 terest, of whieh K?.<MMU>00 | 



pended for naval cimM ruction in aeeoidru-e wnh 

 the law of July. 18H8; 15,000.000 pwta for u..r 

 material for the army; 85,COO,000 peseta 

 railroad Mib\entions ;'and i:i.(!( (.(;(;() pi-, tan on 

 harbor Improvement*, canals, ar.d nihi-r public 

 works. Another law authorm d tin NMU- : 

 000,000 pesetas of (io\ current \ "iids, running 

 thirty vtars and bearing 4 j.-t-r cent, in 1 

 The bill granting a general amnesty to jx.litical 

 offenders, in fulfillment of the pr< ini-e in the 

 (Queen's speech, gave all refugees and exiles tho 

 right to return to Spain, if they availed them- 

 selves of the amnesty within "the next f< nr 

 months, and res-tond to army officers their right 

 to a retiring pension, reckoning seniority from 

 the date when they left the s-r\ ice. 



Insurrectionary Movements. Before May 1 

 strikes and broken out in Bilboa. C'artagena, and 

 other places. ' On the Socialist labor day excited 

 meetings of working men took place at Madrid 

 and the principal industrial centers. Scfior Cano- 

 vas made a declaration that the eight-hour work- 

 ing day should be secured by international legis- 

 lation, but that it was not for Spain to take the 

 lead in the matter. On May 1 the ship-yards of 

 Kivas & Palmer were burned in Uilboa. it wns 

 supposed by incendiaries, and several disturb- 

 ances occurred while the strike lasted. At Cadiz 

 and elsewhere there were mysterii us explosions 

 of bombs. Masons, tailors, bakers, and members 

 of other trades struck in Barcelona for the eight- 

 hour day in May, but returned to work after a 

 few days. After the closure of the Cortes on 

 July 13. labor disturbances were renewed; and 

 when disastrous floods caused di.-tress through- 

 out southern Spain, menacing demonstrations of 

 working men were organized in the aflYoUd 

 provinces. 



On Aug. 2 an attempt was made by Federalist 

 Republicans to incite a revolt of the garri.-on at 

 I'arcelona. A band of 15 men. armed with rifles 

 and revolvers, attempted to surprise the sentries 

 and gain entrance into the banm-ks. On being 

 detected, they made a rush for the entrance, fir- 

 ing, their weapons and wounding some of the 

 guards, who answered their fire. After a brief 

 fight the foolhardy revolutionists, who expected 

 the garrison to mutiny nt their signal, were over- 

 powered and captured. 



Cabinet Crisis. The finarcial position of 

 the Governnx nt was not strengthened by the de- 

 vices of Sefior Cos-Cave. n. and was rendered eriti- 

 ea' by the decline of Spanish rtnte* in the Paris 

 Bourse, and by disastrous floods which in the 

 autumn swept away the crop- in tl' i -..\imis 

 south of the F.bro. The rice crops in Valencia, 

 the raisin harvest in Malaga, the vintage in Al- 

 meria. and the grain and potato cr.<| > and the 

 live stock in these provinces nml in Mmein, To- 

 ledo, and Sarngi SMI, were almost annihilated. 

 The whole town of Coiisuegni was d.-trmed by* 



