710 



SPAIN. 



strikers, at which revolutionary speeches were 

 made, was dispersed by the police, and this was 

 the signal for the ensuing riots. On June 8, 

 about 3,000 strikers met at a suburb called Bar- 

 celoneta, and denounced the Government for in- 

 terfering with their meetings, and by way of pro- 

 test, signified their intention of marching to the 

 Palacio. The authorities, who were informed of 

 the proceedings, did not wish to wait until the 

 mob would reach the city, and therefore sent a 

 large body of police to intercept them on the 

 way. Attempts to disperse the mob in a quiet 

 way proved fruitless, and the police charged it 

 with swords drawn. A fierce fight followed, 

 in which a number of police and rioters were 

 wounded, but finally the police succeeded in dis- 

 persing the mob. A number of smaller encoun- 

 ters took place in which the police were sometimes 

 worsted, and it was finally found necessary to 

 call in military assistance. On June 11 the mob, 

 partially armed with rifles and revolvers, com- 

 menced to destroy property and actually pillaged 

 a number of cotton and woolen factories, before 

 the police, assisted by troops, appeared on the 

 scene. A sanguinary fight took place, a number 

 of the police as well as of the people being killed 

 and wounded, but at length the police managed 

 to gain the upper hand, and succeeded in dispers- 

 ing the rioters. Martial law was declared, and 

 all public buildings occupied by troops. Re- 

 enforcements were sent to the Fort of Montjuiz, 

 which commands the city, and the public was 

 given to understand that, if necessary, the bom- 

 bardment of 1842 would be repeated. .Encounters 

 between the troops and the mob continued for 

 several days, but, owing to the vigorous efforts of 

 the authorities to maintain order, these were sup- 

 pressed, and order was established again on June 

 16. On June 19, 1892, 3,000 telegraph operators 

 went out on a strike. This move was sudden and 

 unexpected, and, as it extended over the kingdom, 

 the Government was unable to replace the strik- 

 ing employes, thus causing great inconvenience 

 and loss to business people and to the public in 

 general. The employes demanded higher wages, 

 more advantageous terms as to pensions, and a 

 better and more capable form of administration 

 in their department. This state of things lasted 

 five days, during which time communication by 

 wire was stopped completely, but finally the Gov- 

 ernment agreed to a settlement of the grievances, 

 on condition that the employes should return to 

 work at once. This was agreed to, and business 

 was resumed. A rather unique riot occurred in 

 Madrid on July 3, where the marketwomen armed 

 themselves with sticks and brooms, and marched 

 through the city, breaking the windows along the 

 line, and compelling the storekeepers to close 

 their shops. The cause of it was the introduction 

 of higher municipal market taxes. The governor 

 of the city immediately expounded the law as not 

 including the marketwomen, but the mischief had 

 been done, and their places were filled by a mob 

 who replaced broomsticks by knives and revolvers, 

 thus compelling the authorities to disperse the 

 mob by force of arms, whereby several people 

 were killed and a large number wounded. Other 

 riots occurred during the year in Granada, Va- 

 lencia, Corunna, and other places. 



Cabinet Crisis. The municipal administration 

 of the city of Madrid had become such a public 



scandal that the government saw itself forced to 

 take some action, and appointed a special com- 

 mittee to investigate matters. The mayor of 

 the city became so unpopular that he had to 

 resign before the termination of the investigation. 

 The Marquis de Cubas stepped into his place, 

 and the energy with which he commenced the 

 reforms soon won him the confidence of the 

 people. The report of the committee was sub- 

 mitted to the Cabinet, and the Minister of the 

 Interior, Villaverde, urged that the former offi- 

 cials should be prosecuted. This did not meet 

 with the approval of the Ministers, and Senor 

 Villaverde resigned, his place being filled by 

 Sefior Dauvila. All the civic authorities followed 

 Villaverde's example, with the exception of the 

 Marquis de Cubas, who refused to resign. Im- 

 mediately after the reopening of the Cortes, the 

 Government was interpellated as to the action 

 adopted in the municipal scandals which had 

 brought about the resignation of the Minister 

 of the Interior. Sefior Canovas. the Prime Min- 

 ister, defended the action of the Government ; 

 his Conservative adherents, however, did not 

 bear him out, but approved the course taken by 

 SeSor Villaverde, and when Canovas asked the 

 Chamber for a vote of confidence, in that the 

 course adopted in regard to the municipal scan- 

 dals was the only legal one, the motion of the 

 Government was defeated, and Premier Canovas 

 tendered the resignation of the whole Cabinet on 

 Dec. 7, 1892. The Queen-Regent accepted their 

 resignation and charged Senor Sagasta with the 

 formation of a new Cabinet, who on Dec. 11 

 submitted the following list of Ministers to the 

 Queen, which was subsequently ratified : Pres- 

 ident of the Council, without portfolio, Senor 

 Sagasta ; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marquis 

 de la Vega de Armijo ; Minister of Justice, 

 Montero Rios ; Minister of Finance. Senor 

 Gamazo; Minister of the Interior, Venancio 

 Gonzalez ; Minister of War, Gen. Lopez Domin- 

 guez ; Minister of Marine, Admiral Cervera ; 

 Minister of Public Works, Moret Prendergast ; 

 Minister of the Colonies, Senor Maura. The 

 new Liberal Government adopted the procedure 

 regarding the scandals which was suggested by 

 Senor Canovas, and accordingly the inquiries 

 will be conducted in the first instance before 

 the Civil Governor of Madrid ; it will then be 

 laid before the Minister of the Interior, and 

 lastly before the Council of State. 



The Colonies. The colonies of Spain may be 

 divided into three classes : (1) Possessions in 

 America (see CUBA AND PORTO Rico); (2) Posses- 

 sions in Asia; (3) Possessions in Africa. The 

 possessions in Asia consist of the Philippine Isl- 

 ands, Sulu Islands, Caroline Isjands and Palaos, 

 and the Marianne Islands, having a total area of 

 116,256 square miles, with a population of 7,- 

 121.172. The most important group are the 

 Philippine Islands, with an area of 114,326 square 

 miles and a population of about 7,000,000. The 

 imports in 1889 amounted to 23,450.689 pesos, 

 against 22.240,295 pesos in 1888. The exports 

 amounted to 34,547,863 and 26.358,640 pesos for 

 the two years respectively. The principal ex- 

 ports in 1889 and their values were manilla hemp, 

 14,789,000 pesos ; sugar, 11,206,000 pesos; to- 

 bacco, 3,148,000 pesos: coffee, 2,407,000 pesos ; 

 rice, 358,000 pesos. In the same year 415 vessels 



