SPAIN. 



SWEDEN AND NORWAY. 



807 



added about 3,000,000,000 pesetas to the obliga- 

 tions of the Government, half of which sum was 

 owed to the Bank of Spain for advances. The 

 interest on the national debt was consequently 

 increased by about 150,000,000 pesetas. In 1898 

 it amounted to over 588,000,000 pesetas. The 

 coupons of the Cuban debt were paid on April 1. 

 Disturbances occurred in various places when 

 the elections were held on April 16. The sup- 

 porters of Silvela were elected in 180, supporters 

 of Gen. Polavieja in 33, Ultramontanes in 30, sup- 

 porters of the Duke of Tetuan in 18, Liberals in 

 86, supporters of Gamazo in 30, Republicans in 

 15, supporters of Romero Robledo in 5, Carlists 

 in 4 constituencies. Senor Castelar, who was 

 elected in Murcia, resigned because his majority 

 was small. In the senatorial elections the min- 

 isterialists obtained 110 seats, Liberals 50, Ga- 

 mazists 7, Tetuanists 6, Carlists 3, Ultramontanes 

 1, Republicans 1, and 1 went to an independent, 

 giving the ministerialists a majority of about 

 40. Before the assembly of Parliament the Gov- 

 ernment concluded an arrangement for the sale 

 to Germany of the Caroline Islands, the Pelew 

 Islands, and the Ladrones, with the exception of 

 Guam, already ceded to the United States. The 

 Cortes met on June 2. The Government pro- 

 gramme, in addition to the refunding of debts, 

 the creation of new funded obligations, the new 

 taxes to be equally distributed among all classes, 

 and the contemplated economies, included meas- 

 ures for the reorganization of the army and navy 

 on the basis of compulsory service, for completing 

 the coast and frontier defenses, for regulating the 

 position of officials and their right to pensions, 

 for decentralizing provincial and municipal ad- 

 ministrations in such manner as to place them in 

 certain necessary cases under the supervision of 

 the state, for changing the jury system in criminal 

 cases, for amending the municipal and commer- 

 cial code, for altering the electoral law in regard 

 to disqualifications, and for the construction of 

 branch railroads. When the Minister of Finance 

 brought in his budget demonstrations against the 

 new taxes necessitated the intervention of the 

 troops in several provinces. In Saragossa and 

 Valencia martial law was proclaimed. In Granada 

 and Murcia riots occurred. In most of the cities 

 the stores were closed in accordance with a de- 

 cision of the chambers of commerce. The rioters 

 attacked convents in some places. In Barcelona 

 and other towns there were demonstrations in 

 favor of a revision of the trial of the anarchists 

 confined in Montjuich prison. The Republicans 

 in the Chamber proposed the expulsion of the 

 Jesuits from Spain. In consequence of serious 

 rioting in Barcelona a state of siege was declared 

 there 'also. The Carlists were plotting in a des- 

 ultory way, and in several places concealed arms 

 were found by the police. The animosity of the 

 Radical element against the priests and friars was 

 excited by their open efforts, especially those of 

 the Jesuits, to take advantage of the troubles 

 of the country in order to regain their old po- 

 litical control. In a Church congress at Burgos 

 violent antidynastic speeches were made by many 

 priests, and the disasters of Spain were attributed 

 to the Liberal Constitution. A letter from the 

 Pope counseling legality and discountenancing 

 Carlism was hissed, and finally the papal nuncio, 

 who presided, broke up the congress by refusing 

 to put the resolutions and leaving the hall. 



After approving a bill for the reorganization 

 of the internal debts, including a provision au- 

 thorizing the Bank of Spain to put in circula- 

 tion 2,000,000,000 pesetas of paper money on con- 

 dition that it loan money to the Government at 



2 per cent., the Cortes adjourned at the end of 

 July till October. The refusal of the Ministers' of 

 War and Marine to reduce the numerical strength 

 or the expenses of the army and navy, their 

 ground being that it would produce discontent 

 and drive the dismissed officers to give their serv- 

 ices to the Carlists or Republicans, destroyed 

 any chance that there was of the new tax pro- 

 posals being accepted. The principles of regional- 

 ism made progress in the country, especially in 

 Catalonia, which was smarting under a sense of 

 injury engendered by the loss of trade in the 

 former Spanish colonies, and this caused the Gov- 

 ernment to study the question of conceding a 

 greater degree of provincial autonomy. The 

 court-martial that tried the officers concerned in 

 the capitulation of Santiago exonerated them, but 

 censured those who were responsible for the lack 

 of munitions and supplies. 



The opponents of Senor Villaverde's budget had 

 no alternative proposal for the financial regen- 

 eration of the country. The only thing that they 

 were united on was a demand for retrenchment 

 in the pay rolls of the civil service, and especially 

 in the army and navy. Before the Chamber- re- 

 assembled on Oct. 30 the Prime Minister and the 

 Minister of Finance endeavored to induce the 

 Minister of War to agree to a large reduction in 

 his budget. Gen. Polavieja originally proposed 

 to fix the strength of the army for 1900 at 108,- 

 000 men, but consented to reduce it to 80,000 

 men. His first requisition for recruits was for 

 41,000; later, when the effective was cut down, 

 he asked for 60,000, in order to pass them through 

 the ranks rapidly and give more men a military 

 training. He also demanded large sums for fron- 

 tier fortifications and for defensive works in the 

 Balearic and Canary Islands. The officers re- 

 turned from Cuba and the Philippines increased 

 the proportion of officers in the army, of whom 

 there were 23,000, drawing 66,000,000* pesetas as 

 pay; but he would not consent to a reduction of 

 the number, nor to the admission of a smaller 

 number of cadets. He was not supported in his 

 position by his colleagues, and therefore resigned 

 on Oct. 1, and was succeeded by Gen. Azcarraga. 

 Barcelona merchants and industrialists who re- 

 fused to pay taxes unless the Government modi- 

 fied its financial proposals were brought to terms 

 by their goods being detained in the customhouse 

 until they settled their accounts with the tax 

 office. The tax that they refused to pay was the 

 war tax on industry. They put forward a de- 

 mand for fiscal autonomy, such as is enjoyed 

 by the Basque provinces in virtue of their an- 

 cient rights. This the ministry would not con- 

 sent to. On Oct. 23 Senor Duran y Bas resigned 

 his portfolio as Minister of Justice because he dif- 

 fered with his colleagues on the question of de- 

 centralization. He was succeeded by Count Tor- 

 reanaz. 



SWEDEN AND NpBWAY, two kingdoms 

 in northern Europe united in the person of the 

 sovereign. The throne in both descends to the 

 heirs of the house of Bernadotte. Affairs com- 

 mon to both kingdoms are referred to a mixed 

 Council of State. The reigning King is Oscar II, 

 born Jan. 21, 1829. The heir apparent is Prince 

 Gustavus, Duke of Wermland, born June 16, 1858. 



Sweden. The legislative power is vested in 

 the Riksdag, consisting of the First Chamber, 

 of 150 members, elected for nine years by the 

 provincial and municipal bodies, and the Second 

 Chamber, of 230 members, elected for three years, 

 80 in the towns by direct suffrage and 150 in the 

 rural districts, part directly and part indirectly 

 by natives of Sweden who own or farm land of 



