SPAIN. 



647 



pesetas from the Spanish treasury to cover their the Vatican, which contended that all religious 



expenses. orders that the Government had authorized stood 



Politics and Legislation. The Minister of on the same footing as those authorized in the 



Finance in January came into conflict with the concordat. The Government reached a modus 



directors of the Bank of Spain by proposing to Vivendi with the Holy See, agreeing temporarily 



create a separate issue department, with a reserve to recognize all religious communities, authorized 



of gold and silver coin and the loans of the bank or unauthorized, that apply for civil Inscription, 



to the Government, viz., 150,000,000 pesetas bor- The Radical members in the Cabinet were ignorant 



rowed in 1891 and 900,000,000 pesetas of 2J-per- of this modus Vivendi, and when it was divulged 



cent, warrants on account of the war, the note 

 issue to be restricted to 1,500,000,000 pesetas, half 

 of it protected by a metallic reserve, after this 

 war debt is reduced to 300,000,000 pesetas, and 

 half the reserve to be gold coin or bullion. Va- 

 rious amendments were suggested and the minis- 

 ter at last insisted on resigning. The Minister of 

 the Interior made himself unpopular by his treat- 



after the adjournment of the Cortes a Cabinet 

 crisis occurred. There was a truce until the festiv- 

 ities of the enthronement were over. Alfonso XIII 

 on May 17, when he reached the age of sixteen, his 

 legal majority, took over from his mother, the 

 Queen Regent, the powers of government as con- 

 stitutional King of Spain. On May 28 Senor 

 Canalejas resigned, and on May 31 Suarez Inclan 



ment of labor strikes at Barcelona, which spread was appointed Minister of Agriculture. The mem- 



to other places. The Government took no meas- 

 ures to prevent labor troubles, but when a general 

 strike at Barcelona resulted in riot troops were 

 called out and a score of persons were killed. 

 Both ministers offered their resignations on March 

 12, upon which all the ministers handed theirs to 

 Senor Sagasta. The Queen Regent asked him to 

 form a combination Cabinet, and when he refused 

 she asked Senor Silvela, who also declined to go 

 outside of his party. Leaders of the small groups 

 were consulted, and one or two agreed to under- 

 take to form a coalition Cabinet if the Liberals 

 or Conservatives would agree to be neutral. The 

 leaders of the two historical parties would not de- 

 part from the system of party government with 

 full responsibility that was traditional in Spain. 

 Senor Sagasta was therefore commissioned to 

 form a new Cabinet, which was constituted on 



bers of the Cabinet agreed on the principles that 

 no religious association can establish itself with- 

 out previous authorization, to be obtained by 

 means of a- law; that religious orders that are es- 

 tablished must conform to the general laws regu- 

 lating instruction and submit to sanitary in- 

 spection; that religious orders can not hold land 

 except their place of residence; and that religious 

 orders can be dissolved by unanimous vote of the 

 Council of Ministers for reasons of public order. 

 Senor Canalejas called for the reassembly of the 

 Cortes to consider a bill embodying these princi- 

 ples, but Senor Sagasta and the other ministers 

 did not deem the matter urgent. The religious 

 orders were allowed till June 10 to register. The 

 total number of associations in Spain was 3,115, 

 with 50,933 members, of which 2,586, with 40,188 

 members, were for women and 529, with 10,745 



March 18 as follows: President of the Council, members, for men. The total number that sought 



P. M. Sagasta; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Duke 

 of Almodovar; Minister of Justice, Seiior Mon- 



and obtained registration was 2,611, registration 

 being provisional only in the case of 1,410. In the 



tilla ; Minister of Finance, Senor Rodriganez ; Min- case of 150 it was withheld temporarily pending 

 ister of the Interior, Senor Moret; Minister of further examination, and of the remaining 354 

 War, Gen. Weyler; Minister of Marine, Duke of most were orders of the concordat requiring no 



Veragua; Minister of Public Instruction, Count 

 Romanones ; Minister of Agriculture, Seiior Cana- 

 lejas. The new Minister of the Interior had to 

 carry out the decree of Sept. 19, 1901, requiring all 

 religious associations excepting those authorized 

 by the concordat to become registered within six 

 months on pain of being dissolved. The ministry 

 proposed to establish a Government department 

 to deal with labor questions. There has been 

 very little protective legislation for working men 

 in Spain, and for this reason the laborers often 

 resort to violence. 



The Cortes, having adjourned during the minis- 

 terial crisis, met again on April 3. The new bill 

 QJI bank notes, requiring the Bank of Spain to 

 carry a cash reserve, half in gold, for all over 

 1,200,000,000 pesetas, was opposed by the bank di- 

 rectors, and also the provision that the bank 

 should derive profits from selling Government se- 

 curities. The bill stipulated that the debt of the 

 Government to the bank should be cleared off in 

 ten years, and provided for a foreign loan for this 

 purpose, but this the Cortes would not authorize. 



registration. Only 3 communities neglected to 

 apply for registration. An issue of 338,000,000 

 pesetas of 5-per-cent. redeemable bonds was taken 

 readily in June in Spanish cities at 91 per cent. 

 A decree w y as promulgated requiring private 

 schools of all kinds to seek official authorization 

 and to submit to periodical inspection and the 

 laws regarding sanitary arrangements and modes 

 of punishment, and, above all, the proper 

 qualifications in teachers. The schools chiefly af- 

 fected were those of the religious orders, which 

 would have much to do to conform to the legal 

 regulations if these were enforced. Agricultural 

 laborers struck in some of the provinces, and in 

 many places obtained the higher wages demanded. 

 A fresh Cabinet crisis arose after the meeting of 

 the Cortes in the fall. On Nov. 11 Senor Sagasta 

 presented the resignations of the ministers to the 

 King, who requested him to reconstruct the Cabi- 

 net. He endeavored this time to form a concen- 

 tration Cabinet, containing Democratic elements, 

 but the leaders of groups would give him no as- 

 sistance. On Nov. 14 a homogeneous Liberal Cab- 



The high price of food had become a serious ques- inet was constituted as follows: President of the 



tion, with meat averaging 3i pesetas a kilogram. 

 A Government bill suspended the duty on meat 

 and live cattle for six months. The municipalities 



Council, Senor Sagasta; Minister of Foreign Af- 

 fairs, the Duke of Almodovar: Minister of Jus- 

 tice, Senor Puigcerver; Minister of Finance, 



were asked to substitute other taxes for the octroi Seiior Equilior; Minister of the Interior, Senor 



duties on foodstuffs. In introducing the budget Moret; Minister of War. Gen. Weyler; Minister 



for 1903, showing 591,178,227 pesetas of revenue of Marine, the Duke of Veragua : Minister of Pub- 



and 948,661,898 pesetas of expenditure, the Minis- lie Instruction, Senor Romanones; Minister of 



ter of Finance proposed changes in the liquor and Public Works, Amos Salvador. The Premier was 



sugar duties and in retiring pensions. The decree violently assailed on account of the change in the 



for closing unregistered religious associations was ministry. He was accused of bringing it about 



temporarily suspended pending negotiations with to please the King. On a vote of censure the niin- 



