THE LIBRARY. 131 



and is secured by special courts, appeals from which go to 

 the audiences of the territory, where this Ministry has 

 fiscals appointed by itself there to defend its rights. 



' We may summarise the functions of this department 

 by saying that the Minister de Hacienda is the only 

 administrator and collector-general of all possessions and 

 revenues pertaining to the State. It is important to 

 notice that having the supremacy over the ancient Intend- 

 ancies de Hacienda which exist in the provinces, it exercises 

 the principal powers in the civil governments of these. 



'THE MINISTER OF EXECUTIVE GOVERNMENT. This 

 Ministry, as its designation indicates, has in charge the 

 interior administration of the kingdom, in its multiple and 

 separate branches ; but experience having demonstrated the 

 difficulty, if not the impossibility, of one Ministry being 

 able alone to undertake the charge of such vast and 

 extensive dependencies, it was deemed necessary to form 

 separate Ministries to attend to the more important 

 departments of these creating, as has been done in 

 France and other nations, Ministries of public works, 

 agriculture, commerce, and public instruction, to which 

 have been given the names of these particular departments. 



' The Spaniards, to effect such division, have formed 

 two great groups, giving to the one the name of the 

 Gobernacion, and giving to the other that of Fomento, 

 charging each respectively with the functions which these 

 names continue to describe. 



' The Ministry de la Gobernacwn discharges business 

 relating to the public administration, and the governing 

 regimen of the population, by means of the directions- 

 general of the administration ; the post office ; penal 

 establishments ; beneficence ; health ; and telegraphs. 



' In the provinces it exercises the government by civil gov- 

 ernors, assisted by provincial councils and courts of provincial 

 deputies, of which they ex-officio are presidents. The local 

 government of the population is dispensed by Alcaldes, 

 Mayors, or rather by the Alcalde-Corregidores, where there 



