14 ANDREW J. SHIPMAN MEMORIAL 



Article XXXV. The government of her Majesty will pro- 

 vide the necessary means for the maintenance of the religious 

 houses and congregations mentioned in Article XXIX. 



This was really a short method of getting charitable and 

 eleemosynary work done at the least expense to the State. 



There is no restriction upon religious orders in Spain any 

 more than there is in the United States, and in both places 

 they have occupied somewhat the same status. Under the 

 Spanish Constitution it is provided that : 



Article XIII. Every Spaniard has" the right ... to form 

 associations for any of the ends of human life. 



This has been uniformly interpreted as the right to form 

 religious organizations of any kind. This right is expressly 

 recognized in the Association (or, as we should say, Member- 

 ship Corporation) Law of June 30, 1887: 



Article I. The right of association which is recognized by 

 Article XIII of the Constitution may be exercised freely, con- 

 formable to the provisions of this act. Under it associations 

 may be formed for religious, political, scientific, artistic, and 

 benevolent purposes, or for recreation or other lawful ends, 

 which do not have profit or gain as their sole or principal 

 obj ect. 



Article II. From the provisions of this law are excepted: 

 (i) Those associations of the Catholic religion authorized in 

 Spain by the Concordat. The other religious associations 

 shall be regulated by this law, but the non-Catholic ones must 

 be subject to the limitations prescribed by Article II of 

 the Constitution. (2) Societies which are formed for mer- 

 cantile purposes. (3) The institutes or corporations which 

 exist or act under special laws. 



What the Liberal ministers mean, when they say "illegal" 

 orders, is that many orders have not inscribed themselves, as 

 to their respective houses or communities, in the books of 

 registry of the province where they are situated. But the 

 statistics show that out of a total of 3,253 communities, 2,831 

 have been duly registered. The Premier Canalejas also desires 

 to shut out all foreign members of religious orders or congre- 

 gations from their rights of association, upon the ground that 

 the Constitution only provides that Spaniards shall have such 

 rights. This is analogous to our laws providing that Asiatics 

 shall not become naturalized citizens, or that aliens cannot hold 

 land in certain states. 



