III. THE PRESENT CONSt.i.tUTION (p. 611)
*675. The Const.i.tution Adopted.*--The year following the re-establishment of the monarchy was consumed largely in the suppression of the Carlists and the reorganization of the government.
During this period Canovas, at the head of a strong Conservative and Clerical ministry, ruled virtually as a dictator, and sooner or later most vestiges of the republic were swept away, while the nation was won over solidly to the new order. At the election of the first Cortes of the Restoration, January 22, 1876, the principle of manhood suffrage was continued in operation, though so docile did the electorate prove that Canovas was able to secure, in both chambers, a heavy majority which was ready to vote at the Government"s behest a franchise system of a much less liberal type. The first important task of this Cortes was the consideration and adoption of a new national const.i.tution. As to the sort of const.i.tution most desirable there was, as ever, wide difference of opinion. The Conservatives favored a revival of the instrument of 1845. The Liberals much preferred a restoration of that of 1869. A commission of thirty-nine, designated May 20, 1875, by a junta convened by Canovas, had evolved with some difficulty an instrument which combined various features of both of these earlier doc.u.ments, and by the Cortes of 1876 this proposed const.i.tution was at length accorded definite, though by no means unanimous, a.s.sent (June 30). This instrument was put forthwith into operation, and it has remained to this day, substantially without alteration, the fundamental law of Spain. Based essentially upon the const.i.tution of 1845, it none the less exhibits at many points the influence of the liberal principles which underlay the instrument of 1869.
*676. Contents: Guarantees of Individual Liberty.*--In scope the const.i.tution is comprehensive. Its text falls into thirteen "t.i.tles"
and eighty-nine articles. Like the const.i.tution of Italy, it contains no provision for its own amendment; but in Spain, as also in Italy, the distinction between const.i.tuent and legislative powers is not sharply drawn and a simple act of the legislative body is in practice adequate to modify the working const.i.tution of the kingdom. Among the thirteen t.i.tles one of the most elaborate is that in which are defined the rights and privileges of Spanish subjects and of aliens resident in Spain.[846] Among rights specifically guaranteed are those of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, peaceful a.s.semblage, the formation of a.s.sociations, pet.i.tion, unrestrained choice of professions, and eligibility to public offices and employments, "according to (p. 612) merit and capacity." Immunities guaranteed include exemption from arrest, "except in the cases and in the manner prescribed by law"; exemption from imprisonment, except upon order of a competent judicial official; freedom from molestation on account of religious opinions, provided due respect for "Christian morality" be shown;[847] and exemption from search of papers and effects and from confiscation of property, save by authority legally competent. It is forbidden that either the military or the civil authorities shall impose any penalty other than such as shall have been established previously by law.
Certain guarantees, i.e., those respecting arrest, imprisonment, search, freedom of domicile, freedom of speech and press, a.s.semblage, and a.s.sociations, may, under provision of the const.i.tution, be suspended throughout the kingdom or in any portion thereof, but only when demanded by the security of the state, and then only temporarily and by means of a specific law. In no case may any other guarantee which is named in the const.i.tution be withdrawn, even temporarily.
When the Cortes is not in session the Government may suspend, through the medium of a royal decree, any one of the guarantees which the Cortes itself is authorized to suspend, but at the earliest opportunity such a decree must be submitted to the Cortes for ratification. It need hardly be pointed out that the opportunity for the evasion of const.i.tutionalism which is created by this power of suspension is enormous, and anyone at all familiar with the history of public affairs in Spain would be able to cite numerous occasions upon which, upon pretexts more or less plausible, the guarantees of the fundamental law have been set at naught.[848]
[Footnote 846: No. 1. Dodd, Modern Const.i.tutions, II., 199-203.]
[Footnote 847: By Article II Roman Catholicism is declared to be the religion of the state. "The nation," it is stipulated further, "binds itself to maintain this religion and its ministers." Dodd, Modern Const.i.tutions, II., 201.]
[Footnote 848: An official text of the const.i.tution of 1876 is published by the Spanish Government under the t.i.tle Const.i.tucion politica de la monarchia Espanola y leyes complementarias (4th ed., Madrid, 1901). The texts of all of the Spanish const.i.tutions of the nineteenth century are printed in the first volume of Muro y Martinez, Const.i.tuciones de Espana y de las demas naciones de Europa, con la historia general de Espana (Madrid, 1881); also in the first volume--Const.i.tuciones y reglamentos (Madrid, 1906)--of a collection projected by the Spanish Government under the t.i.tle of Publicaciones Parlamentarias. English versions of the instrument of 1876 appear in British and Foreign State Papers, LXVII. (1875-1876), 118 ff., and Dodd, Modern Const.i.tutions, II., 199-216. An excellent brief treatise on Spanish const.i.tutional development is H. Gmelin, Studien zur spanischen Verfa.s.sungsgeschichte des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts (Stuttgart, 1905); on Spanish const.i.tutional law, M. Torres Campos, Das Staatsrecht des Konigreichs Spanien (Freiburg, 1889), in Marquardsen"s Handbuch; on Spanish administrative law, V.
Santamaria de Paredes, Curso de derecho administrativo (5th ed., Madrid, 1898); and on the comparative aspects of Spanish inst.i.tutions, R. de Oloriz, La Const.i.tucion espanola comparada con las de Inglaterra, Estados-Unidos, Francia y Alemania (Valencia, 1904). More extended works of importance include V. Santamaria de Paredes, Curso de derecho politico (6th ed., Madrid, 1898), and A. Posada, Tratado de derecho administrativo (Madrid, 1897-1898). A monumental collection of laws relating to Spanish administrative affairs is M.
Martinez Alcubilla, Diccionario de la administracion Espanola, Peninsular y Ultramarina (5th ed., 1892-1894), to which is added annually an appendix containing texts of the most recent laws and decrees. Special treatises of importance are M.
M. Calvo, Regimen parlamentario en Espana (Madrid, 1883); J. Costa, Oligarquia y Caciquismo como la forma actual del Gobierno en Espana (Madrid, 1903); and Y. Guytot, L"evolution politique et sociale de l"Espagne (Paris, 1899). Mention may be made of R.
Fraoso, Las const.i.tuciones de Espana, in _Revista de Espana_, June-July, 1880.]
IV. THE CROWN AND THE MINISTRY (p. 613)
*677. The Rules of Succession.*--Executive power in the kingdom is vested solely in the crown, although in practice it devolves to a large degree upon the council of ministers. Kingship is hereditary, and in regulation of the succession the const.i.tution lays down the general principle that an elder line shall always be preferred to younger ones; in the same line, the nearer degree of kinship to the more remote; in the same degree of kinship, the male to the female; in the same s.e.x, the older to the younger person. By the original const.i.tution Alfonso XII. was declared to be the legitimate sovereign, and provision was made that if the line of legitimate descendants of Alfonso should be extinguished, his sisters should succeed in the established order; then his aunt (the sister of his mother Isabella II.) and her legitimate descendants; and, finally, the descendants of his uncles, the brothers of Ferdinand VII.[849] It will be recalled that the Pragmatic Sanction of 1830 abolished in Spain the Salic principle and restored the ancient right of females to inherit. Spain is, indeed, one of the few European states in which this right exists.
At the same time, as has been pointed out, when the degree of kinship is identical, preference is accorded the male. Thus it came about that the present sovereign, Alfonso XIII., the posthumous son of Alfonso XII., took precedence over his two sisters, both of whom were older than he, and the elder of whom, Maria de las Mercedes, actually was queen from the death of her father, November 25, 1885, until the birth of her brother, May 17, 1886.[850]
[Footnote 849: Arts. 59-61. Dodd, Modern Const.i.tutions, II., 211.]
[Footnote 850: She was, however, but a child five years of age.]
*678. Regencies.*--Any member of the royal family who may be incapable of governing, or who by his conduct may have forfeited his claim to the good-will of the nation, may be excluded from the succession by (p. 614) law. Disputes concerning rights or facts involved in the succession are to be adjusted by law, and in event that all of the family lines mentioned in the const.i.tution should be extinguished it would become the duty of the Cortes to make such disposal of the crown as might be adjudged "most suitable to the nation."[851] Both the sovereign and the heir presumptive are forbidden to marry any person who by law is excluded from the succession. They are, indeed, forbidden to contract a marriage at all until after the Cortes shall have examined and approved the stipulations involved. The age of majority of the sovereign is fixed at sixteen years. When the king is a minor, his father or his mother, or, in default of a living parent, the relative who stands next in the order of succession, is const.i.tuted regent, provided always that such person be a Spaniard at least twenty years of age and not by law excluded from the succession. Should there be no one upon whom the regency may lawfully devolve, it is the duty of the Cortes to appoint a regency of one, three, or five persons. If, at any time, in the judgment of the Cortes, the sovereign becomes incapacitated to rule, a regency is required to be vested in the crown prince, provided he be sixteen years of age. In default of a qualified crown prince the regency devolves upon the queen; and in default of both son and queen, upon a person determined in accordance with the rules already mentioned.
[Footnote 851: Art. 62. Dodd, Modern Const.i.tutions, II., 212.]
*679. Powers of the Crown.*--The powers of the crown are of the sort common among continental monarchies. By the const.i.tution they are thrown into two groups, i.e., those which may be exercised freely and independently and those which may be exercised only upon the authorization of a special law. Enumeration of the first group begins with the sweeping statement that "the power of executing the laws is vested in the king, and his authority extends to everything which conduces to the preservation of public order at home and the security of the state abroad, in conformity with the const.i.tution and the laws."[852] Powers specifically named include the approval and promulgation of the laws; the issuing of decrees, regulations, and instructions designed to facilitate the execution of the laws; the appointment and dismissal of ministers and of civil officials generally; command of the army and navy and direction of the land and naval forces; the declaration of war and the conclusion of peace;[853]
the conduct of diplomatic and commercial relations with foreign states; the pardoning of offenders; the control of the coinage; (p. 615) and the conferring of honors and distinctions of every kind. Of powers which the sovereign may exercise only in pursuance of authority specially conferred by law there are five, as follows: alienation, cession, or exchange of any portion of Spanish territory; incorporation of new territory; admission of foreign troops into the kingdom; ratification of all treaties which are binding individually upon Spaniards, and of treaties of offensive alliance which stipulate the payment of subsidies to any foreign power, or which relate especially to commerce; and abdication of the crown in favor of the heir-presumptive.
[Footnote 852: Art. 50. Ibid., II., 210.]
[Footnote 853: It is required that subsequent to a declaration of war or the conclusion of peace the king shall submit to the Cortes a report accompanied by pertinent doc.u.ments.]
*680. The Ministry: Organization and Functions.*--In Spain, as in const.i.tutional states generally, the powers appertaining to the executive are exercised in the main by the ministers. Concerning the ministry the const.i.tution has little to say. It, in truth, a.s.sumes, rather than makes specific provision for, the ministry"s existence. It confers upon the crown the power freely to appoint and to dismiss ministers; it stipulates that ministers may be senators or deputies and may partic.i.p.ate in the proceedings of both legislative chambers, but may vote only in the chambers to which they belong; and, most important of all, it enjoins that ministers shall be responsible, and that no order of the king may be executed unless countersigned by a minister, who thereby a.s.sumes personal responsibility for it. This principle of ministerial responsibility, which found its first expression in Spain in the const.i.tution of 1812, is enforced nowadays sufficiently, at least, to ensure the nation, through the Cortes, some actual control over the policies and measures of the executive. Of ministries there are at present nine, as follows: Foreign Affairs; Justice; Finance; War; Marine; Interior; Public Instruction and Fine Arts; Commerce; and Public Works. At the head of the ministerial council is a president, or premier, who, under royal approval, selects his colleagues, but ordinarily a.s.sumes himself no portfolio. It is the function of the ministers not only to serve as the heads of executive departments and to explain and defend in the legislative chambers the acts of the government, but, in their collective capacity, to formulate measures for presentation to the Cortes and, especially, to submit every year for examination and discussion a general budget, accompanied by a scheme of taxation or other proposed means of meeting prospective expenditures. In each chamber there is reserved for the ministers of the crown a front bench to the right of the presiding official. The practice of interpellation exists, although ministries rarely retire by reason of a vote of censure arising therefrom. But any minister may be impeached by the Congress before the Senate. In Spain, as in France and Italy, the parliamentary system is nominally in (p. 616) operation; but, as in the countries mentioned, the multiplicity and instability of party groups render the workings of the system totally different from what they are in Great Britain. Ministries are invariably composite rather than h.o.m.ogeneous in political complexion, with the consequence that they are unable to present a solid front or long to retain their hold upon the nation"s confidence.
V. THE CORTES
*681. The Senate: Composition.*--The legislative powers of the kingdom are vested in "the Cortes, together with the king." The Cortes consists of two co-ordinate chambers, the Senate and the Congress of Deputies. In the composition of the Senate the prescriptive, appointive, and elective principles are curiously intertwined, the chamber containing one group of men who are members in their own right, another who are appointed by the crown and sit for life, and a third who are elected by the corporations of the state and by the large taxpayers. In number the first two categories jointly may not exceed 180; the third is fixed definitely at that figure. In point of fact the life senators nominated by the crown number 100, while the quota of prescriptive members varies considerably. This last-mentioned group comprises grown sons of the sovereign and of the heir-presumptive; the admirals of the navy and the captains-general of the army; the patriarch of the Indies and the archbishops; the presidents of the Council of State, the Supreme Court, the Court of Accounts, and the Supreme Councils of War and Marine, after two years of service; and grandees of Spain[854] in their own right, who are not subjects of another power and who have a proved yearly income of 60,000 pesetas ($12,000) derived from real property of their own, or from rights legally equivalent to real property.[855]
[Footnote 854: The rank of grandee (_grande_) is a dignity conferred by the sovereign, either for life or as an hereditary honor.]
[Footnote 855: Art. 21. Dodd, Modern Const.i.tutions, II., 204].
*682. Appointment and Election of Senators.*--Appointment of senators by the crown is made by special decree, in which must be stated the grounds upon which each appointment is based. In the selection of appointees the sovereign is not entirely free, but since the const.i.tution designates no fewer than twelve cla.s.ses from which appointments may be made, the range of choice is large. Among the categories enumerated are the presidents of the legislative chambers; deputies who have been members of as many as three congresses, or who have served during as many as eight sessions; ministers of the crown; bishops; grandees; lieutenant-generals of the army and vice-admirals of the navy, of (p. 617) two years" standing; amba.s.sadors, after two years of active service, and ministers plenipotentiary, after four years; presidents and directors of the half-dozen royal academies, and persons who in point of seniority belong within the first half of the list of members of these respective bodies; head professors in the universities, who have held this rank and have performed the duties pertaining to it through a period of four years; and a variety of other administrative, judicial, and professional functionaries. Persons belonging to any one of these groups, however, are eligible for appointment only in the event that they enjoy an annual income of 7,500 pesetas ($1,500), derived from property of their own or from salaries of permanent employments, or from pensions or retirement allowances. In addition to the cla.s.ses mentioned persons are eligible who for two years have possessed an annual income of 20,000 pesetas, or who have paid into the public treasury a direct tax of 4,000 pesetas, provided that in addition they possess t.i.tles of n.o.bility, or have been members of the Cortes, provincial deputies, or mayors in capitals of provinces or in towns of more than 20,000 inhabitants. Appointments are made regularly for life.
The conditions under which the quota of 180 elected senators are chosen were defined by a statute of February 8, 1877. One senator is chosen by the clergy in each of the nine archbishoprics; one by each of the six royal academies; one by each of the ten universities; five by the economic societies; and the remaining 150 by electoral colleges in the several provinces. The electoral college is composed of members of the provincial deputations and of representatives chosen from among the munic.i.p.al councillors and largest taxpayers of the towns and munic.i.p.al districts. But no one may become a senator by election who would be ineligible, under the conditions above mentioned, to be appointed to a seat by the crown. And it is required in all cases that to become a senator one must be a Spaniard, must have attained the age of thirty-five, must have the free management of his property, and must not have been subjected to criminal proceedings, nor have been deprived of the exercise of his political rights. The term of elected senators is ten years. One-half of the number is renewed every five years; but upon a dissolution of the elected portion of the chamber by the crown, the quota is renewed integrally.[856]
[Footnote 856: Arts. 20-26. Dodd, Modern Const.i.tutions, II., 203-206.]
*683. The Congress of Deputies: Composition and Election.*--The lower legislative chamber is composed of deputies chosen directly by the inhabitants of the several electoral districts into which the kingdom is divided. From the adoption of the present const.i.tution until 1890 the franchise was restricted severely by property qualifications. (p. 618) A reform bill which became law June 29, 1890, however, re-established in effect the scheme of manhood suffrage which had been in operation during the revolutionary epoch 1869-1875. Under the provisions of a law of August 8, 1907, by which the electoral system was further regulated, the franchise is conferred upon all male Spaniards who have attained the age of twenty-five, who have resided in their electoral district not less than two years, and who have not been deprived judicially of their civil rights.[857] Except, indeed, in the case of certain judicial officials and of persons more than seventy years of age, the exercise of the voting privilege is, as in Belgium and in some of the Austrian provinces, compulsory. The const.i.tution requires that there shall be at least one deputy for every 50,000 inhabitants.
The total membership of the Congress is at present 406. In the majority of districts but a single deputy is chosen, but in twenty-eight of the larger ones two or more are elected by _scrutin de liste_, with provision for the representation of minorities. In districts in which two or three deputies are to be chosen, each elector votes for one fewer than the number to be elected; in districts where from four to seven are to be chosen, the elector votes for two fewer than the total number; and where the aggregate number is eight to ten, or more than ten, he votes for three or four fewer, respectively. Any Spaniard who is qualified for the exercise of the suffrage is eligible for election, and for indefinite re-election, as a deputy, save that no member of the clergy may be chosen. The term of membership is five years, though by reason of not infrequent dissolutions the period of service is actually briefer. As is true also of senators, deputies receive no pay for their services.[858]
[Footnote 857: There is the customary regulation that soldiers and sailors in active service may not vote.]
[Footnote 858: J. Vila Serra, Manual de elecciones de Diputados a Cortes (Valencia, 1907); J. Lon y Albareda, Nueva ley electoral de 8 de Agosto de 1907, comentada (Madrid, 1907); M. Vivanco y L. San Martin, La reforma electoral (Madrid, 1907).]
*684. Sessions and Status of the Chambers.*--The Cortes, consisting thus of the Senate and the Congress of Deputies, is required by the const.i.tution to be convened by the crown in regular session at least once each year. Extraordinary sessions may be held, and upon the death or incapacitation of the sovereign the chambers must be a.s.sembled forthwith. To the crown belongs the power not only to convene, but also to suspend and to terminate the sessions, and to dissolve, simultaneously or separately, the Congress and the elective portion of the Senate. In the event, however, of a dissolution, the sovereign is obliged to convene the newly const.i.tuted Cortes within the s.p.a.ce of three months. Except when it devolves upon the Senate to exercise (p. 619) its purely judicial functions, neither of the chambers may be a.s.sembled without the other. In no case may the two chambers sit as a single a.s.sembly, or deliberate in the presence of the sovereign. Each body is authorized to judge the qualifications of its members and to frame and adopt its own rules of procedure. The Senate elects its secretaries, but its president and vice-president are designated, for each session, and from the senators themselves, by the crown. The Congress, on the other hand, elects from its membership all of its own officials. Sessions of both chambers are public, though "when secrecy is necessary" the doors may be closed. A majority of the members const.i.tutes a quorum, and measures are pa.s.sed by a majority vote. No senator or deputy may be held to account by legal process for any opinion uttered or for any vote cast within the chamber to which he belongs; and, save when taken in the commission of an offense, a member is ent.i.tled to all of the safeguards against arrest and judicial proceedings which are extended customarily to members of legislative bodies in const.i.tutional states.[859]
[Footnote 859: It is to be observed that these guarantees are not quite absolute. During the crisis of 1904 the Maura government required the Congress to suspend the legislative immunity of no fewer than 140 members, and for the first time since 1834 deputies were handed over to the courts to be tried for offenses of a purely political character.]
*685. Functions and Powers of the Cortes.*--The function of the Cortes is primarily legislative. Each chamber shares with the crown the right to initiate measures, and no proposal can become law until it has received the sanction of the two houses. Rejection of a bill by either chamber, or by the crown, precludes the possibility of a reappearance of the project during the continuance of the session. Measures relating to taxation and to the public credit must be presented, in the first instance, in the Congress of Deputies, and it is made the specific obligation of the Government every year to lay before that body for examination and approval a budget of revenues and expenditures. Only upon authority of law may the Government alienate property belonging to the state, or borrow money on the public credit.
Under Spanish const.i.tutional theory the Cortes is the agent of the sovereign nation. It is authorized, therefore, not only to discharge the usual functions of legislation but also to do three other things of fundamental importance. In the first place, it receives from the sovereign, from the heir-apparent, and from the regent or regency of the kingdom, the oath of fidelity to the const.i.tution and the laws. In the second place, under provisions contained within the const.i.tution, it elects the regent or regency and appoints a guardian for a (p. 620) minor sovereign. Finally, to maintain the responsibility of ministers to the lower chamber, and, through it, to the nation, the Congress is authorized to impeach, and the Senate to try, at any time any member of the Government.[860]
[Footnote 860: Arts. 32-47. Dodd, Modern Const.i.tutions, II., 207-209. On the Cortes may be consulted, in addition to the const.i.tutional treatises mentioned on pp. 612-613, A. Borrego, Historia de las Cortes de Espano durante el siglo XIX. (Madrid, 1885), and A. Pons y Umbert, Organizacion y funcionamento de las Cortes segun las const.i.tuciones espanolas y reglamentacion de dicho cuerpo colegislador (Madrid, 1906).]
VI. POLITICAL PARTIES
*686. Party Groups After 1869.*--Since the dawn of const.i.tutionalism political life in Spain has comprised much of the time a sheer game between the "ins" and the "outs", in which issues have counted for little and the schemings of the caciques, or professional wire-pullers and bosses, have counted for well-nigh everything. For the exercise of independent popular judgment upon fundamental political questions apt.i.tude has been meager and opportunity rare. Political parties there have been, and still are, and certain of them have exhibited distinct power of survival. Yet it must be observed that even the stablest of them are essentially the creatures of the political leaders and that at no time have they exhibited the broadly national rootage of political parties in other states of western Europe.
Party cleavages in Spain had their beginning early in the nineteenth century, but for the origins of the groups which share in an important manner nowadays in the politics of the kingdom it is not necessary to return to a period more remote than that of the revolution of 1868.
Subsequent to the expulsion of Queen Isabella at least four groups were thrown into more or less sharp relief. One was the Carlists, supporters of the claims of Don Carlos and, in respect to political principle, avowed absolutists. A second comprised the Republicans, led by Castelar, whose demand for the establishment of a republic, rejected in 1869, carried the day upon the breakdown of the Amadeo monarchy four years later. Between the Carlists, on the one hand, and the Republicans, on the other, stood the ma.s.s of the political leaders, and, so far as may be judged, of the nation also. All were agreed upon the general principle of const.i.tutional monarchy. But upon the precise nature of the government which had been established and of the public policy which ought to be pursued there was, and could be, little agreement. The consequence was a sharp-cut cleavage, by which there were set off in opposition to each other two large parties, the Conservatives and the Liberals; and, save for the brief (p. 621) ascendancy of the Republicans in 1873-1874, it is these two parties which have shared between them the government of the kingdom from the establishment of the limited monarchy in 1869 to the present day. Both of these leading parties have been pledged continuously to maintain the const.i.tution and all of the popular privileges--freedom of speech, liberty of the press, safety of property, the right of establishing a.s.sociations, and the like--guaranteed by that instrument. Upon the _methods_ by which these things shall be maintained the parties originally divided and still are disagreed. Fundamentally, the policy of the Liberals is to commit the guardianship of public privileges to the courts of justice, while that of the Conservatives is to retain it rather in the hands of the ministerial and administrative authorities.
In the normal course of development the Liberal party has tended to draw to itself those liberal elements generally which are satisfied to rely upon legal means for the realization of their purposes, e.g., the free-traders, the labor forces, and many of the socialists.
Similarly the Conservative party has attracted a considerable proportion of the reactionaries, especially the Ultramontanes, by whom special stress is placed upon the maintenance of peace with the Vatican, and many representatives of the old Moderate party which was swept out of existence by the overturn of 1868.
*687. Liberals and Conservatives: Canovas and Sagasta.*--The first public act of Alfonso XII., following his proclamation as king, December 29, 1874, was to call to his side in the capacity of premier Canovas del Castillo, by whom was formed a strong Conservative ministry. Consequent upon the convocation of the Cortes of 1876 and the adoption of the new const.i.tution of that year, the various groups of Liberals were drawn into a fairly compact opposition party, supporting the Alfonsist dynasty and the new const.i.tutional regime, but proposing to labor, by peaceful means, for the restoration of as many as possible of the more liberal features of the const.i.tution of 1869. It is of interest to observe that the party, in its earlier years, was encouraged by Canovas, on the theory that there would be provided by it a natural and harmless outlet for inevitable ebullitions of the liberal spirit. Under the able leadership of Sagasta the development of the party was rapid, and in 1881 Canovas determined to give the country a taste of Liberal rule. Following a collusive "defeat" the premier retired, whereupon Sagasta was designated premier and a Liberal ministry was established which held office somewhat more than two years. By the Republicans and other radical forces the ministry of Sagasta was hara.s.sed unsparingly, just as had been that of Canovas, and the actual working policies of (p. 622) the two differed in scarcely any particular. Within the Liberal ranks, indeed, a "dynastic Left" became so troublesome that Sagasta, after two years, yielded office to the leader of the disaffected elements, Posada Herrera. The only effect of the experiment was to demonstrate that between the Conservatives led by Canovas and the Liberals led by Sagasta there was no room for a third party.
In 1885 Canovas returned to power, but for only a brief interval, for upon the establishment of the regency of Queen Christina, following the death of Alfonso XII., November 25, 1885, Sagasta was called upon to form the first of a series of ministries over which he presided continuously through the ensuing five years. In the memorable Pact of El Pardo it had been agreed between the Liberal and Conservative leaders that each would a.s.sist the other in the defense of the dynasty and of the const.i.tution, and although Sagasta had avowed the intention of reintroducing certain principles of the const.i.tution of 1869 he was pledged to proceed in a cautious manner and a conciliatory spirit. The elections of 1884 yielded a substantial Conservative majority in both chambers of the Cortes. None the less the Conservatives accorded the Liberal government their support, until by the elections of 1886 the Liberals themselves acquired control of the two houses. Throughout three years Castelar and the more moderate Republicans co-operated actively with the Government in the re-introduction of jury trial, the revival of liberty of the press, and a number of other liberal measures; but the Government was annoyed continually by attacks and intrigues partic.i.p.ated in by both the less conciliatory Republicans and the Carlists. The crowning achievement of the Sagasta ministry was the carrying through of the manhood suffrage act of June 29, 1890.
Within a month after the promulgation of the suffrage law the regent gave Sagasta to understand that the time had arrived for a change of leaders. The Canovas ministry which was thereupon established endured two and a half years, and was given distinction princ.i.p.ally by its introduction, in 1892, of the thoroughgoing protectionist regime which prevails in Spain to-day. The Conservatives falling into discord, Canovas resigned, December 8, 1892; and at the elections of the following year the Conservatives carried only one hundred seats in the Chamber. During the period from December, 1892, to March, 1895, Sagasta was again at the helm.
*688. The American War and Ministerial Changes, 1895-1902.*--Between 1895 and 1901 there was a rapid succession of ministries, virtually all of which were both made and unmade by situations arising from (p. 623) the war in Cuba and the subsequent contest with the United States. In the hope of averting American intervention a new Canovas government, established in 1895, brought forward a measure for the introduction of home rule in Cuba, but while the bill was pending, Canovas was a.s.sa.s.sinated, August 9, 1897, and the proposition failed. The new Conservative cabinet of General Azcarraga soon retired, and although the Sagasta government which succeeded recalled General Weyler from Cuba and inaugurated a policy of conciliation, the situation had got beyond control and war with the United States ensued. By the succession of Spanish defeats the popularity of the Liberal regime was strained to the breaking point, and at the close of the war Sagasta"s ministry gave place to a ministry formed by the new Conservative leader Silvela. The elections of April 16, 1899, yielded the Silvelists a majority and the ministry, reconst.i.tuted September 28 of the same year, retained power until March 6, 1901. At that date the Liberals gained the upper hand once more; and, with two brief intervals, Sagasta remained in office until December 3, 1902. Within scarcely more than a month after his final retirement, the great Liberal leader pa.s.sed away.
*689. Parties Since the Death of Sagasta.*--A second Silvela ministry, established December 6, 1902, brought the Conservatives again into power. This ministry, which lasted but a few months, was followed successively by four other Conservative governments, as follows: that of Villaverde, May, 1903, to December, 1903; that of Antonio Maura y Montanes, December, 1903, to December, 1904; the second of General Azcarraga, December, 1904, to January, 1905; and the second of Villaverde, from January, 1905, to June, 1905. Of these the most virile was that of Maura, a former Liberal, whose spirit of conciliation and progressiveness ent.i.tled him to be considered one of the few real statesmen of Spain in the present generation.
Following the death of Sagasta the Liberals pa.s.sed through a period of demoralization, but under the leadership of Montero Rios they gradually recovered, and in June, 1905, the government of Villaverde was succeeded by one presided over by Rios. At the elections of September 10, 1905, the Ministerialists secured 227 seats and the Conservatives of all groups but 126 (the remainder being scattered); but discord arose and, November 29 following, the cabinet of Rios resigned. Upon the great ecclesiastical questions of the day--civil marriage, the law of a.s.sociations, and the secularization of education--both parties, but especially the Liberals, were disrupted completely, and during the period of but little more than a year between the retirement of Rios and the return to power of Maura, January 24, 1907, no fewer than five ministries sought successively to grapple (p. 624) with the situation. Under Maura a measure of stability was restored.
The premier, although a Catholic, was moderately anti-clerical. His princ.i.p.al purpose was to maintain order and to elevate the plane of politics by a reform of the local government. At the elections of April 21, 1907, the Conservatives won a victory so decisive that in the Congress they secured a majority of 88 seats over all other groups combined.[861] The fall of the Maura ministry, October 21, 1909, came in consequence largely of the Moroccan crisis, but more immediately by reason of embarra.s.sment incident to the execution of the anarchist-philosopher Senor Ferrer. The Liberal ministry of Moret, const.i.tuted October 22, 1909, lacked substantial parliamentary support and was short-lived. February 9, 1910, there was established under Ca.n.a.lejas, leader of the democratic group, a cabinet representative of various Liberal and Radical elements and made up almost wholly of men new to ministerial office.[862]
[Footnote 861: The exact distribution of seats was as follows: Conservatives, 256; Liberals, 66; Solidarists, 53; Republicans, 32; Democrats, 9; Independents, 8.]
[Footnote 862: November 12, 1912, Premier Ca.n.a.lejas was a.s.sa.s.sinated. He was succeeded by the president of the Congress of Deputies, Alvaro de Romanones, under whom the Liberal ministry was continued in office.]