Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, Transmitted to Congress, With the Annual Message of the President, December 1, 1873, Part I, General Correspondence; and Papers Relating to Naturalization and Expatriation, Volume II

No. 393.
General Sickles to Mr. Fish.

United States Legation in Spain,
Madrid, February 18, 1873. (Rec’d March 25.)

No. 540.]

Sir: Referring to my No. 492, (confidential,) of December 3, 1872, and to my telegram of 30th ultimo, I proceed to report the occurrences of the past week therein foreshadowed.

On the night of Sunday, the 9th instant, a rumor, apparently authentic, was heard at the opera, and in some of the clubs, that the King had intimated his desire to renounce the crown. On the following morning several of the journals confirmed the report, although suggesting that an act of the Cortes would be necessary before such a step could be taken, in conformity with article 74 of the Spanish constitution. During the day it was understood that this grave question was under consideration in cabinet council, and that Congress would be asked to suspend its settings for a few days to enable ministers to prepare the necessary measures to meet the crisis. It seems that a communication in this sense was sent by the president of the council to Mr. Rivero, the presiding officer of the chamber of deputies, which that officer declined to announce officially to the house, lest such a proof of the irresolution of the cabinet might provoke popular tumult.

I had an appointment for that day, the 10th instant, at three in the afternoon, with the minister of state at the foreign office. At noon Mr. Merelo, the assistant secretary, called at the legation to say that the minister could not meet me as proposed, and it was not difficult for me to satisfy myself, despite the reticence of my visitor, that there was ample foundation for the reports I had heard. The chamber of deputies met as usual at three p.m., and I repaired to the diplomatic tribune, where several of my colleagues soon afterward joined me. Empty benches and a dull debate poorly reflected the animation already visible in the streets. Descending to the floor of the house, I soon encountered groups of members in the halls and salons, busily discussing the theme as yet forbidden in the chamber itself. Observing Rivero, the president, leave the chair, I went to his room, and had scarcely saluted him when several of the cabinet entered, among them Martos, Beranger, and Becerra, in whose faces I fancied I could see a serenity and satisfaction of good augury.

Returning to the diplomatic tribune, it was not long before Rivero resumed the speaker’s chair, which was regarded as only preliminary to the appearance of ministers in their places. A crowd of members came in from the lobbies, and expectation was on tip-toe for a statement from the government bench. None of the cabinet appearing, the hum of conversation soon swelled into loud murmurs, as it was of course known that the council had risen, and ministers were in the ante-chamber.

Figueras, the republican parliamentary leader, seized the opportunity afforded by the impatient temper of the house and demanded that the speakers should request the attendance of ministers, in order that Congress might be informed of the crisis, which it was understood embraced not only the cabinet, but even the Crown.

Rivero replied from the chair that he had already sent repeated messages to the government, requesting their presence, and that this would be the last he proposed to send.

At this moment the ministers entered the chamber, the president of the council foremost.

Mr. Zorrilla at once rose and requested Mr. Figueras to repeat the inquiry which had been addressed to the government through the chair in the absence of the cabinet.

Figueras promptly responded, saying he would omit his preamble and come to the point. He wanted the house to hear what the government proposed to do in the present juncture, and if the government was not prepared to submit a proposition, he would do so himself.

Zorrilla made a long speech in reply, to much of which the house listened with marked impatience. He said it was true the King had spoken of abdication, but nothing could transpire officially on so grave a matter until His Majesty had given the subject more reflection; that ministers had besought the King to pause in his purpose, and take twenty-four or forty-eight hours to reconsider his determination 5 that meanwhile, and in order that there should be no precipitation, he hoped the house would suspend its sittings, thus leaving the government disengaged from other duties, so that they might consider and frame the measures most expedient to be brought in for the action of Congress.

While this debate was going on, a great multitude had gathered around the palace of the chamber of deputies. Although here and there an irrepressible agitator harangued groups of listeners, the crowd was calm, though anxious to know something of the action of the chamber. To satisfy this feeling and avert any untoward demonstration, several influential deputies came out and spoke to the people from the balconies and porticos of the building. Troops were sent for to keep the streets open and allow deputies to pass in and out of the palace. The arrival of a couple of companies of cavalry and a small force of infantry caused a flurry and some scampering, but it was soon seen that no offensive movement was contemplated. The people made way for the column, which broke into detachments, posted at the approaches to the palace, and kept a clear space for some distance.

To return to the chamber. As soon as the president of the council concluded his long speech, Figueras rose to reply.

Rivero, from the chair, said the rules did not allow a deputy to continue the discussion after his question had been answered.

Figueras invoked the practice of Parliament to open a debate when a cabinet crisis was announced, remarking that this was even graver since the very institutions of the country were tottering.

Rivero suggested that the only way to open a debate, was for Figueras to announce an “interpellation.”

Zorilla, on the part, of the government, said they were not disposed to answer an interpellation, as they required all their time to meet the necessities of the situation; and he begged Mr. Figueras not to avail himself of the last resource afforded him by the rules—that of offering a proposition.

Figueras replied that he regretted he could not acceed to the request of the president of the council of ministers, for to do so would make himself the most criminal of men. He demanded the reading of a proposition he had placed on the table before the order of the day was announced.

The secretary then read the proposition, as follows: “Congress agrees to go into permanent session.” (Signed by five members, as prescribed by rules—Figueras, Ramos, Calderon, Huelves, Patino, Puigcerver y Meto.)

Figueras supported his proposition in a brief, strong appeal, saying that the speech of the president of the council reminded him of what Tiberius said to his doctors: “You dispute while I die.” The government asked forty-eight hours to consider while the country is in agony, and when in a few minutes the fate of the nation may be decided by the people. Are we here in a bed of roses, where we can slumber until it pleases the president to wake us up and tell us the King has revoked “an irrevocable resolution?” Do you know what may happen in twenty-four hours? Monarchies have a habit of procrastination. Who knows if in these twenty-four hours we shall not see armies here that will cover in mourning and blood the capital of Spain? Rather than this should happen I prefer that this should be the last day of my life. After having struggled thirty years for the republic, a solution that embraces all, and is the only salvation of the country, shall we repel it for the convenience of a dying dynasty?

The president interrupted Figueras, saying, “I beg, sir, you will not reflect upon the dynasty,” Many deputies exclaimed, “There is none!” Zorilla cried out, excitedly, “Prove to me there is no dynasty!” an exclamation that provoked laughter

Figueras responded that he always yielded to the chair. He could do no less, however, than to put on record, in conclusion, the words pronounced by the minister of state when he fought with us in the opposition: “If the King disappears or perishes, we will say long live the nation.” The King goes. What are we to say now? “Long live the nation!” The crown renounced! From the moment those words fell from the lips of the King, and the president communicates them to us here, they are beyond recall.

Zorrilla said he had made no official communication to the chamber of the abdication of the King. If he had communicated to the council of ministers what His Majesty had said he had only done his duty; was that official? What reason has Mr. Figueras given to precipitate a crisis and ask Congress to declare itself in permanent session. Is he afraid that for some reason or other our liberties will be lost? Does he suspect us to be traitors? Does he think we are weak? Suppose we are weak! What powers does he wield to substitute for ours, to do what we are unable to accomplish? What is meant by this permanent session? I beg Mr. Figueras to explain his purpose. Is it understood that the session is to go on even in the absence of a majority of the deputies, as if an enemy were at our gates? Is it intended that the chamber may at any moment come to a supreme decision, overturning the dynasty and the government and all the public powers? If so, the government cannot accept the proposition.

Figueras said he did not suspect any one in particular, but every one in general. He was like the authors of the representative system, neither more nor less. He was accustomed to hear many promises, and the sound of cannon answering them. It was not intended that Congress should go on debating interminably, because moments may happen in which there will be nothing to discuss. But he demanded there should be no adjournment 5 that they should await events in their seats, and meet them in a way becoming the magistracy of a great nation.

Zorrilla said he recognized the solicitude of the chamber, but he could not admit that the government needed a guardian to see that it performed its duties. The cabinet was competent to fulfill its trusts and defend liberty.

Figueras said he was sure the minister had not understood him. Every one knew there was no executive power; that a struggle was imminent between the legislative and executive departments. We were menaced by a reactionary ministry. The president of the council himself intimated that he had so advised the King.

Zorrilla interrupted and said he had not said this, but he had a right so to advise the King.

Figueras. “I so understand you; if I am mistaken I am glad. We are in critical moments. It is necessary that Madrid see a power to protect it; that the Cortes be here in the exercise of their powers to meet any exigency.”

Zorrilla. “Let it be understood that I have had no occasion to advise the King, and that I have not advised him. The ground taken that there is no executive power confirms my position. One of two things must be done. If there is an executive authority, as I affirm, there is no need of a permanent session. If the chamber thinks that the executive has ceased to exist, then let it proceed to name one at once. The republicans and other deputies can be as distrustful as they choose, but I maintain that the cabinet exercises the executive power, with the sanction of the Crown and the vote of the chambers, until we are dismissed by the one or the other. I might have furnished Mr. Figueras a solution consistent with the dignity of the government and the apprehensions of himself and his friends but he wishes something else to which I cannot consent.”

The Minister of State, (Martos.) “This is not the time for long speeches, but for great and patriotic decisions. The situation is grave. Let us not aggravate it. Let us consider calmly what is happening. Mr. Figueras has reminded me of what I said on a former occasion. I do not forget the words. I said one day, from yonder benches, (pointing to the left,) that when all should be lost, that when unhappily there should be no king, we would cry: ‘The King is dead—long live the nation!’ I repeat it now. But let the chamber say it when the King is gone. I beg you to hear me, to listen to one who has a right to your attention, because he has never spoken unless to express his honest, sincere, and patriotic purposes. Does not the constitution afford us the means to meet pacifically and legally any crisis that may arise? If so, you have not the right to anticipate events or to manifest distrust. Your apprehensions may be excused by your patriotism, but they have no foundation. Has the moment arrived when you should bring to this bulwark of liberty the torch of discord! I am a minister of the Crown, one of a cabinet that has thus far merited the confidence of the chambers. I must preserve my honor and loyalty as one of His Majesty’s ministers, and more than ever if His Majesty persists in his determination. I heard with disdain the excitations to a greater loyalty addressed to me in times when the dynasty was prosperous, but in this hour of the King’s extremity I shall not refuse him mvoice, my counsel, or my life. It is true, gentlemen, that I fear the decision of the King is irrevocable. After making known his purpose I fear he must execute it. This being so, I ask, can anything be more clear than the future of the republican party? The difficult point in the situation is with those who are resolved to perform their duties as a government until the King has signed his abdication, and until the Cortes have established such a government as it may please them to ordain. I know that in maintaining our trust we may see the blood of the people shed, and you will comprehend the gravity with which we appreciate the situation. This last duty to the dynasty performed, I am also one of those who will be found where liberty is fighting, in the ranks of her common soldiers, indifferent to the mere name inscribed upon the banner. This is one of the difficult moments of public life, not for you, republicans, who have only to be patient, because, if the King goes, there is nothing else possible but the republic. And you, by your impatience, are compromising the republic and liberty! [Loud protests from the republican seats.] Rather than your interruptions I would prefer reasons. I would rather Señor Castelar should tell me whether or no I am right. You demand a permanent session. That is to say, there is no executive, and the assembly assumes all powers. [‘No! No!’] Then if you do not mean that, so much the better. The government says we can preserve order better than an assembly, because deliberative bodies cannot be efficient guardians of public order. [A voice, ‘We watch over liberty!’] The government will look after liberty and we will all look after the liberties of Spain. But are we in that extremity that we must watch without a moment of rest? There is no occasion for such sleeplessness, because the dangers which Señor Figueras imagines do not exist. After all, what has Señor Figueras told us? That we may have a reactionary ministry, supported by an army that might reach Madrid in twenty-four hours. The moment when the King puts his determination in force there will be no other authority than the Cortes, and all patriots and all loyal generals commanding troops will come here for orders. Where is the army that Señor Figueras fears? [A deputy: ‘In Vitoria.’] Would to God that in Vitoria we had a large army, because under the orders of its commander (Moriones) it would be a guarantee of liberty. Since, then, there is no danger, there is no occasion for a permanent session. The King still reigns under the constitution, ministers are still at their posts performing their duties, and the constitution affords the means of settling all conflicts that may arise. Why, then, precipitate events? Where, then, is the difficulty we are unable to solve? Where are the ambitions, the tumults, the disorders, the hopes, the fears? I pray you to believe, gentlemen, that whatever may happen can be met by the general and energetic co-operation of those of us who are resolved to save liberty. If any one doubts me let him say so. If I have your confidence, then I pray you to believe that speeches and votes and propositions to-day may bring unhappy consequences to-morrow. I appeal to the patriotism of all. Do not foment dissensions. Withdraw this proposition. Avoid everything not legal and constitutional in its origin. From our constitution will come the remedy for all our difficulties. Even if chaos comes and a new creation is necessary, let it appear with law; let it come from this chamber if it is not so born. If our institutions are found in the streets and barricades liberty is lost. If they come from our hands sanctioned by law we may be sure their birth will be auspicious, and they will save the country and liberty.” [Great and long-continued applause.]

Figueras made a brief response, saying if he could curse the divine word that makes man the most worthy of creation, he would denounce the voice of Señor Martos, who had just administered to the majority an opiate to put them to sleep in order that they might awake on the morrow humiliated, beholding their lost liberties. “My distinguished friend,” he said, “has given compliments to some, hopes for others, and a mixture of, both for all, but not an argument for any one. I find, gentlemen, in his words the most powerful reasons in favor of my proposition. He tells us the determination of the King is irrevocable, and that the question rests with us now; it is impossible for the King to recede. This being so, no reason can be given why we should not remain in permanent session. In such a moment if any one wishes to sleep let him sleep. As for us republicans, when liberty is in danger we know not repose. The God of battles, who sends us these moments of trial, will give us the strength to support the immense responsibility it has pleased Him to impose upon us. Let us, then, wait here, with our worthy president in his place, the secretaries in their places, and let us not be moved by those whom we suspect in these moments to be devising plans for the destruction of liberty and the dissolution of this chamber.” [Sensation.]

Castelar then spoke. He asked the Cortes not to expect a speech from him in these grave and solemn moments, when his heart and his conscience prompted only grave and patriotic acts. One could not speak at a time when every passing moment might carry with it a danger to liberty fatal to the fortunes of this generation and of generations to come. To-day a display of eloquence would seem like the levity of Nero strumming the lyre while his capital was in flames. “Never in my life have I so much admired eloquence, the grandeur of human words, as when listening to-day to the minister of state pronouncing one of the most brilliant speeches that ever came from his lips. He has invoked my patriotism, my good sense, my calmness. He well knows how unnecessary was this appeal. I am patriotic, I am measured, I am prudent by conviction and temperament always, and above all in these supreme moments in which a single imprudence, a single indiscretion from any one, might bring down the pillars of the capital. Gentlemen, we need now a feeling that disregards mere forms and procedure, well enough for courts, but useless to this assembly we must go to the bottom of the question, the reality of things. No speech, however eloquent it may be no minister, not even those before us who have served liberty so well, can revive that which has ceased to exist, nor avert front us the reality that imposes itself upon us, that dominates us with its incontestible presence. That reality, gentlemen, is that, without provocation from any one, without the fault of any one, the people or the government, the Cortes or any public authority without a cloud in the sky, the King, the actual King, the elected King, the dynastic King, has announced publicly and solemnly that he hurls from his head to the pavement the crown of Spain.

The president of the council, Mr. Zorilla, demanded the floor.

Castelar. “Ah, gentlemen, and Mr. President of the council, permit me in the name of all that I have done to avert a revolutionary conflict, let me ask in the name of that silence heretofore accepted by his excellency and which was a tribute to liberty and to country, let me ask in the name of the efforts he has made to avoid violent solutions, listen to me, I pray you, and do not believe I am an opposition deputy, a rhetorician, or a disputant, but that I am a patriot and a Spaniard who hopes he can help to ease Spain. If you are right I will admit it; if I am right you, too, should concede it. Do not let us decide this great question in mere pride of opinion or person. Who are we here? Those who are seated on the benches of the reactionary minority, as well as those who represent the extreme views of the liberal party, what are any of ns except lovers of our country above all, and always lovers of liberty and order? Believe me when so many and so varied are the elements that menace us; when the provinces of the north are in arms; when from the mountains of Catalonia the tempests are sweeping down to the plains; when all we have won is in peril, shall we not, all of us, join together in the common purpose of saving our liberties and our dear Spain? I ask you, if we concede these twenty-four hours demanded of us, and the King recall his abdication, do you believe he can continue to govern, to reign with authority and respect? No, never! What cabinet could he form that we would accept! What ministry would not find itself in hopeless embarrassment? Who cannot see that in any kind of a republic there would be greater stability than can henceforth be found in this monarchy? In republics there cannot be an interregnum; even in the most federative and decentralized democracies there is always a vice-president to succeed the president the instant a vacancy happens. The supreme power of the nation cannot be suspended for a day or an hour, or even a second, any more than while we live our breath can cease. You have sought a regal dynasty, with a patriotic purpose I appreciate, because you believed the monarchy less subject to oscillation, less prone to the influence of popular passions; because you believed that with a dynasty you could guide the wheel of fortune; and this monarch of yours, within a briefer period than the term of a president of a republic, without premonition of preparation, like a flash in a clear sky, abandons you, and you wish now, as a point of etiquette, that the nation shall sacrifice itself to this expiring dynasty! Oh, my friends! in what age, in what nation, let me ask my eloquent Mend the minister of state, who is one of the glories of the Spanish tribune, and who knows history so well, when and where would etiquette or ceremony or any mere form of procedure be preferred to the public safety? Do you accept the acts of our fathers in 1808, when after Ferdinand the Seventh abandoned the country, they seized the crown, took away its prerogatives and privileges, and converted absolute monarchy into a constitutional government? Do you think they should have paused because the King was absent, because he had abandoned Spain? You saw Prince Bismarck concentrating the wrath of France. He had traced a line for his ambition by the treaty after Sadowa, which he called the line of the Main. This line was not to be passed, and yet Prince Bismarck passed it to form that military federation that won the salvation of Germany. Can Victor Emanuel himself wonder after confiding to the loyalty of Señor Zorrilla, and not unworthily, the person of his son, that we hasten to save ourselves without waiting for forms; can he complain when he remembers the treaty he signed with France—signed it with his own hand—a treaty vainly invoked at the moment when France, who had created Italy, found herself in the depths of an abyss, and when, in defiance of its provisions, the Italian troops passed the Tiber, entered Rome, destroyed the most ancient power known to modern history, and proclaimed on its ruins a constitutional monarchy—and this for the salvation of Italy and the glory of his crown? Does not Señor Zorrilla feel—he whom we all so much esteem for what he has done for liberty—does not this majority comprehend the grief with which I hear of our divisions as monarchical majorities and republican minorities? Are we an academy? Are we to occupy ourselves with abstractions, sacrificing the essence, which is liberty and country? Have I not heard you say in your eloquent speeches that you are indifferent to the forms of our government? Have you not always told me the substance was liberty and democracy? Now when it is not, we who have destroyed the monarchy, when in a certain sense and within certain limits, we have helped you in this last attempt to reconcile monarchy with liberty, will you, while the monarchy falls, will you, like the old rhetoricians and Byzantine disputants, sacrifice liberty at the altar of a fugitive monarchy? It might be otherwise if this cabinet inspired every one with the confidence I feel in it if the people knew of it what I know if all understood its history and pledges to liberty as I recognize them, then none would have fears. But you cannot make nations like yourselves; you cannot ignore the agitation that moves Madrid and that extends to all the capitals the distrust that permeates the country the currents that may impel us to a fearful catastrophe. Let me plead with youlet me pray you, not as a deputy of the minority, but as a Spaniard, to avoid this peril by an immediate decision, now, while you can yet save the person of the King, although you cannot save his authority, or his crown. [Sensation.]

“Gentlemen, do you think I wish to found a party government? I repeat now what I have always said to my associates. Do you wish that the republic should be the patrimony of a few? It is the same as to desire that the air of heaven and the light of the stars shall belong-to a party. The republic is for all, by all, and belongs to all. The nation orphaned is still the nation. Resuming her sovereignty over all her children she is the fond mother of all of us. Conservatives, I appeal to you in the name of the country. Behold the example of our neighbor, and let us see if after all this Spanish nation has yet left the hands of tutors. Conservatives of the revolution whom I do not see in your places in this hall, where perhaps you would have something more to look for than in the direction in which you have heretofore fixed your hopes, I say to you that if it is true that you are still devoted to the revolution, it is here and now that you are to preserve what that revolution brought to us. And you of the majority, who have written the first chapter of our constitution, you who have proclaimed the natural rights of man, who have established universal suffrage, who have almost separated church and state, who have denounced the conscription and desired to arm the nation, you who call yourselves democrats, what will you do? What will you do when you in your turn have no King? You have no step to take, you have no sacrifice to make, no honors to renounce; you have fulfilled your duty. The King is gone you are not to go upon your knees, you of this chamber, to persuade him to stay, because the nation does not bow the knee to any one because by the thirty-second article of the constitution all power remains with us as the representatives of the sovereignty of the nation.

“Let us, then, accept the proposition to go into permanent session. You ask for twenty-four hours! The King asks this delay, through the president of the council. We do not ignore the King. He has ignored himself we ignore nothing, absolutely nothing. We, the depositaries of the national sovereignty, choose to exercise a power never denied, not even by the ancient monarchs to the Cortes, a supervisory power that does not permit us to cease our vigilance over the public welfare. What right has the cabinet or the fugitive monarchy to object to the performance of this duty? Reflect, gentlemen. Do not make this a question of majority or minority, of cabinet or of opposition. Make it a question of foresight and patriotism. This chamber, for which history seems to have opened her temple, the horizon clear, all chains broken, and the conspirators against its sovereignty fugitives, this chamber can save Spain. If we do it, we will be greater than the Cortes of Cadiz. If we fail, we will deserve the ceaseless wrath of Divine justice and the eternal curse of history.”

The President of the Council, (Zorrilla). “I need not speak of the difficulties with which I struggle, or the anxiety I feel in rising to speak. I shall not trouble the chamber long, because the government needs every moment for its duties. I cannot do less than say something, since it seems that I have not been understood in the observations that I have heretofore made in endeavoring to define the situation. I begin by saying to Mr. Castelar that he can ask of me nothing that I am not disposed to grant. But not even to please Mr. Castelar, or the chamber, or anybody, can I forego my honor. I have lost my parents, I have lost four sons, and not one remains to me. And if I were told to-night that I could regain them, I could do nothing inconsistent with the performance of my duty and the satisfaction of my conscience. I have another declaration to make. When I interrupted the republican speakers I meant no provocation. They affirmed that we were without a king or a dynasty. This is not true! It seemed as if they wished to precipitate events, to profit by the situation to alarm the chamber, saying that the barbarians were at the gates of the city. The proposition of Mr. Figueras is disrespectful to the cabinet and the government. His explanations and the eloquent speech of Señor Castelar have given it a special signification. They want the permanent session so that, in case the King reconsiders his purpose, they may confront him and say, ‘It is too late!’ and if he persists, that they may accept his renunciation. The King has not broken his compact; the majority must not deceive itself. A permanent session, if granted, can have no other object than the one I have indicated. It is designed in this permanent session to vote a guardian for us that we have not asked. You are about to say that you have no confidence in us. [Many deputies, ‘No, no!’] Yes—because half-way confidence is no confidence. Having said this, do as you please; but bear in mind that if the King has taken forty-eight hours to consider and decide, he has done so at the solicitation of the council of ministers. Let each one choose his side, which we will not discuss now, for to-morrow history will do justice to all. The government has brought nothing official here for debate or action. The government does not consent that the chamber shall declare itself in permanent session. The government, in whatever is not derogatory to its dignity nor menacing to irresponsible power, would have no objection to the adoption of a proposition. But the republican minority, not satisfied with this, demands a permanent session for the purposes I have indicated. I am responsible for order and liberty. When the present exigency is over, whatever may be the solution adopted, I shall retire to some obscure corner. [Signs of impatience.] I do not wish to weary the chamber. If the solution we approach contributes to the happiness of the county all of us will rejoice, for we have only sought the public prosperity. If, on the contrary, we reach an unfortunate result, let us not hasten the catastrophe, but rather await the dread reality, as 1 fear it must be, when shall have disappeared that institution which we believe was the best guarantee of the most perfect order and the most absolute liberty.”

Mr. Castelar. “The chamber will understand the situation in which we are placed by the president of the council, who believes us capable of exacting something inconsistent with his honor. I have to say that the proposition presented does not imply distrust of the government) that it is only a measure of precaution to strengthen its hands in these critical moments. The government is surprised that we do not confide in it, and does not understand that, in opposing our permanent session, it distrusts us. The president of the council has said that we wish to forestall the reconsideration of the King. What idea has his excellency of the dignity and firmness of the monarch? The King cannot recall his resolution, and consequently we cannot occupy ourselves with his reflections. At all events, I, for one, do not believe that we can or should sacrifice the welfare of the country to personal questions.”

Mr. Figueras. “I do not understand how the president of the council can maintain that my proposition is derogatory to his character, nor how he can doubt its opportuneness, when, from his own mouth, we know that an event of the gravest importance to the destinies of the country is imminent. We are told the King has announced a decision, and we, proceeding in good faith, cannot suffer our liberties to be endangered. We do not insist that the cabinet shall remain here in the chamber, nor is it necessary that those deputies who do not share our apprehensions should remain in this place. We do not propose to deliberate we will remain here without action, but organized and ready for action. Unless we do this, I predict days of mourning and blood for Madrid blood and mourning that will fall on the heads of those whose obstinacy refuses so ust a remedy.”

A pause followed, in which the president of the council, the minister of state, and several others of the cabinet were in consultation in their seats. It was evident a difference of opinion existed between Mr. Zorrilla and Mr. Martos. Mr. Martos was about to quit the blue bench his colleagues earnestly dissuading him, secreted his hat under the bench, and he resumed his seat with much apparent reluctance. Mr. Zorrilla then rose to leave, and repelling the efforts to detain him, he retired from the chamber. Whereupon

Mr. Martos said, “I have not perhaps clearly understood Mr. Figueras. The circumstances are grave, and, according to my latest information, graver than we could have thought. I beg, therefore, that Mr. Figueras will explain his purpose. The government desires, if it can do so consistently with the requirements which its dignity imposes on this most unhappy occasion, to be among the first in averting the evils foreshadowed by Mr. Figueras, and which may not unreasonably be apprehended. Wishing thus to avoid every motive for dissension, and trusting there may be no occasion for a vote, I pause for Mr. Figueras’s explanation.”

Figueras. “I have already said that we shall wait here, organized, but without deliberating, until the government decides upon its course that we shall discuss nothing, remaining, however, in our places, regarding ourselves as in permanent session.”

Martos. “Mr. Figueras desires that, without action, we remain assembled here prepared for any contingency, the flag flying over the palace as the sign that the chamber is in session. Is this the proposition? [Cries of ‘Yes, yes!’] Well, then, would to God that with the same facility we might settle the difficulties of to-day and those that may come to-morrow.”

The President or the Chamber. “Congress orders a permanent session without deliberation, and as the presiding officers will remain here, I desire that a committee be named to remain with us.” (Many deputies: “Let the president name the committee.”)

The secretary then read the names of the committee appointed by the president, and the session was, pro forma, suspended at nine o’clock at night, after a sitting of six hours.

During these proceedings in the chamber the crowd outside had increased to thousands. The usual entrance for deputies was besieged by an inquisitive throng whose curiosity was from time to time gratified by the appearance of a prominent deputy, assuring them of a prompt and peaceful republican solution. The republican deputies had issued a printed address, which was posted through the streets of Madrid, advising their supporters to abstain from ail violent demonstrations. The republican directory, comprising Castelar, Figueras, and Pi y Margall, communicated assuring intelligence to their friends in the provinces. Ministers had likewise announced to provincial governors and captains-general the probable abdication of the King, and enjoining the strictest vigilance and utmost zeal in maintenance of order.

Satisfactory answers had been received from most of the provinces. The only ground for apprehension seemed to be that the suspension of the sitting of the Cortes without action might be made a pretext for disturbances. It was understood that the conservative leaders were in council during the afternoon and evening at the house of Mr. Sagasta. They expected to be summoned by the King to form a new cabinet, efforts having been made by the Duke of Fernan Nunez, General Concha, Admiral Topete, and others, to persuade the King to desist from his proposed abdication and change his advisers. It was even said on good authority that a deputation of army officers, backed by General Concha and others, proposed to the King to authorize them to put themselves at the head of the troops of the Madrid garrison, and enable the King to dismiss Zorrilla and his colleagues, dissolve the Cortes, suspend the constitution, and maintain the throne. The King disapproved of all these suggestions. He said he had sworn to obey the constitution; that he had kept faith with the country, approving all measures sanctioned by the Cortes, and had endeavored to do justice to all parties; that all the factions, except the one in power, were habitually arrayed against him, and that it was too late now for him to give his confidence to those who had kept aloof from the court until no honorable resource was left but to return his crown to the Cortes, from whom he had received it, and leave the country free to determine its destinies. Marshal Serrano arrived in town the same evening from the south, and it was expected that he would put himself at the head of a conservative movement, but without the support of the troops, from whom he had long been separated, and in presence of so formidable a popular rising in favor of a republic, the reactionary military leaders shrunk from the responsibility and risks of action, preferring to await events and hold themselves ready to profit by any favorable opportunity that might present itself. The government called out several battalions of citizen-militia which guarded the public buildings and squares during the night. The main body of the garrison remained in their quarters under arms. Thus the night was passed in tranquillity.

At 3 in the afternoon of Tuesday, the 11th, the chamber of deputies resumed the sitting suspended the night before, with an announcement from the presiding officer that a communication had been received from the government, which the secretary read as follows:

To the President of the Chamber of Deputies:

Your Excellency: At half-past one this afternoon, accompanied by the minister of state, I presented myself in the royal chambers, in compliance with His Majesty’s request, and received from the King the inclosed document, which I have the honor to transmit to your excellency, in order that it may be communicated to Congress.

MANUEL RUIZ ZORRILLA.

Madrid, February 11, 1873.

The secretary then proceeded to read the abdication of the King in the following words:

To the Chamber:

Great was the honor bestowed upon me by the Spanish nation when it elected me to occupy its throne, an honor all the more appreciated by me since it was offered to me environed by the difficulties and dangers which accompany the task of governing a country so deeply agitated.

Animated, however, by the firmness of purpose natural to my race, which seeks rather than shuns danger; fully determined to seek my sole inspiration in the good of the country, and to raise myself above all party level; resolved to fulfill religiously the oath I took before the Constituent Cortes; and ready to make all manner of sacrifices in order to give to this heroic nation the peace it needs, the freedom it deserves, and the greatness to which its glorious history and the uprightness and constancy of its sons entitle it, I thought that my limited experience in the art of governing would be compensated by the loyalty of my nature, and that I should find powerful aid in warding off the dangers and conquering the difficulties that were not hidden from my view in the sympathy of all those Spaniards who, loving their native land, were desirous of putting an end to the bloody and barren struggles which for so many years have been gnawing at its vitals.

I realize that my good intentions have been in vain. For two long years have I worn the crown of Spain, and Spain still lives in continual strife, departing day by day more widely from that era of peace and prosperity for which I have so ardently yearned. Had the enemies to her happiness been foreigners, then, at the head of our valiant and tried soldiers, I would have been the first to give them battle. But all those who, with sword and pen and speech, aggravate and perpetuate the troubles of the nation, are Spaniards; they all invoke the hallowed name of fatherland; they all strive and labor for its well-being; and, amidst the din of combat, amidst the confused, appalling, and contradictory clamor of the contestants, amidst so many and so widely opposed manifestations of public opinion, it is impossible to choose the right, and still more impossible to find a remedy for such vast evils. I have earnestly sought a remedy within the bounds of law. Beyond this limit he who is pledged to obey the law has no right to go.

None will attribute my determination to weakness of spirit. No danger could move me to take off the crown from my brows if I believed that I wore it for my country’s good. Neither have I been influenced by the peril that threatened the life of my august wife, who, in this solemn moment, joins me in the earnest hope that in good time free pardon may be given to the authors of that attempt.

Nevertheless, I am to-day firmly convinced of the barrenness of my efforts and the impossibility of realizing my aims.

These, deputies, are the reasons that move me to give back to the nation, and in its name to you, the crown offered to me by the national suffrage, renouncing it for myself, my children, and my successors.

Be assured that, ill relinquishing the crown, I do not give up my love for this noble and unhappy Spain, and that I bear away with me from hence no other sorrow than that it has not been possible for me to accomplish for her all the good my loyal heart so earnestly desired.

AMADEO.

Palace of Madrid, February 11, 1873.”

The President. “Gentlemen of the chamber, the renunciation of the crown of Spain by Don Amadeo, of Savoy, remands to the Spanish Cortes the sovereign authority over the kingdom. This event would be grave if, in the presence of the majesty of the Cortes, anything could be grave or difficult. As this chamber cannot, by itself, exercise the powers now devolved on Congress, the presence and co-operation of the senate being necessary, I have the honor to propose that a message be addressed to that body, which is already written, in order that both chambers, representing the sovereign authority, shall take such action in relation to the document just read as the emergency demands.

The motion was agreed to without debate.

Mr. Salaverria and Mr. Ulloa, leaders respectively of conservative sections of the chamber, addressed the house, expressing their sense of the gravity of the situation declining, however, to present any proposition, and declaring their willingness to support any government that might be established which would afford guarantees of peace, public order, good administration, and the maintenance of the national territory intact.

Castelar acknowledged the patriotic attitude indicated by the remarks of the conservative speakers. He said the declarations to which they had just listened in this temple of the laws gave him hope, gave him assurance, that now, as in 1808, all Spaniards would forget their differences in a common effort for the salvation of the country. The scruples of these gentlemen were legitimate, and had been expressed with a propriety of phrase and a dignity for which the chamber could never be sufficiently grateful, and that history would record with applause. “It is my duty,” said Castelar, “to point out the singular fact that all is foreseen in the constitution except the present contingency, when an entire dynasty renounces the crown. The abdication of a monarch in favor of his legitimate successors is provided for. But a monarchical constitution could not be expected to anticipate the renunciation of the reigning dynasty. In these supreme circumstances, when it is necessary that authority shall not cease for an instant, while it is becoming that we should follow prescribed legal forms as far as possible, the sovereign authority of these chambers must interpose and supply a remedy for a case not contemplated by the framers of the constitution. We have ever seen in times of danger, as well in the war of independence as in the civil war, that the country has heard but one voice, the Cortes—‘Let the Cortes save the monarchy!’ ‘Let the Cortes save liberty!’ ‘Let the Cortes save order!’ Now, then, let the Cortes save the honor, the independence, and the integrity of the country. I have but one observation more to make. I have never declined responsibility. I have always declared that the great problem is to ally order with liberty. Shoulder to shoulder with my comrades I have fought all extremes and all demagogues, and I promise you, on my honor and conscience, that while my life is spared, and while I have a voice to speak, I will make every sacrifice for the honor of the nation, for the preservation of its territory, for social order, and for the union of all Spaniards.”

After a brief recess, at half past 4 p.m. the secretary, Moreno Rodriguez, read the following message from the senate:

To the chamber of deputies:

In view of the abdication of His Majesty and of the message of your honorable body, the senate considers it necessary that the two houses should meet as one assembly to provide for the public safety. In communicating this resolution to the chamber of deputies, the president of the senate is authorized to confer with the president of the chamber of deputies, to the end that this union may be effected.

Palace of the Senate, February 11, 1873.

LOREANO FIGUEROLA, President.

FEDERICO BALART, Senator, Secretary.

VICENTE DE FUENMAYOR, Senator, Secretary.

The President. “Ushers, inform the senate that the chamber awaits them.”

The senate, preceded by two mace-bearers, entered the chamber.

The President of the senate. “Mr. President of the chamber of deputies, the Spanish senate, in virtue of a resolution it adopted, and which I have had the honor to communicate to you, comes here to unite itself with the chamber and form one assembly, in presence of the necessities of the country.”

The President of the chamber. “The senators will take seats, in order that the two co-ordinate legislative bodies may constitute themselves the sovereign Congress of Spain.”

The senators being seated promiscuously among the deputies, the president of the senate occupying a place to the right of the president of the chamber, the latter, as presiding officer of the sovereign Cortes, said:

“The chamber of deputies and the senate united, constituting the Spanish Cortes, are in session. Let this be recorded in the minutes. And, by the privilege of my seniority, which no one can envy, I preside. On behalf of the chamber of deputies, Messieurs Lopez and Rodriguez will act as secretaries. Senators Balart and Benot will act as secretaries, representing the senate. I now declare that the sovereign Cortes of Spain is organized and in session.”

Thereupon Secretary Rodriguez read again the act of abdication.

The Minister of State, (Martos.) “The president of the council of ministers is unable to present himself before the chambers in these grave, and for us most unhappy circumstances, to address the sovereign Cortes of Spain. In endeavoring, as far as I can, to fill his place, I have a few words to address to you. Neither the weight of responsibility pressing upon me nor the solemnity of the situation surrounding us permits anything like a speech from me at this moment. The occasion demands from us prudent, salutary, and great acts. I have only to say to you, gentlemen, that His Majesty the King of Spain, Don Amadeo I, of Savoy, to whom we still hold the relation of responsible advisers, has announced to us this morning his irrevocable resolution to resign the crown into the hands of the sovereign Cortes, the representatives of Spain, from whom he received it. In view of this impressive circumstance, it is needless for me to advert to the obvious responsibilities and duties devolving upon this assembly, duties which it cannot fail to comprehend and fulfill. With this communication, gentlemen, the powers of the present government cease. In the name of my colleagues, in their behalf and for myself, I now surrender the powers we received from the King to this assembly, which from this moment becomes the sole and only sovereignty. May Almighty God grant to all of us the wisdom of which the country has need! May all Spaniards unite with us, as the country may rightfully demand of them, for the salvation of liberty and the guardianship of the interests of society.”

Mr. Martos and his colleagues then quitted the/blue bench and took their seats among the deputies.

The President, (Rivero.) “Do the sovereign Cortes accept the resignation of the crown tendered by Don Amadeo of Savoy?”

Accepted without a dissenting voice.

The President. “Do the Cortes agree to send a message to this illustrious prince, expressing their regret and accepting the resignation!” This was agreed to unanimously.

The President. “Shall a committee be appointed to prepare and report a message?”

This was agreed to.

The President: “It is always difficult to appoint committees.”

Mr. Juan Bautista Alonso: “Let the president name it.”

The President: “Is it the order of the Cortes that the president name the committee?”

It was so ordered.

The President: “I ask permission to retire to select the committee. Meanwhile the president of the senate will occupy the chair.”

After a brief interval the president announced the following committee on the message to the King: Figueras, Castelar, Nunez de Velasco, Marquis of Sardoal, Rivero, Cervera, Herrero, Benot, Chao, Rojo Arias, Fuenmayor Belart:

After some twenty minutes had elapsed Mr. Castelar ascended the tribune and said:

“I should address a word of explanation to the chamber before reading the report. Naturally the members of the committee were not agreed upon the terms in which the address to the King should be written. But they have understood it was not a moment to insist upon personal or party sentiments. It is believed the message is the faithful expression of the views of the majority of the sovereign Cortes.”

Mr. Castelar then read the message, of which the following is a translation:

The National Assembly to His Majesty Don Amadeo I.

Sire: The sovereign Cortes of the Spanish nation have heard with solemn respect the eloquent message of Your Majesty, in whose chivalrous words of uprightness, of honor, and of loyalty they have seen fresh witness born to the high endowments of intelligence and character that distinguish Your Majesty, and of the exalted love you bear to this your second country, which, generous and brave, cherishing its dignity even to superstition, and its independence even to heroism, can never, never forget that Your Majesty has been the head of the state, the personification of its sovereignty, and the chief authority within the sphere of its laws; nor can it fail to discern that, in paying honor and praise to Your Majesty it honors and ennobles itself.

Sire, the Cortes have been faithful to the commands of their constituents, and guardians of the institutions they found already established by the will of the nation in the constitutional assembly. In all their acts and decisions the Cortes have restrained themselves within the bounds of their prerogatives, and have respected the will of Your Majesty and the rights belonging to Your Majesty under our constitution. While proclaiming this loudly and clearly, in order that upon them may never fall the responsibility of this issue, which we accept with regret, but which we shall meet with energy, the Cortes unanimously declare that Your Majesty has been a faithful, a most faithful observer of the respect due to these chambers, and that you have faithfully, most faithfully, kept the oath made when Your Majesty accepted from the hands of the people the Crown of Spain; a glorious, a most glorious record in this age of ambitions and dictatorial sway, when, seated on the inaccessible heights of a throne, which only a few privileged ones ascend, the least adventurous of rulers have not restrained their ambition from absolute authority.

Your Majesty may justly say, in the privacy of your retirement, in the bosom of your lovely native land, and by the fireside of your family, that if any human being could have checked the irresistible course of events. Your Majesty, with your constitutional education and your respect for established law would have done so, absolutely and completely. Convinced of the truth of this, the Cortes, had it been in their power, would have made the utmost sacrifices to induce Your Majesty to desist from your purpose, and to recall your renunciation.

But, knowing as they do the unswerving character of Your Majesty, justice to the maturity of your ideas, and the firmness of your purpose, prevents the Cortes from praying Your Majesty to reconsider your determination, and decides them to announce that they have assumed the supreme power and sovereignty of the nation, in order that under such critical circumstances and with the promptness demanded by the gravity of the peril and the trancendency of the situation, they may minister to the salvation of democracy—the base of our political structure of liberty—the soul of all our rights and of the country—our immortal and loving mother, for whom we are all resolved to freely sacrifice not only our individual ideas but also our name and our very existence.

Our fathers battled with even more adverse circumstances at the beginning of this century, and, inspired by these ideas and these sentiments, it was given them to conquer. Abandoned by their King, their native soil overrun by foreign hosts, and menaced by that giant mind that seemed to possess the talisman of destruction and of war, the Cortes driven to an island at the furthermost verge of the country, not only saved their fatherland and wrote the glorious epic of its independence, but upon the wide-scattered ruins of the old social structure they laid the foundation of the new. The Cortes feel that the Spanish nation has not degenerated, and they trust that they themselves will still less degenerate from the austere and patriotic virtues that distinguished the founders of liberty in Spain.

When all dangers shall have been warded off, and all obstacles overcome; when we shall have emerged from the difficulties that attend every epoch of transition and of crisis, the Spanish people—which, while your Majesty remains upon our noble soil, will offer you every mark of respect, of loyalty, and of deference, because if is due alike to your Majesty, to your virtuous and noble consort, and to your innocent children—the Spanish people cannot offer you a crown in the future, but they will then offer you another dignity, the dignity of a citizen in the midst of a free and independent people.

Palace of the Cortes, February 11, 1873.

The reading of the message was frequently interrupted by loud applause from all parts of the chamber.

The President: “This report, I do not hesitate to say, honors the Spanish nation, and demands from ns that we name a committee to present the address to His Majesty. I also think it proper that we should appoint another committee to accompany His Majesty to the frontier. Before all, and above all, we are gentlemen, and as such we should deport ourselves.”

Both committees were ordered to be appointed by the chair.

President Rivero resumed the chair, and said: “A proposition is in the hands of the chair to be submitted to the chamber. We are approaching a solemn moment in the national history. I count upon your calmness, dignity, and prudence, since these are the virtues of sovereignty.”

The proposition was read, as follows:

The undersigned ask Congress to approve the following act:

The national assembly, assuming all power, declares that the form of government of the nation is republican, remitting to a constitutional convention (cortes constituyentes) the organization of this form of government.

This assembly will choose an executive, removable by and responsible to the chamber.

PI y MARGALL.

NICOLAS SALMERON.

FRANCISCO SALMERON.

LAGUNERO.

FIGUERAS.

MOLINI.

FERNANDEZ DE LAS CUEVAS.

Pi y Margall: “I am not sure, gentlemen, if I shall know to-day how to maintain the serenity that you are accustomed to find in my speeches. I am profoundly moved. But my task is less difficult than it would seem, since I have nothing to say that is not already in the mind, in the hearts, and in the conscience of all present. You elected a King and that King has resigned the crown he received from you. You have no government. The ministers who have received their authority from the hands of the King have disappeared with the authority of the person from whom they derived their trust. There remains but one legitimate source of authority, the Cortes, and necessity compels this body to assume all power; you yourselves have confirmed what I say by your acts. If the Cortes hold the legislative power, they must create an executive authority. We propose that this be chosen by a direct vote of the assembly, and that it be charged with the duty of enforcing your decrees. Are we to have another interregnum? Should we leave the dynasty to pass from its orbit powerless and not replace it by another form of government? You all know the fruits monarchies have yielded us. You established a constitutional monarchy in the person of a Queen by divine right. You could not reconcile it with liberty. The people desired reform and progress. The people insisted upon the sanctity of personal rights, and that Queen and her father before her had no thought besides ignoring individual liberty and arresting the progress of the Spanish people. Finding her incompatible with your liberties, you banished her from the country 5 you then attempted to establish an elective monarchy, and you chose a King impersonating it. You see the result. He confesses himself to have been unable to overcome the rancor of parties and the discord that devours us. Our dissensions have multiplied 5 our animosities have spread and extended even to the parties that made the revolution of September, 1868. You are convinced that monarchy is incompatible with the political rights you have created. It is necessary, therefore, that we go to the republic. You who have established the great principle of national sovereignty in the people, cannot do less than accept a form compatible with this principle, and this you do not find in a monarchy which circumscribes the power in the hands of a family. You cannot return to the monarchy. Privileges of caste have disappeared. It is impossible for you to merge the sovereignty of the nation in a dynasty. Bear in mind the ideas and the movement of opinion of your age. In other times, thanks to a religious belief widely accepted, there were dikes to bound the movement of thought and make hereditary powers possible. But in these days of free opinion how is it possible to suppose that a single person can control the currents of the popular will? We need movable powers, and for these the republic must be established. The executive should be so constituted that it may ever be in harmony with the ideas of the Spanish people. Look at the present state of Spain! Reactionary forces appear in many provinces, and you all know that a standing army is incapable of putting down these factions. It is necessary that the people rise in arms to put an end to this civil war. To do this you must give the people a flag they will accept and under which they will fight. This you cannot do in the name of monarchy. It is necessary, then, that this sovereign assembly proclaim at once the republic, leaving to a constitutional convention, to be hereafter chosen, the duty of defining the organization and form of the republic. We are federalists. We believe that in a federation lies the hope of the country. But we understand that in these moments all should make sacrifices, and ours is to forbear establishing now a federal form of government, leaving that determination to a future Congress. If we are agreed in this, we for our part are satisfied. Otherwise we must insist upon our attitude, since it is impossible for us to sacrifice our convictions. To-day we only ask that you proclaim the republic. Afterwards we shall know the form of republic the country desires.”

The proposition having been again read, was taken into consideration without a division. The debate was thereupon declared open.

Mr. Romeo Ortiz. “It has never been the doctrine of the liberal parties in Spain that a constitution can be modified without the consent of a convention elected expressly for that purpose. If we have had parties who thought otherwise, they were not liberals. With this observation I have only to affirm what has already been said by Mr. Ulloa. It would not become those of us who are monarchists by conviction to abandon our ideas and suddenly turn republicans. We are nevertheless disposed to lend our loyal and sincere support to the power that may be here created to sustain public order and maintain the integrity of our territory.”

Salmeron, (Don Nicolas.) “These are critical moments, when we not only have to decide the questions presented by the abdication of the Crown thrown ‘into our midst by Don Amadeo, but we are bound to organize the country and, to raise up the institutions, we need to maintain social order and liberty. In this work we should form a compact phalanx; we must be prepared to sacrifice our lives, and, what is more, our name and our dignity, on the altar of the higher dignity of the Spanish nation. It is indispensable that we comprehend how we were yesterday divided by party passions under the monarchy; that, if heretofore factions have struggled with factions for power, to-day we have no monarchy to distract us. In this chamber, in presence of this sovereign assembly chosen by universal suffrage, we have already the republican form of government in which may be united every political and social aspiration, If you, the conservatives, say you are ready to support that government, to maintain social order, raise yourselves a little higher and say, ‘We come to assist in founding an order of things indispensable in this country after the ruin of the monarchy.’ For you must realize that with the fall of the monarchy nothing legal remains but the first chapter of the constitution and this Cortes, the representatives of the national sovereignty. If you love your country as you say, if you are only animated by the desire of contributing to its welfare, accept the ideas within which we can all prosper. Let us all unite together. We, for our part, repel no one; republican liberty belongs to a social organization under which may live those who cherish the most opposite opinions. Representatives of the Spanish nation, in this moment all Europe looks upon us. Let us imitate our forefathers, who redeemed our soil and reanimated our patriotism. For us there are neither conquerors nor conquered; neither republicans of yesterday nor of to-day. Let us all move forward together, confiding in the justice of our cause, resolved to save Spain and maintain liberty.”

Ruiz Zorrilla. “I do not propose at this moment to take part in the debate. I rise only to say to the representatives of the country that before approving or disapproving the proposition under discussion, it is indispensable to suspend the session, if only for a few minutes, in order that we may have a provisional government that may tend to the preservation of order in Madrid and in the provinces.”

The President, (Rivero.) “The president answers for order throughout Spain; [applause;] and to this end he relies on the co-operation of your excellency and your worthy colleagues.”

Ruiz Zorrilla. “Your excellency cannot expect our co-operation otherwise than as deputies or as senators. It is my duty to say that there is no government. Those of us who lately constituted the government, with much glory to ourselves, in the name of the monarchy, have ceased to exercise authority. And here you have not foreseen even the first necessity of a country, above all when it finds itself in the circumstances which surround us. If a telegram should come about the Carlists, [laughter,] or about any occurrence that might take place in any province of Spain, there is nobody who could receive it. [Laughter.] From the moment that Mr. Martos said that we had relinquished our authority as ministers, that we would not give attention to anything that might happen, you should have attended to this! necessity. If a telegraphic dispatch were received now, saying that the Carlists had occupied an important city, or that one of our generals refuses to accept the situation, to whom could this be delivered, and who could take the proper steps to meet the emergency? [Loud murmurs. The president calls to order.] Gentlemen, understand the situation in the depths of your conscience and provide for the needs of the moment. I, gentlemen, am an honorable man, who has always performed his duty to the monarchy and to liberty, and when the monarchy and the dynasty disappear I offer fervent prayers that your efforts and measures will correspond to your impatience for that which I do not believe can last long in this country. [Murmurs of dissent.] This is a matter of opinion, and I regret to find myself interrupted; my position is not understood. I have been president of the council of ministers, and I have the consolation, in view of catastrophes which may come, that during the time that I have been at the head of the state, not one drop of blood has been shed. If I have interrupted this debate, it has been to call your attention to an immediate necessity. I am guided only by a sentiment of patriotism. This is said to you by one about to disappear from public life, and who has only one remorse, that of having returned to public affairs at the instigation of his friends, disregarding, for once only, his own proper resolution. I think that my suggestion should not be disregarded, and I say this to you with all the more weight, because I expect to find myself under the necessity of resisting the aspirations of those who believe that after to-morrow we shall five in the world of Dr. Pangloss. I appeal to you by the love of that liberty which I have ever defended, that you give attention to the supreme duty imposed upon us by the extremely critical circumstances confronting us, a duty incumbent upon every society. I ask nothing in the interests of monarchy nor of the dynasty. They have disappeared. Nor in the name of my party, for it has ceased to exist. I appeal to you in the name of common sense. At this moment it is impossible to protect the interests of the country without some one in charge of the ministry of war and a secretary of interior; since it is impossible that the president of this assembly, who must preside over your deliberations, can at the same time perform executive duties that may be demanded of him at any instant. I do not wish to fatigue longer the attention of the assembly, and I conclude, praying that you will suspend the session for a moment and name a government, however provisional it may be, which may act until your further pleasure can be known. That is all I have to say.”

The President, (Rivero.) “The moment when the late ministry resigned their powers into the hands of the assembly, this body resumed them. In my opinion, although we have no precedent to guide us, when the sovereign assembly undertakes the functions of government, my authority should be sufficient until another is named. I, of course, may rightfully count upon the retiring ministers to assist me in the preservation of order until their successors are named. Relying on their support, and accustomed to preserve my equanimity in the most trying circumstances, there is no occasion whatever for the observations with which Mr. Zorrilla has interrupted the debate. If there is perturbation in Madrid, if disturbances happen in the provinces, I shall rely upon the ministers to suppress them, during the short period in which their assistance will be necessary. Is it possible, sovereign Cortes, that the functions of government can become inanimate? At the worst, this situation cannot last more than an hour or two, allowing to this debate the amplitude that the patriotism of the chamber may deem necessary. I am sure that we are all anxious to hasten the formation of a government, [Yes! Yes!] and that within two hours we shall have a government greater and stronger than we have ever had, invigorated by the co-operation of all the representatives of the country. Is this not enough? In order not to interrupt the discussion, I propose a very simple remedy—that we agree at once that the late cabinet resume their seats on the ministerial bench, exercising executive functions until the assembly names their successors.”

The proposition was approved by the chamber.

Zorrilla. “I ask the floor.” [Murmurs.]

The President. “Order! Gentlemen of the late cabinet: in the name of the country and of the national assembly, I ask you to take your places on the ministerial bench, and discharge the functions of your separate offices.”

Martos. “I ask the floor.”

The President. “The question is not debatable. In the name of the assembly, and to support its authority, I insist that the late ministers obey.”

Zorrilla. “I am not disposed to go to the ministerial bench, although all my companions should do so, and your excellency will permit me to explain myself on this point.” [Violent demonstration.]

The President. “The ministers will be pleased to go to their bench.”

Zorrilla. “Take notice that I have resigned.”

Fernandez de las Cuevas, (addressing the president.) “Who has given to your excellency a dictatorship?”

Martos. “Mr. President, here in my place as a deputy, I demand to speak.”

Figueras. “I demand to speak.” [Agitation.]

The President. There is no debate.”

Figueras. “Permit me, your excellency, to say that the country demands from the assembly that it shall choose a government.”

Martos. “Who strips me of my right as a deputy? Nobody in the world shall do it. [Applause in some benches.] Have I the floor, Mr. President?”

The President. “I will speak now, and afterward you may address the house. It is best to be calm when we are discussing questions of such gravity. This is the position of the president. He believed, and believes, that all powers devolved upon him in the name of the assembly. [No! No!] I am mistaken. I believed it my duty, as the president of a sovereign assembly, to exercise gubernatorial authority. [Noisy interruptions.] It is expedient that you hear me—above all for the sake of public order. I believe that, as events have happened here, analogous to those which have transpired in like circumstances in other countries, we may adopt the means elsewhere taken. What have we here? Two co-ordinate legislative bodies, assuming in joint session the national sovereignty. The executive has resigned, and I ask who else than the president of the assembly, until a ministry be appointed, can exercise executive authority? [Many deputies: ‘Yes; yes;’ others: ‘No; no.’ Confusion.] If you will not hear me I retire. You see that I am calm. Maintain the same calmness that I preserve. Do you think that it is from pride on my part that I desire to govern, as if my duties as presiding officer of this body were not weighty enough for my strength? Have you not ordered that the late ministers should retain their functions until the appointment of their successors? Has this not been agreed to? [Protests.] If you believe the proposition has not been approved, I will submit it to another vote. [A voice: ‘The ministers refuse to accept.’] Is the proposition agreed to? [Many voices: ‘Yes; yes.’] Well, then, I believed, relying on their patriotism, that the ministers would resume their places and discharge their duties, however difficult. Had I not a right to rely upon their acceptance? Will they not obey the order of the assembly, and accept the trust and confidence which this vote signifies? Do they accept or not?”

Martos. “I demand the floor.”

The President. “Well, then, you may speak, and I leave to you the responsibility, trusting to your patriotism and prudence for a due consideration of the circumstances surrounding us.”

Martos. “I shall speak with a moderation required by circumstances, and with the respect and consideration I owe to the assembly. I begin by declaring that I have witnessed with grief an incident I have not provoked, and for which I have not the least responsibility. I have only insisted upon my right as a deputy, which is at last conceded to me, after an undue resistance that might have been wisely avoided. It is not well that, against the will of all, tyranny should begin the day that monarchy ends.” [President Rivero here left the chair, which was occupied by Figuerola, of the senate. Several deputies made unavailing efforts to dissuade Mr. Rivero from leaving the chamber.]

“Believe me, gentlemen, that neither of my worthy colleagues in the late cabinet is capable of declining any responsibility, above all in difficult circumstances. Bat it seems to me, and I shall rejoice if in this I was mistaken, that an imperious demand was made of us to assume certain functions. If we had been invited in a different tone to assume those powers, we might have obeyed, yielding to the desire and the vote of this sovereign assembly. In the name, then, of my esteemed colleagues, I have to say that, having received an authority from the late King, and His Majesty’s functions having ceased by reason of his abdication, our duties ceased when that abdication was accepted by the Cortes. Recognizing the sovereignty of this assembly as superseding that of the King, we resigned into the hands of the Spanish Cortes the power we had received from His Majesty. What are we considering now? The creation of an authority responsible for order, in which we are all equally and deeply interested. On this point I have done nothing more than defend my prerogative, and I appeal to the chamber to say whether I should be worthy of a place among them for an instant, if I had failed to repel the obstacles interposed to the free exercise of my right as a deputy.”

Ramos Calderon. “I ask the floor.”

The President, (Figuerola.) “I appeal to the prudence of Mr. Martos, in order that to-day we may not have speeches, but acts.”

Martos. “I have but little to add; I have not been able to consult my colleagues, but they inform me that they agree with what I have said. I maintain that the assembly is sovereign, that sovereignty is authority, and that authority is responsibility and obligation. The executive duties springing out of the present situation devolve upon the presidency of the Cortes a moral obligation, resting at the same time upon each and every one of us, and which I accept tor my own part, to sustain the president of this assembly in the measures he may see fit to adopt. For the maintenance of public order, means are at the disposition of the representative of the Cortes, or of whomsoever may be charged with the exercise of its power. It is not necessary to this end that we should resume our seats on the ministerial bench. Here in our proper places we are at the service of the president of the assembly and the country. In conclusion, gentlemen, it should be observed that one branch of the proposition we are considering provides for the nomination of a government. And I appeal to my friend, Mr. Zorrilla, and to all in this assembly, that we lay aside all motives of discord, and withdraw as I withdraw on my part, the harsh expressions I may have uttered in defense of my right as a deputy. I beg that all may say as I say, let us vote the proposition and create a government.”

President Figuerola. “After the noble words of Mr. Martos, and believing myself a faithful interpreter of the wishes of the president of the assembly, I trust that whatever he may have said may be interpreted in a like manner, inasmuch as it was only his intention, in which I am sure the assembly coincided, that we should not remain without a recognized authority. Appreciating as I do the motives of delicacy influencing the members of the retiring cabinet in hesitating to resume their functions, and as the assembly cannot oblige them to do so, I appeal to their patriotism to lay aside all questions of form, and if it be only for an hour, to take their places on the ministerial bench, and provide the necessary safeguards for public order. I beg, therefore, that these gentlemen will comply with the resolution of the assembly for no other reason than that it is the expressed wish of this body.”

Martos. “We have not desired to occupy the ministerial bench because the assembly is about to adopt grave and important measures in which we desire to take part, and because there is no necessity for the action suggested. But if, notwithstanding, it be the wish of the assembly, for one, I will not refuse.”

President Figuerola. “I pray that Mr. Martos and his colleagues of the cabinet will exercise the executive functions intrusted to them by the assembly.”

Martos. “It is unnecessary that we leave our seats. For the satisfaction of the president I will add that we are transacting business through the sub-secretaries of the departments, and that General Cordova, not as minister, but as general of the army, and as a patriot, is present in the war office taking care of the interests in its charge.”

The committees to present the message of the Cortes, and to accompany the King to the frontier, were then announced by the president.

President Figuerola. “The gentlemen designated are requested to hold themselves in readiness to present the message to the King, as well as to accompany His Majesty at the hour fixed for his departure.”

Zorrilla. “I beg the president to permit me to say a few words in relation to the incident just occurred, and that I have provoked. I shall be brief. The president proposed that the retiring ministers should continue in their places, and I wish it to be understood that I cannot accede to this request while the proposition under consideration is pending. I have no desire to prolong the debate, but I believe it indispensable that there should be some constitutional authority, and above all, in the war and interior departments. Although I cannot myself yield to the wish of the president, I have said to my colleagues that they should place themselves at the disposition of the assembly; for it is absolutely indispensable that this assembly name somebody who can instruct a provincial governor, or a general, as to what he should do”— (Loud interruption, which made it impossible to hear the speaker, who sat down.)

Mr. Olave. “We would have had a government before now if your excellency had not interrupted the discussion.”

Many members here demanded the floor, and there was great agitation.

Mr. Figueras. “I ask to speak upon this incident.”

The President. “The incident is terminated. Señor Bazzanallana has the floor on the main proposition, and I beg him to be brief.”

Marquis de Bazzanallana. “The president knows, by long experience, with what deference I always yield to his suggestions. This is a day to be brief in speech but abundant in deeds. For this reason I was silent in the senate, waiting our presence here to make known our attitude in the present circumstances. For the same reason my friend, Mr. Suarez Inclán, remained silent. We are asked to vote a form of government we have never believed in. We are asked to assist in establishing a republic. We can bow our heads before the force of events, and overlook irregularities to which we have in no manner contributed. I shall not undertake to reply to the arguments of Mr. Pi y Margall. Inspired only by sentiments of patriotism, we offer our co-operation to the end that the government which maybe established shall be strong, and have the means necessary to give order and peace to this unfortunate nation. We are not republicans; we shall vote against the republic. And we trust that the republican party will find no reason in what may happen to the country to abate their pretensions. So far as we have yet got into this century, the republic is the only form of government not yet tried in Spain. The country thinks it can make the experiment. I say, ‘Consistent republicans, you who have in your ranks great orators and illustrious writers, God grant you may prove you possess great statesmen!’ If this happen, it would demonstrate that our calamities do not spring from governments, but result from intrinsic causes, all the more easily alleviated now that the last effort is to be made.”

Marquis de Sardoal. “My speech will have the brevity demanded by the circumstances. I have risen for myself and for the Duke of Veragua and other Mends, to explain the meaning of our votes. You will understand that, being yesterday monarchists, we continue to be so; that those of us who have heretofore believed liberty compatible with monarchy, do not admit that the accident of the abdication of the late King has affected the principle which constitutes the foundation of our opinions. We cannot say to those who have always been republicans that our monarchical faith is impaired. Such a declaration would justify your suspicious, and we desire to retain your respect. The situation is difficult, the country and social order are menaced and impel us to action; we shall yield to the exigency, as far as our dignity permits, because above our opinions and antecedents is the welfare of Spain. Comprehending that the monarchy we have defended is now impossible, comprehending that monarchy is not an abstraction and can only be realized in the establishment of a dynasty, and this being here and now impracticable, we vote the republic. We shall vote it because we do not see that a monarchy is possible in Spain under present circumstances, and we prefer an honorable affirmation to a shameful negative. We are not among those who will pretend to march with your leaders. We shall be with you as soldiers in the ranks, uniting with you in the love of country and of liberty and social order. Our vote has still another aspect. Foregoing forms which, under other circumstances, we might deem indispensable, we recognize the imperious necessity of depositing the government, now abandoned, in some hands, and, therefore, we shall vote the republic; but with the understanding that your power will not extend beyond the moment when the constitutional convention that will be elected shall have met and shall have determined the form of government to be permanently founded. We radicals cannot suffer our party to appear less noble and worthy than the others, and, therefore, in acting as I have said we propose to act, we believe our course honorable, yielding, for the present, our opinions to the welfare of the country and the consolidation of its liberties.

Martos. “Gentlemen, all the great interests of the nation impel us to move promptly to a solution. A few hours ago we were under a monarchy; now we have an interregnum. Let us fill the void. And it is fortunate that we are here giving an example the like of which I do not recall in the history of any other nation. Without violence, without tumult, without the effusion of blood, without external pressure, a free vote will be taken, uninfluenced by a single act of force. If violence be attempted we will all rally to the defense of law and order. I know of no example in which, without public disorders, a monarchy has given way to a republic; and I say this in glory of the Spanish nation that has thus shown itself to be a people worthy of achieving and maintaining liberty. This good fortune at the same time illustrates the power and virtue of the democratic principle enshrined in our constitution; those individual rights which have taken root in our soil and which, whatever changes may occur, will still be found in the convictions and in the life of Spanish society. We are not to consider that the radical party, containing elements of various antecedents, admits the incompatibility of liberty with monarchy. What the Marquis of Sardoal has said for himself and some of his friends, he might have declared in the name of all the radical party. Yes; we who have not desired the grave event of this day—who deplore it bitterly, confiding, as we have, in the salvation of liberty with the Savoy dynasty, which we defended and supported with all our will—we are not undergoing a sudden transformation in our opinions. Let it then be recorded, since it is best that we reach a republic solution without deceiving ourselves, that we continue to believe what we have ever believed. We have not taken the initiative in proposing the republic, however true it may be that several of my associates have signed the proposition under consideration. Why? Because it was the duty of those who have been heretofore republicans to say: ‘The moment has arrived to proclaim the republic!’ It was their right to take the initiative and declare that the situation of Spain at this moment demanded a republic. They have done so. Consider then, my radical friends, let all the partisans of monarchy bear in mind, not that which would be most acceptable to us—for who, in these circumstances, can hesitate to regard before all the interests of the country—but that which the country has a right to expect of us as a party and as a social power. Is it possible for those who have ever defended liberty to exclaim, in a supreme moment, ‘I have been wrong; I despair; I abdicate?’ Never! Even the highest in authority may resign power, but the dignity of a political party forbids that it shall renounce its responsibilities. Therefore we are here without disparagement of our consistency or of our honor, to fulfill a great obligation. I rejoice that the republican party receives us, and I rejoice in this, above all, for the sake of the country and of liberty. But, let it be understood that in contributing to your ends we have only consulted our duty. I respect all opinions, as I desire that mine may be respected. I say, without taking an initiative in the proposition under discussion, that we accept it and shall vote it. [Great applause.] The republic will be order and peace. And herein we are united—the republicans of yesterday and the monarchists up to this hour are all republicans from to-morrow, to save democracy, liberty, and all the interests of society. Before resuming my seat I must say to you, I respect the worthy conduct of our illustrious friend, Mr. Zorrilla, who, in declining to take part in the government, makes the most honorable of sacrifices. Would that he had yielded to the supplications we have all addressed to him to accept office.”

Zorrilla. “I shall not trouble the chamber long, and I begin by saying that I do not regret having given rise to the recent incident, seeing that, contrary to my anticipations, this proposition is about to be voted, and that the wishes of the chamber may be thus fulfilled. Nor would I have troubled the chamber at all, notwithstanding the allusion made to me by Mr. Martos, had I not felt impelled to discharge an imperious duty. I did not believe this afternoon that I could or should occupy my seat on the minister’s bench after the King’s abdication was accepted. I felt I could not, I should not, and even if I had done so I could not have accepted the republic. Neither am I a monarchist; and this is my misfortune. I must, however, say here that all my sympathies are with those who are at the side of liberty. Why should I wish to deceive anybody? Why should I occupy myself to-night in conciliating others? Why? To-day I finish my political career, as once before I desired to end it, having returned to public life against my will. No, gentlemen, the crowning shame for those who made the revolution of September would be the restoration, with its blunders and its impotence.”

Mr. Esteban Collantes, interrupting the speaker, demanded the floor for a personal allusion.

Mr. Zorrilla continued. “I am sorry that Mr. Esteban Collantes is constrained to ask the floor. But what would he have me do? Why do the representatives of the reactionary party incommode themselves, since it is they who have placed every obstacle to the establishment of a monarchy? If I remained silent, my silence might afford nutriment to the hope of a restoration in which I have never believed, and which now more than ever seems to me impossible. What does Mr. Collantes wish? Now that I am about to retire from public life, all my days and evermore a liberal; and having always practiced liberal principles while in power, why should I not now, as I have done in other critical times, say, ‘God speed liberty!’ A liberty that I trust may be a reality in my country. This cannot be; and for this I neither reproach the republicans nor the conservatives. The former know what I said to them in the morning, and the latter what I said at night. I regret to have dwelt so long upon this; but I believe you will pardon me for it, as well as for the disorder in my ideas. You don’t know what I have suffered in these last eight days. I shall conclude by defining my position with offense to no one, and respecting the conduct of all. I believe that he who as president of the constituent Cortes most of all influenced the establishment of the monarchy, that he who went to Italy to offer the crown to the Duke of Aosta, that he who has been minister of the King and twice president of the council of ministers, that he who has given the pledges that I have given, and who is placed in the situation in which I find myself, that he who cherishes the personal regard that I have professed for the late King—and my colleagues know it well—for they know that I have supported the dynasty and monarchy in the Tertulia club, and that I have been a liberal and a radical in the palace; he who has been thus placed and who now finds Myself here, and who after all this has no faith, as I have had none for a year or more, neither in parties nor in men, could have no motive under existing circumstances to remain in public life unless he believed he could in some manner contribute to the triumph and consolidation of liberty. But I would be worthless in the realization of this dream. I retire, then, gentlemen, to private life; but I cannot do less than add a few more words, for one cannot abandon in a moment the inclinations and the feelings one has had during a lifetime. My party elected me its chief, and those of them who are here, and those who find themselves elsewhere, are at liberty to make for the port they find most agreeable. As to the situation of my country, I wish to record that the only way in which republicans and monarchists could have allied liberty and order was to have supported resolutely, each within their sphere, the dynasty of Savoy. At the same time I wish it to be recorded that neither the liberals nor the republicans have overthrown the dynasty. When it was proposed to suspend the constitution upon the allegation that anarchy menaced the country, I could not comprehend how that government could have wished these guarantees suspended, when precisely those who provoked the anarchy were the advocates of the measure. (Mr. Ulloa demanded the floor.) I do not make allusions to anybody, I conclude, I am a monarchial partisan of the dynasty of King Amadeo, of Savoy. I have been his president of the council of ministers—and I do not recognize my right to be anything else. I desire good fortune and felicity for those who are here charged with the duty of guarding liberty. All the world knows where my sympathies go, and I need not affirm them. I have done.

Esteban Collantes. “Do not apprehend, gentlemen, that I shall have anything to say, dissenting from the noble and patriotic declaration of my worthy friends Señores Salaverria and Marquis de Bazzanallana. I would not have added a word, because we know how critical are the circumstances, and my friends agree in believing that the first as a deputy and the second as a senator have given full expression to our patriotic convictions. I shall therefore be brief, clear, and concise, confining myself strictly to the allusion made to me. I regret at this moment to appear as an antagonist of Mr. Zorrilla, whom I esteem and with whom I desire no conflict to-day, as he has said he is about to retire from public life. All public men have obligations to fulfill; I find no reason to shrink from those imposed on me four years ago, as a true monarchist, as a supporter of a dynasty that I served in its days, but a dynasty in whose palace I did not set foot from July 17, 1854, until I saw it in exile. Thus one may say that he is a monarchist. Thus one may say that he had pledges voluntarily contracted and which he knew how to fulfill without abandoning his convictions in moments of disaster. What has happened, gentlemen? An elective monarch has abdicated the crown. Did we invite him here? Have my friends contributed to his departure? Has he abandoned the throne because we have been factious? What has been the attitude of the conservative minority; not only in this but in all the legislatures of the late dynasty? Their conduct may stand as a model for the past and for the present, and I point to it as an example for the future. Have we conspired against a monarchy that we have neither brought here nor have recognized? Nevertheless there have been conspiracies of one sort or another against this monarchy, originating in various political parties. When Don Amadeo renounced the crown, we did not oppose the proposition to pay him a tribute of courtesy and respect, because Don Amadeo had been seated on the throne of Ferdinand and Isabella. The policy that I offer to my friends, whose aptitude and intelligence enables them to see their duty better than I can point it out, is that they should know how to await their triumph. The radicals have given success to the republicans. Who knows but what the republicans may give it to us. Let us await events. Republicans you are on the threshold of power. Promote the welfare of the country and we shall not stint you in our applause nor refuse you our sympathies if the country is happy and prosperous. But if, unfortunately, the day shall come in which you are yourselves convinced, as Don Amadeo was convinced, that the republic is impossible, let it be understood that there is a Spanish prince in whom the country sees its future, its felicity, and its welfare. I reserve for the prince Don Alfonso all my affections, my constancy, and my loyalty. Don Amadeo leaves us, we being the only ones who have never conspired against his authority, although we have never recognized it. He leaves us because he has learned that he had no other supporters than they who were monarchists and partisans of his dynasty only while he gave them power, and who turned against him the moment he changed his cabinet. Therefore he renounced the crown. Remember our conduct to-day that you may follow it to-morrow if you fail in your undertaking. We do not favor the republic. We are true monarchists, but we are no obstacle in your efforts to promote the happiness of the country, if this be compatible with your doctrines. We all find a lesson and a reproach in the events now passing. If we do not profit by them to promote the happiness of Spain, we are lost without remedy. At all events history will judge us and do justice to the rectitude of our intentions and the nobleness of our acts.”

Alvarez Bugallal. “Only two words, gentlemen. Mr. Martos has said, with the frankness that distinguishes him, and with the authority that belongs to him as a member of the committee that reported the constitution, that the proposition under consideration is openly in conflict with the supreme law. The pending proposition submits to the deliberation of the two chambers united that which the chambers, whether united or separate, are notoriously and absolutely incompetent and powerless to decide in conformity with the fundamental law of the state. If your first act in establishing a republic is a violation of the fundamental law, with what right, with what authority can you hope to dominate hostile factions? Following Mr. Martos you will call the legal procedure I invoke useless scruples, superstitions, and pharasaical respect for legal forms; nevertheless, these only can it sanction with my vote and presence. Ah, gentlemen, to a scrupulous regard for forms of procedure, to a blind submission to the healthful delays characteristic of strictly legal courses, old England owes the undisputed and indisputable liberty which she enjoys. To the system of public safety and of improvised institutions, to the disregard of all forms and of all legal procedure, France owes, and the Spain of our time owes, that series of fruitless revolutions and shameful dictatorships in which we have lived, and in which we continue to consign ourselves.”

Mr. Ulloa. “I am sure, gentlemen, that you will have appreciated not only the sobriety and the patriotism with which those on the conservative side of the chamber have participated in this debate. Not a word of recrimination has passed our lips, although rightly we might have indulged in them. But we never could have imagined anything so foolish and insane from anybody as the spectacle we have just witnessed, of an accuser bringing charges against us, when he himself should have been in the prisoner’s box, the object of just accusation. Can anybody in the world doubt, after the speeches of Mr. Zorrilla, who is the author of the tremendous crisis in which we are involved, or who it is that has destroyed the dynasty and monarchy of Savoy? [Many deputies: ‘You, you! Never, never!’ Noises.] I appeal to you on all sides of the chamber, whatever your politics may be, and however we may differ, and call on you to say, with your hands on your hearts, if we have not been insulted by Mr. Zorrilla. [Many-deputies: ‘No, no!’] No? Will Mr. Zorrilla venture to deny it? What did he mean when he said that the dynasty and the monarchy had fallen, not by the hands of republicans or of radicals, but that it was the work of the men and the party that had demanded, in grave and solemn moments for the country, the suspension of constitutional guarantees?”

Zorrilla. “I have not said that.”

Ulloa. “Mr. Zorrilla forgets himself; if not in those words, in words involving the same meaning. [Many deputies: ‘Let us vote as soon as this speech is finished.’] I am all the more surprised, inasmuch as Mr. Zorrilla knows, and admitted yesterday, when he yet thought it possible to maintain the dynasty—right well he knows with what warmth, with what disinterestedness, the conservative party offered him their support. How could I have believed, gentlemen, that to-day, a day that began happily for the new era, and that is ending disastrously for the country, we should be made the target for the wrath of Mr. Zorrilla? In view of the temper of the house, and having made this protest, demanded by self-respect and the dignity and decorum of the party I represent, I resume my seat.”

Many Deputies. “Vote! vote!”

Zorrilla. “I ask the floor.” [Loud murmurs.]

Vice-President Gomez. “Your excellency has the floor, and the chair begs you to be as brief as possible, in order to calm the anxiety of the chamber.”

Zorrilla. “I have only to say to Mr. Estaban Collantes that I applaud his speech as an act of courage, and to make a single remark in reply to Mr. Ulloa. I have not discussed the circumstances under which he and his friends advised the suspension of the constitution. I referred to the general belief that we would be compelled to resort to the measure we had rejected. If his excellency desired to make a speech, he had no occasion to seek a pretext in what I said, in order to obtain the floor. I did not say that the conservative party was responsible for the fall of the dynasty of Savoy. In making a comparison, I said the fault is not with the republicans; it belongs to the monarchists. Whoever is guilty knows it. As to the offer of yesterday on the part of the friends of the honorable gentleman, it is unnecessary for me to speak of it here. There were three offers, and I do not wish to discuss them now. When the time comes to speak of each one of the three, I will then say to the country what I think proper of them.”

Many Deputies. “Vote! vote!”

Castelar. “Two words—because the exigency and the gravity of the moment do not permit me to say more. Gentlemen, the republican party does not claim the glory that might belong to it of having destroyed the monarchy. Nor can we permit you to throw upon us the responsibility of this grave situation. No; nobody has destroyed the monarchy in Spain, nobody has killed it. In contributing to improve the opportunity before us I cannot in my conscience claim any merit in destroying the monarchy. The monarchy died by internal decomposition. The monarchy dies without any one having contributed to its death. It dies by the providence of God. With Ferdinand the Seventh fell the traditional monarchy. With the flight of Isabel the Second disappeared the parliamentary monarchy. With the renunciation of Don Amadeo of Savoy the elective monarchy falls. No one destroyed it. It died of natural causes. Nobody has brought the republic into being. It is the creation of circumstances. It comes from a conjuncture of society and nature and history. Let us salute it as the sun that rises by its own gravitation in the horizon of our country.” [Great applause.]

The proposition was then read a second time. A division of the question was demanded. The secretary read the first paragraph, in the following words:

“The national assembly, assuming all powers, declares the form of government of the nation to be republican, leaving to a constitutional convention the organization of this form of government.”

Mr. Ardanaz. “This is the first part—the form of government. Read the second.”

The secretary read as follows:

“And an executive power shall be named directly by the assembly, removable by and responsible to this body.”

Vice-President Gomez. “The house will proceed to vote on the first branch of the proposition.”

Calderon Collantes. “In my judgment the proposition contains three parts: first, that which declares that the Cortes assume all public powers; second, that which establishes the form of government; third, that which provides for an executive authority.”

Figueras. “I ask the floor to say two words to my friend Mr. Calderon Collantes. I am sure Mr. Collantes, appreciating my good faith, will accept the explanations I am about to give. If the assembly had not already taken action prejudging in fact the first proposition, the demand for the division of the motion into three parts would be admissible. But in view of the circumstance that the senate is here, and that, together with the chamber, one assembly is thereby constituted, denominating itself the National Assembly of Spain, we have virtually assumed in this action that this body is the sole representative of the sovereignty, and that it possesses within itself supreme power.”

Calderon Collantes. “This is not denied, and in this sense I shall vote.”

Figueras. “I understand the object of Mr. Collantes. He says, and with reason, ‘We find in this proposition a clause that we can approve, and for which we will vote. We find another which we cannot approve, since it is in conflict with our principles, and therefore we demand a division of the question.’ Granted, the gentleman and his friends may, however, accept the proposition as it stands, because the first branch of it to which they might dissent only asserts an existing fact. If this vote had preceded the union of the two bodies, the gentleman and his friends might have desired to place themselves on record as questioning the proceeding. But in view of the declarations made, and the sense in which they are accepted by the house, it would seem that the attitude of his excellency and his associates, cannot be misunderstood.”

The first branch of the proposition was then adopted—258 in the affirmative, 32 in the negative.

Figueras. “I ask the floor.”

The President. “You have it.”

Figueras. “We have voted the first branch of the proposition declaring the form of government of the Spanish nation decreed by the representatives of the people. And, gentlemen, I think that our first act should be to announce these joyous tidings to the governor of Madrid and to the authorities of the province and the city. Let the announcement be made also by telegraph to the civil and military authorities of all the provinces of Spain, and likewise to all the governments with whom we maintain good relations. This act will be the rainbow of peace and concord for all good Spaniards. And this done, permit me, representatives of the people, in no tone of triumph nor of reproach, but because after so many years of struggle we have attained a form of government in which I believe the liberty and happiness of my country are incarnate, permit me to conclude these brief words saying only once, ‘Long live the republic!’” [Loud cries, “Viva! viva! viva!” and great applause.]

The second branch of the proposition was then approved without a division.

The President. “It seems to me proper that the session should be suspended, for the purpose of informal consultation preparatory to voting for the organization of the executive power.”

This was agreed to; and at a quarter past 9 there was a recess.

At 12 o’clock midnight the sitting was resumed, when several members asked leave to record their votes in the affirmative on the proposition establishing a republic; which was given.

The President. “The assembly will now proceed to vote for those who will constitute the executive power.”

The ballots having been counted and compared with the list of voters, and duly canvassed, it appeared that the whole number of ballots was 256, which were cast as follows:

President, Figueras	244
Secretary of State, Castelar	245
Interior, Pi y Margall	243
Grace and Justice, Nicolas Salmeron	242
Finance, José Echegaray	242
War, Lieutenant-General Cardova	239
Navy, Admiral Beranger	246
Public works, Manuel Becerra	233
Colonies, Francisco Salmeron	238

The remainder of the votes were scattering.

Vice-President Gomez. “Having received a majority of all the votes cast, Mr. Figueras is declared duly elected president. Messrs. Castelar, Pi y Margall, Nicolas Salmeron, Echegaray, Cordova, Beranger, Becerra, and Francisco Salmeron are declared duly elected ministers of the several departments for which they have been respectively designated. The gentlemen chosen will take the official seats assigned to them in the chamber.”

The members of the government having taken their places on the ministerial bench, there was loud and long-continued applause in the chamber and in the tribunes.

Martos. “Hurrah for the republic! Hurrah for the integrity of the Spanish nation! Hurrah for Cuba! And I hope this greeting of the Spanish Cortes to Cuba may be sent there by telegraph!”

The chamber responded to these cheers with extraordinary enthusiasm.

The President of the Executive Power, (Figueras.) “Gentlemen of the Spanish Cortes: No one will expect from me a long speech. No one asks, for no one believes it necessary, that I should now put forth a programme. Our programme is in our names, our lives, our history. Nevertheless, at an early day we shall communicate to the Cortes what we propose to do. I am unfitted to address you in the state of moral and physical exhaustion in which I find myself after the anxieties of the last forty-eight hours. Weighed down by what has passed, oppressed by the immense responsibility you have placed upon me and my colleagues, I cannot speak. I know full well that in conferring upon me the great distinction I have to acknowledge at your hands, you have been moved by the consideration that my life has been devoted to the republic. The preference that I have received among my colleagues is due to the seniority of my service, unmerited though it be by anything I have done. There is, however, one to whom, if he could have been present, this honor would have justly belonged. I allude to the unforgotten Marquis of Albaida,^* the veteran of Spanish republicans. We approach the requirements of our position in the integrity of our principles, with a firm purpose of adhering to them with sincerity. We shall address ourselves above all to the needs of public order, indispensable to the establishment of a republican government in Spain. The views of those of my colleagues who have heretofore belonged to the republican party respecting the forms and the manner of developing a republican government, are known to the country. Yielding to the presence of events, we reserve our opinions, leaving to the coming constitutional convention the establishment of the definitive form of the republic. And in order that this may be done with stability, and that the voice of the nation may be freely expressed, it is necessary above all that the electoral franchise may be honestly and fairly exercised. We are resolved, and all my colleagues unite with me in this declaration, that the approaching elections shall be conducted in perfect regularity and with the most ample liberty. If the result of these elections shall not be in conformity with our principles in relation to the manner in which we think the republic should be constituted, knowing, as you do, what belongs to political consistency, and speaking only in the name of those of my colleagues who have heretofore belonged to the republican party, I need scarcely say that in that event we shall pass from this bench to yonder seats we have occupied so many years. For the information of the chamber, and in honor of Spain, allow me to read a telegram just now put in my hands: ‘From the information received by the chief of the bureau of public order in the ministry of the interior, it appears that tranquillity reigns throughout Spain, with the single exception of a momentary tumult in Seville, which was immediately pacified.’ When a people accomplish so admirably a great change from a monarchy to a republic, without the effusion of blood, without disorder, and without violence, this people give the most signal proof of its aptitude for liberty and the amplest guarantees that the republic is definitively accepted as our form of government in Spain. This change, that cannot but influence the politics of Western Europe, since it is the destiny of our race always to exercise such influences even in periods of our depression—these events, gentlemen, fill my heart with joy, in which you must all equally share, because we believe that we see in them an assurance that the republic is finally established in our land. I trust, gentlemen, to your indulgence in these somewhat incoherent observations, and that you will await our acts and judge us by them, promising only that they shall have for their sincere purpose the maintenance of the republic, of liberty, of order, and of the integrity of all the territory of Spain.”

The sitting terminated at half-past two in the morning.

In concluding this sketch of the proceedings of Congress on the eventful days of the King’s abdication, and the proclamation of the republic, I may be permitted to point out the signal parliamentary ability shown by the republican leaders, Figueras, Pi Margall, and Castelar, in the direction they gave to the proceedings of the assembly. The abdication of the King seems to have found the monarchical elements wholly unprepared for the exigency. The republican leaders, on the other hand, as if anticipating the event, had their plans well arranged, a part assigned to each beforehand, and all contingencies provided for, so that even in regard to matters of parliamentary form, no chance was left to their opponents to resist the consummation of the work boldly undertaken, and adroitly accomplished. For this campaign the republican chiefs were fitted by an ardent faith in their cause, and by long experience in the legislature where they have ever distinguished themselves, not only for their strength in debate, but for their assiduous application to the business of Congress.

There was but one moment in these protracted sittings, which I have thus imperfectly reported, in which the serenity and calmness of a deliberative body was in the least disturbed. Mr. Zorrilla’s attitude opposing action so tenaciously on the proposition of Mr. Figueras for a permanent session, and insisting upon an adjournment for the purpose of appointing a provisional government, was so in conflict with the obvious temper of the chamber, and apparently prompted by a desire to defeat the views of those who favored a republic, that it seemed at one time as if the impatience of the assembly and the hostile attitude of the multitude without might have stained the history of the event with acts of violence. But it deserves to be recorded that in this line of action Mr. Zorrilla had no followers, and he was patiently suffered to exhaust his means of resistance without disturbing the tranquillity of the occasion.

The monarchy had ceased to retain any hold upon Congress, and, I may add, upon a majority of the Spanish people. The dynasty of Amadeo had never gained the favor of the only real monarchists in this country. It cannot be denied that Don Carlos has numerous partisans in many provinces, and it may be admitted that not a few Spaniards look forward to the reign of Prince Alfonso. But the dynasty of Savoy gave offense to the supporters of the Spanish pretenders, and was especially repugnant to the liberal masses, hostile to any King, and, above all, disposed to resent the affront of being ruled by an alien. The late King was, therefore, never more than an expedient sought by General Prim to conciliate the monarchical traditions of Spain, without a due appreciation of his unfitness to reconcile the advocates of a throne, and with a still greater disregard of a growing public opinion that favored republican institutions.

The constitution of 1869 was essentially democratic. The 33d article, providing for a hereditary executive, was an exotic engrafted on a native plant. Congress, with plenary legislative power, was chosen by universal suffrage. The provincial assemblies and the municipal authorities were likewise elected by the people in their respective localities. The aristocracy ceased to exist as a political element in the state. Their ancient privileges were annulled. The equality of all men before the law was formally recognized. Religious freedom was proclaimed. So that for the past four years the Spanish people had become prepared for the complete development of free institutions, the legitimate conquest of the revolution of 1868. If it were appropriate in this dispatch, I might amplify these views by reference to the constitutions of 1837, 1820, and 1812, in each of which may be observed the successive steps by which the government of Spain has gradually approached a democratic form.

The throne has never recovered from the blow it dealt itself in the surrender of Spain to Napoleon by Ferdinand the Seventh; an act which involved the countless sacrifices of the war of independence, in which the germ of Spanish liberty re-appeared. On the death of Ferdinand in 1832, seven years of cvil war were necessary to decide the succession between Isabel and Don Carlos. The unhappy reign that followed was a poor compensation for all that it cost to place the young Queen on the throne. The memory of that dreadful conflict and the vicissitudes through which the country passed down to the revolution of 1868, contributed largely to swell the ranks of those who professed republican opinions. Driven from power and exiled, almost without resistance or remonstrance or regret, the fall of the Bourbons finds its only parallel in Spanish history in the suddenness and indifference with which the late dynasty disappeared.

It may be expected that I should refer to the more immediate causes said to have contributed to the abdication of the late King. Conspicuous among these is the law for the emancipation of slavery in Porto Rico. As soon as it became apparent that Mr. Zorrilla’s cabinet seriously entertained the purpose of passing this measure, giving to it the support of the Crown, the project was made the pretext for the formation of a “league,” in which all parties in Spain, except the republicans and the radicals, were influentially represented. Carlists, Alfonsists, conservatives, forgetful of all differences, united in this organization. It embraced Marshal Serrano, Admiral Topete, Mr. Sagasta, General Caballero de Rodas, hitherto supporters of the dynasty, besides a number of generals and cabinet ministers of Isabella. Nor was the adhesion and support of the leading Carlists in arms in the distant provinces rejected.

The league was understood to command ample pecuniary resources. It at once obtained the support of a large majority of the journals in Madrid and in the other principal towns. It established corresponding organizations throughout Spain. Failing in alternate efforts to dissuade and to intimidate the cabinet from proceeding with the emancipation project, a formal demand was addressed to the King invoking his interposition. The King declined to interfere unless he should be enabled to do so constitutionally with the sanction of Parliament. From that moment His Majesty, abandoned by the conservative leaders who had united with General Prim in establishing the new dynasty, became the object of renewed and imbittered hostility at the hands of all the factions in Spain.

The first outbreak was seen in the streets of Madrid on the night of the 11th of December last, which was put down by the vigor and intrepidity of General Pavia. The efforts of the “league” were then directed to the disorganization and insubordination of the army. A pretext was soon found in the assignment of General Hidalgo to a command hi the north. This officer, it was said, had participated in the events of June, 1866, in which a number of artillery sergeants, in one of the Madrid barracks, having gained over their companies, undertook, at the instigation of General Prim, to compel their officers to join them in a revolutionary movement. As soon as the appointment of Hidalgo was announced, the artillery corps of the army, embracing several hundred officers of all grades, was induced to protest against the assignment of that officer to any duty in which he could exercise command over any portion of their arm of the service. I venture to call this a pretext, because, subsequent to the event of 1866, General Hidalgo held commands in Cuba and in Catalonia without objection from any quarter. Nevertheless, moved as is supposed by political influences with which they sympathized, and supported in their attitude by the “league,” through which a large sum of money had been raised for the maintenance of officers depending on their pay, the entire artillery corps of the army refused to serve under their commissions, tendered their resignations, and even those who were serving in front of the enemy demanded to be relieved from duty. Their resignations were accepted; sergeants were promoted to be company officers, and the superior grades filled by transfers from the engineers and infantry. The King was besought to undo these acts of the ministry, which were represented to have given profound dissatisfaction to the officers of the army.

His Majesty was told that the officers of the other corps would follow the example of the artillery, and that the army would be dissolved. Impressed with these considerations, the King seemed at one moment disposed to yield to the suggestions of those who deprecated the consequences apprehended, and it is believed that His Majesty contemplated calling conservative advisers to his councils. The ministers, anticipating trouble at the palace, adroitly submitted the matter to Congress, and having obtained the approbation of Parliament in their proceedings, presented to the King the decree for the dissolution of the artillery corps, under circumstances which left His Majesty no alternative but to sign it. On the following Saturday, as soon as the council of ministers held that day at the palace rose, the King requested the president, Mr. Zorrilla, to remain, and His Majesty then announced to the astonished minister his purpose to abdicate.

The republicans are indebted to their patience for their triumph. Resisting all inducements to precipitate action, the leaders diligently labored to spread their teaching aid strengthen their organization. Meanwhile the drift of the radicals was inevitably toward the republic. And when the league of reactionary factions by their fierce onslaught welded all the liberal elements together in the memorable emancipation vote on the 21st of December, the hours of Spanish monarchy were numbered. They “fed the pinion that impelled the steel.” Thus united and re-enforced the republicans form by far the most powerful party in this country, and will command a decisive majority in the Cortes Constituyentes.

The abdication of the King seems to have been heard with surprise in Rome, Paris, and London. In Washington you were not unprepared for the event. And although the King’s resolution was suddenly and somewhat abruptly announced, it is obvious that public opinion in this country had foreseen not only the fall of the dynasty, but also the advent of a republican form of government. It can scarcely be doubted that a serious struggle is imminent between the reactionary and the progressive forces in this country. Although the contest may be long, bitter, and bloody, there are abundant reasons for the belief that, without foreign intervention, the victory will remain with the friends of religious and political liberty. Monarchy retains much of the strength that tradition imparts in this country to its ancient customs. The Roman Catholic Church contributes, through the influence of its clergy, a large share of the strength shown by Don Carlos, the most formidable pretender to the throne. This prince is said to be very deficient in the qualities that attract men to a royal standard. In all the civil wars that have been carried on in his name during the past four years in Spain, he has remained at a safe distance on the French side of the frontier, appearing only once on a battle-field, that of Orevieta, in May last, from whence it was reported he led the retreat on a horse of great speed. For some three months afterward the whereabouts of His Majesty were unknown, but he has recently shown himself again on the French side of the frontier.

It has not escaped notice that the pretender and his supporters derive great advantage in being allowed to use the French Pyrenees as a base of operations for their inroads into Spain. Guerrilla parties and their officers, arms, and ammunition, military supplies of all sorts, pass the frontier into the Basque provinces, Aragon, and Catalonia. It is understood that the remonstrances which have been addressed by Spain to the French authorities on this subject have thus far proved ineffectual. The limited extent of the frontier, and the facility with which the few roads leading through the passes of the Pyrenees could be guarded, would seem to afford ample opportunity for the prevention of these operations if the French authorities were disposed to stop them.

You of course have not failed to observe the coldness with which the great European powers have treated the new government of Spain. This has naturally not been without its due effect here. It is understood that communications will be exchanged between Germany, Russia, and Austria on the subject before any action is taken, and their decision will doubtless be followed by England, France, and Italy. The territorial ambition attributed to a federal republic, the critical situation of Portugal, the provisional tenure of the present executive in Spain, and a due consideration for the sensibilities of the dynasty of Savoy, will suffice to enable the leading powers of Europe to delay recognition for some time. Our prompt action has done much to disarm the prejudices incited against us by the factions allied in the league, indicating as it does the disinterested friendship and sympathy of the United States shown toward a form of government best calculated to conciliate the elements in Cuba and Porto Rico heretofore hostile to Spanish domination.

The origin and character of the Spanish Republic furnished conclusive titles to recognition and respect. It was not proclaimed in the streets. It was not the doing of a mob. It was not ushered in with tumult, and disorder, and blood. It was the work of a deliberative assembly, legitimate representatives of the people, invested with constitutional power to substitute an executive authority for that which had ceased to exist by reason of the abdication of the King. The fall of the late dynasty was not the result of armed force. It was the voluntary act of the monarch, from which his ministers in vain endeavored to dissuade him. The Cortes heard with profound attention and perfect calmness the reasons assigned by His Majesty for his course, hi the message of abdication. And with entire unanimity and decorum Congress approved of an address accepting the renunciation of the crown, written and read by Castelar, a leading republican, in which ample justice was done to the retiring monarch. After an extended debate, in which men of all sides of the chamber freely participated, monarchists and republicans alike, the sovereign Cortes, upon a formal division by yeas and nays, adopted a republican form of government, 258 representatives voting in the affirmative, and 32 in the negative. The action of this assembly, however competent and legal for the time being, is nevertheless subject as a domestic question to the revision and sanction of a future assembly chosen expressly to amend the constitution, and which by the common consent of all parties will meet at an early day. Meanwhile it is to be hoped that the same moderation and prudence which have thus far characterized the republicans will contribute to the final consolidation of free institutions in Spain.

The tendency of opinion is decidedly toward a federal republic. If the ancient lines of demarkation are followed, thirteen States may be formed, including the Balearic Islands, the Canary group, the Antilles, and the Philipine Archipelago. Apart from the hostility to centralization, growing out of the grievances it has brought in its train, there is much in the traditions, in the origin, and in the various elements comprising the Spanish nationality adapting it to a federal form of government. Catalonia, the Basque country, Galicia, and Castile, each have their peculiar idiom, as unlike as the dialects of a Scotch Highlander and a Welshman. Neither the German nor the Austrian empires embrace elements of greater dissimilarity than those found in the Spanish peninsula, not to speak of the Spanish dependencies in the Mediterranean, the Gulf of Mexico, and in the East Indies.

Andalusia, Aragon, Navarre, Valencia, and Grenada are unlike in climate, customs, manners, usages, dress, industry, and thought. In Valencia the trial by jury, estalished by the Moors seven hundred years ago, remains to-day as the tribunal by which those engaged in the rice culture settle all disputes growing out of the ancient system of irrigation, on which the industry of the province still depends. In the Vascongadas, from time immemorial, the people have maintained an autonomy not inferior in attributions to those enjoyed by the States of the American Union. The Spanish constitution of 1869 recognizes the federal principle in the creation of provincial assemblies, to which important functions are assigned. And, by a recent act of Congress, the maintenance of the Established Church is remanded to the respective provinces and municipalities.

It cannot escape notice that the Spanish Republic has the singular good fortune, compared with similar experiment in Europe, to be confided to the hands of statesmen of the highest personal character, and of large experience in public business. Figueras, Pi y Margall, and Castelar have been long honorably distinguished among the public men of this country. Mr. Salmeron is not less conspicuous for learning, probity, and eloquence. I might proceed with the enumeration if it were pertinent to do more than advert to the fact that in Spain, as in the beginning of our republic, the direction of affairs was happily placed at the outset in hands of capable, upright, and estimable persons enjoying and deserving the largest measure of consideration and esteem. In this respect at least Spain may so far profit by our example as to escape the disorders that must happen to any administration, whether monarchical or democratic, if intrusted to adventurers ignorant of public affairs.

I am, &c.,

D. E. SICKLES.

note to figueras’ closing speech.

Don José Maria Orense, Marquis de Albaida, Grandee of Spain, the Bayard of Spanish republicans. He made his first campaign righting against the troops of the Duke de Angouleme. In 1826 he again put himself at the head of the liberals, and was driven into exile, sacrificing an immense fortune to his cause. Returning after the death of Ferdinand VII, he became the leader of the democratic party in the Cortes. In 1848 he gave the signal for a republican insurrection in Spain. Banished and afterward amnestied, he was again chosen to the Cortes, and, from a deputy, became a galley-slave, condemned by Narvaez to the hulks at Ceuta. Indignant public opinion forced his release, and he again went into exile. In 1854, failing in another republican rising, he was thrown in prison by Espartero. Liberated, and again elected to the Cortes, he was the leader of the nineteen who voted the abolition of monarchy. In 1866, the epoch of O’Donnell’s coup d’état, he endeavored to raise the provinces in rebellion. Seized, imprisoned, and exiled for the fourth time, the revolution of 1868 enabled him to return. In May, 1869, the Cortes Constituyentes having rejected his plan of a federal republic and adopted that of an elective monarchy, Orense again took the field in the autumn at the head of numerous forces. Defeated, he expatriated himself, and now, in 1873, returns once more to find himself the hero of a republic to which he has devoted forty years of labor and sacrifices.

1. See note at the end of this dispatch.