The New York herald., 1872-05-29


Startling Disclosures by the Deposed
| sagasta.
| The HERALD correspondent at Madrid sends
us some singular and startling intelligence
| from that sensational capital in the special
cable despatch published this morning few
days ago the report reached us of the fall of
the Sagasta Ministry, but the immediate cause
of that leaders retirement was not explained.
| A political crisis is more common than bull
| fight in Spain, and sometimes not half so in
teresting hence little was thought of this latest
revolution in the Spanish administration, and
it was generally supposed by those who gave
any attention to the matter that in few days,
after two or three others had tried their hands
at Cabinet making, we should find the old fox
back again in his Ministerial den. We now
learn that Sagastas overthrow was of more
serious character than has been supposed, and
that it was followed by disclosures on the part
of the Ministry which have occasioned shock
somewhat similar to an earthquake in politi-
cal circles in Madrid. In order to fully under
stand the situation it must be remembered that
Sagasta is bold, INSCRIPTIONS and ambitious,
and that he held the positions of President of
the Council, or Premier, and Minister of the In
terror. The latter Office is one of extraordinary
power, and in the hands of such man as
Sagasta may be made ON effective and danger
Gus political machine 1t controls the public
works, and through the appointment of in
spectors can be made to have great influence
over the elections. It seems to have been run,
under its late head, much after the fashion of
the old Tammany machine in this city; NOV
ing large gangs of government employees
here and there at election time, wherever
their services were most needed; placing
thieves, bullies and cutthroats on the
pay rolls, in order to secure their
services at the polls and elsewhere when
required; making use Of the public money for
political purposes, and tampering with elec-
ton returns whenever it was safe or prudent to
do SO. AT the last elections it is notorious that
where corruption failed fraud was resorted to
in order to secure the return Of as large a num-
Der Of ministerial candidates as possible. With
these facts before us the startling character Of
the disclosures now made can be better under
Stood
When the government presented the budget
to the Cortes a few days ago, the discovery
was made that twenty million dollars had been
diverted from the Colonial Department to the
Department Of the Interior, and that the ex-
penditure in the latter department did not
appear to be accounted for. The opposition
at once demanded an explanation Of this large
deficiency, and were answered by Sagasta
that the money had been expended in the
secret service of the government. 1t
is evident that the Minister of the Interior,
like his famous American prototype, was dis
posed at first to rely upon his supposed power
and to ask his assailants what they were going
home, his explanation was pronounced unsat-
isfactory and particulars of the account were
imperatively demanded. Thereupon Sagasta
declared that the money had been paid out to
political spies in the service Of the
govenment-or it would rather seem,
from the character of the disclosures,
in the service Of his particular department
of the government-and he produced and dis
played to the astounded Cortes the informa-
ton secured by this alleged expenditure. The
documents spread by the retiring Minister
before his interrogators, and which had been
secured through the efforts Of his spies, in
formers and agents, comprised letters Of prom
inent political leaders and of deputies
general, together with reports Of their
secret meetings, all of which implicated
the writers and participants in reasonable
practices. Every prominent Spaniard, says
our special despatch is represented by this
evidence to be engaged in some conspiracy,
and Madrid appears to be one vast nest of polit-
ical plots and intrigues. Serrano is charged
with conspiring for the succession Of Alphonse,
the son of the ex-Queen Isabella and some-
body, to the Spanish throne, and his associa-
tions in former years appear to give consis-
tency to the accusation. General Del Rey
recently the Minister of War, is said to be in
volved with the Carlists, and as they are now
in arms openly against the government he is
thus made directly answerable for the crime of
high treason. Zorrilla appears to have been
compromising himself with the Internationals,
who are even more terrible to royalist imagi-
nation than the turbulent Carlists. A move
ment of the republicans is alleged to have
been discovered looking to an improved edition
of the Paris Commune in Madrid, one Of their
main objects being the plunder of the bank.
Castelar, it is said, has been modeestly de-
sirous of confning the robbery to the coin,
probably as being the most easily disposed Of
and the least likely to lead to the detection
of the parties implicated, while Margal,
in favor of what is vulgarly called "the
whole hog, urges the purloining of the
bullion as well.
sational and terrible enough for one occasion,