The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-05-15
An Important Carlist succcss-Thc
Difficulties Of tho Spanish Repub-
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Difficulties of the Spanish Repub-
Iic-Perils or Journalists in War.
The struggles at present in progress in
Spain are of the highest interest to the stu
dents of governments. Our special despatch
describing the important battle of Puente de
Eraul between the Carlists under their dash
ing leader Dorregary and column of the
republican troops under Colonel Novarra,
brings before us the state of things in the
wild mountain regions Of Navarro. There
royalism struggles vi ct arms against the
young Republic; there the democracy meet
foe contemplate neither in numbers nor
courage. The sharp defeat of the republicans
at Puente de Eraul shows that even with un-
limited means the government would have
heavy work before it in subduing the hardy
mountaineers who shout and fight for "God
and the King" Infamed with religious pas
sion, which counts so much in war when the
soldier is ignorant and the leader knows how
to fan it deity, the rude peasant becomes q
hero in his own eyes, and, if he dies, it is as
a blessed martyr. The royal pretender be-
comes in his eyes the glorifed
champion of Heaven, and defeat be-
comes to him an impossibility while he
retains his life. Next in the Carlist
ranks must be counted those whose i'm
pulses do not flow from such unselfsh and
exalted motives-the mobiles and noblemen's
sons of the old regime, whose battle is for
power In our graphic despatch we catch
glimpse of these latter in the cavalry that
dashed down on the republican cannon
and helped SO materially to decide the
day Of ruente Gle Eraul. The untutored men
who fight in what they believe to be the cause
OF God, and those who strike at the Republic
in the cause of a naughty caste, form the ma
terials with which relic of absolutism op-
poses republic based upon popular will.
The difficulties in the way of the republican
government may not prove insuperable. If
the result of the elections for the Constituent
Cortes be fair indication of the will Of the
people the government may count ON being,
at time not SO far in the future, able to de-
feat oil its enemies in detail. AT present the
prospect looks, from the outside, rather
gloomy. The active and passive elements of
the opposition to the Republic are formida-
BILE. Its finances are not in ANYTHING
like fourishing condition, and its
supporters in the large cities constitute dan
ger in themselves. Time is its friend lust now
Every day of its existence tends to strengthen
it. BY the classification of members of
the Cortes returned in the elections of Satur-
day and Sunday we learn that three hundred
and ten Ministerial candidates have been
elected out of q total of three hundred and
lightweight The members not in sympathy
with the Ministry have only thirty monarchists
among them, the remainder being republicans
of different stripes-extreme radicals inter-
nationalist and Independent republicans. If
this be q correct echo of the voice of the coun-
try the Cabinet may be able to concentrate
its efforts on getting the machinery of local
government into working order, and push
the Carlists into subsection with an over
whelming force. The revolutionary state of
affairs all over Spain prevents the government
from acting determinedly with either diff
Guilty. Not yet sufficiently assured of its
strength it is powerless to restrain its own
followers, With Cortcs in sympathy it can