National Republican., 1873-11-26
sPAIn-pAsr AND PRESENT.

sPAIn-PAsr AND PRKsBNT.
,ynnsiie. of the Monarchy res, Pspuln-
tion. Resources, Reveuue-, Expenditures,
Arwy Rnd Naval s,renath, &c.
The Spanish Monarchy was founded by the
Union OF the crowns Of CASTLE and Aragon In
5l2. shortly after the discovery of the Amer-
,sn CONTINGENT by Christopher Columbus, and
Fernando ", tho Catholic, occupied the throne.
lie was succeeded In 1919 by Carlos, Of Haps.
burg, whose house ruled until 100, when
Felipe. the Bourbon, came into power, and his
dynasty relgned TIL 1908. Ferdinand VII. then
nbdcated In favor Of Joseph Bonaparte, who. in
turn, gave place TO the Bourbon, Fernando VII,
again In isii, and the Bouroons retained power
until the deposition Of Queen Isabel II. In 1883,
and Amadeo l., Of Savoy, sscended the throne
In 1870 by choice Of tho Constituent Cortes, In
accordance with article =, Of tae Consultation
Of Spain. During this period Of three centuries
and half, closing with the deposition Of Isabel,
thereNwere thirteen reigninr monarchs Of Spain.
King Amadeus reIgned Q little over two years
under the constitution OF lsGe. when he ahdi-
Gated, and the present republican constitution
was adopted after period Of several months Of
chaotic CESSATION.
CHURCH AND RprcAuos.
The national church OF spain IL Roman Catho-
u
binds the nation 'to maintain the worship and
ministers Of the Catholic religion" IL, how
ever, guaranteed to all other forms OF worship
exercised by resident foreigners or citizens pro
lection, when IN conformity with morality and
right. Formerly the clergy Of the Established
Church were maintained by. the State, but the
constitution OF isee repealed all such obligatons
by DEGREES OF the Cortes In 1898 and 1896 all con
ventual establishments were suppressed, and
their property connscated. In ise2 there wert
2,so6 prelates and priests OF cathedrals and col
Al
chlsl cures, and S,iss assistant priests. Tues,
numbers show an immense decline over pre-
yious periods. The ecclesiastlcs Of all descup
tions lu i's' amounted 10 iss,s25, and In lssS Z
iIh,SIi.
Tntii very recent period the great mass o
the population Of spain was In . state OF ex
ueme ignorance. Previous TO 1893 public edu
but subsequent snactmenis gave IL into II,
hands Of the Government who have made
radical change In this respect, In 1871 only 500,
l2o children attended the psimaiy schools, wnic,
tended, and In 1901 there was an attendance Q
| l,0tG,55s. The census OF 1880 showed popula
ton Of 2,4itolb men, and 1896 women, able
read and write; and aie,hoi men, nss, al women
able to read but not to write.
| RxvEsrR AND rxrsSprrRE.
The revenue Of Spain Is raised by a system 9
| direct and indirect taxation, stamp dntiei
| Government monopolIes and income from stat
property. The revenue for the year M H ISL; end md
the expenditures csl, s2i or Sis4, ,lso. Tn
Minister to he fts6s6,ooo. or double what va
% sentins the budget Of ISL ., that he nation W.
on the verge Of bankruptcy, from which II coul
only be saved by the most strenuou
exertions toward increasing the revenue
and the most rigid economy OF expenditure
The lons-contlnued excess OF expenses owe
the revenues has resulted In an immense M
tiona debt. Il amounted In 1871 10 ,9oI ,o0'
nse sis years. rs he spanish Government % i 70 pa
only two thirds OF the interest due In cash, an
the remaining third In certificates Of three pt
cent. debt, to be issued at the price Of nfy-th
the Government would be able TO resume pa
ment In full. What the effect OF the preseI
difficulties will be upon this calculation remair
to be seen,
ARMY AND NAVY.
The army Of spain under the military law
Of drafts from ali persons past the &c Of %.
| which they have to serve four years; .. Tue .
tive reserve, composed OF young men, who, Wit
out reckoning four years Of active service, 81. p
for the permanent 1force; the position Of the
persons will be that Of so diers upon stx monti
iurlough without any pays >. A second or se
proceeding from the recruits, shall have HI
fuur years effective service, only exceptii
those who at their own request, or for the co
o. The service may Ss allowed e
: these armed forces consists Of 9oo, 900 men.
The kingdom is divided into nye military d
tricts, each commanded BY Q Captain Gener,
: stan OF the Spanish army comprises Ca
: tain Generals on the active LIST, 90 Leutena
Generals, i9l Major Generals, and 23s Bngadl
D Generals. The held stan offiosrs number Gi
= line, c.2as; rank and Ole, i4t,6a3; making tol
, Of ISL ,G6s. OF course, this number. which v
the peace footing OF 1888, may he largely
: creased In time OF war oat OF q population
/. The navy consisted in 1870 Of 70 screw steamer
I carrying .ss4 guns; ~ paddle steamers, Of
5 guns, and 10 sailing vessels, OF 9c2 guns; tot
Tnere are seven iron-clsd frigates built
5 England. The largest, the Victoria, launched
/, 1865, was constructed by the Thames Iron-W
Company. Her dimensions are: Length, 0
Q feet breadth, .. ieeti depth, ss feet; burths
. armored from stem to stern with bis Inch plat
and 10 inch teak. The esgines, OF 1000 hori
y power, nominal. arc OF the same type - those
! built in the floating docks Of Cariaaens, ast Z.
= In length, and l0a feet outside and - feet insl
n breadth, and was erected by bir John Rennie .
der ne supervision o. Enslish snsnssrs;; s
y teak backing for the armor plating. and is !
a feet long. 8. feet beam, and Q, feet inch
drausht. she Ia eompletely. enoased in SIN
= forty O.. Cs.pounders. The port-sills, with p
visions for go men and 100 tons Of coal,
seven feet SIX inches out OF water. Her speed
a 10 knots, and her engines 900 nominal hor
!, power. The Arapiles, the Oldest OF the Ire
: clads, was built at Blackwall. after Fren
Y models, In 1854. She Is OF wood, covered VI
i .S.lnch plates, and carries 2! guns In broadsl
n other four Iron ciads are smaller vessels, car
G ing six and ten guns, with engines OF 500 hon
power.
at,l Darf mi al nj i'm
A | neet Of gunboats built In this country In ls
Tney are thirty In number. and ali Of the sal
o size, iO1 feet long, 9aE beam, 8 feet depth Of
screw s, S steamers amer and and each i' one carries
u pounder pivot gun at the bow. The navy
n Spain was manned In 1870 BY I,sA sailors .
$500 marines, and commanded by one capita
y the-neet, and .ioo of1cers OF yaric
IS grades. The navy, like thsarmy, 10 recruited
!. conscriptlon. naval districts for this purpt
= being formed along the coast, among the o
:, these naval conscriptlon lists In 1870 C0,oo0 m
u between II and 20 years OF age.
PoPuLarIos AND AREA.
J, Spain has an area Of ISL, ,Ins square miles, O
Q had a population In 1870 OF about Il, 900 900.
i Nearly 40 per cent. Of the whole surface Of |
n kingdom is nncultivated. Her importa avera
per annum. Her chief export to Great Britt
i Is wine, and her Imports linen and linen "a
Q wrought iron and Goals. Her merchant ns
= upwards OF 1900 Of them being coasters OF III
tonnage. This service has been on the deci
7. for some years.
= spain has about $500 miles Of railways CO
n pleted and some 1000 more in course Of &C
, stuction. She has also about 1000 miles Of te
graph lines.
J., COLONIES.
Is The colonies OF Spain conslst OF Cuba Z
e Porto Rico, in America, having IN area OF Q,
Is square mlles, and 2,Osl,000 population; Phi
l. pine, Caroline and Marian islsnds, In Asia, v
an area Of a,l62 square miles, and S,ass, ,sIs POI
q lation; aud Fernando Po, In Africa, Of 20 SOU
iargely OF sugar and tobacco for exoortp AMI
Philllpine islands sugar, hemp aud tobacco. 7
p commerce OF these islands has been, and still
N Of great Importance, but Of late years has be
= on the decline. That OF Cuba has been seriou
! aneeted by the onerous differential and discril
mating duties imposed hy Spain, both exp