Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-11-28

| reigniDg family. Don carlos. VINO III
sists that he is the rightful heir to the
Spanish throne. is still alive, and you
know hope springs eternal in the hui
man breast, and perhaps little more
than ordinary in the breast OF claim
ant TO throne. Don Carlos would be
heir to the throne if the Salic law,
which formerly governed the succession
in Spain and prohibited the accession
of female. had not een'abolished by
King Alfonso's grandfather, Ferdinand
VII, to secure the crown to his daugh-
ter, Isabella H., Alfonso's mother.
Don Carlos claims that Ferdinand had
no right to abolish the Salic law; that it
is, therefore, still in force in Spain,
and that he is King by right. That is
the basis of his pretensiOns and the
principle for which he fights, and for
which be no doubt believes that Span
iards will fight again. But | am Of
opinion that the Carlist pretender has
far poorer prospect of success to-day
than he had when Alfonso was pro-
claimed King eleven years ago, after
six years Of an interregnum filled by
continual changes of governments and
civil strife. Then the throne was va
cant, but Alfonso has died in peace and
left two heirs behind him. The growth
Of public sentiment in Spain is in favor
of liberal government, and the posi-
bility Of Don Carlos, who represents
ultramontane bigotry and intolerance,
being called into power, is very re-
mote"
as A REPUBLIC PoSSIBLEE"
"a republic might be a possibility if
the Republicans were united among
themselves, but they are not. Their
leaders are divided; there is no cohe-
sion in the Republican party. Besides,
the Church and property interests
two powerful factors in the politics Of
Spain-fear republic and are opposed
to it, so that the chances Of a revolution
in the direction of republic are not
very great at present, although among
certain sections Of the people there isa
growing republican sentiment. The
political parties in Spain are the Libe-
rails, the Conservatives, the Republi-
cans, and the Carlists. Carlism is
not represented at all in the Cor
tez. 1t consists in lingering sentiment
in favor Of the pretensions Of Don Car
los, entertained bya number Of Span
iards who are becoming less numerous
as time passes. The Conservatives and
the Liberals are both monarchical. The
Conservative leader is Senior CanovaS
del Castillo, and Senior Sagasta is the
Liberal leader. Both parties have been
in power by turns, and each of the two
leaders has been several times Prime
Minister. Neither of them has ever been
in the army and neither belongs to
the nobility, as most of the lead
ing public men Of Spain generally do.
The Conservative party, with Canovas
del Castillo as Prime Minister has been
in control of the Government for two
years, and was in power when the King
died. 1t was expected that when the
Cortez met in December then the Con-
seryatives would be compelled by the
force of public opinion to surrender the
Government to Senior Sagasta and the
Liberals; and now | see the news
comes from Spain that Canovas
has resigned and been replaced by
Sagasta. Sagasta is a man of large
experience. lie is about sixty years of
age, and has been Prime Minister seve-
raj times. He is one of the brightest
and ableSt public men, and one of the
most expert politicians in Spain. For
one of his most active supporters he
has General MARTINEZ Campos, who
proclaimed Alfonso King in 1874 and
promulgated the new Constitution q
1876, which gave the King more power
and the people less rights than they en-
ioyed under the Constitution which
they framed out of chaos in 1869 after
the flight Of Isabella"
"What will be the tendencies Of the
new Government
THE tendencies of
sAGAsTA's GOVERNMENT
would be in the direction of reforms OF
a Liberal kind if the country would re-
main at peace and enable him to carry
them out. Campos is more Conserva-
tive in his tendencies than Sagasta.
They both belong to the Liberal party,
but to different wings Of it. General
Campos is at the head Of the Liberal
Right, which is the most Conservative
wing of the party. The most advanced
men of the party are called the Liberal
Left. The Liberal party Of Spain is
pretty much like the Liberal party OF
England, made up Of distinct factions
characterized by various degrees of
Liberalism. Sagasta was Prime Minis
ter three years ago and had to resign
because his party could not agree with
itself. Whether he will have the ability
to harmonic these differences now re.
mains TO be SEEM"
"0f what does the Cortez consist -
"THE CoRTEz
consists OF House of Deputies, elected
on restricted franchise. and Senate,
partly elected by the people and partly
nominated by the King, some OF them
for = number Of years and others for
life. Ssgasta recently pledged himself
to favor universal suffrage, a greater
degree Of religious liberty, and q
broader freedom Of the press. The
present Constitution recognizes freedom
Of conscience but not freedom of wor-
ship. The Catholic Church is estab-
lished, and no other church is allowed
to be built in Spain. People of other
religions cannot raise church
edifce in which to worship God they
are not permitted to put out a sign
on any building to indicate that church
services are held there. All who are
not Catholics must worship in private
houses, or not worship at all in Spain.