The Helena independent., 1890-12-29
THE SUFFRAGE IN SPAIN.
Result Of the First Experiment in
Allowing Everybody to Have
Vote.
The Conservatives Secure a Slight
Majority According to
the Returns.

Outlook for Harrassing Times In tho
Cortes- Prospects of Republicanism
In the Kingdom.
MADRID, Dec. 2S.-Spain has Just tried it's
first experiment. with universal suffrage.
The election of one-h half of the new proyis-
ionl councils took place few weeks since
and the complete returns have now been
received. They show that in forty out of
the forty-nine councils the conservatives
have obtained slight majority. Madrid,
with a fine attempt at impartiality. has re-
turned ten liberals, two ministerialists and
four republicans: while in Catalonia, the
Basque provinces, Bilbao, Navarro and Ar
gon the Cazlists have secured q majority.
The followers of Senior Sagasta have had
some successes, but great apathy was shown
by She voters everywhere, save in the capi-
tals of the various provinces. At any other
time these elections would not have pos
sessed much significance. It happens,
however, that the election to the new Cortes
which had been fixed for the first of Febro-
ary next, will, owing to the adoption Of
universal suffrage in both cases, take place
under much the same conditions, and con-
sequently the present returns afford some
index to the prospects Of Senior Canovas del
Castillo and his ministry.
As far as can be Judged, the rival parties
will meet in the Cortes, each sufficiently
strong to harass and hamper the others. and
to prevent the executive from exhibiting
that strong and serene front which is indis-
pensable to all good government. Senior
Conovas, no doubt. has the signal advan-
tage of being in Office, and. like all
his predecessors in power. he will
doubles employ the we'll recognize ed
and traditional methods for maintain
ing his hold on the constituencies.
In the preliminary encounter he has OBJ
tanned only moderate success, and when
the elections to the Cortes take place, the
utmost he can hope to achieve will be to
prevent his various rivals from oustinR him
at once from his present position.
Before leaving Office. Senior SaRasta at
tainea the two objects for which he had
for the extension OF the franchise, and he
imposed the chief of his cherished tinan-
oial schemes on the Cortes. It is of the
very essence Of constitutional government
and the representative system that, when
once the political situation IL revolution
the party in the state which resisted the
alteration should accept it, and hencefor-
ward act as though its members had pro-
NOTED its acceptance. This is pre-
oisely what Senior Canovas del
Castillo and his followers have. done,
The conduct of Senior CASTELAR, during the
last few years has been 80 patriotic and
self-effacing that republicanism has not of
late played very active and conspicuous
part in Spain, and the discredit under
which Senior Gorilla had fallen introduced
an additional element of difficulty into the
republican camp. But the returns in the
capital and elsewhere serve'. to shoN. that
An extension Of the suffrage is always
pretty certain, at fifst at'least, to strength
en- the voting power Of the extreme parties
in the state, and it would be no surprise to
find Spanish republicanism distinctly rep
resented in the new cortes. Nor can it be
encouragement in the circumstance that
the titular sovereign is little more than. an
infant, and child, apparently, of q some
what delicate constitution, while, at the
same time. the regent is woman and q
foreigner.
The conservative party is stanchly de-
voted to the throne, nor are there any
grounds for suspecting Senior Sagasta and
his followers. of sentiments that could be
fairly described as disloyal. The two prin-
cipal parties in the state are sincere and
steadfaAt in their attachment to the crown,
whose present condition is calculated to
evoke all the oh1valry that is undoubtedly
existent in the Spanish character. The
queen regent, notwithstanding her foreign
origin and te many and various difficult
ties with which she has had to contend, has
succeeded, by the grace of her personality
and by the answering rectitude OF her po-
litical conduct. not only in disarming hos
tility, but even in exciting enthusiasm. -
While no alarm is felt az to the stability
Of the Spanish monarchy, it is evident that
it has to exhibit much Judgment and no
little wariness, and this attitude of prud-
emit vigilance will have to be maintained
till the king attains an age ut which he can
assume the functions Of sovereignty and
accept all its responsibilities. It seems in
credible that Carlism should have future
in the Iberian peninsula. It 10 known to
the present generation of Spaniards only by
the pain of woe it has inflicted ON Spain,
through those military expeditions which
had no earthly excuse. since they never had
the faintest chance of bei.iR successful.
But precisely because Carlism is not seri-
oas political competitor for tho affections
of tho Spanish people. the republicans CON-
tinue to cherish the hope that their day may
yet come.