, 1897-10-28
|SPA|N'S PROPOSITION
THE PHRASE LOCAL INTEREST
Will. BE INTERPRETED
GENEROUSLY.
An Insular Chamber Entirely Local In
Its Nature Will Be Established, to
Be Divided INTO a House and Senate
and to Be Elected by che People
It's Powers.

New York. Oct. PA dispatch to the
Herald from Madrid y
Senior Morety Prendergast. the new
colonial minister. has outlined for the
Herald his plan for Cuban reforms as
follows:
1.-THE autonomy which the cabinet o..
Senior Sagasta purposes to bestow upon
the island OF Cuba and Porto Rico in
fulfl.ment Of the engagement contract
ed in the manifesto Of June "a, is a spe.
cial autonomy founded on the aspira.
ticns adopted in the platform OF the
Artillian autonomists and not identical
with the other colonial institutions. 1t
is clear that in its essential principles
the future constitutions OF Cuba and
Porto Rico agree with those colonial
constitutions that start from self-gcv>
eminent as the capital idea, s%eli-legisla.
ton, responsible to the government and
the supremacy OF the governor, who,
either under that name or that Of vice,
roy, shall represent the mother country,
and who shall choose the minister who
shall be the executive in that colony.
Starting from the above basis, the
project Of the Spanish government con-
tains the first partition OF those matters
and oncerns that belong to the colonial
parliament and to the imperial parlla>
ment-that is. to the national cortes.
-f 49,
The partition is founded upon a careful
discrimination between what interests
the islands themselves represent in a
local sense, and what is OF national i'm
p%or;ance.
The project in operation will inter
pre-; in the o generous manner the
phrase local interests since it will not
only gran; to the colonists complete con-
troll OF all that relates t education,
charity, public works. interinsular nav!.
cation. agriculture, industry, mines,
ETC.. but it also intrusts to representa-,
tives OF the local se,;-government the
right OF drawing up their customs tarifr
without any Limitations beyond those
mutually dfTduSeu.
with the metropolis to cooperate in
their respective mercantile and CONNER,
cial interests, the above functions will
be performed by al insular chamber to.
tally electoral in nature, without re,
striction, as to subsequent subdivisions
in;o two similar chambers-that is, the
| hHlso Of ronrocor 70 -tro, .~l ,Lo
ate. . -E-
Members OF this parliament shall be
elected by the same suffrage system as
that which regulates The elections in the
peninsula. The sam electoral body
shall elect deputies to the Spanish cor.
tes. who are to represent Cuba il the
imperial parliament. Only when this
assembly has been constituted the gov,
error general, as the representative OF
the central power, shall choose the min
listers who are to be the executive bod,
responsible to the insular parliament,
thus completing the reorganization OF
the parliamentary government, and en-,
downing 1t with that degree Of %responsl,
bility Characteristic Of every COLONY ad.
ministered on the principles Of sell,
government.
The ministers shall be responsible to
the colonial parliament. and every en-
actment OF the governor general, as the
representative OF the executive power, in
all that touches the local government.
shall be treated in the council.
OF these ministerial functions reserv.
ed to the metropolis are. first. those that
concern International relations; second,
military and naval matters; third, or.
ganization Of the law courts in conform.
lily with the laws regulating the Offices
OF the ministers, and, fourth, those de.
positions that, under the name Of pa
%tronate, really regulate relations between
the church and state.
AT the same time the new constitu-
ton shall grant to the Cuban people
the use OF and the protection afforded
by the civil and political rights sanction
ed by the Spanish constitution in such
manner that this shall obtain in all its
integrity in the colonies. while, besides,
there shall be established, such as in
the United States. necessary business
positions to prevent the colonial parlia-
ment from lessening. clogging or delim>
itine the rights Of the citizens that are
set forth In the national constitution"
CRITICAL SITUATION.