New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-11-07
AZ ESTIMATE OF THE DEAD STAT Ed
1900. r<- 1Ifc POI ITTCAL OPPONENT.

AZ ESTIMATE OF THE DEAD STATES
NAN BY HIS POLITICAL OPPONENT
~, c,.s,olar I'm La tspana Moderna. translated
nave zen the brain Of Canovas, one day
radiant with thought. the next pierced Gu ir Wy
den halls and shattered in pieces IKE an III
49, tn,lv baked brick | have seen those reu
IL which poured forth the most ioltH w.
iafor Of the burial cand 49, 90 not WISH ~
,ore for such experiences such WARNINGS
49, nc derpair for the destiny Of our race.
"'% ~ have mourned three deaths in tnese Gay .
w Ut C1noyqs ami MOnescillO; the hrst
49, nrilosopher. the second q great Stdtc9
nan the last great prelate. An Una ~.
;ntnlate friends of mine in tins sac "ul tid
have had 60 MANY and so iluSfIou9 "'""0'
os well as innumerable enemies. f.. ,
I can speak Of Nacherot WIN S[!ei.ieE ,i.b
moderation, but cannot SPEAK u Can", ~ n,,
III same calm Nacherot was d IIthu w i'
Ind C4uovas was a friend OF my hedIt' va
cherot was much older thah l. Wi,i's ar e."
was about my age. FOR NaC I.lo i' col, the
,oIIoctual admiration for CanoFas l le!t Nv
intense and ennobing affection OF lenuN
stuIent # is impossible to compare m! S"i
row at the natural death or Nacnerot VII" nay
grief over the violent death OF CanoNas, go
ON nerretual differences of opinion drew us
The more closely together. This continual as
putting and arguing without ever CoiilinS - S,a
quarrel was delight. II for PERIOD Oh nv nv
Ipars Nc dld not salute each other II Was tne
work Of our partisans, not OF our hearlS' lnelc
49, nose who were more CanovlstaS thah
C,6novas and more Castelarstas than CasteIdt'
10 has generally been called proud as despot'
and / vain as artist. When read ihtse
judgments | shrug my shoulders ana eXclalm'
GnSa I smoke IN certain article of two illus
trlous friends Of mine, one IN france 'ne
Other IN Spain, whose ascendenCy over theH
f.uou-countrvmen was almost supreme; Gam
Ito and CADOvas endowed by heaven with all
Tho qualities vouchsafed 10 the favored ones OF
earth. but both afflicted with certain grave
,,'o,tncss-that Of not being able to endure con
Reelection The article was published in the
morning and in the evening went TO a pau AZ
the English Embassy. to when my TWO lrienuS
had also been invited. had scarcely entered
tbo salon when | met Antonio, as | always
called him affectiOnately. who. upon seeing me
acclaimed 40. Emilio. thou darest to say that
cannot endure contradiction. when Tor forty
veere I have been enduring thee. In perpetual
opposition to myself in the newspaper. in BOOKS,
I'm Parliament and at home?
Fer I when | least agreed in our intellectual
contests with his ideas admired the more his
Incompatible genius. Canovas was all his IRE
the first polemc Of his day. This indefatgable
reader grumbled continually at the book when
n read He poured forth his views in The
SATURDAY. Evening Academy" in language OF
marvellous richness and variety for ne
abounded in words we'll in ideas. and
method predominated in the midst OF apparent
disorder while the thought was always clear
throughout perpetual amplifcations
COMPREHENSIVE MIND.
have known telescope minds that could see
only the immensely great and microscope minus
had a microscope and telescope in his mind
No one understands Canovas like one who has
been his opponent and has thus heen onheed
10 know and define his views in order to know
and define his own. Canovas at the time OF his
death was preparing himself. ny an m'ultlon
natural to his character. for immortality Ana
diving firm in his belief in conservative prin-
cples-for him unchangeable-in the preroga-
tives of the historic throne. in the supremacy
Of the Catholic worship. in the respect Que 10
ancient traditions he yet thought that all ms
not
dividual rights the popular jury and UNIVERSAL
suffrage.
spite of the fact that many Of his COLLEAGUES
were bitterly opposed To II: and cite this per
sonal fOrttude Of Cdnovas in support or ms
Democratic principles rather than words spoken
I'm private conversation which 1 have no rig1t
to use; ! point also 10 the visible example
given by his policy at the head OF the Govern,
ruent. when the fierce tempests and storms or
the ocean of liberty broke in full strength. He
has been tempted many tmes-and cruel darts
have been aimed against him by caIumny, as
murderous the bullets OF the infamous as
sassin-to revive again the Cesarist code of the
first period of the Restoration code Whlch
would convert the rights Of all into the priv
ileges Of the few; but if vertigo OF this sort
gave him a passing indispOsition, his firm Will
and clear judgment resisted all these impor-
tunities. and freedom of speech as well as the
freedom of the press has remained inViolate
amid the reverses of war and the upheavals of
stare
cite the freedom Of the press as being most
ing t. ell statesmen, Indispensable as we may
feel IL to be- The same thing true of an
other right for which we fought terrible bat
ties last year-the freedom Of teaching from a
professors chair This was threatened by Tor
mdable enemies. in mis- last turbulent govern
ment but was preserved completely. lie needed
sure head and firm will, surrounded as he
was by sectarians who would rather have had
him open tavern or a gaming-house thah
church or a Protestant school. to recognize the
right Of a professor in Barcelona or Sala-
manca-the one mathematical by his Bishop.
the other dismissed by his rector-to think ana
teach according 10 his beliefs. in harmony with
the DEGREES initiated by the creative revolution
of September and established in the hope Of the
restoration and eXatatiOn Of our democracy
under a liberal government
CAnovas did this, not from mere arbitrary
caprice. but with the most hOnorab bic CONVICTION
determining the complex acts OF the last period
of his life and the final phase of his beliefs
The Conservative party has Its centre known
to all: its left, whose limits are marked by the
RevOlutiOnists and its right. whose limits are
marked Of necessity. by the Carlists CanoVas
maintained the equilibrium between all these
contrary forces. the concord between all these
discordant spirits; but he inclined to the left
to sustain with il the principles Of the Const-
tuition of 10 introduced after great efforts.
by triumph worthy Of our democracy.
recent example will demonstrate this assertion
In the clearest manner.
There has been organized an enormous Coun-
ell OF Public instruction, in which, by an
absurdity very frequent in our learned corpora
lions old principles called IN our current
speech regressive predominant over those lum
nous and progressive principles which, sooner
later will be given practical form and en-
bodied in laws This council voted dlctd-
men relative to the normal schools. contrary to
every element OF democratic principles. and TO
the pure liberty of conscience guaranteed by the
declaration that al Sp1niards should have
voice regarding public officers whatever their
religious beliefs might be-a declaration which
lessened The force Of the religious intolerance
involved in the old principle Of Catholic unity.
The Minister Of Justice did not give his assent
to this vote. He withheld II because he was
obliged to yield before the opposition OF CAno-
vas. which was based on scrupulous respect TO
the democratic laws in force over our free and
progressive society.
Could the policy Of the martyr whom we all