The National tribune., 1897-08-12
THE SPANISH PREMIER MURDERED.
An Italian Anarchist Assassinates SenOr
Canovas del Castillo.

An Italian Anarchist Assassinates Senior
Canovas del Castillo.
Last Sunday morning Senor Canovas
del Castillo, Prime Minister of Spain,
was assassinated at Santa Agueda,
noted bathing place in Spain, by an
Italian, named Michele Angino Coli.
The murderer, who had been hanging
around the bathing rooms for several
days, approached the Prime Minister,
who was waiting for his wife to come out
Of the bath, and fired three shots into
his body, two of which were fatal. The
victim fingered in agony for two hours,
and died. The murderer was at once
seized, and is still in custody.
The event produced deep sensation
all over the world. Senior Campos was
much the strongest man in Spanish
politics. He was born in 1928, and
sprang from the people. He began life
as the editor of Conservative news
paper, and has been member of the
Cortes continuously since 1854. BY
force of his intellect and will he be-
came the acknowledged leader of the
Monarchists, and was regarded as the
chief opponent of the advance of Liberal
ideas in the Government. 1t was
his determined leadership which placed
Alfonso XIII. on the throne, and he
became Prime Minister under the young
King. He then tried hard to turn
back the wheels of progress, and put
Spanish affairs in the position they oc-
cupied in the last century. He restored
the absolutism of the Roman Catholic
Church, recalled the Jesuits, abridged
the liberty Of the press, banished lead
ing Liberals, destroyed local self-gov
ernment in the Basques, and re-asserted
the iron rule of the Crown over the
Colonies. This led to the uprising in
Cuba and the Philippines, which he at
tempted to repress by ordering the bar
barisms which disgraced Spanish rule
in previous centuries. He was directly
responsible for the atrocities of Weyler
and his tools, though all the agents he
sent to the islands were willing instru-
ments of his policy.
1t was at first thought that his mur-
der had deep political signifcance-that
it was prompted by the Republicans, or
the people who were tired Of having
their sons sent to die in Cuba, and that
bis death would mean change of
policy.
An examination of his murderer, how
ever, develops that he is one of those
wild beasts of Anarchists, who had no
more behind his crime than there was
behind the assassination Of President
Faure, of France. He is one of those
men of slender abilities but an insane
craving for notoriety. He claims to be
a printer by trade, but has spent most
of his life in plots and intrigues and
crimes. He claims that he "did his
duty" in furnishing the Premier for the
execution of some of the Philippine lead,
ers, but this is pretext 1t is more
likely that, aside from famishing fol
notoriety, the deed was prompted by
the punishment meted out to the scoun.
drels who threw bombs into the religion:
procession at Barcelona.
If there is any political effect fol
lowing the murder it will in all like
lihood be Strengthening Of the policy
followed by Canovas, from horror at The
senseless brutality Of his murder Bae
as Canovas was, the whole world revolt
at his being taken off in this manner
and even the bad cause which he repre-
sented will be benefited by this feeling
No conception can be had of the in
terminable web of technicalities con
:. structed by the Lochren crowd to bea
!. the veteran claimants for pension:
There can be no satisfactory enumera
r tion Of them. We get an idea iron
n time to time of their number an
viciousness as they are brought t
notice and swept away by the new AG
o ministration. One pettifogging devic
Il of this kind is brought to light this wee