The Winslow mail., 1898-04-23
THE SPANISH CORTES.
Constitution and characteristics
of This Body.
There Is q Vast Difference Between
the Upper and Lower Houses
Tournaments of
Speech.


The cortes are not, as generally sup
posed, merely the lower house of
Spain's parliament, but comprise both
chambers, the literal translation of the
word ''cortes" meaning ''the courts"
They may be said to owe their origin to
King Joseph Bonaparte, who, in 1912,
first provided the Iberian peninsula
with a constitution, modelled on that Of
imperial France. Repealed on the
Bourbon restoration, then revived
again, suspended once more, and then
recalled into vfgor, it received it's pres
ent form in 1876, on the restoration to
the throne of the late King Alfonso.
The lower house is elected by what is
practically universal suffrage, and in
the proportion of one deputy TO every
$4,000 male inha bitants, the qualifica-
ton as voter being held by every male
Spaniard who is 25 years of age, who is
in the enjoyment of his civil rights. and
who has been citizen of a municipality
or rural community for two years.
The lower house is composed of about
$50 deputies, who, unlike their fellow
legislators in every other country of
Europe, save England, receive no sal
ary, and are debarred by the terms of
the constitution from holding govern
ment Office or drawing pensions, the
only exception made being that in the
case of the members of the cabinet 1t
need not, from this, be imagined that
the members of the lower house are
prompted by purely patriotic motives
to concede their time and their energy
to the service of the nation. There are
many pickings and prerogatives; be-
sides which legislative influence is
quite as profitable an article of barter
and sale in Spain as in other more en-
Ightened countries. Indeed, the vast
majority of the members of the lower
house are men who have gone into
politics solely with the object of spoils
in view.
The upper chamber, or senate, is in
initeiy more representative of the ma
tion than the lower house, although it
can scarcely be described as owing it's
origin of the suffrages of the people. 1t
is composed of three classes-namely,
the senators by their own right, that
is to say: 'Senadores de Derecho Pro-
prio," who must not exceed 80 in num-
ber; secondly, 100 life senator's, NOM
mated by the crown, and, thirdly, $50
senators elected by the so-called cor
porations of state, that is to say, by the
communal and provincial assemblies,
by the church, the universities, the
academies, etc. The elected senators.
therefore, equal in number the life sem
ators nominated by the crown and the
senators by their own right put to-
gether. The "Senadores de Derecho
Propio" are composed of the heir-ap-
parent to the throne, if he happen to be
a man, the sons of the sovereign and
members of the grandezza, titled or un-
titled, who can prove that they possess
an annual income derived from land of
at least $4,000.
This practically restricts the senators.
in their own right to members of the
reigning family and 10 the great land
owners of the old aristocracy, that is
to say, to people who may be regarded
IS having big material interests at
stake, and who are in no sense of the
word carpet-bag politicians, as are most
of the members of the lower house. The
second class of senators who owe their
appointment to the crown are the cap
tains-general of the army, the admirals
of the navy, the cardinals and archbish-
ops. the presidents of the council of
state, of the supreme tribunal, of the
tribunal of Cuentas del Reind, of the
supreme councils of war and of marine,
and of such other dignitaries of the
kingdom as the sovereign may appoint
with the consent of the cabinet of the
day. The other half of the senate, that
is to say, those who owe their seat in
the upper chamber to election, must be
renewed by one-half every five years,
and by -totality every time that the
monarch dissolyes that particular part
of the certes,
The cortes are, in one sense. of the
word, the most characteristic of all
Spanish institutions. The oratory is
superb. Indeed, it may be doubted
whether there is any people in the
world that is possessed of such mag
nificentzand soul-stirring eloquence as
that of Spain. But it is not practical.
To parody the old French saying: at
is magnificent, but it is not business"
Words take the place of deeds. Tourna-
ments of speech cause the people to lose
sight of the practical objects at stake.
and to such an extent are the debates
in both chambers of the Cortes acade-
miea1, and regarded in the light of q
dramatic performance rather than
actual business, that those who
listen to the speakers, no matter
whether from the seats of the members
or from the galleries. actually lost sight
OF the real issues which are being dis
cussed. Moreover, the effects of these
streaks of eloquence, of these flights of
oratory, are merely of a transient ma
fure.-St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
Honesty I'm the Empire City.