Middletown transcript., 1898-05-07
THE KINGDOM OF SPAIN.
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE
LAND OF THE DoNs.

| I
Librarians of all ihe ,rgr CITIES. The
| librar ries have been ~ prsIeIed 10y the
demands of the pub ic th' th-v have
placed all books ielA ing 10 '.onr
friends, the enemy" on shelves where
the people can pick them 'hut for thetn-
selves. Even then The general thirst
for facts about Spa II dnes not SEEN t."
be satisfied, and all kinds Of impossible
requests are made for inform alton
which cannot be furnished. Ii would
seem, therefore, that a few plain sta:e-
ments concerning the actual condition
of the land of the dans will axe time
ly reading.
The kingdom of Spain constitutes
what might be called the sauth Aes;ern
arm of Europe, where it ieaches down
and almost touches nor hern Africa.
It is true peninsula, Washed on three
sides ry the waters If he MtditeTrah-
can, the Bay of Blscay and The Allan
tic Ocean, and joined by vide neck of
land to France. The great font of
Gibraltar, cut from solid rock of its
southern extremity, c'npelely COM
mands the entrance lU the Msditerran-
can. 1t is, however, owDed and gar
risoned by Great BII. ain. Spain is a
monarchy founded by the union of the
houses of Arsgon aud CASTLE during
the fifteenth century. She has been
ruled internationally by the houses
of Aragon and Bourbon, Savoy
Hapsbury for 400 years, except
once when Joseph Bonaparte was
proclaimed king by his brother, the
Emperor Napoleon, and once when the
country was a republic, during 1873
and 1874. The house Of Bourbon is in
power at present, although its supre-
macy is opposed by the CarIis's. who
| claim bar sins. er intprfere5 vi II the
purity of the descent. TIE present king
is Alfonso XIII, who, however, is but
12 years old, and whose mother, Maria
Christina, is the rtgen. Of the country.
HOW SPAIN Is GOVERNED.
The present constitution of Spain
was proclaimed in 1876 1t p oclaims
the government TO be constitutional
monarchy, the executive resting In the
King, the power to make laws ''in the
Cortes with the King.' The Curtes ale
composed Of a Senate and Congress
equal in authority. There are three
classes Of Senator'S first Senators by
their own right, secondly, Senators
nominated by the crown, and thirdly,
Senators elected by the corporations OF
state, that is, the communal and pro-
vincial states, the chu' ch, the univer-
stiles, academies, and by the largest
payers of contributions, Senators by
their own right are the grandees IF the
kingdom, whose titles and possessions
entitle them 10 the privilege The
Congress il formed by Deputies in the
proportion of one to every so 600 popu-
lation. in 1878 Cuba was given the
right to send Deputies TO the Cortes in
the proportion of one IT, every 10000
free inhabitants paying 125 pesetas 10
taxes yearly. Tht constitution further
enacts that the King in inyiolable, but
his ministers are responsible and all his
DEGREES must be countersigned by one
of them. The CurIes must a prove
his marriage before he can contract 1t
and he cannot marry any one excluded
by law from succession to the crown.
If all the lin;s become extinct the King
| would be elected by "vOte of the ma
tion." After the King the reins OF the
government are guided by a president
of the Council and the Ministers of
Foreign Affairs, JUS ice, Finance, the
Interior, War. Marine, Agriculture,
Commerce and Public Works and a
MiRisttr Of the Gnlnni \.
HER AREA AND POPULATION.
Spain's area aud p ,pulatiOn, as 1t is
at the present time, IL iniert resting. in
view of the fact that once her possess
ions were greater than those of any
other European power. Her present
area, including the Balearic and
Canary islands, each of which is con-
sidered province, is 197. $40 square
miles. New York, New jersey, Penn
sylvania and all Of the New England
States combined have an area Of 1922
O65 square miles. spain is, therefore,
trif1e larger than these States. On
the other hand, Texas has an area of
262, ,290 square miles. SO hat if Spain
is 81, Cos square miles larger than the
States above name, Texas ia. in turn,
IA, $40 square miles larger than Spain
The population uf Spain is estimated
to be II, $50, ,234, abou. The same as that
of the New England aud Middle States
named above,
HER FOREIGN POSSESSIONS.
Beside the Canary and Balearic ISL
ands, Spain holds lie colonies Of Cuba,
area 1866 mile; population before
the war, ], ,6S1 ,6S7 Porto Rico. area
$500 square miles, p pulation, et6, 708.
Total ares and pnpula ion in America
45, ,205 square miles and a,4a8, ,395 per-
sons respectively. Her possessions in
Asia are: The Philippine Islands. area
ia, 1926 square miles; population 7,0O0,-
600; the Sulu Islands, are $50 square
miles; population, 5000; the Caroline
Islands and Palace, area 500 square
miles; population, 36,oO0;t the Marian e
Islands. area 42O square miIesi popula-
tion 10,1T2. Total area and popula.
tion in Asia, 116. .256 square miles and
/ T.121, ,172 persona. Her possessions in
Africa are Rio de Oro and Adrar, area
243 600 square miles; population 100,-
600; Ifui (near Cape Num- area q
- he. ,,,r,.. L.. s<xn Rn00. IT,