Evening journal., 1898-05-17

any price short Of sacrificing the ma
tional honor were not the men for con-
Quoting affairs in a desperate struggle
against an enemy infinitely superior in
resources.
mo doubt a Conservative cabinet was
practically impossible, because 1t would
have required a Conservative majority
in the chamber which was not obtain
able without subjecting the country to
the dangerous ordeal Of a general cleo
tion. But such an extreme measure was
not necessary. There were many Lib
erals who had condemned the cabinet
for being too conciliatOry and who con-
tinued to urge il to accept the arbitra-
ment of war They were the men, IL
was naturally supposed who must be
willing to, accept the responsibilities Of
office when a war was imminent.
$50 1T seemed at least to several mem
bers of the Sagasta ministry and on
the very day Of the opening Of the cortes
his colleagues urged upon Senior Sagasta
the advisability Of the cabinet resign
ing Immediately. Senior Sagasta OBJ
jected. He wished to temporize as
usual. Even after some useless delay
all he could be induced to do was to ad-
wise the queen regent to consult with
important political leaders on the ques-
ton Of a change Of cabinet.
FINALLY on Sunday, May s, Senor Sa-
gasta, yielding to the representations
of those who wished to retire, rendered
the queen regent the resignation of the
cabinet. Again the same important po-
1tical personages were consulted, and
again they declined the responsibilities
of Office. Things seemed at a deadlock,
but there was still way out of II.
"The fundamental question Of policy
which divided ministers was whether
the government should still seek a pa
cihc solution by provoking the friendly
intervention Of the great powers or
should abandon all present hope Of
peace and fight to the bitter end. on
that question, affecting the vital inter-
ests Of the country, the nation might
well have been invited TO express an
opinion by the voice Of it's representa-
tives in parliament, and there was a
possibility that a more pacific policy
might be recommended, because Senor
Silvela, the leader of a party which had
always shown itself more bellicose than
the Liberals, had used in the chamber
certain vague expressions which SEEM
ed to show that he favored making an
other effort to secure peace.
NNH"A +AbAtAf 0NtoINlnblAt lduutlttl
the idea in the chamber but Senor Sill
vela, instead of adopting Morets sug-
gestion. condemned it In no measured
terms as an attempt Of the government
TO evade its legitimate responsibilities
and to transform the chamber into a
convention Of the French revolutionary
type. In vain Senor Moret at subse-
quent sittings explained that such was
not his intention and that the govern
ment wanted merely an indication OF
the national will. Senior Silvela refused
to accept the olive branch. and the cab.
met. containing representatives Of botl
policies. relapsed into its old difficulties
The only course now was for Senior sa
gasta to choose for himself between tho
two policies, letting those retire who
objected to the policy adopted. This he
has now done. and it is understood thai
he will choose colleagues from among
those in favor of continuing the strug-
gle with all possible energy"