Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1898-03-27

To this period, likewise, belongs the Inquisition. This, in the opinion of the present writer, is often seriously nis- understood. It was not the outcome of her creed, but of her character; it was essentially Spanish. True, persecution was no new thing; in a barbarous age men are sure to give a barbarous in depreciation to their religion-even though 1t be the gospel of peace. But the abominations of injustice and cruelty practiced in Spain-whether di- rected against infidels or Jews or here. tics-reach nn extreme hardly to be paralleled elsewhere, and they persist. ed and intensified in an age of increas ing enlightenment until the whole civil ized world stood aghast at them. And while the horrors of the Inqnisition were the inevitable outcome of Spanish history and Spanish character, the sys- tenn continually reacted to foster the traits that had given it birth. So hile the world advanced, Spain Jagged behind in medieval darkness-and she is still far to the rear.
 That is the trouble to-day. With Phoenician cruelty, and Carthaginian duplicity, and Roman arrogance, and Vandal greed. and Moslem intolerance. Spain belongs to the dark ages-an ata- vistie survival. We look upon her with amazement as she sits in the tawdry remnants of her ancient grandeur, ;" intent upon her bull fights, metaphori- cai and literal, while all the other na- tions of the earth are marching onward.
 But this ancient grandeur" never was anything but tawdry; like all things Spanish, it has been made tie subject of gross exaggeration.
 It may we'll be doubted that Spain was ever prosperous in any proper sense of the word. In her best days the number of beggars in the country was appalling. I hesitate to quote the figures-for they are Spanish 150,- oo0 is the estimate. During the same period there were scarcely any manu- factures, The exports were in the main the products of the soil practically un- tilled-sueh as wool, hides, minerals, raw silks, kermes and olives. What does this signify? It means that Spain i'll her palmiest estate was largely oc- eupied by mining camps and cattle ranches; and this conclusion is in per feet accord with Spanish characteris- ties,
 The popular ideas about pastoral life are diametrically wrong. Far from be- ing one of the most peaceful occupa- lions, as pictured by poets, it is one of the toughest and most savage. The real shepherd goes about armed to the teeth, often followed by pack of fierce Gogs, ever ready and often forced to fight for life and property. What he becomes under the most favorable con ditions may be seen in the modern cow boy. In earlier times we simply find the knife and spear in place of the re volYer and rife, and the shepherd him. self is rather more like wild animal Much the same may be said of the miners. In such a state of society laws are ineffective, brigandage runs ram pant, and lynching, as the only means of restraining crime, becomes a sys- tenn. All this is familiar to us in the history of the wilder parts of our own west; and all this, and worse, was the condition of Spain for centuries-an- other reason why the Spanish are not a gentle race. In this connection it is rather interesting to note that just as OUT cowboys sometimes string up a horse thief to the nearest tree and make him target for their revolvers, so the Spanish lynching parties used to hoist their victim upon pole and shoot him full of arrows-so closely does his tory repeat itself under similar condi- tions. We, however, do not boast of the grandeur" of '49, nor of the cattle ranch.
 That the Spaniard was also much ad- dieted to a seafaring life did not tend to soften his temper in days when com meree was largely a compound of smuggling and piracy. Here again he worked up q great reputation for fero- cieus eruelty-though it must be ad- mitted that the English were for time close rivals in this line. It is simply one more factor. The horrible traffic in slaves is another, and was at it's worst under Spanish (and Portuguese) auspices. Like the Inquisition, all these things are at once a manifestation and a reaeting cause of Spanish cruelty.
 Much more might be addueed; but quite enough has been cited to make il evident why the Spaniard is what he is. True character of d nation. as of is individual members, is largely the product of heredity and environment: and in both these particulars the span iard has been phenomenalIy unlaekv He is just what his history has made him, and presumably can be nothing else. We could pity him were he not himself so pftiless.
 That he should excessively pride him self upon his lineage seems rather ex- traordinary in view of the facts; but It is really nothing to wonder at. The worse the stock the more insufferable the pride of blood-as the pedigree of many royal house bears witness.
 DAVIS TURNER.
 It's True Import.
 We grasp the true import of Easter when we see that our Lords victory ova,.