The White Pine news. [volume] (Treasure City, Nev.) 1868-1906, 1898-06-11
rHE SPANISH CORES.
Constitution and Characteristics Of
of This Parliamentary Body.

The cortes are not. as generally sup
posed. merely the lower house OF
SPANS parliament. but comprise both
chambers. the literal translation of the
word "corles'' meaning THE courts"
They may be said TO owe their origin
to King Joseph Bonaparte, who, In
1912, first provided the Iberlan PENN
sula with a constitution, modelled on
that of imperial France. Repealed on
the Bourbon restoration. then revived
again, suspended once more. and then
recalled into ylgor. 1t 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 IL
practically universal suffrage, and, In
the proportion of One deputy to every
10000 male inhabitants. the qualifca-
ton as a voter being held by every
male Spanlard who is % years of age.
who IS In the enjoyment of his civil
rights. and who has been a citizen OF a
municipality or rural community for
two years.
The lower house is composed of about
450 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 OF drawing pensions. the
only exception being made thai In he
case of the members OF the cabinet. Ii
n..l NJ fea,. RIta lao ipaaUinnl 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-
lightened countries. Indeed. the vast
majority OF the members OF the lower
house are men who have gone Into poll
ties solely with the object OF spells In
view.
The upper chamber. or Senate. Is In
hnitely more representative OF the q
ton than the lower house, although 1t
can scarcely be described as owing Its
origin TO the SURFACES OF the people. 1t
is composed of three classes-namely,
the Senators by their W right, that Is
to say, ''Senadores de Derecho Pro-
prio," who must not exceed eighty In
number; secondly. 100 life Senator's,
nominated by the crown, and, thirdly,
$50 Senators elected by the so-ealled
corporations of state. that is to say. by
the communal and provincial assem-
biies. by the church, the universities.
the academies. etc. The elected Sena-
tors, therefore, equal In number the
life Senators nominated by the crown
and the Senators by their OWL right
put together. The 'Senadores de Dere-
cho Proprlo' are composed OF the heir
apparent to the throne, II he happens
to be a man, the sons of the sovereign
and members Of the grandezza. titled
and untitled. who can prove that they
possess an annual income derived from
land OF ut least $4,000.
This practically restricts the sena.
tors In their own right to members OF
the relgnlng family and 10 the great
landowners of the old aristocraey. that
is to say, 10 people who may lac regard
ed as 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 Ia the
Crown are the captains general of the
army. the admirais 81 the navy, the
cardinals and archbishops, the presi-
dents of the council OF state, of the SUI
preme tribunal, OF the tribunal Of Cuen-
tas del RENO. OF the supreme councils
OF war and OF marine. and of such 9th
or d~lgnataries of the kingdom as the
sovereign may appoint with the con
sent OF the cabinet OF the day. The
other half of the Senate, that Is TO say,
those who owe their seats In the upper
cha mber to election, must be renewed
by one-half every five years, and by
totallty every time that the monarch
dissolyes that particular part OF the
Cortes.
Let me state In conclusion that the
Cortes are, In one sense of the word,
the most characteristic OF all Spanish
institutions. The oratory Is superb. In
deed. Ii may be doubted whether there
Is any people in the world that Is pos
sessed OF such magnificent and soul
stirring ~eloquence as that OF Spain. But
it Is mo- practical. 10 parody the old
French saying, 1T Is magnificent. but
II Is not business" Words take the
place of deeds. Tournaments of speech
cause the people to lose sight OF the
practical objects at stake and to such
extent are the debates In both cham
bers of the cortes academlcal and re
garded in the light of a dramatic per
fornlance rather than actual business
that those who listen TO the speakers
no matter whether from the seats OF
the members or from the galleries, act
ually lose sight OF the real issues which
are being discussed. Moreover. the ef
fects Of these streaks Of efoquence. Of
these flights of oratory. are merely Of
a transient n~ature.-St. Louis Globe
Democrat.
When the Liphts Glow.
"Our business Is always good on q
foggy day. said the manager OF Q
London eating house. "All manner Of
persons flock In then whom we never
see at any other time. How do | ac
.z.- 81. ttg lNFAll nnp lnrIlx an "