Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-11-17

the cortes will provide the same old APP
preparations after it has enjoyed the sat
Isiaction CT abusing and frightening the
ministry.
The trouble in Spain is that the old par
tieS nave no competent leaders, and are
demoralized and rotten For sixteen
years, While the regency lasted. the gov
eminent mas been run by a few thousand
! professional politicians for the power and
glory and money they could get out OF it.
Inc regency preserved the throne and in
ternal peace, which has disappointed the
prophets OF evil, who predicted calamity
When the queen was placed in power, but
that has been chiefly due to a succession
| or sacrifices and compromises and a
friendly understanding between the Lead
| ers OF the old parties. The queen mother
mas made most generous concessions to
liberties and exemptions than at any time
since the reign OF Philip II. In that way
she has secured its powerful and unfiag-
| ging support.
! The administration of affairs has been
| passed back and forth between leaders
! or the two parties-Mr. Canovas of the
| conservatives and Mr.. Sagasta of the lib
erals. and although they abused each 9TH
| err in the parliament in the newspapers
| and from the platform there has always
been a friendly understanding under
which the authority has been shifted from
| one to the other whenever it was neces-
| sary to satisfy public clamor. When Il
! conservative ministry became 50 unpopu-
| lar that the people would not tolerate it
| any ItIlSeT. MI. SanONdS anu Ms CABINETS
| would tender their designations. Mir. ,Sa-
| gaSta anG his lieutenants would be asked
| to form q cabinet, and would remain in
| control until the public was tired of them.
| Then Mr.. CanoVaS would come in again.
| This arrangement has been continued be-
| tween the ms and the outs until now.
| Negotiations Tor the transfer OF power
have been carried on quite OpGniy, and
! their progress has been published from
| day to day in the newspapers as Il matter
| of course.
| The government is SO centralized that
| the prime minister controls not only the
! great offices of state but the collection
and disbursement of the revenues, and
| the command of the army and navy by
| the assignment of officers to the different
departments and the staff BY mutual
/ unde! standing the underlings, occupying
| desks in the several executive depart
ments and subordinate posts in the ser
| been disturbed, and are perhaps quite
/ evenly distributed between the two par
ties. None but the principal officials and
| the heads of affairs have besn removed
with a change of ministry. But what
| they call a crisis, that is the resumption
| Of power by the outs. has always mace
| it necessary for them to lind places for .
| few and sometimes many new men who
| have acquired influence in the meantime.
| Thus the numerical strength Of the gov
| eminent has been constantly increasing
| until the different departments are now
crowded with employees who have nothing
| to do but draw their salaries ana seldom,
go to their desks except on pay day. An
| official in one of the ministries told me the
| other day that out of a total of 1000 poo
| pie on the pay roll in his department. not
| more than 500 were doing any actual
work, while out OF thirty-tWo men whose
| names were on the register in his rartjri;~
| lar division only seven were regular and
punctual in attendance and several ne
| had never seen.
Mr.. Canovas, the conservative leader
| and man OF great ability was aSSass-
| mated several years ago; Mr. Sagast, the
/ liberal leader, died last year, and Mr.
CASTELAR,. the republican leader died four
years ago. Thus disappeared the men
who have controlled the affairs and the
opinions Cf Spain for a quarter of a CEN
| tny. Mr. Canovas was succeeded by Mr..
| Siiyela. who initiated his predecessor as
| closely as possible, and remained in power
| until last July, when he was compelled to
resign. He has since publicly announcer
| his permanent retirement from politics.
| He has been succeeded by Mr.. Viiiaverdc.
| the present prime minister. whose ability
| and honesty are universally conceded
| but he is very unpopular among the ac-
| tive politicians because of his scrupIes,
economical tendencies and business-iike
habits Those who are familiar with
Spanish politics predict that the conserva-
| tive party will decline to accept him as it.,
leader He has been tried in several re-
| sponslble positions and has made an IN
| impcachabe record. lie has been q mem
| Der of the corteS from the city of Madrid
| almost continuously for twenty years; lie
Il
| rihle cholera epidemic a few years ago
| which tested his physical courage ana
| ability. He has been president of the
| chamber of deputies, minister of the in
| terror and minister of finance, and in each
| OF those positions has made q distinct sue
| cess. Many people consider him the
ablest man in Spain today, but he is too
| honest and too exact to be acceptable to
the conservative party. The politicians
| say that he has no sympathy with the
poor because his wife is SO rich She is /,
daughter of the Marquis Molans, fol,
| many years ambassador to France He
was prominent in public affairs during the
reign of Isabella H.
Senior Maura, an eX-lberal who has
never been accused of the faults that
make VillaVer1e unpopular is ambitious
to be leader of the conservative party
and is quite likely to be elected although
people who know him well declare that he
lacks the ability and other qualifications
to maintain himself very long in that posi-
ton.
The liberal party is equally at n loss
for Il leader. Since Sagastas death last
spring. it has been without one and has
been BADLY scattered When the cartes
meets in 4 few weeks the members of
pose of reorganization and will select 4
leader. He will probably be the Marquis
Vega de Armijo, who has been in office
or and on for many years under oagaSta
as minister of state, minister of forcign
affairs, ard then president of tire senate.
1t is expel Ted that when the present cabi-
net rctiies the king will call upon him to
form a new one. His rival is Montero
Rios, a lawyer of Madrid, who has the
reputation of being the most eloquent
orator i'll Spain