The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-03-04

Facts About Countries
<s.-oese.<e.C.o.E>
BY J. E. BRIGHAM.

Area, continental Spain, 190050 square
miles; population 1S,61S,0S6.
Alfonso Kill, the reigning monarch, is
the son of the late King Alfonso XII. and
Maria Christina, daughter of the late
Karl Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria.
King Alfonso was born after his fathers
death, May 171S36 and by reason of his
sex succeeded his eldest sister. Mercedes.
He is a defendant of the House of Bour
bon.
SPANS present constitution was pro-
claimed June 30, 1876. 1t provides that
Spain shall be a constitutional monarchy
the executive resting with the King and
the power to make laws lin the Cortes
with the King" The Cortes is composed
of a senate and congress equal in au-
thority. There are three classes of sena-
tors however. First. senators by their
own right; second, one hundred senator's
nominated by the crown, and, third, one
| hundred and eighty senators elected by
the corporations of the state, that is.
the commercial and provincial states the
| church. the universities, academies, etc.
| Both congress and senate meet every
| year and the reigning monarch has the
| power OF convoking suspending or dis
solving them, but in the latter case a
| new Cortes must sit within three months.
The cabinet consists OF the president
J, OF the council. minister of foreign af-
| fairs, minister OF justice, minister OF
finance, minister Of the interior, minister
/ os war, minister of the marine minister OF
agriculture, and commerce, and public
works. and minister of education.
The King has a civil list, fixed by
| the Cortes Of 100000 pesetas or $4,000
! pounds sterling a year.
The Roman Catholic church is the ma
| tional church and statistics show there
are but 1854 Professionals. 402 Jews. and
| about 10 900 persons of other religious be-
Iiefs In this country. The state annually
expends more than eight million dollars
for the maintenance Of the Roman Cath
| ole religion
| spains army on a peace footing consists
| of ~ 956 officers and men. The first ana
second reserves, however, bring the total
war strength up to 5Sl1O.
! since her war with the United States
In 1893 Spain has dropped to sixteenth
Dlace in naval strength. Her navy today
J consists of three second-class battleships,
| four armored cruisers. 36 other cruisers
sea-Roing gunboats, 90 river gunboats
1s tornedo boats and a destroyer and AZ
other vessels. Officers, 7S6; men, 600.
Prior to the war of 1898, Spain had a
| colonial empire, with a population esti-
mated at close TO 100000 people Her
coIonists today do not number over 400.-
o00. and outside OF Africa she has only
/ 1s57 square miles Of colonial territory.
/ Her national debt is about two billions
| of dollars. her indebtedness being exceed
ed only by that of France, Germany,
| italy. Russia and Great Britain. Her an
nual revenues are about slG,000.0O0 and
her annual expenditures about sls70oO.o0o.
AS interest on debt and other fixed
charges are $50 100000 annually. Spain Is
running behind at the rate OF s70.000,Oo0
year
The total wealth Of Spain is estimated
at s5,4OO,00OooO.
Exports to Spain from the United States
are about Sl6.C000D year, while the
United States buys from Spain about
| $90 10000 a year.
| spanlards have sprung from greater
variety OF stocks than any other Euro
| pean people. The country itself was
| known to the Greeks and Romans by
the name of Spania. Hispania and iberia.
and the earliest known race Of inhabi-
| tants were called Iberans. but almost
| from the time Spanish history begins.
/ the Celts had invaded the country and
. had intermarried with the Iberans. There
were. however. IN early times quite ex-
| tensive settlements Of Phoenlcians and
!, carthaginlans. and later came the Ro-