Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-09-12

gressive candidates for the 245 seats.
The elections are to be held on Tues
day Of this week. In the late House
there were 116 Conservatives, headed
by the present premier. Arthur
Meighen. and 101 Liberals. headed
by William Lyon Mackenzie King.
An end TO the parliamentary dead
lock would seem to require that the
winning party should have at least
1870 seats. The Conservatives are
appealing to the country chiefly on
the promise of greater protectlon
against United States products. inc
Liberals would make the chief issue
of the status of Canada in the en-
pire They claim that GOV. Gen.
Byng overode Dominion rights In
refusing to accept the advice OF tne
Liberal premier, Mr.. King, to order
dissolution, whereas he shortly
thereafter accepted the advice in the
same sense Of Mr.. Kings successor,
the Conservative Mr.. Meighen. 1t
is claimed that an unfair advtange
was thus given to the Conservatives
through acquisition by them OF the
machinery of elections.
* " i: X
Spain.-Spain is in a phase or eX-
element. On September the govern
ment, with the Kings approval, or
dered that a plebiscite be held on sep
ten,ber II. II and 10 Ion the ques-
tion whether or not a national as
semblv shall be convened. Such, ac-
cording to the dispatches at any rate,
is the question being proposed to the
people. Why such n question. since
it is doubtful if a majority OF the
Spanish people understand 1t? With
some diffidence I offer the following
solution OF the puzzle. Evidently
Primo de Rivera feels the need of a
popular vote Of confidence or what
may be claimed as such; but, as IN
terpret, he would at the same time
secure himself against disastrous con-
| SEQUENCES from an adverse vote. A
vote in favor Of convocation of a ma
tional assembly (even though the ma
ioritv of the voters might have but
| the haziest notion Of the character
cf the body proposeO might plausibly
| he. INTERPRETED as a popular vote or
confidence in him and his general
scheme Of policy. On the other hand.
an adverse vote might be interpreted
as simply condemning the proposal OF
a national assembly without reflection
on Primo de Rivera's general scheme
OF policy. What, then, is the charac-
| ter of the 'natlOnal assembly pio-
posed? But that is another story, too
| long for this paper.
I cannot discover that the mutiny
of the officers of the artillery' corps
Of the Spanish Army had any other
basis than Indignation at a degree pro-
viding for partial substitution of the
method of selection for that OF senior
ity in the promotion Of officers. They
acted in accordance with pleasant
centennial practice in the Spanish
army. and prepared to mutiny.
Mutiny having actually raised It's
head in several artillery garrisons on
the 9Th. a royal decree ordered mar
tial law throughout the realm, all ar
tillery officers were placed in arrest
and the preliminaries instituted for
the proper court-martial trials. In
only one instance was resistance made
to arrest; this resulting in the deaths
of one artillery officer and three en-
! listed men, The other arms proved
| loyal and detachments Of them and
Of the admirable civil guards made
the arrests Martial law lasted only