Year: 1873

SPEECH OF PRESIDENT FIGrEEAs.


Senor Figucras. the President of the
Republic, then said:


Mr. Ministerial grave responsibility
accompanies the trust confded TO me by
the sovereignty of the Assembly. and
which has been recognized by the adj
hesion OF the nation a responsibility
sufficient Of itself to overwhulm me if
there were not moments of consolation
and support like these when your most
eloquent words bear to my ears the
mighty voice of the American people
hailing with their bencdiction.the advent
of the Republic in our own Spain. at
tanned by her moderation and energy,
and which she will preserve and main
tain by cousummatc prudence As the
faithful and sensitive interpreter of the
sentiments that animate your race you
have reminded us of the gratitude your
people feel toward our people, because
the daring Of our explorers discovered.
the valor of our heroes conquered and
the faith of our missionaries evangelical
a great portion of the vast domain lit by
the shining s'ars Of your glorious Com
monwealth. But even had the memory
Of those deeds not REQUIRED to you and
to us who are of the stock that achieved
those COnquests. and even did they not
possess such a glorious character, they
would acquire it to-day because they
form a bond of union between Spain
which carried to your shores the genius
of civilization, and America which now
gives us by her example the fruits of
. liberty and democracy.


You are grateful to our people for
these immortal and historic deeds, but
how much more gratitude do we not
owe-we whose lives have been devoted
to the hard problem of uniting demo
cracy and liberty-tO the noble Pilgrims,
the founders of your institutions, who,
inspired by their own serene belief,
sought beyond the seas a temple for
their unfettered c0nsCiences, and found
ed in the new world a new order of
society, which, organized and perfected
by the republican spirit of the eighteenth
century, had united in perfect equili-
brium the authority of society with the
inherent rights of man, the restless yigor
of democracy with the firm stability of
power, the free outgrowth of all the as
pirations of the human soul with res
pect for the interests of others and for
the laws-a worthy example not to be
forgotten in the new era of our own
country.


Mr.. Minister, the Spanish Republic
will ever count among its greatest priv
ileges the opportunities given to it by its
character and origin to strengthen the
ties of friendship between Spain and the
United States. We possess in the New
World a considerable and integral part
of our national territory, which must
ever serve, under the shadow of the
Spanish flag, as a bond of relationship
between the two continents In order
that our island may fulfill this high mis-
sion, and that they may bepreseryed for
this civiliZing purpose, under our own
nationality, we count upon the energy
of all Spaniards, upon the virtue of our
new institutions, upon the fruition yet
to spring from the abandonment of the
past, and upon public opinion i'll the
United States, whose influence through
out the American Continent is 50 great
and SO justly merited


These hopes are strengthened by the
illustrious name Won by the President
of the United States and by the credit
and sympathy possessed among us by
his representative in Madrid If the
most pleasing of all your duties has been
the recognition of my authority, my
most pleasing task will be to aid you in
all the means by which you may con-
tribute to promote the fraternal policy
that should exist between the Republic
of the United States and the Republic
of Spain.


TIE OFFICIAL CALL UPON CASTELAR,


At the close of this speech General
Sickles advanced and shook hands with
the President of the Republic and with
each member of the Cabinet. He then,
at the request of the President, accom-
panied him to his private office and re-
manned with him for some time in pri-
vate conference. Returning to the car
riage, he drove off in the same order,
and amid renewed cheers to the Foreign
Office, which is in the Kings palace.
Here he paid an official visit to Senor
CASTELAR,, the Spanish Foreign Secretary,
r