No. 522.]

No. 377.

General Sickles to Mr. Fish.

UNITED STATES LEGATION IN SPAIN,

Madrid, January 19, 1873. (Received February 12.) SIR: The cabinet crisis foreshadowed in my No. 490 happened sooner than was anticipated. Mr. Bugallal, a conservative deputy, alarmed by the current rumors respecting colonial reforms, took occasion, in the sitting of the 18th ultimo, to demand an explanation of the views of ministers. The reply of the president of the council was unexpectedly frank and positive in its announcement of a new colonial policy. Mr. Becerra, colonial minister in 1869, and one of the advanced radicals in the chamber, immediately offered a resolution indorsing the programme of the government. After an animated and interesting debate, the motion was "taken into consideration" by the decisive vote of 182 ayes and 7 noes. Appendix A furnishes a translation of the salient points in the speeches of Mr. Bugallal, the president of the council, and Mr. Becerra. Appendix B contains the report of the proceedings, as published in the official gazette.

The announcement of a new colonial policy to be initiated in Porto Rico, embracing the immediate abolition of slavery, municipal liberty, and qualified provincial autonomy, quickly followed by an emphatic indorsement of the programme in the popular branches of Congress, presented the contingency for which I had been prepared by the intimations of the minister of state. Mr. Gasset y Artime, minister of ultramar, and Mr. Ruiz Gomez, secretary of the treasury, at once resigned. General Cordova retains the portfolio of the war department temporarily, in view of the Carlist insurrection and the pending bill for the re-organization of the army, it being understood that he dissents from certain features of the new colonial programme, and may retire at a later day. Mr. Echegaray is transferred from public works to the treasury; Mr. Mosquera, one of the vice-presidents of the chamber, goes into the colonial office; and Mr. Becerra replaces Mr. Echegaray.

It

Congress having, in compliance with custom, suspended business pending the re-organization of the cabinet, the tribunes were crowded on the re-assembling of the chambers on the evening of the 20th, when it was expected that Mr. Zorilla would make the usual official statement. happened, however, that when the new cabinet made its appearance, as a matter of form, in the senate before repairing to the lower house, Mr. Cervera, a republican senator, cleverly seized the occasion to obtain an expression from his colleagues with reference to the new colonial policy. The president of the council had no sooner taken his seat on the "blue bench," occupied by ministers, than he was drawn into a discussion involving an exposition of the plans of the cabinet, as now organized. Mr. Suarez Inclán, a pronounced and somewhat impetuous partisan of the old régime, vehemently assailed the new departure in colonial affairs. His effort to inflame the Spanish heart by suggestions of foreign influence brought out the minister of state, whose speech you will find worth perusal. The debate was continued by the Marquis of Barzanallana and Mr. Mosquera, the colonial minister. Hereupon Mr. Cervera, in behalf of his republican associates, offered a resolution approving the declarations of the government, significantly adding, "we scarcely venture to applaud them, for we are not content with so little and seek to go much further." Mr. Calderon Collantes, a distinguished figure in the anti-dynastic opposition, endeavored to prevent a vote as inopportune, after "so

stormy and indecorous a session." He said, "all parties felt that the future of the country and the honor of the nation were involved." The senate was, however, in no mood for delay, and after brief addresses from Mr. Rojo Arias and Mr. Cervera the resolution was adopted, 51 to 5. A translation of this debate will be found in Appendix C, and the original text, clipped from the official gazette, is contained in Appendix D.

In the chamber of deputies, the president of the council of ministers having explained the causes of this crisis, and the nature of the questions out of which it arose, the debate was continued on Mr. Becerra's vote of confidence proposed on the 17th (Appendix E.) Mr. Estéban Collantes, brother of the senator, and General Gaudara, formerly captaingeneral of San Domingo, opposed the proposition in speeches of considerable power. If you do not find much that is new in their arguments, it may be useful to peruse the most that two able men could oppose to the enlightened and judicious policy of reform. These conservative leaders were effectively answered by Mr. Ramos Calderon and the minister of public works, Mr. Becerra, the mover of the proposition under consideration, and who had been called into the cabinet after the preliminary vote of the 17th.

You will observe that Mr. Estéban Collantes, in the chamber of deputies, ingeniously quoted some of the remarks of Mr. Martos, as reported in my No. 34, to show that colonial reforms are dangerous and impracticable in Cuba; he denounced the municipal law, because in permitting foreigners to vote it might happen that the Antilles would be lost through universal suffrage; it besides permitted the local authorities to impose duties on articles of consumption, and this would ruin the commerce of Castile and Catalonia; and he maintained that loyal Spaniards in Cuba did not want reforms; only traitors demanded them, to whom no concessions should be made.

Mr. Becerra's reply was cogent, but I regretted to hear the new minister affirm, as his personal opinion, that "a dictatorship would be the best means of ending the war speedily."

Mr. Calderon put the argument on commanding ground. He said no advantage could justify prolonging the servitude of those whose freedom had been proclaimed that night by the president of the council. Every man on Spanish soil was entitled to the liberty guaranteed by the Spanish constitution. Now, even the loyal white men of Porto Rico were free everywhere except at home in their own native island. The radical party was bound to see that all Spaniards, white and black, colonial and peninsular, stood free and equal before the law.

The debate was adjourned at half past two in the morning. This day's proceedings will be found in English in Appendix E. The Spanish text is in Appendix F.

Resumed at the same hour on the afternoon of the 21st, the discussion continued until after midnight, culminating in a magnificent speech from Castelar, the great republican orator. The minister of state, in deference to the usual form of proceeding, was the last to speak; but he could only say, "The debate is closed. Mr. Castelar has spoken the last word-the slaves in Porto Rico are already free. The bill the gov ernment will bring in can only give legal sanction and form to the inspired utterance of the world's greatest orator."

The vote was then taken, and Mr. Becerra's proposition was adopted, 214 voting in the affirmative and 12 in the negative. Among the notable names recorded in favor of colonial emancipation is that of Don Cristóbal Colon de la Cerda, Duke of Verazua, Marquis of Jamaica,

"Admiral, &c., of the Indies," a lineal descendant of the discoverer of America.

A résume of the last day's debate is given in English in Appendix G. Mr. Castelar's speech in full, translated from a Spanish report, revised by himself, will be found in Appendix H. The original Spanish text of this day's proceedings, as reported in the official gazette, is in Appendix I.

You will observe that Mr. Bugallal put great stress upon a coincidence he pointed out between the views expressed in the president's message and the policy now announced by the Spanish cabinet. Mr. Martos answered that the resolution of "his colleagues was taken in November and communicated to Europe and America; whereas the message of President Grant was read to Congress on the first Monday of December. It would therefore be more reasonable to assume that the friendly tone of the American Executive, so unusual in speaking of Spain and Spanish affairs, was due to the sympathies inspired by a knowledge of the action then contemplated by the cabinet of Madrid, and to-day fulfilled."

You cannot fail, I think, to be favorably impressed by the effective speech of the Marquis of Sardoal. A very young man, and only lately chosen to Parliament, he has at once taken high rank as a debater. A son of the Duke of Abrantes and a grandee of Spain, he is one of the most advanced of the liberal party in this country. The marquis commands the national guard of Madrid. I would especially commend to your notice the telling passages he cites from the record of the Duke de la Torre (Marshal Serrano) and Mr. Ayala, the author of the manifesto of the "league."

Mr. Padial called attention to the transport of slaves from Porto Rico to Cuba, for sale, which he denounced as a violation of law, and asked that orders might be given to prevent the traffic.

Mr. Labra, a deputy from Porto Rico, bore a distinguished part in the debate. The brief sketch of his remarks found in the synopsis translated, may induce you to order the whole of his strong speech put into English for publication.

I need not invite attention to the oration of Castelar. His just fame as an orator will stimulate curiosity to read what he said upon a theme that has made dull men eloquent. Representing the republican party, his novel attitude as an ally of the government gave fresh interest to the occasion. The definite purpose he had in view was to unite the majority of the chamber in support of the cabinet. Much hesitation had been exhibited by not a few of the ministerial adherents. Indeed it was the boast of the "whipper-in" of the slavery party that as many as ninety ministerialists would either dodge the vote or side with the opposition. It was therefore necessary that Castelar, while satisfying the exigencies of the republican leadership, should take ground on which he could rally all the liberals of the chamber-monarchists and republicans. In this sense I cannot too highly praise this great parliamentary triumph. The orator carried the whole house with him. If here and there a few yet lingered in doubt, the enthusiasm of the tribunes and the applause of the chamber swept them along with the torrent of feeling set in motion by this incomparable speaker.

Of course, it is quite impossible, without prejudice to the other duties of the minister and secretary of legation, that justice can be done to these debates in the hurried translations we are constrained to forward. If they serve to convey some impression of the character and tone of the proceedings, the purpose in view in their preparation is answered. The suddenness with which these questions were precipitated, and the

absorbing interest of the tournament in Congress, found the government, at the moment of its victory, without a draft of an emancipation-bill. If a bill could have been presented on the spot, at the moment when the final vote was announced on Mr. Becerra's proposition, I am confident it would have passed by acclamation. As it was, it seemed as if nothing could be done until after the Christmas recess, it being understood the chamber of deputies would adjourn that night for the holidays. So strong, however, was the desire of a few earnest reformers to lose no time, that the government intimated, unofficially, its disposition to present the bill in the senate on the 23d. You will see by the report of the proceedings (Appendix K) that Mr. Martos, while giving some interesting explanations of the colonial policy of the government with respect to Cuba and Porto Rico, stated that the bill would not be brought in that day. The house having adjourned subject to the call of the president, and the senate having resolved to separate for the holidays, the friends of emancipation would have been disappointed in their hope of prompt action if Mr. Rivero, the president of the chamber, had not called a special session of that body on the 24th in order to receive the bill. It was accordingly read for the first time by the new minister of the colonies, Mr. Mosquera. The preamble and bill will be found translated in Appendix N. The Spanish original is in Appendix O. The benches and tribunes of the chamber were crowded on this eventful day. The reading was greeted on all sides by frequent and hearty signs of applause. As soon as the bill was presented, the allied opposition, represented in the "league," set to work with all the machinery under their control to foment hostile agitation all over Spain. Nor were their operations confined to the Peninsula. Truly or falsely, it was represented that both Cuba and Porto Rico were profoundly and dangerously moved by the action of the home government. All sorts of statements found cur rency in the newspaper-organs of the "league." It was affirmed that the slaves, impatient of any delay, were about to initiate a servile insurrection and a "war of races;" that the merchants, despairing of any returns from the present sugar and tobacco crops, had stopped all transactions; that the premium on gold and the rates of exchange had risen ruinously; that the planters, so long as the steady supporters of the home government, no matter by whom administered, had resolved to make one last appeal through the "Casino" of Havana for delay, and failing in this supreme effort of loyalty, their next step should not cause surprise. whatever form it might unhappily take. Appeals were not wanting from the Spanish towns most actively engaged in the colonial trade. The wheat-growers of Castile, the olive and wine producers of Andalusia, the manufacturers of Catalonia, the shippers of Santander. Valencia, and Cadiz, were loud in their forebodings of impending disaster to Spanish agriculture and commerce.

Meanwhile the friends of reform were not idle. The constituencies of the senators and deputies who had supported the government sent by telegraph and post innumerable felicitations to their representatives. If, on the one hand, societies and guilds interested in colonial monopolies sent protests, on the other, municipal bodies, provincial assemblies, and public meetings of citizens in the same localities gave abundant evidence of the popular favor extended to the policy of emancipation. These manifestations still continue; scarcely a day passes without a series of these announcements appearing in the official gazette. During the present week great meetings have been held in Burgos and Lerida.

Last Sunday a numerous procession, embracing the members of the abolition society, "The Tertulia," a political club embracing the chief

supporters of the party in power and the "Republican Junta," all of their organizations resembling our union leagues, marched through the principal streets of the capital to the official residence of the prime minister and offered him their congratulations. The leading opposition journal, La Epoca, estimates the number of gentlemen in the procession at above three thousand. When one considers the respectability and political prominence of most of the personages taking part in the demonstration, it may well be regarded as a most significant event, that in the capital of Spain so large a number of influential people have found occasion for public rejoicing in the abandonment of the traditional colonial system of the ancient empire, a system which had survived the fall of dynasties and constitutions, which revolutions had left unshaken, and which had defied even the better counsels taught in the loss of vast dominions through a blind obedience to old forms of colonial government. To these imposing proofs of public sentiment must be added those which have emanated from the republican organizations throughout Spain, and which have generally taken the form of addresses to Señor Castelar applauding his action in supporting the reform measures announced by the governor. The republican journals continue to publish, daily, communications of this tenor from various towns.

During the past few weeks the Spanish press of all shades of opinion has had scarcely any other theme for discussion beside the one absorbing topic of the new colonial policy. In Madrid the opposition control the greater number of newspapers. It would not be difficult to explain this circumstance if it had much importance, and to show that not a few of them are rather the advocates of special interests and privileges than the exponents of an impartial public opinion. I had begun to collate extracts from the more prominent papers, intending to forward them for your information, but the result of two days' clippings, confined to a fraction only of the Madrid papers, as shown in Appendix P, was so formidable that I desisted from encumbering the archives of the Department by the formal transmission of data in which the bulk so much exceeds the value. You will appreciate this forbearance by a glance at the package marked "unofficial," accompanying this dispatch, and which contains 400 articles, appearing between the 14th and 25th of December. A persistent effort is made by the opposition journals to represent the remarks of the President relating to Spanish affairs in his annual message as "dictatorial," "arrogant," and "intrusive." The European press, with remarkable uniformity, has taken quite a different view of the subject, generally commending what they characterize as the unexpected moderation of the document. The ministerial and republican organs in this country fail to discover in the language of the President any ground of complaint; and you will be gratified to see that Mr. Martos, speaking in the name of His Majesty's government, evinces a just appreciation of the impartial attitude and the discriminating views indicated by the executive.

I cannot, perhaps, more appropriately conclude this résumé of the incidents of the past month touching the development of the colonial policy of Mr. Zorrilla's cabinet than by a reference to the remarkable addresses presented to the King on the 1st of January, 1873, by the president of the senate, Mr. Figuerola, and the presiding officer of the chamber of deputies, Mr. Rivero. You will find them translated in Appendix Q, together with the replies of His Majesty, understood to have been written by Mr. Martos. Up to the moment of the publication of these proceedings at the palace the "league" had cherished hopes that the King would refuse to identify himself with the policy of his minis