The PRESIDENT. "The ministers will be pleased to go to their bench." ZORRILLA. "Take notice that I have resigned."

FERNANDEZ DE LAS CUEVAS, (addressing the president.)

has given to your excellency a dictatorship?"

66 Who

MARTOS. "Mr. President, here in my place as a deputy, I demand to speak."

FIGUERAS. "I demand to speak." [Agitation.]

The PRESIDENT. "There is no debate."

FIGUERAS. "Permit me, your excellency, to say that the country demands from the assembly that it shall choose a government."

MARTOS. "Who strips me of my right as a deputy? Nobody in the world shall do it. [Applause in some benches.] Have I the floor, Mr. President?"

The PRESIDENT. "I will speak now, and afterward you may address the house. It is best to be calm when we are discussing questions of such gravity. This is the position of the president. He believed, and believes, that all powers devolved upon him in the name of the assembly. [No! No!] I am mistaken. I believed it my duty, as the president of a sovereign assembly, to exercise gubernatorial authority. [Noisy interruptions.] It is expedient that you hear me-above all for the sake of public order. I be lieve that, as events have happened here, analogous to those which have transpired in like circumstances in other countries, we may adopt the means elsewhere taken. What have we here? Two co-ordinate legislative bodies, assuming in joint session the national sovereignty. The executive has resigned, and I ask who else than the president of the assembly, until a ministry be appointed, can exercise executive authority? [Many deputies: 'Yes; yes;' others: 'No; no.' Confusion.] If you will not hear me I retire. You see that I am calm. Maintain the same calmness that I preserve. Do you think that it is from pride on my part that I desire to govern, as if my duties as presiding officer of this body were not weighty enough for my strength? Have you not ordered that the late ministers should retain their functions until the appointment of their successors! Has this not been agreed to? [Protests.] If you believe the proposi tion has not been approved, I will submit it to another vote. [A voice: "The ministers refuse to accept.'] Is the proposition agreed to [Many voices: Yes; yes.'] Well, then, I believed, relying on their patriotism, that the ministers would resume their places and discharge their duties, however difficult. Had I not a right to rely upon their acceptance? Will they not obey the order of the assembly, and accept the trust and confidence which this vote signifies? Do they accept or not?"

MARTOS. "I demand the floor."

The PRESIDENT. "Well, then, you may speak, and I leave to you the responsibility, trusting to your patriotism and prudence for a due consideration of the circumstances surrounding us."

MARTOS. "I shall speak with a moderation required by circumstances, and with the respect and consideration I owe to the assembly. I begin by declaring that I have witnessed with grief an incident I have not provoked, and for which I have not the least responsibility. I have only insisted upon my right as a deputy, which is at last conceded to me, after an undue resistance that might have been wisely avoided. It is not well that, against the will of all, tyranny should begin the day that monarchy ends." [President Rivero here left the chair, which was occupied by Figuerola, of the senate. Several deputies made unavailing efforts to dissuade Mr. Rivero from leaving the chamber.]

"Believe me, gentlemen, that neither of my worthy colleagues in the late cabinet is capable of declining any responsibility, above all in diffi

cult circumstances. But it seems to me, and I shall rejoice if in this I was mistaken, that an imperious demand was made of us to assume certain functions. If we had been invited in a different tone to assume those powers, we might have obeyed, yielding to the desire and the vote of this sovereign assembly. In the name, then, of my esteemed colleagues, I have to say that, having received an authority from the late King, and His Majesty's functions having ceased by reason of his abdication, our duties ceased when that abdication was accepted by the Cortes. Recognizing the sovereignty of this assembly as superseding that of the King, we resigned into the hands of the Spanish Cortes the power we had received from His Majesty. What are we considering now? The creation of an authority responsible for order, in which we are all equally and deeply interested. On this point I have done nothing more than defend my prerogative, and I appeal to the chamber to say whether I should be worthy of a place among them for an instant, if I had failed to repel the obstacles interposed to the free exercise of my right as a deputy."

RAMOS CALDERON. “I ask the floor."

The PRESIDENT, (Figuerola.) "I appeal to the prudence of Mr. Martos, in order that to-day we may not have speeches, but acts."

MARTOS. "I have but little to add; I have not been able to consult my colleagues, but they inform me that they agree with what I have said. I maintain that the assembly is sovereign, that sovereignty is authority, and that authority is responsibility and obligation. The executive duties springing out of the present situation devolve upon the presidency of the Cortes a moral obligation, resting at the same time upon each and every one of us, and which I accept for my own part, to sustain the president of this assembly in the measures he may see fit to adopt. For the maintenance of public order, means are at the disposition of the representative of the Cortes, or of whomsoever may be charged with the exercise of its power. It is not necessary to this end that we should resume our seats on the ministerial bench. Here in our proper places we are at the service of the president of the assembly and the country. In conclusion, gentlemen, it should be observed that one branch of the proposition we are considering provides for the nomination of a government. And I appeal to my friend, Mr. Zorrilla, and to all in this assembly, that we lay aside all motives of discord, and withdraw as I withdraw on my part, the harsh expressions I may have uttered in defense of my right as a deputy. I beg that all may say as I say, let us vote the proposition and create a government."

President FIGUEROLA. "After the noble words of Mr. Martos, and believing myself a faithful interpreter of the wishes of the president of the assembly, I trust that whatever he may have said may be interpreted in a like manner, inasmuch as it was only his intention, in which I am sure the assembly coincided, that we should not remain without a recognized authority. Appreciating as I do the motives of delicacy influencing the members of the retiring cabinet in hesitating to resume their functions, and as the assembly cannot oblige them to do so, I appeal to their patriotism to lay aside all questions of form, and if it be only for an hour, to take their places on the ministerial bench, and provide the necessary safeguards for public order. I beg, therefore, that these gentlemen will comply with the resolution of the assembly for no other reason than that it is the expressed wish of this body."

MARTOS. "We have not desired to occupy the ministerial bench because the assembly is about to adopt grave and important measures in which we desire to take part, and because there is no necessity for the

action suggested. But if, notwithstanding, it be the wish of the assem bly, for one, I will not refuse."

President FIGUEROLA. "I pray that Mr. Martos and his colleagues of the cabinet will exercise the executive functions intrusted to them by the assembly."

MARTOS. "It is unnecessary that we leave our seats. For the satis faction of the president I will add that we are transacting business through the sub-secretaries of the departments, and that General Cordova, not as minister, but as general of the army, and as a patriot, is present in the war office taking care of the interests in its charge."

The committees to present the message of the Cortes, and to accompany the King to the frontier, were then announced by the president. PRESIDENT FIGUEROLA. "The gentlemen designated are requested to hold themselves in readiness to present the message to the King, as well as to accompany His Majesty at the hour fixed for his departure." ZORRILLA. "I beg the president to permit me to say a few words in relation to the incident just occurred, and that I have provoked. I shall be brief. The president proposed that the retiring ministers should continue in their places, and I wish it to be understood that I cannot accede to this request while the proposition under consideration is pending. I have no desire to prolong the debate, but I believe it indispensable that there should be some constitutional authority, and above all, in the war and interior departments. Although I cannot myself yield to the wish of the president, I have said to my colleagues that they should place themselves at the disposition of the assembly; for it is absolutely indispensable that this assembly name somebody who can instruct a provin cial governor, or a general, as to what he should do”— (Loud interruption, which made it impossible to hear the speaker, who sat down.) Mr. OLAVE. "We would have had a government before now if your excellency had not interrupted the discussion."

Many members here demanded the floor, and there was great agitation.

Mr. FIGUERAS. "I ask to speak upon this incident."

The PRESIDENT. "The incident is terminated. Señor Bazzanallana has the floor on the main proposition, and I beg him to be brief."

MARQUIS DE BAZZANALLANA. "The president knows, by long experi ence, with what deference I always yield to his suggestions. This is a day to be brief in speech but abundant in deeds. For this reason I was silent in the senate, waiting our presence here to make known our attitude in the present circumstances. For the same reason my friend, Mr. Suarez Inclan, remained silent. We are asked to vote a form of government we have never believed in. We are asked to assist in establishing a repub lic. We can bow our heads before the force of events, and overlook irregularities to which we have in no manner contributed. I shall not undertake to reply to the arguments of Mr. Pi y Margall. Inspired only by sentiments of patriotism, we offer our co-operation to the end that the government which may be established shall be strong, and have the means necessary to give order and peace to this unfortunate nation. We are not republicans; we shall vote against the republic. And we trust that the republican party will find no reason in what may happen to the country to abate their pretensions. So far as we have yet got into this century, the republic is the only form of government not yet tried in Spain. The country thinks it can make the experiment. I say, 'Consistent republicans, you who have in your ranks great orators and illus trious writers, God grant you may prove you possess great statesmen!' If this happen, it would demonstrate that our calamities do not spring

from governments, but result from intrinsic causes, all the more easily alleviated now that the last effort is to be made."

MARQUIS DE SARDOAL. "My speech will have the brevity demanded by the circumstances. I have risen for myself and for the Duke of Veragua and other friends, to explain the meaning of our votes. You will understand that, being yesterday monarchists, we continue to be so; that those of us who have heretofore believed liberty compatible with monarchy, do not admit that the accident of the abdication of the late King has affected the principle which constitutes the foundation of our opinious. We cannot say to those who have always been republicans that our monarchical faith is impaired. Such a declaration would justify your suspicious, and we desire to retain your respect. The situation is difficult, the country and social order are menaced and impel us to action; we shall yield to the exigency, as far as our dignity permits, because above our opinions and antecedents is the welfare of Spain. Comprehending that the monarchy we have defended is now impossible, comprehending that monarchy is not an abstraction and can only he realized in the establishment of a dynasty, and this being here and now impracticable, we vote the republic. We shall vote it because we do not see that a monarchy is possible in Spain under present circumstances, and we prefer an honorable affirmation to a shameful negative. We are not among those who will pretend to march with your leaders. We shall be with you as soldiers in the ranks, uniting with you in the love of country and of liberty and social order. Our vote has still another aspect. Foregoing forms which, under other circumstances, we might deem indispensable, we recognize the imperious necessity of depositing the government, now abandoned, in some hands, and, therefore, we shall vote the republic; but with the understanding that your power will not extend beyond the moment when the constitutional convention that will be elected shall have met and shall have determined the form of government to be permanently founded. We radicals cannot suffer our party to appear less noble and worthy than the others, and, therefore, in acting as I have said we propose to act, we believe our course honorable, yielding, for the present, our opinions to the welfare of the country and the consolidation of its liberties.

MARTOS. "Gentlemen, all the great interests of the nation impel us to move promptly to a solution. A few hours ago we were under a monarchy; now we have an interregnum. Let us fill the void. And it is fortunate that we are here giving an example the like of which I do not recall in the history of any other nation. Without violence, without tumult, without the effusion of blood, without external pressure, a free vote will be taken, uninfluenced by a single act of force. If violence be attempted we will all rally to the defense of law and order. I know of no example in which, without public disorders, a monarchy has given way to a republic; and I say this in glory of the Spanish nation that has thus shown itself to be a people worthy of achieving and maintaining liberty. This good fortune at the same time illustrates the power and virtue of the democratic principle enshrined in our constitution; those individual rights which have taken root in our soil and which, whatever changes may occur, will still be found in the convictions and in the life of Spanish society. We are not to consider that the radical party, containing elements of various antecedents, admits the incompatibility of liberty with monarchy. What the Marquis of Sardoal has said for himself and some of his friends, he might have declared in the name of all the radical party. Yes; we who have not desired the grave event of this day--who deplore it bitterly, confiding, as we have, in the salvation of liberty with

the Savoy dynasty, which we defended and supported with all our willwe are not undergoing a sudden transformation in our opinions. Let it then be recorded, since it is best that we reach a republic solution without deceiving ourselves, that we continue to believe what we have ever believed. We have not taken the initiative in proposing the republic, however true it may be that several of my associates have signed the proposition under consideration. Why? Because it was the duty of those who have been heretofore republicans to say: "The moment has arrived to proclaim the republic!' It was their right to take the initiative and declare that the situation of Spain at this moment demanded a republic. They have done so. Consider then, my radical friends, let all the partisans of monarchy bear in mind, not that which would be most acceptable to us-for who, in these circumstances, can hesitate to regard before all the interests of the country-but that which the country has a right to expect of us as a party and as a social power. Is it possible for those who have ever defended liberty to exclaim, in a supreme moment, 'I have been wrong; I despair; I abdicate?' Never! Even the highest in authority may resign power, but the dignity of a political party forbids that it shall renounce its responsibilities. Therefore we are here without disparagement of our consistency or of our honor, to fulfill a great obligation. I rejoice that the republican party receives us, and I rejoice in this, above all, for the sake of the country and of liberty. But, let it be understood that in contributing to your ends we have only consulted our duty. I respect all opinions, as I desire that mine may be respected. I say, without taking an initiative in the proposition under discussion, that we accept it and shall vote it. [Great applause.] The republic will be order and peace. And herein we are united-the republicans of yesterday and the monarchists up to this hour are all republicans from to-morrow, to save democracy, liberty, and all the interests of society. Before resuming my seat I must say to you, I respect the worthy conduct of our illustrious friend, Mr. Zorrilla, who, in declining to take part in the government, makes the most honorable of sacrifices. Would that he had yielded to the supplications we have all addressed to him to accept office."

ZORRILLA. "I shall not trouble the chamber long, and I begin by saying that I do not regret having given rise to the recent incident, seeing that, contrary to my anticipations, this proposition is about to be voted, and that the wishes of the chamber may be thus fulfilled. Nor would I have troubled the chamber at all, notwithstanding the allusion made to me by Mr. Martos, had I not felt impelled to discharge an imperious duty. I did not believe this afternoon that I could or should occupy my seat on the minister's bench after the King's abdication was accepted. I felt I could not, I should not, and even if I had done so I could not have accepted the republic. Neither am I a monarchist; and this is my misfortune. I must, however, say here that all my sympathies are with those who are at the side of liberty. Why should I wish to deceive anybody? Why should I occupy myself to-night in conciliating others? Why? To-day I finish my political career, as once before I desired to end it, having returned to public life against my will. No, gentlemen, the crowning shame for those who made the revolution of September would be the restoration, with its blunders and its impotence."

Mr. Esteban Collantes, interrupting the speaker, demanded the floor for a personal allusion.

Mr. ZORRILLA continued. "I am sorry that Mr. Esteban Collantes is constrained to ask the floor. But what would he have me do? Why do the representatives of the reactionary party incommode themselves, since