THE PROCESS OF REGENERATION
The regeneration of Spain must necessarily be a slow process, for the
causes of her degradation are deep-seated, and are not to be removed by
mere legislative enactments or alteration of the machinery of
government. One of the principal difficulties with which the country has
to contend is the dishonesty of the bureaucracy, which paralyses any
reform that may be attempted. Of what use is legislation, when the laws
are not honestly administered? If what is the common talk of all classes
has any foundation whatever in fact, the whole of the bureaucracy, from
top to bottom, not excluding the inferior judiciary, is venal and
corrupt, and until a tradition of honest administration is established
amendment will be difficult, if not impossible.
The history of Spain for the last three hundred years affords an
illustration of the proposition established by Lecky[28] that “the
period of Catholic ascendancy was on the whole one of the most
deplorable in the history of the human mind.” In no country in Western
Europe has the Church of Rome been so entirely absolute and dominant,
since the Reformation, as in Spain, where the Inquisition instantly and
finally crushed out all freedom of thought and all opposition to
theological orthodoxy. The Church in Spain to-day enjoys the unique
position of holding a monopoly of the spiritual direction of the nation.
Although other creeds and forms of worship are tolerated, there is no
religious liberty. Everywhere else, even in Catholic countries, there is
a vigilant and hostile body of opinion, of more or less weight, which
necessarily contributes by its very existence to moralise the Church and
to enforce on the priesthood a certain standard of duty. In Spain this
check is absent. There is no rival Church, for the Spanish Protestants
are too few in number and too insignificant in position to make their
influence felt, and the working classes, who, as has been shown, are
bitterly hostile to the priesthood, are inarticulate, and powerless as
an influence corrective of abuses, while the middle classes, who might
do something towards enforcing a higher standard, are generally
speaking, indifferent.
To what extent the corruption of the spiritual power in Spain is
responsible for the low moral standard of the laity is an exceedingly
difficult question, on which I am not capable of pronouncing an opinion.
There is no doubt that Spain for the last three hundred years has
suffered from a succession of some of the worst, the most incompetent,
and the most corrupt rulers known to history. During all this time,
except perhaps during the thirty years when Charles III. was on the
throne, the Church was supreme. If the clergy, the directors of the
conscience of the nation, armed with the power of the confessional and
supported if necessary by the secular arm, had deliberately set their
faces against the system of public venality and corruption instituted by
Lerma and Olivares and continued by their subordinates and successors,
it is difficult to believe that the upas-tree would have grown so tall
and struck its roots so deeply as it has.
The excessive centralisation of the whole administration in Madrid,
coupled with the Spanish habit of writing long letters and reports about
every trivial question, which reports are referred for further
information from one official to another before the Minister or other
authority gives his final decision, paralyses all initiative and causes
infinite delays and annoyances over the simplest matters. On the other
hand, if effective local self-government were given under existing
conditions, the _Cacique_ would be even more powerful than he now is,
and Spain would be ruled, not by a single bureaucracy, but by a number
of irresponsible autocrats.
Thus before Spain can effectually reform herself there is needed a
change of heart, a vital conviction that only through honest and
fearless administration is redemption possible. An educated Spaniard
once observed to me, when discussing this matter: “In England you act on
the supposition that a person in office is an honest man, and if you
find that he is not, you punish him severely. In Spain we presuppose
dishonesty, and do not chastise the rogue when he is found out.” This is
perfectly true. There are swarms of official inspectors who are supposed
to inspect everything connected with the public administration. But the
inspectors themselves are venal, and for a sufficient consideration will
report that all is well when it is far from well. _Quis custodiet ipsos
custodes?_ It is the rarest thing to hear of any official being punished
for peculation or receiving bribes.
Every educated Spaniard is fully aware of this canker, which is rotting
the whole body politic: they talk to each other and to foreigners about
it with the utmost frankness, entirely recognising the greatness of the
evil and usually despairing of any amendment.
To turn to another side of the same question. In a different way the
bullfight is responsible for an amount of moral degradation that no one
but a Spaniard can adequately estimate. It is not only that the
spectacle of broken-down horses gored to death and a wild beast worried
for half an hour at a stretch is in itself debasing, but the whole
atmosphere created by the amusement is thoroughly vicious and degrading.
This is not merely my private opinion: I repeat what has been told me by
cultured and thoughtful Spaniards, who see in its popularity one of the
many obstacles to the growth of a higher standard of morality. Happily
there are indications that the taste for the sport is on the wane. I
know numerous members of the upper middle class and many working people,
both men and women, who object strongly to the institution, and never
attend a bullfight, and bullrings have been closed in many of the
smaller towns during the last ten years or so, for want of support. But
the vested interests--the cattle-breeders who make their living by
breeding the bulls, the impresarios who get up the shows, the companies
who have invested millions of pesetas in building bullring’s, the
thousands of men employed in them in various capacities, and the
bull-fighters themselves--form together a very powerful combination with
a good deal of political influence, and it will be many years yet before
this blot on civilisation disappears.[29]
One deplorable fact connected with the bullfights is the extent to which
they are patronised by foreign visitors, and of these the English are
among the worst offenders. I have been told, though I cannot vouch for
the truth of the statement, that one bullring close to Gibraltar is
practically kept going by the English spectators, and that but for their
support it would be closed. I know that Englishmen and English women, in
scores and hundreds, every year, some of them ardent supporters at home
of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, make a point,
when they come to Spain, of going to see the show. “No, I daresay I
shan’t like it,” they will say, “but when one is in Spain it is one of
the things one ought to see.” Let us hope that they do not realise that
their example goes to make the task of the Spanish social reformers
even more up-hill and heart-breaking than it need be.
I may instance an University professor who was wearing himself out in
the endeavour to raise the moral and intellectual standard of his
pupils. He himself was educated in England, and had the highest respect
for English customs and institutions and for the general code of English
honour. He told me that he had lain awake all one night trying to find a
reply to his lads when they said: “If the English, whom you hold up to
us as an example in so many ways, support the bullfight, there can be no
reason why we should condemn it.”
“And meanwhile,” said the professor bitterly, “your English ladies come
out of the bullring and tell me that what they have seen there proves us
to be a nation of barbarians.”
In this connection it should be remembered that Spaniards of all classes
have a great admiration for England and English institutions, which has
been recently increased thanks to the popularity of the Queen. One sees
this in all directions. English is beginning to replace French as the
first foreign language a young Spaniard learns; English games and
English fashions are rapidly being introduced; and one of the leaders
of the Republican party has proclaimed a democratic Monarchy on English
lines to be the best compromise possible under existing conditions in
Spain. So that the support which English visitors give to the bullring
is probably more influential for harm than that of other foreigners.
Materially, moreover, the bullring operates in a manner prejudicial to
the country. All the best land has to be given up to the bulls, which
require immense space to keep them from fighting each other. Thus great
estates, which, if cultivated, would employ numerous labourers and
produce a rich return, are lost to the nation.
In this matter, too, the Church might exercise a good influence and does
not. On the contrary, the Clericalist newspapers give at least as much
space to reports of the bullfights as do any others, and one of the
reproaches levelled against the clergy by the working classes is that
they attend these shows disguised in lay dress, and associate with
bullfighters, regardless of the prohibition of the Church. In the parish
leaflet already quoted, one of the cases of conscience put is “whether
it is a sin to attend a bullfight”: to which the answer returned is,
“No, it is not.”
* * * * *
Setting aside the question of a moral reform, without which legislative
and administrative changes can produce little or no fruit, it may be
useful to consider what measures are urgently needed to contribute to
the intellectual and material development of the country.
First and foremost the Church should be confined to its spiritual
functions, and restrained from active interference in politics,
education, and business.
In a circular issued by the Bishop of Madrid in December, 1909, on the
duties of Catholics in the elections, it is laid down that the Catholic
voter must not vote for a Liberal as against a Catholic, and that a
Liberal is, _inter alia_, “one who refuses adhesion to the propositions
and doctrines laid down by the Apostolic See, _principally in reference
to the relations of the Church to the State_” (italics mine).
The attitude of Rome to what it calls “liberalism” is so well known that
there is no need to dilate upon it here. It is quite certain that unless
and until the Church can be excluded from intervention in the State, no
progress will be possible. The struggle will, no doubt, be severe, for
Spain is now the last stronghold of the Roman Church; but once the
democracy can make its voice effectively heard, the end will not be
doubtful.
In education the dominance of the Church is, if possible, more
prejudicial, more of an obstacle to progress of the best kind, than it
is in other branches of the work of the State, and the clergy in Spain,
as elsewhere, are resisting with might and main every attempt to set up
schools which are not under their control. A sufficiency of good and
well-conducted schools is one of the crying needs of the country; the
Clericalists say they are unable to finance even the Catholic schools
which already exist, yet the lay schools supported by the party of
progress, although trivial in number, are not only virulently attacked,
but are made the basis of a campaign against the Crown and the
Constitution, and every nerve is strained to rally “good Catholics” to
the fight against the spread of education among the poor.
Decentralisation of the machinery of administration is badly needed,
because under the present system vexatious and unnecessary delays must
occur, even were there every desire for progress on the part of all
concerned. But local government cannot be effective, as has already been
said, until the _Cacique_ is abolished.
Among what may be called the material elements of progress may be
briefly mentioned the need of improved means of communication,
especially good roads. Most of the roads which do exist in Spain are
very bad, and there are officially stated to be five thousand villages
to which there is no road at all--nothing but a track or path,
impassable for wheeled vehicles.
Much needs to be done to encourage agriculture, and to introduce
improved methods. Systematic irrigation would render fertile hundreds of
square miles of land, now sterile for lack of water. Phylloxera is
ravaging the vineyards, and a contagious blight is devastating the
orange plantations all over the southern provinces. Neither of these
plagues can be effectively combated by private enterprise: public aid
and public organisation are essential.
The postal service requires to be overhauled, and security taken, which
now does not exist, that postal matter shall reach its destination, and
that the contents be not stolen _en route_, as not infrequently happens.
Last, but not least, the conduct of elections must be reformed, so that
the working classes may have an effectual, instead of, as now, a merely
nominal vote. With a few notable exceptions they distrust their rulers,
of whatever party; it should be made possible for them to return to the
local councils and to the Cortes men in whom they have confidence, who
know what they want, and who will devote themselves with singleness of
mind to getting it. The hope for the future of Spain lies in the
democracy. The peasantry, from whose ranks the whole of the working
classes are more or less directly recruited, are sober, honest, and
industrious. They work long hours for low wages without complaint, and
employers--English, American, and so on--who come into contact with
large numbers of them in the numerous industries established by foreign
enterprise in the Peninsula, all speak in the highest terms of them as
labourers. In America, too, they are highly valued, and it is said that
the men who in the long run prove the most satisfactory and the best
able to bear the trying conditions of work on the Panama Canal are the
Spanish emigrants, of whom thousands cross the Atlantic every year.
As yet practically no member of this class, no matter what his natural
gifts may have been, has ever risen to a position in which he could make
his voice heard in the counsels of his nation. Many Spanish peasants
have, no doubt, succeeded in Spanish South America, and some of them
have come home again to spend their money and their declining years in
their native land. I am not aware that such men have been encouraged to
play a part in the politics of Spain, although their experience of the
outside world would be of the greatest value. But the frequent
instances of Spanish peasants rising to affluence abroad show that it is
not their own incapacity, but the crushing burdens imposed on them by
those in power, which are the cause of the miserable condition of the
peasantry at home. When a Spanish peasant gets a chance, he is well able
to profit by it.
Spain always seems to me like a great tree which for centuries has been
allowed to go unpruned. It is half smothered with branches which bear no
fruit, and the top is a mass of decay. Yet the trunk and the roots are
sound and strong, so that once the barren wood which saps the life of
the tree is cut away, a new and healthy growth will soon replace it. But
the longer the difficult and painful process of pruning away the dead
wood is delayed, the greater must grow the danger of a storm which will
tear up the tree, roots and all.
Still, in spite of all the drags on the wheels of progress, in spite of
ignorance, incapacity, and corruption, in spite of all the forces of
reaction and all their efforts to keep Spain in the Slough of Despond
from which she is struggling to emerge, one may say with Galileo, “_e
pur si muove_.” Some little advance is being made, slight and slow
though it be, and among the more thoughtful members of the younger
generation one sees signs of a new spirit--an intelligent appreciation
of the needs of the country and an honest and sincere resolve to work
for their attainment, which cannot fail to spread and to bear fruit in
due season. From the older generation nothing is to be hoped, but ere
long they will have yielded their places to the young men--university
professors, officers in the Army, journalists, and so forth, many of
whom have ideas and ideals, and only lack power and opportunity to put
them in practice. The little leaven is working, and though as yet it is
small in amount and the lump is large, those who wish Spain well need
not despair.
“For while the tired waves, vainly breaking,
Seem here no painful inch to gain,
Far back, through creeks and inlets making,
Comes silent, flooding in, the main.
And not by eastern windows only,
When daylight comes, comes in the light,
In front, the sun climbs slow, how slowly!
But westward, look! the land is bright.”
POSTSCRIPT
While this book was in the press, the Spanish Government took a step,
the ultimate consequences of which may be of the utmost moment for the
country. In June, 1910, Señor Canalejas resolved to take definite action
in the matter of the Religious Orders.
The immediate cause of his determination appears to have been the
general discontent created by the numerous cases of clerical corruption
and intimidation alleged to have occurred in the recent elections to the
Cortes. A great meeting of protest was held at Madrid, in which both
Republicans and Socialists took part, and Señor Melquiades Alvarez, the
Republican leader, who not many months before had expressed his
willingness to compromise with the Monarchists on the lines of a
democratic Monarchy like that of England, deliberately went over to the
Socialists. This important _volte face_, coupled with the fact that at
the elections Madrid returned an overwhelming majority of Republicans,
seems to have spurred Canalejas to action.
This action consisted of a modest Royal Order requiring the fulfilment
of an edict of 1902, which compels the registration of all Religious
Orders established in the country since that date, and the payment of
the industrial tax on the trades they carry on. This was followed by a
decree permitting members of other than the State religion to display
emblems and notices outside their places of worship, and to hold funeral
processions, in accordance with the provision made by the law of the
land for liberty of conscience.
These two decrees hardly strike one as revolutionary; but they have been
enough to set the whole of the Church party in an uproar; and the
Primate, the Archbishop of Toledo, has thrown down the gauntlet, defying
the Government to put the decrees in force, on the ground that the
Church owes obedience to Rome alone, and that the State has no power to
interfere with it. At the moment of writing the Vatican is trying to
bully the Government by threatening to break off relations, the Catholic
Associations have telegraphed their grief and distress at the outrage
inflicted upon the Pope by these Royal Orders, the ladies of the
Ultramontane aristocracy have petitioned the Premier to reconsider his
determination to destroy the national Church and drag Spain’s religion
in the dust, and the whole clerical party are preparing a furious
campaign against the Government, which, needless to say, is warmly
supported by all the Liberal elements in the country. The working
classes are naturally delighted, and several of them have congratulated
themselves in my hearing on this excellent result of the King’s
marriage.
“He has seen what religious liberty means in England, and that has given
him courage to defy the Jesuits. Viva Alfonsito!”
APPENDIX
NOTES ON POLITICIANS AND PERIODICALS
LIBERAL-MONARCHISTS
When Sagasta died three men were proposed as leaders of the Liberal
party, Moret, Montero Rios, and Canalejas, Montero Rios gave way in
favour of Moret, in order to secure the unity of the party, but
Canalejas preferred to lead a group of his own.
=Moret.=--Was a Republican until Alfonso XII. was proclaimed. He then
joined the Monarchical forces, the road being opened to him and many
others by the broadly liberal policy of Sagasta. He is English on the
mother’s side.
=Montero Rios.=--Also was a Republican until the Monarchy was
re-established. Then he also adhered to Sagasta, bringing in with him
his own group, thenceforth to be known as the Radical wing of the
Liberal-Monarchists.
=Rafael Gasset.=--A staunch supporter of Moret’s policy. He is the author
of the great irrigation scheme which is one of the most popular features
in Moret’s programme. His enthusiasm for this improvement in the
conditions of agriculture is so strong that his opponents have nicknamed
him “The Duke of the Reservoirs.” He is one of the strongest of the
younger Liberals, and his sincerity and devotion to the interest of the
working-classes have won him their confidence and respect.
The policy of the Liberal-Monarchist party is supported by the _Sociedad
Editorial de España_, which publishes three daily papers, all sold at 5
cmes. per copy, or 1 peseta per month:
=El Liberal.=--This paper has by far the largest circulation of any in
Spain. Its political news is edited in Madrid, and telegraphed thence
twice daily, for the morning and evening editions, to branch offices at
Bilbao, Murcia, Barcelona, and Seville, where the local notes and news
are added. Although conducted on Liberal-Monarchical lines, it is tinged
with democratic feeling. The Reactionists profess to consider it a
dangerous enemy to religion, and label its readers atheists and
anarchists. It is universally popular with the working classes.
=El Heraldo de Madrid.=--Edited and published in the capital on
Radical-Monarchical lines. On sale all over the country, but with a
comparatively small circulation among the working men outside of Madrid.
=El Imparcial.=--Edited on Liberal-Monarchical lines in the interest of
the working classes, with full reports and articles on public works of
every description, trades unions, schemes for social and industrial
reform, &c. It is on sale everywhere, and probably has the largest
circulation of any Madrid paper among the working classes in the
provinces, but does not come near _El Liberal_ in popularity.
The literary style of the writers employed by the _Sociedad Editorial_
is cultivated and refined, the flying of political kites is discouraged,
and personal abuse of opponents in politics finds no favour with the
directors. The Society is abusively called a “Trust” by the Opposition,
and reactionary journals daily publish headlines proclaiming that they
do not belong to the “Trust.” As a matter of fact the _Sociedad_ is an
ordinary limited liability company, well managed, and paying a good
dividend, and partaking in no respect of the evils of the Trust system.
LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC GROUP
=Canalejas.=--Was a Republican, but maintained his independence, although
adhering to Sagasta’s party, by proclaiming himself chief of a group of
progressive Liberals with Republican sympathies. The main plank in his
programme has always been a direct attack upon the Church and Religious
Orders. His policy is supported by the _Diario Universal_, but it has a
small sale and is hardly known by working men outside of Madrid.
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
The three most distinguished men in this party--=Melquiades Alvarez=,
=Blasco Ibañez= and =Rodrigo Soriano=,--are all celebrated for their
literary and oratorical gifts, and enjoy the respect and confidence of
the veteran Liberal leaders, Moret and Montero Rios. Their policy may be
described as Republican in idea, but democratically Monarchical in
practice, and their demands for vigorous measures of reform have
materially strengthened the hands of the Liberal-Monarchists.
The organ of this party is _El Pais_, which, although its sale is very
much smaller, has the largest circulation among the working classes
after _El Liberal_. The paper, as might be expected from the literary
renown of the leaders who direct it, is extremely well written, the
staff including some of the most highly educated Progressives in Spain.
It is possible, however, that the standard of intellectuality maintained
in its leading articles militates against its success with the people.
The numerical strength of the Republicans is small. Thus, the
circulation of _El Pais_ being comparatively limited, the Reactionists
are not nearly so much afraid of its influence on the country as of that
of _El Liberal_, and indeed seem to treat it almost with indifference.
It is sold at the same price as the papers of the _Sociedad Editorial_.
THE SOCIALIST PARTY
=Lerroux, Pablo Iglesias, Nakens.=--The Socialists in Spain have a very
small following, and that confined to a few of the industrial cities,
chiefly in the north. They formed a coalition with the Republicans to
secure the rout of the Clericalists at the Municipal Elections of 1909,
but the party is disunited, Iglesias and Lerroux seldom coming into line
with each other, while neither of them goes so far as Nakens, editor of
the Socialist organ _El Motin_ and a violent revolutionary. _El Motin_
has a very small circulation, and the programme of the Socialists has no
serious influence in Spanish politics.
The Separatist, Regionalist, and other groups of Catalans exist solely
for the political purposes of that province, and play no part in the
programme of either of the national parties.
The so-called Anarchist party, of which so much has been heard abroad,
is practically non-existent. Their sporadic publications have no genuine
circulation and seldom live for over a month.[30]
THE REACTIONARY, CLERICALIST, OR ULTRAMONTANE PARTY
The leader of this party, =Maura=--for many years a Liberal and the
intimate friend of Moret--adopted Conservative principles under Silvela,
and on his death was chosen to be leader of the Conservative party. His
Liberal proclivities at first influenced him in the direction of reform,
and gave him a strong and united following among the true Conservatives.
But as time passed he developed so much religious fervour that he has
now become recognised as the protagonist of the Religious Orders and the
hope of the Church in the rapidly approaching final struggle with the
State. Down to July, 1909, Maura was able to hold the Conservative party
together, notwithstanding the marked development of reaction in his
policy. But after the events at Barcelona the Conservatives proper
withdrew their support on his programme of repression, and since his
Cabinet fell in October of that year, he has been universally regarded
more as the tool of the Ultramontanes than the leader of the
Conservative party.
The organ of Maura is _La Epoca_. It is sold in Madrid at 10 cmes., but
is never seen on the bookstalls at any distance from the capital, and
can only be obtained in provincial towns by paying three months’
subscription to the Madrid office in advance. Its circulation is
exclusively confined to the Clericalist aristocracy and plutocracy, by
whom it is subsidised.
THE CARLIST, JAIMIST, OR TRADITIONALIST PARTY
This party, which numbers many of the richest men in Spain among its
adherents, besides all the Religious Orders, with their enormous wealth
and influence, is directed from the Castle of Frohsdorf by =Don Jaime,
Duke of Madrid=, through persons whom he appoints in every province of
Spain. The name brought most frequently before the public in connection
with the party, after the Pretender’s own, is that of =Llorens=, whose
work in the Melilla campaign is referred to in Chapter VII. The
Pretender has a complete organisation all over Spain, with _Caciques_ in
a large number of provincial towns and villages, and is supported by
numerous religious associations, clubs, colleges, &c., of a confessedly
militant character, but confined to the upper classes.
The leading organs of the Carlists are the _Correo Español_ and the
_Correo Catalan_, with offices in Madrid, Paris, and Barcelona; but
practically all the reactionary Press supports the claims of the
Pretender more or less openly. The Carlist papers have no sale among the
working classes, and can only be obtained outside of Madrid (like _La
Epoca_) by paying three months’ subscriptions in advance.
* * * * *
Among military politicians much in the public eye may be mentioned
Generals =Luque=, =Weyler=, and =Lopez Dominguez=, all on the Liberal side,
and all strong men, in whom the people feel confidence. =Aguilera=, twice
Alcalde of Madrid under Moret, who has been referred to in Chapter
XIII., is highly popular with the poor of Madrid, owing to his
consistent kindness to the children, whom he takes under his special
protection.
Count =Romanones=, who engineered the crisis of February, 1910, is
credited by the working classes with having large interests in the mines
of Beni-bu-Ifrur, and with having schemed to bring about the war in
Morocco, in order to put money into his own pockets. This impression,
whether well or ill founded, is sufficient to make him cordially hated
by them. He is credited with aspiring to the leadership of the Liberal
party, but it is hardly probable that his following would prove strong
enough to give him that position.
=La Cierva=, Minister of the Interior in Maura’s Cabinet, obtained an
unenviable reputation in 1909, through his share in administering
Maura’s policy of repression. Since his leader went out of office La
Cierva’s name has hardly been mentioned among the working classes.
THE CONSERVATIVE-MONARCHIST PARTY
=Dato=, =Sanchez Toca=, and _Gonzalez Besada_ are the three leading
dissentients from Maura’s policy of reaction, and now stand for the old
Conservative-Monarchical programme of peace and conciliation without
sensational reforms. Their organ is the _Correspondencia de España_, an
eight-paged paper, well printed and got up, containing the fullest
military intelligence and the best foreign news to be found in the
Spanish Press. It has a far larger circulation than any other
Conservative or Clericalist paper, and is to be seen on most of the
kiosks in large towns. If it were not believed by the people to be
subsidised by the party opposed to electoral and social reforms, its
influence in the country would doubtless be considerably stronger than
it is. At present the working classes do not read it, although no other
paper gives nearly as much matter for the price, which is 5 cmes.
INDEX
Aguilera, Señor, 240
_Alcalde_, the, 265 note
Alfonso XII., 112
Alfonso XIII., 122-4, 182, 318
All Souls’ Day, observation of, 46;
scandal connected with Masses on, 84-6
_Ayuntamiento_, the, 265 note; 274
Baptism, 47
Barcelona, effect of riots, 17;
refugees from, 90, 92;
Carlist activities in, 134 ff.;
stories of riots, 165-6;
bombs in, theory of, 181 ff
_Beatas_, 21
“Bull of the Crusade,” 64
Bullfight, the, 307 ff
Burial, 48, 50-1
_Cacique_,the 230-3
Canalejas, Señor, 243-6, 317-9
Carlists, alleged plots of, 167, 176;
army, 155-6;
party, 321
“Catholic Associations,” 163
Church, attitude towards people, 31-2;
illegal disposal of property, 80 ff;
unique position of,in Spain, 304
Civil Guard, the, 175, 218 ff
Clergy, children of, 79-80, 106-7;
arming and drilling of, 161, 164
Clerical Press, the, 28, 169, 235, 320-1
Confessional, the, 43, 73 ff
Conscription, consolidates Monarchy, 111;
conditions of exemption, 209;
proposals for alteration, 210
Conservatives, the, 251, 256, 322
_Consumo_, the, 15, 288
_Contribucion industrial_, 286
Convent schools, 275
_Correo Catalan_, the, 151, 172, 243, 321
_Correo Español_, the, 163, 321
_Correspondencia de España_, the, 254, 322
Crossing, modes of, 65-7
Cuban War, stories of, 200-3
Customs’ duties, 285
Demonstrations, clerical, 191-4
“ popular, 174
Education, desire for, 15, 33
_Ejercito Español_, the, 152, 238
Electoral system, 229-33
Employers and employed, relations of, 23 ff
England, misunderstanding of Spanish politics in, 227, 257;
hopes of people from, 277, 318;
admiration of, in Spain, 309
Ferrer, 147-9, 170, 325
Gasset, Señor, 236, 317
Governments, distrusted by working classes, 30
_Heraldo de Madrid_, the, 187, 229 note, 257, 270, 318
Honesty, 62
Hume, Major Martin, quoted, 133, 228
Illiteracy, 263, 271
Images, belief in, 52-3, 55-8
_Imparcial_, the, 114, 318
Irrigation scheme, 237
Jaime, Don, of Bourbon, 117, 153-4, 166, 170
Lay schools, the, 169;
clerical campaign against, 190-1, 193
_Liberal_, the, 35, 172, 294, 317
Llorens, Señor, 152-3, 163, 321
Lottery, national, 298
Luque, General, 238
Madrid, attitude of, towards the South, 26-8
Marriage among working classes, 48-9
Matches, monopoly of, 292
Maura, Señor, 35, 115, 137-8, 144, 150, 203, 234, 245, 251-3, 256, 280, 320
Melquiades Alvarez, Señor, 259, 317, 319
Monopolies, Government, 291-2
Montero Rios, Señor, 242, 317
Moret, Señor, 137, 173, 228, 234, 237, 239, 241-3, 253, 258, 317
Morocco, war in, 200 ff
Morral, 144, 148
Moslems, mixed with Spaniards, 28-9;
traditional feeling against, 207
Municipal elections, 1909, 237
_Nuevo Mundo_, the, 7
_Pais_, the, 171, 223, 319
Paz, Infanta Doña, 207
Penitential dress, 64
Penitents, 53
Police, various bodies of, 215 ff
Politics, difficulties of understanding, 228
Popular songs, 142-3
Postal service, 298
Prayers quoted, 67-8
Primo de Rivera, General, 203
Public instruction, system of,
264 ff
Purgatory, popular view of, 44
Queen, the, animus of clergy against, 120;
feeling of working people towards, 121-2, 128;
courage shown by, 182
Queen-Mother, the, 113, 115
Religious Orders, the, change of people’s attitude towards, 17;
positions in Spain illegal, 90;
relations to working classes, 93;
underselling of workpeople by, 94-5, 105;
people ruined by, 97-102;
refusal to help at time of distress, 102;
evasion of taxation by, 295;
measures adopted by Government, 317-8
Republicans, the, 239, 258-60, 317, 319
Reservists, supposed protest against calling out of, 204
Romanones, Count, 240, 322
Royal Family, suppression of news about, during the Maura _régime_, 116, 123-6
Sanchez Toca, Señor, 254
School supply, facts about, 270
_Serenos_, the, 217
Socialists, the, 237
_Sociedad editorial_, the, 139, 171-2, 317
Squilache, Marquesa de, 116-7
Sugar monopoly, 291
Taxation, evasions of, 294
Tobacco monopoly, 291
Tradition, influence of, 16, 145
Truth-telling, 61
Universities, the, 268
Upper classes, general character of, 32; religion of, 40
_Vigilancia_, the, 217
War Fund, initiated by the Queen, 117 ff, 127;
contributions of workpeople to, 119
Working classes, general character of, 14, 30;
what they read, 34;
religion of, 39 ff
Zaragoza, explosion of bombs at, 188
The Gresham Press
UNWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED
WOKING AND LONDON
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The last edict of expulsion was issued in 1712.
[2] Isabella the Catholic made an order for the expulsion of the
unconverted “Moors” in 1501, but a very large number of them, whether
nominally Christian or not, remained until driven out by Philip III.
After the massacres commanded by Philip II. in Granada, the Moriscos
who were expelled from that kingdom did not apparently leave Spain, for
two years later an edict was issued for their registration.
[3] What Lecky says about the seventh and following centuries might be
applied to the religion of the upper classes in Spain to-day: “It is no
exaggeration to say that to give money to the priests was for several
centuries the first article of the moral code” (“History of European
Morals,” ii. 216).
[4] I know several cases of lads of fourteen or fifteen who return
after working from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the fields, to sit over their A
B C and pot-hooks until they can keep their eyes open no longer, while
the rest of the family look on and encourage the student.
[5] One of the various local terms for what the guide-books call _olla
podrida_--a universal dish in Spain.
[6] Lecky, “History of European Morals,” ii. 213.
[7] Sweet cakes and _patisserie_, the foundation of which is generally
finely grated stale bread.
[8] Two favourite sweetmeats.
[9] From the Basque _ama_, a mother; applied to the head servant in the
house of a priest or other man living alone.
[10] Hume, “Modern Spain,” p. 550.
[11] It is said--although I repeat the statement with all reserve--that
there are “parish” doctors employed by the Municipality of Madrid who
refuse to prescribe for a dying child unless the mother can show her
marriage certificate.
[12] “Modern Spain,” p. 563.
[13] It was stated as a fact that nineteen men in one regiment had
been shot for refusing to go into action, and an Ultramontane of my
acquaintance, who never reads anything but the newspapers of his own
party and never travels ten miles from his own village, solemnly
assured me that the tale was true!
[14] I was told at the time that many people in Madrid thought the bomb
was thrown on behalf of the Pretender.
[15] The names of the monastery and of all the people concerned were
given me, but I refrain for obvious reasons from publishing them.
[16] It is said that the Association of Social Defence promises its
working men members a retaining fee of 3 pesetas a day should political
exigencies compel them to leave their work at any time, the average
labourer’s wages all over the country being from 1.50 to 2 pesetas. It
has not been possible to obtain trustworthy information, either as to
terms of membership or the actual numbers who have joined the league
during the last twelve months, but there is evidence that it has no
influence among the working classes generally.
[17] I have been told by an English friend that a Spanish acquaintance
of his has, to his knowledge, lately made a substantial sum by selling
arms to the Religious Orders.
[18] Most of them had been re-opened after Moret took office in
October, 1909, as already mentioned.
[19] This story evidently relates to the early days of the Cuban war.
[20] This is not the only statement of the kind that I have heard.
[21] “Modern Spain,” p. 531.
[22] So clearly is this recognised on all sides, and so impossible does
political honesty on the part of the rich appear to Spaniards, that the
_Heraldo_, the leading moderate-Liberal paper, in the course of its
comments on the rejection by the English House of Lords of the Budget
of 1909, said that if the Lords permitted the people to vote as they
pleased, this action on their part would have been justifiable, but
that naturally they would take the usual means to secure the suffrages
of those over whom they had control, and with the immense wealth at
their command would easily influence the elections in the direction
they desired.
[23] In Spain not only every city, but every town and nearly every
village, has its _Ayuntamiento_, more or less equivalent to our town or
village Council, and its Alcalde, who has a good deal more power than
the Mayor of a Corporation.
[24] The peseta is the same as the franc.
[25] The sums set down in the schedules are less than those named. The
tax has been increased at different times, and the additions amount in
all to about 66 per cent.
[26] The Spanish dollar, value five pesetas, and counted by the poor as
twenty reals.
[27] The cuarto was a little over two centimes.
[28] “History of European Morals,” Chap. IV.
[29] In a decaying town of some 15,000 inhabitants, once wealthy and
prosperous, two large new buildings have been erected during the last
half-century, while on all sides dwelling-houses, great and small, are
falling into ruin. These are the Jesuit College and the bullring; and
the people say that the one is the parent of the other.
[30] For a full account of the political parties in Spain see “The
Backwardness of Spain,” by John Chamberlain. The author has an
exhaustive knowledge of the country, and of many phases of society in
Spain, but in my opinion he has not informed himself of the mind of
the provincial and rural population. This class, if only from their
numbers, cannot fail to exercise a strong influence over politics, when
once they obtain the right to vote which the Constitution gives them.