The Spanish Constitution The Spanish Cortes, after a stormy all-night
sitting, last Saturday adopted a compromise between the federal and the centralized 'constitutions which- were submitted for its approval by the Catalans and Basques 'on the one hand and by the old Spanish-Republican party on the other. The official language of the Republic will be Castilian, but the several regions will have the right to use their own languages. Madrid will control the army and navy, the customs, national finances and Church relations— in this last respect overriding the desire of the Basques for a separate Concordat with Rome. The acceptance by the Pope of the Archbishop of Toledo's resignation implies agreement between the Vatican and Madrid. The central and regional governments will " co-ordinate " on social legislation, police, public works and other matters mainly local. in character. The Catalans are said to be gratified at the compromise while the Basques are not, But it is fairly obvious that unless the word " co-ordinate" is to be always interpreted reasonably in Madrid and in Barcelona or Bilbao or Seville, there will be a clash of interests. Senor Prieto, the Finance Minister, threatened to resign rather than allow the regional governments any share in the control of stock exchanges. His resignation was not pressed, but it indicated the sharp differences which exist on this fundamental question of provincial self-government.
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