SPAIN . FROM WITHIN. [To :az Elmo& or an ••Itraerress.1 Sra., — Yonr
reviewer in his courteous and oomplimentary review of my book, " Spain from Within " (Spectator, Septem- ber 10th), observes with truth that amassment has began in Spain of which the oonseguenees cannot be foreseen, teat which it is impossible to check. I do not know if you are aware of the true inwardness of the Ultramontane demonstra- Coes which are being organised for October 2nd in many of the peovinces of Spain. The object is professedly to protest-- against "the blow aimed at the religion of the nation" by the policy of the deinocratic Government in regard to the Religious Orders (for little or nothing is said of the per- mission to non-Catholic bodies to display religious emblems and hold funeral processions), and every resource is being strained to get people to attend these meetings. But the remarkable feature about them is that the superior clergy are taking little or no part in the appeal for recruits to protect Catholicism. The majority of the Bishops have confined themselves to polite acknowledgments of the letters of the Junta Catadca asking for their support, and few, if any, Bishops attend the demonstrations of this militant Junta. The circulars and newspaper appeals are all signed by laymen, and this alone shows that the movement is not religious but political. The Archbishop of Toledo, it is true, has signalised himself by his violent attacks upon the Government and the. Constitution. and this appears to have created an impression abroad that the demonstrations were initiated by the Epieoo- pate ; but this is not the case. Neither have we heard any- thing for many weeks past of Papal approval of the party responsible for what are in fact seditious gatherings. To my knowledge, the portrait of the Pretender is exhibited and offered Royal honours on these ocoasions, and medals are pressed upon those attending, with the inscription " For Religion, Country, and King " on one aide, and a portrait of Don Jaime on the other. The intention seems to be to make October 2nd a kind of test of the measure of support that the revolutionary party can connt upon, for in at least one Ultra- montane newspaper, which is widely distributed gratis, Don Jaime is spoken of by name as the head of the movement. But there is little fear of anything more serious than the pro vocation of personal recriminations and possibly slight local disturbances, as the Government are taking steps to prevent the demonstrators from carrying arms. As the Civil Guard said, "all this talk is a safety-value, and does no real harm," except inasmuch as it adds to the general misunderstanding of the Spanish nation abroad.
In this connexion the attitude of the Bilbao mine-owners is instructive. In that city the miners have been on strike for some ten or eleven weeks for a reduction of their hours from eleven in summer and nine in winter to ten and eight respectively. Their wages vary from le. 2d. above ground to 3e. or 38. 6d. below, so it is not wonderful that strikes should occur. The Association of Mine-owners, which includes some of the wealthiest and most prominent Ultra montanes in the country, has now declined to meet the representatives of the men again until after October 2nd. Non-strikers are being intro- duced into the mines armed with pistols provided by the agents of the owners, notwithstanding that the district has been placed under martial law at the urgent instance of the said Association. This is not hearsay ; reports published daily by the Government confirm the truth of these assertions. The proposed demonstrations of "loyalty to the Catholic religion" on October 2nd have been prohibited by the Government, so far as the Basque provinces are concerned.
It is worth noting that attempts are now bring made in the Ultramontane Press to attach odium to King Alfonso by attributing the action of his Government to the " Protestant influences " of his family connexions.
The Junta Catolica is trying to stem the flowing tide with a mop. Don Jaime is personally unknown in Spain, and the whole tradition of Carlism is unpopular with the people ; the Religious Orders are known, and are even more unpopular. Therefore any attempt to secure the restoration of the pro- scribed branch must fail for lack of popular support. Revolu- tions nowadays cannot be carried out against the will of the nation. I should feel sorry for Don Jaime if he exposed himself among the working classes of Spain when blows were flying. There would be very little left of "King James " when the excited working men had done with him !—I am, Sir,
Previous page
