proclaimed the revolution, and Cadiz is now in arms. That city which was the cradle of our liberties, the shelter of the defenders of our independence, and the last asylum of those who protested against foreign invasion, has set an example which the whole province has imitated, and which to-morrow will be followed by every good Spaniard.

City of the year '12, of '20, and of '23! City of Muñoz Tonero, of Riego, and of Arguelles, I congratulate you on having taken the first step and on your resolute conduct. The fleet, the garrison, and the people of Cadiz will solve the revolutionary problem. Each day we shall hear of the rising of a town; each day of the mutiny of a garrison.

"Until the moment arrives when Spain, freely convoked, shall decide upon her destinies, it is incumbent upon us to organize ourselves to carry on the struggle and to save the people from being bereft of all law and authority.

"For this reason I have felt obliged to choose a Provisional Junta which will attend to the services which are most urgent; which will carry on the administration of the neighbourhood; which will organize the province in concert with the other Juntas of the district. The Junta which is to govern us is composed of men grown grey in the service of liberty; of youths full of faith and enthusiasm for the ideas which constitute modern civilization; of independent citizens who have given every species of aid to the revolution during the most critical moments; of representatives, in short, of all shades of liberal opinion and local affections. Admiral Topete will preside; his name alone, apart from the respectability and deserts of the other members of the Junta, is a guarantee of success.

"If any slight feeling of resentment should exist towards any of the members of the committee, I beseech of you to forget it. If the least prejudice should exist, I entreat you to let it disappear. Let us carry out the revolutionary movement; let us awake the enthusiasm, yet preserve the tranquillity, of the towns; and let it be reserved for universal suffrage in the first instance, and then for Cortes Constituyentes to decide upon our destinies.

"To-day we are all good citizens. To-morrow we shall be good and worthy citizens, respecting the supremacy of the sovereignty of the nation."

Marshal Serrano, Duke de la Torre, formerly President of the Senate, placed himself at the head of the movement, and the whole of Andalusia pronounced for the revolution. The Spanish Ministry resigned, and General Concha was appointed by the Queen President of the Council.

The Marquis de Novaliches commanded the royal army, and he marched upon Cordova, which was occupied by the insurgents.

At Burgos a severe conflict took place, which ended in the royal troops fraternizing with the people. Juntas were established in the different towns, which one after another rapidly hoisted the

flag of rebellion. At Seville General Prim issued the following proclamation:

"Spaniards! You cannot resign yourselves any longer to the present state of things without becoming degraded. The hour of revolution has struck. The Government by persisting in its evil course has, unfortunately, rendered tardy concessions impossible. Let us avoid coming prematurely to a decision upon the questions before us, which circumstances and events might render impossible of realization, and which might prejudice the judgment of the people."

Before the end of September the Marquis de Novaliches had reached the bridge of Alcolea on the Guadalquiver, about fifteen miles from Cordova. Here an engagement took place between the royal troops and the insurgents under General Serrano, in which the former were defeated, and the Marquis de Novaliches received a wound of which he died two days afterwards. This was the last serious attempt to stop the progress of the revolution. The Queen fled from Spain and took refuge in France, arriving at Biarritz on the 30th of September. She there had a short interview with the Emperor Napoleon, and then went to Bayonne.

On the 20th of October the Provisional Government issued a manifesto to the nation, in which, after explaining the reason which impelled the people to rise against the Bourbon dynasty, they said, "The people must now regain the time which it has lost. The principle of popular sovereignty which is now naturalized in Spain is the principle of national life, and the ideal type of the nation's aspirations. We may therefore be permitted to affirm that the national sovereignty, exercised in the first place by the vote of all, and subsequently by those elected by the people, will decree a complete system of liberties, which form, or will form, soon the rich and inalienable patrimony of a civilized country."

The proclamation stated the desire of the Government to be on good terms with foreign Powers, and to obtain the moral concurrence of foreign Governments, adding, "But if we should fail in this respect, if the example of America in recognizing the revolution be not followed, we shall not be discouraged. We can tranquilly proceed with our task, for our independence is not threatened, and we have no foreign intervention to fear.

"To legitimize the revolution we have sought the sole criterion now considered infallible—namely, an appeal to universal suffrage. The aim which we have in view is to place ourselves on a level with the most advanced nations, and thus cease to form a dissonance in the great concert of nations.

"We have a perfect right to expect from foreign countries respect for the state of things which we have created, and we entertain a justifiable hope that the Governments which march at the head of civilization will not refuse to Spain those proofs of

amity and fraternity which they accorded to the power that crushed and humiliated us."

In another manifesto they said, "Spain can quietly proceed to finally choose a form of government. Without pretending to prejudice such serious and complicated questions, the Provisional Government notices as very significant the silence maintained by the Juntas respecting monarchical institutions. Yet eloquent and authoritative voices have been raised in defence of the Republican system. But however important may have been the opinions they have expressed, they are not so important as the universal reserve of the Juntas on this delicate question. Nevertheless, if the Provisional Government be mistaken, if the popular decision should be against a monarchy, the Provisional Government will respect the will of the national sovereignty."

Marshal Serrano entered Madrid at the head of the revolutionary troops on the 3rd of October, and was received with the utmost enthusiasm by the inhabitants. He addressed the people and told them that he had telegraphed to General Espartero, placing himself over the other generals under his orders. He was, however, authorized by the Central Junta of the Capital to exercise supreme power and appoint a Ministry until a Constituent Assembly should meet. He accepted the office, and said in a speech addressed to the people, "Let tranquillity continue to prevail, and do not allow your confidence in the issue of our efforts to diminish. Thus the revolution will continue to afford a magnificent spectacle, which is the admiration of Europe. The unity and discipline of the army, its fraternization with the people, and the patriotism of all will accomplish the work of the revolution, avoiding equally the impulse of reaction and the discredit of disorder."

A Provisional Ministry was formed, and they issued a circular, in which they said, "The Government has taken in hand the reins of the State in order to lead the nation to liberty, and not allow it to perish in anarchy."

An indignant protest having been issued by the Queen from her ayslum in France, the Madrid Gazette published it with the following comment:-" Queen Isabella has addressed a manifesto to the Spaniards. The Junta refrains from making any criticism upon it. The nation have passed their sovereign judgment on the acts of the Queen, and can now pass their verdict on her words." The Minister of Justice issued a decree suppressing the Society of the Jesuits throughout Spain and the Spanish islands, ordering that its colleges and institutions be closed within three days, and declaring its movable and immovable property sequestrated to the State.

A decree was also published that henceforward primary education shall be absolutely free, restoring the normal schools, and reappointing the professors removed by the late Government.

Another decree proclaimed the absolute liberty of the press, suppressed the censorship on literary and dramatic publications.

and

On the 25th of October the representatives of Great Britain, France, Prussia, and Portugal delivered despatches to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, recognizing the Provisional Government on behalf of their respective Governments.

General Prim was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the army, and he issued a circular prohibiting soldiers from taking part, whether collectively or individually, in associations or meetings in any way public which are intended to express a political idea or object.

An electoral law was promulgated by the Government, by which every citizen of twenty-five years of age who was not deprived of his political rights was entitled to vote for the election of town councillors, provincial deputies, and deputies to the Constituent Cortes. The general elections were to be by provinces. Provinces where not more than six deputies were to be elected would be divided into two circumscriptions; where over six and not more than ten were to be elected, into three circumscriptions; and where there were more than ten deputies the province was to be divided into electoral districts of 45,000 inhabitants.

An Electoral Committee was formed, and it issued a manifesto in which it thus spoke of the future form of Government :

"The monarchical form is imposed upon us by the exigencies of the revolution and the necessity of consolidating the liberties we have acquired. Monarchy by Divine right is for ever dead. future monarchy, in deriving its origin from popular rights, will be a consecration of universal suffrage. It will symbolize the national sovereignty, and consolidate public liberty, the right of the people being superior to all institutions and powers. This monarchy, surrounded by democratic institutions, cannot fail to be popular.'

But who was to be the King? This was the great difficulty, even if the nation by a plébiscite declared in favour of monarchy. The votes had not been taken before the close of the present year, and our next volume will give the result on which hangs the destiny of Spain.

In December some serious fighting took place at Cadiz, where the people declared for a Republic, and organized a Militia, who styled themselves "Volunteers of Freedom." They refused to disarm, and after a contest in the streets, Government troops marched upon the town from Madrid, and General Caballero de Roda, who commanded them, addressed a proclamation to the inhabitants, in which he said,

"A revolution, incited and fomented by secret enemies, is deluging with blood the streets of your beautiful city, but has found no echo in the Peninsula, and I come to suppress it with the forces placed at my disposal by the Government. Lay down your arms, and your lives will be saved. This I guarantee you in the name of the Government, on whose clemency you may rely. Such is

the only means by which the insurgents can escape being treated

with inflexible rigour.

"I grant you a delay until to-morrow at noon, in order that the old men, women, and children, as well as all peaceably disposed citizens, may leave the town.

"Inhabitants of Cadiz !

"It will not be my fault if, with the means of attack which the imperious law of necessity compels me to employ, there should come for Cadiz a day of mourning and ruin. I shall regret such a result from the bottom of my heart, but shall do my duty."

The result was that the town surrendered, and the Government troops took peaceable possession of it.

ITALY.

Some changes took place in the Menabrea Cabinet at the beginning of the year, when Signors Cardona, de Filippe, and Ribotti became respectively Ministers of the Interior, Justice, and Marine. In announcing this to the Chamber of Deputies, General Menabrea said, "The country desires nothing so much as accord between the Parliament and the Government, which would promptly effect a restoration of the public administration, and strengthen the principle of order and authority. We appeal for concord and conciliation to obtain the fulfilment of these legitimate wishes. A series of Bills will be laid before Parliament, the principal object of which will be to introduce great economy and order into all branches of the public administration. These measures include Bills upon the conditions of Government functionaries, on the collection of taxes, and on the present system of public accounts. I earnestly recommend voting the Budget of 1868, otherwise the public administration of the law, and the fundamental basis of well-ordered Governmental administration will be endangered. Our duty is no light one. The peril which menaces Italy is not yet removed. Great financial danger is still imminent. Recent events have also emboldened the reactionary party to conceive impossible schemes for the division of Italy. Let us all therefore rally round the flag of the Monarchy, of duty, and of liberty. Let us work harmoniously to avert peril. Relying upon faith in our right, strong in the experience we have acquired by dangers past, we shall be able to overcome the present peril, and attain the object desired by all to secure independence, greatness, and liberty for Italy."

In a circular issued by the Minister of the Interior to the prefects on the internal condition of the country, he said, "The first essential condition for the liberty of all is respect for and observance of the law. This object cannot be attained when the Government, being scrupulously bound to enforce them, does not