Excerpt
The affairs of Cuba are still occupying a very important place in the eyes of the world.
The dissatisfaction in Spain over the Cuban policy of the Government has led to serious political troubles in Madrid.
In every Congress or Parliament there are always two or more parties opposed to each other, and on this opposition the welfare of the country to a great extent depends. Were all the members to agree, there would be an end of progress. It is the discontent that men feel over a present state of affairs that spurs them on to make changes, and through these changes all the progress of the world has come about.
In a Congress there are generally two strong parties—one that sides with the Government, and one that is opposed to it.
This does not mean that one party is always ready to quarrel and find fault with every measure proposed by the other. It means that there is a party which belongs to the Government, and is pledged to vote for the measures it proposes, and an opposition party which watches the Government, questions its acts, and will not vote for its measures until quite sure that they are good and helpful.
In countries that are ruled by a sovereign, the Government is not formed in the same way that ours is.
The sovereign rules for life, and appoints the Prime Minister and the Cabinet officers, who remain in office as long as they can manage the affairs of state properly. The Parliament or Congress is composed of two Houses, like ours, but the Upper House, which resembles our Senate, is composed of peers (dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts, and barons) who are not elected, but have their seat in the Upper House by right of birth. Added to these are the Bishops and Churchmen of high degree, and, in some countries, certain distinguished persons appointed by the sovereign.
The members of the Lower House are elected, as our Congressmen are. In Spain they are elected for five years, in England they lose their seats every time the Ministry changes.
As we have said, the Prime Minister only keeps his office while he can control affairs. When he finds that the Parliament will no longer uphold the plans and wishes of the Ministry, he goes to his sovereign, resigns his office, and a new Minister is appointed.
This is just what has been happening in Spain.
The people, displeased at the way the Cuban affairs were being managed, complained of the Government, and at the same time demanded that General Weyler should be recalled from the island.
At first the murmurs were not heeded, but they grew louder, until finally the people demanded that the Duke of Tetuan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, should be removed, for they supposed it was his fault that their requests were not granted.
The Duke himself put the finishing touch to the matter by boxing the ears of one of the members of the opposition party with whom he got into a heated discussion over the Morgan Bill.
The Spanish Parliament, the Cortes, was furious over this rude and extraordinary conduct. The opposition party absolutely refused to have anything to do with the Government party, to which the Duke belonged....