Extracts from the reply of the president of the chamber of ministers to José María Alvarez Bugallal, December 18, 1872
Extracts from the reply of the president of the chamber of ministers to Mr. Alvarez Bugallal, chamber of deputies, December 17, 1872.
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Mr. Alvarez Bugallal. As the government must know of the state of alarm that notoriously exists in Barcelona, Cadiz, Santander, Bilboa, and other mercantile cities of the Peninsula, growing out of the rumors lately circulated concerning the intention of the government respecting political and administrative reforms in the colonies, is it prepared to give an explanation of the extent of those measures and reforms at the present moment, since this alarm springs from the profound surprise which has taken possession of the public on seeing the contradictory character of these rumors, some of which are already realized by the repeated promises and statements of the government through its worthy president? Is the government determined, in clear and direct violation, as I think, of the prescriptions of the constitution, and in usurpation of the unquestionable prerogatives of the legislative power, to put into effect immediately, and without the previous approbation of the Cortes, the decree establishing municipal government in Porto Rico, first made public in the Gaceta de Madrid of the 14th of this month? Does the government contemplate following up this action by two other measures of equal gravity—one relative to the separation of military and civil power, and the other to the immediate abolition of slavery, which, according to the rumors of the past few days, it is proposed to carry into effect?
These are the three questions I have to address to the government of His Majesty, in order that, in view of their gravity, which I believe it will at once admit, it will be pleased to answer them as soon as possible.
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The Vice-President, (Mr. Mosquera.) The president of the council of ministers has the floor.
The President of the Council of Ministers, (Mr. Ruiz Zorrilla.) I have asked the floor, Messieurs Deputies, in order to answer a question my friend Mr. Bugallal saw fit to make at the beginning of the session.
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What has the government done? Published by decree the law of ayuntamientos, believing that it had the right to do so; believing—and herein is Mr. Bugallal’s first mistake—that it usurped the powers of no one, and much less of this Parliament, and how could it have thought of usurping the attributes of the Spanish Parliament, when it so highly cherishes the acts and attributes of that body?
This is an abstract point, and Mr. Bugallal may make an interpellation and present a proposition thereon and say whatever he sees fit as to whether or no the government had the right to establish by decree the law of ayuntamientos in Porto Rico, and the minister of ultramar will answer him.
The government is considering the separation of civil and military authority, (separaceon de mandos;) and if it agrees upon it, being an administrative matter, it will do it by decree, without asserting anybody’s attributes; and Mr. Alvarez Bugallal may make an interpellation about it, if he sees proper, and it will be the second.
The government is considering the question of slavery, and will lay the law before you as soon as possible, for it wishes to fight under this flag and for this cause. It believes that abolition will be the greatest of benefits to the Antilles, and believes there is a way and a means to put a speedy end to the insurrection in Cuba, a measure adapted to the totality of those on these benches, curbing the exigencies of some and tempting the impatience of others—that is, supposing that they have not betrayed their principles, and do not demand an impossible administration for the Antilles. It believes that it has fulfilled its promises in the pacific island; that it has been treated as it ought to be treated, and that, as far as the other is concerned, it will do the same after the restoration of the material quiet and moral tranquillity which is indispensable to enable the reforms to effect their natural results.
Has there been a single Spaniard of any party whatever who has said here, is there any one who ventures to say to-day, in the nineteenth century and in the year 1872, that the Antilles must forever remain under the very same system of laws that governs them to-day? Is there one?
Those who are now and always have been the most inimical to reforms come before us and say, “We are advocates of reforms. We wish and ask for-reforms. We wish the colonies to have the same legislation and enjoy the same benefits as may be given to the Peninsula. But this cannot be done now. It is completely impossible to-day. We can do absolutely nothing, because civil war rages in Cuba, and what is done in Porto Rico may make it more difficult to extinguish!”
Ah, what an example! What an immoral example for the provinces which obey and respect Spain! What an unworthy example given by parties who have any self esteem, by men who see nothing left but to sacrifice all, to poison all with political venom! How baleful an example for the rest of the Peninsula if opinions be to-morrow divided and some rebel while others remain tranquil! If there were a rising tomorrow in Andalusia, and if it were possible for it to show the same or similar characters as that which exists in one of the Antilles, would we have to say to the rest of Spain that because there was an insurrection in a part of the Peninsula individual rights must be suspended throughout all Spain? Do you not comprehend that the pacific provinces could justly say that on the whole they would be no worse off if they, too, had revolted? For if the revolt be not dependent on the will of the pacific provinces, and if they find no advantage in their fidelity, but are treated like the others in spite of it, might we not fear that they would do as the others had done?
As firmly as I proclaim it untrue that we have thought of carrying out any reforms in Cuba, so firmly do I assure the Cortes, * * and my words are trustworthy, for after all the government might easily have postponed its answer, in view of the gravity of the matter, that the government does not and will not go further than it should in the Porto Rican question, and that all that has been said to the contrary and concerning other reforms is the pure invention of some and the foolish credulity of others, unworthy means used by many to attack this government which have overcome great crises and hopes to overcome this, believing that the right is on its side.
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What motives are there for the continuance of this alarm if, from the point of view of public order, the situation has been bettered? What reasons are there for thinking that a cataclysm may come at any moment? I will tell Mr. Bugallal why. I will specify no party and no man, because it does not suit my purpose, and in the post I occupy I should not do so except as the last resort. I say to Mr. Bugallal that this alarm is spread because the Porto Rican question is on the tapis; not because the reforms are of greater or less scope; not because they may produce these or those results; not because they are more or less justified or more or less legal; but because it is a question that may serve to rally the enemies of the government and draw waverers to the opposition. It is a question which may lend hope to the feeble and strength to the despairing, and they say among themselves, “Come, let us get up an agitation, and let us see if by that means we can win men over to our side and put an end to this government.” Before, it was the conscription; afterward, the loan; now, the Porto Rican question. If this disappears another will come, and then another, and then another.
One thing is certain; that this agitation will be no more than an agitation; that this agitation would have much less importance if it attained expression in some insignificant overt act than the two revolts we have dominated under more trying circumstances, and there would be, moreover, this fact in favor of the government, that the reform treated of being subject to the deliberations of the chambers, which would give time for opinions to be formed, and for the deputies to vote as their conscience dictates. If this agitation were made manifest in acts of violence it could not claim the disculpation which other agitations have had wherein ideas have contended and not interests; wherein ignorant masses have risen and not men of enlightenment where in, instead of making use of what they are worth and what they are to increase the prosperity of Spain and give tranquillity to the Antilles, their endowments and themselves are used for the political ends and to promote discontent at home and perhaps cause great injuries to the colonies; and as such agitation would have no importance we would dominate it as we have dominated the others.
Then, (and why should it be concealed from Mr. Bugallal—why should he not be told the truth?) then, perhaps I might come before Congress and say what I have not said now because I did not wish to add fuel to the blaze, what I did not say when the federal and Carlist insurrections arose, for then evil-minded Spaniards, renegades, and disloyal to their country, would be the ones to arouse a revolt here, and prepare, or attempt, a revolt in the Antilles, in order to deprive the government of the strength it needs to enable it to say to Cuba, “Be not alarmed,” to send out thither the twelve thousand soldiers demanded by the captain-general, and as many more as may be wanted. Those evil and disloyal Spaniards would be the ones to say to the Antilles that we had a filibuster government at home; that the government here was composed of wicked Spaniards, of ministers who took money and whose wives accepted gifts from the chief of the rebels. The coward who says this is known as one who is incapable of defending anything unless paid with gold. [Great applause.]
Ah, Messieurs Deputies! when I read this and added it to the countless slanders I have read of myself for some time past I was indignant, but upon reflection I said, “Why should they not do so if their nature is unchanged? Did they not say when Mendizabel attempted to reform the church and sought means to end the civil war, that he took so much for every pair of shoes he bought in England to keep the army from going barefoot? Did they not say of the same Mendizabel that he robbed a virgin’s shrine of its jewels to give them to a woman? and, to take an analogous case, did they not say of General Espartero, in 1843, that he had sold Cuba, not to the United States—that was not thought of then—but for British gold?”
And I said, “If, in speaking of a man of the political stature of Mendizabal—almost the only great progressive statesman this country has had—if, in speaking of a man of the virtues, the services, and the merit of the illustrious pacificator of Spain, they said these things, wherein is it strange that, when my limited merits have raised me to the post I occupy, there should be inflamed against me, not merely envy, which I have no reason to fear, but the passions of those of far more merit than I, who, nevertheless, have not accomplished as much as I.”
I must say to the chamber and to the nation from this post that we, in studying the Porto Rican question, and in according reforms to Porto Rico, have obeyed the sentiment, the idea, and aspiration of preserving the colonies united to the mother country.
I must tell my political friends from the provinces, who have come hither as commissioners to the government to protest against the reform, that many of them have not been told what the reforms were, while to others they have been exaggerated; I must explain to them that the political aspect of the question lies exactly where they have been told that there was no political question; that the real political issue is that we believe the way to assure peace to the Antilles and preserve them to Spain is to give them reforms, and the reason that those who are themselves politicians tell them that there are no politics in this question, is because they think the statu quo should be maintained in the Antilles; that those who knowingly or unwittingly, according to the spirit that guides or the inspiration that feeds them, are content to be made use of by their political friends, may do as they please; each one is master of his own will and conscience; but they contribute to political interests contrary to the radical party and to this cabinet, and we have the right to believe, unless there be some who think and dare to say to our faces that we are not good Spaniards, and then they will have the right to say so, and if they do not we have the right to deem that, as all alike desire the preservation of the Antilles, it is they who are mistaken; that they reason upon the only facts they possess, while we, in studying and deciding this question, have not only the data they have given us, but also those which every government possesses, and which are not accessible to private citizens. They cannot escape from this dilemma; if all of us are true Spaniards—if all of us desire the preservation of the Antilles to the mother country—we are of necessity in the right, since we possess more data and more antecedents and are able to solve this question more understandingly.
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Lastly, Messieurs Deputies, we are acting conscientiously in this question, seeking to give, as I have already repeatedly said, a great good to our country, a great benefit to liberal Spain and to our Antilles; and, as we all hold this conviction, being men of ideas and of convictions, we counsel some of you to examine and see why and how these protests are made, and we counsel others to no longer permit themselves to make a political question of one which should be purely Spanish; that if any issue requires calmness in discussion it is this one, now and always; and lastly, before taking my seat, that, come what may and whatever protests may be made, this government will not desist from carrying out its purpose to realize these reforms except in the face of two obstacles which those whose duty is as ours are bound to respect, the will of the Crown or the vote of the Cortes.
The following proposition offered by Mr. Becerra was then read:
“The undersigned deputies ask Congress to be pleased to declare that it has heard with profound pleasure the words of salvation and of reform from Porto Rico just uttered by the president of the council of ministers.
“Palace of the Congress, December 17, 1872.
“Manuel Becerra, M. Mathet, Luis de Molini, the Marquis de la Florida, the Marquis de Sardoval, Rodolfo Pelayo, Antonio Ramos Calderon.”
Mr. Becerra. Gentlemen, these are solemn moments wherein the soul feels what the tongue cannot express. Permit me to begin by congratulating my friend, the pesident of the council of ministers, on his defense of a great cause. I wish that the Spaniards beyond the seas could hear us, and they would see that the Spaniards who carried civilization thither beneath the cross of Christ are now ready to give them democracy also.
The present act, gentlemen, is an act of great political importance, because, in the first place, it is an act of justice; of justice, gentlemen, which is the highest of all aims, and woe to the nations that forget it! And, in the second place, because it is a timely act, that demonstrates the intimate union of Spain and America, and shows the world that, if a great people has had the courage to emancipate four millions of slaves, the land of the Cid will not go backward in its defense of the liberty, the honor, and the integrity of the nation. [Applause.]
We are calumniated for this; but what of that? To calumny we will oppose tranquillity of conscience, and to intrigues the firm union of our party; for the principles, gentlemen, among their many excellencies, have power to rally their disciples around them at moments like the present, and if any think we are divided, they will now see us united in defense of our principles. And if, by chance of misfortune, we are threatened by complications in this question, we who have ever striven for liberty will continue to strive for it; and if fortune be adverse to us, let us act so that our sons may say of us, “They fought like good, men and true to win liberty, and they died like men in its defense.” And, above all, let it be known that by this act we test the strength of our right; and if there be cowards who doubt it, we will make them comprehend that we have also the right of strength on our side.
I well know that there are adventurers who have raised their standard against the integrity of our territory; but we will answer them by sending out not merely 12,000 men, but as many as may be needed, and all the treasure that may be required; for a true nation would rather perish from the earth than suffer a blot on its good fame.
There are also those who question our patriotism, but their doubts will be dispelled when they see that, given these reforms, we are ready to make every sacrifice to preserve the integrity of the territory.
The Vice-President. Excuse me, Mr. Deputy; I am about to ask the chamber if the sitting shall be prolonged.
The question being put was decided in the affirmative.
Mr. Becerra. We are discussing reforms for Porto Rico, for that province beyond the seas, which Spain recognizes as a province from to-day henceforth, now that she is ready to give the island her rights as a province, while at the same time prepared to punish rigorously whosoever may seek to assail the integrity, the independence, or the honor of the country. Cuba will have these same rights later, since the first duty is to conquer; because Spain can never yield with honor to menaces, and no man of courage will ever concede that which is demanded with a strong hand.
How much might be said upon this point! How much occurs to me in the way of arguments, showing the justice, opportuneness, the necessity and utility of reforms! But I shall only put this question to the radicals and the conservatives who joined in’ the revolution: Can we do otherwise than to fulfill a solemn and sacred promise? If it was intended to fulfill that promise, why oppose it now? And if it was not intended that it should be fulfilled, why was it spontaneously made?
I hope that the chamber will take into consideration the proposition we have had the honor to present. In this manner the Spanish nation will prove to the whole world that she is prepared to defend her independence, to uphold her integrity, to maintain her honor, and at the same time do justice to each and all of her sons; and she will do so in such fashion that the Spaniards who live beyond the seas, like those who dwell in the Peninsula, may say with pride, “I am a Spaniard; I am of that nation that conquered her independence by humbling the great captain of the age, and now is able to teach all Europe the true practice of democracy.”
The proposition being put, the vote was taken into consideration, by 182 votes against 7.