SPAIN.                              
 87-

districts; another of proclamations in which it was stated that there was
no govern-
ment in Spain, and that the conduct of Pavia and Serrano was iniquitous.
Finally,
counsel and support were asked of the town-boards.
  Be'the facts as they may, what seems most true i' that news unfavorable
to the gov-
ernment was received on the 24th via the United States, and this news was
sent by
telegraph to the town-boards, and on the 25th the following notice was posted
up in
all the towns, in the most conspicuous places:
  "His excellency, the superior governor, addresses to me the following
telegram,
bearing date of to-day: 'Reports have been circulated at the capital both
in favor of
and against the present situation. I know nothing officially. Foreign papers
say that
Barcelona has risen against the government of Serrano; that the fortress
of Monjuich
has opened fire on Barcelona; that Cartagena has repulsed an attack; that
Portugalete
is in the hands of the Carlists, and Bilbao bombarded. Nothing can be believed;
but
the situation of Spain is worsc than ever; let this serve us as an example
to maintain
order, and to obey the laws and the legitimate authorities.
                                                      'PRIMO DE RIVERA.'
  We will not closely examine the spirit of this communication. It is unnecessary.
  At last came the 26th, a sad day for the ultra reform party. Submarine
conimuni-
  cation between Ponce and Jamaica had just been opened by means of a new
cable in-
  stead of the old one, which had been broken. The first news received by
the new
  cable was that Cartagena had surrendered, and that General Sanz had been
appointed
  captain-general of Porto Rico. A thunderbolt falling among a herd would
not have
  produced so magical an effect as did this important news. The piratical
flag, around
  which the disintegrating elements of our society intended to rally, had
fallen in shreds
  before the guns of General Lopez Dominguez; the name most beloved by the
good anud
  most feared by the bad, that has ever been known in this province, had
crossed the
  Atlantic.
  The scene was at once changed. Those who expected to disturb the public
order
  and to unite their forces under the shadow of a political standard and
under the pro-
  tection of a superior authority, blinded by party spirit, trembled. There
was no
  longer time for anything. The telegram said that General Sanz had sailed,
and, con-
  sequently, in from four to six days, he would be here at the head of an
army, and of a
  force of volunteers who adored him. What was to be done? The captain-general
  sounded the retreat by publishing in the Gaceta of the 27th the fact that
Cartagena
  had surrendered. He concealed nothing but the coming of General Sanz.
  But, if this checked the revolutionary elements in their way to ruin, it
was not
  sufficient to destroy the impulse which they had received. Suspicious meetings
multi-
  plied. Mr. Primo de Rivera understood his own situation and that of the
country
  which he had disturbed, and, on the 31st of January, he published in the
Gaceta a cir-
  cular, which made noble amends for his previous errors.
  "The report is circulated,"! said he, addressing the alcaldes,
"that there is a project
  on foot to disturb public order.
  "You will immediately adopt all necessary prudential and repressive
measures to
  dissipate these rumors, and if the smallest fact gives ground for them,
you will avail
  yourself of the aid of the civil guard, of the volunteers, and of the army,
adopting all
  such measures of vigilance and of repression as the case may require. Public
order
  is not to be disturbed for a single moment. The alcaldes will be personally
responsible
  to me for this."
  This document, it must be confessed, was received with disdain by some
and with
  concentrated anger and indignation by others. To the former it was too
late ; to the
  latter it appeared to be a desertion, as if there was a Spaniard capable
of betraying
  his country.
  Hereupon the 2d day of February arrived. The steamer Isla de Cuba entered
in
  the morning, having on board the wished-for general.
  The inhabitants were animated; the shops were closed in order that the
volunteers
  might go to receive the general to whom the country owes so much. An immense
  number of people repaired to the wharves to welcome his excellency.
  But here occurred an incident already foreseen. Mr. Primo de Rivera refused
to
  give up the command, under the pretext either that he had not received
or that he was
  not willing to receive orders'to that effect from Madrid. The upright of
the authori-
  ties assembled. General Sanz, having been made acquainted with these scruples,
sent
  his credentials to Primo de Rivera. All this delayed the hour of landing.
The second
  in command gave orders for the troops to form, and, under the pressure
of circum-
  stances, Mr. Rivera concluded to give up the command, not: to General Sanz,
but to
  Brigadier Enrihe, who immediately went to receive the new captain-general.
    N~ever has the city of Porto Rico received a governor with so much joy,
with so
  many demonstrations of pleasure, and with such a large and intelligent
gathering of
  spectators as those with which it received General Sanz. Scarcely had the
ceremony
  terminated of delivering the keys at the gate of San Justo, which is at
a pistol-shot
        + j arf, when thousands of voices hiurrahed w ith indescribable enthusiasm