ho was a Tory of the old school, and aspired to be
a despot. Toryism, though the word is unknown there, dies hard in Spain;
but there are not wanting signs that the Conservatives of the new school
have the progress and emancipation of the country quite as much at heart
as any Liberal. It was the Conservative _Nacional_ that in a leading
article of March 29th in 1901, under the head of "Vicious Customs,"
called attention to the crowds of place-hunters who invade the public
offices after a change of ministry, and to the barefaced impudence of
some of their claims for preferment. "The remedy is in the hands of the
advisers of the Crown," it continued. "Let them shut the doors of their
offices against influence and intrigue, keep _Empleados_ of acknowledged
competence permanently in their posts, and not appoint new ones without
the conviction that they have capacity and aptitude for the work they
will have to do. By this means, if the problem be not entirely solved,
it will at least be in train for a solution satisfactory at once for a
good administration and for the highest interests of the State."

The way in which the wire-pulling is done from Madrid, in case of an
election, is through the _cacique_, or chief person in each
constituency; hence the name of the process. This person may be the
Civil Governor, the _Alcalde_, or merely a rich landowner or large
employer of labour in touch with the Government: the pressure brought
to bear may be of two sorts, taking the form of bribery or threat. The
voters who hang on to the skirts of the _cacique_ may hope for
Government employment, or they may fear a sudden call to pay up arrears
of rent or of taxes; the hint is given from headquarters, or a
Government candidate is sent down. It matters little how the thing is
done so long as the desired end is accomplished. Speaking of the general
election which took place last June, and in which it was well known
beforehand that the Liberals were to be returned in a large majority,
one of the Madrid newspapers wrote: "The people will vote, but assuredly
the deputies sent up to the Cortes will not be _their_ representatives,
nor their choice."

We, who have for so many years enjoyed a settled government, forget how
different all this is in a country like Spain, which has oftener had to
be reproached for enduring bad government than for a readiness to effect
violent changes, or to try new experiments; but the progress actually
made since t