position of Prime Minister. Señor Dato achieved something which falls short of a miracle: he contrived to impress upon the undecided nation the convenience and necessity of following a policy of strict neutrality. His own views upon the point are to be found in a speech which he delivered in Congress, on the 5th of November 1914, in reply to a question addressed to him by the Republican-Socialist minority.

'The Government' [said Señor Dato] 'perseveres in the policy of neutrality in regard to the war existing between nations with which Spain maintains the most cordial terms of friendship. We have not been attacked by any of them, and we are totally foreign to the causes of this conflict. We desire to remain aloof from the war, and all nations involved in it have not hesitated to recognise the legitimate reasons for our neutrality, which they have scrupulously respected. The Spanish Government has not remained indifferent to anything related to the defence of the nation; it has adopted the measures of precaution that its prevision and patriotism advise it to take.

'We shall maintain our neutral attitude, without ever abandoning it voluntarily; and if, contrary to what we honestly believe, circumstances such as to enforce a change of policy should arise, we shall never alter our attitude, however slightly, without previously consulting Parliament on the point.

'But if the day should arrive when Spain becomes the object of aggression, we are Spaniards, gentlemen, and we shall not hesitate to act in accordance with the traditions of our old and glorious country, sacrificing our lives in order to defend the integrity and independence of our territory.'

Señor Dato's words, which represent the policy followed by his Cabinet during fifteen months of the war, could not have been more prudent or more dignified. He has just again returned to power, and it can be safely predicted that the Allies will not have cause to find complaint with his attitude towards them. He is fully conscious of the political and commercial interests which link his country with England, with France, and with Italy, and there is no reason to doubt his future adherence to the clear statement just quoted. It is well to remember that the 'Epoca,' the official organ of the party which he leads, has, without ever evincing any servile partiality, proved more than once that it is well aware of the righteousness of the Allied cause, raising its voice constantly against the outrages of which Spanish seamen have been made the victims by German methods of warfare. Señor Dato will

defend the dignity of the country with the same courage as he will attack the delicate problems that face him.

Señor Dato's previous spell of power was followed by the premiership of Count Romanones, who had led a not very compact or disciplined Liberal party since the death of Señor Canalejas. A few months previously to his accession to the premiership, an article had appeared in the 'Diario Universal,' which was commonly attributed to his pen. It was a powerful study on the dangers of neutrality, and caused a great stir in the country; but its unfavourable reception probably served, for the moment at least, to induce Count Romanones to await a more suitable occasion in order to renew his pro-Ally activities.

Shortly afterwards, in April 1915, the Liberal leader delivered an important speech at Palma de Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands. The speech was mainly devoted to interior politics and to the situation of the party, but Count Romanones' words on the international question were of the greatest interest and importance. He did not hesitate to affirm the durability and advantage of the work achieved by Señor Maura and the Conservative party in 1907, recalling at the same time the great political significance of the visit, made in 1913, to the French fleet at anchor in Carthagena, in the presence of a British man-o'-war, by the President of the neighbouring republic and by King Alfonso, he himself having had the honour of accompanying the heads of the two States as Prime Minister of Spain. This visit, during which the most cordial telegrams were exchanged with King George V., was nothing less than a solemn ratification, made by a Liberal Government, of the work achieved by Señor Maura and the Conservatives a few years before. Owing to Spanish interests in the Mediterranean, Conservatives and Liberals were bound to uphold the agreements of 1904, 1905, 1907, and 1912, and that same reason imposed upon them a political understanding with the Powers with whom, from the first days of King Alfonso's reign, Spain has maintained the most direct relations. This did not imply any antipathy against other countries; it was simply the result of Spain's geographical position. As Señor Maura himself had said, we cannot ignore real facts, or make Spain different from what she is, or place her in a different position from that which she occupies on the map of the world.

These plain and emphatic words of Count Romanones made intelligible to all his opinions concerning the foreign policy of Spain, and their weight was increased by the fact that, as he himself observed, the most complete agreement existed on this point between Liberals and Conservatives. The speeches we have quoted from the three most prominent Spanish statesmen furnish a complete answer to those who are ready to believe that Spain is pro-German,' and who in doing so are paying more attention to the hysterical ravings of a noisy rabble than to the studied declarations of responsible statesmen.

The foreign policy actually pursued by Count Romanones and the Liberal government of which he was till lately the head confirms what we have just written. No one can forget his attitude at the time of President Wilson's appeal to neutrals, when Spain politely but firmly refused to send a Peace Note to the belligerent nations, preferring to await 'the moment 'when such a step could be favourably received by both the 'combatant groups.' A Note upon the submarine warfare, issued about the same time by Count Romanones' Government, stated clearly that Spain

'has always maintained the inadmissibility of the destruction of naval prizes as carried out by the German submarines. The Spanish Government [the Note went on to say] has adopted on this subject a more insistent attitude than any other Neutral, not excluding the United States; and further, it does not admit the interpretation given by the Central Empires to international law in the destruction of ships; it has always made representations and protests against such an interpretation.'

Needless to say, Count Romanones was vigorously attacked by Germans and pro-Germans in Spain. A high diplomatic 'personage in relation with the Central Powers' even went so far as to assail the Premier in his private life, attributing the tenor of his two Notes to certain material interests-an attack as devoid of legitimate foundation as it was in accordance with German political methods. But the vigorous campaign conducted against Count Romanones by the proGermans had a certain effect on public opinion, and when in his judgment the time arrived for a closer approach to the Allies, he lacked that general support which was necessary, and he was forced to resign. The Government passed into the hands of another Liberal statesman, Señor Garcia Prieto,

who was succeeded at the beginning of June by Señor Dato and the Conservative party.

We have in turn examined the position of the three most prominent Spanish statesmen who at different times, either before or during the war, have presided over Conservative or Liberal Cabinets. We must now direct our attention to party leaders who have never shared the responsibilities of the Government, but who nevertheless exercise a considerable influence upon the affairs of the nation. Two of them represent the only two sections of the country which have more or less openly proclaimed themselves in favour of intervention on the side of one or other group of belligerents; the third being the head of a party which occupies an intermediate situation between the Crown parties and the extreme Left.

At the head of one of the first, the Carlists, we find Señor Vazquez Mella, who together with his followers has defended the cause of the Central Powers as vigorously as he has attacked that of the Allies since the commencement of the war. The Carlists are as anti-dynastic as ever, but it must be borne in mind that since the present conflict broke out they do not represent faithfully the views of Don Jaime de Borbon, the son of Don Carlos, who is the visible head of the party. The Austrians have 'induced' Don Jaime to keep within the 'precincts of his castle and grounds at Frohrsdorf,' perhaps because of the fact that they are aware that if he succeeded in reaching an Allied nation (as pretender to the throne he is exiled from Spain), he would not lose time in making his followers know his true opinions concerning the European conflict. These opinions, as well as many interesting points concerning the situation of the Carlist party, have been dealt with in an excellent pamphlet by Count Melgar, for many years private secretary to Don Carlos and to Don Jaime de Borbon.

Señor Vazquez Mella delivers violent speeches at short intervals before audiences composed of reactionaries and emotional women. He possesses an extraordinary gift of speech, and always knows which are the strings to pull in order to raise his hearers to a pitch of delirious enthusiasm. His orations generally turn on the same theme or themes: religion, the reign of Philip the Second, the high morality of the Kaiser, the perfidy of England, Gibraltar, anti-clerical France, disciplined Germany; that is to say, he looks mainly to the VOL. 226. NO. 461.

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past, distorts the present, and totally disregards the future. But it would be useless to deny that he succeeds in moving his audience and that he has a strong hold on a numerous portion of the people.

The extreme Radical party is led by Señor Lerroux, a constant and ardent supporter of the Entente, though always from his own point of view as affected by internal politics. In the first days of the war, Señor Lerroux proclaimed himself in favour of intervention on the side of the Allies, but this caused a violent storm of protest in all quarters, the country showing plainly that it would not allow its neutrality to be broken or its foreign policy to be dictated by the revolutionary leader. To-day Señor Lerroux demands a rupture of diplomatic relations with Germany, maintaining that the moment for intervention has passed, and that it is now too late to join the Allies. The Radical leader has lost influence of late years, and the country regards with suspicion and distrust his advice on any question, national or international.

As we said above, there is a party in Spain, the Reformist, that occupies an intermediate position between the Crown governing parties and the Left. Although Señor Melquia des Alvarez, the leader of the Reformists, has always shown a tendency towards the republican form of government, it is generally believed that he would not hesitate to accept the task of forming a Cabinet if King Alfonso were to entrust it to him. It cannot surprise anybody that a party which adheres to democratic ideals so strongly should have warmly defended the cause of the Allies throughout the war. Señor Alvarez has at the same time upheld the policy of neutrality so long as it was compatible with the dignity and honour of the nation, adding that if Spain found herself obliged to take part in the conflict, it would be with the Allies, and with them only, that she could possibly join forces. It should be noticed that he only goes a step further than Señor Dato, the Conservative leader, and it may be said that his foreign policy is in complete agent with that advocated by Count Romanones, the

the Liberals. He is now in favour of a rupture of with Germany, believing it to be demanded by the of which Spanish seamen have been victims. The its put forward by Señor Alvarez in favour of a closer to the Allies cannot be disputed, because they are