based as much on reasons of morality as on those of material national interests. He is an excellent orator, and having given proof of exceptional qualities for taking part in the government of the nation, it is to be lamented that the Republican parties do not bring themselves into closer union under his leadership and together support a democratic monarchy.

As we have seen, the majority of Spanish statesmen are proAlly. Señor Maura's attitude was not open to doubt until a short time ago; he may turn round again at any moment, though naturally his support would have lost some of its value. The Conservative and Liberal leaders, as well as the heads of the Republican and Radical parties, are pro-Ally, and have more or less plainly stated their opinions at different times. Only the Carlist leader is on the other side, and there is sufficient evidence of his real motives to allow all responsible people to see his policy in its true light.

On one point all Spanish statesmen are unanimous on the justice and the desirability of restoring Tangier to the Spanish zone of influence in Morocco. They all believe that internationalised Tangier is a fertile ground for discord and revolt; its possession by Spain would do away with all cause of disturbance. Tangier is necessary to Spain, if she is to continue the colonisation of Morocco.

Two of the Spanish statesmen whose position we have studied have gone further still and demanded Gibraltar for Spain. England in Gibraltar has been throughout the war one of the sharpest weapons of the German propaganda. Even the best friends of England cannot deny that the possession of Gibraltar by Great Britain was accomplished by unfair means. When they maintain that the Allies are fighting for the integrity of all nations, great and small, the answer is 'Look at Gibraltar.' It is the España irredenta,' and although before the war the old grudge was nearly forgotten, it has been cleverly revived by those who saw that it was one of the few weapons that they could wield with right and reason to support it. A rapprochement with Great Britain will always be hampered by the existence of this British fort on Spanish soil.

Before entering into the study of the different opinions professed by the different sections of the Press, it is well to lay stress on the important influence exercised by newspapers in Spain. In a country where the people are not too devoted

to reading, the newspaper is for many the only guide and the only intellectual food. The Spaniard, generally speaking, reads his daily paper in the morning, and knows what he has to think for the rest of the day. The newspaper is the greatest weapon of the politician; it is the instrument that leads and guides the people into the various channels of public opinion. 'La Epoca,' the' doyen' of the Spanish press and the official organ of the Conservative party, observed an attitude of prudent neutrality during the months when Señor Dato was at the head of the Government. Without ever abandoning this attitude, 'La Epoca' has always maintained that the interests of the Spanish nation are allied to those of the Entente, and that a German victory cannot be beneficial to Spain. It has always protested with energy and dignity against the acts of aggression of the Central Powers; its authoritative influence among the aristocratic and conservative classes is unmistakable, and the campaign which it has conducted during this war has been of the greatest value to national interests as well as to the cause of the Allies.

One of the most important and widely read Spanish papers is A B C.' Though not affiliated to any particular political party, it has always professed Conservative ideas. Admirably edited, with able writers to fill its columns, it calls itself 'impartial' and 'neutral,' but the pro-German sympathies of 'A B C,' although it may strive to deny them, are obvious to everyone. Because of the fact that it has always been respected and read by sound elements of opinion, and because it publishes together with pro-German articles others written by journalists of Allied sympathies, thus disguising its true feelings, 'A B C ' is one of the most dangerous enemies of the Entente.

The most ardent defender of the Central Powers and their policy is the 'Correo Español,' the organ of the Carlist party and of Señor Vazquez Mella, a paper whose opinions, like those of the party it represents, have earned the disapprobation of Don Jaime de Borbon. It attacks the Allies, above all England, furiously and constantly, and though its love of the sensational induced people to buy it readily during the first stages of the war, its sale has to-day greatly decreased, and its views are generally ignored. It owes its continued existence mainly to the gratitude of the Central Powers, but there are

many Germans in Spain and out of it who repudiate the clumsy antics of this Carlist organ.

'La Accion,' the organ of the Mauristas, is also a friend of the Central Powers. The same may be said of 'La Nacion' and 'El Dia,' and their appearance in the autumn of 1916, at a moment when paper was not only scarce but extremely dear, caused some comment, together with not ill-founded suspicion. 'La Tribuna,' a newspaper which has supported Señor Maura, is also pro-German and anti-English. 'El 'Debate,' a clerical daily, supports as incongruously as its readers the cause of Germany and her allies. 'El Universo,'

also a Catholic paper, is rather in favour of the Central Powers, though not defending them with as great ardour as the dailies we have just quoted. It did not hesitate to condemn the invasion of Belgium, and we may be sure that when it follows a wrong path it is due to honest mistake and never to lack of good faith.

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On the other hand, 'La Correspondencia de España a frank friend of the Allies, and in the early days of the war was considered to be their most ardent supporter. It has published a series of magnificent articles dealing with the military situation, and its healthy influence has been noticeable at all times.

'Diario Universal' is the organ of Count Romanones, and expresses the views of that Liberal statesman. In the 'Imparcial' have appeared articles by many of the best Spanish writers, some on the side of the Central Powers, others on the side of the Allies. The great democratic newspaper, ' Heraldo 'de Madrid,' is, of course, clearly on the side of the Entente, which owes much to its influential support. The republican 'Liberal,' like the 'Pais,' of the same political tendencies, is an excellent newspaper, which has defended the Allies throughout the war. 'España Nueva,' another republican daily, supported the Entente in the early days of the war, later changing its ideas and deserting to the enemy. This change in a paper which professes to defend democratic ideals is difficult to explain satisfactorily.

All the papers whose opinions we have examined appear in Madrid, and they are naturally the leaders of the Spanish Press. In Barcelona, nevertheless, several newspapers of considerable importance are published, such as the 'Vanguardia,'

a sound and impartial daily, also 'La Publicidad' and 'Las Noticias,' both of which are good friends to the Allies.

The majority, if not all, of the Spanish weeklies have proAlly sympathies. One of them deserves special notice. It is España, a paper of democratic and perhaps too radical ideas, produced by a group of men of a rather academical mind, but sincere in their opinions, and keenly studious of the problems on which they write. They may be mistaken, but they are honest; when they are at fault, they are ready to recognise it. Happily there are signs of an increase in Spain of men of this class; their value to the country in the present crisis can hardly be overstated. There are too many people in Spain-perhaps in other countries also who will accept and defend any class of idea, without stopping to consider whether it is right or wrong, and who often, through private interests of their own, ignore the interests of the nation as a whole. Such people are the chief causes of weakness in any nation. It may fairly be said of the men who collaborate in España,' whether they be pro-Ally or pro-German, Republicans or Conservatives, that the honesty of their convictions gives them strength in defending the truth when they are right, and the courage to confess their mistakes when they are wrong.

The principal stock-in-trade of the pro-Germans in Spain is the assertion that the Allies are constantly trying to induce the country to abandon its neutrality and step into the arena on the side of the Entente. They do not seem to realise that it is precisely Germany, with her outrages and insults, who is endangering that neutrality which they so ardently defend; they do not seem to understand that the Allies have never thought of inviting Spain to enter the war; they have only asked her to adhere strictly to her neutrality, and to take the necessary steps to prevent German agents from feeding German submarines. England only wishes to continue to import the ore, lead, and copper of which Spain possesses such ample supplies, exporting in exchange the coal needed by Spain in order to carry on her economic existence. In addition, nd has consented to continue to import from Spain a able quantity of fruit, so that Spanish merchants ot feel too cruelly the effects of the war and of the submarine blockade. The pressure on Spain to

abandon her neutrality does not come from the Allies; it comes from Germany, who may ultimately place her in a position incompatible with her honour and dignity, thus forcing her to forsake a policy to which she clings so closely and with such good reason.

But if Germany cannot force Spain into war against her, she is at least determined to obtain as strong a hold as possible on Spanish public opinion. If she cannot prevent Spain from helping the Allies in this war, she is at least striving to make preparation in Spain for the next war. Her efforts are chiefly devoted to a form of press propaganda, on which she has already spent well over three-quarters of a million sterling.

The ultimate purpose of German propaganda can fairly be gathered from a glance at the position of Spain on the map. As the editor of 'España,' Señor Araquistain, pointed out in an article appearing last autumn, that the situation of Spain in the west closely corresponds to that of Turkey in the east.

Spain [he says] 'is one of the extremities of the European Continent, and can lend valuable assistance to a Central Power like Germany. In case of war, Spain, hampering communications between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and promoting at the same time rebellions in Northern Africa, could render most uncomfortable the position of the enemies of the Central Powers, supposing those enemies to be all or some of those who are opposed to Germany to-day. In time of peace, Germany could make use of Spain as a base for her military and commercial aims in the Mediterranean, in Northern Africa, and even in America, in the same way as she makes use of Turkey for her similar aims in East Africa and Asia.'

Striking confirmation of the soundness of this view is furnished by the 'Düsseldorfer General-Anzeiger,' which published on May 2nd last an article on Spain by Freiherr von Mackay, of Munich.

'Spain' [says Freiherr von Mackay] has in her outlook towards El Rif another weighty aim of the future to defend, viz. the trade route of the coming age, Tangier-Morocco-St. Louis (the Senegal mouth)-Pernambuco, the shortest connection between South, but also Central, Europe and Latin America. . . . It is certain that after the war we shall not surrender, but begin to defend in earnest, the pre-eminent economic interests in Morocco which led us to Algeciras and the tedious adjustments of our policy with France. Spain would therefore gain the strong support which she