LEADER PASSES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 64, 17 March 1930, Page 7

LEADER PASSES.

GENERAL DE RIVERA. Former Dictator of Spain Dead. MAN WHO EULED THE MASSES. (United P.A.—Electric Telegraph—Copyright) (Eeceived 11 a.m.) PARIS, March 16. The death is announced of General Primo de Eivera, who recently resigned from the Dictatorship of Spain. Though General Primo de Rivera suffered from diabetes he was in his usual health apart from weakness following influenza. He took breakfast in bed and told his daughters he had an excellent night and never felt better, but soon afterwards experienced difficulty in breathing and died from heart failure before the arrival of the doctor. The immediate cause of death was embolism. The son of the former Dictator declared that Spain had killed Primo de Rivera, meaning that the severe continuous strain of the Dictatorship had shortened his life. General Primo de Rivera, the ex-Spanish dictator, was born in 1871. By the capture ox Estella, his father ended the second Carlist • rising, for which he received the title of Marquis de Estella. The son ramdly made a name for himself as a commander against the Riffs. From 1917_ to 1920 he was a Senator, and at that time was in favour of giving up Morocco. He was one of the leaders of the junta oi officers who, since 1917, had exercised increasing influence as the power behind the throne. Durinz the war he took up a neutral attitude, but in September, 1923, he headed a military revolt, which, like that of Mussolini, drove out the Parliamentary regime and installed a Direci-orj, with the avowed intention of rehabilitating Spain. He promulgated many laws of a Fascist type, and summarily dismissed the aged Captain-General Weyler when the latter criticised him, although King Alfonso pleaded for him. Weyler had been made chief of the staff, which was practically independent of the War Office, and did not hesitate to defy the War Minister. It had tended to become a centre of opposition to the Directory, with the result that after Weyler's dismissal the entire staff was suppressed, and the Army controlled from the War Office. Some" of the Dictator's colleagues, including the vice-president of the Directory, Admiral Magaz, with whom his relations had become strained, felt that the Directory had had its day. The general feared that the admiral had urged on the King a change of regime, and learnt that Magaz was likely to be asked by Alfonso to form a Government. The Dictator lost no time, and by his prompt action at the beginning of December, 1925, averted probably by a few hours his superession by a Magaz Government. He transformed his Directory, which consisted entirely of generals, into a Cabinet, of which he was Premier, and which, in addition to two experts as Ministers for the Army and Navy, included his right hand man, General Anido, former Governor of Barcelona, as Minister of the Interior, and five docile civilians. These, however, included none of the former politicians. Parliament was still out of commission and the constitution suspended. By this time Primo had alienated a large section of the Army and Navy, and a party of military officers at the end of November, 1925, demanded the termination of the Directory, with the result that a large number were arrested and sent for trial for insubordination. Unlike that of Mussolini, the coup of Primo de Rivera was not backed by a party, and the "Patriotic Union" which he formed later to support his policy failed to attract many adherents. A plebiscite yas held in September, 1926, to obtain a vote in favour of the Directory. As only its supporters were encouraged to vote and many did so 20 or 30 times, the result was highly satisfactory to the dictator. After three years in power he had failed to carry out his policy, as he could not rely on able helpers or secure the co-operation of the people, but he had stopped the syndicalist outrages in Barcelona, and improved the Moroccan situation. The Budget, however, w;as further from balancing than ever, and the taxes were in arrears, while the Government Departments _ were still squandering money, and • political corruption was rife. Primo decided to set up a National Assembly, chosen by the Government, in which the chief branches of the nation's activities _ were represented. The King was unwilling to sign the decree convoking it, but eventually yielded, and the Assembly met on October 10, 1927. It had no deliberative powers. Nominated for three years, its chief task was to draw up a constitution ■with a view to the formation of a Parliament elected by the country. Its President was Yanguas, who had resigned the portfolio of Foreign Affairs, -being succeeded by Primo himself. In October, 1927, a bomb plot against the Dictator ■was discovered, and 200 arrests were made. By this time he was becoming weary of his task. He complained that he had to work 18 hours-a day, and_ got only four hours' sleep, but he maintained that the masses must be ruled, and must not direct the Government. At the end of January this year, General de Rivera Tesignerl _ from the Dictatorship of Spain, a position he had held since 1923. The culminating point in the resignation was the fact that at a conference with the King, Primo de Rivera said that he had not realised that in his note to the Army _ and Navy, asking for a vote on his right to continued confidence, he had in effect ignored the King's • authority. By so doing he had placed the opinion of the Army and Navy above that of His Majesty, who possesses the absolute right of - appointing and dismissing his Ministers. The Dictator tendered _ an apology to the King, but His Majesty apparently informed him that he no longer enjoyed his confidence, and forthwith accepted his resignation. General de Rivera soon afterwards left Spain, and took up his residence in Paris, where, it was rumoured, he had been challenged to a duel.