The Dominion. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1917. A NATION IN THE DOLDRUMS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 30, 30 October 1917, Page 4

The Dominion. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1917. A NATION IN THE DOLDRUMS

The fall of . the Dato Government ill Spain may do some good, and can do little harm. At a time when Spain stands in. evident need of bold and enterprising leadership, Senor Dato and his colleagues, like the Prieto Government which preceded them, have distinguished themselves mainly by opposition to internal reforms and by continued toleration of the unredressed outrages against Spanish lives and shipping of which Germany has been guilty. Until Count Eomanones was compelled to resign a little over six months ago there seemed to be a fair prospect that Spain might shake oft German tutelage and take a worthy stand among the nations. The prospect has not visibly grown brighter in the intervening period, or had not dono so until tho fall of the Government reported to-day. A crisis arose when a German submarine sank the Spanish steamer San Fulgencio. The strongly:worded Note which Count Romanones pro-

posed to send to Berlin on that occasion was modified at a Cabinet (Council presided over by King Alfonso. Spain, in effect, humbly submitted to the German policy of piracy and murder, and Count Romanones, deserted even by' some members of his own party, resigned. In doing so, he published the famous memorandum in whicli he declared that the time had come for Spain, to take her stand with the Allies. The Prieto Government, which thereupon took office, consisted of Germanophil Liberals. Tho Marquis Prieto gave place a few weeks later to Senor Dato, at tho head of another peacc-at-any-price combination. One incident of the Dato Government's term of office which • promised _ well _at the time ,\vas an undertaking given by Spain to exclude enemy submarines from her ports, and to intern them if they intruded. Tho undertaking, however, has been badly kept. At least one German submarine which had _ been interned (has since been permitted to escape, and though naval and other officials were punished, the affair must probably be regarded rather as a symptom of tho continued plav of German influence in Spain than as an isolated incident. The one strong act o'f the Dato Government's administration seems to have bnen

the suppression of the general strike which broke out. in August last. Even in this matter, however, tho oolicy of tho Government which

lias now fallen can be described as strong only from a very limited point of view. The general strike of-August has beon summed up as a premature, and in some respects ill-organised, attempt to accomplish a bloodless revolution. Tho movement was directed by secret committees of the Republican Socialist Alliance. Its, leaders erred, i amongst other things, in _ counting on the benevolent neutrality of tho Army. The Government responded to the declaration of the general strike by proclaiming' martial law. Troops and police alike • were instructed to repress disorders with the utmost severity, and did so in the few cases where tho strikers attempted violence. In spite of this fiasco, competent observers hold that revolutionary and anti-mon-archical forces aro steadily growing in Spain. It is generally agreed also (without prejudice to tho fact that maladministration, dear living due to tho war, and other internal troubles are oausing widespread dissatisfaction and unrest) that the present tcmpor of the people is largely due to a conviction that Spanish statecraft has not moved with tho times, and that Spain is in danger of finding herself, when peace is declared, friendless and diminished alike in power and credit. The fall of the Government supports the view that the triumph it scored when it suppressed the general strike in August was ephemeral and deceptive. . At tho same time, a political transformation in Spain will not necessarily lead to definite reform either in home or foreign 'policy. Events have rudely dispelled tho pleasant dreams in which the Spanish people wero formerly taught to indulge. They no longer hope to eeo their country pursue a course of prosperous and indifferent neutrality and round it off by playing a distinguished part as mediator at tho end of the war., In the develop.ing consciousness that they are earning the contempt of the world, and are following fi path that leads to friendless isolation,_ as _ well _as in their deepening dissatisfaction with tho incapacity of their rulers in dealing with home affairs,; they have an evident incentive to set their house in order. But they have yet to show that they are capable of' vigorous action to that ond. Sketching the political situation and outlook recently, the Barcelona correspondent of the London Times said, in part: Tho divorce between the people snd the State is general throughout Spam, pnd is especially pronounced in Catalonia. Realisation of this fact is essential to a proper understanding o£ Spanish public opinion. The central regions ox Spain, where lifo is languid and anaemic and often resembles death, Jack tho strength to protest against the maladmiu-. istration of the Stato, and therefore <iccent it as a necessary evil. Madrid, the scat of all the organisms of tho otatfl and living chiefly upon thom, pays no heed to tho grievances of the. provinces, and is constantly in favour of leaving things as they are. Madrid yushes the •nation to remain in a stato of passivity, fearing that any chango inay mean a diminution of power, influence, and material prosperity for the capital, un < the other hand tho regions that border on the sea ardently desire tho renovation of Spanish life, and of nil these regions Barcelona is the spiritual head, lor this reason every Spanish question must be looked at from tho Barcelona standpoint as well as that of Madrid, and it will always be found that the two points of view are diametrically opposed. Tho conclusion reached by the correspondent (who is said to be a distinguished Spaniard of recognised authority though not a politician) is that tho living forces of the country with Catalonia at their head are universally agreed that a , system of government ohar-actcilscd by maladministration surd depending for its existence upon the support of artillery and infantry can no longer be tolerated. It will bo upon' tile wholo an agreeable surprise, however, if the fall of the Government now' announced proves to be an indication that thaie living forces" aro gathering _ definite heacl. All that can be said meantime is that the removal of a government which stands for stagnation at home and for a craven foreign policy is in itself an event to be welcomed.