REVOLUTION IN PORTUGAL.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 10582, 11 October 1910, Page 4

REVOLUTION IN PORTUGAL.

INDIGNATION AGAINST THE CLERICS.

[By Electric Telegraph —Copyright.]

(Per Press Association.)

■Received October 10, at 10.15 p.m. . • Lisbon, October 10 ■ The accounts of the fighting at Qucl--has monastery and convent, originally received via Madrid, are now modified. ?.< Renter's special correspondent ?t Lisbon states that it is undoubted that n shots were - fired - killing two sailors. The populace magnified itlie shots into I bombs, and imagined a laige foice ot Municipal - Guards was' inside; the convent', but when the gate was battered down nobody was found inside. A. search was "then made for the supposed tuiSnels -connecting the consents . and bomb stores, the inflamed people assisting the soldiers. The church connected' with the Quelhas monastery was wrecked,, and-statues, crucifies, altars"' and -partitions demolished,-'and _sacred relics stolen. A man put a stole round his neck, singing a mock mass. The officers did their . best to stop the ribaldry. A naval .petty offir cer severely reprimanded a young soldier for wearing a, biretta during the search.'and' compelled him xo.doff it. The correspondent emphasises, as explaining the strong feeling against the priesthood, the desire for emancipation from clerical domination. The great, purpose of the revolution:: was more than animosity against the. : . dynasty. The resentment was primarily aimed at , the Jesuits. '■■ l Tlieii population in all other./directions showed . remarkable, restraint for • so serious,' a disturbance j -and; there was | good order notwithstanding <, the, total | absence of police and the arming of a large section of the population The cruiser Newcastle has returned; to Gibraltar. • . • '. ■■ Telegrams from Lisbon indicate that ■ tho Republic is generally accepted • throughout' Portugal... .. . The' proclamation of the Republic will he- formally ■notified to all tho Powers. All the colonies have given their . adherence.Received October 10, at 10.50 p.m. Lisbon, October 10. Armed Friday night foiced ' an entrance "to the Trinas convent, Lisbon. The /Sisters of Charity pluckily resisted, and twelve were slightly wounded and taken to the hospital. The remainder were removed. The "Papal Nuncio alloweddonee to be searched for arms, but the search iwas fruitless. - •. -5 >. Lisbon on Saturday night was excited anti-clerically. , . .The. streets- were filled with singing and shouting mobs. Cavalry patrols- and- sailors guarding the Merces iClutrch .were sJiot; at,; but on entering- they found nobody about. The stories of tunnels were renewed, and fresh- search was made. The Republicans attribute tho shots from the monasteries to priests w-ish-s ing to- create the impression of • disorder and molestation. Colonel Machado, interviewed, commented on such priests firing at the guards; stationed at tho doors to. protect them. He added that Portugal, with lightning suddenness, had reached a norriial national-life. The ' Times' ' Lisbon correspondent, i states that the transition has been, as smooth as if One' cabinet was normally succeeding another. There is no trace of reactionary resentment. ■ .;■-Almost _ the entire populace is wearing Republican favors, arid' is commanded- to respect life and property, and this is everywhere obeyed. The citizens have been ordered to respect the police, soldiery and priests.. There are no movements in the provinces, as reported, in favor ol' the old regime. . ' The banks and offices in . Lisbon and Oporto are. open. The deaths in Lisbon in-the lighting are estimated at under 200.

Received October 10, at 11.40 p.m. Lisbon, October 10. The expulsion of monks and nuns lias begun, including Cardinal Netto, of the Franciscian Order. Bishop Boja has entered Spain.

Received October 11, at 5.20 a.m. - London. October 10. Reuter reports that King Manuel and the- Queen-Mother have proceeded to England. Queen Maria. Pi a and tln= Infanta. Alfonso go to Italy.

Received October 11, at 8.5-a.m. London, October 10. Senlior Arrito, Minister of War, says that some small outbreaks were .provoked' by. the priests armed with carbines and dynamite. It is supposed that the yacht Amene, claimed .as- national property, has left Gibraltar for London. v. President Braga is enforcing Bom-, balas law 7 .

Received October 11, at 11.30 a.m. Lisbon, October 10. Tho bodies of Bombardo and Admiral Rei's are lying in state. There aro no religious emblems.

Received October 1.45 p.m. Lisbon, October 11. Before leaving Portugal King Manuel wrote to the Premier saying that his. conscience was clear. He had always, done his duty. H.is departure was in nowise-an abdication. ?' • London, October 10. _ An Italian cruiser has arrived at Gibraltar and the vessel will convey Queeii Maria Pia and the Duke of Oporto to Italy. : King Manuel -and liis mother Amelie, will probably reside at Wood* Norton. A

CHAT WITH A LISBON RESIDENT;

CAUSE OF THE DISTURBANCE.

Mr Frank Piper, who, after teaching in Portugal for 14 years, left that country in June last on a . visit' to New Zealand, and is now in Timaru. He conducted - a private , boarding . and. dajj, school in the capital city, ;iLisbon, : a,nd his pupils being drawnfrom the upper classes, he.was able to" nirnish a Timaru Herald reporter with an excellent . description of the political situation; and the causes leading up to tlie present revolution.

I Mr Piper said that he had no difficulty in pointing his finger at .the t prime cause of the great disturbance. Towards the King himself, the people had a feeling of sympathy on" account of his .youth . and inexperience, but against Queen Amelie, widow, of the assassinated King, there was - deep hatred,; engendered by the '.dislike-.-of her. association with the Jesuits.', - The people in all parts strongly ,objected to the . influence-which the iiQueen had over her son,'i, and, indeed, she was, widely recognised as the; power, behind the throne. Manuel had always taken a more, or less subordinate position ill the royal household, the elder brother, who had been assassinated, receiving every distinction on account of Ins position as heir to the tliroue. The story of King Manuel's infatuation with, a French'-actress may or may mot be. true, but Mr-Piper considers-that such a'liaison, so common m Portugal, would cause no ill-feeling. It is to the Jesuit influence aver the • Queen .Mother,: ;and> the influence, of the. Queen -Mother- m; turn her son, that-Mr Piper looks for thesreason of the revolution..

The Portuguese,; he ssiidyr are for the most part- Catholics, but they have a deep-ropted aversion to the Jesuits. Indeed, some 150 years ago : the Jesuits were expelled from Portugal by the then Prime Minister, the Marquez de Pombal. .If the boy King had been, left to jthe .eare: of ;hi& uncle, • Don Alfonso, Duke ot Oporto, there would have no.itroubje, but as things turned out; with the unbalanced state of .ilis. country, an upheaval was inevitable. I-, -* • , Various, things,, I but together of gravity, have led up to the revolution. , For a i trifling : cfjence an officer* on board a warship -fwaswisitacl wi,tihJa'"severe, penj alty. ' His "brother officers protested, and carried their protest to such a i stage that, they were all arrested for msubprdinaiiop. Bqing committed :to_ duageohs -kiid even transported the: fate of these officers became a matter of national concern, and had evidently led the way to the attack on the. throne. That no doubt accounted for the navy being found in the forces of the revolutionists, for previous to, this trouble it nad always been loyal, even at the time of the assassination of the late King. The . country, said Sir Piper, was seething with corruption, the people were overburdened with taxation, and dishonest officials, drew enormous sala-

ries without doing tin"' slightest thing towards earning them, to the shopkeepers and small landowners in Southern Portugal tho position had iong ago become unbearable, and it was in this part of the country that the disaffection took strongest root. Men favored by influence in high circles held two or three posts, and often their methods amounted to nothing more nor less than extortion. Tlie is tie of one officer held a position a.s searcher in the Customs, received a big sum yearly as, salary, and employed some one to do tho work for her. The late Dictator Franco had repeatedly repulsed all efforts to secure positions of this nature, and hence the hatred evinced agaiust hijn in certain quarters. ' But now the tide of -public feeling had.cundergone such a change that even many in offices of authority, while professing loyalty, were at heart Republicans. Two cartoons that Mr Piper had- seen in a shop window prior to his depaiture : from Lisbon gave, a true-idea of the situation. One illustrated the Republican leaders standing on a platform, surrounded' by thousands- of people, arid the other represented the Queen standing in front of tlijg throne, witJi the Boy King on her right and Jesuits all about her.