Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 22.djvu/325

 STATISTICS.] SPAIN 303 The following table (X.) gives the number, &c., of ships entered and cleared with cargo at Spanish ports in 1S84 : Entered from Under the Spanish Flnj,'. Under Foreign Flags. No. of Vessels. Capacity in Tons. Metric Tons Dis- charged. No. of Vessels. Capacity in Tons. Metric Tons Dis- charged. Algeria 653 74,122 17,883 140 2t8 11 1,058 261 1,721 5,470 fi9.3CO 191,122 29,12] 452.970 M,79G 96'6',135 2,694,876 4,937 54,587 498 169,631 35,850 1,256',2S5 2,137,222 Cuba 186 1,974 17 97 1,120 5,652 109,744 711,241 3,551 194,378 712,863 2,376,861 37,522 140,055 19,256 240,368 623,156 France Norway Philippine Islands.... United Kingdom Total from all countries.... J Cleared for Under the Spanish King. Under Foreign Flags. No. of Vessels. Capacity in Tons. Metric Tons Loaded. No. of Vessels. Capacity in Tons. Metric Tons Loaded. Algeria Belgium 536 86 439 2,347 76,585 60,548 612.258 1,126,607 13,476 17,893 97,553 226,713 36 145 7 1,858 73 3,790 7,844 49,128 110,688 14,854 936,247 28,524 2,988',857; 5,638,259 C21 119,105 171 695,408 24,167 3,13 - 2',671 5,114,082 Cuba Norway Philippine Islands.... United Kingdom Total for all countries..../ 94 907 5,266 243.245 638,518 3,500,207 8,849 200,570 766,303 The total number of vessels entered with cargo under the national and foreign flags in 1884 was thus 11,122, and the total quantity of cargo discharged by them at Spanish ports 2,760,378 metric tons, the total number of vessels cleared with cargo 13,110, and the total quantity of cargo taken on board by them at Spanish ports 5,880,385 metric tons. Of the total number of vessels entered with cargo 6768 were steamers, which discharged 2,052,937 tons of cargo, and 4354 were sailing vessels, which discharged 707,441 tons of cargo. Of the number of vessels cleared with cargo 9506 were steamers, which took on board at Spanish ports 5,300,366 metric tons of cargo, and 3604 were sailing vessels, which took on board 580,019 metric tons of cargo. Communication. The communications in Spain have been greatly improved since the beginning of the present century. In 1808 there were little more than 500 miles of carriage roads, but now there are over 28,000. At the end of 1882 14,600 miles were state roads, all well built and well maintained, and 3027 miles of slate roads were in course of construction. The aggregate length of the provincial roads then completed was 2714 miles, and that of the communal roads 10, 760 miles. In the mountainous districts, where there are only narrow paths, frequently rather steep, it is still not uncommon to meet long trains of mules. "Railways have made great advance since the middle of the century. The oldest line is that from Barcelona to Mataro, 174 miles, which was opened on the 28th of October 1848. Of late years railway construction has been going on pretty rapidly. In 1880 the number of miles open for traffic was 4645, and in the four succeeding years it was 4800, 4867, 5118, and 5386. All the Spanish railways belong to private companies, but most of them have obtained subventions from the Government, to which most of the Spanish railways will revert at the end of a term of ninety- nine years. In granting a concession for a new railway the regular practice is to give it to whatever company offers to construct it with the lowest subvention. The total amount of the subventions for railway construction up to the end of 1884 was 25,676,690. For strategical reasons the Spanish gauge was made different from that of France. Tho postal and telegraphic systems have been placed on the same footing as in other civilized countries. The total number of 'letters, post-cards, and samples (including official and international letters, &c.) that passed through the post office in 1882-83 was 111 millions. The length of state telegraphic Hues on January 1, 1883 was 10,664 miles, and of wires 25,989 miles. The number of messages in 1883 was 3,020,000, nearly 80,000 being transit mes- sages and 654,000 from or to foreign countries. tinny and Navy. Military (or naval) service is obligatory on all Spaniards, but in certain cases recruits are allowed to buy theniselves off. According to the law of January 8, 1882, the period of service for all arms is twelve years, of which three years must be passed with the colours, three years in the active reserve, and six years in the second reserve. The minister of war is empowered, however, on financial grounds to transfer troop: serving with the colours to the active reserve before the period oi three years' service has been fulfilled. Liability to service begins with the first "day of the calendar year in which the twentieth year is completed. Persons holding a civil appointment or pursuing any handicraft independently are allowed to buy themselves off for 1500 pesetas (60), and brothers are allowed to take each others' place in service, or to exchange the numbers that have fallen to them by lot in the raising of the recruits for the year. For carry- ing out the law Spain is divided into fourteen military districts, the boundaries of which do not at all coincide with those of pro- vinces. The actual strength of the regular army is fixed at about 94,000 men for the kingdom (including the Balearic and Canary Islands), but this number may be brought up to 400,000 in time of war. The strength of the regular army in Cuba is about 22,500 men, in Porto Rico about 3200, and on the Philippine Islands about 8200. The active army is divided into 140 battalions, besides the same number of depot and reserve battalions ; 24 cavalry regiments, and the same number of depot squadrons and reserve cavalry regiments ; 9 regiments of field artillery, and 3 of mounted artillery, besides 6 reserve regiments of artillery, and 10 battalions of engineers. There are also 13 battalions of fortress artillery. The following statement shows the strength of the navy in Navy. 1885 : First Class 4 ironclad frigates (55 guns), 4 screw frigates (97 guns), 6 cruisers (48 guns); Second Class 5 frigates (104 guns), 3 cruisers, 12 corvettes and troopships (39 guns); Third Class 1 ironclad monitor (3 guns), 1 floating battery, 79 gunboats, trans- ports, &c. (124 guns). There were at the same time building one ironclad of the first class, five cruisers of the second class, besides torpedo boats, tugs, and other vessels. For the defence of the colonies, and more par- ticularly those of the West Indies, there are thirty-five screw gunboats, all of the same size (about 5 feet draught), and each carrying a 100-pouudur pivot-gun at the bow. The navy is manned by conscription in the maritime districts. In 1885 the number of seamen was about 14,000, that of marines about 7000. IlcU'jion. Roman Catholicism is the established religion, and Religion, the church and clergy are maintained by the state. The immense majority of the people (in 1877 16,603,959 out of a total of 16,634,345) are professed adherents of this faith, so that, so far as numbers go, Spain is still the most "Catholic" country in the world, as it has long been styled. According to "VVillkoinm, how- ever, religious indinerentism is now very general, not only among the educated but also among the lower classes ; and of the bigotry and fanaticism which in former times led to the destruction of hundreds of thousands of victims at the hands of the Inquisition the only traces at the present day are to be found, says the same authority, in the provinces of Aragou, Navarre, and Estremadura, where the clergy still exercise a considerable influence over the lower orders. By the constitution of 1876 non-Catholics are per- mitted te exercise their own forms of worship, but they must do so in private and without making any public announcement of their services. At the census of 1877 the total number of Pro- testants was 6654, a number below that of those entered as rationalists (9645). There are nine archbishoprics (Toledo, Madrid, Burgos, Granada, Santiago, Saragossa, Seville, Tarragona, Valencia, and Valladolid) and forty-five bishoprics. The archbishop of Toledo is primate. Education. By the law of July 17, 1857, primary education was Educa- declared compulsory on all children of school age (originally fixed tion. at six to nine) and made free to the poor, but the results of the census of 1877, though showing an advance in elementary educa- tion as compared with previous years, makes it clear that this law is far from being efficiently carried out. At that date the total number who could both read and write was 4,071,823, equal to 24 '48 per cent, of the population, as against 19 '97 per cent, in 1860. The provinces in which the percentage of those able to read and write was greatest were Alava, Burgos, Pontevedra, Madrid, Santander ; those in which it was least were the Canary Islands, Granada, Malaga, Almeria, Alicante, Castellon. There are ten universities those of Madrid (founded in 1836 to replace the long-celebrated university of Alcala), Barcelona, Granada, Salamanca, Seville, Valencia, Santiago, Saragossa, Valladolid, and Oviedo ; that of Madrid is now the most celebrated and the best attended, while that of Salamanca, so renowned in the Middle Ages, is now in least repute. Political Administration. Spain is an hereditary monarchy, the Adminis- constitution of which rests on the fundamental law of June 30, tratiou. 1876. The sovereign becomes of age on completing his or her six- teenth year. The sovereign is grand-master of the eight Spanish orders o'f knighthood, the principal of which is that of the Golden Fleece (Toison de Oro), founded in 1431 by Philip of Burgundy. The chain of this order surrounds the royal aims, in which are included, besides the arms of Castile, Leon, Granada, and tho lilies of the royal house of Bourbon, the arms of Austria, Sicily, Savoy, Brabant, and others. The national colours are red and yellow. The flag is divided into three horizontal stripes two red stripes, with a yellow one between bearing the royal arms. The legislative authority is exercised by the sovereign in con- junction with the cortes, a body composed of two houses a senate