Oct. 10.
Amst the excitement and suspense of the international situation in general, the monarchist revolt in Portugal has received comparatively little attention. It is early as yet to endeavour to predict what measure of success the revolutionaries are likely to attain, And if it' is difficult to decide the question of might, it is scarcely easy to maintain the case of one side as against the other as regards right. For some ten months the provisional government which established itself upon the ruins of the monarchy busied itself, presumably, with its ambitious programme of " progress sive government and moral regeneration." Then, on August 24, came the election of Dr, Manuel Arriaga as Constitutional President of the Republic, and, it was hoped, the inauguration of a new era in the history of Portugal. unnecessary to recount in detail the causes which brought about the upheaval. A. succession of governments had violated the principle that the end of all government is the good of the governed, and Portugal, for many years past, like Diogenes of old, has been searching for an honest man. It remains to be seen what the latest discovery is worth. The new President is a man unconnected with any particular faction. His task is to bind together the forces of Republicanism, at present divided into moderates and extremists, into a government strong enough to face with success the many difficulties with which it will be confronted.
Republicanism triumphed because it was the one form of government which had not been tried and found wanting by the test of public contentment and national prosperity. And it is by that test that the bulk of the population, whose interest in politics has hitherto been passive and pessimistic, will estimate the value of the new order of things.
That there is a considerable section of public opinion discontented with what has been done and emphatically in favour of a restora~ tion of the monarchy, the events of the past few weeks have made abundantly clear. It would be interesting, if unprofitable, 10 speculate as to the personality and the motives of those who have organized and financed the present effort on behalf of ex-King Manuel. The surprising thing is that under modern conditions, when an established government might be supposed have all the chances in its favour,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.