To this request the officer was obliged to accede, on the condition, which was confirmed, that the assailant should formulate a full apology for his deed, and this was done.
It is difficult for foreigners to realize the power of the cacique in Spain. He is always the most influential person in the district, and the appointment of Judges, Alcalde (Mayor), Governor, and deputy, are all in his hands. The man he suggests as representative of the district in the Congress is sure to be elected, and when the Ministers wish a certain person to have a place in Parliament, the name has only to be sent to the cacique who supports that Minister.
Caciquism cripples Spain, and the collection of magnificent speeches and articles published in a large work under the title of “Oligarchy and Caciquism” shows that every man of importance in Spain can give his testimony against the evil which crushes the country; but, eloquent as they are on the matter, the Ministers do not take a step to do away with a system which advances their own ends.
So, as Martin Hume says, “No attempt is made, or, indeed, can be made under present circumstances, to trample out the evil that is sapping Spain’s vigour—empleomania; no bold politician dares to look facts in the face and speak the whole truth. And so the evil circle is complete; dishonest Governments are faced in sham battle by dishonest oppositions, and Parliamentary institutions, instead of being a public check upon abuses, are simply a mask behind which a large number of politicians may carry on their nefarious trade with impunity.”
And when it is remembered that, according to the law of Spain, it is the King alone who has the right of appointing a Ministry, it is he who has to bear the onus of what goes wrong.
An amusing story is told of a Señor Comas, who was a cacique of Sagasta’s. The gentleman had been bidden to an audience of Her Majesty at half-past six. He arrived at the palace punctually, as he had promised to return to dinner with his grandchildren. Some hours elapsed in the antechamber; diplomats came and went, and many others who, according to the strict Court etiquette, were to take precedence of the politician.
At last he became impatient, and the thought of his grandchildren waiting so long for his return overcame all politeness; he took up his coat, put it on, and, to the astonishment of the Court officials, he prepared to depart.
“You are going, sir?” said the lackey at the door.
“Certainly,” was the reply; “it is dinner-time, and my grandchildren are waiting for me.”
“But what shall we say to the grandee?” said the servant, raising his hands to heaven, and referring to the grandee in attendance on the King.