For military purposes, Spain is mapped out into five "capitanias generales," conferring the rank of field-marshal on the possessors of that office. The number of marshals, generals, and superior officers of the special corps in active service is over 500. The number of the army on a peace footing is fixed at 90,000, the infantry numbering 60,000, the cavalry 16,000, artillery 10,000, and engineers 4000. Universal conscription is nominally obligatory, but with the power of purchasing a substitute for a fixed sum of 80_l._ The time of service is eight years, four of which are spent in the active army and four in the reserve. In the colonies the time is four years only, the whole of which must be spent in active service. Besides the regular army in Spain are the corps and garrisons in the Philippine Islands, in Porto Rico, and in Cuba, where the mortality is so great that the troops need constant renewal. In addition to the above must be reckoned the militia of the Canary Islands, the "guardias civiles," a kind of constabulary like that of Ireland or the gendarmerie of France. These are about 15,000 men, and are some of the best and most trustworthy troops in Spain; the carabineros or custom-house officers, who guard the frontiers, form another corps of about 12,000. Towards the close of the late Carlist and Cuban wars the actual army was far above these numbers, and it is probable that 150,000 men were under arms on the side of the Government in the Basque Provinces alone. The Spanish soldier is one of the best in Europe, if properly commanded. He is sober, and has great powers of endurance; is an excellent marcher, and a trustworthy sentinel; persistent both in attack and defence, he still retains the steadiness of the old Spanish "tercios," which were once the terror and admiration of Europe. The Basques under Zumalacarregui in the first Carlist war, and the Catalans under Martinez Campos in the last, earned high praise from all foreign officers who saw them. But too often these fine qualities of the private have been rendered of no avail, owing to the utter want of skill and competency in the officers and commanders, and still more by reckless corruption and mismanagement in all things relating to the commissariat and supplies. Another element of deterioration has been the use of the soldiery as mere tools of political intrigue in the frequent revolts and _pronunciamientos_ of ambitious generals. The scientific corps, however, the artillery and engineers, have always stood aloof from sedition. It was an attempt to corrupt the former and to assimilate it in this respect to the rest of the army, which led to the abdication of King Amadeo. The generals who have achieved the greatest reputation in the Spanish army are Quesada and Martinez Campos. Moriones, who distinguished himself in the Basque Provinces during the last Carlist war, has lately died. Blanco and Jovellar acquired distinction in Cuba, and Loma as a good brigadier in