CHAPTER XI. PORTUGAL. THE REVOLUTION OF THE 5TH OF OCTOBER. The Revolution of October 5, 1910, which overthrew the monarchical regime in Portugal, was merely the outcome of another revolution on the 31st of January, 1891. On this date the Republican forces in Oporto, jointly with the parties in Coimbra and Lisbon, had planned a general uprising to take place on the same day and hour. Due to some mysterious cause the wires between Oporto, Coimbra and Lisbon were cut and the Revolutionists could not get word to one another so as to give the date and the hour for the uprising. Consequently the forces at Oporto came out on the 31st of January, while their allies in the other cities were absolutely ignorant of this move. The result of this was the defeat of the Republican forces by the Municipal Guard and the absolute failure of the first Republican uprising. However the Republicans did not remain idle. For twenty years they worked, rallying their forces and holding their followers in check, so as to prevent any false move that would again wreck their hopes. Another movement was planned for the third of October of 1910 in which the military forces of the city of Lisbon, together with the people, were to come out and once more fight for that liberty which was denied them. But once more it seemed as if the Revolution must be delayed, for on the morning of the day set for this outbreak, their leader, Dr. Miguel Bombarda, the man who had worked and planned to make it a success, was assassinated by a lunatic. However this did not hold them back, for another man who had assisted Dr. Bombarda in his work, took upon himself the leadership of the Revolutionary forces. A few hours before the first shot was fired, the new leader, Vice Admiral Candido dos Reis, was found dead in front of his residence. It seemed as if everything was working against this movement. It seemed as if some hidden power was warning them not to carry out their plans. But the people of Portugal had suffered too long the tyrannical acts of the monarchy, the errors of every day. They could not wait any longer and on the night of 3rd of October the 16th Infantry, together with the Ist Artillery and a body of people, marched to the Avenida da Liberdade, and there awaited the attack of the Municipal Guard, loyal to the old regime, and which was the greatest menace to the cause. The two cruisers, S. Raphael and Adamastor, stationed in the harbor, had pledged their assistance to the Republican cause, and upon being notified of this movement, they began, several hours after, cannonading the Royal Palace and other important points where the Royalist troops were sheltered. The people came from all sides, some armed, others waiting for the first attack to take the arms they needed from the fallen. It was not a fight between the military, but one in which the people shared the danger and fought bravely for their principles. Credit must be given to the Naval Commissioner, Mr. Antonio A. Machado dos Santos, who directed the building and defense of the barricade in the Avenida da Liberdade. Here was waged the greatest fight for supremacy. The Rocio had been occupied by the 5th Infantry and another regiment and further up the avenue the Artillery watched for the Royalist forces. From Queluz came several batteries of rapid fire guns. These were still loyal to the old regime, but were insufficient, for hemmed in from all sides they fought on bravely during three days. On the morning of the 5th the cruiser D. Carlos, which up to then had been faithful to the monarchy, pulled down the blue and white of the king and hoisted in its place the green and red of the Republicans. A mighty cheer went up, for immediately after, aided by the three cruisers in the harbor, the Republican troops forced the surrender of the Royalist regiments and the Republic was finally planted firmly on Portuguese soil. The king in his palace was anxiously waiting for an opportunity to come out and lead his forces, but his ministers held him back. He did not understand the crisis. He did not see that his counselors exploited his symbol, that they used his crown as a pawn in the game they played for riches and personal power. Educated in a Jesuitic medium, his surroundings closed his eyes to the suffering of his people. His nobles and his counselors had lost faith in the past, and they fled when danger seemed near. They fled, leaving him alone to face that mighty avalanche of popular indignation. But the Republicans were not fighting the king. They were fighting a religious power, which had such a hold in the whole nation that its word was law. This was the true cause of the Revolution, for while this power lasted the people would always be kept in ignorance. The king, just as his forefathers, had always furthered the interests of this religious sect. Blinded by the things he had been taught to believe in, driven by the queen mother to give his all to this religious power, he did not realize the errors of every day, the tyrannical acts of the monarchy. Strengthened by that blind faith, by that fictitious power which he believed would help him in his hour of need, he drove to his doom, and on the 5th of October, 1910, five hours after the proclamation of the Republic in Portugal, he was escorted with his court, by a platoon of cavalry to the harbor, where he took a poor fisherman's boat to the yacht Amelia, which immediately sailed for Gibraltar. It is well to say here that the king did not leave a pauper, for he received from the Republican Government the value of his properties and lands in Portugal. With the fall of the monarchy, the separation of church and state became a reality and this series of events lead us to the promulgation of the Political Constitution of the Portuguese Republic which is given in the following pages. A. C. COURREGE. POLITICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE PORTUGUESE REPUBLIC Promulgated by Decree of 21 of August of 1911 TRANSLATED BY A. C. C. COURRAGE. The National Constituent Assembly, having sanctioned unanimously in its session of 19 of June, 1911, the Revolution of 5 of October, 1910, and confirming its unbroken faith in the superior destinies of the Nation, under a regime of liberty and justice, enacts, decrees and promulgates, in the name of liberty and justice, the following Political Constitution of the Portuguese Republic. TITLE I Form of Government and Territory of the Portuguese Nation. Article I The Portuguese Nation organized in a Unitary State, adopts as form of government the Republic, in the terms. given under this Constitution. Article 2 The territory of the Portuguese Nation comprises all of the pre-existing territory up to the date of the proclamation of the Republic. Par. The nation does not renounce the rights it may have in any territory or that it may acquire in the future. TITLE II Individual rights and guarantees. Article 3 The Constitution guarantees to Portuguese citizens and foreigners residing in the country the inviolability of rights of liberty, individual safety and property in the following manner: I No citizen shall be compelled to do or refrain from doing anything except by virtue of law. 2 The law shall be equal for all, but only that which is enacted under the terms of this Constitution is inviolable. 3 The Portuguese Republic does not admit privileges of birth or patent letters of nobility, repeals all council and nobiliary titles, and honorary orders, with all their prerogatives and regalias. 4 Civic deeds and military acts may be rewarded with special diplomas. A Portuguese citizen cannot accept foreign decorations. 5 The State recognises the political and civil equality of all creeds and guarantees their practice within the limits compatible with public order, laws and good habits, as long as they do not offend the principles of Portuguese public rights. 6 No one shall be prosecuted for their religion nor questioned as to which they profess by any authority. 7 No one can, because of religious opinion, be deprived of a right, nor refuse to discharge any civic duty. 8 The public cult of any religion may be held in the buildings chosen for that purpose or so designated by their different followers, and they may always take the outward form of a temple; but in the interest of public order and liberty and safety of citizens, a special law will regulate the conditions of its practice. 9 The public cemeteries will have a secular character, therefore it is free for all religious cults to practice their respective rites, as long as they do not offend the public moral, the principles of the Portuguese public right and the law. 10 The education given in the public and private establishments fiscalized by the State shall be neutraÎ in religious matters. II Primary education shall be compulsory and free. 12 The legislation that ended and dissolved in Portugal the "Companhia de Jesus" and its affiliated societies, no matter what their denomination, shall always be in force and all other religious congregations and monastic orders shall never again be admitted in Portuguese territory. 13 All persons shall have the right of liberty of speech, and they shall not be liable to censure or have to obtain previous authorization, but the abuse of this right is punishable in such cases and in such manner as the law determines. 14 All persons shall have the right of reunion and association, but special laws shall determine the manner and conditions of its exercise. 15 The house of every citizen is an inviolable refuge. At night no one shall enter it except with his permission, or in case of request from within, or to help the victims of crimes or disasters. During the day no house shall be entered, except in such cases and in the manner provided by law. 16 No person shall be arrested without first being indicted, unless he be detected in the act and for the following; high treason, falsification of coins, of national banks' bills and titles of the Portuguese public debt, voluntary homicide, domestic theft, theft, fraudulent bankruptcy or arson. 17 No one shall be taken to prison, or being in prison, shall be retained there, if he will furnish proper bail, in such cases as the law will permit. 18 Except when an offender is taken in the act, no one shall be arrested unless upon the written order of the proper authority and in comformity with the express disposition of the law. 19 No one shall be imprisoned for nonpayment of costs or stamps. 20 The instructions of the judge in criminal cases shall be unbiased, assuring the offender, before and after the procedure of the trial, all the guarantees of a fair defense. 21 No person shall be sentenced except by competent authority, by virtue of a pre-existing law and in the manner prescribed by such law. 22 The penalty of death cannot be passed in any case, nor perpetual corporal penalties or of unlimited duration. 23 No penalty shall extend beyond the person of the offender, therefore there shall be no confiscation of goods, nor shall the infamy of the offender extend to his relatives in any degree. 24 The right of revision of all condemnatory sentences is guaranteed exclusively for the benefit of the person condemned. Par. Special laws shall determine the cases and manner of revision. 25 The right of property is guaranteed except beyond the limits established by law. 26 The right to exercise any kind of labor, culture or commerce is guaranteed except in cases where it is restricted by law for public utility. |