CANALEJAS (Y MNDEZ), JOS

born July 31, 1854, El Ferrol, Spain died Nov. 12, 1912, Madrid Spanish statesman and leader of the democratic party who, as prime minister, forbade, by his anticlerical Padlock Law, the establishment of new religious orders and introduced obligatory military service. Canalejas's election to the Cortes of 1881 for the district of Soria was the beginning of his political career. In the following years, Canalejas represented the districts of Agreda, Algeciras, and Alcoy and Madrid. He was undersecretary to the presidency (1883), minister of public works and of justice (1888), minister of finance (189495), and co-minister of agriculture, industry, and commerce (1902). He became prime minister after the fall of the government of Segismundo Moret (February 1910). Although he presided over liberal governments under the monarchy, Canalejas always showed democratic tendencies, leaning toward radicalism in some issues. In 1906 he began an anticlerical campaign when he discovered that secret negotiations had been conducted with the Vatican. The campaign culminated with his anticlerical legislation when he became chief of the government. In Morocco, after the French entry into Fs (1910), Canalejas ordered (1911) the occupation of Larache, Alczar, and Arcila by Spanish troops, but in 1912 had to make an agreement that further reduced the Spanish Zone of Morocco. He presented a proposal for a law calling for a joint legislature for the four Catalan provinces with a small degree of autonomy, but he died before the law was passed. His strong measures against labour unrest and the displeasure he caused among the republicans were some of the factors that led to his assassination by the anarchist Manuel Pardias.