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All c. 60 eligible seats in the Senate All 157 seats in the Assembly of Deputies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() Composition of the Assembly after the election; Factionalists (Concordia allies) in orange, other Independents in grey |
General elections were held in Romania in December 1867 (New Style: December 1867 – January 1868), and were won by a coalition of liberal-and-radical groups, or "Concordia Agreement", formed around incumbent Prime Minister Ștefan Golescu. Concordia brought together the left-leaning "Reds", the Free and Independent Faction, and a moderate liberal section under Mihail Kogălniceanu. The latter split the moderate vote, ensuring defeat for the opposition led by Ion Ghica, which came in third, after the conservative "Whites". The reconfiguration made the country more governable, at a time of financial crisis and riotous disputes over the issue of Jewish emancipation. Controversially, Concordia sought to win over and appease antisemitic voters, although it was itself divided between more and less pliable antisemites.
The elections for the Assembly are often described as fraudulent, with the main culprit being Golescu's Interior Minister, Ion Brătianu; in the Senate race, the accusations of fraud were reciprocal. Despite the liberal sweep, "Reds" suffered significant defeats, for instance in Ilfov County, where their candidate Nicolae Haralambie failed to win against Dimitrie Ghica. The national campaign was also steeped in violence, with antisemitic riots in Tutova (following the mysterious death of electee Scarlat Vârnav) and Ialomița County. A far-reaching dispute involved the results in Prahova, where Concordia allegedly used military force to ensure its victory. Disputes over the validation of deputies and senators, including Manolache Costache Epureanu, Petru Grădișteanu and Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, continued into the early months of 1868.
Although victorious, Concordia was eventually brought down by the Factionalists, once Brătianu shunned their violent antisemitism. Reformed by General Nicolae Golescu, who succeeded his brother as prime minister, the "Reds" still secured a win in the Senate elections of July 1868. Eventually, however, they lost favor with Domnitor Carol I. The liberal ascendancy ended during the general election of March 1869, which placed the country under a "White" government.
In February 1866, Romania (as the United Principalities had been designated since 1864) was governed by a "monstrous coalition" of "Reds", "Whites" and moderates, chaired by Ion Ghica. Created by a coup which toppled the authoritarian Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza, it supervised the April elections—under the preordained assumption that Assembly seats would be evenly split between the "right" and the "left". [1] The Central Electoral Committee, presided upon by the radical doctrinaire C. A. Rosetti, attempted fraud in various regions (including Prahova County); however, the resulting Assembly was overall dominated by the "Whites". [2] At the time, separatism and Cuza loyalism flared up in Western Moldavia, where a riot—instigated by Calinic Miclescu, Nicu Ceaur-Aslan, Teodor Boldur-Lățescu, and Constantin Moruzi Pecheanu—was quelled by the Romanian Land Forces. [3]
In a parallel plebiscite, Romanians overwhelmingly voted to recognize Carol of Hohenzollern, a German prince, as their new hereditary Domnitor. The regime also instituted Parliament's upper chamber, by reestablishing Cuza's Romanian Senate. Ghica was reconfirmed as Prime Minister, his government claiming to be "neither right- nor left-wing". [4] His position was weakened by swing deputies and separatist nostalgia, and also by other hurdles: a financial crisis (which had the state borrowing from private bankers), [5] a cholera outbreak, and a localized famine. [6] Moreover, major disputes raged over constitutional details. One point of contention was the status of Romanian Jews, with various "Reds" and Moldavians emerging as the core opponents of emancipation and advocates of "ethnic protectionism". [7] Therefore, in its final form, the Constitution of July only granted citizenship to Christians, thus reverting a more tolerant Civil Code proclaimed under Cuza. [8]
There were repeat elections in November, producing a multicolored Assembly, ridiculed in liberal circles as a "tutti frutti" legislature. [9] According to one count of Assembly seats, the radicals shared about 40 seats with their Moldavian allies, or "Free and Independent Faction"; there was a conservative majority of approximately 60 seats, but segmented into competing blocs; Ghica's moderate liberals could only count on some 20 deputies. [10] Another count suggests that Ghica was backed by one third of the Assembly, while the liberals, as the loyal opposition, had another third. Those who rejected the system, be they Cuza loyalists or Moldavian separatists, shared between them the remainder. [11] Overall, "there were great clashes of vision between the Assembly majority and the cabinet, as well as between the minority and the cabinet." [12] The election was criticized from the liberal left as fraudulent in favor of the conservatives and moderates, but other contemporaries generally view it as free and fair. [13] Over the next months, however, disputes blocked the validation of various deputies, contributing to the uncertainty of governance. [14]
In March 1867 the radicals were able to seal the Concordia Agreement, allying them with the Free and Independent Faction, chaired by Nicolae Ionescu, and a group of moderate liberals under Mihail Kogălniceanu (who commended the allegiance of 25 deputies). [15] Tacitly endorsed by Domnitor Carol, [16] this new coalition was backed by a plurality of Assembly members, eventually pushing Ghica to resign. [17] His "Red" replacement, Constantin A. Crețulescu, was nominally a moderate, [18] but the Minister of Internal Affairs, Ion Brătianu, was a "Red" doctrinaire and power-broker, sometimes described as the cabinet's true leader. [19] Possibly pressured by his conditional allies, the antisemitic Factionalists, he also pushed orders to evict Jewish "vagabonds" from the countryside, which sparked an international scandal. [20]
By late May, Brătianu had to deal with "White" defiance, manifested when senator Petre Mavrogheni of Iași County handed in his resignation. Electors refused to turn up, and sent him a letter expressing contempt that he even organized a scrutiny. [21] The radicalism of government officials was also fomenting an international crisis, once it became apparent that Brătianu was backing the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee (BRCK) against the Ottoman Empire—which was still Romania's suzerain power. In April, when Panayot Hitov led a BRCK guerrilla force into the Danube Vilayet at Oltenița, the Ottomans began openly calling for Crețulescu to step down. [22] The Jewish evictions were especially unpopular within the French Empire, to which the liberals looked for guidance, and soon Brătianu's "demagoguery" was castigated by his allies, including Ștefan Golescu and Dimitrie Sturdza. The latter sought to have Brătianu removed by switching to Ghica's party, and eventually prompted his adversary to resign in July. [23]
During the parliamentary break, Brătianu's resignation continued to undermine political stability. In July, Factionalists Ceaur-Aslan and Nicolae Iamandi, alongside Grigore Sturdza, published an appeal for the establishment of a regional Moldavian caucus that would defy "Red" centralism (other signatories included Grigore Balș, Panait Balș, Grigore Vârnav, and Colonel Pavlov). This initiative was rejected by Crețulescu and Brătianu, who noted that it infringed on the Constitution. [24] Faced with the crumbling of his alliances, Crețulescu ultimately resigned in August. [25] Cuza loyalist Ion Emanuel Florescu was excited by this opportunity, writing to the exiled former Domnitor that anarchy would result in a regime change. [26] Instead, liberal-radicals formed a new governing coalition, which required them to encourage a maximalist version of Romanian nationalism, supporting "Greater Romania" or "Dacia"—namely, the incorporation of Transylvania and other Romanian-inhabited territories of Austria-Hungary. The cause was advanced by Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu and Alexandru Candiano-Popescu, who put out the political newspaper Perseverența. In summer 1867, Hasdeu traveled across Transylvania to "assess the conditions for a probable insurrection." [27] He viewed himself as a future "Red" minister, noting in 1871 that the "Dacian ideal" was being more openly promoted by that party by 1868. [28]
In October, Golescu officially took over as prime minister, and Brătianu was able to regain influence, eventually resuming his position at Internal Affairs. After filibustering by the "White" deputy Manolache Costache Epureanu, Golescu agreed to dissolve the Assembly and called in new elections, noting that the slim majority he had could not support a government in the long run. [29] According to researcher Constantin Gane, Brătianu had actually wanted, and worked for, early elections. "The liberal party", he argues, "wanted a Chamber of its own, one that had eluded its grasp for six years, ever since 1862". [30] Golescu's message was followed on November 29 by Brătianu's circular letter to the prefects, carried in Monitorul Oficial . Claiming that government had put up no candidates of its own, it asked functionaries to exercise a "moral influence" over the electorate, to produce a result in accordance with the national interest—generally seen as code for an election fraud through intimidation. [31]
The election was the second one in history to be held under the census suffrage (and weighted voting) law of July 1866, with a two-round system where simple majorities were not decided in one session. The First College comprised voters who owned more than 300 ducats in property, and the Second included those who declared 100–300 ducats; they each elected 33 deputies with direct elections. [32] The Third College corresponded roughly to a "third estate", specifically designed for urban constituencies, directly electing 58 deputies in proportion to the respective town population. [33] A Fourth College, representing taxpayers not comprised in the other categories, designated 33 of the total 157 deputies through electors. In 1866–1867, there was a 1:50 ratio of electors to registered voters. [32]
In the Assembly, where the main rounds took place on December 22–26 (Old Style: December 10–14), [34] the results were a landslide win for Concordia: Concordia men had 85 seats between them. [35] In particular, the election was a victory for "Red" hardliners, including Rosetti and Eugeniu Carada (elected in Ilfov's Third and Fourth College, respectively; Carada had 536 votes to 17), but also Gogu Cantacuzino (in Prahova's Fourth College, 550 votes to 9) and Perseverența's Candiano-Popescu (in Cahul's Fourth College, with 79 votes to 5). [36] In Prahova, where liberals were especially strong and well-organized, the liberal ascendancy was complete, with all seats going to "Reds": Anton I. Arion, industrialist Matache Nicolau, and Ploiești mayor Constantin T. Grigorescu were also returned by the Third College, as was Corneliu Lapati by the Second. [37] A "total triumph" for both houses of Parliament was also boasted by the liberal chapter of Argeș County, where George T. Brătianu and Constantin Hurmuzachi were sent to the Assembly. [38] In some locations, the contest was said to have been mired in dubious practices. One such case was the Fourth College of Vlașca, where the "Red" Grigore Serrurie faced the incumbent, Cezar Bolliac. Rumors recorded by Ghimpele suggest that Bolliac was treating peasant voters to bagels and shots of țuică ; in addition, both candidates were alleged to have used ballot stuffing, with the final tallies showing more votes than there were registered voters. [39]
A complete "Red" victory was rendered impossible by several contributing factors, including Factionalist independence. According to one approximation by Ghimpele magazine, the Free and Independent Faction had 14 of the majority deputies: Ionescu, Anastasie Fătu, Alexandru Gheorghiu, Alecu D. Holban, Theodor Lateș, Dimitrie Tacu, Nicolae Voinov, Ianache Lecca, Dumitru Lupașcu, Ioan Negură, Mantu Rufu, Petre Suciu, I. Strejescu, and Dumitru Țanu Vidrașcu. [40] Three other winning candidates on the Tutova County list were a local "National Liberal Party", allied with the Faction. [41] Ghimpele viewed the Faction as distinct from either the left, right, or center of the resulting legislature, a party "with only captains, and no footmen." [42] The Factionalist newspaper Dreptatea celebrated a complete victory in the indirect election for Iași County's Fourth College—with "27 democrat delegates" elected, against just 2 "reactionaries". [43]
The topic of government interference was at the heart of a polemic in Ilfov. Here, the conservative paper Țérra presented evidence that policemen and firefighters had stormed into the Athenaeum Society polling station to harass "White" voters. This account was disputed by the "Red" editors of Romanulu , who noted that the authorities had only stepped in to curb vote-buying by conservative electioneers. [44] Nationally, Concordia experienced some major defeats: in the First College of Ilfov, government presented Nicolae Haralambie as a "National Party" candidate. He lost to the "White" leader Dimitrie Ghica, who took 94 votes (more than the absolute majority of 89); Haralambie had 67 votes, and a third-party candidate, Constantin Bosianu, only 15. [45] Similarly, the First College of Vaslui County propelled into office a debuting "White", Petre P. Carp, who was just organizing the party chapter in Moldavia, [46] In Dâmbovița, opposition candidates Ienache Văcărescu and Isaia Lerescu also won seats, but, according to Romanulu, both of them were unduly favored by the electoral commission. [47] Overall, 34 deputies were conservative "Whites", and 30 more were moderates, with 8 more elected as independents. [35]
The following is a list of Assembly election results as tabulated on December 31 (Old Style: December 19): [48]
County | Fourth College | Third College | Second College | First College |
---|---|---|---|---|
Argeș | Costache Christescu | Gheorghe Enescu, D. Micescu | George T. Brătianu | Constantin Hurmuzachi |
Bacău | C. Platon | Constantin Dimonisie, Ioan Negură | Dumitru Lupașcu | Ianache Lecca |
Bolgrad | Alexandru Cociu | Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu | Apostol Mănescu | Ad. Parussi (Parusief) |
Botoșani | Cassian Lecca | Dimitrie Christea, Panait Gheorghiade, Adam Hareto | Col. Gheorghe Adrian | Anton Caruzi |
Brăila | Grigore Eliade | Radu S. Campiniu, Trandafir Djuvara | Alecu Giani | Iosif Niculescu |
Buzău | Panait Iatropol | Ghiță Dăscălescu | Caloian Pleșoianu | Ion "Iancu" Marghiloman |
Cahul | Alexandru Candiano-Popescu | V. Șeicaru | Al. Zeucianu | Aristid Cilibidake (Celibidache) |
Covurlui | Dimitrie Tacu | P. Popasu, Procopie S. Sgrumalla, I. Strejescu | Mantu Rufu | invalidated |
Dâmbovița | Gheorghie "Ghiță" Siercanescu | Isaia Lerescu (Lorescu) | Ienache (Ionache) Văcărescu | Ion Emanuel Florescu |
Dolj | Elefterie Cornetti | Gheorghe Chițu, Petru "Pera" Opran, Anastase Stolojan | Grigore Arghiropol | George Barbu Știrbei |
Dorohoi | Alexandru Văsescu | Theodor Lateș | Col. Gheorghe Adrian | Turel Pisoschi |
Fălciu | Dumitru Castroianu | Mihail Kogălniceanu | Dumitru Berca | Nicolae Rosetti-Bălănescu |
Gorj | Petre Roșianu | undecided (vacant by January 22) | Tache Moscu | C. Săvoiu |
Ialomița | Pana Buescu | Ioan Vasiliu | invalidated | N. Moscu |
Iași | Petre Suciu | Constantin Corjescu, Alexandru Gheorghiu, Dumitru Gusti, Alecu D. Holban | Anastasie Fătu | Petre Mavrogheni |
Ilfov | Eugeniu Carada | Dimitrie Brătianu, Ion Brătianu, Dimitrie Culoglu, Nicolae Golescu, T. Mehedințianu, C. A. Rosetti | Ștefan Golescu | Dimitrie Ghica |
Ismail | George G. Fălcoianu | Alexandru Cociu | Dumitru Petre Economu | August Treboniu Laurian |
Mehedinți | Nicolae Gărdăreanu | C. Cârjeu (Chirgeu), G. Miculescu | D. Genescu | Ion Ghica |
Muscel | Sache Nicolau | Alexandru G. Golescu | Scarlat Turnavitu | G. Iorgulescu |
Neamț | Vasile Zacharia | Dumitru Gheorghiu Șoarecu | Grigore Isăcescu | Col. Gheorghe Ruset Roznovanu |
Olt | Radian Boicea | Ion Titulescu (vacant by January 22) | Gheorghe Văleanu | Gheorghe A. Polizu |
Prahova | Gogu Cantacuzino | Anton I. Arion, Constantin T. Grigorescu, Matache Nicolau | Corneliu Lapati | Ioan C. Cantacuzino |
Putna | Dumitru Pruncu | Dumitru Țanu (Stanu, Ztinu) Vidrașcu, Nicolae Voinov | Gheorghe Apostoleanu | none (Alecu Balș on January 22) |
Râmnicu Sărat | Constantin Niculescu Catia (Câță) | Oprișian Iorgulescu | I. F. Robescu | Constantin Grădișteanu |
Roman | Ion Agarici | Mihail Jora | Leon Eraclide | Vasile Alecsandri |
Romanați | Achil Teocharie | Gen. Anton Berindei | V. Obedianu | Constantin Darvari |
Suceava | G. Ghițescu | Constantin Morțun | Gheorghe Racoviță | none (Dumitru Cozadini on January 22) |
Tecuci | Tache Anastasiu | Anton Ciucă (Cicu) | Constantin A. Racoviță | Petre Ciucă |
Teleorman | Gheorghie Petrescu | George D. Vernescu | Petre Orbescu | Ion Ghica |
Tutova | Scarlat (Father Sofronie) Vârnav (vacant by January 6) | P. Chenciu (Kenciu), Ion (Iancu) Codrescu, Andrei V. Ionescu | invalidated (none by January 22) | invalidated |
Vâlcea | Stamati Budurescu | Scarlat Călinescu | Grigore Ioan Lahovari | Alexandru Lahovary |
Vaslui | Iona Latif | Col. Dumitru Miclescu | Gheorghe Racoviță | Petre P. Carp |
Vlașca | Grigore Serrurie | Nicolae "Niță" Gogoașă (or Gogoașiă) | Alexandru Lăzărescu-Laerțiu | Nae Tătăranu |
In the race for Senate, which took place on December 30 – January 3 (Old Style: December 18–22), [34] the "Reds" faced significant difficulties. The liberal press aired allegations of fraud by the "Whites": in Olt County, a delegation of electors, including Ioan Căpitănescu, refused to cast their vote, as a sign of protest. [49] A separate scandal took hold in the largely non-Romanian constituency of Bolgrad, where Aristid Pascal, the eventual winner, published manifestos addressing Bessarabian Bulgarians in their native tongue. [39] Another controversy involved Romanulu, which published archive documents from the 1850s. These purportedly showed that Ioan Manu and Constantin N. Brăiloiu, both of whom ran for Senate as "Whites", had plotted a violent clampdown against liberal activists. [39]
The votes for Senate were still counted, and in some instances still cast, during January. By January 5, ballotage in the Second Senatorial College awarded mandates to Nicolae Crețulescu (for Ismail), Emil Casimir (Baia), Ion Pastia (Putna), and Iorgu Scorțescu (Roman); Factionalist leader Ionescu was senator for the University of Iași, and Alexandru Orăscu represented the one in Bucharest. [50] Bishop Filaret Scriban, who had initially refrained from running (only urging his fellow Factionalists to elect "good Christians and good patriots"), [51] ended up being voted in as a senator, both in Iași and Botoșani Counties. [52] In Bucharest, Haralambie also presented himself as a candidate in the senatorial race for the Second College, which was only held on January 8. [53]
Overall, in the upper chamber, the "Reds" lost to a thin majority formed by Ion Ghica's moderates and "White" conservatives. [54] Incomplete lists for the separate precincts and two colleges of Senate appeared in the press, [55] as follows:
County | Senators |
---|---|
Argeș | Dimitrie Dragoescu, Nicu Rosetti-Bălănescu |
Bacău | Ion Strat |
Bolgrad | Aristid Pascal, Col. S. Sabovici |
Baia | Emil Casimir |
Botoșani | Dumitru Mavrocordat, Filaret Scriban |
Brăila | Constantin A. Crețulescu, M. Mihăescu |
Bucharest and Ilfov | Nicolae Haralambie —Alexandru Orăscu (U. Buch.) |
Buzău | Col. Crasnaru, Nicolae Pâcleanu |
Dâmbovița | Nicolae Ghica-Comănești, Pana Olănescu |
Dolj | Constantin N. Brăiloiu, Nicolae S. Guranu |
Dorohoi | Panait Casimir, George Holban |
Fălciu | Scarlat Mavrogheni |
Gorj | Col. Crasnaru, Col. Teodor Călinescu |
Ialomița | Scarlat Crețulescu, Col. Ștefan Cristofor Stoika |
Iași | Nicolae Drossu, Filaret Scriban —Nicolae Ionescu (U. Iași) |
Ismail | Col. Alexandru Cernat, Nicolae Crețulescu |
Mehedinți | Ion Oteteleșanu |
Muscel | Gheorghe Costaforu, Anton Gugiu |
Olt | Gen. Constantin Năsturel-Herescu, C. Văleanu |
Putna | Costin Catargi, Ion Pastia |
Râmnicu Sărat | Alexandru Plagino, Costache Vernescu |
Roman | Iorgu Scorțescu, Grigore Vârnav |
Romanați | Grigore Jianu, Constantin Vlădoianu |
Tecuci | Panait Balș, Alexandru Teriachiu |
Tutova | Manolache Costache Epureanu [56] |
Vâlcea | Constantin Bosianu, Petru Munteanu |
Vaslui | Grigore Lăcusteanu, Nicolae Lahovari, C. I. Sturdza |
Parliament was eventually reopened on January 15 (Old Style: January 3), [34] [57] with Gheorghe Enescu as de facto Assembly President. Ailing, the later relinquished office, and was replaced by General Nicolae Golescu (Ștefan's brother). [58] Although his own "Red" subgroup was by then dominant in the lower house, Brătianu allowed a Moldavian Factionalist, Anastasie Fătu, to replace President Golescu by January 27. [59] Senate also resumed proceedings on January 20, [58] and, on January 24, reelected Nifon Rusailă as its Chairman. [60]
By then, those who had their mandates confirmed were left to assess reports demanding the invalidation of other deputies and senators. Some, such as Candiano-Popescu, were very soon validated and able to take their seats; [61] although elected for Senate, Haralambie soon gave up, after revelations that he was not of the legal age to run. [62] Bishop Filaret, contested for legal reasons because he had been a monk, was nevertheless also accepted by Senate. [52] Kogălniceanu's ally Ion Emanuel Florescu was surprisingly removed from his seat following a vote by his lower-chamber colleagues. [42]
Long conflicts ensued over the early opening of ballot boxes in various precincts. Some, including Alexandru Văsescu and Theodor Lateș, were confirmed regardless of this procedural objection. [63] Another contentious case was litigated by Bolliac, who had lost Serrurie but still demanded to be recognized as a deputy, and had to be evicted from the Assembly; meanwhile, "Red" senator Anton Gugiu was confirmed by his peers in a special vote. [58] According to Ghimpele, Bolliac was denied an opportunity to defend himself from the parliamentary rostrum, despite submitting thirty requests. [42] Deputies voted 62 to 42 not to recognize his claim, but agreed to send in an investigative commission. [60]
Another controversy erupted in Tutova County, where, on February 5, virtually all elections were still undecided. The "White" candidate for First College, Manolache Costache Epureanu, asked to be recognized as the winner, but the "Red" majority called fraud, and the seat was left vacant. [42] [64] His ouster was welcomed by Ghimpele as a defeat for the philosemitic camp, with Epureanu mockingly referred to as a "great rabbi of Moldavia". [42] A related issue was that of Factionalist Scarlat Vârnav: elected as a Fourth-College deputy, he had died in suspicious circumstances—allegedly poisoned by his Jewish adversaries. While a toxicological investigation was undertaken in Bucharest, at Bârlad the matter sparked riots, attributed by "Reds" to a Jewish provocation. [65] [66]
In Prahova, "White" bosses Theodor C. Văcărescu and Ștefan Greceanu produced reports and telegrams alleging widespread intimidation by infantry troops and the police, including beatings and arbitrary arrests of opposition mayors and electoral agents; Văcărescu also refused to sign the procès-verbal validating Prahova's vote count, and urged the Assembly not to validate Gogu Cantacuzino's mandate. [67] However, he himself was being brought to trial by the local prefect, Andrei Dertman, who alleged that Văcărescu had colluded with the mayor of Popești to get himself fraudulently nominated as a Fourth-College elector. [68] Cantacuzino was finally confirmed on January 21, when the Assembly concluded that Th. C. Văcărescu's accusations were not certified by an electors' petition, as required by law. A petition signed by 21 Prahova electors was nevertheless registered on the same day. It blamed the local police chief, Stan Popescu, and "all police agents and footmen, the nightwatchmen, the subprefects with their assistants and the town-hall clerks", of conspiring to "reject and mistreat" known conservative voters. [69] The controversy continued in a more subdued form when deputies of the opposition, including D. Ghica and George D. Vernescu, alongside G. T. Brătianu, asked for an inquiry into the Prahova affair. Local prosecutors refused to assess the case, dismissing the petition as an attempt to filibuster in the Assembly, while some petitioners backed this by withdrawing their signatures. [70]
In Ialomița County, accusations of about blood libel, issued against the local Jews, were quickly dismissed by pathologists, and publicly refuted by the liberal press. [65] [71] Here, the disputed place of deputy in the Second College was eventually awarded to Petru Grădișteanu by Assembly vote. [60] Procedural controversies still surrounded Ionache Văcărescu, who was considered elected, by a slim margin, only after the voters' census was updated, [72] and Tache Moscu, whose narrow win was contested by those who argued that a deciding write-in ballot was meant for his brother, Costache. [60] [63] Other disputes regarded the validation of two deputies whose Romanian citizenship was questioned: Constantin Niculescu Catia (or Câță) and Procopie S. Sgrumalla. [42] [63] [64] [73] Hasdeu's election was also contested by emissaries from the Lipovans and Greeks of Bolgrad—their petition was denied by the Assembly, since they had failed to write it in Romanian. [63] [73] The Senate seats of Covurlui remained contested until another race in spring, when Costache Negri became Second College senator (he resigned shortly after). [74]
Brătianu's claim that the election had not been fixed, and that government had "no official candidates", was endorsed by accounts in the contemporary press—local and liberal ( Românul ) as well as Western ( La France , Le Siècle ). [57] Overall, the election was validated: in his address to the Assembly, Domnitor Carol congratulated government on running an orderly vote, and arguing that elections had been free, "only moderated by the people's own common sense." [75] Kogălniceanu also reaffirmed his party's adherence to the "Red" party line, praising Brătianu for having "transformed the country". [59] However, Parliament continued to host debilitating disputes, including over allegations that Golescu had sponsored "Bulgarian bands" of the BRCK to start a revolution in Danube Vilayet, as well as over the functioning of the Court of Cassation. [76] The former accusation, which focused suspicions on the Perseverența group, led to Romania being threatened with an international commission of inquiry. [77]
Slowly, a right-wing opposition was consolidating, revitalized by Carp and by Alexandru Lahovary, seen by Gane as "the two Benjamins of conservative politics". [78] Antisemitism soon returned as the core issue, when, in Britain, the Earl of Derby cabinet analyzed reports that Romanian Jews were persecuted and prevented from even practicing their religion. The claim was taken up in Romania by Carp, but categorically denied by Brătianu. [79] Government's relationship with the Factionalists was soon put the test when, on March 17, the latter introduced a harshly antisemitic bill, which was ultimately rejected by the mainstream "Reds". Asked by the Prime Minister not to voice his dissidence, Brătianu restated his ethnic nationalism, but agreed that any such xenophobic excess would ruin Romania's fragile relationship with the West. [80]
This change of attitudes alienated the Faction, and smaller riots erupted in Moldavia, this time specifically targeting both the Jews and Prime Minister Golescu. [81] On April 23, the latter resigned, officially for health reasons, [82] and was replaced by his brother, General Golescu, who took an even more moderate position on the "Jewish Question". Although faced with a motion of no confidence in Senate (where an alliance of Factionalists and "Whites" was formed), he and Brătianu were able to maintain their hold on power. [83] Their political survival was especially disappointing for a conservative hopeful, the Dolj deputy George Barbu Știrbei, who missed his opportunity to become prime minister, and left on self-imposed exile. Reportedly, his candidacy was rejected by Carol's father, the Prince Hohenzollern, who feared that Știrbei would use his status to usurp the Romanian throne. [84]
As noted by historian Silvia Marton, "the words 'moral influence' were destined to have an enviable presence in posterity." Brătianu unwittingly coined a euphemism for "the systematic government pressure that will characterize the [electoral] regime at the very least until World War I." [85] Gane also notes that the practice of "restricting voters" only had one precedent (the Moldavian elections of July 1857), but that, after 1867, it "made a name for itself". [86] During similarly organized elections in late July, the conservatives also lost the Senate, ensuring that "Reds" completely dominated Parliament to March 1869, when the "White" party returned in a landslide of its own. [87] The sudden fall of radicalism, the loss of favor with Domnitor Carol, and the breakup of Concordia pushed Brătianu and Candiano-Popescu into conspiratorial politics—leading to the rebellious episode known as "Republic of Ploiești". [88]
Grigore Mihail Sturdza, first name also Grigorie or Grigori, last name also Sturza, Stourdza, Sturd̦a, and Stourza, was a Moldavian, later Romanian soldier, politician, and adventurer. He was the son of Prince Mihail Sturdza, a scion of ancient boyardom, and, during the 1840s, an heir apparent to the Moldavian throne, for which he was known throughout his later life as Moldavia's Beizadea. A rebellious youth famous for his feats of strength, he set up his own private militia which he used to corner the Moldavian grain trade, and entered a legal battle with Sardinian retailers. In 1845, he defied his father, and French law, by seeking to marry the much older, already married Countess Dash, and barricaded himself with her at Perieni. By 1847, Grigore had been reintegrated into the Moldavian establishment, and, as a general in the Moldavian princely militia, personally handled repression during the attempted revolution of April 1848. During these events, the Beizadea became personal enemies with three future statesmen—Alexandru Ioan Cuza, Mihail Kogălniceanu, and Manolache Costache Epureanu.
Ștefan Golescu (1809–1874) was a Wallachian Romanian politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs for two terms from 1 March 1867 to 5 August 1867 and from 13 November 1867 to 30 April 1868, and as Prime Minister of Romania between 26 November 1867 and 12 May 1868.
Vasile V. Pogor was a Moldavian, later Romanian poet, philosopher, translator and liberal conservative politician, one of the founders of Junimea literary society. Raised among the boyar nobility of Iași, he was the son of a similarly named poet-polemicist and translator. Vasile Jr was educated in the French Empire, and had his first career in law. He became a civil servant during the United Principalities regime, though he split with its leadership on matters of tax policy, making his fortune as a conspirator in the "monstrous coalition" coup of February 1866. He held seats and commissions in the Assembly of Deputies. In forming Junimea, alongside Titu Maiorescu and others, Pogor sought to counter the intellectual supremacy of Romantic nationalism and "Red" liberalism, by introducing a critical approach to nation-building. He supported Romania's Westernization within a conservative framework, tempering nationalist presumptions and valuing a culturally pluralistic society. Early on, he participated in the Junimist effort to diversify cultural influences, producing two separate translations of Faust I.
The Wallachian Revolution of 1848 was a Romanian liberal and nationalist uprising in the Principality of Wallachia. Part of the Revolutions of 1848, and closely connected with the unsuccessful revolt in the Principality of Moldavia, it sought to overturn the administration imposed by Imperial Russian authorities under the Regulamentul Organic regime, and, through many of its leaders, demanded the abolition of boyar privilege. Led by a group of young intellectuals and officers in the Wallachian Militia, the movement succeeded in toppling the ruling Prince Gheorghe Bibescu, whom it replaced with a provisional government and a regency, and in passing a series of major progressive reforms, announced in the Proclamation of Islaz.
George Barbu Știrbei or Știrbeiŭ, also known as Gheorghe, Georgie, or Iorgu Știrbei, was a Wallachian-born Romanian aristocrat and politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from July 15, 1866, until February 21, 1867. He was the eldest son of Barbu Dimitrie Știrbei, Prince of Wallachia, and the nephew of his rival, Gheorghe Bibescu; his younger siblings included the landowner and industrialist Alexandru B. Știrbei. Educated in France, he returned to Wallachia during his father's princely mandate, as a Beizadea and aspiring politician. Fleeing his country during the Crimean War, he served the French Empire before returning home to become Wallachian Minister of War and Spatharios. He is remembered for reforming the Wallachian militia during the remainder of Prince Barbu's term.
Românul, was a political and literary newspaper published in Bucharest, Romania, from 1857 to 1905. Established as the leading voice of Romanian liberalism in the state of Wallachia, it had direct connections to the radical ideology of Western Europe. Its founder and director was the aristocrat C. A. Rosetti, known as Romantic poet, Masonic promoter and left-wing activist, seconded by the brothers Ion C. Brătianu and Dimitrie Brătianu. Românul's roots were planted in the 1848 revolutionary movement, whose press organ, Pruncul Român, was a direct predecessor.
Constantin G. Cantacuzino, also known as Costache Cantacozino or Costandin Cantacuzino, was the Caimacam (Regent) of Wallachia in September 1848–June 1849, appointed directly by the Ottoman Empire. A member of the Cantacuzino family, he had emerged as a leader of the conservative boyardom during the Regulamentul Organic period. As a commander in the Wallachian militia, he organized in 1831 the first elections for Bucharest's Town Council, and subsequently served as one of the Bucharest Governors. He first played a major part in national government from 1837 to 1842, when he served Prince Alexandru II Ghica as Postelnic and Logothete. During that interval, he clashed with his own brother Grigore Cantacuzino, who sided with the liberal current.
Gheorghe Chițu was a Wallachian, later Romanian lawyer, politician, and man of letters, whose activities were mostly centered on the region of Oltenia. The recipient of a classical education, which compensated for his middle-class background and allowed him to study at the University of Vienna, he was also deeply involved in the Wallachian Revolution of 1848 as an early adherent of "Red" liberalism. He became a propagandist and organizer for the National Party, founding Vocea Oltului gazette in 1857. Chițu was confirmed as the United Principalities' first-ever elected provincial mayor, at Craiova, where he also worked as a lawyer and prosecutor. His political radicalism and his participation in the Romanian Freemasonry were nuanced by his defense of the Romanian Orthodox Church against a reduction of its assets.
Constantin I. Dobrescu, better known as Dobrescu-Argeș, was a Romanian peasant activist and politician, also noted as a teacher, journalist, and jurist. Active from his native Mușătești, in Argeș County, he established a regional, and finally national, base for agrarian politics. He is considered Romania's second agrarianist, after Ion Ionescu de la Brad, and, with Dincă Schileru, a revivalist of the peasant cause in the Romanian Kingdom era. Dobrescu was notoriously unpersuaded by agrarian socialism, preferring a mixture of communalism and Romanian nationalism, with some echoes of conservative populism. Thus, he stopped short of advocating land reform, focusing his battles on democratization through universal suffrage, and on obtaining state support for the cooperative movement. He himself founded some of the Kingdom's first cooperatives, also setting up model schools, the first rural theater, and the first village printing press—which put out his various periodicals.
Anastasie Fătu was a Moldavian and Romanian physician, naturalist, philanthropist and political figure, a titular member of the Romanian Academy and founder of Iași's Botanical Garden. Of lowly origins, he benefited from the meritocratic program instituted by Moldavia's government in the 1830s, and went on to study law at the University of Vienna, with hopes of becoming a political economist. After graduating, he changed his professional path, and trained in medicine at the University of Paris. Recognized for pioneering contributions in cardiology, pediatrics, obstetrics and balneotherapy, he was also an early speaker for public health and social medicine, as well as an educational theorist and textbook author. Fătu's career as a professor of natural sciences took him to the Gregorian Institute, the Socola Monastery school, and ultimately Iași University, where he took steps to create a regional medical school.
The Free and Independent Faction or Free and Independent Fraction was a nationalist and national liberal party in Romania, regionally centered on Western Moldavia. Originally informal, and defined by its adversaries, the Faction mainly comprised pupils and followers of the philosopher Simion Bărnuțiu. During most of its existence, it had as its recognized leader the academic and polemicist Nicolae Ionescu.
Scarlat Vasile Vârnav, or Sofronie Vârnav, was a Moldavian and Romanian political figure, philanthropist, collector, and Orthodox clergyman. The scion of an aristocratic family, he was made to study for a career in the church, but fled Moldavia and studied abroad. Acquainted with the Romanian liberal movement, and an ardent Romanian nationalist, he helped establish bodies of intellectuals dedicated to cultural and political cooperation across the Danubian Principalities and beyond—including, in 1846, the Romanian library of Paris. His purchase of mainly Baroque paintings, donated by him to Academia Mihăileană, forms the core of the Iași Museum of Art.
Elections for the Senate were held in Romania on July 7–11, 1868. They were called by Prime Minister Nicolae Golescu to strengthen his majority in the 1867 legislature, and, although party affiliations remain unclear, ensured a victory for Golescu and the various liberal-radical factions. The snap election followed standoffs between Senate and the Assembly of Deputies, in particular one over the issue of constructing a Romanian railways system. It also came after major disagreements between "Red" politicians and the Free and Independent Faction, which had previously backed Golescu, before moving closer to the center.
Elections for the ad hoc Divan were held in Wallachia in September 1857. They restored a liberalizing trend that had been repressed following the 1848 revolution, also giving expression to the national awakening that was taking part among the Romanians. The toppling of the conservative Regulamentul Organic regime in both Danubian Principalities made them possible: following the 1856 Treaty of Paris, Wallachia and Moldavia functioned as protectorates of the European powers; both were also clients of the Ottoman Empire. Excluding the spontaneous rallies of 1848, this was the first public consultation to be held in eleven years. It ran in conjunction with the Moldavian Divan elections, and, like them, had unusually lax criteria for participation, allowing peasants and guilds to vote by indirect suffrage.
Alecu Filipescu-Vulpea, also known as Aleco Filipescul, Alecsandru R. Filipescu or Alexandru Răducanu Filipescu, was a Wallachian administrator and high-ranking boyar, who played an important part in the politics of the late Phanariote era and of the Regulamentul Organic regime. Beginning in the 1810s, he took an anti-Phanariote stand, conspiring alongside the National Party and the Filiki Eteria to institute new constitutional norms. Clashing with the National Party over the distribution of spoils, and only obtaining relatively minor positions in the administration of Bucharest, Filipescu eventually joined a clique of boyars that cooperated closely with the Russian Empire. His conditional support for the Eterists played out during the Wallachian uprising of 1821, when Vulpea manipulated all sides against each other, ensuring safety for the boyars. He returned to prominence under Prince Grigore IV Ghica, but sabotaged the monarch's political reform effort and also seduced his wife Maria. She was probably the mother of his only son, Ioan Alecu Filipescu-Vulpache.
Dimitrie Lecca was a Moldavian-born Romanian officer and politician.
Alexandru Barbu Știrbei, also rendered Alex. Știrbeĭ, Știrbey, or Știrbeiŭ, was a Wallachian-born Romanian aristocrat, politician, businessman and agriculturalist, the son of Barbu Dimitrie Știrbei, Prince of Wallachia, younger brother of George Barbu Știrbei, and nephew of another Prince, Gheorghe Bibescu. After a short career in the French Army, he returned to the United Principalities and served terms in their Assembly of Deputies, inheriting the fortune left by his father. He established pioneering industries around his manorial estates of Buftea and Dărmănești, and became a guest, and sometime host, of literary meetings held by the political club Junimea.
Stroe Leurdeanu, also known as Stroe (sin) Fiera, Stroie Leurdeanu, Stroe Leordeanu, or Stroe Golescu, was a Wallachian statesman and political intriguer, son of Logothete Fiera Leudeanu. He began his career with the Wallachian military forces, serving as Spatharios and seeing action in the Polish–Ottoman War of 1633. Related by marriage to the Craiovești dynasty, he emerged as one of the country's most important officials under Prince Matei Basarab: as Vistier, he was in charge of the princely treasury, and also became a regent in 1645. Matei also adopted Stroe's son, Istratie Leurdeanu, but in 1651 turned against the family, and found Stroe guilty of embezzlement. He returned to high favor under a new Prince, Constantin Șerban, who made him his Logothete.
Teodor Boldur-Lățescu was a Romanian politician, essayist and newspaper publisher, best known for his violent advocacy of Moldavian separatism. Born into an ancient clan of Moldavian boyars, and claiming Montenegrin Balšić descent on his maternal side, he was unable to maintain his economic status, and eventually had to work as a lawyer. In his late teens, he debuted in politics as an adherent of the National Party, which sought to establish political ties between the Romanian populations of Moldavia and Wallachia. Boldur-Lățescu was disenchanted with the single Romanian state formed in 1859, emerging as an outspoken adversary of its Domnitor, Alexandru Ioan Cuza. His embrace of political separatism took a radical and controversial form, which included stereotyping Wallachians as Gypsies and circulating a historical forgery, the Chronicle of Huru. During the interregnum which followed Cuza's toppling by the "monstrous coalition" in February 1866, he joined a separatist caucus in Iași, convincing Nicolae Rosetti-Rosnovanu to claim the Moldavian throne.
Scarlat or Scarlatŭ Turnavitu was a Wallachian, later Romanian, schoolteacher, politician, and jurist. He was born into a prosperous family with origins in the high-ranking boyardom, either in his father's village of Budișteni, Muscel County, or in nearby Pitești, Argeș County. During his youth, Wallachia and neighboring Moldavia were Romanian-inhabited tributary states of the Ottoman Empire, with a set of conservative laws imposed in the 1820s, as Regulamentul Organic. Turnavitu and two of his three brothers, Ștefan and Demostene, represented the liberal and nationalist opposition, whose principles they assimilated during their early education in Golești and Bucharest. They endured as lifelong associates of the Golescu family, whose younger members guided their political ascent. During the 1830s and early '40s, Scarlat traveled the country as a reformer, taking charge of primary schools and pioneering teacher education in Giurgiu, Buzău, and finally Craiova.