1814, Canga-Arguelles was sent into exile
in the province of Valencia. On the restoration in 1820 of the
constitution of 1812, he was appointed minister of finance. He continued
at this post till the spring of 1821, distinguishing himself by the zeal
and ability with which he sought to reform the finances of Spain. It was
high time; for the annual deficit was greater than the entire revenue
itself, and landed and other property was, to an unheard-of extent,
monopolized by the priests. The measures he proposed had been only
partially enforced, when the action of the king with regard to the
ministry, of which he was a member, obliged him to resign. Thereafter,
as a member of the Moderate Liberal party, Canga-Arguelles advocated
constitutional government and financial reform, till the overthrow of
the constitution in 1823, when he fled to England. He did not return to
Spain till 1829, and did not again appear in public life, being
appointed keeper of the archives at Simancas. He died in 1843.
Canga-Arguelles is the author of three works: _Elementos de la Ciencia
de Hacienda_ (Elements of the Science of Finance), London, 1825;
_Diccionario de Hacienda_ (Dictionary of Finance), London, 1827; and
_Observaciones sobre la guerra de la Peninsula_ (Observations on the
Peninsular War), in which he endeavoured to show that his countrymen had
taken a far more effective part in the national struggle against the
French than English historians were willing to admit.

CANGAS DE ONIS, or CANGAS, a town of northern Spain, in the province of
Oviedo; situated on the right bank of the river Sella, in a fertile,
well-watered, partly wooded, undulating region. Pop. (1900) 8537. The
trade of Cangas de Onis is chiefly in live-stock and coal from the
neighbouring mines. A Latin inscription on the town-hall records the
fact that this place was the residence of the first Spanish kings after
the spread of the Moors over the Peninsula. Here early in the 8th
century lived King Pelayo, who started the Christian reconquest of
Spain. His historic cave of Covadonga is only 8 m. distant (see
ASTURIAS). The church of the Assumption, rebuilt in the 19th century, is
on the model and site of an older church of the middle ages. Near Cangas
are ruins and bridges of the Roman period.

CANGAS DE TINEO, a town of northern Spain, in the province of Oviedo,
and on the river Narcea. Pop. (1900) 22,742. There is no railway and the
river is not navigable, b