ng the Argentinos,
these victories only fomented trouble. The federalists had ousted
Rivadavia and discarded the constitution, but the federal idea for
which they stood had several meanings. To an inhabitant of Buenos Aires
federalism meant domination by the capital, not only over the province
of the same name but over the other provinces; whereas, to the people of
the provinces, and even to many of federalist faith in the province
of Buenos Aires itself, the term stood for the idea of a loose
confederation in which each provincial governor or chieftain should be
practically supreme in his own district, so long as he could maintain
himself. The Unitaries were opponents of both, except in so far as their
insistence upon a centralized form of government for the nation would
necessarily lead to the location of that government at Buenos Aires.
This peculiar dual contest between the town and the province of Buenos
Aires, and of the other provinces against either or both, persisted for
the next sixty years. In 1829, however, a prolonged lull set in, when
Rosas, the gaucho leader, having won in company with other caudillos
a decisive triumph over the Unitaries, entered the capital and took
supreme command.

In Chile the course of events had assumed quite a different aspect.
Here, in 1818, a species of constitution had been adopted by popular
vote in a manner that appeared to show remarkable unanimity, for the
books in which the "ayes" and "noes" were to be recorded contained
no entries in the negative! What the records really prove is that
O'Higgins, the Supreme Director, enjoyed the confidence of the ruling
class. In exercise of the autocratic power entrusted to him, he now
proceeded to introduce a variety of administrative reforms of signal
advantage to the moral and material welfare of the country. But as the
danger of conquest from any quarter lessened, the demand for a more
democratic organization grew louder, until in 1822 it became so
persistent that O'Higgins called a convention to draft a new fundamental
law. But its provisions suited neither himself nor his opponents.
Thereupon, realizing that his views of the political capacity of the
people resembled those of Bolivar and were no longer applicable, and
that his reforms had aroused too much hostility, the Supreme Director
resigned his post and retired to Peru. Thus another hero of emancipation
had met the ingratitude for which republics are notorious.

Political co