The form of government under the constitution adopted in 1833 is
republican with legislative, executive and judicial branches. The
legislative power is vested in the National Congress, consisting of
a Senate and House of Deputies, the former, under the latest census,
being composed of 37, and the latter of 108 members. Senators are
elected for a term of six years, one-half the number being elected
every three years. Members of the lower branch of Congress are elected
for three years by direct vote, the apportionment being one for every
30,000 inhabitants or fraction of not less than 15,000. Congress is in
session from June 1 to September 1 of each year. During the recess of
that body a permanent committee consisting of seven senators and seven
deputies acts for Congress, and is consulted by the executive upon all
questions of importance.
The president is elected for a term of five years by electors who are
chosen by direct vote. He is ineligible to election for two consecutive
terms. The salary of the chief executive is 60,000 pesos, equal to
about $20,000 in U. S. currency. He is assisted by a Council of State
consisting of 11 members, six of whom are appointed by Congress and
five by the president; and also by six cabinet ministers who are named
by the executive, but are responsible to the Congress.
The constitution having become an established law, Chile made rapid
progress along the road of national life, leading to order, authority
and prosperity. But it was not until Manuel Montt, who was president
from 1851 to 1861, had put down two revolutions that order and
executive authority were firmly established, and the force of organized
national defense demonstrated. In 1861 Montt was succeeded as president
by Jose Joaquin Perez, who continued as chief executive for ten years.
The condition of law and order that was established and maintained
by the government previous to his election continued throughout his
two administrations, and national authority was extended and enlarged
until liberty of action and speech was insured to every citizen of
the Republic. By his political moderation and conciliation, President
Perez established a feeling of internal peace and security that had not
been previously felt in the country. Unfortunately Chile was soon to
be disturbed again by a war-cloud upon the peaceful horizon. Having
secured their own freedom, and established an independent government,
the patriotic people were not content to remain indifferent to the
arbitrary actions of Spain in taking forceful possession of the Chincha
Islands in 1865. By force of public opinion and popular sentiment,
President Perez was compelled to make an alliance with Peru, Bolivia
and Ecuador, to defend the interests of South American Republics
against the domination of Spain.
Spain sent a fleet to blockade the ports of Chile, which was not a
difficult undertaking, as the Chilean navy then consisted of one
gunboat, the _Esmeralda_. On November 26, the _Esmeralda_, under
command of Captain William Rebolledo, made a brilliant coup by
attacking and capturing the Spanish corvette, _Covadonga_, which daring
deed was accomplished within view of the Spanish squadron blockading
the harbor of Valparaiso. The admiral commanding the fleet was so
humiliated by the fact that one of his ships had been taken by the
Chileans that he committed suicide on board his flagship, a few hours
afterwards.
To avenge the loss, and apparently as an act of spite inspired by the
humiliating incident of the _Covadonga_, Spain sent a more powerful
fleet to Valparaiso, and on March 31, 1866, bombarded the city, causing
considerable loss of life, and destruction of property to the value of
fifteen million dollars.
At that time Valparaiso had no land fortifications nor means of
resisting an attack from a hostile fleet, and Spain’s action in
bombarding the port has been generally condemned. This apparent
unjustifiable destruction of a defenseless city was the last armed
demonstration of Spain in South America. For three centuries she
attempted to govern Chile as a colony, and for the first fifty years
of national life of the Republic the threatening attitude of the
parent government continued as a menace and an obstacle to progress
and industrial development. Peace was not established between the two
countries until 1884, but after the bombardment of Valparaiso, there
was no further hostile demonstration, and Chile was permitted to direct
the force of her energies towards building up neglected national
institutions and developing the natural resources of the country.
The bombardment of Valparaiso forced upon Chile a realization of her
defenseless position against attack from a naval force. Without a navy
to defend her extensive coast country, or fortifications with which to
protect her ports, she was at the mercy of any maritime power. To meet
this requirement and to strengthen her national position, she acquired
a formidable navy, the most powerful in South America, and constructed
modern fortifications in all the principal ports. Since that time Chile
has been regarded as one of the most formidable and aggressive naval
and military powers among the Latin-American Republics.
During the administration of President Perez the liberal element
in the Republic began to assert itself, and to demand political
reforms. This was the first demonstration and show of resistance
against the conservative church party, which had been in control of
the government since its formation. The program of the liberals was:
“The absolute guarantee of personal liberty; that local governments
shall be invested with that complete independence necessary for the
thorough exercise of their prerogatives; that the different branches
of government shall be independent of each other, that all persons
shall be equal before the law and that all special privileges shall
be abolished.” This was a move from the oligarchy towards democracy.
The liberals scored their first victory in 1868, when Congress passed
an amendment to the constitution, making the president ineligible to
reëlection. The laws providing for civil responsibility, for political
treason, and imprisonment for debt were also abolished by the same
Congress.
Don Federico Errazuriz, who was elected to the presidency in 1871,
was a man of scholarly attainments, and had had a long and varied
experience in public life. He had been minister of foreign affairs, of
the interior, of justice, and of war, and had served in both branches
of the legislative body.
During the administration of President Errazuriz, the liberal party
succeeded in passing a number of reformatory measures, among which
was one providing that the clergy should be amenable to the civil
authorities, and further that all sects might worship in churches
erected by private enterprise. The president also decreed that space
should be reserved in catholic or public cemeteries for the interment
of dissenters, who could be given the right of burial according to the
form of their respective denominations. Against these acts the clerical
party filed a remonstrance which was signed by the Archbishop of
Santiago; and members of Congress who voted for the measures, as well
as magistrates who should attempt to enforce the laws, were threatened
with excommunication from the church. But those progressive measures
still remain upon the statute books of Chile.
Don Anibal Pinto succeeded Don Federico Errazuriz as president in 1876.
His administration was early confronted with a financial crisis, and in
1878 the government authorized the banks to suspend specie payment, and
guaranteed their emission of paper money to the amount of $15,500,000,
which was made redeemable in coin on August 31, 1879. A year later the
government found it necessary to resort to a second issue of paper
currency to the amount of $6,000,000.
The church question, which had been made the paramount political
issue in previous campaigns continued with unabated zeal and acrimony
throughout President Pinto’s administration. In 1878 the Archbishop of
Santiago died, and the government recommended the appointment of Don
Francisco de Paula Taforo as his successor. The clergy of the country
opposed the appointment, but the government maintained that inasmuch as
the State supported the ecclesiastical officials, the civil authorities
should name the church dignitaries. After a bitter contest lasting for
several years an apostolic delegate was sent from Rome to make report
on the affair. He was expelled by President Santa Maria, who succeeded
President Pinto, and the victory was won by the government.
Throughout the administrations of Presidents Perez, Errazuriz, and
Pinto the country made rapid advancement along the road of national
progress and civilization. Previous to that time all reforms and
advanced measures were initiated and directed by the executive, whose
political power made him practically the government.
Neither the House of Deputies nor the Senate made any pretense to
parliamentary rule or order. In both national and private life the poor
but honest element predominated. People earned a legitimate livelihood
by honest industry, and wanton extravagance was little known.