134 THE GOVERNMENT. 



the Senate. No cabinet minister can leave the country until six months shall have expired 

 after the termination of his office as such : within that period he is liable for every official act. 



Not satisfied to rely on the judgment of the President and his cabinet, controlled as they are 

 by the conservative commission, the framers of the Constitution have provided an advisory board 

 for him, called the Council of State. This comprises the four ministers, two members of the 

 supreme court, a titled ecclesiastic, a general of the army or navy, the chief of a treasury 

 bureau, two persons who have previously served as cabinet or foreign ministers, and two who 

 have been intendentes, governors, or members of municipal boards in all thirteen persons. 

 They are required to advise him on all matters in which he may consider their opinion neces- 

 sary; to nominate proper persons in case of vacancies among the judges, bishops, or other 

 church dignitaries ; to ask the removal, for cause, of a cabinet minister or othejs ; to settle all 

 differences between contractors and the government ; to examine and pass upon all public esti- 

 mates, and all laws, as well those to which the President proposes to ask the sanction of Con- 

 gress, as those passed by that body and sent to him for final action. Without their consent the 

 President can neither recommend nor approve. They are appointed and removed at his sole 

 will ; but for the advice they may give him they are liable to arrest and trial, in the same 

 manner as ministers. In council, the Chief Magistrate presides. 



Four colonels of the army attend his excellency as aides-de-camp, whenever he needs their 

 services ; and a squadron of lancers generally escort him. On all public occasions, whether 

 on horseback or in the national coach, he wears the insignia of office a band or scarf over the 

 shoulder, embracing the three national colors, and a cocked hat, adorned with plumes of the 

 same tints red, white, and blue. At such times his body-guard follow close after. There is 

 also constantly a guard at the palace door, some of whom serve as orderlies for the conveyance 

 of letters and despatches from the ministers through the city ; and one of the aids occupies the 

 ante-room to the President's private apartments. As the door at which the guard is stationed 

 is the common entrance to various offices embraced within the extensive building, the presence 

 of troops may be regarded as ornamental rather than useful ; for none are obstructed or ques- 

 tioned at entrance. 



General Manuel Bulnes, who was at the head of the nation from 1841 to 1851, per- 

 formed the crowning act that entitled him to this distinction by his countrymen at the battle 

 of Yungai, in Peru, just two years before his election. He is a tall, corpulent man, with a 

 broad and expressive face, very decidedly more Hibernian in cast than Spanish. Though light, 

 curling hair, a florid complexion, and jovial expression when in company with strangers, add 

 their testimony to such apparent origin, he is, nevertheless, a very thorough Chileno. As an 

 Executive, he proved prompt and efficient, avoiding no duty, fearing no responsibility. During 

 his administration, and more particularly in the latter part of it, many measures were brought 

 forward of the utmost consequence to the advancement of the country, among which may be 

 mentioned railroads from Santiago to Valparaiso, and from Caldera to Copiapo ; the erection of 

 bridges across the Maypu, Cachapual, and Biobio ; the abolition of the monopoly of steam navi- 

 gation; and the reduction of postage on letters. Having served two terms, he was succeeded, 

 on the 18th of September, 1851, by Don Manuel Montt, the first civilian ever elevated to that 

 office a gentleman who had served with distinction as rector of the national institute, as 

 cabinet minister, and as a judge of the supreme court. 



These are the officers charged with the administration of national affairs. For more direct 

 supervision and control, the republic is divided into provinces, each province into departments, 

 the departments into sub-delegations, and the sub-delegations into districts. Supreme control 

 of the province is confided to an Intendente, who is the immediate agent of the President, and is 

 appointed or removed by him at will. His commission can only be made for three years, but 

 may be renewed indefinitely. He also exercises the functions of Governor over the department 

 in which he immediately resides, and nominates to the President suitable persons to serve as 

 governors for the other departments. Theoretically, the system of responsibility is perfect, 



