The President is chosen by electors, who are elected by direct vote, for a term of five years. He serves the state for a salary of about eleven thousand dollars, including the allowance for expenses. He is ineligible to serve two consecutive terms and may not leave the country during his term of office, or for one year after its expiration, without the consent of Congress. He has a cabinet of six secretaries, who are known as Ministers of Interior, Foreign Affairs, Justice and Public Instruction, Treasury, War and Marine, Industry and Public Works. The Minister of the Interior is the Vice-President, and succeeds to the office of President in the event of his death or disability. Elections are held on the 25th of June every fifth year, and inauguration of the new President follows on the succeeding 18th of September. The cabinet may be forced to resign at any time by a vote of lack of confidence by Congress, to whom they are directly responsible. In addition to the cabinet there is a Council of State consisting of eleven members, six of whom are appointed by Congress and five by the President, who assist that official in an advisory capacity. Furthermore, when Congress adjourns, it appoints a standing committee of seven from each house, which acts as the representative of that body during vacation. The President must consult with it in certain matters, and the committee may request him to call an extraordinary session if, in their opinion, such a course is advisable.
There is a national Supreme Court of seven members that sits at Santiago, which is the final judicial authority. Courts of appeal consisting of from five to twelve members also sit at Santiago, Valparaiso, Tacna, Serena, Talca, Valdivia and Concepción. There are also a number of minor courts which are located in the various provinces and departments. Each province is governed by an intendente, who is appointed by the President of the republic. The departments are governed by governors, who are subordinate to the intendentes, and the districts by inspectors, who are also appointed. The only popular element is the municipal district, or commune, which is governed by a board composed of nine men, who are elected by direct vote in each municipality.
When the Spaniards reached Chile they found native races occupying it. In the northern portions the tribes were under at least the nominal sway of the Incas, although separated from them either by the inhospitable Andes or dreary desert wastes. In the great central valley, however, the land appeared a pleasant garden, and so rich that nowhere had the Spaniards seen anything similar either for its fertility or the wealth of its fruits and herds. “It is all an inhabited place and a sown land or a gold-mine, rich in herds as that of Peru, with a fibre drawn from the soil rich in food supplies sown by the Indians for their subsistence”—so wrote the chroniclers. They lived in comfort and had a certain civilization. Each cacique had his own ranch house, the number of doors indicating the number of his wives, of which some had as many as fifteen. These people were the Araucanians, who proved to be a brave and courageous race. The Spaniards immediately began their usual cruelties and efforts to enslave these people, but succeeded only temporarily. The natives soon rose in rebellion. Three hundred years of warfare decimated their ranks, but did not subdue them, and when the Spanish rule ended these people were as unconquered as when it began. Their history has been written in blood, but it is the struggle of a heroic race, and it is not dimmed by the excesses and cruelties that attached to the Spaniards in their efforts to subjugate and enslave these valiant people.
After he had conquered Peru, Pizarro sent an expedition south to explore the country and take possession of it in the name of the King of Spain. One of his lieutenants, Diego de Almagro, was placed in charge. He crossed the great nitrate desert and reached as far as Copiapó, where he was driven back by hostile Indians. He had reached a valley called by the natives Tchili, which signified in their language beautiful, and that name was given to the country. A few years later, in 1540, another expedition was fitted out under Captain Pedro de Valdivia, which was more successful. He marched as far as the present city of Santiago, and founded a city, which has ever since remained the capital. Although colonists came from Spain, little progress was made for a long time because of the hostility of the Araucanian Indians. These attacks continued until 1640, when a treaty was concluded with these indomitable natives by which the Bio-Bio River was established as the boundary, and both together were to resist the English and Dutch buccaneers, who had begun to harass the coast. Early in the nineteenth century the spirit of independence reached Chile, and insurrections against the Spanish authorities broke out.
On the 18th of September, 1810, the Spanish authorities were deposed and a provisional government was set up. Troops were poured in by Spain, and it was not until 1818, when the Spanish troops were defeated in the battle of Maipu by the Argentine general, San Martin, that freedom from the foreign yoke was secured. General Don Ambrosio O’Higgins, an Irish patriot who had greatly distinguished himself in the war for freedom, was chosen as the first President, and he introduced many reforms and endeavoured to ameliorate the condition of the natives. The Jesuit missionaries followed in the wake of the soldiers and began their work of converting the natives. Since that time there has been considerable internal struggle between rival political factions, and some foreign troubles. There was a brief war with Spain, a frightful conflict with the neighbouring republic of Peru, and disagreements with Bolivia and Argentina. A few years ago war with the latter country seemed inevitable over the international boundary, but wise counsels prevailed and the matter was successfully arbitrated. At the present time peace prevails, although there are continual mutterings in Peru, and that country only needs a hot-headed leader to bring about another war with Chile over the lost revenue from the nitrate fields.
The Chileans are a brave and a courageous people. The natural boundaries have no doubt aided in developing a national spirit and love of independence. Truly no people in South America have fought so long and so hard to achieve national independence. The Araucanian mixture has brought virility and industry into the race—a far different element than the Inca blood farther north. These Yankees of the South American continent have accomplished much, and there is still greater promise for the future.
CHAPTER II
THE WEST COAST
Cruising along the west coast of South America is a delightful experience. It is the perfection of ocean travel. One is always sure of fine weather, for it neither rains nor blows, and the swell is seldom strong enough to make even the susceptible person seasick. In defiance of our idea of geography the sailors speak of going “up” the coast, when bound towards the south. The boats along this coast are built for fair weather and tropical seas. They have their cabins opening seaward, and the decks reach down almost to the water’s edge. Some swing hammocks and sleep on deck, and it is very comfortable. Such vessels would not be adapted for the stormy Atlantic, and would not live long in a storm upon the Caribbean Sea. Sailors say that the wind is never strong enough to “ruffle the fur on a cat’s back,” and this immense stretch of sea might be likened unto a great mill pond. It is this part of the ocean, between the Isthmus and Peru, that suggested to the Spaniards the name of Pacific.