was no match; as, being himself above meanness, he was led to rely on the honesty of others from the uprightness of his own motives.  Though in every way disposed to believe, with Burke, that “what is morally wrong can never be politically right,” he was led to believe that a crooked policy was a necessary evil of Government; and as such a policy was adverse to his own nature, he was the more easily induced to surrender its administration to others who were free from his conscientious principles.

Of these the most unscrupulous was Zenteno, who, previous to the revolution, had been an attorney at Conception, and was a protege of General San Martin—­carrying with him into State Administration the practical cunning of his profession, with more than its usual proportion of chicanery.  As he was my bitter opponent, obstructing my plans for the interests of Chili in every possible way, it might ill become me to speak of him as I then felt, and to this day feel.  I will therefore adduce the opinion of Mrs. Graham, the first historian of the Republic, as to the estimation in which he was generally held:—­“Zenteno has read more than usual among his countrymen, and thinks that little much.  Like San Martin, he dignifies scepticism in religion, laxity of morals, and coldness of heart, if not cruelty, with the name of philosophy; and while he could shew creditable sensibility for the fate of a worm, would think the death or torture of a political opponent matter for congratulation.”  I was his political opponent, as wishing to uphold the authority of the Supreme Director, and hence, no doubt, his enmity to me; his influence even extending so far as to prevent the Supreme Director from visiting me whilst in Santiago, on the ground that such a course on his part would be undignified!

At this distance of time—­now that Chili is in possession of a Government acting on more enlightened principles—­there is no necessity for withholding these remarks, without which the subsequent acts of the Chilian Government towards me might be liable to misconstruction as to my representations of them.  So long as Chili was in a transition state from a corrupt and selfish Government to one acting in accordance with the true interests of the country, I forbore to make known these and other circumstances, which, having now become matters of history, need not any longer be withheld.

Writing in this spirit, I may mention a reason, notorious enough at the time, why the squadron was not paid even its wages.  The Government had provided the means, but those to whom the distribution was entrusted retained the money during their pleasure, employing it for their own advantage in trading speculations or in usury, only applying it to a legitimate purpose when further delay became dangerous to themselves.  One great cause of the hatred displayed towards me by these people, was my incessant demands that the claims of the squadron should be satisfied as regarded