But he was to attain more notoriety in a less useful struggle. The perennial source of discord--the Provinces against Buenos Aires or the Federalists against the Unitarians--which ought to have been settled on the downfall of Rosas, was once more to convulse the Republic. Avellaneda, who was favourable to the Provinces, was determined to choose his successor, and the opposition candidate was Dr. Tejedor, who had the support of Mitre. Roca was the nominee of the outgoing President. The situation rapidly became strained, and in June and July, 1880, the partisans of either side took up arms and there was considerable bloodshed in Buenos Aires. The advantage rested with Roca's party; the Porteños were compelled to ask for terms of peace, and at last the difficult constitutional question was settled. Without delay Buenos Aires was declared the Federal capital, and although the Porteños were nominally defeated, their principles triumphed in reality. The result was the establishment of a strong central Government, and this was of the happiest effect in consolidating the Confederacy and in binding together its hitherto disjointed members. * * * * * This was a time of great material prosperity. Other opportunities will be taken of dwelling on this subject; here it is sufficient to say that industry and commerce expanded very rapidly. There was a huge boom; men seemed to be growing rich rapidly; it was a period of inflation and the President's attempt to establish the currency on a gold basis was unpopular and unsuccessful. But under his rule, and with the assistance of the able Pellegrini, the credit of Argentina improved and a loan of £8,000,000 was negotiated. On the whole, Roca's administration did him credit, although undoubtedly he might have taken more advantage of the exceptionally favourable circumstances, and introduced sounder and more honest principles of administration. His successor, Dr. Juarez Celman, was a person of altogether inferior stamp. The fever for speculation grew rapidly, large additions were made to the national indebtedness, and the premium on gold doubled. The Government, as is usually the case with South American Governments, was below rather than above the public standard of conduct. Government, Provinces, and municipalities, led the way in wasteful expenditure, the inflation reached its height. The time of the inevitable crash drew near.