The Government has shown itself honourably desirous of resorting to arbitration for the settlement of its disputes and of encouraging the other Republics to do the same. In all external relations a dignified and conciliatory attitude is maintained and every effort is made to encourage foreigners to visit the country and settle, and the statesmen of the Republic are zealous to maintain the Republic in a reputation worthy of her great prospects in the eyes of other nations. It is in domestic politics that the outlook is unsatisfactory, and here it must be acknowledged that although Argentina, owing to her wealth and the energetic character of her inhabitants, does not appear to the world in the same deplorable light as several South American Republics almost habitually exhibit themselves, she is nevertheless an extremely ill-governed country. The subject of South American politics is a commonplace with all writers; the hot-blooded Creole, who for centuries had been subject to a paternal government, was altogether unfitted for Parliamentary institutions. It has been seen that Argentina, on the whole, shows a considerably better state of affairs in the nineteenth century than most of its neighbours, and had she not fallen under the malign influence of Rosas, the Plate District might have been the one bright spot in Latin America. But all the faults of inexperience, ignorance, and passion marred the political history, and the complaint ever is that the government is carried on in the interests of the official few at the expense of the hard-working many. The politics are almost entirely personal, and the parties have little discipline; the leaders are full of vague ideas of progress and the megalomania common in the politicians of a new country, and this lack of experience and capability appears very clearly in the finance. Congress is not really competent to consider the budget, and it is usually hurried through in a most unceremonious manner, and the vast increase of expenditure alarms the thoughtful men of the Republic. A recent work[65] on the general financial conditions says: "The increase of national expenditure is a constant, we might almost say fatal, fact, which reproduces itself year by year in the Argentine administration." It is true that a young country ought not to be criticised on the same principles as ancient, long-established States. It is necessary for the former rapidly to develop its resources and lay foundations upon which future generations may build, and such a process entails great public expense. But there is a conviction that economy and good administration are urgently needed, and that the future is being unduly mortgaged. Resentment at the growth of public burdens is very keen, and political strikes are becoming common. The temptation to squander public funds is almost irresistible, and as elsewhere, economy is unpopular and has utterly inadequate safeguards.