The successful conclusion of the war with Peru and Bolivia began a new era in Chile. The control of the nitrate fields meant an immense revenue for the government, and everyone wanted a chance to reap some profit. Politics absorbed the public attention, and the holding of office became the most popular occupation. Material prosperity followed. The Chileans believed themselves invincible on land and sea. With outside troubles settled for the time being internal dissensions arose, and the fight between the clergy and the anti-clericals broke out with renewed energy. The time seemed ripe for the settlement of disturbing questions arising out of the union of church and state. A new presidential election became necessary soon after the capture of Lima, and while the victorious troops were still in possession of that city. Through the influence of President Pinto, Don Domingo Santa Maria (which, in English, means Sunday Saint Mary) was chosen as his successor. The opposition tried to centre on General Baquedano, the popular hero of the recent war, but the prestige of the government was too powerful. He was a liberal and had been banished for his opinions by President Montt. The conservatives by this time were in a great minority. Santa Maria was bitterly opposed to clerical influence in political affairs, and this led to bitter opposition from that quarter. The President proclaimed that the time had come for absolute liberty of conscience, civil marriage and the secularization of the cemeteries. Heretofore the priests alone had charge of the registers of births, deaths and marriages, were alone able to perform marriages, and in the cemeteries only those baptized into the Roman Catholic church were permitted interment in consecrated ground. All other political questions were held in abeyance during this controversy, and feeling became intense. The President was obliged to use all his official prestige in order to secure a majority in Congress, but he succeeded in passing a law requiring civil marriage, freeing the cemeteries and establishing a special official for the registration of births, deaths and marriages. These were, indeed, valuable reforms, and reflect credit on the administration of Santa Maria. Serious disorders resulted as the 1886 election approached, in which several persons lost their lives. Several men had the presidential bee in their bonnets and were backed by an active following. Nevertheless, in spite of all opposition, Santa Maria’s chief cabinet officer, and the man who had been most active in carrying out his program, Balmaceda, was chosen to succeed his chief, through the active aid of the administration and its official influence.