The authoritative Constitution which he promulgated is analogous to the Chilian statute of 1883. The President was re-eligible; his mandate was for ten years; he could govern for a third period after his immediate successor. The government was at {220} the head of the army, and appointed all provincial authorities; political rebellion was punished as high treason. The legislative term was six years for deputies and nine for senators. Garcia-Moreno strictly observed this new law; he made war upon revolutionaries, and condemned the leaders of revolts and conspiracies to death. Internal order re-established, he commenced a series of vast reforms in the national finances, in public education, and in legislation; he opened schools, re-established the death penalty, sent officers to Prussia to follow the military manoeuvres, reorganised the school of medicine, founded an astronomical observatory, and attracted German Jesuits who were to teach physics and chemistry. He proved himself a potent organiser: "Twenty-five years are needed," he said, "to establish my system." Re-elected in 1875, he was quickly overthrown by his enemies. He resisted to the death; the dagger of an enemy struck him down in the mournful solitude of the _plaza_ of Quito, and he fell near the cathedral in which he had worshipped. A long silence, a time of deep mourning, followed the death of the _caudillo_; he was named a second Gregory the Great, the regenerator of his country, the martyr of Catholic civilisation. Indefatigable, stoical, just, strong in decision, admirably logical in his life, Garcia-Moreno was one of the greatest personalities of American history. He was no tyrant without doctrines, like Guzman-Blanco or Porfirio Diaz. In fifteen years (1859-74) he completely transformed his little country according to a vast political system which only death prevented him from realising. A mystic of the Spanish type, he was not content with sterile contemplation; he needed action; he was an organiser and a creator.