cried Marmol. They were necessary chains, for they bound the country together after the feudal dispersion, vanquished the resolvent forces of provincialism, and gave unity and strength to democracy. After Rosas, his political work, the confederation, survives in spite of the ambitions of Buenos-Ayres. A logical development confirms the ties that unite the provinces, grouping and organising all the national forces about the capital city. In eighty-six years, from the anarchy of 1820 to the glory of the Centenary, the Argentine has seen a transformation of race, of policy, of wealth, of culture, of history; Argentina is now a great Latin nation, which will soon possess the moral and intellectual hegemony of South America. [1] Carlos Octavio Bunge, in his remarkable book, _Nuestra America_, gives the struggle between the capital and the provinces a racial and economic character. He distinguishes three periods of evolution: from 1810 to 1816 the Creole half-breeds contend with the "Goths"; from 1816 to 1825 the rural masses rise against the rich middle classes of the provinces; from 1825 to 1830 Buenos-Ayres--the capital city, rich, and Creole--enters upon a conflict with the provincial cities--Indian or mestizo. [2] "As man I forgive you my prison and my chains, but as Argentine, those of my country--no!" {147} BOOK III _THE PRINCIPLE OF AUTHORITY IN MEXICO, CHILI, BRAZIL, AND PARAGUAY_ These republics have stood aside from the normal evolution of Venezuela, Peru, and Bolivia; they have known neither perpetual revolutions nor lasting anarchy. Social progress has been accomplished under the pressure of long-continued tutelage; the principle of authority has been a safeguard against disorder and licence. These are the more stable and less liberal peoples. In them liberty is not a spontaneous gift by charter, but something won from selfish oligarchies or tenacious despots. Such is the case in Mexico, Chili, Brazil, and Paraguay. {149} CHAPTER I MEXICO: THE TWO EMPIRES--THE DICTATORS The Emperor Iturbide--The conflicts between Federals and Unitarians--The Reformation--The foreign Emperor--The dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz--Material progress and servitude--The Yankee influence. In Mexico we find an alternation of revolutions and dictators. The principle of authority is supreme; it even gives rise to two empires and a permanent presidency; there has always been a well-organised monarchical party. Modern Mexico demonstrates the excellence of strong governments in a divided continent.