The domineering spirit of Santana gave rise to serious dissensions. He quarrelled with the clergy, which had been taking an active part in politics since the declaration of independence, forced the archbishop, under penalty of expulsion, to take the oath of allegiance to the constitution, and banished several priests. One of the reasons for his stand was perhaps the circumstance that Baez had sought to attract the church. For several years Santana had become jealous of the extension of Baez' influence and wrathful at the independent spirit displayed by his former protege. It soon became apparent that the retirement of Baez was equivalent to a fall from power. In July, 1853, Santana issued a proclamation in which he accused Baez of treason and of playing into the hands of the Haitians, and ordered his banishment. Baez fled from the country and answered with a fiery counter-appeal, justifying himself and accusing Santana of despotism, whereupon the breach between the two strong men was complete. Santana also quarrelled with Congress and banished or shot his principal adversaries. In 1854 a constitutional convention assembled to draft a constitution more to Santana's taste than the existing one. The presidential term was extended to six years and the office of vice-president was introduced, General Manuel de Regla Mota being elected to this office when General Felipe Alfau declined it. This constitution did not last six months, for before the end of the year Santana had it further restricted. Under fear of foreign complications Haiti had remained quiet for several years, but in 1855, when England and France were engaged in the Crimean war, the emperor Soulouque made a last determined effort to subjugate Santo Domingo. One army advanced by way of the south, another through the central valley; both captured the border towns and drove the Dominican outposts before them; and both were defeated on the same day, December 22, 1855, the southern army at Cambronal, near Neiba, by a Dominican force under General Sosa, and the other on the savanna of Santome, by a force under General Jose Maria Cabral. Not to be deterred, Soulouque rallied his men within Haitian territory, shot a few of his generals, and, believing all the Dominican forces collected in the south, marched north to invade the Cibao. Here he was met by another band of Dominicans at Sabana Larga and again defeated, retreating precipitately to his dominions. It was the last Haitian invasion, but Haiti did not formally recognize the independence of the Dominican Republic until 1874.