The fight in Peru was won in the secret councils of the patriotic party before the opposing forces met on the battlefield. When the standard of the Liberating Army was unfurled on the plain of Ayacucho, it mattered little that the royalist strength doubled that of the patriots, and that the viceroy himself appeared in the field, his silver helmet glistening at the head of his troops; the spirit of the warrior prepared for glorious victory or sublime sacrifice which animated every soldier of the republican army was not apparent in the royalist ranks; the officers in command of the king’s forces were discontented because they were obliged to obey a foreign leader, General Canterac being a Frenchman of haughty manners and exacting discipline; the Indians were all patriots at heart and had been pressed into the royal service against their will: a presentiment of defeat had spread through the viceroy’s camp the night before the battle, in spite of the royalists’ superior numbers, and there was none of the exaltation which carried their opponents into the combat with the exuberant confidence expressed in the order: “Forward, with the step of victory!” The glad news of the final triumph of the patriotic cause was carried rapidly to every part of the country, and the joy of the people found expression in enthusiastic demonstrations of all kinds. In every city and town, religious services were held to render thanks to God for the success which had crowned the efforts of the nation to establish its freedom. The Liberator Bolivar was proclaimed by Congress president of the new republic for life, and the Colombian troops were voted a magnificent reward for their services in behalf of the independence of Peru. Henceforth the country that had been held most strictly under the bondage of Spanish conditions and customs was to be governed by its own people, in harmony with the principles for which its patriots had so courageously contended, and according to laws formulated and decreed on the responsibility of its own constituted authorities. In the days of the viceroyalty the colonial offices of importance had been filled chiefly by Spaniards, the natives of the colony thus having had little opportunity to learn administrative methods. They were now to undertake the organization of a system of government which was not only unfamiliar to them, but which, considering the national temperament and traditions, it would be impossible to establish without overcoming tremendous obstacles.