In November 1860 this constitution was reformed, improvements were introduced, and some of its more absurd and injurious provisions were repealed. Capital punishment for the crime of murder was again enacted. The Congress was to meet every two years on the 28th of July; a third of their number to be renewed every two years; and, during the recess, a permanent committee of the Congress, consisting of seven senators and eight deputies, to be elected at the end of each session, was to watch the execution of acts passed by the Congress, and to exercise its functions. A great improvement was also adopted in the constitution of the Senate. The members of that body are to be elected by the Departments, each one electing a certain number according to the number of its provinces, and the qualification of a senator is raised to 1000 dollars a-year. Thus there is now an intelligible difference between the two chambers, and, in the formation of the Senate, one of the few good points of the constitution of the United States has been wisely adopted. The executive power is in the hands of a President and two Vice-Presidents elected for four years, and a council of ministers. Finally the mischievous _Juntas Departmentales_, which I believe had never been allowed to meet, were abolished, while the municipal institutions of the constitution of 1856, which could only be productive of good, remained in full force. Such is the present form of government in Peru, perhaps as good a one as the country is fit for, and capable, in firm and honest hands, of meeting all the present requirements of the people; but it is of more importance to know in whose hands the government of the country is placed, and what manner of men are intrusted with the destinies of a country so rich in memories of the past, as well as in material resources; a young republic still bleeding at every pore from a series of civil wars, yet with a growing desire to struggle up, through shame and misfortune, to a respectable place among the nations. I will give a few hasty sketches of the men who formed the executive power during my stay at Lima in 1860.