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118 be obtained by confiscations. All the civilizing reforms of the revolutionary epoch were abolished, and the old monopolies were re-established. The most distinguished patriots were exiled to the island of Juan Fernandez; all the native inhabitants were classified as "suspects," and many were murdered in the prisons by the soldiery. A new spirit of patriotism was engendered by misery and despair. Spaniards again became a privileged class, they occupied all the public offices, they alone were allowed to carry arms, their testimony only was received in the courts. Every native Chilian had to be in his own house at nine o'clock at night, and could not travel even the shortest distance without a permit. Fights between the soldiery and the "rotos," as the men of the labouring class are called, were of daily occurrence. Many men of the Talavera regiment, which was particularly obnoxious, were murdered by the populace. Even the Chilian troops, which had done such good service under Sanchez and other leaders, were most thanklessly treated. Commissions won by their officers on the field of battle were not recognised, their pay was scanty, and the pensions of their widows were not paid at all.

At the commencement of 1815 Osorio had 5,000 men, perfectly armed and equipped, under his orders. His instructions were, as soon as he had pacified the country, to cross the Andes with 3,000 men, and to act in Cuyo and Cordoba in combination with Pezuela. Abascal had the converse of the same idea, which was later on carried out by San Martin. Small bodies of armed men had frequently crossed the Andes, but it is not the number of the troops employed, nor the power of the peoples in conflict, which constitutes the fame of such achievements; that fame lies in their motives and results. In this lay the importance of the passage of the Alps by Hannibal and by Napoleon; and the passage of the Andes by San Martin and by Bolívar, are famous as parts of a great scheme for the emancipation of a continent. Osorio was not the man