etailed, were offered to
Lord Cochrane, and thus six months were wasted by Zenteno and his
associates in the Chilian senate. "The senate," said Lord Cochrane,
"was an anomaly in state government. It consisted of five members,
whose functions were to remain only during the first struggles of the
country for independence; but this body had now assumed a permanent
right to dictatorial control, whilst there was no appeal from their
arbitrary conduct, except to themselves. They arrogated the title
of 'Most Excellent,' whilst the Supreme Director was simply 'His
Excellency;' his position, though nominally head of the executive,
being really that of mouthpiece to the senate, which, assuming all
power, deprived the Executive Government of its legitimate influence,
so that no armament could be equipped, no public work undertaken,
no troops raised, and no taxes levied, except by the consent of this
irresponsible body. For such a clique the plain, simple good sense
of the Supreme Director was no match. He was led to believe that a
crooked policy was a necessary evil of government, and, as such a
policy was adverse to his own nature, he was the more easily induced
to surrender its administration to others who were free from his
conscientious principles." Those sentences explain the treatment to
which, now and afterwards, Lord Cochrane was subjected.

He was allowed, however, to do further excellent service to the nation
which had already begun to reward him with nothing but ingratitude. As
soon as the Chilian Government could turn from its spiteful exercise
to its proper duty of consolidating the independence of the insurgents
from Spanish dominion, it was resolved to despatch as strong a force
as could be raised for another and more formidable expedition to
Peru, whereby at the same time the Peruvians should be freed from the
tyranny by which they were still oppressed, and the Chilians should be
rid of the constant danger that they incurred from the presence of a
Spanish army in Lima, Callao, and other garrisons, ready to bear down
upon them again and again, as it had often done before. In 1819 Lord
Cochrane had vainly asked for a suitable land force with which to aid
his attack upon Callao. It was now resolved to organize a Liberating
Army, after the fashion of that with which Bolivar had nobly scoured
the northern districts of South America, and to place it under the
direction of General San Martin, in co-operation with whom Lor