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264 A HISTORY OF CHILE ernment, such as the tobacco estanco, and other radical measures. The moderate liberals were not in favor of Mackenna and a split in the party seemed imminent. To avoid this, liberals and radicals called a convention of nota- bles and sought to harmonize their diverse interests and opinions and agree upon a candidate. When the convention met it was found that sentiment was pretty equally divided between Don Anibal Pinto and Don Miguel Luis Amunategui, while Mackenna and his friends refused to recognize the convention and sought to turn popular opinion against the convention and its attempt. This caused the first effort in naming a can- didate in convention to be a failure. But another was soon made; about one thousand leading citizens as- sembled at Santiago and a vote being cast, Pinto received the majority and was recognized as the candi- date without further opposition. In politics he was a liberal ; he had been intendente of Concepcion and minister of war and marine under Errazuriz. Pinto was favored by Errazuriz, and his election was, therefore, assured. As this was a foregone conclusion, as soon as the government had indicated its choice, the elections passed off quietly, the opposition simply refraining from voting. The undercurrent of liberalism and reform had set in, and no sooner had the discus- sions of the religious questions relating to the ceme- teries begun than the radical liberals joined Pinto, even those who had been before pledged to the support of Mackenna, finding the new president in full sym- pathy with them. President-elect Pinto was inaugurated September i8th, 1876, and immediately selected the following cabinet : Interior, Don Jos6 V. Lastarria ; foreign af- fairs, Don Jos6 Alfonso ; finance, Don Rafael Sotomayor ;