twenty-two years exile, at the head of a victorious army. Having been unanimously elected Governor of the province, he devoted for two years and a-half all his energy and ability to the moral and material progress of his native province, and had the glory of bringing to a successful issue the diflicult campaign against the great «caudillo» of the west, General Peñaloza, commonly called the Chacho. In April 1864, at the entreaty of President Mitre, he consented to go as Minister Plenipotentiary to Washington. During a residence of four years in the United States he became imbued with the progressive ideas of Americans, especially admiring their system of popular education. In August 1868, he was elected President of the Argentine Republic, for the usual term of six years, the voting being as follows:

Adolfo Alsina was born in Buenos Ayres on the 13th of February 1829. His father having been driven into exile to Montevideo, young Adolfo began there his studies. In 1852 he came back to Buenos Ayres with his father, and continued his studies in the Buenos Ayres University, where he received his degree of Doctor of Laws. He took up arms in 1852, and shortly afterwards was made captain, and during the siege of 1853 commanded an important «canton,» where he distinguished himself for great bravery. He took an active part in political life, as member of the Club Libertad, and made himself notable by his energy and eloquence. Cepeda found him promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and on that day he earned great praise for military tact and courage displayed amidst adversity. He was present at Pavon, where he commanded a battalion of National Guards. After a journey to Europe, in 1866, the influence he held in the Club Libertad secured his election as Governor of Buenos Ayres, from which post he has been raised to the Vice-Presidency. He is of a jovial character, and very popular among his friends. To all the fine qualities of his father, the much-respected Dr. V. Alsina, he adds an energy of character which is

rarely met with among our public men, and which he inherits from his mother, Doña A. Maza, daughter of Dr. Manuel Vicente Maza, who took a busy part in public affairs during the time of Rosas, and whose tragic end is notoriotis. His administration as Governor of Buenos Ayres was remarkable for two important measures, either of which is sufficient to throw over it a lustre of imperishable glory: they are the foundation of the Oficina de Cambios, for fixing the value of the currency, and the city water-works.

GENERAL MITRE, EX-PRESIDENT.

Brigadier-General Bartolomé Mitre, the late President of the Republic, is a native of Buenos Ayres. He commenced his career as cadet of artillery in Montevideo in 1839, rose to the rank of captain fighting against the armies of Oribe and Urquiza until 1845, when he left for Chile, where he was appointed Colonel and fought against Bolivia, commanding a field battery; after the war he edited several papers, and came in 1852 commanding the Oriental artillery of the allied army against Rosas, in Caseros. Was elected deputy to the local legislature, which, having made strong opposition to the Government, was forcibly dissolved, and he with several others went into exile. He was recalled after the revolution of 1852, appointed commander of the forces in Buenos Ayres in the siege of 1853, and was made Minister of War; was promoted to the rank of General in 1859, and commanded the army of Buenos Ayres at the battle of Cepeda, which he lost. Was elected Governor of the Province in 1860, promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General, and won the battle of Pavon against the army of the Confederation, after which he pacified the country, and was unanimously elected President, in October 1862. During his administration Buenos Ayres made great progress in industry, commerce, and public enterprises. The Cordoba railway, electric telegraph, and other notable works are associated with this period; but it is also true that the state of the Upper Provinces was deplorable, the Indians devastating the frontiers with impunity. But for the war with Paraguay, the Argentine Republic must have advanced with rapid strides in all the arts of peace. General Mitre always evinced great friendship for Englishmen, and is an admirer of our literature, having translated some of Longfellow's poems. He stands high as a Spanish writer, for his life of General Belgrano, and is a member of several European literary associations. On the conclusion of his term of office, October 12th 1868, his friends and admirers purchased a house for him. He is fond of playing chess, and is a thorough republican in sentiment.

Justo José de Urquiza, Captain-General, ex-President, and Governor of Entre-Rios, was born near Concepcion about the beginning of the present century. He began life behind a draper's counter, but soon took to a military career, in which he was eminently successful. He expelled Rosas in 1852, was elected President, gave a Constitution to the Republic, threw open the rivers to the flags of all nations, and restored order in the upper provinces. In 1859 he obliged Buenos Ayres to re-enter the Argentine Confederation, but was defeated by General Mitre in 1861. Since then he has lived in retirement at his princely estancia of San José, near Concepcion, where he treats all visitors, especially Englishmen, with the warmest hospitality. His cattle and sheep-farms are as large as some of the smaller European monarchies, and give him a splendid income. He encourages immigration, railways, &c., and has subscribed £20,000 to the Central Argentine Company. He was again elected Governor of Entre Rios in 1867, and was next after Sarmiento in the list of candidates for the Presidency. His last service to the Republic was the pacification of Corrientes, in union with the veteran diplomatist, Dr. Velez Sarsfield.

THE ARCHBISHOP OF BUENOS AYRES.

His Grace, Dr. José Maria Bustillos y Zeballos de Escalada, is descended cf an old Spanish family, and was born in this city, A.D. 1800. He was raised to the episcopal dignity as co-adjutor to the late Bishop Medrano, under the title 'Bishop of Aulon, in partibus.' In 1854 a Papal bull created him Bishop of Buenos Ayres, and in 1866 the see was elevated to an Archbishopric. Dr. Escalada is a man of portly and patriarchal appearance, and is much esteemed for his unassuming manners. His palace, in the Plaza Victoria, adjacent to the Cathedral, was erected for him by the State, in 1861. He has a secretary, a chaplain, and three clerks for the despatch of business. His salary is about £1,000 a year. Out of his private fortune he has built a chapel near the English cemetery, connected with the diocesan clerical college.

GOVERNOR CASTRO.

Emilio Castro, Governor of the Province of Buenos Ayres, is a native of this city, and about fifty years of age. He has rendered long and varied services in many public capacities, and enjoys general confidence. In 1859 he was Chief of Police; in 1861 as commander of a battalion of National Guards he saw some military service: Being elected Senator in the Provincial Legislature, he held his seat in the Chamber till chosen its President.

Under the last administration he filled the office of Government Inspector of Railways. On the elevation of Governor Alsina to the Vice-Presidency of the Republic, Mr. Castro, as President of the Senate, became Governor ex-officio. Having been educated in Scotland, he has strong sympathies for everything English, and is of course conversant with our language.

DR. SARSFIELD, PRIME-MINISTER.

Dalmacio Velez Sarsfield was born in Cordova about the beginning of the present century, and received his education in the university of that city. He has long been reputed the first jurisconsult in the country, and his Civil Code, compiled at the request of Congress, is just published. During various administrations he held office successively, and his name is associated with Bank-reform and other important measures. In the last Congress he sat as Senator for his native province. The new President on assuming office gave him the direction of the Cabinet as Minister of Interior. Dr. Sarsfield claims to be descended from a distinguished Irish family: he is well read in the judicial literature of England and North America, and his name is not unknown in high legal circles in Germany. He is an able speaker and writer.

DR. VARELA, FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

Mariano Varela, Minister for Foreign Affairs, is son of the late Florencio Varela, a distinguished writer, who was assassinated in Montevideo by order of General Oribe, on account of his writings in the Comercio del Plata. The brothers Hector and Mariano Varela served their time as printers in Rio Janeyro; after the fall of Rosas they came to Buenos Ayres and established the Tribuna newspaper, which soon acquired the foremost place in the press of these countries. Dr. Varela distinguished himself no less in Congress than as a journalist, and entered the Ministerial career under Governor Alsina, as Minister of Finance for the Province of Buenos Ayres. The foreign merchants presented him with a gold medal for his labors in establishing a fixed currency. He has taken a diploma as Doctor of Laws, and is a good English scholar. He is only thirty-two years of age.

SR. GOROSTIAGA, FINANCE.

Benjamin Gorostiaga, even before his appointment to the portfolio of Finance, was favorably known as a political economist, having gained an early reputation under the old regime at Paraná. During his parliamentary career in the Congress convened by General Mitre, he was always remarkable for his clearness of views, and his mastery of statistical returns. He is about sixty years of age, and has a fine estancia near Chivilcoy.

THE NATIONAL MINISTERS.

DR. AVELLANEDA,

INSTRUCTION.

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Nicolas Avellaneda is the son of a respectable citizen of Tucuman, who was Governor of that Province, until beheaded by Rosas. He was educated in Cordova, and came to Buenos Ayres in 1857 to study law. He had scarcely attained his 20th year when he was employed as editor of the Nacional, and named professor of civil law at the University. His work on Public Lands, in 1865, attracted favorable notice, and Governor Alsina appointed him Minister of Government for Buenos Ayres. His practise as a lawyer was considerable until he embraced political life. His views on popular education are as advanced as those of President Sarmiento. He is conversant with French and Latin classics, and is studying English. He is only thirty years of age, and is a better writer than orator.

COLONEL GAINZA, WAR AND MARINE.

Martin Gainza spent his early years in Montevideo. His father was a Colonel under Lavalle, and fought in all the campaigns against Rosas, from 1840 till the fall of the tyrant in 1852. The subject of our notice first distinguished himself as a cavalry officer in the civil wars and the Indian frontier service. He owns large estancias near Zarate, and was for some years Commander-in-chief of the National Guards of the Province. He served under the last administration as Inspector of Arms, and was subsequently a candidate for the post of Governor on the termination of Governor Saavedra's period of office.

GENERAL GELLY-OBES.

John Andrew Gelly-Obes, Brigadier-General and Commander-in-Chief of the Argentine army, is said to be a native either of Buenos Ayres or the Banda Oriental, although the family appears of Paraguayan descent. His father was.for a time Prime-Minister to the first Lopez (1852) in Paraguay, and when the young Lopez, since President, was sent to Europe on a diplomatic mission near the courts of St. James and the Tuilleries, Mr. Gelly-Obes, senior, accompanied him. The subject of our notice was commander of the Argentine Legion in the defence of Montevideo (1842-51), and subsequently Secretary in the War-office. During the campaign of Cepeda, 1859, he abandoned, for a time, his profession of auctioneer, to assume the command of the National Guards of Buenos Ayres. In 1861 he was made a Major-General, and gave up business. He aided General Flores in the invasion of Banda Oriental, in 1863, and, on the outbreak of the Paraguayan war, was removed from the portfolio of War and Marine, to act as Chief-of-staff to General Mitre. He has since seen some active service in the campaign of Paraguay.

K