Church-State relations in nineteenth century Chile remained relatively calm when compared with tempestuous events occuring in Mexico during the War of the Reform. While tempers flared in both nations when the rights of the Church in a secular society were discussed, the problem was resolved in Chile without bloodshed or violence. The question of the economic power of the Church had already been settled by 1830, as the financial genius of the new Republic, Manuel Rengifo, urged that all lands that had been confiscated by Bernardo O’Higgins in 1824 be returned to the original owners. Despite a well-intentioned belief that Church ownership of land was smothering the economic development of the new nation, the expropriation of these lands failed to produce any dramatic change. While the Treasury received 226, 442 pesos for the sale and rental of these lands, the government was forced to spend 181,297 pesos from 1824 to 1830 in order to finance religious affairs and pay the congregations for the expropriation of their lands. After the Conservative victory at Lircay in 1830 the lands were returned to the Church, providing considerable relief for the heavily burdened state treasury. The minor importance of Church property to the Chilean economy was symbolized by the relative ease of the confiscation and return of the lands, while similar attempts in Mexico unleashed civil war.