contributions, he caused a sensation for his knowledge and breadth of investigation: his discourse was important for launching a career that concentrated on fiscal matters and public finance, that would eventually place in the directorship at the Bank of Portugal. Although his tenure was short, he returned to office the following year for the district of Santarém in the 1870-71 Legislature. During this session, he sat on the 1870-71 Comissão da Fazenda (English: Finance Commission) and the 1870 Comissão dos Expostos (English: Oversight Commission), developing that policies that would serve him later during debates on the question of contributions to house rentals, the discussions on the national budget (1870), reports on fiscal reform, including the abolition of exemptions to financial institutions and the accounts of the Junta de Crédito Público. Also discussed by these commissions were the controversial loan of 18,000$00 contos de réis that the government wanted to complete in 1870. While member of parliament, he became involved in the management of the Sociedade das Casas de Asilo da Infância Desvalida de Lisboa (English: Society of Homes for the Asylum of Unprotected Infants of Lisbon), a charity that assisted abandoned children. He would continue to support the group throughout his life. Bank of Portugal In 1873 he was elected to the directorship of the Bank of Portugal, a position that he would retain (with a few interruptions) until 1898. By 1887, he had become President of directorate, holding the position during the monetary crisis of 1891 (as Vice-Governor of the institution). He returned to this position again in 1897. During his early tenure, he was pivotal in renegotiating the contracts between the Government and Bank (in 1874), while simultaneously council member in the Lisbon City Hall (where he participated in the finance department) and President of the Associação Comercial de Lisboa (English: Commercial Association of Lisbon). His report to the Bank of Portugal, during the 1876 banking crisis, was instrumental in clarifying the Bank's position and set a direction for resolving outstanding issues. Consequently, he was sent to Funchal during a similar commercial crisis on the island in order to consolidate the Bank of Portugal's interests within the local business bureaus. Party politics In 1876 he returned to politics under the Progressive Party banner, and was elected attorney to the Junta Geral of Lisbon. Later, when the Progressive Party was called on by the King to form a government