(on 29 May 1879) he was appointed Ministério dos Negócios da Fazenda (English: Minister of Finances and Public Administration) to the Cortes on 1 June 1879, ultimately resigning from the Bank of Portugal. In the 19 October 1879 general elections, he was returned to his seat in Santarém, but later, accepted the seat in Montalegre during the 23rd Legislature. He held the finance portfolio until 23 March 1881, when the Regenerator Party, captained by António Rodrigues Sampaio assumed power. During his time as Ministro da Fazenda, Barros Gomes reformed taxation policies, as well as creating the Caixa Económica Portuguesa (a banking services corporation for the lower- to middle-classes) within the structure of the Caixa Geral de Depósitos (then the state savings bank). Generally, his policies were cautionary and technical, marked by reformist tendencies and he was able to keep the Portuguese finances in a state of relative equilibrium. Peer-of-the-Realm During the 25th Legislature, in the government of José Luciano de Castro, he was, once again, elected to the seat in Montalegre (6 March 1887). But, he was appointed Peer of the Realm by royal decree on 31 March, and did not begin the session. In the Chamber of Peers, Barros Gomes turned his attentions again to fiscal questions and public finances, but now with further attention placed on colonial matters and foreign affairs, and specifically the question of maintaining Portuguese sovereignty in Africa. In addition to reorganizing the customs-houses and established policies on industrial contributions, he defended the Treaty of Zaire (1885) and the creation of a District of Congo, in Angola. He sought to improve Portuguese administration in the colonies, especially in matters associated with natural resource extraction and the moral improvement of its population. Barro Gomes promoted the editing and sale of Portuguese pamphlets, in order to reduce the dependency on foreign publications, which were seen as contrary to the interests of Portugal. He was a defender of the Companhia de Moçambique and the maintenance of capital in the Mala Real Portuguesa in the hands of Portuguese, in order to eliminate the possibility of African links being lost to foreign merchants. Barros Gomes also opposed the alteration of the tobacco monopoly, a factor that would continue to spoil the Portuguese political system for decades to come, provoking the fall of many ministers and governments. British Ultimatum During the government of José Luciano de Castro, Barros Gomes assumed the