went so far as to name some as ministers. The cabinet was plagued from the beginning by strong opposition from Conservative Party members who repudiated the newly adopted conservatives believing that these did not truly share the party's ideals and were mainly interested in gaining public offices. Despite the mistrust Carneiro Leão demonstrated great resilience in fending off threats and overcoming obstacles and setbacks. Improvements throughout the country were made including the first railroad, steamship passenger lines, sewers, and public gas illumination as well as new incentives to promote immigration from Europe. With the sudden and unexpected death of Carneiro Leão in September 1856, his cabinet would survive him by only a few months. The Emperor, a critic of the Conciliation as it had been implemented, learned to appreciate its merits and was eager to continue with it. Thus the cabinet survived Carneiro Leão, albeit with another president, until 4 May 1857. The traditional Conservatives who opposed the Conciliation policy were led by Joaquim José Rodrigues Torres, the Viscount of Itaboraí, Eusébio de Queirós and Paulino Soares de Sousa, the Viscount of Uruguay—the "Saquarema Triumvirate". The Conservative Party was also known as "Saquarema Party" due to the coastal town of Saquarema in Rio de Janeiro province where Rodrigues Torres owned coffee plantations. These elder-statesmen were of the same generation as the late Carneiro Leão and had assumed the leadership of the Conservative Party after his death. Although conservative in name, they had repeatedly proven more progressive than their Liberal rivals in many areas. A new party: the Progressist League During the years following 1857 none of the cabinets survived long. They had quickly collapsed due to the lack of a majority in the Chamber of Deputies. The Conservative Party had split down the middle: on one side were the Traditionalists and on the other the Conciliators (who by 1860 were called simply "moderate conservatives"). The true reason for the schism was not the Conciliation policy as the speeches made it appear. In the wake of Carneiro Leão's cabinet a new generation of politicians had emerged eager to acquire more power inside the Conservative Party. These saw their path to the top ranks as being blocked by the conservative elders who would not easily relinquish control. Remaining members of the Liberal Party, which had languished since the Praieira rebellion in 1849, took advantage of the Conservative Party's apparent dissolution to return