The Governments of Europe Part 54

[Footnote 878: Arts. 75-77. Ibid., II., 162-164.]

*703. The Cortes.*--Powers of a legislative character were vested in the sovereign conjointly with a parliament of two chambers, the _Camara dos Pares_, or House of Peers, and the _Camara dos Deputados_, or House of Deputies. Collectively, the two houses were known as the _Cortes Feraes_, or, more briefly, the Cortes. Until 1885 the House of Peers consisted of members of two cla.s.ses, those who sat by (p. 637) hereditary right and those who were nominated by the crown for life.

By the const.i.tutional amendment of July 24, 1885, hereditary peerages were put in the way of gradual abolition and it was stipulated that when they should have been extinguished the chamber should be composed of princes of the royal blood, the archbishops and bishops of Portugal proper, 100 members appointed by the king for life, and 50 members elected every new parliament by the lower chamber. By amendment of September 25, 1895, however, the 50 elective peerages were abolished and the number of royal appointees was reduced to 90. In 1910, therefore, the chamber was made up of (1) princes of the royal blood who had attained the age of twenty-five; (2) surviving peers whose hereditary right antedated 1885, together with their immediate successors; (3) the Patriarch of Lisbon and the archbishops and bishops of the continental territory of the kingdom; and (4) the 90 life peers nominated by the crown. In the nomination of peers the crown was restricted only by the requirement that members must have attained the age of forty and must be able to meet a considerable property qualification.

The House of Deputies, as regulated by the law of August 8, 1901, was composed of 155 members, of whom 148 represented the 26 electoral circles of Portugal, the Azores, and Madeira,[879] and 7 represented the colonies. By amendment of 1885 provision was made for the representation of minorities, and of the 155 members in 1910, 35 sat as minority representatives. This result was attained through an arrangement whereby in circles which elected more than one deputy each elector voted for one or two fewer than the number of seats to be filled. Deputies were chosen by direct election, and in the choice all male citizens twenty-one years of age were ent.i.tled to partic.i.p.ate, provided they paid taxes aggregating 500 _reis_ (about 56 cents) annually or were able to read and write. Convicts, beggars, bankrupts, domestic servants, workingmen permanently employed by the state, and soldiers and sailors below the rank of commissioned officer were disqualified. In point of fact, the prevalence of poverty and of illiteracy operated to confine the franchise within very narrow limits. Peers, naturalized aliens, persons not qualified to vote, and certain employees of the state were ineligible for election, and deputies were required to possess an income of not less than 400 milreis ($425) annually, or to be graduates of a professional, secondary, or higher school. After 1892 no deputies, save those representing the colonies, were paid salaries.

[Footnote 879: The Azores and Madeira are regarded as integral parts of the nation.]

Sessions of the Cortes were required to be opened by the crown on (p. 638) the second day of January of each year. According to the amendment of July 24, 1885, a regular session lasted three months and each Cortes, unless sooner dissolved, lasted three years. The president and vice-president of the House of Peers were appointed by the crown; likewise the corresponding officials of the House of Deputies, from a list of five nominees presented by that body. Each chamber was authorized to choose its own secretaries, to pa.s.s upon the qualifications of its members, and to frame its rules of procedure. Except at times when the welfare of the state demanded secrecy, sessions were required to be public. To the lower chamber was committed the initiative in all matters pertaining to taxation, the recruiting of troops, the investigation of the administrative offices, and the consideration of propositions submitted by the executive. Upon it, likewise, was conferred exclusive power to impeach ministers and councillors of state. The right to initiate measures in general was vested in each of the two houses, as well as in the Government. Ministers were privileged to attend legislative sessions and to partic.i.p.ate in debate. It was required that the sovereign should give or refuse his approval of every measure within a month after it should have been presented to him.[880]

[Footnote 880: Arts. 45-62. Dodd, Modern Const.i.tutions, II., 156-159.]

*704. The Judiciary and Local Government.*--The judicial hierarchy consisted of 193 courts of first instance, one in each of an equal number of _comarcas_, or districts; three courts of appeal, sitting at Lisbon, Oporto, and Ponta Delgada (in the Azores); and a Supreme Court at Lisbon. Judges were appointed by the crown, and were irremovable save in consequence of judicial sentence. In the trial of criminal cases the English jury system was in vogue, although it operated but indifferently. The functions of the Supreme Court were those of hearing appeals from the inferior tribunals, trying cases involving judges of the appellate courts and members of the diplomatic corps, and deciding conflicts of jurisdiction.[881]

[Footnote 881: Arts. 118-131. Ibid., II., 169-171.]

Early in the nineteenth century continental Portugal was divided for administrative purposes into six provinces, delimited in a large measure in accordance with the physical configuration of the country.

In 1836 the province ceased to be an administrative unit and, after a period of readjustment, there was established by law of March 18, 1842, an administrative hierarchy which in its more important aspects has survived to the present day. Under that measure the realm was divided into 21 districts (17 continental and 4 insular), 292 _concelhos_, or communes (263 continental and 29 insular), and 3,690 _freguezias_, or parishes (3,788 continental and 172 insular). (p. 639) Until 1910 the government of the district was vested in a commission consisting of two members appointed by the central authorities and three elected triennially by delegates from the communal councils. Of the two centrally appointed members, one, the governor, presided over the commission; the other was an administrative auditor. Among the functions of the commission was that of sitting as an administrative court. The commune was governed by a mayor, appointed by the central authorities on nomination of the governor of the district, and a council of five to fifteen members elected on a single ticket by the communal voters. The council was presided over, not by the mayor, but by one of its own members. The governing agencies of the parish were an elected council (_junta de parochia_), presided over by the parish priest, and the _regidor_, named by the district governor to represent the interests of the central government. Throughout the entire system the preponderating fact was the thoroughgoing centralization which, through the governors, mayors, and _regadores_, the authorities at Lisbon were able to maintain.

III. THE REVOLUTION OF 1910

*705. Political Unsettlement, 1908-1910.*--The period of two and a half years which elapsed between the accession of Manoel II., in February, 1908, and his deposition, in October, 1910, was one of continued political stress. The sovereign was youthful, inexperienced, and lacking in political training. His advisers were divided in their counsels and impelled largely by selfish motives, and in the teeth of rapidly spreading republican and socialist propaganda the old dynastic parties kept up unremittingly their unseemly recriminations. In February, 1909, the king called into consultation the leaders of the various monarchist groups and sought to impress upon them the necessity of co-operation, and when the Cortes was convened, March 1, the Speech from the Throne announced optimistically a programme of constructive legislation, embracing, among other things, the enactment of more liberal press laws, a reform of primary education, and a readjustment of taxation. Within the Cortes, however, it was found impossible to carry any one of the measures proposed and, March 29, the Henriquez ministry, after only three months in office, resigned.

During the remainder of the year three successive ministries were set up: that of General Sebastiano Telles, which lasted only from April 11 until May 4; that of Wencelao de Lima, extending from May 4 to December 21; and that of Beirao, which continued from December 21 to early June of the following year. The De Lima cabinet was formed from elements which stood largely outside the swirl of party politics, (p. 640) but the Republican and Regenerador opposition was so intense that nothing could be accomplished by it. The Beirao government by which it was succeeded was composed entirely of Progressives. The Speech from the Throne at the convening of the Cortes, January 2, 1910, ignored completely the grim realities of the political situation. Ostensibly to afford the Beirao ministry an opportunity to formulate a programme, the session was adjourned until March 3, at which time the members rea.s.sembled, only to be sent back again to their homes until June 1.

At the second rea.s.sembling the ministry was opposed with such virulence that it at once retired and, after some delay, the Regeneradors came into power under Teixeira de Sousa. The Cortes was dissolved and a national election, accompanied by grave disorders, was held, August 28. At the election the Regeneradors obtained 80 seats, the Progressives 43, the Republicans 14 (twice as many as they had ever obtained before), and the Independents 2.[882] The new Cortes a.s.sembled September 23; but two days later it was adjourned until December 12, and, in point of fact, it never sat again.

[Footnote 882: Ten of the fourteen Republican deputies were elected in Lisbon. The popular vote in that city was: Republicans, 15,104; Monarchists of all parties, 9,108. In 1908 the numbers were 13,074 and 10,982 respectively.]

*706. Overthrow of the Monarchy.*--During many months a plot had been ripening in Republican circles looking toward the deposition of the king, the overthrow of the monarchy, and the proclamation of a republic. By reason of the confusion and repression which prevailed perennially in Portuguese politics, the actual strength, numerically and otherwise, of republicanism in the kingdom in 1910 cannot be known. But it is sufficiently clear that the propaganda of the past thirty years had borne much fruit and that among the artisan, trader, and small burgher cla.s.ses, and especially in the ranks of the army and the navy, the enemies of the monarchy had come to be numerous and influential. The leaders of the republican movement represented, on the whole, the best educated and most progressive elements of the country--largely lawyers, physicians, journalists and other men of the professions and of business. In the later summer of 1910 various intimations of a far-reaching revolutionary plot were received by the Government and the date (September 14) which was at one time fixed for the insurrection proved an impracticable one because the authorities became aware of the project and subverted the republican plans by ordering the warships on that day to quit the Tagus. Within official circles it was generally a.s.sumed that the revolutionists, balked once, would return to the project. The crash came, however, at a moment (p. 641) when the Government was entirely off its guard, and its effects were unexpectedly summary. The immediate incident by which it was precipitated was the a.s.sa.s.sination in Lisbon, October 3, of a distinguished Republican member of the Cortes, Dr. Miguel Bombarda.

Whether justly or not, the a.s.sa.s.sination was interpreted by the populace as a political crime, and to the disaffected elements of the army and navy the occasion seemed ripe for the execution of the contemplated _coup_. October 4 open revolt broke out among the national troops, and during the ensuing forty-eight hours a handful of soldiers and sailors, aided by armed civilians, acquired the mastery of the capital, put the king to flight, won over the country to their cause, and proclaimed the establishment of a republican form of government. The revolutionists were organized, the royalists were not, and the defeat of the latter was complete. It was also substantially bloodless. King Manoel, and the queen-mother Amelia, contriving an escape from the royal palace, made their way to Eraceira, and thence to Gibraltar. Subsequently they were conveyed to England.

*707. Measures of the Provisional Government.*--Meanwhile, October 5, there was established at Lisbon a provisional government composed of nine ministers and presided over by the scholar and litterateur, Theophile Braga. The members of this government were drawn princ.i.p.ally from the group of Republican deputies representing the Lisbon const.i.tuencies. A few had held high office under the monarchy, but most of them, including Braga, were men of little or no experience in administrative work. The flight of the king and the collapse of the monarchist cause cleared the way for a speedy establishment of the new order, and without awaiting a formal remodelling of the const.i.tution, the Braga government proceeded to carry into execution a number of features of the Republican programme. October 7 it promised amnesty to political and press exiles, the revocation of various illiberal press and judicial laws, the suppression of summary magisterial powers, and a long list of other administrative and judicial reforms. October 18 it abolished the monarchy and proscribed forever the royal house of Braganza. On the same day it abolished likewise the Council of State and the House of Peers, together with all hereditary t.i.tles and privileges. In the course of further measures of reform relating to public finance, agriculture, education, religion, and social welfare, it issued a new electoral law and effected arrangements for the convening of a national a.s.sembly to which should be committed the task of framing a republican const.i.tution. The electoral decree of March 15, 1911, conferred the franchise upon all Portuguese citizens of the age of twenty-one who under the monarchy were ent.i.tled to its exercise, and upon all, in addition, who were able to read and (p. 642) write, barring soldiers, bankrupts, and ex-convicts. The two cities, Lisbon, and Oporto, were created electoral districts in each of which eight members were to be chosen by _scrutin de liste_ after the Belgian, or d'Hondt, plan of proportional representation, and the remainder of the country (including the colonies) was divided into districts in each of which four members were to be chosen, also with provision for the representation of minorities.

*708. The Const.i.tution Framed and the Government Organized.*--The elections to the Const.i.tuent a.s.sembly took place May 28, 1911. There were no monarchist candidates and, there having been neither time nor occasion for the appearance of serious differences among the Republicans, the event was attended by little excitement and by no disorder. In many districts the candidates approved by the Provisional Government were unopposed. The a.s.sembly was convened June 19. By unanimous vote of its 192 members the decree by which the monarchy had been abolished and the Braganza dynasty banished was enacted into law, whereupon the body addressed itself to the framing of a budget and the adoption of organic laws relating to the nature and manner of exercise of the political powers of the republic. A draft of the const.i.tution, framed by the Republican leaders, was read to the delegates July 3, and August 18 it was voted, amid general acclamations, almost without modification. The presidential election was fixed for August 23. Of the two princ.i.p.al candidates, Dr. Manoel Arriaga represented the more moderate wing of the Republican element, Dr. Machado Santos (the provisional president) the more radical. Dr. Arriaga was elected by a vote of 121 to 86. August 24 the a.s.sembly terminated its proceedings and the new const.i.tution was put in operation. The first cabinet, presided over by Joo Chagas, was announced at the beginning of September. It was at this point that France, Spain, and a number of other European powers for the first time recognized officially the republic's existence. The difficulties encountered by the new regime--royalist invasions, outbreaks of disaffection, strikes, lack of funds--were numerous. Not the least serious was the inevitable rise of differences among the Republicans themselves. During the autumn of 1911 the Moderates split into two rival groups, and the more important of them, led by Dr. Almeida, definitely withdrew its support from the Government. The result was a ministerial crisis, and November 7 the Chagas cabinet resigned. The new "ministry of concentration" formed by the radical Vasconcellos was composed of eight members divided almost equally between the Moderates and the Democrats. In more recent days the lines of party cleavage have tended to be accentuated and the (p. 643) stability, if not the existence, of the republic to be increasingly menaced. In June, 1912, a new ministry was const.i.tuted under Leite, in which all of the groups in the lower chamber were represented. There is reason to apprehend that, in the event of the survival of the republic, the outcome will be at best but the resuscitation, under other names and forms, of the long-endured rotativist regime.

IV. THE CONSt.i.tUTION OF 1911

*709. Const.i.tutional Guarantees: Amendment.*--Aside from five articles of a temporary nature, the const.i.tution of 1911 is arranged in eighty-two articles, grouped in seven "t.i.tles" or divisions. The two divisions of princ.i.p.al length are those which relate to the rights and liberties of the individual and the organs and exercise of sovereign power. The guarantees extended the individual comprise a bill of rights hardly paralleled in comprehensiveness among the const.i.tutions of European nations. To Portuguese citizens and to aliens resident in the country are pledged full liberty of conscience, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, liberty of a.s.sociation, inviolability of domicile and of property, the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, privacy of correspondence, and freedom of employment and of trade save only when restriction is required for the public good. Law is declared to be uniform for all and no public privilege may be enjoyed by reason of birth or t.i.tle. No one may be required to pay a tax which has not been levied by the legislative chambers or by an administrative authority specifically qualified by law, and, save in case of enumerated offenses of serious import, no one may be imprisoned except upon accusation according to the forms of law. No one may be compelled to perform an act, or to refrain from the performance of an act, except by warrant of law.

The const.i.tution is subject to amendment under regulations of a somewhat curious character. Revision of the fundamental law may be undertaken normally by Congress at the end of every decennial period, the Congress whose mandate coincides with the period of revision being endowed automatically with const.i.tuent powers and the process of revision differing in no respect from that of ordinary legislation. At the end of a five-year period from the date of promulgation, however, amendment may be undertaken, providing two-thirds of the members of the chambers sitting jointly vote favorably. Under all circ.u.mstances amendments must be specific rather than general, and in no case may an amendment be received or debated which has for its object the abolition of the republican form of government.

*710. The President and the Ministry.*--Sovereignty is lodged in (p. 644) the nation, and the organs of the sovereign will are the independent but supposedly harmonious executive, legislative, and judicial authorities. The powers of the executive are exercised by the President and the ministers. The President is chosen by the two houses of Congress a.s.sembled in joint session sixty days prior to the expiration of the presidential term. Voting is by secret ballot and a two-thirds majority is required for election, although in default of such a majority choice is made on the third ballot by simple plurality between the two candidates receiving the largest number of votes. If the office falls vacant unexpectedly the chambers choose in the same manner a president to complete the unexpired term. The term is four years, and after retiring from office an ex-president may not be re-elected for a full term prior to the lapse of four more years. Only native Portuguese citizens at least thirty-five years of age are eligible. Without the permission of Congress the President may not absent himself from the national territory, and he may be removed from office by the vote of two-thirds of the members of the chambers sitting jointly. The duties of the President are, among other things, to negotiate treaties and to represent the nation in its external relations generally, to appoint and dismiss the ministers and public officials, to summon the Congress in extraordinary session, to promulgate the laws of Congress, together with the instructions and regulations necessary for their enforcement, and to remit and commute penalties. If two-thirds of the members of the chambers so request, projected treaties of alliance must be laid before Congress, and the appointment and suspension of public officials may be effected only on proposal of the ministers. Every act of the President must be countersigned by at least one minister, and every minister is responsible politically and legally for all acts which he countersigns or executes. One member of the ministerial group, designated by the President, exercises the functions of premier. Ministers may be members of Congress, and in any case they are privileged to appear in the chambers to defend their acts. Among offenses for which ministers may be held to account in the ordinary tribunals the const.i.tution specifies all acts which tend to subvert the independence of the nation, the inviolability of the const.i.tution and of the republican form of government, the political and legal rights of the individual, the internal peace of the country, or the probity of administrative procedure. The penalty imposed for guilt in respect to any of these offenses is removal from office and disqualification to hold office thereafter.[883]

[Footnote 883: Provisions relating to the executive are contained in Arts. 36-55.]

*711. Congress.*--The exercise of legislative power is vested (p. 645) exclusively in Congress. There are two houses, the Council of Munic.i.p.alities, or senate, and the National Council, or chamber of deputies. The members of both are chosen by direct vote of the people.

Senators are elected for six years, one-half of the body retiring triennially. Each district returns three members, but to a.s.sure the representation of minorities electors are permitted to vote for but two. Members of the Chamber of Deputies are chosen for three years.

Senators must be at least thirty-five years of age and deputies twenty-five. Congress is required to meet in regular session each year on the second day of December. The period of a session is four months, and a prorogation or an adjournment may be ordered only by the chambers themselves. Extraordinary sessions may be convoked by one-fourth of the members or by the President. Each chamber is authorized to judge the qualifications of its members, to choose its president and other officers, and to fix its rules of procedure. The presiding official at joint sessions is the elder of the two presidents. Members are accorded the usual privileges of speech and immunities from judicial process, and they are guaranteed compensation at rates to be regulated by law.

The functions and powers of the chambers are enumerated in much detail. Most important among them is the enactment, interpretation, suspension, and abrogation of all laws of the republic. Still more comprehensive is the power to supervise the operation of the const.i.tution and of the laws and "to promote the general welfare of the nation." More specifically, the chambers are authorized to levy taxes, vote expenditures, contract loans, provide for the national defense, create public offices, fix salaries, regulate tariffs, coin money, establish standards of weights and measures, emit bills of credit, organize the judiciary, control the administration of national property, approve regulations devised for the enforcement of the laws, and elect the President of the republic. To the Chamber of Deputies is accorded the right to initiate all measures relating to taxes, the organization of the forces on land and on sea, the revision of the const.i.tution, the prorogation or adjournment of legislative sessions, the discussion of proposals made by the President, and the bringing of actions against members of the executive department. Initiative in respect to all other matters may be taken by any member of either branch of Congress or by the President of the republic. A measure which is adopted by a majority vote in each of the two houses is transmitted to the President to be promulgated as law. The President possesses not a shred of veto power. He is required to promulgate within fifteen days any measure duly enacted; if he fails to do so, the measure takes effect none the less. When the chambers fall into disagreement regarding proposed changes in a bill, or when one (p. 646) chamber rejects a bill outright, the subject is debated and a decision is reached in joint session.

*712. The Judiciary and Local Government.*--The organs of judicial administration comprise courts of first instance, courts of appeal, and a supreme tribunal sitting at the capital. Judges are appointed for life, but may be removed from office in accordance with procedure to be established by law. The employment of the jury is optional with the parties in civil cases but obligatory in all criminal cases of serious import. With respect to local government the const.i.tution goes no further than to lay down certain general principles and to enjoin that the actual working arrangements be regulated by subsequent legislation. Among the principles enumerated are the immunity of the local authorities from intervention on the part of the central executive power, the revision of the acts of the public officials in administrative tribunals, the fiscal independence of the local governmental units, and, finally, the employment for local purposes of both proportional representation and the referendum.[884]

[Footnote 884: A French translation of the Portuguese const.i.tution of 1911 will be found in _Revue du Droit Public_, Oct.-Dec, 1911. Various aspects of the revolution of 1910 and of subsequent developments are discussed in E. J. Dillon, Republican Portugal, in _Contemporary Review_, Nov., 1910; R. Recouly, La republique en Portugal, in _Revue Politique et Parlementaire_, Nov. 10, 1910; W. Archer, The Portuguese Republic, in _Fortnightly Review_, Feb., 1911; and A. Marvaud, Les debuts de la republique portugaise, in _Annales des Sciences Politiques_, March-April and May-June, 1911. The subject is covered briefly in V. de B.

Cunha, Eight Centuries of Portuguese Monarchy (London, 1911), and A. Marvaud, Le Portugal et ses colonies; etude politique et economique (Paris, 1912).]