f 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 entitled to participate,
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 pass 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
pr