tion of 1833 and the
amendments of the 9th of August 1888, the 11th of August 1890, the 20th
of August 1890, the 22nd of December 1891, and the 7th of July 1892.
According to this constitution the sovereignty resides in the nation,
but suffrage is restricted to married citizens over twenty-one and
unmarried citizens over twenty-five years of age, not in domestic
service, who can read and write, and who are the owners of real estate,
or who have capital invested in business or industry, or who receive
salaries or incomes proportionate in value to such real estate as
investment; and as 75% of the population is classed as illiterate, and a
great majority of the labouring classes is landless, badly paid, and
miserably poor, it is apparent that political sovereignty in Chile is
the well-guarded possession of a small minority. The dominant element in
this minority is the rich landholding interest, and the constitution and
the laws of the first half-century were framed for the special
protection of that interest.

The supreme powers of government are vested in three distinct
branches--legislative, executive and judicial. The legislative power is
exercised by a national congress, which consists of two chambers---a
senate of 32 members, and a chamber of deputies of 94 members. The
membership of the lower house is in the proportion of one deputy for
each 30,000 of the departmental population, and each fraction over
15,000; and the senate is entitled to one-third the membership of the
chamber. The senators are elected by provinces and by a direct
cumulative vote, and hold office for six years, one-half of the senate
being renewed every three years. The deputies are elected by departments
and by a direct cumulative vote, and hold office for three years. Both
senators and deputies must have reached the age of thirty-six, must have
a specified income, and are required to serve without salary. A
permanent committee of 14 members represents the two chambers during the
congressional recess and exercises certain supervisory and advisory
powers in the administration of public affairs. Congress convenes each
year on the 1st of June and sits until the 1st of September, but the
president may prorogue an ordinary session for a period of 50 days, and
with the consent of the council of state may convene it in extraordinary
session. Congress has the privilege of giving or withholding its
confidence in the acts of the government.

The executive