THE CAPITOL The Capitol, the new government building at Havana, is one of the great public works of the administration of President Menocal. It occupies a fine site in the heart of the city, and will architecturally rank among the noteworthy government buildings of the world. In the contrast between it and ancient La Fuerza, its original predecessor, is suggested the whole span of Cuban history.
We shall profitably pause for a space in our narrative, to note what manner of Constitution it was that was thus adopted:
We, the delegates of the people of Cuba, in national convention assembled for the purpose of framing and adopting the Fundamental Law under which Cuba is to be organized as an independent and sovereign State, and be given a government capable of fulfilling its international{205}obligations, preserving order, securing liberty and justice, and promoting the general welfare, do hereby ordain, adopt, and establish, invoking the favor of God, the following Constitution:
TitleITHE NATION, ITS FORM OF GOVERNMENT, AND THENATIONAL TERRITORY
Article1. The people of Cuba constitute themselves into a sovereign, independent State and adopt a republican form of government.
Art. 2. The island of Cuba and the islands and islets adjacent thereto, which up to the date of the ratification of the treaty of Paris, of December 10, 1898, were under the sovereignty of Spain, form the territory of the Republic.
Art. 3. The territory of the Republic shall be divided into the six provinces which now exist, each of which shall retain its present boundaries. The determination of their names corresponds to the respective provincial councils.
The provinces may by resolution of their respective provincial councils and the approval of Congress annex themselves to other provinces, or subdivide their territory and form new provinces.
TitleIICUBANS
Art. 4. Cuban nationality is acquired by birth or by naturalization.
Art. 5. Cubans by birth are:{206}
1. All persons born of Cuban parents whether within or without the territory of the Republic.
2. All persons born of foreign parents within the territory of the Republic, provided that on becoming of age they apply for inscription, as Cubans, in the proper register.
3. All persons born in foreign countries of parents natives of Cuba who have forfeited their Cuban nationality, provided that on becoming of age they apply for their inscription as Cubans in the register aforesaid.
Art. 6. Cubans by naturalization are:
1. Foreigners who having served in the liberating army claim Cuban nationality within six months following the promulgation of this constitution.
2. Foreigners domiciled in Cuba prior to January 1, 1899, who have retained their domicile, provided that they claim Cuban nationality within six months following the promulgation of this constitution, or if they are minors within a like period following the date on which they reach full age.
3. Foreigners who after five years' residence in the territory of the Republic, and not less than two years after the declaration of their intention to acquire Cuban nationality have obtained naturalization papers according to law.
4. Spaniards residing in the territory of Cuba on the 11th day of April, 1899, who failed to register themselves as such in the corresponding register within one year thereafter.
5. Africans who were slaves in Cuba, and those "emancipated" referred to in article 13 of treaty of June 28, 1835, between Spain and England.
Art. 7. Cuban nationality is lost:
1. By the acquisition of foreign citizenship.{207}
2. By the acceptance of employment or honors from another government without permission of the Senate.
3. By entering the military service of a foreign nation without the said permission.
4. In cases of naturalized Cubans, by their residence for five years continuously in the country of origin, except when serving an office or fulfilling a commission of the Government of the Republic.
Art. 8. Cuban nationality may be reacquired in the manner to be provided by law.
Art. 9. Every Cuban shall be bound:
1. To bear arms in defense of his country in such cases and in such manner as may be determined by the laws.
2. To contribute to the payment of public expenses in such manner and proportion as the laws may prescribe.
TitleIIIFOREIGNERS
Art. 10. Foreigners residing within the territory of the Republic shall be on the same footing as Cubans:
1. In respect to protection of their persons and property.
2. In respect to the enjoyment of the rights guaranteed by Section first of the following title, excepting those exclusively reserved to citizens.
3. In respect to the enjoyment of civil rights under the conditions and limitations prescribed in the law of aliens.
4. In respect to the obligation of obeying the laws, decrees, regulations, and all other statutes that may be in force in the Republic, and complying with their provisions.{208}
5. In respect to submission to the jurisdiction and decisions of the courts of justice and all other authorities of the Republic.
6. In respect to the obligation of contributing to the public expenses of the State, province, and municipality.
TitleIVRIGHTS GUARANTEED BY THIS CONSTITUTIONSection FirstINDIVIDUAL RIGHTS
Art. 11. All Cubans are equal before the law. The Republic does not recognize any personal prerogatives.
Art. 12. No law shall have retroactive effect, except when penal and favorable to the defendant.
Art. 13. Obligations of a civil nature arising out of contracts or other acts or omissions shall not be nullified by either the legislative or the executive power.
Art. 14. The penalty of death shall in no case be imposed for offenses of political character, said offenses to be defined by law.
Art. 15. No person shall be detained except in the cases and in the manner prescribed by law.
Art. 16. Every arrested person shall be set at liberty or placed at the disposal of the competent judge or court within twenty-four hours immediately following the arrest.
Art. 17. All arrests shall be terminated, or turned into formal imprisonments, within seventy-two hours, immediately after the delivery of the arrested person to the judge or court of competent jurisdiction. Within the same time notice shall be served upon the interested party of the action taken.{209}
Art. 18. No person shall be imprisoned except by order of a competent judge or court.
The order directing the imprisonment shall be affirmed or reversed, upon the proper hearing of the prisoner, within seventy-two hours next following the committal.
Art. 19. No person shall be prosecuted or sentenced except by a competent judge or court, by virtue of laws in force, prior to the commission of the offense, and in the manner and form prescribed by said laws.
Art. 20. Every person arrested or imprisoned without the formalities of law, or outside of the cases foreseen in this constitution or the laws, shall be set at liberty at his own request or that of any citizen.
The law shall determine the form of summary proceedings to be followed in this case.
Art. 21. No one shall be bound to testify against himself, neither shall he be compelled to testify against his consort, nor against his relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity or second of affinity.
Art. 22. The secrecy of correspondence and other private documents is inviolable, and neither shall be seized or examined except by order of a competent authority and with the formalities prescribed by the laws. In all cases matters therein contained not relating to the subject under investigation shall be kept secret.
Art. 23. Domicile is inviolable; and therefore no one shall enter at night the house of another except by permission of its occupant, unless it be for the purpose of giving aid and assistance to victims of crime or accident; or in the daytime, except in the cases and in the manner prescribed by law.
Art. 24. No person shall be compelled to change his domicile or residence except by virtue of an order issued{210}by a competent authority and in the cases prescribed by law.
Art. 25. Every one may freely express his ideas either orally or in writing, through the press, or in any other manner, without subjection to previous censorship; but the responsibilities specified by law, when attacks are made upon the honor of individuals, the social order, or the public peace, shall be properly enforced.
Art. 26. The profession of all religions, as well as the practice of all forms of worship, is free, without any other restriction than that demanded by the respect for Christian morality and public order. The church shall be separated from the state, which in no case shall subsidize any religion.
Art. 27. All persons shall have the right to address petitions to the authorities, to have them duly acted upon, and to be informed of the action taken thereon.
Art. 28. All the inhabitants of the Republic have the right to assemble peacefully, without arms, and to associate with others for all lawful pursuits of life.
Art. 29. All persons shall have the right to enter or leave the territory of the Republic, to travel within its limits, and to change their residence, without necessity of safe conducts, passports, except when otherwise provided by the laws governing immigration, or by the authorities, in cases of criminal prosecution.
Art. 30. No Cuban shall be banished from the territory of the Republic or prohibited from entering it.
Art. 31. Primary instruction shall be compulsory and gratuitous. The teaching of arts and trades shall also be gratuitous. Both shall be supported by the State, as long as the municipalities and Provinces, respectively, may lack sufficient funds to defray their expenses.
Secondary and superior education shall be controlled{211}by the State. All persons however, may, without restriction, learn or teach any science, art, or profession, and found and maintain establishments of education and instruction, but it pertains to the State to determine what professions shall require special titles, what conditions shall be required for their practice and for the securing of diplomas, as well as for the issuing thereof as established by law.
Art. 32. No one shall be deprived of his property, except by competent authority, upon proof that the condemnation is required by public utility, and previous indemnification. If the indemnification is not previously paid, the courts shall protect the owners and, if needed, restore to them the property.
Art. 33. In no case shall the penalty of confiscation of property be imposed.
Art. 34. No person is bound to pay any tax or impost not legally established and the collection of which is not carried out in the manner prescribed by the laws.
Art. 35. Every author or inventor shall enjoy the exclusive ownership of his work or invention for the time and in the manner determined by law.
Art. 36. The enumeration of the rights expressly guaranteed by this Constitution does not exclude other rights based upon the principle of the sovereignty of the people and the republican form of Government.
Art. 37. The laws regulating the exercise of the rights which this Constitution guarantees shall be null and void if said rights are abridged, restricted, or adulterated by them.
Section SecondRIGHT OF SUFFRAGE
Art. 38. All Cubans of the masculine sex, over{212}twenty-one years of age, have the right of suffrage, except the following:
1. Those who are inmates of asylums.
2. Those judicially declared to be mentally incapacitated.
3. Those judicially deprived of civil rights on account of crime.
4. Those serving in the land or naval forces of the Republic when in active service.
Art. 39. The laws shall establish rules and methods of procedure to guarantee the intervention of the minorities in the preparation of the census of electors, and in all other electoral matters, and its representation in the House of Representatives and in the provincial and municipal councils.
Section ThirdSUSPENSION OF CONSTITUTIONAL GUARANTIES
Art. 40. The guaranties established in articles 15, 16, 17, 19, 22, 23, 24, and 27, section first of this title, shall not be suspended either in the whole Republic, or in any part thereof, except temporarily and when the safety of the state may require it, in cases of invasion of the territory or of serious disturbances that may threaten public peace.
Art. 41. The territory in which the guaranties mentioned in the preceding article are suspended shall be ruled during the period of suspension according to the law of public order which may have been previously enacted. But neither the said law, nor any other, shall order the suspension of other guaranties not mentioned in the said article.{213}
Nor shall any new offenses be created, or new penalties not established by the law which was in force at the time of the suspension, be ordered to be inflicted during the same.
The executive power is hereby forbidden to exile or expel from the country any citizen thereof, or compel him to reside at any other place farther than one hundred and twenty kilometers from his domicile. Nor shall it detain any citizen for more than ten days, without delivering him to the judicial authorities, or repeat the detention during the time of the suspension of guaranties. The detained individuals shall be kept in special departments in the public establishments destined for the detention of prisoners charged with common offenses.
ART. 42. The suspension of the guaranties specified in article 40 shall be ordered only and exclusively by means of a law, but if Congress is not in session, it can be ordered by a decree of the President of the Republic. But the President shall have no power to suspend the guaranties more than once during the period intervening between two sessions of Congress, or for an indefinite period of time, or for a period longer than thirty days, without calling at the same time Congress to meet. In all cases the President shall report the facts to Congress, in order that it may act as deemed proper.
TitleVTHE SOVEREIGNTY AND THE PUBLIC POWERS
Art. 43. The sovereignty is vested in the people of Cuba, and from the said people all the public powers emanate.{214}
TitleVITHE LEGISLATIVE POWERSection FirstTHE LEGISLATIVE BODIES
Art. 44. The legislative power is vested in two elective bodies, to be known as the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate; the two together constituting the Congress.
Section SecondTHE SENATE, ITS MEMBERSHIP AND ITS POWERS
Art. 45. The Senate shall consist of four Senators for each Province, to be elected in each one for a period of eight years by the provincial councilors, and by double that number of electors forming with the councilors an electoral college.
One-half of the electors shall consist of citizens paying the greatest amount of taxes, and the other half shall possess the qualifications required by law. But it is necessary for all of them to be of full age and residents of the Province.
The election of electors shall be made by the provincial voters one hundred days before that of the senators.
The Senate shall be renewed by halves every four years.
Art. 46. No one shall be a senator who has not the following qualifications:
1. To be a Cuban by birth.
2. To be over thirty-five years of age.
3. To be in the full enjoyment of civil and political rights.{215}
Art. 47. The Senate shall have the following exclusive powers:
1. To try, sitting as a tribunal of justice, the impeachment of the President of the Republic, upon charges made against him by the Chamber of Representatives, for crimes against the external security of the State, against the free exercise of the legislative or judicial powers, or for violation of the constitutional provisions.
2. To try, sitting as a tribunal of justice, the impeachment of the secretaries of state, upon charges made against them by the Chamber of Representatives, for crimes against the external security of the State, the free exercise of the legislative or judicial powers, violation of the constitutional provision, or any other crime of political character determined by law.
3. To try, sitting as a tribunal of justice, the impeachment of the governors of Provinces, upon charges made against them by the provincial councils or by the President of the Republic for any of the crimes named in the foregoing paragraph.
When the Senate sits as a tribunal of justice, it shall be presided over by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and shall not impose any other penalty than that of removal from office, or removal from office and disqualification from holding any public office; but the infliction of any other penalty upon the convicted official shall be left to the courts declared by law to be competent for the purpose.
4. To confirm the nominations made by the President of the Republic for the positions of Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, diplomatic representatives and consular agents of the nation, and all other public officers whose nominations require the approval of the Senate in accordance with the law.{216}
5. To authorize Cuban citizens to accept employment or honors from foreign governments or to serve in their armies.
6. To approve the treaties entered into by the President of the Republic with other nations.
Section ThirdTHE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, ITS MEMBERSHIP AND ITS POWERS
Art. 48. The House of Representatives shall consist of one representative for each twenty-five thousand inhabitants or fraction thereof over twelve thousand five hundred, elected for the period of four years by the direct vote of the people and in the manner provided by law.
The House of Representatives shall be renewed by halves every two years.
Art. 49. No one shall be a Representative who has not the following qualifications:
1. To be a Cuban citizen by birth or by naturalization, provided in the latter case that the candidate has resided eight years in the Republic, to be counted from the date of his naturalization.
2. To have attained to the age of twenty-five years.
3. To be in full possession of all civil and political rights.
Art. 50. The power to impeach before the Senate the President of the Republic and the cabinet ministers, in the cases prescribed in paragraphs first and second of article 47 corresponds to the House of Representatives. But the concurrence of two-thirds of the total number of Representatives, in secret session, shall be required to exercise this right.{217}
Section FourthPROVISIONS COMMON TO BOTH HOUSES OF CONGRESS
Art. 51. The positions of Senator and Representative are incompatible with the holding of any other paid position of Government appointment, except a professorship in a Government institution, obtained by competitive examination prior to the election.
Art. 52. Senators and Representatives shall receive from the State a pecuniary remuneration, alike for both positions, the amount of which may be changed at any time; the change shall not take effect until after the renewal of the legislative bodies.
Art. 53. Senators and Representatives shall be inviolable for their votes and opinions in the discharge of their duties. Senators and Representatives shall only be arrested or indicted upon permission of the body to which they belong, if Congress is then in Session, except in case of flagrante delicto. In this case, and in the case of the arrest or indictment being made when Congress is not in session, the fact shall be reported, as soon as practicable, to the respective House for proper action.
Art. 54. Both Houses of Congress shall open and close their sessions on the same day; they shall meet in the same city, and neither shall move to any other place, or adjourn for more than three days, except by common consent. Nor shall they begin to do business without two-thirds of the total number of their members being present, or continue their sessions without the attendance of an absolute majority.
Art. 55. Each House shall be the judge of the election of its respective members and shall also pass upon their resignations. No Senator or Representative shall be expelled from the House to which he belongs, except upon{218}grounds previously determined, and to the concurrence of at least two-thirds of the total number of its members.
Art. 56. Each House shall frame its respective rules and regulations, and elect from among its members its president, vice-presidents and secretaries. But the president of the Senate shall not discharge his duties as such, except in case the Vice-President of the Republic is absent or acting as President.
Section FifthCONGRESS AND ITS POWERS
Art. 57. Congress shall assemble, without necessity of previous call, twice in each year, each session to last not less than forty working days. The first session shall begin on the first Monday in April and the second on the first Monday in November.
It shall meet in extra session in such cases and in such manner as may be provided by its rules and regulations and when called to convene by the President of the Republic in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution. In both cases it shall only consider the express object or objects for which it assembles.
Art. 58. Congress shall meet in joint session to proclaim, after counting and verifying the electoral vote, the President and Vice-President of the Republic.
In this case the president of the Senate, and in his absence the president of the House of Representatives, as vice-president of the Congress, shall preside over the joint meeting.
If upon counting the votes for President it is found that none of the candidates has an absolute majority of votes, or if the votes are equally divided, Congress, by the same majority, shall elect as President one of the two{219}candidates having obtained the greatest number of votes.
Should more than two candidates receive the highest number of votes—no one obtaining an absolute majority—two or more having secured the same number, Congress shall elect from said candidates.
The method established in the preceding paragraph shall be also employed in the election of Vice-President of the Republic.
The counting of the electoral vote shall take place prior to the expiration of the Presidential term.
Art. 59. Congress shall have the following powers:
1. To enact the national codes and the laws of a general nature; to determine the rules that shall be observed in the general, provincial, and municipal elections; to issue orders for the regulation and organization of all services pertaining to the administration of national, provincial, and municipal government; and to pass all other laws and resolutions which it may deem proper relating to other matters of public interest.
2. To discuss and approve the budgets of the revenues and expenses of the Government. The said revenues and expenses, except such as will be mentioned hereafter, shall be included in annual budgets which shall be available only during the year for which they shall have been approved.
The expenses of Congress, those of the administration of justice, and those required to meet the interest and redemption of loans, shall have, the same as the revenues with which they have to be paid, the character of permanent and shall be included in a fixed budget which shall remain in force until changed by special laws.
3. To contract loans, with the obligation, however, of providing permanent revenues for the payment of the interest and redemption thereof.
All measures relating to loans shall require the vote of two-thirds of the total numbers of the members of each House.
4. To coin money, fixing the standard, weight, value, and denomination thereof.
5. To regulate the system of weights and measures.
6. To make provisions for regulating and developing internal and foreign commerce.
7. To regulate the services of communications and railroads, roads, canals, and harbors, creating those required by public convenience.
8. To levy such taxes and imposts of national character as may be necessary for the needs of the government.
9. To establish rules and proceedings for obtaining naturalization.
10. To grant amnesties.
11. To fix the strength of the land and naval forces and provide for their organization.
12. To declare war and approve treaties of peace negotiated by the President of the Republic.
13. To designate, by means of a special law, the official who shall act as President of the Republic in case of death, resignation, removal, or supervenient inability of the President and Vice-President.
Art. 60. Congress shall not attach to appropriation bills any provision tending to make changes or reforms in the legislation or in the administration of the Government; nor shall it diminish or abolish revenues of permanent character without creating at the same time new revenues to take their place, except in case that the decrease or abolition depend upon the decrease or abolition of the equivalent permanent expenses. Nor shall Congress appropriate for any service to be provided for in the annual budget a larger sum of money than that{221}recommended in the estimates submitted by the Government; but Congress may by means of special laws create new services and reform or give greater scope to those already existing.
Section SixthINITIATIVE, PREPARATION, APPROVAL,AND PROMULGATION OF LAWS
Art. 61. The right to initiate legislation is vested without distinction in both houses of Congress.
Art. 62. Every bill passed by the two houses, and every resolution of the same which has to be executed by the President of the Republic, shall be submitted to him for approval. If they are approved, they shall be signed at once by the President. If they are not approved, they shall be returned by the President, with his objections, to the house in which they originated, which shall enter said objections upon its journal and engage again in the discussion of the subject.
If after this new discussion two-thirds of the total number of the members of the house vote in favor of the bill or resolution as originally passed, the latter shall be referred with the objections of the President, to the other house, where it shall be also discussed, and if the measure is approved there by the same majority it shall become law. In all these cases the vote shall be by yeas and nays.
If within ten working days immediately following the sending of the bill or resolution to the President, the latter fails to return it, it shall be considered approved and shall become law.
If within the last ten days of a session of Congress a bill is sent to the President of the Republic, and he wishes{222}to take advantage of the whole time granted him in the foregoing paragraph for the purposes of approval or disapproval, he shall acquaint the Congress with his desire, so as to cause it to remain in session, if it so wishes, until the end of the ten days. The failure by the President to do so shall cause the bill to be considered approved and become law.
No bill totally rejected by one house shall be discussed again in the same session.
Art. 63. Every law shall be promulgated within ten days next following its approval by either the President or the Congress, as the case may be, under the provisions of the preceding article.
TitleVIITHE EXECUTIVE POWERSECTION FIRSTTHE EXERCISE OF THE EXECUTIVE POWER
Art. 64. The executive power shall be vested in the President of the Republic.
Section SecondTHE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC, HIS POWERSAND DUTIES
Art. 65. To be President of the Republic the following qualifications shall be required.
1. To be a Cuban by birth or naturalization, and in the latter case to have served in the Cuban armies in the wars of independence for at least ten years.
2. To be over forty years of age.
3. To be in the full enjoyment of civil and political rights.{223}
Art. 66.The President of the Republic shall be elected by presidential electors on the same day, in the manner provided by law.
The term of office shall be four years, and no one shall be President for three consecutive terms.
Art. 67.The President, before entering on the discharge of the duties of his office, shall take oath or affirmation before the supreme court of justice to faithfully discharge his duties and comply and cause others to comply with the constitution and the laws.
Art. 68.The President of the Republic shall have the following powers and duties:
1. To approve and promulgate the laws, and obey and cause others to obey their provisions. To enact, if Congress has not done so, such rules and regulations as may be necessary for the proper execution of the laws; and to issue all orders or decrees which may be conducive to the same purpose or to any other purposes of government and the administration thereof in the Republic, provided that in no case the said orders or decrees are at variance with the provisions of the law.
2. To call Congress, or the Senate alone, to meet in extra session in the cases set forth in the constitution, or when in his opinion the meeting may be necessary.
3. He shall adjourn Congress when no agreement can be reached between the two houses on the question of adjournment.
4. To transmit to Congress at the beginning of each session, and whenever he may deem it advisable, a message relating to the acts of his administration, showing the general condition of the affairs of the Republic, and recommending the adoption of such laws and measures as he may deem necessary or advisable.
5. To submit to Congress through either one of the{224}Houses, before the 15th of November, a draft of the annual budget.
6. To furnish Congress all the information desired by it on every matter of business which does not require secrecy.
7. To conduct all diplomatic negotiations and conclude treaties with foreign nations, provided that these treaties be submitted for approval of the Senate, without which requisite they shall be neither valid nor binding upon the Republic.
8. To freely appoint and remove the Secretaries of State, giving Congress information of his action.
9. To appoint, with the approval of the Senate, the Chief Justice and the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, and the diplomatic and consular agents of the Republic. If the vacancy occurs at a time in which the Senate is not in session, he shall have power to make the appointment of said functionaries ad interim.
10. To appoint all other public officers recognized by law, whose appointment is not entrusted to some other authority.
11. To suspend the exercise of the rights enumerated in article 40 of the constitution in the cases and in the manner set forth in articles 41 and 42.
12. To suspend the resolutions passed by the provincial and municipal councils in the cases and in the manner set forth in this constitution.
13. To order the suspension of the governors of provinces in case they exceed their powers or violate the laws; but in these cases he shall report the fact to the Senate, in the manner and form determined by law, for such action as may be proper.
14. To prefer charges against the governors of provinces in the cases set forth in paragraph 3 of article 47.{225}
15. To grant pardons according to the provisions of the law, except in the case of public functionaries convicted for wrongs done in the exercise of their functions.
16. To receive diplomatic representatives and admit consular agents of other nations.
17. To dispose of the land and sea forces of the Republic as chief commander of the same. To provide for the defense of the national territory, reporting to Congress what he may have done on the subject. To provide for the preservation of peace and public order in the interior of the country. If there is danger of invasion or of any rebellion breaking out and gravely threatening the public safety, Congress not being in session at the time, the President shall call it to convene without delay for such action as may be deemed proper.
Art. 69.The President shall not leave the territory of the Republic without the permission of Congress.
Art. 70.The President shall be responsible before the Supreme Court for the common offense he may commit during his term of office, but he shall not be prosecuted without previous permission of the Senate.
Art. 71.The President shall receive from the State a salary which may be changed at any time, but the change shall not go into effect until the next following presidential term.
Title VIIITHE VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
Art. 72.There shall be a Vice-President of the Republic, who shall be elected in the same manner and for the same period of time as the President, and jointly with him. To be Vice-President the same qualifications set forth in this constitution to be President shall be required.{226}
Art. 73.The Vice-President of the Republic shall be the President of the Senate, but he shall vote only in case that the votes of the Senators are equally divided.
Art. 74.In case of temporary or permanent absence of the President of the Republic, the Vice-President shall act in his place. If the absence is permanent, the Acting President shall continue in office until the end of the presidential term.
Art. 75.The Vice-President shall receive from the State a salary which may be changed at any time, but the change shall not go into effect until the next following presidential term.
Title IXTHE SECRETARIES OF STATE
Art. 76.For the transaction of the executive business the President of the Republic shall have as many Secretaries of State as the law may determine, and no one shall be a Secretary of State who is not a Cuban citizen in the full enjoyment of his civil and political rights.
Art. 77.All decrees, orders and decisions of the President of the Republic shall be counter-signed by the secretary of State to whom the matter corresponds. Without this signature no decree, order or decision of the President shall have binding force nor shall it be obeyed.
Art. 78.The secretaries of state shall be personally responsible for the measures signed by them, and jointly and severally for the measures agreed upon or authorized by them at a cabinet meeting. This responsibility does not exclude the personal and direct responsibility of the President of the Republic.
Art.79. The secretaries of state shall be impeachable before the Senate by the House of Representatives in the{227}cases mentioned in the second paragraph of article 47.
Art. 80.The secretaries of state shall receive from the State a salary, which may be changed at any time, but the change shall not go into effect until the next following presidential term.
Title XTHE JUDICIAL POWERSection FirstTHE EXERCISE OF THE JUDICIAL POWER
Art. 81.The judicial power is vested in a Supreme Court of Justice and in all the other tribunals which may be established by law. The law shall regulate the respective organization and powers of these tribunals, the manner of exercising their powers, and the qualifications required of the judicial functionaries.
Section SecondTHE SUPREME COURT OF JUSTICE
Art. 82.To be Chief Justice or Associate Justice of the Supreme Court the following qualifications shall be required:
1. To be a Cuban by birth.
2. To be over thirty-five years of age.
3. To be in the full enjoyment of civil and political rights and not to have been condemned to any corporal punishment for common offenses.
4. To have in addition to the foregoing qualifications any one of the following:
To have practiced in Cuba, during ten years at least, the profession of lawyer; or have discharged for the same{228}length of time judicial functions, or have taught law for the same number of years in an official establishment.
The following persons are also eligible for the positions of Chief Justice or Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, even if not having the qualifications set forth in clauses 1, 2, and 3 of this article:
(a) Those who have served in the judiciary of the time determined by law in a position of equal or immediately inferior category.
(b) Those who, previous to the promulgation of this constitution, served as justices of the supreme court of the island of Cuba.
The time of service in the judiciary shall be computed as time of practice of law for the purpose of qualifying the lawyers to be appointed justices of the supreme court.
Art. 83.The Supreme Court shall have the following powers, in addition to those already vested or hereafter to be vested in it:
1. To take cognizance of cases on a writ of error.
2. To decide conflicts of jurisdiction between courts immediately inferior to it, or not having a common superior.
3. To take cognizance of the cases to which the State on the one side and the provinces or municipalities on the other, are parties.
4. To decide as to the constitutionality of the laws, decrees, and regulations when a question of that effect is raised by any party.
Section ThirdGENERAL RULES REGARDING THE ADMINISTRATIONOF JUSTICE
Art. 84.Justice shall be administered gratuitously throughout the entire territory of the Republic.{229}
Art. 85.The courts shall take cognizance of all cases, whether civil, criminal, or between the Government and private parties.
Art. 86.No judicial commissions or extraordinary tribunals, no matter under what name, shall ever be created.
Art. 87.No functionary of the judicial order shall be suspended or removed from his office except for crime or any other grave cause, fully proven, and always after being heard. Nor shall he be transferred without his consent to any other place, unless it is for the manifest benefit of the public service.
Art. 88.All judicial functionaries shall be personally responsible, in the manner and form determined by law, for the violations of law which they may commit.
Art. 89.The salaries of judicial functionaries shall not be changed except at the end of periods of more than five years, and by means of a law. The law, however, shall not give different salaries to positions whose rank, category, and functions are equal.
Art. 90.The courts for the forces of land and sea shall be governed by a special organic law.
Title XITHE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTSection FirstGENERAL PROVISIONS
Art. 91.A province consists of the municipal districts established within its limits.
Art. 92.Each province shall have a governor and a provincial council elected directly by the people, in the manner and form established by law.{230}
The number of councilors in each province shall not be less than eight nor more than twenty.
Section SecondTHE PROVINCIAL COUNCILS AND THEIR POWERS
Art. 93.The provincial councils shall have the following powers:
1. To resolve upon matters concerning the provinces which, under the constitution, treaties or laws, are not within the general jurisdiction of the State or the exclusive jurisdiction of the municipal councils.
2. To frame the budget of their expenses, providing at the same time for the necessary revenue to meet them, provided that this is done in a manner not inconsistent with the system adopted by the State.
3. To contract loans for public works of provincial interest, provided that at the same time sufficient revenue is raised to meet the payment of interest and principal when due.
Such loans shall not be carried into effect unless they are approved by two-thirds of the municipal councils of the province.
4. To impeach before the Senate the governor of their respective province, in the case set forth in paragraph 3 of article 47, when two-thirds of the total number of provincial councilors decide in secret session that this should be done.
5. To appoint and remove, according to law, the provincial employes.
Art. 94.The provincial councils shall have no power to diminish or abolish revenue of permanent character without creating at the same time other revenue to take its place, except in case that the decrease or suppression{231}is due to the decrease or suppression of equivalent permanent expenses.
Art. 95.The resolutions of the provincial councils shall be sent to the governor of the province. If approved, they shall be signed by him; if not, they shall be returned with his objections to the council, wherein the subject shall be again discussed. If after the second discussion the resolution is approved by two-thirds of the total number of councilors it shall become a law.
If the governor does not return the resolution within ten days from the date of reference it shall be considered approved and shall become a law.
Art. 96.The resolutions of the provincial councils may be suspended by the governor of the province or by the President of the Republic, whenever, in their opinion, they are contrary to the constitution, the laws, or any resolutions passed by the municipal councils in due exercise of their functions; but the right to take cognizance of and pass upon the claims which may arise out of the said suspension shall be reserved to the courts of justice.
Art. 97.Neither the provincial councils not any section or committees, selected from their members or from persons not members thereof, shall intervene in matters belonging to any class of elections.
Art. 98.The provincial councilors shall be personally responsible before the courts in the manner determined by law for whatever may be done by them in the exercise of their functions.
Section ThirdTHE GOVERNORS OF PROVINCES AND THEIR POWERS
Art. 99.The governors of provinces shall have the following powers:{232}
1. To comply and cause others to comply, as far as their provinces are concerned, with the laws, decrees, and general rules and regulations of the nation.
2. To publish such resolutions of the provincial councils as have force of law, and comply and cause others to comply with them.
3. To issue orders, instructions, and rules for the proper execution of the resolutions of the provincial council, if the latter has not done so already.
4. To call the provincial councils to convene in extra session whenever in his own judgment the same may be necessary. The subjects to be discussed in this session shall be set forth in the call.
5. To suspend the resolutions of the provincial and municipal councils in the cases set forth in this constitution.
6. To order the suspension of mayors, in case they have exceeded their powers, violated the constitution or the laws, acted in contravention to the resolutions of the provincial councils, or failed to do their duty. The suspension shall be reported to the provincial council in the manner and form established by law.
7. To appoint and remove the employes of their offices in the manner provided by law.
Art. 100.The governors shall be responsible before the Senate in the cases set forth in this constitution, and before the courts of justice, according to the provisions of the law, in all other classes of offenses.
Art. 101.The governors shall receive from the provincial treasury a salary, which may be changed at any time, but the change shall not take effect until after a new governor's election is held.
Art. 102.In case of temporary or permanent vacancy of the position of governor of the province, the president of the provincial council shall act in his place. If the{233}vacancy is permanent, the acting governor shall continue in the discharge of his duties as such until the end of the term.
Title XIITHE MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTSection FirstGENERAL PROVISIONS
Art. 103.The municipal districts shall be governed by municipal councils, consisting of aldermen or councilors directly elected by the people, in the number and in the manner provided by law.
Art. 104.There shall be in each municipal district a mayor elected by the people by direct vote in the manner and form established by law.
Section SecondTHE MUNICIPAL COUNCILS AND THEIR POWERS
Art. 105.The municipal councils shall have the following powers:
1. To resolve on all matters exclusively relating to their own municipal districts.
2. To prepare the budget of their expenses, providing at the same time, on condition, however, that this is done in a manner consistent with the general system of taxation of the Republic.
3. To resolve on the negotiation of loans, providing at the same time the permanent revenue necessary to meet the interest and principal when due.
In order that these loans may be carried into effect, they shall have to be approved by two-thirds of the electors of the municipal district.{234}
4. To appoint and remove the municipal employes in the manner established by law.
Art. 106.The municipal councils shall not decrease or suppress any revenues of permanent character without establishing at the same time some other revenues which may take their place, except in case the decrease or suppression is due to the decrease or suppression of the equivalent permanent expense.
Art. 107.The resolutions of the municipal councils shall be referred to the mayor. If approved by him, they shall be authorized with his signature; if not, they shall be returned, with his objections, to the municipal council, wherein they shall be again discussed. If, after a second discussion, two-thirds of the total number of councilors vote in favor of the resolution it shall become a law.
When the mayor does not return the resolution, within ten days after the date of reference, it shall be considered approved and become a law.
Art. 108.The resolutions of the municipal councils may be suspended by the mayor, the governor of the province, or the President of the Republic, when in their opinion they are contrary to the constitution, the treaties, the laws, or the resolutions passed by the provincial councils within the sphere of their powers. But the right to take cognizance and pass upon the claims which may arise out of said suspension shall be reserved to the courts of justice.
Art. 109.The members of the municipal councils shall be personally responsible before the courts of justice, in the manner and form established by law, for the acts done by them in the performance of their duties.{235}
Section ThirdTHE MAYORS AND THEIR POWERS AND DUTIES
Art. 110.Mayors shall have power:
1. To publish such resolutions of the municipal councils as may have force of law, and execute and cause the same to be executed.
2. To administer the municipal affairs, issuing orders and instructions as well as rules for the better execution of the resolutions of the municipal councils, whenever the latter may fail to do so.
3. To appoint and remove the employes of their respective offices in the manner provided by law.
Art. 111.The Mayors shall be personally responsible before the courts of justice, in the manner prescribed by law, for all acts performed by them in the discharge of their functions.
Art. 112.Each Mayor shall receive a salary, to be paid by the municipal treasury, which may be changed at any time; but such change shall not take effect until after a new election for Mayor has been held.
Art. 113.In case of vacancy, either temporary or permanent, of the office of Mayor, the president of the municipal council shall act as Mayor.
Should the absence be permanent, the substitute shall act until the end of the term for which the Mayor was elected.
Title XIIITHE NATIONAL TREASURY
Art. 114.All property existing within the territory of the Republic not belonging to provinces, municipalities or private individuals or corporations, shall belong to the State.{236}
TITLE XIVAMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION
ART. 115.The Constitution shall not be amended, in whole or in part, except by resolution passed by two-thirds of the total number of members of each House of Congress.
Six months after the resolution to amend the Constitution has been passed, a constitutional convention shall be called to assemble for the exclusive and specific purpose of either approving or rejecting the amendment. Each House shall, in the meantime, continue to perform its duties with absolute independence of the convention.
Delegates to the said convention shall be elected by each province at the rate of one for every fifty thousand inhabitants, in the manner that may be provided by law.
TRANSIENT PROVISIONS
First. The Republic of Cuba does not recognize any other debts or obligations than those legitimately contracted in favor of the revolution by commanders of bodies of the liberating army, subsequent to the twenty-fourth day of February, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, and prior to the nineteenth day of September of the same year, on which date the Jimaguayu Constitution was promulgated; and the debts and obligations contracted afterward, by the revolutionary government, either by itself or through its legitimate representatives in foreign countries. Congress shall examine said debts and obligations and decide upon the payment of those which are found legitimate.
Second. Persons born in Cuba, or children of native-born Cubans, who, at the time of the promulgation of this{237}Constitution, are citizens of any foreign nation shall not enjoy the rights of Cuban nationality without first renouncing expressly the foreign citizenship.
Third. The time of service of foreigners in the wars of independence of Cuba shall be counted as time of naturalization and residence, for the acquisition of the right granted to naturalized citizens in article 49.
Fourth. The basis of population established in relation to the election of representatives in Congress, and of delegates to the constitutional convention, in articles 48 and 115, may be changed by law whenever, in the judgment of Congress, the change becomes necessary through the increase in the number of inhabitants, shown by censuses to be periodically taken.
Fifth. At the time of the first organization of the Senate, the Senators shall be divided into two groups for the purpose of their renewal.
Those forming the first group shall cease in their duties at the expiration of the fourth year, and those forming the second group at the expiration of the eighth year. It shall be decided by lot which of the two Senators from each province shall belong to either group.
The law shall provide the method to be followed in the formation of the two groups into which the House of Representatives shall be divided for the purpose of its partial renewal.
Sixth. Ninety days after the promulgation of the electoral law, which shall be framed and adopted by the constitutional convention, an election shall be held of the public functionaries provided by the Constitution, to whom the transfer of the Government of Cuba, in conformity with the provisions of Order No. 301 of Headquarters Division of Cuba, dated July twenty-fifth, nineteen hundred, is to be made.{238}
Seventh. All laws, decrees, regulations, orders and other provisions which may be in force at the time of the promulgation of this Constitution shall continue to be observed, in so far as they do not conflict with the said Constitution, until legally revoked or amended.
Hall of sessions of the Constitutional Convention, Havana, February twenty-first, nineteen hundred and one.
The Constitutional Convention, acting in conformity with the order of the Military Governor of the island, of July 25, 1900, by which it was called to assemble, resolves to attach, and does hereby attach to the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba adopted on February twenty-first ultimo, the following.
APPENDIX
ArticleI. The Government of Cuba shall never enter into any treaty or other compact with any foreign power or powers which will impair or tend to impair the independence of Cuba, nor in any way authorize or permit any foreign power or powers to obtain by colonization or for military or naval purposes, or otherwise, lodgment in or control over any portion of said island.
Art. II. That said Government shall not assume or contract any public debt to pay the interest upon which, and to make reasonable sinking-fund provision for the ultimate discharge of which, the ordinary revenues of the island, after defraying the current expenses of Government, shall be inadequate.
Art. III. That the Government of Cuba consents that the United States may exercise the right to intervene for the preservation of Cuban independence, the maintenance of a government adequate for the protection of life, property, and individual liberty, and for discharging the obligations with respect to Cuba imposed by the Treaty of{239}Peace on the United States, now to be assumed and undertaken by the Government of Cuba.
ART. IV.That all acts of the United States in Cuba during its military occupancy thereof are ratified and validated, and all lawful rights acquired thereunder shall be maintained and protected.
ART. V.That the Government of Cuba will execute, and, as far as necessary, extend the plans already devised, or other plans to be mutually agreed upon, for the sanitation of the cities of the island, to the end that a recurrence of epidemic and infectious diseases may be prevented, thereby assuring protection to the people and commerce of Cuba, as well as to the commerce of the southern ports of the United States and the people residing therein.
ART. VI.That the Isle of Pines shall be omitted from the proposed constitutional boundaries of Cuba, the title thereto being left to future adjustment by treaty.
ART. VII.That to enable the United States to maintain the independence of Cuba, and to protect the people thereof, as well as for its own defence, the Government of Cuba will sell or lease to the United States lands necessary for coaling or naval stations, at certain specified points, to be agreed upon with the President of the United States.
ART. VIII.That, by way of further assurance, the Government of Cuba will embody the foregoing provisions in a permanent treaty with the United States.
Hall of sessions, June twelfth, nineteen hundred and one.{240}
After the Constitution, the Government. On October 14, 1901, General Wood as Military Governor of Cuba issued an order for the holding of a general election throughout the island on December 31, that day to be a legal holiday. At that election there were to be chosen Presidential and Senatorial Electors, Members of the House of Representatives, Governors of Provinces or Departments, and members of Provincial Assemblies or Councils. At the same time it was announced that the election of President, Vice-President and Senators, by the electoral colleges, would take place on February 24, 1902. A provisional election law was also promulgated at that time.
This order brought acutely to the fore the question of Presidential candidates. There were several of them, but none of them could be regarded as a party candidate for the reason that there were then practically no parties. The three which had existed had gradually dissolved, merged into each other, and left the Cuban people free to follow purely individual leaders again.
Maximo Gomez was naturally looked to as the foremost candidate for the Presidency, and despite the bitterness of some politicians against him there is little doubt that if he had consented to be a candidate he would have stood alone and been elected practically without opposition. No man deserved the honor more than he. But it was more than an honor. It was a tremendously serious responsibility. Now Gomez was not the man to{241}shirk responsibility. But he was not a man, either, to accept it rashly. He knew his own limitations. He knew, too, the requirements of the place. There was needed a scholar and statesman, rather than a "rough and ready" bushwhacking soldier. So he would not even consider the offer of the nomination. "I was never intended," he said, "to become the President of any country. I think too much of Cuba to become her President."
Calixto Garcia, who after the death of Antonio Maceo stood second to Gomez as a commander, and who was General-in-Chief of the eastern half of the island, had won a splendid reputation for efficient work in Oriente and Camaguey, and was a man of great force and ability, and of much popularity among the Cuban people. But he died at Washington of pneumonia soon after the close of the war.
With these two great chieftains of Cuba's wars thus out of the running, the choice by common consent fell upon Tomas Estrada Palma; and a better choice could not have been made. We have already seen something of his work as the head of the Cuban Junta in New York. He was now past the prime of life, having been born at Bayamo in 1837, but he was in full mastery of his ripe intellectual and physical powers. The son of a rich and distinguished family, he was sent in his youth to Seville to study law, and for a time practised it with much success in Cuba. But he was a patriot, and when the Ten Years' War began he entered the Cuban ranks and had a distinguished career in the field, as also in the councils of the Republic in the field. Unfortunately he was captured by the enemy and was sent to Spain, where he was a prisoner until the end of the war. Then he went to Honduras, became Postmaster-General of that country, and married the accomplished daughter of President Guardiola.{242}Thence he went to the United States and for some years was the head of an admirable private school for boys at Central Valley, New York; most of his pupils being from Cuba and other Latin-American countries.
At the outbreak of the War of Independence in 1895 the veteran patriot promptly offered himself for any service that he could perform. Though nearing the age of three score, he would gladly have taken up his rifle again and gone into the field. But there was more important and more profitable work for Cuba to be done than that would have been, and he entered upon it with zeal, as the head of the Cuban Junta in New York. Especially after the death of Marti, he was the guiding spirit of that organization, and as such, at least in the eyes of America and of the world at large, he was the actual head of the Cuban revolution, even more than the President of the Provisional Government in the patriot stronghold in the mountains of Cubitas. He was not merely the very active head of the working organization of the Junta, which supplied the Cuban army with the sinews of war, but he was the diplomatic representative of Cuba, though only informally recognized, at Washington. He was at this time still in the United States, and was making no effort whatever to secure the Presidential nomination. Doubtless he would have been quite content not to receive it, and would have given his heartiest and most efficient support to any other man who might have been chosen. But there was a spontaneous turning of all Cuban eyes and minds and hearts toward him as the man of all best fitted to inaugurate the independent republican sovereignty of the insular state as its first President. He was the choice of no party—parties were yet inchoate—but of the Cuban people.
In similar fashion General Bartolome Maso was put{243}forward for Vice-President. Of him we have already heard much in these pages; a stern old warrior patriot of Oriente, who had done inestimable service in the field in the two wars, and who had been President of the Revolutionary Government—its last President, in the mountains of Cubitas, at the time of the American intervention. A man of fine education, of unblemished integrity, of sterling patriotism, he commanded the respect and affection of all who knew him; though it must be confessed that he was personally little known at the capital or in the western half of the island.
For a time there seemed every prospect that these two men, so admirably chosen, would be elected without contest. But at the end of October there was a schism. Estrada Palma was favorably inclined toward the Platt Amendment, while Bartolome Maso remained outspoken against it. The sequel was that all the politicians of whatever factions who were opposed to that instrument joined in putting Maso forward as a candidate not for the Vice-Presidency but for the Presidency, in opposition to Palma. On October 31 Maso issued an address announcing his candidacy, which, he said, he had been induced to accept "in order to preserve the nationalism and patriotism of the country"; and he added that the American intervention had been "perverted into a military occupation approaching a conquest." This was exaggeration, though entirely sincere; Maso lacking the broad international vision necessary to appreciate the relationships with the United States and the rest of the world upon which Cuba was about to enter. But it made a strong appeal to a number of diverse and incongruous elements, including some of the former Autonomists, many of the Spaniards, and a number of Negroes who were inclined to form a race party of their own.{244}