THE NEW REPUBLIC.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1212, 22 August 1911, Page 5

THE NEW REPUBLIC.

PORTUGAL'S CONSTITUTION,

Tclecraph—Press Association— CouyrlcbS 1 Lisbon, August 20. The Portuguese Constituent Assembly has passed the Constitution Bill.

THE DRAI'T PROPOSALS.

Tho Spccial Committee of tho Portuguese Constituent Assembly which was appointed to draft the Constitution niaac the following proposals: (1) The Republic shall have a President whose .salary shall bo fixed prior to his election. (2) There shall be two Chambers, one of which shall be known as the Council of Municipalities. Ihe members of this Chamber shall bo elected by the municipal councillors throughout the country. (3) The President shall -communicate with tho legislative bodies bv means of messages, and there shall be no formal presentation of Ministers to Parliament'.

The drait in! tiier provided for the establishment of three powers, the legislative, the executive, and tho judiciary.. The first Chamber was to be elcctcd by direct' suffrage for three years, and to be called the National Council. The second, which was to be elected by all the Municipal Councils, would bo renewable half at a time every three, years. The two Chambers united constitute the Congress of the .Republic. The President of the Republic would be elected by the two Chambers for four years.

He would be free to appoint and dismiss Ministers, who would be required to reply by messages to whatever Parliament may ask them and would be obliged to appear before Parliamentary Committees. The President and the Ministers would b* responsible for their action, and may be brought before tho High Court of the Republic consisting of the Supreme Court' of Justice and a jury of twenty-one members chosen by election from the two lfonses of Parliament.