for the great work which lay beyond it. They had been so
disturbed by the original form of the order that many had declared that
they would not participate in the election or serve as delegates to the
Convention. The promise of modification mollified them, and thereafter
all went smoothly and auspiciously.

The call for the election was issued on August 11. The qualifications
for suffrage which were prescribed were the same as those in the
preceding municipal election, and were generally accepted as fair and
just. The election was held on September 15, and it passed off in very
much the same fashion as its predecessor. Only a moderate degree of
popular interest was manifested in it, and the vote cast was not a
large one. The candidates were divided among the three parties already
mentioned, but all save one were elected from the two radical
organizations, the Nationals and the Republicans. Just one, Senor Eliseo
Giberga, of Matanzas province, was returned by the Conservative Union
Democrats. There were a few charges of fraud, but they were vague and
general in terms and were not formulated nor pressed, and in the main
the result of the polling was accepted in good part. The number of
delegates from each province had been prescribed in the call for the
election. The roll of the convention comprised the names of many of the
foremost members of the Cuban nation, distinguished in war, in
statecraft and in science, and was well representative of all parts and
parties of the island.

The convention met for the first time on November 5, 1900, at two
o'clock in the afternoon. All the delegates were present, and a great
multitude of the people gathered in and about the palace to witness the
spectacle and to pay honor to the occasion. They were not alone from the
capital, but from all parts of Cuba. Every province and almost every
important municipality was represented. Expectant optimism prevailed.
There was only one note of uncertainty. That was concerning the promised
modification of the order concerning relations with the United States.
The modification had not yet been announced. There were a few who began
to doubt whether it would ever be; but most put faith in the Military
Governor and were sure that he would keep his word.

He did. At the appointed moment, when all were assembled, General Wood
called the Convention to order and addressed it briefly.

"It will," he said, "be your duty, first, to frame and adopt a
Const