were elected for four years and half of the council was renewed every
two years. Thus half of the council was elected in 1903 and these
members took their seats in 1904, and half were again elected in 1905
and took their seats in 1906. The contention of the Liberals was that
this latter half, of 1905-1906, were illegal. On April 6, 1908, the
terms of councilmen elected in 1903 and seated in 1904 expired, leaving
in office only those who had been elected in 1905 and seated in 1906,
whom the Liberals affected to regard as having been illegally elected,
and who in any case were not sufficient for a legal quorum. The Liberals
demanded therefore that all seats be declared vacant and that the powers
of the provincial assemblies be vested for the time in the Provisional
Government of Intervention. This was done, and the provincial governors
were also required to resign. These latter vacancies were filled
temporarily by the appointment of United States army officers, who
served until October 1, 1908, when they were succeeded by men elected by
the Cuban people.

There was undoubtedly great need for a thorough revision of the laws of
Cuba. Those existing at this time were for the most part a legacy of the
old Spanish government and it was quite obvious that laws which had been
enacted by a despotic government for the control of a subject colony
were not suited for a free and independent republic. They were certainly
not in harmony with the constitution which had been adopted. It was an
anomalous state of affairs that after the adoption of the constitution
Cuban municipalities should continue to be governed under the Spanish
provincial and municipal code of 1878. This code gave the Central
Government not only intimate supervision over but practical control of
all municipal affairs, even to the smallest details, and naturally was
very unsatisfactory to the people who were desirous of local home rule
as well as of national independence. In fact the efforts of the national
authorities to enforce these laws were regarded with displeasure and
actually caused strong local antagonism to the national government.

Under the second government of intervention, therefore, a commission was
organized in 1907 consisting of both Cubans and Americans, the former
being the majority, for the purpose of drafting elaborate codes of
electoral, municipal, provincial, judiciary and civil service laws. This
commission completed its work but all its reco