cept that the Council of Administration could propose for executive sanction regulations putting the Spanish laws into force. The acceptance of the advice of either body did not relieve the Governor-General of personal responsibility. 25. Central Administrative Agencies. The GovernorGeneral exercised his civil functions by means of administrative officials. The most important of these were the director-general of the civil administration, the treasurer, and a secretary. They had control of the various bureaus of the government. The office of the director-general of the civil administration was charged with the management of municipal and provincial governments, public instruction, public works, mines and forests, public health, charity, agriculture, and communications. The treasurer had control of customs, lotteries, the treasury, and supervision of the auditor. of the Governor-General's secretaries acted relative to matters pertaining to patronage, public order, the judiciary, and international affairs. One 26. Provincial Administration. The Islands were divided for administrative purposes into provinces and districts based on the dialects spoken by the inhabitants. The fundamental division was into civil and military government. The former came to cover the major portion of Luzon; the latter, the rest of the Islands, including the Visayas, Mindanao, and the Sulu Archipelago. It was intended in due time to appoint civil governors to every district as each became fit for it. Civil government was divided into four classes according to importance, wealth, and size - Manila, which ranked above all others, and first, second, and third class provinces. The beginning of civil government came through the appointment of alcaldes mayores (judicial governors) as successors to the encomenderos. The alcaldes mayores combined both executive and judicial functions. They received small salaries, some only 300 pesos a year, but they had the privilege of trading, which made the office in the end very remunerative. The first reform came in 1844, when the alcaldes were prohibited from trading. Finally in June, 1886, executive and judicial functions were separated, eighteen civil governors were appointed to the principal provinces, and the functions of the alcaldes were confined to their judgeships. The civil governors so authorized were the direct representatives of the Governor-General. They were named and removed by virtue of royal decrees issuing from the Minister of the Colonies, and were in all cases Spaniards. The civil governor was the chief authority in his province, with wide powers in all administrative and economic matters. He was, in a word, the provincial government. Under the Maura Law of 1893 a provincial council at the capital of the province was authorized. This body was to have nine members, five ex-officio, and four residents of the capital elected by the captains of the municipal councils for terms of six years. The civil governor was to act as presiding officer. The functions of the council were mainly inspection and consultation. 27. Municipal Administration. The unit of local administration was the pueblo, which ordinarily embraced an area of many square miles and contained numerous barrios or villages. For its government, the Spaniards in the beginning continued the native barangays, confirming the chiefs in authority under the title of cabezas de barangay. As the next step the towns were organized with a native official, called the gobernadorcillo (literally "little governor"), with the popular title of capitán, at the head. He was the representative of the provincial governor, was the arbiter of local questions except those assuming a serious legal aspect, was responsible for the collection of the taxes, was bound to assist the parish priest, and entertained all visiting officials. Assisting the gobernadorcillo were tenientes (deputies), alguaciles (subordinate employees), and chiefs of police, of fields, and of cattle. Municipal officers were chosen annually by the outgoing gobernadorcillo and twelve cabezas de barangay, who were selected by lot. The selection was presided over by the provincial governor, and the parish priest was permitted to be present. For the office of gobernadorcillo three candidates were nominated by plurality vote and sent to the GovernorGeneral, or, in outlying provinces, to the provincial governor, who selected one for the position. Other municipal officers were chosen directly by the meeting. The pueblo was divided into barangays (barrios or wards) of about fifty families. For their administration there were cabezas de barangay, who had lost much of their previous powers, and whose principal duties were to act as agents for the collection of the taxes, for the payment of which they were held responsible. They paid no tribute on their own account and became members of the principalia - the voting and privileged class. Originally hereditary, breaks in the family line were filled by appointments by the Spanish officials; eventually the position became generally elective, with service compulsory. The foregoing was the system which prevailed up to the year 1893. In that year there was promulgated the Maura Law, taking its name from its author, the then Minister of the Colonies. It applied to the towns of Luzon and the Visayan Islands in which more than one thousand cédulas were paid. A municipal council of five, the captain and four lieutenants, was constituted. It was given charge of the active work of governing the municipality, such as the administration of public works, and the details of taxation. In addition, each of its members was required to perform certain specified duties. The Governor-General and the provincial governor retained disciplinary jurisdiction over the council and its individual members; the provincial council also had supervision over the municipal council. The Maura Law had not really been made effective before American occupation. An exception to the general plan was the organization of the City of Manila, and up to the time of the Maura Law, of the other principal cities, such as Iloilo and Cebú, whose government followed quite closely that which prevailed in Spanish America, which in turn was derived from Spain. Manila had the usual Spanish officials, including two alcaldes (mayor and vice mayor) and regidores (councillors). 28. The Judiciary. During the last years of Spanish sovereignty, the administration of justice was intrusted to the Territorial Supreme Court of Manila; two superior courts for criminal cases; courts of first instance in the provinces; and justice of the peace courts in the municipalities. In addition there were courts of special jurisdiction and a department of public prosecution. Judges of the superior courts were appointed by the Minister of the Colonies in Madrid. Late royal decrees established the independence of the judges and governed transfers, suspensions, and removals. Judicial salaries were meager -from 2,000 pesos to 7,000 pesos per annum. The Supreme Court was established in 1584; up to that date the Governor had exercised judicial functions. The first president of the court was Governor Santiago de Vera. The oldest document now remaining in the office of the clerk of the Supreme Court is a judgment in a criminal case imposing |