The department of public development and communications has charge of
the postal service of the Republic, of the national telegraph and
telephone, of the lighthouses, and of the public works carried on by
the government.
The size of the national legislature of Santo Domingo has fluctuated
considerably. Under the 1896 constitution the Congress consisted of a
single house of twenty-four members, two from each of the then
existing six provinces and six districts. The increase of the
national income permitting greater expenditures, the constitution of
1908 provided for two houses, one called the Senate, the other the
Chamber of Deputies. The Senate is composed of twelve members, one
from each province, elected by the same electoral colleges that elect
the president and holding office for six years. One-third of the
Senate is renewed every two years. The number of members of the
Chamber of Deputies is supposed to be in proportion to the number of
inhabitants of the various provinces, but as there has been no census
the number is provisionally fixed at twenty-four, two from each
province.
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