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334 A HISTORY OF CHILE lar session from June ist to September the ist, but he can at any time prorogue it for a term of fifty days; he can summon it in special session whenever he may please he appoints and removes the six ministers, the intendentes of provinces, governors of towns, diplo- matic agents and five out of the eleven members of the council of state; he is commander-in-chief of the army and navy, or practically so ; he appoints the judges of both the higher and lower courts upon recommenda- tion of the council of state ; he approves, promulgates and takes part in the making of laws, issues decrees, regulations and instructions which he may deem advan- tageous for the due execution of laws. It will thus be seen that the powers so delegated to the president amount in fact to making him almost an autocrat, should he choose to be dictatorial. In the few instances where he must act in conjunction with the council of state, he can wield an influence almost dictatorial for he has the appointment of five out of eleven members of that body, the other six being ap- pointed in the proportion of three from each branch of congress. His cabinet is entirely of his own appoint- ment. The seven members from each branch appointed by congress as an advisory committee, called Comision Conservadora, whose functions are to see that there is due observance of the constitution while congress is not in session, tender advice to the president, and sug- gest the expediency of extra sessions, is in fact merely an advisory committee, with no power which a president not in sympathy with congress is legally bound to obey. It will be seen, therefore, that the chances were that at some time a president might be chosen who would fall out with congress, or, rather, with the Chilean oligarchy, which in fact governed Chile and held the