The land thus available was to be used for increasing "dwarf holdings" to economic small holdings and settling the landless in new small holdings. The reform, however, was not carried through as originally intended. It was impossible in any case to put through expropriation on a large scale, for financial reasons. The bill became a convenient asset in the political bargainings of the over-numerous parties of the Seym. In 1925, it provided for the distribution of about 5o,000 ac. a year to a period of i o years. The maximum which an owner could retain was 148 ac. in the indus trial centres, 74o ac. in the border provinces and 435 ac. in other areas. A series of remarkably good harvests fortunately diminished somewhat the acuteness of the problem.
The duties of labour inspectors include that of arbitration. Work ing hours were regulated by the Statute of Dec. 8, 1919, by an amendment to this statute of Feb. 14, 1922 and by various other statutes. The working day, with certain exceptions, is limited to eight hours and the working week to 46 hours. The Decree of Feb. 8, 1919 introduced the freedom of coalition and defined the status of trade unions, which after that date grew rapidly in num bers and importance. At a later period, Poland took a very impor tant part in the work of the International Labour Organization, being among the States to ratify most readily the draft conven tions prepared by that office. Nevertheless, the position of work men in Poland long remained distressful.
The diet was composed of paid members elected for five years, upon a system of proportional representation. Suffrage was uni versal, all who enjoyed full civic rights and who were over 21 being qualified to vote ; soldiers on active service were excluded.
Citizens over 25 were eligible for election to the diet, members of the civil service could not be elected for the district in which they held office. The minimum age for voting in senatorial elec tions was 3o, while no one under 4o was eligible for election.
Bills went to the senate after being passed by the diet and if no objection was raised within 3o days the bill became law. Taxes and customs duties could be established only by law and a supreme board of control superintended the management of State finance.
The executive power was exercised by the president and a council of ministers who were responsible for his official actions. He was elected for seven years by the National Assembly, that is the diet and senate acting together.
For purposes of administration Poland was divided into 16 palat inates, which again were subdivided into districts, and urban and rural communes. The palatine or the wojewoda represented the executive Government in the palatinate, the starosta in the dis trict. Local legislation was to be exercised by dietines ("seymiki") in the palatinates, and by district councils in the districts. Eco nomic autonomy was established by means of chambers of agricul ture, commerce, industry, etc.; judicial control over the whole administration was vested in a supreme administrative tribunal.
Poland was reconstructed out of provinces of three empires in which widely different systems of law were operative. A codify ing commission began to work out a body of uniform codes of law for the whole republic ; in the meantime, Russian, German and Austrian codes remained in force in the different parts of the country. Gradually, many domains of legal relations were cov ered by parliamentary legislation, and, after 1926, by presidential decrees. A supreme court of justice in Warsaw was established at an early date, but it was only in 1928 that the country found itself in possession of a unified judicial organization and a uniform code of judicial procedure. Judges were nominated by the president, and irremovable except by judicial decision. Justices of the peace were locally elected by the people. Over property in land, forests and mineral wealth, however, a certain amount of State control was extended by special provisions of the constitution. State pro tection was given to labour, and insurance against unemployment, illness and accident was guaranteed. The exercise of religion was free, as far as it was in accordance with the law. The Roman Catholic religion, the predominant denomination of the country, was placed by the constitution in a privileged position.