A Territorial form of government, consisting of a governor, a board of public works, and a legislative assembly, was provided for by an act of Congress of February 21, 1871. The legislative assembly consisted of 11 members, called a council, and 22 other members, called a house of delegates. The District also had a Delegate in the House of Representatives of the United States. The governor and the board of public works were appointed by the President of the United States, and the legislative assembly was elected by the people. This form of government lasted three years, until June 20, 1874, when Congress provided that the District should be governed by three commissioners, appointed by the President. This was known as the temporary form of government and lasted until June 30, 1878. Thereupon the Congress, by an act approved June 11, 1878, created the present form of government of the District of Columbia, to become effective July 1, 1878. By this act the District was created a municipal corporation with right to sue and be sued. The act provided for the appointment of three commissioners, two of them to be selected by the President from persons residing in the District of Columbia for a period of three years preceding their appointment. The third member was to be an officer of the Engineer Corps, United States Army, detailed by the President, and to be known as the engineer commissioner. The appointments of the civilian commissioners are for a period of three years, or until their successors are appointed. The detail of the engineer commissioner is at the pleasure of the President. This detail is usually about four years. While the District has a municipal form of government, Congress, by various statutory enactments, has treated it as a branch of the United States Government by including it in legislation applying to the executive departments, such as the budget and accounting act, the act classifying the salaries of Federal employees, and the act providing for retirement of Federal employees. In the act of June 11, 1878, it was provided that the expenses of the government of the District should be borne 50 per cent by the United States Government and 50 per cent from the revenues of the District of Columbia, raised by taxation. This method of financing remained in force from 1878 until 1920. In that year the proportionate expense was changed by Congress so that 60 per cent of the expenditures was raised by taxation and 40 per cent was contributed by the Federal Government. This provision continued in force until the year 1925, when Congress determined on a lump-sum contribution of $9,000,000 annually, the balance of the expenses to be raised by taxation; the amounts of money appropriated have varied since then.