The total number of voters registered was 150,648, which was a little more than fifty per cent, of the total number of men of voting age, which had been shown by the census of 1899 to be 297,765. However, there were some thousands of adult males in the island who had elected to retain their allegiance to Spain, and therefore could not vote, so that the number registered was considerably more than one half of the possible voters. At the election on June 16 the total vote cast was 110,816. There were some protests and complaints of fraud and illegal voting, and it is not improbable that there were some such abuses; as there have been known to be in other lands, even in the United States of America. On the whole the elections were probably reasonably fair and honest; they were peacefully and quietly conducted; and they gave much encouragement to the expectation that the people of Cuba would prove themselves worthy of the opportunity of self-government which was being placed before them. At this election there were three parties. The Union Democratic was composed of the more conservative element, including many of the old Autonomist party, and it was largely inclined toward annexation to the United States, or toward a permanent and efficient protectorate by that country. Its numbers were few, and it took little part in the election. The Nationals and the Republicans ranged from liberal to radical, and between the two in principle there was no perceptible difference. These parties did not long survive, but were transformed and merged into the Conservative and Liberal parties of later years. Political parties in Cuba had their origin about the time of American intervention in the war. That was an assurance that Cuba was to have her independence and become self-governing, and that made it seem worth while to form into parties. The full development did not come, however, until it was seen that the United States intended to keep its word by leaving the government and control of Cuba to the people of the island, and that conviction did not come to the general Cuban mind until some time after the United States entered the war. It first began to arise in considerable strength when the United States government forbade the granting of any franchises or concessions during the American occupation. That certainly looked as though the Americans expected to get out of the island at an early date. As the administration of General Wood went on, constantly increasing the participation of Cubans in the government, the confidence in American good faith increased, and of course the organization of parties became more complete.