Regarding the government's political structure the 1815 constitution did not diverge much from the situation during the Republic: the 110 members of House of Representatives (lower house) of the States General, the "Second Chamber" as it is still called, were still appointed by the States-Provincial (for three years; each year a third was replaced), who themselves were filled with nobility members or appointed by the city councils, just like under the ancien régime. However, now also some rural delegates were appointed to all States-Provincial (first only true for Friesland) and the city councils were appointed by electoral colleges which were in turn elected by a select group of male citizens of good standing and paying a certain amount of taxes, so very indirectly there was a modicum of democracy introduced to the system. In all the administration was very monarchical, with the king appointing for life the members of the Senate, the "First Chamber", that mockingly was called the "Ménagerie du Roi". In 1840, when a new revision was made necessary by the independence of Belgium, a first step to a more parliamentary system was taken by the introduction of penal ministerial responsibility.