Alexandria advertiser and commercial intelligencer. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1800-1803, 1801-12-23

ifa remedy wa. fought, It mutt oe ,oufn
in the Senate. The large fates had not
tina, excluGve weigh. which Rad been tat
ed. If the numbers Of the large ns'es ;, III
this houie fhould overbear the INHALER
ftates they would find their protection IN
the Senate. The fractional los' 10
much dwelt on, was not a lois to the
fate, it wa, only lois to that part Of the
Gate which was unrepreiented, and the
LOT, would he he fine to larger fate, if
it. un.cpre:cn.ed frafsion were equally
great.
MIR. Van Nets laid it had alwass been
his defire to ,onfult the wiihes OF the peo-
pie and to conform to them. he CONT
dered thofe wines as folemnly expreiled
in the contribution, which had decided
that the ratio lhould rot be lefs than
10000, and in the law pafed immediate.
ly after the adoption of the contribution,
fixing the ratio at $4,000.
AS to the experience of the E9ates, 70
often appealed to, he would itate thar of
his own. Th. contribution Of New
York originally 6xcd the Representation
in one branch at 900, and in the other
at $50. After futFering the inconveni-
ences Of 70 large a legislative body, con-
vention had been called, which reduced
the one branch to $50, AID the other to
81 members.
1t was tn, opinion Of folne gentle
men that the eGen,ial principle of our
government was the equal experimentation
of the fa,es in the Senate. 1ais WIS a
miaaken opinion. The feeeraiiim OF
the government might have ben as we'll
pref:rved by an unequal representation
in the Senate The feature was not
the offspring Of principle, but of con-
cefion. If we looke>l TO antiquity, we
would obierve the fnsIlcr fates of a
confederation always inferior to the lar
ger; and he recollested one cafe OF a
confederation, in which one Rate was en-
titled to three, another to two, and the
third to one representative.
Mr.. Smile heartily concrrred in opinl-
on with the gentleman from New York,
that we cughl not to reflect local feelings;
W, that we u,ht to 60 On general grounds,
PoiltiIing theie principles we fill know
how difficult it is to do complete juitice
For himlelf he would be fatished with the
ratio o! q t9' thirty tiibouisni. He was If
favor of a large rerrzfentation, becaufe he
relied on that for iatety and economy
For when he con6dered the great power:
of the other branches Of the government
tpower, in the opinion Of fonc men toe
great he thought it was their duty to
impars to that houfe all the contribution.
al power that could be conferred. Thi:
would enable the Houie to r.filt all en-.
eroachmen,s attempted to be made up
on it.
MIR. Bacon faid, that for himielf, hi
was fatis6cd with the prslent ratio as il
food in the bill. This was the ratio
which had been adopted when our mum.
bers were much LET'S than they now are
that it did not appear but that it had 81.
ven general fa,isfaeaion, and then nc
other inconvenience had accrued, thar
fuchas nigh, be expected to follou from
the adoption of any other ratio whatever
Itwould ieem to be rather unnatural,
and the reverfe Of what was contem.
plated by thoic who enacted the con.
tiitution, as our numbers increafe, to lef-
Zen the ratio of representation. He was
therefore againa friking out the number
g, with view to infers lower number.
A diyiior OF $4,000, would now give
a houie con6iting Of at leaf 40 members,
which even on the prefent ratio, mutt
foon become, not only too exPenhye,
but unwieldy.
i, has been repeatedly urged, tina. the
prefent ratio leaves a very large fraction
TO the fate OF Delaware. This, it was
admitted, was matter of regret; but that,
let what ratio might be adopted, fuch
fractional parts mutt be expected 10 fall
fomewhere-that fuch fractions would be
likely to vary from time to time, and
Unfit from fate to fate, as the popula-
ton may inc-est- AID vary in the feve-
raj fates. And Mr.. B. did net con-
ceive that the particular cafe of Della