The Massachusetts spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1831-1858, 1832-06-20
70? THE MASSACHUSETTS SPY

l N'F~At'S4Sd' tIG IeCeHt tSpOE- q! the
mit;ee On the pay roll the expense ofihe House Of
Representatives the past session amounts TO eighty
| thousand two hundred and twenty-five dollars. be-
sizes the expense of the Senate, Cer.: hire and
every other expense. Can the people be 50 thouoLt
less as long to bear this and unnecessa
~ public expense The people were in hopes
that measures would have been carried into effect
and that the Constitution wuuid have been amend
ed so as SO reduce the numbers and remove this
incubus yes, this load of expense which il pres
sing hard upon them; but every step which has
oeen taken has proved abor;ive. II there had been
oot one hundred and fifty members, there would
nave bsen saving of two thirds Of the rublic ex
pense al least. and Tie members would lave done
Tie business in much less time. The Representa
yves who were opposed to the amendment of the
Constitution who talk much Of the CORPORATE
rights OF towns, every honest rejecting man would
suppose that they would ON receiving their nav
from eighty to one hundred dollars besides their
board have some stinGs OF conscience To 20 IN
The General Court is money making business.
10 i've on the good things OF the city during the
dead season Of winter and receive two dollars a
cay endears the corporate rights Of their towns TO
the!r purses. They return home to their towns
iu'i OF knowledge, and cndesyor to work upnn the
creduiity OF their constituents to make them be-
lieVe mat large, numerous expensive and nm
"ieldy House of Representatives is the only So.
curity to civil liberty. Any one would suppose
from the trials which have been had for iGreo
years, TO amend the Constitution and reduce the
numbers, that il the Numbers were so great that
"ey ",uid devour the whole substance of the
people Ike the l0custs in Egypt the mc,nhers
would hardly consent 10 alter the Constitntion and
reduce the numbers. Notwithstanding the reDeat
Gu recommendations of our Governor in his mes
sases, and the opinion of the most INTELLIGENT nor
t','h OF The people, nothing has been done to rem
cay this unnecessary evil. Many of the members
Mn1 90 70 the General Court tell the people that
those St1tna ha
mere is danger of intrigue, of corruption. of undue
'hhuehca, OF lobby members-and by these 6imsv
reasons, ehdeavor to satisfy their constituents Thai
'hey nave acted wisely i'll opposing the amend.
,heht 10 the constitution, in every form it has
n1eh presented Tor the consideration of the House
They know that if they succeed in ouieting tho
people, they hope to have another oDportnnify If
hllng their pockets out Of the public treasure
II you ask them why the Constitutions Of Other
States admit but a small number of Represento.
tves compared to ours, they can give you no an
swer but the danger of corruption. If YOU tell
them 1t is the most economical and best way Ia
reduce the members to one hundred and fifty and
choose them by districts, anger rises in their
breast and color comes in their faces, and they
break out and say, that in that there will he
caucusslng, and a pack of lawyers will be chosen.
II you tell them the members are chosen. by
the people, and all power is in the people to choose
whom they please, they are puzzled for All answer
es ought to be represented. If any class or occu-
patton Is to have the greatest number, it is the
land holders-the yeemanry OF our country-they
have the strongest interest in good government.
and claim the highest respect Of all classes of the
community No one will deny that 1t is necessary
that there should be men of talents, of learning
and experience, to give special aid in the enact
ment of our laws. Frem the returns there were
between five and six hundred members chosen for
the last year-al pressed together in one common
mass-they became so crowded that many of the
members are constantly leaving .heir seats and
going out of the House while others are coming
III. In the common and ordinary business of the
day, quite proportion of the members take no
part and feel no responsibility. Tie labor is per-
formed by very small number OF the House
From this great body of the people there are
multitude of speakers and the legislative business
is unnecessarily delayed. One hundred and fifty
members Of good intelligence would do the legs-
latiye business better, with more responsibility
apd much more despatch, and save the government
from monstrous and unnecessary tax, which
comes from the people in some shape or other
The liberty OF the press is the palladium of the
rights OF the people, and through the press the
people should be reused to sense of their interest
and before another election, make up their minds
to choose members to go to the General Court
with special instructisns TO lay aside their own
selfish, ambitious views, and alter the Constitution
so as to reduce the members to one hundred and
nifty or two hundred members and choose them by
districts as is done in many of the States in the
Union. Let the voice of the people be distinctly
heard at the polls, and as a wise measure let
every town petition to the next Legislature to
alter the Constitution, and 10 reduce the mem
bers and choose them by districts Let the
people al large take the subject up and there
will be no danger but the Constitution NAV be
| amended for the interest of the people, The
House OF Representatives has been in session
eighy-two days. and the who;e expense of the Leg
isature cannot fall short of one hundred thousand
dollars. BY the Constitution of this Common
wealth, speaking of the House of Representatives,
In article 3D. among other things it says, 1.-THE ex-
pense oil travelling TO the General Assembly and
returning home once in every session and no MORE
shall be paid by the government out of the public
treasury, to every member who shall attend as sea-
sonaoly as he can, in the judgment of the House,
and does not depart without leave" So that it
is clearly implied, that only the travel was to be
paid out OF the public treasury, and the attend
ance by the towns. For if the travel and attend
ance were both to be paid out of the public treas
ury, it would have been so expressed by the Con-
situ,lon, and the first resolve for raising the money
SAYS the pay of the attendance of the members
shall be paid out of the public treasury, and the
sum be reimbursed by the towns asreeably to the
provision OF the Constitution. So that 1t appears
the travel was to be paid out Of the public treasury
and the attendance paid by the towns. When the
Constitution went into operation, such was cOnsId-
cred the plain construction of the Constitution
Upon that construction the Legislature practised
Tor nearly forty years. number Of years ago the
House of Representatives took upon themselves TO
give different construction andby resolve directed
the attendance to be paid out of the public treas
ury, without requiring the pay of the members to
be reimbursed by their respective towns. The
Senate adhered to the true construction of the
Constitution and non-concuned in the measures
HnuSa in - l,,btb
no grant or State tax made for several years. to pay
Tie attendance Of the members and the government
was under the necessity of looking other sources
to pay the attendance Of the members. The same
spirit operated then by those who in favor of
paying the members out of the public treasury that
does now by those who are opposed to giving up
corporate rights and lessening the representation
If the towns were obliged as formerly to pay their
members 1t would prove in some measure, a rene
dy to the present evil. Many of the towns would
only occasionally send representative and the
members be greatly reduced. Under the present
construction Of the Constitution the towns send all
| they can. The present situation of things admits
OF no economy. Many people say in every town,
( that their town may send as well as not. For if
they decline to send other towns will and their
| representative may well thrust lis hands into
the public treasury and get his part as otherwise
| Ihey say their proportion Of the tax among the
whole people will be but fraction. These are the
evils growing out of this strained cons ructun,
OF the constitution and the members who are
IN favor Of that construction wish to 90 10 the
General Court ind stay until the Goals are rak-
ed up, and these are the same people who
ere opposed to the amendment of the Consti-
tuition and to reduce the members, and to choose
the representative by districts, The whole popu-
laton Of the United States is l2 1856 15t snrs. and
the whole representation in the House Of Repre-
sentatives in Congress, is but about 220 members
orepres, Mt % States. The population of Penn
sylvania is 347673 souls and by the Constitution
Of that State the House of Representatives does not