Sentinel of the valley. [volume] (Woodstock, Va) 1841-1848, 1846-03-12


each district, the East would have
seventy-six and the West fty-two, in
/ Ia house of one hundred and twenty
eight members. If you distribute rep
Fascination according to Congressional
districts, the relation will be eighty
one Eastern and hfty-three Western
members. The bill Of the majority Of
fers them the existing organization Of
! the, House Of Delegates, which is more
favorable than any other apportionment,
I except that offree white population
| That apportionment has been selected,
because it approximates very closely
| the combined ratio of taxation and free
white inhabitants, and because it recog-
nises the existing organization Of the
Government. The gentleman from
Wythe (Mr Leftwieh) claims a major
ity Of four members for the West, in
,the Convention;. and the minority re-
port and bill claim in substance the
same majority. lie further informed
us, that the present Constitution was
formed upon no priaciple-that every
principle of the Bill of Rights was re-
pudia'ed and disregarded in the Con-
Istitu,ion, and that free white persons
should alone be regarded as the element
of equal representation.
In examing these various PROPOSE
tons, we shall be much assisted by
looking to the policy of other States of
this Confederacy similarly situated
! We should ascertain whether the mix
ed basis has obtained the sanction of
other States, where property and slave
Try are unequaly distributed, and we
should gather lessons Of practical wis
dom from the experience they furnish.
We are not, at this late day in the his
tory Of American governments, to lay
down abstract theories of the natural
rights of man, but look to the social
I condition as developed in so many
! States for so long a period. I beg
leave, therefore, to call the attention of
the House, very briefly, to the appor-
tionment of representation by the Con-
stituiions of several States, to show
that the inequality of representation so
much complained of, prevails in many
of the States, and that the principle of
representation and taxation, or of rep
PRESENTATION on federal numbers, is nei-
Their anti-republican, aristocratic, nor
mon.rchical, as the terms are under
stood in the States. And FIRST as
North Carolina. BY the old Con-
stitution ofthis State each county cleo
ted one Senator and two Representa-
tives to the House of Commons, and
one from each ofthe towns of Edenton,
Newbern, Wilmington, Salisbury,
Hillsboro' and Halifax. This was an
equal county representation. The
people called Convention, and by
the Constitution adopted in 1885, they
changed the county basis. The Con-
stitution of 1e35,provides that TIE Sem
ate shall consist of fifty representa-
tives, to be elected by districts, which
districts shall! be laid of by the Gener-
al Assembly, in proportion to the av-
erage public taxes paid into the treasu-
ny for five preceding years. The
j House Of Commons is composed of
one hundred and twenty members, 10
be elected by the counties according
to their federal population, each county
J to hayeai least one. The Senate rep
resents taxation, the Commons, repre-
!. sent federal numbers. The Constitu-
ton follows the Constitution of the u
nited States very closely, making rep
{ resentation and direct taxes in the same
ratio in one branch, and representation
and federal numbers in the other. No
}convention can be called except BY a
vote Of two thirds of each House.
South CaroIna-The old Constitu-
I ton of this State apponioned repre-
sentatives in the the Senate and House
of Representatives among the election
i Ithstricts, giving fixed ratio to each.
! The New. Constitution (adopted 1SOS)
organizes the Houseof Representatives,
! Of one hundred and twenty four mem
! bers, on a combined ratio of taxation
Fand white inhabitants. It provides
TIN assignlngrepresenta,ives TO she'sev-
eral districts ofthe State, the Legisla-
! sure shall allow one representative for
e (every slx'y-second part of the whole
i number of white inha bitants in the
!, State, and one representative, also, for
: one slxty-second part of the whole
!, taxes raised by the Legislature Of the
81 State'-the average taxes for the. pre-
f ceding tenyears to be the guide. Here
I've have one-half Of the House Of Rep
resentatives representing taxes-the
] other half representing white persons.