Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1848-05-31

q law, that it never passed in conformity
with the rules Of constitutional and parlia
mentary law. that it never fnallyp passes
either branch of the General Assembly
and that though the legislative journals ar'
defective, still there exists on their page
evidence to shew that, since the pretended
passage Of this apportionment scheme, i
not since the a6journment, that the journals
have been falsiied TO sustain the bold con
spiracy against the constitution and agains
the political rights OF fthe people ofthe state
The Constitution of Ohio provides thai
the Representatives shall be"apportioned
among the several countless" yet the ma
iority IN the last Legislature, finding tha,
by ihedi iyision of ana .an. scb unity they
adaaieaai sesfese -at pnce rejected
its posi- tive s1lensa ahdsoi ! the ConstIu utIohn and
reported q bill dividing Hamilton county
iI6p two Legislative districts. But, few a,
aftlfis late day, with the, light, Of the dis
clsssionz which this subject has brought forth,
wilIpretend that this was done from an hon
est conviction Of duty~-and fewer still, will
believe that if nothing could have been
gained for party purposes, that this Outrage
would have been attempted.
Previous to the formation of the State
Government, the Territory North West Of
the river Ohio, was governed by the Ordi-
nance Of Congress, passed July l3, 1897.
Under that act of Congress, Ohio, until ad.
rnitled into the Union as n. State, was gov.
erned. That lawtprovided that Represent
atives should be elected by ecounlies or
When the delegates met un-
der the provisions of that Ordnance, to form
a State constitution; they had the alterna-
tives presented to them Of elect1ng their
either by ''coun,ies or
townships - That they chose the former
mode can be seen from the plain reading
Of the constitution, which expressly declares
that the Representatives shall be "appor-
TONED among the several counties" lnthe
absence of other argument, this alono would
be sufficient to show the intention Of the
trainers OF the constitution But as if to
add proof upon proof, ito dispel any lurk.
ing doubt, the constitution at once settles
the question, by the first Apportionment,
which was made by the men who framed
the constitution, and incorporated it within
lis provisions. Section I, of the schedule
declares, ....
sUntil the first enumerations shall be-
made, as directed in the second section of
he first article Of this constitution, the coun-
y. OF Hamilton shall be entitled to four
Senators and eight Representatives; the
county Of Clermont to one Senator and two
representatives. the county OF Adams, one
Senator and three Representatives; the
county of Ross, two Senators and four Rep
the county Of Fairfield, one
Senator and two Representatives; the coun-
ty Of w ashington, two Senators and three
Representatives; the county Of Belmont,
one Senator and two Representatives; the
county Of Jefferson, two Senators and four
and the county of Trum-
bull one Senator and two Representatives.
Two years after, the Legislature, COM
posed of many OF the trainers Of the con-
again districted the State for Leg
islative purposes, and every four years
and in every case, the apportionment of
in the language of the
was "among the several coun-
ties" Of the State, and never until the last
session of ihe Ohio Legislature was the
doctrine asserted; that counties could be ai-
vided for Legislative purposes: If the doc
trine asserted last winter Tor the first time
be true, then were the trainers of the Con-
stitution ignorant Of the fact, or else why
in their first apporlionment, did they allow
the people OF Hamilton county to elect
-four Senators and eight Representatives"
in common, instead OF dividing them among
the townships of the county. II the doc
lrine be true, for forty odd years have the
people of Ohio lived under n Constitution,
the meaning Of which neither they, nor
those who drafted it knew, until enlighten.
ed by the men who composed the majority
in the last Legislature.
II the city OF Cincinnati had a seperate
interest from the remainder Of the county
OF. Hamilton. so pressing rs to demand a
violation of the Constitution, to redress her
grievances, why was the city, nay, even
the township Of Cincinnati, divided? The
9th and 10th wards Of the city, running in.
to its very heart, were cut loose from the
other eight wards, and attached to the re.
manIder . the county. If the community
of interest which bound the city and county
together, was lacking, and their interests
were of SO conflicting q character as to re-
quire divorce at the expense of the Con-
slituton, why not divide the whole city and
not leave part, where, if the argument ol
those who attempted to defend this appor-
tionment scheme, be true, there is no reci-
prccity Of interest! The answer to this
question unveils the whole plot. The 9th
aud the 10Th Wards are strongly democrat.
ic! If suffered to remain with the rest OF
the city, there was bare chance that the
democracy of Cincinnati would elect the
Senator and the two Representatives u.
warded to the city. 10 guard against this,
to leave not ''loop'' for the democratic
party Of the city to '.hang a hope upon;'-
to place the matter beyond all contingen'
|cy, the 9th and 10th wards were set of
with the country townships, and portion
of the township Of Cincinnati was erected
into Senatorial and Representative dis
.trict.
Four years ago the districting law made