Marshall County Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1855-1859, 1857-01-29
La PORTE, Jan. %, 1867.
Speech Of Hon. Horace Heffren.

OF WASHINGTON,
On tie apportionnaent Bill, deliyered az fhs
Senate, Jan. IL, 1857.
Mr. HEFFREN said:
Mr.. President: have listened with pa
tience to the remarks of the gentleman from
Howard, Mr.. Murray, and others of the
opposition. in regard to this bill. We are
told that it is ''fair. just and equitable
BILL" and one which all Senators, prospect
i've of party, should vote for. Sir, am q
young man, the youngest member of this
honorable body, and should, perhaps. lei
older and wiser heads debate this question
Sir, this bill was introduced the first day
of the session, at the close of the day, and
printed copies of it were laid upon our ia.
bles the next morning; but they ere soor
taken away again, for the alleged reason
they were full of errors. On Saturday af
ternoon another bill was placed upon oul
tables, entirely different, in many particu-
lars, from the first, and we were asked to
pass it before We had time to examine it,
and see if It's provisions were just and eq-
uitable. a vote of this Senate has made
1t Tie SpCCltl CIUeI VI lO-Udl.
Sir, have given the bill q slight invee-
tigation, and have found corruption enough
in to stultify one with lis provisions. ana
satisfy me that the bill has not the virtue
of right in it. Iimpugn the motives of nc
Senator upon this floor; but when ] find
that the county of Floyd, with vote of but
3,257, has one Senator and one Reprcsen-
.ative. and the adjoining county of Clark,
with vote of over 8, 500, has but one Sen
ator in connexion with Scott, which gives
some / 200 more votes. / am astonished
that Republican members should tell us
that his is affair bill. Floyd a doubtful
county in politics, with vote of 3, 257, en-
titled to Senator and Representative
while Clarke, Democratic county, with
200 moro votes, has only half Senator
and one Representative! In other words,
by this bill it takes 1890 in the DEMO
CRATIC District of Clarke and Scott for one
Senator, and the DOUBTFUL county of Floyd
is given a Senator tor 3,257 voters. Cal
you this fair bill.
Let me cite the county of Allen, with {
vote of i,949, which by the present ratio
of representation entities her to one Sena
tor and two Representatives, yet this bill
joins her to Adams, thus making an aggre
gate vote of $3.50, and because these coun.
ties are Democratic they get but one Sen
a.or and three Representatives while Wayne
county with vote of s, TAG gets Senator
and three Representatives. Why this dis
tinction? Simply because one is largely
Republican, and the other largely Demo
cratic. Henry county, with 1900 Repub
lican majority, and a vote A. 900 has Sen
ator and two Representatives, while Pose,
and Vanderburgh, with 5.842 votes, an(
large Democratic majority have only th'
same number jointly. So with Clay, Mon
roe and Owen-wish 7,l62 votes they ge
only the same representation as Wayn'
county.
Sir, ] go still farther. find the count,
Iof Vanderburgh has 5000 votes, and get
but one Representative, while the count,
of Fulton, with only 1865 votes has Re
preventative. In other words, Sir. ittake
| two Democratic votes in Vanderburgh t
equal one Republican vote in Fulton. lie
us continue our investigations. Take tn
following districts under this bill: Foun
tain, Grant and Upton; Huntington an
Whitley; He y, Porter, Lake, Pulasl
and Starke; kosciusko and Fulton; Mar
shall and St. Joseph; Elkhart; eLagrang
and Noble; Steuben and Do Calb, Decatur
Rush; Ohio and Switzerland; Fayette an
Union, all now represented in this Legisls
ture by Republicans, each and all of whic
f fall short from 200 to 1900 under the IL
ito. and making fifteen Senator's, all Reput
licans. We find only nine Districts repre-
scented by Democrats under the ratio, an
they only from so to 250.
+ Take this bill as it is, with IA Republ
cans holding over. and at the next electic
the opposition viii undoubtedly elect fou
teen more, perhaps ffteen-thus, forev,
giving them majority here 1t is con
: plete gerrymander of the State for polite
power.
Now, Sir, take sixteen counties. all
which are Democratic, and we get sixte,
:. Representatives for an aggregate vote
Il 49.8l6, or one Representative for every
: 113 votes, while the ratio is only 1850
5 Under the ratio of right we are entitled
: FIVE more Representatives on the floor
this House.
y Now, Sir, take portion of the Repub
: can districts under this gerrymonder, al
J, we find that they get..ninetecn Represent