The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1859-03-12


have a population Of Co., ,S4l, while thos
that gave republican majorities at the las
election contain CSC, S47-thus leaving al
excess on the side of the democratic coun
ties OF about thirty-three thousand over tn,
population Of toe republican counties; ant
yet, IN the face Of these ia is, We are tol
that the democratic party are in minority
IN the State Of Illinois that the eleven re-
| publican senators on this floor represent q
greater constituency and larger population
than the fourteen democratic senator's Yet
| SIR, taking the figures in this article and d.
viding them into two classes will show, as
have said, that the democratic counties have
| larger population than the republican
counties by thirty-three thousand. | insist
then that these reckless assertions tha. the
democratic party arc in the minority in This
State, are not founded in fact. The honora-
Die senator from Coles, (Mr. Marshali,) on
Saturday averred that the republican coun-
| ties were entitled to 80 members, the demo-
cratic counties to 80 members, and the close
and doubtful counties 10 / l members upon a
fair division of the population according to
the ratio Now, Mr.. Speaker, if line be
drawn dividing every republican county from
every democratic cOun:y-if you make no
district in which both a republican and de-
mocratic county shall be found-if YOU keep
up the line OF political distinction between
the counties; commencing on the MISSISSIPPI
pi river, between Hancock and Henderson,
and following nearly the line of McDo-
nough, Peoria, TaZewell, SangamOn, Shelby,
Cumberland, and Clark, 10 the eastern
boundary of the State; then take the a-gre-
gate population of the republican counties
lying TO the south of that line, and divide it
by the exact ratio, 10. 2jG divide the demo
cratic counties south OF that line by the
same nnH,er, and you vii find that the de-
mocr&uc counties VIII have II representa-
tiveS, while the republican portion Of the
State VII have 80 representatives..
II YOU could disregard county lines, If you
could make 4 division without reference to
the provisions Of tho constitution in regard
70 population, basjng Il wholly upon po.iti-
ca! grounds, keeping one upon one side and
the other on the opposite side Of the llac,
then the democrats IN this state would have
a ma ority OF two IN the other branch Of the
genera. assembly. aud one majority IA the
senate. Yet these gentlemen cry out in re-
monstranCe against what they call an attempt
to di>frauCh.se the people and override the
majority by the act Of the Ia inUEIty. The
senator from Coles states that by this bill. !;
required population Of q, GJ to elect 4 re
publican. while 1I,74j inhabitants could
elect democrat TO the legislature. Where
he obtained his figures, unless it was from
the new pcrs, | am al Il loss t. say. That
statement Is 10; the fact. Ii YOU take the
population Of the - democratic districts, a.
contained in this bill, e.cctug - rcpresen-
!atyes, and add these together, it makes an
aggregate population Of 127,2o dividing
that number by -, the number Of rcprcsen-
tatlves, you obtain the ratio Of a democratic
rcprss ntaiive, which i G,IG3 There are
% republican districts having 80 members,
with an aggregate population Of - :, ,gfi,
which, divided by 81, gives 1851 as the ra-
to Tor republican representative. Hence
tee assertion that this bill l. based on a ratio
for a democratic representative OF ll,I4I.
while -. l.ICJ are required for republican.
i untrue IN point OF fact, ard the honorable
-va4-'~- -. C0lest ~ MARSHALL certainly
never made the figures for himself. bat took
the statement he made from some person
who was either ignorant Of facts or deter
mined II pervert them.
wish to say a few words further, Mr..
Speaker, IN regard to the character of this
bill, and 70 give the differences that really ex-
ist between the democratic and republican
districts a. they are now arranged. There
ding to the returns OF last election will be
democratic, having population Of G7O, 2ii.
There are twelve republican districts, hav-
ing population Of C36, ,342 Adding ali the
excesscs from these districts together and
adding all the losses together, and then stri-
king the difference between them, it will
give but 9, leS. or less than one fifth OF the
ratio for one senator. Now ] ask those SEN
ators who think they can make q better bill
than this, to frame their districts in such
way that in population Of 800 $40, there
will not be greater difference betNeen the
republican and democratic districts than 9,
lSS.
/, Is truethat this difference is thrown on
the democratic side. | say this because
wish to state the facts fairly as they are
We expect to take the fractions in our favor,
but we do not intend to do injustice. La
diSposing OF this fraction, 1t being but nine
thousand, or less than one fifth Of the ratio
for one senator, it should be placed on that
side where it would make the least d difference.
If gained by the republicans they would
have bad a difference in their favor of forty
two thousand, while if It is given 10 the
democrats they only gain Inc thousaud.-
Again, sir, all the democratic representative
districts may be taken together, and all the
republican districts may be taken together,
the eXcesSos Snd losses of each class aScer
tanned, and then the difference between the
excesses and losses, and i; will be found to
be 4,25O, or about one quarter CT the ratio
for one Representatives. Il senators think
they can frame a bill which viii come near
er to justice and equity and not make a
greater differences between the two political
parties than one fourth of the ratio for one
member. would be glad TO see that produc-
ton of their hands.