The national Republican., 1862-07-31
POPULAR MISREPRESENTATION.

countrH end VDaprees troll tho 'neoeaity Of
fixing 6very tea yeafs the uamber Of usembers
whereof the House should be composed. The
law establishes the number Of representatives
under each census al two hundred and thirty.
three, who are apportioned among the several
States respectively, by dividing the number Of
the free population Of the States, 10 which, In
kslAvsholding Statss, .three-ffths of TIA Lsvss
Is added, by the number two hundred and
thirty-three, and The product Of such division
(rejeoting ell fractions Of unity being the rato
Of Representation OF the several States. Bat %
the number and amount Of the fractions among
10 many dividends would, of course, In the
aggregate be sufficient 10 reduce the number
of representatives below the number specified,
Il was provided that the whole number should
be supplied by assigning 70 40 many States
having the largest fractions an additional mem.
ber each for its fraction, until the total number
Of two hundred and thirty-threc members
should be assigned 10 the several States. IL 10
aleo provided that new States being admitted
subsequently to any one Of the decennial emu
nierations shall have representatives on the
same basis, while II is as the same time pro-
vided that such excess ID the number Of men,
bers OF the House OF Representatives shall
only continue until the spportionment Of repre-.
sentives under the next succeeding census.
In pursuance with law, the apportionment
was made and proclaimed on the 9Th day Of
July, 1861, distributing the representation 10
the thirty eighth Congress among the several
States, according TO their federal population, as
follows: I..'
Alabama, 9; Arkansas, 3; California, 3; Con.
necticut, 4; Delaware, 1; Florida, 4; Georgia,
I; Illinois, Is; Indiana, IL; Iowa, 6; Kansas, ];
Kentucky, 8; Louisiana, 8; Maine, 8; Maryland,
5; Massachusetts, 10; Michigan, Q; Minnesota, I;
Mississippi, 8; Missouri, 0; New Hampshire, s;
New Jersey, O.; New York, 81; North Carolina,
I; Ohio, lS; Oregon, I; Pennsylvania, IS;
Rhode Island, l; South Carolina, 4; Tennessee,
g.; Texas, 4; Vermont, 2; Virginia, IL; Wis
consin, g.. ~.
According to the apportionment, the Ststes
which have their representation increased are
Arkansas, one; California, one; Illinois, four;
Iowa, three; Louisiana, one; Michigan, tibo;
Missouri, t,oo: Texas, too; Wisconsin, three.
The States where representation Is dimin.
ished by the new apportonment are: Alabama,
one; Georgia, Ons: Kentucky, t,oo; Maine, Mary
land, Massachusetts, Minnesota, each one: New
York, tico; North Carolina, one; Ohio, three;
Pennsylvania, too; Rhode Island, one; South
Carolina, ttoo; Tennessee, t,oo; Vermont, enc;
Virginia, tico The arrangement Of represen.
tatives for the thirty eighth Congress under the
law of May %, 1850, was changed, subsequent
1G sss a. .ss smS.r S~ ,.srsssa
tatives to two hundred and forty. one, by giving
one additional 70 the States OF nlino(s, Iowa,
Kentucky, AinnesotA, y Ohio, . Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island, and Vermont This act makes
the number of representatives TITO hundred and
forty. one from; and aftF The Sdsof March, 1868
IL Il understood that the biji as originally
passed by the House added sixto TIE two hun
dred and thirtythree lrepresenfatives thereto.
fore provdsd, aad s1ded these 70 States having
unrepresented fractions on th9 superintendent
Of July s, 1861, whenever the addition Of s
representative constituencies " that Stats
nearer to the ratio of representation, ascer-
tained according to the act Of Nay 2S, 1850,
than they would be on the apportionment; and
the effect was to make the constituencies In
every State approximate nedrsst 10 The rntio. A.
the ratio is the law Of absolute equality, u wss
claimed that this rule Of superintendent ap-
proaches in the nearest practicable degree to
equality among the States according to their
respective representative populations. Il sp.
Peared subsequently, S Sby assuming two
SnSs so sas. T. asSSss Sny sSp &c N ada
tional representative on the above rule, and
the bill was amended accordingly by the Senate
and concurred In by the House; 20, 10 fact, the
ratio for the next decade 10 on the basis Of two
hundred and thirty-nlne representatives, with
two (2) added to equalize representation among
the several States.
/ 1t will be perceived that tho ,prepo ondsrance
Of representation 10 rapidly but steadily I'D.
vancing westward, and that regions unorgan-
lied and with scarcely civilized inhabitant in
1890 now form populous States, with larger
representation than was enjoyed by all the
States at that time. The increase of population
and, a. consequence, Of representation In the
new States Of the West Is prominently illus.
trated by comparison Of the representation Of
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, and
Wisconsin, under the census Of 1860, with that
of Virginia, Massachusetts,, Pennsylvania, New
York, North Carolina, Maryland and Connec-
ticut, the six States having the largest repre-
sentation, respectively. Under the census Of
1870 Virginia had nineteen Representatives, the
largest number Of any of the original States
reduced under the census Of 1860 to eleven,
while Ohio, which was admitted Into the Union
in 1902, has nineteen representatives. Indiana,
admitted into the Union in 1916, has the same
number Of representatives as Virginia; and
Illinois, admitted into the Union In 1918, has
fourteen representatives under the new appor-
tionment. Massachusetts,, with representation
Of fourteen under the census Of 17S0, Is sreducsd
TO ten under the new census. Pennsylvania
and New YORK, the one with thirteen represen-
tatives and the other with ten under the first
census, notwithstanding the immense resources
Of those two great Statsa, have, under the GEN.
sus Of 1860, the one thirty-one and the other
twenty three Representatives. The ratio of in
crease In population in those two States since
the census OF 1850 was 1851 per cent. In New
York, AID 25.7l per cent. In Pennsylvania,
while In Illinois the ratio Of increase during the
same period was l0l.04, and In Indiana 8683
per cent The probability is, therefore, should
the ratio ofincrease Of population continue in
the States Of the West as indicated by the GEN.
So, Of 1860, that 10 the course Of three or four
decsdes New York and Pennsylvania, now the
two most powerful States, may yield to some Of
theft younger sisters, AZ Virginia, sometimes,
not inapproprlstely, termed the mother Of
States, frat yielded to them, aud has now
yielded to two new States carved out OF terri.
tory originally her own. .,n
North Carolina, under the census Of 1890,
had ten representatives; Maryland eight, and
Connecticut seven. These three States have,
under the census of 1860, (the first, seven; the
second, five, and the third, four representatives,
an average representation Of sixteen instead Of
twenty-five, a. under the first apportionmeut
Thus the power Of the old States declines, while
that Of the new States west Of the Alleghanies
increasea more rapidly than they lose. Iowa,
admitted into the Union Ia 1846, Michigan 10
1887, and Wisconsin in l848, have six repre-
senta&iyes each under the last apportionmont-
two more than C0nneOticut or MARYLAND M ID