The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1865-09-09
REPRESENTATION

III luE htpIccCuLttAfSo IA NOuEASSot oAS NfFSA
toned on the basis of the census of 1860 and ac-
cording to the principle adopted by Congress in
1862, the House will consist of 243 members, in
stead Of 24l, as now, exclusive of the represen-
tative from the new State of Nevada, Our read
ers will bear in mind, that by the provisions Of
the Constitution as it now stands, representatives.
in, Congress and Electors of President and Vice
President are appointed on the basis Of adding to
the whole number of free persons in each State
three-ffths of all other persons, that is sIares.
By the census of 1860, the Southern States had
nearly four millions of slaves. Three-fifths of
that number, or twenty-four thousand of them,
are therefore entitled to representation as the
Constitution now is Under the present appor-
tionment of Representatives in Congress, this ar
rangement gives the South eighteen Congressman
and the same number Of Presidential Electors for
their slaves. sAs gegff ,laea
With slavery abolished, the remaining two
fifths of the freedmen will be added, giving the
South twelve more representatives, or thirty in
all for the blacks in their midst. The twelve
members gained by the South, will cause cor
responding loss Of ten members by the North.
OF the 243 members, the North will have LAG,
being one for each l27, 79l white inhabitants !;
and the South will have 81, being one for each
s2,s76 white inhabitants, or thirty Congressman.
and Presidential Electors more than they are en-
titled to, according to the same principle of rep
resentation which is applied in the North. 49,, 8,
Thus the white voters of the South will elect,
besides their own Representatives, thirty Con-
gressmen for the blacks in their midst, while the
six old and populous New England States elect
only twenty seven in all. And as those States
which have the largest colored population are
known to be the most intensely dsloyal, it fol-
lows that the more disloyal State is, the great
or will be its representation and power in Com
gress and in. the choice of a President and Vice
President. 1a nRu slt st Hiwol s.llij
Again, in some of the Southern States only
the minority of white men can read and write, so
that by this arrangement, the vote Of an litter
ate Rebel counts as much as the votes. of from
two to four educated, intelligent Northern farm
ers or mechanics. h $50 lea01s ,nB1
Democrat and Republican alike must admit
the injustice of such an apportionment. And we
are glad to read in the report Of a speech lately
made in Ohio, by Gen. Schenck, that the speak
er declared that be would introduce into the next
Congress a Bill for amending the Constitution so
as to abolish the three-iiths privilege, and APP
portion Congressman and Presidential electors on
the basis of the number of actual voters se0l
Such an amendment would settle the vexed
question Of Negro Suffrage. II the Southern
States wished to regain the power they would
thus lose in Congress, they could do so by simply
comforting the right Of suffrage upon the blacks.
1t would place the whole matter in their own
hands and would establish the wisdom of Presi-
dent Johnson's policy of reconstruction on this
important point. ~