Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1865-08-17
GOLD HILL, NEVADA:
Evening,.--..AuEust IL, 1865.
SOUTHERN REPRESENTATIVES,.

The Congressional representation of the
Southern States, under the new order of
things, is likely to furnish a fruitful theme
for discussion. The Constitution provides
that representatives in Congress shall be
apportioned among the States according
to population but in arriving at the
enumeration, slave States are permitted to
include only three-6fths Of the number Of
their slaves. The abolition Of slavery Of
course annuls the three ffths rule. and
the late slaves now come under the desig-
nation Of free persons" who are entitled
to be enumerated. It will be seen from
this that the representatives Of the South.
ern States in Congress will be increased
to an extent corresponding with the in.
crease in the enumeration which will be
caused by adding the two-6fths of the
negro population that has heretofore not
been counted. II is difficult to determine
exactly to what extent this change will
augment the representation of the South,
for there is at present no means Of finding
out how much the negro population has
been reduced by the war, but an approx
nation may be arrived at from the basis
Of the last census. The number Of slaves
in 1860, was nearly four millions. AL
lowing that this number has been reduced
half a million by the various causes incl
dental to the war, and in addition to the
natural increase. there would be two-6fths
Of three and 4 half millions TO add to the
old enumeration, that is, fourteen hundred
thousand. The ratio Of Congressional
representation, as determined by the last
census, is one member for every one hun
dred and ,wenty-seven thousand persons.
This would give the Southern States
eleven additional representatives, increas-
ing the number from s~ixty-one to seventy
two. In making this calculation we have
no, considered the diminu,ion Of the
white population during the war. which
will Of course tend to diminish the
enumeration /; but it is probable that
the aggregate white and colored popu-
lation Of the South has not been diminish
ed more than half q million in excess Of
natural increase, which number we have
allowed in the estimate of colored persons.
We have said that this addition to the
number Of Southern representatives in
Congress. would create a fruitful theme of
discussion, and for this reason the radicals
have always commended that it was an out
rage to allow the Southern planters TO
have the privilege Of casting three votes
for every Ave slaves, and they will claim
that il is practically even worse nov TO
allow the Southern whites to represent all
the negroes, in voting for Congressman.
while the said negroes have no voice in
the question. For instance: California
has a population Of three hundred and
eight thousand, who have the benefits Of
suffrage. The same class in Mississippi
numbers twenty-five thousand less, yet.
under the new order of things, Mississippi
will be entitled TO six delegates in Con-
gress. while California has only three
the discrepancy being occasioned BY CIV
ing Mississippi the benefit of representa-
ton for its negroes, while the latter have
no voice in the matter. We may safely
suppose that the radicals will make the
mos, of this subject, and we shall be sur
prised if they do not makeu strong effort
to have Congress reject the additional
members upon this very ground. But
whatever the result may be, it is sure to
be a prominent subjectfor political agita-
ton, and will be one Of the chief offshoots
of the main question Of negro suffrage.