The Portland daily press., 1866-01-15

Basis of Representation-Mr Blaine's
| Speech.
In the House of Representatives, at Wash
ington, ON the Sth inst, Mr.. Blaine of this
State, in proposing an amendment to the Fed
eral Constitution, the basis of representation
in Congress, spoke as follows: 90 'e~f I
Mr.. Blaine--Since the beginning of the
present session, Mr.. Chairman, we have had
several propositions to amend the Federal Con-
stltutlon with respect to the basis of represen-
tatlon IN Congress. These propositions have
dlifered somewhat in phrase, but they all en-
Drace substantially the one idea of making
| suffrage instead of population the basis of ap-
portloning Representatives; or in other words,
to give to the States in future representa-
tion proportioned to their voters instead of
| their inhabitants
The effect contemplated and intended bv
this change is perfectly well understood, and
on all hands frankly avowed. 1t is to deprive
| the lately rebellious states of the unfair ad-
| vantage of large representation In the
! House. based on their colored population, so
long as that population shall be denied politi-
cal rights by the legislation of those States
| The proposed Constitutional amendment
| would simply say to those Stats, while you
refuse to enfranchise your black population,
| you shall have no representation based on
their numbers; but admit them to civil and
political rights and they shall at once be count
| ed to your advantage in the apportionment Of
| Representatives. '.'
| The direct object thus aimed at, as it re-
| spects the rebellious states, has been so gen.
| orally approved that little thought seems to
have been given to the incidental evils which
| the proposed Constitutional amendment
| would inaict on large portion of the loyal
States-eyils, in my judgment, so serious and
| alarming as to lead me to oppose the amend
! n1ent In any form in which it has yet been
| presented. As an abstract proposition no one
| will deny that population is the true basis Of
representation; for women, children, and 9th
er non-voting classes may have as vital an in
terest in the legislation of the country as those
who actually deposit the ballot. Indeed, the
| very amendment we are discussing implies
| that population is the true basis, inasmuch as
the exclusion of the black people of the South
| from political rights has suggested this indi-
| rectly coercive mode of securing them those
| rights. Were the negroes to be eniranchised
| throughout the South to-day, no one would in
| sist on the adoption of this amendment; and
yet if the amendment shall be incorporated
in the Federal Constitution, its incidental evils
will abide in the loyal States long after the di-
| rect evil which it aims to cure may have been
eradicAted in the Southern States.
! If voters instead of population shall be
| made the basis of representation, certain re-
suits will follow, not fully appreciated, perhaps,
| by some who are now urgent for the change
I will contine my examination of these re-
| suits to the nineteen free States whose statis-
| tics are presented in the census of 1850; and
| the very radical change which the new bass
| of representation would produce among and
| between those states forms the ground Of my
| opposition to it. The ratio Of voters to pop
ulation differs very widely in different sec
| tions, varying in the states referred TO from
xsx,sxs Of To
| mum of ffy-eight per cent, and the changes
4 which this tact would work in the relative rep
| resentation of certain states would be mon
strous. For example, California has popula-
ton of 35S, ITO, and Vermont of 314 369, and
| each has three Representatives on this floor
! to-day But California has 207 900 voters and
| Vermont has $1,000. Assuming voters as the
| basis of apportionment, and allowing to Yer
| mont three Representatives, California would
| be entitled to elgnt, Tic greet Stete OF Ohio,
| with nearly seven times the population OF Cal
| ifornia would have but little more than two
and half times the number of Representa-
tives and New York, with quite eleven times
! the population of California would have In
| the new style of apportionment less than five
| times as many members of the House. Cali
fornia, it may be saId, presents an extreme
case, but no more so than will continually re-
cur for the next century under the stimulus to
! the emigration-of young voters from the old
er states to the inviting fields of the Missis-
4 sippi valley and the Pacific slope. 90,
But cases less extreme than California win
present quite as clearly the injurious working
| of the proposed change. Take two States
one in the East and one in the West-not
4 greatly differing in aggregate population, for
\ example, Massachusetts and Indiana - the
/ former with 1,221 ,432 inhabitants, the latter
with 1,32S, no. Massachusetts, has to-day ten
Representatives on this floor and Indiana has
eleven, an exactly fair apportionment. But
Massachusetts has only 2z7 ,429 voters, while
indiana has 316,S24, and therefore on the
new basis, If Massachusetts should retain her
-. Representatives Indiana would be allowed
Nd fifteen, and if Indiana should be confn-
ed to her eleven Massachusetts would be re-
duced to seven. And might adduce many
other instances showing the gross inequalities
of representation to which the proposed
amendment would subject the loyal states
Mr. Stevens. Will the gentleman allow me
to ask him question? ~
Mr.. Stevens. What Is the cause of this dis
parity of men and women in Massachusetts
and in the New England States? Is it not
that the men 60 to the western States as emf
grants? --- --'io-2 ---l +'i Lli-
hlI. Blaine-I suppose 1t is. lio9 s4dN 5d
1oMr. Stevens--Very we'll; is not Massachus-
etts represented there. then? kr- ..,,--,-
Mr.. Daine-Not according TO some ha-
rangues we hear in this House from GENTLE
men representing that section on the tariff, as
my distinguished friend on the Committee of
Ways and Means knows very well. They go
there, become identified with what they term
western interests, and, / am sorry to say, at
tack New England and New England in
terests.
Mr.. Grinnel-@No. all of them.
| Mr.. Blaine-And there are other objections,
Mr.. Chairman, to the proposed constitutional
amendment Basing representation ON voters
unless Congress- should be empowered 10
define their qualifications = would tend to
cneapen suffrage everywhere. There would
be an unseemly scramble in all the States dur
ing each decade to increase by every means
the number of voters, and all conservative Ie-
strictions, such as the requirement of reading
and writing now enforced in some of the
States would be stricken down in a rash and
reckless effort to procure an enlarged repre-
sentatiOn in the national councils. Foreigners
would be invited to vote on mere prelimina
ry "declaration of intention" and the ballo
which cannot be too sacredly guarded, anC
which is the great and inestimable privilege o
the American citizen, would be demoralzet
and disgraced everywhere. -t l -,-
And the worst feature of all is, that thert
is no need whatever of precipitating the evil
have referred to. The great end of depriy
ing the South OF the representation wh1cn
based on the colored population until tna
5 population is enfranchised, can be very readily
secured without accompanying it with these
offensive inequalities OF representation amt n;
the loyal States. The Constitution may b
!. amended so as to prevent the one evil wilhou
&c involving others of greater magnitude, and
venture to the 3Sei tSs ornn1 oro
NV motion referred to the committee on re
>. Construction, viii, if adopted, secure the de
: sired result. Letme briefly explain that pro
d position. sf. !. ala.I .......,....
The Constitution of the United States, al