The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1866-01-19
COLUMBIA. ........s.
Friday Morning, ,Uanuary 10, 1866.
Representation in congrcsss

friday Morning, sJanuary 10, 1866.
Representation in Congress-.
The subjoined article:from the New
York Herald, presents for considera-
ton some very important and inte-
resting subjects. This is question
OF perhaps greater importance than
any now being agitated at Washing
ton. The proposition has been al
ready introduced in Congress to ap-
portion the. representation in the
popular branch of that >body-on the
basis of the voting population of the
: several States Schenck, of Ohio, a
leading member of this Congress of
the dominant party, in his recent
speech at his State capital, insisted
thai this amendment "should be
adopted oy three-fourths of the loyal
States before admitting the other
States" and that they, the now ex-
cluded States, sas q. condition of res
toration, should be required to ratify
it; F'for, otherwise" said he, ssthey
might defeat it, and ultimately gain
such power as to undo all that has
been done to prevent repetition of
the late disasters.
The proposition is revolutionary in
~ the broadest sense, and, if adopted,
would be clear abandonment of the
Constitution, which they have here
tofore pretended to regard.
The article from the Herald opens
the whole question of representation
IN the National Legislature, and sug-
gests an entire change in the rule
] prescribed in the Constitution of the
United States for the apportionment
OF representatives among the States
of the Union. For the better under
standing of the question, we give the
provisions of the Constitution pre-
scribing the rule Of apportionment:
Representatives and direct taxes
shall be apportioned among the seve-
raj States which may be included
5 Wlth1n this Union according to their
respective numbers, which may be
determined by adding to the whole
number OF free persons, including
those bound to service for term of
years, and excluding Indians not
taxed, three-ffths of all other per-
sons. The actual enumeration shall
be made within three years after the
first meeting of the Congress of the
United States, and within every sub
sequent term of years, in such man
ner as they shall by law direct The
number of Representatives shall not
exceed one for every thirty thousand,
but each State shall have at least one
Representative; and until such emu
meratlon shall be made, the State of
New Hampshire shall be entitled to
choose three, Massachusetts, eight,
Rhode Island and Providence Planta-
tions one, Connecticut five, New York
six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania
eight, Delaware one, Maryland six,
Virginia ten, North Carolina five,
South Carolina five, and Georgia
three. "-Constitation Of The United
States, A'ascle l, Sec. 2. Paragraph 3.
The following is the article:
In 1870 the ratio of representation
was one representative to every 49,
Ooo " representative pOpulaC1On.
Now it is one representative for every
$4,000. On the 23d of May, 1856,
the principle was established, for the
first time, of limiting the number of
representatives., and thus relieving
Congress of the necessity of fixing,
every ten years, the number Of which
the House should consist. This law
established the number Of represen-
tatives at 233, who were to be ap-
portioned among the several States
respectively, by dividing the number
OF the free population of the States
by the number 233, and the quotient
of this division was to be the ratio of
representation. In the slave States.
three-fifths of the slaves were added
to the white class, to preserve the
balance of power. The law of May,
1850, was changed after the appor-
tionment by another law passed
March 4, 1862. This increased the
number of representatives to 241,
several of the States gaining one by
the change: We append tabular
statement showing the present repre-
sentatlOn from each State. tocether