Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1869-07-21
AppOrtiOnment of Members Of Con-
grcss.


cate and difficult work connected with the
census Of 1870, will be the new apportion-
ment of members Of the House Of Roproscn-
work of the superintendent Of the census was
to ascertain the number of free persons, in
Guiding those bound to service for term of
years, and to add to that number throo-fiths
Of the slaves, the sum total constituting the
population to be represented. Practically it
was a very simple matter, involving only the
exclusion Of Indians not taxed and an onumer-
ton in two classes Of the free and slave pop
ulation. The abolition Of slavery, if in fact
as well as nominally, it has been abolished in
all the States would Of course simplify the
preliminary work still more, were it not for
now elements brought into the account by the
second section of the fourteenth amendment
to the Constitution, which requires that in
every State where the right Of suffrage is de-
MED to any class Of male citizens of lawful
age, for any cause except participation in the
rebellion or other crime, the basis Of repre-
sentation shall be reduced therein in the pro-
portion which the number Of such persons
shall bear to the whole number Of male citi-
zens Of twenty-one years of age. OF course
the officers who take the census are now for
the first time to scrutinize the laws Of each
State regulating the right Of suffrage therein,
aud to enumerate in distinct class all the
male citizens Of twcnty-one years of age who
are excluded from the privilege Of voting for
any reason except treason or other crimes
This is a new element, which will preclude
any safe estimate Of the representative popu-
lation in 1870, based upon the increment off
previous decades and there is still another,
in the extraordinary loss Of male population,
mainly Of age to vote, in the war Of the re-
bellion. SO when we find the Boston Journal
giving table of steady decrease of represen-
tation in New England from 1910 to 1860, !
we must protest against taking that as posi-
tive proof of the same rate of decrease in
| 1870. We do so for the reason that in New
England the laws of suffrage are more liberal
than in some other sections Of the nation |
Vermont is most liberal, and we shall still |
hope as we have done, though very family, |
that she is to find a reward for this liberality |
in continuance for another decade of her
three members. We are of course aware that
both Vermont and Rhode Island were saved
by the special act of March 4, 1862, which
added eight members to the number previ-
ously apportoned on the census of 1860 and
therefore we are ready to admit that both
states must 60 under in 1870, and several
other states with them, unless the rule, on
0hich the act Of 1862 rus based, shall be 3D.
hered 10; and the number Of representatives.
materially increased. We propose to con-
slider these two topics, ard at present the last
one.
We cannot do better than to give the views
Of statesmen on this question at the adop- I
ton of the Constitution. The then proposed ,
House of Representatives was vigorously op q
posed because its number was too small, and =
Mr.. Madison said this part of the constitu- t
ton was rendered more worthy of atten- e
ton by the weight of character, and the APP "
parent force of argument, with which it has a
been assailed." The arguments then were a
Ihat small number of representatives will a
be an unsafe depository Of the public inter- t
asts that they will not possess a proper o
Of the local circumstances of their y
constituents ; and that they will be taken p
from that class of citizens which will sympa- n
thize least with the feelings of the mass of o
the people, and be most likely to aim at
permanent elevation of the few on the de-
preston Of the many. Confessing the force
of these and other arguments, Mr.. Madison !
admitted that the House should be as large
as would be consistent with the dispatch Of
business, and predicted that in fifty years
the number Of representatives would be four O
hltndred-a large number, indeed, but still
less than some State Legislatures Now not
fifty, but eighty years have elapsed and in y
stead of the number being four hundred, it is
only about two hundred and fifty when all
the States are represented that is, one hun
dred and fifty less than Mr. Madison seems
to have thought would be reasonable Here
we will add that Northern statesman of
equal rank, was in his last years in favor of
increasing the number of the House it was
John Quincy Adams. We state this on the
authority of the late Senator Collamer, who
was Of a like opinion. The true rule we !;
think was suggested by Mr.. Madison and !;
that is, the largest number consistent aoith
the best dispatch Of business To find that, :,
we assume, first, that which every Congress- :,
man will admit to wit: that the best dis
patch, in point of both time and excellence,
depends mainly upon the ability, industry .
and fidelity of the committees and secondly,
that the committees are embarrassed often by
the non-attendanoe of their best members, be- :,
cause they are employed on other commit. =,
tees and then by the non-attendance or do. =.
nothing habit of other members, because the =
best men are not at hand to advise them. -
SO eommittee-work is always behind-hand,
never completed at any session or in any q
Congress by any important standing commit !
tee, and not even one-tenth part of the work
assigned to most committees is ever completed
by the committee to which it was referred. IA
The cases go over, of course, from Congress -
10 Congress, and to committee after commit
-ee' and have sometimes Jagged for half a III
century. This is a true statement, and why el
should it not be 80 under the existing plan le
The number of committeeman required in IN
he present House is three hundred and eighty. pJ
i've, while there are but two hundred and Ia
iity members, and Of these many are not pc
good workers so it became absolutely .neces. III
AIRY 10 assign the best men to more than one 81
and these men are either over. be