Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1869-07-21

yious question is sprung it stops the clap
per; aud the gentlemen who are dying for de
livorancc, gladly compromise for embalmmen
and burial in the columns Of the GloJe. ST,
hundred men will tire as soon as a smalle
number, indeed sooner, since more will be i'm
patient for o turn at the grindstonc for thoi
own business axes, and will be conscious ais,
that it will be hopeless for everybody to catcl
| the floor for debate. As am illustration III,
House now has Altogether less debate in pro
portion to its numbers than has the Senate,
fact due mainly to the effect Of the previous
question in the House. We think this obiec
ton therefore merges itself fairly in the second
which we anticipate, and that is the increase,
expense in the salaries Of officers and tn,
printing Of undelyorod speeches in the GioJc
We admit this objection, and answer, as t.
the speeches, that if they are not worth print
ing, then don't print them and if they ar,
worth it, let us pay for it cheerluly. As tc
the increase Of the payroll of the House, we
have only to say that if the people Of Yer.
mont save their third member, they ought ia
be willing TO contribute for his pay; and Sd
Of every other state The purpose of ncreas.
ing the number Of the House being only 10
serve the people aud country better, il is not
worth while to object to reasonable expense.
OF course if we are now paying too much, the
true remedy is not to reduce the number Of
Representatives, but their pay
We confess that one motive for such an in.
crease Of the House is to save the representa-
ton Of the old, and especially the sma4,
States. It certainly would not be pleasant
to see Rhode Island with two men in the Sen.
ate and only one in the House 1t would
look as though the corporation was greater
and more important than the people who con-
stitute it. Moreover it is not quite right ;
for really, when State has but one member,
the political majority of that State is alone
represented We would give two members
to Rhode Island, Delaware and Florida and
because, under the Constitution as it stands
we cannot give them two members in any
other way, we would increase the number of
the House. In truth, however, it is the in
terest Of every State to do this of the old
States that they may not be humblod, and of
the new that they may be better represented
OF the latter, it is always true that every
representative district is very large in area
and the constituency scattered and it is also
true always that population outstrips repre-
sentatlon. The member who represented
$4,000 in Minnesota in 1860, will repre-
sent more than double that number in 1870.
Hence, though whatever the number of a con-
is to begin with, it will rapidly in.
crease in growing State, it is still true that
the greater the number of representatives in a
new State is at the beginning Of decade,
the better and the more justly will it be rcp-
resented through to the end We therefore
conclude that the interests of the country at
large, and ofall the States, old and new large
aud small, require, and will justify, a large iu-
crease Of the House of Representatives. The
Hall of the House is large enough, and
here is business enough, if the members
would but attend to it, to tax all the physical
md mental powers of the body we have pro-
'osed. a large body is also best suited to
he dignity Of the nation and the vast inter-
SITS to be guarded, and most in accordance
nth the spirit of our system of Government,
S government for and by the people. We
re unwilling to see the House of Represent
tives Of our own State reduced aud so We
hink are nineteen-twentieths of the people
f Vermont. Must and will they not agree
With US, then, that it is not fit to limit the
'opular branch of representation for this vast
alton to the number barely of the House of
ne of its smallest States