The Portland daily press., 1870-06-17
Friday Morning, June II, 1870.


The present population of the country is es-
timated to be about 100000. In 1910 it
was 100000. If the rate of increase shall
be as great in the next as in the last thirty
years, which is highly probable, our popula-
ton in 1900 will fall but little short of 95 O1O-
900. Within half a century, even if after 1900
the increase shall be considerably slower, it
may reasonably be expected that our popula-
tion will approximate 150,O0OO0O, and in
century after that at The outside, will be no. less
than 3oO,OO0O00. This would be but 100 in
habltants TO the square mile of our territory
exclusive of Alaska, while the more prosperous
countries of Europe have commonly not less
than $50 or 200 inhabitants TO the square mile,
and in extreme cases like England ana BEL
GUM sustain 300 or 400. With a population
of 100000 900 therefore our country will not
have reached the extreme limit of her increase
and may then look forward to the time when
she will have 5O0,O0OO0 equal to nearly halfthe
present population ofthe world. All these mill
ions must be divided into constituencies to be
represented in the popular branch of Congress.
When we reflect how large these constituent
cies must necessarily be, and that the more
numerous the constituency the less intimate
are the relations of the representative to it,
the problem of representation begins to assume
its just proportions.
On the one hand it is necessary to provide
against having the constituency too large
and on the other against having the House
too numerous for efficiency. In 1870 there
was one representative to every $4,000 inhab-
itants; under the census Of 1860, one repre-
sentative to $4,000 of the representative pop
ulation. If our population at the present
time is 100000 and the next House consists
OF 24O members, the ratio of representation
will be one representative to 166,666 inhabi-
tants and if the number of representatives
remain the same must 60 on increasing until
half century hence with a population of
144,OOOOOO each constituency would number
100000 The only way to prevent constitu-
encies from growing too large to act in con-
cert intelligently,is by a gradual increase in
the number of representatives. tits proposed
that under the next apportionment the House
of Representatives shall consist of 300 men,
bers. Whether the House shall be thus in
creased is only question of time. The rap
id increase of our population will make it
necessity sooner Or later, and as it will pre-
vent many of the Eastern States from losing
disproportiOnately, it seems just that the in
crease should take place under our next ap-
portionment This is necessary to prevent
the constituencies from growing so rapidlv
as to make their representatives strangers 70
all but narrow circle
There is of course limit beyond which
legislative body cannot be increased without
making it unwieldy and Inefficient. The
House has not however, approached this linn
it as yet. The House of Commons in Great
Britain, numbers nearly seven hundred men,
bers without being so numerous as seriously
to impede legislation. In the course of time
our House of Representatives will have TO be
increased to six hundred at least and the con-
stituencies will be quite large enough at that
Whether legislative body so large would not
be obliged TO confine itself to directing the
general couIse of legislation, leaving the de-
tails to smaller and more select body quail
hCu Wy SpOS'ti 1idihiue iOl tie Work, is one OF
the questions of the future. One of the
ablest of modern writers on representative
government, John Stuart Mill, insists that
popular assemblies are incompetent to legis-
late themselves, and that their proper iunc-
ton is merely to control legislation. In his
opinion there should be commission to per-
form the mechanical part of legislation which
should frame a bill calculated to &C.
complish any object which the legisla-
ture wishes and directs, the latter to
confine itself to accepting or rejecting with
out amendment the measures thus pre-
pared. Whether this is the best continuance
for effectng the purpose it would be difficult
to tell without an experiment, but something
of the kind is worth trying