, 1870-09-24
rnnv couNTY REPRESENTATION.

EaTEMAS.
( :aa;7s;,: MS OF; sas rea,.snt,.7. ELMEa
T.AAAaatHS and t:ASPAR RCf2-
COOK COUNTY REPRESENTATION.
The Springfield journal contends TINT,
rntier the new constitution, Cook County
t.;.tl hay. NO. to exceed fifteen 1uenlbers in
Tic ne1t House Of Representatives, no
matter sshnt her population may he. or how
r,a.y she would be entitled to according to |
rnrul..i,.n and adds, with sneer: !
W. asa:r auare .nc Law relating % this sub
IL r.u Il vi uteh, "but not one drop OF Christian
h:'sst
TIA, is to say, that. nlthough Cook Conn.,
t. ,uay. hy population, be entitled to twen-
ts.iour u,-ubcrs, If she can be cheated out
nf riuc of them bJ a quibbling coustruc-
tion. it shall be done =
L.. us c1a,nine this matter aud see Just
what TIE constitutional provisions are:
Section /; nf the Legislative article says:
The General Assembly shall aprortion
,Er State, lmginning with the year 1s.l.
aad drilling the population of the State rs
a>c.r,a',esl l'y the Federal census, ETC.
Thu s,.c.inn Then goes on to tell how the
SenHte shall be constituted.
The mex: section explains how the House
>ha.i he constituted The population Of
tl.t. State, ly the Federal census of 1870,
.ha!l I've divided by 1853, aud the qnotient
.Lall he the ratio of representation in the
H.,,ise Tne ra.io will he about 16,G01-)
Every county shall he entitled TO one
Representative when its population is
thrce-f;ftlx of the xatio I'm, ,Nt}s is about
tL:rr-dftls>A: il any cuunty has less than
t',tr4 -iifths. it shall be attached to tho ad-
j,,;piux county having the least population,
to wl,irh 10 other county has, for
1l~ sSnae reason, heen attached, An1
tie two shalt constitute separate
d;-',ir'. Every county or district
L.,:us population not less than
tl.. ratio and tl1ee-Gfths 1G,600
,.n,s lu.Mt=eG, ,Goo). shall be entitled
IL, twa members, sni for each additional
,,u,nl.er Of inhabitants equal to the ratio
fIG.,aa,}. one memoer. Thus, 1O,0tN', or
sL,.e-ffths ratio, gives one member. 2G, ,4;GM
tvu menlte16. 4:s.2A1 three members,
-" Sse> four members etc Then. in re-
gard tn ft,k County, this provision WAS
Inserted :" Counties having over two huu-
tisci thousand inhabitants may 1,e divided
iEtn t'..ricts each entitled to not less t1lan
tire 2o1 nore than Eve Representatives"
1t WITS considered hy the convention that
Cun!s Co,,utv. as single district. might be
considered too large It WIS, therefore,
n:.,dc .,tionn, with thc Genern1 Assembly.
VIXEN th..r came to make m spportion-
n.el,s in ISL. 10 divide Cook County into
districts. ench TO be entitled to not less
tl4..n three or n,ozc th1n Eve members.
TIE Legislature =! uaay," not shall, divide
TIE county. All this relates to the dnties
Of the rext General Assembly.
But. IN the meantime, it became
.,,cvs.ary to make provision for the elec
t:nn ire first Serntc md House 1t WI.
1,rov:dei in the Schedule that the frst Sen
ate s!.'sn1d consist of double the number o
n. n,1.crs uf The last Scnnte-two to repre-
sent e-rh If The existing twenty-five Sena
toril Districts. In regard to the tempo
rary pportionment for the House, the dut.
VII, tlrvn|ved nn the Governor and SecEe
tary of State to make provision therefor
r,.:er the directions coutained in Section
l.; and u of the Schedule They al
directed to I,roceed ''in accordance wit
tie rules au1 principles announced in th
article on The, Legislative department {
tLi- constitution" The next section-19-
provides that
..Thr s,lstriris >hall I've regularly numbered b
tie secretary ut S1ate, commencing With At:sat
tn. 4.diy through the State, and term!nAtin
w,lh 1tt. Il ntty al taak; t''lt to county shan
ur.Itest,l AZ innrt than one district excerpt +
County ct Cohk, which sll..s constitute three 1T
t,:c:s. carh embracing the tFrfitnry e.
tal:,ru i'll the nov existing Representative Di
,rttl- et n:lil cuuuty.T
After quoting the above, the SpringGe
Jt.nrna7 says:
.-Thrre times ave are fifteen This Settles t
OIL. e.1nn, ant the rnmtef OF Itspresentasires
lowed 10 cook Coun1s II the nex1 Illinois H"'s
nt l:'ptc..htstises.
NJ. ss. fast! Tue power to divide Co:
County into districts isinyestea in the n.
Legislature and rot in the Governor 81
S.crelary. Even If they had that disc1
ton conferred On them, they are not I
s,nirr,l ta exercise it. TIE language of Il
clause in Section is may, not sha
nj,caraipg ''Avaters'' and,- treating Coz
county MS single district, it is entitl
to twenty-oae members, having full rati
Of population for TINT number.
Viii tie journal venture to affirm Il
Governor Palmer and Secretary Rumu
would deliberately use their discrctionn
powers to cheat and swinlle this cour
out Of sir or more members, to which it
beyond question, entitled: II they sho1
undertake to assign Representatives
C.,ok County under the clause in questi<
they must first apporiion the county in
districts. as the Legislature wonld be au
orized to do. in which case the nu1ul
would he not les than five, nor mo1e, =
la,.e- than eight. Rut rs nobody ,
Claim they have authority to do that,
clause i'll question is outside of their pI
ef- and their simple duty is, to ascert
Ike population Of each Of the existing 4
rcseutative Districts, under the Fed
census Just completed and apportiou
each district the number of member
which its population entities it,
matter whether that be three, five
ten. That Was The intention Of tho cons
ton. No other construction ~as l,ut OF
aed il can bear no other
Stree writing the foregoing, We have
ceive,' q te,egrerlic copy Of the Gov
or. proclamation fixing the representa-
OF tho next Honse, which he was rot
snirtt; 10 issne l,efnre the 18th inst
seems that the present wards Of the
hnre l.ecn utterly dis-rga1tetl. or he
o,s't.ea four wards entirely. To the \
ts-6fth District he assigns Wards
Seven. Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven,
Twelve and certain country towns nan
To the Ninety-si1th District, "
One, Two, Three, Four, and Five,
certain iowns named.
To the Ninesy-feventh District, "
Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, and Ski
and certain towns named.
No mention is made Of Wards S<
teen, Eighteen, Nineteen, and T~'
The whole North Division is cut of
taisf.anchised, except tie Sixteenth '
Either tha telegEnphic report has bo
the spportionment- or the Governor
Secretary hnve done it.
No Uaited States census of tht
wards, as they existed half a dpzcn
nGo, Was taken by the Marshal. The
:. ueration WAS made OF the present I
warls.
! We await an explanation of this CT
omission of one-fifth Of the city froz
!. resentatipu-
The Schedule provides tlat, 1.-The c
of Cook shall constitute three district.
embracing the territory contained
now existing Representative Districts (
= uSnt- NO