The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1871-07-28
Can an AppOrtiOnment be Made I'M
der the Existing Constitution
From yesterdays Wheeling Register.

II tue arithmetic LlAu OIL inc lhEELLle EN- M
can cipher out how new AppOru0nmentOl mem
beers Of the Legislature 10 to be made 10 accord.
AnCe with the present census, counting either inc
white population alone or white Ahd DlAeh 70,
gCIher, giving to each county that has more taau
half the requisite population delegate oI ~ ~
and still not increasing the number oil heli9eIs
beyond the Constitutional limit, ne SHOULD AZ
once effect partnership with Stevenson ahu ~
into the Estimate business a DriIlAht eIlus,
awaits him. II the number OF memDei5 70 ApPt
nj the present limit II will be impohHlDIe 70 rs
sirn delegate 10 each county that has half the
requisite population. The Legislature Is luhl IN
that dleuma that cOmpplS II TO violate eIther one
clause OF the Consultation " AhOtneti must
either put two counties that have each hall OF lhg
requirsd population into ono delegate district
aud assign them ono representative, or u must
increase the number OF members Ol the Lgglsla-
tufu That Ii the situation. Without amending
the Consultation the apportlonment cannot bg
properly made, whether the negroes be Included
In tho basis or not.
For Instance, adopting any OF the various re-
ports VI the cunsua Of West Virginia, the pOpu'
laliOn Of Ohio county entities her 10 lOur repro,
HuntAllyeH, kAnAwhA Is entitled 10 thteei anu
Marion Ia two, an Increase OF one 70 eaS Sl
Nov, II tho lSTELLI0ESCEH eau HhI PlGcS lnt
these three new members without diminishing
The pF,ggnt representation VI any other county,
aud without depriying Of It's separate Iepreson'
Atlyc auy county that has half the ratio, u can
perform a Matthew ttiCnl impOashilily There
arc at east nyG counties that have heretofore
been included In delegate DISTRICTS that are now,
under the Onu'hAlI ful', entitled To separate
representation, and may % jnslly dt mand u as
may Hancock OF Brooke. mt Is To he d0Lt
with lhumi
In addition to assertions which we
shall disproye, the foregoing contains one
trick OF statement We are deied to make
an appOrtiOnment under the existing Con.
stituIion "withOut diminishing the pres
ent representation" of any county, No
body ever proposed such a thing. New
appointments are designed to rcadiust
representation to make It correspond with
changes Of population, The counties
change their relative numbers. If they
did not no new appointments would
ever be necessary. But it Is the object OF
a new apportiOnmcnt to increase the rep
rcsentatiOn Of counties that have inCrcas.
cd their population, and diminish that Of
counties that have fallen behind whether
by want Of increase or by reason Of actual
loss. So that II is either mere stupidity
or tiickery OF statement 10 say that an
appOrtiUnmCnt cannot BIZ made II tue pres
ent representation Of some county will be
thereby diminished,
A feeling of COmmlsseration for the
mathematical inCapacity oil our cOlempo.
rAry induces us u explain 10 him how a
new appOrtiOnmCnt can he made on the
basis Of the recent census, under the pro-
visions Of tho existing Constitution, The
difficulties he arrays ARE purely the work
Of IL too lcryid imagination unchecked by
capacity tOundcrsHnd the simplest facts
lie speaks Of "a now appOrtiOnmcnt Ol
members of tho Legislature" There can
he no difficulty about the apporIionmcnt
Of the Senate, there has been no COntrO-
vcrsy about it, but the apprchcndcd diff.
Cultics and the controversy relate to that
Of the House. VIZ therefore proceed to
"ciphGr out" new appOrllonment OF the
lounc' VII VI" ""9'' w Wv 'N''
according TO tue rules prescribed IN Ih'
existing CCnsl''u''oh' giving u e"cL
county that has more 'I'"h h"l' Tue feNu'
site population delegate Of its own and
still not increasing Tue hummer VI l''e''lo'''
beyond the constitutional limit" and w
will lry To make il so plain that even Oul
unmathemalicaI contemporary cannot erl
therein. The rules lad down III inc con
stilnIiOn Tor the guidance III the heglslA
tnre reduce tue "pporllohhleht 10 " lner'
matter OF arithmetic Lev US S''c 'he'l
As simply as possible
LIST, As to the number Oh lhe House
1t WINS provided III section y AFuC't
that certain c0uhtieS Sh"ulu pc '"c'uu O
III ana form part OF 'hoSuale noS"'u'ciy
and that SeVe" otler counties sn""lu p'
likewise lhcInueu u Ihey r"tIlcu 'lu N"l'
stitutloni that Is, PendIcIon, Hardy
Hampshire ana Morgan Wefo 10 10 III
clnueu Il mhJori'y OF 1lc Vo'eS III tU'
four counties, as u district, were Tor TIL
Constitution; and Frederick, Jefferson
and Berkeley were to be included II
majority Of tho votes in those three coun
ties, rs II district, were cast the same way
and If the other district should also ratllS
aud be included II was lheh proVlue'
QVth Article, Sec. l4) that II those sever
counties were included they should h"v'
ten delegates in the House. But to pro
vide for the contingency that one disIric
might ratiIy and the other not, the pro
vision was made that IT the counties o
Pendleton Hardy, Hampshire and Nor
pati were included and Frederick BCfku