The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1872-12-19
From the Chicago Tribune.
Minority Representation.

The first trial OF the system Of minority
representation, so applied to the election
OF Representatives in the General Assem-
bly,, took place at our recent State cleo
ton The results are before us In round
numbers, the strength of the majority and
minority parties in the State was in the
proportion of 25O,Q00 to 100000. The
whole number of Senators is 81. and Of
Representatives 1913. OF the Senators who
were chosen in the old style the Republi-
cans had ;;i3 and the Liberals IS, when,
had they been chosen under the system of
giving the minority their proportonate
number, the Republicans would have had
% and the Liberals 23 In the election
OF Representatives, the Republicans car
red 33 districts, and under the ordinary
system would have elected SO Represen-
tatives leaving to the Liberals IS Senators
and "a Representatives. The actual
result is 50 Republicans and 6S Liberal
Representatives. The result is precisely
q fair representation of the two parties,
according to their proportionate votes.
The primary object of the Constitutional
provision has been attained, with almost
mathematical accuracy. Another object
OF the provision was to give the voters the
opportunity OF discriminating against an
| objectionable candidate by doubling their
votes for an opposing candidate The
voters have availed themselves of this
| privilege to large extent, and the effects
is seen in various districts As rule,
the Senators have been chosen by the
party polling the largest vote for President
in the several districts, and, as q rule. the
party electing the Senator has also elect
ed two Of the three Representatives. But
there are several exceptions to this gen
eral result
In the Ninth Senatorial District, COM
posed of Boone and Winnebago Counties,
the Republicans elected all three Repre-
sentatives, that being the only district in
the State where there was such a result
In the Third Senatorial District the Lib
erals elected their Senator by Il small ma
jority. The Republicans nominated only
one candidate for representative; but the
vote shows that, had they run two Repre-
sentatives. and divided their vote equally
both
In the Fifteenth District, the Liberals
elect the Senator, while the Republicans
elect two Representatives and, in the
Thirty seventh and Forthwith Districts,
ehS clcCI une DGndlOFS, WnlIG
the Liberals elect two Representatives in
each district. In these districts the result
on Senator was due to the personal popu-
larity of the person elected, who got more
votes than their party.
In the Twenty-sixth, Thirty-ffth, and
Forty second Districts the Liberals elect
ed Senators, and the Republicans il
each district elected two Representa-
tives; while in the Forty-frst, Forty
third, and Forty-fourth Districts, the
Republicans elected the Senators, ant
the Liberals got the two members 0
each district. In these six districts the
majority parties lost the second member
because OF the zeal of the friends of can
didates in making an unequal division 0
the votes. Had the voters of each part,
given to the candidates one and a hal
votes each. the party that elected thu
Senator would have elected two Repre-
, sentatives in that district. But, owing t,
the anxiety of one candidate to secure hi
own election beyond all doubt, and to tn,
discrimination Of the voters, the minorit,
party politically in each of these 81,