Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1880-12-15
Senator Henry's Amendment.

OF senator Henrys proposed constitutional
amendment reducing the membership Of the
house of representatives to one hundred and
fifty, apportioned among the counties accord.
ing to population. 1t is needless to pre-
mise that the basis upon which our repre-
sentative assemblies are intended to be con-
structed is population. In reducing to prac-
tice the cardinal principle which underlies
the foundation of our legislatures and the
national congress, special circumstances
may and sometimes do intervene to vary
the literal application Of the principle in
some of its details. But it is justly claimed
that the town system Of representation in
practice in Vermont grossly violates this
normal principle of representation-the
small towns with less than hundred voters
having equal voting power in the Legislature
with the largest towns and cities in the
state. To remedy the evils and inequalities
that grow out of this system, Senator Henry
has proposed his amendment to the consti-
tuition. The fault we have TO find with this
proposal of amendment is that it does not
go far enough in the application of correct
principle, and that it is impracticable and
undesirable in its application to state of
things in Vermont which cannot easily be
changed. One hundred and fifty rep
resentatives would be one to trihe over
twenty-five hundred Inhabitants. This ra-
ito would give Washington county frac-
ton over eleven representatives. Montpe-
lier having thirty-two hundred and twenty
inhabitants would be entitled to one repre-
sentative and have left one thousand inhab
itants which would be united with some
other contiguous town or portion of town
to form another election district. Now, an
examination of the populations of the other
towns in the county will show that it is i'm
possible to create election districts approx
mating towards twenty-five hundred inhab-
itants by combinations among contiguous
towns. Some towns alone have more than
the ratio, twenty-five hundred, while the
union of any two or more adjoining towns
to form an election district will either fall
below or exceed the ratio by fractions so
large as to render this plan little, it any,
more equable than the present town system,
the only advantage gained being an econ
omic one in the reduction of the number of
representatives. The only way by which
election districts could be arranged with the
required ratio of inhabitants would be to
disregard town lines entirely in their for
nation. This would necessitate new vot-
ing places, and the confusion and compli-
cation that would grow out Of such sys-
TEN within system would breed chaos in
any body polite. A remedy for this par
ticular difficulty would be the unit rule"
the whole county voting for the eleven
representatives but the "unit rule is in
disgrace, and so the remedy fails.
The remedy for the evils which Senator
Henry's amendment aims to remove would
seem to be, as we maintained in the article
to which we have referred, to reduce the
number of representatives to one hundred.
This would give in the state at large a ratio
of one representative to about 5000 inhab-
itants, and would make house of repre-
sentatives large enough for every practical
purpose. New York with five millions, and
Ohio with three and half million inhab-
itants, have a membership of 1913 and ia
respectively in the corresponding branch of
their legislatures, and an examination of
other states will disclose the fact that with
one hundred members Vermont will still
have proportionally larger house than most
of her sister states. 1t is true the example
or other states is not conclusive as to our
state, but it is strong corroborative evidence
that one hundred members, or even smaller
number, would be ample for a speedy and
well-matured transaction of our legislative
business,-far better than the present I'M
wieldly number, or even than one hundred
and fifty. Furthermore, house of one hun
dred members would admit of dividing coun-
ties into election districts without dividing
towns, and at the same time maintain prac-
tically undisturbed the ratio of one repre-
sentative to every 5000 inhabitants. This
will appear from the following cast of the
towns in Washington county. The county,
having population Of 25,400, would be en-
titled to eight representatives. Eight dis
tricts might be arranged by uniting adjoin-
ing towns thus;