The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-03-24
Tho Apportionment Bill.


This Bill, passed by the House on the
3O;h inst, fixes the number Of Represen
tatives in Congress at 3l9
Section provides:
THAT from and after March the Sd,
1888, the House Of Representatives shall
be composed of 3l9 members, appor-
| toned az follows: Alabama 8, Arkansas
| 8, California 6, Colorado /, Connecticut
4, Delaware ], Florida 2, Georgia 10,
Illinois 90, Indiana IL, Iowa 10, Kansns
6, Kentucky II, Louisiana g. Maine 4,
Maryland 6, Massachusetts IL, Michigan
II, Minnesota 8, Mississippi 7, Missouri
IA, Nebraska 3, Nevada /, New Hamp.
shire 2, New Jersey 7, New York 33,
| North Carolina 10, Ohio u, Oregon /,
Per nsylvania 28, Rhode Island 2, South
Carolina O. Tennessee 10, Texas 8, Yer.
mont 2, Virginia 10, West Virginia 4,
Winconsin 8.
Tn, present membership is 293. Some
Of our exchanges are already deploring
the increase Of the House by 2G mem.
bers, which it is gravcly contended will
so enlarge the chamber as to make "con-
| fusion wOr,e c6nfOunded."
This is q striking illustration Of how
| printers ink disturbs our common sense.
! Why does not every one at all familiar
with assemblies or large public bodies
| know that the interection Of 26 members
into II house of 293 would not be apprc-
ciable to the eye or ear Of the most
accustomed observers? Again, we can.
not see why house Of 500 members Is
not just as easily managed under the
rules necessary 10 preserve order in an
assembly Of $50 men rs 300 would be.
So far as other civilized States nre con-
i hat In oln
we'll as VIC do in their legislative bodies
with much larger numbers.
| The British House of Lords consists Of
479lnembers; the House of Commons
of 659. The French assembly has over
700 members. and the German Reich.
stag consisted in 1873 of 382 members.
The Keichstag is elected by universal
direct suffrage and by ballot at the aver
age rate of one deputy for every 100000
inhabitants. This body is very much in
the nature Of our Congress, coming from
the several S,rtes Of Germany. 1t is
hard to see wiz the people of FREQ Amer
ica should not have representation
coming as near To- the people rs prevails
in the German Empire. If we had the
same representation that the people of
the German States have, the representa-
tion in Congress would 5o some 500. If
we had Il proportiOnate representation to
the British House of Commons, VIC would
have one in about $4,000 Inhabitants, ar
! 900 members of Congress and with
the representation Of tho French pee nj Q,
about the same membership of 1000, or
rather more. a house Of thousand in
order can bc readily addressed, and one
of 2Y3 in confusion is ns utterly beyond
reach as if it wcro 900.
| The true matter Of representation is
the sufficient proximity Of the represen-
tative to his constituency as to make him
familiar with the people and their moro
immediate wants and wishes.
With the rate Of representation of the
German Reichstag. South Carolina
would have some 10 representatives in
Congress, and the local interests be much
better represented than it can be now.
One representative to every 100 900
inhabitants, If the people are to have
representatives, of their own. seems to us
not unreasonable; and finding this rate
of representation recognized BY a great
practical Emrir like Germany, seems to
go very fnr in justifying nm increased,
rather than n diminished representation
in Congress.
But somebody gets notion in his
head and then 1t gets into newspaper,
and is mechanically handed around
from one to the other. without the exer-
else Of any brsin at all, until it turns out
to be foolish or unnecessary abridg-
meut Of pcnrlar rights put forward in
the name Of tho people, Columbia Reg-
isfcr.