The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-12-04
semblymen TO which each is entitled
and the surplus of unrepresented people.
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Assembly seats. Add the figures in the
column Of members together and IL Will
be seen that only forty-niue seats are as
signed as mathematical rights. or the
eleven unassigned seats three must De
given to the counties of Cape May, Ocean
aud Sussex, whose respective populations
do not rise TO the dignity of single con-
stituency. Under the constitution, how
ever, each is entitled to q member. Thus
fifty-two OF the sixty Assemblymen are
located.
LEFT OVER AssEMBLyMAN.
The overplus OF eight will be given to
the counties having the largest unrepre-
sented surplus of people. Bergen is
within an ace Of having enough in her
popular overplus to make second con-
stituency for her; Union, with y, Al sur
plus, Cumberland, with 22.3sl surplus,
and Monmouth. with p, ,021, follow in or
der. and each will receive an additional
AssembIyman. Then come Essex with
Is. $50 surplus, Camden with $3.50, and
Warren with 2,629 surplus. II the rule
of allowing the counties with the largest
surpluses an additional Assemblyman be
| followed. seven Of the eight left over AS
semblymen will be divided among these
seven counties-Bergen, Union, Cumber
| land, Monmouth, Essex, Camden and
Warren.
TO what county shall the single unas-
signed Assemblyman be givenf Warren
has the smallest surplus that runs above
half the number of people required TO
make a constituency. The next In order
| in the size of their surpluses stand close
together. There are Hunterdon with
II, ,465, Middlesex with II ,453. and Hudson
with 10,969. Middlesex is less than the
conventional bakers dozen behind Hun
| terdon, and Hudson Is only 484 behind
Middlesex It would be said at first
| flush that Hunterdon's little excess OF
| twelve over Middlesex entities her, of
course, to the preference In determining
where the stray members should go.
HERE'S THE POINT.
But then there is an important con-
! sideration, not needed yet, that Hudson
will doubtless insist upon having taken
| into account. That Is, the natural
| growth of the counties. Hudson's popu-
| lation In 1890 shows a ratio of 46.3 per
cent. increase over her population in 1850;
| Middlesex's ratio of increase was only
| l5g; Hunterdon's only So Apply their
| rates of increase to the populations of the
respective counties and see which will
| soonest have multiplied Its surplus into
the complete constituency. The result
| will be as follows.
Popula- Ratio Of
| County. fion. qroicth. Increase.
Hudson ......... I5i9s 46s = iz5 so
Hunterdon. 80. s5.4s2 .O5J 2,09a
| In the next ten years. therefore. Hud-
son will probably have added l27, ,372.
| The increase in one year would, there
fore be l2, ,!97. These, added TO the sur
| plus of 10,969 she already has, would In
| crease the size of her unrepresented sur
| plus of people to 23.700. Within year
| from the time of taking the census-by
next July-she will have within 311 Of the
| number Of people required to make her
| twelfth full constituency. The first elec-
| tion for Assembiymen under the new ap-
| portionment can not take place till next
Novela ber; ana by that time she will at
| the same rate of growth, have acquired
| enough new residents to fill the quota.
| and leave another comfortable balance 10
! her credit.
Middlesex's surplus of IL. .453 leaves her
| Il, ,564 short of the population that makes
| a constituency. II she grows no faster in
| the next ten years than she has in the last
| the census of 1900 A. ID. will see her yet
short of the quota She will not be able
| to fill In in fact till the year 2003
| Hunterdon must add II. $50 TO her sur
plus of IL, ,465 before she can swell it to
| the required 24.0lz. Growing at the rate
| OF less than 2, 100 In ten years it would
| take her sixty years to reach the goal.
| 1t must be remembered that the appor-
| tionment to be made next winter cannot
| be disturbed for ten year-not Till the
twentieth century dawns on creation. BY
| the time next falls election comes around
| Hudson viii have acquired her twelfth
| full constituency, and good many
| shrewd politicians hereabouts are asking
| themselves why she should sit COM
| placently by and see Middlesex take from
i her an Assembly seat that Middlesex
could not win, on the population basis, in
the next ten years, or Huntsrdon seize
| It for hale constituency that innot be-
| come whole constituency in less than
| half century.