News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1895-08-01
OUR STATE SENATE.


In view of the current agitation in
favor of changing our system of rep
resentation to the district system, a
distinguished Yermonter furnishes
the Daily News with an interesting
account of the adoption of the pres
ent system by the constitutional con-
vention of 1886. 1t will be seen that
there was a very strong feeling in
favor of the district system, as far as
the Senate was concerned, at that
time, and it was only by some clever
log-roIling that the present unjust
and inequitable method was forced
upon the state. Our correspondent
| says
The state senate is composed of 30
members. Each county is entitled
to one and the remainder are appor-
toned among the counties accord
ing to population. The senate was
adopted as a part of the state gov
eminent in 1896; and the first one
was elected in September of that
year.
The senate should be elected in sin
gle districts, each district electing
one. At the time the senate system
was adopted, the constitutional con-
vention January, 1856 was so
evenly divided that apparently it
would be defeated. After much log
rolling, the members from Grand Isle
county-FIetcher of South Hero,
Hayes of North Hero, Hill of Isle La
Motto, Ladd of Grand Isle and Rey-
nolds of Alburgh-agreed to vote for
a senate if each county would be &C.
corded one member. The resolution
providing for the senate was intro
duced by the late Senator Collamer,
and on January 9 was called up by
Mr.. Hill of Isle La Motto, and passed
by a vote of 116 yeas and 113 noes,
the Grand Isle county members vot-
ing yea. Had they voted no, the
vote would have been ITO yeas and
11S noes.
On Monday, January II, a vote to
reconsider was taken and the motion
lost by a vote OF ITO yeas to 11S
noes.
The agreement with Grand Isle
county was faithfully carried out, for
a companion amendment which per-
mitted a division of the state into
senate districts at some future time,
each district to elect one senator
received but eight votes, Messrs.
Bean of Sharon, Brownell of Willis
ton, Field of Guilford, Hendee of
Pittsford, Huntington of Washing
ton, Paddock of Highgate, Soper of
Bristol and Stebbins of Vernon.
The Chittenden county members
voted for the senate, except Messrs.
Pineo of Bolton, Slater of Essex Luce
of Mansfield and Wales of Westford.
At least two members of the con-
vention survive, Mr.. Oliver P. Chand-
Ter of Woodstock and Gen. Artemus
Cushman, then of Warren, now of
Rochester. There were many noted
men in the convention. Among them
were VIM. r. Shafter, Chas. K. Field,
VIM. c. Kittridge, Solomon Foot,
Andrew Tracy, Jacob Collamer, Dan
lei Chapman, Ezra Meach, VIM. A..
Palmer, John Mattocks, Geo. G. Cal
hoon, Thomas Bartlett, Levi B. Vi
las, the father of Senator Villas of
Wisconsin, and Ira Carpenter, the
father Eve think of the late Senator
Carpenter of the same state.
The counties are now so UNEQUAL
that the senate representation is I'M
just. Grand Isle county with it's pop
ulation of 3S43 has one as against
one from Lamoille with 1881 in
habitants. There are wardsin this
city with more people than all Grand
Isle county. A practical remedy for
such inequalities is to divide the state
into fifteen counties as nearly equal
in population as practicable. AS an
approach to it, abolish Grand Isle
county by annexing the south island
to Chittenden county and the rest TO
Franklin. We may make sugges-
ton as to the abolition of more coun-
ties which if carried out would be adj
vantageous to all concerned.