1. the ratio of representation simply means the ratio between the whole population of the united states, and the whole number of their representatives in congress; and this of course includes the ratio between the people of any individual[570] state, and the representatives it is entitled to; both being estimated upon the same basis, and determined by the same rule.

2. the distinctive characteristic of our government is, that it is a popular government. its power is vested in the people. they elect their rulers, who are the servants of the people, and these rulers are expected to carry out the people’s wishes. upon such a system, it is a matter of the first importance, to distribute this power equally among all the people, and after having fixed upon the ratio between the whole population and the whole number of representatives; or, in other words, after having determined how many members shall compose the lower house of congress, the next step is to apportion these members among all the states in the ratio of their population. if one state has twice the number of inhabitants that another has, it will be entitled to twice the number of representatives in congress. if one has ten times the inhabitants that another has, it will be entitled to ten times the number of representatives, and so on; with this one exception, which is, that by a provision in the constitution, every state, without regard to its population, is entitled to one representative in the lower house.

3. the adjustment of this matter is all provided for in the constitution, that is, in its general features; but it devolves upon congress in every tenth year to re-adjust and re-apportion the representatives among the several states, according to the population of each state as shown by the last census, which is taken every tenth year; and when the apportionment is once made, it remains the same for the next ten years, when the census is taken again, and a new apportionment is made.

4. up to the present time (1874,) this has been done nine times. it was done the first time by the convention which formed the constitution. that apportionment is found in the constitution, and is as follows:

to new hampshire, 3

massachusetts, 8

pennsylvania, 8

[571]delaware, 1

rhode island, 1

connecticut, 5

new york, 6

new jersey, 4

maryland, 6

virginia, 10

north carolina, 5

south carolina, 5

georgia, 3

by this it will be seen that the first congress consisted of but 65 members.

the constitution also provided that representatives should not exceed one to every 30,000 people. the next year after the government went into operation, (1790,) the first census was taken, and as soon as the result was known, a new apportionment was made. this was done in 1792, and was made upon the ratio of one representative to every 33,000 of representative[4] population.

[4] the representative population includes all free persons, white or black; to which (according to the provisions of the constitution), three-fifths of all the slaves were to be added. but this proviso, now that slavery is abolished, has become a nullity.

5. in 1800, the second census was taken; and when congress made the apportionment, which was done in 1803, it did not change the ratio, but left it at one representative to every 33,000 of the representative population.

in 1810, the third census was taken, and in 1811 the ratio was fixed at one representative for every 35,000 of the population.

in 1820, the fourth census was taken, and in 1822 congress fixed the ratio at one representative for every 47,000 of the population.

in 1830, the fifth census was taken, and in 1832 the ratio was fixed at one representative to every 47,000 of the population.

in 1840, the sixth census was taken, and in 1842 congress again declared that the ratio should be one representative to every 70,000 of the population.

6. in 1850, the seventh census was taken, and in conformity with the law passed this year, the number of members was[572] for the first time limited; the limit being 233; and the secretary of the interior was ordered to take the census returns, and divide the whole representative population by the number 233, and to make the quotient the ratio between the representatives and the people.

7. we have never seen the result of the secretary’s estimate, but, taking the population of 1850 and dividing it by 233, would produce a quotient of nearly 94,000; and this we take as the ratio, after the time when it was done, 1852; that is, one representative to every 94,000 of the population.

8. the eighth census was taken in 1860, and on it an apportionment was based, which allowed one representative for every 127,000 of the population.

in 1850 congress adopted the principle of permanently fixing the number of members of congress, to save the trouble of doing it as heretofore, every ten years. an act was passed limiting it to 233; but notwithstanding this limitation, it was provided that if any new state came in, it should have its member, which would add to the number. but this increase was to continue no longer than until the next apportionment, when the number was to fall back again to the old figure.

in 1862 the law was modified to make the whole number of members consist of 241 after the 3d of march, 1863. in 1870 the ninth census was taken, and in 1872 congress decided that after march 3d, 1873, the representatives should comprise 292 members, being one representative for every 135,239 of the population and apportioned them among the several states as follows:

alabama, 8

arkansas, 4

california, 4

connecticut, 4

delaware, 1

florida, 2

georgia, 9

mississippi, 6

missouri, 13

nebraska, 1

nevada, 1

new hampshire, 3

new jersey, 7

new york, 33

north carolina, 8

[573]ohio, 20

illinois, 19

indiana, 13

iowa, 9

kansas, 3

kentucky, 10

louisiana, 6

maine, 5

maryland, 6

massachusetts, 11

michigan, 9

minnesota, 3

oregon, 1

pennsylvania, 27

rhode island, 2

south carolina, 5

tennessee, 10

texas, 6

vermont, 3

virginia, 9

west virginia, 3

wisconsin, 8

9. but it must be borne in mind that congress has the power to alter all this, and to enact that congress shall consist of any other number of members, although it is not probable that this will be done soon.

10. the foregoing statements will show the general plan upon which the house of representatives is constituted, and how the several states are constantly changing the number of their representatives, and their relative power and influence in congress. this can be readily understood by remembering the fact that new states come into the union every few years, and that the population increases much more rapidly in the western states than in the eastern, and that, consequently, the west is rapidly gaining power in congress, while the atlantic states are losing it.

11. in the apportionment no regard is had to the territories or to their population. in this adjustment, the states and their population only are regarded, and the number of members is all given to the states. every representative from a territory is an addition to that number, but it must be remembered that a territorial member has no right to vote on any question, but has only the right to debate; and for this reason he is not, in the fullest sense, a member, and is not counted in adjusting the number of which the house is made to consist.