CHAPTER IV. RATIO OF REPRESENTATION.

 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 determined¹ by the same rule.

2. The distinctive² 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 fixed³ 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 apportion⁴ 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 census⁵, which is taken every tenth year; and when the apportionment is once made, it remains⁶ 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 Jersey⁷, 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 conformity⁸ 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 permanently⁹ 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 decided¹⁰ that after March 3d, 1873, the Representatives should comprise 292 members, being one Representative for every 135,239 of the population and apportioned¹¹ 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 enact¹² 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 Territorial¹³ 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.

1 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

2 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

3 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

4 apportion   

vt.（按比例或计划）分配

参考例句：

• It's already been agreed in principle to apportion the value of the patents.原则上已经同意根据专利的价值按比例来分配。
• It was difficult to apportion the blame for the accident.很难分清这次事故的责任。

5 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

8 conformity   

n.一致，遵从，顺从

参考例句：

• Was his action in conformity with the law?他的行动是否合法？
• The plan was made in conformity with his views.计划仍按他的意见制定。

9 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 apportioned   

vt.分摊，分配（apportion的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• They apportioned the land among members of the family. 他们把土地分给了家中各人。
• The group leader apportioned them the duties for the week. 组长给他们分派了这星期的任务。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

13 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。