As a result of this rule, Nevada to-day with a population of less than 100,000 sends the same number of senators to Washington as does New York with a population of some 10,000,000 souls. New York, on the other hand, sends forty-three representatives to Congress while Nevada sends but one. This was the first great compromise of the Constitution. _The Question of Counting the Slaves._--The next problem, which was almost equally difficult and which likewise had to be settled by compromise, was the question of whether the slaves should be counted in determining the population of the state for purposes of representation. The delegates from the Southern states argued that slaves were an important factor in contributing to the wealth and power of the country and should, therefore, be counted for purposes of representation. To this argument the delegates from the Northern states, where the slave population was inconsiderable, objected on the ground that the slaves at law were treated merely as property and were not allowed to vote in the states where they resided. The discussion over this question was long and at times exciting, but finally a compromise was reached by which it was agreed that in determining the population for purposes of representation, all the white population but only three fifths of the slaves should be counted. At the same time it was decided that direct taxes among the states should be apportioned on the same basis. This compromise was favorable to the slave states in that it gave them an increased number of representatives, but it was unfavorable in that it increased their proportion of direct taxes. This is known as the three-fifths compromise. _Federal Regulation of Commerce._--Another question which became the subject of heated discussion related to the national control of commerce. The Northern states wished Congress to be given the power to regulate commerce, but the Southern states, which at the time furnished the principal articles of export, feared that the power might be employed in such a manner as to injure their commerce, and might also be used to prohibit the slave trade and thus prevent the Southern planters from stocking their farms with laborers. They accordingly insisted that Congress should be expressly prohibited from interfering with the importation of slaves, and that it should be allowed to pass navigation acts only by a two-thirds majority of both houses. The whole matter was finally settled by a compromise which forbade Congress to interfere with the importation of slaves before the year 1808, but which allowed it to pass laws by a majority vote for the regulation of commerce. This was the last great compromise of the Constitution.