The excitement now became intense, and the convention seemed to be on
the point of dissolution. Luther Martin, of Maryland, who had taken a
leading part in advocating the views of the State rights party, said
each State must have an equal vote, or the business of the convention
was at an end. It having become apparent that this unhappy result could
be avoided only by a compromise, Roger Sherman, of Connecticut, moved
the appointment of a committee of conference, to consist of one member
from each State, and the motion prevailed. The convention then adjourned
for three days, thus giving time for consultation, and an opportunity to
celebrate the anniversary of independence.
The report of this committee, which was made on July 5th, proposed: (1)
That in the first branch of the Legislature each State should have one
representative for every forty thousand inhabitants (three-fifths of the
slaves being counted); that each State not containing that number should
be allowed one representative; and that money bills should originate in
this branch; (2) that in the second branch each State should have one
vote. These propositions were reported, it is said, at the suggestion of
Dr. Franklin, one of the committee of conference.
The report, of course, met with greater favor from the State rights
party than from their opponents. The equal vote in the Senate continued
to receive the most determined opposition from the National party. In
relation to the rule of representation in the first branch of the
Legislature, also, a great diversity of opinion prevailed. The
conflicting interests to be reconciled in the settlement of this
question, however, were those of the Northern and Southern, commercial
and planting, rather than the imaginary interests of small and large
States.
In settling a rule of apportionment, several questions were to be
considered: What should be the number of representatives in the first
branch of the Legislature? Ought the number from each State to be fixed,
or to increase with the increase of population? Ought population alone
to be the basis of apportionment, or should property be taken into
account? Whatever rule might be adopted, no apportionment founded upon
population could be made until an enumeration of the inhabitants should
have been taken. The number of representatives was, therefore, for the
time being, fixed at sixty-five, and apportioned as directed by the
Constitution.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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