Unknown County GaArchives History .....The American Almanac   AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION. 1840
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The American Almanac and Repository of Useful Knowledge for the year 1840

Boston: Published by David H. Williams.
New York: Collins, Keese, and Company
Philadelphia: Thomas, Cowperthwait, and Company

Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1839, by
David H. Williams, In the Clerk’s Office of the District of Massachusetts

Cambridge: Folsom, Wells, and Thurston, Printers to the University.

________________________________________________________________________

AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION.

     On the 1st Monday in May, 1838, a Convention met, in accordance with a 
law passed the preceding December, for the purpose of amending the 
Constitution so as to reduce the number of the members of the Senate and House 
of Representatives in the State legislature; and the amendments proposed by 
the Convention are to be submitted to the people, for their approval or 
rejection, on the lst Monday in October, 1839.

     According to the Constitution now in force, and the census taken last 
year, the next House of Representatives will be composed of 207 members. Every 
county is entitled to one member; every county with a representative 
population of 3,000, is entitled to two members; every county with a 
representative population of 7,000, is entitled to three members; and every 
county with a population of 12,000, or upwards, is entitled to four members. 
In accordance with the enumeration made last year, the legislature, in the act 
passed for that purpose, established the representation thus:

  4 counties are entitled to 4 members,		.	.	 16
 33    “            “        3   “		.	.	 99
 36    “            “        2   “		.	.	 72
 20    “            “        1   “		.	.	 20
 93                                                              207

     By the amendment adopted by the Convention, every county is en-titled to 
one member; but the counties containing a representative population of 6,000 
are to be entitled to two members; and those containing a similar population 
of 72,000 are to be entitled to three members.	The Convention adopted the 
census of last year for the appointment of representives.  If the amendment is 
ratified, the House of Representatives will be composed of 138 members, as 
follows:

  5 counties are entitled to 3 members each,	.	.	 15
 35    “            “        2   “		.	.	 70
 53    “            “        1   “		.	.	 53
 93								138

Reducing the number of members of the House by 69.

     According to the present Constitution, each county is entitled to one 
Senator; and as the State is new divided into 93 counties, the Senate, at the 
session of November next, will consist of 93 members. According to the 
amendment of the Convention, the State is divided into 46 districts, and each 
district is to be entitled to only one Senator.

     The number of Senators cannot be increased; counties organized from those 
now existing, are to be added to contiguous senatorial districts. By this 
composition of the Senate, the number of members is reduced by 47, which, 
being added to the reduction in the House, creates a reduction in both 
branches of the General Assembly, of 116 members. The number of members of the 
General Assembly at the session in November next, will be 300; and the number 
of members at the session of 1840, if the people ratify the amendment of the 
Convention, will be only 184; thus reducing the number by 116.

END

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