The Aggregate Representative Population (By The Last Decennial
Enumeration, 21,767,673) Is Taken, And Divided By 233; And The Quotient,
Rejecting Fractions, Is The Ratio Of Apportionment Among The Several
States.
The representative population of each State is then ascertained,
and is divided by the above named ratio, and the quotient gives the number
of representatives to each State.
The State of New York, being the most
populous, possesses 33 representatives; two of the States, namely,
Delaware and Florida, require no more than one each. On a rough
calculation, each member represents about 90,000 persons. The two houses
together are named Congress, and the members of both receive 32s. per
diem for their attendance, without deduction in case of sickness, in
addition to travelling expenses. All measures of legislation and taxation
must receive the approval of the President and the Congress, the majority
in Congress representing the popular will. Every State has its assembly
and governor, and to a certain extent has power to make its own laws. The
members of these assemblies, the governors of the States, and the mayors
and municipal officers of the cities, are all elected by universal
suffrage.
No system of direct taxation is adopted in the States, except for local
purposes. The national revenue is derived from customs duties, on many
articles so high as to amount to protective duties; from the sale of wild
lands; and from one or two other sources. The annual revenue of the
country is about 12,000,000l., and the expenditure is under the income.
The state officials are rather poorly paid.
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