A Very Broad Power Of
Interpretation Is Left To Those Who Were To Be The Future
Interpreters Of The Written Document.
It is declared that "representation and direct taxes shall be
apportioned among the several States which may be included within
this Union, according to their respective numbers," thereby meaning
that representation and taxation in the several States shall be
adjusted according to the population.
This clause ordains that
throughout all the States a certain amount of population shall
return a member to the Lower House of Congress - say one member to
100,000 persons, as is I believe about the present proportion - and
that direct taxation shall be levied according to the number of
representatives. If New York return thirty-three members and Kansas
one, on New York shall be levied, for the purposes of the United
States revenue, thirty-three times as much direct taxation as on
Kansas. This matter of direct taxation was not then, nor has it
been since, matter of much moment. No direct taxation has hitherto
been levied in the United States for national purposes. But the
time has now come when this proviso will be a terrible stumbling-
block in the way.
But before we go into that matter of taxation, I must explain how
the South was again favored with reference to its representation.
As a matter of course no slaves, or even negroes - no men of color -
were to vote in the Southern States. Therefore, one would say, that
in counting up the people with reference to the number of the
representatives, the colored population should be ignored
altogether.
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