Summary of Speech in Illinois General Assembly concerning Apportionment, [9 January
1841]1
Mr Lincoln replied. He appealed to every old member in the House, if it was not a fact, that when this body consisted of but fifty five members,2 business was conducted with twice the facility that it now was. The reason was obvious
enough to any reflecting mind. It required double the journalizing and double the
length of time to call and record every vote which was put to the House; but a stronger
reason was, that amongst ninety members the proposition of members, who, in the language
of the gentleman from Monroe, (Mr Bissell) were disposed to protract business, was just double that in a House of half the
number. It was perfectly plain that if each of the ninety-one members, now on this
floor, make speeches on any subject, that it would require just double the time of
half that number. The gentleman from Monroe, (MrBissell) accused his friend from St. Clair, (Mr Trumbull) of attaching some peculiar magic to the number 100.3 He did not understand his objection to exceeding that number to arise from any magic
in it, but from the fact that it was large enough, and expensive enough for any legislative
body.
The gentleman had accused old women of being partial to the number 9; but this he
presumed was without foundation. A few years since, it would be recollected by the
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House, that the delegation from this county were dubbed, by way of eminence the “long nine,” and by way of further disti^n^ction, he had been called the “longest'” of the nine. Now, said Mr L. I desire to say to my friend from Monroe (Mr Bissell) that if any peculiar ^woman,^ old or young, ever thought there was any peculiar charm in this distinguished specimen
of number 9, I have, as yet, been so unfortunate as not to have discovered it, (loud
applause.).
Messers Kitchell and Murphy, of Perry, followed in support of a less ratio, and Messers Cavalry and Brown of Vermillion, supported the proposition before the House, and opposed the increase of Representatives
beyond one hundred.
Without taking the question, the committee rose, reported, and ^had^ leave to sit again.4
1This handwritten transcription is a copy of what was apparently a contemporary newspaper
report of the continuation of a debate in the House of Representatives on apportionment.
Debate had commenced on January 7 on a Senate resolution passed on January 4, fixing
the ratio based on the latest state census for apportionment at 12,000 for each senator,
and 5,000 for each representative. The Peoria Register’s version and the Illinois State Register’s version of the debate on January 7 does not include this speech. The House Journal reports
that the debate resumed on January 9, but newspaper accounts are not available. The
Sangamo Journal for January 12, the issue in which a report might be expected, is not extant, and
the Illinois State Register for January 15 does not include the debate.
Illinois House Journal. 1840. 12th G. A., 205; Illinois Senate Journal. 1840. 12th G. A., 124, 135; Illinois State Register (Springfield), 15 January 1841, 2:6.
2In 1836, the General Assembly passed an apportionment act that increased the number of representatives to ninety-one.
John Clayton, comp., The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673-1968
(Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970), 191.
4On January 11 and 13, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole to
consider the Senate resolution. On January 13, the House struck out 5,000 as the
basis for representation in the House and inserted in lieu thereof 4,500. The House
further reduced the number to 4,000 by a vote of 47 yeas to 37 nays, with Lincoln
not voting. The House adopted the Senate resolution as amended by a vote of 47 yeas
to 36 nays, with Lincoln not voting. On January 14, the Senate rejected the House
amendment by a vote of 12 yeas to 23 nays. On January 25, the House refused to recede
from its amendment by a vote of 32 yeas to 54 nays, with Lincoln voting yea. The
Senate and House created a committee of conference to resolve the disagreeing vote.
On January 28, the conference committee reported back the Senate resolution as amended,
recommending that the Senate adopt the House amendment, and the Senate concurred.
The Senate resolution as amended became the basis for the ratio of representation
found in section one of an apportionment bill that became law on February 26. The new law increased the number of representatives to 121.
Illinois House Journal. 1840. 12th G. A., 210, 219, 220-21, 277, 285, 298; Illinois Senate Journal. 1840. 12th G. A., 164, 190, 205, 214, 217; John Clayton, The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673-1968, 121.
Handwritten Transcription, 3 page(s), Lamon Collection (LN 2408), 3:355-56, Huntington Library (San Marino, CA).