Page:Essays in Historical Criticism.djvu/156

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Hamilton's speech. It is that the new States, although small at first, will " be gained over to the just views of the House of Representatives by an expedient too obvious to be overlooked. As these States will, for a great length of time, advance in population with peculiar rapidity, they will be interested in frequent reapportionments of the representatives to the num- ber of inhabitants." So the large States in the House can join forces with the new States in the Senate " to make reap- portionments and augmentations " at the same time, p. 36-4.

Madison wrote Jefferson in a somewhat similar vein in March, 1787, on changing " the principle of Representation in the federal system '* from one of equality to one proportioned to population. " A majority of the states conceive that they will be the gainers by it. It is recommended to the Eastern States by the actual superiority of their populousness, and to the Southern by their expected superiority; and if a majority of the larger states concur, the fewer and smaller states must finally bend to them," I, 286. On p. 365 of this number occurs a favorite expression of Madison's. The author sees in the history of England " an infant and humble representa- tion of the people gradually enlarging the sphere of its activity and importance." Compare "to enlarge the sphere as far as the nature of the government would admit," Debates, 118; "the only remedy is, to enlarge the sphere," Ibid., 119; "an enlargement of the sphere," I, 327; "the Federal principle which enlarges the sphere," IV, 21; "enlarging the sphere," IV, 327 and 328; "enlarge the sphere of liberty," IV, 483; " enlargement of the sphere," i>e5a^gs, 528; "extending the sphere," Federalist, 309; "extend the sphere," Federalist, 58. Hamilton uses "extending the sphere," in Federalist, 48, and "enlargement of the orbit," p. 47, but the metaphor is by no means as common as with Madison, and the exact phrase "enlarge the sphere " I have not noted in Hamilton.

The final paragraph of this number seems like an echo of a discussion in the Convention, Aug. 10. The subject is the proper quorum for the House, and there is noticeable simi- larity of language. As against a quorum larger than a ma-