Speech of Marshall M. Strong, February 5, 1847

              244 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
the people—the provision was not contained in the original report of the committee—^it came upon us unexpectedly by an amendment offered in the convention—and it was not necessary to have it in the constitution. A constitution should constitute or organize the great departments of government, and prescribe their powers and duties, and fix such limitations to them as may be necessary. This section was to act only upon individuals, and the object might as well be left to the legislature or accomplished by public opinion, as it has been done in the western part of the territory. This provision, too, is one of that character which depends entirely upon public opinion for its efficacy. If A, B, and C will take foreign bills, who else will know it, and how will your law reach them? If D is opposed to taking them, but A owes him one hundred dollars, for which he can get nothing but Eastern bills, and he owes B the same amount, he will take the biUs and pay his debt. Confidently hoping at that time that we should frame a good constitution, I did not wish to endanger its adoption by inserting this provision and thus lose all by grasping too much. Entertaining these views, when I found that * pubhc opinion came pouring in upon us from all quarters against this section, I should have voted to strike it out, my former vote and my correspondents to the contrary notwithstanding, and such was known to be my determination for several of the last weeks of the session.
The large number of which the house of representatives is to consist is, to my mind, a serious defect, but I must not dwell upon this subject. Ten members are apportioned to Racine County, and I am confident that her citizens would have been better pleased with half the number. The great additional expense of so large a body will be very burdensome upon the people of our new state, who have so many uses and calls for their money. Suppose it had been provided that the house of representatives should consist of thirty-nine members—a number equal to both houses of our present legislature—instead of seventy nine. The mileage of the forty extra members upon the same basis, I estimate the expenses of the new convention would be seven hundred and four dollars. If the session should continue forty days and the first two or three sessions must be much longer, their per diem for that time would be thirty- two hundred doUars. If owing to their great number they protracted the session ten days longer than it would have been with a smaller number and they would cause greater delay than that, then the per diem of all the members of both houses, which is one hundred, should be added, making two thousand dollars.   Now these certain