each county into the treasury of the State, for the five years preceding the laying off of the districts, shall be considered as its proportion of the public taxes, and constitute the basis of apportionment: Provided, That no county shall be divided in the formation of a senatorial district. And when there are one or more counties having an excess of taxation above the ratio to form a senatorial district, adjoining a county or counties deficient in such ratio, the excess or excesses aforesaid shall be added to the taxation of the county or counties deficient; and if, with such addition, the county or counties receiving it shall have the requisite ratio, such county and counties each shall constitute a senatorial district.
Two. The house of commons shall be composed of one hundred and twenty representatives, biennially chosen by ballot, to be elected by counties according to their Federal population, that is, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons; and each county shall have at least one member in the house of commons, although it may not contain the requisite ratio of population.
Three. This apportionment shall be made by the general assembly, at the respective times and periods when the districts for the senate are hereinbefore directed to be laid off; and the said apportionment shall be made according to an enumeration to be ordered by the general assembly, or according to the census which may be taken by order of Congress, next preceding the making such apportionment.
Four. In making the apportionment in the house of commons, the ratio of representation shall be ascertained by dividing the amount of Federal population in the State, after deducting that comprehended within those counties which do not severally contain the one hundred and twentieth part of the entire Federal population aforesaid, by the number of representatives less than the number assigned to the said counties. To each county containing the said ratio, and not twice the said ratio, there shall be assigned one representative; to each county containing twice, but not three times the said ratio, there shall be assigned two representatives, and so on progressively; and then the remaining representatives shall be assigned severally to the counties having the largest fractions.
Sec. 2. One. Until the first session of the general assembly which shall be had after the year eighteen hundred and forty-one, the senate shall be composed of members to be elected from the several districts hereinafter named, that is to say, the first district shall consist of the counties of Perquimons and Pasquotank; the second district of Camden and Currituck; the third district, Gates and Chowan; the fourth district, Washington and Tyrrell; the fifth district, Northampton; the sixth district, Hertford; the seventh district, Bertie; the eighth district, Martin; the ninth district, Halifax; the tenth district, Nash; the eleventh district, Wake; the twelfth district, Franklin; the thirteenth district, Johnston; the fourteenth district, Warren; the fifteenth district, Edgecomb; the sixteenth district, Wayne; the seventeenth district, Green and Lenoir; the eighteenth district, Pitt; the nineteenth district, Beaufort and Hyde; the twentieth district, Carteret and Jones; the twenty-first district,
