LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND TAXATION 15 



elected biennially to the governor's council, ". . . for advising the 

 governor in the executive part of government."^ The 24 sena- 

 torial districts are for the purpose of electing biennially one senator 

 each to the state legislature. Every town and everv city ward hav- 

 ing 600 inhabitants or more elects biennially one member to the House 

 of Representatives, plus one member for each 1,200 additional in- 

 habitants. Towns and wards of less than 600 inhabitants can elect a 

 representative a proportionate part of the time,^'^' thus causing 

 the total number of state representatives to vary. Over a period of 

 years this extremely large body of legislators averages about 420 

 persons or one representative for each 1,100 to 1,200 inhabitants. At 

 every constitutional convention since 1877. an amendment to reduce 

 the size of the House of Representatives has been an issue. Either 

 it failed to be adopted by the convention, or, if adopted, it was not 

 ratified by the required two-thirds vote when submitted to the people. 



State supervision over local activities is brought about through 

 the establishment of commissions, boards, and departments to which 

 administrative powers have been granted by public acts. These pow- 

 ers vary in degree from those of an advisory nature to those of super- 

 vising or actually controlling the local service. Functionally, state 

 supervision is most active in the fields of public education, tax ad- 

 ministration, highway administration, and public health and welfare 

 activities. 



Many interrelationships exist among the local units. Counties 

 obtain a major part of their revenue from property taxes for which 

 their respective treasurers are authorized to issue a warrant to the 

 selectmen of the several towns and cities for their proportion of coun- 

 ty appropriations. In addition to county taxes, the town budget in- 

 cludes the school and precinct taxes which the selectmen are required 

 to levy and pay over to the respective treasurers. Towns hold elec- 

 tions for county officers. Buildings are frequentlv constructed, by 

 joint funds of local units such as town and school district, town and 

 village district, and by the county and city. School buildings are 

 often used for town meetings. Village districts may be established 

 from a part of one or more towns. 



Corresponding officials of local units have common problems 

 and have organized into associations which convene periodically to 

 interchange ideas and introduce programs of action. The New Hami> 

 shire Town and City Clerks' Association, the New Hampshire City 

 and Town Tax Collectors' Association, and the New Hampshire Se- 

 lectmen and Assessors' Association are examples of these. 



The interdependence of the civil divisions of the state is particu- 

 larly marked in the fields of justice and welfare, the two functions in 

 which the county is an administrative unit of major importance. Each 

 of these functions is characterized by its successive and progressive 

 steps in direction from municipality to county, and from countv to 

 state. In many respects the trend toward state intervention and in- 

 creased administrative authority over local activities adds to. rather 

 than detracts from, this interdependence. 



" Constitution of New Hampshire, Form of Government, Art. 60. 



1° A town having 300 inhabitants is represented in half of the legislative sessions, and a town 

 having only 200 inhabitants is represented in one-third of the sessions, 



