Richmond daily times. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1853, 1851-11-12

IMPORTANCE OF IaEANEXT LEGISLATURES.
The Importance OF the approaching session OF the
Les stature (says the LynchbuIg Virgnian) can9ot
be 100 constantly borne in mind by the people. The
setting the machinery of our new system to WORK
will require the best talents and the largest Legisla-
tive experience tn tt the State afford In party
aspect it is also of the highest importance. The Con-
gressona districts have TO be reaPportioned Suffer
ing the Wing party have DONE fol ten years, an
almost total exclusion from Congress, through the In
strumentaity OF an outrageous gerrymdnder 1t Pc
hoves them to make every exertlon TO remove tins
incubus from themselves and redress the wrong they
have so long undergone In addition TO this, an U.
States senator is to be elected in the place OF r. M
T. Hunter, who. like his colleague. Mr. Mason, has
too many South Carolina iSHlS in his head to suit the
practical patriotism of our future state policy. We
hope friends will consider these things and do all
that becomes men between this time and the coming
election.
If the next Legisl ature had no other duty to
perform than that of Reproducing the Congress
sional districts it would b. enough TO ncite every
Wing in the State to use his best exertions to
secure full representation of our party in both
Houses. A more unjust and indefensbe gerry
mander than the present apportionmentin Virginia
was never carried into effect in any State. With
a popular vote, under the expiring constitution,
of some 10000, the Democratic majority was
some 800 in the election of 1910, 5000 in that
of 1874; and 1900 in that of lS46. Take the
Democratic majority to be the largest number,
viz 5000 in 10000, and the Wing vote would
be AZ, 500, which is more than fortg-seuen hun
dredthS of The aohole 10000. Leaving out, there
fore, the advantage which the Wings would gain
by taking into account federal numbers, the actual
basis of Congressional representation, we were
fairly entitled TO SEVEN OUT OF THE FIFTEEN
MEMBERS. But what did the Democratic Legiss-
ture do? Did they respect the great republican
principle of protecting the rights of minorities
Not they. We heard full account of the matter
given to the people of Halifax by leading actor
in the transaction, Mr.. John R. Edmunds. He.
openly avowed before his constituents that he
worked out the problem of so arranging the dis
trcts as to give the Democrats fourteen of the
whole fifteen. The only possible way, he said
of effectng the desired result was to place the
great Wing county of Loudoun in a district that
would be Wing by an overwhelming majority
and then to smother the Wing voice of Bedford
by attaching her TO the distant Democratic strong.
holds of Madison and Greene. In the same way
Augusta and Rockbridge had to be linked with
the Tenth Legion, and Kanawha with the North
Western counties. The Richmond District
cratic county, in order to kill off John Minor
Bolts. This is the history of the present appor-
tionment, by which means of the Wings were
in one Congress, actually reduced to one repre-
sentative, and, in two others, have had only two
The growth of Richmond has, at length, created
a Wing majority in this unwieldy district, which
unhappily has been rendered unavailing by Wing
dissension. -Four or five of the other districts
which the Democratic arithmetcians cyphered
rather too closely, we have sometimes carried by
dint of extreme exertions or some difficulty in
the counsels of our opponents.
Thus it is, that the State of Virginia has
seemed to be so strongly Democratic, in the
Congressional representation. 1t is all the effec
of the most sweeping gerrymander ever perpe-
trated in the United States. We know of Moth
ing comparable 10 it.
The next Legislature will have to make a re.
apportionment of the districts; and it behooves
the Wings of every county to work with patri-
oic zeal from now until shutdown on the 9Th of
December, to secure wing majority, on joint bal
lot five can or at least in one or the other ofthe two
Houses. The apportlonment in the new consti-
tuition gives US fair chance of accomplishing
this great result. The small preponderance of
the Democratic party in the Presidential election
proves that we have not such mighty diffcutel
TO overcome, to make the State altogether Wing