The Nevada Democrat., 1859-09-21
WILL THEY BE oUsTEDs

The idea has been suggested TO us, thas
Messrs. Burch and Scott, whom the people OF
California have elected to the House OF Repre-
sentatives, will probably be ousted from their
seats, for the reason that the Legislature of
California has never districted the State. Du-
ring one of the sessions Of the 9th Congress,
when the Wings we're in power, an act was
passed requiring that Members Of Congress
should be elected from single districts. The
bill was supported by all the Wings in both
branches of Congress, and by many of the Dem.
ocrats A majority of the latter voted against
it, not that they were opposed to the district
system, but because they thought each State
should be left TO regulate the manner of elect
ing its own Representatives. The Legislatures
of the different States, however, complied with
the law, except Missouri and Mississippi, 10
which the Representatives to the 2Sth Congress
were elected on general ticket in accordance
with the previous custom. An effort was made
to oust from their seats the members from these
States, but the resolution 10 that effect failed,
although it was voted for by every Representa-
tive who was oppos ed in politics to the mem.
bers whose seats were disputed A year or two
after that contest the Legislatures of Mississ
ippi and Missouri, fearing that there might be
a Whig majority in some subsequent House,
complied with the act Of Congress, aud divided
their respective States into districts.
The act of Congress requiring the States to
be dstricted is still in force, and California is
the only State that has for any length of time
refused to comply with the provisions Of the
law. When this State was admitted, in 1850,
some objection was made to our Representatives
taking their seats, because they bad not been
elected in accordance with the law Of Congress;
but as our Legislature had had no opportunity
TO district the State previous to the election of
Messrs. Gilbert and Wright, the objection to
their admission was Withdrawn. with the under
standing that the law should in future be COM
piled with by our State. But the California
Legislatures have steadily refused to divide the
State into Congressional districts, and for ten
years our members have been elected on gen.
eral ticket, and thus far they have had no diff
Guilty in retaining their seats. The California
Congressmen, however, have always heretofore
agreed in politics with the majority party in
the House, and this may be one reason that the
regularity of their election has never been call
ed in question. Messrs Burch and Scott will
be the first California members that will find
themselves acting with the minority party in
the House, and we would not be at oil surpris-
ed IL a majority of the members should come to
the conclusion that they were not legally enti-
tied to their seats.
OF course it would be great outrage should
the House of Representatives compel the Cali
fornia Legislature to comply with the law of
Congress-; but greater outrages than even this
would be have been perpetrated by the U. S.
Senate, body which is supposed to be above
partisan bias. In 1857 the Senate ousted Mr.
Harlan, of Iowa, in consequence of some irreg
ularity in the proceedings of the Legislature
that elected him, and the next year the same
body admitted to their seats Messrs. Bright and
Fitch, of Indiana, whose election was more ir-
regular than that of Mr.. Harlan. The princi-
pal difference in the two cases was, that the
Iowa Senator differed politically from a major
belonged to the majority party, and had they
been ousted their places would have been 6lled
by members of the opposite party. We merely
alIude to these cases so show what majorities in
Legislative bodies are sometimes in the habit
of doing, and 1t generally happens in cases of
disputed or contested seats, that the person who
agrees politically with the majority party gets
the place. For this reason we conclude that
should the seats of Messrs. .Burch and Scott be
disputed, the chances would bo decidedly
against them.
It would be terrible loss to the State to be
deprived of the services of two such geniuses
as Burch and Scott, and their numerous friends
would be sadly panied to learn that their anti
cipated brilliant Congressional career had been
brought to sudden termination; but as such a
calamity is possible the people should be pre-
pared to meet it.
F,om sc