The Shasta courier., 1861-04-13
COUNTY OFFICIAL PAPER
SATURDAY MORNING, APRIL ls, 1861.
Districting the State.

We have taken the trouble to address let
tiers to several members of the Legislature,
urging upon them to SO divide the several
counties of the State into Senatorial and As
sembly dictricts that no one citizen shall be
permitted to vote for more than one Senator
and Assemblyman.
At present, citizen of San Francisco, by
the mere accident of residence, is permitted
to vote, or under the new apportionment bill,
will be permitted to vote for some dozen As
semblymen and half dozen Senators, while
citizen of Shasta can only vote for one of
EACH In other words, citizen of San Fran
cisco, in the enactment of laws, election of
United States Senator, &C., has ten voices to
the Shasta citizens one. Is that fair is it
republican? is it not violatye of that section
of the Constitution which declares that " all
laws of a general nature shall have a uniform
operation ?' We think aye to all of
these inquiries, and hence urge our legisla-
tors to divide every county entitled to more
thar one representative in either House, into
just as many districts as they have Senators
and Assemblymen apportioned to them.
Look at it., if you will, in party point of
view. Under the General Ticket system the
eighteen or twenty Legislators from San Fran
co may all, by an aggregate majority of ten
votes be secured by the Republican party
while, if the city and county were districted,
tba namocracv xunu1d oopar,llx, coauro
least half of them. Thus, under the present
system, majority of ten Republican votes
may prevent the entire Democracy of San
Francisco from having a single man of their
party in the halls of legislation! By divid
ing the city into Assembly and Senatorial
districts-as has been done in Boston, New
York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and every 9TH
er large city in the Union-such an outrage
upon the rights of the minority could never
be consummated.
But, writes an Assemblyman, your sug-
gestion meets with general favor among the
Democrats, and would be acted upon but for
fact that sec 80. art of the Constitution
forbids. We think otherwise. The clause
of the section referred to reads thus: 81 And
no county shall be divided in forming Con-
gressional, Senatorial or Assembly district"
The only reasonable Interpretation of this
language is this, that in the formation of
districts part of one county shall not be
connected with part OF the rhole of another
county To illustrate: Butte county has
population sufficient to entitle her to two As
semblymen, leaving over a fraction of ., Ala.
Colusa's entire population is less than that
fraction, 2,2S3. Ofcourse, then, she is not
entitled to an Assemblyman. But by Civ
ing her the benefit of Butte's fraction, she may
claim an Assemblyman That the Legisla-
ture can give. But if the Legislature were to
create an Assembly district by attaching to
Colusa county, for election purposes, por-
ton of Butte's territory containing popula-
ton equaling said fraction of 2,4l4 the act
would violate the latter clause of section 3Oth
of article 4. That would be dividing
Butte county, for the purpose of forming an
Assembly district, in the sense in which the
clause quoted prohibits.
In considering this question it must not be
forgotten that sec. 80, art. 4, refers with the
same force and to the same extent to Con-
greSSional as to Senatorial and Assembly
districts. If it forbids the Legislature to di
vide county into Assembly and Senatorial
districts, in the manner which we suggest
without attaching, for election purposes, {
portion of one county to a part or the whole
of another then the same restriction woulC
apply in the formation of Congressional dis
tricts. Now suppose the city of San Fran
cisco was entitled to two Congressman. Doe,
any one suppose that the Legislature, in di
viding the State into Congressional districts
could not divide that city into two dis
tricts? All men will answer this question il
the affirmative. And an affirmative answer
in this case demands, by inexorable logic
similar answer with reference to Assembl,
and Senatorial districts, for the Constitutions
restriction applies to all three alike.
From this it would seem incontrovertibl,
that the Legislature may divide any count,
or city into Assembly and Senatorial district
equaling in number that of the Senators ant
Representatives to which they are entitled
provided that, in so doing, they do not ottdcl
apart cfoRe county TO a part or The ,chole 9
another.
If so, then let it be DONE 1t may be tn,
Republicans of San Francisco will not like j
may oppose it-may refuse to elect unde
such law, and return twenty representative
under the present General Ticket system
Let them do SO. We believe each House i
the sole judge of the qualifications, elections
and returns of its own members.
ANOTHER TRINITY CANDIDATE FOR Cox
eREss.-A friend informs us that, while dis
cassing with several gentlemen the statemen
IL Il, L.. IL. IL