The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1868-12-01
st'heelinq &eglstsr.
rs. Nat. Of Miseri,i.s

sof their Stat", so as to place them
aIor the control of the pitiful minor
..bicb these petitioners constitute
~, chief grievance of these terribly
a,-sssed people is, that nndcr then
m Io of Legislative apportionment q ma
49,, @ Of the people is compelled to sub
- the legislation Of the minority
rh,, majority, We take 1t, is made up
-t.,sse memorializ,ng "loyslists" and
w oosro.s of the State. Their com
tint then. amounts simply to this
ir,t the negroes are DISTINGUISHED. But
,hr did not these sggrieved patriots
..tr,.cbjse those blacks when they had
-. mower in Maryland! The same
,.,sss Of complaint that they now al
,ors existed when the State was unuer
.t,;rovp instead of "rebel," "rule and
3omination." They are asking Con
,rr.st 10 overthrow the State Govern
9.rt of Maryland because those who
.ymini,ter it have initiated their ex'
annie. in excluding the blacks from the
hsIIot. The pretext is too thin to do
,s:ys anybody. They merely invoke
,b. "main strength aud awLwardneSs'
If Congressional power, to place the
S,,t, offices in their hands, aud any
o,b.r conclusion il unwarranted by the
facts.
OF the legal voters OF the State the
democrats have O clear majority oi
from thirty to forty thousand. Their
majority is equal to the entire voting
streugth of the Radicals. How can II
then be claimed, that the loyal peo-
nj. are oppressed aud driven FROM pow
er by Legislative contrivances which
deny representation TO the majority
II IN, majority il uurepresented then II
ia tb. Democrats who should complain.
# the minority is unrepresented, 1t Is
.innlv because III nearly every county
,h.ra exists the same preponderance In
favor of D smocracy that prevails IN the
State at large. The Radicals merely
sccppy the same position in Maryland
that the Democrats hold in Vermont or
Rhode Island. They are in such a
vrerched minority that they are una.
bls IN eject ANYBODY 10 act for them In
Legislative bodies. This may seem
nretty hard, but unless it would be
riCbt for Democratic Congress TO turn
Vermont or Rhode Island over TO the
Democrats, We don't see how Radical
Com res. can deceutly interfere TO
make the Radical ounce in Maryland
outweigh the democratic pound.
But admit that inequality Of ap'
Dortionment il COED ground for Con
SresslonAl interference IN State affairs,
and what would he the consequence
WY, then, Congress would be called te
reconstruct every gerryman6ered State
in the -nion. Connecticut, New York
aud Pennsylvania, where the apportion-
ment is 50 arranged that q Radical mi
aogit, can r,ccta majority Of the State
legislature. would each present case
for the consideration of G ngress. Let
Congrs, step in to regulate aud equal
i1e things in Maryland, and by no rule
ST consistency can it escape doing the
same .iiug ior New York, Connecticut
or Pennsylvania.
But further. Suppose IL TO be true
that representation is so distributed In
Maryland thar minority legislstes for
majority; what right have West Vir'
gina Radicals TO complaint Some time
sge We presented some figures bearing
1qsu the question of representation IN
iLlsState. We showed that the section OF
the State lying along and north of the
BalHmor. and Ohio road, from Preston
-oCgty 10 Wood, cast a majority of the
yote Ofrhe state and elected only about
OEt-ihUi cC tie mcmbsrs Of the House O
Dns4gtcs. or in other words, that mi
neTlty OF tue votes of the State elected
about tvo-thirds of the lower branch
OF the Legislature. Greenbrier and
Monroe counties, for example, with
about eight hundred votes, acerdiug to
'he las, election, elect three members of
the House, whose votes neutralize
'bose Of the delegates from Ohio ooun'
y, backed by constituency OF five
thousand legal voters. 4 similar discrim
lsatou 10 favor of the Southern and
border counties, is manifest to greater
OF less extent throughout our whole
system Of representation. We further
showed that the same counties which
sent hut about one-third of the mem
btrs 10 the lower House pay nearly, i
LCt fully, one. half the taxes Of th'
state, so that tie people who pay th'
most in support of the State Govern
nent Rave the least voice in its admin
stration.
It will be seen, then, that upon tn,
basis either of taxation OF registered
7oters, a minority rules our Legislature
Ee night carry the idea still further
snd show that upsJ 0 bssis Of brains @
decency the minority still has tn
power, for the scalawag mem bers Of tn
House are, in almost all cases, sen
there by the voters who survive tn
process by which the Registration
Boards deprive the lists Of intelligenc,
aud respectabllity. But leaving thi
consideration, which to loyal minds i
doubtless unimportant, out of the case
sc still have the fact fully realized tha
the aggregate constituencies of nearl,
two-thirds of the House of Delegate
irpresent minority of the voters, ant
pay hardly oue-half the expenses o
the State Government.
Now does anybody suppose that Con
S'esS is to be asked, or if asked, that
could consent, to regulate these inc