Wilmington daily gazette., 1873-01-03
"EouAL RIGHTS"


find that equal representation is not necessary to
"equal rights" unless 1t undertakes to denounce
the system upon which the Government of the
United States is based, and also three fourths of
all the States IN the Union.
When man starts out with an object in view
which he wishes to attain he usually takes that
course which he thinks will be most certain TO
lead to success. At pressnt, undoubtedly, 1t rests
with the members of the Legislature from the
counties Of Kent and Sussex to say whether they
will increase the number of representatives in the
General Assembly. 1t is generally understood
that they are averse 10 conceedng representation
according to population to this county. The de-
mand for this for Wilmington is one of their chief
objections. To remove this objection would seem
wise, especially as 1t is neither desired by our
people, so far as We can learn by inquiring, nor
necessary to satisfy the ends justice, guaran-
tee to our citizens "equal rights" 1t would be
an utter absurdity for Wilmington TO send ten
members TO the Legislature. According to the
Commercial we must elect seven representatives
and three Senators from this city or we fall short
of the "measure Of justice"
II is an easy thing to make demands, and it
may be trlfing with matter of great importance
to demand more than is necessary, although test
ed bya certain process of reasoning, we may be
entitled to it. A man holds a weapon; another
may be entitled to tho joint use of it, and demand
this equal right, and yet if in doing so he arouses
a suspicion that the weapon is to be used to his
own hurt he is very apt TO retain it and present
very good reasons for doing so. This is some
what the position of our brothers in Kent and
Sussex. They hold the power to control the leg
islatiOn OF the STATE now and are fearful that they
will be inhicting injury upon themselves to yield
it up 10 New Castle county and the city of Viii
mington. And the demand by our neighbors for
90 large representation from Wilmington is not
calculated 20 aay any fears which the citizens Of
Kent and Sussex may entertain
But the matter does not stop here. Our neigh
bOs will find that the people of New Castle coun-
ty outside OF the limits Of Wilmington will enter
their objections to surrendering TO this city half
Ofthe whole number of Senators and Representa-
tives. II in fixing the increase in the number of
the members Of the Legislature this county should
be accorded six Senators and fourteen Represen-
tatives, according to the proposition of the Com
HaerciGI, Wilmington would take ''no less than
three Senators and fourteen Representatives
Would the nine other hundreds of this county
agree 10 this! We doubt it. We believe our
neighbors, by their demands, are isolating Viii
mington from the people Of her own county, and
drivius them TO unite with Kent and Sussex, in
denying MS the so-called "equal rights, which we
do not find accorded to the people of the States
generally by the Radical Senators of the United
States, Who have by every art and device, known
In political trickery sought to make more unequal
the rights Of the people of the old States by the
admission of Territories as States who were no
toFiOusly deficient in population, and thereby
Strengthening themselves in power by adding two
Senators whose voice was equal to the voice of
the Senators of New York OF PENNSYLVANIA, al
though the latter represented three million and
four millions of people, respectively, while the
former only represented ninety to one hundred
thousand people.
The position of the people Of Kent and Sussex
Is not an entirely singular one-they do not de
sire to do us injustice; and we hope will not. But
before we complain of injustice in them for not
according Wilmington the full measure of what
our neighbOrs term "equal rights" we had better
ascertain whether our friends in the county at
home will be willing to do so.