Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1879-01-07
vIrscay. JANUARY 1879,
MEpU8LsCtN has the largest
circulation, Of any paper IN Della
ware. Advertisers take uOae OF
ihta.


or, fearing that if the door of the con-
stitution is opened once there is no
knowing when it would be shut again,
indeed not perhaps until New Castle
county is divided into three counties.
II intimatcs that already there Is a feel
ing in favor Of making Wilmington, Mil
Creek, Christiana and Rrandywine
Hundreds into one county, to he called
Wilmington County; all that part OF
the county south Of the Christiana and
White Clay Creek to the Delaware and
Chesapeake canal, to be a second coun-
ty, to be called New Castle, and all
south of that canal to be third county
with some ether local name. We must
confess that we think this would ie
rather an overdose of County Division,
but as the Gazette intimates, when the
constitution is unlocked it is just as
likely to end in three counties in NV
Castle, two in Kent and two in Sussex
a. anything else, and this will nr""ssi-
tate an entire reno telling Of the State
judiciary. It canno, be denied that
Kent and Sussex counties look upon
New Castle county, if not exactly as
their foe, at least as being adverse to
them in interest and the legislation
generally required 10y the two lower
counties is not needed nor wanted in
New Castle county. 1t is not likely,
then, that the lower counties wocId
throw away the advantage they now
have of keeping the upper half OF Il 9
State, though only one county, in
check, as they would do by simple
division of New Castle county. We
never thought OF it before, but it does
seem now as if a strong argument could
b. adduced in favor Of dividing New
Castle county into three counties, and
tne TWO lower COUNTIES tdGn lulp Two,
thus still giving the lower part Of the
State four counties bound together by
the ties Of u common interest, and three
counties in the upper part of the State,
bound together by another and DIFF
ferent common interest. With such
division Wilmington county, composing
all the Hundreds already named, with
nearly half the population Of the State,
would be worse of IN regard to equal
representation than ever, for with the
present lumber OF Senators and repre-
sentatves for each county, Wilmington
county, with about half the population
OF the state, would have hut three SEN
ators and seven representatives., while
the other six coInties, with the other
half of the population, would have
eighteen Senators and forty-two repre-
sentativ-s. This would be county di-
yisI e. and representation according to
population with a vengeance, and yet
it is some such scheme as this that the
Every Erenjny is favoring indirectly for
the sake of getting New Castle county
divitkd.
We do not think that the paper We
have mentioned has thought that
there was any probability of division
of the State into seven counties, neither
do we know that that paper would IA
vor such scheme if it knew that seven
counties would be the result, but its
cry for division Of New Castle County
has been 50 persistent that il is reasona
bic to conclude that it would submit to
any kind of a ACKNOWLEDGMENT Of the
State to accomplish its purpose. But
even if New Castle County should sim
ply be divided with Wilmington,
Brandywine, Christiaua and Mill Greek
in the upper county, and stop right
there, We would not lie much improved
in regard to representation according
to population or according to the rea-
solable requirements Of justice, than
We are now. The upper county would
contain nearly half the population y!
the State and would only hav. three
senators and seven representatives.,
while the other half Of the population
would have six Senators and fourteen
representatives. The ditfrrenc. would
be 50 great that there would soon be
the same CD jectiOns 10 unequal represent
tation as there are now. When we
speak Of the new upper county az pro-
jeced containing nearly half the popu-
latiun Of the State, we Of course speak
in prospective sense, for should the
present Legislature agree to an amend
nent to he constitution, (bv which ui-
vision Only can be accomplishing it
woul be- four years before it could be-
come a law, and two years more before
new Legislature under that law
would meet, making six years by which
Wilmington alone to say nothing of the
outlying Hundreds in the new county
would have, according to the present
ratio Of .nrr ase in population, about
fhy.fye thousand Of a population, and
the three outlying Hundreds would
have al out fifteen thousand more max