Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-02-11

Several of the Northern papers nave
been amusing themselves OF late specu-
lating on the composition OF the next
House of Representatives on the 800
basis of the present apportionment bill
which. it is stated, the Republican mem
bers of the Census Committee think will
pass the House without difficulty. We
notice that in discussing this subject our
Republican contemporaries are calculat-
ing with considerable confidence on
securing a majority in the lower House
of the Forty eighth Congress through
the medium of that clause in the
bill which provides that in the absence
of new apportionment by the State
Legislature all additional Representatives
shall be elected cat large" and that in
States where the representation is re-
duced all the members shall be elected
at large.
It is calculated that under this arrange
ment Maine, which, though divided po-
Ltically by districts, is solid on a general
vote, will be certain to send four Repub-
Iican members to the next House, as she
loses one, and the present Republican
Legislature will not redistrict the State
so as to prevent a general election of
Representatives next fall. Hence, 1t is
reasoned that the Democratic States of
Arkansas. Georgia, Kentucky, Missis-
sippi. Missouri, North Carolina, South
Carolina aud West Virginia, to each OF
which is assigned one additional member,
and Texas, assigned four additional
members, will add twelve members to
the Democratic strength. That the Re
publican States of California, Massachu-
sets and Ohio, with one new member
each, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota,
Michigan, Nebraska and Pennsylvania,
two each, and Kansas with three new
members, will add eighteen to the Re
publican strength. That the new mem
bers, one each, from Virginia and New
York, will probably swell this addition
to twenty. That the Democrats will
lose one member IN Florida by the re-
duction of representation. That the
Republicans will lose one in each of the
States OF New Hampshire, Vermont and
Rhode Island, three in all, by a similar
reduction, and that with these reduc-
tiens, and with all four members from
Maine, elected on a general ticket, there
will be in that State a Republican gain
Of one and Democratic Tor Greenback)
loss of two. Uniting all these probabili-
ties, it is argued that the Re-
| publicans will make net
gain of eighteen, and the opposition
net gain of nine only; and taking this
as a result, the next House of Repre-
sentatives will contain los Republicans,
and there would be 155 in the opposition.
1t will be seen from the above calcu-
lation, from Republican standpoints,
of the probable result of the apportion-
ment bill now before Congress, that it is
a very specious measure, which, while
apparently fair, has been framed solely
in the interest of the Republican party.
This was what was to have been expect
ed, and it is passing strange that the last
Congress, with a clear Democratic ma
jOrity in both Houses, did not insist upon
giving the country fair and impartial
appOrtionment, such as it would have
been in their power to have given had
Democratic absentees but determined to
keep their seats and resist Radical fill
clustering As it is now, we fear the
opportunity is past to entirely prevent
the manipulation of the Congress
sional districts by the present
Congress in the interests of the Republic
cans All that the Democracy can do is
to attempt to have the bill amended so as
to strip it of its most Objectionable and
partial features, and then it will be the
manifest duty of the Governors of the
various States affected by the bill, and in
which the Legislatures will not be in ses
sion when it becomes a law should it
finally pass, to call extra sessions for the
purpose of redistricting such States be-
fore the Congressional elections of next
fall take place. The above Republican
calculation has not been made at random
OF without grounds, and unless the plan
of electing so many members by the
general vote is defeated, it is not unlikely
that the result may be as therein set
forth