New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-03-19
GERRYMANDERING A STATE.
MIR. DE Wits BILL BEFORE THE SENATE
TIE CITY AND LONG ISLAND DIVIDED ACCORDING TO
THE NFrDa Ov THE ru,.ocn.-,

| Nii'' III Wits BILL BEFORE THE SENATE
THE CITY AND LONG ISLAND DIVIDED ACCORDING TO
| TILE NEEDS OF THE DEMOCRATS
Ihe Dill to apportiOn the State into Congressional
districts which was reported to the Assembly by
MI lie witt, of Ulster has passed that body and is
| now before the Senate There is q general belief
among the politicians that the bill will become a
law In its present shape. Senator Jacobs intro
| duced a bill in the Senate come time
| ago, but good many of the fea-
lures of his bill have been incorporatedinto the De
Witt bill, as it passed the Assembly. Mr..
Jacobss bill put Richmond County IN the
! same Congressional district with Westchester,
which would have been a direct violation
Oh the constitutional provision that requires
| the districts to be made up of contiguous
territories. In the De Witt bill Richmond County
isplaced with the Ist, Vth and IXth Assembly dis
trIcts Of this city, TO make up the With Congress
| sonal District
Senator JacObss bill is moro partisan than the
DE Witt bill, inasmuch as it would gerrymander
the districts in such way that it would be impos-
slDe Tor the Republicans to elect member Of Con-
gress in the southern part of the State. 1t is as
serted by some of the local Democratic leaders
however, that the Jacobs bill will be substituted
III the Senate for the De Witt bill, which was only
passed by the Assembly to make a show OF fairness
In the last Presidential election, the Republicans
polled 162, sos votes in Westchester and that part
of the State lying south of that county. The Dem
Ocratio vote was 217,2OO, q majority of 54.395.
The Republican vote was about 40 per cent of the
whole number of votes cast, and vet If Senator
Jacobs had his way, the 162.905 Republicans
would be without representation in Congress. I'M
der the De Witt bill as it passed the Assembly the
Republicans according to the vote Of 1850, will
have fair chance of electing two members ont of
the fourteen to be chosen in this part of the State
In other words 43 per cent of
the vote will be represented by two
members of Congress and 81 per cent by twelve
which, the Republican leaders think, ought to sat-
isfy even so unfair Democrat as Senator Jacobs
The 76.431 Republicans in this city who voted for
members of Congress in 1850, in the future will
be able to elect only one member. Heretofore
when the machine has not made itself too obnox-
ious the Republicans in this city have been able to
elect two members of Congress and sometimes three,
carrying the present With, With and XIth dis
trcts. Under the De Witt bill as it passed the AS
semby the Republicans Will have fighting chance
in only one district, the proposed XIth. All the
others will he overwhelmingly Democratic.
TIE CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS IN THE CITY.
Ne table has yet been printed giving the popula-
ton and vote in the proposed districts under the
bin as it passed the Assembly. The census of this
city for 1850 is given only by wards. The new dis
trcts do not in any case follow ward lines, but
the Assembly district lines as geuymandered
by the Democrats IN the Board of Alder
men In 1879. Nearly all the wards are
divided under the proposed apportionment. 1t
Is difficult, therefore, TO give the population Accord
ing TO the last census This is done however in the
following table in The XIIlth and XIYth districts,
and IN the case of Richmond Comfy, which is III
the VIII District. The population given of the
other districts in the city is according the state
census of 1870: