Smyrna times., 1884-01-23

REPRESENTATION IN THE LEGIsLA-
TURE.-We did not expect in para
graph of few lines in our last issue
on the question of County representa-
tion to so stir up our esteemed cotem-
poratries of Wilmington-the Morning
Ne'CS and the Daily Republican. In
fact it was only passing remark,
hardly cOlOred as the Neus would
have it, because we hadn't enough in
terest in the question when writing the
paragraph to dip our quill in the bottle
for even full pen of ink. But our
contemporaries have dignif9d the re-
mark with enough Importance for us
to at last notice the subject from their
stand point. The Republican in using
our figure of kite, draws a very
pretty ANALOGY between it and our
State making the point that all kites
must have head and tail, and as the
head IS the heaviest and the tail the
hghtest, it cannot see why New Castle
County Wilmington should not be
the head and Kent and Sussex take the
graceful position of the tail to ly the
Wilmington kite. Our contemporary
very truly says that a kite will not fly
foot without tail, but why kite at
alIE A kite is a plaything, used by
boys for the diversion of idle hours ::
the matter of representation and max
ing laws is no boys play, and this is
Just why the people of the lower hun
dreds " object to being the tail to the
Wilmington kite. tits to them grave
and important subject, calling even for
practical annalOgies where one part
bears an equal relation to the other
and all maintaining a cOrrelative in
terest. Leaving figures ofrhetoric and
coming down to figures of fact. our
contemporary asks,
Does the TIMES think it RIGHT that
two men in Smyrna should have the
same representative influence in the
Legislature as three just across Duck
Creek in Blackbird Hundred have ?''
NO 1t does not, SO long as the inhabi-
tants of the two hundreds are identical
IN pursuits and having the same classi-
fed interests, but if one should have a
third of its population centered on a
Few acres of its sail-a floating popula-
ton with no fixed interest, here TODAY
and gone to another State tomorrow
we say yes. Acres and their represen-
tatives, are factors in this question that
must not be lost sight of, no less than
men.
The Morntng Ne,Cs takes us to task
more seriously, and says our remark.
that with such representation as the
people of Wilmington want, that city
would be the State to a greater degree
than Paris is France" is an inyidious
imputation," and calls on us to state
precisely what kind of representation
the people of Wilmington want. In
complying with the query of our ear
nest city cotemporary, we must call
up our recollection possibly shadowed
by the passing events of a year and
thus not so clear as if we had the
memorandum before us) of what was
claimed by we think the two papers
above named and certainly by Mr..
Bates who introduced and engineered
the bill in the Legislature. His bill
called for an increase of nine represen-
tatives from New Castle county, all 70
come from the city of Wilmington,
which would give, had it been adopted
that county as much representation al
both Kent and Sussex counties, less
one. In backing up this monstrou,
proposition as we think the Meas did
was it not apparent to it that such /