Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1885-03-09

! against the latter county in n matter
3 Affecting merely her local concerns.
{; Yet against the protest Of all the Rep
I resentatives from this county, II
. was possible under our present
system Of representation for Kent
! and Sussex TO force this obnOx-
ious measure upon us for purely par
tisaD ends, and to grossly violate our
! right Of local self government. l say
obnoxious measure, for IL would be
difficult to conceive Of n more unprinci-
Piled piece Of Legislation than the Elsv.
enth ward bill. 1t was vicious in its
origin, in its purposes, in its provisions
and In Its CT Dst quences. 1t WIS its
purpose to establish, and for all time, 10
continue minority rule within the city
Of Wilmington The fiveSouthern wards,
with population less by several thous
and than that Ct the upper wards, Al
ready possessed the same number Of
Representatives in the City Council.
This bill Intensified the injustice and
Inequality. by increasing the power
already welded by minority over .
majority. One wrong produced anoth
or. The violation under our political
system Of the principle OF majority
rule by the people through their rep
resentatives in the General bly,,
directly led to the violation of The
same principle within the city of VIII
mington. Yet the right ef the majori
~ TO control ia the most fundamental
principle of republican form of gov
Iernmsut.
But the infsmy of the Eleventh
ward bill has not yet been fully told.
fbe inhabitants of the district included
in the Eleventh ward had with practi.
cal nnanimity protested against being
brought within city limits. They we're
content To remain as they were. They
feared the burden of municipal Ia axa alton
general and special. They held ublic
meetings and sent to the General AS
sembly remonstrahce after remon-
STRANGE against the passage of the bill.
Yet Kent and Sussex through minority
rule not only enforced minority rule
upon the city of Wilmington, but tor
the sake Of q partisan advantage within
the city compelled the inhabitants of a
Democrat district against their strenu-
GUS opposition, TO become citizens OF
Wilmington. The passage of the bill,
however, created 80 much indiRnat ION
! y noDg the people of the Eleventh ward
.s seriously to endanRer the realization
: Of the partisan purpose of the measure.
Apprehension of tins difficulty led 10
"
another gross and wanton outi age upon
, the citizens of Wilmington. For the
, purpose of allaying the Indignation
> which their action had 30 justly crea
ted, they deliberately passed a bill, also
3 against the protest OF every member OF
| the General Assembly who had been
elected to represent New Castle County
and the city OF Wilmington, relieving
+ tho citizens of the Eleventh ward for
= The space Of fthree years from two-thirds
of the burden Of municipal and school
3 taxation, which they would otherwise
: have borne, and for the space of three
r years ther. after from half of the same
, burden; thus arbitrarily imposing upon
4 the tax payers IN other portions OF the
r city, "A large share of the expense ol
7 municipal and school government which
8 legitimately should tall upon The poo.
pie of the new ward.
: It is not i'll the least surprising tina,
= mystery and secrecy should have at
4 tended the preparation and iDtrodac.
d ion of the Eleventh ward bill; that II
/ should have been entrusted, not to the
appropriate committee, of which the
= Representative froui the city of VII.
niDgtOn Was chairman, but to a special
COMMITTEE controlled ty Kent and
Sussex ;and that all opportunity OF fair
ly debat ng and exposing the measure
] should have been denied by the low 81
counties. A tree is TO be known by its
: fruit. The Eleventh ward bill in all
? its enornity IL but a fair sample CT the
legis alton 10 be expected under our
> present abominable system of repre-
sentation,-a system which, through
ioug continuance, has gradually and
] insensibly begCtten III the minds of the
people a widespread feeling OF careless
: ness as to the protection of their most
3 vital rights and interests, and render
. ed possible such violations of our right
. Of local self. government az the passage
Z OF the Water Conn mission bill and other
kindred measures.
1t is time that the growing evil of our
$ representative system he arrested and
} corrected. How shall it he corrected ?
The Importance of this inquiry demand
a more elaborate consideration than can
be bestowed upon it tonight 1t may
{ he said generally. however, that in the
construction of any system looking to
: the equal representation OF the people,
: great care should be observed lest the
! practical application of the rule adopted
, should in substance violate the princi-
pie on which the rule IL based. For
r instance, the city of Wilmington Coli
, tains q large majority Of the people Of
this county, and has it within her pow =
J ter to dominate the county with respect
; TO the selection oi members OF The Gen.
: eral Assembly. Furthermore, Viii.
, mington has special and peculiar inter-
ests and industries which she der Tres
protected and cherished. 1t under our
l county system, representation strictly
according to population were granted,
/ New Castie County would elect clear
majority of all the members OF each
= branch of the General Assembly.
A legislative majority thus coming
! from New Castle, and " ilmiugton, by
e reason of her numbers aud the more
D thorough political organization ReDer-
7 slly:to be found in an urban population,
Q having power TO select and elect that
a ma jority, it might happen thar this
L city, with her 90, 600 Inhabitants, would
d through her repr, sentatives control all
Il the rest of the State and legisla,e for
0 her own interests to the preiad OF
Z the rest OF the community. This would
4 be- the production of the very evil,
3 pamely, minority rule, against which
ia any system of equal representation
d should carefully guard. Therefore,
n under our county BY stem, more could
:, not reasonably be expected or demand
o ed, than such au approximation to rep
j. resentation according TO population as
Vt should approach equality as nearly as
d possible without incurriDg the danger l
u have just alluded TO.
l;I But there is no reason why the great
Ii priu ciple of presentation according 10
> population should not under aproperly
n ad justed district system receive full
lei