The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1890-04-17
To Prevent Gerrymandering.

The house committee on election of Preside ut
lce-president and Representatives in Congress
on the 9Th authorized favorable report on the
Dill introduced in the house by Mr.. McComas, OF
Maryland, to regulate in part the time and man
ner OF holding elections of representatives in
congress, known as the 'gerrymanderingn bill.
The bill passed the committee by strict party
vote-7 to-
Mfr. McComas will submit report containing
the views of the majority. The minority will
also submit report protesting against the pas
sage Of the bill.
The bill provides that in each State entitled
under apportionment of representatives in Con-
gress to more than one representative the num-
Der OF representatives to which the State may
be entitled IN the f1fty-thrd and each subse
quent Congress shall be elected by districts
which have, as nearly as practicable an equal
number Of Inhabitants, SO that the most popu-
lous districts in the State shall not have more
than l5,O0Oi inhabitants in excess of the least
populous district. They shall be composed of
territory contiguous, adjoining and as far as
practicable, compact They shall be equal in
number to the number Of representatives to
which the State may be entitled in Congress and
no one district shall elect more than one repre-
sentative, and the number of districts shall be
equal to the number Of representatives to which
the State may be entitled after each national
decennial census of population shall have been
completed. Congress is to determine the num-
Der OF representatives in Congress, reapportion
them among the several STATES as entitled, and
the legislature OF each State elected next after
this apportionment by Congress is to redistrct
each State under the restrictions and regulations
as to the population and territory and when
made by the State legislation the redistrict shall
not be altered by the succeeding legislature dur
ing the term Of ten years nor until the next sue
ceeding decennial census, until the next appor
tionment Of representatives shall be made by
Congress. Conformably to the eleventh census
there shall be no change Of the Congressional
districts in any State to alter them as they ex-
listed when the representatives of the fifty first
Congress were elected and the representatives
to the ffty-second Congress shall be elected
from districts having the tsame boundaries as
those from which the representatives in the
fifty first Congress were elected, any law of any
State heretofore or hereafter passed to the con-
trary, Notwithstanding. In any State where no
legislature is elected subsequent to the reap
portionment by Congress and prior to the cleo
tien Of representatives in Congress under the
new apportionment, in case of decrease in the
number of representatives to which the State is
entitled the legislature of the State may reds-
1rict the State and in case of an Increase in the
number of representatives which may be given |
20 the State under the apportionment by Con-
sress may be elected by the State at large and |
,he other representatives by districts until the
legislature shall redistrict the State. Provision
S made for the certiacation by the authorized |
boards that members have been elected in ac-
,ordance with the provisions of this act.