The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-04-03

Governor Hands.
Continued from First Page.)
and wonderfully made affair = have ever
seen, ano2 am told that one OF the aniests
and most experienced members or Lou
gress from another State expressed tne
opinion that nothing in tbs way OF gerry
mander ever exceeded it. And in orders
to accomplish this extra ordinary geosr 11l'.E
.ica1 feat the Sixth District was torn up
a both ends and its political ties Of long
standing sundered
fE:Of course, the gentlemen who con-
structed this geograp hical prodigy, touch
ing in%its tortuous course seven otner
congressional districts, and EXTENDING
from North Carolina to the West Virginia
border, were actuated by patriotic De
sire to readjust the congressional dls-s
tricts in. strict compliance with the Fede-
raj statutes and the Constitution OF Vlr-s
| ginia, without regard to personal or par
tisan considerations. It is not their pa
4triotism nor their good intentions that
| I#5would impeach; nor should any one
be so unreasonable as to ascribe to any
body connected with the enterprise par
| TALLY for or dislike of any of the Con-
gressnen whose districts are affected
either disastrously or favorably. The on:
" fault to be found with the architects
of the remarkable scheme and their ad-
| visers is their lack of ability to correctly
compute averages and their eccentric.
| taste in geographical arrangement. It's
| q pity they had their labor for nothing.
NOT TO GOTO COURTS.
.How about the talk Of taking the mat
ter to the courts?'' asked the reporter.
"If you refer to the contention that the
- h n no n
! interfere with a legislative act of redis-
| friction said Mr.. Glass,AsI do not mag
| inc that it will amount to anything. Be
sides, who will want to take it to the
courts? All the Virginia Congressman, ex-
cept Major Otey, profess positive indiffer-
! ence about he matter, and certainly Major.
| Otey will not litigate the Governors right
to have vetoed the act. The distinguished
young Congressman from the Tenth Dis
trict has, I notice, given public express
| sion to his great regret at the attempt to
deprive him Of Rockbridge and Botetourt
counties: SO who is going to take suffi-
cient interest in the matter 10 institute
contest in the courts? Oh, no: the thing
lis settled, and tho Sixth Congressional
District will not be dismenbered just YET
nor turned over to the Republican party.
Neither will the political map of Virginia
| be defaced by the geographical deformltN
! that winds it's way from near the brlght
| tobacco fields of Norh Carolina to the coal
mining districts of West Virginia.
The Lyrchburg member smiled as ne
concluded the interview and TOOK tue
train for his home. He vii! return To-
morrow to conclude the sq nLCsg, lsz,'-
CRITICISED BY BARkSDAlE.
Senator w. P. Barksdale, of Halifax
who is credited with having drawn the
bill. MADE the following statement:
7 think tho Governor had neither the
| legal nor moral right to veto the ,o!li
| There is a serious doubt at least as 10
! his power in the premises. In my view
! Of the case, he has used the veto power
| in this instance contrary to the prlnc'-
/ niles of our government and in dehance
| of the spirit of republican institutions
| I do not question his motives, but 90
| question his judgment and his interpre-
taton of his duty and privilege IN eNer-
cising the veto power.
| mo question of principle was involved
| in this case; no serious policy changed
or altered. It was simply matter OF
detail peculiarly the prerogatlve OF the
legislative body.
s'When the representatives of the peo-
Dle cannot pass a simple apportionnlent
| bill without the veto of the Executive
then there is nothing left with which
| governor cannot interfere: no power left
! which he cannot presume to -us,rp
MIR. CUMMING DISAPPOINTED: 80
Hon S. Gordon Cumming, of Hampton,
| who had charge of the measure in the
| House, said in regard to the message:
81 was disappointed in the Governors
| action in yetong the bill for two rea-
sons: First, because I believe that legally
and politically the question OF a:pportion-
| ment is solely a matter of legislative con-
/ sideraton and action without the inter-
! vcntion of the Executive. 1 refer to the
act Of Congress quoted in the veto mes
| sage Secondly, because the strongest.
and in the last analysis only objection
| urged to the bill before the House Com
n1ittee was that it would probably affect
the nomination and election of certain
i members Of the present congressional
| deleca ton, a matter which neither the
/ LEGISLATURE nor the Executive mad a
right to consider True, some stress
was laid by the opponents to the bill,
| both before the committee ana en- the
! floor OF the House, on the dlsparagement
in population OF the proposed districts,
but no one could suggest change that
would equalize population aRd preserve
the party supremacy. Colonel Lees plan
! accomplished his object of equaliz:ng
| poD,,lation, but under his plan at least
three districts were positively Republi-
can, and others possibly so.
..rhe disparagement in population In
/ the existing districts is much more
|
| vetoed bill; for this reason, one ground OF
! objection in the Governors message Is
| without foundation. The present Second
District has 10000 more population than
| the average should be; the veto message
| would allow this tremendous excess to
| remain; this, too, in a district Which every
| man in Virginia knows to be developing
far more rapidly than any other section
/ of the Commonwealth, but this future
growth is absolutely ignored by the Gov
| crnor.
1.-THE other ground OF ojbection-a lack
i of compactness-is not well taken, as
see it. A study of the map of Virginia,
| with this point in view, will show that
| while the proposed Tenth District may
touch seven other districts, is the Gov
| ernor suggests, yet even now it touches
1 six Of them. Moreover, one must be guild
! ed in such matters by more than the sim
/ pie question Of contiguity. There are
three elements that must be considered
I, tioJ