Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1906-01-09
DELEGATE HOUSTON
WOULD FREE COUNTY
Legislator From Elizabeth City Will
apply 10 The Legislature for
a Divorce From AcCoTnac
"FL0ATEas" TO Be ABOLISHED
Hampton Representative Plans to
Give His Home Territory Separate
and District Representation in the
legisla:ure-"Land crabbers" Too
Are to &c Done Away With.


Especial To- the Dale rr.s-l
F, RICHMOND. Jan. S.-What will be
o! much int"rest 20 those concerned
with politics in Tidowatrr and most
especially Tho citizens OF tho PENN.
isiiia, will be the bill which is 10 be
offered al this session of the lcgisla-
iinrc hy Harry Il. Houston OF IamI,-
ton, and representative In the lowe.
,house ot the iloatcr counties Of Ac-
comac and Elizabeth City, and which
will have for its object tho absolute
separation of these two counties.
heretofore Elizabeth City county
which is one OF the most active con
etituencies in the State, as a lesisla-
tive district. has been What is termed
q iioater county with the large county
~ Accomac, which is about 100 miles
distant, about half of which distance
tsInnS the breadth of the Chesapeake
81 The. pprpose is TO mako Eliza
beth CITY What i; has longed to be for
Il number OF years, and TO which Ac-
comac apparently does not object-a
free END Independent county to choose
of lis own whom it desires to be its
representative.
A Part of History.
| Within The county Of Elizabeth CITY,
hut over which it has no Jurisdiction.
Is United States garrison. Fort Mon
roe. Throughout the Civil War tho
Fcdcral8 never lost control of this
post and the surrounding country wns
burnt and ri!laGcd, while almost every
inhahitant sought refuge in other pos
tons Of tho State. As result Of this
negroes leaving their homes during
The war came to this section, and just
: after tho war they came from far AMI
near 10 this section. where protection
vas afforded Them ny the guns Of Fort
! Monroe
SO great vas the negro population
that ut The time they were cnfranchiS-
cd tho voting ratio was something lik,.
Ten negroes 10 one white man, and in
/ later years II was as much rs four 10
F., one. Here negroes and carpet baGgerH
were The DionarchS Of all the surveyed
Nearly every Office in the county was
filed b. negro Fer years and year,
Elizabeth City sen; negro to the
| house OF representatives, Some Of tho
cH-lesialators are dead, but there are
| living in tiamptoG .hree negroes who
once represented the county
White Representation.
! The conditions OF Accomac We're IL
together different. More or less re-
mote from the theatre OF the war.
few changes were wrought. There
was n Democratic majority OF several
thousand votes. 1t was then decided
that Elizabeth City. as was The case
/ with the other counties shOuld nc al
iachcd 10 Accomac, which was don"
and has existed since. giving the Pen
iinsula county white representation.
Many changes have come about, the
mosr important OF which tha new
organlc law Of the State, which dis.
A'bAShIotI SOIiitliuuS HAT l,bVV Negro
voters in Elizabeth City county. But
long before this the county had been
able to take care oil itself The white
population increased rapidly after the
war and about eighteen years ago the
whites gained the supremacy. Since
that time. with few exceptions, every
cfice in the county, except Federal
Patronage. OF course. has been held
ny white man and n Democrat
| Every change has been made except
in the matter of clccting n rcpresn
'ativ TO the general assembly. and
this change Representative Houston
will seek to bring about.
Many Storm centers.
From the very inception, with the
one exception of the last election, tho
selection of representative under the
present. plan has been the cause OF