The New York Legislature

"It is wrong; a monstrous wrong which cannot be tolerated." The speaker was Senator Trank Iliscock and he was talking of the decisión of the New York Court ot Appeals, which gave the New York Senate to the demócrata. It raust not be forgotten that the republican papers were loud ii tlieir praise of the Court of Appeals before tlie decisión was rendered. And only the fact that the court decided that democratie New York had legally elected a democratie senatechanged tlio ideas of the republicana. But Senator Hiscock ma-j be excused for giving utteracce to strong language, wlien it is remernbered that for Bome years he luis representad a democratie state in the United States Senate with a republican colleagne, and that Iiis own term expires next year, and the decisión of the Supreme court makes it almost certain that Senator Hiscock will be relegated to private life. Certainly speaking from his own personal standpoint, it may have been a monstrous wrong that a rnajority of -50,000 in New York should have preferred to see a democrat in the United States Senate. The f uil extent of democratie victory in New York it the lastlection can only be realized by those familiar with New York politics. The first fruits of the victory will be the passage of a fair legislative reapportionment bill. For years New York has been outrageously genymandered in republican interests so that the party had the legislatura, no matter how large the democratie majority in the state. And in spite of the changes in population sliown by the various censuses, the republican party has refused to pass any reapportionment bill. They have refused also for flfeeen years to provide for taking a State census, althousjh the constitution requires one to be taken once in ten years. There are 128 assemblymen in New York, an average, according" to the census of 1890, of one for every 47,000 people, and yet the democratie county of Kings has only one for every 70,000 inhabitants, New York has one for 63,000, Erie one for 65,000, and Monroe one for 63,000. To illustrate this more fully let us contrast the vote cast in 1890, as given by the New York legislative manual which lies before us, in some of the democratie and republican counties. In the democratie counties, Albany had one assemblyman for every 8,000 votes cast; Erie had one for 10,000 votes; Kings, one for 10,500 votes; New York, one for9,000 votes; Monroe, one for9,900. On the other hand, in the republican counties, St. Lawrence had 1 for 3,600 votes cast, Cayuga 1 for 34(0 votes cast, Schuyler 1 for 34(30 votes cast. It i easy enough to see why the republicana should reiuse to re-apportion. Bad as the assembly district are, the senatorial distriets are even worse. New York has 32 senatorial distriets, or one fot every 187,000 population. Yet New York City has one for everv 250,'0Ö0 population and Kings county lias one for 279,000 population, while óne republican district has a population of only 107,355. There need be no surprise that Senator Hiscoek f'eels that the election of a democratie legislatura, which will rightthis outrageous apportionment, is a "monstrous wrong:' so f ar as his chances for succeediiig himself are concerned.