can party will, without much
difficulty, elect their State ticket. But in regard to the Legislature,
we, the Republicans, labor under some disadvantages. In the first place,
we have a Legislature to elect upon an apportionment of the representation
made several years ago, when the proportion of the population was far
greater in the South (as compared with the North) than it now is; and
inasmuch as our opponents hold almost entire sway in the South, and we a
correspondingly large majority in the North, the fact that we are now to
be represented as we were years ago, when the population was different,
is to us a very great disadvantage. We had in the year 1855, according to
law, a census, or enumeration of the inhabitants, taken for the purpose of
a new apportionment of representation. We know what a fair apportionment
of representation upon that census would give us. We know that it could
not, if fairly made, fail to give the Republican party from six to ten
more members of the Legislature than they can probably get as the law now
stands. It so happened at the last session of the Legislature that our
opponents, holding the control of both branches of the Legislature,
steadily refused to give us such an apportionment as we were rightly
entitled to have upon the census already taken. The Legislature steadily
refused to give us such an apportionment as we were rightfully entitled to
have upon the census taken of the population of the State. The Legislature
would pass no bill upon that subject, except such as was at least as
unfair to us as the old one, and in which, in some instances, two men in
the Democratic regions were allowed to go as far toward sending a member
to the Legislature as three were in the Republican regions. Comparison
was made at the time as to representative and senatorial districts, which
completely demonstrated that such was the fact. Such a bill was passed and
tendered to the Republican Governor for his signature; but, principally
for the reasons I have stated, he withheld his approval, and the bill fell
without becoming a law.

Another disadvantage under which we labor is that there are one or two
Democratic Senators who will be members of the next Legislature, and will
vote for the election of Senator, who are holding over in districts in
which we could, on all reasonable calculation, elect men of our own, if
we only had the chance of an election. When we consider that there are but
twenty-five Senat