y of Republican
assemblymen, and twenty-six Republican congressmen, being a net gain
of eight.[1620] Indeed, the divisive Greenback vote had produced a
phenomenal crop of Republican assemblymen. After the crushing defeat
of the Liberal movement in 1872 the Republicans obtained the
unprecedented number of ninety-one. Now they had ninety-eight, with
nineteen hold-over senators, giving them a safe working majority in
each body and seventy-six on joint ballot. This insured the
re-election of Senator Conkling, which occurred without Republican
opposition on January 21, 1879. One month later the Utica _Republican_
closed its career. While its existence probably gratified the founder,
it had done little more than furnish opponents with material for
effective criticism.

[Footnote 1620: Danforth, Republican, 391,112; Bradley, Democrat,
356,451; Tucker, National, 75,133; Van Cott, Prohibitionist, 4,294.
Assembly: Republicans, 98; Democrats, 28; Nationals, 2. Congress:
Republicans, 26; Democrats, 7. Cooper over Schell, 19,361.]

The Democrats, who supported Lieutenant-governor Dorsheimer for United
States senator, protested against granting Conkling a certificate of
election because no alteration of senate or assembly districts had
occurred since the enumeration of 1875, as required by the
constitution, making the existing legislature, it was claimed, a
legislature _de facto_ and not _de jure_. This was a new way of
presenting an old grievance. For years unjust inequality of
representation had fomented strife, but more recently the rapid growth
of New York and Brooklyn had made the disparity more conspicuous,
while continued Republican control of the Senate had created intense
bitterness. In fact, a tabulated statement of the inequality between
senatorial districts enraged a Democrat as quickly as a red flag
infuriated the proverbial bull.[1621] Although the caucus refused to
adopt the protest, it issued an address showing that New York and
Kings were entitled to ten senators instead of seven and forty-one
assemblymen instead of thirty-one. These additional members, all
belonging to Democratic districts, said the address, are now awarded
to twelve counties represented by Republicans. The deep indignation
excited throughout the State by such manifest injustice resulted in a
new apportionment which transferred one assemblyman from each of six
Republican counties to New York and Kings. This did not correct the
greater injustice i