assembly because of the greater number of county. aliens in Bronx. city, has also increased in population so as to be entitled to six assemblymen this year instead of four. Richmond county has now two instead of one assemblymen. The net result, therefore, in New York city, composed of five counties, is that it is represented in the assembly this year by sixty-two assemblymen instead of sixtythree as in the last legislature. The counties outside of the greater city have lost three and gained four. These counties now have eighty-eight assemblymen instead of eightyseven, last year. Those gaining an assemblyman each are: Broome, Nassau, Westchester Schenectady. Those losing an assemblyman each are: Erie, Jefferson and Ulster. The reapportionment resulted in the retirement of Lynch in Erie, Augsbury in Jefferson and LeFevre in Ulster. and Among the new members will be Assemblyman J. C. Nesbitt from Delaware Mr. Nesbitt's election in Novem ber was the result of a political upheaval in Queens county, another part of New York which the farmers' organizations took a con spicuous part. He was nominated on a nonpartisan platform and it is believed the campaign there may lead to more farmers being elected to the legislature. He was opposed by James S. Allen, Republican. Mr. Nesbitt obtained the Democratic and Prohibition nominations and, although Delaware county is usually Republican, he was elected on account of the big support he received from the grange in that county. He is engaged in dairy farming near Bloomville. Another innovation in the assembly this year was the election of E. A. Johnson, a negro lawyer from the 19th assembly district New York county. Assemblyman Johnson is the first negro to be sent to the legislature in either branch. He won the nomination after a hard fight in the primaries from the regular Republican candidate. He was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, and was an instructor in the law department of the Shaw university before he removed to New York. The 19th assembly district contains a large negro colony and last year the colored people organized to be represented in the legislature. With the retirement of Dr. Robert P. Bush from the assembly last year, in which he served many years, the last of the veterans of the Civil War appear to have gone from the legislature. Dr. Bush was not a candidate last year for the assembly from Chemung county, having been nominated for county clerk and defeated by his Republican rival. He was at one time, more than a quarter of a century ago, speaker of the assembly and was the author of perhaps more legislation for the benefit of the old soldiers than any other legislator. There are ten Socialist assemblymen in the present legislature, all from New York city. This is the greatest number ever elected to that body, the special reason being the antiwar and pro-German feeling among foreign born voters in New York city. The number of Socialists, however, in the asembly is not enough to make any serious difference on any party question, as the Republicans have twothirds of the membership of 150, and it is improbable that the third party men would unite with the Democrats on any important question. This session of the legislature is the 141st since the beginning of the government; that is, the first session, after the American Declaration of Independence, was had September 1, 1777 at Kingston. Its deliberations, however, were disturbed and the members hastily dispersed because of the approach of a British force near the present city of Kingston. For nearly one hundred years prior to that time there had been Bris assemblies in ne province of New York. The second session of the American assembly met at Poughkeepsie in 1778. From that time until 1797, when the capital was established at Albany, the senators and assemblymen met at various places including Kingston, Albany, Poughkeepsie and New York city, most of the time at the latter place. The present session, therefore, is the 121st to meet regularly in Albany since the capital was fixed in that city. The distribution of members in those early days both in the senate and assembly in various parts of the State, strikingly indicates where the population of New York was centered more than one hundred years ago. For instance, New York city had 13 assemblymen in a total of 60 or 70. Albany had ten or nearly as many as New York city. At the present was moved to Albany in 1797, Dutchess had 10 members, Columbia 6, Herkimer 7 and Ulster 8, showing that the population was mostly along the Hudson and Mohawk rivers. The 141st session now begun, promises to be memorable because it will be the first regular meeting of the legislature since war was declared Soermany, April 2 last. While the watchword will be economy, in many directions expenses will be greatly increased owing to the war. Among the measures which will provoke lively debate will be the proposal to amend the direct primary law restoring the State convention. Ever since the direct primary law was enacted at the special session of 1913, there has been a growing difference of opinion among the members of both political parties as to whether or not the State nominating convention should be restored. At the last session, a bill was introduced to change the law in time the number from New York county this respect, but was not passed. is 23 to 3 from Albany. When the capital Governor Whitman has several times |