American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1864-01-20
The Dead-Lock I'm the senate,

An occasion Of especial interest to this
State as a member of the Union, indeed
to the whole Union, has arisen in the Sem
ate of this State. Our recent October
election not resulting SO decisively as it
did in your State or 0hio, permitted the
Democrats-alias Copperheads--to raise
their crests in proud defiance of the pop
ular will Thus they, because Of an acci-
dent, are to-day holding the loyal men of
this State at bay, disregarding the popular
viii, and assisting most effectively the in
terests Of Rebeldom.
The cause of this deadlock in the SEN
ate is owing to the fact that a Senator
from Indiana and Armstrong Counties-
Major Henry White of the 67th Pennsyl-
vania Volunteers-was taken prisoner on
the Monday mornings fight which took
| place upon the retreat of Milroy from
4 Winchester. lie was taken in conse-
/ quence Of fall from his horse. 1t will be
remembered that the whole Of Ewell's
corps, under the three able division COM
manders Rhodes, Early, and Jones, sur
rounded and forced cut Milroy He re-
treated, leaving all his siege and field
guns behind him. The retreat began, as
have had good reason to know, before
daylight n the morning. At daybreak
the advancing column met the enemy un-
der Rhodes three miles south from Win
chester, on the Martinsburg turnpike
During this melee Major White was cap
tured lie has been retained ever since
though Rebel Major Jones, after giving
his parole, went to Richmond confident
he could effect an exchange from his per-
sonal and political influence in the South
lie failed but came back and delivered him.
self up to the authorities at Washington
Brighten. Meredith, then Commissioner
for Exchange Of Prisoners, asked for an
| especial exchange for him because of his
importance as witness in the Milroy
Court of Inquiry. Commissioner Ould is
reported to have replied with his digitals
in front of his probosis, Ia Dan Rice
amid the sawdust, that his Importance as
ucttaess was felt at Harrisburg, and not
at Baltimore His sympathizers seem to
think so at this point. Major Whites de-
tention is of immense importance to the
Rebels, if they and their Pennsylvania
Senatorial eonferees can thereby disorgan-
ize the Government Of a Northern Com
monwealth like ours.
The Copperheads here have undertaken
to force the loyalists into terms Of compro-
mise upon the inferior officers Of the Sem
ate Indeed, Hester Clymer, their ac-
knowloagcd leader in the Senate, offered
this proposition to the Union men openly
in his place The leader of a party in a
grave body, clothed with extraordinary
powers so far forgets the dignity of his po-
siion as to barter openly for such minor
places as clerkships while a fellow Sena-
tor is languishing in dungeon depths be-
cause he went forth to the defence of the
Republic!
Our Senators have manfully stood to
their position, They hold that as they
are legally in the majority, in no case
should theyyield. Senators Lowrie, VIII
son. McCandlass, and Champneys have
made strong speeches upon the various
points embraced, holding that under our
Constitution the Senate is a perpetual bo-
| dy; that as the Speaker of that body, in
case Of the death Of the Governor, occu-
pics that office, his own as Speaker is, er
aecessitdte rel, perpetual, and can only be
vacated by death, incapacity or resigna-
ton that Senator Penny (by the way
one of the ablest Republicans in the State)
having been elected speaker last session,
holds over, per force of circumstances,
until his successor is legally elected No
answer can be made to the philosophy and
logic of this reasoning.
The Copperheads resist all appeals
They even went so far as to refuse a vote
of thanks to Gen. Grant and the brave
Army of the Southwest, offered by Sen
ator Lowrie The vote stood sixteen to
sixteen. And this under the miserable
pretext that the Speaker was not occupy
ing his seat according to the customs of
the past. Speaker Penny so far conduct
ed himself with remarkable prudence and
sagrcity. All attempts (however ingeni-
ously put, } to jostle him from his balance
have so far failed Two days have trans
pired in fruitless balloting have thus
given you a brief but correct resume of a
contest which threatens to protract itself
indefinitely, ana clog most seriously the
working Of State Government. Ii the
worst comes to the worst, | presume Gov.
Curtin will do as Gov Morten of Indiana
did last year, appeal to the loyal capital
lists of the country, and carry through sue
cessfully the financial affairs of the State.
En- PassaHt, l may state that Gov. Cur
tin is about to sign the re-charters of a
number of State banks, passed at the ses-
sion of 1868. He has withheld his Off
cial approval until now Some of the
Republican Senators bitterly oppose this,
holding that every corporate institution Of
this kind should be compelled to bank un-
der the Federal banking system of last ses-
sion. They think that every dollar sought
to be invested in such a corporate capaci-
/ ty, should be contributed towards the sus-
tenanee of the National Government
This is, perhaps, the correct policy as
things now stand.
| notice here to-day Senator Trumbull
of Illinois, Mr.. Eldridge of Wisconsin,
and "Matt" Carpenter of Milwaukee; they
were presented to the Governor, Speaker
Penny, and other official dignataries, and
| -. a, IL Al