The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-04-08
FROM HARRISBURG.

The Deadlock In the Senate-Vievys Of
Senators Brooke, BillIngfeIt, Buclalevv,
White, COnnell, and Wallace ON the
Situation - Major Cummings' Great
Speech-New Articles of the Democratic
Greed.
From Our 0lgn Correspondent
HARRISBURG, April 6, 1871.
Adjourned again. and the old story-nothing
done. The wheels of legislation are squarely
locked, and both houses have been gradually
degenerating until one farce follows another
without any sort of variation. The Senate de-
votes considerable portion of each day to a
discussion of the question when 1t shall meet
and how long it shall sit to do-nothing.
Brooke insists upon meeting little earlier each
day, so that nothing may be done with as
much method possible. Sometimes
he wants an hour more, sometimes half an hour;
sometimes few minutes more. and, rather than
miss, he would take few odd seconds more to
enable the Senate to do as little as possible in
the most improved way. He has now offered
his resolution sixty-nine times, and has got so
far on that he comes within one of carrying it.
Being so near success, he feels encouraged to
persevere, and 1t is understood that he will make
his motion ninety-six times more If necessary.
Billingfelt eXpends himself on the unexpended
balance of the treasury. Everybody agrees
with him in theory, but as there are just
thirty-two other ways than his own, considered
to be better than his way, it is thought that he
is not likely to succeed earlier than A. D. 1900.
Buckalew believes that free voting should be re-
duced to vulgar fractions and that suffrage
should depend upon an intricate knowledge of
addition, multiplication, subtraction simple and
compound division, and simple fractions. His
theory is that the multiplication table should
be made part of the fundamental law
of the State, and that cumulative
and fractional voting should be made leading
features of the Nine Million BILL the Raid BILL
the Public Commission bills, and should be in
corporated into the Declaration OF Indepen-
dence at the coming centennial celebration. 1t
is thought that he will succeed. White believes
that the Shorter Catechism is not orthodox as to
mans chief end; at least, he thinks that the
manner of expressing the great purpose of man
could have been improved. He regards the
executive chair as the great conundrum man is
called upon to solve and he is at it, with reason
able prospects of success. Connelrs chief
vlction is that a good Senator should
always continue q Senator, and he now proposes
to run nine times more and then gracefully
retire for the most hopeful of the rising genera
tion in his district. Ii should not commit
himself hastily to his withdrawal from public
life twenty-seven years hence. Wallace has
convinced White that seventeen Democratic
Senators can outvote sixteen Republican Sena-
elect the Governor and both branches of the
Legislature, and the President of the United
States and several other smaller officers in 1872,
they will pretty much have control of the Gov
ernment. Men get far-seeiDg by practical eXpe-
rence in public life. He is looking up for a
peg for his hat.
The great feature of the week was tn , mas
terly Grafton of Major John Cummings, of Say
der, in the House. 1t occupied forty-six hours
in the delivery, and ran through the whole
week. 1t is regarded as the most lucid exposi-
tion of the political questions of the day that
has yet been given this session. On one or two
points, however, he was so unfortunate as to
differ with his party. He insisted that the
"Local Option" law should be applied to the
selection of the place for the centennial ceebra-
tion of American Independence in A. ID. 1875
and A.. d. 2076, and attempted to interpolate
il into the party creed. 1t was sharply
resisted by Schnatterly, Chalfant Ellis,
Hall and Others but Cummings discussed 1t for
eleven hours and silenced opposition His theo-
ries of the pre-Adamite existence on this planet
also somewhat disturbed his party harmony. He
smoothed the point however, by declaring that
if Mr.. Buchanan had lived before Adam, he
would have been rising man. He also took
the bold ground regardless of its startling effect
upon both parties, that if our sectional difficulties
had been amicably settled before the bonn
bardment of Sumter, there would have
been no war. This bold assumption
riled the Republicans who could not but infer
from the minuteness with which the eloquent
speaker discussed the proposition for an entire
session, that he argued inferentialiy the improba
bilty of Grant reaching the Presidency had there
been no Shiloh, nor Vicksburg, nor AppomattoX.
On the grave issue as to the intoxicating quail
ties of lager beer, he was very diffuse and con-
fused, but he asserted; in conclusion, with great
emphasis, that if man drank lager beer and did
get intoxicated, that delectable beverage must be
vndcated against all imputations of intoXlca-
ting properties. His peroration most eloquently
portrayed the necessity of the Fourth of July
coming five times year, and of the Democracy
carrying all the elections hereafter to be held.
Say what they will, the Major has not felt the
frosts of seventy winters without gathering
knowledge as the sands have run. He is the
cleyerest man in the House, and can run more
votes than any other Democrat on the beautiful
Susquehanna