Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-02-05
SCENE IN THE CONVENTION.
The John Welsh Episode Occasions Ii. e
The Situation Last Night

The John Welsh Episode Occasions u B.eszs
The Situation Last Night.
. The Patriot describes "scene" that
occurred III the joint convention yesterday.
When the seventeenth ballot had been
cast Senator Gordon, Of PHILADELPHIA,
sprang to his feet and attempted to gain
the recognition Of the chair on question
of privilege. 1t was we'll known that he
proposed to renew his objection to the
John Welsh petition which was presented
Thursday. Anticipating this. Senator
Davies was on his feet while the vote was
being announced, and succeeded in get
tin. in ahead Of Senator Gordon with
motion to adjourn. The yeas and nays
were at once called on the motion and it
was lost and Senator Gordon obtained his
desired opportunity. He had reduced his
objections to the obnoxious petition to
writing and read them amid almost breath
less silence. The paper set forth that the
sO-called petition was not 4 petition mas
much as it appealed to only a portion Of
the convention and not to the whole: it
did not contain 4 prayer it ignored totally
one portion of the convention and was in
sultin. to the Democrats as it asserted
that United States senator should be
elected by Republican votes only. At its
conclusion Mr.. Gordon offered the follow
ing resolution:
''Rssolrcd, That the paper presented by
the gentleman from Philadelphia in the
joint convention of February 3, 1881. as a
petition of certain citizens OF PhiIadel-
phia, be and the same is hereby ordered to
DO expunged and erased from tho journals
of this convention, as the same was not a
petition to this body in form or substance,
and was improvidentiy received and read,
and it is further ordered that said paper he
removed from the table by the clerks of
the convention"
Immediately Senator Newmyer took the
floor to raise the point of order that the
resolution could not be considered as
question Of privilege. The chair sustained
Senator Newmyer. Senator Schnatterly
then said he thought as the motion to ad-
jOurn was defeated i'll order to give Sen
atOr Gordon an opportunity to offer the
resolution it certainly was in order to con-
slider it. Senator Gordon offered the resO-
luton and the chair ordered it to be read.
The author then supported it in speech
of considerable length. He pointed out
the great evils that would arise in the
future should one set of men be permitted
to hove their petition placed on the files Of
the convention, addressed to portion of
the body only and simply containing q
panegyric on their f;.voritc candidate. lie
showed what III injurious precedent would
DO established for all legislative bodies and
in dwelling upon the insult offered to the
Democracy in asserting that only Repub-
lican should elect the United States senator
said If it should happen some day in the
providence Of GOd-and it would be moth
ing elsc-that the Democratic party
should be in the majority, the Republican
party i'll the Legislature may be placed in
this same situatiOn.'
He was followed by Senator Davies, who
asserted that not the first valid reason had
been SO far advanced for the passage of
this remarkable resolution. His young
friend from Philadelphia had dealt only in
Glittering generalities' The petition
simply asked in so many words that the
Hon. John Welsh be elected to the United
States Senate. 1t contained no panegyric
on the candidate urged. Then Senator
Norris had just two words to say. He
thought that if this convention had no re-
spect for its own dignity, it should have
for the character of the men who signed
the petition. There was not man whose
name was attached who harboreI any
thought of insulting anybody in offering
the petition.
TO this Mr.. Woodruff, Of Cambria, replied
sharply that in his opinion anybody who
urged the election of John Welsh for the
United States Senate insultcd the conyen-
ton. The vote on the passage OF the res
olution was then put and it was defeated
by 116 nays to - ayes. Immediately upon
the announcement OF the result Mr.. Nc
kee, who had offered tho petition which
had caused the discussion, offered another
of the same purport from citizens of Phil
odelphia. Senator Gordon rose at once to
object but was cut off by 4 motion to ad-
journ, which was carried.
The Situations.
As to the senatorial situation all that
can be said 1T this writing is that both of
the Republican factions have settled down
into a steady, hard tug of war. The little
sortie made Oh Thursday in favor OF Hon.
Glenni w. Scofield, brought no result and
the two Grow men and one Oliver adllcr-
cnt who lad engaged in it, yesterday Set
tied back into theic former places in the
lines. Last night IN assertion was made
by the Grow men that there arc unmis-
taxable signs Of weakening il the Oliver
lines. The two particular points in which
stpPttlCht Sttl(A " UC lil VIC AIisS-
delphia and Allegheny county delegations.
The hackers of this assertion were not dis
posed, however, to give any facts in sup
port of their opinions. The report may
have somo foundation so far as the Piila- |
lelphia delegation is concerned. but it is !
hardly possible that the Allegheny men
will desert Mr.. Oliver. 1t is not at all i'm
probable that the Oliver forces may suffer
from deserters within the next
ew days. There is, without doubt, much
in the machine camp, be-
'ause Mr.. divers adherents are herded
.bout like sheep by the bosses, without
my regard to their opinions. Men whose
natures rebel at this treatment will, with
tut doubt, be encouraged to much bolder
ction in the present condition of things
han they would have dared to take had
he bolt been broken in its infancy. The
'allOting in the joint convention to-day
7ill be devoid Of interest and nothing def
lite can be expected from it. A large num-
cr of leaves of absence were granted i'm
he House yesterday and many members
f both bodies have paired, so that no sur
rise need be felt if there is again no quo
Iim in the joint convention.
"H1s Fraudulency.'
Under the above caption the Examiner
eprints apprOvingly the following para
raDhS from the SDrinrfipld RenULI;cnn ,rd |