New Hampshire Statesman And State Journal

A Disgraceful Scene at Harrisburg. - An Editor Stabbed by a Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

We give below an account of a most disgraceful scene which took place at Harrisburg on Saturday. It will be seen that the outrage was perpetrated on the floor of the House, that one of the parties was a member of the Legislature from the County of Philadelphia, and that in the course of the struggle he drew a knife and stabbed his antagonist, Mr. Bratton. It is to be hoped that the severest penalty will be awarded by the Committee to whom the matter has been referred. The details we give from the Harrisburg Telegraph. We hope for the character of the State, that they may prove exaggerated although the respectable editor says that he has endeavored to give them correctly and without bias.

Phil. Inq.

This morning, the State Capitol Gazette was issued with the following article under its editorial head. -

"You shall both have office in the Custom House, if you vote for the Tyler candidate for State Printer," as J. P. Brawley said to McGowan and Bacon. "Agreed," was the response - and they did vote for him sure enough.

In our next we shall hold up to the public gaze every man who has been bribed!"

To understand the above rightly, it will be necessary to state, that on the first day's trial in the Convention to elect a State Printer, Mr. McGowan, who is from Moyamensing, in the lower end of the County of Philadelphia, and Mr. Bacon, who is from Kingston, in the upper section of the same County, both voted for Mr. Bratton, the caucus candidate for State Printer. When the Convention met on Friday, for another trial, Messrs. McGowan and Bacon both unexpectedly to every one, voted for Dimock, the Governor's candidate. Charges that they were "bought up," were then and have since been whispered about.

With this explanation, we proceed with our narrative.

Immediately after copies of the paper containing the above article, were distributed in the House, Mr. McGowan came up to Mr. Bratton, the publisher of the Gazette, who was standing to the left of the Speaker's chair back, near the entrance of the room of the Sergeant-at-Arms, and asked him if he was the author of that article? Mr. Bratton said he was. Mr. McGowan, it is said, swore at him and spit in his face, at the same time throwing the paper at him. Before he had an opportunity to do anything more, Mr. Bratton caught him by the vest collar, but upon losing his hold, Mr. McG. raised a chair and struck him on the temple, inflicting a rather bad wound.

[We wish it to be kept in mind by those who read this, that, while this was going on, the House was in regular session for business, having the bill relative to sale of the main line of State Canals and Railroads, under consideration; and that it all occurred on the floor of the chamber.]

Mr B. then seized hold of the chair with both hands, and was pressing Mr. McG. back, when the latter, relinquishing the chair, drew from an inner pocket, on the left breast of his frock coat, a dirk knife. raising it suddenly and turning it quickly in his hand, on a blow. Mr Bratton at once dropped the chair and fled behind the Speaker's rostrum, and around to the right of the Clerk's desk, where McGowan caught up to him, and there in the presence of the assembled representatives of the people of Pennsylvania, drove the uplifted knife into his back, but the blow alighted fortunately on the left shoulder blade, the wound inflicted though an ugly gash, was not serious. No second blow was struck, we believe, for the members rushed in and arrested the further progress of the homicide. The knife was taken from McGowan and proved to have been bent into a curve, by meeting with the resistance of the shoulder bone. The force and good will with which the blow was given may be estimated from this fact - though it is possible that the impetus of the motion of running gave unusual force to the blow.

While this scene was going on, and after it had closed, the greatest and most intense excitement prevailed - the whole House was in commotion - the members rushed from their seats into the area before the Speaker's - business for the time being was almost suspended. After the knife was taken from McGowan he proceeded to his seat, and Mr. Bratton was taken in the room of the Sergeant-at-Arms, and the extent of his injuries examined.

As soon as order could be restored somewhat Mr. Deford introduced a resolution to appoint a committee of 3, to examine and report on the circumstances of the assault; which was agreed without debate, with an amendment, increasing the committee to five, and giving it power to send for persons and papers. The Speaker appointed the following members as the committee: Messrs DeFord, Elwell, Morris, Hahn and Skinner.

An hour or so after this, a constable came by the door of the House with a magistrate's warrant for McGowan's arrest, on the charge of assault and battery, with intent to kill.' There was no power to execute the warrant on Mr. McGowan while he was in the House; but at the suggestion of some of his friends, he came out and surrendered himself, when he was taken before Justice Snyder and bound over in $1000, for his appearance to answer on the charge laid in the warrant.