The American Senate appears determined to be "inde- pendent," and
to debate the Sherman Bill until the Session ends. There is a sufficient majority for repealing the law, but the Senators are accustomed to talk against time, and there is no Closure by which the silver-men can be silenced. The agitation among the electors increases, but the Senators really sit in virtue of their wealth, and those interested in silver are determined not to yield. The President can, of course, deprive his opponents of all local patronage, and it is said that if driven to it, he will employ an unexpected weapon. There is a clause in the Sherman Act under which, if gold runs so short that the two metals lose their "parity," the President may suspend the purchase of silver. If Mr. Cleve- land under that clause forbids the further depletion of the Treasury, the silver-men have no object in continued re- sistance, for silver will fall at once to its natural level. In a letter, however, published on Thursday, the President in- sists that the Senate shall pass the Repealing Ad before any question about silver can be considered with favour.
