The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1865-12-07
Speech of r. VI. Meredith. Of Sigo, IN the
Indiana Legislature.
SPECIAL ORDER.

SPECIAL ORDER
On the Joint resolution to repeal the
thirteenth article Of the Constitution,
Mr. Meredith. of Vigo, addressed tho
House, in reply to the argument OF Mr..
Buskirk, on Tuesday. Mr. Meredith
spoke substantially as follows:
Mr. SPEAkER: l do not desire nor in
teni to make what is generally called a
set speech, upon the matter under the
consideration OF the House. However,
| propose to submit my views thereon
in the bricfest manner of which / am
capable. The resolution proposes 10
amend the Constitution Of the State by
striking therefrom the thirteenth Article.
Is it polite, wise or just, thus to do =
This question each member of this
House must answer for himself, under
his oath to do what in his Judgment may
seem proper, for the welfare OF the peo-
pie. The honorable gentleman from
Monroe, in his speech on the question
involved, rc4aled the House with read
ing numerous extracts from the aTgu
ments OF some of the leading members
of the convention which framed the Con-
stitutioh, in support OF tue article which
- is now proposed to eXpunge, or obilt-
crate forever His object was To produce
the authority against which, he probably
aupnOs ed. no member would have the
courage 10 contend.
But, sir, however able and patriotic
the purposes Of the speakers from whom
he quoted, might have been fifteen eats
ago, did he suppose, OF docs any man
nosO suppose, that their opinions would
forever stand unimpeachable. ana as the
law Of the State through all its future
history? Have we not n right to our
opinions, as we'll as had the members Of
the Convention which framed the Con
stitution under which we are now assem-
bled? Is it coatended that they mbodi-
ed all the wisdom, and virtue of the
past, and were competent TO speak with
the precision Of omniscience, on the pol
itics of the State for wears to come
W ere they prophets, endowed with the
ability of penetrating the future, with n
far reaching; and incontrovcrtihlev vison,
and also with the power Of prescribing
the bounds in which our politics should
reyolve? Far from it, sir. However
gifted the Raridens and the Pettits Of
the Convention might have been, they
were nothing more than mortals, totally
incapable Of beholding the present pc
Rod of our history, or OF tathoming
the abyss into which civil war plunged
the country.
There opinions, expressed there, can
not bind our action now. Many of the
members of the Constitution. from
whose speeches the gentlemen from
Monroe quoted 50 literally. have radi-
cally changed their views, and are now
as extreme on the negro question as
most of US desire to be. For instance,
Hon. John Petit, of Lafayette, then 4
member of the Convention, and as firm
Il supporter of what Is now called the
Democratic party, as the gentleman from
Monroe ever was, or can ever hope to
be; a man Of unquestioned ability, and
firm in the faith of his party, now
signs a petition to this House, praying
it to repeal the black laws, and enable
courts of justice to receive the testimony
Of negroes, on the same footing as that
Of whites 1t is said that wise man
changes his opinions, but that a fool new
er does. Now do not consider the
gentleman from Monroe n fool by any
means, but he must certainly BE consid-
cred as fit subject with which to illus
trate the maxim. Were it possible to
lisinter the yenerated remains of the
patriot Rariden, and reanimate his life
less, and ptrishing form, and place him
within the bar Of this House with the
history of the past five years before him,
with Petit he could not, and would not
refuse his support to this resolution pro
posing the abolition of the obnoxious
article.
The circumstances under which the
men made the speeches, in
the Constitutional Convention. from
which the gentleman quoted, were radI-
cally, and totally different. from those
which surround you, at the present time.
Those speeches were made fifteen years
ago. Freedom at the North. and Slave
rv ut the South had entered into n kind
Of treaty, or truce, which had the proba
biiItv Of long continuance, but which
after events have demonstrated. was
broken At the very first period at which
the propagandists of Slavery. supposed
themselves to have the advantage. Tn
der the influence of the institution, and
with grave apprchensions that its repre-
sentatives would break the Union into
fragments. and char. and desolatc the
country with the fierce fires of civil war,
the men of 1850 framed our State Con
,titution. They desired that the peace
OF the two sections should be carefully
maint.ined, and not knowing exactly
how to propitiate the Slave owners, or
how far our people would endorse their
action in this respect, concluded to sub
NIT the 18th article TO their approval. or
disapproval ct the ballot box
1t was so submitted, and received the
unqualified endorsement of a large ma
ioritv Of the voters of the State. But
the Constitution was not intended to be
forever fixed and unalterable like the
laws of the Nedes and Persians. The
power that made it, has a right to un-
make it, even to do justice to the negro,
Il is the work Of the people. and when
ever they see fit TO alter its provisions,
or amend il in any way. no man here. or
elsewhere. can deny their right 10 do so.
Since the endorsement Of the 18th Ar
ticle by the voters of the State, Slavery
which they proposed, in part to appease
or conciIiate. has msde war, direct and
bloody war, upon the Federal Constitu-