The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1875-07-14

QOWQ 10 U6, anu are q part Vi OuI III
heritance this day, are embraced in
our own constitutions. State and Ma
tional. Those privileges were few,
but still they were precious. They
were invaluable, but marked the pro-
gress that have been made. What
was the theory of the Magma Charta +?
These privileges were granted by the
king. 1t was not claimed by anybody
that the people had any natural rights.
It was conceded that the crown was
the foundation of all power and of all
rights. A magma charta conveyed
certain privileges to the people as
gracious grant from the king. That
was the theory OF the English Gov
ernment at that time. 1t is the the
DRY of free government in Europe to-
day, and the young student of law now.
when he begins the study of English
common law, taking up any elemen..
tary book will find it there laid
down that the rights OF the people are
in the prOcess of time, in the reason
ing OF men, in the development of
those immortal principles given to us
doctrine that our rights come not
from the king; that our privileges are
not privileges at all; but that men
have those rights By the gift Of God,
and that is the great foundation upon
which our government rests to-day.
lApplause- Not that those privi-
Ieges shall be granted 20 us by, q mon
archy or an aristocracy, but that each
man has had these rights given to him
by God; and they cannot be taken
from him without violence and wick
edness. We have built our govern
ment upon that simple principle. We
believe, my friends, that we are con-
ycTting the world to-day.
1 am proud of my State. Every
body who knows anything about me
knows that am very anxious to have
Indiana make fair and full showing
at Philadelphia next year; and i be-
lieve she will / shall he proud to
have the nation make such material
exposition of her wealth and resources
as she can do. But / am far more
proud, far more elated over the great
fact that we can now show to the
world, at the end Of the hundredth
year, forty-five millions of people.
each and all of them in enjoyment of
equal rights before God and before
the law. [Applause. am proud to
say that while We have made this
great advancement in political rights
and in the improvement oi our govern
ment; while there is no longer slavery,
and all men stand upon the eamc great
quality before the law-I believe
there has been equal progress made
in the public and private morals of
this people. know it is common
thing to say that public and private
morals have deterioratcd, and that
men are not as good as they used to
be, and that general corruption rules
the hour / believe there is not one
word of truth in it. If that were SO;
IS with this enlarged liberty, educa-
hon and intelligence the world has
constantly grown worse, then the ex-
pertinent Of free government is fail
ure. That is the inevitable conclu-
sion Why, my friends, there have
been croakers in every generation and
In every decade of this country; there
have been men proclaiming that the
condition of public morals have de-
precisted. and that men had grown
worse. These declarations we're never
made more strongly than they we're
during the days of General Washing
i ton, Thomas Jefferson. Andrew Jack
son, and, In fact, every President,
coming down to the present day. We
know Of these things transpiring in
our midst, and we hear of them day
after day; but we are foreetful of those
that passed in other times, or we
never knew Of them. When you take
up a paper in the morning you get a
| list Of all the crime committed in the
whole country the day before. A few
/ years ago you could see nothing of the
| kind. II there are defalcations OF
| misfeasances you will get an account
OF them. There is such a system of
| intelligence, of communication by the
Telegraph and published through the
papers, that we are advised every
! morning of the crimes. the accidents,
the misfortunes. that happened the
world over the day before. So that
some people have come to the conclu-
sion, in consequence, that the world
is growing great deal worse. You
might just as we'll say that there arc
more men bruised and killed from
falling off of buildings and by horses
running away, and other accidents
happening, because you see every
morning in the papers all that hap
pened the dey before. while few
years ago Information was conveyed
by a very slow process. and but little
Of what is now published to the world
then became known. / am glad to
believe that the world is better: that
men are more moral in public and
private life, and in their relations to
each other than they were Fifty or 4
hundred years ago. If we do not be.
lieve this we pay poor compliment
to the church, to free institutions
Therefore. my friends, let US be hope.
| full. The world is better world than
it has credit for, and its improvement
is going on politically and morally
Let US try to appreciate our own
blessings. A man never appreciates
health until he loses it; and the peo-
/ Pile here tonight cannot appreciate
the extent of their blessings because
they have never known what extreme
poverty, tyranny and oppression were
| We are in the enjoyment of great
blessings. We live IN a happy period
of the worlds history, and each and
s every one Of us has duty to perform
In few years we thali have paesed
away. We shall be as completely for.
gotten as the people who we're in this
| country forty or fifty years ago are
forgotten by us. What q dim percep
ton you have of those here twenty
i Eve years hence will think as little
about you as you do. about those 9th.
ers. These boys and these girls are
to take our places. do not wan,
these boys to grow up with the ides
that the world is universally dishon.
est aud corrupt. IF you want to make
a boy dishonest, make him believe
every other boy is dishonest, as vel
as everybody else; then he will grow