The Indiana State sentinel., 1879-12-03
Age and Origin of the Rights and
Dignity of the States
and People.
National Intervention in Elections Never
Huffsred by the People of the
States or Colonies.
The Forced Immigration of the Negro-An
Outrage Upon the Legal and Constitu-
tional Rights of Indiana.
lTnursday,s Daily1

4uo lcuuriCkS CiuU ldst evening udQ ltS
regular semi-monthly meeting. Captain ].
w. Dodd presided, and the meeting was
called to order promptly at 7:30 o'clock p
M, and the minutes of the previous meat
ing were read and approved. At the con
clusion of the reading OF the minutes. the
president announced that the club had as
sembled to hear an address from the Hon.
David Turpie, of this city. By o'clock
quite fair audiences had come in, notwith-
standing the miserable state of the weather
Among the distinguished gentlemen present
were the Hon. T. A Hendricks, General
NJ D. Manson, Colonel B c. Shaw, Hon
John ]. Cooper, Colonel Johnson, james NJ
Cropsey, HUGHES East, r. G.. J. Pendleton,
and Hon. J. G ShansliD.
The announcement of the address was re-
csived with applause, and wnjl7 it con-
tinued Mr.. Turpie stepped forward and was
introduced in a few pleasant remarks by the
president, Hon. J. w. Dodd.
Mr.. Turpie spoke from notes, but the prin-
cipal portion of the address was an extern
poraneous effort. Below is given the full
text of
JUDGE TURTLES ADDRESS:
Mr. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN--Human
government is said frequently To pc difficult
thing. Yet l think a closer view will show
that iJ is not such. Mankind naturally In
clines toward government. Ii civilized men
are thrown into a locality where there is
no government the first task is to organize
one. The Instinct OF CIVILIZATION is toward
government-thes support and maintenance OF
government Merely to govern Is not difficult;
to govern justly is So To control the admins
tration OF the affairs of II great people, to do
equal and exact justice to all men, that Is a
dlfficuittas K. u great work, and as soot as il
is great. The ordinary purposes OF govern
ment, as they are usually spOken of, the pres
ervation OF public peace and order. the secur-
fty of life and property are subserved oy al
most any form OF political Institutions Lie
and property are as secure, ordinarily speak
ing, in st Pete r. burg as they. are in New York.
That city is strictly policed. So indeed Is the
whole empire. Civil rights are
Of the press, freedom of speecn not at all. Po-
1itical rights are not known, religious tolera-
tion very fnperfectly understood or admin
istered. They spell nation with large over
there-peOple with an enthusiastically snail
P. Liberty is not written at all excepting In
invisible ink 1t will have to be held very
closely to the fiery wnite heat of revolution
before it becomes legible at all. But IL l..
nevertheless. n government IL is sometimes
called a strong government. 1t has a standing
army OF halt million men, a corps of iuO,0tO
every pro, ince and portion of the country
1t is military government. The ruler is the
in chief of the army. The soldier rule. We
have not, in this country, hitherto preferred
any approach to it was dIsparagemea at of our
ancient liberties and of fee ms buttons
about a miiitary form of administration; the
pomp, the pageantry, the ruthless rapidity OF
decision anu action. We had recently in this
country a great war. 1t is now almost a gen
Grafton since the commencement of tnat
contest. The boy of that time is
went into the army, and are now middle-sge
men. A large mass of the voters in this coun-
try are indeed, dating their political informa-
ton and notions of our political system from
the period of the war; The war was only an
episode in the history of the United States1a
patriotism of the nation aud valo. of the peo-
pie in the defense or the Union and the con-
fha
existence-four years OF civil war in n cen
tury. Very few nations have had less, es-
pecially in the commencelnent of their career.
But we must go much farther back in order TO
get true notions of the real character and ma
many others which have grown great in tima,
had very small beginnings. You must know,
then, that there we're in the beginning l3 ST
Elements commonly called the original colo
the county along the Atlantic coast,
Settled under what We're called chsiters from
the British crown. These charters Were
simply conveyances of land named in certain
geographical limits. 1t controlled and defined
no political rel el.tlOns. The settlers were sub
jects OF the British crown, but they did, from
the very begi ming, have the entire manage
ment and ad min stration of their local affairs.
own code Of laws, and no Interference was
suffered by one colony with another- Massa-
chusetts did not attempt to dictate to Sou h
Carolina what her local institutions should
be, nor did Pennsylvania attempt to enforce
upon New York her ideas. nor did any of The
grant the right to any third power, not even
TO the crown of Great Britain, to dictate in
ff' Of their local afTairs and inter
nal govern ment. The era of colonial
far as the domestic Institutions were concerned
A very elegant scholar OF Indiana, the his
iectsd in q book what he calls the curiosiIi. !
Of colonial legislation. Each colony had a
code Of laws ofits own. You viii find very
upon the subject of roads, high ways; upon
the subject of schools; upon the subject Of
military power; upon tue subject Of taxation
and upon the subject of elections. This boos
curious now TO Look into bLi- ancient cole MIA
sleRisiation. ssome of these things are very
they suited the people who wanted them
who wished them, who enacted them into
las There were n the na.n blue laws Of Copnec C
V,1sinia making ssbaceo s.. legal
the same State making it a misdemeano
to chang the mark on an unmarked nog run
OF fSOath Carolina providing for the holding q
court somewhere on a certain Tuesday in FEB
ruary, provided The same did not come upoi
sunday These are some of the absurditt.s.
don't know that legislation Is deficient II
those things now | recoiiect that we bad y
that an eEietpeer snail whistle. think ~ rod
before be comes 10 crossing: and whis,l
srfrdit es and curiosities of colonial legislation
III they dosny thipg. marx the @ absolute s nee
upon those subjects. These Colonial Lsgisla
lures were filed by the very best men, TIL
3 men OF the very best talent and abiiityofth
Colonies occupied seats within the 80 House
They we're sometimes called assembiymen
delegates, bDrges~es They answered then I
the state; LsyisIatnres now. They wei
: usually composed of Two Houses, aDswerin
to our STATE senators and STATE represents
tiyes Eac8 colony had military coo
providing for the armament of q miiifaT
force. In Virginia they were called the trooI
of the iines further south they were call
rangers In Massachusetts, they were calld
minute men. In New York they were ca Il
volunteers. These troops were raised; the
were paid. they were oficered, by COlonf
authority, and they could not be taken out
the Coionies in which they were raised. psd
and ofi7cered, except by the consent Of u
Colonial IsGislature. Many of the greatf
victories, best successes, OF the British CROW
saaipst the French and Indiana, the earl
Occupants Of this territory, were made wit