Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1883-09-08
DESERVED PRAISE.
,uucr u,.ux ON mr:Rrp,ru.
Tho Unfinished EuIogy ct Judge Biack On
wi,iian N, Meredlth-a beautiful
and Truthful TriDutr.

and TruihiuI rriputr.
Philadelphia TimOz,
Perhaps my intercourse with Mr.. Mere
dith, private and professional, gave mo
opportunities for knowing him nearly rs
well as he was known to any other person
now present. In many respects ho was
without an equal in the country. Il is rare
that mental ondowmcnts like his are be-
slowed on the children Of mon, and rarcr
still to see them cultivated and improved
and frightened through long life OF use.
fulness and honor. He was not merely
great lawyer, thoroughly vcrsed in his pro
fession and deeply read in the books which
teach il he was, besides that, scholar
| of pure taste and with literary acquire
| ments singularly accurate aud extensive
| Then his quickncss of perception, his un-
| failing fund of humor and tho dcxterity OF
| his wit made his arguments surprisingly
brilliant. His logic sparkled all over. Tho
clinchiug fact aud the five poetic illustra-
tion were most felotously joined together,
| His intellectual weapon was sort of com
biuation between the Oriental scimitcr and
the battle axe of the crusader, at once
gitttering and pondorOus. No one ever
| heard commonplace or platitude from him.
| Whatever he touched he adorned. What
Horace says Of poet is equally true ol an
| orator
| OmRe tglt puHctgm ggi mSScun Uiile dHlcl.
II is certain that no orator OF our day so
constantly mingled the instructive with
the entertaining or united them in su1h
admirable proportions.
need not say how well he understood
OF how rigldly he adhered to the highest
ethics OF the profession. His duty to the
court as well as to his client was always
| faithfully performed at every sacrifice OF
personal interest. He would have felt
stain upon his integrity as men feel a
poisonous wound upon vital part of the
| body. In all the business OF his life he
acted upon this scrupulous sense of justice.
| He would not take advantage of his neigh
Dor, even when his neighbor wished him
to do SO. He agreed verbally to let Mr..
Buchanan have Weatland at n price which
both considered fair, but which in fac: was
much less than its value. Immediately
| afterwards another person offered u much
higher sum for il. Mr.. Buchanan affirmed
that he WAS not the owner that the sup
posed contract was not binding III law Or
morals 1t was mere mistake and he
would not have the pr0peTty-Mr. Mere
dlth had righ. to sell Il 10 the new pUr-
chaser. Whereupou Mr.. Meredith iudiG
nantiy rendered 4 conveyance and declared
that his vendee should not back out Of his
bargain merely because ho had discovered
ii to be good one.
| Whilst all men gavo him credit for the
highest ability, coupled with the purest
integrity, he was not popular man IN
the ordinary sense Of the word IC cared
more 10 deserve the respect of the people
than to win il. IL was no. in his nature
to practice the arts o( the politician. lie
. Il. -.
comes from the performance Of duty.
Even ia Office, where the political interests
Of others were affected by his conduct he
was "too fond OF tho right to pursue
the expedient." When secretary of the
treasury he made enemies in every part OF
his own state. The year after he left that
department be was oGc of ten candidate IS
| for Judge of the supreme court. | believe
| (thOugh ! am rot perfectly SUIe) that he
was the hindmOst Of the ten. This fact,
| if sou recOllecL who was foremost in the
vote, will furnish strong proof that the
popular judgment rs expressed through
the ballot box IS very far from being in
| faliblc.
When came here in q situation which
required me 10 know the Philadelphia bar
found il composed Of mcu who would
have been an ornament Ut their profession
in any part OF the world. thought then
and think now, that no such body Of law
yeTs could be found else where for learning
skill, eloqucnce, integrity, love Of Justice
courtesy, truth and fairness. II il ~
spirit OF the corps thA. impals me 10 say
this for never had the hoa0r 70 belong
to IT, o! such body Mr. Meredith wa
the acknowledged leader. Surrounded by
giants he
The great jurist seems to have su5.
pended his euloGy OF his fellow great
juris,, in the middle Of scntcucc and
never resumed it, Lieutenant Governor
Black says in forwarding 70 the Times tho
unfinished tribut, Of his father 10 Mr
Meredith" Whether for some unknown
reason he ceased to write in the middle of
a sentence at the bottom OF the seventh
page, or whether some sheets have been
detached and lost, ! cannot tell. But
know that he intended % speak upon Mr.
Meredith's death in the constitutional con
vention, aud Was prevented By some in
sup2rabiC Observation-Disclosures as | rCCOl
Iceland that he S)rely regretted and lrc
quentiy lamented the lost opportunity.
know also that hc subsequently thou.h
upon yUur suggestion, ! think, OF wTtine
out for tho Times what he would have
said had he spoken 10 the convention. and
perhaps these sheets were the beginning
OF that paper suspended by some impora
tive call and never resumed, ,"-ED