The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-06-16
JUDGE WILLIAM E. NIBLACK.
His Attitude During the Rebellion as
Described in His Own Language.
Siaveholding in I%ndiana-The Rise Of Mr..
Hendricks-Ex-Senator McDonald-Jesse
D. Bright and Oliver ?. Morton.
"Gath," in Cincinnati Enquirer.

I recently sent you some sketches of Indiana
public men, considering that Indiana was a very
intelligent and increasing portion OF your read
ing constituency. I derived many of the dates
and ideas In those articles from a book which
should have more circulation, written by Will
lam Wesley Woollen.
While inquiring into Indiana matt ers 1 heard
a number Of curious things. Judge Niblack, of
the Supreme Court of Indiana, was a member
of Congress when I was a lad around Washing
ton, and | first spoke to him when he was upon
the investigating committee to examine the
Credit Mobilier statesmen. After that I had a
slight acquaintance with him, which grew from
time to time, and, being in Indiana last winter,
I called upon Judge Niblack, whom / found
living at the general quarters of the leading
court of the State, q building opposite the
new State capitol there. 1t is a pleasing
feature of Indiana, a State reaching
from the great lakes almost to the mouth
Of the Ohio river, that they do not
make their judges receive small salaries, and
then compel them to live around like gypsies in
cheap hotels. They. provide quarters for these
judges in the building whore they hold their
councils and courts, and therefore, after the city
is well asleep you can sometimes see the lights
burning in the judges rooms, where they are
sitting up, no longer tempted by the pleasures of
the town, reading the arguments and briefs and
making up their opinions according to the law
books and the instinct for law which is in every
right-minded judge. Having sat up late, the
judge can draw off his boots, temperhis intellect
with ice-water, and when he finds he is no more
of use to the great world around him he can
drop into bed, saying, of course, his little prayer
learned in childhood, which 1 have no doubt all
good judges as we'll as all great culprits say.
Judge Niblack has a round, high setting head,
keen eye, a good instinct for political combina-
items, respect for his ueighborhood and his fell
low-citizens, and he has always impressed me,
with my own respectfully long experience in
public life, as a man who. filed the true mean
between caution and confidence with newspaper
writer's. Consequently, l think l have never in
my life INDUCED any suspicion toward him, nor
ever felt that the new condolences he gave me
could be abused. After talking to him one morn
ing last winter, he asked me to com into the
chamber Of judges, which 1 was rather 10th to
do, because | would just as we'll keep in the
background as appear in the front. You must
come in" said he, because l have told those
gentlemen | would bring you in there"
l was glad afterward that | went in. The
majority of the judges. 1 understood, were
Democrats, but their bearing, In the few min
utes l saw them left a strong impression on my
mind of the general safety of the Western
States in the hands of their citizen Judiciary.
Clean-faced, clear-eyed, considerable men, it is a
pity that the newspaper writer's in general do
not get nearer to the fountains of authority like
these judges. One great trouble with the news
paper press is it's skirmishipg character on the
A.n41 800 6 1E nIa ~~A,r -~1 L. 1.-
ought really to feel some mutually of response
bility.
1 inquired of Judge Niblack upon some matters
OF the past, and in the interval l have forgotten
a good deal that he said, but remember enough
to venture a slight record of it. Said L: "Where
did you come from, or your ancestors, into In
diana9'
He told me that his parents came from North
Carolina to Indiana, and from far eastern North
Carolina at that. They may have stopped on
the way somewhere for a generation or less.
They settled at Vincennes. Old Vincennes had
been the capital of the State during the earlier
days, and thence the public Offices were removed
to Corydon, and finally to Indianapolis.
from North Carolina, their instincts were
against slavery. but it was a slow movement
toWa1. au7.h;as laAfnitc after Slavery. At
Vincennes and the surrounding country slaves
were often brought in who had been
attached to the immigrant families, and some
C1meS slaves were sent out IN kentucky
and portions of the slaveholding region. The
law in Indiana was against slaveholding, and
yet the practice was rather patriarchal. Slavery,
perhaps, had its Influence in keeping a certain
element in the community on the conservative
side in Indiana. When the war came on those
old traditional feelings somewhat operated to
make a feeling of resistance in the State, and
yet the sons and scions of the old pro-slavery
people who had long ago lost all interest in mere
slaveholdlng felt that the Union was too precious
n fnnnc t1n a fn hn or vay nm fnn C1ah a nAnAsak an
the slave States had started. That was my
feeling. and while I was a Democrat during the
war would not listen to any schemes, however
well laid, hostile to my neighbors and myself as
members of the American Republic. On
our town of Viucennes from St Louis with a
we'll planned scheme to entrap the Democrats of
Indiana into something hostile to the govern
ment. The idea was to have us join some or
ganization opposed to the illegal acts of the gov.
eminent, and we were probably to be drawn on
little by little until we would find ourselves upon
the wrong side of a line where the government
would have a right to take hold of us. That was
how Governor Morton found the basis for his
great arraignment of the Indiana people. Polit-
ically speaking, he may have had pretext enough
as a politician, but / do not think he had pretext
enough as the general Governor of all the people.
However, the times were very rough and
passion was high, aud l have never lost
nv respect for him as a leader Of intellect in a
great CEISlS. w ucI ILLS uldu uuQeTUOOh W dp-
proach me I said to him very decidedly: My
friend, l grasp enough of your proposition to
understand that / viii have nothing to do with
it. Further than that, l tell you that you will
get yourselves and all the people you influence
here into trouble. 1t is unnecessary for you to
60 any further in this foolish matter with me.'r
Said L: did not Michael G. Kerr have to take
a similar viewl'
Eyes, Kerr felt that he was being triHed with,
and he came up to Indianapolis and notified the
p%Olitical authorities OF the State that there ware
things being attempted in his district that he as
a Union man would not countenance."
Said /: Judge Niblack. what was the rise of
Mr.. Hendricks in Indiana2'
Governor Hendricks" said Mr.. Niblack, and
/ am only remembering this conversation now
after a long interval, and may not get it entirely
correct, was a very affable, tolerant man, with
a very good opinion among Democrats at large,
though he was not perhaps the favorite of Sem
ator Bright, who at that time was the most re-
markahla nQXar in anr State After BRIGHT had