The Indianapolis journal., 1893-05-09


of respect for his abilities and his integrity.
One of his closest friends and ardent ad-
mirers, though of different political belief.
is Hon. Smiley n. Chambers. ex-Unlted
States district attorney In speaking of
him yesterday. he said:
while have known Jud ze Niblack in
timately for about twenty years, i have
known him as public officer all my life.
One of my earliest recollectIOns of polIt-
lcal events is q debate that occurred be-
tween Judge Nlblack and the late Alvin z.
HOvey. This was in antebellum DAYS,
when the issues before the country were
all centeriDg upon the question of exten-
sion of slavery into the Territories. Gov.
Hovey was then Democrat. OF professed
to ps ana was known nao. as N;S,
lack was for the Lecompton Constitution,
the Kansas difficulty then being very
prominent and absorbing. Both claimed
to be the true sty yle of Democrat, but Judge
Niblack maintained that HOvey was not q
Democrats at all. as events very clearly
showed few years later. On the stump
these two men had very much the same
style of argument. Both were young.
sturdy. hearty and vigorous. and they were
very warm friends. 1t was q character
jstic of judge Niblack that he maintained
the friendliest relations with his political
opponents. When he was running against
the late Colonel Allen. for Congress, they
rode all over the district together in q
vehicle to their appointments for JOINT
debates.
After Judge Niblack returned from Con-
gress," continued Mr. Chambers. Il be-
came intimately acquainted with him. our
offices being in the same building. He
honored me with his confidence in great
degree. One of his peculiaritles was his
thorough way OF keeping posted upon all
public events and occurrences. He read
the papers with great avidity. At one
time, when his eyesight was affected. and
it became impossible for him to read. he
would store uD the papers until
q certain day in the week, when
he would employ some young man to come
into his Office and read them to him. He
thus kept posted In allthe history of the day.
He was one of the most interesting men
in personal reminiscence that ever knew
and yet he was of so unassuming nature
that not every body knew of the fact. He
never forgot men or Incidents 1t hap
pened last summer that L rode nearly all
day with him at his last public appearance
In general speech, made at q soldiers re-
union in Knox county. The time was
take mp with "reminiscences of the war
ested IN his keen % MEMORY of
things and his facility at reprod ucing them
In vivid way. During the time in Con-
gress following the close of the war he be-
came the warm friend of Grant as he had
His narrations were absor bing In interest
and told him he ought to write a book of
reminlscence He said that he had never
had the time for such work. General
Grant was very fond of him and appointed
him O mem ber of some board of trustees of
government institution, which / cannot
now recall, but which he held up to his
death. He was always Union man and his
speech at Monroevilie last summer. on the
occasion / mentioned. was remarkable for
its broad view of the war. it's causes and
effects. He called it the greatest event of
human history. and said that any one who
would speak of it In any other than an his
toricai sense was IN nworthy to speak of it.
"One OF the greatest things In Judge
Niblack's career was that after he was
fifty years of age, and after nearly a quar-
ter of q century OF public life. In lines of
work not directly needing knowledge of
the law. he found himself elected to
the Supreme Bench of the State. and
went to work to make himself competent.
1t was feared by his friends that he had
been placed in a position where be could
not attain emInence, but they were most
happily disappointed. He applied himself
with all the zeal of an ambitions Dung law
student to the books. and his work while
on the bench showed that he had kDowl-
will testify to the fact that he made
one of the best and most trustworthy
judges that ever sat on the bench in modern
times He had the judicial temperament
II.
His was q master mind In law and luris-
prudence as in every tbing. else. He could
not be swerved from what he thought was
the truth and instice in the litigation be-
fore him.
"The incident about the refusal to accept
appointment as United States Senator from
Governor Williams was true. The Judge
related it to be some years ago. He
felt that the party would prefer Voor-
hees and so would not take the
Aftarward in tar n
service In the Supreme Court was drawing
to close and there was an election of
Senator, he would have appreciated the
com pliment of the nomination. and as Sem
ator TurpIe was elected. it is probable that
he would have been. But Senator McDon-
aid thought that Judge NibIack ought not
to stand for election. and know to q cer-
tainty that he felt that he had made per-
honor. He would have made q use
full man In that able and dignified body.
One of his peculiarities was that he would
never tell his age. He once told me that
the reason was because he did not want TO
be ranked with old men and be laid on the
shelf. Ii is doubtful II the tax returns
make any showing of his having reached
the exemption period. He was a man of
great courage, frank in his manners and
sincere in all his conduct. All his polit-
ical honors came so him unsought and
it is certain that he used none of the
common methods of eleotioneerIng. His
friendship for Blaine Is we'll known. He
was Just as good friend of Governor Nor
ton. He once said TO me that he thought
the greatest man. intellectually speaking,
that was produced by the war was Ben
Butler. Judge Niblack was a great man
himself and in his death the State has lost
one of it's truest cItizens His death is TO
me personal sorrow"
bar Meeting.
A meeting of the Indiana Bar Association