the late President of the United States, all must agree that in one of the severest trials which ever tested the moral qualities of man he fulfilled his duty with simplicity and strength. [Cheers.] Nor is it possible for the people of England at such a moment to forget that he sprung from the same fatherland, and spoke the same mother tongue. [Cheers.] When such crimes are perpetrated the public mind is apt to fall into gloom and perplexity, for it is ignorant alike of the causes and the consequences of such deeds. But it is one of our duties to reassure them under unreasoning panic and despondency. Assassination has never changed the history of the world. I will not refer to the remote past, though an accident has made the most memorable instance of antiquity at this moment fresh in the minds and memory of all around me. But even the costly sacrifice of a Cæsar did not propitiate the inexorable destiny of his country. If we look to modern times, to times at least with the feelings of which we are familiar, and the people of which were animated and influenced by the same interests as ourselves, the violent deaths of two heroic men, Henry IV, of France, and the Prince of Orange, are conspicuous illustrations of this truth. In expressing our unaffected and profound sympathy with the citizens of the United States on this untimely end of their elected chief, let us not, therefore, sanction any feeling of depression, but rather let us express a fervent hope that from out of the awful trials of the last four years, of which the least is not this violent demise, the various populations of North America may issue elevated and chastened, rich with the accumulated wisdom and strong in the disciplined energy which a young nation can only acquire in a protracted and perilous struggle; then they will be enabled not merely to renew their career of power and prosperity, but they will renew it to contribute to the general happiness of mankind. [Cheers.] It is with these feelings that I second the address to the Crown. [Loud cheers.] The motion was then put and adopted unanimously, the announcement of which fact by the speaker was received with cheers. Mr. Burnley to Mr. Hunter. WASHINGTON, April 17, 1865. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of note of the 15th instant, announcing to me the lamented death of the President of the United States on the night of the 14th instant, from the effects of a pistol shot received at the hands of an assassin while attending the performances at the theatre, and the dastardly attempt to assassinate, in like manner, the Secretary of State and his son, Mr. Frederick Seward. It is with feelings of the deepest regret that I have heard of these crimes; a regret which will be shared by my government on reception of the sad news. I sincerely trust that Mr. Seward and his son may recover from the wounds inflicted on them and be restored to health. I take this opportunity of acknowledging the announcement of the formal assumption of the functions of President by the late Vice-President Andrew Johuson, and of your appointment to perform, temporarily, the duties of Secretary of State. I have the honor to be, with high consideration, sir, your most obedient humble servant, Hou. W. HUNTER, Esq., &c., &c., &c. J. HUME BURNLEY. Resolutions by the convener court of the seven incorporated trades of the city of Aberdeen, North Britain. At Aberdeen, and within the Trinity hall there, the ninth day of May, eighteen hundred and sixty-five. At a meeting of the convener court representing the seven incorporated trades of the city of Aberdeen, North Britain, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted: 1. That this court expresses its sorrow and indignation at the act of atrocity lately committed on President Lincoln, of the United States of America, and its sympathy with the government and people of these States in their peculiar circumstances, and its hope that, under Providence, the establishment of peace there, and harmony between them and the whole world will soon be promoted. 2. This court cannot separate without expressing its liveliest feeling and sympathy with Mrs. Lincoln and family, and prays that the worthy example of her husband will prove that a straight-forward and honest course is alike honorable and worthy of imitation. Signed in name and by appointment of the meeting, and the seal of the court appended hereto by me, convener of said court. SEAL.] ROBERT THORUSON. At Aberdeen, the first day of May, in the year 1865, in presence of the lord provost, magistrates, and council of the city of Aberdeen. Which day the lord provost stated that, before proceeding to the ordinary business, he would propose "that the council enter on their minutes an expression of the sorrow and indignation which pervaded this city on receiving the intelligence that the President of the United States had been murdered, and the life of one of their most distinguished statesmen (Mr. Seward) endangered by the hands of assassins; and also of the earnest sympathy of the council and community with the government and people of the United States." Which proposal was unanimously agreed to; and the council directed a copy of this resolution, under the common seal of the city, to be signed by the lord provost, and transmitted to the minister in this country of the United States. [SEAL.] The mayor, ALEXANDER, Lord Provost of Aberdeen. aldermen, and common council of the borough of Axbridge to Mr. Adams. SIR: We, the mayor, aldermen, and common council of the borough of Axbridge, in the county of Somerset, beg through you, sir, to express our deep sympathy with Mrs. Lincoln and the American nation generally under the heavy and distressing bereavement which she and they have been called on to sustain in the brutal and cowardly assassination of Mr. President Lincoln. We earnestly pray, however, that the all-wise disposer of events may not only support Mrs. Lincoln in this the hour of her grief, but that He may, according to the purposes of His own gracious will, overrule for good the dire calamity which has thus befallen the American nation. Given under our corporate seal at the Town Hall, in Axbridge aforesaid, this sixth day of May, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five. [SEAL.] His Excellency Hon. CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS, United States of America, London. Excerpt from minute of meeting of the town council of the royal burgh of Anstruther Easter, in the county of Fife, North Britain, dated 5th May, 1865. Inter alia, on the motion of the provost, the council unanimously agreed to record their abhorrence and detestation of the assassination of the President of the United States, and their sympathy and condolence with the Americans under the great loss which they had sustained, and requested the provost to forward an excerpt from this minute to Mr. Adams, the American minister in London. Extracted by MAB. F. CONOLLY, Clerk. To his excellency the honorable Charles Francis Adams, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary for the United States of America: We, the provost, magistrates, and town council of the royal burgh of Ayr, in council assembled, beg to express to you, as the representative in this country of the government and people of the United States of America, our utter abhorrence of the atrocity whereby that great people has been deprived of the services of their Chief Magistrate, who, after years of a most terrific struggle, approved himself to his countrymen by his patriotism, honesty of purpose, and great integrity, who had the fullest confidence of that great nation during the most critical period of its history, whose unwearied patience and perseverance under circumstances of trial, of difficulty, and of defeat, were only matched by his moderation evinced in the hour of success, and whose magnanimity and forbearance made an impression here that Abraham Lincoln was a great and good man. We also desire to express our heartfelt sympathy and condolence with the government and people of the United States who have been so suddenly deprived of their chief magistrate at a momentous crisis in the history of their country. Signed in name and by authority of the magistrates and council by me, provost of Ayr. J. MAC NEILLE. To his excellency the honorable Charles Francis Adams, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary for the United States of America. We, the provost, magistrates, and town council of the royal burgh of Arbroath, beg to convey to you, as the representative in this country of the government and people of the United States of America, that expression of the feelings of profound sorrow and indignation with which we received the melancholy intelligence of the assassination of the President of the United States. We deeply sympathize with the government and people of the United States in the loss they have sustained by the death, so much to be deplored, of their late President, who was so well fitted by his character and the confidence reposed in him to heal those divisions by which his country had been torn asunder. We join in expressing our best wishes for the welfare of the United States, and the hope that the termination of the war will enable them to make that rapid progress for which their country presents so great advantages. Signed in name and by appointment of the magistrates and town council of Arbroath, and the common seal of the said burgh affixed hereto, on Thursday, the 25th day of May, eighteen hundred and sixty-five. JOHN LUMGAIR, [SEAL.] Protost and Chief Magistrate of Arbroath. At a meeting of the town council of the borough of Ashton-under-Lyne, in the county of Lancaster, held on Wednesday, the 10th day of May, 1865, John Galt, esquire, mayor, in the chair, it was moved by Mr. Alderman Mason, seconded by Mr. Councillor Wood, and resolved as follows: The mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of the borough of Ashton-under-Lyne, in council assembled, having heard with profound grief of the brutal and cowardly assassination of Mr. Abraham Lincoln, the President of the United States of America, hereby record their feelings of horror and detestation at the malignity and treachery of the act which has deprived that great country of its Chief Magistrate; and express their heartfelt sympathy with the people of that country in their time of all-absorbing sorrow. This council beg to offer their tribute of reverence for the memory of a great American whose ripened experience and humane nature pre eminently fitted him to reconcile the animosities of a divided people, and heal the wounds of a distracted nation. This council fervently trust that the magnanimous policy of the late President may continue to guide the American people, that war and bloodshed may come to a speedy end, and that peace, prosperity, and happiness may again prevail. This council also respectfully offer to Mrs. Lincoln their genuine affection and sympathy for her irreparable loss, and trust she may find sweet consolation in witnessing the grand results of the wise, unselfish, and patriotic career of her martyred husband. The corporate seal was affixed in the presence of JOHN GALT, Mayor. [SEAL.] WILLIAM MARSHALL, Town Clerk. Resolutions passed at a meeting held by the Temperance Society of Ashton-under Lyne. ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE, May 10, 1865. The president, vice-president, officers, and members of the Ashton-underLyne Temperance Society, in meeting assembled, have heard with profound grief of the brutal and cowardly assassination of Mr. Abraham Lincoln, the President of the United States of America, and hereby record their feelings of horror and detestation at the malignity and treachery of the act which has deprived that great country of its Chief Magistrate, and express their heartfelt sympathy with the people of that country in their time of all-absorbing sorrow. This meeting beg to offer their tribute of reverence for the memory of a great ruler, whose ripened experience and humanity pre-eminently fitted to reconcile the animosities of a divided people and heal the wounds of a distracted nation. This meeting feel all the more earnest in their attachment to Mr. Abraham Lincoln because he had for more than fifty years adopted and carried out those great principles of temperance and total abstinence (from all intoxicating drinks) for which we are contending. That, whether he enjoyed the privacy of home, or sustained the diguities of a palace; that, whether he performed the duties of a citizen, or the more difficult duties of governing a great nation, he had the wisdom to see, and the moral courage to adopt, the great principles of temper ance, truth, and progress. This meeting also respectfully offer to Mrs. Lincoln and family their genuine affection and sympathy for their irreparable loss, and trust they may find sweet consolation in witnessing the grand results of the wise, unselfish, and patriotic career of their martyred husband and father. Signed on behalf of the committee and society by MARTIN PARKINSON, President. His Excellency ANDREW JOHNSON, and through him to Mrs Lincoln. President of the United States of America, Address of the Union and Emancipation Society of Ashton-under-Lyne to Mrs. Lincoln. ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE UNION AND EMANCIPATION SOCIETY, May 26, 1865. The sorrowful intelligence which has been recently transmitted to us, announcing the death of your much-beloved husband, Abraham Lincoln, has filled our hearts with pain and sadness. We little expected that his valuable life would have been so suddenly destroyed by the treacherous hand of a cowardly assassin, and cannot but lament the irreparable loss which has deprived you of a faithful protector, your children of an affectionate father, and the American people of a thoughtful and sagacious statesman. We consider the death of the late President a world-wide calamity, because the impression made by it seems to be the strongest and most general that has ever appeared upon the death of a fellow-man; and it is for this reason that we desire to convey to you our united expressions of grief in this severe trial of your affliction and bereavement, and also to declare our abhorrence of the brutal and horrible crime by which his life was sacrificed. In contemplating his character we have often felt a just admiration which his many virtues command; but to dweil upon them here, in any particular, is unnecessary, and, upon this occasion, would perhaps be improper. That his loss has been generally lamented cannot be wondered at, for certainly there never was a more just cause for universal sorrow. To lose such a man, at such a critical time, so unexpectedly and so barbarously, must add to every feeling of regret, and make the sense of bereavement more severe and acute to all thinking minds. He was snatched away in the midst of a crisis when America could spare him least; at a time when the people hoped to be especially benefited by his energy, his benevolence, and his wisdom. His ardent desire to promote the welfare of his fellow-men was conspicuously the animating motive of his active life His indefatigable labors to strike off the fetters which have so long bourd the down-trodden negro have at length been rewarded by a glorious and triumphant victory. Millions of them are already free-free as the very breath of heaven; and the accursed slave-stain, which has ever soiled the American banner, will now be eradicated, and the fate of the accursed system forever sealed with the martyred blood of a holy Christian man. Never was he known to shirk the onerous duties of his responsible office; in every instance we have found him true to his sacred oath; even in the latest hours of his life kindness to his enemies was the uppermost sentiment of his generous heart, prompting the most considerate arrangements for the happiness and comfort of a great and mighty people. In conclusion, permit us to hope that the humble and genuine affection so widely entertained towards him will tend to mitigate in some degree the heavy bereavement of his afflicted family, consoling them with the knowledge that the labors of the departed are truly appreciated by thousands of earnest hearts in far distant lands. Signed on behalf of the members of the Ashton-under-Lyne Union and Emancipation Society. Mrs. LINCOLN. JAMES BROADBENT, President. JOHN HAGUE, Vice-President. JOB ARUNDALE, Secretary. |