THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA THE COLLECTION OF NORTH CAROLINIANA HU83a UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 00032193554 This book must not be token from the Library building. Form No. 471 y (. r. CU.£^Ji£sM^f^^^^ > . -\..V^ *'■"'* '*^'l''''^ *.\ r/r^^^ '»>>„^ A^^is * ' i > »fc<.y <•! * • m »^>«1*) «%i^^.i «^- %i*"^'' ■^ tribxjth: TO THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM Lll^COLiN AMERICAN CITIZENS RESIDENT IN BUENOS AIRES. HiE.Nos Aires <;emian Printini^ Offirc, S. ^fartiii 111. :->^ti -2 TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LIBCOIJ DY THE AMERICAN CITIZENS RESIDENT IN BUENOS AIRES. Buenos Aires Cerman Printing Office, S. Wartln 111. Meetings and Resolutions. The intelligence of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln President of the United States, reached Buenos Aires on Saturday the 27lh May. On monday the 29th, many Ameri- can Citizens, met to take into consideration the sad event. The meeting was called to order by Mr. Gardner B.Perry, and upon motion of Mr. Wm. H. Moores, the Hon. Robert G. Kirk, was appointed Ghairman, and Gardner B. Perry Secretary. On motion of Mr, A. G. Goodall, it was resolved : x.That this meeting is called to express the profound regret, and grief of the American Gommunity for the untimely death of Abraham Lincoln: the late honored President of the United States. « On motion of Wm. T. Livingston Esq. it was voted : »That a committee of five be appointed to draft suitable resolutions." Messrs. Edward Zimmermann, E. H. Folmar, Ghas. F. Zimmermann, Gardner B. Perry and H. R. Helper, were named as said committee. Mr. Goodall moved as an amendment ))That the Committee be increased to seven « which was adopted, and Messrs. Wm. T. Livingslon and Wm. H. Moores were accordingly appointed. IBB 4 On motion of H. R. Helper Esq., it was voted »That the above named Committee be requested to report a resolution, suggesting that as an appropriate mark of respect for the memory of the illustrious deceased the American Citizens in Buenos Aires, join us in our purpose to wear black crape around the left arm for the space of thirty days.» On motion of Mr. Henry Tay, it was voted — » That the death of Abraham Lincoln be commemo- rated by a public service at the American Church and that a committee of three be appointed, to make all necessary arrangements. « Messrs. Henry Tay, Frank S. Livingston and Chas. E. Zimmermann were chosen for this purpose. On motion of the Rev. Wm. Goodfellow, it was voted — » That the committee on Resolutions be requested to report at a General Meeting of American citizens to be held at the United States Legation on the 31st inst. at 3 o'clock P. M.* On motion of Wilson Jacobs Esq. it was voted — »That the proceedings of this meetmg signed by the Chairman and the Secretary, be published in all the newspapers of this eity. « On motion by Mr. E. H. Folmar, it was voted — »That this meeting adjourn to meet at the United States Legation on the 31st inst. at three o'clock. P. M.« Adjourned. RoheH C. Kirk Chairman. Gardner IJ. Perry Secretary. The adjourned General Meeting of American Citizens re- sident in Buenos Aires, was held at the Legation of the Un- ited States ontlie31stinst. The meeting was called to order at 3 o'clock p. m. by the Chairman and the minutes of the last meeting were read and accepted. Mr. Edward Zimmermann, chairman of the Committee of Resolutions, presented the following; which were read by the Secretary : Gentlemen : In the discharge of the melancholy duty which was in- trusted to us, at a preliminary meeting of American Citizens; when we were constituted a Committee with specific functions, we beg leave to submit for your approval, the following resolutions : Whereas the sad tidings have reached us of the death of Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, caused by the hand of an assassin. Resolved; \slly: That as loyal and ever faithful citizens of the United Slates of America, now resident in Buenos Aires, we have been severely shocked and at the same time filled with indignation and sorrow, on the receipt here on Saturday last, tlie 27 th inst. of intelligence of the dastardly murder of the late eminently distinguished President of our Country, Abraham Lincoln, in whom we have always recog- nized inflexible honesty and pure patriotism , and to whom we now assign in our memories a place among the very ablest and best Statesmen of America. Resolved ^ndJy. That to the grief-stricken family of the illustrious deceased, we tender our most unfeigned and pro- found condolence. Resolved ^rdly. That in celebration of the obsequie our late beloved President , Abraham Lincoln, whom would proclaim and consecrate to posterity , as the sec Father of his Country, the Rev'd Wm. Goodfellow, the Ai rican Clergyman resident in this City , be invited to deli at an early day, an appropriate discourse commemoratiV' the distmguished virtues of the deceased. Resolved 4 thly : That as a measure emblematic of * sincere distress at this most deplorable occurrence, we \ wear a badge of black crape around the left arm for the sp of thirty days. Resolved 5 thiy : That we gratefully accept as a com] ment to our Country and to ourselves , the voluntary ?>: considerate action of the Authorities here on Sunday last tli. 28 th inst. in causing all the National and Provincial fla<'< to be hoisted at half-mast , as a token of grief at the unt mely loss of the honored and lamented subject of these res( lutions. And we feel thankful, that amid the unparallele-' trials of the most gigantic rebellion ever organized amon- rash and misguided men, our leaders and defenders liav<' acted, with such moderation and justice , as to secure ti) sympathies of such enlightened and progressive Statesmen as those whom we have the honor to know in the person of President iMitre and his Cabinet. Resolved G thly : That Gov. Saavedra and the Legislatui f of the Province of Buenos Aires, are equally entitled to ou | thanks, for their complimentary resolutions of last evening \ declaring, that the next new town or city which shall be oi I ganized within the Province, shall be designated "Lincoln { Resolved 7 thly : That in a corresponding vein of thankful ness and gratitude we make our acknoAvledgements to th' Press of Buenos Aires, for appearing in mourning on Sun day last; and for their numerous and well expressed eulo giums of our martyred President ; and also to the whok body of the Argentine Congress for their sympathetic reso- li,;ions of yesterday , among which was one tc signify their s; is the solution of it. 12 But no crimes stained our illustrious dead. He was sin- less of ambition, «that infirmity of noble minds. « From the xUlantic to the Pacific, there was still echoing the acclaim of api)lau(ling millions recalling him to the Chief Magistracy. So large a number of votes of freemen, never before cen- tered in one man for any place. The White House at Wash- ington, for the first time, from such a cause, is tenandess. and draped, and a whole nation mourns. The mystery of God's providences and permissions invites to a closer inquiry and to a clearer knowledge of His truth. There may be modes of administration which, to us in this life, shall never lose their mysteriousness. «His ways are past finding out. Clouds and darkness are round about Him : yet justice and judgement are the habitation of His throne; « th'it is, although, there may be much that to us is inscru- table, yet the principles of justice and righteous judgemeni govern those fothomless depths. This is the import of th(- text. The doctrine is, that the method of the Divine Governmeni has been so revealed, that it solves most of the problems of the present state, and it promises that in the future life, light shall be poured over what is inscrutable in this. The fact that God has permitted evil is often in the Hebrew forms of speech presented as though he had caused it. Has he per- mitted evil to the people, or to the government? do noi think that he is an unconcerned spectator of the people':- woes or wants. When events occur that, to men are ap [larently disastrous, do not imagine, that Infinite Wisdoni is thwarted, or Infinite Power nonplussed. Amid the successive forms of life that marked the prime val earth, an observer, like one of us might have supposed, that these revolutions were subversive of progress ; but they were the golden steps of creation ascending to man. Tln' j)artial evil was general good. The very rocks, the page- of that voiceless age are eloquent witnesses of the presence j(ul power, and wisdom of God. The text teaches us the same truth concerning human liistory. The commotions of ^ociely are walched by the sleepless Eye without whose no- tice not a sparrow falls to the ground. AYhen our skill is exhausted in scanning mysterious pro- vidences, when apparent evil prevails, when the good man faileth, we turn to those principles of revelation, which pro- claim the wisdom as weU as the power of God, and while j»artly unfolding to us the truth, announce the time of clear- er light, when doubt shall be as unknown as death. Evil has a lesson. It is not permitted without a method. It should leave us wiser and better, and therefore stronger. Today His Providence directs us to His prophets , to the record of His inspired teachers. Let us endeavour in this day of evil to iijarn the will of God, according to the principles of His re- V 3aled truth . ,,As darhness shoics us worlds of light We never see by day , ' ' nd according to our faithfulness in the inquiry, so will ap- pear the fact, that «the Judge of all the earth will do right. » It needs but few words to set it clear before us today, laat evil as we understand and feel, hasbefaUenus. 1. In the lawless taking of hfe. The Almighty at first gave worth to human hfe, by making i! a transcript of His own. Its value was afterwards en- lianced by its being made a period of probation. In its de- sions and affiliations eternal destinies are fixed. That ruth- hiss hands may not cut off a life before all its probationary rivileges are reached, the Divine Lawgiver has fenced round human life with His own ultimate penalties. There .re conditions on which the right to live is forfeited; when -ociety demands the hfe of a desperate member. Civilized '()rms of society, have well fixed the conditions on which life, liberty, or the pursuit of hai»piness; may by alienated. IM here there were no forms of law , nor truth, nor 44 justice. Crime has been committed, which is not only de- structive of hfe, but of society, and is subversive of all just authority. 2. In the public relations of the life taken. He was the chief Magistrate. It was not as though a new generation of men, or of motives, had rendered some ruling House obsolete. It was not the nation dissatisfied with the Bourbons, or the Plantagenets; and calling some favorite Fa- mily to power. He was elected by the people, after a canvass so thorough, exciting, and critical, that not an event of his life, nor a principle nor a personal quality escaped the closest and unkindest scrutiny. And yet the voices caUinghim to the Chief Magistracy exceeded in number the votes for the most favoured Roman, when Rome ruled the world. Nor was he an untried man. His pohcy was well known, and his prin- ciples were tested through stormy years, as the fanned fur- nace tries the gold. And the people, who were to decide the contest, felt that they must decide rightly, or perish. A life under such sanctions becomes sacred, as that of the Lord's anointed. 3. The evil is enhanced by the condition of public affairs. We were not at peace. Motives satisfactory to themsel- ves, had enrolled hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens against the government, to which they owed their greatness; and to whose generosity they owed the facilities for the strife. The task of restoring quiet, of establishing a national police force over insurrectionary districts, was only partly done. His was the ruling genius in affairs financial, military, naval, and diplomatic. For the pohcy of each he stood avow- edly responsible before the world. In the high moment of presiding among influences wide-spead and deathless, the guiding, governing, harmonizing mind, was extinguished in a moment, when its mission seemed only partly done. From this overwhelming evil, we turn to the inspired 15 teachors. Tlie principlos of the Divine Government Avill oiiide us under sucli clouds as these. Let us reverently apply ourselves to the Lesson, which this sad event is intended to teach. i . We are not to infer that it is the purpose of God to destroy our people. Evd men may be allowed in his wrath, and good men may be removed in his displeasure. If the purpose of God is to destroy, surely it would not have been preceded by so many years of marvellous blessing, and so many recent marks of favor. The perils of national in- fancy, the dangers of early strength; three foreign wars, and one civil war of fearful proportions: would have left in deso- lation any country abandoned of Heaven. 2. Nor are we to infer the Divine disapprobation of the present condition of national affairs. Josiah , Israel's youngand virtuous King, was a discreet and upright man, a father to his people. His administration forms one of the brightest pages of all the past. His country under arms, with a powerful foe on the right hand and on the left, he was slain in battle at the age of thirty nine. The favored nation passed under such clouds as this. 3. We are taught more than the ordinary uncertainty of life. The facts declare that lifes uncertainty may be increas- ed, and its dangers enhanced, by virtue. Another position and other policy, would have averted the danger from that disrection, and perhaps from all others. He had a choice between right, with personal danger, and wrong, with safety. This fact neither moved him to seek protection for his per- son, nor to change the policy that invoked violence. Our duty is to do right judiciously, but fearlessly. No man should dare to live in a manner in which he cannot intelligently and boldly challenge all the the physical and moral results of his life. Our life's plan should be so nolde, our purposes so unselfish, and our whole life so transparent and pure, that our perils should be only those of virtue, and these should be 46 met as though they were the plaudits of Heaven. Every true man disdahis the study of mere safety as he does that of mere success. All the chambers of his soul are opened to the All- seeing One, and the scrutiny of Infinite Purity is implored : «Try me and prove me, and see if there be any evil way in me.» 4. We are taught to trust in God, and not in man. If God exist, He rules. If He created all. He rules all. If we ever doubt the Providence of God, it is apt to be at such a time as this. Yet it is in the day of trouble, that we most need the consolations of this doctrine. Never let our tears dim our sight of God, the Changeless, Creator, Redeemer, Friend. Let His chastenings evoke the faith that leans on the Unseen. Infirmity, mistake, wickedness, are all to be sup- posed, and yet He reigns. Out of the cloud, He calls us to return to our father's God; to trust Him, and to look beyond the overthrow of our hopes and plans to His better methods and wider purposes, and meanwhile say as the Great Sufferer said in a darker hour, «Father thy will be done," 5. Hope for the future. He must be ignorant of mo- ral forces, who does not read hopefulness in the felt sorrows of a great people. The advance of Israel towards personal piety and national grandeur was always begun by advancing towards God. It argues the goodness and the hopefulness of the nation's heart, that it can feel so deeply not only to the outer limit of her land, but in every chme where a true American breathes. Virtue is not defiant and highheaded in the day of trouble. It is only virtuous delicacy, that is vul- nerable on every side. It is only gentleness and goodness that can be outraged. Such grief awakens hope. It deepens patriotism, invigorates philanthropy. A nation prostrate under a pitying Heaven, with lamentation and confession of sin ; and m deep humble reverence, can only rise up to a virtuous life and a happier future. C. Injustice and crime, cannot prosper as the basis of 1 i7 human afYairs. Thus reads ovcry pa^e of history, and especi- ally the one before us the last and the darkest. Here is crime apparently successful, but how far? It is fruitful of sorrow indeed, but after time eternity may be challenged for one iota of public good or private gain achieved by this mons- trous crime. If it is the outgrowth of confederate policy it not only fails as a step of progress, but it recoils with a moral force more sweeping than an army Avilh banners. It only writes the truth in patriot blood that injustice and crime as instruments, leaf out the fact that God is just and that He rules in righteousness. The virtue of the people must be the basis of their public weal. The lines of pohcy must be truth and justice. In any land where they lay aside thrones and sceptres and crowns as antiquated and needless emblems of power, there is neither happiness nor safety, unless justice is enthroned, and the rulers hold the sceptre of righteousness, and the people accept as the crow^n of their majesty the reverential fear of God. This principle alfords us the only key to the failure of the confederacy. It was not that skillful leaders were wanting. A large portion of the best produ t of our Military and Naval Academies was theirs. These w^ould be formidable as foes any- where. It was not resources for war that were wanting. At the outset the United States force was a mere nucleus of an army, and in peace scarcely deserved the name; and by a shrewd prevision the navy was chiefly on distant stations, or w^aiting the signal in Southern ports. Cannon and mus- kets and munitions of everykmd w^ere timely removed and stored in their arsenals. They did not fail for want of mere numerical force. There were eight millions of intelligi^nt po- pulation and four millions of laborers tilling their rich fields. The best forts on the Continent guarded their bays and rivers. Navies grew in their forests, iron and coal w.re ex- haustles. The mild climate' mude campaigns inexpensive. IITT '•"" ' '"■ ■■■■^p— ^M^Mut^^ac^ 18 lessened the ri My father ! my lather ! the horsemen of Israel and the chanois thereof. The anijiels have come and the chariots of fire have passed, but where is Israel's leader and the father of his people. « I know of no man of modern times, nor any uninspircil man of any period who gave clearer indications of a Pro- vidential calling and preparation for his woik : 1. — In his origin. — The family was originally of (he Quaker faith. Tlumigh generations the Lincolns have Uww marked by the peculiarly excellent traits of that conscien- tious people. For a century or moi'e the f.iniily has resided in the South, so that he couUl not be a stranger to the South- ern feehngs and views. 2. — In the maimer of his education. — It was ac(juired alone. lie early learned to lean on none but God and his own true heait. His mental culture did not cease with his youth, but, with John Quincy Adams and Baron llnmboldl, and that class of mind, he was always a student, and kept tmumuft^ ai ^0 his mind always yonn^ and glowing- with fresh fires. While a ^Icnilior of Congress he chastened his arguments after the (•areiiilly stiidiod problems of l-^uclid. The study of law, in its widest range and highest generalizations, was to him a passion. In his first political canvass, the issue was the question of the Tariff, when the principle of protection to industry and of national resources by tariffs was thoroughly invisiigated by him and discussed in every part of the country. His second canvas turned on the question of slavery, when its moral character, its expediency, and the means of its ultimate extinction were discussed by him before im- mense audiences, in opposition to the best popular speakers of the times. His first efforts in Congress were made to- wards increasing the efficiency of the Army and Navy. This led him to a familiarity with the military and naval policy of other nations as well as that of his own. Such was his Providential preparation. He had need, in the coming clash of arms, and in the scrutiny of time-rev- erenced principles to reach conclusions with the clearness and directness of Euclid, and he had to rise from the mere letter of the law to meet unforeseen contingencies by in- terpreting the laws according to their spirit. It became his duty to apply the princit)les of the tariff so as not to over-burden the people, and yet provide unprecedented rev- enues, and keep the national credit good under appalling and augmenting debt. He was to grapple with the old sub- ject of slavery, and tw^enty years alter reaching the conclu- sion that slavery can l)e abolished by military proclamation in time of civil wai', he had such a proclamation to write. Under the high demands of the age these singularly pro- phi'tic topics h id been the study of his matured powers for thirty years. You may know of others, equally prepared, who could have Ijrought abilities as mature, to the centre of the dizzv p^.i.L-. J... J» . .tyu.i 21 tumults of the last four years, but for myself I do not kno^v of another pupil so manifeslly called and schooled by Prov- idence, and litled for a f^reat historic |)eriod, since the Al- mighty, for foity years, conversed with Moses on the Pl.iiiis of Midian. 3, — In his moral character. — Here was his towering strength. He was good. His genuine kindness of heart w^as native, genial, exhaustless. The worst enemies of the government already feel that his cons'derateness and his gendeness will be wanting in the day of their reckoning. The last words of his second inaugural shall remain as lights and landmarks for ages yet to come : « Let us bear malice to none, and have charily (or all.» His goodness of heart kept pace with his elevation, and no success or opposition, no malignity or flattery ever unbalanced his moral self-poise. His moral solidity was the nation's strength. His maxim was, perform well your part and let glory follow virtue- This was the law of his dismissals and the rule of his promotions. If you asked a favor, he would impress you that he was the obliged party. He was never so happy as when he could make another glad. The basis of these good qualities was laid deep in his moral nature For twelve years before he was a candidate for the presidency he was proverbial for total abstinence, for Sabbath observance, and for the strictest christian purity of life. On his journey to Washin,^ton for his first inaugu- ration he strictly reserved Sundays for religious rest and worship. In his farewell address to his old friends at Springfield he said, « 1 leave you with one request, pray for me.)) He took a prominent part in the consecration of the Cem- etery at Getty sburgh, where the slain of that battle were buried. He was profoundly impressed by the services. In his speech he said, « It is for us, the living, to be here dedi- « cated to the great task remaining before us, that from these (c honored dead we take increased devotion; that we here <'hi'^hly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; (ttl.at this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of "freedom.)) At that time he gave himself devoutly to the service of God and for the remainder of his life tliat sim- ph-'ity of character which made him grand, was joined with the most unswerving piety. He ^vas an honest man. Some of you know how we walked these streets, or sat in heavy meditation, when the mails were burdened with details of reverses and losses, in the dark hour of our coun- try's peril. And aside from the iliith that God, the God of the Bible, rules, we had but one other ruling faith, and that was, that there was an honest man — thoroughly, heroically honest — at the helm of State. What the Avorld called his hesitancy has revealed his hon- esty and moral strength. To have acted prematurely and against his judgment would have been both weak and wick- ed. In 18G1 , he held back the eager anti-slavery party from an unprepared and disastrous emancipation. In 18G3, he carried forward a still more powerful conservative force abreast with the advancing steps of the Providence of God. He was truly great. The great are not simply the crowned and titled, but they are the men made nobly adequate to perilous times, or whose mighty aim cm revolve the Avheel of progress centuries in a day. Such men belong to all time, all lands love and honor and claim them. Moses was not only a Hebrew or an Asia- tic; Peter the Great was not merely a Russian, nor was Gdorge Washington merely a North American. Men of this class were not sent to this world to die, but to hve. At death they take new forms of power, and with the advanc- ing agi'S they have Avidening dominion and freshening mem- ory. Though tliey rest from their labors, their works do lot low them. They reproduce themselves, to bless all lands r 23 and embellish all homes. Distance does not diminish their greatness, but, like the crowned monarch of Mt. Olympus, their proportions are perfect, seen from every side. True greatness is not measured by diidomas, nor indicated by years, nor counted by successes, but by the measure of great capabilities, faithful, ready, and equal to the noblest service. You know them by their heroic sacrifices, their cheerful suffering, their contentment without reward, by the progress they make in rolling the planet upwards towards God. The verdict of the world admits another name among the Truly Great. How will he be remembered? As the good man, in every noble sense, good. A Statesman, whose business called him among politicians, and men of urgent, engrossing bur- dens and cares, and yet a man of sublime and holy faith. Though filling the highest post of honor, he Avas felt to be the friend of the poorest man, and to stand like a rock between him and harm. He had the most childlike simplicity of manner, and yet amid the most conflicting and contradic- tory counsels he had the moral courage to issue that charter of emancipation, wresting by moral force the manacles from four millions of fellow men. So artless and yet so self-pos- sessed that he ofl"ered to each of the more prominent can- didates for the nomination to the Presidency a seat in his Cabinet, and no patriarch ever sat among his sons with ea- sier dignity, or received a truer reverence. He had no need to rise to appear great, nor to descend in order to be ac- cessible. What shall we say of the cause of this great calamity? That God permitted it, does not excuse it. Thus far no pii- vate revenge nor personal ambition can be traced in con- nection with this crime. Treason, rebellion, conspiracy and assassination are now Confederate words. A few men, reckless and heaven-daring, stnick madly and fatally, but too late. The public evil intended has fallen on tlieii- own 24 cause, and henceforth the Great RebelHon must be regarded, by the world, as a Great Crime, its baflled rage culminating in assassination. Booth, the assassin, did more in a mo- ment to change the sentiments of the world on that great struggle than could arguments or armies. We leave to faithful History the rebellion and its culmination. lias this midnight of our grief no gleam of hope or of promise? Is this one of thnse afflictive allotments in which Heaven offers no compensating returns? Is there comfort in the tried statesmanship of the successor of our lamented President? We know his record. It is not an accident that he is the successor — he deserves the place. Already the new administration gives good promise. We see him spring- ing, like his predecessor, from the ranks of the people; but the men chosen for great emergencies are seldom chosen from among the accidentally great. When Providence se- lects its fitting agents pigmies perched on Alps must yield t( those men of might and worth. The greatness of such mer is more enduring than the hills. But this day of public bereavement shall not be forgotten. Go and tell that youthful mother, weeping at the grave of he? first-born, that those tears shall be dried up, that those emo tions shall pass away with time, that new duties and rela tions shall assuage her grief and brighten her life; will ilvM be comfort? It would add bitterness to her bereavement, her grief is now her treasure. Tell the nation, that kneeJi to-day in unprecedented grief, that she has other sons, an! that happier days await her, that able statesmen survive him, and there are spared to her jurists who adorn the ei mine, warrior sons with a proud record, and civilians i i every virtuous walk of life. All honor to these good ami great men ! All hail the worthy successor of Abraham Lin- coln ! Confidently and with returning cheerfulness the hea^f of the Nation turns to him as his called to extend that anh in which glow the names of Washington and Lincoln, om 25 first President and our last, «lovely and pleasant in their ^^ i l^ '^^ ■tS Q r.s.^v»* r f . r njf. lo / f. 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