Inhabitants of Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington, North Carolina, undated
resolutions.
Whereas, by the arrival of the last mail from the east we learned with th
deepest regret the very sad intelligence of the untimely death of the great
American philanthropist, statesman, and liberator, his Excellency Abraham
Lincoln, late President of the United States; and
Whereas, as we feel that in the death of so great and good a man as we are
proud to acknowledge that our late beloved President was, it highly and
indispensably becomes our duty, as a part and parcel of the American people,
and more especially as we are identified by race, language, and oppression
with that class of mankind for whom the deceased so nobly and manfully
labored, and for the advocating of the amelioration of whose condition he
came to an untimely death, by the hand of a brutal, heartless, and fiendish
midnight assassin, in the stolen garb of a man; yet, inasmuch as it has
pleased an all-wise God, in His kind and inscrutable providence, to so
suddenly remove, from a field of useful labor here to his reward in heaven,
our late much-beloved President, we will submissively bow in a Christian
spirit to the will of Him who rules the destinies of the universe and causes
all things to work in unison with his own celestial will, for the good of
mankind; Therefore, be it
Resolved, That we, the colored citizens of Santa Fé,
N. M., tender our heartfelt and sincere sympathy to the mourning widow and
relatives of the deceased, who by a single blow of the assassin’s unhallowed
hand, have sustained an irreparable loss, and which has caused a vacancy
that all future time can never fill; and that, to show our due homage and
respect for the moral worth and Christian virtues which he so truly
manifested while living, we will wear the usual badge of mourning on our
left arms for the space of thirty days.
Resolved, That in the death of Abraham Lincoln the
cause of free government and free institutions has lost a mighty advocate;
the United States a wise, honest, and patriotic President; the laboring
classes throughout the world a true exponent and powerful co-laborer, and
the panting slave a devoted friend and successful liberator, and who will
ever hold the name of Abraham Lincoln in grateful remembrance as the earnest
friend of liberty and equality, without regard to color, and will henceforth
speak of his name with due reverence only as the great American
emancipator.
Resolved, That in consideration of the many noble and
manly virtues of the Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, as a wise
counselor of the nation, long tried and sincere friend of our oppressed race
in the United States, we received with the deepest sorrow the intelligence
of the attempted assassination of that noble officer and friend, and that we
hereby express the fond hope that he may soon recover, and again assume the
helm of that good old ship of state
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which he has so judiciously managed for the last four years, and for
which we will earnestly hope and pray.
Resolved, That we hereby renew our devotion to the
government of the United States, and solemnly pledge our loyalty and support
to the new administration just inaugurated, under the leadership of his
Excellency Andrew Johnson, in whose ability, sagacity, and integrity we
possess the most implicit confidence.
- W. W. TATE,
- WM. S. KENLEY,
Committee.
On motion of W. W. Tate, seconded by G. W. Carter, it was
Resolved, That we send copies of the proceedings
of this meeting to the publishers of the Colored Citizen, Christian
Recorder, and Anglo-African, respectfully requesting that they publish
the same in their respective journals, and that an authenticated copy be
forwarded to the widow of the lamented President, and also one to the
President of the United States.
On motion of Jas. B. B. Stevenson it was
Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed
to forward these proceedings to the publishers of the above-named
journals, and also a copy each to Mrs. Lincoln and to the President of
the United States.
W. W. Tate, Charles A. Prall, and William Jas. B. Stevenson were the
committee.
On motion adjourned sine die.
- WM. S. KINLEY, President.
- CHARLES A. PRALL, Vice-President.
- W. W. TATE, Secretary.
citizen’s meeting.
In pursuance of the call of the mayor a large number of citizens
assembled in the theatre to express the sentiments of the community in
regard to the assassination of the President of the United States, and
the attempt upon the lives of Mr. Seward and his son.
Mayor Dawson took the chair and announced the object of the meeting in a
brief address, which was in substance as follows:
“Fellow-citizens: I have called you
together this evening, by request of many citizens, for the purpose
of expressing our condemnation and abhorrence of the assassination
of the President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln; also of the
attempts to assassinate the Hon. W. H. Seward and his son. I can
truly say, for the citizens of this town, that none condemn the act
more than we do. It is for you fellow-citizens, to give expression
to the feelings entertained by us all. The first thing in order will
be to choose a secretary, and after that to appoint a committee to
prepare suitable resolutions.”
On motion of S. D. Wallace, esq., Mr. George O. Van Amringe, jr, was
appointed secretary of the meeting.
On motion of A. M. Waddell, esq., a committee of seven was appointed to
draft resolutions. The chairman appointed the following persons: Alfred
M. Waddell, Stephen D. Wallace, John A. Baker, James Anderson, Alfred
Martin, P. W. Fanning, M. McInnis.
After retiring for a short time the committee submitted, through their
chairman, the following resolutions:
Whereas, the intelligence lately received in this city of the brutal
assassination of the President of the United States, and the equally
brutal attempt to
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murder the
Secretary of State, calls for a public expression of the feeling with
which that intelligence has been received by this community, be it
- 1.
-
Resolved, By the citizens of Wilmington,
that we regard with unfeigned horror this last most frightful
and most disgraceful national calamity.
- 2.
-
Resolved, That we are penetrated with
deep and sincere sorrow for the loss of a Chief Magistrate who
has presided over the destinies of this nation during four years
of bloody war, with firmness and sagacity, and who we believe
was about to crown his administration and signalize the advent
of peace by a course of magnanimity which must have secured him
the respect and friendship of the southern people.
- 3.
-
Resolved, That the assassins who
perpetrated this foul deed not only deserve the execration of
mankind, but have proved themselves the worst enemies to our
common country, and we trust they may soon meet the punishment
which is so richly their due.
- 4.
-
Resolved, That a copy of these
resolutions be forwarded to the Department of State at
Washington city.
Mr. Waddell being called upon, addressed the meeting in the following
pertinent remarks:
Mr. Chairman: I have been requested to offer a
few remarks upon the propriety of these resolutions. It is not a proper
occasion for eulogy, if I was qualified for that task, and, therefore, I
shall not indulge in it; what I shall say will be brief, sincere, and
true.
For the first time in the history of this nation, its Chief Magistrate
has died by violent hands, and at an hour, too, when such a crime will
be more severely felt than it would have been, perhaps, at any previous
period.
After a long night of sorrow, and trial, and agony, and just as the
blessed dawn of peace is lighting the land with gladness, when the
nobler sentiments of charity and generosity are taking possession of all
hearts, an attempt is made to plunge us again into darkness and
bitterness. He, the Chief Magistrate, who, in the language of the
resolutions, was about to crown his administration and signalize the
advent of peace by a course of magnanimity which must have secured him
respect and friendship of those of his fellow-citizens from whom he has
been estranged for the past four years, is taken from us at the hour
when he appeared to be the most needed, and in a manner which must
mantle every cheek with the blush of shame and indignation.
It is, sir, in every point of view, a most lamentable event, and one over
which every good man in the land must sincerely mourn. I am happy to
say, that since the sad intelligence reached our town I have not met a
single individual who has not thus expressed himself.
And I think it peculiarly appropriate, Mr. Chairman, in us, who have
since his first elevation to power only seen the victim of this foul
murder through the mists of passion and prejudice, and have therefore
been unable to do full justice to his character, now in the light of
existing facts to be among the first to come forward and offer our
sympathy and sorrow. This is doing justice to ourselves.
For one I am unwilling, as a citizen of the United States, to suffer this
atrocious crime which is a stain upon the nation’s character to pass by
without raising my voice in indignation and abhorrence, to protest
against and denounce it. And I have no doubt but this is the feeling of
every one present.
Let us ponder the lessons of the hour, sir, and strive to profit by them.
Let us cultivate our better nature more, and endeavor to develop
sentiments of kindness, and charity, and forbearance among ourselves as
fellow-citizens of a common country.
The failure to do this in the past has eventuated in the calamity and
disgrace which now afflicts us, and to mourn over which we are here
assembled to-night. God grant that it may be the last of our national
calamities, and that there may
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be no more sorrow and lamentation among a people who have drained the
cup of bitterness to the dregs, and who are now awaiting with anxious
and yearning hearts and eager eyes for happier days for themselves and
their country.
On motion of Dr. Freeman, the meeting adjourned.
