Grand Division of the Sons of Temperance
In memoriam.
Office of the Grand Scribe of the Grand Division Sons of Temperance of New Brunswick, B. N. A.
At the regular session of the Grand Division Sons of Temperance of the province of New Brunswick, British North America, held at the city of St. John, on Wednesday evening, 26th day of April, A. D. 1865, on motion of Representative William Wedderburn, P. G. W. P., seconded by Representative William H. A. Keans, grand scribe, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted:
Whereas his Excellency Abraham Lincoln, late President of the United States, has suddenly been cut off in the zenith of his great career by the hand of an assassin; and whereas we deeply feel for the affliction in which our brethren and the people generally of the United States have therefore been involved—
Resolved, That we, the members of the Grand Division of New Brunswick Sons of Temperance, while we acknowledge allegiance only and loyalty to the crown of Great Britain, take the first opportunity afforded us to express our deep and sincere sympathy with our brethren in the Order, and the people generally of the United States, upon the death of Abraham Lincoln, their honored and beloved Chief Magistrate.
Resolved, That irrespective of our individual political sympathies and associations, we have recognized in Abraham Lincoln a true friend of virtue, and one who has publicly expressed his hearty approval of the cardinal principles of our Order and of all similar institutions; as a pure-minded and upright magistrate, an able statesman, a devoted Christian, an honest man.
Resolved, That we abhor and denounce the assassination of Abraham Lincoln as a deed which can only become memorable for its ineffable infamy, as a treason against the commonwealth of nations, a crime against Christianity and civilization, and a wickedness unparalleled in the pages of history for the horror and villany of its conception, and the inhuman character and circumstances of its commission.
Resolved, That the foregoing resolutions, suitably engrossed and under the seal of this Grand Division, be transmitted to the British minister at Washington, to be laid before the American government in such manner as he shall deem best, to the widow of the late President, to the most worthy scribe of the Order, and the press of this city for publication.
Extracts from the minutes.