The committee to whom was referred the matter of making arrangements on
behalf of the American residents of Victoria, to take some suitable notice
of the death of the late President of the United States and pay proper
respect to his memory, beg leave to report that the Hon. S. Garfield has
kindly consented to address the people of Victoria on the subject of the
recent rational calamity at the Victoria theatre, at 3 o’clock this
(Wednesday) afternoon, April 19.
The committee respectfully recommend those so disposed to close their places
of business throughout the day, and pay every respect to the occasion. The
committee also desire to extend a cordial invitation to every resident of
Victoria to attend the meeting at the theatre. Ladies are expected to
attend.
THE COMMITTEE.
Mr. Garfield concluded his oration amid prolonged applause, and moved the
adoption of the following preamble and resolutions, which were carried
by acclamation:
Whereas it has pleased the Almighty Ruler of the universe, in the
all-wise dispensation of His providence, to afflict the people of the
United States by permitting Abraham Lincoln, their Chief Magistrate, to
be stricken down in the prime of life and in the midst of usefulness by
the hand of the assassin; and
Whereas the intelligence of this great calamity, not only to our country,
but to the cause of truth and humanity throughout the world, has been
received by us with feelings of the most profound sorrow, we deem this
hour of our country’s bereavement a fit and proper occasion to express
the deep sympathy we feel for her affliction, as well as the grief which
afflicts our hearts at this sudden and lamentable event. But how shall
we give expression to our sorrow? In what words shall we speak of the
mighty dead who has fallen, or bewail his loss? To us, on these distant
shores, he was not only the Chief Magistrate of our beloved country, but
the embodiment and representative of the principles we cherish, and
which we had hoped, through him, to see carried out and established.
Called to preside over the destinies of our country at the most critical
period of its history, and all inexperienced as he was in the
administration of government, many doubted his ability to cope with the
mighty difficulties and dangers which encompassed the nation. Questions
the most momentous and altogether new in the country’s history were
presented, and upon their solution depended not only its welfare, but
its existence as a nation. To meet these successfully required the
greatest wisdom, firmness, and moderation. But He who holds in the
hollow of His hand the destinies of nations mistakes not His agents in
the accomplishment of His vast designs; and, therefore, Abraham Lincoln
was found to possess the necessary qualifications to conduct his country
through the trying ordeal to which she has been subjected; to preserve
the stability of the government, and at the same time vindicate the
correctness of the principles upon which it was founded. He brought to
the discharge of his great and arduous duties a heart so honest and
sincere, a wisdom so practical and sound, and a moral courage so steady
and unwavering, as to eminently fit him for his
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exalted position. But his most distinguished trait
was his humanity—humanity in its largest sense. His was the heart to
feel that every man was his brother. Surely, in the great day of
reckoning his name will be found “foremost in the Book of Life, as one
who loved his fellow-man.” But time will not permit us further to allude
to his deeds and virtues. His work was accomplished, and he has passed
from his labors, and however much we deplore his loss, we can but bow in
all humility to the fiat of Him who—
Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill,
Treasures up His vast designs,
And works His sovereign will.
We, therefore, the citizens of the United States residing in Victoria,
Vancouver’s Island, for the purpose of expressing our sense of our
country’s loss, have
-
Resolved, first, That while humbly bowing
to the decrees of an all-wise Providence which has permitted our
beloved country to be afflicted by the death of its Chief
Magistrate at a period so momentous in its history, our hearts
are filled with the deepest grief, and with our country we mourn
in its affliction.
-
Resolved, second, That in the death of
Abraham Lincoln—the wise, the noble, the good—the nation has
suffered a great and irreparable loss, and the kindly nature of
the departed President has enshrined his name deeply in the
affections of his afflicted countrymen, who feel that liberty
wept when Lincoln fell.
-
Resolved, third, That we feel the keenest
sorrow for the bereaved widow and family of the deceased
President, and tender to them our warmest sympathy in their
great distress.
-
Resolved, fourth, That we bow in humble
submission to the inscrutable decrees of Almighty God, and
invoke His blessing upon William H. Seward, Secretary of State
of the United States of America, and we fervently hope that he
may be speedily restored to his wonted health and faculties, and
that our country may long continue to enjoy the benefits of his
known wisdom and ability.
