American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1865-05-10

office of President being vacant, and in
one paper of every State give notice SHAT
an election be held for electors within
thirty-four days preceding the first We'd
nesday in December, then next ensuing
Provided, there shall be the space of two
months between the date of such notifica-
ton and the first Wednesday in Decem-
ber Thus yousee the plot betrays no mad
mans frenzy. Had Secretary Seward
been killed--aud he came in one of it.
And had Vice President johnson been
killed-and he was embraced in the plot
we should as S nation, been out at sea,
without lthe officers legally 20 re-organ-
ize, or put again in motion the machin-
cry of the government.
And yet, fellow-eountrymcn, laying
these considerations aside, | am at loss
to see why the maliea of rebeldom should
assassinate the President at this time
[ have looked upon, and all over the
world of imagination for motire. Pres
dent Lincoln and secretary Seward were
the best friends the Tabels had in the
old Government, and at the time of his
death, he was seriously contemplating
the putting forth. of grand proclama-
tion of amnesty TO all rebels. lie was a
kind hearted man--an ADLER man than he
is supposed to have been, and a prompt
and decisive man, with courage to do
what he believed was right to be done
His courage was according to the code of
the brave, derived from the times as ear
ly as Homsr-HThe first in valor and the
first in peace"
1t may be that those who plotted the
murder of the President, may have sup
posed from recent assaults upon the Vice
President, by leading Republican journals
and politicians, that he could not har-
monize the great Union and war party.
If so, they have reckoned without their
host. The great loyal heart of the coun-
try will stand by johnson, on the basis
of the Constitution and laws. From Maine
to California, We will stand by him, and
hold up his hands while he stands by the
Union Who is the Vice President !?
WhoamI I? Who are you, or any of you,
however high you may be in position :?
We are all but atoms floating in the
breeze Our Government is everything,
and we are fghting-not for men, but
for great principlc-for the very life Of
the nation. Hence, | repeat, we will
stand by those we have placed in power.
There are those who know of the long
and deep devotion of the Vice President
to Democratic principles, who may think
he win seize upon. this occasion to resur-
rect and reconstruct that party at the ex-
pense of the nation. | do not speak by
authority, but / venture the prediction
that he is a man of too much sense to at
tempt to revive the corrupt organization
that brought all the troubles on the coun-'
try. If he is the man / take him to be,
he will retain the old Cabinet, and carry
out the known policy of his illustrious
predecessor, exercising little more Sc
verify toward leading and intelligent Of
Tenders.
But, fellow countrymen, President Lin
coin is dead And whilst we pay these
funeral honors tc his memory in the Cap
ital of Tennessee, tho ceremonies of his
actual burial are going on at Washington.
Soon his mortal remains will be transfer
red to Illinois for interment. Aud never
did the fertile soil of the great State of
Illinois close in upon richer spoils than
when they shall cover over all that is
mortal of Abraham Lincoln.
For the President can truly say, in
the energetic, expressive, and eloquent
language of the great Apostle to the Gen
tiles, 81 have fought the good fight, | have
kept the faith, I have finished my course,
and there is henceforth laid up for me a
crown which the Lord, the righteous
Judge, will give me in that day" Yes,
he fought the good fight of the nation,
and fought it successfully. lie kept the
faith of the Union as he promised the
loyal people he would do. And he fin
ished his course of usefulness, and will
be as long remembered by grateful peo-
pie as time shall last. And in going to
another world, we may safely say Of him,
in the language of the christian poet,
" The chamber where the good man meets
his fate is privileged beyond the common
walks of yirtuous life, quite in the verge
Of heaven"
In conclusion. ladiss aud gentlemen,
let this solemn occasion remind US Of the
shortness of life, the certainty of death,