The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1865-04-19
MIR. Lincoln's Death--The Stability OF Our
Government.
Secretary McCulloch has written the follow
ing letter TO gentleman of this city,

i hr. LincOln's Death--the stability OF Our
! Government.
: Secretary McCulloch has written the follow
ling letter TO gentleman Of this city,
WASHINGTON, April 10, 1865
! Ny DEAR SIR-You will perceive that the admins
tTaon inauguraed and the wheels OF the gov eminent
not stopped for momcnt My hope is and my BE-
lief is that this great national calam ~ will teach the
world lesson which VIII DO Of tho most beneficial
character TO our republican form OF government that
will show that the assassination OF our Oh of Magistrate
affect In the slightest deeco the permanence of
institutions the regular administration OF the
laws; that an eue ,ocA aooayd haze shaken any OTHER
coln5y 10 the cont does no, a1Ggr for a Wen
H MoCULLoCH
No blow aimed at the life of any one man
ever fell with such a weight of horror and
amazement upon whole nation as did that by
which the life OF Mr. Lincoln was taken. In !
one sense the people were completely pros
trated by it There was a generous apprecia- I
ton of the homely, genial large natured quail
! ties of Mr. Lincoln throughout the country, and
those who considered thoughtfully his charac-
ter and position, and the weight Of care endured
for the country with such gentle patti ,nce and
quiet, felt towards him sentiment scarcely less
than personal affection and sympathy. In |
tensifed in It's effect by this fact,
Mr.. Lincoln's death overwhelmed the peo-E
! pie more, perhaps than any other mans
! death ever will And yet, as the Secretary
justly phrases it. the wheels Of the government
were not stopped fer moment by this event.
\ Our cOuntry-our gOvernment-our cause-dOt
! not depend upon the life Of any one man. Such
I is the simple but grand lesson that the event
4 emphaszes SO terribly. Assassination, accepted
lin Europe as the qualification" of govern
4 ments, does not qualify ours. Assassination,
Z that in the Old World changes dynasties and
Jsystems with such facility that the murderer'sI
a dagger has in reality the power ascribed by
fable to the will or wand of Merlin, has, in the
4 New World only the power to take the life of
i a man. He may be the best beloved man of
, a nation, and 80 the blow may startle the PEG
\ pie terribly; but even then it will not stagger|
Z the government Here is point in which al
: free government certainly has no equal.
Not only does the murder of Mr.. Lincoln not
| stop the wheels of the government or stagger
the nation in its purposes, but it will certainly
4 stimulate the nation to more vigorous pur-
poses. Sumter and the Stars and Stripes that
4 waved above it were fred upon and the nation
4 rose as one man; for every one felt how deeply
and how really that flag was the type of the
nation, and that blow aimed at that was
aimed at the country, and at all that every one
{ held dear. Four years of the flercest conceiv-
/ able war has made the South pay terribly for
( that blow, and have shown to what an extent
the nation will assert its dignity and vindicate
it's honor. But now the rebellion, actuated still
4 by the same spirit, has aimed at the nation an
even more cruel blow. Then 1t struck only atI
our emblem, but now 1t has stricken down the
chosen man and true representative Of the peo-
: pie. It has stricken down the man set up by
i the people. in whom was concentrated the dig
nifty of The people and their will and their love.
1t has made the second assault upon the ma
tons life, striking the people in the person of
: their representative man. And just as Sumter
! stimulated the nation to war that it would
have chosen to avoid, 30 this second assault
must and will stimulate 1t to 60 on against the
rebellion until II has exterminated the very
spirit In which their damnable atrocities origi-|
nate.