Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-04-16
O0NGE Ess -.lgt Session.
WAsnr. oroN. Aprmi4, 1868.
HOUSE

WAsHrs oToN. April "a, 1866.
HOUSE,
| On motion Of Mr.. GARFIELD the Iesd'ns o
the journal Of yesterday was dspe rTeo Will ddso. a.,
Mr. GARFIELD then proceeded 70 saaress ds I'M In'
House at length; lie said, desire 70 enIer & no no
ton that this House be now adi0urBet' IhIs & daS
will be memorable rs long ss this nHtltu snall gu
dure, which God grant may be tIIi the lslt m"1ee
Of recorded time, when the volume Of the World
history shall be sealed up and placed befo.-e the
0mnipotent Judge for his sentence. On this dey,
for all time TO come. doubt not the citizens OF thlS
republic will meet together, looking ipt0 each Others
faces with solemn sadness as thsJ recall the great
event Of this day in 1865 event unparalleled in the
history Of nations certainly unpara eled in our
think it eminontly proper that this Gong should
record q resolution in memory Of that event. The
war with its wonderful events gave to history many
distinguished names. IL took the young men Of the
land and made them into heroes; it made the old
men and women become ministering angels all over
the land But chief among al the great develop.
ments Of the war were the character and life Of
that great man whose loss the nation still
depores. He is aptly described in the language Of
one of England's great poets as ... .
"That dvnely gifted man.
Whose life in low estate began
Upon simple village green;
Who breaks his births invidous bar, ...
And grasps the skirts Of happy chance,
And breasts the blows Of circumstance
And grapples with his evil star: .r
Who makes by force his merit known,
And lives to clutch the g gllden keys ...f ..
To mould mighty states decrees,
And shape the whisper Of the throne,
And moving up from high to higher.
becomes on fortunes crOwning slope
The pillar OF peoples hope,
The center OF worlds DESIRE"
Such life and such character will 60 down to
all time the great sacred pos 'essOn Of the Aneri-
can.peoole But there is more than the mere char
acter of any man in that great struggle through
which we have passed-there were two scenes in the
drama of the rebellion. One wasthe military scene
with all its sufferingS, sghs and tears; that scene
was closing one year ago this night. just az the
curtain was lifting on the new and final scene-the
nu &c nr1gr
curtain was Using to show the new characters, the
evil sp rt OF rebellion and treason could not resist
its desire to strike one blow and cause the chief
character in the scene then closing perish by the
hand of an assassin. Ii was not the hand Of one
man that killed President Lincoln. 1t was the en-
bodei spirit OF treason and slavery concontrated
into fearful hate that struck him down in that SUI
preme hour Of the nations JOY There are times in
the history of men and Of DatOns when they to
stand closely by the veil which shuts out mOrtals
from Immortality, time from eternity. and man from
God, that they almost hear the beatngs and feel
the impulsatiOns of the heart Of God Such time
have we passed through when two hundred and fifty
thousand patriotic spirits broke through the fods of
that veil and went up into the presence Of God, and
when at last its parting face invited the President to
go with the dead heroes the Republic, tire nation
felt indeed that it could hear the whispers OF God
coming down among the children of men. Kneel-
ing at that troubled hour when joy and
sadness were so strangely comminged, the
American people listened to the voice of
their God, and made solemn covenant with him
and with each other, that the nation should be re-
ruins Of slavery aud treason the temples Of freed
dom and justice should he built and should survive
forever; 1t remains for us, Mr.. Speaker, consc-
Grated by that great event and under the covenant
with God to keep that faith and to go on in the
good work until it shall be completed. Following
the lead Of that great man and reverently following
the lead of God, let us all remember He has sOundei
the trumpet which shall never call retreat He is
sitting out the hearts of men before His judgement
seat. Re swift, my soul. to answer him. BE jubi-
liant, my feet for God is marching on.
The motion of Mr.. Garfield was then agreed to,
and the House thereupOn adjourned.