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ment of Great Britain, followed by that of France, instead of simply remaining neutral, and doing nothing to aid either the rebels or the Government, issued a proclamation of neutrality, the effect of which was to degrade a friendly nation, with whom those countries were on terms of equal intercourse, and to which they were bound by treaties recognizing its absolute sovereignty throughout its territory, to the level of a rebel power, of a few weeks' growth, which was endeavoring to destroy that sovereignty and divide that territory. Galling as this was to the national pride and no one felt it more so than Mr. Lincoln-he yet wisely bore it without such official manifestation of resentment as would have provoked measures that must have multiplied the difficulties of the Government, and increased the sufferings and sacrifices of the people. He saw that if the nation maintained itself, this effort against its prosperity and power would only recoil against those who made it; and he so shaped the course of his Administration toward the great foreign powers that, without admitting the right or the propriety of their action, or sacrificing the dignity of the country, he could yet bend the warlike energies of the nation to one purpose, sure that if that were attained all else would be added to it. But, knowing how sensitive the people were upon this point, and being himself no less so than any of his countrymen, he, on the next day but one after the reception of the news of General Lee's surrender, April 11th, issued the following proclamation, in which he announced to foreign powers that if they continued any longer to place the national vessels of this Republic on the same footing with rebel cruisers, their own vessels would be reduced to the same level in our ports:

PROCLAMATION.

Whereas, for some time past, vessels of war of the United States have been refused, in certain ports, privileges and immunities to which they were entitled by treaty, public law, or the comity of nations, at the same time that vessels of war of the country wherein the said privileges and immunities have been withheld, have enjoyed them fully and uninterruptedly in the ports of the United States, which condition of things has not always been forcibly resisted by the United States; although, on the other hand, they have not failed to protest against and declare their dissatisfaction with the same. In the view of the United States, no condition any longer exists which can be claimed to justify the denial to them by any one of said nations of the customary naval rights, such as has heretofore been so unnecessarily persisted in; now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do hereby make known that, if, after a reasonable time shall have elapsed for the intelligence of this proclamation to have reached any foreign country in whose ports the said privileges and immunities shall have been refused, as aforesaid, they shall continue to be so refused, then and thenceforth the same privileges and immunities shall be refused to the vessels of war of the country in the ports of the United States, and this refusal shall continue until the war vessels of the United States shall have been placed upon an entire equality, in the foreign ports aforesaid, with similar vessels of other countries. The United States, whatever claim or pretence may have existed heretofore, are now at least entitled to claim and concede an entire and friendly equality of rights and hospitalities with all maritime nations.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this eleventh day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred [L. 8.] and sixty-five, and of the independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

By the President:

WM. H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.

RECEPTION OF THE BRITISH MINISTER.

Three days after issuing the foregoing proclamation Mr. Lincoln was no more. No public act or speech of his marked the brief interval. But on the very eve of his violent death he wrote one paper which exhibited the candor, the wisdom, and the kindness of his soul in a notable manner, and which showed that the proclamation. which was the last to which he signed his name was instigated by no petty spite, no desire to humiliate, no wish to provoke hostile feeling. Lord Lyons had resigned, and Sir Frederick Bruce had been sent to represent the British Government at Washington. He was about to present his credentials; his reception for the purpose of presenting his letters was to have taken place on Saturday, April 15th, and Mr. Lincoln, having received an intimation of what Sir Frederick would say on that occasion, wrote out on the afternoon of the 14th his proposed reply. He never made it. The British minister did not present his credentials until some days after Mr. Lincoln's death. The speech which the President made in reply impressed the whole country and Europe by its dignity, its good sense, its candor, and its generosity. There is the highest authority for saying that this speech is the one written by Mr. Lincoln, and that being found in his portfolio, it was wisely adopted, with its writer's policy, by Mr. Johnson, and read to the British minister by a Secretary. Thus Mr. Lincoln actually stretched out his hand from beyond the grave to guide the course of the Republic which he had done so much to save, and by his services to which he earned his crown of martyrdom. The reply in question here follows:

Sir Frederick A. W. Bruce-Sir:-The cordial and friendly sentiments which you have expressed on the part of Her Britannic Majesty give me great pleasure. Great Britain and the United States, by the extended and varied forms of commerce between them, the contiguity of positions of their possessions, and the similarity of their language and laws, are drawn into contrast and intimate intercourse at the same time. They are from the same causes exposed to frequent occasions of misunderstanding, only to be averted by mutual forbearance. So eagerly are the people of the two countries engaged throughout almost the whole world in the pursuit of similar commercial enterprises, accompanied by natural rivalries and jealousies, that at first sight it would almost seem that the two Governments must be enemies, or at best, cold and calculating friends. So devoted are the two nations throughout all their domain, and even in their most remote territorial and colonial possessions, to the principles of civil rights and constitutional liberty, that, on the other hand, the superficial observer might erroneously count upon a continued concert of action and sympathy, amounting to an alliance between them. Each is charged with the development of the progress and liberty of a considerable portion of the human race. Each, in its sphere, is subject to difficulties and trials, not participated in by the other. The interest of civilization and of humanity require that the two should be friends. I have always known and accepted it as a fact, honorable to both countries, that the Queen of England is a sincere and honest wellwisher to. the United States. I have been equally frank and explicit in the opinion that the friendship of the United States toward Great Britain is enjoined by all the considerations of interest and of sentiment affecting the character of both. You will therefore be accepted as a minister friendly and welldisposed to the maintenance of peace and the honor of both countries. You will find myself and all my associates acting in accordance with the same enlightened policy and consistent sentiments; and so I am sure that it will not occur in your case that either yourself or this Government will ever have cause to regret that such an important relationship existed at such a crisis.

A few hours after writing this brief speech, Abraham Lincoln received the bullet of his assassin, and never spoke again. His last act was an endeavor to soothe the resentment of his countrymen against a nation whose governing classes had seized a time of sore trial to treat this country with arrogant contempt, and to impress upon that nation the necessity of mutual respect and mutual forbearance if they desired the continuation of friendly relations between the two countries. The reader of the foregoing pages will already have thought that such was a fitting close of Mr. Lincoln's career. We mourn him,

but it is for ourselves we sorrow, not for him; for he had fulfilled a great destiny and grandly absolved himself from his solemn duties. It was from a full and rounded life that the martyr to his country and to freedom was suddenly called away, leaving behind him the priceless memory of a Government conducted in the spirit of his own noble words, "With malice toward none, with charity to all, with firmness in the right as God shall give us to know the right." This land must indeed be looked upon as blessed above all others if we see soon again another President so wise, so just, so gentle, and so good.

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