State Council of Pennsylvania,

O. OF U. A. M.

At the semi-annual session of the

STATE COUNCIL, O. U. A. M.,

OF PENNSYLVANIA,

held in Lancaster, on Friday, April 21st, 1865, a committee of five were appointed to prepare a Preamble and Resolutions, in reference to the death of our late Chief Magistrate, and reported the following, which were unanimously adopted, viz:

WHEREAS, We have heard with deep sorrow, that ABRAHAM LINCOLN, who has filled the position of Chief Magistrate of our Nation for the past four years, has been stricken down by the hand of an assassin; and whereas, by his death we are deprived of the services of a great and good man, who, by his honesty of purpose and goodness of heart, won the respect and esteem of all true friends of civilization and progress, it becomes us, as American citizens, to express our admiration of his virtues, our regret for his death, and our sympathy with his bereaved family;

Therefore, be it

Resolved, That while we bow in humble submission to the will of God in this dispensation, we beseech strength for the nation and his bereaved family in this hour of affliction and sorrow.

Resolved, That in our late President we recognize a true patriot; and while memory lasts we will revere him as a second Washington, and justly entitled to be placed side by side with the Father of our Country. WASHINGTON, the Saviour of his Country, and ABRAHAM LINCOLN, its Redeemer and a martyr to its unity.

Resolved, That we pray Almighty God to protect and direct his successor, ANDREW JOHNSON, in the discharge of the duties devolving upon him, and for wisdom for his advisers in this the dark hour of our nation's history.

Resolved, That treason, whether armed or unarmed, should be punished, and righteous retribution visited thereon in vindication of the dignity, power, and justice of the Government,

Resolved, That the Charter of the State Council be placed in mourning for the space of one year in memory of the deceased. Resolved, That the Subordinate Councils in this jurisdiction be, and are hereby, invited to furnish the State Council Secretary with such resolutions as they have, or may adopt, and the same in order preceded with the foregoing Preamble and Resolutions be printed, bound, and a copy presented to the widow of our late Chief Magistrate.

Attest, WM. M. WECKERLY, S. C. Secretary.

ENTERPRISE COUNCIL,

No. 2, O. U. A. M.

At a stated meeting of the above Council, held at their hall, 1123 Frankford road, on Tuesday Evening, May 9th, 1865, the following Preamble and Resolutions were unanimously adopted:

WHEREAS, It is befitting, amid the general outburst of sorrow and lamentation heard on every side, that this Council should express, in common with every loyal organization throughout the land, its deep sense of the irreparable loss the nation has sustained in the death of its Honored Chief Magistrate, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, foully assassinated while dealing mercy to the ingrates who had sought to destroy a Government which had ever nourished and protected them, and who with a fiendish malignity through the dastardly blow of one of their own number has now laid him low in death. It is befitting in us to give some expression to our feelings at this great national calamity which has befallen our common country, and the entire civilized nations of the globe, and to offer, in common with our whole people, our earnest sympathy, not only with the near relatives of the deceased, but with the whole country, and the entire world;

Therefore, be it—

Resolved, That Enterprise Council, No. 2, O. of U. A. M., in common with our fellow citizens, do mourn the sad calamity that has befallen our noble and distinguished President, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, who fell by the hand of a cowardly assassin, a martyr to the cause of freedom and human liberty; and while we deplore his loss, we will ever cherish in our hearts his many great and noble virtues, and will revere his memory as a liberator of the oppressed.

Resolved, That we deeply deplore and sympathize with all good and loyal citizens, in the loss that has befallen the nation at this critical time, of one who has shown himself capable of guiding the Ship of State through the darkest hours of adversity, and bring her in safety to a haven of Peace.

Resolved, That in the death of ABRAHAM LINCOLN, we have lost one of God's noblest works, an honest man.

RESOLUTION COUNCIL,

No. 4, O. of U. A. M.

At a stated meeting of the above Council, held in their chamber on April 20th, 1865, the following Resolutions were adopted:

WHEREAS, Almighty God, in his infinite wisdom, has seen fit to remove from us our beloved President, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Chief Magistrate of the United States, who, after piloting our country through four years of trial and suffering, was about to reap his reward in the prospect of a speedy and lasting peace, when, by the hand of a cowardly assassin, he was called from time to eternity; and, whereas, it is becoming that we express our utter abhorrence of the barbarous act which has deprived our country, in the midst of its rejoicing, of its able leader, and honored President, in whom we recognize one of the noblest works of God, an honest man;

Therefore, be it

Resolved, That we deeply mourn his loss, and believe that his blood, and that of thousands more of our countrymen, murdered by those seeking to destroy the best Government which has ever blessed the earth, calls for the execution of inexorable justice to all the leaders of this foul rebellion.

Resolved, That we will cherish his memory with grateful and lasting remembrance, having always regarded him as the father of the people, and the true representation of all that was noble and manly in the American character.

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect, the Council Chamber of this Council be draped in mourning, and that the members of this Council wear the usual badge of mourning for the space of ninety days.

Resolved, That William J. Fries, Henry Kinsley, and Leonard Hart, be a committee to have the foregoing resolutions framed with suitable trimming, and hung up in the Council Chamber.

Attest, WM. J. FRIES, R. S.