The presentation of this address was delayed by the illness of the
president of the society.
Hon. William H. Seward,
Secretary of State.
(For address see Appendix, separate volume.)
[Untitled]
Legation of the United
States,
Lisbon,
June 16, 1865.
Gentlemen: The address which you did me the
honor to deliver personally, in behalf of the “Centro Promoter dos
methoramentos das classes laboriosas de Lisboa,” expressive of
sympathy and regret on the occasion of the death of President
Lincoln, will be immediately communicated to my government, and will
be received as an utterance at once worthy in itself, and acceptable
from its touching and appropriate sentiments.
Among the many sympathetic expressions which this sad occasion has
called forth, none have been more welcome than the voices of
associations like yours, whose aim is to elevate and dignify man by
enlarging his intelligence and usefulness, and whose ambition is
thus to promote the prosperity and happiness of the people at
large.
However much the political institutions of the New and Old World may
differ, these are objects upon which all men may agree, since they
are the necessary foundations of stable and successful government.
Enlightened progress marches forward in proportion as popular
education is diffused, and it stops and stagnates where free
instruction is denied. The civilisation of a state can only be
measured by the intelligence of its people.
Abraham Lincoln was a striking illustration of this idea, and his
career furnishes an example and an honorable incentive which will
endure in all history. Humble in origin, unfavored in fortune,
self-reliant, and upright, he rose from obscure beginnings to a
position which attracted the gaze of the world. How bravely and well
he bore himself; how unselfish and noble was his conduct; how
fervent and patriotic were his aspirations; how gentle and guileless
was his heart; how simple and yet how grand was his nature, are
qualities and virtues for the future historian to describe. It is
our pride to point to him as a type of American civilization.
None sympathize more strongly than he with every effort to improve
the condition of labor; to educate its children, and to raise it up
to a higher dignity. His hands had been hardened by honest toil, and
his youth had been disciplined by stern necessity. Therefore his
sympathies were ever earnest and practical.
Hence it is fitting that associations with kindred aims to those
which illustrated the life of our lamented President should linger
over and leave offerings upon his grave, and that we, who in foreign
lands witness these voluntary tributes, should feel our hearts swell
with mingled emotions of gratitude and manly pride.
I am, with high respect,
Messrs. Francisco Vieira da Silva,
President, And Miguel Justiniano Correa el Silva, Alfredo Augusto
Correa, Secretaries.
