Albany Young Men’s Association.
At a meeting of the executive committee of the Young Men’s Association held at their rooms, April 17, 1865, the following preamble and resolutions were unanimously adopted:
Whereas, in the very hour of our restored nationality, after the complete and glorious triumph of our armies, at a time when perplexing difficulties of policy were vanishing before a generous and magnanimous statesmanship, and when the glad heart of the country, full of passionate longing for reconciliation, was about to find expression in a grand jubilee of enthusiasm, the President of the United States and the Secretary of State have been made the victims of most cruel and inhuman assassins, whereby the national joy is turned to sadness, and the white robe of returning peace stained by a crime unparalleled in atrocity and infamy: Therefore,
Resolved, That while we bow in submission to the mysterious dispensation of Providence, which in the death of the President of the United States has afflicted our country, we desire to express the grief and sorrow that fill our hearts in this our national bereavement, and our detestation of the crime which, in the person of Abraham Lincoln, was perpetrated upon the whole nation.
Resolved, That we believe Abraham Lincoln, as a ruler, to have been governed by patriotic motives and honesty of purpose; and when we remember that in the darkest days he never despaired of the republic, but in the last acts of his life showed that he was actuated by a spirit of charity and conciliation toward the enemies of his country, the exercise of which gave promise of the speedy restoration of the Union, we cannot but regard his sad and untimely death as a misfortune to the whole country
Resolved, That the wicked murder of the President while he was endeavoring to force obedience, on the part of the South, to the laws and government of our common country, and to restore peace and union once more to our land, has but strengthened our love for our country, and given us renewed assurances, by the common sympathy of all good citizens, that the Union must be again restored, and the national authority asserted and maintained over the whole land.
Resolved, That the rooms of the association be draped in mourning, as a testimony of respect to the deceased, for thirty days, and this committee, and the association at large, will unite with the city authorities or citizens of this city in solemnities suitable to the occasion.
Resolved, That the President, be and is hereby, authorized to call a meeting of the members of the association and make the necessary arrangements for properly attending any funeral obsequies of the late President of the United States, or otherwise taking part in the day set apart as a day of mourning for our national bereavement.
Resolved, That these resolutions be published in the city papers.
President, Y. M. A.