Gents:--- June 30, 1858.
Your kind letter, inviting me to be present at your celebration of the anniversary of American Independence, to be held on the fifth, and upon which occasion a Banner is to be presented to the German Republicans of the 7th Ward of your city, is received. I regret to say my engagements are such that I cannot be with you. I have several previous invitations, all of which I have been compelled to decline, except one, which will take but a single day of my time. To attend yours would require at least four. I send you a sentiment:
Our German Fellow-Citizens:---Ever true to Liberty, the Union, and the Constitution---true to Liberty, not selfishly, but upon principle---not for special classes of men, but for all men; true to the Union and the Constitution, as the best means to advance that liberty. Your ob't serv't, A. LINCOLN.