The life and public services of Abraham Lincoln ... together with his state papers, including his speeches, addresses, messages, letters, and proclamations, and the closing scenes connected with his life and death. By Henry J. Raymond. To which are added anecdotes and personal reminiscences of President Lincoln, by Frank B. Carpenter.

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TIHE LIFE, PUBLIC SERVICES, AND

sustained at the hands of the Federal Government, but
from motives of personal and sectional amblition, and for
the purpose of establishing a government whicl should be
permanently and completely in the interest of slavery.
But the disclosures which hlave since been made, imperfect omparatively as they are, prove clearly that the
whole sec ession movement was in the hands of a few
conspirators, who liad their head-quarters at the national
capital, and were tlhemselves closely connected witlh the
Government of the United States. A secret meeting of
these men was held at Washington on the night of the
5th of January, 18601 at which the Senators from Georgia,
Alal)ama, Louisiana, Arkansas, r Txas, Mississippi, and
Florida were present. They decided, by resolutions, that
eachl of the Soutlhern States should secede from the, Union
as soon as possible; that a convention of seceding States
should be held at Montgomery, Alabama, not later than
the 15thl of February; and that the Senators and Members
of Congress from the Southern States ought to remain in
their seats as lon, as possible, in order to defeat measures
that mi.ht be proposed at Wasliington hostile to the secessioln m1ov-emIent. Davis of Mississippi, Slidell of Louisiana, and 5Mallory of Florida, were appointed a committee to ciarry these decisions into effect; and, in pursuance
of them, Mississippi passed an ordinance of secession
January 9th; Alabama and Florida, January 11th; Louisiana, January 26th, and Texas, February 5th. All these
acts, as well as all which followed, were simply the execution of the beliests of this secret conclave of conspirators
who had resolved upon secession. In all the conventions
of the secedin< States, delegates were appointed to meet
at Montgomery. In not one of them was the question of
secession submitted to a vote of the people; although in
somie of them the legislatures had expressly forbidden
them to pass any ordinance of secession without making
its validity depend on its ratification by the popular vote.
The Convention met at Montgomery on the 4th of February, and adopted a provisional constitution, to continue
in operation for one year. Under this constitution Jeffer