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.

STATE PAPERS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

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secretaries. After a speech from Governor Dennison, and
another fiom Parson Brownlow, of Tennessee, the con
vention adjourned till Wednesday morning at nine
o'clock.
The first business which came up when the convention reassembled, was the report of the Committee on
Credentials. There were two important questions which
arose upon this report. The first was the Missouri question-there being a double delegation present from that
State. The committee had reported in favor of admitting
the delegation called the Radical Union, Delegation to
seats in the convention, as the only one elected in conformity with usage and in regular form. An effort was
mande to modify this by admitting both delegations to seats,
and allowing them to cast the vote of the State only in
case of their agreement. This proposition, however, was
voted down by a large majority, and the report of the
committee on that point was adopted. This result had
special importance in its bearing upon the vexed state of
politics in Missouri, which had hitherto, as we have seen,
caused Mr. Lincoln much trouble.
The next question, which had still greater importance,
related to the admission of the delegations from Tennessee,
Arkansas, and Louisiana. Congress had passed a resolution substantially excluding States which had been in rebellion from participation in national affairs until specifically readmitted to the Union-while it was known that
President Lincoln regarded all ordinances of secession as
simply null and void, incapable of affecting the legal relations of the States to the National Government. At the
very opening of the convention an effort had been made
by Hon. Thaddeus Stevens, of Pennsylvania, to secure
the adoption of a resolution against the admission of delegates from any States thus situated. This, however, had
failed, and the whole matter was referred to the Committee
on Credentials, of which Hon. Preston King, of New
York, had been appointed chairman. Mr. King, on behalf of this committee and under its instructions, reported
in favor of admitting these delegates to seats, but without
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