A BIOGRAPHY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

West Coast Times, Issue 26, 29 July 1865, Page 3

A BIOGRAPHY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

The master-mind which, for the last five years, has directed the affairs of America during {a struggle unpai'alleled in history, and steadfastly and unswervingly directed the immense resources of that country to the glorioufiJ'esult he which he lived long enough to realise, will no longer control its destinies. Tlvjt the farm-laborer, muledriver, and boatman on the Mississippi, should have been equal to the emergency, entitles him to consideration as one of the most remarkable men of his age. A conflict so lamentable, and so unparalleled for its colossal proportions, the world has never witnessed. And it is not the least remarkable feature of this great struggle,. that there have been found leaders fully equal to the gravity of the contest. That some, odium should have attached to Mr LincohVsfl -ttfemffr^aiirm at thg dtoMSt^jro^'lTbs 'burn prising. The period was a trying one, and such as had not fallen to tho lot of any ' mortal; and though, perhaps, far from challenging admiration, he evinced a sincerity, moderation and determination which have been mainly instrumental in bringing about so successful an issue. He was bom in Kentucky, in 1809. He lost his father when quite young, and therefore never received any but the rudest education. The father of Abraham Lincoln was thrown upon his own resources while yet a child. Travelling from place to place, working wherever he could find employment, he grew up literally without education. He finally settled in Hardin County, Kentucky, ' where, in 1805, h& was married to Nancy j Hanks. The fruits of this union were a daughter and two sons. One of the latter died in infancy ; the daughtor died later in life. It would be difficult to conceive more unpromising circumstances than those tinder which the late President was ushered into life. His parents were ppor and uneducated. They were under the social ban which slavery always entails upon poverty ; and their habitation was in j harmony with their, broken fortunes. He became successively a farm-laborer, a muledriver, and a boatman. Having spent some time as a laborer in Illinois he Served as a volunteer in the New Salem Company in Florida against tho Indian tribes, headed by the chief Black Hawk. He returned home with the rank of captain, and with the reputation of being a man of great ability. In 1863 he was elected to the local legislature, in which he held a seat for four sessions. He then studied law, became an advocate, and practised with success at' Springfield, the capital of Illinois. We next find him a'whig politician, supporting Clay in his eandidaturjkrroT"fJT3" presidential chair. In 1 846 he whs, elected to Congress, where he sat three yeors, and in which he became a celebrated abolitionist; and on the Wilmot proviso, he; voted for the measure. A foe to popular, cries and territorial aggrandisement, he resisted Douglas and opposed the Mexican, war as unconstitutional. In 1849 and again in 1854 Mr Lincoln retired from politics, and devoted himself afresh to law. In the latter year he was an nnsuccesgful candidate for Illinois. In 1856 he took an active part in supporting I>cmont against Buchanan in tho contest for tho presidentship. In 1858 he was again defeated for Illinois. Two years later ho was put forward by his party for tho presidentship in the Republican and abolitionist interest, and' so great was the enthusiasm roused in his favor that he was elected against such formidable rivals ds Douglas, Bell, Breckenridge, Lane, and Everett. The greatest ferment was caused in the slave-holding states by tho election of so uncompromising an abolitionist, and no time was lost by them during the ro-

mainingtel'in of Mr Buchanan's presidency in makii'g fhc most active preparations for the coming strife. In November, 1860, the repibli can party elected Mr Lincoln, the reptfsei itative of Illinois, as President of the Uni ted States* and in consequene'e of his eHt ion the slave states carried into effect th-'Jfr long conceived and artfully designed PP r < fleet of leaving tho Union ; peaceab\ 1 &ey wished, but prepared, as subsequent events havo proved, for a determined v csistance. At tho time of Mr •Lincoln's c lection the republican party represented t lie anti-slavery idea, which was not to free the negro, but to confine the peculiar instil ution to its geographical limits as they tl en existed. The democratic party bed Hhe contrary sentiments believing that da very was a beneficial institution. When t\e democrats met in convention they split c n their candidates into two-sec-tions ; o«v nominating Mr Breckenridgo, and the iitner supporting Mr S. A. Douglas, of Illinois. The republicans put up Mr Lincoln, carried all the free states, and elected t heir representative. The South, long acciistomdd to rule the country, finding tho 'power wrested from them, determined urton secession. South Carolina was the first] to lead off; Mississippi, Florida, 'aim Alnlbaina followed suit, and declared themselves independent; and, in a few days, Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, North Carolina and other States followed in the rear. What resulted from this alarming state of affairs is a matter of history. In personal appearance, Mr Lincoln was tall and somewhat ungainly. He was cordial in hia manner, and had always a shake of the hand or a smile for his friends. His features, which are familiar to many from tho photographs extensively circulated, presented no striking indications beyond their massive and somewhat coarse appearance, which, when the occasion warranted, were lit lyp with a fire of emotion which betrayed the vigcr of his mind. He Avas universally beloved, and, as Honest Old Abe, his name will bo revered with that of Washington, as tho saviour of his country.