Lincoln did not live to witness the consummation or the consequences of the edict. The preliminary resolution for a constitutional amendment was not secured until after a long struggle in Congress and against the most determined opposition. Were it not for Lincoln's political skill and tact, it might never have been adopted. The work of ratification by the loyal States was not completed until December, 1865, when Mr. Seward, still Secretary of State, issued a proclamation announcing that the thirteenth amendment had been ratified by twenty-seven of the thirty-six States then composing the Union, and that slavery and involuntary servitude were from that time and forever impossible within the limits of the United States. Some one has arranged the Emancipation Proclamation so that its words form an accurate profile of Abraham Lincoln's face. The picture is perfect and not a letter of the document is wanting. Lincoln's ideas concerning the enfranchisement of the negroes were expressed in a letter to Governor Hahn congratulating him upon having his name fixed in history as the first free Governor of the State of Louisiana, and saying, "Now, you are about to have a convention which, among other things, will probably define the elective franchise. I barely suggest for your private consideration whether some of the colored people may not be let in,--as, for instance, the very intelligent, and especially those who have fought gallantly in our ranks. They would probably help, in some trying time to come, to keep the jewel of liberty safe within the family of freedom. But this is only a suggestion--not to the public, but to you alone." [Illustration: A LETTER TO HON. MICHAEL HAHN, FIRST FREE STATE GOVERNOR OF LOUISIANA By special permission of John M. Crampton, Esq., New Haven, Connecticut] On April 11, 1865, he made his last speech. It was delivered from the portico of the White House in response to an invitation from the managers of a jubilee celebration over the surrender of Lee's army. Twice before was he called out by serenading parties, and on both occasions declined to give more than a few informal expressions of congratulation and gratitude; but, being pressed by the committee, he consented to deliver a formal address, and with great care prepared a manuscript upon the reconstruction problem. It was undoubtedly intended as a "feeler" to test public sentiment in the North, and that portion of it which relates to negro suffrage is as follows: