Yes, even more so now than before.
It's never been my claim that you didn't see what you plainly saw, or that you didn't have copies of what you clearly have. My skepticism lies with the claim that Lincoln ever spoke those words. Those articles purport (assert or claim) that he did, by virtue of "interviews". They do not provide proof - only assertion - by people with an agenda.
Now, having had an opportunity to read and compare them, I am even more convinced that they allowed their agenda to drive their "recollections".
Thanks for the links - they were interesting reads.
Lincoln expressed similar concerns about the revenue to John B. Baldwin on April 4, 1861. Are you dismissing Baldwin too?
Northern ports like New York's were already reeling from the imposition of the Morrill Tariff and the promise of lower tariffs in Southern ports. Many import businesses had closed or were closing in NYC. Future tariff revenue was uncertain and probably headed down if Lincoln couldn't somehow block the Southern ports from taking a significant part of the import business from the North.
Given all that, do you think Lincoln might have been seriously concerned about tariff revenue at that point in time or not? And if not, why not?
And if yes, would it have been unreasonable for Lincoln to have mentioned that concern on two separate occasions (one of which was a meeting he requested)?