The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1849-01-27
Inaugural Address.
,,Gcntiemen Of The Senate

the people of the State have, by theiI
voice, 3constitutionally expressed, Sc.
lectedsime as their chief magistrate,
now appear before you TO take the ne,
cessry oath ofoffce. uuE
seems to be required, in pursuance
OF established custom that ! should, on
this occasion, express some OF the views
whichldeem Of importance to the wei,
fare and prosperity Of the State. Be-
fore doing this, permit me to present
my Acknowledgements to you, and
through YOU TO Jul common constilu.
ents, for the honor conferred upon me,
and to express my abiding sense, of the
responsibilities which that honor brings
whit. 4 sa l7.
The trainers of our constitution were
men deeply imbued with the spirit OF
liberty and jealous Of arbitrary power.
They felt that the will Of the people as
expressed through their immediate Rep
Nresenta,ives, should prevail, ~uncontroll.
ed by executive interference. They
therefore conferred the law.maklng
power upon a General Assembly com.
posed of two branches. The powers
conferred upon the Governor were ex.
tremely limited and al,nos, exclusively
of an executive character. They mel.
Their entrusted him with power direct.
ly TO check the action of the General
Assembly by the veto. nor indirectly to
influence it by the distribution of off.
cial patronage. This caution of the
convention was doubtless induced by
previous experience under the terrific
rial government, during the existence
of which the veto power had been free
ly exercised.
The wisdom Of the convention in this
distribution Of powers has been proven
by more than forty years experience,
and it is londIy hoped that whatever
changes may hereafter he made in that
instrument, in these particulars it may
remain unaltered. In one short para.
graph in the preamble to our conslitu.
ton, the object Of that convention and
the same object for which all govern.
ments should be formed, is explicitly
set forth. That object as therein de-
clared was, "lo establish justice, pro-
mote the welfare and secure the bles.
sings Of liberty to ourselves and our
postelity." That this object should be
attained must be the earnest desire Of
every good citizen, and when attained
it is all that can be required at the
hands Of any government. To secure
this result of highest Importance, the
action Of all the different branches Of
the government must be confined with
in the limits prescribed by the consti-
tuition; each carefully guarding its own,
neither interfering with the rights and
duties of the other, all faithfully and
impartially performed, and when so
done, all cheerluIly and promptly COM.
piled with.
1t is the duty Of the General Assem-
blv from time to time 10 enactsu laws
as the necessities of the people require
and of such character as will secure the
rights, and redress the injuries of all
equally and alike. And that these laws
may be well understood and operate
most benpfcialIy they should be gener.
ally permanent. Frequent changes, or
changes for slight causes, should moi be
made.
Laws, whilst they remain in force,
should be implicitly obeyed, and he
who knowingly violates them, disre-
CARDS his first duty as a good citizen
and a patriot. Without law. there is
no rational liberty. Unreslrained in
dividuaI action is only anarchy, and
anarchy IS a despotism more to be
dreaded than the arbitrary rule ola sin.
gle despot. Under its reign there is
no security OF life, person or property.
Ii is our boas! that our government Is
n government Of law, and no one can,
in any way, more effectually show his
attachment 10 our free Institutions,
than bv his cheerful obedience TO-, and
his faithful execution Of the law, thus
giving stability to individual rights and
interests, and permanency to our IN
situations.
The people Of Ohio have been a law
abiding people, and as a consequences
Our prosperity has been almost, if not
entirely unexamp!ed. 1t is now less
than Fifty years since the formation Of
our constitution and the admission Of
this State into the Union. At the time
of its formation the population OF the
state was less than fifty thousand, scat.
tered sparseIy over its surface. then al.
most unbroken wilderness, the produc-
,ion Of the soil scarcely sufficient to
supply the wants Of the people, togeth'