Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1876-12-09
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.
TO N. Senateand House Of Represen-

SCCho ficpOh Ahos ChOutu Il lCl
to and in some degree recapitulste
the events and official acts of the
p st eight years.
1t was my fortune, or misfor-
tune, to be called to the office oil
Chief Executive without any pre-
vious training. From the age Of
seventeen | had n yer even wit
messed the excitement attending
Presidential campaign but twice
antecedent to my own candidacy,
and at but one of them was | eli
gible as a voter. Under such cir
cumstances it Is but reasonable to
suppose that errors Of Judgment
must have occurred. Even had
they not, differences of opinion be-
tween the Executive, bound by an
oath 10 the strict performance of
his duties, and writer's and debaters
must have arisen, 1t IL not neces-
sarily evidence of blunder on the
part of the Executive because
there are differences OF views. Mis-
takes have been made, as all can
see, and / admit, but it seems to
me, oftener in the selections made
Of the assistants appointed to aid
in carrying out the various duties
Of administering the government
lin nearly every case appointed
without personal acquaintance
with the apointee, but, upon rec
concentrations Of the representa-
tives chosen directly by the people.
1t is impossible where so many
trusts are to be allotted that the
right parties should be chosen in
every instance History she WIS
that no administration, from the
time of Washington to the pres
ent, has been free from these mis-
takes. But I leave comparisons to
history, claiming only that I have
acted in every instance from con-
scientious desire to do what was
right, constitutional within The
law and for the very best Interests
of the whole people, Failures have
been errors ofjudgment not of in
tent.
Ny civil career commenced too,
at a most critical and difficult
time. Less than four years befor-
the Country had emerged from
conflict such as no other nation has
ever survived. Nearly one
half of the States had revolted
agains, the government, and of
those remaining faithful to the
Union, large per centage of the
population sympathized with the
rebellion and made IAN enemy in
the rear almost as dangerous as
the more honorable enemy in tie
front The latter committed errors
81 judgment, but they maintained
item manfully and courageously.
The former received the protection
nf the government they would see
destroyed, and reaped all the Pc
cuniary advantage to be gained
out of The existing state of affairs,
many of them by obtaining con-
tracts and by swindling the gov
eminent in the delivery of the
Goods 4
Immediately on the cessation of
hOstilities the then noble Presi-
lent, who had CARR, d the country
30 far through its peril, fell a mar
yr to his patriotism at the hands
IF the assassin The Intervening
time to my first Inauguration was
i.lled up with wranglings between
Congress and the new Executive
as TO the best mode o." reconstruc-
ton" or, to speak plainly, as to
whether the control of the gov
eminent should be thrown imme-
iiately into the hands ofthose who
had SO recently and persistently
tried TO destroy it, or whether the
victors should continue to have
an equal voice with them in its
control. Reconstruction. as final
~ agreed upon, means this, and
only this, except that the late
slave was enfranchised, giving an
increase, as was supposed, to the
Uni0n-loving and Union.support-
ing vote. Iffree, in tho full sense
of the word, they would not d;sap-
point this expectation Hence, at
the beginning of my first admins
tration, the work Of reconstruction
much embarrassed by the long
delay-virtual!y commenced. II
was the work of the legislative
branch of the government. My
province was wholly in approving
their acts, which / did most hear
tily, urging the legislatures of
States that had not yet done so 10
ratify the fifteenth amendment TO
the constitution. The country was
laboring under an enormous debt
contracted in the suppression of
rebellion, and taxation was so OPP
pressive as to discourage prOduc-
ton. Another danger also threat
ened us-a foreign war. The last
difficulty had to be adjusted. and
was adjusted without "A war aud