The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1885-03-12
CLEVELAND's INAUGURAL.
The following is the inaugural address
of President CLEVELAND

this vast assemblage of my countrymen
am about to supplement and seal by the
oath which | shall take the manifestation
of the will of a great and free people. In
the exercise of their power and right of
lf-government they have committed to
one of their fellow citizens supreme and
sacred trust, and he here consecrates
himself to their service. This impressive
ceremony adds little to the solemn sense
of responsibility with which | contemplate
the duty | owe to the people of the land.
Nothing can relieve me from anxiety lest
by any act of mine their interests may
suffer, and nothing is needed to strength
en- my resolution to engage every faculty
and effort in the promotion of their well
fare. Amid the din of party strife the peo-
pies choice was made, but its attendant
circumstances have demonstrated anew
the strength and safety of government
10y the people In each succeeding year
it more clearly appears that our demo
cratic principle needs no apology, and
that in its fearless and faithful appliCa-
ton is to be found the surest guaranty Of
good government. But the best results
of the operation Of government, where
in every citizen has share, largely de-
pend upon proper limitation of purely
partisan zeal and effort, and correct
appreciation of the time when the heat of
the partisan should be merged in the pa
triotism of the citizen To-day the eX-
ecutive branch of the Government is
transferred to new keeping, but this is
still the Government of all the people,
and it should be none the less an object
of at1ecionate solicitude at this hour for
the animosties Of political strife, the bit
terness of partisan defeat and the eXulta-
ton Of partisan triumph should be sup
pemented 10y an ungrudging acquies-
cence in the popular will and a sober,
conscientious concern for the general
veal. Moreover, if from this hour we
cheeIfully abandon all sectional preiu-
dice and distrust, and determine with
manly confidence in each other to work
out tremendously the achievements of
our national destiny, we shall deserve to
realize all the benefits which our happy
form of government can bestow. On
this suspicious occasion all may we'll re-
new the pledge Of our devotion to the
Constitution, which, launched by the
founders of the republic and consecrated
by their prayers and patriotic devotion,
has for almost a century borne the hopes
and the aspirations Of great people
through prosperity and peace, and
through the shock of foreign conflicts
and the peris of domestic strife and vi
| cissitudes. BY the father of bis country
our Constitution was commended for
adoption as "the result of spirit of
amity and mutual concession In that
same spirit it should be administered, in
order t. promote the lasting welfare of
the country and to secure the full meas
ure OF its priceless benefits to US and to
those who will succeed to the blessings
of our national life. The large variety Of
diverse and competing interests subject
to Federal control, persstently seeking
! the recognition Of their claims, need give
us no fear that "the greatest good to the
greatest number" will fail to be accom-
plished, if in the halls Of national egis-
lation that spirit of amity and mutual
concession shall prevail in which the
Constitution had its BIRTH If this invOlv-
es the surrender or pOstponement OF prl-
yate interests and the abandonment OF
/ local advantages, compensation will be
found in the assurance that thus the
common interest is subserved and the
general welfare advanced.
LOYALTY TO THE CONSTITUTION.
In the discharge of my official duty
shall endeavor TO be guided by a just
and unstrained construction Of the Con
stitution, careful observance of the
distinction between the powers granted
to the Federal Government and those re-
served TO the States OF to the people, and
| by a cautious appreciation of those func-
tons which, by the Constitution and
/ the executive branch Of the Govern
nent. But he who takes the oath to-
day to preserve, protect and defend the
/ Constitution of the nited States, only
assumes the solemn obligation which
every patriotic citizen, on the farm, in
/ the workshop, in the busy marts Of trade,
I and everywhere, should share with him.
The Constitution which preScribes his
I oath, my countrymen, is yours. The
h Government you have chosen him to adj
minister for time is yours-the suffrage
\ which executes the will Of freemen is
yours. The laws and the entire scheme
Y of our civil rule from the town meeting to
the State Capitols and the National Capt.
. tOI are yours. \ our every voter as sure
h ly as Your Chief Magistrate ; under the
same high sanction, though in different
| sphere, exercises a public trust Nor is
/ this all. Every citizen owes to the
| country vigilant watch and close scru-
. # "a
| and reasonable estimate of their fidelity
and usefulness. Thus is the peoples
will impressed upon the whole frame
work Of our civil policy, municipal,
State and federal, and this is the policy
of our liberty and the inspiration of our
faith in the republic.
ECONOMY URGED.
1t is the duty of those serving the peO-
4 pie in public place to closely limit public
expenditures to the actual needs of the
| Government, economically administered
/ because this bounds the right of the Gov
eminent to exact tribute from the earn
Y ings Of labor or the property of the citi-
! zen, and because public extravaganza
| begets extravaganza among the people
/ We should never be ashamed of the sim
/ plicity and prudential economies which
are best suited to the operation Of d re-
! publican form of government and most
compatible with the mission of the Amer
/ lean people. Those who are selected for
limited time to manage public affairs
are still Of the people and may do much
by their example to encourage, consist
emily with the dignity Of their official
functions, that plain way of life which
among their fellow citizens aids integrity
and promotes thrift and prosperity.
NEUTRALITY IN FOREIGN RELATIONS.
The genius of our Institutions, the
needs of our people in their home life
and the attention which is demanded for
the settlement and development of the
resources of our vast territory, dictate
the scrupulous avoidance of any depart
ure from that foreign policy commended
by the history, the traditions and the
prosperity Of our republic. 1t is the pol
icy of independence, favored by our po-
sition and defended by our known love Of
justice and by our power. 1t is the poll
cy of peace, suitable to our interests. 1t
is the policy of neutrality, rejecting any
share in foreign, brois and ambitions
upon other continents, and repeling their
intruSinn hara Jt ic tho no1inv of Man