Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1885-03-06
the Inaugural Address.

delivered at the Capitol on Wednes-
day last
FELLOW CITIZENS: In the pres
ence Of this vast assemblage Of my
cOuntrymen, am abOnt 10 supple
ment and seal by the oath which |
shall take, the manifestation Of the
will of great and free people. In
the exercise Of their power and
right of self.government, they have
committed to one of their fellow
citizens a supreme and sacred trust;
! and he here cOnsecrates himself to
their service.
This impressive ceremony adds
little to the solemn sense of respon-
sibility with which | contemplate
the duty owe to all the people of
the land {; nothing can relieve me
from anxiety lest by any act OF
mine their interests may sutherland
nothing is needed to strengthen my
resolution 20 engage every faculty
and effort in the promotion of their
welfare.
Amid the din of party strife the
peoples choice was made; but its
attendant circumstances have TO-
monstrated anew the strength and
safety of a govel nment by the peO-
pie. In each succeeding year it
more clearly appears that our
democratic principle needs no
apology, and that in its fearless
and faithful application is to be
found the surest guaranty of good
government.
But the best results in the oper-
alton of q government, wherein
every citizen has a share, largely
depend upon a proper limitation of
purely partisan zeal and effort, and
a correct appreciation of the time
when the heart Of the partisan
should be merged in the patriotism
of the citizen.
To-day the executive 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 lessan object
of their affectiOnate sOlicitude. At
this hour the animosities Of pc
litical strife, the bitterness of partl-
san defeat and the exultatiOn OF
partisan triumph should be sup
planted by an ungrudging ac-
quiescence in the popular will, and
a sober, conscientious concern loI
the general veal. Moreover, if
{ ON this hour, we cheerfully and
honestly abandon all sectional
prejudice and distrust, and deter
mine, with manly cofdence in one
another, 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 We
way we'll renew the pledge Of ouI
devotion to the Constitution, which
launched by the founders Of the
Republic, and consecrated by Their
prayers and patriotic devotion, has
Tor almost a century borne the
hopes and the aspirations OF ,
great people through the prosperit!
and peace, and through the shocl
of foreign conflicts and the perils
of domestic strife and vlcissltudes
BY the Father of bis Country on
Constitution was commended fol
adoption as "the result of a spirit
of amity and mutual concession. II
that same spirit it should be admin
istered, in order to promote the last
ing welfare of the country, and t.
secure the full measure Of its price
less benefits to usand to those WHIT
will succeed to the blessings Of on
national life. The large varIet,
of diverse and competing interest
subject to federal contrOl,persiscnti
~ seeking the recognition Of thel
claims, need give us no fear tina
the greatest good to the creates
number will fail to be accomplish
Cd if, in the halls OF national legls
lation, that spirit of amity ant
mutual concession shall prevail II
which the Constitution had IL
birth. If this involves the sur
render or postponement of privat'
interests and the abandonment 0
local advantages, compensation
will be found in the assurance tina
thus the common interest is sub
served and the general welfare ad
vanced.
In the discharge Of my ollicla
duty | shall endeayor to be guided
by just and unstrained cOnstruc
ton of the constitution, careful
observance of the distinction be
tween the powers granted to the
federal government aud those 70
served to the state or to the people
and by cautious appreciation Of
those functions which, by the con
stitutiOn and laws, have been
especially assigned to the executive
branch of the government.
But he who takes the oath to-
day to preserve, protect and defend
the Constitution of the United
States, only assumes the solemn
obligation which every patriotic
citizen, on the farm in the work
shop, in the busy marts OF trade,
and everywhere, should share with
him. The Constitution which pre-.
scrlbes his oath, my countrymen,
is yours; the government you have
chosen him to administer for "A time
! is yours; the suffrage which exc
cutes the will of freemen is yours ;
the laws and the entire scheme of
our civil rule from the town meet.
ing to the State capitols and the
National capitol, is yours. Your
every voter, as surely 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 a vigilant watch and
close scrutiny Of its public ser.
wants, and a fair and reasonable
estimate of their fidelity and use
fuIness. Thus is the peoples will
impressed upon the whole frame
work ofour civil polity. municipal,
State and federal-and this is the
price of our liberty aud the inspira-
ton of our faith in the Republic.
1t is the duty of those serving
the people in public place to close
ly limit public expenditures to the