and especially to his example who was, by so many titles, the Father of his Country.

To command the army and navy of the United States; with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, appoint ambassadors and other officers, to give to Congress information of the state of the Union, and recommend such measures as he shall judge to be necessary, and to take care that the laws shall be faithfully executed-these are the most important functions intrusted to the President by the Constitution, and it may be expected that I shall briefly indicate the principles which will control me in their execution.

Chosen by the body of the people, under the assu rance that my administration should be devoted to the welfare of the whole country and not to the support of any particular section, or merely local interests, I this day renew the declarations I have heretofore made, and proclaim my fixed determination to maintain, to the extent of my ability, the Government in its original purity, and to adopt as the basis of my public policy those great Republican doctrines which constitute the strength of our national existence.

In reference to the army and navy, lately employed with so much distinction in active service, care shall be taken to insure the highest condition of efficiency, and in furtherance of that object, the Military and Naval Schools, sustained by the liberality of Congress, shall receive the special attention of the Executive.

As American freemen, we cannot but sympathize in all efforts to extend the blessings of civil and political liberty; but at the same time we are warned by the admonitions of history and the voice of our own beloved Washington to abstain from entangling alliances with foreign nations. In all disputes between conflicting governments, it is our interest, not less than our duty, to remain strictly neutral; while our geographical posi tion, the genius of our institutions and our people, the advancing spirit of civilization, and, above all, the dictates of religion, direct us to the cultivation of peaceful and friendly relations with all other powers. It is to be hoped that no international question can now arise which

a government, confident in its own strength, and resolved to protect its own just rights, may not settle by wise negotiation, and it eminently becomes a government like our own, founded on the morality and intelligence of its citizens, and upheld by their affections, to exhaust every resort of honourable diplomacy before appealing to arms. In the conduct of our foreign relations I shall conform to these views, as I believe them essential to the best interests and true honour of the country.

The appointing power vested in the President imposes delicate and onerous duties. So far as it is possible to be informed, I shall make honesty, capacity, and fidelity indispensable pre-requisites to the bestowal of office; and the absence of either of these qualities shall be deemed sufficient cause for removal.

It shall be my study to recommend such constitutional measures to Congress as may be necessary and proper to secure encouragement and protection to the great interests of agriculture, commerce, and manufactures, to improve our rivers and harbours, to provide for the speedy extinguishment of the public debt, to enforce a strict accountability on the part of all officers of the government, and the utmost economy in all public expenditures. But it is for the wisdom of Congress itself, in which all legislative powers are vested by the Constitution, to regulate these and other matters of domestic policy. I shall look with confidence to the enlightened patriotism of that body to adopt such measures of conciliation as may harmonize conflicting interests, and tend to perpetuate that union which should be the paramount object of our hopes and affections. In any action calculated to promote an object so near the heart of every one who truly loves his country, I will zealously unite with the co-ordinate branches of the government.

In conclusion, I congratulate you, my fellow-citizens, upon the high state of prosperity to which the goodness of Divine Providence has conducted our common country. Let us invoke a continuance of the same protecting care which has led us through small beginnings, to the eminence to which we have this day arrived, and let us seek to deserve that continuance by prudence and moderation

in our councils, by well directed attempts to assuage the bitterness which too often marks unavoidable differences of opinion, by the promulgation and practice of just and liberal principles, and by an enlarged patriotism, which shall acknowledge no limits but those of our own widespread Republic.

President Taylor died at the Executive Mansion, in Washington City, on the night of the 9th of July, 1850. Vice-President Fillmore, the next morning, transmitted the following message to Congress, then in session, and at once entered upon the duties of his new office, as the 13th President of the United States:

PRESIDENT FILLMORE'S MESSAGE.

Fellow-citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives: A great man has fallen among us, and a whole community is called to an occasion of unexpected, deep, and general mourning. I recommend to the two Houses of Congress to adopt such measures as, in their discretion, may seem proper to perform with due solemnities the funeral obsequies of Zachary Taylor, late President of the United States, and thereby to signify the great and affectionate regard of the American people for the memory of one whose life has been devoted to the public service-whose career in arms has not been surpassed in usefulness or brilliancy-who has been so recently raised by the unsolicited voice of the people, to the highest civil authority in the government, which he administered with so much honour and advantage to his country, and by whose sudden death so many hopes of future usefulness are blighted for ever. To you, Senators and Representatives of a nation in tears, I can say nothing which can alleviate the sorrow with which you are oppressed. I appeal to you to aid me under the trying circumstances which surround me in the discharge of the duties, from which, however much I may be oppressed by them, I dare not shrink; and I rely upon Him, who holds in His hands the destinies of nations, to endow me with the requisite strength for the task, and to avert from our country the evils apprehended from the heavy calamity which has befallen us. I shall most readily concur in whatever measures the wisdom of the two Houses may suggest as befitting this deeply melancholy occasion.

Washington, July 10, 1850.

MILLARD FILLMORE.