The joint committee of the senate and house of representatives appoint ed to wait on the president and vice-president elect and inform them of their election to those high offices, having accordingly waited on General Taylor, after his arrival at the seat of government, and through their chairman, Colonel Jefferson Davis of Mississippi (his son-in-law), performed that duty; "the president elect, in signifying his acceptance of the of fice to which he had been chosen by the people, evinced emotions of the profoundest gratitude, and acknowledged his distrust of his ability to fulfil the expectations upon which their confidence was based, but gave assurances of a fixed purpose to administer the government for the benefit and advantage of the whole country.

"In alluding to the fact to which his attention had been drawn, that the chairman of the committee represented a public body, a majority of whom were opposed in political opinion to the president elect, and accorded with that majority, he recognised in it the deference to the popular will constitutionally expressed, on which rests the strength and hope of the republic, and he said that it was to have been expected from the senate of the United States.

"He expressed an ardent wish that he might be able in any degree to assuage the fierceness of party, or temper with moderation the conflicts of those who are only divided as to the means of securing the public welfare.

"He said, having been reminded that he was about to occupy the chair once filled by Washington, that he could hope to emulate him only in the singleness of the aims which guided the conduct of the man who had no parallel in history, and no rival in the hearts of his countrymen.

"In conclusion, he announced his readiness to take the oath of office on the 5th of March, proximo, at such hour and place as might be designated."

The report of the committee being made to the senate on the 27th of February, that body appointed as a committee to make the necessary arrangements for the reception of the president elect on the 5th of March, Senators Reverdy Johnson, Jefferson Davis, and John Davis.

In the full tide of a well-earned popularity, and with the best wishes of all parties, General Taylor commenced his career as chief magistrate of the republic. Immediately after his inauguration, on the 5th of March, 1849, he familiarly received at the presidential mansion all classes of his fellow-citizens, who thronged to welcome his advent at the capital, and to assure him of the public confidence in intrusting to him the affairs of state which devolved upon him. With becoming diffidence, in consequence of his want of experience as a civilian, he devoted himself with assiduity to the duties of his new station, and rapidly made himself acquainted with public men and the measures required of him as the head of the nation, and the director of its destinies.

After the first labors attendant upon the organization of his adminis

tration were over, the president made a tour, during the summer of 1849, through the middle states, as far west as Lake Erie, when, in consequence of ill health, from which he soon after recovered, he returned to Washington, passing through the interior of the state of New York, and the cities of New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. He was everywhere received by the people with enthusiasm and favor.

Resuming his duties at the seat of government, President Taylor met with firmness the many difficulties which embarrassed his administration, and continued to enjoy the confidence of his countrymen in the midst of the agitating questions which distracted Congress during a long and arduous session.

In the height of his usefulness, and while he was generally relied on as being eminently fitted, from his position and character, to calm dissension, and restore domestic peace to the Union, General Taylor was seized with an alarming illness, which, assuming the form of a bilious fever, in five days terminated his existence, at the presidential mansion, in the city of Washington, on Tuesday, the 9th of July, 1850, in the 66th year of

his age.

General Taylor was attended in his last moments by his wife and other members of his family, including Colonel Bliss and lady, Colonel Taylor and family, Jefferson Davis and family; also by Vice-President Fillmore, several senators and members of the house of representatives, gentlemen of the diplomatic corps, and a number of intimate friends. The medical having yielded to the spiritual agent, whose office it was to prepare for the approach of the king of terrors, prayers were said, after which the dying president took leave of his family. His last audible words were, "I am about to die-I expect the summons soon-I have endeavored to discharge all my official duties faithfully-I regret nothing, but am sorry that I am about to leave my friends."

The funeral of President Taylor took place at Washington, on Saturday, the 13th of July; and was attended by the members of both houses of Congress, President Fillmore, the cabinet and other officers of the general government, with a vast concourse of citizens and strangers. The pageant exceeded everything of the kind in order and magnificence, that ever took place in the metropolis.

General Taylor had discharged the duties of president one year, four months, and four days; and his sudden and unexpected death overwhelmed with sorrow his countrymen throughout the Union. Public honors were paid to his memory by both houses of Congress, then in session, by the army and navy, by state, municipal, and other authorities, and by religious and other societies; and, in short, every demonstration of respect and sorrow was evinced by the people of the whole country for the great loss which the nation had sustained.

In the language of one of the journals of the day, "General Taylor

had endeared himself to the American people to a degree which few public men ever obtain. The cause of this lay in the great goodness of his heart, the exceeding sincerity of his character; in his transparent common sense, so broad and strong as to amount to wisdom; in a firmness that faced every danger and shunned no responsibility; and in a patriotism and sense of honor which threw an almost chivalrous halo over the sturdy elements of his nature. Not a statesman by genius or by habit, he brought to the presidency a sound practical judgment which often proved more reliable than the opinions of those long versed in political affairs. He felt as the president of the American people, and instinctively apprehended the destiny of the republic. Not endowed with uncommon powers of reflection, he penetrated the questions brought before him as by a spontaneous faculty of insight, and having once made up his mind, did not abandon his determination. He was eminently a man of the people; he took them by the hand; he shared in their joys and their sorrows; not for any ulterior purpose, not as one descending for the moment from an eminent position, but because he felt himself foreign to no human interest or emotion. A triumphant general, elected to the presidency without effort on his part, he never forgot that admirable native modesty which forbade him to exaggerate the value of his own services and talents, or to claim any gift or capacity which he was not fully conscious of possessing. With manners of great plainness, destitute of polish, he always conveyed the impression of a true gentleman. But in every respect General Taylor was an American. He was a son of this republic; whatever he was, he was a product of his country and her institutions, and of the names of her great and good men, few will longer be preserved than his."

TAYLOR'S

ADDRESSES AND MESSAGES

INAUGURAL ADDRESS.

MARCH 5, 1849.

ELECTED by the American people to the highest office known to our laws, I appear here to take the oath prescribed by the constitution, and, in compliance with a time-honored custom, to address those who are now assembled.

The confidence and respect shown by my countrymen, in calling me to be the chief magistrate of a republic holding a high rank among the nations of the earth, have inspired me with feelings of the most profound gratitude; but, when I reflect that the acceptance of the office which their partiality has bestowed imposes the discharge of the most arduous duties, involves the most weighty obligations, I am conscious that the position which I have been called to fill, though sufficient to satisfy the loftiest ambition, is surrounded by fearful responsibilities.

Happily, however, in the performance of my new duties I shall not be without able co-operation. The legislative and judicial branches of the government present prominent examples of distinguished civil attainments and matured experience, and it shall be my endeavor to call to my assistance, in the executive departments, individuals whose talents, integrity, and purity of character, will furnish ample guaranties for the faithful and honorable performance of the trusts to be committed to their charge. With such aids, and an honest purpose to do whatever is right, I hope to execute diligently, impartially, and for the best interests of the country, the manifold duties devolved upon me.

In the discharge of these duties, my guide will be the constitution which I this day swear to " preserve, protect, and defend." For the interpretation of that instrument, I shall look to the decisions of the judicial tribunals established by its authority, and to the practice of the government under the earlier presidents, who had so large a share in its formation. To the example of those illustrious patriots I shall always defer with reverence, 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 and to appoint embassadors 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 assurance that my administration would be devoted to the welfare of the whole country, and not to the support of any particular section or merely local interest, I this day renew the declaration 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 on 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 can not but sympathize in all efforts to extend the blessings of civil and political liberty, but at the same time we are warned by the admonition 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 position, 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 honorable 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 the true honor 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 prerequisites to the disposal 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 manufacture, to improve our rivers and harbors, 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.