Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 January 1877 — GOV. WILLIAMS’ INAUGURAL. [ARTICLE]

GOV. WILLIAMS’ INAUGURAL.

Qov. Williams delivered his inaugural address on the Bth, speaking substantially as follows: emum or rex Sxmatb and House or Bnr BSSXNTATrras: I hate no words at my command with which to expres s my thanks for the proof of sonfidence with which I have been honored in p acing me In the highest position In the gift ol the people of onr beloved State. The regular message enjoined by the Constitution having already been submitted to the present Legislature bymy predecessor. It Is at this tiro*inappropriate for me to submit specific recommendations. As the powers delegated to the JBxeective ire calculated to affect interests of vital importance to the whole people, I maybe permitted to rive a brief view of soine general principles which, In my judgment, lie at the foundation ol onr prosperity, and shonld regal ate the admlnlo trutiou of our public affairs. Onr State, in common with thereat of the Union, and especially the Western portion. Is experiencing the distress and embarrassment consequent upon a system of overtrading and deceptive speculation. Onr consumption having exceeded our income. the balance mast be restored by a corresponding excess of our receipts over onr expenses. We have been lured to the e mbrace of debt under the flattering gnlse of credit, end we can be extricated only by the joint itid of industry and economy. We shonld again seek the ancient landmarks of frugality and republican simplicity from which too many have unwittingly strayed. Labor Is the prime source of wealth in a State. No community can prosper without it. Commerce, ths business of which is only to exchange the products of the industry of on* place for thoee of another, highly advantageous as It is to a community, cannot exist without the ltfe-eusteintug breath of labor. It is gratl -ring to see from recent indications that this opinion Is gaining ground In unexpected quarters. This should st-rve as an nu•couragement to the advocate or truth under adverse circumstances, proving, as It does, thW sooner or later her right will be vindicated, and her supremacy acknowledged Our position, soil and climate, as well as the habits of onr people, all point to teat branch of labor which U devoted to agriculture as our chief reliance for lasting wealth and returning prosperity. This calling should rank with us firstln respectability, as It unquestionably is first in importance. TVe principal, and Indeed almost the only, assistance which can be rendered to tide vital interest, the removal of indirect impositions, the more danger >us and oppressive because unseen and stealthy in their operation, is beyond the reach of State legislation. It is to be regretted that a growing distaste .exists In too many quartern against this nursery of virtue, this surest guarantee of comfort and independence, this sheet-anchor of our common prosperity, as exhibited in the Increasing number* of onr youth who are crowding the other profession* to seek a livelihood on the accident* of human life. The true principles of economy la the admin!* 2 [ration of public affairs are essentially the same a* those which obtain In Individual transaction*. No expenditures should be incurred for official services or otherwise, unless found necessary os useful, and then at the lowest amount compatible with full and Intrinsic value, and ample ability of performance Tested by this role, all unnecessary offices, if any are foand to exist, shonld be abolished- Public officers shonld be held to the strictest accountability. Sxcesslve legislation is an evil. Toe Increased harden thereby Imposed upon the treasury Is but one of the evils growing out of it. Tbs taws by frequent changes become complex, vague and uncertain. This unfits them in s great measure for being a known and safe rule o' action in a community. It la of the greatest Importance to the welfare of the ps pie that the lawashould be generally known and Wbll understood For this purpose they ehou4 be maturely considered in their inception and be fully tested by time and experience. This would toad greatly to insure harmony and certainty in their execution, and cheek a fruitful source of litigation, which tends to foment evil passions, to excite social discord and operates a* s heavy tax on the community.. Cheap transportation Isl s subject of great Importance to the producing classes. Especially the local rates charged on raHwacto are Oppressive at all points except where there Is competition. It would be well to give it your earaeet considersiiotl. I cannot, on this occasion, sniffer the subject of onr common school system to pass without some notice. We have a fund equal, if not superior, to that of any otter State In the Union. See that it Yon ftlioald tra&rd the right of BUujnae Mud shield this inestimable privilege againetall encroachments. whether exhibited in the shape of fraud, illegal voting or lawless violence. Vsin, Indeed. Is tte establishment of our free government. if such abuses are suffered to exist. The ballot-box would, in that case, cease to reflect the will of the majority, which ie the essential privilege of * republican government. Illegal Voting and frauds tt elections should bo severely punished. Art. 4, Sec. 5, of the Constitution of the State, reads as follows: “The number of Senators red Represent* ives shall, «t the session next following each period of making such enumeration, be fixed by law, and apportioned among the several counties according to the number of white male asr-a.-s ‘■asra,’? S im" •■!£& S 3! re-entatires to ths General Assembly for six years, •i he same became a taw by the lapse of time. Dee. 27,1872 It failed to raeelxw tSeapprovslof tte then acting Governor, although he was* member of ho dominant party. I would not recommend the pesa ge or an entirely new law, but Would recommend some amendments so as to <te equal Justice to all eeetions and injustice to bom. We have just pueeed through one of the most exciting and bitter cam Dai cn* I have ever wftnssed. None have hadmore bitterness and unjuetlflabto scandal heaped upon tteirkeade than myself. Notwithstanding all fMa, I shall be pleased to co-operate with you in any measure calculated to make us a united, prosperous and happy people. «M # » ■-■■■■»■ —Few men are given the bruin and will which nature handed out toNyo—poor Nye-Jim Nye~ex-Senater Nye. But he ia dead. The pet of the Senate, the life of his circle, the Joy of hU family, has laid down the burden of flesh, and the mind, unsettled and ra*de delirious by disease and labor, is at rest, or restored to its perfect keenness, ia that great Journal. .oof-vt „ —Mi*. Gaines is in Washington this winter as vivacious and as oonfidentthst she will triumph over the lawyw as the was forty years ago.