279 



may relieve them — the supremacy of the civil over the 

 military authority — economy in the public expense, that 

 labour may be lightly burdened — the honest payment 

 of our debts, and sacred preservation of public faith — 

 encouragement of agriculture, and of commerce, as its 

 handmaid — the diffusion of information, and arrange- 

 ment of all abuses at the bar of the public reason — 

 freedom of religion — freedom of the press — and free- 

 dom of person, under the protection of the habeas cor- 

 pus, and trials by juries impartially selected. These 

 principles form the bright constellation, which has gone 

 before us, and guided our steps through an age of re- 

 volution and reformation. The wisdom of our sages, 

 and blood of our heroes, have been devoted to their at- 

 tainment. They should be the creed of our political 

 faith — the text of civic instruction — the touchstone by 

 which to try the services of those we trust; and should 

 "we wander from them, in moments of error or alarm, 

 let us hasten to retrace our steps, and to regain the 

 road which alone leads to peace, liberty, and safety. 



I repair, then, fellow citizens, to the post you have 

 assigned me. With experience enough in subordinate 

 offices, to have seen the difficulties of this, the greatest 

 of all, I have learned to expect, that it will rarely fall to 

 the lot of imperfect man, to retire from this station, with 

 the reputation, and the favour, w'hich bring him into it. 

 Without pretensions to that high confidence you repos- 

 ed in our first and greatest revolutionary character, 

 whose preeminent services had entitled him to the first 

 place in his country's love, and destined for him the 

 fairest page in the volume of faithful history, 1 ask so 

 much confidence only, as may give firmness and effect 

 to the legal administration of your affairs. T shall often 

 go wrong, through defect of judgment. When right I 

 shall often be thought wrong, by those whose positions 

 will not command a view of the whole grounfl. I ask 

 your indulgence for my own errors, which will never 

 be intentional ; and your supjjort against the errors of 

 others, who may condemn what they would not, if seen 

 HI all its parts. The approbation imj)lied by your suf- 



