General Taylor has begun his Presidency of the United States,
with an inaugural address which is received as marking a hope- ful change in the character of the administration. The address is briefer than the pedantic essays of his immediate predecessors, and more general in its terms. But if a responsible ruler is bound to particularize, the excess to which late Presidents have gone in elaborate minuteness, coupled with the nature of their adminis- tration, has shown that a subservient first magistrate is not al- ways a good or creditable ruler even for a republic. General Taylor writes with the simplicity and heartiness of a man who trusts to his good fame, to his own honest purpose, and the can- did interpretation of his hearers; his manner indicates at once independence and considerateness, discretion and a generous warmth. You feel that you are reading the words of one who is more of a man than the self-seeking popularity-mongers who have occupied his post. But statesmanship cannot get rid of a personal character; and, after all, largeness of head and heart are better gages of good conduct in public men than specific pledges.
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