Passing from these remarks upon the condition of our own country
to consider our relations with other lands, we are reminded by the
international complications abroad, threatening the peace of
Europe, that our traditional rule of noninterference in the
affairs of foreign nations has proved of great value in past times
and ought to be strictly observed.
The policy inaugurated by my honored predecessor, President Grant,
of submitting to arbitration grave questions in dispute between
ourselves and foreign powers points to a new, and incomparably the
best, instrumentality for the preservation of peace, and will, as
I believe, become a beneficent example of the course to be pursued
in similar emergencies by other nations.
If, unhappily, questions of difference should at any time during
the period of my Administration arise between the United States
and any foreign government, it will certainly be my disposition
and my hope to aid in their settlement in the same peaceful and
honorable way, thus securing to our country the great blessings of
peace and mutual good offices with all the nations of the world.
Fellow-citizens, we have reached the close of a political contest
marked by the excitement which usually attends the contests
between great political parties whose members espouse and advocate
with earnest faith their respective creeds.
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