Peking, Oct. 10.
The full text of Marshal Tsao Kun's inaugural speech, delivered in the Great Hall of the Palace to-day, is as follows "Having been a military man all my life, I have had no experience in the civil branch of administration. Now that 1 am obliged to assume the responsibility of leadership in the affairs of the Republic and of labouring for the nawonal welfare, solemnly entrusted to me by the people, I cannot but tremble when 1 reflect on the weightiness of that responsibility. It is, however, fortunate that the fundamental law of China has been completed just at the time when I take up office, and that a definite path has thus been laid out for the conduct of State affairs. All the previous Presidents of the Republic of China have been distinguished citizens, but they have been unable to carry out their policies simply because of the absence of a national constitution which otherwise would have guided their administration. In that respect I feel I am more fortunate than my predecessors.
"The secret of successful government is the utilization of talented men. The nurturing of talents depends upon education, but in recent years, on account of financial stringency, the institutions of learning in this country have been on the verge of suspension. This situation is having an effect upon the future of our young men, and might ultimately undermine the foundations of the nation. The most urgent attention should therefore be paid to the maintenance and development of educational institutions.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.