A great measure is the result of many causes and in its
promulgation it may bear the name of a person whose contribution has
been insignificant relatively.
General Banks had aptitude for public affairs--an aptitude which
approached genius. His mind dwelt upon great projects, and never upon
petty schemes, nor upon intrigues as a means of success. His warfare
was a bold one, and in the open field. In politics he was deficient in
organizing qualities, but he had unbounded confidence in his own
ability and in the ability of his associates and friends to command and
to retain popular support. As to himself, that confidence rested upon
an adequate basis. In the last fifty years there has been no other man
in Massachusetts who was as generously supported, and by people of all
classes. For the masses, who saw him and who knew him, only as he
appeared on the platform, there was an inspiration in his presence and
in his speeches, and for his associates and friends there was a
generous companionship which none could resist--which none wished to
resist. In his private life there was no malice in his intercourse
with men; in the strife of war there was no vindictiveness in spirit
nor in the means of prosecuting war.
A patriotic man, who trusted the people, and a man whom the people
trusted; a brave soldier, who retained the confidence of his troops,
and of his superiors in all the vicissitudes of war; a friend whose
friendship was not changed nor tempered by the changing events of life.
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