44 



applause, which he acknowledged in the following 

 speech : 



REMARKS OF GEN. BANKS. 



Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, — It gratifies 

 me to be present with you and participate in the exer- 

 cises of to-day, and I only regret that I have been de- 

 prived of the pleasure of attending with you through- 

 out the whole of this interesting and instructive occa- 

 sion, but accident deprived me of that privilege. I un- 

 derstand, of course, that it is the privilege of the Presi- 

 dent to set every citizen up upon this platform, in this 

 free country, to make sometimes a poor exhibition of 

 himself He has put me in that condition. I am worse 

 off than anybody else in this assembly, for I have noth- 

 ing to sell, nothing to show, and nothing to say. It is a 

 good thing not to be a Governor — if His Excellency 

 will pardon me the remark — for it is his duty to break 

 the ice upon these occasions, and, as these gentlemen on 

 my right, and upon my left, and in front of me will find, 

 when they come to occupy that position, it is no easy 

 thing to do. It is said by those skilled in eloquence 

 that if a man only can read the thoughts of his audi- 

 tory, he has no trouble at all. I think that His Excel- 

 lency the Governor must have had that second sight. 

 At any rate I owe him thanks, for he has, by his elo- 

 quent, inspiring and enthusiastic statement of the ad- 

 vantages of the day which you celebrate, done so much 

 that I feel, if I could read your thoughts, there would 

 be nothing for me to say, or for you to desire. Or, as 

 Binney, the English butler, says, Avhen asked to make 

 beer, '^ I 'av'n't the 'ops." I might content myself with 



