The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1859-01-04 00:00:00

SUPPRESSION OF THE LIQUOR
TRAFFIC.

On Thursday evening last, two veey interceding
addresses were delivered on this subject, at the Town•
hall, by J. Hilton, Esq., of Brighton, and Colonel
Realf, of America. There was a tolerably numerous
attendance, the Rev. F. Perkins presiding. The Chair-
inan in coins introductory remarks said they were all well
acquainted with the awful fact that there was an evil
widely-spread over our land which was ruinous,
degrading, and destructive in its influence. It desolatee
• man's home, and severs him from happiness in this
life and in the life to come. If they entered drunkards'
dwellingx, they found them houses of desolation—grates
without fire, cupboards without food, drawers without
clothes, and children training themeelves up in crime
instead of becoming educated to discharge the duties
which devolved upon them in the present life. He
would not trespass upon their tinie any longer, but
would at once introduce to their notice a gentleman
whom they were better acquainted with than he (the
('hairman) was. He would beg to call their attention to
Mr. Hiholt (Applause.)
Mr. HILTON said he should occupy their attention
that evening but a very brief time, because his friend,
Colonel Reslf, was there, and it would be the first and
last time that his friend would have an opportunity of
addressing them. They were there to represent the
United Kingdom Alliance. which had for its object to
suppress the sale of liquor. The mile of liquor was an
evil. All claws in the United Kingdom admitted that.
The judge upon the bench, the Minister in the highest.
seat in Parliament, the man who sells the drink, and
even the drunkard himself acknowledge that drunken-
nem is an evil. They were there to draw their Attention
from drunkards to drink—from the effect to the cause.
They were there to endeavour to show that the cause of
all the evil is in the nature of the article sold, and that
the article could not be sold without producing evil.
Almost every experiment has been tried so as to regulate
the sale of liquor, but all have failed, because
they were not based upon sound principle. They were
there that night to propane a plan to remedy those
evils. We don't propose, said the lecturer, to remedy
the evil by the paining of • law which shall close all the
public houses in England at once; but we propose to
give to the people of every town, and the people of the
town of Dorchester if they choose, a right to pay whether
the bill shall be carried or not. The principle of the
hill we have to propoee is this—that the trade in strong
drink is allowed by Government to exist for the accomo-
dation of the people, therefore the people themselves
ought to be the judges of the amount of accommodation
they require ; end if they don't require that accommo-
dation, and consider the male of drink to he an absolute
injury, than the people ought to have the power to suo-
press that nuisance. That IA the principle of the hill we
are now proposing. The question has been in the
north of England very freely discussed. and the working
men in that part of the country have made it the grand
qaestion of the day. Mr. Hilton then read an extract
from the fifth Annual Report of the United Kingdom
Alliance as to the result of • poll taken in several town.
ill the north of England. which showed • large majority
in favour of • Permissive Bill. The majority, lie said,
of the working men in the north consider that the trade
in strong drink is antagonistic to their interest, stands
in the way of their political interests, and stands in the
way of their interests in every point of view. He would
now leave itto his friend, Col. Realfe. to tell them of the
working of the bill in America, and he (Mr. Hilton)
should be happy to answer any question which they
might think neeesaary to ask him. (Hear, hear.)
Colonel HEALY, who on rising was received with
applause, said he had come over from America for the
benefit of his health. When he cause into England he
found • great agitation existing in regard to a bill which
is called • " Permissive Bill." It had been said by
ROOM in this country that the liquor law had been a
fallacy ; and bemuse he (mild he knew something of its
workinge and could testify to its practical good he had
no right to let any opportunity pass, and instead of giv-
ing himself any rest be had been working pretty hard.
He proposed to tell them something of the working of
the Maine law in America, but first of all he would
acquaint theal with some of the horrible results of the
liquor traElc. America is guilty of the iniquity and
shame of holding in cruel and cursed bondage millions of
our fellow creatures carved in ebony. Perhaps they did
not know that the liquor traffic was the principal cause
of slavery in America; but he would give them proof of
it. The very first cargo of slaves that were landed in
the West lodic@ were set to work in making rum. The rum
thus manufactured became the staple article of commerce
•ith the slave traders of the western coast of America.
Then the rum was taken back to America in the vessel
which took the alarm to the West Indies ; and foe this
liquor the negro mother would tear the babe from her
tweed, the father would part with his son, and the
brother would part with his sister and semi them to the
West Indies. Thus begotten in rum the slave trade has
gone on. There are in the slave States of America
thousands of slaveowners, while there are five times as
Thing labouring white men upon whom the curse of
~144`.°17 presses with intolerable weight. These many
,
mnuands of poor whites are kept in • state of ignorance
almost equal to the slaves themselves; because the
niave traders know that as soon ae these whites become
t'doested and intelligent, and are able to understand the
bleating' of freedom, the slave owner knows
that hie power will go; and, as if gifted with
devilish ingenuity, they have surrounded the
rth of ma white man with such temptation
r strong drink that the whole body of poor whites
'nag be characterised in one brief sentence as •
" drunken rabble r Every man who is of age in the
States of AOSOT6OII has • vole—that which every man in
,Intland enlist to have. (Applause.) Them sre between
'°*, and Ire times the amber of poor white voters
Nan them aro slam truism, and it is to the interest of
tur whits to abolish slavery. Now slavery is just •
.ib
el voting at the
_poll • sad NM as seen as these
white imam beanie sober poll;
educated they COO OklOi
wen who an opposed to slavery, and who would rote to '
rim the whits maw his des. Only • few Nen ago, His
speaker said—it may be ten or twelm--shirery was
'making sash 'marvellous esiensien over Ns land, NM
it heaps.. question whether all the Nabs *NM not
Imo" ~jawriee's“ ; mid II they would maim OM
ter, of skew *ay would find NM it idwaysa=
with sissiaol. Thom. goad sad great NM' Oi j
611111.4 f *Or' asaioat Inquiries as to what should be

dose; they SAW the great title of intemperance and
slavery coming over the liberties of the peodle, and out
of these serions retiecti ~,, A and laborious investa4stions
, arose that great protest against drunkenness. It Was a
jTeat and glorious reform ; it gathered to itself all over
the land many who had been stricken doe n by drunken•
news.. Happiness and glailnemi did the protest carry
into innumerable homes. But the enthusiasm with
which the movement was first greeted soon pained sway,
and thii. results became CSAIICACIIIIS &ISO, and the great
tole of inteniperattue again rolled ;n with incremed vio-
lence, and threAtenot to ;lestroy even the I/111 landmarks
of slavery. lion those goon own of America were
thrust back upon the out ;lunation, " What shall we
dor ifere wa. agr;•.‘t e try formed with the prin-
ciplu that all men sl Itl be free. Here was a country
having a better organised system of education than any
other aystein under the sun, yet it stood as the greatest
, demoralizing country in the world. Then arose in the
State of Maine the greatest idea of this time for Americas,
and, ni:rhaim, fur England, for rendering the liquor
traffic criminal; it wati called a "Prohibitory Liquor
Law," and they said, though cure is well prevention is
better, and then they discovered, as is always the case,
that the greatest truths ore the sittiplext. The 3laine
law is now no longer a little child—it CAM now talk in
the greatest ameinbly at Washington ; it now Sib, Mem
the benche* of the American Supremo Courts ; it has
gone beyond the mighty rivers of America, and is now
spreading north, east, west, and south. The State of
Maine passed the Maine law. At first they laid it would
die, but it did nut die, it grew and nourished, and the
State of Maine became a better and more prosperous
State than it was before. The people of other New.
England States, seeing the results which had been
obtained in the State of Maine, like good and sensible
people, set about the experiment and passed bills for
themselves, and similar results an iii the State of Mains
were seen in other States. The lecturer then read a
statistical return showing the vast superiority in no
lity, contentment, and haimineas exhibited by the State
of Maine and other New England States which had
adopted the Maine lea; while the decrease of pauper-
ism, the extension of commerce, the spread of educe.
tion, mid a large increase in contribut to religious
societies stood ii a must favourable and striking con.
treat with the condition of the other States of America
that had not adopted this salutary law. Wherever, said
the lecturer, the Maine law has extended itself into
States slavery is now longer there. So touch for
America. Now, he wanted to know whether they were
so intensely English that because • thing is American
they would therefore refuse their assent to it? He did
not say that if they plumed a Maine law positively in
England it would be attended with the same results as
in America, because the construction of their society
was different. Now it is proposed by Una
Permissive Bill, which is shortly to be introduced
Into Parliionent, to give the people power to put
the publichouaes down. Something has been said about
coercion, but that was not the cam, for the first clause
of the bill says that if the people don't want the Petunia.
imitative Bill they shan't have it. (Hear, hear.) Where,
then, is the coercion? If they wanted to stop the
drunkenness and pauperism of this country they must
atop the cause, for they moat bear in mind that eradica•
two is better than cure. At the present time the
country was agitated up and down by a Reform Bill.
He WAS glad to see it, but he wished to say that if the
working men hail years ago given up strong drink and
appropriated their money for the purpute of educating
themselves they might have had the Rehm* Bill ten
years ago. Government never moves in advance of the
people, it will not move a single inch, and the peolik
of .a.ighoid have been complaining that they have not
been fairly represented. It was their own fault an
a great measure. (Hear, hear.) They complained of
dear bread, yet whilst they were emplaning they were
tie.drueing re than B.ooo.oooqualters ofgram annu-
ally —.lough to give a three-quartern loaf to every
family in Eitglaml, Ireland and Scotland. In
England one out of every eleven is a pauper, amt
yet in the face of this they annually destroyed grain
which would feed every pauper in Englind, AO there
would be an end of pauperimn. What produces pauper.
ism Drunkenness. What produces tirunkennem ?
The liquor traffic. After picturing in glowieg colours the
simplicity and trutliftilness of tue Permissive Bill, he
concluded by proposing • resolution in favour of the
Permissive Bill which was carried by a large majority,
two bands only being held up against it.
A vote of thanks to the Chairman. proposerl by Mr.
lithron and seconded by e'olonel RKALF, which was
briefly reaponde.l to by the CHAIRMAN, brought the
proceedings to a close.