Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1832-03-01

pldn, anu approve al youi PtiuCiPicS, oui
never will subscribe to any written
pledge" Sir, when the Fathers Of our
Revolution resolved to deliver them
selves and their posterity from politi-
cal bondage, not to be named in the
same day with that ofthis Moloch which
has enslaved our country, when they u
nited to contend against the political
usurpations of an infatuated mother coun-
try, what did they do' There was nc
fear of written pledges then. They
came forward before God and man, and
pledged to one another their lives, their
fortunes, and their sacred honor. They
wrote down the pledge and subscribed il
with their names and who of all their de-
scendants does not feel thrill Of CRATE
ful emotions pass through his bosom, as
his eye rests upon their honOred names:
Yet there are some who shrink from a
pledge that calls not for life, for fortune,
or the offering up Of sacred honor; but
only abstinence from an evil which has
well nigh converted our country into an
Aceldama. Sir, we know the dangers
to which men are exposed by this insid
ious evil, and we all have cause to won
der how it is that we have escaped them.
But this pledge shuts the door. 1t
puts an end to solicitation, and furnishes
satisfactory answer, which induces
friends and companions to treat the man
who has given it, as one who has devo-
ted his name and honor to sacred OBJ
jcct, and who must not be solicited to
violate it. This takes our youth not on
ly from the broad doorway that leads to
open ruin, but from every insidious by
path to destruction. A written pledge
has enlisted the sympathies of the hu-
man heart Sir, we know its power
We have seen the influence. We have
all felt the Influence Of the conduct Of a
friend, and when we see him affix his
name to combination like this; when
we witness his devotion and the stcadi-
ness of his purpose, its natural tendency
is to cOnciliate our good will. The pow
er of such example spreads from heart to
heart, from neighborhood to ne eighbor-
hood, from country to country, from con-
tinent to continent. The spirit Of that
pledge has been felt in the state Of N.
York with such a power, that it has
drawn forth within that favored State,
more than one hundred thousand written
pledges. Their greatest and their best
men,-their public oflicers-the orna-
ments of their Judicial halls and their
legislative assemblies,-have with one
voice contributed their example, and Civ
en- their names, in pledge for the total
disuse of ardent spirits. Sir, there is no
enterprise of modern times which so illus
trates the power of example. Its great
object was to correct public sentiment ito
raise the standard of moral principle land
what mode did its advocates adopt, to ac-
complish this desirable but difficult OBJ
ject? They determined to gather one by
one, Individual suflrages in its favor, and
thus to elevate public sentiment by rails
ing the sentiment of the individuals who
compose the public. This was what they
determined to do, and they have Gone it.
The power Of example, enlisted in good
cause, has accomplished all the wonders
we have seen; and MIR. Chairman, it is
not matter Of joyful graduation, that that
cause has at length reached this place
not for lcgislation; Legislation had long
since exhausted all its power; and all the
sanctions of law, when opposed to the
course of this desolating evil, were but
as chaff before the mountain storm. But
here is new principle, which in its po-
tency, is worth whole volumes of legis-
lation. That mighty principle is person.
al example; and, Sir, what might not
such principle effect, if communicated
to the constituents of all the members of
the 22d Congress. What would it not
effect, were all these members resolved
to consecrate their combined example in
this great cause9 Should the members
one and all, both of the Senate & House
of Representatives, send down to their
constituents such blessed example, with
what power would it not go down to the
thirteen millions whom they representa-
Sir, it is not too much to say, that such
an example would do more for the wei
fare of this country, than the whole years
Of Legislation.
Let me ask one moments indulgence
while ! add a word or two in reply to the
great plea most frequently u,ged in oppo-
sition to the Temperance cause. mean
among intelligent men, and by many men
OF high moral character. For there are
many men of this class still against this
cause, and their plea is,-"We drink
temperateIy: we are guilty of no excess
scs: we a'c our own keepers, and we in
tend to pursue a moderate course: what
evil can there be in the use oithat which
relreshes us, and harms nobody" Sir,
in view of what the Temperance cause
may If faithfully pursued accomDlish for