Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1832-03-01
Reported for the New-YOrk Journal Of Commerce.
sPEEcH OF
MIR ERFLINGHUYSEN

iagton City, on the epening Of January goth,
IN support oChe foiiowing Resolution:
"REsoLvED, That the success which
has attended the efforts of the friends OF
Temperance, affords matter for public
gratitude; aud should lead us to cherish
the principles that have, under the divine
blessing, produced rich, decided and ex-
tcnsivc reformation, propltious alike to
the hopes of picty and patriotism.
The resolution | have offered, said
Mr.. f., has regard to the success of the
great effort made in behalf Of Tempe
rance; and in truth, Mr.. Chairman, the
/ progress of this blessed scheme of mer-
cy has been such as to astonish the warm
est friends of the Temperance cause
That an evil of such magnitude, bearing
down with such IA threatening aspect, ,and
such an awful influence, on all the pros
poets and best hopes of our country,
should have been SO promptly and so et-
iectually arrested, is indeed matter Of
thanksgiving for every christian and pa
trol. We can all remember that within
IA few years past, such was the force Of
public opinion in opposition to Tempe
rance, that it required no ordinary iorti-
tudc in an individual 10 breast himself
against it ia the use of cold water; while
now, It would mantle the same cheek
with deeper bushes to be seen mingling
that water with ardent spirits. What sir,
the same beings that we were, actuated
by the same desire, and having the same
passions we had then! The truth is, the
evil had teached its crisis. The moral
scourgc had long swept over our land,
! with the besOm of desolatiOn. 1t had
spared no class, no sex, no age, no de-
gree. The tire-side, the sanctuary, the
court Of justice, the hall OF legislation,
equally with the humble cottage, bore
evidence to its presence and power
The pulpit Numbered its anathemas, the
law held out its penalties, moralists ut
tered their lectures. But the monster
stalked on, filling the regions of death
with the faiicst and best hopes OF our
country, While the tears and groans Of
wrctchcd wives, heart broken widows,
and bercaved mothers, marked its course.
The evil repeat it-had reached its
crisis; and every friend OF lis race be-
gan to enquire what must be DONE
Must we give up our country in despair!
Must the billows of desolation continue
to roll their resistless course over the
best hopes of humanity! In that hour of
extremity, God in his mercy prompted
few individuals to devise the simple, but
ciicctual plan OF total abstinence. This,
sir, has proved the blessed engine Of ac-
con1plishing SO great deliverance.
! Why is an experiment so simple, so
commended to our patronage! Because
here is the grand secret of our power
Legislators and people, lawyers and
Judges drank on. They mourncd over
the evil; they buried friend here, a
brother there, but commended the same
poisoned chalice to their own lips. They
denounced the evil, but still continued to
c'.rrish it in their own bosom, and lie,
who searches the heart and whose bles-
sing alone gives sncceas to human en-
dcavor, saw it, and lrowned upon their
efforts. But vixen few devoted and
scli-dcnicd men came up to the measure
Of total abstinence, and proved by their
conduct the sincerity Of their professions,
they propitiated the smiles of heaven;
and not only SO, they propitiated public
sentiment. When their fellow men be-
came convinced that there was no hy-
pocricy in their tears, but that they deep
" and unIeignedly felt the evil they de-
plured, their arguments found ready
way to the hearts, the understandings,
and the consciences the community
Their arguments could no longer be met
by that gallant taunt, "Phy sician, heal
thy self" Men saw that their garments
were unspottcd from the evil they con-
dcmncd, they perceived their honesty,
they believed their doctrine, and their
hearts yielded to It's power Even if
they bad, still every aspect of their SIM
pie plan would have presented il as IA
plan full of wisdom and energy; and the
only marvel would have been how the
friends of man could have slept on their
posts so long. But they saw it was a
practical evIl, and they applied to it a
practical remedy.
/ The wh,lc Of the mighty misery grew
out OF the use of ardent spirits. What SO
rational; what so sensible "A remedy, as
To resolve upon the dsuse of thcm;-
Then they met the enemy IN the very
teeth; they took the monster at once by
the throat, and grapplcd with him ON his
own ground; and no wonder that he fell
before it. 1t was noble purpose, and
conducted upon noble principles; q blcs-
sed be God, it has completely triumph
ed. The friends of this enterprise did
not rest here; they knew that their Toe
was subtle and insidious; they saw the