Martinsburg gazette and public advertiser. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1826-1833, 1833-03-28

county Tor liquor, not only by the uAfrci tr lam
~ use, but for drams al pablo places. and social
meetings; the loss Of tiul, money spent cor mcdi-
| cal aid, and the support Of poor, made 50 BY IN
| Temperance, then multiply this by two thousand,
and II will convince you, that the views which
have been taken Of the cost Of intcmperance 20
the nation, appalling they arc, cannot greatly
| exceed the truth. Shall We then make 40 effort
to stay this eyils Let bcscech you my friends,
| one and all, publicly and promptly 20 come for
ward, and give us the inilacncr Of your example,
as wei as your active cooperation IN 50 good a
\ cause,
hut il is said, The principles Of the soeisfy, are
an inffingrast Of the liberties Of Dhe people. II
we sought legislative AID, 10 prohibit the a
ardent spirits by penal epactnlents, there might
b. some foundation for thIs charge; but strange
! indeed does IL appear, when we seek only 10
persuade men, 10 do voluntarily, that which most
| Of them will admit would b. greatly 20 their adj
vantage. II this be infringement al Liberty,
1 what NAV not b. 20 considered! II men associate
to defend their lives, liberty or property from
threatened danger; TO trade, 10 labor or even for
amusement is II not equally soS What are all the
| institutions OF civil government, by which We
usually flatter ourselves our liberties are 10 be
preserved? But what is the servtude 10 which
we wish to subject them! Know yc not, that 10
| whom We yield yourselves servants 10 obey, his
servants ye arr: We would then induce the
drun<ard to transfer his service from mtempc.
perance, where poverty, disgrace, sickness, dis
ease, misery and death, are his wages in this
world, with eternal death hereafter; TO a service
in which he will gain eath, happiness, content
ment, and perhaps wealth here, with fair
chance for all the OF grace TO operate, and
probably bring him to eternal glory hereafter
Hopeless indeed is the OF that unfortunate
man, who IN his zeal against our cause, has re-
ally persuaded himself to believe public liberty
endangered, by making the people more virtu-
Gus, contented and happy, more cool to delibe
rate, more prompt TO execute what they may
deem necessary 10 defend their rights.
But we asked, tcheye the necessity Of a so
ciety 10 effect this object, the excellence Of srhieh
all tcho tcoiitd JON you must previously haze dc
k1a0icfedged! Because experience has shown this
the best mode OF effectIng any object, too great
for individual excrtion. IL produces unity OF de-
sign, with concert Of action. IL operates more
powerfully public opinion, than the isolated
efforts of individuals, aad II is on public opinion
wish TO operate. Upon this each member o.
society has an ih.luence. There IS no indIN duai,
however humble, who may not do good, at least
by showing others, that he has firmncss To resist
this evil But, can certainly Keep mpself sober
tcithout Joining the society, and tchg bind myself
TO do that, tohichI tcell do lcitouf pledge9
We rejorce TO see temperance practicod, even by
those who contemn the assistance society prof
fers to their good resolutions, and will not unit
themselves with US; but will " do III VIII ye,
not only refrain from the Of spirits yours Ives,
but cease TO make, or traffic in thcm9 VIII We
so far resist the customs OF the world around you.
as never to furnish the tempting poison TO those
you employ, nor to your friends and neighbors
who may visit you? These resolutions can only
proceed from firm conviction Of the injurious e.
fects OF spirits upon yourselves and others, and
this imposes you the solemn duty of well con-
sidering, how we best give tfficacy TO these
convictions.
But ardent spirits are like ALL other gifts Of a
bouftifta creator, iciich are to be used IN nodera-
tion and are good in their proper place. Arsenic
and other polsons are also gifts of God for which
hi nj II
be our lot to use them; but were the same pious
feeling, which Acknowledges his bounty in the
gift, exercised in finding out "its proper place.
IN the use OF ardent spirits, much Of the object Of
our society, would perhaps be accomplished
w hat is their proper place? Besides our every
day experience Of fact, we have the authority Of
many Of the most respectable physicians, both Of
Europe and America for saying, that they are a
poison, deliterious to the constitution, precisely
IN the degree to which they taken; and if they
be something seful IN medicine, so is arenic and
other poisons. ats proper place. then, may be
found amongst the drugs of the apothecsry, or the
materials OF some manufactures, but for Gods
sake, let it not b. found on the tables and side
boards, OF the christian, the temperate the
sane. That ardent spirits fad no 'sproper place"
IN the common use Of any class Of men, is proved
by the experiences OF the few past years There
are probably 500 vessels sailing from the ports Of
the United States, in which no spirits used.
1t there be any men, TO whom their use has here
any others, it is to mariners, exposed TO storms
and tempests IN every cline. From the frozen
regions OF north, waited in few days ON the
wings OF the wind, to the scorching heats of a
vertical sun or vice versa; spending whole nights,
wet with the spray and exposed 10 the storm, the
use OF ardent spirits, with them IN ght seem, not
only allowable, but necessary; yet the universal
testimony as far can learn is, that those
vessels from which their use is banshcd, are bet
ter navigated, and the men more healthy, than
"A. 81, ~1HI L.. n
poison to them. This fact has been tested by ex-
perience in public ships, under the debilitat.
Ing climate OF the eastern MEDITERRANEAN. On
board ths John Adams, every hand but two hay-
ing rehnqulshsd his grog the issue of il has been
stopped. The government, convinced by rea-
soning OF the temperance writers, and the cxpe-
riments already mad, have stopped issuing that
part OF the ration to the army, with acknowledge
I'd benefit, both to the health and discipline Of
the men. Will not You, whohave been so stead
last IN your approval Of this administration, even
IN ITS questionable measures, yield it your support
also, in this one Of its noblesf and best
But II is objected; toere the manufacture of ar
0ct spiftts stopped, az. ictt,Te teo,tid suffer for
soafai o. market for those products tciiich tciH
not oeta transportation an another shape. Can this
lear be seriously entertained? Would not agri-
culture be directed, either to produce more of
those articles which would bear transportation,
or to convert the surplus, now made into whiskey,
into stock and send il TO find market in that
shape! AT the commencement Of the temperance
reform IN Hector township, New York, there
was scarcely gram enough raised, after supplying
the disullers, for the support OF the inhabitants:
lastyea ii is supposed 10000 bushels were sold
for foreign consumption. Had this been CONVEX
ted into whiskty, 1T would have p rished in the
| using, whereas, II may BE- considered so much
realized by the people. Accordingly we find,
that wherever the temperance reform has prevail
| cd to any extent, farmers have had their full
| proportion OF the general benefit.
Toprofessing christians would say, that 4 they
| view temperance only in moral and political as
! pect, they deny II ITS greatest importance. As
nothing more cflectually mpedes the operations
of grace than ntempe rance, so the statistics col
lected by the society prove, thatwheresoever the
efforts of the society have succeeded, there the
preaching Of the gospel has been peculiarly bless
ed. In three hundred towns, to which the en-
i L. &C IL L.