Litchfield enquirer., 1835-04-02
Brief NieaO cf Temperance SOeisties. t. frnnwnnuwO

Ing. Ol495 patients admitted in four years into a lunalic asylum at Liverpool, 257 were known to have lost their reason bv this vice.
 The pecuniary interests of all temper ate persons ars deeply involved h shis question. Every drunkard knuws well while he is drinking himself, his wife, and his children to beggary, that ilI6 0smper- ate must support him. He is as truly and certainly their heir as one oftheir own chil- dren; and either at the door or at the work-house, in the hospital or in tho iail, | they maintain him and his family.'
 The poor's rate aud county rate, for England and Wales only, amount fo Rs,- foOos00O. The proportion of this expendi- tare, occasioned by drinking, may be most safely estimated at two thirds, say s5, ,s3S,- 333; which, added to the cost of spirits alone, GlS, ,429, ,331, gives the sum expen- ded by this nation, in the last five years, on these two objects only, at G93, ,S13, ,321 ;l amounting, in only twenty years, to three hundred and seventy-five millions pounds sterling ;. without including any computa- ton for the enormous sums consumed in the abuse of wine and beer, the expenses of prosecutions, the injury done to our for eign trade, theloss of ofshipping, and the no. torious destruction of property in various other ways.
 It has been tan impression almost uni- versal among the labofing classes, that arr dent spirits, if not absolutely necessary, are of great use and importance, as support during labor. and that, moderately used, they are salutary, or at least an innocent stimulus, "and the custom of persons of bet. ter information has confirmed an opinion so agreeable to our natural love of excite ment.
 Dr.. John Ware created much sensation in North America, by publicly declaring, that no impression "can be1nore untound. ed. no opinion move fatally .faise, than that which attributes 10 spirituous liquors any power of promoting bodily strength, or supporting the system under labour or fa- tigue. Experience has in all quarters most abandantly proved the contrary. None labour so constantly, cheerfully, and with so little exhaustion, as those who entirely abstain none endure so we'll hardships and exposure, the inclemency of the weath- CT, and the vicissiludes of season." ,s The RpRa ataaa saidRi dhRfiPgt iaIsa l9 lle same effect was readily collected and several hundred physicians aud surgeons, including some of the most eminent practi- tioners of America and of Great Britain, have publicly declared, that SD far from spirits aifording any nourishment, the en- tire disusc of them would powerfully con- tribute to the health and comfort of the community.
 The testimony of eminent medical men proves that distilled spirits often bring on fatal diseases without producing drunk enness that many persons have been des- ;royed by them, who were never complete ly intoxicated in their lives and that even the most awful form of madness, !" dsliri- um tremens, has occurred to persons rarely or ever known to be intoxicated"
 But the great discovery for which we are indebted to the philanthropists of America is, that .s.temperate drinkers are the chief promoters sf fdrnnkenness." Although the example of tie druDkard is contaminating and injurious, ye. he serves also as beacon to warn away from the vortex where thousands have perisied 1; while those who are unconsciously gliding towards the fatal circle, point with conf- dence to the practice of the temperate thinker.
 The moderate use of spirits as beyer- age, by the intelligent and respectable, keeps up the ruinous delusion that they are safe and suitable as a refreshment for.the healthy. The use of spirits by the pru- dent man readily descends to his children ;; 1t is- initiated by his servants, after leaving his employ, under circumstances .ofpriya- ton and fatigue. which seem to acquire lar- ger quantities, of undiluted dranis; and exactly in proportion to the weight of his character for wisdom. beneyolsnce and pie- ty, will be the pernicious influence of his example upon society.
 Ample and dreadful experience has prov ed that, while abstinence from spirits is most easy, such is their insin1ating nature, and the force of the appetite which they often create, that moderation in their use as general beverage for the community is impracticable.
 Impartial investigation has convinced many thousands of intelligent persons, that nothing less than the sincere example of the influential portion of society, in ab- staining from distilled spirits, can correct the false estimate of their true properties. under which their neighbours are drinking { themselves and their country to ruin. or .an AfTo.d a roaaonakla hnne 0f chanring