Vermont telegraph. [volume] (Brandon [Vt.]) 1828-1843, 1837-08-16
VOL. mo. Al. /

Is man OF common sense, and has taken
pains TO investigate the subject thoroughly,
he must be satisfied that strong drink is not
beneficial to persons in health, and that it is
more injurious to community to sell to tenn
perate drinkers, than to the drunkard.-
Some will undoubtedly call shis strong Ian
guage. 1t is SO. But if any person present
thinks he can disprore the assertion, by
facts and sound arguments, and will put
them on paper, will at some future time
erdeavor to meet them.
9Th He that overeometh, the same shall be
clothed in white raiment. Him that oyercometh
will make pillar in the temple of nv God /;
and he shall 60 no mole out: and win write
upon him my new name. Revelation. Sd Chan, =,
part OF 9th and I2th verses. 49, ~ + k
Although this was more particularly d.
trected to the church at Sardis, still the same
encouragement has been held ont to all the
inhabitants Of the world, from the first his
tory of mankind, down to the present day.
The white raiment is offered to all who will
repent of, and forsake sin. This raiment
was, undoubtedly, in some cases, understood
to be token of victory-in other cases, an
emblem of purity. When we see man;
abandoning any sin, and he abstains from it
until people are convinced he has mastered
it, those who are acquainted with the fact
acknowledge him clear, or pure from that
sin, and award to him the palm of victory.
xuho tho -,
be understood wholly in a spiritual sense, or
whether both spiritual and temporal. We
have had sufficient evidence that in many,
if not in all cases, where person abandons
any bad practice, he receives temporal
blessing. And fully believe that the near
er we come to obeying all the commands
laid down in scripture, the more benefit we
are to mankind, and the greater will be the
temporal blessings we shall receive. When
we see man who has become degraded
and sunken, in the estimation Of those
around him, from the use Of strong drink
which was partly caused by the temptations
of others and partly by his own free will
when we see him abandon his cups and rise
to his prnper station, the spontaneous Ian
guage Of the hearts Of those around him is,
give that man the token of victory. When
the Vender of strong drink sees the wretch
edness intoxicating liquors are causing
around him, and resolves that he will no
more, henceforth and forever, for the sake of
accommodating more property, sell that which
destroys human happiness, but will for the
welfare of those around him cease such
traffic, then the friends of humanity say,
give him also the badge of victory. These
tokens are to be proportioned to the victories
achieved. The vender also has a new
tndme given him. Previous to HE abandon
ing the traffic, he had the name Of doing
Eany, and almost everything, whereby he
could accumulate property: he would sell
liquor to man for cash, when he was aware
the man had no bread in his house, and no
other money than what he expected soon to
receive for rum, to buy any with. If the
imtemperate man had house, he would be
very plausible and kind, and would trds
him with rum until he thought the house
would no more than cover his debt, and the
! cost that would accrue in case of a suit
and would then attach the house and wrett
it from the poor mans family, and say to
him, get you gone, you "druuken toad" |
have trusted you long enough can't hare
any poor 11orthless drunkdrds about nue.
tell you nearer, this is more cruel than
death. Perhaps ten or dozen respectable,
temperate drinkers, slipping the rum or
: brandy, and this poor, miserable and despis-
: ed maniac, who has bartered everything
, else, to satisfy appetite, stands looking on
! with raging thirst. The vender says, in
effect, you have had your day; you have
now become so loathsome, that, should
permit you to stay about ME, could not so
easily ensnare others. But he has turned
from that course. He has seen the evils
resulting from such conduct, and has ADAM
doned it. Now, he has the name of doing
= that which will benefit mankind. He en-
deavors to persuade those who are taking
the downward course to ruin, to abandon
that course, and become respectable and use
full citizens. He feels willing TO assist those
who are needy. He will traffic in those ar
} ,icles only which are of use to his fellow
, men. Now, he has the name OF yielding
; what is termed selt-interest, TO the cause OF
suffering humanity. Noble exchange. He
has received a new name.
: He who. was once incorporate has reeeiv-
ed a new name. Once he had the name of
} being a loathsome, degraded, worthless
druinkard-his word not TO be depended up