Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1838-06-15

he shall be clothed that every farmer has
an inalienabIo right TO plant an Orchard,
to raise apples, and to make his apples into
cider. and also TO distl his cider into
brandy if he believes it will be more con-
duclve TO his happiness, and to drink il
with his family, or with his Deighbor, os
his private or social feelings may direct
all this an individual has an inalienabe
right to do. provided he is temperate in a Il
his proceedings. But if an individual be-
comes Incorporate aud a drunkard, wastes
his property and abuses his family, and
becomes nuisance to society, such an
individual iorfclts his right to government,
and government has wisely provided by
law that such a person shall have a master
over him and shall be deprived of the
privilege Of buying and selling; but it does
not follow Of course, that nlnety-nine per-
sons out of a hundred, who have always
made temperate use Of ardent spirits
shall be deprived of the use of it because
one out Of hundred persons has made a
bad use of it and become drunkard
: Such law could never be law to pro
mote the general welfare. 1t is SOUND
maxim in the theory Of civil Government,
that the highest perfection Of civil and
religious liberty is, when the civil Govern.
ment imposes no more personal restraint
than the good Of society actually requires;
but 1t has been the case in all ages of
the world that bigotry and fanatcsm have
been in the practice Of passing arbitrary
and unreasonable laws, thereby deprving
, many members of the community of thhr
natural and dearest rights. Witness the
J blue laws Of Connecticut, enacted in the
q, first settlement Of that colony. One of
their laws deprived any man from ENJOYING
the privileges OF freeman unless he was
a church member, and in full communion
, in some church allowed of in that dominion.
Another prohibits mans running on Sun.
day, or walking in his garden or elsewhere,
| except reverent|y to and from meeting
Another law they enacted against any
mans counting maid in person until he
had first obtained the consent of her pa
rents; together with many other laws of
the same nature. But with all their big.
, otry and superstition they were much more
rational than our modern temperance re-
formers when legislatng on the subject
, OF ntemperance, Tor they, instead Of de-
t prlvlng every temperate person of the use
, OF splritUous liquors to prevent drunken
{ mes, declared by the law that drunkard
, should have master put over him, and
, that he should be deprived of the priv
, ledge of buying or selling. The same in
{ substance as the present statute law of
, Vermont on that subject, and that law has
r stood the test OF experience from its first
G passage by the Puritans, down to the
. present time. and yet it. appears to be
. none the worse for wear. But | am
e informed by the editor of the Telegraph,
t that shall find poser in the remarks of
e Mr.. Curtis, which he says, by happy
coincidence falls into the same paper side
o by side with my reply to your left hand
e compliment. You viii excuse me there.
G fore, while make few remarks on tina,
# production. And first, l will say to Mr..
e Curtis, that shall say nothing to him on
!. the subject for the purpose of irritating
$ or woundIng his feelings, yet | shat
It treat the subject with that frmness which
J, the case so obviously demands. 10 cast,
o ing my eyes over that production, be.
d lIeve the temperance society of Brandon
v assembled at the Meeting House in tina,
g place, on the 18th day of December last
It headed by political clergyman, virtually
!. organizing themselves into high court
g of error, for the purpose of reversing O
}. decision made by the Legislature of Yer
d mont at their last October session, and
!, Mr.. Curtis acting as gentleman usher, as
@ he informs us, TO usher in resolution in
It the following words:
O Resoiced, That the Legislature OF YER
+. mont has the constitutional right to inter
!. dict by law, The traffic in ardent spirits,
o and that the public good, in our opinion
o requires the exercise Of that power at the
o next session of that body.
is This was intended to be held up to pub
o lie view by Mr.. Curtis as the reverse o
that resolution in question that passed the
q Legislature at the last October session, al
II appears by his remarks on the subject
J. though it is not the case as shall make i
is appear hereafter Whether the resolution
r. introduced by Mr.. Curtis was passed IN tn,
,e affirmative by that high Court of Error o
n not do not know, as do not read the Tel
IN egraph excepting when 1t is sent to me TO
g, particular purposes, but from what hav,
rs seen in a similar case. shall run no grea
b. risk in presumng that it passed by an unan
n. imous vote; for that would be in accord
of ance with the doings Of the Temperance
i Society of Montpelier, last October, durln!
he the sitting of the Legislature. At tina
IN time there was, al a meeting of that Soclc
Or ty, resolution introduced, similar to tn
Q. one introduced by Mr., Curtis to the Bran
S, don temperance society, previous TO an
&c action being had on the temperance petl
II, ton in the Legislature, except the reerln!
10 said petition TO a committee /; and ate
v. their orators had exhausted themselves o
n Tho subinct. and DulIticnl clerDVmQn, nj
y. Wright, had applaudsd the females of tn
,st society for the influence which they ha
ed exerted in the temperance cause, they wer