, 1843-04-22
For the RADICAL
HOaXing.


HOaxing.
This amusement is becoming quite to
fashionable. When confined to the learn
ed who sometimes amuse each other, an
excite the wonder and awaken the fear
of the vulgar by publishing description
of the appearance of the 'lunarians," o.
inhabitants Of the moon, or by grave &C
counts of the fearful changes in the SO,
lar system, it is sufficiently mischievou.
in itself, and it also, probably encoura
ges the disposition to practice hOaxine
on a smaller scale. Hence we hear gooG
natured wags relating what they have
witnessed in the line of the wonderful
and marvellous. One has seen a man
swallow cross cut saws and log cabins.
another has seen him puke up living owls
and turkey buzzards. This kind of hoax
ing can do society no particular injury
because such stories deceive nobody
authorizations of a different stripe, in
g%eniously dressed in the habiliment of
truth, which have a direct bearing on
the morals of community, are sometimes
started. One of this kind has been re-
Gently Matched by the hot incubation of
the votaries of alcohol, and the opposers
of temperance are using it TO the detri-
ment OF the cause of moral reform. | al
lude to the report, that a citizen Of this
town, who claims the honor Of being a
jealous friend of the temperance cause,
has acknowledged that Mr.. Henderson
had the worst of the argument in the
Ashley debate. This assuredly is a
hoax, which on the score of absurdities
out hoaxes all others, for it would be
quite as difficult to imagine that a person
of common sense could be found out side
of a mad house, whose faith in the tenn
perance principles would have been i'll
: the least weakened by that debate, asto
believe a man had swallowed a herd of
camels. What mortal with a gill Of
brains could be gulled with the idea that
it is our duty to drink liquor, and our
privilege to get drunk, because forsooth,
men in an early and semibarbarous age
of the world did those things? As well
might we contend that it is our duty and
privilege to lie because Jacob lied, TO
steal because Rachael stole-to lie, COM
init adultry and murder, because David
was guilty of those sins-keep numer-
Gus wives and concubines in accordance
with the custom of the patriarchs-or
swear and swear falsely because Peter did.
True, we have reason TO expect that those
sins were forgiven, and others "winked at
inthose days ofignorance, this should
not encourage US to continue in the use
of a luxury inimical to health, which
leads to a violation of all law, human and
divine.
Men who are determined to continue
to set the pernicious example of dram
drinking, regardless of the safety of their
children, and the well being of society,
are inflicting an evil on the community
sufficiently sore, without impugning the
motives or disappearing the language
Of those who are labouring to save our
fellow creatures from the horrors of
drunkenness-surely they must feel that
their cause (what a cause!) was but bad
ly sustained or they neve would have
resorted to falsehood, to create the i'm
preston abroad of a triumph on their
part.
And they should not complain of their
(who by the way seems to be
aware that his Ashley speeches are I'M
to be submitted to the scrutiny
Of the public, through the newspaper)
or failing to establish the prudence and
morality of grog drinking. Impossibili-
les should not be required of any one.
His side Of the question had not even a
oundation of sand. With the talents
# half the angels he would have failed
o sustain the position he assumed, or to
nvalidate the irrefutable arguments of
lis opponent. /,
Moral truths are as immutable as the
laws Of nature, and most of {
hem quite as palpable. He who can :
ot see that sobriety is more conducive 1
D human happiness than drunkenness is |