The Washingtonian., 1845-07-05

ieehnSs WHICH once uWelt IN MS bosom! what
has changed his nature, and turned his para.
disc into hell? Let him who for few shll-
lings profit thus destroys the charm of inno-
cence, and debases the image of his Creator,
answer the question. @
assume the ground, then, that the sale OF
intoxicating liquors is the cause, in a great
measure, of crime, and the increase of taxa
tion; that it is opposed TO the education of the
people; that it destroys the efficacy of the
golden rule.
From the different reports made by the
keepers of the State prisons in different States,
it has been ascerlained that more than two
thirds Of the convicts attribute the commission
of the crimes for which they have been SEN
fenced, TO the use Of intoxicating liquors. Of
the 500 convicts confined in Mount Pleasant
prison, Weschester county, New York, and
Auburn, Cayuga county, more than 1850 at
tribute their wretched state to the use of in
toxicating liquors There are some, doubt
less, within the walls Of those prisons, with
talents and hopes once as bright as any who
are now before me. who commenced with
single glass of Madeira wine, and finished their
course with brandy and rum. Of the murders
that have been committed, full hal have been
under the influence of intoxicating liquors, or
from quick tempers irritated by occasional use
Of it as drink.
Go with me now into the gambling saloon;
behold the beautifully decorated bar, the pic
lures, the decanters with gilded labels and see
the moving spirit of all this folly and ruin.
Mark him whose jewelled hand seizes the dice
box. or the cards, and see him occasionally step
aside and quench his thirst, as the excitement
increases, and his brow burns with fearful
anxiety. Think you that intoxicating liquors
do not preside here, aye, rule with a rod OF
iron, the debauchee and the gambler. Yet he
who has lost all--he who has beggared his
family, and killed by his unkindness the wife
of his bosom-once knew not the name of
card, and drank only that refreshing beverage
which God has SO boun.iiully provided for US
all, in his infinite love- Now, burning with
anxiety, he clings to the punch bowl and the
dice box, and when knavery has robbed him
of all, he rushes unbidden before the tribunal
of his maker.
Behold those two men near the hours O
midnight; how they leave the groggery, and
steathily creeping out Of observation from the
walchman Of the night, pry off the shutter,
and enter the residence Of the man of indus
try, who calmly sleeps after his daily toll; /;
they plunder the house; and if perchance the
inmates resist, they are murdered to prevent
detection Goyet farther; hear those shrieks,
those dire imprecations, and as you view the
dim light Of the groggery, and behold its half
opened door, behold the cause.
Who, then, let me ask, bears the burden of
taxation, for the support of the convicts in our
State prisons, when their own labor is not sui.
fcient? Who pays for the conviction Of the
felon, the thief, the murderer? Look at the
criminal calenders, the police reports, and are
they not sufficient 10 startle and amaze? The
people in the different counties build the jails,
hire and pay the sheriff and jailor, together
with the district attorney, who prosecutes in
their behalf. They build and support the
Poor houses, two-thrds of whose inmates
reached there by their love Of liquor. Pau
perism, crime, and intemperance, go together;
the vrtuous sober poor have to pay, together
with the rich, the costs which result from the
use Of wine, beer, cider, brandy, gin, whiskey,
rum, and all the other mixtures sold under
their names. How much does the retailer
care for taxation, or the distller for county
and State taxes? They often boast that they
can make more in one week than they are
taxed, besides fines for violations Of excise
laws. This burden presses upon the vi-tuous
poor and those Of the middling class; it is
they who suffer, no, only by taxation, but in
the destruction Of the.r long-cherished hopes
for some one of their kindred.
Concluded next week