The northern galaxy. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1844-1848, 1846-01-27

rlGn's, II is her Legislation that is unconSli-
tutional and not the legislation Of our own
State, and that the contrary is a principle of
tyranny not recognized or countenanced by
the Bench, itself, of the Supreme Court,
which has often adjuGicated respecting the
constitulionaIily ofspecifc laws OF Congress.
Again, third cause oil the relative slug
gishness Of the year may have been the dis
couragemenis thrown upon prosecutions for
violations Of the Statute. So far as this is
reierable 10 the uuiahlulness OF Jurors and
prosecuting officers, theirs is serious re-
sponsibiiiy involving the charge of high
moral misdemeanor- On account OF the ne
cessity Of twelve men 10 concur in AZ indict-
ment, when The jury itself is not, in number
more than from twelve TO eighteen, it may
easily occur that two or three devotees of ap
petite or creatures Of prejudice may defeat,
for the time being, the intentions of the con-
sClentious jurors associated with them, as
well as ola majority ofIhe people. Il should
be observed, however, that, by the License
Law, any Justice Of Inc Peace is empowered
to bind over to the County Court for trial.
and The States Attorney is officially bound to
give attention 10 the case and may proceed
by information, if he shall see fit without the
intervention of the Grand Jury. If the low
ers OF law, order and purity shall exercise
their proper individual agency 10 have Of
tenders brought before n Justice, il can
hardly be, in numerous instances, d subject
Of complaint that the organs of the law, by
their uniaihiulness OF by intermeddiing with
questions OF constitutionaliiy over which
their appointment gives them no deliberate
control, will brave the public Indignation ad-
ded TO the monitory accusations OF concit nee.
From lilo thOea oh oI
some OF the counties IN which the Temper
ance ticket of last year for Commissioners
prevailed have, this year, turned over BY
small majorties, TO the side Of what goes BY
the name Of judicious licenses IL is re-
markable, however, that, in certain cases the
strong countics:-as Rutland and Windsor
where the judicious license system has
been fully tested, il had become so obnox-
ious that they have vigorously thrown of all
the subserviency TO il they ever admitted
In the heart Of the State Temperance beats
in strong union with an appropriation OF the
law, and it is hardly to be questioned tina. all
The counties in the State with an exception
or two, might, by proper efiort,be broug ht to
array their malOrities next year, against all
licenses for dram-selling. But, in Vermont,
we have, it must be admitted, no we'll com
paw VI UtIC Is HOT, HOW, anu,
for several months has not been in our ser
vice State Agent,-ior it was ascertained
that the support for sucha functionary could
not be, at present, commanded. We call
attention 10 this fact. We point 10 the won
derlul-the amazing paradox civilization,
that, in a State Of vigorous and and I'M
commonly intelligent freemen, twenty five
thousands, at least, Of whom are convinced
fhat ho int C. LII L..
their commonwealth with not improba-
bly, fifty thousand dollars of useless town tax
alton every year.-burdens it, also with los
ses and OUTLAWS which swallow up the value
OF their entire wool crop,-there cannot, on
The score ofexpense, be sustained system of
operations which would surely, although
gradually, abolish the occasion of this enor-
nous and wasleful expenditure. Each free
man ofthe State, all losses considered. pnys.
on an acreage, a rum tao Ofabom thiTtv
dollars! For the reiormatory measures that
would occasion a saving of at least. two
thirds OF this large sum, they-the temperate
portion ofthem we mean-ClO not aliolr them
setres an expenditure Of probably ten cents
10 an indiridudL. Ten CENTS, thus prudent
~ economical, swells TO the loss of TWENTY
DoLLARs-only tlrO Thousand per cent. We
were on the point o: calling this an usurious
interest
Turning from the general history Of the
Stale, we dwell, for a moment, on that of
Addison County in parlicular.-Vhich, for
The past few months we find TO be somewhat
instructive. 1t may be especially worthy a
record from IA probable verisimilitude be-
tween the proceedings, in that County. Of the
party that favor licenses for dramscIling and
their proceedings the State over. The his
tory of a part may thus siaud-muidfis mr-
tGndis for a history of the whole. In the
first place, during the preparations of August
last for the election OF Senators for the dis
trici, there was summoned Il so called '-Inde-
pendent Convention" 10 be composed Of
treemen who believe the present License
Law 10 be unconstitutional, unjust and op-
pressive, and who desire 10 see religion and
morality the ofsprings Of truth and con-
science instead Of the creatures of Legislation
and hypocrisy" The convention assembled, :
their candidates were duly put forth and ac-
cording 10 the usual issue Of such tickets in
Addison County were not elected. Second
ly; in the elections OF September, for town
candidates opposed 10 the
License Law were ussiduously supported by
The same class of men. That darling OBJ /
iect, the subverson Of the Law, was, in fact, (
by many TO be inevitable. Not /
such: however, was the issue, for The Law .
was seen 10 stand mistaken as The Green I
Mountains. And now the passage ola few
weeks disclosed that, in The third place, which /
was sufficiently admirable. The men Of the
Independent Convention had, on the whole,
discovered that the unconstitutional, unjust
md oppressive" law was the express thing
or good citizens and conscientious voters
o see executed to the especially I'M
Ter the new Interpretation that its enactments
lllUw the Peoples Commissioners no lib
.rty of absolute refusal of licenses for dram
cling, aud that the non-observance of the
aw, in this one particular, by the existing
Temperance CommissioneTs,-had proved
amentable 'demoraliZing spectacle produc-
uctive at once, of intoxica!ion and-of
ontempt OF the law Under favor OF these
riIIiant conceptions new Convention was
presided over by member of
he Temperance Society who, also, headed
heir nominations and in conformity with the
rdinary result OF such proceedings, in Adj
ison COunty,-failed to be elected The ,
;ounty stood its ground against these cum
ingly concerted devices, although with
laioritv somewhat diminished bv the apathy