Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1850-09-20
CHAPTER TX.
THE EIGHTH cOMAiAEDMENT.
4 Thou shall not steGl.p

f3 = Thou shak not Ste0t.'
And he the BAG
OF weights deeeiHul, and the balance false,
And he that with frandful lip deceived
In buying or seliing-those, that morn,
Found custom no excuse for sin, and knew
Plain dealing was virtue but too late.
Stealing consists in taking the property of
others without their knowledge or consent,
and applying It to our own use. How i'm
porsant to the happiness and WeIi-being of
mankind, IS this commandment; and how
successful q blow would be struck at concord
and social comfort, were il totally disregard
ed! We are compelled to bring the charge
aeainst the liquor dealer, that he greatly con
tributes 70 weaken the force Of this precept,
and 10 render It unworthy the attention Of
man. Such men should blush, in view of
this humiliating fact. Our friends Of the
bGr-sOOm and gFOgshOp, would be very much
Ofended with me, # were 10 come out bold
", and say that they were IN the habit of
stealing the property of the poor drunkard; /;
but with reference to what We are now about
70 say, We are wiling that they should be
their own judges. Suppose / were to meet
an insane man on his way to the lunatic as
sylum, andSwere to engage with him in pc
cuuiary transaction, in which he were to give
me his note for large amount, for an ex-
tremely small consideration, or something
that was worse than nothing; would be ae-
ting the part Of an honest mani Certainly
nOtl for be - not sufficiently sane in mind
to ksoaD what be or were doing, and there
fore, would not have given his consent, if.he
had. Suppose again, Iwere to meet Little
bOyof four years Of age with his father's pOck
ct book, and taking advantage Of the littls
fellows simplicity, were to succeed in ex
changing the pocket book, with hundreds o
dollars, for few silly toys; would il not b
considered By all to be clandestine prOce
dure? Nov, I ask the RumseIler, isnot th
drunlEard deranged man, when under th
influence of Intoxicating liquor2 Heknow
nottO-day, what transpired during last night
debauch; he knows not how much none
he has thrown away. Ishe not a mere child
when drunk, and would he not fequentl
give all his possessions for ardent spirits, NJ
only for himself, but for others? Now, vel
der, be honest, do you not get his properi
without his knowledge or consent?
Again suppose man Of property we
on his death bed tOmake q will, and gave a
his possessions to one son, but at the san
time Il appeared beyond doubt that he W
perfectly insane when making that vii
would { be right, and would the law of d
land allow that son TO take possession Of ,
that property? Most assuredly not. Al
hhe we're to do 50, would he not be de;
with as dishonest man? Now, the deal
in spirituous liquor makes his fellOw-m
crazy, and while in that condition gets mu
Of that, which is not known to the drunkaI
and over which he gTieyes, when brought
his senses.
Many young man, with good moral ch
acter, high and honorable connexions m Ii
and fair prospect for pecuniary and hon
able eminence, has been beguiled and led
way BY the enticements Of the barToOm !;
soon becomes slave TO his appetite, and
RumscIler panders sedulously to that ap
tite, till soon, al very soon, his all is gOl
. His propensity is stronger than ever, and
Is without the means TO procure gatifcati
But that propensity must be gratiied.
soon becomes reckless and almost frant
0l3uO1OfaDle actaul DSSnAo " AOcS Ato ue
nifty, and with . feeling which amounts
most 70 compuliOn, he puts forth his ha
steaIthily, on anOther's property. Look
tbs instance: he has given the most to-
the liquor dealer has gotten the most oi
not aM be possessed, without return, 8
woe and inlamy and now he pliers f
another. by which the yender's Golfers
filed. He continues his clandestine cou
till The last yestige of honorable feeling
eradieatsd from his nature. This has 3
the fate Of Thousands, and the traficke
connected. both directly and indirectly,
have shown, with the violation of the eiC
commandment. tF
How many, reduced to deep poverty
being patron Of the tavern bar-room OF Z
shop, and feeling that the current was
III sistible, have initiated the hand Of auot
in order 10 keep aAOat? How many fc
ries have been committed in this way