Polynesian., 1851-11-15

IN Great Britain will bear me out, in the assei-
ton, that to enlarge the heart and loosen the
purse strings, there is nothing like good dinner
and sufhcieBcy Of good wine on the table. lf
the teetotallers could only relax their system, in
London, so far once year, to follow the ex-
ample of other societies, in making their collec-
/ tons over good dinner, with modicum Of
good wine, glee singers, ,&c. in Freemason's Hall,
Great Queen-sireet, would venture to predict
that they would more easily collect thousands than
! they now collect hundreds.
| would not apply these remarks 10 temperance
societies in the United States, for have no
knowledge of their success, there, in raising
money nor would apply them, here, in Homo
lulu, where from the high pretensions Of the So
ciety, am disposed to suppose corresponding
benefactions, and that those benefaciions nos
the less real that no body appears 10 know any
thing about them. ] long much see a list Of
the PhilanrhrOpists who constitute our Hawai-
ran Society, and 10 know their good deeds, col
;. lectiveiy and Individually, that may not be
wanting in my humble praise thereof.
| Wishing them, very cordially the greatest pos
sibe success, in the extirpation of every kind Of
| Intemperanee, from these Islands, hope they
viii that another vice he not Introduced in its
stead. Ia is said that as the brandy bottle dsap-
pears, opium and the lautiauum phal shew them
selves. That il has been heen so in England.
appears from the following extract taken from
an English paper of IS4S.
tlfe Government the propriety of Restricting and
finally suppressing the growth ofthe Poppy in In
dia; the state of immortality in China, arising,
from the use of the drug, is The reason assigned.
for The adoption of measures for abandoning a
profitable monopoly. Ii would appear that China
presents less of the demorazng influence Of the
drug Than our OwRnative country England, Tor
nearly a century, The great encOnrager and con-
sumer OF ardent spirits, has, 10 considerable
degree, abandoned ono vice and substituted ano-
iher of tenfold perniciousness. IL reliance can.
he placed on the statistical returns, England pro-
niSes TO he the largest opium consuming country
under The sun It's use has augmented more Than
foHr hundred per cent wiIhia two years, and
above ore thousand per cen, since the Tempe
rance labors of Father Matthew commenced -
SO startling an announcement Is truly PAINFUL
more especially, when we take into consideration
the assurance of the faculty that the principal
English opium consumers at one time abar-'
doned drunkards, the habitually incorporate or
dram drinking classes of population. Frai hui
maniiy falls back on any prop to support IFS tot
| terina steps, and but too readily yields moral
tacquiescence TO physical circumstances. Few
things in the hands of the physician are so sue
cessful IN alleviaiiss pain and securing quiet to-
the body mind of his patients rs The soothing
opiate; but, like most blessings, The Needless per-
vert the into abuse, To the injury OF their
moral characters and the decrepitude and pros
trasion Of their physical natures.
| Like all other habits, the practice OF taking
opium is slow nj the outset, but pretty certain OF
securing victim in the person of its employer.
| Opium, msSphia, faadaRum and other combina-
tions in which the nspissaee,l juice of The poppy
| is employed is found TO possess qualities for
mitigating pain; inducing sleep and diminishing
mental sensbity so that its use must extend
with the increasing knowledge of It's properties
1t appears, however, highly probable that the
alarming extent to which opium is now employ
cd, rot incidentally, but in substitution for intox-
icatIng spirits, will form the subject OF pdrlia-
4 nentary enquiry.
| We have been induced 10 make the above re-
marks by a consideration Of the disclosures con-
| tanned in the following extract, which we reconi-
mend to The careful perusal Of our readers" "
"STARTLINGFAeTs.-The Lincoln Mercury Of
December J2fh, says:-The prasiice 0f taking
opium, lauhanuin, ether, and morphia, has in
creased and is increasing among the population OF
| the fens Of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshre TO n
!! frightful extent II obtains amongst the aged,
the inirm, and the young, and it is confined to-
neither sex-Old men,, old women, and young
females are equally its victims. II may lie safely
| averred that eyery second customer who visits
the druggists purchases opium, iaudanun, or
some opiate or narcotic, whilst every second Gus
ro,ner Of the grocer is purchaser OF toi,acfd.
1t is common to sec the man or woman OF twenty
! thirty or forty years with cadaverous counte-
nance, tottering frame, and paIsied step, .iaiiy
going for his or her sixpenny worth of poison,
and we have heard of yearly bills OF 2Ot- IN one
family for opium and laudanunl In the town
| Of Wshech alone there are 400 gallons OF iautIa-
mum sold and swallowed every year; eight gall
Ions OF oflaudanum per week, one small shop ac-
uually vending Two gallons Of this quantity The
| Iapothecary's practice is thus lucrative one !"
the fens. Take away the Iau.lanum retaIlirade,,
aud the druggists occupation Is gone y is tho
staple of the trade. Added to this irighIiuI con-
sumption of Iau,lanuin, there are ,ias, $50 gas.
Ions Of beer and 90, 500 gallons Of ardent spirits
| consumed annually in Wisl,~cl. 10 n,anufac--
Il ture the one and to vend the other there are no
| fewer than 9 masters. ~ brewers. Wholesale
dealers in ardent spirits, 4S innkcepers, and 40.
tom and jerries. As f this were not enough to-
yitate appt rather 10 satisfy the cravings
of vitaied appetite, there IS TO he added to the
catalogue the fact OF there being lio persons re-
failing tobacco Tocounieract all this fuudanuH,.
| beer and spirit swallowing. aud tobacco inhaline
| there are 20 dealers in coffee and tea, with two
coffee houses nickna.ned 'sie,nperance hotels-'
In our CRY OF Honolulu, am not aware that
| any material increase in the demand for OPIUM
and lau,anun, has arisen. OF that the medical
gentlemen of The place are the best judges. But,
as the consumption Of bransly has increased >"
/ enormously from year to year, since the impos-
ition of our SIS duty on every gallon, il Is To be
inferred that The abundant supply Of that sunni
| lanf. renders the use Of narcotics unnecessary
The Hon. Judge Marshall Of Nova Seo,.a ;"
| l,;s address. AT the Whilsunfisle festival "f the
| British Tofal Aistneace Society N ls45, siaietb
/ among other ihinss,-" it had been fhonghf That
then could by legal enactmenfs, prevent drunken-
mss. 6uf that idea had proved . faliaey. In has
| orn character, as a Judge, he hal heen calIeI
| ppou to carry the lao info effect upon hundreds
Of fdrunkards and Il had been found in the pro-
vince ,cith srhich he ros officially connected fhss
there ,cas no uay Of doing ssray rifh ne er'ls
Of iatemperanee, except by totally aosta'n'ng
doing a,coy srith the drinking .Fr6e''ee' at'o-
gether."
So Ear as legal enacfments go, am quite 81 the
iudse,s opinion indeed it IS impossible IN think
otherwise. with The knowie.lge that all such en-
scrments have fniled, wherever they have been