Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1851-06-20
THE O

License question, which we conceive to be one IF
the strongest Treatises upeE the subject that has
ever fallen into our hands. He clearly establishes
there never was a grogshop on the face of
the earth, that did not produce irreparable mis-
chief, no matter how honest the intentions of
the occupant, or how well guarded by law
Commenting upon the passage of Scripture-"Wo
unto him that giveth his neighbor drink"-he
establishes from reliable data, that out Of the
twenty thousand liquor sellers in Ohio, during
the last five years, ten thousand five hundred
and thirty have fallen, or are in the broad way
to fall victims to the destroyer!i
We were struck with a declaration in the
Tract, that the License law is a violation of the
bill of Rights" Upon reading this, we were
induced to recur to the Bill of Rights of North
Carolina. Section 8 of this Document declares,
THAT no man or set of men are entitled to sep
arate or exclusive emoluments or privileges from
the community, but in consideration of public
services" Now, does not the licensing of GER
tain "set of men" to retail ardent spirits, emit
tie them to exclusive e~moluments and privile-
ges" derived from this license, in which other
citizens cannot, by law participated Most un-
questionably. The License law, is then, at va
rance with the fundamental principles of our
State government, and in violation of our char
tered rights.
The License law, says Mr.. Cary, originated
in the idea that the traffic was wrong, and that
it must be restrained; and the mistake has ever
been that licensing urOng, will restrain it. 1t
must be admitted that all efforts in this direc-
ton have proven a total failure. The evils of
Intemperance are not incidental, nor do they de-
pend upon the good or bad character of those
who sell liquor, but these evils are the legitimate
and inseparable fruits of the business-so insep-
arabic that they cannot be prevented by the best
intentions of the Government or its licensed A.,
gents.
Who would think II licensing a breach of the
ten communicated
Theft or adultery are Just as proper subjects
for the regulation Of law by license, as liquor
selling. Under this system, this giant vice has
grown to its present fearful extent. Houses of
pollution, shame and death, are located by law,
all along your highways, thicker than the mile
stones that designate their length. Here the
young and old, the idle and dissolute congre-
gate-here it is that crime of every kind is gen
Grated. These places are the training grounds
by which our alms-houses, jails and penitentia-
ries are filed with inmates-as if it was the de-
! sign of Government to build lazar houses and
prisons, and deyise trays and means" to fill
: them. The t~ime-honored sanctions of the trade
in these destructive poisons have clearly beer
! based upon false premises. 1t is a proposition
; too clear for argument, that whatever is huTtfA
$ in Us nature, and in epery degree, is not and can
a not be regulated and restrained By license, bu
q must be prohibited. Again, the tendency of Ii
cense is to make the thing licensed reputable
and perpetunte its existence. The man VIII
holds a certificate in his hand with an oficia
e seal upon il, feels that he is q civil functionary
S and that if his calling is a mean and dangerou
one to the community, these dangers might b
greatly multiplied in other and less discree
hands; in other words. that he is doing mis-
Y chief for the public good. The same system O
o reasoning would secure a~license to every "gam
s bling hell" counterfeiter's den, and brothel il
d the State.
e As subordinate to the design of restraining tn
traffic, Government had another object in estab
ie fishing license laws, viz: To derive q TevenUe.-
This, also, has been a signal failure, to say notl
d ing of the morality and deeency of attempting t
lie replenish the treasury by bartering away tn
~ bodies and souls, the hopes and happiness {
men, women, and children. All heathendol
j would blush to own US as belonging to the hi
man race, if we should tell them we were aetui
i ted by so base a motive. A mother that woul
:, sell the body of her daughter to a libertine,
:. raise means to buy ornaments for her own persol
Ie would not do q more infamous act than our Go
) eminent hasbeen doing in commissioning, for
> pecuniary consideration, ~vultures to prey upc
the vitals of society-authorizing a "gueril
:, band" to desolate our homes, fill our grave-yar
with premature mortality, rob the earth of j
LONELINESS, and heaven ofits jewels.
y Has the liquor traffic been a source of reven'
re to the STATED To say nothing ofthe physical, i
tellectual, and moral evils, that cannot be es
+ mated by dollars and cents, the revenue deriv'
from license never has been sufficient to liqui
~ ate the one-thousandth part of the direct and
direct taxes which the traffic has imposed up
the people.
Ia We are sometimes met with the remark, til
NJ liquor will be sold whether the sale is licens
ne or not. This may be very true, but is this
'es reason why Government should take it und
le its especial guardianship and protectionf Cor
| I t%erfeiting and theft, gambling and robbery W
ne be carried on whether licensed or prohibite
flo why not, inasmuch as men will perpetrate erin
I'VE authorize and commission those who wish to
the iti Bring the case home. A guilty wretch N
seduce your daughter. but because of the pos
bility of such a calamity, will you sell the pr
T. ilege of doing so, and make merchandise of
TO %virtuel Your sons may drink, and beco
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