The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1852-03-25

presiding.
The subjec, of tho Maine Liquor law was taken up.
being the order Of the day, pursuant to postpone
mcnt from the last evening. The resolution under
discussion was as follows:-
Whereas A proposition is before State Legs
lature restrict and abolish the liquor traffic and,
whereas said traffic Is eminently pernicous to all classes
of society, but especially to workngmen because
the poverty pauperm and crime resulting from It, fall
heaviest upon them and whereas it is the manifest duty
of government restrict cxtingush every
evil in our midst, Therefore
Resolved That the Industrial Congress of this city
hail with pleasure the efforts being made to suppress
the sale Of Intoxicating drinks and We would cordially
recommend the law commonly known ~ the Maine Ii
quor law to legislators being the best calculated
to secure that end
On motion, it was ordered that the debate DO
open, without restriction rs TO those who had spo
ken before, till all had full opportunity Of address
ing the Congress.
Mr. john WHITE said he was not disposed to
back out of this debate One half of the objections
against the bill had not been yet heard and il was
WELL therefore, to keep the discussion open till every
one had an opportunity of expressing his opin-
ions. If, however, the gentlemen in favor Of the
law had here TO carry it in spite OF discussion,
then discussion useless. He would call the alton
ton of the Congress to ten evils, with which society
was afflicted and intemperance was but one OF
them. The ten scourges we're paupersm, ignorance,
slavery, war, intempcrance prostitution, disease,
fraud in trade and commerce, crime and general
Implicitly, or double dealing. Great laughter)
spring from grand source-desrotism. or the
monopoly of the land. which includes the oppression
and degradation Of labor. The great object was not
to get rid Of single Of these OWLS, but Of the
whole together, by going to the fountain head. In
temperance was but one Of the streams that flowed
from the mountain top over the plain beneath.
What is the principle involved in the resolution be-
fore US! The social practice OF drinking malt and
distilled liquors has prevailed for many years in the
land, and the best have been in the habit ofin-
dugng in it. 1t is not long since the common hos
pitalities Of the country could not he performed
without these drinks. and the custom pervadcd all
society. or late however, on account OF tho adul-
teration Of liquors, less OF them had been drunk.
Some persons, too, had been seized with defnlpn
frencas, III consequence OF excess But the abuse
of thing was not good argument against its use
liz the principle a sound one ii ought to be APP
piled TO everything else. Many abused themselves
by fornication; but that argument against
tho legitimate intercourse OF the sexes This ques-
tion of the same character as the Sunday mail
law which was introduced into Congress, and
defeated by II. NJ johnson. These fanatical doe
trines were but the remnant Of depOtism handed
down to us from the past, and ought to be repudi-
atcd by every freeman. On the last night no had
said that this law like hunting flea on the
mountains of Israel. A gentleman had taken that
to himself, but it was only quotation; he did not
mean any personality. He had also shown the alb
surdity OF an article in the NeW York Tribune,
which maintained that drunkenness was the
of crime. 1t was not the cause, but the attendant
of crime. benevolent man was rendered more
benevolent than ever by jolly glass. Daughter
Mr. ABRAHAM G. Levy said, on the last night, in
reply to the gentleman he merely said that though
lsraelite. he was not aware OF the mountains of
the Holy Land being infested with fieas.
Mr. BAILEY thought these personal matters should
be got rid OF, and that the members should to
the merits of the question The proceedings on tho
last night were very discredtable to them.
Mr.. LEVY said he was going to show that liquor
was the greatest of all the causes OF crime. 1t de-
prived man Of his reason and he ceased to be the
ft.ll x,I L. -.
| argument was yet advanced to show how liquor was
beneficial to the human family. MIR. White had
| said that ii was one Of the ten plaques and no
doubt it was plague The only kind of argument
he had ever heard in favor Of intoxicating drinks
was, that they made people honest. This was the
argument OF Mr.. Camp who delivered his lecture to
$50 persons, in Metropolitan Hail. which was fol-
lowed in few days by meeting of teetotalers in
the same building, at which thore were 900 persons
| present There no beast of the forest guilty OF
| the atrocty that an enlightened man was guilty Of
under the influence OF intoxicating drink, by which
! human being, made in the image of God, was re-
duced below the vest beast for animal, or fish
or fowl preyed upon its own species.
Mr.. WHITE wanted to know if the gentleman ap
piled these observations to him OIaughter.)
Mr.. BARR would call the gentleman TO order.
HI must not draw differences in that way.
MI LEVY denied that he referred to Mr. White
| personally
Mr.. SnEgoTT said he would not stand any longer
| these personal remarks and nonscnsicai replies
tion H. effect 2 St the '"' " "i VIC ''
Mr.. LEVY said if he spoke nonsense. it was the
nonsense of a man who had not tasted liquor for
twenty years He had been often compelled to sup
port the families OF men who had left them destitute
through the exercise Of their right to indulge in in
toxcating drinks. II was no right-even the presi-
dent of the Emitted States had right to drink
| champagne, when any poor family were hungry for
! bread. (Applause.) Look at the prisons--1S0 out
Of 79o Of the inmates were there in consequence OF
| intcmperaDee Why should the people be support
| ing many hotels in splendor, which were no bet
| ter than hells. (Murmurs and laughter.) He per-
| ceived a great many making : huns around him.
| 1t certainly not gentlenanly, and he would sit
| down, what he said was diStasteful.
! Mr. SMITH said that the gentleman who last sat
down said that il had not been shown by those who
took the negative side that liquor beneficial to
| the working men. This ground was never TAKEN
and it was not the question in the resolution. If
the principle OF the Maine law was right u ought to
be applied 10 eating, to using tobacco, and to dress.
it had been stated by the gentleman who had pre-
coded him. that 100 out Of 193 Of the inmates of the
state prison there from the effects of liquor.
Now, he was acquainted with gentleman who in
spected The prisons. and he found from him. and also
from correspondence with the keepers that not one
hundred were habitual drinkers out of the whole
number. and those imprisoned for heavy crimes were
| uniformly sober men. III course, men imprisoned
for rowdvism. assaults, and other petty offences.
were he victims, not OF liquor but If their own folly,
III INDUCING. to Liquor j. Gods blessing TO
the WOikiurncn, Tor " ufowns me solloW produced
by capital and monopoly II takes away bis mind.
| for the time being, from misortmss, aud ale
| yates Bis .ufcrngs For his own part. he had al
ways suffered more injury from tobacco than from
the Of -lilts and the question was. would they
go in loI bin abolishng the use If that article
Ira BrCKNAN maintained that the drinking Of al
cohoic liquors produced nineteuth- ofall the crime
in the world The case Of the mechanic going
home on Saturday night with his wages, and being
intercepted Oh the way by a companion. and enticed
into the gtog- hop where be spends all his money,
and leaving lis wife and children without bread,
va. an every day occurrence. It wa, not the Fifth
avenue aisiocluey that wanted to have this law en-
acted bui tie bone and ,inew Ut the land. who paid
the taAos 81 tho city government, aud kept up an
army ot nine han ired policemen TO preserve order
and prevent assaults caused BY the dealing in III
qud laIuuJtun." The Common Council had as lit
tie moral ,ieht ~ license rumseller pckpoc-
kct: and il lickpockets were licensed tomorrow,
there would be enough Of unprincipled men to 90
into the business The Maine law was the only re-
mcdy that met the case. Ii was their business to