Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1852-08-11
Oft81nat papRrs
FOR THE SPIRIT OF THE AGE.
NUMBER VI

NUMBER VIZ
In pursuance of nv design, shah procAad -
Cnis number to present your readers with an.
/ oLher general reason why the tratfc in sintov;
TTaSslng TS liquors should be wholly prohibited =
ane 1uhlect as hitherto considered, has afforded
sbIa 9efy strong reasons to nay mind. wbv tbio
I..oa oe done: bpt, STILL there are Others eonaIs
49, sslong and satisfactory AS this subject ;s
r TO the consideration of the nuhl;c
tba reTea = proper, if not indispensable, that
"a TpOsss ioF such course should be presers
reasons should beet aadfe, AID
/ III nj af al s brought in to.
i,efed 70 oe OF such chataaE enfed are ee-
snow that this traffic is one Of The most
engines thateVer was employed for the destr;,c-
ton OF the means Of comfort and weli-I: ~
man. Such will follow will show this Still
more fully; and will, if properly considered, make
such an impression upon the public mind, as to
| lead IT to course of action, that will rid our
commonwealth of this worst of all physical
causes of evil
| In this number, it is my purpose to show that
Legislative action ought to be he'd upon this
subject:
! II. Because, by the permission of this traffic.
and its protection by lasc, greater amount of
PHYSICAL, INTELLECTUAL and MORAL evil is caused
than by any other physical cause known
The e0ils which befall mankind on account of
this cause, may be said to be legion Sir, were
to attempt to give full view of these dread
| full calamities, l would be compelled to write
a book of no small dimen sions, instead of using
the columns of your Paper, for few short arti,
| eles. l will therefore. select few out of the
many which present themselves | observe
| l. That the permission to sell intoxicating
drinks, and protection of the vendors in this bu
sness by tGw, causes more PHYSICAL evil in So
| clety, thar any other cause known among men
| The sense in which this proposition is to be
understood is, that the permission and the nro.
lection by LdU of the sale (and of course the man
utacture also) of intoxicating liquors, is Ieyal-
tzed sanction by authority of the Legislature to
the Pu6tic and common exhibition of the means
of temptation to, and general corruption of 90
cIety, by which the community is influenced to
injure itself. 1t is by this, that more evil ia ex
perienced BY mankind than by famine, pesti-
tence and tUar These operate to the injury or
destruction OF man, only at intervals of some con-
siderable time; while Intemperance through the
means of this traffic, operates constantly.
There can be no doubt whatever, that hate,a-
peronce destroys more lives, then almost all 9TH
er causes besides. It does this in a variety of
ways 1t does this:
/. D1REcTLY. Not less than 81 500 drunkarda
are killed annually By this cause, in the United
States. The reason of this must be obvious TO
| every thoughtful mind, that will consider this
subject carefully. .flcoho1 is G deadly poison, as
IAmuch 50 as arsenic or cicutal The use of il
human system. s'The term IR:oxicatioIl IS some:
times employed in this country to designate that
series Of phenomena which results from the &c
ton of all such poisons as first produce stimula
ton, and then narcotism: of these, however
Alcohol is the type; and the term is common
lv applied to alcoholic intoxication alone. It il
worthy Of notice, however, that the designation
is now given by French writer's to the series o
remote or constitutional effects consequent upol
the introduction of any poisonous agent int
! the blood; thus we meet with the terms "arse
nical intoxication," iodine intoxication," anC
even ''purulent intoxcation. In fact it is ther
considered an equivalent Gas its etymology de
notes. of our word poisoning and the fact tina
I, such a term should be III common use in thi
1 country to designate the ordinary results of tn
ingestion of alcoholic liquors, is not without il
: significance: for if the classical term "intoxics
: ton" be habitually employed as the equivaler
of the Saxon drunkenness, we are justified i
!; turning the classical term into English agail
t, and in asserting that the condition of drunkel
d ness, il all its stages, is one of poisoning
y This then, shows very distinctly, that the re;
ular use of this article must be very destructiy
to human life. Now, where the f. cilities of pro
- curing this article so abundant, and the tenn
IS tations held out to use it. are so constant; thel
IS is every probability that it viii be used, and
- used that these sad effects must follow In one
e our cities, half the men over Is years of age wi
&, die in 1928, according to the testimony of IL
n physicians, were killed by it. And those ph
sicans remark, s'When we recollect that eve
re- the temperate use, as it is called, Of ardent spi
: its lays the foundation of a numerous train of i
: durable maladies, we feel justified in expressir
the belief, that were the use of distilled liquo
n, entirely discontinued, the number of deaths
mong the male adults would be diminished
at our city at least one half" But the sale and u
of Alcoholic liquors, does not only directly k
the consumers Of it; it is also the cause Of t
as death of many,
tn 2. INDIRECTLY. This is fully demonstrated
be the fact, that it increases the violence of all
e famatory diseases and with ann'ist9lEeaFt
as pertainty destroys the life of the diseased.
r The position here assumed is fully sustaisnp
no snow cIcas sndcuhted eharaeter: Iaese -
-. =, /. Ofn1any diseass's, and Of increasing the
lps oleuce of most Others. This position is ann
as Iestablishs1@ BY the testimony Of many
ssTte testimony OFFS Physicians in Bos
ssachusetts-"Nen in health are neUer ben
ed by the use of ardent spirits; on the eontr
- the use of it is a frequent cause OF disease
cial death. and often renders such diseases as
ibi- from other causes, more difficult OF cure ana
will fatal in their termination"
)" - seThe testimony of forty-fve Physician
eA1' CINCINNATI Ohio io-"Ardcnt spirit - not
ton unnecessary but absolutely injurious IN 2 D
rom full state of the system: it produces nGHy;
tors aggravates most OF the diseases 70
If man frame Is llaole-ls 4 qually po Pl Slowly
apr with equal certsinty. 81,
nica- physicians of Bradford England--"lI
etary Iopinion nothing would tend so mucn
On Of health of the community as the entire ar
! ), spirits. which we consider as one OF tnS
o'A' productive causes Of disease and Immoral. a..
..Physicians Of Dublin, Ireland--"ln In ou
:. he ion nothing would tend Sc much to imPre
19 health of the community as the entire gu
y, - ardent spirit . 90
With ePhysicians Of Leith, Scotland --"Arde
none its, in airy form, highly preludlcial !:
-ork. they contain no nutritive quality on