Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1852-07-21
FOR THE SPIRIT OF THE AGE.
NUMBER III.

to an extent that will wholly exclude all %intoxi-
eating liquors from market as an article for use
as a beverage, will be abuudantly shown, I
trust, in the investigation here introduced
Some fthe considerations going to establish this
position, will now be presented. Legislatures
ought to prohibit the sale of intoxicating liquors,
lst. BECAUSE, the PERMISSION Gfthese things, as
the CAUSE OF THE GREATEST AMOUNT OF EVILS cape
rienced IN the COMMONWEALTH
This is a very strong position. If therefore,
it can be she~-n by clear deductions from un-
doubted facts, that this position IS true then
will it necessarily follow that legislative action
ought to be materially changed in this matter,
or these evils will be perpetuated under the
sanction, and by the authority of the Legisla-
ture. This necessarily would make the Leglsla-
ture the primary cause Of the continuance Of in.
temperance and all its attendant and remote
evils in our land and consequently, render the
commonwealth itself highly criminal in this
matter. 1t is the legalizing of the traffic in
these things bE legislative action that gives po-
tency to thet cause of incompetence. 1t does
this, because it gives authority and influence to
the only formidable obstacle now in the way Of
the Temperance Reform.
That the traffic in Intoxicating liquors (nclu-
ding the manufacture of them,) is the cause of
the greatest amount of evils which aff1ict our
land, will, | think, clearly appear from the fol
lowing reasons:
7 lst. Because, a greater amo unit Of evils of a
Y temporal character are produced by these things
, than by any other causes whatsoever. This will
be egident~flbn tae Consideration Of the feet
that it cause s the destruction Of a vast amount
t of property, rendering it utterly useless to 50,
y ciety.
: All the materials from which Intoxicating Ii
: quors are manufactured, are entirely lost to the
community. Every particle of these, is abstrac
ted from the aSe of the community, without one
Il solitary article of service to society, being substi
tuted in their stead. The manufacture of intoxica
ting liquors from grain and other articles of food
E is an entire destruction of these things; and tn
community htually loses the full amount, with
out having u single article substituted in tn
place of these. So much therefore,, as is abstrac
ted from the community, must be considered a
so much lost. To estimate this great loss, a few
7e statistics will be all that Is necessary.
s. In 1910, it was estimated that SIX MILL
b. IONS OF BUSHELS OF GRAIN WAS DIS
t. TITLED IN THE UNITED STATES IF "
suppose, that the same ratio Of distillation ha
continued, according to the increase of popula
+ lation, then there must have been distilled i
the year 1850, TWENTY FOUR MILLIONS o.
as BuSHELar3F GRAIN, and that valued at tn
average of 90 cents per bushel, amounts to th
NJ enormous sum of TWELVE MILLIONS G
r. DOLLARS; and all this actually an utter loss t
r. the nation. Now, if this amount of grain ha
'e' been burned, or thrown into the sea, the loss
n it would have been very sensibly felt! Is
TO a less loss to the nation in the one case than til
other? Certainly not. In either case there
no substitute. Had this waste of property t
lat ken place by some casualty, as by fire or fooc
to it would have been considered great calamity
OF but, as it has been authorized by law, it is nc
err considered a matter Of great concern to the pc,
m pie, As it was legalized, therefore, it was Al
IA RIGHT.
to. If the drunkard and the glutton shall con
ng to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a me-
leh with rags PROV. xiii, q and if the slot
full, DC, shsZ have poverty come as one tn
OF t%raveleth, and his want as an armed man. Pr
our xiv, 30, 81. then surely, a Nation or a Sta
.u must share the like results; which, by the a
q | thority of law allows such waste Of property.
ilIy, This indeed, is fully demonstrated by facts
sla- the history of this matter, IL relation to En-
sh land. and especially Ireland.
the 'IfS~@eets Of intemperance in producing n
md tional poverty, are f~earfully illustrated in the h
TIT tory Of Ireland. That country is peculiarly
to vored in regard to situation, climate, soil a
eN every other circumstance necessary for attaini
~ national prosperity. Ireland, however, exhi
hey its more poverty and more AFFECT misery of e
= ry description, as we'll as greater debasement
the moral feeling, than any other similarly circu
'oli- stanced nation in the world. The surprise VIII
nee otherwise might be created by this statemt
lfal Will cease, when 1t Is known that the people
Ireland annually consume not less than 1880
the 900 gallons of ardent spirits. At an AYERS
sa- price of seven shillings per gallon, this wo1
ave Yield no less than $1,000, O00.' Bacchus
nee "a. 95.
lace The production of these %, SOC. 900 of 6
per- Ions of spirits, required a vast amount Of gra
lrds all which was entirely lost to the nation. Z
Is following will show this clearly. "A very
farming loss OF wealth arises from the destr
Ieet- ton of an immense quantity of nutritious or
Of in the manufacture of intoxicating liquors.
ntial is ascertained from official documents, that
all less than 10 f~orty-fve millions Of bushels
con- malt are annually consumed in this process,
ove- the production of which, more than a million
oeE acres of land is required. Hence, the nutriti
The produce of q million of acres of land, is not
the II lost to the nation. but converted into a sol
ans, of inca.culable human misery and distress.
ease Baechus, PIP. o5, 90. n
shed This subject will be continued in my next
/ KNOW
With e Several Communications received
5 of late Gor this paper shall appear in our n