Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1852-10-06
Consequences to the health morals and intellect ot

Consequences to the health, morals and intellect cf
the community.
At length Ministers determined to put a stop to
all further use Of Liquor, except as medicine, and
for this purpose an Act passed in 1876, the his
tory and effects OF which, deserve to bo studied by
all who are ciamorors for an increase of duty, or
other impediments to the usc Of spirits The Maine
Preamble is in the following words: =" Whereas the
drinking of Spirtuous Liquors, or strong water is
become very common, especially among people Of
lower or inferior rank, the constant aud excessive
use of which tends greatly to the Destruction Of
their health, rendering them Unfit for useful labor
and bu mess, dcbauchins their morals and melting
them to prrprtrnte all VICES, and the i'll consequent
ccs of the excessive use of such Liquors, are not
confined TO the present generation, but extend to
future ages, and tend to the destruction and ruin Of
such as might be expected to follow Preamble Of
this sort. They wcro designed not to reprcss the
vice of Gin drinking but to root it out altogether
:, duty of trenty shillings; or four dollars and
eighty cents per gallon was laid all spirits, dis
tiled at home, or imported from ABROAD exclusive
Of heavy license imposed upon all retailer, FIX
.raordinary encouragement was at the same time
held out to informcrs and fine of one hundred
pounds was ordered to be vigorously enforced against
those who inadvertently should sell the small
est quantity OF Liquor that had paid the full duty.
Here was an act, which might, one would think,
have satisfied the bittcrest enemy of Rum, but in
stead of the anticipated effects, it produced those
directly opposite. The respectable dealer withdrew
from trade prescribed by the Legislature, and at
which he could no longer make an honest living.
But as the appetite for Liquor, or other s,inu-
lus being founded in the constitution Of mans ma
turc, could not be destroyed, it must be grafcd in
some way the spirit business fell almost entirely
into the hands of the lowest and most protligate
characters, who as they had nothing to lose, were
not deferred from engaging in the retail sac Of un-
licensed liquors, especially when backed by the
populacc, who readily and rightly cspo,,scd the
of their best friends the smugglcrs and unlicensed
dealers The Revenue officers were openly assault
ed in the heart of London and other great cities.
Informers were hunted down like wild beasts, and
anarchy, drunkenness, idleness and crime increased
with frightful rap:dy Adnlteration Of Liquor till
then unknown, was extensively practsed by the Re-
taller who paid his license, in order elat he might
compete with the smuggler and illicit dealer, who
defe,l the law. The Earl of Cholnondcley an
nounced from his place in the House Of Lords, that
at tic very moment, when the sac of spirits was
declared illegal and the suppression Of it attempted
by every possible means, upwards Of scren millions
Of gallons were annually smugglcd into and con-
sunled in London and the vicinity without paying
one cent Of duty Within two years Of the pass
ing Of the Act" says TISDAL in his Continuation
Of Rappin it had become so odious and contempt
IDLE that policy, as well rs humanity forced the Com
mis<ioners Of Excise to mitigate it, penalties" The
same Historian mentions that during the tpo years
in question, no fewer than twelve thousand persons
were convicted of offences connected with the salc
Of spirits.
Under such circumstances, Government hal but
one course to pursue, which was TO give up the
equal struggle, and accordingly in l742, after the
short lived existence of six years. and four Of those
in dying or dead condition, the Act was repealed
and such moderate duties imposed, as were calcua-
ted to increase tho Revenue by increasing the con-
sumption of legally distilled and legally retailcd
spirits. The Bill for this purpose was yehemeEtly
opposed in the House on Lords by most Of the
Bishops and many Of tho Lay Peers, who exhausted
their Rhetoric in depicting the horrors that would
result from toerating the practice Of Rum drinking.