Polynesian., 1852-09-04

whiskey and New England rum costing 25 OF
r 3O cents gallon, have been divested oftheil
essential oil and mixed with brandy in the
!. United States in the proportion of one-half
f two-thirds, or even three-fourths, and solo
for dollar or more per gallon, as genuine
: brandy. Burnt sugar and various drugs are
j used to disguise the fraud. This cheap alco-
: hol is also used in manufacturing wines made
Of cider, logwood, and various mixtures. II
: is said that more Madeira wine is sold in the
D city of London alone, than the island of Ma
. deira produces, and more Port than is ex-
E ported from Oporto. Those who trade in
\ liquors in our times, are not very scrupulous
: about the materials of which they are made
r up, contenting themselves probably with the
reflection that they put in nothing more des-
, tructive than the alcohol for which they are
: priced, and without which they could not be
5 sold at any price.
Till the reign of William and Mary, ale
t had been the common beverage of the labor
ing classes in England. Much OF this was
home brewed, and contained but a small per
cent. Of alcohol But no sooner was ardent
spirit engrafted on their habits by an act for
the encouragement Of distilIation, than its
employment became so excessive as to call
for legislative interference and it was not
until l75l that the measures of the govern
ment were successful in bringing back the
consumption Of ale to its original quantity,
before which, according to Smollett, '' such
shameful degree ofprofligacy prevailed that
the retailers Of this poisonous compound (gin)
set up painted boards in public, inviting the
people to be drunk at the small expense of a
penny /; assuring them they might be dead
drunk for two pence, and have straw TO lie
on till they recovered, free of charge" From
this time to the removal Of the restrictions on
the sale of gin in 1927, (says the Glasgow
Temperance Record, ale has continued to
be again the favorite drink of the English
workman, but Immediately on the nation
being a second time exposed, with all its ale
quaffing habits, to the light, diffusive and
agreeable stimulus of distilled. spirit, than it
| fell-the thirst for the new liquor spreading
like lightning, and its consumption in two
years increasing twelve millions ofgaIlons ! !!
When government fhterposed and by heavy
duties and other restrictions, made the price
high, the people went back to their ale
when the restrictions were removed, they
went to drinking gin again. The ale and beer
they had drank contained alcohol enough to
| sharpen their appetites for something strong
err Ale, wine and cider had done the same
all over Europe, and vast amounts of grain
were consumed by distilleres to supply the
rapidly increasing demand for spirits. The
North American colonies were at first sup
piled with rum from the West Indies, the New
England States having most of the American
trade with those islands Their ships not
only brought the rum from the West Indies,
but brought large quantities of sour mo-
lasses, which was distilled in Massachusetts.
Rhode Island and Connecticut, and this con-
stituted the difference between West India
rum and New England rum. The New
| England States never had grain to spare, but
when the settlements extended into the inte-
rior Of PenDsy lvana, western New York,
Ohio, and Kentucky, and grain was produced
greatly beyond the wants o! the inhabitants.
without the means of getting it to market, dis
tilleries were set up in Feat numbers, and
with most disastrous results upon the habits
and morals of the people. The American
Congress having laid an excise tax or duty
on spirits distilled from domestic as well as
foreign materials, its collection was resisted
in western Pennsylvania in 1874 by an armed
force The insurrection was, however,
promptly suppressed by President Washing
ton, and its instiga;ors punished But there
being no laws, state or national, forbidding
distIlation, and the national eBcise being re-
peaed, the manufacture and consumption Of
whiskey continued to increase until its ruin
Gus effects alarmed all thinking men, and
aroused enquiry whether there were any
means of arresting the overwhelming fiery
food of fintemperance. Individuals here and
there raised their voices in the pulpit or ad
dressedHhe public through the press, but l
am not aware of any attempt at associated
effort until the year 1911, when a general
association Of religious societies in Massa-
chusetts appointed a committee to confer with
similar body in Connecticut, and devise
measures to prevent some of the numerous
and threatening mischiefs, resulting from
"the excessive and intemperate use of
spirituous liquors. The committees met
and deliberated, and subsequently correspon-
died. Finally on the 4th of February 1913, a
meeting was held at the State House in Bos-
ton, and society was formed called '' The
Massachusetts Society for the suppression Of
intemperance The object as expressed in
the second article of the Constitution was
TO dlscountenance and suppress the TOO
free use of ardent spirits, and its kindred
vices, profanity and gambling, and to encour-
age and promote temperance and morality"
This society langusbed for number of
years, but accomplished nothing. 1t recon-
mended, not abstinence, but moderation in
drinking. We might as well beseech the
trade winds to blow moderately down the
Nuuanu valley. These good mem gave up
their task in despair. Nothing could be done
by legislation, for the laws were made by the
chosen representatives of the people. and the
candidate for legislative honors who should
then have proposed to restrict the sale of in
toxicaiing drinks would have stood no more
chance than q rum candidate would now in