The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1852-03-23

"A SreaS many letters and statements have bccn
published Of tho effects u tho Liquor law in Maine,
and the tsbriety thai has prevailed since its enact
nent. The reason is, that Maine has 70 a great
extent tessne depopulated since The passage Of the
Liquor law, and the quiet and the Sabbath stiffness
may be accounted for by tho vast emigration from
that State to California, in consequence of that very
measure. "They have made a solitude, and they
call it Ieaee." Not only these persons engaged in
the liquor business in all the towns but those oiti
rens who accustomed to the use Of yarious
drinks, were suddenly deprived Of them by prac-
teal blue law, have left the State and gone to tho
"land Of gold," other States in the Union. where
they enjoy that personal freedom of action guar
anied every man by the constitution of the United
States, and where absurd and tyrannical law pro-
scribes what man shall en- o. drink, or how no
shall entertain his guest, in his own house.
This is the real cause Of the tranquility in Maine
| 1t is the result of the fight Of the inhabitants
+ ON the Prosecutions Of tyranny and fanatcism.
Americans are too ueh accustomed to practical
liberty, and appreciate it too highly to be controlled
and tied down, like slaves children, by sumptuary
laws and, if the spirit of ianatcism should pre-
| val for time in any particular State, tho
| eject will be to cause q migration Of free and
| Independent minds TO other States, till tho
morbid condition Of the public mind works its own
cnre he disease dies out and the law becomes an
obsolete, dead letter, as is the with every blue
| law ever yet enacted in the world.
| Blue laws must always eventually fail because
they assume degree Of human perfection that does
not exist in the world, and they are not based on
| human nature. Experience has proved that they
cannot be practically carried out. The failure Of re-
publicanism, established by Cromwell, in England
entirely caused by the repulsive straight laced
stiff necked laws introduced by the Puritans, against
| which human nature reyolted and q reaction was
the result which led to the restoration Of monarchy
and those pastmes, recreations, amusements, Dress
eating. and drinking that had prevailed in merrie
! Old England" from time immemoria
Tie fanatics assume that men and women can be
made angels by an act Of the Legislature but the
| truth comes out BY and bye that they are still
! human, and have the same passions, iaclinations
and prope neics that they had, and that their
fathers and mothers had before them from the days
OF yore. Thus fanaticism runs in cycles. and our
| progress men compelled at last, after playing
many fantastic tricks, to come back to the very
| point from which they started
| The JAPAN ExPEDITIoN.-One of our Washington
correspondents, in late despatch intimates that
the Japan expedition is not intended for the avowed
occupation OF the japanese islands, but that its OBJ
ects Of the scientific order than the aggros
| svc. The Emperor of Japan has never had a coast
survey taken of his beautiful cluster Of islands; or
at least, he has had the poleness to furnish
the nations Of" outside barbarans' with copy Of
the maps and charts Of any such survey. Conse-
quenty the "outside barbarans' having been kept
ut respectful distance from his sacred territories,
know nothing Of The shoals, rocks reefs, capes
| creeks, inets and outlets by which they are sur
rounded And thus it happens, sometimes, that an
| American whalcr, driven off its course or a mer-
chairman running in for the coast Of China is ship
| wrecked among III, islands Of his Japanese Majesty
| Mr.. Fillmore AMI lIr. Webster have, therefore
to the nd their naval expedition is for
the purpose Of volunteering, for the benefit of the
Emperor and the rest OF mankind, hydrographica
| survey Of the japanese islands. Mark that--a by
| biographical survey. To do this upon the plan Of
| our coast survey, would require vast amount
| Of trgonometrical observations on land and hun
drcd guns, at least, to complete it but it is to be
| purely Autographed, by water. We presume that
even this examination will be limited to a few i'm
! portaut points. beginning with the bay and
| halbor Of Jeddo--the imperial metropolis: and
that if Il is necessary fret to lombard the city, we
| suppose it will be bombarded. Those unsatisEed
| eutrages upon American seamen are also to be
| looked after; and if, in quiet way, commercial
treaty can be made with the great Emperor, il will
| be done. ii is to be distinctly understood, in any
| event, that Commodore Perry does not go out upon
anyfiibustoiag expedition. He mny, perhaps find
it to knock the royal palace of eddo about
the ears of the Emperor, in order to pave the way
| for commercial negotiations, and to burn up a few
towns around the coast, in the prosecution of the
Autographed survey; but THAT is all Neither the
conversion Of the heather by heavy artillery. nor
the remuneration of Japan to the United States
is intended by the enterprise. Nothing is to be done
| to provoke the intervention Of the Dutch.
NEW HOTELS IL THE CIry.--New hotels--.omc
of them most extensive and magnificent scale
are sprnging up in various localities in this city, to
meet the increasing pressure of strangers from all
parts of the Union-in fact, from al parts of tho
world In trade and commerce, science, literature
and the arts, and also in political opinion, New
York is to the United States what Paris is
to France, and London to Great Britain Ii
is still more Il is the centre of the whole civilized
world and the progress ofevents 10 both hcmispheres
lie daily making this great fact evident to all
men, II is the t0trfp5t ofhe commerce of the earth
standing, ms II docs between the Two great highways
Of nations the Atlantic and Paci6c--the mighty link
in the chain Of communication which girds the habit
able globe On one side is Europe and Africa. On tho
other lies Asia. with its vast wealth, inviting the COM
mcrcis enterprise and the rivalry Of the old country
and the new. The great metropolis Of the United
States thus rendered. by ts geographical position
as well q. by the energy Of its inhabitants, tho CEN
trial point TO which tend all the movements on two
oceans, the wealth of two continents, aud the re-
Eourcce Of il own continent, with the riches Of Tie
islands q every sea.
When the shortest route 10 Califonia-the New
York Of the PacRc--is established and perfected,
the New York IL the Atlantic will become more
than ever the pivot on which viii turn the cora-
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