Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1849-1856, 1852-04-08


A give as Il reason, that men cannot be
y driven in This matter, ard that persua-
sion alone will effect the object
In answer to this we have only 10 say,
that wherever The laws have been prop
erly executed, the Oh ject hats betn Ell
iectcd ard. whenever persuasion has
. bccn relied upon. it has most signally
failed an that can be reasoned win
\ have long siIce II The business, and II
\ The law will not nnswer for The rest,
then IL our cause hopeless.
\ Another objection is. that irrrllyious
men are frequently the officers oi our
societies, aud uneducated men are our
chief speakers.
1 These are ulhs. but where is tie
iault? If Ministers and Christians re-
fuse their aid, shall good moral men, Tor
II that reason refuse theirs ? and, i. ihe
learned aud the eloquent refuse 10 raise
H their voice. and have no heart 10 sym
pathise with the most miserable and de-
1 graded of their race, is that any reason
why should turn my back upon them,
refuse 10 obey G d. and withhold truth
1 from such as will hear? Such objec-
tons as these, while they alike disgrace
the pulpi: and the church, are to the la
borrrs IN this cause, a compliment Of no
small consideration. Uneducnled as
most of us are, we have effected a
work OF no small or doubtful good. God
/ has been our friend, blessed our labors
and crowned them with large sue
cess.
Another objection TO which ! shall re-
| ply, is, that if We carry out our prinoi-
| pies, we shall in]uic our political par
| ~.
II will not do for me to deny this
truth. II will injure, more or less, each
Of the great parties that divide our
country; and il is not impossible, that
the minority in this State, by an ANAL
gamation with ourseiv es or our oppo.
nents, will obtain the ascendancy but
suppose this is the case, suppose for
season The powers OF rum should pre-
vail is that any reason why we should
l abandon our cause This result has
been accom- lishcd IN each OF the States
Of Massachusetts and Connecticut, but
'ihe sober second thought oil the peo-
I ple," showed, in both these instances,
\ that temperance was ri,.ht and must
u pICNaIl. no IL BIOOl ~ tillS uSoCl
\ enquire, when was the cause more pros
porous in either OF these States. then at
The present moment? do not mean
when WAS there more excitement, hut
when | ask, was public opinion so ready
TO second the efforts of the supporters Of
this cause. by granting them snIuiary
laws even intlicting penalties TO restrain
the liquor traffic, that strikes at nothing
less than It's speedy and complete at AN
donu ent d.? ms ST tina; this objection is
OF no force; for, if my political party
cannot keep Itself IN power, but by
blending il with thus miserable traffic,
let it 90. il is not worth sustaining.
Let me name one more objection,
namely, il men are not permitted To ST.
with consent OF the law, they will sell
in defiance Of law.
And who is so simple as To doub, this
fact Do we not see this done. more or
less, in every town where licenses are
refused No one will deny this. but let
us enquire il the offender is a good cit-
Zen No doubt many Of them claim 10
be, but. will Il good CITIZEN, for private
gain, violate the laws Of his country =
I indeed he viii not, and, whenever you
hear man declare, (and this is not I'M
frequently that he will sell what he
pleascs, where he leases and 10 whom
he leases, in defiance OF ali law, you
may sci II down for truth, that there is Il
lack OF moral principle in that mans
breast, which can only be restrained by
the sevrrrsl penalties. Moral suas!on
with such "A character is absnrd; but
the law duly enforced will regulate this
evil. The indictments against such,
will continue 10 diminish, until they
cease altogether. Every fine secured
is a turn Of t.c screw. crushing beneath
lis weight lis chef obstruction. A few
rrpc,ilions, operating alike powerfully
up the pocket and upon the character
OF the individual, acs very differently
from moral suasion, and cannot iaIl 10
convince. even the most obstinate, that
it is Il bad business and must be given
up.
Many other objections are urged NJ
on us, aud deserve Il rciutalion, but time
will not permit me To enlarge. They
can all be met AS well us these. There
is nothing but lalSehood or sophistry in
either OF them, and known 10 he so by
10y every one who Raises them, as the
confession of every reformed rum seller
conclusvely shows. Que will ielI you
he sells great deaf more when liccn-
SEES are refused than he does when he
has license Another will tell you he
ses "A great many m re drundards IN
temperance towns than in others; and
n third will assure you that temperance
! never can succeed, Tor he sells more Ii
! quor to pledged tee total ers than 10 all
/ The rest o! his customers. Now there
! is not word OF truth ia all this. ] will
prove it. II there was truth in the first,
Why is IT they will pay any price for IA
licensei are these the men 10 throw
away ther money! no verify, these are
the very last men To do SO. II there was
truth in the second statement, why is ii
that temperance men IN these towns do
not see these drurkards as well as their
opponents and. If the thirds truth. why
do they never name these tee. totalers !
Ii is all deception. Like their staple
commodity, it deceives the simple, aud
answers the unhoiy purpose ior which
it is intended.
have now gone through with my re-
marks, and, aprrehend many Of you
are disappointed at my silence in re-
lation to the MAINE Law" aud the
late ac llon Of tie General Assembly
therenn, nor even word as TO the deep
mortiiica;on our friends have experlenc-
ed, that their urgent, numerous ami res-
! pectiul petitions have been so shame
lcssy surrendered Tor party purposes.-
| (l trust an insuIled people viii set this
matter rlght) have also passed over
the claims OF the SONS OF Temperance,
with whom have the I onor OF beng