Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1853-04-20
Glrauiuqg frurn Buuks.
TAs Tenn oorance Reformation.

80 $500 "
given, but is correct US far as it goes, VIC be- Il
7
The habit Of daily drinking increased very .
mush during the war of the revolution, and t
continued to increase rapidly after the %reStora- e"
Of peace. 1t was accompanied by all It's
kin lrei vices. Very little was done, for many b
years, to arrest its progress, or to promote a t
A sermon was occasionally u
preached, but the preacher was often regar- a
del as turning aside from his appropriate d
work To NEEDLE with that which did not con-
ccrn him.
The first thing that was done, that produ- t
eel any mlrSel effect, was the publication {
Of a tract, in 1904, by DIR. Benjamin Rush,
of p lila l3lphia, entitled An Inquiry into the
Elects of Ardent Spirits upon the Human
BJly anil Ind. One or two sermons were
published soon after. In 1908, a temperance
society was formed at Saratoga, New York.
II was a local association, limited IN It's In
~iuence, and seems not to have grown out OF
any special interest that preceded, nor to have
produced any great effect.
In NV, 1911, DIR. Rush presented to the
General Assembly ofthe Presbyterian Church
then in session in Philadelphia, 1000 copies
of his Inquiry. The assembly appointed n
committee of ten, to devise some measures to
diminish this growing evil, and to report to
tho assembly. Delegates from some OF the
Nsw England States were present, who par
ticiplted in the interest which was awakened
nv the tract. The subject was taken up and
discussed i'm most of the ecclesiastical bodies
that met during that summer In the NE"
England States.
Tho i%ncipient movements of all these bodies
Of clerrymen were tame and cautious. They
seemed to feel that they were graphing with
a monster Of unknown power. The mere
passing Of resolutions, expressive OF their
Interpretation of the custom of drinking,
was considered a wonderful triumph of prin-
ciplo. 1t probably required as much moral
courage to do that, as it did at a later day to
nicn ! pledge of total abstinence from every
thing that can intoxicate. Some, it is said,
were then prepared to abstain from the use
of alcoholic drinks but many venerable
men wore opposed to any decisive ac-
ton. A single fact will illustrate the state
Of feeling which then existed. One clergy
man, who banished intoxicating liquors from
his house, said his feelings were exceedingly
tried by having one of his brethren, a man
Of high responsibility, refuse to din with
hin, on the ground that he had no brandy
upon his table.
In November, 1911, at a meeting Of the
LNbm 1Olh ~ lbN " NAHN
-~AFt44Rptsfahtctt a letter was received by that
body from Rev. Lyman Beecher, D. D., of
Litch6ell, exhorting them to attack the mon
alter boldly. The following resolution was
finally adopted
ResoLCed, "That hereafter, ardent spirits
and wine shall constitute no part of our
entertainment at any of our public meetings,
AMI that it he recommended to churches not
to treat Christian brethren or others with al
cob llic drinks, as a part of hospitality in
friendly visits"
A letter was sent to the churches under the
care of the synod, calling their attention to
this resolution. The individual who was ap
pointed to prepare the letter, remarked, tina
after all, he had very little faith in total alb
r%tinence. He did not believe there was grea'
harm in taking a little, when he was exhaus
tel by the labors of the Sabbath, nor did he
saIdd it vim im P sSlRe t t. lnyi Sc A H p4 FdgaFa, 4, S ER|
some refreshment. He changed his mind
however, a few weeks after. One of his par
ishioners brought him a piece of meat, anC
took SO much r~efreshment, that he becamC
Intoxicated. The thought, that he had pu
tho bottle to his neighbours m0uth, and made
him drunken, so affected his mind, that h
resolved never to offer alcoholic drinks again
10 any one.
In October, 1912, the clergymon in Fair
field county, Connecticut, resolved not to US
strong drinks, as a beverage, at their futur
meetings. A committee was appointed
prepare an address to their people, on tn
gu Iiect. R,v. Heman Humphrey, D.. d
was on that committee.
"a, c,m nittee appointed by the Genera
As4a n5ly, in Nay, 1911, reported in Ma.
ISl2. S, much of the report as recommend
ell che collecting and d~itfusing information
vas accepted but the part which recon
manlel ahstinnnce- AND the forming of a
- 511::iiatI0nS, WIS rejected. In june, 1917, II
General Association of Connecticut recon
mon led the disuse of spirits in familie
mo ~ieration in the use of it to farmers ar
mechanics, and that associations should
formed to all the civil magistrate in execu
ing the laws against drunkenness. Durir
the same month, an elaborate report of
committee, appointed the year previous, W;
presented to the General Association of Ma
sachusetts. 1t was ascertained that 2,85l
30 gallons of spirits were distilled in tn
StLte in one year, and the cost of spirits q
nu lily consumed in the United States W
from twenty-three to twenty-five millions
dollars. The association recommended t
diffusion Of information among the peor
respecting the evils Of intemperance, declG
ed their belief that ministers and Christia
ought to- abstain from this appearance of
vii, and that it was questionable whether
was right for them to use strong drink
any occasion except for medicine. They
80 recommended that the laws against dru
kenness should be enforced, and that as,
Citations should be formed to collect and d
fuse information, and to excite a proper Il
among the people on the subject.
In February, 1913, tho Massachusetts, {
ciety for the Suppression of Intemperan
was formed. THE object Of the society W
TO discountenancc and suppress the too fl
use Of ard mt spirits, and its kindred vic
proflneness and gaming, and to encoura
temperance and general morality" Ma
societies of this kind were formed in n,
England. They were called by many I'm,
81 societies" No one could become a me
Der unless he sustained a good moral CHI;
acter, was nominated in an open meetir
and approved by two thirds of the membt
present, and should pay two dollars. The
societies llborel to suppress intemporant
not by setting an example Of total abstiner
themselves, but by aiding the civil mag
trate in the enforcement of the law, in
fusing information, and in efforts to indr
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