New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1853-09-20

Rev w IT, HiDLEY, who writes the following let
ter Minister at Large the Poor of Portland. tht
chief city Of Maine and deyotes his time and energies
to visiting the Poor their houses and there advising
admonishiDg and helping them II be DON. know what
the general effect of the Maine Law, no man can
know it, He has been appealed 10 witness BY enc
MES well friends Of that Law In reply to THESE
/, appeals, be has just written az follows
OTyIcI OF TIE MINISTRY 81 LARSh
PosTLASp Ne Sept .. To- y.
R,RStR. Your communication Of the 9th mt - th,-
noneni received and although the iiieui a.; .-aa
mon NV time pertaining 20 my calling are VIE ipi
nrmfrous and urgent lay them al ASIDE 70 reei INC ms
cradle urepresens tioD- concerning the "ra"h- u our
LSpoI Ld 20 wv n,-sion do not allow me much time
oy onrouuity 10 write speak on the subject Of temper
the Maine Lew or to attend ees wnee ,1e.
lie lseboods are fabricated and out from this place
a. those referred TO in letter coad let nothing short
of mmedao calls 70 attend upon the sick or dying hinder
me from contrsdcting them have scarcely written
spoken publicly word upon these subjects for than
syes, until yesNsrdsy when wrote s short letter to Rev
the liquor traffic which have just collected was re
queefd than month ago by Professor Rust Of Ma
sonic College Tennessee TO answer cerainqustons which
he proposed concerning the operations Of the Law, &C.
which promised to do; but partly owing 10 want of
time, had determined 10 postpone my letter TO him I'll
after approaching election when shall furnish him
with many facts which have been collecting some of
which viii state to you.
an prepared 10 say that during my residence here
minister the poor for the space Of four years and five
month"; there has been less demand for charity
where temperee has been the cause than during
the past FIVE months. Political demagogues and the haters
of the Maine Law and its author may ascrbe TO what
motive they please in making this assertion. Suicest to
say that, far cherish political opinions and synPq
Hies am will the party last year in power, and not with
the present city state Administration nor with Nj Neal
Dow never received and never expect apersona favor
from Mr. Dow In religious opinions he and myself are
apart c9lO You say that your informant that
John Meals assertions all truehat there is
drinking in Portland than and that Mr. Hadley has
said that lie wishes the law repealed" Of Mr. Meals
assertions, am not disposed TO say much am willing
they shOud 90 for all they worth They have not ap
peaed to to be calculated to inure tho Lawcertany
not in Portland and think not in the State Of Maine.
wish everybody who has time would carefully read them
all But there being more drinking in Portland than
lever this is such polode olseood that it needs no
have embraced every opportunity for month past to
collect statistics of the former Liquor traffic In this city and
through the State. My information not derived from
r0mrOds uor from enthusiastic admirers of tho Maine
Law Much Of il is received from those who were op
posed to ii when went into effect neoriy all from those
who have been extensyey engaged IN the trade or manu-
facure Of the article and several Of whom did not rn
Quirb il til compelled by the statute in question. Aad
what is the result Of my researches and inquiries
Fhst-of distileries. OF these there were for many
years previous the year 1886, in operation
with two, with three coppeIs One of those with two
coppors-by the largestor most efficient was &C
cusiomed 10 turn Out 500 gallons day, regularly month
afher month year after YEAR One SINGLE copper in
other establishment Of sufficient capacity to produce
600 gallons a day Allowing go gallons to each copper
and two of the dislees have three OF these-a cacu
etion below the truth have the amount oi 1000 gal
Ions per diem. l,252o0o gallons year TO say nothing OF
Sundous One told me that sererof Of these dstn
erie accustomed TO operate ON the Tt day OF the
week
Then there u0s a time when 100000 gallons came
through the Custom House in year In my hasty note
10 Mr. Chaplin supposed this to he when the dseres
were in full operation: There may be sight error ID
this calculation But be it a. it may,-he most respect
able merchants in this city whose statements are beyond
question as 10 veracty, who have been most extensively
engaged in tho trade that the most Of their
ot Boston,
Sc not through the Custom House The language OF
the intelligent and respectable OF these men
H. that what through the Custom ouse was but
drop of bucket, and he gave as his cool del
crate opinion hat not than ONE fnrittH Part as
n,aeh liquor IS sold and consumed az ms e"y and
hroa gh0a hs state as there rG treHfy GEa thr'y years
ogO-wh,n tire population OF both city and State were not
much than half wbaii is at present Others equally
well qualified TO Judge, express a similar opinion
One of most respectable merchants positively As
sorts that he has sold tOHr times as much himself IN
year lie has any to believe has been sold IN the
same time here the enactment Of the law and AZ the
time there were nine ten large wholesale liquor stores
in the CITY, some Of which sold much more than ne DID 70
say nothing Of what sent out directly from the d-i
leries If there is any necessity ior H. presume hosc
gentlemen will allow to their names but choose
not to do without their PERMISSION one OF .heli atorls
he seldom sold bill Of goods IN the times al
luded TO- that not headed by hogshead OF N T.
Rum next barrel of ". |. Rum, &c. have made par
tcular inquiry to whence came the foreign liquors,
incs Lroad,e g.ns, rum c and the uniform response
has been they manufactured chiefly in Boston AMI
New York they were mixed Now, admitting "nat
"a
ouarter of gallons was manufactured here-and what
sppears to bo undOub,ed-that almost much more
was brought here from abroad besides what came
through the Custom House, which was but drop
of bucket we have the snug little amount of two and
half millions of gallons, when our population was not
more that sixteen or seventeen thousand We ought 10
have at least four millions now to make the equal proper
tioui How is Have really more than one thous
and Gallons week brought into this city in coat posets-
Gour barrels and in imitation o. Btsf do not
believe IT, IL is true that there IS little hcitiy SNUG
ced in and that occasionally some OF our promising
-, mon nrv -nzzl.S Il IN their ROOMS what tnen
WI ,he Law has not vel wholly annhilated the use OF
alcohol nor corrected the vicious haDs OIL a 'e
rne,ite But il has closed than three hnndredgrog
In and stopped the open trade entirely we nave NOT
now a drop manufactured here none comes tnr"ugi ue
Custom that is used secreed IN ii uehs
Centee and fashionable families make some use oi wines
and ouor fourth part much as formerly ana hoi
more man they did three ago. But perhaps You or
some one NAV ask ii the traffic in liquors did not greatly
diminish before tho enactment of the law VIII lei these
Wholesale dealers answerthe very men who say iat
has diminished i0figH'H' ffi'ehS none % ui.so nav
mi the dimnuiion al more than fo birds before June
is5l mos of them say onehaf Cs1 It two thirds Then
public opinion and human progress diminished rom Us
worst state about thirty three parts Tor ana me
Maine Law sixteen parts or stT't' teA.e,N. a. 49,
his not derived repeat from the special friends OF the
Law but partlv from it, enemies and mostly iron those
who have become its friends by seeing IT'S opsIahoh-
There are many such among most inuehiiai oo1es
would no more dispute man who SAYS tAa, 'hefe :
more drinking in Portland than ever than "ouu uspte
one no should say that he had Tom Thumb an6 TO
nah standing on level ana that Tom was head ana shon
DER liz her than CcGh But do not clam 50 nueh LOT
tie Law as my infcrmGnis allow. do indeed think maj
he sale and courufs;cn hes fallen of $50 bat think
Iat The Law has only reduced amount 10 about oae
int on the whole OF what Il YVES three years ago
wish TO speak Of the retail trade ~ found H. ana a.
the Law found it, and Of It's eheeis but time WIZ ui pos
sitly allow az present. -.