The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1853-02-02
Report Of the Central Committee OF Tho
State Temperance Society.
Concluded J

But are the evils resulting from the
manufacture and sale of spirituous liz.
uors. as great as those resulting from
smuggling goods ? Are they as great
as the connterfcitcr produces ? If SO
the law is as important, and should fur
nish as great powers and penalties
What then is the fact
Does it seem like insulting your un-
derstandings to institute a comparison
What compare the loss of little rev
cnuc with the loss Of thirty thousand
American citizens annually. together
with the evils arising from three hun
dred thousand living drunkards. with
all the wretchedness. and crime of every
name and poverty aud vagrancy that be
long to them There is 10 comparison
All the revenue Of the land would not
tempt one Of us to suffer what single
druulard suffers. The sUm Of tie evil
defes computation. "Thcre is NJ prop
erty that So certainly ana SO uniformly
works evil in community. rs that which
is employed in the manufacture and sale
of Intoxicating drinks and all the capi.
tai on the face of tie earth. invested in
coutraband goods and c)unterfeitcrs
tools and damaged hides and corrupted
drugs. aud tainted butchers meat. is not
doing an appreciablc quantity Of the
mischief that is done by the property
which is invested in this business -
Measured by the evil to society which
this law is designed to remove, and the
good it would accomplish by removing
this evil, 1T has no parallel in Importance.
And by what other standard Shall we
measure its Importance Not surely
by the degree of malice in him who
breaks it. He may be as free from mali.
cious intent as the smuggler, and yet
the evil be as great, and call as Loudly
for removal 1t is the evil actually
done, which gives importance to the law.
This evil is to be estimated by the vast
multitudes it ruins, and these the bone
and sinew of the republic-by the ruin
and wrctchedness and poverty it produc-
cs-by the draft it makes upon the pro
ductive industry of the land-by the
millions of dollars expended for crime
and the support of pauperisln, conse-
quent upon Independently the thou.
sands who, year by year, are converted
into frightful maniacs-and by all the
disorder and riot and waste which result
from it, Now let any man look at these
in their height and breadth, and length,
and depth, and then say whether a pro-
hibitory law designed to remove them
all, should not be as stringent and effec-
tive, as the law against smuggling, or
counterfeiting, or thieving, or any OF her
evil The conclusion is irresistible.
But, are such stringent measures nee
essary to make the law effective 1t is
affirmed that they are not necessary
that they are extreme and excessive
legislation-tyrannical in their nature and
dangerous in their tendency. Now we
submit whether such stringent provisions
are more necessary to the law against
smuggling" than to the law against
selling intoxicating liquors. Will any
one tell us that the motives and the
temptations to transgress in the former
case, are greater than in the latter OF
that the latter is more easy of execution
Just the reverse Of this is the truth.
The motive to transgress, in the one case
is simply thirst for gain. The practcC
of smuggling never had the sanction Of
law, or custom, or public sentiment
and is never pleaded for by the cries OF
appetite, strong as death. Ia tho Other
all these exist The observation Of past