Daily Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1854-1855, 1854-12-22

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ALFRED SANDERS, Eo,reR.
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aDavsnpost, Friday, nee. ees tsSa.
i ne Doctrine Of ISoAinition.
Our cesempssary Of shH Dahuqae Express
f. Herald makes so weak a defence Of tae
prsesico now co~untenanced in our State, Of
selling iaspxicaling liquors az = beverage,
tina, we are disposed to reply 10 sAe spirit Of
h;sarticle.
.Thsman," very wisely observes the Cs-
d.r Valley Fme., "wllo can advocate the
sah Of intoxicaiing drinks - . beverage, N
she light Of the 10Th century. must be.
Strangely heside himself, or wilfully blind"
Using this a. q text, the edi,ar of the Express
proceeds u comment upon it in = manner
that fully proves It's axicmatical character.
The above quoted sentence our contemporary
declares en- sabsurd theory" and .'the popu-
far fanascal idea Of the age" and very sage
" inquiries, rs our neighbor 50 poor a judge
Of humsn nature and the history Of mankind
aud the effect Of legislation. a., seriously
contemplate so wonderful a revolution IS
tia, Of aboliahing the use Of ardent spirits Is
. bereragel"
Ia the language Of Chatham, quoted by
the sErpress. its editor Is one OF .'that num-
berwho are ignorant in spitecf experience"
and who "afer having seen the consequences
ofa thousand errors, continues still to blum
DER It has never been contended by the
wfldess advocate Of a prahib:tory law, that
the passage Of such an enactment will en-
tlrely abolish the use Of ardent spirits as q
beverage. Such idea is not harbored, no
more than that the passage Of stringent LAWS
on the subject Of larceny, can ever entirely
prevent men from stealing. and he who ar
cues the question upon this ground, shows
either the weakness Of his cause or that OF
his head. Viewed in this light prohibition
would indeed be an "shsurd theory" and we
would doubt that mans capacity for Judging,
who should maintain to the contrary.
Man is q free agent and SO considered in
law; he has rights guaranteed him which
cannot be iniringed upon without penalty.
As q free agent he may walk the streets OF
our city clad in his sober habiliments and in
his right mind, unmolested, but SO coon as
he strips the clothing from his body, or rea-
SON from his mind, and thus parades the
street, he infringes upon the rights Of others
and renders himself obnoxious 70 punish
msnt.
Man may drink his tea and coffee to ez-
cess, eat his food to gIuttony, and use his
tobacco and cigars until he utterly destroys
hi. constitution, but go long as his indul-
gcnce affects not the rights of others, he
does not render himself anlenab.e to law;
and so, he may imbibe his wine, or drink his
whiskey to excess, but If while under the d.
rect influence of those stimulants, he dis
eui.e their immediate effect SO that it will
not be observed by others. the case is eqNai-
IL plain, th,tno affecting the rights OF his
fellow men, the law does no. hold him re-
soonsible for his actions.
The doctrine Of prohibition, as contem-
plated By the Maine and similar laws, al
though its aim is a high one, none other
than that Of the eatirs disuse of alcoholic
s,imulants as a beverage, does not in reality
anticipate their total abolition. II the use
of the article in its palpabls injurious effects
upon community is coanteracted, all that
the most ssnynine advocate Of hat law an
ticipates will have been accomplished, and
its object will be achieved.
Garry out the principle. however, adso-
Gated BY our ~cetemporary, that man IS a
free agent to DO az he please, and where
would be the ties that bind men in commu-
nityl Where the safeguards to protect
mar in society, They would be severed
and, as beasts, en- would prey upon one
another. No, if we would have a kind and
peaceful society, we must enact laws that
will protect the weak from the strong, the
moral from the immoral; and Il man cannot
restrain his appetite ihatit infringe not up
on the rights Of others, then the law, made
for the protection Of the %viftuous and no, the
encouragement oftae vicious, should be in
terposed. But we have not the time nor
the space to pursue the matter further.
Iook Notice.
Wal Down ExsT or Psrtraitxrts If YsxSss life
EY SRA SIXTH, the original Major Jack Downing.
TT = l.. al 49, . Z q