Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1854-08-30
It has done harm /!

THIS state L0Aiect members to the Legislature va
favorable to g~islation on the liquor traffic. le
has injured Acause Of temperance-that it tn
has throw atleastt ten years, &c., &c. 81
Nov, althNn have heard this often, and al
seen it too 2soms prints where we had been b
led 70 expect any thing else. yet we have not y
seen the 6rst plausible reason for coming to al
such a eonclusion-and until convinced by Of
facts and arguments of the truth of the sim Of
pie assertion, We shan beg leave most respect u
fully to differ from it,
Now zoe contend that, SO far from injuring
the movement, it will tetd greatly to the ad- :.
vancement of the cause ostemperance and to =
its permanent engraftmens upon the conf =
dence and affections of the people. And this j,
conviction is based upon an abiding conf
dence in the intelligence, patriotism and jus
tiee of the people-the masses-who have
been grossly misled and imposed upon, as to
the true objects and purposes of the friends
of this Reform. It is a we'll known and, we
presume, undisputed fact, that all the oppo-
nents of the measure, in addressing the pub
lie upon this topic, have SO grossly misrepre-
sented th@isgle, have brought forward SO
many false accusations, have in such a dema-
gogical manner appealed to the baser passions
Of men, thai prejudices and enmities have
been aroused of the most bitter and vindic-
tive character-and yet they have no just
foundation in any design of the friends of the
movement, or in the principles against which
they are directed.
We have heard Of no candidate or oppo-
nent of the Reform movement who, in ad-
dressing the people, has had the candor and
magnanimity to bravely and nanfully attack
the issue as presented by its friends but
drawing upon their own imaginations they
have made up an issue and fought it with a
zeal worthy of a better cause, altho' disclaim-
ed and denied by the Reform men every
where-and thus they have imposed upon
the public credulity and engendered a hostIl-
ity as unjust in its conclusions, as it is false
and unfounded in its premises.
Let us take a hasty glance at the manner
in which some men have opposed the Reform
movement: As a general thing, the first
onslaught made was by a ,~gQlorQus battle
against the Maine law, and that too by men
who had never read that law and knew moth
ing of it's provisions-but it was enough for
them that it was an odious term and hence
they used it. Others declared hat the pass
age of such a law would cause blood to flow
like water, but they took good care not to
tell the people that the law existed in several
States, and no such result had followed :
nor did they say anything about the blood
that was flowing daily and hourly, through
the murderous system of the liquor traffic
Others again, harped upon the ridiculous
cry of taking away mems liberties-and one
distinguished man INDUCED in the NONSENSE
cal argument that, if o law could be passed
against drinking, an equal right existed b.
Ehieh Law could be passed. compelling mel
STRIP Upon the same principle, if a law cal
be passed against stealing, one may be passel
compelling men to stealt And many othe
ridiculous and foreign propositions were in
troduced and battled against as though the,
were the legitimate issues made by the tenn
perance men.
Now, these men all knew that the Reform
party of North Carolina were neither askin,
for or desiring a Maine law or enc similar i
its provisions. They knew that they wer
asking for a conservative and wholesome law
dependent entirely upon the Will Of the ma
jority of the people, and it was a SANDER uT
on the law-loving and l~aw-abiding characte
of our citizens to say that they would resist
even to bloodshed, the enforcement of Ia,
demanded and sustained by the good peopl
of the State. They knew that no effort wa
being made to pass a law against drinking
but only against a man doing injury to hi
neisIhas ~ $esstsg him the poison, upon th
same principle that a mar may eat spoie
, meat if he choose, himself, but we have
! law declaring he shall not sell it, and thu
produce disease and death among his neigh
bors. They knew all these things, but thei
purposes would not have been served to hav
argued the questions legitimately and as &C
vocated and defended by temperance meT
!, hence they had to resort to false issues ar
thus seek to stultify the public mind an
arouse prejudices by disingenuous and III
truthful representations.
In this purpose they have to a considers
BILE extent succeeded and it may be that i
some quarters a temporary arrest to the pro
gress Of temperance principles may ensH'
but it will not be long ere the misrepresent;
tons and impositions practiced upon theI
! by these deceivers will be discovered, and a
. indignant and outraged public opinion wi
= mete out to them the just reward due sue
bare-faced receptions. As we said in til
outset, we have an abiding confidence in tt
integrity of the masses, and in their desire
do what will most conduce to the well-bein
of society and the good of the country, whe
properly understanding the matters at issul
And now that they will have an opportunit
of giving the subject a fair and impartial il
n v~estigation and to make up an opinion Their
from, they will discover the falsehoods an
! impositions that have been practised upo
them, and vin6icate themselves by taking
firm and decided stand in the cause of right
a positionfrcm which they will not be move
II by the intrigues andsophistrY Of demagogue
IS or the Vaccinations of evil-minded and co
rupt men,