The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1855-11-16

seen only quiet, industrious population, peace
able in their habits, and as far as we had inter-
course with, them, courteous and kind in their
manners. We have seen no rudeness, no
broil or tumult--have observed no one who
was not decently clad, or who appeared to be
ll-fed. We are told, however, that the French
peasantry live upon very small supplies Of food
and in their houses are satisfied with very hum
BILE accommodations Except in Paris, we
have seen no instance of apparent suffering,
and few even there; nor have we seen single
individual intoxicated or without shoes and
stockings"
We have thus shown, from what we will
take notice Of historically, that the use of Ii
quors as beverage, article of trade and COM
merce, is so universal that they cannot be pro-
nounced a nuisance. The world does not SO
regard them, and will not til the, Bibles DIS.
carded and an overwhelming change IN public
sentiment if not in mans nature, wrought.
And who, as we have asked, is to force the
people to discontinue the use Of beverages?
Counsel say the maxim that you shall so use
your own as not to injure another, justites
such law by the legislature. But the max
i'm is misappled; for it contemplates the free
use by the owner of his property, but with
such care as not to trespass upon his neighbor;
while this prohibitory law forbids the owner
to use his own in any manner, as a beverage.
It is based on the principle that man shall
not use at all for enjoyment what his neighbor
may abuse-a doctrine that would, if enforced
by law in general practice, annihilate society
make eunuchs of all men, or drive them into
the cells of the monks, and bring the human
race to an end or continue it under the direc-
ton of licensed county agents.
Such, however is not the principle upon
which the Almighty governs the world. He
made man free agent and to give him oppor-
tunity to exercise his will, to be Writ uous or
vicious as he should choose, he placed evil as
well as good before him, he put the apple into
the garden of Eden, and left upon man the
responsibility Of his choice, made it a moral
question and left it so. He enacted as to that,
moral, not a physical prohibition. He could
have easily enacted a physical prohibitory law
by declaring the fatal apple nuisance, and re-
moving it. He did not. His purpose was
otherwise, and he has since declared that the
tares and wheat shall grow together to the
end of the world. Man cannot, by prohbto-
ry law, be robbed Of his free agency Sc
Millions Areopagitica or speech for liberty Of
unlicensed printing works, vol. /, p166.
But notwithstanding the legislature can
not prohibit, it can, by enactments within con-
stitutional limits, so regulate the use of intox-
icating beverages, as to prevent most of the
abuses of which the use may be subject We
do not say that it can all; for under our system
Of government founded in a confidence in
mans capacity to direct his own conduct, de-
signed to allow to each individual the largest
hberality consistent with the welfare of the
whole, and to subject the private affairs Of
the citizens to the least possible governmental
interference, some excuses will occur and
must be tolerated, subject only to such pun
ishments as may be inflicted This itself will
be preventive in its influence. The happiness
enjoyed in the exercise of general reasonably
regulated liberty by all, overbalances the evil
of occasional individual excess. "Order'' must
not be made to 'reign'' here as once sat War
saw by the humiliation Of all freedom OF
action, crushing out, indeed, the spirit itself of
liberty. With us, in the language of the then
illustrious Burke, when defending the revolt
ing American Colonies something must be par
doned to the spirit of liberty.
What regulations of the liquor business
would be constitutional, tbs not for us to indi-
cate in advance; but those which the legisla-
lature may from time to time prescribe, car
be brought by the citizen to the constitutional
test before the Judiciary, and it will devolve
upon that department to decide upon theii
consistency with the organic law; in fact, the
question of power of usurpation, between the
people and the peoples representatives; and il
doing this so far as it may devolve upon US
we shall cheerfully throw every doubt in favor
of the latter, and Of stringent regulations
Such is the constitution of our government
Maize V. The State, 4 Ind, 342.-Thomas V
The Board of Commissioners of Clay county
8 Ind, 557.-Greencastle Township V. Black
Ind, 557.-Larmer v Thu Trustees of AL
bion, Hill, 12l.-Dunham v. The Trustees
of Rochester, 5 Cowen, 462-Coltcr v Doty
Ohio Rep, 1913.
tits like the case of laws for the collection
Of debts The constitution prohibits the pass
age of an act impairing the obligation of con
tract; yet the legislature may regulate the rem
edy upon contracts, but must regulate within
such limits as not substantially to impair tn,
remedy, as that would indirectly impair tn,
obligation of the contract itself Gantly's
Lessee v Ewing, How U. S. Rep, 7O7
Regulations within constitutional limits W,
have no doubt, if efficiently enforced, will ac
complish, as we have said, nearly all that cal
reasonably be desired
The legislature, we will add, may undoubt
edly require the forfeiture of such particula
portions of liquor as shall be kept for use il
violation of proper regulations, as in the cas-
of gunpowder stored in populous city, ant
this forfeiture will beadiudged by the judiciary
see Cotter V. Doty, Supra; but neither all tn
gunpowder nor liquor in the State, accompa
MED by the prohibition of the further manu-
facture and use of the article, can be forfeited
On account of the improper use of a givel
quantity, because the entirety of neither of tn
articles is nuisance. 1t is not pretended to b
so as to gunpowder, and we think we hav
shown it is not so as to liquor.