New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-07-09

alcoholic beverages many times cheaper than
ever before in the history Of the world, has /,
fact precipita, ted the Temperance question
| upon this age. The world must stop and thiak.
or be drowned in drink The political question
cannot rest where it was before the improved
methods of distillstion, by which alcohol can BE-
made to flow like water from almost every veIs.
table substance, and the great msnufactursr
can allow his customers O margin which viii
endow gin-palace and enrich a BOniface at
every street-corner. This multiplication Of
temptation, or as tae algebraists would say,
raising il to the higher powers, is what society
cannot bear. Great Britain is at this nom mt
suffering more from il in her army than from
Russia. Her profoundest conservatism will at
last have to consider the question.
The newness Of our country and its necess-
rily fast tendencies have naturally brought US up
to the question little in advance Of the rest of
the world.
1t has two aspects the physical and the moral.
First, il has been established as an incontrovert-
IDLE scientific fact that the consumption of alco-
holic beverages is prejudicial to the general
wealth and welfare, immensely beyond any ben
efts derived from it, In other words, in the light
Of mere political economy, the stimulus is more
destructive than productive. Had the public
thought stopped here, Legislative care mghthive
assumed this form. The capitalists of the busi-
ness, or all who derive pecupisry profit from
the sale. might have been call "a up,n to contrib
ute, in the shape Of special tax, to the public
treasury sufficient TO make the public whole
against the damages it might suffer from u.
Thus before touching cent of profit Tor them
selves, the dstllers, importers aud retailers
would have to provide for the chief expense Of
criminal courts, jails, penitentiaries, and poor.
houses, to reimburse many heavy losses BY
fires, shipwrecks and other casualties, make CON-
Portable provision for numerous orphans, widows
and aged dependents, and so forth in short,
bear the greater part Of the expenses OF civil
government and almost the whole burden which
now rests on the shoulders of private charity.
If they should have red ces.s left, as q motive
to continue .iae business, it would be because
the scientific induction before referred TO is or.
roneous. But as sunshine is not surer, we take
it this simple requirement on the trade to make
good lis damages would be the death Of 1t.
But the question could not stop at this stage
and produce legislation of this sort hrss' be-
cause Il has moral aspect. We a:e reR'
gious, or al least religiously descended pecele'
The moment one of us becomes convinced BY
scientific induction that any business, be 1t lot
terry gambling OF rumsellng, produces damage
as it's aversge result, he pronounces 1t wrong
&
and religion tend to see il punished and pre-.
vented. This may be regarded by come liberal
people as a misfortune of the age, but it is new.
ertheless very stubborn fact, aud il accounts
for the Maine Law, which can hardly be called
an invention of the State of Maine but a neces-
ssry consequence of moral conviction which
large portion Of the people had arrived ct in all
the States. AS this moral conviction is the
necessary consequence Of the physical fact, it
must inev tably secure maoritiesi in all the States
as these facts are agitated and considered; aud
as moral convictions proverbialy durable, 10
will take great deal of money spent in feengisw.
yers, supporting newspapers, and defending run
esses to subyert them. Just so long as amajorisy
of the people believe rumsellinga crime they
VIII prosecute you WIN u iu" hahiik shas ""'
ness felony, punishable as such. And beforeysa
can convince them that it is not crime, you have
got either to ses aside facts and figures that arc
as hHed and certain as any other physical laws
of the universe, or oyerwhelm the logic on which
all their moral convictions are based and convert
them from Christianity to something entirely
different.
This brings us, gentlemen, to an aspect OF tho
case which it is important for you as business
men to consider. The physical laws of the mt
verse you cannot abregate, change or conceal
Your only chance is to convince people that
doing mischief is innocent. Ia this you may
succeed What then7 Why, simply this: the
penal laws against you viii give place to
the other species of legislation which we have
above described as the certain death Of your
traffic. Why then continue In war which
must absorb all your profits while it lasts, and In
which your first decisive victory must be fatal
to your cause'
O.. and fha 10 Of h.aE