The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1855-06-01
: nnourpITIoN AND COERCION"

PROHIBITION AND CoEhNi0N'
For the Post
It is the policy of some men, Pa'"' '..',S
o,o;yarts for political station, to confuse 'rI'"
and error; to fight moral reform oy
inc zeal in behalf of some ProPoS''io"
- ,tore ..n be no dispute; to sound Ill
alarm At a point where there is no danger'-
- If the Post may find all this ex'
ewplifed in a communication III i"'' l':ae'
.;oned IS" The sentiments oil the writer
familiar in this county than the sig
~ The falsity of his first sentence is
a.,r sousIIed by its bunglins construction
=. :,,oass that the friends of Prohibition con-
,r.diet and practically disbelieve that man
i, capable of selfgovernment. 1t is our wish
N induce the people to enact law Tor their
avn government, so worded, SO framed, and
so guarded as to meet the appreciation ana
,scure the walfare of the majority. The des-
rotism Of one, and the unbridled licentious-
ness of the mob, are two extremes alike to be
summed: and between the two is found the
Golden medium Of constitutional liberty.
Ours is a government of law, and whatever
evil comes upon the body polite, is fit sub
ject for legislation. This is proposition as-
MED by none but demagogues. Prior to 1873
the State Of North Carolina regarded tipping
as an evil, and, by very stringent law
placed it under restrictions aud penalties
That time. honored statute is the law OF this
land at the present day, and no man can sell
liquor in less quantities than a quart to be
drank on the premises where sold. Is that
eoereioni The people have steadily fought
the evil from then until now; they in their
might and majesty have OVERRIDE the dema'
cooues-those who were opposed to ''co-
arcion"-and one restriction after another
has been added to the list Of prohibitory
laws in this State, until we now enjoy the
benefits Of Coercion" during one.seventh Of
the year. 1t is sufficient to aver in an indict-
meut that "A. B. sold spirltuous liquor on the
goth day of May, 1855, to c. d., and, if the
proof shows that it was Sunday, conviction
will follow of course, because no man in the
State of Tennessee, with or without license,
can sell in any possible quantity on the Sab
bath, to any living mortal, white or black,
for any purpose whatever! Doesn't that
smack something of "coercions" And yet
where are the evils and malign influences that
have befallen this proud Commonwealth in
consequence Of this tampering with the PEG.
PIES CELEBRITIES T. But 49," sagely remarks,
.'where coercion begins, liberty ends, and the
wider the dominion of the former the narrow,
er the precincts of the latter" Fortunately
for the public morals we have law shutting
up these "iiberty" precincts on Sunday; and
all we ask is to marrow" their business I'M
til not a-single day is left to the dominion"
of ghiskeyism. l think the sentence above
quoted was copied by IS. from Horace Gree
ly, the great enemy of Temperance reforma-
ton in New York, the expounder Of Fourier
ism in America, and the general advocate Of
agrarianism, communism, and infdelity I'M
der whatever garb they may present them
selves. If "S" did not actually quote from
his writings, he evinces perfect community
of though: and feeling with this arch enemy
of the human race.
This writer, after expanding his own inge-
nuity, with the aid of such as he could Dor
row, concludes (by cay Of .feeter) with this
idea: "Let the tippling laws now in force be
repealed by the aert legislature, &C." He
says further that the other liquor laws, except
the tipping) should be enforced-that ''pub.
lie opinion is fast forming in favor of strict
enforcement of all laws which guarantee the
peace, tranquility, good order, and moral ad-
vancement of society" That is quite a SOM
merseti First he says ut is impossible to
coerce men into morality"--"that moral sua-
sion and legal coercion will not work togeth
err" and then winds up in favor Of strict en-,
forecment Of our laws. which prohibit absolute
" for one seventh of the time, and are very
rigid as to the other six daysi The device is
very shallow, and think the seven McMinn
doggeries will resent the offer. N.
THE MASTER SPIRIT AT SEBAsvoPoL.-
The head engineer at Sebastopo is a young
man named rodeben, who at the commence
ment OF Tie siege Wdb " CHpts'iU anu aimooe
unknown. When the siege commenced,
Prince Menschikoff, it is said asked the then
head engineer how long it would take to put
the place in a state of defence! He was an
swered "twO months" Todleben stepped
forward and said he would undertake to do
IL, IL he had as many men as he required, IN
two weeks. He did il in twelve days, and
was made colonel. Since that time he has
had the direction of everything in the way OF
building batteries, defenccs, &c The other
day the Grand Duke called upon his wife,
who is residing in st. Petersburg, to congrat
ulate her upon her husbands promotion; for
he il now General and Aide.de.C Camp to the
Emperor. The Russians adopt the common
sense practice Of taking the man who will do
the work best, and they get it best DONE
This is the practice in well conducted private
business; il is still more necessary in public
service, where the consequences of mistakes
through incompctency and ignorance may
affect whole nation.
ev Captain William May well known
mountaineer and trappcr, and chief guide to
Colonel Steptoe's command, died in the mill
tory hospital o! Salt Lake City, on the 18th
of February. Captain May was originally
from Nashville, Tennessee, but at an early
age he sought the great west, and adopted
Tile profession of beaver trapper. For
twenty years he roamed over the country
a darn "a IA. A q ~