The Richmond Indiana palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1854-1855, 1855-11-22

on p. 497, It Is SAID: "a freeman may buy
and sell at pleasure. This right is not OF So
ciety, but from notare. He never gave j. up.
1t would be amusing 10 see a man hunting
through our law books for authority to buy
or sell or make bargain To the same ef-
feet Lord Coke, in 9 Inst chap. 90, p. Al.
Rutherforth's Institutes, D. 90. This great
natural right of using our liberty in pursuing
trade and business for the acquisition OF prop
erty. and of pursuing our happiness in using
it, though not secure in Europe from the IN
vasions of omnipotent pariaments, or execu-
tives is secured 10 US by our constitution
For. in addition 10 the first section which we
have quoted, and aside from the fact that the
very purpose Of establishing the constitution
was such security. by section ! /, Art. l, It is
declared that we shall be secure in our per
sons, houses, papers and effects, against un-
reasonable search and seizure" By section
2l, we have The night 10 devote labor to
our own advantage, and 20 keep our property
I or It's value for our own use, as they can
not be taken from US without being paid for.
| And by section u il is declared that every
man, for injury done to him in his person,
property, or reputation. shall have remedy by
due course of law These sections fairly
construed will protec. the citizen in the use
of his industrial faculties, and the enjoyment
! of his acquisitions. This doctrine is not new
in this court. In Doe V. Douglas, Blsckf
| 10, in speaking of the Iimitons in our cons:i-
tuition upon the legislative power, it is said,
"they restrain the Legislature from passing a
law imparing the obligation of contract,
from the performance Of a judicial act, and
from any fragrant violation Of the right of pri-
vate property. This lattor restriction, We
think clearly contained in the Ist and Gath
sections of the first article Of our constitution"
of 1916.
We lay down his proposition, then. ap
pllcable to the present case; that the right of
liberty and pursuing happiness secured by
the constitution, embraces the right, IN each
conapos naentiS individual, Of selecting wha:
he viii eat and drink, IN short, his beverages,
so far as he may be capable OF producing them,
or they may be within his reach, and that the
legislature cannot take away that right by dl-
rect enactment. Ii the constitution does not
secure this right to the people, it secures moth
ing OF value. If the people are subject to be
controlled by the legislature In the matter of
their beverages, so they are as to their arti
cles of dress, and in their hours Of sleeping
and waking And if the people are incom
petent to select their own beverages. they are
also incompetent to determine anything In re-
ation 10 their living, and should be placed at
once In state of pupilage to Sc! OF govern
ment sumptuary officers; euiogles upon The
dignity Of human nature should cease, and
/ the doctrine Of the competency of the peo
pie for self government be declared deluding
rhetorical flourish. IF the gorernme a can
prohibit any practice It pleases, 1t can proh!b-
it the drinking Of cold water Can i do that?
If not why not? II we are right in this,
that the constitution restrains the legislature
from passing a law regulating the diet of the
10 hot rtrlHa rOT-
sideraton is such. no mater whether its OBJ
jects be morals or economy. or both, then the
legislature cannot prohibit the manufacture
/ and sale for use As a beverage Of ale, porter,
( beer. &c, and cannot declare those manuiac
tured, kept and sold for that purpose NUS
ance. if such is the use to which those artl-
cles put By the people. |: al. resolves isself
into this, as in the case Of printing. worship
/ ping God, &c. If the constitution does not
protect the people in the right, the Legislature
may prohibit; il il does, the legislature can
not We think the constitution furnishes the
protection. IT il does not in this particular,
it does, as We have said, as TO nothing of any
Importance, and tea. coffee. tobacco, corn
bread, ham and eggs, may next be placed un
der the ban. The very extent 10 which con
cession of the power in this case would carry
its exercise shows that II cannot exist. We
are confirmed in this view when we consider
that at the adoption Of present constitu-
tion there were in the S:stsstifty dlstiieries
and breweries, in which half a million OF
dollars was invested, five hundred men wers
employed which furnished market annually
for two million bushels of grain, and turned
out manufactured products 10 the value of
million of dollars, which were consumed BY
our people, 10 3 great extent, as a beverage.
With these facts cxis.ing, she question incor
poral:ng into tie constitution the prohibitory
principle was repeatedly brought before the
constitutional convention. and uniformity
jected Debates in the Convention, vol 2, p.
1884 and others. We are further siren gthened
III this opinion when we notice, will as
MISTER Of general knowledge, the universally
Of the use Of these articles rs beverage. /.
shows the judgment Of mankind as 10 their
value. This use msy be traced II several
parts of the ancient world Pliny. the na.u
ralist. states that in his time it WAS general
use amongst allthe several nations who iuhsb-
tied the western part of Europe; and accord
ing to him. il was not coTfned 10 those north
ern countries whose climate did nos peTmi.
the successful cultivation of the grape. He
mentions ths: the inhabitants OF Egypt and
Spain used kind of ale; and says that, tho
it was differently named in different countries.
il was universally the same liquor. See lila.
Nat Hist, lib II. c 90 Herpdatus, who
wrote FIVE hundred wears before Pliny. tells
tlatshe Egyptians used liquor made Of bar
ley. (2.71) Dion Ca,sius alludes to SIM
liar beverage among the people inhahi'ing the
shores of the Adriayic. Lib. ~, Ds idaRon-
". T.citus states tia. the ancient Germans.
for their drink, used liquor from barley or
other grain, aud fermented it 50 as to make it
resemble wine. Iccit.s De Non. Gsr.., E.
% Ale was also a fayorite liquor of the
Angio-Saxons and Danes 'sIf the scccun:s
given By Isidorus and Orosinu. Of the meth
od OF making ale among the ancient Britons
be correct, il is evident tha. il did not essen
tally CItfeT from our modern hrawiur Thsv