Demoine courier., 1855-09-20
YMR HEMmKMg g@URHRR

IF We give below a somewhat vo.
luminous article upon The subject Of in.
toxication, from the very able pen Of oul
neighbor Of the "EdJyville Free Press
As The question Of which il treats is sub
ject 10 arise a, any time. before any o
Our justices, we feel that we canhot bet
Ter occupy the space than by giving j
an insertion.
WHAT Is NTOXICATION.
This is one Of The que s,ions which
comes up under the new Liquor Law
That law provides, that a person found
in q state OF intnxication, shall be held
guilty Of a "misdcmeaner;" and on con
%viction, shall pay a fine Of len dollars. ant
be imprisoned in the county Jail for lhir.
~ days, unless the magistrate shall see
fit to remi. a portion Of the penalty. fol
good cause.
This point came up prominently in
the case tried On yesterday and the day
before by Justice Benedict. In fact ihs
whole case TUNED upon the question a.
to when is a man intoxicated? The SANE
will be true Of nearly all such trials
The question as to what 'intoxicaiion'
consists, in, will come up, again. and a
gain for salutioD, until the meaning of the
term is settled by the decision o: our
Supreme Court; after which it will Lave
a Q acceptation, and present no fut.
ure difficulty.
On the trial yesterday, a mass Of evil
dence, and much srgumen: were brough,
10 bear OH the subjec,; in the llgh, o.
which we propose to enlighten the read
ers of The Free Press.
Spirituous liquor, like all other stimu
lants, produces a different effect accord
ing to the quantity taken. In small guam
titles i. simply stimulates the system in.
creasing the action Of the vital pawera
and giving increased vigor to the mental
faculties. la large doses it acts more
powerfully on The nervous system. The
mental powers are no. simply stimulated,
they seemato act in an unnatural manner,
the individual see ms to lose his prudence
in a greater or less degree, he says and
does things which he would not do when
not under the influence Of liquor. Some
are unusually merry, others ,alkanve,
others bois,erous; while others, again. ore
quarrelsome, and vindic,ive. Under the
influence Of increased doses The natural
state Of the system is still further destroy,
ed,-the animal system looses It's natural
vigor. aud all the powers Of nature are
impaired and blunled, the man becomes
a brute, and wallows in the gulter-an
objec. Of pity and contempt.
Now the ques,;0n is, where does in.
loxica,ion begin? Is a man intoxicated.
In the proper sense of the term. SO soon
as the action of his natural powers
is ch,nyei from tina, which is naiur-
al! Or must a man become a brute
losing his reason, and every other atiri
butte of the man, before he can be said
to be ''intoxica,ed," within The meaning
of the law?
The Code Of Ioua, page 6, says
"Words and phrases shall he construed
according 20 the context, and the apirov
ed usage of The language" bu, words
which have acquired a peculiar technical
sense as Legal .erms, shall be taken in
tina, sense" This is all good sense, as
we'll as good law. Blu. as the term in
foricate has not yet acquired II gal
sense, we are TO look 10 "opproUed US
age for Its Specification.
This is ascertaihed. LIST by the usage
OF standard writer's and good speakers.
They arc the highest authority in all
questions of this character. In deciding
upon The proper Specification of any word
The rea. question always il concerning
the sense in which the term is used by
good writer's and speakers.
The mex, best authority as 10 the mean
ing Of a term, is the testimony of scien-
liic mer, who are presumed to be pro
fessionauy acquainted with its signliica
lion.
The definition given in dictionaries in
common use and other scientific works,
are the next best evidence of the mean.
ing Of terms. This is The authority usu
ally appealed to decide all questions OF
deinition; not because il is the highest,
bat because II is The most convenient.
Some authorities Of The first class were
introduced in the argument OF this cause.
going TO show that q person is intoricaf-
Ell when he is rendere! merry" .vuIe
ar" ~'babbling." or .rio,ous," but 10
present them properly here would require
more than we can spare.
The professional evidences was quite
valuable. being close and uuequivocal.
DIR. SToDDARD, stated when under ex-
animation. tina. a mar is intoxicated when
spurious liquors have produced. "Any
departure from the ordinary exercise O
his powers Of body or mind, as in his
actions. works, affections or intellect"
lie also stated thai intoxica.ion mani.
tests iiseIrdiferenily in different persons,
and that some nan nigh, be intoxicated,
and still able 10 attend / o ordinary bust
ness, while others, equally in,oxica,ed
could not. DR. Buck stated, that "when
a man has taken liquor enough to alter
the character Of his affections, or active
powers, he is intoxicated, and tha, intoxi
eating liquors will be most likely 10 ex-
cite those powers most which nredomi