The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1855-04-26
The LIQUOR War.

The war begins to nigh. This. evening the
prohibitionists are to meet at the Metropoli-
tan theatre to concert measures to carry the
Prohibitory Liquor act into effect. It is
expected that the Lieutenant Governor will
be present, and will deliver speech in fa-
vor Of the law as explicit as his letter to Mr..
Richardson, and as eloquent as his caucus
speech for Seward is said to have BEEN True,
the paper he conducts is shaking in the wind,
trying to conciliate the liquor dealers on the
one hand and to keep up with the EDITORS per-
sonal declarations on the other; but this is
mere matter of subscriptions and advertise
ments The Hon. Henry J. Raymond has too
much at stake to allow the threats of few ho-
tel keepers and wine merchants to brighten him
from the stand he has taken. Common decency
will not permit him to betray the cause, after
his written adhesion to it has raised him to the
second place in the gift of the people of New
York No, no: there is no such baseness yet
among public men. The Lieutenant Governor
viii be there, and will say like man why he
helped the liquor law through the Senate, and
how it should be enforced. He is none of your
double faced, white livered turncoats who make
any pledge and promise any thing for place,
then gulp down promises and pledges and all,
when their own ambition has been served, and
the hour of trial comes Not at ALL he will be
there.
II will certainly be an anomalous spectacle
to see the house SO lately filled with good
humored audience in search of pleasure aud in.
tellectual enjoyment, crammed, as it doubtless
will be, with bigots and fanatics with sour
and vinegar aspect, glowering and frowning
upon each other. There they will be, taking
counsel by what shortest method they can
utterly ruin an odd hundred thousand of
their fellow.citizens A strange sight If
there were any sense or moderation at all
among the temperance fanatics, their first
resolution on would be to the effect that,
the ignorance of the trainers of the Prohibitory
Law having rendered it wholly imperative,
the agitation was postponed for the present,
and would be taken up at the next session of
the Legislature. No legal authority of any
standing entertains the smallest doubt as to the
legal effect Of the law; it must in any event be
null and void as to foreign liquors, whether the
Legislature have or have not the right to pro.
hibit their sale. But the fanatics will not be
satisfied with this. They require that the point
should be tested cases made, tried, and car
ried up to the highest court Of the United
States, where they will probably be decided
not on the real legal points at issue-but on
the blunders of the trainers Of the law. Hence
for three or four months at least, the whole
community will be kept in state of wild ex.
element: disturbances are not unlikely to o.
cur among those classes who can lea st brook
an interference with their social habits; and ell
the while, mole liquor than ever will be drunk
il the sound moral sense of the people does
not step in and save them from themselves.
The police will be powerless. The Mayor will
be powerless. There will be no check or qua.
rantee for the public in the shape of licenses
Altogether, the prospect is that New York viii
be scene of rioting, drunkenness and profani-
ty during the whole OF the controversy.
STILL A CHANCE FOR Mr.. DIcKINsoN.--The
Putnam County Courier, in speaking of the
scattered democracy, says:-