The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1856-03-08

anu StilhuialltS may be driven, so thl as TIE
human race is concerned, out Of presumed
existence, and that mankind may be set in
the mass OH a specific regimen as sheep can
be dcpastnrcd on the most economical and
nutritious grass. We must take man with
his passions and propensitics such as they
are. We shall make an imperfect piece Of
work If we begin in the suppostion that he
is to be stripped Of them. The Deity in his
wisdom has given him the faculty to create
stmulantS, and the propensity to enjoy
them. On the grounds of simple reverence
to the all-wise Creator, we will not admit
that any of His gifts to His creatures are
pure unmitigatrd cursc-a thing pregnant
solely with evil and incapable of good-a
sort of mistake and miscuation in the Deity s
composition of this worlds elements. which
it becomes the function Of wise legislators to
remedy.
| "Man, being reasonable, must get drunk !"
says Byron. We shall he content to put the
proposition in less emphatic shape, and say
that the fully developed man has a natural
desire to enjoy himself by the consumption
of cNlhlirailng liquors
We like sober man-who does moi Bat
we arc not prepared to admit in all cases the
Incompatible moral cmincrcc of the class
called tcctolallcrs. One section only of them
can we admrc-lhosc who, in the belief that
the cause is good one, sacrifice their
lnclinatons for the sake Of giving us the
benefit OF good example. For the type of IL
far more numerous class-for the man who,
having been terrific drunkad, takes the
vow to save himself from perdiion, We have
no respect. lie takes the measure Of his
elevation from the depths of his own previous
degradation, instead of the natural Level Of
humanity. We cannot view him as any
better than man morally diseased. who is
administering to himself ii violent remedy,
fortunately not needed by his moderate
brethren.
he man who has no taste for stimulantS
IN his constitution may have something
worse, and the natural tectotallcr generally
has 1t. Some OF them we have known men
Of dire mo1osty of temper sGllci;, impract-
ca lie and relentless. Others of them again
we have known the victims Of continual cX-
cl'clnent, as if they were afflicted with sort
OF chrome authorizations Pride, vanity, and
such like moral stimulants, provide them
with selt-contaned palace, furnishing
them with the temptations to many fanias-
TIC Jolly. Supreme among this class was
| Charles MI, OF Sweden one Of the few men
the world has seen who, with no cruelty of
character, or other glafng vice. vet in mere
sell indulgence, and the pursuit Of a whim or
hobby, Kept the world in di>pcacc, dcsolatcd
| Wholc nations. and sacrificed thousands of
valuable lives. 1t is r,nai bahe on the
other hand though not of course, 4 matter
TO hc made prcccdent-that his llustriouS
rival, Peter the Great, he who, perhaps, did
more tor civilization than any other slglc
man, was hard drinkcr. Rousseau was
another type Of the natural toctotallcr The
| mention OF las name is quite sufficient to
| con]urc lpa sufficient array Of compensatory
defects OF character to make up for the
absence OF the common appetttc. Such
| anomalies arc often seen on Il smaller scale.
iour excited friend, who is like the very
tIicrFcScnce OF champagne, ever iiZzing,
squirting, and threatening 10 discharge his
cook. getting into unaccoLntablc scraprs
! every day, and nuisance TO all his friends.
from his ccccntricitv and wronghtadnt ss--hc
Is tCctotaller; whereas your solemn friend
there, very practical man, cautious t.
excess i'll his walk, and sound and solemn
i'll his advice. takes his steady. stiff lumber
perhaps little too stiff: in fact, is getting
into cquivocal habits.
If we take nations, Or other large bodies OF
men, we see more conSpicuou>ly that the
appetite for stimulantS is an element in the
best developed races of man. The Italian
and the l.angucdUcian are each more sober
than the Briton: but will amy one dare to
say that he stands on the same level as a
man The most energetic and cntcrpriSing
| of our working men arc, at the same time,
often those who, from the melancholy be-
culiaritcs we shall presently refer to, arc The
greatest dcvotceS of the bottle. SO we arc
brought to the position, that certain liking
for stimuants is an clement in the character
of a fully developed man; that we cannot
amputatc it from his character, as some en-
thusiasts believe; and that we mist try some
other means Of neutralizing the mischief it
may create.
The more we see of similarity between the
departed NAL practices of the rich and existing
ma practices of the poor. the more thorough :
| ~ are we convinced t at Il c after will be
| anne ndcd, if the right method Of amendment
hc taken, ard the issue patiently awaited
| or one thing we ale satiSficd--that the
amendment will not be achieved by force
| We lay it down as an axiom, that if a man
desires Liquor, and has money to pay for it,
he will get it, despite Of justices Of tho
peace, consrables, committees Of vigilance
and tcetotal lecturers.
| The cocrcivc methods Of suppression, I'M
fortunately too fashionable among us at
present, are likely to raise very serious and
distressing questions. Asa minor evil. they
give ground for totally false anticipalions of
successful results. With great pomp and
form Il dozen or two Of the public. houses
are abolished in large town, and innocent
people believe that drinking is thus uprootcd
To say that drinking is caused by the public.
| house keeper, is about as wise as to say that
it is caused by the bottle maker, or that
horsc-racing is the creation Of saddIcrs.-
If there are five public houses where there
We're ten, the custom of the five will be
doubled. If the ten public-hhuscs are
abolished, people will supply themselves
from other sour ;rs, and will probably expand
in an increased amount Of liquor, the money
they are charged for the accommodation Of
the pubc-houSe.
1t is quite fair to make every man pay for
his lndnlgcnccs as much as can be extracted
from him, for the State and other purposes
1t is good thing, too, that so dangerous a
practice as drinking should be earned on as
much as possible undtr the eye of the public
Hence the practice Of taxing and licensing
public houses. Carrying out the same poll.
cy, we would if possible have the public
house keeper conscientious, respectable
man. The policy, however, of the ascctc
agitators of the present day, is TO make the
| Euaper llocl IT., IL. a. :, ut. Il