Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1856-07-10
YORKVILIE, S. O., THURSDAY, JULY 10, 1856.

sibility. The eye of God goes with them
and all the misery which they cause will be
charged to you. So we say to the man wht
sends his spirits off.
"But if do not make it, somebody else
will" What sin or crime cannot be excu
scd in this way? 1 know of a plot to rot
my neighbor If I do not go and plundel
him somebody else wills Is it privilege
to bear the responsibility of sending abroad
pestilence, and misery, and death?
"Our cause is going down." said Judas,
"and price is set upon the head of oul
master; and if I do not betray him some.
body else will And why may not I as well
pocket the money as another? If you con.
slider it a privilege to pocket the wages Of
unrighteousness, do so. But do not pre-,
tend to be the friend of God or man, while
you count it a privilege to insult the one and
ruin the other. This is the most common
excuse for retailing. 81 wish it were ban.
ished from the earth. But then what can
do ?" What can you do? You can keep
one man clear, you can wash your hands Of
this wretched business. And if you are not
willing to do that, very little reliance can be
placed on your good wishes. He that is un,
just in the least, is unjust also in much.
can hardly conceive any thing more inconsis,
tent with every generous feeling, every no.
Bile principle, than retailing ardent spirit at
the present day. The days of ignorance on
this subject have passed by; every man acts
with his eyes open. Look at the shop and
company of the retailer His principal fur,
nture is barrel, two or three bottles, and
half dozen glasses. He has few other
things just for show, brooms, earthenware,
tobacco, &c. The inventory is soon made.
I say he has few other things-for even he
is ashamed to appear as dealer in spirit on
ly. His shop needs no sign-every drunk.
ard knows it as it were by instinct And
even the blind might discover by infallible
tokens, and the company is combination Of
all the shameless and profigate. And there
stands the retailer in the midst of dissi pa,
ton, and human nature, in it's last stages Of
earthly wretchedness, in all its degraded
forms and filthy appearances, surrounding
him. And his whole business is to kindle
strife, to encourage profanity, to excite every
evil passion, to destroy all salutary fears, to
remove every restraint, and to produce a
recklessness, that regards neither God moi
man-and how often in the providence Of
God is he given over to drink his own poi.
son, and to become the most wretched Of
this wretched company. Who can behold
an instance of this kind without feeling that
God is Just to him. "He sunk down into
the pit which he made, in the net which he
hid is his own foot"
When we think of the years he has spent
in this service, the quantity he has scatter.
ed abroad, and the misery he has caused, who
can calculate the responsibility? And who
would envy him, though he had accumula
ted fortune; or who would take his gains,
burdened with all the responsibility? But
some one will say, neither make nor sell it
But you drink it occasionally, and your ex,
ample goes to support the use of it. You
see its tremendous effects, and yet you re,
ceive it into your houses and bid it God
speed. As far as your influence supports il
and gives it currency, so far are you parta,
kcr of its evil deeds. If you lend your in
Auence.to make the path of ruin respectable,
or will not help to affix disgrace to that path,
God will,not hold you guiltless. You can
not innocently stand aside and do nothing
A deadly poison is circulating over the land,
carrying disease, and desolation, and death
in its course. The alarm has been given-a
hue and cry has been raised against it. Its
deadly effects have been described, seen and
felt. Its victims are of every class: and
however wide the difference in fortune, ed
ucation, intellect, it brings them to the same
dead level. An effort has been made to stay
the plague and a success surprising all ex
pectation has crowned the effort. Still the
plague RACES to an immense extent. What
will every good citizen do? Will he moi
clear his house, his shop, his premises of it
Will he not take every prccaution to defend
himself against it, and use his influence and
his exertions to diminish its circulation, anc
thus diminish human misery? If he fear!
God or regards man, can he stop short o.
this? Can he, in the plentitude of his sci
fshness, stand up and say, "I'll make ne
promises-I'll not be bound-I am in NJ
danger?" If he can say this, and stand a
loof, shall We count him good citizen?
speak as unto wise men: judge ye what I say