Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1856-02-23

feelings have been perverted by that too
powerful incentive to human action--the lore |
Of gain. We have heard these, sir aud while |
we are giving proper heed to their demands,
let as not be unmindful Of another sort, quite
ss much entitled to our regard. In my hum
bic opinion, one of these is worth oil OF the
former kind put together. l mean the one
presented by the Senator from Philadelphia.
iMr. BRowNE,) aud signed by 5400 women oi
that great city. / mention it particularly, !
air, that | may not be outdone in gallantry |
by the trim and stately Senator from Alle- |
gheny, (Mr. MClintock.) He has alluded to !
them in the beautiful language Of poetry. l
an sorry caunot emulate him in this line
for alas have forgotten all my poetic lore,
except tho sweet melodies Of the venerable
Mother Goose, and can recall none Of these
that Ct the case. But promise you, howev-
er much he may get ahead OF me in words, he
shall not in feeling | can feel Us deeply as
he There never was time, and | trust
there never will be, that woman, with her
high and generous heart and her unerripg
love of Right and Truth, could not command
me and my humble services. II there is one
thing which more than another attaches the
TO this eause of temperance, it is that woman
in every condition, and in every age aud land,
has been its advocate and defender And
we'll she may be- sir, for too often and too
attest the power Of her great enemy.
Surely, sir thoughts like these should
temper somewhat tho enthusiastic gratitude
of which have spoken. aud which some Sen.
stors manifest ON all occasions towards the
interested League that elected them Sure
w. sir that gratitude should not make them
entirely oblvious Of earlier and better and
kindlier sen,iments--it should not make them
entirely forget, that in days gone by they en-
tertained more comprehensive humanity-a
humanity that extended above and beyond
the financial prosperity Of whiskey mongers,
and embraced within il the poor and the help
less--the victim as we'll as the victimiser.
Mr.. Speaker I cannot leave the subject
without a few words in reply to the vdgeries
Of tho amiabe but backaliding Senator from
the county (Mr. Ingram.) wonld call them
arguments in courtesy to the Senator, if l
could, for have been rather pleased with his
department since he came amongst us. But,
sir there can be no argument in such cause.
He tells us that any restriction in the free
flow Of whishey is "coGtra mores malorum,
which. as the Senator from Northampton
(Mr. Laubach) will explain to you, is the
Dutch for ''fernehst the habits and customs
Of our ancestors" Ordinary .fogyism bears
the same relation TO this idea, that the Mag
nctic Telegraph does TO Mud Turtle--we
must drink whiskey because the semi barba-
rians of an hundred years ago, and the full
blooded barbarans of three hundred years
ego, drank it Away then, with your sour
krout and roast turkeys for our ancestors !iv-
ed on raw woodchucks and blackberries
Away with your well-fitting garments, and
comfortable homes, for our aLcest ors went ma
ked and lived in caves Away with your laws
and YOUR religion, for our ancestors had the
spear ard the battle axe for the one and al
tiers red with the gore of human sacrifice for
the other Away with Art and Science and
Liberty Away with oil that elevates man
above the brute and developes the god-like
attributes of his nature--for they were un-
known to our ancestors--and bring back ig-
norance. superstition and iron heeled oppres-
sion, for they are consecrated by the lapse of
hoary ages Is not that the idea Of the Sem
ator, shorn Of its tinsel. and exposed in al! its
naked uglness and feeble deformity?
He tells US too, that the enactment, which
he says is "aptly termed the jug Law" in
crease5 drunkenness, and us q matter OF
course the consumption of whskey. Then,
sir, why do those who are interested in the
sale of it, and whose especial representative
be seems to be, IN this chamber, beg SO pite-
ously for its repeal DO they sell too much
Are their profits too great under the present
law? l cannot understand it. The Senator
and myself must have learned to cipher out Of
different arithmetics.
He tells us the poor cannot get newspaper;
or books, and must therefore have whisky tc
amuse them. As far as my experience goes
this is very delightful amusement. 1t mus
be very amusing to the poor inebriate to be
hold the rags and wretchedness Of bis forlorr
and desoate home---to witness the squall6
misery of his wife, and hear the walls OF hi
hungary children. 1t must be right dowr
amusing, when he comes TO lead telon's lie
and to meet o felon's DOOM Mr.. Speaker, t.
all such innocent amusements, ! am consttu
tionally opposed
He tells us that because thousands abus
themselves, it is no reason why the suppl
should be cut off from millions, and the sub
;ected to this terrible deprivation. hope
shall always be deprived Of it for it strike
me, sir, that whiskey is like Virginia lands
she more you have Of it, the poorer you are.
The Senator says we have no confidence il
raan because we would RESTRAIN him. lia
the Senator such confidence, that he woul
lift the ban Of the law from theft and robber
and murder? Would he make these littl
pastimes free or is that carrying his ideas c
amusement further than lie intended Sure
ly, sir the Senator's cranial Development
are too good, to allow us to believe be wa
in earnest in all that he has said.
Vain, vain must be all their efforts TO pa
liate the enormites Of intemperance. a
well might they attempt to Golfer dam Mag
ara Falls with saw dust, or put out the fire
the sun with an rl!er squirt
The fitting Of Don Quixote against winc
mill was not only good sense, but downright
genius in comparison with the task they hav
imposed upon themselves. He only shivore
bis lance and upset his old horse, while the
are trying to butt their brains out against
fortress which time and the devil united ca
never overthrow.
Mr. Speaker-It may astonish some Sens
tors that have treated this subject with S
little show of burlesque. The general run c
our business here affords opportunity enoug
tor it's exercise.
But sir, there are occasions when jocose
ness is not only inappropriate indecorous.-
When principles are discussed that lie at th
foundation Of public prosperity and priyat
hsppiness-that involve the welfare oil miser
of millions Of our fellow citizens--the laug
and the jest should find no place.
The statistics of the evils Of drunkenness
have become school boys story. and nee
no repetition here. Their effects upon poe
houses hospitals, lunatic asyuns, prisons an
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