Smyrna times., 1856-04-23
Moral Suasion and the Reporter.

ed to the first article of the Reporter, in reply
to ours on Moral Suasion and Legislation, 4 Il
In this issue we will briefly review the second, /.
and after noticing some of the assertions, &c, d
proceed to examine his arguments and the
strength of their foundation. 81 illI1 " :.
The position in which the Editor says we !,
have assumed" to place our opponents, VIZ
opposed to temperance--sVe still maintain, nor
shall we be able to see them in any other light
while they are making such strenuous efiotts 70 :
increase the sale aud drinking of, iquors by :. !.
every means, lawful aud nnlawful-by instiga- y
ting abandoned characters TO violate the law :
by carrying it to public meetings in dem jons'
TASKS, canes, &c, 20 what other conclusion 7
can we come, when we see such studied plans
employed TO increase the use of liquor as bev-
erape-the result of which is Drunkenness
There is no backing out here. Mr.. Reporter,
under the plea that you are in favor of temper
ance-a tree is known by its fruit.
The reply to our charge of inconsistency Is
about what might have been expected, VIZ;
that the course pursued by the Prohlbtionlsts
has rendered moral suasion uttery powerless.'
As this implies that moral suasion was once
powerful, we would ask under whose auspices
did it become so! Will the Reporter, however
strongly it would wish 10 make the impression
otherwise, affirm that the temperance men now
advocating Prohibitions, did not build up and
make moral suasion what it was! Our oppo1 |
nents have always kept little in the back
ground-though opposing every successive step
in law, as We advance they occupy our last foot |
hold, until they, through their organ the Re-
porter, recommend the License Law Of 80 as
the most practicable; and should we fall back
upon moral suasien, they would be still pulling
in the rear. crying all the time, "whoa whoa -
The main objections, according to the Re-
porter, are, the s'dange rous precedent set and
the principle of Legislation attempted to be es-
tablished." We do not think this principle SO
new or strange, however strong the exigencies
of the case might call for special or different
Legislation from anything hitherto existing !
and, to show that it is not new, we will take
the very examples cited by the Editor to prove
it without parallel. The examples to which
the Reporter refers are firearms, knives, horse
racing, lottery tickets, &C., with regard to
which he says, +" that it is not the instrument
with which the crime is committed but the
crime itself, which can be prohibited by law
while in the operations of this Maine Law, 1t
is the instrument, as it is properly TO be termed,
the sale of which is forbidden, instead of the
cuIpable abuse of the article" Ifthe Reporter
had reflected little more upon this subject, he
would have seen that the same principle is in
voIved in the one form of Legislation as in the
other. In both cases, law is instituted for the
public good--the greater the evil, the more
stringent the enforcement and the heavier the
penalty. The sale Of liquor as mol prohibited
uchere It is of any practical use, but only
uherc IL produces evil results. The Editor
admits the legislation in regard to evils above
named, to be correct; and to show that there j.
a similarity we will take his first argument. the
use of the knife, which the Editor says, accord
ing to the principle of the Maine Law, ough
to be prohibited, because it is sometimes the in
strument of death. II the knife USED
principally to destroy life, health and happiness
asinthe use Of liquor as beverage, then should
should we have a law upon our statute entirely
abolishing their use. Here is involved thI
came principle precisely as that in regard Il
liquor. The sale of liquor, as beverage, il
prohibited because it produces riots, broils
fighting, misery, poverty, and a hundred othe
evils. Knives that are made and used for pur
poses of evil are prohibited, as in the case o
bowie-kniyes, dirks, daggers, &c. So IN regar'
to firearms. Ar-guns are not allowed by law
aud Why's Because they are considered NOR
tha han do NJ xvio balm
sons than powder-guns, as they make but litt
report, and might, consequently. be used vilel
with less fear of detection No man is allowe
to set fire to his own premises, because it en-
dangers the property of others. In our ow
State, a few years since, law, directly i
point, was enacted, prohibiting the use of gun
by, aud the sale Of powder to negroes, becaus
two or three white persons had previously bee
shot BY some Of them. Are MOI these example
upon the same principle Of the Prohibition
Iawl Ia regard to horse-racing, which, n
Reporter asserts, is our "slroBgest argumen
aud, to carry out the principle" he says, "tt
racing must only be prohibited, bat the use
horses" If horses were used for the simp
purpose Of racing, or il they were the means
more mischief than benefit, society would n
need them, and they should be prohibited b
we have pursued the subject far enough
clearly prove that We claim no higher or diffe
ent Law in regard to liquor than is establish,
for the punishment Of other crimes or the pr
lection Of other virtues! The law is perfect
reasonable to reasonable men, and we cam
but think that all who weigh the subject devo
of prejudice. viii conclude that it is just, pr
per and necessary.
How THE PEACE WAS SIGsED.-The Fl
press Eugene having expressed wish to pr
serve the pen with which the peace was sign
the gallant diplomats made use Of one pluck