The star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, 1857-07-08
Inauence Of PoIiiics upon rem pc1ance !.

| lnnuenCe OF Politics upon temperance
We fiod the appended article id our ex-
changes. The assumption that the manifest
decline in Temperance is due TO the incon-
siderate zeal Of lis advocates, 10 certainly cor
rect with the addition that these persons
plunged the cause into politics. That was an
unnatural place for il, like religion, and both
have suffered from the same cause. Al The
time the great wrong was perpelraied we pro-
protested against h, and made every effort TO
induce its megniasd advocates 10 desist from
such action, pointing out 10 them that the sad
result we now deplors would surely follow
Such advice, however, was unheeded-Tem-
perance was made 10 subserv demago suical
political purposess-and now il lies powerless
and almost lfeless al the feet of the enemy
it sought 10 destroy. Upon whose heads,
then, rests the responsibility for this state of
affairs! Upon the heads Of those who made
ii political question, and they ars RESPONSE
BILE for nearly all the drunkenness OF the day.
The general debauching in yankee land de.
scribed IN the following may account for
some of its fanaticism
"The Temperance fanaticism has run lis
course, and the result verfes the prediction
and atlests the wisdom Of those who opposed
its introduction into politics and saw only in
jury 10 the cause as the result Of the blind
and bigoled zeal gilh which Temperance ad-
fvocai es plunsee is s!o the political arena, en-.
deavofing 10 ioist upon the people .laws at
once voativs of the Constitution and the
rights o: man. The great Temperance Ref
ormalion which had ELECTED so largely and
so Justly the attention and the co, cooperation OF
the benevoleh, and humane, began from tha,
hour 10 decline, unil now ii has almos. lost
its efficiency, and must begin and do its work
over again. Mr.. Cough, the eloquent lec'ur'
er, recently bore testimony 10 the decline OF
the temperance cause, but he did not as he
might have done, explain the cause of that
decline. is ascribable solely TO The excess.
es Of Temperance advocates, who have
sought TO override the rights Of the people by
means Of restrictive legislative excilemenls,
but which, from its inherent wrong, it has
been found impossible 10 enforce and the
moral influence Of the reform being lost, the
evil of in,emperarce has rroporlionaiely in.
creased. The Sons of Temperance have
dw,ndled dowa from 100000 10 less than
so 900, and The life has about gone out oil
this once powerful organization. The "Tem
perance" papers have sunk TO mere "whip-
persiu" Of faction. The amount raised for
lectures and temperance tracts is one fifth Of
what it was five years ago. The Providence
Post, speaking of this, and repellng some
false assumptions Of Neil Dow before black
Republican meeting, says:
"Mr Cough went further. lie SAID that
more liquor was sold in Massachusetts than
he had ever before known, aud that it was
The same in other States. Here, again, he
spoke The truth and ii is folly for Neil Dow
10 say that his statements are 'at variance
with the facts. We can testify fer Rhode
Island. Mr. Cough has known the State for
about fifteen years, We have known il as
long; and we are sure that more liquor is
now sold Ia the Stale than has been sold a,
any formet period within that time. We
know that before Neil Dow's machine weul
into operalion--say six years ago-theTe were
not one fiah as many gtog shops, or one fifth
| as many drunSards in The State as there are
to-day. There were then seven towns where
/ liquor was not sold openly or slyly. There
were twelve or fifteen in which it was moi
sold openly and there were only five in
which licenses were granted. Now it is sold
| openly in every one Of The thriy.two towns
and in Providence there are al leas, three
times as many sros shops as there were then
In the town of Butrillvils six years ago, there
was moi single srog shop. We have had
The Maine Law five years, and now there
are twenty-five erog shops in Burtillville.
"WhaI is true OF Rhode Island is nearly
trne OF Connecticut, nearly true Of Vermont
nearly trne of Name aud New Hampshire
true 10 the very letter of the whole of Massa.
chuseus, and true TO great extent of New
York. Indeed, ii is true, in its main features
of every Safe where the Maine law has been
tried. 10 every one, the law has proved Q
failure. MIR. Dow knows better than 10 say
lha, the law is enforced IN Vermont and Now
Hampshire. In the former it does little or no
good. In The latter it is everywhere a dead
letter. He knows better than TO say that the
Maine Law carried Name last fail. The Re.
publicans carried the State, il is true; bui
they did il by ignoring the Maine Law ques'
tion, and taking into their service The only
papers in the Siaie-he State Of Maine and
Erpositor-lhai were recognized organs o.
the rumsellers.",
MARVELLOUS CusEs.-We save always