Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1857-02-27
tFor the Ellsworth Americana
Origin of the Temperance Reform,


Mr.. EDITOR An article in your is
sue of Jan. 80, has elected some sharI
but courteous criticism.
The object of that article was to cor.
rect statement, publicly made tc
the effect that we are not indebted to the
church for the Temperance Reform.
Reference was made to the General
Rules of the British Wesleyans, and to
the Discipline Of the NJ. L. Church in
this country, both of which prohibited
from the first, Drunkenness, buying or
selling spirituous liquors, or drinking
them, except in cases Of extreme neces-
sity.' Not as "Historieus" alleges, to
create the impression that those church
cs were the first to legislatc against in
tempcrance-this was neither affirmed,
nor believeds-but, to indicate the at;i.
tude the church had long sustained to-
wards the evil.
After showing that the church had.
in prescribing conditions of member
ship, anticipated by nearly a century the
most ultra views of modern reformcrs.
an inquiry was instituted touching her
relation to that more aggressive move
ment known as the Temperance Reform
II was shown that meeting of men of
various Christian denomination" had
projected and been prominent in execut-
ing measures that had resulted in a gen
eral and permanent reform.
The question is not when the first
Temperance Society was formcd-prob
ably no mortal can determine this-your
learned correspondents arc at issue, one
affirming Portland abou, 1910. the other,
Moreau, ls0s-but where, and BY whom,
did that "Aggressire movement known
as the Temperance Reform originate
We rcafiirm our original statement, and
think i; would be as pertinent, because
efforts for freedom have been made in the
old world, (and measures looking to.
wa'd independence taken in the new, to
affirm that we arc not indebted to the
Continental Congress for our separation
from George the Third. as to deny to
the meeting Of Jan. 10, 1896, the credit
Of originating the temperance enterprise.
us above defined.
To the views Of Farther East have
little to objec,-allow that the cause had
many warn advocates who were not
members of the church." and thank
Heaven for the fact; bu, it does no,
chang" the general truth.
"Historicus intimates his ability to
prove that the reform did no, originate
IN the church. There will be ample time
to increase the positive evidence when he /
shall have established that n.gation
To his numerous and learned citations
| respectfully reply, tina: they are irrelc
want
He says "reformato,y movements date
back to the days of Xcnophon." lie
might have gone farther back. We ,rIi
dri,k no rine was the concise and en-
pha.ic pledge OF all the descendants Of
iona lab. two centuries before Xenophou.
Bat these venerable and ultra tecto.allcrs
did not originate what to US is known as
the Temperance Reform. The same may
be said of the other cases cited. They
may all be facts. but they do not meet
the aggressive description given above.
Failing to perceive tina, a singl
position taken in my first communication
has been invalidated. | will simply re-
state its leading propositions ; viz: that
the mos. radical views of Total Absti-
hence from the sale and use OF spirtuous
liquors were incorporated into the legis
la,ion of a, least one branch OF the
church long before the public mind was
aroused to the subject, and tina, the
churches generally were the first to pro-
ject upon an extended scale aggressive
movements for the suppression ofintem-
perance. A. PRINCE.
Ellsworth, Feb. %. 1857.
Though no, the kra to legisla,s, she was,
think the mos, thorough. have yet to learn Of
ANY other communion that prohibited buying or
selling" or even oraisHy =" drinking" until long
after iha, period The case Of the scotch Church
Is not parallel.
IT, We call attention to the no.