The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1857-09-20

Tue OBSCENE LITERATURE AGAIN-EFFEcrs OF
FoURERrsM-The recent seizure of obscene lite
nature in Frankfort street continues to attract the
atten ton of the journals 1t is an open question
whether or not the movement Of the police on
this occasion was Of any particular benefit to
public morals, except that it went to show bad
state Of things in our social economy. Indeed, If
the communication which we give elsewhere may
be depended upon, the police made themselves
CiIculators of large quantity of filthy trash, of
the existence Of which the metropolitan public
were hitherto unaware. The unlucky people in
the country who were fond of this sort of litera-
ture are really the only sufferers, and the natural
effect Of the Seizure will be to whet their bad ap
pettes, instead of destroying them. 1t appears
that the transactions of the Southern customers of
Akarman have not been made public, so that af-
ter all they may be as bad on the south side of
Mason and Dixon's line as on the north.
We do not think, however, that even the laxity
of morals at New Orleans or Mobile is go great
as at Cleveland or Buffalo, notwithstanding all
the abolition TRADES about the profigacy engen-
deIed by the system of slavery. We do not be-
lieve that Southerners occupying respectable po-
sitons in society would shamelessly publish a
contract like the following the parties to which
reside at Skeneateles in this State
This oertnes that Ay. George W. Lewis and Ms Harriet
Wheeler have united q coDjuga mates; hat they reoog
man and woman be drawn together by proper affinity
that they are truly married. that they live for each other
TO exist And Motif thai affinity which The cod OF Ma
ture designed 70 unite and woman, diminishos or
ceases 70 exthey hold themselves perfectly free and 1t
liberty ~ SEPARATE they choose 70 do 90 that they
throw aside tho legal contract altogether knowing Il 70 be
q md . nuisance believing It to be the Of
should unite al mankind IN the eoDjdgL relations. And
in testimony Of which We aubicribe our names.
GEORGE W LEWIS.
HARRIET WHEELER LEWIS.
We could hardly believe this to be veritaDle
document were it not for the fact that these
people are not the first who have entered into the
same agreement. 1t is, as we have said before,
the effects of the filthy doctrines of Fourier which
were introduced here by Brisbane, and promul-
gated to the people, through the press, by Rip
ley Dana, and their compeers. For years they
labored in their phalapxes and in the Tribune, to
disorganize society by doing away with the mar
riage tic, and the poison which they infused into
the American mind has begun to appear after
their system has been acknowledged to be ri
dicalous failure. What they attempted to do in
organized communities is now accomplished by
individuals Such shamelessness as is expressed
in the agreement above quoted would haveraised
storm of popular indignation before the advent
of Fanny Wright in this country. She attempted
to prove that the marriage relation was all
wrong; the Fourierites went a step beyond and
advocated promiscuous intercourse between the
sexes; and the spiritualists and free lovers took
up the doctrine of ''af1irities"- is you may
take an affinity to your neighbours wife, and if
the affinity is mutual, it is right that you should
runaway with her, and live with her while the
affinity lasts when you may both be at liberty to
get another affinity. This doctrine has been
preached all through the West, and the records
of the courts and insane asylums show its effects
The Tribune was at different times the organ of
all these new light philosophers, and though its
conductors have attempted to shirk the RESPONSE
bili'y Of their work, the public will hold them
strictly to account for it.