The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1857-05-03

State now find themselves divided into three
camps on the subject Of the laws regulating the
sale of liquor. One party of men, consisting
chiefly Of tho members of the late Legislature
with few political adherents, are in favor of the
act passed by the late Legislature, allowing GER
tain parties, under severe and unconstitutional
restrictions, to obtain Licenses for the sale of
spirituous liquors. Another body, consisting Of
the dealers in liquor, and pretty large proper
ton Of the public at large are for having this act
nullified. and new one passed, regulating the
traffic in liquor on rational and practical basis.
And the third class of individuals consisting of
the rump of the old temperance party, with
constancy worthy Of nObler object, refuse to
abate one jot Of their pretensions, and nail ther
colors to the mast in favor of total prohibitl0G.
This last party must be counted out of the
fight at present going on. They ore interesting
as an psychological curiosity; in the whiri of
every day practical life. they are bores and in
the way. Let them pass. The other two parties
Are unequal in numbers The opponents Of the
Liquor License act greatly outnumber, in this
city, its adherents. ard they have on their
side the municipal authorities and probably
the judiciary. In some of the rural coun-
ties, where the prohbitory act was en-
forced without difficulty, no doubt, the
partisans of the present license law outnam-
Der its enemies; but in the large cities
and the fourishing towns, we imagine it is no
where. The chances are very strongly In favor
of its notification, by the courts AT the same
time the chances are also that the members of
the Legislature representing rural constituencies
WILL at their next session pass another law that
will be equally offensive to our people here.
For the real difficulty in this liquor business
rs in one or two others-is that We don't under
stand one another The people of the rural dis
tricts want no end of prohibitory and coercive
enactments They darent trust themselves alone
with loaded pistol, or a gin bottle, or a pretty
girl, or steam hammer without good stout law
to protect them and keep them in bounds. They
have profound sense Of their own weakness,
and utter helplessness and are oil the time crying
out for something to lean against, somebody TO
support them, come keeper to look after them.
Therefore they like prohibitory laws, and license
laws, and blue laws against kissing, and other
pleasant little sbridgements Of natural liberty.
We city folk, on the contrary, can stand good
dea, Of freedom without making WHY faces. We
are not much afraid Of trusting to ourselves
to teach us what is right and what wrong; we
don't need q Law to prevent our running
our head against stone wall. We have an
idea that we shall take much better care
of ourselves than the Legislature can Of US; and
We would rather, II you please, try to do so. We
think we know better what we should eat and
what wefshould drink than John Smith or John
Brown Of Otsego or Columbia, and we woull
like to see John Smith and John Brown purvey-
ing for their own stomachs. regulating their sNu
commissaiat by any quantity Of Legislative ects
they please, but leaving us TO provide for ourS
This is we spprehead the true secret Of al tee
trouble about liquor laws The lAws which suit.
cd the rural districts very vel did not suit u,
while our laws were not stringent and severe
enough Cor them Why not admit the fact in q
manly, straightforward way, aud allow that both
parties may have been hghts Why persist In
the Procrustesn plan Of enforcing the same law
on people 70 heterogeneous, 80 divided in habits,
sentiments, ideas, and principles. Why not make
the liquor question-what il always should have
rtra,ned-a municipal matter, subject to the
municipal laws, and governed by the fancy Of
the people Of the municipality Then those Who
fancied liquor laws might have them, and we
quiet people In New York, who don't want 70 be
tied up quite 20 tightly, might have sensible ju-
dicious license system Of our own making, that
we might hope TO carry out.
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