Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1857-06-25

them to shun it as they would hideous Vi
per. Suffer them not to set foot within the
thresholds of those dens of iniquity where
turks the alcoholic demon. Throw. around
them, as palladium of their safety, all the
sacred endearments of home, and of q fathers
mothers, and sisters love, and hold them
back with strong cords from the snares thai
are set for their ENHANCEMENT. Look around
with parents fondness over your little
household. "Call around you the circle Of
your healthful and beautiful children. Will
you bring contagion into such circle as
thisY Shall those sparkling eyes become in
famed, those rosy cheeks purple and bloat
ed, that sweet breath be tainted, those ruby
lips blistered, and that vital tone Of unceas
ing cheerfulness be turned into tremor and
melancholy? Shall those joints so compact
be unstrung, that dawning intellect be clou
ded, those afectionate sensibilities benumb
ed, and those capacities for holiness and
Heaven be filled with sin and fitted for de-
struction? Oh, thou father, was it for this
that the son of God shed his blood for thy
precious offspring; that abandoned and even
tempted by thee, they should destroy them
selves and pierce thy heart with many sor'
rows? Would thou let the wolf into thy
sheep-fold among the tender lambs; wouldst
thou send thy flock to Craze about a den Of
lions? Close, then, thy doors against more
ferocious destroyer, and withhold the foot
steps of thy immortal progeny from places Of
resort more dangerous than the lions den"
SAnd do all you can, my friends, to put
down intemperance throughout the land. A
void the appearance of evil in your neigh,
bour's sight-set not before him the danger
GUS glass-exercise your ingenuity to keep
him out of bad company-strive to bring him
under the restraints and influences of reli-
gion-and do all you can, if he be in great
danger, to persuade him, by appealing to his
reason, to his conscience, and to his family
sympathies, to turn his back upon the bot
tie. Give your influence to the Maine Ii
quor Law in every way you can. AS sober,
virtuous, and intelligent freemen, who de-
plore the widespread evils of this monster
vice, raise your voices for law like this in
North Carolina And remember that through
the ballot box the sovereignty of the people
is felt. I have fastened on to this point, in.
tending to dwell upon it at some length
And let it be understood in time, that every
man is expected to think for himself, and
not to fall in with the speakers judgment,
unless the arguments that may be advanced
commend themselves to his appreciation.
The Maine Law aims at the entire prohi-
bition of the manufacture and sale of intoxi-
eating liquors as a beverage. 1t lays hold of
groggeries, distilleries, and all liquor-deal.
ing establishments, and attempts to stay the
desolating flood at the very fountain. While
our license laws regulate and restrict the
sale of such liquors, the Maine Law posi-
lively and entirely prohibits it, except when
medicinal and mechanical purposes demand
a small supply; and the sale of this is COM
mitted to an honest and responsible individ-
ual, and is vigilantly guarded. And now,
is such law justand proper? Is ita legiti-
mate exercise of civil authority to enact such
a statute? In the judgment of many, and
I am one of them, it is just and proper to
the eye of reason, to the eye of the highest
judicial authority in our country, and to the
eye of the Divine law.
First: It is just and proper to the eye of
reason. Society has evidently right to
watch over and protect itself. This is a
principle on which we have always acted
Self-preservation is called "the first law of
nature" Man has right to protect him.
self, his family, and his focks and herds
His reputation, his prosperity, his personal
comfort, and his liberty of conscience, and
the welfare of his children and domestics,
are all under his guardianship, and should
be defended with energy, vigilance and care.
And a collection of men, called society, have
a right to protect themselves from injustice,
and from outrages of every kind, through
the medium of a civil government, which
they may unitedly, constitute and sustain.
This is general agent, a common head,
which they appoint for their defence. And
do we not act on this very principle contin-
ually2 What do we mean by our laws, our
courts, our policcs, our imprisonments, our
fines, our patrols, and all our military pre-
parations? Do we not mean to say, as has
been stated, that society has right to guard
and defend itself? This is natural, an in
herent right, arising inevitably, from the
circumstances of the case. Do away with
this principle, and we need never attempt to
organize society. If it has not right to
protect its own existence, and its own COM
fort and peace, we may abandon all govern.
ment entirely, and let anarchy have its way.
And if it has this right, must it suffer gi-
gantic evil to pervade the land, trample on
its laws, to destroy the lives of its citizens,
paralyze its energies, lay heavy tax upon
it, and degrade, vex, and distract it continu,
ally, and in ten thousand ways, and not adopt
some vigorous and efficient measure for its
suppression? Every man can see that drunk.
enness Isl terrible foe to the peace and safe.
ty of society. Should foreign enemy land
upon our shores, and in few weeks slaugh.
ter several thousand of our countrymen, des.
troy vast amount of property, and bring a
heavy expense upon our government, our
citizens would arise in one mass, and with
the impetuosity of tornado, to repel the in.
solent invaders. The question, Is it rig