The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1858-06-26
From the High School .Jou, nal

From the natal period CT mans existence.
that imam is capable Of selfgovernment"
! has been the boastcd motto Of a portion of
every nation, and the American people. too,
| forgetiul that to great and fundamental
principle: there are exceptions: and that
with time and customs such notices must
be inevitably mutah'e. The result os this
motto has become our deep, dark shamc -
It is sometimes said, as one Of the sad conse-
/ quences Of this principle, that the American
/ people had become . alton of drunkardS
/ II is in vain, then, 10 rely alone upon self
/ government and voluntary abstcnance;
/ especially when averice and an unnatural
. appetite both camor at the sensibity, ana
/ the solemn warnings Of conscience are 81
/ lenccd 1t is true that voluntary abstin-
ence and moral suasinn may do much, but
/ they can never expcl the ey. of internpe-
rance. Ages have demonstrated the fact
that something more efficient than this must
l be done. or we are, as nation, ruined for
I there is too much capital invested in the i'm
portatiOn, dstillation and vending Of ardent
/ spirits, and too gyeat a 3emdnd for the Slns
for mere moral suasiOn TO correct. II j. a
/ lamentablc fact, that intempcrancc has be-
come national sin, and notwithstanding
, the prosperity of this nation, it is rolling in
m ightV waves Of moral death like vast
food upon every side Of u, carrying de-
sructi0n from the center, even TO every
extremity OF the land and If anything shall
defeat the hope Of the world, which hangs
upon our experiment Of civil liberty and
selirovernment. it is that scalding river Of
fire that is overa owing its bank and spread
, in- destruction through the land! But who
il responsible for ta!s terrible eyI Not
the taetria,5 alone; the ycnl.r stands at the
J1gatnia heai OF this tide Of iiynR Il {, that
istis to the gys1t o-Son of ingui'y, Now
as this i a great national error, what is the
universal, natural, and national remedy for
incempcranco: ]: j. this. ard nothing but
this, the exclusion Of ardent spirits. as a
bcverarr, from the list G lawful articles Of
com cree, and the punishment If every one
in the peultentiaTy VITA hard labor or soil
tary confinement, who sha!! introduce i
agaiu into society. EIi, s,ys tie ant. re-
former, there are wCisAty objections that
may bc urged against this question. Il Is
true that there may be objections to such
important step in tie reformation Of So
c ETY.: but the question i not u hether there
may be objections or not, bat whetac: they
9-.-Ir1ygee ,lc -cas52s in favor c. <.
The frs: objection t,pt IS rassl With
-rca. vehcmauce aEsTst il i, that . it :
restraining law therefore wrong; :" for
men have Just Is gool I right 10 sell liquor,
as they have to sell any other property. -
In this objection there Is pa'Tablc error
for it is well known that there nie some
articles OF commerce. the. yenders have not
u right TO dispose Of under all circumstances
for instance, arsenic is an article that ven
der has not q right to sell when he knows
tha. the buyer intends to injU-e himself " tn
it; if he does. he: becomes an accessory t0
the cyime, and table 20 ,t,fer The penalties
Of the lar.
Another objection is th.. "thiS would
compel people to become moral" while
instead Of this "we should use moral means
to promote morality, that is, moral suas.on.
This is popular objection that is urged
agains. ali efforts to promote morality bv
legal enactmcnts, and the fact that 1t would
set aside all such legislation, shows that it
I is not well founded. Why do you prohibit
/ horse-racinc: The ready answer * that il
promotes immorsltv. Why DC you pro
hbit gambling :--bccause it tends to cor
rupt morals. So far is it from being wrong,
then, to legislate upon moral subjects, we
find that the greater portion Of legislation is
upon questions involving public morals
DR.. Charming says, that the great object o!
! government is not to make roads, grant
charters and originate Improvements, but to
| prevent and repreSs crimes against individual
! right and social order. To this end govern
| meut ordans a penal code, crccts prisons,
( and nhicts fearful punishment.
Now, il is an admitted fact, that the great
majority of thosc who fiji our poor houses,
/ jailS, and penitontiaries are those who re-
ceived their first impulse 10 crime from dis
tilerics and draGshops. Is not government,
then, solemn; bound to check the sale OF
: that which produces all these nefarious
evils? Oh yes, says the l0Jer Of BlaDSHtOR
and his brother, the loccr Of rum, Il Is 1csN
enough to cheek II, bu; i: should be done by
! moral suasion BY moral suas'oH. You
might as well heap the ,-1'crs of the Pac.f
upon the R0cLy -uoNntGins by moral sH;-
| sion, as to influence the venler OF intoxica-
J liquors, by mere moral sU1St57, to cease his
horrii dcpradations upon community For
what massive arguments, brilliant illustra-
( tons, or glowing appeals could be called up
( from the deep OF mind and thundered at the
bar of his reason, tha have not already
called into exercise the most powerful ora
tory of the nation? What excru'iating
miseries, both temporal and eternal, as con-
+ sequences of his horrid traffic, must yet be
pictured to his Imagination, that are not
already burning upon his scared conscience:
4 How long, then, we ask, mast this nation
use moral suasion, and the vendcr be rea-
! soned with, before he will think ft, to desist
! from his cruel outrages upon society =
! More than lifetime? Shall he be permit
/ ted to 90 on bringing down wide, wasting
/ destruction upon this nation, ard des'st
! only when he ceases to breathe? Have not
these means beea used, and in addition ar
: quments and e2o4uepce from the Atmjghty
himself for more than eighteen hondred
years, Yet i. is true, that to-d4y, there are
! more venders Of intoxicating liquors in this
| nation than ever before The solemn cues
ton. then comes looming up from the hea't
J of this nation and asks, what shall be done
! with these bold and hardened Invaders OF
the welfare and morality OF this nation =
| Shall not the great experiment be trieu o.
furnishing them in the pententiary Win
hard labor and solitary coniincinentE no
is prepared to say that injustice "ou'u os
dopo On account of SEVERITY of the penalty:
Comnare. if YOU please, some oil tue penal.
tics inflicted by the laws of this nation and
hsbolJ the contrast. |: justice requires
tb,t man should be punished in the pen:-
t.r,;arv for passing 4 counterfeit two sh,li-
~ n;ece what, we ask, should be done
,,.i,h that individual, who is determined to
sep that to his neighbor, which he knows is
stealing his property, poisoning his sy stem,
running his health, robbing him and his
family of happiness, destroying all his hopes
both for time and eternity? 0, fie! the
/ peniten.iary too severe for such being,-
Could the b,ack-hearted wretch himself,
whose conscience. was not wholly dead
within him, come forth from his solitary
cell and plead that his punishment was
greater than justice requireds Ask the be-
reaved wife and orphan, which they would
prefer; to have the atfectionats husband
ao,, parent torn from them by the midnight
assassin. in the midst Of peace and plenty
with his hopes all bright for b!issful cter-
nity: or by suicidal hand. nerved by the
maadening bowl, in the midst Of poverty