Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1858-06-24
WORCESTER DAILY
For the Spy.

Rev, Mr.. JOnes's Temperance Address
The discourse on temperance, by Rev. J. D. E
Jones, at the First Baptist Church in this city, OF
Sunday evening last, was an able one, and full,
attended. He took for his text, Genesis chap. 9
s0th and Dist verses:
"And Noah began to be a hu SANDMAN. Anc
he planted vineyard, and he drank Of the wine
and was drunken; and be was uncovered within
, his tent"
Wine drinking was a very ancient vice. That
! and drunkenness were put close together in the
! text. Cause and effect closely followed each
| other. The ancients did not see the evil Of
| drunkenness as it really was, for they had not
| much light. We, having more light, are more
| guilty if we do not this evil as tits The Bi
| bic is full of condemnation Of the practice of wine
| drinking, Several passages were read TO show
this fact. This evil has been increasing from the
earliest period of the world until now. The wine
| drinking custom of our times is alarming. Our
| young men think they are drinking the pure juice
of the grape, when in fact they never tasted the
article All the viney cards of the world would not
| be sufficient to supply the demand Of our own
nation alone. The appetite for strong drink is
unnatural. Intemperance knows no good it is
like the locusts of Egypt First. we commenced
with the vineyards; second, used or
chards; third, the grain fields; and not only
these-chemistry has brought in its villainous
compounds to swell the evil.
Pure spirits are almost wholly unknown with
us. Intemperance is a growing evil with US.
The number marching to the drunkard's grave is
alarming. Moderate drinkers are sure to become
druHkards. All acknowledge the evil, and that
it is an alarming and increasing evil but the
question with us is, how shall this evil be sup.
pressed One class thinks the church should do
the work another class thinks the law should
be enforced, and this alone is sufficient; another
class believes moral suasion is the true doctrine,
and this would do away with the evil. If all
were Christians, the evil would be removed but
all are not Christians, neither are they likely to
be at present
Men set their watches by the church clock,
supposng the clock is always right; but the
church clock is not always right Men also reg
ulate their lives by the church members but
they, too, are not always right. The church can
not stop entirely other evils and why should she
be expected to stop this evil If the church cam
not stop the evil, something else should. Ii men
will not be Christians, make them better men
Moral suasion is now approved of by all men.
A brief history of the temperance reform in our
own land was alluded to. The means used by
the early advocates were not stringent enough
for the light of the present day. The total alb
stinence pledge is the only thing that will prevent
drunkenness. The Washingtonan movement
was the nearest approach to Christianity of any
movement. But the rum shops were constantly
at war with this movement, and collisions were
OF frequent occurrence; men of strong appetites
could nOtreslst their influence. RumSellerS and
rum barrels cannot be moved by moral suasion.
lntempersnce cannot be suppressed while rum is
allowed to be sold this is almost the universal
conviction.
We now have, since Judge Shaw's decision,
"squatter sovereignty" Rumsellers resist this
last decision, which shows that it means some
thing. The legal battle is the hardest that we
have got to fight, because it is resisted the
strongest. This evil like that of slavery, has
been introduced into politics, and it is po-
litical question, well as moral one. This le-
gal measure lays the AK at the root of the tree.
Rumseerssfnd no fault with us when we lop
OF some of the dead branches. What called
the respectable rum-holes like to have the traffic
stopped in the low places, for this makes their
business all the better. Will legal suasion do all
the work No, for moral and legal must work
together. All the forces are needed to carry fos-
ward this work. Nothing but legal suasion can
make the rumseller give up his business. If NOR
al means were sufficient they would have given
up their traffic long ago. If tears, and groans,
aud signs, would reform rumseller, they have
daily enough of such to reform them, Judge
Shaw's decision, we should judge, had hit the
right spotfrom the Auttering of rumseers. If the
law is not right enforce it, and this will make it
odious, and then the people will repeal it. Our
fugitive slave law was not odious to the people,
until we saw poor Burns carried back into slave
ry, and then we all detested the law. Moral sua-
sion is the right wing legal .suasion the left wing
both must be put to work then shall be accom-
plished the good work, and the shouts of glory
small ring around the earth W. N.