Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1859-05-11

squlreS knew IWO-penny law I
yer to call the sheriff to him, and ask
him to get some "whiskey-squires' on
the bench to grant license /! It is
not unusual for the client to 90 out
and bring them in And they look
for all the world as if he had treated
them, before he brought them in. And
then we have the scene: A four-pence-
client, employs two-penny
lawyer, to examine two drunken wit
nesses, before seven whiskey- -squires
beforehand-who prove him
of good moral character; and he gets
license to sell liquor when the very
object of the. license law is to prevent
such men from selling. That the
community should not respect such
as them that they should
be nick-named and laughed at, when
they 60, on the bench that their
brother justices should regard them
as disgrace to them and that they
should never appoint them to any hon
orable place among them, is not at all
surprising. But then the great body
of the magistrary, who are men Of in
tegrity, should not suffer on their ac-
count.
The liquor traffic is suspicious bu-
siness. 1t is so in the estimation of
the community; and it is so in the es-
timation Of the lawmakers. It is so
inssparably connected with the idea
Of trading with slaves, that it more or
less degrades every man connected
with it. 1t is common remark, that
any man who sells liquor will trade
with slaves. will not say that but
there are so many that do, that the
association is degrading. In conver-
sation with several gentlemen, we'll
acquainted in their county, remarked,
mot in any spirit of controversy that
there was not man in the county,
who had sold liquor for any length of
time, whose character had not suffered.
At first they said [ was mistaken
We then went into particulars; and,
to their surprise, every man had suf-
fered more or less, while much the
larger portion had been utterly ruined.
| venture the same remark to every
magistrate in North Carolina. You
are acquainted in your county; think
of it. Let A. B. go to selling liquor.
A negro is found drunk. He got it
somewhere. He will not tell on the
friend who let him have it, and says
he got it of A. B. If A. B. is thirty
ing why, he trades with negroes. Il
he is lazy how does he live why
he trades with negroes. And so re-
port once started never grows less
and will soon damn the man who is the
subject of it, Two young men of my
acquaintance, of good standing, bough
tract of land and went hard to worl
to pay for it. They bought some Ii
| quor to sell to help them on. A neigh
} Dor fell out with them, and indicte'
them for selling him less than a quart
Court came. They submitted and ex
; pected to get off lightly, by provin
their good character which the
, seemed to think they had. The.
, called witness, and he said, yes, the
were industrious and peaceable. Upo
, cross examination, however, he sal
s there were some "reports." VIII;
9 about I? "1rading aOitA slaves.' The
/ called another witness. and he confirm
= ed the first. And to their utter SUI
T. Prise they had, by their own witnesse
, proved themselves of infamous chara
/ ters; and, in their youth, stood b.
l. fore the court, leafess and limble
like blasted trees of the forest.
5 they had lost their land, that wou.
IL have been one thing; and bad enougI
u But oh how incomparably worse,
Is have lost their characters. They ma
te wear out their land and themselv
81 with hard labor, but the taunt tn
a a they paid for it by trading with slave
III will never wear out.
l have said that the liquor traf
OF was viewed with suspicion not only
H. the community, but by the lawn
n N kers. (1) The law taxes spirits abo
Tn fifty times higher than other thing
(2) 1t is not allowed to be sold, exec
ne in certain quantities, without licens
u (3) For license there must be pa
tn thirty dollars. a. To peddle it
e. taxed forty dollars-although fir
IS negro may peddle cakes for nothin
ne t5) For any disorder, either inside
- outside of his house, even tho it
" in the public street, retailer is lial
tn to Indictment. (6) And, so strong
nd the suspicion that he will trade wi
he slaves, if slave is seen in his hol
NY for a single moment, on Sunday or
ter night, he may be indicted and cony
zen ted of trading, although no trading
er- proved; and so if seen on any otl
ave day, for ten minutes in the house, W
ing the door shut.
tea In a matter where the communit
you so suspicious, and where the law is
The rigid, and where so many untold e
nm result, it is impossible for the ma,
ag, trates to escape eensure, if they
OF remiss in the discharge of their dl
be- Who that loves his state was not de
1t ly mortified to hear these pract
the openly charged against some of