Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1859-05-18

i
genuity to make difference, between
putting it in himself,a and selling it af-
ter he knew somebody else had put it
in.
| was present when man was tried
for selling distempered beef: and such
was the indignation against him, that,
but for the fact that it was not entire
ly certain that he knew it, / do not
know that he would have been safe in
the crowd. And yet, foar-pence-
ha-penny sharper, sly as a fox, and
soulless as shark, will buy what he
knows to be distempered whiskey, at
twenty cents gallon, and retail it at
five cents drink, and then prove him
self to be of good character and you
license him again The law contem-
plates a license to sell refreshments ;;
but you allow him to sell poisons. 1t
has always been the policy of the law,
to protect the public health. And for
every injury to the public health, a
man is indictable, as much as for eve-
ry violence to the person. The selling
unwholsome provisions, whether meat
or drink, has always been indictable.
Every man who supplies another with
meat or drink, must give him that
which is sound and pure of it's kind,
because it is his life. A man would
be driven from society who would sell
impure meat: and why not when he
sells impure drink ? Do you not re-
member the Indignation which arose
against the Northern dairies, some
short time ago, when it was alleged
that they sold in the cities, the milk
of diseased cows -? As long ago as
Henry III. statute was passed, pro-
hibiting the sale of corrupted wine and
unwholsome flesh; under pain of the
pillory. And by another statute, the
adulteration of wine by the wholesale
merchant, was fined five hundred dol
lars, and by a retailer, two hundred
dollars. Blackstone 4 vol. p. 1927
Your own legislature provides for the
inspection of every thing you carry to
market, and prohibits your putting
''boar's flesh in any barrel of pork, "
or "bull's flesh in any barrel of beef"
Rev. Code p. 350.) And authorizes
tbe6G492lAt ttlYo eoggtt, in every county, to
ticle of provisions brought into this
from any other state. do not know
that this would extend to liquors.
There has been no adjudication. But
certainly the whole drift Of the law is
against the sale of impure and un-
Wholesome meat and drink. And the
man that does it, is habitually VIOLA
ting the spirit, if not the letter of the
law, and cannot be a man of good mo-
raj character. If the Legislature has
| not provided expressly for the inspec
, ton of liquors, brought into this state
! to sell, it is doubtless owing to the
0 fact, that, until few years back, the
\ practice was not so common to manu-
=; facture them of poisons. Until lately
: corn was the cheapest substanc e the.
: could distil, but, since the price o
. stock and provisions has advanced
d they feed their corn to their stock, an
l. make liquor of poisons. 1t is to b
II hoped that the very next Legislator
L will consider the matter, and take som
n steps to protect the health, as well a
S, the morals of the public.
< Again, it is contemplated by tn
a law, that a retailer shall keep goo
c. order at his house. And if he fails
Or do so, he is indictable and havin
~ abused one license, he is certainly NJ
entitled to another. Now go to an
of public place where there is a retaile
ne and what do you see 3! The sober me
OF stay out ; others go in, get drum
to curse and fight. If the retailer wou]
ty provide back room for such, it wou
IN not be quite so bad, but, as soon as
RS gets the last dime from poor fello'
is and he becomes unruly, he kicks hi
re out of the house to annoy the sob
or men out of doors. For this he is Ii
ts bic to Indictment. And every po
n man, who is degraded by being MAJ
he drunk, and kicked out, ought to see
ht it that he is indicted. The retail
or totally mistakes the law. The obje
a of the law is not to keep his drunkar
int from annoying him, and his busine
to who cares how much they ann
1ur him that made them so but to ke
The him from making them drunk, so IL
is, they annoy others. Is retailer tn
co obliged to keep order outside, as W
the inside of his house? Unquestionab
ats, and especially outside. How can
raf- man make drunken men behave the
lor- selves out of doors, in the public TO
hile or street? do not know nor d
nti- know how he can stop the bullet al
len, he fires the gun; and yet he is
not swerablc for all the harm the bu
rom does. The fault was in firing the G
nan And so the fault was in making
,est men drunk. This is no speculation
t Of mine. The supreme court has decic
n to that if a retailer allow men to
lent drunk at his house, in consequence
It of which they break the peace out of
bad house, in the public street, he is
are dictable. And every time ma
sell trate sees disorder about retail 81
pose either inside or out, occaSioned
the men allowed there to get drunk,