The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1860-07-12

The Di-tiIIation of Rum.

Nh EDITOR In your issue Of May 24th Is a COM
munication signed " Total Abstinence" l perfectly
agree with the writer as to the effect OF drinking
spirituous liquors. and the necessity Of extirpating
that destroying hydra Of the human race when the
right method can be discovered. Had the writer left
out the irrelevant matter, his paper might possibly
have been interesting. 1t begins " From the tone
Of the public press, l infer that an effort will lie made
at the approaching Legislature to legaIize the manu-
facture and sale Of ardent spirits" And sale" are
the words to which I wish to call attention. 1t is a
very shrewd and a sort Of Pathological blunder which
l see characterizes every article IN your paper yet
published upon this subject. Why 50 persistent in
connecting the word . : sale with manufacture Is
not the sale Of ardent spirits already legalized in this
kingdom If not, it would be much more to the
point TO lambaste overt scoundrels than those IN
prospect. But we all know it is legalized and the sad
consequences thereof; then let US drop it in our talk.
If our foreign treaties prevent Us from prohibiting
the sale Of spirtuous liquors here, let US fire into the
foreign treaties upon that ground, and into those
scamps among Us who desire to manufacture upon
that ground. l have yet to learn a single instance
wherein the latter have asked that the sale of ardent
spirits be legalized in this kingdom. They are not so
illogical, or more properly, silly as that They well
know the thing IS already legalized past hope; they
only ask now the privilege to manufacture and put 1t
in bond, same as the importer, (why don't you fire
into him D and compete with him for legitimate
profits. Well, why not? There is certainly nothing
outrageously immoral in that.
Would any one dare say it is a greater sin to man.
uacture on those conditions than it is to import?
g Yes, says a benevolent gentleman; the manu-
facturer would add just so much more as he would
make TO the smoke of the torment while the i'm
porter simply imports what is already made" That
I Ja,y na,noDd onI cupp1y oIrovs Eppn oven nacp
and if there was no demand here for foreign liquors,
they would not be manufactured to supply it. "And,"
adds the same benevolent gentlemen, q" the govern
ment would set or follow the pernicious example of
legalizing sim The philanthropy that embodies
such exalted sentiments is to be distrusted. 1t ap-
pears very much like the humanity of Nero when he
played the l~achrymose upon the occasion Of his sign
ing the first death warrant 1t is well known that a
large proportion Of the imported liquors are the vilest
authorizations, and government cannot refuse to re-
ceive them. at least 1 suppose so, or our wide-awake
philanthropists would have had inspectors appointed
long since to prevent their Importation, otherwise
their pretensions are all cant.
In regulating the manufacture of spirits within the
kingdom, it is not denied but that government can
exact an article of the greatest purity. Now rs it is
an admitted fact that the poisons used in adulterating
LIQUORS occasion more evil than the liquors themselves.
who Is, or would be. the greatest SINNER, tne importer
or manufacturer: Who is the greatest benefactor of
this people. the philanthropist that confines them to
poisoned liquors. or the villain that makes a pure
article for them to drink? Bah 4! The subject is too
transparent for argument.
Cant surround the distillery with efectual safe
guards to prevent selling it there ;" Well, do the
Custom House guard prevent smuggling now, or
prevent manufacturing either Go and count the
gun barrels forever hot and it will open your eyes;
and what is more, old topers prefer that crude stuff
to the best imported. There is a fact worth needing.
This whole liquor question narrows itself to one
issue. Since we must, per force, have ardent spirits
among us, is it best to import the adulterated or
manufacture the pure article ourselves? We know
on which side to look for adulterated notions. For
our part, We believe it the duty of all true philan-
~thropists, and more particularly the Legislature, to
provide for us the purest possibly to be had. 1t is
certainly true charity to do so, and if it is true that
: charity begins at home,'' they can't act too soon in
the matter.
Economy The person that does not comprehend
that without telling, never will with. There is
one thing perhaps that will be necessary to men,
ton lest there might be some dunderheads yet alive
unable to see it without aid, and that is. that there is
such n thing as double economy. The skimmings
and w~ashings at our sugar plantations are now thrown
away through the mandates of an existing statute,
whereby if the same was repealed, the planters would
fall back upon their natural rights and save a large
amount Of property to themselves and the country.
Here would be 4 double saving, and to q common
sense person it would seem that the approaching
legislature could hardly do less than 81 make an
effort to save this property from waste, if they done
nothing more in the matter.
MI. Editor, please address n query 10 the different
planters as to the amount of loss each one annually
us+aipS from tho nraSaDt unavoidable waste of skim
mings and ~washings. No doubt they will answer you
cheerfully and truthfully. PAUKAA.