Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1864-03-25

It SEcEsSIoN.-An amusing illustration {
n how much the right claimed by the rebt
It States OF seeding from the United State
d amounts to, is furnished in the late addres
I of Gov. Vance OF North Carolina. 1t wa
one Of the "inalicnp bic rights OF man" ac
oording to the rebel leaders, that no Stat,
p should he compelled to remain in the Unior
e against her will and so they incorporated
T into their southern COnfederacy a constitu-
? tional provision permitting such withdrawal
But, says Governor Vance to his people who
began to murmur about their troubles and
talk Of exercising the right so recognized,
Il can assure you my fellow citizens that secession
from the Confederacy will involve you in a new
war, bloodier conflict than that you now de-
plore. " But" you may say, - Mr.. Davis and
his Government will not dare TO make war on a
seeding State, because the right Of secession is
recognized in the Constitution Of the Confedera-
cy." So it is, my friends; but you see by that
time you have thrown off the Constitution, you
have gotten from under its obligations and sworn
you would have nothing to do with it. Do you
expect the Confederacy TO be bound by docu-
meut you refuse to recognize as affecting your
I selves So soon as you announce 70 the world
you are sovereign and independent nation, As
matter Of course, the Confederacy has the
right Of declaring war against you for sufficient
cause, equally with the right she holds Of de-
claring war against England. France or Holland.
This right Is inherent in ali soveregnties'
Doesn't this principle give the United
States a right to make war on the rebel States?
And where is the foundation for the cries of
'invasion, coercion, " "trampled rights, 80
"unholy and rniustifabe war, " disregard of
all constitutional obligations" &c, &c,
wi'h which the copperhead press has for
three years filed the ar? Is not sauce for
the goose also sauce for the gander?
The question was, and is. shall bad rum con-
tinue to be sold in vast quantities and in innu-
merable low groggeries and Wretched 'dog-holes'
throughout the State, from all Of which the State
derives no revenue, but plentiful crop Of crimes
misdemeanors, and paupery; or shall good rum
te allowed to be sold by respectable and respon-
sible men, under such restrictions as can be
made and enforced, and with a valuable monied
return to accrue thercfrom 10 the State.-BurL
SsHtHd.
Not so. Every "dog-hole' that now sells
will take out a license, and Others sell with
out licenses And how, pray tell US, is the
quality Of the rum to be improved by the
License system? No; the best and all that
can be said for licenses is that they will put
money in the state Treasury-the price Of
beg-ary and crime.
The Grand Jury of the City of New York,
in their prescutment 10 the Court lately,
said concernin. the liquor trade and result
ing intemperance
" The Grand Jury believe that some practical
remedy for the evils thus EXPOSED Is demanded
by every consideration Of municipal self-respect
public security. and the supremacy OF a govern
ment of law. and they would respectfully re-
quest the Senate and Assembly in session 10 pro
vide such a remedy. We're the police force
under the direction Of the Commissioners aud
Superintendent, authorized 20 deal summarily
with unlawful lquor-selling, As they are with
gaming -houses,-the instruments Of their craft
TO be destruyei-tse see section - Of the act estab-
fishing the Metropolitan Police District, ls60.)
or were patrolmen required 10 close every
dram-shop whose keeper fails 10 exhibit license
for his trafic,-it Is believed that a chronic evil
Of gigantic magnitude would be abstei, with no
injustice to offenders, but with untold benefits 70
society
ON this the Vermont Chronicle says
The last sentence in the above Is deserving Of
special notice. The Grand Jury thinks that, Il
they had q law which permitted the summary
seizure and destruction Of liquor, the evil might
be mitgated II G, If all unlicensed dealers were
thus dealt with. This would be adopting a sys-
ten very much akin to cur own. We license
men to sell for all good purposes, though not
for common drinking, and proclaim all other
traffic oontrahand.
II would seem, then. that the license system
in New York, 50 far as preventing the Illegal
sale of liquor Is concerned, Is failure quite a.
much Of future as the prohibit0ry law in BOs-
ton, or in any part Of Vermont. 1t has been
failure erer since Il tras enacted. Moreover,
every license system which has existed as yet in
this country. has been in the same sense fail
ure, and We challenge any man TO show the con-
trary Point US to a single instance in which a
license system has stopped the illegal sale Of
liquor, to say nothing Of the monstrous wrong
Of authorizing men, under the holy sanction Of
law, to deal out what has been justly styled
liquid dsmnation.'
We put the question, then. to every temper
ance man who has - lost faith in a prohibItory
system and our remarks are directed psrtic-
ularly to such with the above facts before you,
and ten Thousand Of similar character which
exist, why should you have faith in license
bT.k
either obtain or administer? VIII licensing
wrong tend to prevent wrong, Would licensing
theft stop men who are unlicensed from stealing?
Do the licensed brothels Of Paris prevent licen-
tiousnes., Does the license system Of New York
prevent the illegal sale of hquor'
The cry has gone up from the 90 one hundred
places in Burlington where liquor is sold,'
from the patrons Of these places, and the ofil-
&C Of the Times, that the prohibitory law is a
fulure,-that there is more liquor sold than ever
before, and that private drinking in families is
largely on the increase; and some "goOd temper
ance mem - il is said, have Joined in the cry But
in New York the cry comes from the legally
constituted authorities Of the State, that the
license system, 50 far as the prevention Of the
liquor traffic is concerned, is failure, and they
show it by indisputabie facts Even then if
the prohibitory law isa failure, which We do
not admit,-why abandon it and resort TO q il
cause system, which has ever been a. failure
Certain 1t is that no system has been more eff
cacious than the one now in force -
1t may be said we must have a more StriEgtat
license system than has ever been enacted = one
which, while it permits fnw respectable men to
deal in the article. viii effectually suppress the
evil. But can any license system be devised
which will effect this? VIII it prevent young
men and old men from tipping VIII it pre-
vent drinking in families, or stop men from OBJ
tanning it by the express, To US the idea is pre-
posterous But if other men think otherwise,
let them draw up bill to be presented 20 the
rext Legislature, setting forth the provisions Of
a license system which they think will be more
eficacious than the present law. Let the friends
Of the present system have the opportunity to
examine it, and the opponents Of the Law to ex-
press their appreciation But beware lest you