The West Virginia journal. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1864-1877, 1865-09-06

ones own control or self:governmept,
and rendering man for the time a mani.
&c. A late writer, in speaking on this
point, says: ''''..' r. e.. -
at is the exercise of tho animal pro.
pensities which subjects criminals to tho
penalties of violated civil law. It is
mainly by drinkers that our courts arc
supported. Let our intelligent lawyers,
let our judges, sheriffs, justices, ETC., au-
swer the question: Does not nearly oil
Of your criminal business have its origin
in drinking?" .......
Viowing the subject in another light,
as being productive oil. disease, and there.
fore q crime, we arc also well supported
by facts Man is not so bad by organi.
cation as he is in character-nor would
ho fall so low did he not first become per-
vertcd by bad habits. Bauish the single
evil Of intemperance from the land, and
man would ut oncc rise in the scale Of
intelligence, virtue, and religion. Flo
would cease to DO evil, aud come under
the reign of his moral sentiments. We
repeat, man is better by organization
than in character. ....'
DR.. Gordon, Of the London Hospital,
states that from actual observations on
his own patients, he knew that seventy
fve out Of every hundred casos Of dis
ease could be traced to drinking. After
examination, it has been made apparent
that of $50 maniacs in our asylums, 400
owe their loss ofrcasou TO the use of in.
toxicating liquors. That 100 out of
1900 paupers in our poor.houscs aud
1900 out Of 100 criminals in our pris.
ons owe their paupcrism and crime to
the same cause. .. .
That 43 out Of II murders were com.
mi,tcd under the influence Of alcoholic
stimulus. That G7 out Oft found dead L,
died of drunkenness, and that 400 out Of
GOO juvenile delinquents either drank
themselves or belonged to families that
did so.
Thatindefatigable agent, Samuel Chip.
man, who visited all the poor houses and
prisons in the State Of New York, said ::
Il have shown beyond the power Of
contradiction that more than three.
fourths Of all the paupcrism is oceasioncd
BY intemperancc, and that more than
livc. sixths Of oil those committed for
crime are themselves intcmpcratc."
From estimates made upon European
regiments during the rebellion in India
for six consecutive months, it was ascer-
tanned that Of temperance men there
were only three invalids daily on an nv
erage, whiie Of tho Incorporate there
we're eight. or nearly three times as
many. Were We only maao acquainted
with the facts touching on this point in
connection with our own soldiers during
The last four years, We nigh, perhaps
find as sad a record chroniclcd rs that
obtained from foreign sources, for intem-
perancc surely has been doing mighty
work in our midst. We are told by those
familiar with statistics, that in our re.
public there are more than 100000
Irunkards, and that no less than 10000
arc killed annually by the use Of alec.
holic poison, and in England there are
coo, 900 drunkards, with an average Of
10000 deaths annually. We deem it
appropriate to conclude this article by
an extract from Carpenters work on AL
cohoic Liquors. The author says:
THAT a large proportion Of ofenses
amenablc to punishment, both in civil
population and in the military and naval
services, arc committed under the direct
excitement Of alcoholic liquors, there can
be no kind of doubt and the compari'
son of iusubordination aud criminality
of drinking regiment with the orderly
aud reputable conduct of, an a5stiucnt
one, circumstauccd in other respects al
most precisely the same, adds to the con-
fdcnce with which We may assert, that
Lnten,pc,unce is The chief cause Of Crime. y