New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1867-01-30

III. diminishing on the liquor question, which has
So ooiod on in this State for three four years
\ ,o.tino 70 be more and like general engage
,nent and within three years we shall probably be
In hot fight over it. A law to prevent liquor sell
srs and their friends from sitting on juries and
nav establishing State police, have been the two
specifics relied by the friends of the prohibitoIy
aaw to remedy the growing evils Of dram drinkingi
but Gov. Andrew vetoed the jury bills of 1864 ana
1866 and last year the House itself refused to pass
The bill reported by the committee. The State Ponce
bill urged so strongly by the temperance men, was
also defeated in 1865 by the substitution OF STATE
<onstabulary the bill for which drawn under
Gov Andrews own eye. This oonstabulary az the
head of which is Major Edward j. Jones, an ener-
Cetic officer is now relied upon by the TRENDS OF
The nrobbitory law as its great weapon of offense
against the liquor traffic. and if Major Joness report
can be fuly credited it has done great deal toward
breaking ND. At all events, it has put the traf-
5ickers 10 serious inconvenience and no small
amount of EXPENSE. l suspect it will eventually be
found that in many if not most OF the places In
which it is claimed that the sale of liquor has been
suppressed it has merely been driven into other holes
and corners. Indeed, remark dropped by the
constable himself in his report seems to confirm this
view. After stating that the fines turned into the
county treasures have amounted already TO SoSOVV
he adds 1T may therefore be regarded with cor
fainty as a source of pecuniary revenue to the Com
snonwealth" This is only on the supposition OF
course that the constabuary to continue the work
of suppressing liquor shops, and never to get the
work accomplished. And this is the belief of those
persons who are now directing their attention to the
project of enacting license excise law. have
no idea that this plan will succeed this year. that
there will be any substantial change in our laws re-
Eating to the sale of liquor Probably 1t would not
be wise to change Them in any direction, for pubnc
attention is not yet sufficiently directed to the sub
sect; too little information is at hand likely to he
obtained this session. to enable members to act with
any certainty OF probability OF wise conclusion
We have got to try the cOnstabulary another year
at least and in my opinion the liquor cases
anust be brought to the ordeal OF the
jury before it can be determined whether
they can or cannot be prosecuted to conviction.
The Jury is perhaps the best test of what public
opinion will sustain. Judge Brigham, In Hampton
County found two jurors who would not convict
liquor sellers and dismissed the jury. This will
not do any permanent good and very likely he will
find three obstinate ones next term, and four after
that If onesixth part of the jurors in Hampton VIII
not convict fve-siXths or sixsixths may be relied
upon in Suffolk and after series of break-downs
before Suffolk and Middlesex and Essex uTies things
will be as bad as ever This experiment has got to
be fairly tried before license law can be enacted.
We also need information as to the working Of the
Excise law in New-YOrk and the prOhibitory law in
Maine and other States where as well as in Massa-
shusetts il is claimed to have been success In
fine as Goethe and Ajax agreed, we must have
Light on this subject before act advantage
ously. Gov. Andrew will appear before the Legisla-
tive Committee to defend the views of those who ask
for license law The Ex-Governor is already styled
a "rmmyps by those who have the liquor law In
charge but nobody can doubt that his opinions are
intelligently and honestly entertained and that he
has the welfare of society and thesafety of the young
as much at heart as any of the gentlemen who so
Hippantly abuse him.
The managers of the Hartford Asylum for the Deaf
md Dumb have appeared before the Legislative
Committee on Public Charitable Institutions to OPP
pose the project recommended by the Governor, OF
educating the Massachusetts deafmu at home in
stead of in Connecticut. And as a part of the ma
ohnery of operations by which it is hoped that the
Governors recommendation may DO defeated, an
ANONYMOUS pamphlet has been issued and circulated
among the members of the Legislature, in which the
old game which was attempted to be played against
Horace Mann thirty years ago. is again entered upon
that is 10 say Dr. Howe is singled out as the leader
in the movement for educating the deaf mutes in
Massachusetts, and DR.. Howe being Unitarian, 1t Is
animated that the religious wants of the pupils will
not be so carefully attended to in Massachusetts, as
in the Commonwealth which has, politically, arrived
at the high-water level of Gideon Weles, Isaac
Toucey. and James Dixon The pamphlet l refer
to does not even bear the name OF It's
printer The writer styles himself a native
of Massachusetts," which IS no guide to
an Identification of him. In 1880 there 1854
persons in Connecticut who born in this State,
and dare say quite a number of them are mean
enough to attempt to raise this theological hue and
cry against Dr. Howe. However, Mr.. Mann fought
this battle long ago. and if DR.. Howe's views do not
prevail with the Legislature it will not be because
he Unitarian or because Hartford is orthodox but
for other reasons Let me suggest that it would be
wise for the Hartford folks to hang together little
closer. The pampheteer have referred to calls the
system of attempting to teach articulation " the
wearisOme torture of fruitless experiment" Yet
the managers of the school exhibited to the Legsla
tive Committee a gentleman, the editor of a paper
published for the benefit of the deaf mues who
educated at Hartford learned articulation there and
whose very interesting and very successful attempts
to articulate were cited as evidence that Hartford
was doing all in that direction that could be desired
Hartford claims that it is only "semi-mutes' or
mutes whose deafness is not congenital who can be
successfully taught to articulate The editor whose
articulation l have referred to became deaf at
the age Of seven Il thinkl lie ia now
so deaf that ne cannot even hear it thun-
der when it thunders the loudest; totally
deaf in fact yet he reads the language of the lips
and answers glibly and quite distinctly To see this
gentleman answering directly and by word of mouth
the questions of the Committee put to him orally
while other pupils were obliged to have the inter
ventOn of Interpreter was enough to satisfy any
one Of the great desirableness of attempt under
fair and unprejudiced auspices to teach articulation
TO this unfortunate class-uness indeed we are con-