The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1867-03-19
II he Massachusetts Liquor Investigation

he Massachusetts Liquor Investigation
The friends of prohibition are now being heard
before the legislative committee of Mass, in
opposition to the movement for icence law.
Below we give the gist of the testimony given
at seveal sessions of the committee:
Rev. Mr. Dennison, city missionary of New
Bedford, stated that the temperance cause
was in better condition than 26 years ago.
The statistics of arrests show that the amount
of drunkenness has decreased in the city. The
witness was strongly in favor of prohibitory
law. Ne
Judge Pitman of New Bedford asserted that
a license system will not check the sale,-that
had not been the effect where such laws have
been tried. He said that if a majority of the
people did not wish an enforcement of the pro-
hibitory law it would not be enforced. In New
Bedford, the prohibitory law has checked and
almost entirely prohibited the open sale. He
would prefer to see the license law enacted
rather than that the present statutes should be
persistently nullified; but he believed in the
competency of the State to enforce the law
against liquor dealers.
Hon. Oliver Ames of Easton stated that he
was in fevor of the prohibitory law, which had
done much good in that town. The drunken
ness among the foreign element of the town
had not diminished. ~ sEEEErE
Lieut. Gov. Trask of Springfield believed
thert was no trouble in enforcing the prohibi-.
tory law. For the last eleven years with two
city government to enforce the law. On the
cross-examination, the witness declared that
the people of Springfield, for nine years, elect
ed city governments that acted as he had de-
scribed, and such was the condition of things
there now. rt .i3ir.l 81 ~ 4
Hon. Nehemiah Boynton of Chelsea stated
that his convictions and impressions were
against a license law, because twould increase
the sale of liquor, drunkenness and crime. Wit
ness thought that the liquor dealers were con-
trihufi laroaIu to hroalx down the prOhihfO-
ry law. He saw considerable intoxication in
the Streets about the same as formerly.
Rev. Charles Cleveland, city missionary for
SO years, gave his experience with the poor of
He referred to the license law, as he had seen
its operation, and characterized the system as
rotten.
Hon. Amasa Walker of North BroOkfeld,
was not in favor of the law when enacted, but
stated that it should be sustained, as it took
the citidel of intemperance BY storm. He be-
lieved it was good law and popular A ma
jority of the voters were for it, and of the peO-
pie, women and children, nine out of ten ia
| vored the enactment i.-
| Rev. Jacob NJ Manning (of the Old South
| Church) said he had been constant laborer in
| the cause of temperance. Mr.. Manning OBJ
| served that he was not one who never dined at
any of our hotels. He frequently dined at the
| Parker House, and Young's HOTEL and was
generally well served He was opposed to IL
| censing private dealers, but did not believe it
| was sin to drink glass of wine under all
| circumstances. The witness observed that
| it was his impression more intemperance eX-
| listed than formerly, which he accounted for by
| the intense excitement of the war, and the
| consequent reaction Abiding to the witness
| es for the petitioners, he said some of them
have been faithful to temperance, and mean to
| be So The Irinitarian clergy are overwhelm-
| ingly opposed to a license law. Something
| has been said of the weight OF mind in the Com
| monwealth for licensing. The witness declar-
ed much of it must be dead weight. He knew
of men opposed to the prohibition who were
as true to the Master and temperance as he
| was. But they are mistaken.
Hon. Josiah Peabody, Mayor of LOWELL in
1864 and 1865, averred that much of the failure
to enforce the law arose from the reluctance of
| police, who were amenable to the Mayor
| and Aldermen.
Rev. Mr.. Gale Unitarian clergyman of Lee,
stated that there had been no open sales of liq-
uor in that town for many years. He should
consider the adoption of license system cal
amlty. In the course of his examination he
stated that ne could not say whether MAORI
ty of Lee would vote for license or not, if the
question should be put to them
| Rev. DIR. Todd, pastor of the First church in
Pittsfield, was allowed to testify for the petit
TONERS in accordance with an agreement pre-
viously made. He stated that he had been forty
years an advocate of total abstinence, and had
brought up seven children, who had never par
| taken of any wines or spirituous liquors. eX-
cept at the sacrament. He said the present
generation did not understand the temperance
reform, which he described from the earliest
time. He asserted that the church and pulpit
labored in the temperance cause until the law
took the matter out of their hands, which de-
prived them of moral power
Alcohol, opium, tobacco are resorted to by
persons to relieve some of the distresses of hui
man nature. Alcohol is now prescribed by
physicians to ten-fold greater degree than
formerly, and under these circumstances he did
not believe the sale could be suppressed, but
had better be regulated We are not so well of
in Pittsfield now as when the law first started
On the cross-exsmination, Dr. Todd said that
he had preached a total abstinence discourse
within four weeks, and his people did not
he considered failure.