The Portland daily press., 1869-06-30
A New Party.

A New Party.
"Uness ye abide in the ship ye cannot be saved"
81 Paul. as quoted by Mr. blaine at Bangor.
We look with a certain romantic interest
upon the men who have the courage and hope
fulness to form new political party, and ad-
here to its small fortunes through obloquy and
indifference, with the hope that soma day it
will rise to power and they shall be remem-
bered and rewarded when its kingdom shall be
established. There are one or two fascinating
examples of success, but scores more OF woful
failure and defeat.
The political anti-slayery party, by those
who contemplate its history from the outside,
seems happy realization of the power there
is in an idea to coerce votes and make itself q
majority. But surveyed from the inside.
they, whose hearts were in its early hopes
and fears, know that after ALL the great evil
against which it flung itself with such frantic
denunciation, would have stood unshaken till
doomsday but for agencies entirely outside of
their party machinery, and providentla events
which they neither brought about nor even
foresaw. They know, too, that its isolation
from the average sentiment around them, so
far from being an advantage and power, was
hindrance and weakness. How gladly we
seized every favoring popular sentiment. every
wind OF new doctrine that swept or blew in
our direction TO set our little shallop forward
towards the great sea of success. We co 1rted
the conscience Wings, the anti-Texas Demo-
Gratis, the Know-N Nothings, the Douglas men,
even the war Democrats, every body of men,
that had wish or a hate in common with us.
We asked not entire conformity to our creed,
k..k ~. a.
ion or purpose in which we could agree. And
SO, not less by policy than by principle, we
built our little faction into the proportions Of
grand national party, that held in its strong
hands the destinies Of mighty nation, while
the storm and night of a great convulsion
fell upon it, and the earthquake of an all-in-
volying civil war shook 1t ON center to cir
conference.
Temperance has good sound in all mems
minds. fit only had any considerable polti-
cal side to it, If it were not so purely matter
of individual choice and will, Law of life
which free man, in the sovereignty of his
selfhood, imposes upon himself, it would be
an admirable idea to build political party up
ON. The trouble about bringing the matter
into politics, aud the domain of law at all, is,
that law only reaches the matter of voluntary
drunkenness in the way of creating inconven-
fences to getting something to drink for though
we may and do punish voluntary drunkenness
as a crime, the disposition of society is to cosset
and excuse the buyer and drinker of alcohol,
and punish only the seller. We may refuse to
vote for any man who drinks alcoholic liquors
at any time, and thus make party of total
abstinence men; but why not include in it all
other virtues, and say, that fol parity Of
reasons we will not vote for any man who is
sensual or profane or dishonest or indevout or
guilty of any sin.
SO there remains the indirect influence only
to be exerted by prohibiting the sale of liquors,
and in this direction the general temperance
sentiment has done what it could. Men get
together and complain at the inadequacy Of
the results,-and they have reason, n,-complain
of parties, of Legislatures, of Governors, of
Judges Of Jurors, of Selectmen, OF constables,
Of police, and doubtless, by strainiDg to the
utmost, all these might have done more than
they have. But after all, do they not overlook
the fact, that the main difficulty has always
been not voluntary but intrinsic; that the fun
damental trouble has been that even an effec-
tual execution of prohibitory law did not
touch the matter of voluntary drinking, and
that while liquor is one of the commodities of
the worlds trade, and capable of being made
by the simplest process out of the most COM
mon materials, prohibition makes it inconven-
lent, not impossible, to get drunk.
Let us use the means, indirect as they are,
and multiply inconvenience in the hope of
reaching the choice and will, and making men
temperate from conviction as well as abstinent
from ncccssfty. And here Is rne unfairness of
the accusations, that, while we have and do CO.
operate in passing and enforcing prohibitory
laws, while judges, and jurors, and State and
municipal officers have fairly done their duty,
because drunkenness still occnrs, the difficult
ties incident to the character of the remedies
are charged as faults and neglects upon the
part of temperance men.
But we say again temperance has a virtu-
GUS sound. Only one side of it lies in the do
main of law and politics, but political party
may build its platform as well on that one side
as on anything else that is likely to interest the
community. II our friends are ambitious to
venture upon the turbulent political sea alone
on boat or raft, we will not seek to deter
them. 1t is weary way as we happen
to have proved. Let them embark with hope
. and courage and fail not to take on board a
good supply of water. We will follow them
down to the shore and bid them God speed
But after they have tossed over the rough seas
through some storms, and by many rugged
coasts, they will learn the difference between
the little skif that dances on every wave, and
the staunch old Union frigate, in which they
once carried the moral power of united COM
munity, and where they were alloaoed to steer
quite as often as was consistent with the safe
ty of the ship. Their fortunes will be differ
ent from those Of the anti-Slavery party, if
long before reaching their destination, they
are not glad enough to paddle up to some lar
ger craft and beg TO be taken on oard, ON the
promise Of half such cooperation as the Re-
publican party tenders, before they turn their
backs upon it.