New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1872-11-21

the lax sentiments of many book, which
Government must not presume to suppress
lie germs OF danger to great essential rights
So, too, the drinking of intoxicating bever
ages is always fraught with more or less
present or prospective peril to the public
safety. Nevertheless, | would not have
Government invade the rights of families and
individuals so far as to forbid all such drink.
ing. The true rule is to allow the individual
and the family to do what they please short
of palpably encroaching on the public safety
and on the rights of the people. But the
dramshop is such an encroachment and
since it supplies no need, provides no COM
fort, and is an unmiXed evil, there is not the
least reason, nor even decent excuse, for its
| existence. Its attractions renderit the super
| lative public danger. For, by force of these
| attractions, it becomes the great mandatory
| OF paupers, incendiaries, madmen, and muir
derers. Whilst, then, cannot go with the
Absolute Prohibitionists and invoke the
power OF Government against all traffic in in
toxicating drinks and against even the house.
wife's making her key of current or rasp-
berry wine, deem myself in no wise incon-
| sistent, and in no degree trespasser on the
individual or home rights reserved from the
domain of Government, when continue to
| vote for the suppression ofdramselling. How
party! 1t called on Government to do its
part of the great temperance work by pro-
tecting person and property from the rava-
ges OF dramselling, and left it to moral sua-
sion to do the remainder. This remainder
would be comparatively small. For the
ending of liquor-hotels, liquor-saloons, and
all other drink. dens, whilst it would relieve
person and property from perils exceeding
the sum total of all other perils, would be
the very decapitation of the Monster In
temperance. BY the way, are there not
few persons left to revive the Antl-dramshop
party, and to keep its truths and testimonies
before the public mind until, by the help of
more light, they shall gain hospitable en-
trance? That little party is still as dear to
me, as 1t was before it was taken away from
me. am as.willing to give money toward
revlvlng it, as was to give money toward
instituting it; but the work to this end must
be performed by younger persons. Much
has the cause Of temperance cost me during
the nearly fifty years in which have labored
for it; and l still love it too we'll to refuse it
further aid, or to refuse further aid to that
little PROSTATE party, which, though pro-
posing to serve that precious cause only in
cidentally, was nevertheless adapted to serve
it very effectively.
1t is not little painful to me to refuse to
fall in with the Prohibition party-for in it
are the friends Of temperance ; and against
it arc the foes of temperance. Moreover, its
being an independent party, and opposed to
voting with the rum parties, commends it to
my warm regards. For, yet while, the
friends of temperance, in order to work adj
vantageously for their cause, must work in
a party by themselves. In this wise, they
will be able to do far more to reform a rum
party than by working in it. Notwithstand-
ing, however, all the credit due to the Pro-
hibition party, must continue to stand out
side of it. For q year or more after it's
organization in 1869, continued to hope
that it would adopt the principles and policy
of the Anti-dramshop party. But their theo-
ries were too wide apart to justify such
hope.
believe that the Prohibition party will
fail-first, because its object-absOlute pro-
hibition by law-will be found to be unat-
tainable, and, second, because it ought not
to be attainable. admit that such prohibi-
ton may, perhaps, be reached in a few of the
States but do not believe that it will be
permanent in any of them. My chief reason
for holding that such prohibition should not
be enacted is that it exceeds the legitimate
powers of Government, and trenches on
rights not conceded to Government but re-
served by the people. Let Government have
free play everywhere within its own bounds:
but let its attempted invasion, at whatever
point, Of the exclusive and sacred province
of individuality and home be sternly repelled
To protect chat prOvince-not to invade it
is the proper work of Government. In
deed, that is the best administered Govern
ment which permits and secures the largest
individual and home liberty; and that is the
worst which goes farthest in dwarfing its
subjects by usurping their reserved rights.
Hence, there should be no federation of
sumptuary laws; nor should Government be
allowed to take the work of moral reform out
Of the hands of the people. It does not sur
prise me to find that the Prohibition party has
become so clamorous for Sabbath legislation,
and so frantic in its appeals to the supersti-
tious and bigoted for the protection of the
popular Sabbath. The tyranny of such legis-
lation is of piece with the tyranny of law
ordained Absolute Prohibition. Both tram
pie on human freedom; and each is a step
on the road to the now widely-sought-fO in
corporation of religious creed in the Federal
Constitution. If we would stay our steps
toward a despotism, and transmit to poster
ity the fullness of republican freedom, we
should hasten to repeal our Sabbath laws
and all other laws, which interfere with the
freedom of conscience and opinion. What an
outrage upon such freedom in the person of
the Jew and the Seventh-day-baptis is the
law, which makes Sunday the Sabbath!
What an outrage upon such freedom in the
person Of him, who regards no day as more
holy than any other day, is the law which
forbids his own chosen and innocent use of
every day! The plea that our nation is, by
its Constitution, a christian nation, and that
all its people are therefore bound to conform
to christian usages, is one that only ignor-
ance or dishonesty can offer. would not
utter word in disparagement of the Sab
bath. 1 fully believe that the Divine bless
ing rests upon it, as it does upon the observ-
ance of all the laws ofour being. The bless
ing, however, is not upon a compelled or ar
bitrary Sabbath, but only upon a free and
voluntary one. The Temperance reform is
the last reform which can afford to be prose-
cuted in the spirit of superstitious and in
tolerant religion. Such a religion has not
brought success to our efforts for temper
| ance, nor will it ever bring success to them.
The only religion which can serve the cause
Of temperance is one that aims to keep pace
with science and to be guided by reason.
1t does not surprise me that reformers
should, in behalf of their cherished reforms,
demand more help from Government than ii
can legitimately afford. Especially free from
such surprise am 1 when the reformers are
| thew who are intent on SAVING tbis land and