Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1873-11-21
CORES poudeues % tAs Boston j,ugna.
Ihr temperance Reform ia Montpelier.


o. wa- -,me,hing Ike s. year ago tha;
gave You 10 thi> correspondence an account
ol the origin and progress oi ;he temper
an.r movement, ca,lel-iu this place.
The work hegan with few women. IN the
alarm which they naturally experience az
the encrsag ghments at intemperance. IN their
desire - aye frcm the results ef gnFe-
strained drinking. AMI in their wishes o.
bless and do good Their designs were
purely those oi hrneyuI-nrr AMI charity.
Their iir-. ar,aniErd effort wl- 81 get up
meeting. iu which IN an informal. w4y there
mighf ie comparison ot views. TINS
meeting was held On a sabbath evening IN
June. lS-2. The services consisted oi scrip
,ure readings. PRAYER. .the singing nt appro-
PIRATE hymns. and snort speeches by several
gentlemen This meeting was followed By
another. ANA that still Us another. and -
ON until tie present time. Daring this
period nearly every phase oi the temper
ance question has been discussed. Not
always have the meetings been entirely har-
moniou~. excepiiug in tli> one thing-the
purpose % re,i~, the improper Use OF in
toxicating drinks Both legal ana moral
SuaSion had their aducaJe>. though do
NOT apprehend that thefu-mcr hardly anti
ciplted the results lth3t have been reached.
The meetius~ have almost always been
well attended and not uuirel Hcutly Village
Hall has been packed with attentive listen
err 10 the debate. Mainly the speakers
have been iouud IN this place. the >trunEer>
transientiy H. town having offered liberal
aii. Among the home speakers have been
four or five different c.ergymen. TWO or
three lawyers. and Saymen quite number
If clergyman has come into town FOR
sunday he has been pressed into The service.
But the ladies hays not relied upon these
agencies alone. They hafe done -1me not
very pleasant missionary work among the
dealers in intoxicating levera se-. such a.
printing and distributing an abstract of the
law against selling, and petiti1uiug dealers
30 cease their Illegal TRANSACTIONS. In some
cases they have made visits in person and
entreatri men % stop selling.
Il is uatural here 10 inquire sac result oi
al. this Il H. not pretended ;h1l all has
been accomplished which is desired. but
lhat much good has been dome IL j. NOT pos
,ihle a. deny The first rr~iiJ WIS "a better
general sentiment upon idr subject The
pledge was circulated aud 4nilr extensively
signed NJ. exclusively either hy strict
~ temperance men rii> VA followed 10y
some notifications in iA- practices rf the
dealers They dad not. O., De -are. cease
their sales. Far from 10. Bat ilencc~
against the law We're les open and les ire
quent The next result was the election IN
March last OF town officers who were favor
able ta the temperance law and ITS enforce
meut and this was followed again by .
still farther restriction Ia the sales Pre-
YiouS to that time IL Wa. not an uucamniou
thing to see intoxicated men uu the streets
hut since then Sutri sights have been rarely
me; with few men perhaps dozen
since March-ha,e been arrested for drunk
enneSs. aud ia eyersca~e have been forced
To- disclose the name Of tht party % whom
they obtained their drink
Eut the most important work ha~ been
done hy the County Court and the County
Grand Jurors. At the opening of the term
on the second Tuesday OF September Judge
Peek. " ho is learned man aud an able
Judge. charged the jury upon the subject of
the prnhihitory llw in no doubtful terms.
lie said the law wa- one % he obSery ed as
well Is any other in the hooks. and it was
the duty ui the iuror~ tp find nut offences
against il. IL any had been committed. A.
much rs Infringement OF any other law.
| nder such 4 charge the States Attorney
and Grand Jurors went to their work The
result or their Investigations was the find
inc of true bills against 4 considerable num-
Der oi persons in the c1unty for infractiOns
I Ol thus law. Not little excitement follow
{ ell. and there was some hdSt.ing to and 70.
/ The indicted embraced respectable drug
giSiS up stairs a we'll as grocery keepers
down stairs. and iirs;-claSs hotel keepers as
well aS those Of less pretentions The more
prudent among them settled by paving the
prescribed fines. and others stood trial Thus
/ far six have been tried by the Courts. One
was acquitted one goes free till the next
/ term OF the Conrt through the failure OF the
| Jury to agree. and four were found guilty.
/ None Of them. however. have submitted To
the yerdicts of the jury. bat all have ap-
I peaied Meanwhile the things done in the
4 line Of liquor selling a-e done in 4 corner
( and with more caution than ever
Still another result of the work here i
{ the stimulus which has been given to Il
/ elsewhere. Sabbath afternoon or evening
temperance meetings are very common in
many places in the State. Ii is not proba-
bic. however, that anywhere j. the agency
OF legal Suasion followed mp As i. i here Ii
is not pretended hy any means that there /,
no Illegal selling. bat transactions are much
diminished and good has been done The
meetings for the past few weeks have been
crowded There Is no sign OF abatement in
the interest. near or remote, hat quite the
reverse. The friends of the law manifest
no unkiadnesS toward offenders, but tn,
statute they feel, must be observed
DEaING.