The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1874-08-08
The Cecil County Temperance Convention.

ton was held in the Odd Fellows Hall,
Elkton, on Wednesday, the Goth of July.
Delegates were in attendance representing
nearly all parts of the county, including
three representatives from Excelsior Lodge,
No. 10, OF Colored Templars, of Port De-
posit.
The meeting was called to order at two
O'Clock P. NJ, and presided over by w. c.
Lake, of Chesapeake City.
The afternoon was profitably spent in
the discussion of the present status of the
Temperance question, as presented in an
address by the Past r. w. G. Templars,
John Russell and S. B. Chase, which was
read in the meeting; and on motion the
Secretary was directed to condense the
facts contained therein, for publication in
connection with our proceedings.
The following resolution was passed by
a unanimous vote:
Resolyed, That we hail with pleasure the
presence here of the representatives of Ex-
celsior Lodge of Colored Good Templars,
and we will use our influence to extend the
benefits of our Order among them in other
sections of our county.
A unanimous vote of thanks to DR..
Mackall, for his presence and counsel and
to the Editors of both our county papers
for the free use of their columns, was
adopted.
The same officers were continued for the
next session, and the meeting adjourned to
meet at Rising Sun, on the last Wednes-
day in January, 1875.
-citizens-We beg to address few
plain thoughts to those of you in all parts
of our county who favor legal suppression
of the traffic in alcoholic beverages. This
you'will readily recognize as the province
Of civil government and as being essential
ly political work. We as an organization
cannot do this work unaided by our politi
cal powers. While as an Order for the
suppression of the manufacture, sale and
use of all Intoxicating liquors, we do not
hold our members accountable for their
political actions, yet as individuals we
deem it our duty to use our political power
| to advance this object.
The whole business of manufacturing
and vending Intoxicating drinks may be
easily shown to be in violation of the sound
principles of political economy; stipend
Gus waste of wealth, producing only ma
tional poverty ignorance and immortality.
| Although some men derive a pecuniary
advantage from the tratfic-so they might
| from the sale of burglars tools or the
counterfeiter's dies. So the Government
might also derive a revenue from licensing
any injurious employment to which the
cupidity or the passions of men might in
| cite them. That is not wealth which is
not adapted to supply real want or pleas
ure of our nature. Alcoholic drinks per-
form no such functions: therefore the trade
in them is illegitimate; it adds nothing to
the wealth of the country. The transac-
ton is an advantage to the seller only,
while the seller or consumer is injured.
A colony could not we'll do without a
! Touring mill, while it would, in our opin-
ion, flourish all the better for having no
distilery.
| An article the consumption of which
tends to idleness, debauchery and crime
!, cannot prove a source of national prosperi-
;, ty, nor can it be justly or wisely taxed for
public revenue. Moreover the moral sense
of the people condemns the liquor trade as
le,n immortality while the sacred scriptures
d. ,ronounce their anathemas upon it with
h earful solemnity, saying, Woo unto him
y at giveth his neighbor drink and puttest
es bottle to him and makest him drunken
;o' That, therefore, which is morally
Nng, we conclude, cannot be politically
rht.
,asmuch, then, as the public sale Of
ut Sui drinks invites and encourages their
: puhase and use, the government, by au-
thozing or allowing the traffic, becomes
IL resInsible for the evil consequences
he Mower, ours being a government I" of
10 the eople, for the people and by the peo
, pie, We, the people, become thereby both
. moray and politically responsible for the
continuance of this unholy trade with all
J. its sa, copcQmitants. What shall we do
q therefo,. We have licensed and taxed it
with thhope of restricting and controll-
Il ing it; 1t we have found such treatment
, to be bot false in theory and Intellectual in
: practice. We take it to be the judgment
4 of all canid people who are we'll informed
:. on this suject, that the liquor traffic should
It be outlaacet
II Neutrality-suspicious. is correct in princi-
e pie, and werever and to whatever extent
It tried, it ha been found to be more effec-
n tive in SURPRISING the sale of liquors than
any other mthod ever employed. Unfor-
tunately all sch experiments have been so
J. far conductetunder the most unfavorable
. conditions.
= The enactmnt and execution of law is
not work whic churches or moral reform
societies can peferm, but it is the work of
s civil governmental its organized capacity.
1 And liberal goernment, such as ours is,
from apparent necessity, conducted through
j the machinery Q political parties. Our
any theory being that the will of a majority
ch of the electors fom the binding rule of
an action for the While people; organized
I'm parties are properl. enough employed for
- previously advertising issues, and for as
~ certaining the poplar will upon them.
Consequently, wherea question, radical in
he IS nature, is not Incorporated into the
:. reed of party, and hace not put distinct
ID in issue at the eletions it will not be
Agarded as being legtimately in politics;
L will have no organized and interested
Constituency; the Officers of government
ca have no proper political guarantee of
is support either in protecting or opposing
themeasure. Hence ais, where any con-
n' siderable number of votrs are violently
opposed to the measure is the case with
ut prohibition, the temptathn to concilate
,r them will, under such circumstances, be
. very great on the part of government Off
~ Gals; consequently, ambiguous pledges
~
" tions and candidates, only to be indiffer-
"a emily kept or violated afterwards, as per-
sonal or party interests may chance to die
tate, must necessarily produce at least two
n bad results; it must bring The question
lie itself into disrepute, and leave the coun-
II try without settled policy in egard to it.
We indict the trade in alcoholic bever-
l. ages as an illegitimate business, not pro.
). ductive of wealth. but of povety. to the
e community and the State; as cor,upting to
the ballot and the general politics Of the
country; as counteracting, by itspresence
: and pernicious influences, all tn, educa
e tional and moral forces of society; as di-
Y rectly tending to promote dleness, poverty
and crime, thereby imposing an unjust tax
r upon the honest and industrious portions
: of community, hence, as an unmitgated
o social and political evil, incapable of being
regulated or restrained by any system OF
vd legislation short of complete, faithfully
enforced prohibition.
tb, We congratulate you on the very encour.
aging omens of the times. The present
W. temDeranca Spntjmapt IF the country is