Litchfield enquirer., 1874-04-02

quency of offense. Let there be no. more
 sympathy for him in the way of delicacies
 and luxurles than for other criminals.
 Thus le. him feel tqat he Is a sinner, a gross offender, and let this feeling be .ths text of his medita.ions. When he Is sep
 arated from the world as a criminal lie
 will take new and a true and healthy
 view of his real condition, and in the truth
 of this view will be the hope of his amend
 ment He will be much more likely to
 come to himself Gin the Scripture mean
 ing of that phrase), when he sees himself
 as he really is-a criminal-than when ne
 imagines himself what he is not, a mere
 unfortunate. I am not HOW arguing in be- half of the rumseller or moderate drinker
 If they are guilty, let them be punished, too, to their full measure, but we must not make them the drunkard's scapegoats. When we punish the accessories to a mur- der, we never think of releasing the murder -er on that account. The community is so
 full of a maudlin sentimentality in this matter, that feel it necessary to lay special emphasis on this cardinal princi- pie, that drunkenness Is the crime of the drunkard, no matter how many helped him to it. It is wholly against Scripture to excuse him Tn any way. Urunkards are rvery glad to use the excuses with which foolish friends furnish them; excuses which would reduce all sin to accident, misfortune, and amiable weakness, and | utterly abolish the distinctions between right and wrong, which God has made in His word: Infdels delight to see Christ ian making this confusion, and so indors- ing their social theories, which deny God, and truth, and moral distinctions. Now, If Christians are to make laws for the country, let them count as crimes what God counts as crimes, and act according l ly. Let them make the distinctions which God has made, aDl be guided by the Divine counsel, and not by the theo- ries of Materialistic philosophers. Let them call sin by its right name, and SC far as it is an injury to the community, punish it.
 1 Our third suggestion brings us to the rumsellers. The name is now generally l used for those who sell rum and other in | toxicating liquors to others as beverage, | by whose direct means most of our drunk | ards are made. Of course, no man in his senses will suppose it wrong for man to sell intoxicating liquor for mechanical or medicinal purposes. Though such man should sell rum, we should not like to give him tie now opprobrious title of rumseller. When we speak Of the rum seller" We mean the drunkard- maker, the man who daily supplying the drunkard's wants, whether directly by handing the glass to the tippler, Of indirectly by pro- viding the saloon-bar from his down town wholesale store. These men know exactly what they are about. They are not dear innocents, only desiring to re- fresh their fellow-men with a healthy bev- craze, but they are thorough williams, ready to make their fortunes on the ruin of body and soul of thousands. The tip bling saloon is ss much gate to He'll as the Church is a gate of Heaven. The men who run it and support it are the Devils own. Those merchants who will fully furnish the liquor for it are as gull ty as the man behind the bar. A law must be made forbidding tippling. That strikes the sin where it begins. so for as mans imperfect police can trace. It blots out from the community the favorite scene of rows and riots. 1t squelches the nest where are matched the disturbances of the public peace -Suoh Q law would com mand the support of the great mass Of sensible men, We have now reached the other abettors of the drunkard-the mod crate. drinkers. The first question ask here is, How do the moderate drinkers abet the drunkard? Certainly not in the same way with the rumsellers. Themod- crate drinker does not furnish liquor to the drunkard. He does not make money out of a crime. Then it can only be by example or by beginning course which leads to drunkenness. As to the first ex- ample, I'm sure there are many crude and false notions ahoat; An example IS a pattern which we copy. If exercise with dumb-bells or the lift-cure for five min .utes day, and am thereby strengthened in my bodily health, surely the man who exercises with dumb-bells or ift-cure for two hours a day, and so ruins his physi- cal constitution, does not follow me as an example. He does not copy my pattern. If had been his example he would have gained health, but he departed from my example, and SO he strained his nervous system and destroyed his health. If the drunkard copied the example of the mod crate drinker he would be no drunkard. But he departs from the example of the moderate drinker, and instead of being a moderate drinker is drunkard. Ought we not to abstain for expedi- ency sake? l ask, did our Lord so abstain? He knew what was expedient, and He did not abstain. But, say some our days are different. There is more drunkenness now. If so did not our Lord know it would be so when he gave us his example? Lords day was full of drunkards. Read see what was the fearful rioting and de- bauchery of that first century. I fully believe that drunkenness was far more common vice then than now. If I had time could quote you author after au- thor that would make my statement at least a very probable one.
 And here make the charge against my total abstinence friends, with all regard for their honesty of purpose and with trae sympathy with the1r motives, that they are making very many to stumble by preaching false gospel. The churches swarm with total abstinence societies, to- tai abstinence prayer-meetings, total ab- stinence celebrations, total abstinence bands of hope, and total abstinence liter ature, until 1t is the most natural thing in the world to suppose that total absti- hence is the one great burden of the gos- pei. Now what is the natural effect of all this upon the world at large? It simply disgusts them into determination of op- position which increases the drunkenness of the land. I believe that the misguided efforts of good men in the total abstinence cause have increased greatly the evil they sought to abate. As a minority they have been always defeated in legislation in our State, when, if they would join men of moderate views, who would put down drunkards and drnnkard factories, they would win a glorious victory for true and healthful temperance. say this in no enmity or bitterness. Some of the lead CTS of the total abstinence movement are men a. whose feet It would become me to sit, men whom revere and love, men of God, with whom I take sweet counsel. Far be it from me to say one word against those faithful and excellent brethren l honor their motives and their thorough honesty; wish they would honor mine. They have sometimes used hard words against me, but do not believe that they meant them. They are too good to use islander or obloauy as weapons. We are 1 engaged in the cause of the same Savior,