The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1876-02-26
THE Pr
Commercial AOOertiser.
S4TURDA Y. FEBRUARY %.
The Maine LIQUOR Law.


Some time ago Mr.. Murray, the British Consul at
Portland, Maine made some statements relative to
the alleged failure Of the Maine Liquor Law il the
state Of that name, which received currency in the
English press. These statements were at once taken
exception to-, and refuted by those best acquainted
with the question the officers Of the State. The
Hon. Mr.. VIM. Fox-ex-Premier Of New Zealand
having his attention called to Mr.. Murray's asser-
tons, determined to test their truthfulness By per-
sonal observation. during his passage through Maine,
while en- route for England. Mr.. Fox says be was
DESTROYS Of ascertainiug how far {" prohibition does
prohibit, - and the following was the result of his
e amateur detective experiences in Portland, as
well as his interview with the celebrated British
Consul 81 arrived at Portland about four O'Clock
in the morning. 1 deposited my luggage at the
hotel, and ttarted out on my rounds. having made
up my mind 20 perform the duty of q sort Of amateur
detective as long as was in Maine. To use q vulgar
phrase, 1 went poking my nose into every place
where liquor or drunkenness was likely to be, but
nowhere could I meet with either. began at four
o'clock in the morning, and kept that up till break
fast time. l went down to the wharves and quays,
which are more than q mile long, where all the
steamers and shipping are moored, and where drunk
enness would be probably most rife, if there were
Any, anu DeIOTe DEeakIast, l. repeat L was quite III
able TO detect any signs Of it. Well, in the course
Of the morning 1 called upon the Hon. Neal Dow.
He showed me places where it had been completely
swept away, and where there had been grog-selling
places, which are now turned into green-grocers'
stores. and after having spent q very pleasant morn
ing with him, l said, Now, l am not going to leave
Portland with your story only in my ears. We have
a British Consul here, and 1 am going to hear what
he says. know he has q different story from yours
to tell'-so. having an introduction, 1 went down to
Mr.. Murray, the British Consul. 1 found him a
most courteous gentleman. He did his best to give
me all the information in his power, and finding We
had mutual friends, we were soon on a footing of
considerable intimacy. He spoke his mind to me
without the least reserve, and allowed me to argue
with and interrogate him to any extent 1 pleased. I
am bound to say that 1 think he entertains very
strong prejudices on the question. ~Shakspere tells
us of men who cannot endure a harmless necessary
cat Now. the Maine Law seemed to be Mr.. Muir
rny's harmless necessary cat. lie alleged, as facts,
all the q priOri arguments against it, such as that it
made men hypocrites, was one law for the rich and
another for the poor, and SO forth. But when 1
asked him for facts he seemed at a loss TO supply
them. I called his attention to the statistics adduced
on the other side, such as those contained in the
Cloud Of Witnesses, and other documents, and l
begged him to tell me whether the facts stated by
General Neal Dow and others, as to the diminution
of crime, employing of persons. &C., were true or
not. Mr.. Murray candidly admitted that, if true,
they went far to prove the success of the law. Then
said l., Will you tell me if they are true or notT
Mr.. Murray admitted that he could not, and that he
had no evidence to disprove then" The Governor
of the State Of Maine, in a letter to the London
Times recently, says, $50 general has become the
conviction that the policy of prohibiting the dram
shop, on the whole, restraints the evils Of liquor traffic
immeasurably beyond any conceivable system of
licence or regulation, that all organised opposition to
the Maine Law has ceased in this State, and at
least two-thirds of our people give it a hearty sup
port" 1t is true the number of convictions against
the statute have been more numerous during the
year 1874 than in any other year since its enact
ment ; but that fact simply proves that its provi-
sions are now being honestly and rigidly enforced.
During the Civil War oil questions Of social reform
were thrown into the back ground, in presence of
the pressing e~xigencies of the times. But with 8 re-
turn to q more settled state of things, the law has
been gradually assuming its old potency, and, sus-
tanned by strong popular sentiment, is making itself
felt in the large number of convictions alluded to
above.