Saint Mary's beacon., 1878-04-12

psDlics may moi Dc Improper Tor ne
. claim space IN your toIamns 70 give
6aprsse5en 60 The Opinions ! have and
q e1.s stain, alfhoueh slready acted
upon " our i1te legislature.
Citizen seems 10 have welded his
pen dexterously against the illogical and
falIacious arguments of Observer and
has clearly, even forcibly, presented the
true conditions ofthngs very much to my
pleasure and satisfaction, while on the
subject Of local option he seems to pre-
sent the amusing spectacle Of . man
convinced against his will.
am, . 4 have always been, an anti
local Upfiuuist. First, the passage OF such
. law lseafesee1 i Illegal. aid End, if Il
c6gid be made . Iaw. 4 would be unres-
sonabie 10 hope for its faithful rxecu-
ton. I am no lawyer, but hope you
viii allow me 10 quote from BEskistone
% sabstantiste what have SAID.
In ibe explanaiion Of bis de6aition Of
municipal law, be says u is rRie, ssEot
TRANSIENT, sudden order from q supe-
sior TO OF concerning particular per-
son; but something Permsnent. Uniform
and wnirersaf; therefore particular act
Of the legislature 20 con6scate the goods
Of Titus OF to attsint him Of high trea-
son, does not eater into The idea OF .
municipal law, for the operation of this
law 10 upon Titus only snd has
no relation 20 the community in general;
Il il rather sentence than Law"
Local opsion Is sn indirect se5zkssee
against the laborer, who. Of all others.
needs nc times some stisnulani, while
the wealthy can revel in the luxuries
which the distilleries afford. lam well
aware that those Of our county who
have never known the absolute need Of
dime end whose interests and obser-
vation have told Of the sad effect Of the
immoderate use Of drink, will declare.
without reflection, that the very poor
under such law, would have the same
rights as the more wealthy, but unless
the laborer could purchase his dimes
worth OF the same article as could the
rich man with his dollars, his rights
would only be nominal and therefore
not rights. Local option, therefore, can
never be . law, but an ingenious sen
fence to make the peasant more obedient
10 The prince. We all enjoy the rights
Of suffrage, butif we attach the penalty Of
death 10 sn improper vote or make eve-
ry man pay . ten dollar poll tax, the
rights of many would live but in name.
Another view. Blackstone continues
in the way OF absolute rights to say
"Let raan be ever so abandoned in his
principles or vicious in his practices,
provided he keeps his wickedness to
himself and does not offend against the
rules Of public deceny, he is out OF the
reach Of human laws. But If he makes
his vices public, though they be such
as seem principally TO effect himself, las
Drunkenness or the like) they then be-
come, by the bad example they set, of
pernicious effects TO society: and, there
fore, il is then the business Of human
laws tocorrectthem" drunkenness, 6e).
From this declaration of learned and
able lawyer. you will perceive our leg
islature can prohibit drunkenness or the
like but not the meaas thereof. II can
and does say, "Thou shall not kill, "
which is in thorough accord with the
natural and revealed law, but no law
making bo1y~ car sSegge siie use Of the
various instruments OF death, such as
pistols, knives, grind-stones, plows-
nay, even broom sticks-for If they can
say whiskey shall not be sold in any
county or State, they can say musical
instruments shall not be used, less the
Iorbor should be, in measure, taken
from the field. a = n571os o
In Russia, we are told, that the Gar
Peter established Q law, that no subject
might petition the throne till he had
frst peiitioned the different ministers OF
State. IN case he obtained justice from
neither. he might then present third
petition to the prince; but upon pain Of
deafk if found to be in the wrong; the
consequences ofwhich was, no one dared
such third petition and grievances SCI
dom falling uhder The notice Of the SOW
ersign, ne bad little opportunity TO
redress then. While such . law might
quell the spirit litigatious, It was certain
w subversive Of liberty. eH PAGE o'
All the commentators of that age de-
eide that this declaration Of the Czar
was not lao. but sentence 20 which alf
Iitigants must conform; yet this law eff
fecisd those interested in suits Just to
the same extent that does local op-
ton Che very poor man. The former
secured no right, because IL could and
woald never be enjoyed; the latter to-
cal option) allows in words, oil the right
to purchase whiskey out ofthe county,
but virtually prohibits the poor--a right
they cannot enjoy or use and therefore no
right bur q sentence 10 the effect that
drink skall not be had BY the poor thirs-
ty laborer--by those Who most need It's
salalary influence. - asf9
They may have local option in Maine,
but yAo knows how il operates ! But
Mas.se 10 q Northern State. You can't
ind local option in force in the South
ern States where les use becomes PAL
pabIe necessity to the laborer--Otten
The cheapest medicine in tropical climes.
If local option should ever become a
sentence, | will soon look for the pro-
hibstiou Of laudanum.
But, Nessrs. Editors, apart from all
these considerations, admitting the le-
aality Of the law, could. seri0Hslys eoald
We hope for Is faithful execution :
Have we not q law prohibiting gam
bling, &C.. yet in how many eases has
Il been enforceds Let us see that the
laws we have are fully and squsrely
meeted out before We tack on others Of
doubtful effect. less by over-legislatioa
We inure our citizens 20 insincerity and
deeply root in our community dispo-