The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-05-05
Prohibition.

Prohibition.
Mr.. EDITOR: notice in your issue OF
the 21st ult. a communication over the
signature of Wv. Brown on the sub
jject Of the States, right TO prohibit the
sale s;of liquor i disagree with my
young friend, and while I boast no abili-
ty o<measure. swords with him, ] will
offer the following for his consideration.
He says
]. Such a lrw transccnds the true aim
and object of cio;t government"
Isshch the case9 Think not. Vattel
isays:saA State is a societyof men united
together to promote their mutual safety
and advantage by means oftheir union. !"
He also says sit is necessary that there
should be established 9 public authority
to order and direetwhat ought to be done
by each insrelation to fheiend of the as
ISOLATION And..again: SIT is evident
from the very act.of the civil or political
association, that each citizen subjects
himself to the anthorityyof the entire
body in everything that'srelates to the
common welfare So weSsee the State
has the right to pass any law that may
tend to the common veal.
Bnt it unnecessary to a proper uEder-
standing of the subject that We know
what are the true aims Of civil govern
ment. They are, says Vattel-1st. To
procure BY united effort plenty. End. To
procure the happiness ofsthe citizens; !;
and, Sd. To protect thessubjects from
external attacks. We win try to keep
IN view our object, viz: To show that
the State has Cue right to prohibit the
sale.of liquor. The state;has a right to
pass. any law that will attain the end or
aimsAof civil gorsrnment.r.
1sts To procnre plenty. The State has
the right to prohibit any thing which
takes from its citizens the necessaries Of
life. It takes corn,rye, time and labor
to make liquor. The use Of it destroys
the industry, talent health and even de-
stroys the citizens themselves, aud there
by. Heakens the, State itself.
End: 70 procure Happiness. 1t is not
enough to have plenty, for one may be
rich and at the same time unhappy -yes,
miserable Can man be happy and at
the same time immoral2 Is;not morality
essential TO happiness The latter can
not exist without the former. Such is
the language of Vattel. Now, if moral
ity Isl essential to happiness, and it is the
duty of the State to procure for its citi-
zens happiness, which ''ia the centre to
which allsthe duties of man and q peo-.
pie tend, and is the powerful spring that
puts all men in motions" has not the
State the right to pass any law which
will accomplish this object?l While the
State may not :be able to make amoral
beings. it should try to Improve the
morals of its citizens.
ard. The third object or aim of civil
government is to protect the citizens from
external attacks. I will mention under
this head the capture of Troy.
We, have tried to show that the State
has the right to pass any law that will
accomplish the objects of government.
Would Prohibition add anything to our
wealth9E According 70 political economy
every bushel of corn that is made into
whiskey and used to no benefit makes
the State that much the poorer. If by
the use Of it time is wasted, talent,
health, industry, and even men are de-
stroyed, has not the State the right to
prohibit, as for as possible, this evil?
Shall the State stand back and say
ssThere.is an evil, but we can't reach it"
No. Where there is q wrong there is a
remedy.
But that is not ell. A temperate per-
son hassan advantage over an intemper-
ate person in the chances of life, which
differ at different ages as follows:
Ace Temperate. Iutemperate.