The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-04-28
which are paramount to his.

that when 1t comes to CIVIL government
one may violate any of them, Il. e., the
commandments 30 long as he does not
do it to the prejudice of his fellow-men-
so long as he does no direct and immedi-
ate injury, except to himself, and no State
can interfere" !; and "that it (the State
has no authority to punish acts which are
simply Immoral, and which do no direct
injury to any one. without his own knowl-
edge end consent" and when he init
mates that morals are beyond the reach
of legislation. To protect public morals
is one of the prime objects of govern
ment. Bigamy and Polygamy are Ger.
tainly very immoral acts, and effect no
one directly, save the parties who COM
NIT them, yet they are prohibited by law
for the reason that the general practice
of either would greatly imperil society
by communicating its morals. It is not
the fact that the act is simply immoral
per Sc, but it is the evil that is likely to
flow from the frequent commission of
such acts that the law means to reach.
The right to enact Prohibitory Laws
may be based on another ground. Mr..
Brown says himself that government
has the right to regulate the sale of in
toxicating liquors, so as to prevent any
abuse on the part of those who sell it.
If, then, it has the right to repress by
imposing limitations and restrictions,
then claim it has the right to 60 step
farther and suppress it, if the public
good requires it. This must follow as
matter of necessity. If l have the right
to strike FIVE blows to accomplish IN OBJ
ject, certainly have the right, if can
accomplish the same end and necessity
demands it, to use only one blow.
Prohi6itory Aa,os infringe upon no rights
of the run'-seller. If the right to use
property as one thinks best was inherent
and unqualified, then the rum.seller
might successfully protest against paying
license. There can be no such thing as
licensing a man to do thing that he has
an unqualified right to do. Rum-sellers
have no right thus to employ their capi-
tai. 1t is privilege or franchise granted
by the State from time to time, and if
the State refuses this privilege, no right
is violated. 1t seems to me that the rights
| Of property are violated BY not passing Pro-
hi6itory Laws. The State grants the
privilege of selling liquor. Crime and
poverty follow as q consequence. TO
punish crime and to provide place for
criminals and paupers requires money.
| Before the war about two-thirds of ordi-
nary County taxes went for pauperism
and crime, and six.sevenths of this crime
and poverty was produced by liquor.
This money is raised, not by taxing the
rum-seller alone, or the inebriate, but by
taking the hard earned dollar from the
sober and industrious man, without CIV
| ing him anything in return. For por-
ton of his money (taxes) the government
gives him protection to life, liberty and
property, but for that exacted to meet
expenses incurred by the liquor traffic he
gets nothing in return. 1t is taking the
money of class in the community who
have in no way contributed to the neces.
sity of the tax, which properly should
be paid alone by the rum.seller. Is NOT
government, then, Interfering directly aoith
theIights Of property By licensing liquors
Mr.. Brown finds a remedy-"by moral
and religious infuences"-and says eff
all those pious Christians and reverend
| ministers of the Gospel" who are crying
for Prohibition so loudly would turn
their attention nearer home, they would
do more good than all the prohibitions
| on the statute books Of a State. Put
the responsibility where it properly be-
longs-frst upon our legislators and
statesmen. If they had shown half as
much zeal in the cause in the past as our
ministers have shown, the interests of
our State to. day would not be paralyzed
by this evil. The Church cannot reach
the class that need such influences. If
it could, what would it accomplish !?
Where the appeals of a loving mother or
wife, and devoted children fail, is there
much hope in appeals from others? No!
It will be done only when the law in its
majesty rises, and with its iron arm
crushes the fountain.head of the evil.
The forces are too evenly balanced for
anything save the interference of the
government tc stop it. In every town
and city in our State you will find as
maryland in some instances more-bar-
rooms than churches and schools. The
friends of Prohibition will be satisfied if
the clergy of our State will give it as
much of their influence, time and talent
as they have exerted in endeavoring to
stop intemperance by moral influences.
Those influences have been exerted for
ages, and experience, the best of teach
ers, point to the use of more effective
means.
The people are sovereign. They have
supreme right to stop crime. Prohibition
is an old right China forbade the use
of wine eleven hundred years before
Christ, and it is stranger there yet as q
beverage. Carthage banished it from
the camp. Plato approved this law.
Mohammed prohibited it twelve hundred
and fifty years ago. Then, in the blazing
light of the nineteenth century, is it not
reflection upon the chivalry, the prowess
and christian civilization of South Caro-
lima for such a nefarious traffic to be
upheld by the sanctity of law?
The great question before US rises in.
6nitely above the measurement of dol
lars and cents in our tax bills. So far as
the State is concerned, even if there
were no taxes connected with this vice;
if it was source of princely revenue;
if every drunkard's corpse could be trans
muted into solid gold, and every dram
shop was public mint; if the whole
cost of liquor in the United States (six
hundred millions of dollars year) could
be poured directly into the National
Treasury TO pay the public debt, even
then the State could not afford to encour-
age habits of intoxication. No amount
Of gold and silver can be weighed against
the loss of public virtue. The question
of morals, of happiness, of present and
eternal welfare cannot be ciphered out
in tables of currency or coin. No State
can possibly become so rich but that, if
intemperance generally prevails among
its citizens and rulers, every true patriot
may we'll repeat, with anxious heart, the
dying words of the great William of
Orange: "God have mercy on my poor
cOuntrv0