Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1883-08-26
Henry A. wise on prohibition.

The great stump orator OF Virginia,
Henry \. Wise, whose Soul is marching
on" was a true-hearted lover Of freedom,
a natural Democrat, opposed TO all forms
OF se~lf-righteous abuse OF governmental
power. Touching fanatical prohibition
which in 1856 threatened to Oyerrun the
country, he said:
| give you the right hand OF fellowship
in opposition to the sumptuary laws which
have OF late years disgraced the codes Of
sSme of our States. Why, some Legisla-
lures seem to have lost the horn-books Of
personal liberty! They are for free soil
and free negroes, but war pon the liber-
ties of free white men! They seem to
have never known that there were such
things, first invented in North America, as
bills of rights, defining those which are
i%nalienable and fixing the limits Of legisla-
ton! Where was the principle OF liquor
laws to stop? Nowhere short of invading
every i~nalienablc right of individual
man. If municipal law canno touch
vested rights, much less can it invade the
natural rights of the individual person.
In such a dominion as that OF England,
they may hardly dare to contine the rights
of the person to "'air, To light and to flow
ing water" at this day; but here there
never was Il moment, since colonial times,
when the rights OF persons were not in
tinitely extended beyond those out of the
reach of legislation. Oh! but they say
that such laws are sanitary, not sumptuary.
And who made them hospitalers OF liy-
geia, health nurses for h people? Health
is about as private possession, about a.
"'iat,ts 1t IN cute, personal as any man can
be endowed with. Who created govern
ment to turn quack and prescribe physie?
"Physic to the dogs There are other
things which destroy health besides alco-
hol. Eating AZ well as drinking, gluttony
as well a. drunkenness hurts health. Will
anyone say that legislation may a
charge OF my table and my diet and APP
petite, and say what | shall eat? If they
may prohibit Il man from buying and sell
ing whisky, may they not prohibit his
planting and sowing on his own fee-simple
soil, OF his buying and selling h o
and rye from which the whisky lis dis
TILED? Again, French corsets have hurt
more the health of whole generations, have
crippled for their own lives, and for their
posterity, too, more women and children
than ever John Barleycorn slew OF men
Shall a Hiss committee be allowed by law
to inspect madame's and MISS chambers,
and see whether whalebone and hard cord
aides waists too tight? The
idea would be ridiculous. if il was not so
insufferably tyrannous. You cannot legis-
late men to morality; YOU must educate
them to liberty and virtue. Manners and
morals must begin at the mothers knee
must be trained in the schools and home
and domestic teaching must give to the
country pupils fit for the schools, and the
schools must give to the country "a people
who will require no such despotic laws.
They don't suit a people fit to be free; they
corrupt and demoraliZe 4 people already fit
to be slaves. The last source / would APP
peal to for temperance in eatingand drink
ing is Il Legislature, State or Federal. o!
We metropolitan high livers. what tales
champagne and London dock and canvas
backs, and terrapins, and oysters could
tell upon your examples OF abstemious-
ness and s~elf-denials. How YOU temper
ance tells upon your lives! and our legis-
latiOn, too, at times. The truth is, all these
''isms" come from the same indus of the
same cOcdtriJ. They come from the Scrlbes
and Pharisees, who would take care OF
others consciences; they are inventions OF
ambitious priestcraft or men who have
a little religion to help their secu-
lar affairs, and who are a little
worldly to help their religious affairs
of preachers Of Christian politics, who
are subtlely aspiring to civil, secular and
political pOwer-of men who don't rem
DER into IeSaF lHe lnlHgS men are Ndf-
sar's," nor unto God the things which are
God's-of hypocrites who would super
serviceably cut off an ear for their Master
with the sword, without his orders and
against his law, and who would deny him
thrice before the rock crew once. And
these are aided by cowardly and knavish
politicians, who either fear or faWn upon
their secret and sinister influence. We
have only to drive out all such from the
temple, as the dove-sellers were driven
out by the Master whose pure and unde-
filed religion before God and the Father
is to visit the pidow and the fatherless,
and to keep ones self unspotted from the
would ~