The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1884-05-02
Rulers a Terror to Evil Works.
FAsr.pAY DISCOURSE BY REV. S. LEWIS B.
SPEARE. MlDDLEBURY, VERMONT.

but to tn evil-Romans xiii 3.
And have no fello Sship with the untruitful
works of darkness, but rather reproVe them
--Ephesians ": H.
This day our honored chief magistrate
invites us to "turn aside from our sccu-
lar cares, and, in our places of worship,
unitedly humble ourselves before the
face of Almighty God, and with pcnl-
tence for past offences beseech of Him a
continuance of His goodness and loving
kindness to us and to all men,"
This is serious duty to which we are
thus invited by an authority entitled to
respect. | am glad that so many before
me have found it in their hearts to comply
with the invitation to the extent of thus
assembling in this sanctuary. Surely
nothing but honesty with ourselves, and
before God should have any place here.
Neither should we shrink from any proper
seriousness or boldness of inquiry in
order to see fully what the offences are,
because of which we should "humble
ourselves before Almighty God"
1t is also proper, if not necessary, that
upon an occasion like this, appointed by
the civil power, our thoughts should turn
to sins of omission or commission as citi-
zens. Our chief magistrate himself is
no more really charged with responsible
duties than is the humblcst citizen. The
rights of citizenship are a priceless trust,
and impose corresponding obligations
upon every one who shares them. And
here let it net be forgotten that citizen
ship is not limited to voters, however
true that the latter have increased privil-
eyes and duties. In the seriousness of
our present inquiry, it is fitting that every
position taken should be unquestionable.
Let me. therefore, recall Wcbster's defini
ton of citizen: GA person, native or
naturalized, who has the privilege of
voting for public officers, and who is
qualified to fill offices in the gift of the
people; also, any nativeborn or natural
lied person of either sex, who is entitled
to full protection in the exercise and en-
joyment Of the so-called private rights. ="
Hence all, with the exception of I'M
naturalized foreigners are citizens, and
are under the obligations which always
90 hand in hand with power conferred
or benefits received
With this definition in mind, let mo
ask: is there with us any failure. in
the duties of citizenship, so widespread
and so serious, as to deserve attention ut
this time when, as | think we all admit,
our inquiries should be searching, candid
and unlinchingl" For one, | have no
hesitation in saying that in our county,
beautiful for situation, rich in soil and
acquired wealth, inhabited by the de
scendants of a sturdy race, and full of
enterprises, many of them commendable
and useful, there is a state of things
fraught with most calamitous evils, and
opposed to the plainest requirements of
law, both civil and divine, viz:
orr RU{crS are nat Il terror TO eDU aC0rbS,
as they might ANIL ougt to be.
Can any one in this audience, or from
the lake to the mountains, deny this!
We have laws upon our statutes, of re-
cent and deliberate enactment, clear in
meaning, numerous and imperative in
their demands, which prohibit the dram
shop anywhere within the Dor
dcrs of this commonwealth and
yet, more than IA year ago, eleven estab-
lishments in our town, seven in another
of the county, and more or less in others
paid United States tax to carry on II
business wholly forbidden by our laws 4;
and everyone knows that there has been
no diminution in that business. Indeed,
only a week or two ago, an item in our
local newspaper announced, as current
news in Il neighbOring town, an increased
demand for saloon property. One pro
prietor, Mr.. a. b., had been compelled
to move out, that Mr.. Is. c. might oc-
cupy the premises for the same business !;
but the former would continue at another
stand One Of the pastors of this county
was a. our railway station "a few weeks
since. and found six drunken men there
waiting for the train 1t is not probable
that those six men obtained their liquor
in another town and came here to wait
for its action upon the system. But time
need not be taken to call your attention
to evidence only too abundant; drunken
men reeling about our streets early Christ
mas morning, and carried into the noun
tains Christmas night; young men of our
village helping one another home in be
sotted condition at comparatively early
hours of the evening-others lying help
less and alone in the gutter until some
volunteer brings rescue. You have only
to count the establishments whose care
lOllN SCIttlNh NlllNiONo tOftftoo ldlllCI llldll
c0nceM the iniquity going on within Our
business men unite in giving explicit and
alarming testimony to the deplorable sit
uation.
Whence this state Of HingS? At ohosc
do0r lies the terrible responSiHlHyy What
the remedy
Certainly these are not idle questions.
Do you say They cannot be answered Z"
/ think you would thus do yourself great
injustice The American people, yea, Yer
mOnters, have grappled and wisely settled
too many practical difficulties in the past,
weakly to plead inability now. Do you
say Answer to these questions will re-
quire plain neutrality-suspicious. ollense
to some whose regard you value,
and compel you to antagOnizc interests
and men that are iniammable and I'M
scrupulous?" You are only describing
the work incidental to every reform. All
battle has the possibility of death,
VIVA rinaSe and wounds but Won thank