The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1884-10-01
PROHIBITION.
By FABrus.

present themselves in the political arena,
whenever the least opportunity seems to
psesent itself, Of aiding and supporting
their peculiar dogmas BY the strong arm Of
thelaw
The commandments of God, the exam
pies Of the patriarchs and the preeepts and
examples Of Christ and his Apostles, seem
to have lost all their beauty and loneliness
to them; and like roaring lions" they go
about crying, Power, Power, Power
We have heard several harangues from
this source, setting forth that as all the
various means heretofore adopted to pre-
vent drunkenness and intemperanee had
proved abortive. that it is now the duty OF
Government to adopt the policy of Total
Prohibition Of intoxicating liquors from
the State Being fully persuaded that
this new scheme will affect the desired
object, they have resolved to prosecute the
cause to that end, regardless of the powers
| of Government al organized in this country,
| and the rights of individuals and property
| as organized by the constitution and laws
| of the State This is truly "higher-law"
doctrine based upon this fat of fanatics and
bigots; that intoxicating drinks are per
se a curse, an evil, and as such must be
expelled from the country except for med
ical purposes.
Now if this hypothesis be true, there
| would be good reason why government
should be so organized as to empower the
Legislature to expel it from the country !;
but if false, then the whole fabric must fall,
the foundation being taken away. Is it
| true that intoxicating liquors are curse
/ and an evil? For the benefit of the rev.
erends referred to above, We will first offer
/ a few of the hundreds of instances to be
| found in the Old and New Testament, in
/ the practice of the Patriarchs, the COM
mandments of God and the acts and doings
of our Lord and Saviour. But before | go
| further, permit me to say that / am not
the apologist of the drunkard, or the intern
perate but have practised temperance for
over sixty years; and show daily by my
works that delight in the pleasures there
| of though | am a cordial hater of false
principles, Religions Bigotry, and Political
| Franaticism. Now for the evidence.
| Isaac, when pronouncing the blessing
upon his son Jacob, drank wine and said:
"God give thee OF the dew of heaven and
the fairness of the earth, land plenty of corn
and wine, Gen. xvii, 25-2S. Now ac-
cording to the opinion of some of our reyer-
ened Tetotallers, this would be to give him
plenty of corn and evil. Again, in the
| blessing given by Jacob to his son Judah,
| he says ''his eyes shall be red with wine,
| and his teeth white with milk"-Gen.
l XLIx-I2th V. God said to Isreal The
would bless the fruit OF theis' land, their
corn and wine, and OIL" Deut. vii-13:-
| "the children of Israel are commanded to
use wine !-Deut xiv-33. Moses says:
"the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a
land of corn and wine. "-Deut. xxxiii-28:
The Prophet Nehemiah reproved the Jews
for depriving their bretheren oil their vine
Yards and their wine-Neh. v. 2. "The
sons of the stranger shall not drink thy
wine for the which thou hast. labored, ; So
they that have brought it together, shall
drink it into the courts OF my holiness
Isaiah Lxu, SO. Solomon in praising
God says: che rauseth the grass to grow
for the cattle and herbs for the service of
man, (how, readerl that he may bring
forth food out of the earth and wine that
makeih glad the heart of an."-Psalms
civ. 14-l5. David deals out fagon of wine
to eachssone of the men and women of the
whole multitude of Israel,-2d Samuel,
vi, chap. 18th v. What think you of this,
Mr.. Tetotaller: thou shalt bestow thy
money for whatever thy soul lusteth after;
for wine or for strong drink; or for what
soever thy soul desireth and thon shalt
eat before the Lord thy God, and thou
shalt rejoice, thou and thine household. y
Deut. xiv.-26. could go on to fill your
paper with quotations from the Old Tesla
ment, showing the use of wine by the illus
trious Patriarchs and Prophets without
word of reproof from the Almighty except
for drunkenness and excess in its use. 1t
somehow or other happens that when man
undertakes to correct evil and do good, that
he beats God Almighty long ways, and, AS
we say, "lays him in the shade"
If some Of our Tetotallers will tell me OF |
vented any man from misfortune by putting |
it out of his power to do wrong, [ will |
acknowledge the instruction. Ii it was
wrong for the Jews, the people of God, to
use intoxicating drinks, why is it that the |
dive Lawgiver did not inhibit its use
but on the contrary, commands them to use
it in qualification of their appetites or de-
sires. | know that some men, hard pressed,
have been silly enough to dispute that the
ancient wines were intoxicating drinks or
liquors, but this is only a betrayal OF wanton
ignorance, for the reason that the very
histories, both sacred and profane, that
inform us of the existence of those wines
relate also their intoxicating effects on
those who used them to excess fSee Lot
and Noah.) Hundreds of passages in The
Old and New Testament condemn the
of those times. Notwithstand-
ing the Bible is full of condemnation to
and other evils, have never
been able to find one single sentence there
in to condemn the temperate use of wine
as a beverage, nor one sentence recon-
total abstinence as the duty of
man. Let as now go to the New Testa-
ment, and see what example Christ and
his Apostles have left us in reference to
this matter. We find the Saviour him
self preached a sermon on the Mount in
which We find him abiding to almost every
vice; yet, not one word against the Fem
perate use of wine; but it is little remark,
able that the first intimation in opposition
TO its use in the New Testament seems to
come from the enemies of our Saviour. / I
AXE it that they were the phsrisees of those l
lays religious ascot for the Saviour it would
Jeem incurred their peculiar displeas- ,
ire. Il is said that "John came neither !
Eating nor drinking; they say he hath I
! devil, the SON of man came eating and
thinking, and they say behold man glut- !
onous and wine-biber, friend of publ :
ans and sinners. Matt. xI-18-19-I
NOM1 4ct0bdAAOtj WGAC HUI NutSS
'rothers of yours that thus condemned their
ord and Masterl "By their fruits ye shall :
now them" Do you not condemn me Z
nd others now for the same thing-do you I
ot call us rummies and rum-suckers. be-
ause.we will not adopt your doctrine of \
But we have futher evidence D
the Saviours views about the use of wine. 81
We find him turning water into wine at a
'edding in Cana of Gallilee, the accounts a,
which You find recorded John ii. 6:12) "
abusive. The circumstances under which n
lis act was done, showed that he did not
1nsider it improper either to drink wine :,
: to administer it to others as beverage. ~
Mt the conclusive proof made in this case -
, that il was better wine than the BRIDE "
room had provided for the feast. It will
1t do to say that this was only display a
the power of God in working miracles, tn
lat it was really no wine-for this would tn
to accuse the Saviour of fraud and impo-
ton and to deny the actual performance th
the miracles as related BY the eTangel- an
|. Ia
Permit me to say, IN conclusion, that /
ppose have as much right to express ~
: views upon all public questions as any Il
her voter in the State, being equally in ~
rested in the public welfare, aud let the II
opls Judge what those views are worth.
propose to give my views freely and i
lnkly, but do not propose to discuss pro- ~ ~
bition from the end Of a hickory stick, ~
the mouth Of revolver, with every Y.
ackguard who sees ct to differ with me Sa
defer me insult BY publishing scurrilous
Dductions, composed of insulting epi- ST.
sts, slang and personal abuse. When tas
nan resorts to such means in argument, vi
IS clear evidence that he is beaten, or is est
yocating Z bad cause that cannot be
stained By mild and legitimate means. tn
e above will apply TO your correspon- ext
nt from BrookhaYen. He denounces wa
bius IS whisky demagogne, and brands SUI
a with ignorance. admit was totally Z
lorant that there VS. such man il our ~
lie, until saw his name at the tail A.