The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1884-10-29
FcR TIE cLasIox.
! Prohibition
BY HAnrus.

n 4 - N@A11eAANS-NS4s 44AG AAE1G04Gy " La
'. has produced 30 much excitement Al
:, angry feelings has been hurled into o
= midst by the temperance convention he
le at Nashville February last, as will appe
IN bysreference 10 the following resolution
as and thus brought into this canvass.
e. Thus you see who has forced this issl
'e into the canvass, and should the monsti
q become the Law of this fair land, you vi
n have to greatly enlarge your fail for the OF
We have will not accommodate, within i
dark dungeon, one-tenth of the poor mise
i able Wretches who will be sentenced theret,
Many strange doctrines are now ahoat
a this day OF Northern fanaticism, spiritus
rappIngs, and Maine liquor lavish. I ca
very easily do without whiskey;I seldor
J. use 1t at all; but there is a wide diferenc
: between forcing muzzle on freeman an
permitting him to govern himself; or i
forcing principle upon q man, and per
hitting him to adopt it of his own accord
: ! have always been a very temperate man
l am, therefore, no advocate of drunken
ness, yet all those who dare oppose thi
monster tyrant, this new doctrine of muz
; King the whole community, are denounced
as drunken sots.
"What people under the canopy ofheav
en- are enjoying greater portion of thi
glorious moral and religious liberty thar
we? God has showered his blessings upor
US with no sparing hand. When was oul
country more prosperous and happy? VIZ
have reached the zenith of glory and pros
perity. and are now pointed TO as the polar
star of liberty, throughout the world and
have We not thus prospered with whisky
this pretended evil, in our midst? ALI is
peace and quiet around US; yet at this mo.
ment of time there has been thrust amidst
our ranks frebrand which has created a
conhagration that is likely 10 consume all
our happiness. We have a people among
US who are not satisfied to let well enough
alone, but under the pretense of making
good better" they are only making chad
| worse" We are not trying to force them
into our customs of life, but they are trying
| to compel us 10 submit to theirs. The
Maine liquor-lawites have attempted TO do
what? To establish a religious creed by
the strong arm of the law? No; but to es-
tablish and enforce, against the will of its
opponents the temperance creed, an insti-
tuition which is only second to religious
creed, and if they have the power to do the
one they have the power TO do the other.
When Christ was upon the earth he did not
call for legislative authority to enforce his
doctrines and teachings, but he enforced
them by moral suasi0n and Godlike exam.
pie. This.is the way the cause of temper
ance should be promoted, and not by force.
am Of the opinion that if the pretended
friends of temperance persist in their vio-
lent course they will cause its total over
throw for the free and independent sons
of Tennessee-of Kings Mountain, New
n,l, Il /
so easily surrender one OF their natural,
inherent and inalienabie rights and liber-
ties secured to them by the blood of their
fathers. Go back to the glorious days OF
the revolution and see if our patriot sires
advocated such doctrine. Did not each |
farmer of that day have his orchard and |
his brandy? Did not Washington give |
his poor suffering soldiers a dram2. And !
did not Marion carry brandy in his saddle |
bags many times? Now, ask every man |
of common sense if there ever was time
chen the great luminary of heaven shone |
down upon purer patriots than lived in
those DAYS? Or will these wonderfully wise
new lights dare say that our glorious faith
ers were ignorant, drunken sots, unworthy
the name of patriots? We declared war
against our mother country because she
levied tax on tea and paper; it was not
the amount of the tax that produced the
war; but the principle involved was the
object Now fellow-citizens the question
before you is not whether whisky is bles-
sing or a curse; whether you love it or hate
it; or whether you will cut down your fine
or let your fruit rot on the ground
and deprive yourselves of cider-the deli
cious and wholesome juice of the apple =
Just to crafty the within and false notion
of another? But the question is: viii
you permit that constitution, laid down by
the friends of liberty, to be trampled in the
dust? Are you competent to govern your
fresides? Are you capable of controlling
your own families, your own tastes and
appetites7 Or will you surrender to those
over-wise, over-righteous men the right to
indirectly appoint your oVerseer, task
master who is to measure and allowance
your mouth, stomach, taste and appetite
DR., in other words, will you be. freemen or
will you be slaves"
In my first article, dated about the
last of August, used the expression ga
few fanatical preachers" That express
zion does not include all the clergy, nor
lid l so intend by odds. / only meant
what said, "a .fe,c." Now l mean to
include among those fer, all those preach
srs who have left their bibles and turn
ID to politics, and those who consider
themselves attacked by me and make
light upon my articles. If the cap fits,
ct them wear it. And | further say,
place them in my estimation with Cotton
AIather, who, 200 years ago, was at the
read of witch-hanging, and at one time
ode on horseba ok around the gallows
,xorting the people and the hangman to
execute an innocent brother preacher,
md actually had it done, because the
1ictim did not believe in witchcraft
ike himself. / have the highest respect
;or preachers in their proper places, but
when they lay down their bibles and
urn their pulpits into polical rostrums,
md undertake to dictate the legislation
If the State, | then lose my respect for
hem. This carries me back in history
% the DAYS of Thos. A. Beckett, when
,he nod of the Pope ruled all Europe.
hope never to see such times in Amer
ca.
have written no reply to any attack
1pon any of my articles. / don't expect
%. They are public property. They
we're written prior 10 those attacks, but
lelayed in getting through the press.
Several who attack and misrepresent my
articles fiy off at a tangent, and use the
ibsurd argument, that if oppose pro-
aibition / am in favor of freedom to
Murder, etc. Now don't the most silly
year old boy know, that there is a
rare difference between two men, one
IF whom is good, quiet citizen, good
1eighbor, q good father and good hus-
band, but only occasionally, when he
feels like il, takes his toddy in modera-
ion and never gets drunk; while the
,ther commits cold-blooded murder, q
assassination. Such absurdi-
lies are the whole of the logic of prohi-
Ditionists. They set out upon the silly
assumption that any man who drinks
Iran at all, is as great criminal as the /
murderer or assassin. It is not worth the
ink and paper to attempt to confute
such arguments. The position is at
once an absurd one, and Of corrse we
can expect nothing but absurdities to
sustain it.
Also, in attacking my articles, they
say at is lie''-sswe are all Democrats
and not aiding Radicalism. Now does
that not prove exactly what said?
Were you all Radicals who are prohibi-
tionists and voting for st. John, yon
would not weaken the Democracy there
by, but would strengthen it, for your
votes would not 90 20 Blaine. Now
don't any man who has teaspoonful
of brains know that every vote taken
from the Democratic nominee weakens
him that much Why, suppose every
Tlanorrak in UissisSinni vote far ST