The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1885-08-17
THE ISSUING OF LIQUOR LICENSES ON
THE OTHER ISLANDS.
BY ID. NJ. CROWLEY.

EDIToH BULLETIN: In the paper
in your issue of Friday on the above
subject, that portion of the Privy
Council which voted for liquor
licenses on the other islands have
found an elaborate, if not an able
apologist. The special purpose of
the writer is stated to be to ascer-
tain whether the granting of those
licenses is lawful, and, if lawful,
expedient." The enquiry from this
standpoint would be interesting, but
the idea was apparently abandoned
as soon as thought of, and the writer
set himself to what be no doubt
thought the easier task of ringing
changes on the word Temperance"
1t would have been instructive to
those who perhaps are laboring un-
der the deluslon that they had seen
constitutional methods of law-mak-
ing in England and America, to have
explained to them by an authority
who talks "law'' and "expedi-
ency," the more excellent mode of
Hawaii in delegating to the nominees
of the King, without the aid of
parliament, the severing of such
a gordian knot as the one in ques-
ton. AS it stands now, students of
history have their imaginations carri-
ed back to the days of the first
Charles, when that merry monarch
had only one use for paliament:
but neither the "Star Chamber"
nor the "Royal Book of Games
and "Pastimes for the People" i"
quite succeeded in diverting atten-
ton from the pursuit of square
faced, even-handed legislation, nor
the general disgust at the royal i'm
pctus given to debauchery, drunk
enness and its attendant licentious-
ness.
Your correspondent cannot under
stand total prohibitionists using the
word temperance. One of the earli-
est temperance pledges of which we
can find any record in America ran
thus: ''We the undersigned hay
ing become concerned that the use of
ardent spirits is the cause of misery
and drunkenness, mutually agree to
abstain from the use of ardent
spirits with the exception of New
Years" sheep-washing day, Fourth
of July, General Training, Thanks
giving and Christmas, and we fur
ther agree that if we get drunk on
any other day than those signitied,
we will pay into the treasury of the
society 20 cents The historian
who records this pledge tells us that,
"the men who advocated it were
denounced as extremists, Zealots,
fanatics and FOOLS" although they
had ale, wine and cider to get drunk
on.
Thus the temperance of 80 years
ago has grown from restriction to
total abstinence, and the word
temperance" is legitimately re-
tanned, as, from physiological
standpoint, the temperate use of
alcohol can no more be defended
than the use of any other poisonous
drug.
Your correspondent quotes Scrip
ture to support his theory of the
existence of only one sort of wine
the intoxicating-'' from the earliest
time of which we have any record" I"
The most elementary knowledge of
the sacred writings, possessed by
any Sunday School boy, would save
the writer such an exposure OF
ignorance. In trying to draw scien-
tific facts from history l would re-
mind him of the ancient advice,
Drink deep. or taste not the Pieriar
Spring,
A little knowledge is dangerous
thing.
To he continued