Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-03-28
License or No License.

4 vote will soon be taken in our city
upon the question Of license or no
license, and inasmuch as the matter has
been discussed through the press 10 its
moral and religious aspect by our clergy.
and by some Of them in exceeding in
temperate language, it is but natural
that we should 90 to the Book Of Books
as the best and most authentic and au-
tholitatiye source for light upon this
subject, ana the question arises, Does
God in His Word prohibit or interdict
the sale or use Of liquor as beverage !:
His law as pronounced from Mount
Sinai in the Ten Commandments was
given under the Mosaic dispensation for
tie conduct and guidance OF His
chosen people. He says, Thou shalt
not Kill, thou shalt not steal, &C,
&c. but He does not prohibit
The sale Of liquor or interdict its use
as beverage. Itcannot be affirmed that
wine was not used in that day and gen.
Grafton as a beverage, for Noah, who Of
ell the people living upon the earth at
The time Of the deluge was alone sufi-
GENTLY righteous 10 be saved, drank,
ard the first recorded work that he did
after coming out Of the ark was to plant
a vineyard 1t is evident from the Ian
gusge used in verse &c, chapter xiv, OF
Deuteronomy, that the use Of d" wine
and strong drink" is rot prohibited.
And in this connection we also refer to
chapter H.. verse 81 chapter ill.,, verse
Is; chapter v, verse Is; chapter viii,
verse -, Of Kcclesiastes and in verse
:. chapter tx, Of the same book it is
thus written Go thy way, eat thy
bead. ard drink thy vine with a
ueiiy heart" The Old Testament is
replete with instances showing that
wine was used as a beverage in that
5ay. Even the Psalmist sings Of the
' w.re that naleth glad the heart Of
man" There are many other references
that might be made upon this subject,
hut We deem these sufficient to prove
LcyoLi ca,il or contradiction that wine
was used by Gods chosen people as a
btyersge. Now let Us turn 10 the New
Testament, and we find that st. John
states that the first miracle wrought By
Christ was to convert water into wine.
The occasion was enc of JOY and fes-
tivity. FOR It was marriage feast, and
il is evident from the account given by
he apostle that it was the custom to
use vine On occasions OF this kind, and
We nay safely conclude from the Ian
cusge used that all the wine provided
BY the ruler Of the feast for the
occasion had been used when Christ
arrived upon the scene. Now,
if lie thought it sinful and wrong to
use wire as beverage, why was tins
miracle wrought: Did He not sanction
its use by this miracle; If He had
converted wine into water and told the
assembled guests that i. was wrong TO
use vine. the contrary conclusion could
he arrived at. We do not ind either
in the Old OF New Testament that God
prohibited the use Of wine or strong drink
as beverage. Then why should the
latter day saints condemn its use a. a
moral ard religious evil One may
fairly conclude that Christ Himself
when upon earth used wine in modera-
iion, fer was lie not called by His enc.
mics a wine-bibber II the use
Of wire per 20 is so great a sin, why
should our Saviour have selected it
IS one Of the emblems TO celebrate the
Holy Eucharist, commemorative Of His
death and burial? St. Paul, the most
gifted as well as the most austere OF
the apostles, recommends the use OF
wine in moderation. So much for the
Bible against the use Of liquor as a
beverage. Now, when we come to
drunkenness, which is quite s different
matter, we find that the Word OF God
condemnsit most emphatically, as italso
does gluttony or excessive eating. That
intemperance is great evil we admit,
but because few men get drunk 10 not
attempt 10 prevent by law every one
from using liquor in moderation and
tempeIately any more than you would
deny every one from eating of a GER
tain dish because a few men make
gluttons Of themselves whenever they
partake OF the same. We are az much
opposed 10 the excessive use OF liquor
or its sale upon the Sabbath as the most
jealous Temperance advocate, bat We
do not believe that local option or pro-
bibition viii prevent its use. II VIII
Tslegate its sale to dark alleys ard cell
lars and drinking on the sly, and put II
in The hands Of law-bresking men ana
entail upon our city and State an I'M
mepse loss without any adequate re-
comperse. weregafd sgmptuary laws