The Portland daily press., 1888-02-17
The Personal Liberty Parry.

The much heralded movement begun in
Belfast to smash the pruhibitory law and
substitute a license law in its stead will need
to grow good deal before it is big enough
to wrestle With any hope Of success with
the task it has set itself about. There are
at present about one hundred persons con-
nected with il. Before they can succeed in
their work they must get resolve through
both branches of the Legislature, submitting
an amendment to the constitution repeating
the prohibitory clause They then must get
majority of the voters to nifty this amend
ment. Next they must succeed in prevail
ing upon the succeeding Legislature to re-
peal the prohbitory law and enact license
law. 1t needs q great amount Of courage for
men who are acquainted with the sentiment
of the people If this State as 1t has been cx-
pressed over and over agalu at the polls and
at the con, entions Of both the great parties,
to start in on such a WORK as this. But
hundred men have been found in Belfast
who think they have the requisite courage.
The movement has been launched by hiring
hall and passing the following preamble
and resolution:
Whereas: Fer nearly third of century the
ps ohibitory law, SO called. has Oeen p art OF the
statutes / this State, and for several years has
Leen part OF the organic Law. and the expert.
ence of an these years has demonstrated 10 all
fair thinking men That ithas utterly failed 10 ac
cumplsli the result which the eriginators thereof
ha,l Ia view; while it has failed to pr ollibit or
even .cssen The sale and consumption VI intpxicat-
Ing Liquors. il has legazed and encouraged q sys-
TEN OF isqiohe espionage that has become abhor-
rent 10 and lntolerable by, ali decent aud law
abiding people who value personal rights aud OBJ
jet, TO HE importation Of foreign spies clothed
with utluriiy to invade the sacred privacy of the
a. fiC circle II nroyidae the conviction
and puuiallneiittf person four times Tor sub
staitially he same offense, and has changed the
presumption of innocence, which Is as old as law
Itself, into the presumption Of guilt 1t provides
for The appointment Of cranks and recklessper-
sons OF All asses RS special constables, ard {
powers them 10 force eve.y person 10 the State TO
tell whether they have bought and d. unk any in
toxcating liquors and TO entrap bytricks and
subterfuges The unwaiy into violating the law Tor
the purpose of furnishing him therefor.
Whereas: While we believe In torciDle, non
orabe an Impartial enforcement OF said law In
every part dr The State long as IL shall remain
law, sn ply b cause is the law, we are innexi
bly, ana unalAcIably opp, sed e. this law and de-
lnand its repea md the enactment IN It's s,ead OF
judrlous license law whereby the sale OF intox-
eating liquors may br properly and safely regu-
lated and restrict.d d, ana the low groggtIles the
lcgi ialae ffsprnlg II prohibition, may be forced
10 disappear; Therefore,
Resofued: That we will work and vote for the
acconp iShment Of the aforesad result.
Now even II the statements in these
resolutions were facts the task of get
ting rid of the prohibitory law would
be a difficult one; but as many OF the
most important OF them are not facts
the task becomes well n Oh hopeless. In the
first place the assertion that the prohibitory
law has utterly failed to accomplish the re-
suits which the originators of it had in view
is not a fact. The origiDators of the law
had in view the suppression of the liquor
II h..e 1oro Cd
that traffic. 1t is not true that it has utterly
failed. In the second place the assertion
that the law empowers spies to ''enter the
sacred privacy of the domestic circle" is not
fact. The privacy of the domestic circle"
is just as inyiolate to an officer in pursuit of
rum as to an officer in pursuit of stolen
goods. Neither can enter it unless armed
with warrant issued by the court. 1t is
not true that the law has changed the
presumption of innocence into the presump-
ton of guilt. The Supreme Court has eX-
pressly decided that the prima tdcie clause
does no such thing, and that no such thing
can be done by the Legislature. 1t is not
true that the law provides for the appoint
ment Of cranks and reckless persons" to
seize liquors. When it is represented to the
Governor by a certain number of reputable
citizens that the officers whose duty lis are
not enforcing the law he may appoint special
officers to 10 so. 1t is not true that slow
groggeries are the legitimate offspring Of
prohibition" They exist in cities where free
rum prevails and where license, both high
and low, is the fashion. They are the prod
net of no system of repression but are found
under all systems. So much for the state
ment of facts in this manifesto. Now for its
assertion that the sale of intoxicating liquor
may be properly and safely regulated" by a
license law. Experience has abundantly
shown that there is precisely the same diff
Guilty with license law that there is with a
prohibitory law. Both laws are evaded. Men
sell liquor under both of them who have ne
right to. One undertakes to entirely prohib-
it the liquor traffic and fails; the other UNI
dertakes to partially prohibit the liquor
traffic and fails. Why failure of the latter
sort should be more tolerable to temperance
men, as these Belfast gentlemen claim to be,
than a failure of the former kind it is
hard to see.