The Bozeman weekly chronicle., 1888-12-26
PROHIBITION.
Historical View Of Laws and Ediots for
suppressiug Strong DRINK

No person familiar with the history If
prohibition from the oarliet times ever
had the slightest confidence in il as n
pracli. al principle uficmmrsnce ref 'rm
The idea is as old as The history of ma.
The Egyptians under the Phiraol s II
acted stringent pr ,iitbitarc laws, In |
$500 B. o., the Cl,inese Empe tr ban's
ed tn, invsnter of rice wite from his
realm and prohibited the use Of it with
out snccess. More than 1910 wears be-
for Christ, grape wine MAS ,i>sd N
China, bnt in consequence Of it's irnbiii
tion in latter cen urics all the Chinese
| vineyards were DESTROY ed. and us Il r'snlt,
| the Chinese, deprived oftlieir lig} win.
went back to the strong intoxicaht of
rice wine and opium The Romans
passed prohlbitory laws against wine
drinking to no purpose. The Gauls had
their prohibitory laws, all the vineyards
being destroyed by order of Domitian,
A.. D., 92, but beer took the place of wine
and increased intempcrance was the re-
suit. Monamet in the Koran, forbade
the use of wine or ardent spirits, and the
Turks in consequence have taken to
opium, and though strict "prohibitionists"
are socially and morally the most de
graded nation on earth. The old Ger.
mans were great drinkers and the sunip-
tuary laws of CIlarlenagne were sevtre
eaou sh to satisfy Gen. Fisk, but none of
the laws of this able despot succeeded in
| enforcing total abstinence. Ardent spirits
were not generally introduced in Europe
until the fifteenth century, andto check
the increased intemperance in all the
European states the drinking Of ardent
spirits was forbidden under severe
penalties, but without avail, The Saxon
King Edgar In 95Ss ordered all the ale
houses suppressed, fave one in every
village. In the Wars Of the Roses the
people became very inempeiaie. and
the number Of iaverns was limited and
n, liquor allowed to be drunk on the
premises. All these laws were failures
and intemperance inc 'eased under them.
In the year 1876 great effort was made
\ in England to put down liquor drinking
bv the strong hand. Sir Joseph Jekyll
was the leader Of the reform party, and
under his persuasion parliament levied
a tax of 20 sh 'llings ON every gallon OF
liquor sold at retail, and Obliged every
, retail seller to pay a license fee of $5C
per year. The avowed objects was ,e
tax the traffic out of existence. Sil
Joseph Jekyli called ii prohibitory tax
and meant it to orerate as q complete
suppr esser Of the sale and use of Intoxi
Gazing drinks. Sir Robert Walpol,
4 opposed the passage of the law but 1t was
passed in spite of him. The result vindi
Gated Sir Roberts judgment. The lay
was found impossible of enforcement
=, liquor was everywhere defiantly sold
and the Jacobites, taking advantage o
the intense popular feeling against tn
law almost succeeded in bringing abon
a successful insurrection of the mob il
favor of the exiled Stuart prince. Th
!. Czar of Russia for long time prohibite'
: the Use of tobacco, under the penalty q
torture, humiliation and death, but il
vain. James the first, of England, trie,
to prohibit the use of tobacco, OF tn
policy of prohibition Abraham Lila
coin once said: prohibition will wo
= great injury to The cause of tcmperanc,
~ 1t is species Of intemperance in itsel
for it goes beyond the bounds of reasor
- - III that it ATTEMPTS 10 control man'
= appetite by legislation, and in maxim
:, crimes out Of things that are no. crlmei
A prohibition law strikes blow at th
very principle on which our governner
was founded" Samuel r. Tilden an
Horatio Seymour are on REGARD again.
Il prohibition, and Grant said IL kno'
from nv own experience that whsn
was at West Point, the fact that tobaa'.
in every form was prohibited, and II
mere possession "f the weed sevege'
punished, made a majority of the calr,
myself included try "a a,qnire the hab
Of using it."
Frlncis MUIR l,r, the eveat temporan
NHatr, said: The ''gieiainre rann
nr.la NAM npia'iite.
The law ti,ps Ne save q nan. If Mos
could ha, Q savfd lm law he wnisid lie,
the Christ. ard iher. WOULD have bet
no need of another Savior"
Sanh,rl III C"bb, The rr,rceto'
Review, says: III it is ri III in this ca
IL 10 riri,t II, my t.a - IA, ,,l u.,,n n