Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1894-04-10

ton: NV nat meanetn then I1lS DIcaJ-
ing of the sheep in mine ears, and this
lowing of the oxen which ! hear!'
"Wherefore then didSt thou not obey
the voice of the Lord. but did fly upon
the spOils, and didst evil in the sight
of the Lord!n II will not return with
thee: for thou hast rejected the word
of the Lord, and the Lord hath reject
ed thee from being King over Israel"
Here the spells of the wicked were not
to he taken and held as revenue by
those who professed to be Gods fol-
lowers, but were to be utterly destroy
ed. But Mississippi Craftsmanship,
backed by Mississippi Ecclesiasti
cism, has found out n better and more
convenient way. Get the money into
the treasury for the deliberately ne
gotiated privilege of carrying on an
infamous wrong, under restrictions
formulated by religionists. and then
when the business has debauched
the purchaser of the privilege so as to
lead him into the violation of the re-
strictivc measures, as the first parties
to the contract know will likely be
the case. withdraw his privilege ard
sell it to another to be equally de
bauched thereby, aud rob him OF his
money as SO much spells to the Chls-
tian victors of the State! My God,
what II game for noted clcrgymen to
be helping to play at i'll this the clos
ing decade of the nineteenth century
of the Christian era.
But this remarkable article that de
dominates the liquor licensing law OF
Mississippi "thc excellent measure,'
says further: "Thc Legislature of
Mississippi, now in session, is decid
eddy Prohibition in sentiment,' and
that "the excellent measure" passed
10y it ''practically puts in the hands
of Probibitionists soon to carry seven
Fights of the counties in the State
Now what is to become OF every eighth
county. and who is responsible for the
degradation that must cnsuc to inno-
cent and helpless minoritics i'll consc-
qucnce of the concentration of this in
famous business upoa them by the
legislature of whole state? If the
Legislature is Prohibition in Senti-
nient, and because of that has passed
Il local option law that will rid seven
curse, why did that Legislature first
pass IL license law to damn every
eighth county! 1t was doing business
for whole State. and ought to have
been more careful, if amy difference,
to protect innocent and helpless mi
norities from evil influences than com
paratively independent majorities.
Our court of last resort has outlawed
the saloon so far as any right to exist
under our common law is concerned,
and has said that it can only exist as
the result of legislative will enacted
into statutory law. And yet here is a
legislature Prohibition in sentiment
flat fixes the lcgalizcd liquor infamy
on helpless minoritieS situated in wick
ed communities, and then incOrpo-
rates other features in the same law
by which more favored communities,
and seven-e ights of them at that, may
rid themselves of such legislative
curse; and ministers of the Gospel
rush into print and commend the
measure. Should those helpless mi
norities have no right left them under
the laws of IL great State! Not even
the right to move against an accursed
saloon as Il nuisance under our COM
mon law? No, even that right, which
they otherwise would have, is taken
away from them by this Mississippi
licensing law, denominated by the
writer of the article under review
"the excellent measure"
Where is the eXcellency of any Ii
quor licensing law? At the very best
it is only a robbing of helpless minor
tiles by statutory law of the rights
they have under our common law. The
very people above all others who need
most the protection of law are thus
robbed of their rights by a whole State
in its legislative capacity and left at
the mercy of II lot of drunken outlaws.
Talk about restrictions in such lOcali-
ties; rs well talk about restricting the
devil in his own empire. Who elects
the officers in these liquor ridden COM
munities, and what sort of officers do
they elect9 Which does experience
teach us prevails in such localities,
anarchy and intimidation or law and
order9 When God appointed cities of
refuge for the unfortunate of Israel,
he had no local option about it; twas
for the weak and not the strong; for
helpless minoritics and not for pow
erful majorities; and Il government
that fails to pattern after Gods model
is stencil in His nostrils,
But we are told IN the article under
review that there sis not third party
Prohibitionist in either branch of the
Legislature" that passed this excel
lent measure" AS third party Pro-
hibtionist am devoutly thankful to
the writer for that gratuitous state
ment. A greater compliment has new
er been passed on third party Prohi-
bitionists, nor has more striking IL
Illustration ever been presented of the
importance of their presence in legls-
lative assemblies. If there had been
just one "party PrOhibitionist," in
that Legislature the deliverances of
the General Conference of the Nj. f..
Church, South, would have been
shown some respect, and their utter
reputation would have been met by
at least one protest; the decisions of
the United States Supreme Court
would have been urged in defense of
the rights of helpless, innocent minor
tiles; and heather rulers pleading
with so called Christian nations not to
debauch their subjects with intoxi-
eating liquors, and refusing to accept
| he.