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THE

^^<

LIQUOR TRAFFIC :

OUGHT IT TO JiE

PROTECTED, OR TO BE PROHIBITED,
BY LAW?

THE SUBSTAN(~'E OF AN ADDKESS

DELIVliUKD AT THI': TEMPEKANCK HALL, I'lIARLOTTE-
TOWN', APRIL O, 1854,

BErOIlE A CKOWDED A?:» INFLl'ENTIAL ASSEMBLAGE,

INCLUDING MEMUKRS 01" HOTII IIOIJSE.S OF TUK

LEGISLATUUE, SPEC'tALLV INVITED TO

ATTEND UV THE SON 8 OV

TEAU'ERANCE,

BvREV. J. U. NARRAWAY.

S-)

PUBLISHED JVT THR UNANIMOUS KEQl LST
OF THOSE WHO HEARD IT.

FROM THE POWER PRESS OF GEO. T. HASZAUD,
CUARLOTTETOWN.

1854.

WII

thi!

BIT]

ject
has
ecoi
hav
giv(
oft
wov
free
gref
hea;
mil
and
we,
ins{

mec
coui
^\
reap
liqu
lead
isg
whi
trafl

Hr i

D 7-^ /"

ADDRESS ON THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC,

Bt Ret. J. R. Narrawat,

Charlottetown, P. E. Island, 5th April, 1854.

WIUIAM HEARD, ESQUIRE, 0. W. P. OF S. OF T., IN THE CHAIK.

Mr. Chairman ;

The subject to which I respectfully invite the attention of
this large and influential assemblage, is, The Legal Prohi-
bition OF THE Traffic in Intoxicating Liquors. This sub-
ject, in the States of the Northern part of this Continent,
has assumed an importance not conceded to any other
economic question. Many of the finest minds of the ago
have discussed its claims — many of the purest hearts; have
given to it their warmest sympathies, and vast multitudes
of the people their most energetic support. Strange, indeed,
would it be were it otherwise ; strange if, in these lands of
free discussion, of well-established liberty, of physical pro-
gress, and of high-toned philanthropy, the innumerable,
heart-rending evils which the liquor traffic produces, did not
fill the miads of thoughtful, benevolent men with horror,
and inspire them with the determination to destroy it. And
we. Sir, are influenced by a kindred sentiment — we are
inspired with a like determination. It falls to my lot frank-
ly, fearlessly, yet courteously, to exhibit the facts and argu-
ments which prompt us to solicit the co-operation of our
countrymen.

"Whatever may be urged, in abstract logical sequency,
respecting the difference between the trade in intoxicating
liquors as a beverage, and their use as a beverage, which
leads to intemperance with all its concomitant misery, look-
ing at that trade and its invariable results, in every laud in
which the fatal commerce is carried on, I cannot relieve thafc
traffic of the responsibility of necesBarily and inevitably

2 THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

producing those terrible effects. My renson, tny heart, my
conscience charge upon this traffic all the evils of intempe-
rance ;— for wherever this traffic exists, there is intempe-
rance , when the traffic increases, intemperance multiplies
its victims; when the traffic dies, intemperance itself ex-
pires. The moat impartial ajid philosophical induction leads
tc the conclusion, that the traffic in intoxicating drinks is
the poisonous root of the gigantic evil of drunkenness. Wo
must ♦' lay the axe at the root of the tree."

And yet over this fearful commerce the Legislature of
this Colony throws the shield of its protection— beneath
the shadow of Law this trade flourishes in its rank luxuri-
ousness of wickedness and woo. The system of licensing
the sale of inebriating liquors, though it seems to be found-
ed on the conviction that this trade is of a destructive
character, and ought therefore to be placed under legal
restrictions, yet operates to give respectability to the vend-
ing of these poisonous drinks, and legal sanction to all that
the parties licensed may do within the terms of their legal
permission— though the trade thus legalized, inflicts incal-
culable injury upon the public at largo.

The Legislature also invests this traffic with the semblance
of legal rightfulness by contemplating the importation and
manufacture of intoxicating liquors as favourite, at least,
proper sources from which to replenish the public treasury,
—accordingly, one-fourth of the entire revenue, is obtained
from the duties on liquor importations and manufacture.

And, until recently, the efficient services of the Courts of
Judicature and of the Executive power, were at hand to
aid in ths hour of this traffic's need.

If the vendor of intoxicating poisons required aid to
sustain and enforce his claim to the property of an unfor-
tunate rum debtor, unable or unwilling to pay for what
Robert Hall termed "distilled damnation." which had
well nigh ruined him, body and soul, ho had but to invoke

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

my heart, my
Is ofinteiupe-
'6 is interape-
ice multiplies
nee itself ex-
iductiun leads
ting drinks is
cenness. Wo

leg'slature of
;ion — beneath
rank luxuri-
of licensing
» to be found-
% destructive
under legal
r to the vend-
on to all that
of their legal
inflicts incal-

he semblance
lortation and
•ite, at least,
iUc treasury,
!f is obtained
nufucture.
the Courts of
I at band to

Hired aid to
of an unfor-
fty for what
which had
>ut to invoke

the majesty of the Law, and the Judge, its constitutional
expounder, with all the paraphernalia of his high office,
benevolent and patriotic though he might be, yet sworn to
enforce the law as ho found it on the Statute Book, res-
ponded to the invocation, and summoning executive aid to
carry out his decisions, by the agent of his court, hasted
away to the drunkard's desolate home, and taking him by
the throat, loudly commanded, "Pay what for rum thou
owest;" and in default thereof, took the land from beneath
his feet, the fuel from his half-warmed hearth-stone, the
bread from his famished children's mouths, the scanty bed
beneath their shivering limbs— nay, if needed, the house
over their sorrow-stricken heads, driving them forth homo-
less on the world. And if there was neither land, nor
house, nor bed, nor food, if the ruthless creditor willed it,
the officer haled the wretclied victim of the poison traffic
to prison, to pine for the free breath and pure light of a
bounteous heaven. In the name of Justice and Truth, of
Man and of God, this monstrous wrong ought never to have
been ! Last year, the Legislature happily withdrew the
Judicatory of the country from the position it had previous-
ly occupied in relation to the liquor traffic. But the trade
is still legalized in the other ways to which I have alluded.

WB CONTEND THAT IN NO WAY, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, SHOULD

Tills TRAFFIC RECEIVE LEGAL RECOGNITION, LEGAL

SANCTION, OR LEGAL AID.

We sustain this view by cogent reasons, not we thii.c ko be
refuted. In the first place, the traffic destroys an immense
amount of public wealth. The full statistics of the trade and
its results cannot be obtained, but a sufficient number of
facts have been collected and classified to enable us to make,
in many cases, a distant approximation to the truth. The
Hon E. Everett, one of the most gifted and high-minded of
the Statesmen of the neighbouring Uepublio, estimated that

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

the liquor traffic of the United States had cost that countrj
in ten years, in direct expense, $600,000,000 ; in judicial
expense consequent on the traffic, $000,000,000 ; in destruc-
tion of property by fire and other instrumentalities set in
motion by this traffic, $10,000,000 ; making in ten years the
astounding amount of $1,210,000,000 destroyed by this all-
engulfing traffic. To shew that until of late the annual
loss thus caused to that country had not decreased but
fearfully increased with the increase of the population, I
may quote a high authority at Albany who thus speaks :—
•' The cost to this nation, directly or indirectly, of the traffic
and use of intoxicating drinks, may be safely estimated at
$200,000,000 annually." In England it is estimated that
the annual cost of intoxicating liquors to the consumers is
£64,000,000 sterling.

But let us turn to our own Island-home. What is the

amount of wealth annually destroyed by the liquor traffic in

this Colony? By an extract taken from official documents,

I learn that of Gin, Wine, Brandy and Rum there were iUi-

ported, in the way of lawful trade, into this Island during

the year 1853, 43,706 gallons which, with 6,290 gallons of

home-manufactured Whisky, make 49,996 gallons known to

have been distributed to our Island consumers during the

past year. But a well-informed friend tells me that it is

the practice of importers and manufacturers to import and

manufacture ardent spirits of as great strength as can bj

procured for the general trade, in order to pay as little as

possible in the way of duty. That friend also informs me

that one gallon of strong spirits will bear dilution to the

extent of the addition thereto of one gallon of water, and

still be regarded as of potent strength ; and that there can

belittle doubt but that dilution is carried still further than

this by the retailers before the liquors reach the consumers

If this be a fair and correct statement, then we are at once

justified in more than doubling this amount upon whicl

duties are

over 50,00(

100,000 ga

is sold by i

To that I

spirits sm

diluted w

liquors co

liquors be

legally ira]

tity of tho

nal, mechi

estimate o

of this p

Whatever

and was u

lent was i

those liqt

trade, in (

*than thrc(

it contribi

ments to i

• troying pi

THE L

It does
this traffic
and woul(
of comme
increase i

But thi
public in
hard drii
entire ini
them for

! that country
)0 ; in judicial
; in destruc-
ttalities set in
1 ten years the '
fed by this all-
ite the annual
decreased but
population, I
;hu8 speaks :—
y, of the trafiSo
y estimated at
estimated that
le consumers is

. What is the
liquor traffic in
cial documents,

there were \&-
a Island during
5,290 gallons of
lUons known to
Qcrs during the
lis me that it h
's to import and
3ngth as can h

pay as little aj
also informs me
! dilution to the
n of water, and
1 that there can
ill further thanf
1 the consumers,
n we are at once
unt upon whicl

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC. 6

duties are paid— that is, of adding to 49,996 gallons, a little
over 50,000 gallons of water, making the aggregate, at least,
100,000 gallons. Now a very large portion of this amount
is sold by retail at the rate of nineponco per half-pint.

To that amount, largo as it is, must bo added the ardent
spirits smuggled at the outports of the Island and then
diluted with water ; also, the great quantities of malt-
liquors consumed by the people of the colony— such malt-
liquors being in part manufactured in this country, part
legally imported, and part smuggled. A very small quan-
tity of those intoxicating liquors have been used for medici-
nal, mechanical and religious purposes. A most reasonable
estimate of the cost of inebriating drinks used by the people
of this province, as a beverage, last year, is £100,000.
Whatever the exact sum total maybe, it is frightfully large,
and was utterly lost to the public wealth, us no real equiva-
lent was in any form given for the immense sums by which
those liquors were purchased. Thus did this destructive
trade, in one year, swallow up an amount of wealth more
*than three times as great as that revenue to which however,
it contributed the fourth part. Is it the province of Govern-
ments to afford countenance and aid to such a wealth-dea-
» troying pursuit as this 1

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC DIMIKISHES THE PUBLIC INHUSTRY.

It does this in various ways. The wealth destroyed by
this traffic is part of the capital realized from past industry,
and would, if invested in any beneficial, remunerating branch
of commerce, largely s • < .late enterprise and industry, and
increase the demand for j/rofi table labor.

But this traffic tends more directly to the diminution of
public industry, through the time lost in consequence of
hard drinking. Some men, not indulging to the extent of
entire intoxication, yet frequently drink enough to disincline
them for labor ; others abstain totally lor months, and thea

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

g.vo way to a courao of uninterrupted drunkonnew for wceki
together ; oti.ers more frequently drink to intoxication, but
re nan. ,n eaeh fit of drunkenness a comparatively sl.or
period; ot ers. when intoxicated are injuLd by acciden

fromir r" '"T"''' '°''"" '^*""' ""d •*••« laid aside
n idst T. /"-''-',PorhaP« crippled for life, or in tho
midst of the.r days are J.urried to an untimel v grave - by
wluchthe.r country is not only deprived of a nvingman"^
but of a hv.ng man's labour; others, by drinking to excess
subject themselves to lingering diseases, which 'chain the
poor sufferers to their beds of pain and weakness for weary
J eks ; and, finally, there are the moderate drinkers, as they

eS e^ttir ""T"'"^' "'" '''"'' '''''y' '^"^ "-- to
excess, yet m the end -as tho most skilful and impartial

medical men assert -shorten their lives by manyC
-and. of course, tho amount of industry, which but for'
such moderate drinking, they would bave'contrib led t the

tlie fact, that much of the industry thus h„t i. c
apeoialskilfulness of some of 2wo;L rw'hl Z !
wasted by drinking and from the periods when son e oh"
labor 8 lost worth four times as much as ordinary labor
at ordinary times ;-as, for instance, when a ship Zdv fo;

ofL .^ ; . *'"' ^'^''^ ""''^ S^'^'^y >««««" tJ^e value
of her cargo bnng.ng her lute to her destination ; or when

the farmer through drunkenness neglects his sprng labor!
60 that Ins seed ,s unsown,_or neglects his autum! work
by which his harvest is spoiled. 4wing the matter thu;
comprehensively, I incline to the opinion, that up „ «"

iXr;,"""^^""*^^ ^^^^"« '''"' consumed in ti^;
Island, there ,s a corresponding diminution of the industry
of the colony cf two days of ordinary labor. ^

If this ratio be the correct one, and the people of thia
country xu 1853 consumed 100.000 gallons, or 400.000 quarti|-

THE LIQUOR TIUFFia

legg for vreeki
•xicution, but
atively sliort
by accidents
tre laid aside
ife, or in the
y grave — hj
I. living man,
ing to CXCC8S
'h chain the
iss for wcnrj
kers, as thoj
but never to
id impartial
many years,
ich, but for
buted to the
ust connect
8, from the
hoso time is
some of the
nary labor,
p ready for
because ber
n the value
1 ; or wbea
ring labor,
umn work,
latter tbus
t upon an
led in this
e industry -

!e Of thia
JOO quarts

ofi^trong drink, then the general industry lost by ibis trade
iij that year, amounts to 800,000 days of labor. — If a work-
ing, instead of a wandering Jew bad diligonily wrought
from the destruction of Solomon's Temple by Nebucbadnez-
sar until now, bo would have to live on, and work on, nearly
100 years before bis labor would equal that vast amount ;
or if 2j.)5 men were to toil for one whole year, they would
scarcely supply this industrial deficiency. The loss to the
Island of such an amount of productive labor, at the average
rate of four shillings a day, wou'd reach the astonishing
sum of £1U0,000. Add to this sum the amount probably
paid during 1853 by consumers for tlio intoxicating poisons,
and you have the aggregate value of wealth and industry
destroyed in this little Island by the liquor traffic in oue
year, — that aggregate would thus be £200,000.

THIS TRAFFIC IS THE FRUITFUL SOURCE OF PAUPERISM.

For through the intemperance engendered thereby, the
professional man, the merchant, the mechanic and the far-
mer are rendered neglectful of, and unfitted fur the duties of
their callings. Step by step, the families dependent upon
their exertions for subsistence aie reduced from competency
or comfort to want and beggary. Most emphatically is this
true in the case of the farmer and mechanic. Watch the
course of that intemperate farmer, as he speeds down-
ward to ruin ; mark him scattering the gracious gifts of a
kindly soil " by the wayside" of this all-devouring lom-'
merce ; follow him to his half-tilled acres ; take note of hie
prostrate fences — his tottering barns, through which the
stern blast of winter whistles at will — his unled cattle, with
their famine-protruded ribs — his unploughed soil — bis
weed-covered fields. " The drunkard shall come to poverty."
Go "again by the Sold of the sloth.'*ul, and by the vineyard
of the, man void of understanding " — ^ lo ! " it is all grown

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

over With thorns, and nettles have corered the face thereof
and the stone wall thereof is broken down " " m^MU
•re fatherless, and his wife a widow -bis fh if
vagabonds and beg. or the, seek tt^^reaLtttfTe"
desolate places." Nor does the traffic, when its victim a ^

swell the flood of pauperism that overflows th; land The
iard-won earnings of the mechanic's sweating brow and
toiling and that should go to make glad his needylome
are swallowed up by this fell traffic Iv^hich starvesThe'

' tTl 7 f r' '^^ "^"^'^^ ^^"^^-' strips the drunk,
ard s abode of the last sad relics of happier days and ofk
ends with casting both wife and children forth Ion the
coxd charity of an iron-hearted world ^

Yes. and this poverty-producing trade tends to perpetuate
ihe evil by the wanton destruction of the food which God
gives for the maintenance of human life I Jearn th.!T ■

of Ireland, a few years ago, -even when that famk Z
a dea h-demon, breathed its pestilential breath over he
quivering vitals of a horror-stricken race wl,l T •?
of a nation's agony thrilled the hearts of ^vTry"! Teo
pie smote the flinty rock, and summoned forth the gl'ng
^n lal :l "' benevolence.- when in once crowded

Tillages there were not enough of the living to bury the

f^:trT r/'?^*^*^"^ "^ '^^ ^^^^^^ ---^ed through

out the whole land. -even amid these terrors of starvation,
iled ^fr .*'' distillery burnt on. and blazed, and
leaped, and danced, as though in rival emulation of ;erdi.
iron's quenchless flame. ^

And now, in England, it is calculated that the land in

that country perverted to the production of grain, &o for

«to^a lug drinks, which debase and destroy thipo';!!

^u.d sapp^ bread enough to give the whole population

Jialf » pound each, daily, throughout the whole /ear. I do

THE LIQUOR TRAFFia Q

not know what quantity of grain, raised in this Island, is
yearly desC.oyed in the manufacture of intoxicating liquors •
but whatever the amount may be, it is so much valuable',
nutritious food transmuted into a health and life destroying
poison Can it be the province of law to shield a trade
which thus impoverishes great numbers of the people, and
ruthlessly destroys vast quantities of human food?

THIS TARFFIC DEBASES THE MINDS AND BRUTALIZES THE HEARTS
OF ITS UNUAPPy VICTIMS,

There are calamities that befall mankind, -difficulties to
Burmount.-dangers to brave, and sorrows to endure
which wake to life noble energies and faculties, and bring
up from the depths of t' human soul, sweet-flowing, heart-
purifymg sensibilities, u...c consecrate and elevate their pos-
Bessors m the scale of intelligent being. And when these
calamities of an evil day, prove too powerful for him "that
resisteth even unto blood," wrapping the garb of his
humanity around him, like dying Ceesar, he falls bravely
and gracefully, denuded of no attribute of impressive man-
hood. Many a heart bursting with its overcharge of mortal
anguish, Ike the expiring swan, singing its own melodious
requiem, hath, even while trembling in its death-throb,
poured forth strains that melted all human hearts It is
Baid of a regiment of the French Array, that when its
muster roll was called after the carnage of some fiercely
contested battle, as the names of its slain warriors were
rolled out, the touching i-esponse was spontaneously given
by the gallant survivors .— - Dead upon the field of honor "
Ah ! how different from all this, the condition and fate of
those who struggle, and then perish in the lurid fires of
intemperance ! How sad, how awful the spectacle of a
human beincr in tho r>rnopco />f i,^;__ j. i • - ,

. „ , ° I *'"" "^ oe-iujj ac-iiumanizea by the

infernal alchemy of drunkenness-to behold the mind of
the wise statesman, the sagaci^^ua counselor, the profound

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

philosopher and the brilliant scholar, shrivelling up into
drivelling imbecilitj— to behold the lips vphich from the
pulpit, the senate or the bar, had swayed, as if by magic,
the emotions, the reason and the will of their fellow-men'
now moving in sputtering idiotcy-to see a man like poor'
drunken Sheridan, whose genius had blazed forth in over-
powering brilliancy, in that high arena, whereon was
assembled, perhaps a more illustrious audience than ever
before yielded themselves up delighted captives of oratorio
power— to see him, when ho said to a low drunkard, wal-
lowing in a London gutter :— " My poor fellow, I can't help
you, but I will lie down and keep you company"— to watch
the hardening of a gentle, tender, man-loving heart, until
It becomes dead to every humane feeling and cruel as the
grave-Merciful God! what a sight is this! There is
nothing but degradation attendant upon the progress of
this trade.-every thing noble dies beneath its touch— it$
misery and woe are alone immortal. Is it the proper work
of Governments to fawn upon it, and protect its interests?

THIS WRKTCUED PURSUIT IS THE FOUNDATION OF INCALCULABLE

SUFFERING.

This suffering is not inflicted merely upon the miserable

slaves Of intemperance, but also, upon all those connected
With them.

• Who can depict the heart-woe that embitters the weary
existence of the drunkard's wife ? What untold anguish is
hers, over whose trusting, faithful heart, in spite of all her
cherished hopes of mutual happiness through swift-flying
years of a golden future, comes the dread conviction that her
fate IS indissolubly linked with that of a slave of intoxicafr-
ing drinks ! Ah ! it were well if those who garland the
poison cup with roses- who speak in soft and silken phrase
of the flowing bumper, and the sparkling wine— it were
well, if, when tl. , circling song, «« and music's voluptuoug

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

]g up into
> from the
f by magic,
'el low-men,

like poor
th in over-
ereon was
than ever
>f oratorio
kard, wal-
can't help
—to watch
eart, until
•uel as the

There is
rogress of
touch — its
aper work
interests ?

ALCULABLE

miserable
connected

^e weary
nguish is
of all her
rift-fljing
» that her
intoxicatr
rland the
1 whrass
-it were
•luptuouB

swell," and the ringing echo of convivial cheers have died
away, they would repair to the home of the weeping wife,
where she keeps her sorrow vigil, waiting the return of him
whose presence she dreads— him who hath scattered his altar-
vows to the winds of heaven — him whose curses fall faster
upon her crushed heart, tlian did his words of love and
tenderness in her young, joyous, maiden days — him whose
drink-begotten cowardicy liath dared to prompt the villain's
blow against her feebleness — him to whom she yet clings
la the sacred mystery of her woman's love — it were well,
I say, for tbe apologist of this awful traffic, to visit the
abodes of sorrow, to survey the wreck of all domestic hap-
piness, to watch the progress of the sad tragedy, av hi ch
closes in despair and death. Does not this vile traffic
render the marriage tie, like the cruel connection of the
living with the putrid carcase of the rotting dead ?-- the
horrid mode of torture once practised by hideous tyrants,
at whose deeds shuddering nature stood aghast.

Little less than the drunkard's wretched wife, suiTers
the widowed mother of a drunkard son. Oh ! you may
measure time, measure industry, measure wealth destroyed
by the agency of the liquor traffic— but you have no stand-
ard, no sorrow-meter by wl.ich to guugo the bitterness of
despair — by which to fiithom the abysses of misery
drunkenness creates.

THE LIQUOn TRAFFIC ALSO INEVITABLY LEADS TO CRIME.

How could it bo otherwise?— intoxicating drinks, while
they deaden the moral sensibilities, and subvert the reason,
bring the will beneath the tyranny of the worst passions of
our nature, stimulated to their utmost strength by mad-
dening draughts. Hence, Judges, Lawyers, Generals,,
Jailors and Chaplains of Prisons, all testify that three-
fourths, in many cases, nine-tenths of all serious crimes

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

against property and life are directly traceable to the use
of intoxicating drinks. Said Judge Anderson, "Drunken-
ness is the most fertile source of crime, and if removed, tho
assizes would be mere nullities," Judge Pattison said to
a Grand Jury :— " If it were not for drunkenness, you and
I should have nothing to do." And but a few weeks ago,
that most eminent and amiable man, Thomas Noon Talford,
who wore the triple honours of Poet, Orator and Judge,'
gave his dying testimony to the same effect— for while la-
menting to the Grand Jury of Stafford, the hundred cases
of crime which stained tho calendar, and pointing out
with pathos and patriotism the causes of such a fearful
fltate of things, among which stood preeminent the traffic in
strong drink, he fell suddenly forward, and died upon the
judgment seat.

The Earl of Harrington lately observed at Derby:—
« When r served at Madras as Deputy Adjutant General,
I desired the commanding officers of Regiments to send in
returns of the crimes committed by the soldiery. Nearly
all were traced to drunkenness." The ever to be revered
Duke of Wellington, so distinguished for his powers of
observation and love of truth, when before a Committee of
enquiry, in answer to the question of Lord Wharncliffe,
«• Is drunkenness, in your opinion, the great parent of all
crime in the British army?" said, '« Invariably:* In 1849
there were committed to the prisons of the State of New
York, 30,114 persons for crimes committed under the influ-
ence of drunkenness. And the Hon. E. Everett has asserted
that in 10 years, drunkenness had been the cause of 1500
murders and 2,000 deaths by suicide in the United States.

THE TRADE IN INTOXICATING LIQUORS DESTROYS INNUMERABLE LIVES.

A document issued by the New York State Temperance
Society in 1852, declares that 30,000 persons have been

THE LIQUOR TRAFFTC.

annually committed to the drunkard's grave in the United
States ; and in 10 years, 300,000. Supposing when this
calculation was made, the population of the great Republic
was taken to be twenty-three millions, then at the period
referred to, every 766th person in the United States was yearly
destroyed by the liquor traffic. Applying the same rule to
Great Britain and Ireland, whose population is about 27,-
000.000, the annual immolations— the whole burnt oiTurings
for the year, upon the Altar of Bacchus, in these countries,
are 35,248 human lives. If the population of the North
American colonies is 2,500,000, the same ratio of slaughter
gives 3,263 as the colonial tribute to the drunkard's unhal-
lowed grave. And if the population of this Island now ia
70,000 souls, then our contingent of human life, perhaps
of human souls, to the liquor traffic is 91 per annum. I
do not think this estimate beyond the truth. Intemperance
destroys life in countless ways. In 1839, Mr. Wakly,
Coroner and M. P. said :—" There are annually 1,500
inquests in the western division of Middlesex, and accord-
ing to that ratio, (of, out of every 5 deaths 3 being caused
by intemperance,) 900 of the deaths are produced by hard
drinking." Subsequently he remarked : — «' Gin may bo
thought the best friend I have : it causes me to hold annu-
ally 1000 inquests more than I should otherwise hold.
But besides these, 1 have reason to believe that from 10,000
to 15,000 persons die in this metropolis annually from the
effects of gin-drinking, upon whom no inquests are held.
Since I have been coroner, I have seen so many murders, by
poison, by drowning, by hanging, by cutting the throat, in
consequence of drinking ardent spirits, that I am astonish-
ed the legislature doosnot interfere." Now in 1839, the
population of London was not 2,000,000 ; and 15,000 deaths
by hard drinking in that city, at that date, was in the ratio
of more than 170,000 deaths for 23,000,000. But adopt-
ing the American data, and excluding the more distant
British colonies from our estimate, the Anglo Saxon and

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

the Anglo Amerwan annual death offering through the
liquor traffic amounts to 68,002 souls. What heartstands
not appalled at this fearful trade ! Who wonders not that
It IS not smitten by the thunders of God's wrath !

THE LiQUOK TRAFFIC COMES INTO COLLISION WITH THE WHOLlt
TENOR OF G0I>'S LAW.

That law says :-" Thou shalt not kill"_this traffic k'Ha
vast multitudes, dragging them through protracted agony
to a dishonoured grave. That law crietli, - Woe unto him
that giveth his neiglibour drink, that puttest thy bottle to
him, and makest him drunken aI.o."-That law commands:
--•• Ihou Shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" and it asserts,
Love worketh no ill to his neighbour"-this traffic is
divorced from all human love, and it inflicts, knowingly
deliberately ,-not under the unreasoning impulses of fierce
passion, -not thraugh the heedlessness of unguarded moral
weakness, but under the influence of cool, clear-headed cal-
culation of sordid gain, inflicts upon myriads of immortal
men immeasurable and irretrievable evil. Tlmt law enjoins •
Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye
even so unto them, for this is the law and the prophets--
t lis traffic as experience everywhere demonstrates, enriches
itseltat the expense of all that enlightened men hold dear
--It strips Its victims of wealth, of health, of home, of
fnends, of intolloct, of heart and of life. Human laws may
toster and licence and protect this trade. But human laws
cannot repeal the eternal laws of God. Human laws cannot
wipe av.aj the curse with which the Creator of men hath
branded this traffic that makes men drunken. Human laws
cannot transmute the principles of eternal right into the
principles of everlasting wrong. Human laws therefore
ought not to shield, to n„stor, to legalize a traffic which ia
all Its aspects and results is prohibited by the enactments
ot the King of Kings— enactments as binding upon law-
makers as upon law-keepers.

*HE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

mugb the
irt stands
3 not th&t

BE WHor.fe

raffick'lls
ted agony
unto him
bottle to
immands:
t asserts,
traffic is
lowingly,
i of fierce
ed moral
ided cal-
mmortal
enjoins :
u, do ye
ihets'" —
enriches
old dear
lome, of
ws may
an lawa
i cannot
en hath
m laws
uto the
lereforo
!iich ia
itments
m law-

Thus have I proved that the traffic in intoxicating liquors
destroys the public wealth, weakens the springs of the pub-
lic industry, tends directly to pauperism, debases the mind^
and petrifies the hearts of its victims, impels to terrible
crimes, destroys innumerable lives, and wars with the su-
preme laws of Heaven ; and from these considerations do I
deduce the proposition, that, neither directly nor indirectly,
should the spirit of our legislation favour the existence of
this terrible trade.

But, Sir, secular governments would ill discharge their
duty, if they contented their official conscience with simply
not aiding and abetting a traffic so destructive to all the
material interests of the people. If the law-making and
law-executing powers withdraw their sanction and assis-
tance from this dreadful pursuit, and then stand aloof with
folded hands and averted eyes, and deeming tht;ir duty done,
permit the fire-flood to rush over the land unchecked, those
powers prove recreant to the high purpose for which men
give them official life, and God permits them to exist.

THIS LIQUOR TRAFFIC SHOUtD CNQUESTIONABLT,

SAVE FOR MECHANICAL, MEDICINAL AND RELIGIOUS PURPOSES,

BE ENTIRELY PROHIBITED BY LAW.

I would not devolve the duty of Christ's Church upon the
shoulders of the State— I would not have the Statute-Book
to supplement or supersede the Bible— I would not have the
Ark of the Sanctuary either borne or steadied by the states-
man's hands — no, but I contend that the liquor traffic is
destructive io those worldly interests which it is the duty,
the sole duty, of constitutional governments to conserve and
develop. And if governments do not protect those interests,
by warding off or destroying the influences that subvert the
wealth, tlie strength, and the lives of the people, they are
contemptible nullities. Nor would they be relieved of
responsibility, by shewing that they enact laws to protect

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

our property from tho thief, our reputations from the slan.
derer'8 envenomed tongue, and our lives from the steel of
the assassin, the arsenic, the prussic acid, the strychnine
of the stealthy poisoner, If they leave us undefended from
the dreaded assaults of intemperance upon our ships, our
farms, our merchandize, our industry, our homes, our bodies
and our souls. From the very nature and design of secular
governments, it is their duty to prohibit this liquor traffic.
AH other means which a warm-hearted and tireless
benevolence hath devised, hav.e failed to reach the source of
the wide-spread evil. More than a quarter of a century has
rolled away since philanthropic men began the temperance
movement- they have spared no pains, shrunk from no toil,
omitted the use of no honorable weapon, -they have sum-
moned the aid of truth, of science, of logic, of pathetic
appeal -invoked the help of religion, carried their ca«.e
before tho generous sympathies of the great heart of man-
kind ; and yet the fell destroyer, rages unchained, through-
T7' [''"^/'''SOonntTj. For many years, temperance men
stood shuddering on the banks of the surging torrent of
drunkenness, with scarcely a higher hope than to be able to
snatch from the waters of death, a few strugglers in the
flood -with unwonted success, came unwonted hopes.
Ihey braced their energies for more gigantic efforts— they
attempted to stop the supplies, to dry up the rills that trickled
down to the turbid stream-they sought to preserve the
young. Nor were their attempts wholly in vain. But still
notwithstanding their energies, their efforts, their contri-
vances, on rushed the river of wide-wrought ruin At
last, temperance men began to turn their anxious gaze
toward the primary sources of the evil - slowly they have
wended their cautious way upward, tracing the course of
the deadly current, in search of the prolific fountain of so
muchm.sery-and one after the other, they pause before
the bar-room of the retailer, the vaults of the importer.
»nd the fires of the distiller, -these are the fountains-

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

they must be dried up. And the faithful enforeemeut of a
prohibitory liquor law will do it. It is in vain for the
legislature to attempt to regulate this traffic, by any new
adjustment of the licence system. During the past year,
the legal trade in intoxicating drinks, exceeded that of the
previous year by 1110^ gallons ; and, I am acquainted with
no facts, to warrant the belief, that the illicit trade in
those liquors, suffered any diminution as compared with
1852. Certainly the legislation of the last House of Assem-
bly, much as they might have desired it to prove otherwise,
has, in no degree, lessened the consumption of intoxicating
liquors. The time has come, when, following the example
of older and wealthier countries, the Legislature of this
Colony, should, except for strictly mechanical, medical and
religious purposes, wholly prohibit the trade which inferior
enactments cannot reach. With all these facts, patent to
every thoughtful enquirer, we are told that we ought to
depend upon moral suasion — we are told this, by those
who, with a few exceptions, have never strengthened us in
dark days, by their example, or encouraged us by their
influence, given in any substantive form. Moral Suasion,
Reason, Aiguuient, Entreaty, have we not tried ye, faith-
fully and long ?

Oh ! Yes ; all these have we poured upon the benumbed
conscience, the buried heart, the enfeebled intellect of the
unhappy drunkard, — thank heaven, not without result.
Many, very many have been recalled to the ways of sobriety;
many sad and wretched homes have been made glad with
the sunshine of re-awakened love ; many withered hearts
freshened and vivified by recovered hope ; — had it been other-
wise, temperance benevolence would have died in despair.
And, without doubt, vast multitudes of the young — through
the loud warnings given by temperance institutions — have
been preserved from the Circean enchantments of the em-
poisoned cup. Alas ! nevertheless, many — oh ! how many
— have perished beyond hope; they were pitied, — they

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

were sorely wopt,- thoy were clung to with the tenacity of
undying affection, _ they could not resist the temptations
with which this traffic assiduously plied them, and they
were lost. And no sooner wore they gone, than others,
Bimilarly infatuated, hastened to fill the vacant ranks of the
intemperate host. The drain upon thp ingenuous, noble-
hearted youth of the land has never for one moment ceased •
the sUent, insidious approaches of the serpent vice find no
match for its satanic power in the unheeding thoughiless-
ness of the young.

It cannot truthfully be urged that the temperance advo-
cates have neglected to make their appeal to those who pro-
Becute this commerce in intoxicating drinks. On the contra-
ry, language and argument have been exhausted in thia
work. Chemistry came to the aid of temperance, and by
the methods known to that splendid science, demonstrated
that alcohol, which is the result of fermentation and distil-
lation, 18 a poison, sure and deadly,- that the processes of
fermentation and distillation destroy the nutritious qualities
Of the precious grain, and the other valuable alimentary
Bubatances, which, by chemical inQuence are transmuted
into intoxicating drinks.

Physiology asserted that tho mysterious laws of life can-
not subject the fiery potions to their sway, -that alcohol
cannot be assimilated to the human frame,- that it cannot
possibly repair the wastes of toil and of time upon the
human body, -that, like other poisons, it may, in skilful
hands, aid nature whan rallying against disease ; but that
never can it be truthfully declared an article of human food
Anatomy, with its scalpel, laid bare the haunts and rava-
ges of this enemy of health and life - found it on the braiu
- saw It undecomposed in the blood - and upon every vital
portion of the human organism traced the results of its deso-
lating, life-sapping power.

Political Economy, with the correctness o'" mathematical
formulae, showed its destructive effect upon " the wealth of
nations," and their wealth-producing industry.

THE LIQUOK TEAFFIC.

High-minded Judges, opoh ^hoso Bpotlt b ermiBe no
■tain could be found, in irapressivo terms declared this bane
of all good the chief source of all groat crimes.

Ragged, shivering, starving Children clamored in the earg
of the traffickers in this liquid poison, for the bread which
their wretched parents, through intemperance, had robbed
them.

Distressed Wives, with their scar-covered hearts, came to
beg that the husbands whom still they loved, and who once
were worthy of their love, might not bo enticed to utter
ruin.

The weeping Widow, with sorrow-blanched locks, came
to beg back the dutiful aifoction and manly character of her
only son, lost in the entanglements of thr dreadful traffic.

The modern Howards of the great temperance philan-
thropy, in their circumnavigation of charity, found the
unhappy victims of the liquor traffic peopling penal colonies,
filling convict ships, crowding prisons, filling solitary dun-
geons with remorseful lamentations, or expiating the guilt
of murder upon the soaffold. These facts were laid before
the consciences of the men engaged in this pursuit ; — nay, I
might almost add, in the solemn words of prophetic vision,
•* death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them,"
and the ghastly spectres of the slain came trooping before
the unclosed eyes of the men whose traffic had wrought their
eternal woe.

With what result came science and truth,, and want and
woe, to plead against the continuance of this terrible evil?
So far as thib Island is concerned, let the fact that in 1853
there must have been sold, in lawful and unlawful trade,
100,000 gallons of intoxicating drinks, answer the question.
Sir, nothing remains to the people but to invoke — nay, to
command — the interference of prohibitory law.

But, while the evils of intemperance are admitted and
deplored, yet are wo told that to stop the traffic that neces-
sitates those evils, is unconstitutional, — an unwarrantable

■• THE LIQl OR TKAFFIC.

intorferencn wil* po„onaI liberty. Oh ! my poor, thick-

gunpowder manufactory in thi« town, you can constitutioa

harm to th norsonn or property of other men. Or if he
engage jn any other manufacture which may tend to destroy
t^.o pub .0 hea th. hy mixing doletorious ga«es with the air
w m„«t breathe, you will compel him to desist. And yo

Lro "" r/'"'* '' "''^ '^ '''''' '^ thousandfold more rn-
gerou and destructive to the people at large than any other

inanufi^eture known to the civilised world! Ah I .lit 1,. :,

Their . , r """^ ''"^"' ""'" f'oi-'ons to the drugui«fs
shelf, to ho dispensed, with the ut.aost care, for proper pur
poses only ; but you must, forsooth, allow M. poison", am-'
ple«cope and verge enough" to fill the wide earth with
^.sery and woo ! You may make laws to prevent your dogs
and cats, your sheep and swine from having poison pu

S b itr TV '"* ^"" ""^* '"* ""y '- -»-e a stum
bhng-block out of your bro/her^s way ! You must not have
a8 many safeguards for the health and life of your children
as for your pi.s ' You may legally and justl/ attempt b,

o"nc: "\*°r''"'* "^•^^ '' '''''' «P--'-us'li,uors w t f-
oul cense to d^m.nish the terrible evils of intemperance •
but ,t suddenly become, unheard-of tyranny to endeavor, b^
leg.slat.on, to prevent those evils alto ^^r, her ! You may sup-
press a gambhng house, and remove a nuisance ; but a .roe-
S:;,r;r""^°' "'"^^' "^^ *^ be violated by aU
What said the Committee of the House of Commons, in
1^34.-- a Comm.ttee upon which sat some of the most emi-
nent statesmen of that land of freed,., u.clnding the u ast
d.t,ng„,shed pPhlic man of our time, H,. ^a., en fed R-,"'
Peel Advocating a prohibitory ^,.uu. kw. they said .-
Ihat the right to exercise legislative inter ferenen for th" corrcc

T/cnr^^^'t ''^'''' '^' P* '"^"^ " nnjuestionable."
And Chief Justice raaey, who presides over the Supremo

THE LIQUOR TIlAFHa

poor, thick-
iiiiin Hot u|: a
constitutioii-
on can do no
• Or if he
1(1 to destroy
with tho ftir
k. And yot,
i Kioro diin-
^n any other
' kvhiit lo;.;,!

I druggitit'a
proper pur-
)ison " nm-
eiirth with
t your dogs
poison put
3vea stum-
st not have
ir children
ttempt, by
[uors with-
iiporance ;
deavor, by
may sup-
ut a grog-
by a pro-

imons, in
most erai-
the irost
3d Rp'jiri
Y said : — •
hp. correC'
'ionable."
Supreme

Court of tho United Stat<>9 — a Koman Catholic gentleman,
of high character and pro iind legal knowledge — declared,
not lung Binco, " That the enactment of a prohibitory liquor
law would not bo a violation ol tlio Constitutiou of thg
United States."

But wo have boon assured that if intemperance by strong
drink were prevented by tho law wo seek tho enactment
of, intemperance by opium would take its place with equal
dtstrimont to the public welfare ; and it is urged in proof
thereof that, in Turkey and other Mahommedan countries
in which tho sacred books of Islam forbid tho use of wine,
tho opium-eating vico ia fearfully prevalent. Now but a
few weeks have transpired since a Russian officer attributed
tho several defeats of tho Russian Armies on tho Danube hy
tho Turkish forces, to tho fact that tho Turkish soldiers
wore always sober — tho Russian soldiers, always drunk.
But, Sir, tho short and conclusive answer to this objection
ia — destroy this liquor traffic at once — if tho opium truffio
tako its place and do public injury, then destroy that like-
vriso, — that is all.

We are met too with tho objection that tho prohibition of
the Liquor trade will entail upon tho public treasury tho
heavy loss of more than £7000, now received for liquor
duties and licences. Last winter this was deemed an al-
most insuperable impediment to the enactment of a prohi-
bitory law. I can seo no real force in this objection. Ia
tho first place, such a revenue is a revenue from wicked-
ness, misery and death. To encourage a traffic of this kind
for purposes of revenue, is perverting the powers of legis-
lation and government from their constitutional ends—
vhich are to conserve tho interests, and develop tho
resources of the people — while this traffic destroys both
tho ono and tho otu r. Therefore, if by tho enactment of
a prohibitory law the treasurv should Hustain a final loss
of £7,228 — let it bo so — increase your duties upon other
artiules of trade to make up the needed amount.

2£

THE LIQUOR TIUFFIG

But «ir, tho revenue of the Island ia rapidly inoroaaing,
and at the ratio of recent increase will soon bo beyond tho
amount required for tho frugal wanta of this colony. A
largo surplus revenue beyond tho requirement.-' of the publio
Bcrvico is in tho last degree in> politic— for such surplus
monies would bo much more conducive to the general well-
being, were tliey to remain in tho hands of the people to
maintain tho activities of successful trade.

Irrespective of these considerations, there is much reason
to suppose, that the traflio in spirituous liquors which
brings £7,228 into tho public revenue, bvkes, or keeps from
the pockets of the people, in all its results upon capital,
industry and time, not less than £260,000— making tho
Island poorer by this immense sum yearly. Put an end to .
this trade— save this sum to tlio people, and you enrich
them to that amount. Tlioy will not uselessly hoard it—
they will expend their liquor savings in the purchase of
articles of food, of comfort and of taste which sustain life
and refine it. Thoy will buy broad instead of rum— tea
and sugar, and coffee, and clotluiig,und furniture, and books,
instead oi whisky and wine, brandy and gin, beer and
porter. Tho increased consumption of tho substantial
comforts of life, will extend your commerce in those branch-
es of trade which furnish suoli comforts to the consumers ;
and your present scale of duties, brought to boar upon
larger importations, will rapidly more than repay tlie sura
lost to the revenue by the withdrawal of your legislative
patronage of the liquor traffic.

It is urged, moreover, that tho expense of executing a
prol.ibitory law will place the costly experiment beyond
our means. We are affrighted at the prospect of a coast
guard at a cost of £15,000 per annum. Sir, no such lavish
expenditure will bo needed. If men can bo found, dead to
the better feelings of human nature, pursuing a trade which
the law will stamp with infamy, let them do it— faithful

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

inoroasing,
boyond tho
oolony. A
' the publio
cli surplus
neral woll-
) people to

iich reason
ors which
ceops from
)n capital,
inking tbo
an end to
on enrich
hoard it- —
irchaso of
istain life
rum — tea
ind books,
beor and
ibstantial
le brancU-
nsumora ;
oar upon
^ tho sura
ogislative

cuting a
t boyond
f a coast
ch lavish
, dead to
io which
-faithful

magistrates and other ofRcors, fortJicoming at tho call of
patriotism and butnanity, and aided by an enlightened
public opinion, will soizo and destroy tho poisonous beve-
rages wherever they may bo found with legal proof of
being sold, or legal presumption of being intended for
Bale, otherwise than as tho law shall specifically permit,
for medical, mechanical and religious imrposes.

Again, it is loudly assorted that it is unjust to probibit
tbo liquor traffic unless you indemnify those who have capi-
tal invested in its prosecution. Lot us view this question
dispassionately. Sir, I have no political prejudices to sway
me. I discuss this vital subject upon its own merits.

I do not doom this objection of a formidable character.
I apprehend so far as this Island is concerned that very
littlo loss would be sustained by any parties now engaged
in this traffic. By far tho larger portion of persons pur-
suing this trade is made up of the rctailern of the " burning
fluid." To talk of compensating these, if they are compell-
ed to relincuish their deadly trade, is ridiculous to puerility.
Well, tlion, there are tho imporlerx of intoxicating liquors,
what compensation will they have a right to demand?
None whatever, for in the first place, their present stock of
liquors will be exhausted long before a prohibitory law can
receive tho Royal assent, and if in view of the probability
of such a law being enacted, liquor importers shall add to
their present stock in order to claim compensation when
that law goes into operation, they will merit public execra-
tion instead of indemnification. And with respect to tho
capital diverted from liquor importations, lot it bo directed
to the sugar and tea market — to the furniture and cotton
trade, increasing demands for these articles will compon.
sate lor the abscucc of liquor p/ofits.

There finally remain to bo considered the interests of
liquor manufacturers. Ten distilleries, I believe, are in

THE LIQUOK TBAJPFIC.

operafaoa m thxs Island. Suppose you put out their fires b,
kw w atamou.t of loss will be inflicted upon their owners^
The buUd.ng ,n which the inanufacture is carried on, wi 1

tils wiir, •""'': ^"P"'^' "^« ^'^PP- f--o- and
stills will bring nearly their value in the market for the

brass founder many other of the utensils us d in the

business will find ready sale, and as for the liquors abeady

rubtt?::'' " " ""^^ ^^ '^'^^ -nulctured, 'j
doubt can remain upon any mind that they will be disposed

Then, there will remain, at most, a possibility'that a few
hundreds of pounds worth of capital may be sunk Lvon!
recovery by distillers, if the prohibitory Uw be en:rd
And will you allow a few hundreds of pounds worth of. o
perty to prevent you from rescuing hundreds of Mc^Hf

from the devouring vortex of this trade? If you deem it
jus^ and rislu to give the gentlemen engaged in thecal

with a clear conscience, to stop the flood-tide of evil now
surging over the land, by all means so do ;-aye, and f vol
deem it a most unjust demand for them t^ mak upon yf;
stxll give them the paltrycompensation,if you cannot other'
wise obtain this law. But I. Sir, contend'that their clam
^compensation is totally unfounded in justice and truT
Why, when the retailer and -/^or/.r seek no compensation

their presumption- why shall the d.Uller make such a de!
mand ? Is it because his share in the ruinous trade has been
less destructive to life and property than thai of the other
parties 1 Sir, some of those manufacturers are men of much
sagacity, talent and energy ;-have they not read the signa

or the timei^ H^v^ '■^-^ t j - « ""^uo

. imes _i3„v, "'t-y uot seen the change coming over
the public mind in reference to the liquor traffic^ -have

heir fires by
jcir owners?
ied on, will
irnaces and
tet for the
sod in the
are already
ctured, no
>e disposed
ring trade,
that a few
nk beyond
5 enacted,
'th of ;^iro-
ousands of
U5a,u lives
» deem it
he manu-
ible you,
evil now
ad if you
pon you,
3t other-
>ir claim
d truth.
}nsation
corn for
ih a de-
>as been
le other
f much
e signs
ig over
— have

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

they been unconscious of the progress of the mighty tempe-
rance sentiment in surrounding lands? They have seen it
all — understood it all ; and if, after timely warning, they
still risk their capital in this trade, they do so, like men in
other hazardous enterprises, at their own proper peril. The
railroad system of England destroyed the stage-coach busi-
ness ;— did the owners of coaches and horses obtain compen-
sation? The British Parliament repealed the Navigation
Laws, and thereby placed foreigners on the same footing as
British colonists ; — did your ship-owners, when expecting
ruin to their shipping interests, demand compensation from
the heavily taxed British people ? The interests and action
of the public at large are continually rendering old branches
of trade unprofitable, and driving capital into new channels
of industry ; but do the sufferers thereby din their demands
into the public ear ? T-Aj then, when the public weal de-
mands the suppression of a traffic fatal to the best interests
of the country, shall compensation be demanded for those
who ought never to have embarked their capital in it? What
is meant by this demand ! Is it meant that we are bound
to pay men to forbear furnishing the poison which spreads
misery, poverty, despair and death ? Did God, or nature,
or law give any man the right to inflict such terrible ivrong?
If you say this, the time for reasoning is past;— the hour is
for action, prompt and decisive.

The opponents of a prohibitory liquor law urge that the
breweries and distilleries furnish a market for the surplus
grain of the farmer, and secure for him a remunerating
price which he could not otherwise obtain. Most fallacious
is the statement. That much precious grain is destroyed
in the production of malt liquors, I believe,— how much I
have no means of knowing. But that any considerable
amount of grain is used for whisky distillation is evidently
untrue. Last year, according to the official returns
from all the distillers in the Island, the number of gallons
of whiskey distilled was 6,290. I am told that one bushel

THE LIQUOU TRAFFIC

of oats will produce, upon an average, one gallon of spirits.
At this rate, if the whole amount of whisky distilled was
manufactured from grain, 6290 bushels would be the entire
quantity used in this Island for the production of ardent
Bpirits,--a quantity of no very great moment, and entirely
too small to affect the market price of oats in any apprecia-
ble degree. Small as that quantity would be, when com-
pared with the grain trade of the Island at large, nothing
like that amount was probably used for distillation. Mo-
lasses has been largely made use of for the liquor manufac-
ture. But whatever the quantity of grain may be which
was purchased either for browing or distilling, for it, or
for an equal quantity of the grain suited to the demand, a
more profitable market could have been elsewhere obtained
—more profitable, inasmuch as the trade there prosecuted
would havo been beneficial to all— injurious to none. The
price of grain in our Island markets will henceforward be
regulated by abundance or scarcity, and by the extent of
the demand in the surrounding Colonies and in the United
States. The liquor manufacturer is not the farmer's friend.
By some wo are met with the objection, that it is wrong
by law to remove temptation out of the way of our fellow-
men, because temptation is by Providence intended asa dis-
ciplinary process. To state this objection is almost to
refute it. According to this marvellous argument, it must
be a sad encroachment upon the disciplinary process to call
in the aid of Chubbs and Hobbs, that by their wonderful
locks temptation may be taken from the path of some weak
man, whose notions are not very well defined respecting the
difference between meum and (uum — what belongs to hira-
Belf, and what to other men belongs. This objection implies
that it is better to leave temptation in the way of the poor
drunkard, though thereby his innocent wife and children
may an..«> incalculably, than remove it from his path, and
thus prevent that suSering ;— that it is better to let intem-
perance prompt an unhappy wretob to commit murder, and

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

for you to hang the murderer, than to take away the incen-
tive to this awful crime — thus saving the life both of him
tiiat would murder, and of him that would be murdered.
This theological namby-pamhyism is sickening to all common
sense.

Then, again, there are others who assert that such a law
must of necessity be impracticable, and that experience has
demonstrated this to ho the case. It has been unblushingly,
and with reckless mendacity alleged, that the operation of
a prohibitory law in the States of Maine, Massachusetts and
elsewhere, has been productive of a greater amount of drunk-
enness than previously existed. The falsehood has been
extinguished by a mass of evidence overwhelming; and
much of that evidence has been furnished by men formerly
engaged in the traffic themselves. One formerly engaged in
this trade recently asserted, that he nsed " to sell more in
Portland in a month than is now sold in that city in a year ;"
and ♦' the largest of all the former dealers in this traffio
makes the declaration, that those statements are false which
attempt to make the impression that the Maine Law is a
failure." lion. Neal Dow states, that the least sanguine—
the most cautious -of temperance men, are convinced that
there is not more than one-tenth the quantity of intoxicating
liquor sold, since the enactment of the Maine Law in that
State, that was sold prior to its enactment ; while others, of
a more hopeful cast, declare that not more than one-fiftieth
of the former quantity is now sold.

The Protestant Episcopal Bishop of Maine, in writing to
the Rev. Dr. Andrews respecting the operation of the Maine
Law, says :— " What were the actual expectations, I cannot
say ; but every reasonable expectation must have been moro
than satisfied. Whatever it is in the power of a prohibitory
law to accomplish, without extreme severity or inquisitorial
Bcrutiny, tins law has, 'n my opinion, accomplished. The
law has been, I believe, generally executed, though not
everywhere with equal energy , and the amount of intoxi-

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

cation has jeen, in consequence, most evidently, strikingly,
and even, I think I may say, wonderfully diminished/'
He was asked the question :-" Has the law been found in
Its operations to be oppressive to any citizens not guilty of
Its violation?" He replied, - So far as I know, not in thb
least," He said, also, among other equally decisive obser-
vations, " I never appeared hero as its public advocate ; and
I am not blind to such arguments as may be urged against
legislation, which, though it is peculiarly humane in its
operation upon persons, is so sweeping with reference to
thugs. Nevertheless, 1 am mosi devoutly grateful for the prac
tical working of the law • and believe that to every family in
Maine it is of more value than can easily be computed:' Joseph
Nye, Esq., of Waterville, Maine, says : " There is but very
httle hquor sold now, compared with the time previous to
the passage o£ the law. Quarrelling and fighting in our
streets have entirely ceased, and all is peace and quietness.
The change in regard to the expense of paupers is almost
mcredible ! But what rejoices my heart the most is to see the
families that have been made happy by the enforcement of
the law. Many a poor woman has come to me, and with
tears implored me to continue to enforce the law, as by so
doing, it had been the means of reforming her husband,
and by so continuing it, would be the means of saving him."
The Grand Jury of Chittenden County, Vermont say .—
*' The Grand Jurors in obedience to the charge of the Court
have enquired into the operations and effect of the present
Liquor law, and are unanimous in the opinion of its good
effect upon the morals and happiness of the community
They commend the fidelity of those officers of the law, whose
duty it has been to see this law enforced." A large amount
of evidence besides, all tending to the aamo conclusion,
have I seen : but want of time forbids me to furnish more.
But a deluge of reactions will come back upon the coun-
try before which all sobriety is to be swept away— thus at
least is it predicted. I doubt the inspiration of the seer.

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

Professor Stowe, husband of the world-known Harriet
Beecher Stowe, in a public meeting in Glasgow, Scotland,
in the course of his speech remarked : — " A friend of mine
in Portland, had been very much opposed to the Law,
having prior to its passing, opened a distillery worth $10,-
000, which then, was rendered useless for distilling pur-
poses. In less than six months after the Law was in opera-
tion, he came forward in public meetings, and stated that
if he bad ten distilleries he would go for that Tjaw, such
was the improvement he saw around him, it would compen-
sate for all the loss." Many others I doubt not, when they
witness the beneficial effects of a prohibitory law, though
now opposed to its enactment, will range themselves amongst
its most strenuous supporters — when they see empty prisons
and crowded schools — deserted groggeries and well-filled
churches, diminished pauperism and increasing industry,
when they hear the loud-uttered thanksgiving of the happy
wife and rejoicing widow, then will they hasten to enforce
a law that is the instrument of such amazing good.

Gentlemen of the Legislature, the people invoke your
sympathies — your effective aid. They ask you to enter up-
on no untried experiment of doubtful propriety, you have
before you the example of the legislators of Maine, Massa-
chusetts, Rhode Island, Michigan, Vermont and New York.
You have before you the inspiriting example of the ablest
Colonial Statesmen of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
You have the light of their investigations to assist you in
your onward course.

Gentlemen, we appeal to your patriotism — you will not
turn a deaf ear to the voice of your suffering country. You
will not permit this accursed traffic to sap her vitals, to
slay her sons, to make her daughters despairing wives, and
heart-broken widows. You will not allow your country to
lag behind in the great race of improvement — her wealth
wasted — her beauty blighted — her best and noblest im-
molated at the shrine of the fire-demou of intemperance.

TTiB LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

Give U8 this Jaw, and you enrich the people. Give us thi«
law-and you clothe the naked-you feed the huZ
givea horne to the houseless-youTin t; he brLi':;
keurt. and vou dry up oceans of misery ^

Give us this law : and by thousands we vow to aid vou in

-through the press-on the platform_by the fireside Thl
drunkara from whose path you will tuke'the i Ueiol
tatons to rum will fig-.t your battles-the grate ul wife
W.1 teach her guileless babes with reverence' to iLp you'
bono red names; and the comforted widow will nig"^ t y
breathe them m saintly orisons at the throne of God ^

must d e. Give your country this law ; and then, when in
the cool calm evening of life you hold communion wi t o
past-while the str.fe and tempests of human passions reach
you not-the welcome memories of your ^^triotc deeds
will custer around your death-pillow; and upon your
rembhng heart, will descend the fragrance and 'the bC
ing of answered prayer, offered by tha°nkful lips upon y u"
beha If.-You w.U be honoured while living-mourned when
dead! Gentlemen, my duty is done. "»""''°ed when

•ivo us this
bruken ia

aid you in
the pulpit
side. The
il)Ie temp,
t-jful wife
' lisp your
II nightly

rod.

(four selves
, when ia
I with the
ons reach
•tic deeds
•on your
the bless-
pon ynur
led when