BACCHUS DETHRONED, ^IZE SS AY. y BY FREDERICK POWELL. If 1 “If alcohol were unknown, half the sin, and three parts of the poverty and unhappiness in this world would disappear.”—P ro¬ fessor Parkes, M.D., F.R.S. NEW YORK: National Temperance Society and Publication House, No. 58 READE STREET. 1873- \\N( S ObO • VV* TIIE JAMES TEARE PRIZE ESSAY. Tiie Committee acting on behalf of Mr. Teare’s trustees, in giving the appended award of the Adjudicators, feel it due to a number of the competing writers, to state that the Adjudicators also expressed the opinion that several of the unsuccessful essays were of great value, and highly deserving of publication. On opening the sealed communications, it was found that the writer of the essay to which the first prize had been awarded is Mr. Frederick Powell, of Newcastle, and the writer of the essay to which the second prize is awarded is the Ilev. Dawson Burns, M.A., of London. AWARD OF TIIE ADJUDICATORS. We, the undersigned, having been selected by the trustees of the late James Teare to act as adjudicators for the prizes left by him for the best essays on Temperance, unanimously agree that the first prize [of seventy guineas] be given to the writer of the essay bearing the title “ Bacchus Dethroned.” We also agree that the second prize [of twenty guineas] be given to the writer of the essay having for its mjtto, *' Hear me for my cause.” IIenry Munroe, M.D., F.L.S. Cu ARLES (jarRETT. John Kirk. 5 -- ■ V ' s. . * : • . 3 * . ’ - - • . m -“ -x. . • TH ■ \ • ; . CONTENTS. I.—The Great National Curse. page The plague of the Drink-system: its ravages upon the Individual. 12 The moderate-drinker a diseased man : his risk of drunkenness.... 16-- The drunkard’s appetite a disease: its nature and name. 19 Predisposition to drinking capable of physical transmission. 20 The Causes of drunkenness and the Remedy. 21 Effect of Drink upon the Home-life of the people.. 23 The Ravages of Drink upon the Nation at large. 24 The vast extent of Intemperance , and the other sequences of Drinking.. 25 Police returns, though defective, demonstrate their increase. 26 The siatisties for Manchester and for England and Wales. 29 The drinking-system a producer of disease and premature death . 29 j Drunkards and traffickers short-lived : authorities cited. 30 The number of deaths resulting from drinking. 31 The various diseases induced by intemperance. 33 Insanity, delirium-tremens, and predisposition to disease. 35 The dr>nking-system regarded as a crime-producer . 37 Crime measured by the consumption of strong-drink. 38 Crimes specially fostered by drink.. 39 Violence to the person, murder, suicide, and prostitution. 40 The traffickers constant and notorious violators of the law. 42 The drinking-system as a cause of pauperism . 44 Evidence of the Convocation Report of the Church. 45 Expenditure of the Working classes upon in toxicants... 46 The drinking-system antagonistic to trade and commerce . 47 It employs little Labor, and abstracts much Capital. 48 At war with the interests of Manufacturers. 49 The world’s great Industries related to each oth'er. 50 The liquor-traffic an exception to this rule. 51 England seventeen millions of pounds poorer in 1868 than in 1867. 56 Scarcity without whisky better than Plenty with it. 57 A National Commercial Balance Sheet. j.... 58 - - , T ' 7 8 CONTENTS. PAGE Loss and disaster occasioned through the Drinking system . G1 Loss of productive labor and of property. 01 Loss to the government from the inefficiency of the army and navy... 02 The Drinking system obstructs Education and Religion . 03 The attitude and duty of the Christian Church. G7 v The evils depicted How necessarily from the Drinking system. 08 A respectable Public-house, impossible with the drink. 09 An example: and several impartial Testimonies...... 70 Evidence of a Divine, a Statesman, a Judge,’ a*Thinker, and a London Brewer. 72 The Drinking-system more deadly and devastating than War. 75 More destructive than Pestilence, more cruel than Famine. 70 More demoralizing than Slavery, more fatal than the Opium-p’ague.... 77 The consumption of Opium on the increase in Britain. 77 The Alliance American Commissioner and Dr. Oppenheim cited. 78 II.—The Supposed Dietetic Value of Alcoholic Leverages. The nature of the inquiry instituted, and Eood defined. 81 The Elements of which the Human Structure is composed. 81 The physiological Changes which the body undergoes. 83 Classification of Foods, in regard to the ends they subserve. 84 Alcohol not a flesh and tissue-forming food. 87 Alcohol not a fuel, or warming fhod. 87 Alcohol not an auxiliary or blood-forming food. 88 Alcohol cannot supply the place of Water. 88 Alcohol impedes Digestion : experiments of Dr Munroe. 89 Cannot take the place of potash, or peroxide of Iron. 89 Alcohol lacks all the distinctive features of food. 90 Five Objections Answered. “ If Alcohol be not food, the beverages containing it are”. 91 “ Bread itself contains Alcohol”. 93 " Many other articles of Diet contain Poison”. 93 “ General custom is in favor of Alcohol as diet”. 94 “That there is no broad distinction between food and poison”. 95 “ That patients live upon Brandy a considerable time ’. 96 Dr. Lankester’s Classification of Food... 97 A high state of Civilization exemplified. 98 Intoxicating liquors, both needless and injurious.. 99 HI*—I he Physiological Relations of Intoxicating Liquors. Physiology and the physical properties of Alcohol... 100 Alcohol the common principle of fermented ami distilled liquors ....... 101 Alcohol not the product of life or growth. 101 Volatility one oi the properties of Alcohoh,.... 102 CONTENTS. 9 PAGE Experiments of Professor Binz. and others. 103 Alcohol an Irritant of the vital tissues.. 104 The sensation of warmth the signal of inflammation. 104 Alcohol a Narcotic poison. 105 Action of Alcohol upon the Blood and Tissues. 106 Stimulant and Depressant defined. Alcohol not the former. 109 The action of Chlorodyne; a startling case. Ill Is alcohol a sedative? confusion in medical nomenclature. 115 Alcohol a Brain Poison. 110 -Effects of moderate drinking. 117 How it lowers vitality and induces a feeling of weariness. 118 Rest, the sole remedy for the exhaustion of overwork. 119 Detracts from the power of the body. 120 The habitual use of A coholics injures the brain and shortens life.. 124 » Prevents the Constitution from adapting itself to Climatic changes. 126 Evidence of the Temperance and General Provident Institution. 130 Moderate drinking condemned by non-abstainers. 134 IV.—The Social and Political Argument. Natural appetite and variety of foods...... 136 Acro-aromatics and Bitters meet a distinct want. 137 No natural appetite for Alcohol in the human constitution. 138 No food grown ever contains Alcohol. 138 The Old World demand for intoxicating liquors... 139 Ancient attempts to control and arrest its development. 140 The discovery of distillatiort, and the eulogium of Doctors increase it 142 The origin of licensing the traffic in strong-drink. 143 The demand iostered by Social Usages. 143 The great influence and responsibility of Females . 144 The legalizing of the traffic increases the demand. 144 Supply and demand in relation to the necessaries of life. 145 For luxuries the demand increases with the supply. 145 Why the liquor-market knows no glut.. 146 Fallacies of Liquor Vendors, Brewers and Distillers. 147 “Live and let live,” a good maxim badly applied. 149 V.—The Manufacture of Intoxicating Liquor, an Immorality. Three inspired volumes and the harmony between them. 152 The Will of God regarding food, as expressed in Providence. 153 How brewing destroys food. The process explained. 154 Vast extent of the waste in brewing and distilling.156 Intoxicants necessarily injure both Body and Soul. . 1'57 Our Poor-law system a premium upon vi$e, etc..... 158 10 CONTENTS. . PAGE The nature of Alcoholics tends to disease and degradation. 159 The action of Hyosciamus upon the body.. 160 The effects of Opium and Laudanum compared....;. 161 VI.—Teetotalism a Scientific Truth. The doctrine of expediency defined. 162 The original foundation of the Temperance enterprise. 163 Teetotalism in the beginning, a gigantic experiment. 164 Science succeeded experience and confirmed its teachings. 161* What Chemistry has done for Teetotalism. 164 Teetotalism in its relations to Physiology and Hygiene . 165 The Medical aspect of the Temperance question.... 166 Christian Morality in relation to Teetotalism. 169 Christianity teaches us to rule the Life by regulating the Heart. 169 It calls us from sensuous gratification to mental and moral aims. 170 It inculcates the practice of the milder virtues. 170 It demands self-abnegation for the good of others. 173 In all these respects abstinence does the same. 174 The New Testament inculcates the practice of true Temperance. 174 Signing the Pledge in harmony with Christian morality. 177 The Pledge defined, explained and defended. 178 Is it a Sin to drink a glass of Ale ?. 180 ♦ VII.—Teetotalism in Relation to the Bible. • #. • • The argument a priori, stated by Dr. Lees..‘. 182 . The Medical declaration, and the World’s Temperance Convention .... 182 At the Creation no want for Alcohol, and no Alcohol provided. 183^' Noah’s fall shows that the grace of God will not save a drinker . 183 Moderate drinkers more spirituous than spiritual. 184 The case ot Lot, a second warning. 184 The Israelites in Egypt and their subsequent temptations. 185 A teetotal Priesthood, and teetotal Sacrifices. 185 The Children of Israel teetotalers for forty years. 187 Their National declension through drink. ... 188 Attempts made to correct the evil.;. 192 The Essenes and Therapeutae: teetotal communities. 194 JPas Jesus Christ an abstainer f . 191 The Miracle at Cana in Galilee, examined. 195 The Supper of the Lord and the Passover Wine. 198 The Temperance Bible Commentary cited. 199 The- CiV&e of the Corinthian-Church..-... 201 Total-abstinence passages in the New Testament. 201 Objection .—‘ The Bible recommends wine”. 203 CONTENTS. 11 PAGE Different kinds of wine Generic and Specific terms in the Bible. 204 The use of unfermented wine prevalent in ancient times. 211 Such beverages nowhere condemned in the Bible. 213 Intoxicating wines nowhere sanctioned in the Bible. 213 Modern Wines analogous to the condemned “ mixed wines”. 213 Objection —" Paul prescribed a little wine to Timothy”. 215 The testimony of Athenseus as to medical-wine. 215 Objection —•• Moderate drinking implied in many texts”. 216V Examples of the absurdity of this argument.'.. 216 Objection —“ The new wine burst the old bottles”. 217 Facts misunderstood : inference therefore false.. 218 Objection. — ‘That the Bible nowhere commands abstinence”. 218 Answer.—It teaches abstinence in various ways. 220 \ III. —God’s Great Remedy for the World’s Great Curse. National evils require National remedies. 221 Moral suasion versus legal Prohibition.y£. Abstinence for the Individual, and Prohibition for the Community.... C222 > The remedy applied, lost, and found again... 224 The. universal adaptation of the remedy. 226 Examples. Saltaire—Tyrone—Bessbrook, etc. 227 Two contrasted Northumberland villages... 230 Palliatives Education. Recreation. Better Dwellings...'.. 232 Prevent adulteration and encourage /ume-drinking. 236 Preach the Gospel and evangelize the people.*. 236 Enact Free-trade in drink and impose heavy penalties. 238 Treat habitual drunkards as lunatics..r. 239 The dreams of the past become the realities of the preseut. 241 IX. —Legislation and the Liquor Traffic. The Temperance movement a great political agitation./242 ) The ends of Government. Protection of Life, Liberty, and Property. The benefit of the Community.*... Politics and political economy defined... 243 The sphere and limitations of Social Legislation. 244 Preventive Legislation the best sort of law^,. 244 Reciprocal duties of Governors and Governed. 244 The Liquor traffic opposed to the great euds of Government. 245 A violation of a man’s right to his Life... 246 Of a man’s right to his Liberty. 247 Of a man’s right to the full use of his Property.. 248 The Liquor traffic hostile to the welfare of the Community. 249 It corrupts and paralyzes also the executive authority. 253 A Maine Law versus a Permissive local option Law. 253 v 12 CONTENTS. PAGE What the Permissive Bill does not propose to do— Not to suppress Public Houses .i. 251 Not to dictate what people shall eat or drink. 234 Not to take the Licensing power from the Magistrates. 255 Not to amend the Licensing-system at all. 255 Not to stop further Legislation....*. 255 The Country fully ripe for the measure... 256 The alleged requirements of the Revenue. 256 A tax upon vice, “penny wise and pound foolish”.. 256 Unjust and unequal taxation involved in the system. 257 The suppression of the Traffic and an increased Revenue. 259 The Permissive Bill a moderate measure.*. 2G0 That it is not tyrannical nor impracticable. 261 That itis neither unconstitutional nor justly objectionable . 261 That it will deprive no one of an honest livelihood. 264 The suppression of the Liquor traffic a stern necessity. 264 Internal enemies most to be dreaded by a Nation. 266 The conditions of a true civilization. 96$ BACCHUS DETHRONED. CHAPTER I. TIIE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. Prop. 1 . — 11 That the drinking-system, including the manufac¬ ture, sale, and use of Alcoholic liquors as beverages , is the greatest evil in our land:' “ Poor race of men ! Pearly ye pay for your primal fall; m Some flowerets of Eden ye still inherit, But the trail of the serpent is over them all!” So spake the pitying spirit of Moore’s Paradise and the Peri , as wandering o’er Egypt’s land of wonders, she weepingly beheld the ravages of that terrible plague, which, sparing neither age, sex, nor rank, engulphed all in one common ruin. We go forth, and, hovering as in vision, over the wide field of humanity, we also discern amid its sweet flowerets the serpent’s trail, for we trace the ravages of a deadlier plague than ever desolated Egypt, one more fatal to life than that which slew her first-born sons—a plague which, coming down from remote ages, spares neither age, nor sex, nor class, and unlike that eastern pestilence, demoralizes and degrades while it destroys. We propose here to trace the ravages of this terrible plague, —the drinking system of our land,—first upon the individual, then upon the home-life of the people, and finally upon the nation at 4 large. First let us trace its ravages upon the individual. The vice of intemperance is a most disgusting and demoraliz¬ ing one, and leads to every species of abomination and crime. Yet we are so sadly familiar with it, that we appear scarcely to realize its demoralizing and destructive character. Intemper¬ ance, however, is the most loathsome and ruinous of vices, and an intemperate man is the most pitiable spectacle upon which any thinking person can gaze. 2 13 14 TIIE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. There are many pari scenes in this world—scones so rrd as to cause thy tear to roll down iron cheeks, and make even hearts of adamant feel; hut none are half so sad as that of a poor degraded set. The diunkard is a degraded man, intellectually. Our Creator lias endowed us with mental faculties, that vve may work out the higher purposes of life, and fulfil our grand destiny. lie has endowtd us with judgment and understanding, that we may inquire into the causes of things, and by comparing one thing with another, arrive at truth, lie has also endowed us with imagination and fancy, that we may, as it w r ere, revel in a world ot beauty of our own creation. He has endowed us with memory, that we may treasure up events and facts, and thus*, garnish our mind with mental wealth. Now intemperance obscures the judg¬ ment, and^weakens the understanding, so that a man is unable to discover or to appreciate truth. It distorts the imagination, and tills the chambers of the soul with pictures obscene and l'oul. It perverts and paralyzes the memory,, which instead of treasuring up useful knowledge, becomes a receptacle for the dregs of knowledge, and thus adds to the soul’s pollution. Thus intellectually, ti.e drunkard is a degraded man. M ui has also a motal constitution. There is conscience, that faithful monitor implanted in the human breast. When wo attempt to do wrong, conscience says, “Beware! and think of the divine law and the consequences!'' When we walk uprightly and do well, then we seem to hear her sweet voice crying, ‘’Well done!” There is also that keen appreciation of the good, the beautiful, and the true, and those noble affections that so adorn and bless human nature. But intemperance hurls conscience from her lofty seat, and her voice ceases, or sounds unheeded; those noble sentiments of rectitude and purity arc weakened, the kindly affections of the human breast become withered, whilst every evil passion and vile propensity are fostered into frightful development and ruinous exercise. Thus in his moral nature the diunkard is a degraded man. Man has also a physical constitution, a body; which is indeed a noble structure, and fit tenement for the immortal principle that occupies it. IIow expressive the human countenance! Now glowing with bright intelligence and thought, now beaming with satisfaction and delight, and anon beclouded with sorrow and cure. The body also upright, with brow turned to the sky, ITS RAVAGES UPON THE INDIVIDUAL. 15 as though indicating that we were designed for something nobler than a mere animal existence. But intemperance sadiy dis- figuies and conupts our frame. The countenance loses its tine expression, and, bloated and marred, becomes a terrible reflec¬ tion of the ravages going on within that man’s higher nature. The body is crushed earthward, but not with the weight of years; a terrible palsy seizes upon it, and stripped of beauty, symmetry, and strength, and corrupted by disease, it sinks pre¬ maturely into the drunkard’s grave. Thus intellectually, morally and physically, the drunkard is a degraded and brutalized man. Upon the altar of internperaneo be sacrifices all that can make life beautiful and desirable, bis manhood and his freedom, and he becomes a miserable slave, bound to the rock by the chain of bis own vices, and lashed by the in-rolling waves of despair. While the intempeiate man is a slave, the Land that has bound him is bis own. 11 is slavery is the lesult of a voluntary act, of which the fiequent repetition has enthralled him. Mot the less does the Jaw of narcotism make him the slave to a lawless and uncontrollable passion, to gratify which, he is willing to sacrifice his health and honor, even self- respect and natural affection, and to quench for a time the bright light of reason. “What,” says Dr. W. E. Channing, ‘ is the great essential evil of intemperance? The reply is given, wdieri I say that intemperance is the vohiniaiy extinction of reason. The great evil is inward or spiritual. The intemperate man divests himself for a time of his rational and moral nature, casts from himself self-consciousness and self-command, brings on frenzy, and by repetition of this insanity, prostrates more and more his rational and moral powers, lie sins immediately and directly against the rational nature, that divine principle which dis¬ tinguishes between truth and falsehood, between right and wrung action, which distinguishes man from the brute. This is the essence of the vice, what constitutes its peculiar guilt and woe, and what should particularly impress and awaken those who are laboring for its suppression. All the other evils of intemper¬ ance are light compared with this, and almost all flow from this; and it is right, it is to be desired, that all other evils should he joined with and follow this. It is to be desired when a man lifts a suicidal arm against his higher life, when he quenches reason and conscience, that he and all others should receive solemn, start¬ ling warning of the greatness of his guilt; that terrible outward 16 THE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. calamities should bear witness to the inward ruin which he is working 5 that the handwriting of judgment and woe on his countenance, form, and whole condition, should declare what a fearful thing it is for a man, God’s rational offspring, to renounce his reason and become a brute.” The drunkard is not only a degraded man, he is also a diseased man. This fact is often overlooked. We must remember, however, that the terrible aspect of the drunkard, and all those repulsive crimes that render him an object of disgust and terror, flow from a disease, the power and horror of which none can know but those who suffer from it. When we gaze upon the drunkard as a diseased and suffering man, he becomes an object, not of unmitigated contempt, but of profound commiseration. We feel almost inclined to forget his vices in our pity for his sorrows; and we long to tell him, that though we cannot tolerate his vice, we can and do sym¬ pathize with his weakness and pain, and desire to lend him a helping hand, in order to restore him"to health and sobriety. We say that the drunkard is a diseased man, and so, also, is the (so called) moderate drinker . The latter suffers exactly from the same disease as the former; there is no difference whatever in kind, only in degree. The moderate drinker has this disease in a mild form, and in him it shows itself in its earlier stages. The drunkard suffers from it in a severer form, and in its advanced stages. Where the moderate drinker now stands, boasting of his strength, and heedless of that disease which has already begun to work in his body, there once stood the drunkard, boasting likewise. Where the drunkard now lies, hopelessly enslaved, many moderate drinkers will assuredly lie in future years. It has been computed that one-thirteenth of all moderate drinkers eventually die drunkards^ How many then, think you, become drunkards? The moderate drinker, as he sips his ruby wine or foaming ale, thinks not how dangerous and fascinating is the enemy he is introducing within the citadel of life. lie now boasts of his firmness of purpose and strength of resolve, and fancies that he is perfect master of the situation— that he can take a glass or leave it at his pleasure, and even pities those silly, weak fellows, who can’t restrain their appetites, but are continually plunging into excess. But will he always bo able to stand thus firm? ? Alas! experience warrants us in THE DRUNKARD’S DISEASE. 17 declaring that a treat many drinkers will not be able to do so; that one-thirteenth of them will find a drunkard's grave : and that perhaps two or three others will become drunkards. Tho dancer, in fact, is greatest to those among them who are of a highly sensitive, or sociable nature, men full of generous sympathies and warm impulses. When a moderate drinker informs me that there is no fear of his becoming a drunkard ; the reply is, that in such case it must he owing to the preventive operation of some powerful ruling passion, such as avarice, or to the absence of some physical and social qualities necessary to make him a drunkard. lie may be of a heavy lymphatic temperament, and of a very even temper, subject to no nervous excitement, alternating with depression, on whom narcotics do not appear to act as upon other men. lie can resist their action well, and it takes a large dose to affect him. Such persons do not readily become drunkards, but they are capable of becoming that which is quite as disgusting, though perhaps, not quite so dangerous ; they can become soakers. Now, here are four men before me, moderate drinkers, taken from the life. A. is a coarse, brutal-fellow, whose only idea of happiness is the gratification of his passions. The higher joys of life he knows not, and. therefore, has no relish for them. IIis mental powers are uncultivated, and his moral nature is a barren wilderness. In fact, he is low mentally, low morally, but very str< ng in his animal nature. B. is a very easy sort of a fellow, of even temper and heavy temperament. lie eats well and sleeps well, and concerns him¬ self little as to how things are going on around him. It takes a great deal to excite him, and not a little to depress him. Ills favorite adage is, Come day, go day, God send Sunday.” C. is a fine thoughtful fellow, if anything, of a metaphysical turn of mind. lie finds his pleasure in mathematics and philo¬ sophy. He is a man of strong common sense, and can take a common-sense view of things. Clouds to him are clouds, whether they be gray or gilded with all glorious hues. His mind is not tinged with romance, and though he may be able to appreciate good poetry, he is not of a poetic turn of mind. IIo is characterized by calm thought, soundness of judgment, and tameness of the imaginative faculty. In fact, he is of such stuff as mathematicians and savans are made of. 18 THE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. D is a man combining in his temperament the nervous and sanguine elements. He possesses a lively fancy, a powerful imagination, and is the creature of romance and of poetic frenzy. He is full of generous sympathies and strong emotions, and delights to give vent to them in music and in song. lie is strong in his social nature. To his happiness, company is a SINE QUA NON, for it is here he shines, and becomes the idol of society. He is not deficient in force of intellect-, but the strength of his emotional nature, and of the imaginative faculty, makes him prone to extremes. He is a child of genius and of song, and is, in fact, of such stuff as poets are made of. Now I ask, which of these four are most likely to fall and become drunkards? A. and D., of course; the other two are not so liable, and this is borne out by history aud experience. Whilst the poets have erred and fallen, the philosophers have remained sober. “ The passionate heart of the poet, It fires with folly and vice.” Hafiz, a favorite Persian poet, thus sings, “ The roses have come, nor can anything afford so much pleasure as a goblet of wine. The enjoyments of life are vain 5 bring wine, for the trappings of the world are perishable.” The far-famed and musical Anacreon could sing, “ ’Tis better to lie drunk than dead.” And after spending a voluptuous life, he died at the age. of seventy, choked by a grapestone in the act of^drinking new wine. Our modern poets also, lor the most part, have erred, and fallen, and perished; many of the sweetest singers of modern times were victims of intemperance. The philosophers, however, were sober men, and many of theyi were water-drinkers; and in this respect practically exemplified those precepts of sobriety and truth which they gave to the'world. Witness Pythagoras, Socrates, Diogenes, Epicurus, and Seneca, among the ancients; and many of our mo lorn philosophers have worthily emulated them. Of the great Loc^e it is said, “ His diet was the same as other people’s, except that he usually drank nothing but water ; and he thought that his abstinence in this respect had preserved his life so long, although his condition was so weak.’ The drunkard, we have said, is a diseased man. We will now the drunkard’s disease. 19 attempt to describe his disease, to mark its symptoms, and to trace its causes. The drunkard’s disease is known by different names, as, Dipsomania (from dpso , thirst, and mania , madness), thirst- madness; Oinomania , (from oinos , wine, and mania,) wine-mad¬ ness ; and Methyomania , a madness for drink. The disease is that peculiar state of the nervous system brought on by the use of intoxicating liquor, giving rise to an irresistible craving for strong drink. The diagnostic mark of the disease is, in fact, an irresistible propensity to swallow down large quantities of intoxicating drinks. This is indeed a true madness, a vinomania. In some persons it comes out in paroxysms, and is periodic; but in others it is chronic. The individual affected with Periodic Oinomania, abstains for weeks or months from all stimulants, and frequently loathes them for the same period. But by degrees he becomes uneasy, listless and depressed, feels incapable of application and restless, and at last begins to drink till he is intoxicated. He awakes from a restless sleep, seeks again a repetition of the in¬ toxicating dose, and continues the same course for a week or two longer. Therr a stage of apathy and depression follows, during which he feels a loathing for stimulants, is the prey of remorse, and bitterly regrets yielding to his malady. This is followed by fresh vigor,^diligent application to business, and a determined resolu¬ tion never again to give way. But, alas ! sooner or later the parox¬ ysm recurs, and the same scene is reenacted, till ultimately, un¬ less the disease be checked, he falls a victim to the physical effects of intemperance,—becomes maniacal or imbecile, or affected with the form of the disease next to be mentioned.— See Dr. Hutchi¬ son, cited in Carpenter's Physiology of Temperance, p. 38. In Chronic Oinomania, “ The patient is incessantly under the most overwhelming desire for stimulants. He will disregard every impediment, sacrifice comfort and reputation, withstand the claims of affection, consign his family to miserv and disgrace, and deny himself the common necessaries of life, to gratify his insane propensity. In the morning morose and fretful, disgusted with himself, and dissatisfied with all around him ; weak and tremulous, incapable of any exertion either of mind or body, his first feeling is a desire for stimulants, with every fresh dose of which lie recovers a certain degree of vigor, both of body and mind, till he feels comparatively comfortable. A few hours pass with- 2Q THE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. out the craving being' so strong J but it soon returns and the patient drinks till intoxication is produced, l ien succeed t restless sleep, the suffering, the comparative tranqurHtj. the excitement, and the state of insensibility ; and un css .tbso.utc.y secluded from nil means of gratifying the propensity, the patient continues the same course till he d.cs or becom e imbecile. ' This is that fearful state portrayed by Charles L.ti.h, i„ which reason revisits the mind only during the transient ■ncriod of incipient intoxication. ‘•It must be remarked, that in all these forms of the disease the patient is perfectly incapable of self-control; that he is im¬ pelled by an irresistible impulse to gratify ns propensity , t . while the paroxysm is on him, he is regardless ot Ins health, h.s life, and all that can make life dear to him ; that be w pi one dissipate his propel y, and easily becomes the prey of the deSign- in- that in many cases he exhibits a propensity to commit homicide, or suicide, lie is thus dangerous to hnnsel and others: and, however responsible he may have been for b in., the disease on himself, his responsibility ceases as soon as he”comes under the influence of the malady.” Ibid. A predisposition to this disease, if not the disease itself, may ho transmitted from parent to child, and thus all the horrors oi the drunkard's lot may he handed down from one generation to another. Many drunkards have confessed to me that thc.r fathers and grandfathers were drunkards, as well as many of their brothers and sisters. • # The causes of this malady may be divided into the remote, the predisposing the exciting and the proximate. The remote causes are The social drinking usages of society, —the legalized facilities for obtaining intoxicating liquor and a false estimate as to the nature and properties of strong drink. The predisposing causes are-.-Physical or mental exhaustion, however induced,—hemorrhage,—melancholia, and all diseases that leave an oppressed state of the nervous system. The exciting cause is the actual n— »* clergymen, who meet with such cases every day. Police Returns, defective ns they notoriously are, however sufficiently show that drunkenness ts increasing lake, for instance, the Manchester Police Returns, printed under direction nf the Watch Committee. . , . * The returns for the ten years from I860 to 1869 inclusive ar as follows: Year. I860 . 9.877 1,309 . L< -° . '_ i . o nnfi Total proceeded against. Indictable Offences. Assaults. 2,006 Drunkenness. .. 2,329 ... 2,284 ... 3,373 ... 3,206 3,587 1861 . 19,194 . hm 1862 . 12.063 . 1 , 6«8 . 2 , 1 < 1-.%%::: S ::: IS isos :::: .w«... ^. 9 o’g 371 & z. im . 1«69:::::: z w. *** . .... lhus appears " says the Chief Constable, "that the persons proceeded J*K 'year are nearly three times the number they were ten against duim t a consi derable increase, drunken- years ago. In these ottences ng arres ted lor this a that 65 per cent, of the persons arrested were drunk when taken into custody. The increased demands upon the time of the police, Itch this offence occasions, materiallv interrupts that constant a ten tion to their duties which is so necessary for the eileetual protection of property.” The Po 1: ce Returns for England and Wales, for t >e fi\i >ears ending September 29th, ISOS, show a very large per centage ot INFLICTING DISEASE AND DEATH. 29 the total Summary Charges, under the heading—drunk and disorderly : 1863- 4 . 100,067 . 23 per cent. 1864- 5 105,810 23 “ 1865- 6 104,368 22 “ 18.66-7 100,357 21 “ 1867-8 111,465 23 “ In 1867-8, we find a much larger number of drunk and dis¬ orderly cases than in the preceding year. In 1867-3, the number of cases proceeded against summarily, were 490,752, and the convictions were 347,458; of males 288,177, of females 59,341. The cases proceeded against were more by 16,087 than thoso of 1866-7; the convictions were 12,099 more, and the proportion of female cases was greater. The convictions were followed by 215,174 fines, and 87,364 terms of imprisonment varying from fourteen davs to above six months. The cases of assault were 92.978, of which 2,690 were “aggravated assaults on women and children.” The cases of “drunk and disorderly” were 111,465, making, with the assaults, a total oi 204,443, or 42 per cent, of the whole number, in almost the whole of which strong drink was the instigating cause of the offence. • There are certain seasons, as at an election, at Christmas, and the New-Year, when intemperance marshals her forces, and then wild anarchy and disgusting debauchery spread over the land. The Right lion. John Bright, M.P., when addressing his consti¬ tuents at Birmingham, at his reelection on the 21st December 1869, said:—‘‘We have had tumult in scores of boroughs. Those twin demons, discord and drink, have run riot in the streets of many of our towns. And amongst the poorer classes of voters, there can be no doubt that there has been bribery to a great extent. There has been treating to a still greater extent. ... The whole picture, as I surveyed it from day to day in tho newspaper reports, was one really frightful and horrible. I think it was humiliating to us to a very great degree, and that every one ol us should ask himself whether it is possible to find a remedy ?” The remedy proposed by the Right Honorable gentleman was to close the public-houses during an election. II.—As producing disease and premature death. As a class, drunkards are short lived. “No Life Insurance Office will accept an insurance on an individual whose habits are known to be intemperate; and if it be discovered, after liis death, 30 THE'GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. that he has been accustomed to the excessive use of alcoholic liquors, contrary to his statement in his proposal for insurance, the policy is declared void. And it is, doubtless, owing in part to the superior sobriety of the great bulk of insurers over that of the average of the population, that a lower rate of morta ity presents itself amongst them, than that which might be expected according to the calculations founded on the entire mortality ot the country—to the great profit of the office. Thus at the age of forty years, the annual rate of mortality among the whole population of England is about 13 per 4000; whilst among the lives insured in Life Offices, it is about 11 per 1000; and in those, insured in Friendly Societies, it is about 10 per • — Dr. Carpenter; Physiology of 7 empe>ance, p. 79. “It has been ascertained that in men peculiarly exposed to the tempt .tion of drinking, the mortality before thirty-five years of age is twice as great as in men following similar occu¬ pations, but less liable to fall into this fatal habit. It has a.so been shown that the rate of mortality among persons addicted to intemperance is more than three times as great as among the population at large. At the earlier periods of life the dispropor¬ tion is still greater, being five times as great between twenty and thirty years of age, and four times as great between thirty and fifty. The annual destruction of life among persons of decided y intemperate habits has been estimated at. upwards of **000 ma es and nearly 700 females, in a population of nearly 54,000 inn. es, and upwards of 11.000 females addicted to intemperance. [ 1 hat is, of males the death-rate is 55 per 1000 per annum and of . females G3 per 1000 per annum, while the general death-nate ot the whole country and at all ages, is only 23 per 1000.] I he greater number of these deaths are due to delirium tremens an diseases of the brain, and to dropsical affections supervening on diseases of the liver and kidneys.”-//^* Physician s ) ade Mecum, G lli ed., 1858, by W. A. Gay, 31.D. “An intemperate person of twenty years of age, has a proba¬ bility of life extending to 15.6 years; one of thirty years of age, to 13.8 vears; and one of forty years, to 11.6 years ; win e a person of the general population of the country would have a like probability of living 44.2, 36.5, and 28.8 yeais rcspecta\e y. Some curious results were shown in the influence of the differen kinds of drinks on the duration of life: beer-drinkers averaging 21.7 years; spirit drinkers 16.7 years; and those who drink both HEAVY MORTALITY OF DRINKERS AND VENDORS. 31 beer and spirits indiscriminately 16.1 years. These results, however, were not more curious than those connected with the different classes of persons. The average duration of life, after the commencement of intemperate habits, among mechanics and laboring men, was 18 years; among traders, dealers, and me¬ chanics, 17 years; among professional men and gentlemen, 15 years; and among females, 14 years only.”— Carpenter's Physiology of Temperance , p. 76. It appears then, that drinkers shorten their lives just in pro¬ portion to their means for gratifying their inordinate passion. Professional men, gentlemen, and females, on account of their larger means, are able to obtain more drink than the mechanic or laboring man, and consequently they die earlier. The above calculations are based upon those of the eminent actuary, Mr. Neison. Those engaged in the Traffic being very much addicted to drink are, as a class, short-lived. In the supplement to the Twenty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General, there is a table of the mortality of persons engaged in different occupations. The following extracts from that table give the annual mor¬ tality per cent, of males at different ages : Ages. Ages. Ages. Ages. 25 to 35 35 to 45 45 to 55 55 to 65 Farmers and Graziers, . . ‘877 ... 1'244 ... 2-307 ... 5-730 Grocers,.‘923 ... 1-280 ... 2-053 ... 4-334 Carpenters,.*980 ... P542 ... 2 803 ... 6*951 Shoemakers,. 1*113 ... 1*577 ... 3-024 ... 6-911 Laborers,.*997 ... 1-398 ... 2-617 ... 5-949 Inn and Hotel Keepers, Pub- ] licans, Beer-sellers, Wine t P912 ... 2-793 ... 4 105 ... 7'446 and Spirit Merchants, J All England,. 1*228 !.. 1*767 ... 3-110 ... 6-225 Thus the mortality of persons in the liquor traffic, from twenty-five years of age to forty-five, is twice as great as it is with farmers or graziers, and much more at all ages than it is ' with farmers, carpenters, shoemakers, laborers, and the males of all England. The high rate of mortality of brewers’ draymen, pot-boys, and publicans is proverbial. The death-rate per 1000, of persons between the age of thirty and forty, engaged in dif¬ ferent occupations, is as follows : Tradesmen, 16 per 1000 ; footmen, 18 ; laborers, 18; licensed 32 THE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. victuallers, 20 ; pot-boys, 29 ; draymen, 39.— Journal of Statis¬ tical Society , vol. iv., p. 4. ., Drunkards are also far more liable to accidents than ot . people. In fact, a large proportion of severe accident cases in our hospitals have their origin here. Very frequently the lives of other people are not merely jeopardized, but actually sacrificed through the carelessness and recklessness of drunkards. A co - lision takes place upon a railway, and many passengers are injured and killed ; negligence on the part of the driver or some- of the officials, caused by the glass of ale blunting their percep tive powers, and rendering them reckless, is discovered to be the cause. A ship founders at sea, and nearly all hands perish j the drunkenness of the captain and seamen has occasioned the sad catastrophe. The drunkard’s wife and children are slowly murdered by continued neglect and want, till at last they too swell the sad catalogue of the slain through drink. If a drunkard’s life is only worth ten years, then nearly 50,000 persons must perish prematurely every year, from intemperance. I am however, convinced for myself that this calculation is below the mark; and that, if we compute the deaths occasioned indirectly by intemperance, and by drinking short of what is called drunkenness, the number will approach much nearer 70,000 per annum. . . , . , ' If we put down the number of this class of drinkers, not drunkards, at 4,000,000, and compute the death-rate among them in excess of those who don't drink at only eight per , per annum, this will give us 32,000 deaths justly chargeable upon the use of intoxicating liquor. . In our large towns more than one-half of the infant population die before the end of the fifth year. Now we can prove that the lives of thousands of these little ones are cruelly sacrificed through the intemperate habits of their parents. During the year fsG5, 145 inquests was held in Liverpool alone, on infants overlaid or smothered by their mothers; these cases chiefly occurred on Saturday and Sunday nights ; thus proving that intemperance was the cause. Then too, thousands of infants * perish annually from cruel neglect and deficient nourishment, all arising from the intemperance of mothers. The annual number of births in the United Kingdom is about 700 000. Now of this number one-fourth, or 175,000, will die in the course of the first year. V r e may, with safety, put down 10 A coroner’s testimony. 90 oo per cent, of the whole, f. e. 17,500, as occasioned by neglect. ow ing to the drunken habits of parents. The Registrar General in orms us that 200,000 persons perish annually in the United Kingdom from avoidable disease. IIow many of these must have their origin in intemperance, or be aggravated by it? ut we have yet to compute the deaths resulting from the eg igence of those occupying responsible situations. Patients, ho might otherwise have recovered, sacrificed through the unkenness of doctors; the excessive rate of mortality occurring ncertam diseases from the alcoholic treatment; deaths by sea y f ^ ie drunkenness of ship’s officers and crews, and of railway officials. ’ mmhn/Jb for Middlesex: “I have seen so Teetot f h n -‘' • 6CtS ° f sin that 1 am incli ned to become a annuanvumn 1 " 18 b *‘ friend 1 have; !t causes me to '>avo annually 1,00(1 more inquests than I otherwise should hold; and have reason to believe that from 10,000 to 15,000 persons die in inonr,f 0p n 1S ,?,? Ually fr0m ,he eff,!Cts of g‘ n ! upon Whom no 2 n\ Vscv 0 heW ', The m 1 uests f °r the year ending September foos 24 ' 774i on maIes - 17,476; on females, .'r . “ " 2 ° , CaSeS ’ thirteen in the thousand, the verdict of were of 8 T '"r rln was returned. Among the other verdicts n r 7 ,’ 0 murder, 235 of manslaughter, 1,546 of suicide, 11,033 . cidental death, 2,824 of found dead, while S.094 are ascribed to causes unnamed. In 1866-7 the inquests were 24,648, at a cost (O the nation of £76,520 2s. Id. Fully three fourths of the above may be charged upon the drinking system of the nation. d then, too, the amount and variety of disease produced by tins drinking system are most horrible to contemplate. Indeed, ,. , aai ? lava ‘ ln y blea, save those who have paid special atten- ,i ° , sa *l e et, of the vast amount of disease occasioned by the use of intoxicating liquor. . ® r ’. Trotter J numerates twenty-eight diseases arising from sions V** '""I *. lnkS ’ V ‘ z: “^Pop'exy, epilepsy, hysterics, convul- benni’-; drea ™ 8 ’ S astritis > enteritis, ophthalmia, carbuncle, l,?tf I S '' U ’• Scmr, ' ous °f the bowels, fatal obstruction of the lock f 8 ’ JaU |" lndl S C8t,0n i dropsy, tabes, syncope, diabetes, ok jaw, palsy, ulcers, madness, idiocy, melancholy, impotency, p lature old age, and diseases of infants during suckling. Hr. Carpenter thus enumerates the diseases induced by alco- nolle excess: J 34 TIIE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. 1 Diseases of the Nervous System. — Delirium ebriosum (drunken madness), delirium tremens, insanity, omomama, mental debility in offspring inflammatory diseases of the brain, apoplexy, paralysis, epilepsy,- criminal conduct [including — suicidal mania, homicidal mania, pyromania (an uncontrollable desire to commit acts of incendiarism), kleptomania (an uncon troll able desire to steal), and erotomania (an irrepressible desire to gratify the sexual passion).] . 2. Diseases of the Alimentary Canal .—Irritation and inflam¬ mation of the mucous membrane of the stomach, inflammatory gastric dyspepsia, disorders of intestinal mucous membrane. . 3. Diseases of the Liver.— Congestion, acute and chronic inflammation, atrophy, (wasting), hypertrophy (enlargement), hob nailed liver. 4. Diseases of the Kidneys— Albuminurea, or Bright s Disease. 5. Diseases of the Stein.- Carbuncle, boils, erysipelas, acne, psora, ebriosum (Drunkard’s Itch.) 6. General Disorders of Nutrition .-Tendency to the deposi¬ tion of fat, diminished power of sustaining injuries, liability to epidemic diseases, gout and rheumatism, diseases of heart and arteries Here’ then, we have a catalogue of the most terrible diseases that can afflict mankind, all of them induced by the use of a co- holic liquors, and some of them never occurring except in those who drink. , ...... Two of the above-named diseases call for special attention, both on account of the sufferings they inflict, and the frequency of their occurrence, viz: Insanity and Delirium lremens. We have in our public asylums about 50,000 insane and idiotic persons: and according to Lord Shaftesbury, six-tenths are pro¬ duced by drink. He says-.-“Here I speak of my own know¬ ledge and experience, for having acted as Commissioner o Lunacy for the last twenty years, and as Chairman of the Com¬ mission during sixteen years, and having had therefore t e whole of the business under my personal observation and care; having made inquiries into the matter, and having fortified them by inquiries in America, which have confirmed the inquiries made in this country-the result is, that fully six tenths of all the cases of insanity to be found in these realms and in America arise from no other cause than from habits of intemperance in which the people have indulged.” INSANITY AND DELIRIUM TREMENS. 35 The number of deranged people in a country corresponds very closely with the amount of strong drink they consume. Till the introduction of fire-water among the American Indians, insanity v as unknown. In Cairo, comparatively teetotal, there is one in¬ sane person to every 30,714 of the inhabitants. In Spain, com¬ paratively sober, the consumption of alcohol being only one gallon per head per annum, there is one insane person in every <,1S1. In Normandy, consuming two gallons of alcohol per head per annum, one in every 700. In Norway, consuming two gallons, one in every 551. In England, consuming two and a half gallons, the proportion is one in every 430 of the inhabitants.* ihe amount of idiotcy transmitted from drunken parents to their offspring is truly deplorable. Dr. Howe, in his celebrated Deport on Idiotcy, states that out of 300 idiots whose history he could learn, 145 had free, habitual drinkers for parents. A ■Viennese physician, Dr. Bernacki, now of New York, told the wliter that he had in youth a friend, a doctor to one of the Austrian regiments, who possessed the finest intellectual endow¬ ments and moral character at the time of his marriage. His first son was a noble, healthy fellow. But the appetite for drink had been engendered, and the father went from bad to worse. He had five children, but of these one was imbecile, and all the rest absolutely idiotic.^— See Dr. Lees' Prize Essaij on ihe Liquor Traffic, p. 199. Of the terrible disease, delirium tremens , there died in the - three years, 1858-59-60, 1,426 persons. In 1867, there died 369 from the same cause. During the four years, 1864-65-66-67, the deaths from alcoholism, inclusive of delirium tremens, are put down at 3,784. The proportional number of deaths from alco¬ holism, in each of the years, 1858-67 to 1,000,000 of population, was 37, 46, 39, 33, 35, 41, 52, 50, 44, and 35 respectively. In these ten years, the deaths registered amounted to 8,370_viz : from intemperance, 3,527; and from delirium tremens , 4,843. “ Drink has the characteristic of predisposing to attacks of dis¬ ease, and preparing the way for the winged pestilence. Let an epidemic appear in our midst, drunkards are its earliest victims, and its ravages are most desolating in those districts where drink¬ ing prevails. Dr. Anderson, of Glasgow, states as the results of * In Scotland, in lSG7,it was one in every480; in Ireland one in 630. Pauper lunatics in Asylums, overlooked by Commissioners, now number 43 000 Of all classes we have 50,000, including 26,717 females.— Ed. ’ 36 the great national curse. liis experience in the treatment of 225 patients in the epidemic of 1848-9:_‘I have found the use of the alcoholic drinks to he the most powerful predisposing cause ot malignant cholera with which I am acquainted. So strong is my opinion on this point, that were I one of the authorities, and had the power, I would placard every spirit shop in town with large bills, containing the words, cholera sold HERE.’ The mortality of those who weie represented to him as having been previously of temperate habits, averaged 19.2 per cent.*, whilst among the habitually intemperate it rose to the enormous proportion of 91.2 per cent. One of the most respectable and extensive spirit dealers in High Street, Glasgow, is stated to have said that ‘ the cholera has cut off at least one-half of my customers.’ During the epidemic of 1832, it was noticed in Montreal, where 12 000 cases occurred, that ‘not a drunkard who was attacked has recovered, and almost all the other victims were moderate drinkers.’ In War¬ saw it was found that 90 per cent, of those who died of the cholera had been in the habit of drinking ardent spirits to excess; and at Tiflis, in Russia, a town of 20,000 inhabitants, every drunkard is said to have been carried off by the disease.” —See Dr. Lees's Prize Essay. Evidence to the same effect is furnished by the marked increase in the number of cholera cases which have occurred, when occasions or seasons of festivity have induced unusual excesses during its prevalence. “ Thus at Glasgow in 1832, the jubilee held to celebrate the passing of the reform bill occasioned a new and very fatal outbreak of the disease which was previously almost extinct-, and at Gateshead, the week following Christmas- day was signalized by a most terrible fatality, which was obvi¬ ously attributable to the drunkenness that prevailed in the town, one of the worst streets of which was said to be swept of con¬ firmed drunkards, from one end to the other, with very few ex¬ ceptions. The influence of alcoholic excesses was scarcely less strongly marked in Glasgow, during the second epidemic -, a great increase in mortality from cholera taking place during and after the New Year festivities.”— Carpenter, Phys. of Temperance. Says Robert Martin, M.D., Warrington: “In 1801-2 there was an enormous increase of places for the sale of liquor in Liver¬ pool, and a corresponding increase in drunkenness. At the same time, trade was very bad, so'that there was a fearful amount of destitution. Typhus burst forth, and for four years raged as an PRODUCING CRIME. 37 epidemic. In 1866, the magistrates, seeing the terrible blunder which had been made, reversed their policy, put an end to the experiment which they prepared the public for in 1861, and put in force in 1862 ; from the greatest laxity they swung round to the most rigid control. The result was that the death-rate, which had been going up year after year, was suddenly arrested. Intemperance was diminished and disease and death diminished also. Liverpool lost, or rather escaped from, the terrible pre¬ eminence which for years it had maintained on the Begistrar- General s black list.” An outbreak of cholera occurred in Liver¬ pool in 1866. The first victim was an Irishwoman; her death took place on Sunday night, July 1st, and the body was “waked” amidst a scene of shocking drunkenness until Tuesday. Dr. Iiench, the medical officer of health, visited the scene on the Monday, and found the corpse surrounded by persons who were indulgingm “drunken and profane ribaldry.” He says, “When I again visited on Tuesday morning, to try either by threats or persuasions to hasten the funeral, I found the whole place reek¬ ing with tobacco smoke, and with the loathsome and disgusting emanations of drunken and unwashed bacchanals. The three houses (in the court) were crammed with men, women, and children, while drunken women squatted thickly on the flags before the open door of the crowded room where the corpse lay. . . . Before the period of a week had passed, John Boyle, the husband of the woman, was also amongst the dead, and before the end of July forty-eight persons had died from cholera within a radius of 150 yards from the court , which had been the scene of the ill-timed revelry. The commencement of the epi¬ demic dates from the period and place of Mrs. Boyle’s death.” 1° the extent of Crime produced by the Drinking system. . A crime is an offence against society or a violation of those just and beneficent laws enacted for its regulation and benefit. The number of habitual criminals in the United Kingdom has been computed at 140,000, or one in every 214 of the popu¬ lation ; besides an innumerable array of occasional criminals, costing the nation to maintain and look after, about £6,000 000 per annum. Kow, it can be proven from the concurrent testimony of all having to deal with our criminal class, that from three-fourths to eight-ninths of their number are the product of drinking. It is a very rare thing, indeed, to see a teetotaler figuring as a og the great national curse. criminal in a police court, or lansnisl.ing in a jaU. Mr. Sun- mons, governor of tl.e Canterbury prison, thus tvntes. .■The number of prisoners who have b '™'“"f ,t“ I™ with which I have been connected during the last th 22 Odd. Among them I have come m contact w.th mm. s&r?s. *■» wf&srs r zte&r* — IfZ ,Vtf“ l^OCO prisoners out of die 1,500 into whose antecedents I have carefully inquired Of the 1,000, the number of females is 2„6an of male their husbands. Of the 704 males48Ct admitted that ‘^foamt‘a ards. and many o f are "drunkards’ How many of the IZr 355 nmTbe in the same condition, I could not discover, for many prisoners, like the majority outside, have very strange,. ^eas as to what constitutes drunkenness they think t W - not drunk.uds * *£ are constantly or very frequently drunk I is corrected amongst all classes of the community the betiei u I n be for our country What would be the state of society it all Other vices and crimes were looked upon with as much indifference as is drunkenness—the parent of so many of the other crimes. The amount of crime is very closely regulated by the quantity of intoxicating liquor consumed. Diminished consumption show- in" a decrease in crime ; increased consumption an increase. During the seven years between 1812 and 18h , hotline us '^ ' the annual consumption of British spirits in hng.and and Wales was 5,000,000 gallons, anti the annual average number ot prisoners committed for trial was 11,305. Durmg the seven years between 1826 and 1S32, the annual average consumption had risen to nearly 9,000,000- gallons, and the annual average commitments to 21,796, both items almost double: while from 1812 to 1832, the population had increased only about one-thn . The amount of crime then is not so much measured by the increase of population, as by the increase in the consumption of intoxicating liquor. During the four years succeeding 1820, the consumption o INCREASED FACILITIES SHOW INCREASE OF CRIME. 39 spirits in England and Wales amounted to 27,000,000 gallons, the number of licenses granted was 351,647, and the number of criminals comm.tted for trial was 01,200. In the four years ending 1828, the consumption had increased to 42,000,000 gallons, the number of licenses granted being 374,794, and the number of committals rose to 78,345. In the next four years • ending 1832, the amount of spirits consumed was 48,000,000, the number of licenses 468,438, when‘the number of commitments increased to 91,366. / Thus during the eight years from 1824 to 1832, the committals had increased 30,000, or 50 per cent., and the consumption of spirits increasing in the same time 77 per cent., with a very decided increase also in the consumption of beer, while during the three periods, the licenses had increased from 351,647 to 468,438, being an increase of 116,794. “In Scotland, in 1823, the whole consumption of intoxicating liquors amounted to 2,300,000 gallons; in 1837 to 6,776,715 gallons. In the meantime crime increased 400 per cent., fever 1,600 per cent., death 300 per cent., and the chances of human life diminished 44 per cent.”— Dr. Kott's Lectures, p. 25. In Ireland when the distilleries were stopped (1808) crime decreased amazingly. Again, when in 1810 they recommenced operations, the commitments increased nearly four-fold. In 1840, owing to the Great Temperance Agitation conducted by Father Mathew, the public-houses within the police bounds of Dublin had lessened by 237, and the prisoners in the Rich¬ mond Bridewell, which had numbered 136 on the 1st September, 1839, were reduced to 23, or one-sixth in November, 1840. In consequence of 100 cells being empty in the Bridewell, the Smithfield prison was closed. Lord Morpeth, when Secretary for Ireland, gave the following statistics in a speech on the condition of Ireland, delivered after a public dinner in Dublin. Of cases of murder, assault with attempt to murder, outrageous offence against the person, aggravated assault, cutting and maiming, there were in 1837 . 12,096 . 1839 . 1,097 1838 . 11,058 ..... 1840 . 173 It further appears that the number of persons charged with murder within the police boundaries of Dublin, was in 1838 . 14 . 1840 . 2 1839 . 4 . 1841 . 1 40 THE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. From' 1838 the Temperance Agitation had been going on, and on the 30th October, Father Mathew had inscribed in his roll of teetotalers upwards of 2,500,000 names. The consumption of spirits for the year 1840 (ending 5th January 1841), had fallen, in round numbers, to 7,000,000 gallons; whereas in 1838 it was 12,000,000 gallons. Hence the falling oft in the calen¬ dar.”— Teetotalers Companion, p. 385-6. Now, whilst a very large proportion of crimes in general, flows from the use of intoxicating liquor, crimes of violence, suicides, and prostitution, have almost their sole cause here. Judge Wightman, in his address to the Grand Jury, at the Crown Court, Liverpool, in August, 1846, said, “Of ninety- two persons whose names were on the calendar, six weie chaiged with wilful murder, twelve with manslaughter, thirteen with malicious injury to the person, sixteen with burglary, and eight with highway robbery, accompanied with violence to the peison. lie found from a perusal of the depositions, one unfailing cause of four-fifths of these crimes was, as it was in every other, the besetting sin of drunkenness. In' almost all the cases of PERSONAL VIOLENCE AND INJURY, TIIE SCENE WAS A PUBLIC-HOUSE OR A BEER-SHOP.” It is when men’s passions are excited, and their better natures blunted by strong drink, that they commit these terrible crimes, and shed the blood of their fellows. These crimes of violence and bloodshed flow, indeed, from that terrible hcmicidal mania induced by the use of intoxicating liquors. Take, for instance, the confession of Dr. Pritchard, of Glasgow, executed for the murder, by poison, of his wife and mother-in- law. In his first confession to the prison authorities he states: “ Mrs. Pritchard was much better immediately after her mother’s death, but subsequently became exhausted from want of sleep. I accounted for this by the shock produced by her mother’s death, and, hardly knowing how to act, at her own request, I gave her chloroform. It was aboift midnight: Mary McLeod was in the room, and in an evil moment,—being, besides, somewhat excited by wiiisky, —I yielded to the temptation to give her sufficient to cause death ; which i did. ’ In his second confession he says: “ I, Edward William Pritchard, in the full possession of all my senses, and understanding the awful position in which I am placed, do make free and open confession that the sentence pronounced upon me is just; SUICIDE, AND THE SOCIAL EVIL. 41 that I am guilty of the death of my mother-in-law, Mrs. Taylor, and of my wife, Mary Jane Pritchard; that I can assign no motive for the conduct which actuated me beyond a species of terrible madness and the USE of ARDENT SPIRITS." From alcohol instigating the murder of others, go to alcohol prompting to suicide.—What a dark, hopeless crime is this of self-murder! A man rushing, blood-stained and unbidden, into the awful presence of his Judge. How black must be the despair, how wild the anguish, of those who thus throw wantonly away, Heaven's choicest gift of life. In London alone, 500 cases of suicide occur annually. In 18.68, there perished by self- murder in the United Kingdom, 1,546 persons. Yes! 1,546 weary of life, and heedless of the unseen future, in the intensity of their misery and the terrible frenzy of their minds, put a sudden end to their earthly existence. “In France, in 1841, out of 2,814 cases of suicide, 185 are expressly said to have com¬ mitted the fatal act either while drunk, or after drinking. This shows drunkenness even there, to be tiie most frequent of the known causes of suicide, with the exception of domestic grief and physical pain. Probe these again, to their causes, and drink takes first rank. People confound motives with causes.—A man destroys himself under a certain notion or impression —that is insanity—but, perhaps drink is the cause. . . . . Of 38^cases of suicide carefully reported at Aberdeen, the assigned causes were insanity, disappointed love, and family quarrels (vexation) ; but it is, added that twenty were intoxicated before the act, and seventeen were habitual drunkards.’ 1 — Dr. Lees's Prize Essay, p. 202. Take the Social Evil, of which strong drink is the fruitful cause, and the public-house its main support, for drink both originates and sustains it. Public-houses and brothels are not only intimately related, but in a great many instances, identical. It has been ascertained that in England and Wales there are 2,123 public-houses, and 2,034 beer-shops, used as brothels. The Society for the Protection of Females informs us that there are twenty-nine public-houses in Newcastle-on-Tyne, where private rooms are kept for thirty-three women of loose character. In London, with its more than 3,000,000 inhabitants, there are now above 10,000 women of this class. According to the First Report of the Constabulary Force Commissioners (1839), there were in London, 6,371 prostitutes, 42 THE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. to a population of 1,516,593, or 1 in 237; in Bath 393 to a population of 59,000, or 1 in 150; in Hull 418 to a population of 60,000, or 1 in 143; in Newcastle-on-Tyne 4ol to a popu¬ lation of 55,000, or 1' in 121; in Bristol 1,267 to a population of 110,000, or 1 in 86; in Liverpool 3,600 to a population o 213 000 or 1 in 59/ The average proportion of the whole is l prostitute to every 132 of the population. Reckoning the num jer of adult females as one-sixth of the whole population, this gives us 1 prostitute to every supposed 22 virtuous women It has been computed that the average duration of life ot tins class is from 4 to 10 years; half-way between the two extremes gives an average of 7 years. Now the social evil has not dimin¬ ished ; in fact, it has grown with our growth, or rather with Lie growth of the liquor traffic. At the present time there are, plying their deadly trade in all our largS centres of population, about 90,000 prostitutes. And the bulk of these pass away in se\en yea rs—and how ? Some perish by their own rash hands ; others perish forlorn and forsaken, a mass of loathsome disease; and yet their number is not diminished ; other 90,000 are found o have taken their place, to pass through the same brief and blighted career, and in their turn to meet the same sad end. As we gaze upon this diseased and degraded sisterhood—many of them still lovely amid their ruin, we are led to inquire, Whence come they? And the answer is too clear to be mistaken, lhey arc, for the most part, the product of our Ruinous Drink System. It is in the public-house that many of them receive their hrst taint. The social glass blunts their moral perceptions, and throws them off their guard, and thus they become an easy prey to the wiles of the seducer. Thousands of them come from their sweet country households, in all their health and beauty, blooming as the heather upon their native hills, or the roses that adorn the walls of their cottage homes. Led astray through the terrible agency of strong drink, they flock to our large towns, and there commence their sad career. To drown the pangs of conscience, the bitterness of remorse, and the deep sense of shame, they fly to strong drink, and thus become confirmed in vice. In a very short time, a few months in some, a few years in others, their bloom and beauty fade, and they become cither bloated and blas¬ pheming monsters, with every womanly attribute eradicated, or poor emaciated and diseased outcasts, homeless and hopeless. The Publicans, as a class; are notorious violators of law. I ew PUBLICANS NOTORIOUS VIOLATORS OF LAW. 43 of them indeed comply with the conditions of their licenses; and, what is worse, the magistrates, by the tolerant manner in which they treat these offences, providing they do not affect the revenue, connive at them, and are thus partakers of publicans’ transgressions. The law, too, is lax as well as its administrators. An important Publican Appeal case was heard at Durham Quarter Sessions, on Wednesday, January 5th, 1370. Mr. William Campbell, the landlord of a public-house near the Market-Place, South Shields, had appealed against the decision of the Mayor of South Shields and Mr. Alderman James, before whom he had been summoned for allowing drunken and disorderly conduct in his house, and was convicted and fined. The evidence went to show that men were drunk when served with drink; that one of them had been refused drink in another public-house, and that they were disorderly in the house; but what was the decision of the magistrates? Mr. Meynell (one of the magistrates) submitted that there was no case. The appellant was convicted of “ know¬ ingly allowing drunken and disorderly conduct in his house,” but by the evidence called on behalf of the respondent, it was shown that, no directly disorderly c mduct took place. Mr. Wharton (another magistrate) wished to look into the particular wording of the Act of Parliament. Mr. Meynell said the publican must “knowingly and wilfully” allow drunkenness in his house before be could be convicted. If a person entered a public-house who had had drink, and stood quietly at the bar, how was the person serving him to know that he was drunk? Mr. Wharton (having looked over the law with the other magistrates) said the magis¬ trates did not think that the evidence showed that the defendant had knowingly and wilfully allowed such drunken and disorderly conduct in his house, and they therefore quashed the convic¬ tion. Hence it is almost impossible to convict in offences of this kind, because however drunken and disorderly people may be in a public house, it cannot be proven that such drunken and disorderly conduct is “knowingly and wilfully allowed!” During the three years ending September 29th, L86G-7-S, the number of public-houses and beer-shops proceeded against, and fined, and the number of licenses withdrawn in a certain number of towns in England, excluding some of the most notorious, as Liverpool, Manchester, and Hull, was as follows: Of 33 towns with a population of 9,990,921, the average number 44 THE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. of public-houses and beer-shops, for each year, was 4,583 public- houses, and 3,112 beer-shops. The average number proceeded against each year was 396 public-houses, and '606 beer-shops. The average number fined was of public-houses 319, of beer- shops 487. The average number deprived of license was of public-houses 17, of beer-shops one, in the course of three years, viz: at Newcastle-under Lyne. Here, then, we have a large number of offences committed against the License Act, a large number of fines, but very few licenses suspended, showing at once the criminality of the traffickers, and the leniency of the magistrates. IV. — The Drinking System is the cause of pauperism. In the United Kingdom there are nearly 1^ million of paupers, or one in twenty of the entire population. To maintain these we have to pay annually in poor rates about £10,000,900. In London alone, containing a population of 3} millions, there are 300,000 persons in receipt of parochial relief, being only a trifle short of 1 in 10 of the population. Mr. Duncan McLaren, M. P. for Edinburgh, recently stated in Parliament that the poor rates of Scotland had risen nearly five¬ fold since 1837. lie quoted from the Report of the Poor-Law Board, the statement that out of a population of only 3,100,000 in Scotland, as many as 350,000 [or 1 in 9] had received paro¬ chial assistance. Now we have very strong evidence that fully three-fourths of this pauperism is produced by drinking. AVe interrogate Parliamentary Reports upon Intemperance; we interrogate Committees appointed by large and influential denominations of Christians; we interrogate Masters ofAUork- houses, and those whom duty or philanthropy call to mingle with the poor; and the uniform testimony of all is, that three- fourths to eight ninths of our pauperism is occasioned by the reckless expenditure on the part, of the people in that one perni¬ cious article— Intoxicating Liquor. Take, for instance, the following testimonies from the report on intemperance, of the Lower House of Convocation, Canterbury. Testimony of Clergy: 788. — This Union, consisting of 80 000 persons, lias to support eight pauper lunatics, at. a charge of £20 per annum each. About two-thirds of these cases have been traced to drink. Two or three cases of pauper lunacy occur every year. PRODUCING PAUPERISM. 45 Testimony of Governors of Workhouses: ■ 811.—Asa Poor Law officer in this Union of twenty years standing* and an abstainer of seventeen years standing, I feel sure that nine-tenths of the paupers who have come under my cognizance have been the victims of intemperance .... We have bad many who were once in affluent circumstances; at the present time we have one who not very long since was a Warden of a Parish Church, and a well-to-do farmer, but drink has brought him here. 816—The proportion of adult paupers in the workhouse who have become the victims of intemperance is very great—probably about 80 per cent, of the entire number. I am also sorry to add a great number of them have never been married, thus showing that a long life of sixty or seventy years has been spent in drunkenness and improvidence. This remark applies chiefly to men. The aged women here are paupers mainly because of the inability of their friends to provide for them at home. Of the younger women, the whole of them (with the exception of two or three imbeciles) have brought themse ves to their present degrada¬ tion through profligacy, the increase of which throughout the country generally is becoming very alarming. 869.—Nineteen-twentieths of the able-bodied men, two-thirds of the aged men, three-fifths of the able-bodied women, one-fifth of the aged women, are victims of intemperance. On the contrary, in localities where this vice does not obtain, the liquor traffic being suppressed, little or no pauperism is to be found. Take the following testimonies extracted from the same Report. 2173.—One habitual drunkard. He is the only person I have ever known to be drunk in the parish for the last twenty years. No case of crime or lunacy for many years. No paupers, except a few worn out people. Under God, I attribute this satisfactory state of the parish in respect to this evil, mainly to there being no public-house or beer-shop. I cannot speak too strongly on the influence for good that the circumstance of there being no public-house or beer-shop has exercised on the popula¬ tion. I may say the same of C-, of which I am incumbent, in which there is no public-house or beer-shop. 2179. —Never had a public-house or beer-shop of any description in the parish, or within a mile of it. I have never seen or heard of intoxication except in hay-making and harvest in the hottest summer. Crime rare; only one person apprehended within the last twenty years, for arson. Cost very small for maintaining the poor of this parish. 2180. —No crime, paujyerism, or lunacy. We cannot wonder at pauperism being produced by the drink traffic, when we consider that the most desolating famines 46 THE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. attended with great loss of life, have been produced by it. During the reign of Philip and Mary, such was the rage for “ Usquebaugh” in Ireland, that the inhabitants of that country converted their grain into spirit to such an extent as not to leave themselves sufficient for food to sustain life. Famine and priva¬ tion were the result, and to prevent a recurrence of this state of things, the Legislature passed an act to check the practice of free distillation. When famine again desolated that ill-fated land in 1847-8, and the greatest distress and privation were experienced by the poor, it was distinctly proved that we had an ample supply of grain to meet the necessities of the people; but instead of being brought into the market to be disposed of as food, it was locked up in the granaries of breweries and distil¬ leries to be wantonly destroyed in the manufacture of intoxi¬ cating liquor; as a terrible result, half a million of people perished of starvation. Every drink-cursed country is in a state of chronic famine, which stalks the purlieus and courts of their large towns, causing tens of thousands of the people to lack the common necessaries of life, and pine away and die. Neither can we wonder at the huge proportions of pauperism in our midst, when we consider the large sums of money ex¬ pended every year by the laboring classes upon intoxicating liquor. Professor Leone Levi estimates the annual earnings of our working classes at £418,000,000, distributed among 12,000,000 workers, and that this class expends annually £50,000,000 in intoxicating liquors: that is, about £ of the entire income; and that working men earning 2">s. to 80s. per week expend upon the average 5 s. a week in drink. This calculation is based upon the excisable value of the liquor consumed amounting to £80,000,000, and makes no allowance for dilution and adultera¬ tion. Mr. AY. Hoyle computes the expenditure for 18G8 at £102,88G,280. Assigning the same proportion as before to the working classes, viz: five-eighths of the whole, the amount expended will be £G4,303,925, or a little less than one-sixth of their whole income. If from this estimate we deduct the teeto¬ talers, the proportion of earnings expended in drink by the drinkers must be very much greater. I am acquainted with a working man, a moulder, earning £2 10s. a week, £2 of which ho OBSTRUCTING TRADE AND COMMERCE. 47 expends in drink, leaving 10s. only to support his wife and family. In consequence, the children are poorly fed and clad, have neither shoes nor stockings to wear, and the miserable apartment they occupy is but scantily furnished. There is not a chair in it that is not broken. Many of the puddlers, shinglers, rollers, &c., working at the iron works in the North of England, earn from £3 to £6 per week, and } r et, for the most part, their homes are bare of furni¬ ture, and their children are poorly fed and thinly clad, nearly the whole of their large income being expended upon intoxicating liquor. Indeed, it is not at all unusual for men of this stamp, when they have only a small pay to take, say from 30s. to £2, to go to the public-house and spend it all in a single day. V.— The Drinking System as obstructing Trade and Commerce. That the drinking system is at war with the interests of labor, we have already seen. It demoralizes the working-man, and incapacitates him for continuous toil; hence he loses time , and money. Cut the drinking system also lessens the employ¬ ment of labor, and, by throwing a larger number of the unem¬ ployed into the labor market, loAvers wages. The rate of wages is regulated very much by the degree of competition in the labor market. When the number of laborers far exceeds the demand, wages are low; when laborers are scarce, then wages rise. When supply and demand in the labor market are in equipoise, wages attain a mediocrity, and the working man can at least obtain “ a fair day's wage for a fair day’s work.” Evidently it is to the interest of the working class to lessen competition as much as possible in the labor market, and so to raise the price of labor. Any traffic which, on account of its peculiar and pernicious character, gluts the labor market, by lessening the demand for labor, must be antagonistic to the interests of the working-man. We shall now show that the liquor traffic does this. 1.—It invests capital in such a manner as to employ the least amount of labor. It has been urged that “the traffic emptoys labor.” True ! But it debauches and ruins those it emplovs, and at the same time it employs very little labor in proportion to its capital. In the Scotsman newspaper for January 2d, I860, there is a description of the Caledonian Distillery at Edinburgh. In this distillery we learn that 40,000 gallons of spirits are manufactured weekly, or 2,01)0,000 per annum. At 48 THE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. 16s. per gallon, this would be over £1,500,000; the quantity of grain consumed is 800,000 bushels; the number of men em¬ ployed is stated to be 150 only. Now, if this £1,500,000 were spent upon manufactured goods, or in building houses, or drain¬ ing waste land, it would give employment to from 12,000 to 15,000 persons; and if the whole sum spent in intoxicating drinks were appropriated to such work, it would find employ¬ ment for at least 1,200,000 more people than are at present engaged.— Hoyle; An Inquiry into the Causes of the present Depression in the Cotton Trade, pp. 12, 13. Thus, if the liquor traffic was entirely suppressed, employ¬ ment could be found not only for those now employed in it, but for far more than all the able bodied unemployed in the country: the labor market would be at once relieved, competition for men would increase, and wages rise. 2.—In the manufacture of intoxicating liquor a large propor¬ tion of the capital invested goes to the .government and the manu¬ facturer, and thus again does it prove antagonistic to the interests of the working-man. It has been computed that in the manufacture of a pound’s worth of intoxicating liquor, sixpence only falls to the share of the laborer, whilst the average amount paid for labor in the manufacture of articles of utility and commerce amounts on the average to about 8 s. 0d. in the pound. Take, for illustration, one gallon of gin containing about 51 per cent, alcohol. This the publican reduces by dilution to about 37 per cent., and retails it out to the consumer at 16s. per gallon, or 22s. for the one gallon as received direct from the distillery. Now of this sum 10s. goes to government as duty. The manufacturer pockets 2s. bd. for raw material, working expenses, and profit. Sixpence is given to the laborer, and 9s. finds its way into the publican’s till .as profit. Professor Kirk, of Edinburgh, puts the prime cost of 300 gallons of whisky at £20, thevCaledonian Distillery selling it wholesale at Is. 4c?. a gallon. Government lays on a charge in excise dues and license fees to the amount of £155. The 300 gallons of whisky thus costs the publican £175. To reduce this whisky to the ordinary drinking strength, there is added 133J gallons of water. The liquor thus reduced is sold (at 16s. a gallon) for £346 13s. Ad. The publican pockets out of that amount, £171 13s. Ad. Hence in the manufacture and sale of AT WAR WITH THE WORKING-CLASSES. 49 300 gallons of whisky, 10s. only goes to labor, £19 10s. to the capitalist, £155 to government, and £171 13s. 4 d.. to the publican. Now take £20 worth of cutlery, purchased retail. Of this £8 10s. is paid to labor; £7 goes as profit to the hardware man, and £4 10s. only to the capitalist for purchase of raw material and for profit. For £1 in value, in the manufacture of silk, 7s. goes to labor; in shoes 7s. 4 d .; earthenware 8s.; linen yarn 9s. 8 d .; fine woollen cloth 12s.; table cutlery 13s.; coals 18s.; scissors 19s. 2c?.; while in the manufacture of pins, needles, trinkets, watches, and other delicate articles in metal, the amount is even greater. Thus we see, that by employing but little labor, and by sharing with that labor only a very small proportion of the profits, the liquor traffic is at war with the interests of the work¬ ing-man, and its destruction becomes a working-man’s question; and we also see that every working-man that expends his money upon intoxicating liquor is guilty of a suicidal policy against the interests of his class, for he circulates his money in a channel that brings the smallest possible returns to his own class. In every pound he expends upon drink, he only gives his brother workman sixpence, whilst for every pound he expends upon other classes of products, of a useful and necessary char¬ acter, he gives his brother workman upon an average eight and sixpence. “ Now, the available wealth of the community is, in three ways, calculated to be increased by the diffusion of teetotalism— first, by preserving that portion at present lavished on intoxicat¬ ing liquors, which considered commercially, may be said to be thrown away; secondly, by increasing the average wages of the working-man through a more regular attention to labor; and thirdly, by raising the scale of wages. The first and second points were well exemplified after Father Mathew’s visit to Waterford, at the Knockmahon mines in the neighborhood, where about 1,000 persons were employed. Previous to his visit, the earnings of these mines averaged £1,900 per month, but the monthly average of the year following was not less than £2,300, an addition of £100 per month, or £5,200 per annum! Formerly the same number of people spent £500 of their month’s wages in drink, by which their available wealth was reduced to £1,400 per month. After the introduction of total abstinonce very 50 THE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. little was spent in drink, but allowing this very little to have been £100 monthly, the money at the disposal of these 1,000 person's would be still £800 per month, or £10,400 yearly, more than it had been! Under the drinking system the total availa¬ ble money of these people was £18,200 annually, under the teetotal system it amounted to £28,600! Well, indeed, might the commerce of Waterford be doubled after the visit of Father Mathew .”—The Teetotalers Companion, by Peter Bivne , p. 486. The liquor traffic is also at war with the interests of manufac¬ tures and capital. It is generally supposed that the interests of labor and. of capital are antagonistic, and that if labor receive benefit, capital must suffer, because such benefit must be at the expense of capital. In a limited sense this is really the case, but here, however, their interests are identical. The prosperity of the mercantile and manufacturing interests depends upon two things principally. 1st. The general character of the workman. 2d. A good market, which means a good demand. Now, anything that detracts from the skill, steadiness, energy, and reliability of the workman must most obviously be opposed to the interests of the employer. But the drinking system does this. The excessive use of intoxicating liquors, to which , so many of our ablest artizans are addicted, blunts the obseiving powers, and detracts from that fineness of touch and steadiness of hand so necessary in many departments of manufacture. It also detracts from their energy and steadiness. The workman who drinks cannot infuse the same degree of energy into his work as the man who does not drink. Then, too, he of necessity incurs loss of time ; his debauch on Saturday and Sunday incapacitates him for work at the commencement of the week, so that he is compelled to keep Saint Monday, and sometimes Saint Tuesday also; and however skilful he may be, this is a very serious check to its efficient exercise. Says W. E. Ilearn, LL>D., in his Plutology , “However great may be the natural powers of the laborer, or however consummate his skill, or however bright his,general intelligence, the industrial importance of these qualities manifestly depends upon the mode in which they are exercised.^ It is not the mere existence of natural or acquired powers, but their actual employment, that determines their utility. The principal regulator, therefoie, of AT WAR WITH MANUFACTURE AND CAPITAL* 51 the efficiency of labor is the habitual energy with which the laborer pursues his work. It is not enough that a man should on an emergency be capable of making great exertions. Such litiul efforts are generally followed by a corresponding rer.c ion, and, at best, fall far short of the effects of steady and constant work. In every occupation we daily see the success which attends patient i erscverance, and the occasional failure of even great natural powers when irregularly exerted. The clever work¬ man who wastes half the week in idleness and dissipation, but who in the remaining half can earn what is sufficient for his support, is gradually left behind by his less quick but more persevering competitor. Similar results are familiar in professional life.” The drinking system also detracts from the reliability of the workman. Indeed, what dependence can be placed in a drunken servant, who regards the gratification of his appetite as of far greater importance than the interest of his employer? As a rule, he does all he can to shirk his work, and to dp as little as possible for his money. And then, if the work be taken by contract, which the employer has to finish at a given date, however urgent the case may be, there can be no dependence placed in the workman that the job will then be done, for he may get drunk in the meantime, and neglect his work entirely, to the great inconvenience, or the loss, of the employer. Indeed, the greatest losses sustained bv employers arise from the general unsteadiness and unreliability of the employes, produced by their intemperate habits. The Select Committee on Drunkenness, of which Lord Althorpe. Sir 11. Peel, Mr. J. S. Buckingham, Mr. Hawes, and other dis¬ tinguished men were members, estimated that one million out of every six of the whole manufactured, mineral, and agricultural productions of the United Kingdom, was the loss sustained by the commerce of this country from this cause alone. In the Minority Report of the Select Committee, to whom Mr. J. A. Smith’s “ Sale of Liquors on Sunday Bill” was referred, we find the following testimony: Mr. Cockburn, the foreman of Messrs. Pease’s ironstone mines, in Yorkshire, has given evidence (5,951) of a loss of labor, not properly accounted for, of 0.78 out of 5.92, equal to three-fourths of a day each man per week, and this he largely ascribes to Sun¬ day drinking. lie adds (5,953), “It entails very serious loss upon the owners of property themselves, and not only upon 52 THE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. them, but upon the various works depending upon theirs, as they are the producers of the raw material; and there is the same staff to keep for the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, ofcleiks and officers, and men about the place, as there is on the Thurs¬ day, Friday, and Saturday; and that gives something like three half-pence more per ton in the working cost for the first three days.” And he proceeds to state that “ their being off on the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday is from the effects of their drinking, principally on the Sabbath-day.” Ae;ain, the drinking system is detrimental to the interests of manufacture and capital, because it diminishes consumption. The man who spends his earnings in strong drink can’t afford to clothe and feed properly either himself or family ; and he is also under the necessity of considerably lowering his standard of domestic comfort. It is very seldom that he can treat himself to a new coat, or his wife to a new frock or bonnet, whilst his children must go without shoes or stockings. His rooms, if indeed he occupies more than one, are not overstocked with furniture, and there is a sad dearth of those little elegancies that adorn the homes of our sober, industrious classes. In 1808 £102,886,280 was expended upon intoxicating liquor. This lavish and reckless expenditure upon a most pernicious and unproductive article, must prove detrimental to the demand for useful and necessary goods. The liquor traffic is not a necessary traffic, since many places do exceedingly well with¬ out it; neither is it a useful traffic, for it adds nothing to the comforts or elegancies of life. It neither garnishes our apartments nor improves our persons. On the contrary, it i3 a dangerous and destructive traffic. Says the lion. Amasa Walker, in his “ Science of Wealth “ If labor expends itself on objects that do not stimulate to further efforts, or serve as in¬ struments to further production, but rather debauch the energies and corrupt the faculties, it is evident that reproduction will be lessened and debased, and the whole course of labor will be downward. If, on the contrary, labor expends itself on objects that present fresh and urgent desires, and excite to renewed ac¬ tivities, it is evident that the course of production is upward, and the people will rise economically, with a rapidity and force such as signalized the career in the fourteenth century ot Flor¬ ence; in the seventeenth, of Holland; in the eighteenth, of England: in the nineteenth, of the United States.” O' 1 THE RELATION OF GREAT INDUSTRIES. 53 The above applies with great force to the traffic in strong drink. The labor expended in this traffic is worse than thrown away. It “ does not stimulate to further efforts,” except in its own special department, which of course is a still further wasto and misapplication of energy; neither does it ‘‘ serve as an instrument to further production;” but it does “debauch the energies, and corrupt the facultiesand as a consequence, “reproduction is lessened and debased, and the whole course of labor is downward.” The world’s great industries are intimately connected with each other. The prosperity of one generally conduces to the prosperity of others. This is invariably so in brisk times. Take, for instance, the Iron and Coal trades. Iron can’t be made without coal; an improvement in the former leads to an improve¬ ment in the latter. This even holds good in those industries supposed to be antagonistic, as the cotton and wool trades. Afc present we have a great billing off in the cotton trade, and certain persons affirm that this arises from the substitution of woollen for cotton goods. But this is not so. Says Mr. Iloylc: “On comparing the quantity of wool used in 1806-67-68, with 1859-60-61, I find the increase is only 31,000.000 lbs., while the falling off in cotton has been 212.000,000 lbs , and if we take into account the increase of population, the great quantity of wool used for horse-cloths and manufacturing purposes, we are driven to the conclusion that there has been no increase in the quantity of woollen clothing used by the population of our own country.” This relation of industries holds good also when applied to the shipping, the agricultural, and the mining. There is, however, one glaring exception to the rule, viz: The Liquor Traffic. This is opposed to all other industries. In this respect it is unique; it stands alone in horrid grandeur; for before its presence other industries fade and languish, and that too without exception. The country is full of loud complaints on account of the present depression in trade, and many causes are assigned for it. Some refer it to the keen competition that has sprung up be¬ tween ourselves and other countries. They affirm that nations, at one time far our inferior in certain branches of manufacture, now equal, or even excel us; that they can manufacture the same class of goods at a cheaper rate, and consequently that 5* 54 THE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. they are gradually driving us from the great foreign marts, and even competing successfully with us in our markets at home. Now if this be true, there must be a very serious falling off in our export trade, a falling off nearly equivalent to that stag¬ nation we are now suffering under. Then, too, there must be an increase in our imports of those manufactured goods before supplied by our own manufacturers, an increase sufficient to make up the balance of equivalents. But is this really the case? No, indeed. The loudest complaints come from the manufacturers of cotton. Vie cannot close our eyes to the fact, that our cotton trade is in a very depressed state. But what is the cause of it? It arises entirely from a falling off in the home consumption. Mr. Iloyle, a cotton manufacturer, in his “ Inquiry into the Causes of the Present Long-continued Depression in the Cotton Trade,” has sho.vn us that the cotton goods exported from this country during the last three years, is considerably greater than during the three years preceding the Crimean War, which were the three best years the cotton trade ever had; and that our imports in this class of goods has considerably decreased during the three years 186G-7-8. The exports , in 1S59-G0-61, amounted to 7.902,222,910 yards; in ISGG-G7-68, they amounted to 8,374,428,387; an increase of 472,205,477, or about 6 per cent. The imports from France, Holland, the Ilanse Towns, and Belgium, in 1859-60-61, amounted to 23,972,758 lbs; in 186G- G7-G8, to 28.2G5,GGG tbs, a decrease of 2d per cent. So that our exports to those countries supposed to be outstripping us in the manufacture of this class of goods have increased G per cent, whilst our imports from them have decreased 2d per cent. In cotton cloths, merely, we exported to the above named countries, in 1859—60—Gl, 354,182.255 yards, at an estimated value of £18,093,553. In 1860-67-68, we exported 51-1,720,336 yards, at an estimated value of £34,254,416, showing an in¬ crease in quantity of 45 per cent., and in value of 90 per cent. Our exports in cotton goods having greatly increased, and our imports having largely decreased, ther.e ought now to be a very heavy demand for this class of goods, and our cotton factories ought to be in full operation, llow comes it that such is not the case, but that, on the contrary, cotton operations in many localities are only working half-time, and that cotton mills are being locked up, and sold for one-third their cost? The answer THE DEPRESSION OF THE COTTON INDUSTRY. 55 is, because, notwithstanding our improved foreign trade and our lessened imports, there is a falling off in the home consumption to an extent which fully accounts for the depression. The quantity of cleaned cotton taken for goods exported ex¬ ceeds in 18G6-67-G8, by 21,7G3,000 fibs., at an estimated value of £42,695,000, the quantity taken in 1859-60-G1; but looking at the home consumption, we find a decrease of 211,933,000 fibs., or 35 per cent., at an estimated value of £3,466,000. Now how are we to account for this hilling off? Is it because we are getting poorer as a nation, and because wages are low? No! But it is, as Mr. Iloyle justly remarks, because the people “ squander their earnings in intoxicating drinks.” During the years 1859-60-61, the money spent upon intoxicat¬ ing drinks in the United Kingdom was as follows: 1859 .£86,686,366. 1860 . 79,541,290. 1861 . 85,989,468. £252,217,124. For the three years ending with 1868, the expenditure upon intoxicating drinks in the United Kingdom was as follows : 1866 .£101,252,551. 1867 . 99,900.502. 1868 . 102,886,280. £304,039,333. Being an increase upon the former period of £51,822,209, or £17,274,069 per annum. Here is an astounding fact; in three years we spent on intoxi¬ cating drinks £304,039,333, and yet, upon cotton goods our staple production, we spent only £28,858,000. “Taking the population of the United Kingdom at thirty mil¬ lions, it gives for each man, woman, and child, for the three years, £10 25. 6 d. for drink, and 195. 6 d. for cotton goods; or taking the year 1868, we get £3 85. 7f d. per head for drink, and 4s. 7 \d. for cotton. Taking a family of five persons, we have £1 35. 0£9-10-13-14. Habe rd a s h e ry. £140,930 Drapery (New and Old).. 3.778.514 Iron, Hardware, and Pots £407,7t»9 Blankets. 00,004 Cotton Goods...'.. £197 198 Black Tea.3,510,043 Muscovado Sugar. 331,278 Years of Plenty. 1811-12- •15-17. Value... . £110,936 ... £30.000 decrease. Yards... . 2,422.414 ... 1.350.070 tt Value ... . £337,158 ... £129.(551 it Number 20.003 ... 33.401 U Value ... . £104.198 ... £93,1 00 M Pounds. . 3,189,132 ... 341.511 «< Cvvts. . 300,954 ... 4,324 a 58 THE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. absence of a great curse, but the presence of domestic and personal happiness, and of a thriving trade .”—Prize Essay on the Liquor Traffic, pp. 127, 128. In tlie days of Father Mathew, a great revival in the woollen and other trades took place, consequent upon a large decrease in the consumption of intoxicating liquor. “ A gentleman connected with one of the most extensive manufacturing firms in Lancashire, stated a year or two ago, (about 1844) that, since the great success of Father Mathew, their trade with Ireland had increased one hundred per cent.! The trade between Rochdale and Ireland is said to have trebled in the course of about three years,—where the people of that town manufactured 100 bales of goods for Ireland in 1839 or 1810, they manufactured 300 in 1844. And this merely from the proper expenditure of the pittances doled out in the form of Irish wages.” Some time previous to Father Mathew’s visit to "Waterford (population 23,000), the Corporation examined the houses of the poor and working-classes, and estimated the value of all their household and other property at £100,000. Shortly after this the apostle of temperance pledged 60,000 persons of fhe city and neighborhood to the practice of total abstinence; and at the next examination made by the Corporation (only two years after) the estimated value of goods in possession of the same classes as before, was £200,000, the trade of Waterford being doubled. We may well believe that if the liquor traffic was swept away, three-fourths of the money now expended upon it would at once be applied to the purchase of useful and necessary articles. The one-fourth, amounting to £25,721,670, would be put by as reserved wealth, and as people now-a-days don’t like to keep a long stocking in the house, the money would be deposited in our different banks. This vast sum, in the hands of our bankers, would receive profitable investment, and the great banking interest would greatly improve; indeed, we should require far more establishments of this kind than we have at present, and a larger number of clerks and messengers would find employment. Of the other three-fourths, amounting .to £77,165,010, one- tenth, or £7,716,501, would, perhaps, be invested in Building Societies, and we should soon see a visible improvement in the homes of the working classes , and a great many of them would surely oceupy their own cottages. IF REMOVED, BUSINESS WOULD REVIVE. 59 . One-sixth, or £12,860,835, would most probably be expended upon farm produce, so that not only would farmers be enabled to dispose of the 54,000,000 bushels of barley now disposed of to the brewers and distillers, but a great deal more, though of course in a different form. We should have it in the form of wheat, beef, mutton, poultry, eggs, butter, and bacon. In fact, there would be an unprecedented demand for farm produce of all kinds, which farmers would be able to dispose of at a profitable price. This would necessitate the cultivation of a larger acreage of land, and consequently a reform of the Land laws, by which a large portion of the 12,000,000 acres of reclaimable land now allowed to run barren, would be brought under cultivation ; it would also lead to the utilization of our sewage, now allowed to be wasted, and to the breeding of a larger number of farm stock of all kinds. The forty thousand acres of rich land at present devoted to the growth of hops would be made to wave with golden corn ; a larger number of farm laborers would find em¬ ployment, and they would get less drink but more money for their work ; thus would the great agricultural industry receive a grand impetus. One-eighth, or £9,645,62G, would doubtless be expended upon cotton. This great industry would revive, mills now silent would again send forth the pleasant sound of working looms, and cotton operatives would receive full employment. Says Mr. Hoyle, “ £10,000,000 of it applied to purchasing cotton goods would at once more than double our home trade, and place us in such a position as would banish all complaints of bad trade.” One-tenth, or £7,716,501, would likely be expended upon woollen goods, increasing our woollen imports, multiplying our woollen manufactories, and finding employment for a larger number of woollen workers. One-eighth, or £9,645,626, would likely be spent in tea, coffee, spices, and general groceries, increasing our imports and replen¬ ishing the coffers of the exchequer without demoralizing the people. One-tenth, or £7,716,501, would likely be expended upon silks and fancy articles,—as watches, jewelry, and ornaments of various kinds, and as we should import a large quantity of this class of goods from France and Germany, it would repay them for our refusal of their ivines, etc. One-tenth, or £7,716,501, would doubtless be expended upon 60 THE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. boots and shoes, and that department of industry would greatly revive; and as we import large quantities of the raw material, as hides, from Russia, our commercial relations with that country would greatly improve. One-tenth, or £7,716,501, would doubtless be expended in furniture, hardware, and upholstery, and as a great deal of the raw material required here, as timber, etc., comes from Scandi¬ navia, Canada, South America, India, our commerce with these countries would improve, and they in return would be able to take more of our own manufactured articles. Of the remainder, £4,502,293, would doubtless be expended upon glass, china-ware, and musical instruments, so that these branches would greatly improve. And the balance, £1,929,135, would likely be expended upon books, prints, and painting, giving greater encouragement to art and literature, and improving trade in the manufacture of paper and printing. Now the £102,886,280 being thus laid out, we should require more ships on the sea, to convey to us raw material from abroad, and to bear away from our own shores our manufactured goods. This then would improve the shipbuilding trade, and find abun¬ dance of employment for all our sailors. Then, too, both goods and passenger traffic would greatly increase on all our railways, and shareholders would receive larger profits upon their shares, many of which at present, upon some of our lines, are worthless. AVe should also require a larger number of retail dealers, as media of distribution to the public, at least one to every £3,060 expended; this then would give 12,000 persons as shopkeepers to distribute the products of manufacture and agriculture to the consumer, and computing that three persons would be engaged in each establishment, this would find a total of 60,000 persons with employment. In the drapery and boot and shoe depart¬ ment we should require at least one tailor, one shoemaker, and one dressmaker for every £5,000 worth of goods sold. Thus we should require about 6,200 of each class over and above those now employed. A larger number of sewing machines would be needed, thus extending that industry. AVhen we also remember, that where the manufacture of intoxicating liquor employs one laborer, the manufacture of other commodities employs seven¬ teen, there would be plenty of work both for those now destitute 61 INFLICTS LOSS AND DISASTER. of employment, and also for those at present engaged in the traffic, many of whom would be able to convert their drink-shops into grocery stores and drapery establishments, and utilize much of their capital. Under these conditions, pauperism would be almost nil, and crimes rarely occur^ two-thirds of our present enormous local taxation would be returned into the pockets of the rate-payers, still further enriching them ; and thus smiling plenty would take the place of dearth and penury, and sweet contentment, of discord and wild uproar. Sickness also and disease would greatly diminish, especially among the working-classes, so that they would be able to establish Benefit Clubs upon a more satisfactory basis than at present, and indeed these societies might be so regulated as to enable every working-man, on attaining his sixtieth year, to cease from labor, and to spend the remainder of his days in ease and plenty. VI.— The Drinking System as the occasion of loss and disaster. * We have already referred to this incidentally in our last sec¬ tion, we now bring it more particularly before our readers. (1.) There is the loss of productive labor to the extent of at least one day in six, owing to the drunkenness of the working- classes. On Professor Levi’s estimate of the earnings of this class being £418,000,000, the actual loss sustained from this cause alone will amount to £69,000,000. Then this represents a very heavy loss to the manufacturer, according to the Parliamentary Report for 1834, of one million out of every six produced. Mr. Levi computes the income of the higher classes (land-owners, manufacturers, and merchants) at £464,000,000. Now allowing one-half of this only as the amount realized by our manufacturers and merchants, this sum repre¬ sents but live-sixths of what they would realize were it not for the drunkenness of the employes, so that this loss may be put down at £43,670,000, or a total for both classes of £112,670,000.* (2.) There is the loss of property both by sea and land. Most of the casualties occurring every day are occasioned by intemperance. Fires, breakage of machinery, shipwrecks, etc. The report of the Manchester Watch Committee states that twenty fires took place in that town last year through intem¬ perance. In the Minority Report of the Parliamentary Com- * This approximates, very remarkably, to the calculation of Dr. Lees, in his Text-Book, of Temperance, founded purely on physiological grounds. 62 THE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. mittee upon Mr. Smith’s Sale of Liquors on Sunday Bill, we find the following:—‘‘(5,463) Rev. G. M. MurphyBefore I came to London, I was associated with the large firm of Fox and Hen¬ derson, at Birmingham. Sir Charles Fox has stated (and it quite bears out my own views) that the large majority of acci¬ dents in connection with their extensive works occurred on the Monday, and were the results of unsteadiness occasioned by the Sunday’s drinking. I had an opportunity of asking Sir Charles Fox, within the last fortnight, as to whether he still coincided with that opinion, and he said that he did; and that he should be quite willing to ratify anything that he had said upon that subject.” The annual value of shipping destroyed at sea by wreck and fire, must be estimated at millions, of which a very large pro¬ portion is chargeable upon the drinking system. Mr. John Simpson, an insurance broker and merchant, of London, savs:—‘‘I have been in the house that I am the head of now, for thirty-five years, and in the habit of covering a million and a half sterling per annum of property floating upon the water, and generally in the whole of that time it has been most lamentable to-see the great destruction of property, in a vast number of instances notoriously owing to drunkenness.” Captain Edward Pelham Brenton, R. N., when examined before the Parliamentary Committee of 1834, stated that for forty-six years he had been acquainted with seamen, and had observed their prevailing habits to be that of intemperance. During the late wav, almost every accident he ever witnessed on board ship was owing to drunkenness. This was the cause of the burning of the ‘‘George” of 98 guns, in 1759, with 550 of her crew; and of the “Ajax” of 74 guns, in 1806, with 350 of her crew, lie named also the burning of the “ Kent,” East Indiaman, and of the “ Edgar” of 70 guns, owing to spirits being on board, adding, “ I hold spirituous liquors to be more dangerous than gunpowder.” If the mighty deep could but speak, what revelations should we have of ships sunk through intemperance in mid-ocean, or dashed to pieces upon the rocks of some bleak and inhospitable coast, and of whole crews sent drunk beneath the waves! (3.) The loss sustained to the Revenue, t»wing to the ineffi¬ ciency of the army and navy from intemperance. Says the Parliamentary Report of 1834:—“The comparative ineffi- CAUSE OF INEFFICIENCY IN ARMY AND NAVY. 63 cjency of tiie army and navy, in each of which intemperance is a canker-worm that eats away its strength and its discipline to the very core 5 it being proved that one-sixth of the effective strength of the navy, and a much greater proportion of tiie army, is as much destroyed by that most powerful ally of death, intoxicating drinks, as if the men were slain in battle ; and that the greatest number of accidents, seven eighths of the sickness, invaliding, and discharges for incapacity, and nine-tenths of all the acts of insubordination, and the fearful punishments and executions to which these give rise, are to be ascribed to drunken¬ ness alone.”* We are thus under the necessity of employing in the two ser¬ vices one-sixth more men than we should otherwise require, besides the extra expenditure from invaliding, imprisonments, and new enlistments. If then, drinking were abolished in the army and navy, we should require only five-sixths of our present force, and yet have a more efficient service, which would be equivalent to a reduction in army and naval expenses of one- tenth. Then, instead of employing 129,120 soldiers at a cost to the nation of £14,213,400 per annum, and 63,300 sailors, in¬ cluding marines and boys, at a cost of £9,996,G41, we should need only 107,605 soldiers and 52,750 sailors, at a saving to the nation of £2,422,704. AVe must remember that the members of neither service are producers, though taken for the most part from the producing class. They are consumers only, therefore, in proportion to the number of men engaged and drawn from the factory and the plough, so must be the injury to our trade and national progress; and we must consider that the men selected for the army and navy are picked men; men of fine build and great physical strength ; so that not only does the producing class suffer numerically, but also in efficiency, while the pro¬ ducers have to keep all the rest. YU.— The Drinking System as obstructive of Intellectual and Religious Progress. (1.) It obstructs education. Children are generally kept away from school, not because their parents are poor, but because they are profligate and drunken. The money that ought to go toward decently clothing and schooling the children, is recklessly * Besides this, is the disease and waste of power arising from the grog rations, still strangely given, in the face of the plainest facts demonstrating their injury. 64 THE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. spent upon intoxicating liquor. Even where free-schools abound, the children of drunken parents are unable to attend for the want of decent clothing. And then, again, those children of intem¬ perate parents who do get to school, receive only a very imperfect education, as they are taken away to work at a very early age, to provide their unnatural parents with the means of still further gratifying their appetite for gin. The Educational question is now making a great stir in our country. At present there are two great schemes before us. The one, advocated by the Manchester Union, proposes to still further expand and extend our present system, and to render education indirectly compulsory byjneans of Factory Acts, etc. The other, projected by the Birmingham League, proposes, with¬ out sweeping away our present denominational schools, to establish a grand national system, which shall at once be secu¬ lar, directly compulsory, and free. Though we are fully alive to the importance of establishing an efficient system of education, by which the present prevailing ignorance may be driven away, and the young and rising genera¬ tion receive that intellectual culture denied to their forefathers, we are bold to maintain that whatever system be adopted, can only very partially succeed, if intemperance be allowed to continue. The best educated States in America are the New England States, and in five of them the liquor traffic is outlawed, and in¬ temperance is of rare occurrence; but where it does obtain, its legitimate fruit in retarding education is at once seen. To coun¬ teract this as much as possible, benevolent persons are under the necessity of providing the drunkard’s children with suitable clothing. At a public breakfast to the Hon. S. F. Cary, ex-Senator for Ohio, U.S., held at the Central Exchange Hotel, Grey Street, New-- eastle-on-Tyne, December 15th, 1869, he remarked, that “The drinking customs of the people operated prejudicially in the pro¬ gress of education. Many persons were in consequence unable to clothe their children properly, so that they might attend school; and one of the efforts of their philanthropists, and the friends of education in his country, was to take care that such children were provided with suitable clothing. Certainly intem¬ perance tended very largely to keep children away from school.” Even if we could secure the attendance at school of these poor ragged outcasts, education for the most part would be lost upon OBSTRUCTS EDUCATION AND RELIGION. 65 them. The poverty of their homes, the drunkenness of their parents, and the starvation and ill-treatment through which they are called to pass, would almost entirely neutralize their every¬ day tuition at school, and with very few exceptions they would grow up, if not quite so ignorant, yet as depraved as ever. The drinking system also obstructs self-education and improve¬ ment when school days are over, and our youth are sent forth to act their part on the grand field of labor. At present, the public-house and beer-shop are the only educa¬ tional establishments frequented by large numbers of our young men, and in these places they are schooled in vice and drunken¬ ness. The mechanics’ institute, the evening school, and the lit¬ erary entertainment and lecture are neglected. The consequence is, the little education obtained at school is soon lost, or rendered valueless, not being used as a foundation upon which to build knowledge of a higher and more enduring kind. (2.) The drinking system obstructs the religious advancement of the people. AVe stud our land with churches and chapels; we employ thousands of clergymen to preach to the people, and hundreds of missionaries to visit them at their homes; thousands of tracts and Bibles are distributed to them gratuitously every year, and thousands of Sunday-schools are established for the religious education of the young, yet notwithstanding all these appliances, licentiousness and ungodliness abound in our midst, and the nobicst aspirations of humanity receive some mysterious check, and instead of finding expression in a pure and godlike life, they are kept under, and vice and drunkenness are pursued. Now how are we to account for this sad state of things? It is because the ministers of religion and morality are opposed by the minis¬ ters of vice and immorality, and buildings dedicated to the worship of God are opposed, and vastly outnumbered, by temples set apart to the worship of Bacchus. The drinking system at once incapacitates people for hearing aright tfte gospel message, enge nders a disinc lination to attend a place of worship, and is also a fertile cause of religious declension. ■ Thg-nffin or woman stupefiedTv^r ink~Ts ho t'mX fit stately hear God s miissaue ; whilst the loss of self-respect, and the pove rty winch intemper ance brings, prevent people, during their lucid jand sober moments, fro m attending public worship. They soon begin to regard themselves as a Pariah class, and shun all 6 * 66 THE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. places to which sober, well-behaved, and well-dressed people resort. Hence, too, the day set apart for rest and spiritual im¬ provement is spent in wild excesses and disgusting orgies, such as would disgrace even a pagan, let alone a Christian nation. Drink is also a sad cause of declension on the part of many who once enjoyed the blessings of religion. Ministers, learned, pious, and eloquent, have fallen through it. I am acquainted with two men, once ministers of the Wesleyan Church, and ex¬ ceedingly popular on account of their undoubted ability and eloquence, who fell deeply through this agent. One of them, after years wasted in wild excess and debauchery, frequently lying out all night under hedges, 1ms since become a teetotaler, and, in an humbler sphere of life, is again doing his Master’s work. The other has become hardened by a long course of sensuality and criiiie r -and, at present, there appears no hope whatever of his reclamation. Members of Christian Churches, including local preachers, deacons, and Sunday-school teachers, have fallen through it, and have become poor, lost, wandering sheep, straying far away, amid vice, sorrow, and shame, from the fold in which they had been spiritually reared. There is not, in fact, a single denomination, that does not suffer largely from this cause. The Rev. W. Caine, M. A.., stated before the British Association for the Advancement of Science (1869), that u out of 724 Protestant prisoners in the County Gaol at Manchester, 81 had been Sunday-school teachers for longer or shorter periods, and nine out of ten of them were Sunday scholars; and amongst the prisoners were sons of clergymen and dissenting ministers.” lie attributes the larger proportion of these cases to drink, and the want of good parental example. The drink system is no less obstructive to missionary opera¬ tions abroad. Missionary Societies are the glory of the age in which we live, and one of its most striking characteristics, and we cannot also but greatly admire those noble self-denying men, who, spurning fatigue and hardships, and fearless of danger, forsake homo, country, and kindred, in order to carry into remote and barbarous climes the blessings of civilization and Chris¬ tianity. But, alas! here we find cause for sad reflection and tears. The ship which carries the missionary to his field of toil and danger, also, alas! carries with it an agent that shall prove more deadly, destructive, and debasing to the savage than even their A FOE TO MISSIONARY OPERATIONS, 67 senseless idolatry—that agent is fire-water. Thus do we more than undo all that the missionary accomplishes. We carry to the heathen the gospel in the right-hand, and the whisky bottle in the left, and to every convert made to the former a thousand are made to the latter. When w’e mark how Europeans have con¬ taminated the natives of the Pacific Islands—of the American Wilds, and even of India, with the abominable vices and loath¬ some diseases of Britain—w r e may surmise, that had we never touched their shores, but left them entirely to their ignorance and their idols, they would not have been in a worse condition than they are now. Indeed, how can we expect them to receive readily the gospel at our hands, w r hen they know that day by day we are inflicting upon them disease and misery. Speaking ot this Fire-Water, William W. Smith, of Owen Sound, Upper Canada, says:—‘‘ Indians—men that I love and value as brethren—have told me with low and melancholy voices, of the devastation of this thing. A friend, a few weeks ago, told me of an effort he once made to induce a chief of a tribe of the Mohawk nation to allow a friend of his, a missionary, to come and dwell among them. ‘What you preach? Preach Christ?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Don’t want Christ! No Christ!’ My friend perse¬ vered. At length the chief got warm, and towering to his full height, with a volcanic fire in his eye, broke out—‘Once we were powerful; we were a great nation; our young men were many; our lodges were full of children; our enemies feared us; but Christ came and brought the fire-water! Now we are X very poor; we are weak; nobody fears us; our lodges are empty; our hunting grounds are deserted; our council fires are gone out; we don’t want Christ! Go!”’ Thus is the name of Christ reproached among the heathen on account of the prac¬ tices and vices of those professing to be His disciples. Archdeacon Jeffreys, with thirty-one years of Indian experi¬ ence, informs us that among the converts to Christianity in India, many had fallen through strong drink; for, says he, “ When once the natives break cast and become Christians, they were no longer restrained from the use of strong drinks, and they became far worse than if they had never embraced Chris¬ tianity. For one really c nverted to Christianity, as the fruit of missionary labor, the drinking practices of the English had made one thousand DRUNKARis!” We are further informed that in some parts of Ilindostan the name Christian and drunkard are 68 THE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. synonymous, and that, when a drunken man is seen reeling along the streets, they say, “ See! there goes a Christian!” The Rev. Mr. Ellis gives this testimony:—“ Since the intro¬ duction of Christianity to the Sandwich Islands by the mission¬ aries, there is no means which the enemies of morals and religion have employed more extensively and perseveringly for the pur¬ pose of counteracting the influence of Christian instruction, and corrupting and degrading the people, than the importation of spirituous liquors ; and no means of evil have been employed with more injurious effects/’ The Rev. John Williams said:—“In my absence, a trading captain brought a small cask of spirits ashore, and sold it to the natives. This revived their dormant appetite, and like pent up waters the disposition burst forth, and, with the impetuosity of the resistless torrent, carried the people before it, so that they appeared maddened with infatuation.” These sad testimonies might be greatly multiplied, but what need of further witnesses? Clearly, the work of evangelizing our people at home, and of Christianizing the heathen abroad, is hindered and counteracted by the drinking system. Yet what attitude has the Church of Christ taken in reference to it? With sorrow, be it said, she has embraced the foul monster, identified herself with its interests, and, at the same time, has treated with supercilious contempt the temperance enterprise, spoken of it in terms of disparagement and censure, even branding it as being an infidel movement. We rejoice, however, that violent, open opposition from that quarter has now ceased, and that thousands of her noblest clergy are now most zealously cooperating with us to promote the success of the temperance movement. Had the Christian Church, in all its different denominations, done so from the commencement; had she, at the origin of the movement, made it a great religious question ; had she then put forth all her power, and used all her appliances in this direction, we should not now have been weeping over the wholesale destruc¬ tion and debasement of our people; nor would that Church herself have had to deplore her empty fanes and desolate altars, and the increasing indifference of the people to receive instruction at the hands of her appointed ministers. Rut “it is never too late to mend.” Let the Church of Christ, in all her different departments, take up this great question, and identity herself still more thoroughly with it—nailing under the banner of the MAIN CAUSE OF OUR NATIONAL CALAMITIES. 69 cross the banner of teetotalism,—and with both waving above her, she will march onward to certain victory over licentious¬ ness, inebriety, and “the legions of Sin.” All the evils that we have thus depicted, flow from the drink¬ ing system of the nation, including the use , the manufacture , and the sale of intoxicating liquor. If these liquors were not made, they could not become articles of trade; if they were not sold, they would not be consumed. Hen ce all the evils flowing from the consumption of them is chargeable upon the manufacture and sale. But more directly are they associated with those houses established- mainly or solely for the sale of these pernicious articles. Says Dr. Oliver Goldsmith:—“I never saw a city, or village yet, whose miseries were not in proportion to the number of its public-houses.” And the Church Report, on Intemperance (1869), fully confirms this statement. Hundreds of reliable witnesses attest that drunkenness, crime, and pauperism, and the houses established for the sale of intoxicating liquor, are inseparable. This applies even to the best of them. Jn fact, a respectable public drinking-house is a misnomer. How can respectability be attached to the sale of so pernicious and destructive an article as intoxicating liquor? • Some months ago, the author was walking through the beau¬ tiful village of 0-, North Riding of Yorkshire, in company with a farmer who had resided all his life upon a farm in the neighborhood. The rural scenery around was very beautiful, with here and there touches of the romantic ; presently we came to a very respectable looking public-house by the roadside. The landlady, a widow, stood at the door, and recognizing my com¬ panion, nodded to him, and he returned the salutation. The landlady w T as a fine, portly looking dame, with black silk dress, and gold chain hanging down to the waist, and altogether in keeping with the house. I remarked to my companion, “ That certainly is a very respectable looking public-house, and a very courteous and respectable landlady too.” My companion replied, “ You are quite correct, that public-house is the most respectably conducted house in this neighborhood, and that landlady is a most respectable woman ; but I wish to tell you something about that house. Thirty years ago, that house was licensed for the sale of intoxicating liquor, and year after year that license has been re¬ newed. Now, during those thirty years, how many victims, think 70 THE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. you, have perished in consequence of the drink obtained in that house?” Not liking to hazard a guess, he said, “AY el!, then, I will tell you In the course of those thirty years, to my certain knowledge, thirty victims have perished most miserably in consequence of the liquor obtained at that house. Some of them were opulent farmers belon gin g to this neighborhood, and others were gentlemen of independent fortunes. Some of them, before their death, were reduced almost to penury, and most of them died young, or in the prime of life. Two or three of them were carried out of that house insensible, and died shortly afterwards in their own homes, and others pf them died of fever, or of delirium tremens , supervening on a debauch at that house.” If so much misery be inflicted and so many deaths be occa¬ sioned by a public-house, said to be respectably conducted and situated amid beautiful scenery, so well calculated to withdraw men from vice and noisy revelry to the quiet contemplation of God’s works, then what must be the misery inflicted, and the deaths occasioned, in connection with those public-houses not so respectably conducted, and situated in the neighborhood of fac¬ tories, or in the densely-crowded portions of our large towns? Alas ! What tragedies hang around the public-houses of our land, and what bad deeds have been perpetrated in connection \vith every one of them. Young women robbed of virtue and modesty, and young men of manliness and truth. Wives made to break their marriage vow, and husbands transformed into cruel tyrants. Homes robbed of peace and furniture, and con¬ verted into arenas of strife, brutality and crime. We have read of Pagan temples, and Pagan shrines dedicated to obscene gods, whose priests practised the crudest rites and darkest orgies. We have in our midst 150,000 temples dedicated to intemperance and vice, and upon whose altars are offered up the widow’s tears, the children’s bread, and the virtue and happi¬ ness of the people. These altars are stained with blood ! The manufacturers of these pernicious liquors, Lord Chester¬ field calls, “artists in human slaughter ,” and of those who sell them, John Wesley says, “The men who traffic in ardent spirits, and sell to all who will buy, are poisoners-general; they murder his majesty’s subjects by wholesale; neither does their eye pity or spare. And what is their gain? Is it not the blood of these men? Who would envy their large estates and sumptuous palaces? A curse is in the midst of them. The curse of God is LIQUOR SHOPS A NUISANCE AND A CURSE. 71 « on their gardens, their walks, their groves ; a fire that burns to the nethermost hell. Blood, blood is theirs ; the foundation, the floor, the walls, the roof, are stained with blood!” The Rev. C. II. Spurgeon (in ‘‘Sword and Trowel,”), savs of the Gin-palaces, “ the fewer of those licensed slaughter-houses, the better.” The III. lion. John Bright, in receiving an Alliance Deputa¬ tion, in January, 1870, stated of the liquor traffic, that “ Hitherto the law in every Christian, in every civilized country, has admitted it to be a business that was as fairly to be carried on as any other business.” May we not also add, that it is a busi¬ ness that nearly every Christian country has deplored as a curse, and which they have anathematized, and occasionally outlawed and suppressed. A look at the history of the traffic in this country alone, will convince us-of this. “ In the earlier ages of its (Scottish) history, according to Hector Boetius, the sellers of strong drink (then chiefly confined to mead), were looked upon as public enemies, who made pro¬ vision for the voluptuous pleasures of men rather than for their necessities , and who for profit, generallg enticed men to a debauched and vicious life. Argadus, administrator of the realm, A.D. 160, confiscated their goods, pulled down their booses, and banished themselves. Constantine the Second, at a later period, when* the evil had revived, reenacted this law at Leone, A.D. 861. adding the terrible penalty of death, in case the Tavernier refused to depart, or resisted the execution of the decree.”— Dr. Lees' Prize Essay, p. 78. In the reign of Philip and Mary an act was passed suppressing in Ireland the traffic in Builcann , a spirit distilled from fer¬ mented black oats. Its manufacture was regarded as a sinful and dangerous destruction of the food of the people, and sup¬ pressed accordingly.— Ibid. In England, from time to time, attempts have been made to suppress, at least in part, this traffic, and to proscribe it within very narrow limits. In the reign of Edward I. (1285) it was enacted that taverns should not be open for the sale of wine and beer after the tolling of the curfew. In the reign of Edward III., only three taverns were allowed in the metropolis. This certainly was next door to prohibition. In every period of our history, we may add, of the world's history, public drinking houses or taverns, have proved themselves a nuisance and a 72 THE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. curse. And these houses still retain their ancient character¬ istics, they have grown no better, if anything, worse. Now, as of old, they are centres of pollution and dens of infamy, and draw together the vile of the people, to render them still more hopelessly vile; they are also the means of inflicting the most abject misery upon thousands, who otherwise might have lived virtuously, soberly, and godly. Testimonials from the highest authorities will show that we have not exaggerated the evils of drink and drinking-houses. 1. —Take the testimony of a learned divine, the celebrated Dr. Thomas Chalmers. He says:—“Before God and man, before the church and the world, I impeach intemperance; I charge it with the murder of innumerable souls. In this country, blessed with freedom and plenty, the word of God and the liberties of true religion, I charge it as the cause, whatever may be the source elsewhere , of almost all the poverty, and almost all the crime, and almost all the misery, and almost all the igno¬ rance, and almost all the irreligion that disgrace and afflict the land. I am not mad, most noble Festus, I speak the words of truth and soberness. 1 do in my conscience believe that these intoxicating stimulants have sunk into perdition more men and women, than have found a grave in that deluge which swept over the highest hill tops, ingulfing a world, of which but eight were saved. As compared with other vices, it may be said of this, Saul hath slain his thousands, David his tens of thousands.” 2. —Take the testimony of a celebrated statesman. The Bight Hon. TV. E. Gladstone, addressing his constituents at TV einuth. in 18G7, and, after stating that he was not a temper¬ ance man himself, went on to say : “There was no doubt, whatever, that the tendency of excess in drink is a great curse, and a great plague to the people of England. Many is the fine fellow that is ruined by it; many is the man that might have been among the very best and most useful members of society, if* it had not been for that one curse'and plague.” 3. —Take the testimony of a great thinker. Goldwin Smith sa y S .—“ It is too clear that the rapid extension of the present system is threatening the very life of the community,—that it is producing a physical and moral pestilence more deadly in the deepest sense than any other plague which stalks the infected cities of the east; that it is bringing great masses of our work- ing classes to a self-imposed bondage, more complete and more I THE TESTIMONY OF A CHURCH CONVOCATION. 73 degrading than slavery itself; that it is undoing for the people; that it is not only filling the present with unspeakable misery and vice, but blighting the prospects of labor for the future.” 4. —Take the statement of an English bishop. Dr. Temple says:—“I do not think that it can, for one moment, be denied that there is no other evil at present in this country, so deadly in its operation as the drunkenness that prevails among us. Even those who altogether oppose all that you are doing, and all that I should wish to do—even those are not prepared to deny what, indeed, is the plainest of facts, that far the largest part of all the evils which men suffer now, that can be at all prevented by human means, come3 of the indulgence in this one fearful sin. I do not think that I am at all overstating, when I say, that this one cause of unhappiness and crime is equal in its bad effects to all the other causes put together.”— Speech as Chairman of the United Kingdom Alliance Anniversary Meeting , held in the Free Hall,- Manchester, October , 1869. 5. —Take the testimony of a Church Convocation ,—we refer to the report on intemperance of the Lower House of Convocation of the province of Canterbury. “ The results of intemperance, as portrayed in the evidence before your committee, are of the most appalling description. In the case of individuals, it is shown that loss of health and intellect, decay of strength, disease in its most frightful forms, and premature death, are the usual products of intemperance; that the temper is soured, the passions inflamed, the whole nature brutalized by it—in short, that there is no enormity of blasphemy in language, and cruelty in action, of which even persons naturally gentle and well conducted, are not capable of, and to which they are impelled when under the influ¬ ence of drink. In family life, affections are blunted and oblit¬ erated ; the tenderest relations are outraged and set at nought; children are left without food, clothing, or education, and aban¬ doned or forced to crime by the authors of their being, that the means of gratifying the craving for drink may be obtained. Husbands are neglected by their wives; wives are subject to revolting cruelty and violence; infants are often overlaid and killed, and the sin of the parent is visited on a stunted, sickly, and debilitated offspring. “ As to the evils inflicted on society and the nation at large by intemperance, these in their nature and amount, as attested in the evidence before your committee, are not only harrowing and 7 74 THE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. humiliating to contemplate, but so many and wide-spread as almost to defy computation. In no country, probably, is indul¬ gence in this vice so prevalent as in our own. It may be truly said of our body politic, that the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. And, unless remedies be speedily and effectively supplied, consequences the most disastrous to us as a people cannot be averted/’ 6. —Take the testimony of an eminent Judge. Says the Lord Chief Justice, Sir W. Bovil, in a letter to the Venerable Arch¬ deacon Sanford:—“ I have no hesitation in stating that in the North of England, and in most oi' the large towns, and the manufacturing and mining districts, intemperance is directly or indirectly the cause of by far the largest proportion of the crimes that have come under my observation. “Amongst a large class of our population intemperance in early life is the direct and immediate cause of every kind of immorality, profligacy and vice, and soon leads to the commission of crime. It is frequently very painful to find honest and well disposed, and hard-working men, who do not belong to the criminal class, placed in the dock for serious crimes committed under the in¬ fluence of drink, and who, if they had been in possession of their senses, would never have thought of committing such crimes; and still more painful to a judge, to have to sentence such men to long terms of imprisonment, to the ruin of themselves and families. The cost to the country for the maintenance of the prisoners and their families likewise becomes a matter of very serious importance. Considering the amount of pauperism as well as crime which is thus occasioned, it would seem to be the imperative duty, as well as the interest of the state, to endeavor to provide some remedy , which will check so frightful an evil.” 7. —Lastly, take the testimony of a noted Brewer. Mr. Charles Buxton, M. P., in his pamphlet, “IIow to Stop Drunkenness,” says:—“It would not be too much to say, that if all drinking of fermented liquors could be done away, crime of every kind would fall to a fourth of its present amount, and the whole tone of moral feeling in the lower orders might be indefinitely raised. Not only does this vice produce all kinds of wanton mischief, but it has also a negative effect of great importance. It is the mightiest of all the forces that clog the progress of good. It is in vain that every engine is set to work that philanthropy can devise, when those whom we seek to benefit are habitually tarn- WORSE THAN WAR, PESTILENCE AND FAMINE. 75 poring with their faculties of reason and will—soaking their brains with beer, or influencing them with ardent spirits. The struggle of the School, the Library, and the Church, all united against the beer-house and the gin palace, is but one development of the war between heaven and hell. It is, in short, intoxication that frlls our gaols—it is intoxication that fills our lunatic asylums, and it is intoxication that fills our workhouses with poor. Were it not for this one cause, pauperism would be nearly extinguished in England. We are convinced that if a statesman who heartily wished to do the utmost possible good to his country, were thoughtfully to inquire which of the topics of the day de¬ served the most intense force of his attention, the true reply—the reply which would be exacted by full deliberation—would be, that he should study the means by which this icorst of plagues can be stayed. The intellectual, the moral, and the religious welfare of our people, their national comforts, their domestic happiness, are all involved. The question is, whether millions of our countrymen shall be helped to become happier and wiser— whether pauperism, lunacy, disease and crime shall be dimin¬ ished—whether multitudes of men, women and children shall be aided to escape from utter ruin of body and soul? But what we would throw out for consideration is the question, Whether it should not be allowed, that when five-sixths of the rate-payers of a parish demand the entire extinction of all the places for the sale of fermented liquors, their prayer should be granted, and all licenses then existing should expire, after a fair time had been allowed for the publicans to make other arrangements.” Our proposition states that the drinking s}^stcin is the greatest evil in our land. And where indeed, for vi'.lany, immorality, and destructiveness, shall we find anything comparable to it? Its ravages extend down the stream of time coming from the barbarous tribes once inhabiting our country, but gathering strength, from age to age, until now it threatens to overwhelm us with the greatest evils that can menace a people. To the mead¬ drinking Saxons succeeded the wine-drinking Normans, and the beer-drinking of the agglomerated races forming the English people. To this was added the drinking of ardent spirits in the sixteenth century, and to that again the consumption of various kinds of intoxicating liquors, rendered more complicated and deadly by the addition of stupefying drugs. Intemperance is an evil more desolating than war. It is true the 76 THE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. ravages of war are terrible, and when its dark thunder clouds burst upon a country, woe to the inhabitants thereof. "When Mars rides forth in his blood-red chariot, rapine and violence, pestilence and famine, bring up the rear. But the longest and most disastrous wars terminate at last, and the people have rest. Overthrown cities arise again, and desolated plains wave afresh with luxuriant harvests. Not so with intemperance: its ravages never cease, whilst all that is horrible and cruel in war, the after-pillage, violence, murder, and outrage, are aggravated and intensified by intemperance. It is an evil more destructive than the pestilence. When the pestilence devastates a land, some of the noblest and most heroic virtues which adorn humanity are developed and ex¬ pressed, but strong drink demoralizes and corrupts all who yield themselves to its influence. Repeated visitations of the pesti¬ lence— ;1 t one time as the terrible plague, then as the sweating- sickness, or, lastly, as the ghastly cholera—have taught men wis¬ dom, and by improved sanitary arrangements, and certain sci¬ entific appliances, pestilences have been deprived of their former terrors, and their destructive ravages are confined within nar¬ rower bounds, and were it not for its dread ally,• intemperance, we should have little to fear; but it is strong drink that prepares the way for the pestilence, and that adds to its fatality. Intemperance is more cruel than famine , for it destroys the food that ought to be applied to feed a famine-stricken people. Nature is unchangeable within certain narrow limits, and she produces sufficient food, though not ahvays equally distributed, to meet the wants of all her children. A bad harvest is suc¬ ceeded by a plentiful one, and dearth in one land is balanced by superabundant plenty in another. What one country may lack another provides. “Each climate needs what other climes produce; And oilers something to the general use; No land but listens to the common call, And, in return, receives supply from all.” Man is endowed with intelligence, that he may prepare for the occasional fluctuations of nature, and that he may be the dis¬ tributer of that food so amply, if not so uniformly provided, conveying it from the land of plenty to the land of dearth. But how' can this be done, w hen a fourth part of the food produced in certain countries is wantonly destroyed by conversion into INTEMPERANCE THE MONSTER EVIL. 77 intoxicating liquor. Famines only recur at rare and distant intervals, and are chiefly confined to districts remote from the civilized world; hut where intemperance abounds you have a chronic famine. Day hy day' thousands starve, pine, and die, because those who ought to provide for them waste their sub¬ stance and expend their means upon intoxicating liquor. Intemperance is an evil more demoralizing than slavery. It corrupts the heart, the fountain of human affections, and sinks man lower in the scale of being than slavery of itself can do. Its victims, too, are more numerous, and suffer much more intensely. The links of this chain eat more deeply into the soul. In short, this evil is more destructive to the general well-being of society than any other vice, or than all other vices put to¬ gether. For the most part, indeed, other vices and evils spring from the drinking system, and their most revolting features are borrowed from it. Apart from drinking, they are comparatively manageable, or disappear altogether. Gambling, prostitution, and other abominations, flourish most luxuriantly, but with the luxuriance of the nightshade, where intemperance abounds. The drinking system is a more deadly and demoralizing evil than the opium plague of the far East. The consumption of this drug, indeed, is not confined to the Chinese and Moham¬ medans. Its use, in fact, is very largely extended in this country, altogether apart from its legitimate use as a medicine. For many years now it has been extensively administered to infants by monthly nurses, or by ignorant, idle, and unnatural mothers, in the form of Godfrey’s Cordial, and other soothing syrups. In consequence, thousands of these little ones suffer from almost constant narcotism, and are either poisoned out of the world ere they have seen the end of their first year, or they grow up sickly, with depraved appetites and weakened intel¬ lects, to fall victims in after years to the vice of intemperance. It is our conviction, founded on extensive observation, that the injury done to the nervous systems of children by the adminis¬ tration of these nostrums, leads, in after years, to the develop¬ ment cf the drunkard’s appetite, and the misery of the drunkard's career. The use of opium is also increasing most alarmingly on the part of our adult population ; not, as was once stupidly asserted, amongst the teetotalers. We are acquainted with several con¬ firmed cases of opium caters. Some take it in the form of 78 THE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. paregoric elixir, others in the form of laudanum, and some, again, gulping down the solid drug. It is no doubt used excessively in adulterating beer and ale. Dr. Pereira says:—“There is great reason to believe that the practice of opium-eating is very common in this country among the lower, as well as the middle classes. The consumption of opium is very great, and wholly disproportionate to the quantity required for medicinal purposes. From an official report just published (1853), it appears that during the last five months the enormous quantity of G3.384 lbs. had been imported into the country, the quantity for the last month was 9,699 tbs."— Materia Mtdica. Says Dr. Alfred Taylor in the Times (1861). speaking of certain dis¬ tricts not remarkable for temperance, anjl referring more particularly to Northampton, Plymouth, and Merthyr-Tydvil:—‘Immense quantities are sent into these districts, and the retail druggists ofien dispense as much as 200 lbs. of laudanum a year. In one district the average annual consumption is calculated to be at least 100 grains of opium per head. It is sold in penny sticks or pills; and a well accustomed shop will serve 300 or 400 customers on Saturday night. A man in South Lancashire complained that h.s wife had spent £100 in opium since she was married.’' These are sad disclosures, and it would seem we arc in danger of being inundated with the ravages of opium-eating, even as we are now with the ravages of alcohol-drinking. The same law of narcotics—that use generates abuse—governs both practices, as well as tobacco-smoking. Whether the late Act to Regulate the sale of Poisons, which came into force on January 1st, 1869, has had any effect in checking this evil, we have not yet been able to ascertain. As a warning to our readers, we shall now describe the effect of opium-eating upon the Chinese, they being more addicted to this vice than perhaps any other nation. The Alliance American Commissioner (Dr. Lees), writes to the Alliance News , under date November 27th. 1869, as follows : “ At Chinese camp, in California, I took pains to go among the Chinese, not only to their shops, where I saw many buying op um, but to their homes, where I saw them smoking it. I also visited an hospital, and saw two men dying of the atrophy which the habit brings on. It was a sorrowful scene of * death- in-life.’ Already dead to all work, all emotion, all thought. I saw a few gleams of memory light up their parched faces and dulled eyes as, in smoking the drugs at intervals, they doubtless THE EFFECTS OF OPIUM-EATING. 79 thought themselves once more in the far, familiar home which they would never again behold! And yet this baneful habit does not produce the horrible effects of alcohol—does not so endanger society, and disturb the foundations of government, because it does not so disturb, demoralize, and demonize the soul.” In the British and Foreign Medical Review , (vol. iv. p. 394), Dr. Oppenheim thus describes the effects of opium-eating upon the inhabitants of Turkey and Persia: “ The causes leading to the use of opium are many, and among them may be reckoned the fol owing:—Long continued diarrhoea, as a remedy for which opium is used in the first instance, and its use afterwards con¬ tinued from habit [no craving;] chronic coughs, in which opium is also used as a popular remedy; habitual drunkards also frequently have recourse to opium as a new stimulus, after they have abjured wine in a fit of repentance. Persons holding high offices, or dignities in the state, have also recourse to opium, when the preservation of their character forbids them the use of wine; some very strict believers also take opium as a restorative in cases of great exertion, as the Tartars {couriers), who travel with astonishing celerity. Opium-eaters generally begin with doses of from half a grain to two grains, and gradually increase the quantity till it amounts to two drachms, and sometimes more, a day; they usually take the opium in pills, but avoid drinking any water after having swmllowed them, as this is said to produce violent, colic. To make it more palatable, it is somet mes mixed with syrups, or thickened juices; but in this form it is less intoxicating, and resembles mead; it is then taken with a spoon, or is dried in small cakes, with the words Mash Allah, ‘ the work of God,’ imprinted on them. '• The habitual opium-eater, is instantly recognized by his appearance. A total attenuation of body, a withered, yellow countenance, a lame gait, a bending of the spine, frequently to such a degree as to assume a cir¬ cular form, and glassy, deep-sunken eyes, betray him at the first glance. The digestive organs are in the highest degree disturbed; the sufferer eats scarcely anything, and has hardly one evacuation in a week; his mental and bodily powers are destroyed—he is impotent. By degrees, as the habit becomes more confirmed, his strength continues decreasing, the craving for the slhmdus becomes ever greater, and to produce the desired effect, the dose must be constantly augmented. When the dose of two or three drachms a day no longer jiroduces the beatific intoxication so eagerly sought by the opiophagi, they mix the opium with corrosive stiblimate, in¬ creasing the.quantity till it reaches to ten grains a day; it then acts as a stimulant. After long indulgence the opium-eater becomes subject to nervous or neuralgic pains to which opium itself brings no relief. These people seldom attain the age of forty, if they have begun to eat opium at an early age. The fasts in the month Ramadan are for them fraught with 80 THE GREAT NATIONAL CURSE. the most dreadful tortures, as during the whole of that month they are not allowed to take anything during the day. It is said that to assuage their sufferings they swallow, before the morning prayer, besides the usual dose, a certain number of other doses wrapped up in particular papers, having previously calculated the time when each envelope shall be un¬ folded, and allow the pill to produce the effects of their usual allowance. When this baneful habit has been confirmed, it is almost impossible to break it off; the torments of the opium-eater when deprived of this stimulant, are as dreadful as his bliss is complete when he has taken it; to him night brings the torments of hell, day the bliss of paradise. Those who do make the attempt to discontinue the use of opium, usually mix it with wax, and daily diminish the quantity of the opium, till the pill at last contains nothing but wax.” The opium curse is indeed great and terrible, and in the con¬ fessions of English opium-eaters, to wit, De Quincey and Coleridge, we may form some idea of the miseries it inflicts upon its victims; first beguiling them with pleasant reveries, then enchaining them in hopeless slavery, and finally inflicting upon them indescribable torments. But great and terrible though this curse be, it must yield the palm to the still greater and more terrible curse of our drinking system. Where opium lulls the passions, alcohol arouses them, and where opium brings prostra¬ tion and inanition, alcohol urges on to deeds of violence and murder. BACCHUS DETHRONED. • 81 CHAPTER II. THE DIETETIC VALUE OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES. Prop. II.— 11 That all intoxicating liquors are perfectly useless for every purpose of life , as ai tides of diet.' 1 ' 1 Is alcohol food? This is now the great question before us, and in seeking its solution, we must inquire—What is Food? and then—Does alcohol answer to this reply ? Any substance containing the elements of which the human body is composed, in such a state of combination that the body can appropriate them, is food. If then we take up any sub¬ stance, we must seek to ascertain these two things:—1st, Does it contain those elements of which the body is composed? And 2d, Does it possess them in such a state that the body can use them? Now to ascertain this, we must inquire, (1) Of what is the body composed ? (2) What are those physiological changes which render food necessary? And (3) Does chemical analysis, carefully conducted experiment, and experience conjoined, attest that any substance called ‘‘food” fulfils the necessities required ? 1st.—The human body, examined chemically, is found to be composed of a variety of compound substances, each of which is capable of being reduced to simpler forms. We find albumen in the blood and nerve matter, which when analyzed gives pro¬ tein ten parts, sulphur two parts, and phosphorus one part; fibrine found in the muscles and in the blood, gives protein ten parts, sulphur one part, and phosphorus one part. The protein again may be ultimately resolved into carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen, combined in different proportions. Fat is found in the blood, and in the cells of the adipose tissues, giving rotundity and comeliness to the body. Proximate an¬ alysis shows this substance to be composed of stearine, oleine and margarine; while ultimate analysis resolves it into the simple elements—carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Gelatine is found in the cartilaginous tissues, but not in the blood. 82 DIETETIC VALUE OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES. The body also contains water, which can be resolved into oxygen and hydrogen. The hotly, in fact, is mainly composed of water. A man weighing 154 lbs. will be composed of about 88 tbs. water, and only 66 lbs. of solid material. Water enters into the formation of all the tissues, and without it the body would crumble to atoms. The blood contains about 80 parts water, which is the vehicle for conveying to the different tissues those nutritive products they from time to time require, and for removing those obnoxious products of waste which must bo thrown out of the body as fast as formed. We also find in the blood a variety of earthy and saline mat¬ ters, as phosphate of lime forming the principal part of the earthy matters of bone. Silica foqnd in the nails, hair, and enamel of teeth; carbonate of lime also entering into the com¬ position of bone ; peroxide of iron existing in the red globules of the blood. There is also creatine and creatinine contained in the flesh ; they are nitrogenous derivatives of flesh, and resemble in their nature, quinine. There is also to be found chloride of sodium, or common salt; sulphate of potash; sulphate of soda; and other saline ingredients. In fact, one gallon of blood con¬ tains 420 grains of saline matter. Such then are the materials of the human body; and any article claiming to be food must contain one or more of those substances entering into its composition, or it must contain those elements which go to form them, in such a state of combination that the body can appropriate them. It is not what goes into the mouth that nourishes a man ; but what the stomach can digest, and the body work up into its own structure. Now it is a sine qua non , that the mineral ingredients be in a state of com¬ bination either with animal or vegetable products, in order that the human body may appropriate them. Vegetables may thrive upon the raw material, but animals cannot. There is but one exception to this rule, and that is salt. We read indeed of certain people possessing very curious appetites for certain crude products, that have not yet been transformed either into animals or vegetables. Sometimes they eat coal (carbon), sometimes slate-pencil (silica), etc. ’But they don’t improve upon this diet; nay, rather, they become thin and waste away. We know of but one perfect typical diet, milk. One pound weight of which contains 13^ ozs. of water, J oz. of mineral mat¬ ters, f oz. of sugar, $ oz. of butter, £ oz. of caseine, a substance PHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES. 83 analogous to albumen. In fact, it contains all the elements the body requires, and, withal, in such a form that the body can readily appropriate them. 2d.—We inquire what are those physiological operations going on within the body, necessitating and indicating food? The first is that of combustion. By means of this process the body is preserved at a given temperature, 98° Fahrenheit, whatever the external temperature may be. You may place a man in a room heated to 300°, only supply him with plenty of water and atmospheric air to breathe, and he will neither bake nor burn; but the internal parts of his body will still indicate a temperature of 98°. Or place him upon a field of ice amid polar snows, only supply him with an abundance of fatty food, and though the thermometer may indicate 20° below zero, yet will the body internally still give 98°. This process of combustion is carried on in the lungs, and in the cellular membranes and ultimate tissues of the body; in fact, there is no portion of the body where it is not being continuously carried on. Another process is that of assimilation, by which the body works up into its own tissues, food which is fitted for that end. Another process is that of disintegration, or the pulling down process. These processes are continually being carried on in the body. We cannot conceive an idea, speak a word, or move a muscle, but we wear away some portion of this delicate and complicated machine. The involuntary movements going on within are also a source of constant change. As the constant dropping of water wears away the stone, so the constant friction arising from the action of our nervous and muscular power is continually wearing away the body. To repair this constant waste, it is necessary that the system appropriate fresh material, and build it up into its own tissues. These changes, called metamorphosis, are so extensive and incessant, that in about seven years we must have a bran new body, no single particle of our former structure remaining. Dr. E. Lankester calculates that a‘human being loses about the fortieth part of his weight every day, and on that reckoning, the vital organs are renewed every forty days. Disintegration is more active during the day; assimilation, during the repose of slumber. / 84 DIETETIC VALUE OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES. It appears to us that the particles forming the human body can only remain a certain time in a healthy condition. Any¬ thing, then, retarding these changes, or hastening one and retarding the other, must prove inimical to the health and vigor of the body. Another essential process is elimination, called also depu¬ ration, which is a throwing out from the body of those w’orn out particles, the retention of which become a nuisance, and a source of danger. As disintegration goes on, albuminous struc¬ tures are resolved into lithate of ammonia, and the gelatinous into lactate of urea. Now these are poisonous, and if suffered to remain in the circulation beyond a certain time, they poison as certainly as though they had been ^introduced into the system from without. Urea, for example, is a brain-poison. If it3 excretion by the kidneys is checked, as in some cases of typhus, it rises to the head, and circulates through the brain; the breath smells of it, the patient sinks into a profound stupor, and dies comatose, poisoned with urea. If lithate of ammonia be retained, not only may it resolve itself into lithic acid, but also into certain combinations of cyanogen, that act as subtle poisons. From this we see how important it is that no check should be placed upon the natural and vigorous performance of the pro¬ cesses of elimination. That the body may be thoroughly cleansed from all impurities, the body is provided with a perfect sewer¬ age system. In this respect it resembles a town, the sanitary arrangements of which are complete. The sewerage pipes are the veins, and the outlets are the bowels, kidneys, skin, and lungs. Every moment of our existence nature is engaged in burning up, or throwing out the different products of disintegra¬ tion, thereby keeping the body sweet , healthy , and 'pure. Now to build up the tissues, to support combustion, etc., three kinds of food are needed. 1. Tissueforming foods. 2. Heat-giving foods. 3. Auxiliary foods; or such as aid the func¬ tions of the other two. Class I., or Tissue-forming foods, include all articles of diet containing nitrogen; as, albumen, fibrine, and caseine. These are also called the protein compounds, proteine being the sub¬ stance common to them all. Albumen has this peculiarity: it cannot be formed in the body save from a protein compound; so that it is impossible to transmute water, fat, starch, or sugar, which do not contain it, into muscular and nervous tissue. HEAT-GIVING FOODS. 85 Class II., or Heat-giving foods, include substances -which, by combustion, are the source of heat, such as starch, sugar, fat, or oil. (These are sometimes called carbonaceous compounds.*) In the body, heat is generated in the same way, essentially, as in the burning of a coal fire, or of a tallow candle. For instance, the fat of tallow is composed of hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon, while the cotton wick contains also some ash. These form a compound, locking up, as it were, in reserve, caloric or latent heat.f Now in order to liberate that latent heat, you must reduce that com¬ pound into simpler, and lower forms of matter.^ The intensity of the heat evolved depends upon the energy of the combijstive process. Now apply flame to the wick of the candle, and com¬ bustion at once begins. The oxygen of the air in part combines with the hydrogen of the tallow, and forms water, (as you can test for yourselves, by holding a cold tumbler over the flame); while other oxygen of the air combines with the carbon, and forms carbonic-acid-gas. (This also you can test thus:—Put an inverted bottle over your burning candle and allow the flame to burn within the bottle till it goes out for want of air. Withdraw the candle, and fasten up your bottle secure, with a cork, in which 3 t ou have previously placed a quill, the end of which was stopped with a little plug. Have some lime-water prepared; remove your plug ; insert a funnel, and immediately pour in the lime-water. This will immediately become and after standing a short time, an insoluble substance, carbonate of lime [chalk], will fall to the bottom. How are we to account for this change? Why, the carbon of the carbonic-acid produced from the carbon of the candle and the oxygen of the air, unites with the lime, oxygen flies off, and chalk is the product which remains.) In the wick the same process goes on, but, as it contains earthy materials, these, instead of flying off, remain in the form of a black ash, which we remove from time to time with a pair of snuffers. Thus the candle, a compound substance, is entirely changed; its elements being separated and transformed into lower and simpler forms of matter, in the course of which changes, light and heat are given out.^[ * All organic substances alike contain carbon, which in fact is the skeleton- matter of them ; hence this name is a misnomer.—E d. j Strictly speaking, there is no such thing. Heat is matter in motion — i. e., a form of force.— Ed. % What really happens is, that the force of chemical cohesion is transformed into motion. —Ed. To drop metaphorical language, we should say, these very changes called combustion, produce the sensations called light and heat.—E d. 8 * 86 DIETETIC VALUE OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES. Now the same kind of process is carried on in the body as in the burning of the candle; but it is less vigorous, and more graduated The lighted candle has a temperature of 700°, the human body 98° only. We take the fuel-foods into our body, and they are ox d>zed (or burnt off) partly in the lungs, and partly in the capillaries, or fine blood-vessels of the body. As the process of breathing in oxygen goes on, our fuel-food obvi¬ ously undergoes a change, for we never see it in the same form again ; it passes away, by breath and transpiration, in the form of vapor and carbonic-acid-gas, thus maintaining the temper¬ ature of the body. Of this completeness of the parallel we may assure ourselves at any time, by breathing upon polished metal, or a piece of glass, when we see the vapor ; and by breathing into a bottle containing lime-water, when exactl}' the same change will take place as from the carbonic-acid-gas of the candle. There is a secondary kind of fuel-food. Every particle of tissue pulled down by the disintegrating process, is a source of animal-heat; for where the albuminous and gelatinous structures are resolved into the lower forms, heat and force result; so that in all the minute cells of the body the process of combustion is going on. The ash left behind,—the mineral matters of the food, which can be resolved neither into vapor nor gas,—are re¬ moved from the body by the operation of the kidneys and bowels. Class III., or Auxiliary foods. The matters coming under this head are very numerous— water , connnon salt ( chloride of sodium ,) which is found in the blood in the proportion of three drachms to one gallon. Its great function is to hold fibrine and albumen in solution, and to aid the absorption of fluids into the system. Probably also it produces the chlorine of the hydro¬ chloric acid of the gastric j.uicc :—thus playing a moh Inush to the surface of the bod} r , etc. O.hers are more purely medicinal, as cayenne, and the acro- aromatics generally. All stimulants, however, with the excep¬ tion of the purely hygienic, follow the same general law. Their frequent use impairs the sensihHity upon which they feed , inducing ■ y STIMULANTS AND DEPRESSANTS. Ill a state of atony or debility. This is .a wise and salu f ary law. Nature never intended us to live upon stimulants 5 they are to be reserved for those great crises when weakness overtakes us, and disease threatens our life. Depiessanls may he divided into two classes, the narcotic, and the non narcotic. To the former belong opium, digitalis, tobacco, etc., to the latter, nitre, tartar emetic, etc. Both classes follow the same general law of depressants, that is, in small doses they lower the vitality of the body, in larger, sdriously impair the health, the reactive stage being characterized by quick pulse, and nervous irritability 5 and in still larger doses, destioy lhe. lake nitre for instance, in small doses it cools the body, and acts as a diaphoretic ; in large doses it seriously interferes with the bodily functions, and in still larger it produces great oppression, a bloody flux comes on, and the patient dies. When small doses of the milder class are frequently repeated, the body, to a certain extent, accommodates itself to their use, so that the evil effects resulting are very gradual, almost imperceptible. With the narcotic class a terrible morbid craving for their continued use is engendered, which at last becomes an all-absorbing and un¬ controllable passion,* Now to which of these two classes does alcohol belong? Says Dr. Edmunds:—“Is spirit a stimulant? W'e use the word * stimulant’ as something which increases the activity of the body; therefore if spirit be a stimulant, you have this remark¬ able proposition—that by diminishing the dose you reverse the nature of the effect. Now it would require the strongest possible evidence to prove, satisfactorily, that that which is known to be a paralyzer in large doses, is a stimulant in small doses. I hold that its action, in all doses, is always that of a narcotic, and paralyzer.” In a letter, signed “ A Provincial Doctor,” which appeared in * We beg to call attention to the action of chlorodine , an agent advertised as a nostrum and a cure-all. and the consumption of which is alarmingly increas¬ ing among us. In its action it is an anaesthetic ; it deadens and paralyzes the nervous system, and is, in fact, a far more destructive agent than alcohol. Those w1k> yield themselves up to its habitual use, in a very short time become conscious oi a terrible oppression.and at the same time acquire a terrible appe¬ tite for the drug. Tliev lose flesh, become emaciated and pale, and subject to mental hallucinations, and to many nervous sensations of a very trouble¬ some character. We know a gentleman who used to spend 30s. a week upon chlorodine. At times he imagined that his body was burning, and that his hands were all in a blaze. Sometimes lie would console himself, that though liis hands were burning away, his arms would still be left entire. This gentle¬ man altera time was forcibly prevented from using his anodt/tu; he then began to recover from these hallucinations U.is complexion improved, and he put on flesh. » V 112 THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OF ALCOHOL. the British Medical Journal, Nov. 2, 1861, we find the following* “The question I wish to ask is this 5 can alcohol in any shape, increase strength, and render more vigorous the bodily processes ? Adopting the usual phrase, is ‘vital force’augmented by it, or not? All the facts seem to answer in the negative. If under the influence of alcohol men bear both heat and cold less per¬ ceptibly ; if exertion be ‘ disfavored,’ if ‘ nutrition’ be 5 deranged,’ andif‘mutual acuteness and sensuous activity be lessened,’ it seems very clear that alcohol must do anything rather than increase ‘ the vital force.’ If I were recommending anything to a man to make him stronger, it would precisely be, not that substance that at once renders hinTunable to lift a weight which previously he had been able to do.” Dr. T. K. Chambers says:—“ What is a stimulant? It is usually held to be something which spurs on an animal to a more vigor¬ ous performance of its duties. It seems doubtful if, on the healthy nervous system, this is ever the effect of alcohol, even in the most moderate doses, and for the shortest periods of time. A diminution of force is quite consistent with augmented quick¬ ness of motion , or may it not be said that, in involuntary muscles, it implies it. The action of chloroform is to quicken the pulse, yet the observations of Dr. Bedford Brown on the circulation in the human cerebrum during anaesthesia, clearly show that tho propelling power of the heart is diminished during that state.” Dr. E. Smith says :—“ We need 110 c refer to the action of alcohol in lessening consciousness, the perception of light and sound, and the diminution of muscular power ; for where a full ordinary dose is taken, they may be perceived in every half- drunken man.In less doses, these effects are either less evident, or they are not at all perceptible; but in whatever dose, the direction of the action of the alcohol must be the same. It is impossible that a small dose of alcohol shall directly increase muscular power; for example, whilst a larger, yet an ordinary dose, decreases it; and if men half-drunk have some¬ times exerted unusual strength, it has been from the same cause as is seen in the efforts of a madman, not from an increase of muscular power, but from increase of the effort of the will. . . The practical question now arises: Do these actions show that alcohol has the power to increase nervous or vital force? The reply is, I think, clear. We do not profess to explain the mode by which alcohol produces the effects described; that is a ques- ALCOHOL LESSENS VITAL FOKCE. 113 tion which must be left for further research ; but it is clear that one of its actions is physical, and although the others seem to be vital, it may be that they are physical also. Thus the action upon the surface with which it is in contact, must be physical; and in this manner, by exciting nerve-action upon the surface, the efficiency of that surface may be increased, as in the stomach, for example, in relation to its vermicular motion, and its viral processes. When the force of the heart is insufficient to main¬ tain the circulation, all vital action must> languish, and by increasing that force, alcohol must thus promote vital action. [Query.] This increase of the heart’s action may be due to the physical action of the alcohol upon the inner surface of the heart, since the increased action occurs in from three to eight minutes after the alcohol has been taken, and when, therefore, it will have entered the circulation; or it may be due to the diminution of peripheral exudation, or to the congestion of the capillaries, by which this vis a fronte would be increased, and as a secondary effect, this vis a tergo must be increased to overcome it. When alcohol is applied to a surface in which the capillary action can be traced, as the bat’s wing, it is observed first to increase the capillary action, and then the capillaries become distended and congested , and finally the circulation may cease for a time. In death from alcohol, there is great congestion of various organs, and it is probable that diminution of capillary action, with increased fulness of these vessels, is the ordinary effect in man, and accounts for the blood-shot eyes and swollen hands and face, commonly observed. The action on the bat’s wing is certainly physical and exhaustive; and it may be that the action is the same when alcohol is taken into the circulation. Have we then in these actions, evidence that alcohol has the power to increase nervous force? I venture to assert that alcohol, in its direct action, has no such power; but that, on the contrary, its direct action is to lessen nervous force; and that, in fact, in its degree, it is a poison of the nervous centres.” From the above, w T e are certainly justified in maintaining that alcohol is a depressant—not a tonic, nor a stimulant. Some years ago I purposely placed myself under the influence of alcohol. At eight o'clock, p. m., and three and a half hours after partaking of a light tea, I took one ounce of rectified spirits of wine diluted with two ounces of water; ten minutes afterwards I repeated the dose. The first perceptible effect was a 10 * 114 THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OF ALCOHOL. sensation of warmth in the region of the stomach, followed immediately by a chillinesss over the whole surface of the body, though the temperature in the room was at CcS° Fah. This was speedily followed by reaction. The pulse indicated arterial excitement, and I breathed more rapidly than usual. As soon as the spirit rose to the brain, the cheeks became flushed, the eyes sparkled, and the temporal arteries throbbed. I then felt an irresistible tendency to talk, and became very loquacious. This was attended with an involuntary screwing of the mouth, v ith a meaningless laughter, and an attempt to sing. In fact, I felt “jolly.” But together with this, there was an unsteadiness in my gait, mv legs felt very light. There was a giddiness in my head, and a strange confusion of my mental powers. 1 he ability to fix the attention upon any subject was greatly impaired, but the imagination was excited and the fancy wild and restless. Ideas came and went, and I had no power to retain them. As I had not partaken of alcohol for many years, its action upon me was very striking, and rapid, and soon became almost overpowering. We will now inquire into the causes of these various symptoms. The sense of heat and warmth in the region of the stomach, was undoubtedly owing to the acrid property of alcohol irritating the mucous membrane of that delicate organ. r lhe sense of chilli¬ ness extending over the whole surface of the body was clearly due to an interference with the capillaries of the surface, and the functions of the skin. But was not the exhilaration and jollity, the brightening of the eyes, and the glowing of the countenance, indicative of increased activity of the circulation in the brain? If so, alcohol must be a stimulant. But I remember that this state was attended by other symptoms, indicating not stimulation but oppression. There was lightness of the head, and of the legs, unsteadiness of gait and movement, with a certain bewilder¬ ment and obtuseness of the mental powers. I then saw that two of the properties of alcohol were concerned in producing these symptoms. The unsteadiness of gait and motion were to be attributed to the narcotic action of the drug jlist then coming into operation, depressing the cerebellum, which regulates volun¬ tary motion, and also the cerebrum, the seat of the intellectual powers. The excitement was owing to the irritant property of alcohoi affecting principally the base of the brain. The alcohol being rapidly absorbed from the stomach, and carried to the brain, its acrid properties at once come into play. The delicate ALCOHOL LESSENS VITAL FORCE. 115 tissues of the brain at its base are irritated, and blood flows to the part 5 yet not sufficient at first to produce congestion, but only increased activity in the circulation. The region of the brain, which is the seat of the reasoning and moral faculties, is the first to suffer, leaving the other part (the seat of the animal propensities) excited, while its functions are uncontrolled by reason and conscience. After this, even the cerebellum becomes narcotized, and the whole nervous system oppressed. The head becomes heavy, the face more deeply^ flushed, the breathing stentorous, the pulse oppressed, the power of locomotion fails, and the unhappy wight falls to the ground, and loses all sense and feeling. He is, in fact, dead-drunk. On the whole, we concluded that the symptoms we experienced were produced by the com¬ bined volatile, acrid, and narcotic properties of alcohol. In conversing with members of the medical profession, we find some who now candidly confess that alcohol is not a stimulant. Many have come to the conclusion of Dr. T. K. Chambers, that “ alcohol is prima> ily and essentially a lessenerof ilie power of the nervous system.*' But some medical men are now beginning to prescribe alcohol as a sedative, and, what is curious, in those very states for which it was formerly administered as a stimulant! So that, although they have changed their opinions in reference to the properties of alcohol, they have not changed their practice. Now, what is a sedative? Etymologically, it is what “calms.” But a strange confusion has crept into medical nomenclature in reference to this term. Sedatives are confounded with narcotics, and these, however deadly, are termed sedatives! The same term is also used to designate those mild agents that merely soothe and tranquillize, but do not narcotize, the nervous system. If by a sed dive, medical men refer to the former, then alcohol is a sedative; but if they use the term to designate that which merely allays nervous irritability, then alcohol is not a sedative. A sedative soothes the excited and irritated nervous system, by equalizing the circulation of the nervous fluid ; a narcotic relieves pain by deadening nervous sensibility. Sedatives and narcotics are in reality antagonistic, and if alcohol be a narcotic, it cannot be a sedative, and vice versa. An irritant, and a narcotic, how¬ ever, are not antagonistic; they may, and often do, coexist in the same agent, and we see this combination in alcohol. Alcohol, then, is a narcotico acrid Poison. No definition of a poison can be given which shall exclude this agent. 116 THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OF ALCOHOL. A poison “is a substance which, when taken internally, is capable of destroying life without acting mechanically upon the system.” Alcohol answers to this exactly. Dr. E. Johnson asks, “ What is a poison? Is it not any substance which, when taken into the system, has the effect of disordering some one or more of the actions which make up the sum of life, and which, if taken in sufficient quantity, will destroy life itself?” To say that alcohol is a poison, is to state a scientific fact: and the man, therefore, who drinks alcohol, however moderately, and however diluted or mixed, drinks a poison ; and when the pulse hounds, the eyes sparkle, the cheeks flush, and the ideas flow from the imbibition of a small dose, the man is suffering from incipient poisoning. The very terra we use when a man is drunk, expresses this: for we say the man is intoxicated , which means “ poisoned.” Nearly all poisons have this peculiarity. By a kind of affinity, they select certain organs, or parts, in preference to others, upon which to expend their destructive powers. Tobacco paralyzes the heart; so does digitalis. Strychnine takes effect upon the spinal cord. Lead fastens upon the muscles of the wrist. Arsenic attacks the mucous membrane of the alimentary pa* •ages. So alcohol selects, by preference, the liver and the brain, upon which to expend the full force of its ravages. “ If in the blood, for instance, it is represented by l’O; in the brain it is D34 ; in the liver D38. If alcohol be injected into the veins it spreads to all the tissues, but accumulates most largely in the brain ; being in the liver as l - 75; in cerebral matter, 3‘0.”* —Lallemand and Perrin. There is one portion of the brain, however, which it selects in preference to the remainder, and that is the cerebrum , or brain proper; the organ of the mind, the seat of the will, and of the moral and intellectual faculties. In death from alcohol-poisoning the delicate tissues of this organ are found to be saturated with spirit, which indeed can be distilled from them. By its presence here, alcohol perverts and distorts the reasoning and moral powers, and blunts the perceptive faculties, and induces certain wayward tendencies to manifest themselves, varying in different persons, according to their peculiar cerebral development. All poisons are cumulative in their actions, that is. small doses frequently repeated injure the body, and finally destroy life as * All experiments, however, do not agree in this.—E d. MODERATE DRINKING INJURIOUS. 117 completely as though a poisonous dose had been taken at once; but ot course the action extends over a longer period. Hence alcohol being a poison, and foreign to the body, the direc¬ tion of its action mast be the same , and deleterious, whatever be the dose taken. The intensity of the action will of course vary with the amount consumed ; but the kind of action will be unchanged. The frequent repetition of even small doses will, in the course of years, impair the constitution, and finally destroy life. The so called moderate use of intoxicating liquor is a very dangerous and injurious practice, and the man who drinks but two glasses of beer or spirits a day, will probably, in the course of years, sus¬ tain greater damage to his constitution, than the man who gets intoxicated once a fortnight or once a month, but abstains the rest of the time. The man who occasionally drinks a large quantity, allows his body to right itself in the interval, while the moderate constant drinker never allows his blood to be free from the presence of the disturber, and so his body becomes diseased. Says Dr. Chambers: “The action of frequent small divided drams, is to produce the greatest amount of harm of which alcohol is capable, with the least amount of good.” Indeed, all the ill effects flowing from the excessive use of strong drink may be laid at the door of the so called “ moderate use,” for here they have their origin. Oinomania is induced by moderate drinking. Every moderate drinker suffers from it to a greater or less degree, from that first mild craving of which he becomes conscious in the beginning of his career, to that over¬ whelming and irresistible passion into which that mild craving at last ripens. The following are the results of 11 Moderate Drinking,” so called. 1.—It lowers vitality, and so produces a predisposition to certain morbid states. * The direction of the diseased condition will, of course, depend mainly upon the idiosyncrasy, the general mode of life, and the temperament of the drinker. Persons of a full habit of body are more liable to inflammatory complaints, to congestions, and apoplexy; the nervous, to diseases of the nervous system and of the kidneys. Others again become more liable to disorders of the liver and of digestion. Dr. Gordon, of the London Hospital, stated before the Parliamentary com¬ mittee on drunkenness, “ that seventy-five cases of disease out of 118 THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OF ALCOHOL. S every hundred could be traced to drinking,” and that “most of the bodies of moderate drinkers, which, when at Edinburgh, he had opened, were found diseased in the liver,—and those symp¬ toms appeared also in the bodies of temperate people which he had examined in the West Indies.” lie more than once says that the bodies whose livers he had found diseased were those of moral and religious people. Dr. T. K. Chambers, in his Clinical Lectures, says : “It might have been anticipated, a priori , that the diminished vitality which accompanies the use of alcohol should lead to a diathesis, of general degeneration. No part of the body seems exempt, but it is of course most notably manifested in those organs which are of the first neces¬ sity. such as the liver and the kidneys. Earliest, probably, of all parts of the body, this degeneration commences in the blood. Dr. Docker noticed the alterations undergone by the blood of habitual alcohol drinkers as yet in good health. This devitalized condition of the nutritive fluid is probably the first step to the devitalization of the tissues xohich it feeds. To recapitulate ; we think that the evidence so far as it has yet gone, shows the action of alcohol upon life to be consistent and uniform in all its jihases, and to be always exhibited as an arrest of vitality. In a condition of health it acts in some measure immediately on the extremities of the. nervous system by direct contact, and is also carried through the universal thoroughfare of the circulation to the brain. To nerve tissue chiefly it adheres, for good for or evil. The most special exhibition of disease is in the special function of the nervous system, the life of relation, to perform the duties of which the devitalized nerve becomes inadequate. Then the vegetable life suffers ; the forms of tissue become of a lower class, of a class which demands less vitality for growth and nourishment—connective fibre takes the place of the gland, and oil of connective fibre. The circulation retains, indeed, its industrious activity, but receives and transmits a less valuable, less living freight, and thus becomes the cause, as well as the effect of diminished vitality. — Medico-Chirurgical Review , July, 1861. 2.—The moderate use of intoxicating liquor induces that very lassitude, and that depression of spirits, lor the relief of which they are taken. Moderate drinkers, as a class, suffer much more from a sense of weariness than abstainers. This they wrongly attribute to a variety of causes, but the real cause is the use of the depressant, alcohol. It is a remarkable fact, that in every instance, so far as our observation and knowledge extend, those moderate drinkers who have been induced to try abstinence, have greatly improved in health, and appetite, and spirits. And if any failures happen, it is because thoy do not persevere in the THE TESTIMONY OF SIDNEY SMITH. 119 practice, till the body has had time to right itself. To show the benefit to be derived from the total disuse of intoxicating lquor, even in the case of moderate drinkers, we give the testimony of that brilliant wit, and celebrated writer, Sidney bnmh. During the greater part of his life he was a drinker, but not a drunkard. Latterly he became an abstainer, and after trying this plan for a year, he thus quaintly records his experi¬ ence in a letter to Lady Holland : r Many thanks for your kind anxiety respecting my health I not only was never better, but never half so well. Indeed, I find that I have been very ill all my life, without knowing it. Let me state some of the good arising from abstaining from all fermented liquors. First sweet sleep, having never known what such sweet sleep was- I sleep me a baby or a plough-boy. If I wake, no needless terrors, no black visions oi life but pleasing hopes and pleasing recollections. Holland House past and to come! If I dream, it is not of lions and tigers, but of Easter-dues and tithes. Secondly, I can take longer walks, and make greater exertions, without fatigue. My understanding is improved, and I comprehend political economy. I see belter without ivine and spectacles than when 1 used both. Only one evil ensues from it; lam hi such entravagant spirits, that I must lose blood, or look out for some one who will bore and distress me. Pray leave olf wine—the stomach quite at rest • no heart-burn, no pain, no distension." Testimonies of this kind could be greatly multiplied. For that sense of weariness and oppression arising from exces¬ sive and continued toil, either physical or intellectual, there is but one real remedy— rest. Stimulants only exhaust still further whilst narcotics, though they may deaden for a time the sense of exhaustion, cannot, reinvigorate the system. The anastcetic alcohol may for a time procure relief, by deadening sensibility but it strikes down nature's sentinel that calls to rest, and more rapidly uses up the remaining strength. So that premature exhaustion and death may be the result, or if this sad catas¬ trophe be averted, it will take nature a longer time to rally. Many bright intellects have been quenched in the darkness of death, because, heedless of nature’s admonition to rest, they have toiled on, with the sense of fatigue deadened for a time by alcohol, taken perhaps from the noblest of motives, but at last the vital and mental powers have given way, and all hope of saving them has been doomed to disappointment. 3. iho habitual, moderate use of alcoholic liquor corrupts and 120 THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OF ALCOHOL. impoverishes the blood, and is thus the fruitful source of that fatty degeneration of the tissues, which is the foundation of so many intractable maladies. It also predisposes to gout and rheumatism, and to many blood diseases. A large number of the upper classes suffer very severely from attacks of gout, and many of them are finally killed by this troublesome and painful malady. The predisposition to this disease may have been inherited from their wine-drinking ancestors, but their severe and repeated attacks of gout are brought on, for the most part, by their own liberal potations, acting upon the predisposition. If the “ upper ten thousand” would but give up their bibulous proclivities, and take to a plain, nutritious, non-alcoholic regimen, they would be much less troubled with this complaint, and in a few generations we should have to erase it from the list of human maladies. 4 . _The habitual moderate use of intoxicants produces atony of the stomach (want of tone or power to digest food), a very frequent complaint among moderate drinkers in advanced life. This is caused by years of narcotism and irritation, and is a complaint most difficult to remove. 5 . _The habitual moderate use of intoxicants detracts from the working power of the constitution. Other things being equal, the moderate drinker cannot sustain severe and prolonged phy¬ sical labor upon equal terms with the teetotaler. Experience has proved this most incontestably. “The following statement, forwarded to the writer (Dr. Carpenter) from Leeds, was signed by thirty-four men, (and he was assured that many more signatures might have been easily obtained) engaged in laborious employments; out of whom twelve belonged to the class whose occupations are commonly regarded as peculiarly trying, seven of them being furnace-men at foundries and gas-works, two of them sawyers, one a white¬ smith, one a glass-blower, and the last a railway-guard. ‘We the undersigned, having practised the principles of total absti¬ nence from all intoxicating liquors, during periods ranging from one to ten years, and having, during that time, been engaged in very laborious occupations, voluntarily testify that we are able to perform our toil with greater ease and satisfaction to ourselves (and we believe, more to the satisfaction of our employers also) than when we drank moderately of these liquors; our general health and circumstances have also been THE TESTIMONY OF EXPERIENCE. 121 considerably improved.’ This testimony is extremely valuable, as giving the comparative results of abstinence and moderation; it being often objected to statements of this kind, that they are only true of the difference between abstainers and drunkards .” —Physiology of Temperance, p. 117. e have conversed with teetotalers working as chain-makers and glass-blowers in Sunderland, who say, to a man, that since they tried the abstinent plan, they can sustain their severe labor and the high temperature in which they are compelled to work, with much greater edse and for longer hours now than for¬ merly, while they do not suffer from that sense of exhaustion after their day s work which they before experienced. In January, 1869, we descended the Ityhope coal mine, near Sunderland, in company with Mr. Fairley the under viewer, a zealous and consistent teetotaler. The pit is one of the.deepest, and the temperature in the workings is very high. We made extensive inquiries among the hewers as to how they managed their hard work, and if they did not drink plenty of beer and whisky to help them through. To a man they informed us that they could not work upon beer or whisky, and that the only beverage they took down with them was a bottle of weak tea or cold water. This is thh common practice amongst the coabminers throughout the Northern coal fields. Those among them who drink, do so, not down the pit, but during their idle hours. ^ e have conversed with abstainers working as puddlers, sbinglers, etc., at the iron works at Darlington, Middlesbro’ Consett, Witton Park, etc., and" they inform us that, notwith¬ standing the severity and intense heat of their work, they can sustain it with nruch greater ease and comfort upon water than upon beer. The following shows the comparative efficacy of tea and coffee, and of beer, in sustaining severe and protracted labor. During the hay harvest of 1869, Mr.-, of U-—, a brewer, who had some hay fields, was most anxious to complete his hay harvest upon a certain day. To encourage his men to do their best, he promised that, if they worked hard, they should have plenty of good Tommy {food), and plenty of good beer. He kept h:s word, and gave them a very liberal supply of both. The men worked very hard till three o’clock p. m., at which time they were so terribly exhausted that they could work no longer. 122 THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OF ALCOHOL. What was to he done? The hay was not yet secured, and tho men were completely done up with the heat of the weather and their own severe exertions. Under these circumstances, the brewer’s wife suggested that as beer had failed, they had better try tea and coffee. Accordingly these beverages were prepared and taken to the men, lying exhausted in the field. In a very short time they were so revived that they were able to resume their work, and to continue at it till nine o clock p.m , at which time the hay was all gathered in. This effect of tea and coffee appeared so wonderful to Mrs.-, that she could not keep the secret •, so the news rapidly spread through the town, that tea and coffee had proved stronger than the brewer s strongest ale! A Mr.-, who a few years ago used frequently to travel on foot between Newcastle and Felton, a distance of thirty miles, informed us, that when he performed tho journey on tea and coffee, or used the “pure element,” he came off as fresh as a daisy, and felt no inconvenience, but that when he attempted to do the journey upon beer, he always felt terribly “ knocked up, and worth nothing the day following. Though alcohol, by increasing the heart’s action, may appear for a time to arouse the flagging-energies, yet it very rapidly uses up the “vital force.” The late James Backhouse, of York, who, in one year and seven months travelled 6,000 miles in the interior of Africa, two thousand in wagons, and four thousand on horseback, with the thermometer sometimes at 100°, sometimes at 25 , frequently with frosts and snows, and sometimes so hot at night that he slept in the open air,—found no necessity whatever for intoxi¬ cating liquors, nor the slightest inconvenience from being a teetotaler*, on the contrary, he says, “total abstinence agreed ' with me exceedingly well.” So with I)r. Livingstone. The following, given by Dr. Carpenter, the physiologist, is very conclusive: “The author met, some years since, with a gentleman who had re¬ cently commanded a vessel during a voyage from bew South Wales to England, under the following peculiar circumstances. Soon after passing the Cape of Good Hope, the ship sprung so bad a leak, as to require the continued labor, not merely of the crew, but of the officers and passengers, to keep her afloat by the use of the pumps during the le mainder of her voyage, a period of nearly three months. At first, the men were greatly fatigued at the termination of their spell at. tu© nature’s own beverage, water the best. 123 pump?, and after drinking their allowance of grog, would ‘turn in' without taking a proper supply of nourishment. The consequence was, that their vigor was decidedly diminishing, and their feeling of fatigue ol course increasing, as our physiological knowledge would lead us to expect By direction of their commander, coffee and cocoa were sub¬ stituted for the grog, a hot ‘mess’ of these beverages being provided with the biscuit and meat at the conclusion of every watch. It was then found that the men felt inclined for a good meal of the latter; when the more direct but less effective refreshment of alcoholic liquor was withdrawn, their vigor returned, their fatigue diminished; and after twelve weeks of incessant and severe labor (with no interval longer than four hours), the ship was brought into port with all on board of her in as good condition as ever they were in their lives .”—Physioloqv of Temperance, p. 121. All trainers wishing to bring up their men to the highest possible degree of efficiency, and to develop to the highest pitch the physical energies, use alcoholic liquors butsparingly, and very much diluted, whilst our best trainers, in imitation of the ancient Greek athletes, do not employ strong drink at all, experience having taught them that plain food and exercise are the most effective conditions. Nature's own beverage, “the pure element,” acts in harmony with the human constitution, and aids in giving firmness to the nerves, and strength to the muscles. Alcohol, on the other hand, is antagonistic to the human constitution, it renders the nerves unsteady, and weakens and effeminates the body. A passage in Byron s ‘'Tragedy of Sardanapalus ” verv beautifully illustrates this point. The luxurious and effeminate monarch, upon the revolt of Beleses and Arbascs, when besieged by their forces in his palace, is represented as surprising his followers, and inspiring them with courage, by his deeds of valor. After repulsing the enemy, ho retires to his palace, exhausted and wounded. Salamenes, his bravest general and wisest counsellor, addressing himself to the king, said : “ This great hour has proved The brightest and most glorious of your life. Sardanapalus— And the most tiresome. Where’s my cup- bearer? Bring me some water. Sal— (smiling). 'Tis the first time he Evei had such an order: even I, Tour most austere, o t counsellors, would now Suggest a purpler beverage! 124 THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OF ALCOHOL. Sar .—Blood —doubtless. But there’s enough of that shed ; as for wine, I have '.earn’d to right the price of the pure element; Thrice have I drank of it, and thrice renew’d, With greater strength than the grape ever gave me, Mv charge upon the rebe s. Where’s the soldier Who gave me water in his helmet? One of the Guard .— Slain, sire! An arrow pierced his brain, while, scattering The last drops from his helm, he stood in act To place it on his brow. g ar _ Slain ! unrewarded ! And s’ain to serve my thirst: that’s hard, po^r slave! Had he but lived, I would have gorged him with Gold: all the gold of earth could ne'er repay The. pleasure of that draught; for I was parched -As I am now. [They bring water — he drinks I live again—from henceforth The goblet I reserve for hours of love, But war on water.’’ Wine may do well enough for men who live effeminate and •worthless lives, and who have no other ambition than to stir up and gratify their passions; but if we wish to act our part as men^upon the stage of time, to conquer the unruly passions within, and the foes without us, we must drink water. 0 —The habitual moderate us. of intoxicants detracts from the thinking power of the brain. All great and continuous thinkers are either teetotalers, or next door to it, and if they drink at all, it is not till after the mental task is finished. Poets, it is true, are an exception. It is in the nature of alcohol to excite for a time the imagination, and to produce a wild play of the fancy. These are faculties upon which vcrv heavy demands are made in the composition of poetry, and hence a poet may write very brilliantly under the in¬ fluence of alcohol; but not so with the mathematician, the philoso¬ pher, or those who are engaged in solving difficult problems in political or mental philosophy. The primary action of alcohol is to obscure the perceptive powers, and to pervert the reasoning faculties, and thus to detract from the real working power of the brain. There are numerous instances of great intellectual workers who have tried both systems, and the almost uniform testimony of this class is, that they can get through their work TESTIMONIES IN FAVOR OF ABSTINENCE. 225 with much greater ease and comfort to themselves without alcohol than with it. The great Richard Cobdcn, M. P per¬ formed his herculean labors upon tea and water. He says •_ “ The more work I have to do, the more I have resorted to the pump and the teapot.” Mr. S. C. Hall, the well-known editor of the Art Journal , gives the following testimony:—“He lived by the labor of his brain, and he could testily that since he had become a teetotaler, he had an increase of intellectual power, so that what he sent out to the public never came trickling through a disturbed and dis¬ ordered medium. As to endurance of fatigue, he was able to work three tunes longer than ever he could while he indulged even moderately , in the use of strong drinks. He was bette? in body, in mind, in home, in every comfort; and he felt proud, therefore, of the pledge he had taken to abide by the practice of entire abstinence.” Hugh Miller, one of the world’s great workers, of whom Scotland may well be proud, says: “ihe workmen had a 'foundling pint,' and two glasses of whisky came to my share. A full-grown man would not have deemed a gill of usquebaugh an over-dose, but it was considerably too much for me; and w ien the party broke up, and I got home to my books, I found as I opened the pages of a favorite author, the letters dancing before my eyes, and that I could no longer master the sense. I have the volume at present before me—a small edition of the Essays of Bacon. ie condition into which I had brought myself was, I felt, one of dewa- dat.on. I had sunk by my own act, for the time, to a lower level" of intelligence than that on which it was my privilege to be placed: and though the state could have been no very favorable one for forming a resolution, I in that, lrour determined that! would never again sacrifice my capacity of intellectual enjoyment to a drinking usage, and, with God’s ne.p, 1 was enabled to hold by the determination.”* From public speakers, ministers of the gospel, members of Parliament, and members of the medical profession, numerous testimonies corroborate the fact, that the drinking of alcohol detracts from the working power of the brain. Indeed, men who attempt t^> perform their intellectual work by the aid of narcotics- stand in peculiar danger. The exhaustion following their use is so great as to lead the unwary victims to resort to larger and still larger potations, till at last they become enslaved and ruined to^he last!—Ei^ Ve " ^ ^ ^ Splendid writer had adh ^ed to this plan 126 THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OP ALCOHOL. both in body and in mind. Many of our most brilliant orators and poets, and multitudes of our ablest authors have fallen in this way; and yet their fall appears to be no warning to those who are following in the same mistaken career. 7.—The habitual use of intoxicants detracts from the power of the constitution to adapt itself to great climatic changes. A world-wide experience proves this. From India and Africa, from America and Australia, and the ice-bound regions of the North Pole, is borne the testimony that the moderate drinker succumbs to the trying circumstances under which he is placed, whilst the abstainer endures them with impunity. Says Dr. Mosely, in his work on Tropical Diseases: “I have ever found from my knowledge and custom, as well as from the custom and observation of others, that those who drink nothing but water, or make it their particular drink, are but little affected by the climate, and can undergo the greatest fatigue without inconvenience.” The west coast of Africa is very fatal indeed to the lives of Europeans, and it is certainly very sad to contemplate the high rate of mortality among those noble and self-denying men, the missionaries, who, from the purest of motives, have attempted to establish themselves upon that portion of the African Con- tiii< nt * Livingstone, in all his African wanderings, has been a water- drinker on principle. In his greatest journey, he started with one bottle of brandy as a medicine; but it was accidentally broken within the first few days, and its loss was not felt. The Rev. C. Rattray, a zealous and well-known missionary in Demerara, thus writes, (Dec. 9, 1852): “When I arrived in this colony I was fully assured by all with whom I happened to become acquainted, that the daily use of some stimulant was required to keep up the strength and to sustain the system under the incessant drain of perspiration to which it is subjected in a tropical climate. Then, in this low, swampy land, such stimulant was the more necessary. The universal practice was quite in keeping with that opinion; and. without giving the matter much consideration, believing what everybody else seemed to believe, and doing as others did, I adopted the prevalent custom. It is now about thirteen years * There has l>eta!ers, and#I am quite sure that their testimony will be in precise accordance with my own.” Professor James Miller, the eminent surgeon of Edinburgh says: ’ “Lately I had the advantage of conversing on this subject with the veteran Governor of Gambia; [who] having passed nearly twenty-seven years of his life in foreign service, ‘within the tropics, and frequently in the most unhealthy stations,’ attributes the preservation of his life and health,, under God, mainly to this, that from the first he eschewed alcoholics and tobacco. A very large proportion of his comrades he has laid in the grave, and he accounts for their pre-decease, not by any difference in their constitution or service, but solely by the difference of their regimen. At first he tried both ways of it, and on that account his evidence is all the more valuable. In many arduous, extensive, and severe expeditions, I used solely tea as my beverage; and I always felt free from fever and thirst, well sustained, up to any work (even with the mercury 120° in the shade,) as hard as a flint. But, on the contrary, when I used the usual liquids imbibed by travellers in the tropics_ brandy, or rum and water, pale ale, Barclay’s XXX—I was invariably heated and thirsty, muscles relaxed, nerves irritable, temper ditto - and what on other occasions constituted pleasing exertion, became more or less labor. ' I have (says he) served or lived in all the West Indian colonies, and been in Africa too, and I never knew a dram-drinker, a soaker, a jolly trump—be he of the military, medical, legal, commer¬ cial, or any other profession—long-lived, healthy, or always equal to the duties he ivas paid for, and called upon to perform / ... In 1846 ‘ I joined a party that made the ascent of the Blue Mountain Peak' Jamaica—an elevation of 8,000 feet above the level of the sea. After riding thirty miles, we commenced climbing up the last 2,000 feet and accomplished the task in three hours, forty minutes. There was no path or track sufficient to steady a goat; we had to hold on by the trunks, branches, and roots of trees and plants, climbing up hand over¬ hand without relaxing our exertions until we reached" the summit I indulged m cold tea: my friends in libations of champagne, pale ale porter,- or brandy and water; and the result was, that the more they drank, the more thirsty they were. When we gained the peak, some reached unable to enjoy the romantic view; others flung themselves on the ground exhausted, declaring that if they were caught again ascend¬ ing, why—no matter what. We remained the night, which proved ]28 THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OF ALCOHOL. bitterly cold; the mercury falling from from 95° to freezing point. I still continued constant to the China leaf, and next day made the descent fresher and more vigorous than any of the party, although I did lose —what I could ill afford to spare from my thin carcass—three pounds in twenty-four hours."’ Some years ago the Rev. J. F. Schtin, church missionary at Sierra Leone, a most noxious climate, observed :—“We begin to see that we can live even in West Africa without the aid of alcoholic drinks. Since I have abstained , I have found my health much better than before .” British Guiana is said to be one of the most unhealthy por¬ tions of the world. It consists in great part of marsh land, the exhalations raised from which by the sun, render the air exceed- ingly pestiferous. There are here, however, 10,000 teetotalers, the experience of whom is thus testified by the Rev. E. Davis: “In our own persons we have demonstrated that the English constitution can stand better in this deadly climate without any intoxicating drinks whatever.” The moderate use of alcohol must lessen the power of endur¬ ance of extreme and continued heat, not only because it rapidly uses up the physical.energy, but because it also lessens insensible perspiration, whereby the body becomes feverish and heated, inducing a sense of languor and oppression. As alcohol exhausts “ vital force,” and lowers the temperature of the body, its use in very cold climates must diminish the power of endurance. Arctic experience attests this. “Captain Parry mentions with surprise, that he saw an Esquimaux female uncover her bosom, and give her child suck in the open air, when its tem¬ perature was forty degrees below zero.' 1 ' 1 Sir John Richardson, in a letter to Dr. W. B. Carpenter, states that “ plenty of food and sound digestion are the best sources of heat,” and that “ a Canadian with seven or eight pounds of good beef or veni¬ son in his stomach, will resist the greatest degree of natural cold in the open air, and thinly clad, if there be not a strong wind.” “I am quite satisfied that spirituous liquors, though they give a temporary stimulus, diminish the power ol re¬ sisting cold. We found on our northern journey that tea was much more refreshing than wine or spirits, which we soon ceased to care for, while a craving for the tea in¬ creased.” TESTIMONIES IN FAVOR OF ABSTINENCE. 129 Sir John Richardson further stated that the experience of his last expedition (undertaken in search of Sir John Franklin) full} boie out the statements he had made before proceeding on it; the whole party having sustained the full severity of an arctic winter, in a manner in which he was confident they could not have dene, if even a moderate allowance of spirits had been employed. I)r. Hooker, one of the medical officers in the expedition under the command of Sir James Ross, thus writes to Dr. Carpenter:—“Several of the men on board our ship, and amongst them some of the best, never touched grog during one or more of the antarctic cruises. They were not one whit the worse for their abstinence, but enjoyed the same perfect health that all the crew-did throughout the four years’ voyage. I do think that the use of spirits in cold weather is generally pre¬ judicial. I speak from my own experience. It is very plea¬ sant. The glass of grog warms the mouth, the throat, and the abdomen; and this, when one is wet and cold, with no fire, and just before turning into damp blankets, is very enticing. Lut it never did me one atom of good; the extremities are not warmed by it, and when a continuance of exertion or endurance is called for, the spirit does harm, jfor then you are colder or more fatigued a quarter or half an hour after it than you would have been without it' 1 Experience has taught the Russian military authorities that spirit is inimical to the strength and the power of endurance of the Russian soldier. Accordingly they “ interdict its use abso¬ lutely in the army, when troops are about to move during extreme cold; part of the duty of the corporals being to smell carefully the breath of each man on the morning parade, and to turn back irom the march those who have indulged in spirits, it having been found that such men are peculiarly subject to*bo frost-bitten and otherwise injured.”—Prof. Miller, Alcohol , its Place and Power, p. 1G0. Dr. Carpenter informs us—“The Hudson’s Bay Company have for many years entirely excluded spirits from the fur countries to the north, over which they have exclusive control, ‘to the great improvement,’ as Sir John Richardson states, ‘of the health and morals of their Canadian servants, and of tha Indian tribes.’” 8 .—The habitual moderate use of intoxicating liquor shortens ' 130 THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OF ALCOHOL. life. This, indeed, we might reasonably conclude from the known physiological action of alcohol. But have we any means of proving it? If we take isolated, cases,—No! But if we take large numbers,—Yes! At the select conference on Temperance, held at Birmingham, September 20th, 1869, Mr. John Rutherford made the following statement. He said :—“ He was connected with an Assurance office, which had issued 40,000 policies; 30,000 to moderate drinkers, and 10,000 to teetotalers. It did not take publicans, brewers, or free-drinkers—only teetotalers and moderate drinkers. The mortality tables of these two classes were kept separately. During the first 30 years the mortality of the teetotalers was 19 per cent, less than that of moderate drinkers, and during the last eight years, 25 per cent, less. 1 ’ The following particulars may be added: “ The United Kingdom Temperance and General Provident Institution was formed in 1840, and for nearly ten years no lives but those of ab¬ stainers were insured. Throughout those years the rate of mortality was exceedingly low. In 1850, a distinct section was opened for the insurance of lives of non-abstainers, every precaution being taken to exclude intemperate persons and free-livers. Since 1850 three bonuses have been declared—1855-1860-1865. The surpluses which had oc¬ curred to the Whole Life Department of the Temperance Section gave reversionary bonuses, ranging according to the age *f the assured, from 35 to 75 per cent, on the premiums paid in 1855; from 35 to 86 per cent, in 1860; and from 23 to 56 per cent, in 1865. In the General Section the bonuses ranged from 23 to 50 per cent, in 1855; from 24 to 59 percent, in 1860; and from 17 to 52 percent, in 1865. In the report for 186S the following paragraph appeared: ‘The Actuary, Mr. Samuel Brown, reports that the mortality of the Whole Life Policies has been as follows, viz:—Expected claims in the temperance section, 109 for £20,024; actual claims, 95 for £16.526. In the general section, 201 claims for £30,515 were expected; the actual have been 179 for £51,055, less £15,000 received from reassurance. Hence the net claims in this department have been £36,055. The net result for the three years which have elapsed since the last division of profits, is as follows, viz* 314 claims expected for £56,974 in the temperance section, the actual have been 251 for £40,779; 572 claims expected in the general section for £111,250. the actual have been 534 for £107,184.’”—See Gra¬ ham's Temperance Guide for 1870. On comparing the number of deaths that occurred in several of the most eminent Life Assurance offices during the first five years of their existence, with the number that occurred during * THE USE OF STRONG DRINK SHORTENS LIFE. 131 t7ie same period among the members of this institution, the difference in favor of the latter shows the advantages of ab¬ stinence. Thus, the policies issued by four of the”principal offices amounted to 6,153, and the number of deaths to 117’- being on the average almost'twenty deaths out of each thousand members. In the same period the Temperance Provident In¬ stitution issued 1,596 policies, and had only twelve deaths, or 7£ per thousand ; being nearly one-half less than the deaths in the most healthy of the no/i-teetotal offices. The state of mor¬ tality among the members of each office was as follows: Policies . Deaths. 1st office issued 838 and had 11 being 13 per thousand. 2d “ 1,901 “ 27 “ 14 “ 3d u 944 11 14 “ 15 « 4th “ 2,470 “ 65 “ 26 “ Temp. Prov. Ins. 1,596 “ 12 u 71 u During a period of thirteen months, ending in August, 1846, "when the above statistics were published, only two deaths had taken place in the whole number of the assured—“a fact which it can hardly be questioned, is unparalleled among the same number of persons in any class of society; and which reduces the deaths to an average of only 3 \ per thousand in each year l' 1 “ Sir Alexander Morrison (medical director to the largest office in the world), Dr. Morgan, of Bath, and other eminenr medical directors, have stated the members generally of the temperance institution to be equal to the select or most favorable lives in all other offices .” (The Teetotaler's Companion: by Peter Burne p. 411.) At the age of 40 years, the annual rate of mortality among the whole population of England is about 13 per 1,000 ; whilst among the lives assured in life offices it is about 11 per 1 , 000 ; and in those insured in friendly societies, it is about 10 per 1 , 000 . The lower rate of mortality among members of Assurance offices and of Benefit societies is to be chiefly attributed to the fact, that they are in general more temperate in their habits than the population generally, which, of course, must include alike the free-drinker and the drunkard. When wo come to divide the members of Life offices and of Benefit societies into ab¬ stainers and non-abstainers, we find at once the advantage decidedly in favor of the abstaining members. Among the Rechabites a sine qua non of membership is a pledge of abstinence from intoxicating liquors. According to eminent actuaries, the 132 THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OF ALCOHOL. average mortality among Friendly Societies is rather more than 10 per 1,000-, among the Rcchabites the mortality is only per 1,000. The average duration of life throughout the community, in¬ cluding all ages, is about 42 years. Among the members of the Society of Friends, deducting the deaths at all ages as before, the average duration of life is 55 years. Now a very large pro¬ portion of Friends are abstainers, and the remainder very temperate and regular in their habits. Moderate drinkers, as a class, are far more liable to attacks of disease than teetotalers, and when thus attacked, die off in large numbers. Dr. Munroe, of Hull, says:— 4 1 have had for the last seven years much experience in the medical attendance upon persons who are total abstainers. During that period hundreds of that class of persons have been under my care. I find that, as a class, they do not suffer from anything like the amount of sickness experienced by moderate drinkers of intoxicating drinks; that when they are sick, the sickness is much more, amenable to treatment, and, necessarily, they are sooner well again. ‘Moreover, I am convinced that in many cases the patient’s recovery was entirely owing to a life of previous abstinence from intoxicating beverages. On comparing the results of sickness and death occurring in two large friendly societies under my care, the one composed of total abstainers and the other of non-abstainers, I have arrived at the conclusion that the total abstainers have much better health, are liable to a much less amount of sickness, and have fewer deaths than the moderate drinkers. In the non-abstinent society I find that the average amount of sickness experienced last year was eleven days twenty-one hours per member, and that the number of deaths was about one and a-half per cent. In the total abstinent society the amount of sickness experienced last year did not amount to more than one day and three-quarters per member, and the number of deaths was only two in five years, or less than one-quarter per cent, per annum.” The experience of the Indian army also confirms our position. There are fewer deaths and less sickness among the total abstain¬ ing soldiers, in proportion to their number, than among either the moderate drinkers or drunkards. In the Government Returns of the sickness and mortality of the European troops forming the Madras army, for the year 1849, in which the meq MODERATE DRINKERS DIE PREMATURELY. 133 are classed as total abstainers , temperate , and intemperate , the lesults are highly favorable to the total abstaining soldiers. Of 450 total abstaining soldiers the rate per cent, of admission into hospital for treatment of various diseases was 130 888. ihe rate per cent, of deaths was 1*111. Of 4,318 temperate soldiers the rate per cent, of admission into hospital for treat¬ ment -of various diseases was 141*503. The rate per cent, of deaths was 2*315? Of 942 intemperate soldiers, the rate per cent, of admission into hospital for treatment of various diseases was 214 861; the rate per cent, of deaths was 4*458. “ From these it will be seen,” says Dr. Carpenter, “that whilst the number of deaths among 450 total abstainers , during the year 1840 was 5, or 11*1 per 1,000, the number among 4,318 tem¬ perate men was 100, or 23*1 per 1,000, being rather more than double the previous proportion. As to the intemperate , the increase is frightful, for among 942. such men, the number of deaths was not less than 42, or in the quadruple ratio of 44*5 per 1,000.” It is objected that many moderate drinkers attain to an advanced age. True! but how many are cut off in early life? Even in reference to those who survive to advanced age, are we to attribute this to the moderate use of intoxicating liquor, or to great strength and vigor of constitution? Surely the latter. But can it be proved that those moderate drinkers who attain to old age escape scatheless? Is it credible that they have no penalty to pay for their violation of physiological law? Expe¬ rience proves that they do not escape. Take, for example, the case of the late Dr. Ilolyoake, of Salem, U. S., who died at the age of 100 years. lie lived what is called a very regular life, but v\ as in the habit of using intoxicating drinks in small quan¬ tities. He had a preparation which consisted of one tablespoon¬ ful of Jamaica rum, and one of cider, diluted with water, which he took after dinner, while smoking his pipe. When examined after death by Dr.-, his intimate friend and biographer, it was discovered that he did not die of old age. The heart and organs, apt to become diseased in aged persons, and to become ossified, (converted into bone,) were as soft as a child’s, and for aught that appeared, might have gone on acting for another bundled yeais. Ihe good doctor died of the disease most com- monly produced by ardent spirits and tobacco, viz: an internal 12 134 THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OF ALCOHOL. cancer of the stomach.—See Dr. Nott’s Lectures on Bible Tem¬ perance. The habitual moderate use of intoxicating liquor is a practice fraught with unmitigated evil. Dr. Lankester, a gentleman who has very zealously opposed teetotalism, and very laboriously written in favor of model ate dr nkirig, confesses that moderate drinking, after all, -is an injurious and dangerous practice. “ As far as its physiological action is concerned, I do not know that we can say anything good of alcohol at all; it may seriously interfere with the func¬ tions of absorption, and injure the coats of the stomach, and, when taken injudiciously, a very long way short of producing any effect on the nervous system , it may yet prevent the proper nutrition of the system, and insidiously lay the foundation of incurable .disease.” “But,” says the Doctor, “what is excess? Unfortunately tec have no ride which we can lay down by which the danger ot excess may be avoided. The power of resisting the effects of this agent varies with age, sex. climate, natural constitution, occupation. The young and the aged suffer more from excess than the adult and those of middle age. W omen are less able to bear its action than men. More alcohol can be consumed with impunity in cold than in hot countries. Those who are engaged in sedentary pursuits need be more cautious in its use than those who live much in the open air. The move dilute alcohol is taken, the less likely is it to ‘produce injurious effects. . . . But I would not undertake to say what is the precise quantity of alcohol which a man may take, as a general rule without doing himself any harm. (!) There is one physiological law, however, which, if recollected, might in some measure control the evils that arise from taking alcohol, and it is this: that substances which have a tendency to act injuriously on the system may be taken with impunity, providing time is given for the special effects of one dose to be eradicated before the next dose is taken. Now, I am not going to commit myself to an opinion as to how many hours it may take for the system to get entirely rid of the effect ot half a pint ot table-beer, or a pint ot w ine; but I will express my conviction that those suffer least from the effects of alcohol who lake it but once in the twenty-four hours; wdiilst those w'ho are imbibing all day long, keep up in their system an action which is likely to be permanently injurious. The occasional drunk appear to sutler less than the perpetual toper who never betrays the extent of his liba¬ tions.”— Diet, pp. 206-7. Dr. Lankester also advises us to “avoid taking wine, spirits, and beer” on an empty stomach.* lie also recommends alcohol * Food, one would think, is specially suited to an empty stomach. MODERATE DRINKING A MISNOMER. 135 to be taken u very diluted , as in the form of table-beer.” In fact, he lays down so many cautions, with which no moderate drinker will ever think of complying, as very clearly Shows that alcohol is a dangerous and unmanageable agent. It seems then, that it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to define moderate drinking, either as it regards the quantity, the quality, or the frequency of use. All he informs us of, ascertain, is that the weaker liquors are less injurious than the stronger! That a small quantity wont hurt people so much as a larger quantity, and that if we take it but once a day we shall not sustain so much injury as by repeating the dose more frequently. It liaidly needs an F. II. S. to teach us these things. One tiling is plain. The defenders of moderate drinking never attempt to show how much liquor a healthy man may take with benejit. They merely attempt to show us how much a man may take without danger or serious inconvenience, and in this they miserably fail. Their whole position is based upon ifs and huts. Dr. Lankester asks, “May it not be necessary, in order to remove a tendency to disease, to take doses of alcohol varying from half an ounce to two ounces every twenty four hours?”* We call upon him to show that it really is necessary. The conclusion of the whole matter, then, is that moderate drinking is a misnomer, and that those persons only are safe and wise, who abstain from alcoholic liquors. the experiments ol Professor Parkes show that one ounce increases the tcor* of the heart an hour per day; and that perceptible injury to a strong man follows lp£oz., and imperceptible injury must precede the perceptible.— See Dr. Lee’s Text hook of Temperance. 136 BACCHUS DETHRONED. CHAPTER IV . THE LAW OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND IN ITS APPLICATION TO THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC. Prop. IV.— 11 That social , moderate drinking, creates the unnatural demand for the poison, ichich is the principal cause of the wide-spread scourge of intemperance.''' * Prop. V.— 11 That it is the supply of alcoholic liquors, fur¬ nished by the manufacturers and vendors of the poison, that creates [or fosters] the unnatural demand; not the demand the supply .” These propositions embody two aspects of the same thought, and involve the following propositions: 1 . —That the demand for intoxicating liquor arises from no natural appetite implanted in the human constitution. 2 . —That the appetite for intoxicating liquor is produced by the use of these beverages. 3. —That the supply of the article is therefore antecedent to, and the direct cause of, that unnatural demand, and not the demand the supply. For the preservation of the human body, and the propagation of our kind, the Creator has wisely implanted in our constitu¬ tions certain appetites, over which we have but slight or no control. Such are thirst, hunger, and the appetite of the sexes; the proper gratification of which brings pleasure, and is necessary to health and life. The Creator has also graciously provided objects to satisfy these appetites, lie has provided water to meet our thirst, and in a natural state the body craves for no other. We may flavor it with the aromas of tea and colfce, and raise its temperature to blood-heat, merely to please the palate or the fancy ; but water, pure and uncontaminated, is the only beverage absolutely demanded by the wants of the body. God has also provided food to satisfy our hunger. The only condition requiring to be fulfilled here, is that this food shall contain those normal elements that enter into the composition of NATURAL CRAVINGS. 137 the human blood and structures. To this end God has wisely provided the world with a rich variety of foods, so that what one thing may be wanting in, another may supply. If 0 ur food be deficient in any necessary constituents, there exists in the body a craving for them, strong and imperious, and should this not be met, disease or death will follow. This is to be witnessed in sailors who suffer from scurvy, the result of being restricted to provisions deficient in the salt of potash. So, many of the inhabitants of our large towns who live almost exclusively upon baker’s bread, suffer much from scrofula, induced by poverty of blood; so also children suffer from rachitis, or softening of the bones, owing to a deficiency of phosphate of lime. If The food supplied to fowls be short of lime, they drop soft eggs, and will greedily peck at any mortar they can get at. So if” food be de¬ ficient in salt, all animals will crave after it. Through the refinements of modern cookery, a great many of these saline and soluble ingredients are dissolved out of our food and poured away; and to make up for this deficiency, we require either to increase the variety of our food, or to introduce them artificially. f, from any cause apart from the use of narcotics, or excess in food, the stomach loses its tone, and the body its nervous energy, then to restore the one, nature has provided the bitter principle* in some instances contained in the very food we eat; and to renew the other, she has provided the acro-aromatics, causing them to grow and luxuriate in those very climes where they are most likely to be needed. In proportion as the nutritive elements of plants and -roots diminish through poverty of soil, unpropitiousness of climate, or neglect of culture, the bitter principle increases, and manifests its presence. . ilie grasses are more succulent, nutritious, and sweet upon rich soils, and less so, but more bitter upon poor soils. This bitter principle.seems to be given to enable the stomach to dispose of the larger quantity, which the body will require to make up for the deficiency of nutriment. Ileie, again, the craving under certain circumstances for acro- aromatics, or bitters, not being entirely abnormal, but arising from certain causes over which we have little or no control” nature has a rich provision to meet and satisfy it, and many of those agents, so called “medicinal,” are also rich in such ele¬ ments as iron, potash, etc.* o * i acquainted with a lady, a teetotaler, Mrs. Mcl_ of A _ who some time ago had a very strong craving for bitter beer, but lor no other 138 THE LAW OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND. In man’s normal condition, however, \vc find no craving no desire, no appetite for alcoholics, but on the contrary, a decided aversion to them. In harmony with this, God has not implanted alcohol in anything lie hath made. We may ransack nature through all her wide domains, but we lind it not in anything endowed with organism and life-, neither do we meet with it as the production of any of those vital processes that surround us on every hand. By a kind of vital, most elaborate and subtle chemistry, with its endless changes, affinities, transformations and combinations, tve see the modest daisy springing up be¬ neath our feet, and the tall tree waving on high its branches in all the pomp of blossom and of foliage, and by the same pro¬ cesses, though perhaps still more Complicated, we see the tiny insect springing into life, and man himsell erect and beautiful, lilting his lace to the skies*, but nowhere through the operation of those vital changes, do we find alcoholic liquor or juice. We may torture nature in the crucible, we may apply our most delicate chemical tests, but we find it not in any organized pro¬ duction. Not until the life of the edible plants and fruits be¬ comes extinct, and organisms begin to break up, and decompo¬ sition sets in, is alcohol ever found. It is the offspring of death, the child of corruption, destined only to an evanescent existence, had not Art interfered and arrested its further progress, snatch¬ ing it from its seething corruption to carry on the work of human slaughter. No doubt! the babe—the offspringof a drunken mother, whose blood was never pure, being led in the womb from a tainted source, and whose very food, its mother’s milk, is thoroughly saturated with spirit,—may grow up with a craving, strong and almost resistless, lor intoxicating liquor, but the appetite exists not there by God’s own implantation, but from those vile and abnormal conditions under which that child has been brought in to the world and reared. It ought to be remembered that no woman with a child at the breast, can drink liquors containing spirit without a definite pro¬ kind of alcoholic beverage. The bitter beer appeared for a time to satisfy this craving, but did not remove it. I urged her to lav the beer aside, and to take, instead, compound infusion of gentian, with a little g nger. One fluid ounce three times a day, alternated with infusion ot columbo and ginger. This not only satisfied her craving, tint eventual y removed it, and very greatly improved her health. I purposely refrained from prescribing the tinctures of ciiuunbo and gentian,and confined the patient to the simple aqueous infu¬ sions; for otherwise it might have been urged, that the hitter tinctures stood related to the body exactly as bitter beer did, both being composed of bitters and alcohol. THE DEMAND FOR NARCOTICS. 139 portion of the same finding its way to the mammary glands, and mix.ng With the milk. Alcohol has been distilled from the milk of mothers who drink alcoholic liquors. Of course the babe partaking of this impure supply becomes diseased. We have seen many infants, who imbibed their nourishment from the breasts of drunken mothers, completely intoxicated. In fact, like then parents, they are seldom sober. Thus early in life, and ere the dawn of reason, do they become involuntary drunkards, and should their young lives be spared, they grow up vicious and depraved, or become oinomaniacs, and descend to a drunkard’s grave. . That there exists, on a very large scale, a demand for intoxi¬ cating liquors and other narcotics, is true. From ages imme¬ morial has this strange infatuation existed, this strong proclivity to indulgence in narcotics, either in the form of opium, tobacco or spirit. This is peculiar to no particular clime, to no one race of men. There is, however, this feature about it; the strange acility with which barbarous tribes, previously uncontaminated, can acquire a liking for these narcotics, especially alcoholic liquor. Lo\e lor the intoxicating wines of the sunny south brought the Goths and Vandals in overwhelming numbers before the g tes of Koine, and led them to devastate the fair plains of Italy. Love for fire-water by the American Indians has destroyed even their natural affection, and decimated or even annihilated whole tribes of them. The inhabitants of some of those lovely and luxuriant islands in the far Pacific have been so corrupted by the same agent, till once numerous and powerful tribes have degene¬ rated to a few diseased aud wretched creatures. Let us now seek to trace this demand to its source. How the different narcotics came to be used at all, and under what circumstances they were first discovered, we can only conjecture. Most likely the intoxicating wines were first discovered by acci¬ dent. Llie milk of the cocoanut, the juice of the grape, left exposed to fermentation, and drank unwittingly on the part of those who drank them, of the changes induced, would impart a feeling of jollity and exhilaration. By accident a liquor is dis¬ covered, possessing the marvellous and fascinatinn* power of exciting the nervous system, and filling the mind with pleas'n- images, taking away fear and banishing care! The original drinkers of these liquors, being perfectly ignorant of their "phy¬ siological action, would naturally recommend them to others as 140 THE LAW OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND. panaceas for the sorrows of life ; possessing power to relieve the aching hearts, and “ banish dull care.” The discovery of the supply leads to the demand ; and with the consumption of these liquors this demand increases; for speedily there supervenes upon the desire to promote jollity and good fellowship, a craving , distinct and definite, for the drink itself. This they seek to gratify, and thus supply and demand act and react upon each other. The more liquor is manufactured the greater the con¬ sumption, and the larger the quantity consumed the more the people desire and crave after it. As the appetite increases, the mild intoxicants fail fully to satisfy the unnatural demand, un¬ less consumed in very large quantities, and so liquors of greater intoxicating power must he resorted to. To meet this demand previous to the discovery of distilled liquors, wines were more thoroughly fermented, thereby increasing their alcoholic power, or drugs were added of a bitter and narcotic character, such as hellebore, opium, absinthe, etc. At last the discovery is made, that intoxicating liquors, though potent for a time to assuage the heart's anguish and to excite merriment and glee, are never¬ theless instruments of demoralization and disease ; that they are, in fact, crime-producing and death-dealing agents. But long ere this they have become articles of commerce. Monetary in¬ terests are involved, and social customs partaking of the forms of hospitality arc. attached to them, which are also personified in a god, whose praises and exploits are chanted in hymns, and upon whose altars oblations of wine are poured forth in worship ! These things render the evil most difficult to deal with. Now and again, however, wise legislators interfere, and seek to stay the wide-spread ravages of drink. In China, 1100 b. c., the manufacture of intoxicating liquor is prohibited, and in succeed¬ ing reigns even the vines are uprooted and destroyed. Plato, in his laws, represents a Lacedemonian as saying:— “That whereby men chiefly fall into the greatest luxuries, inso¬ lence, and all sorts of moral madness, our laws have effectually rooted out of our country. You shall neither in villages nor towns of the Spartan state,' see any such things as drinking clubs, or their usual consequences.” lie also approves “the Carthaginian law, that no sort of wine be drunk in the camp, nor anything save water; and that every judge and magistrate abstain from wine during the year of his majesty.” Learned philosophers practise abstinence themselves and enjoin ancient testimonials. 141 the same upon their disciples. Pythagoras was a water-drinker, and the Pythagoreans were renowned lor the simplicity of their iives and their abstinence from intoxicants. Epicurus, the founder ol the Epicurean philosophy, was a teetotaler, and urged ie necessity of a frugal and virtuous life in order to attain life’s great end, enjoyment. He saysWilt thou support life? Have bread and water. For these twenty years less than a penny per day has kept me.” Over his gate he wrote the following in¬ scription Passenger ! Here thou wilt find good entertain¬ ment; it is here that pleasure is esteemed the sovereign good. -Lhe master will receive thee courteously; but take note—thou must expect only a piece of cake, and thy fill of water. Here hunger is not provoked, but satisfied; thirst is not excited, but quenched.” Great religious reformers make abstinence from intoxicating drmk a very prominent feature in their teachings. In India” Gotama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, who flourished 600 b. c., taught: Obey the law and walk steadily in the path of punty, and drink not liquors that intoxicate, or disturb the reason.”* . * Io . h f. mm 1 ed (au s ht - “Of the fruit of the grape ye obtain an inebriating liquor, and also good nourishment.” The former lie interdicts, the latter he allows. Measures of a most repressive character were also enacted in some countries to keep the people sober, llomulus, the founder ol Koine enacted a law that no woman should drink fermented wine under penalty of death, awarded to adultery, since he regarded the drinking of wine as the beginning of adultery. In Egypt intoxicating wine was forbidden both to kin- and priest. 1 rom the accession of Menes to the reign of Psametichus UU n. c., a period embracing twenty-five dynasties, teetotalism was taught and practised by them. The E-yptian priests abstained even as far clown as the time of Nero. Says Clueremon the keeper of the sacred books in the Temple of Serapis With respect to wine some of them did not drink it at all, and others drank very little of it, on account of its being injurious to the nerves, oppressive to the head, an impediment to invention, and an incentive to lust.” ’ Though among some nations that form of intemperance flow- rarfotataTwoitii,ri.uiSf 63 " 6 “ re mJebtea t0 Cf - Lees ' Ancient 142 TIIE LAW OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND. ing from the use of intoxicating liquor by these means received a most effectual check, as in China and Arabia, yet in others the ravages of intemperance continued to spread, defying alike penal enactments, philosophic homilies, and prophetic denun¬ ciations, till nations once great and powerful were demoralized and destroyed. About the 10th century the art of distillation, supposed to have been previously discovered by the Chinese, was rediscovered by the Arabians. They sought in the alembic for the philoso¬ pher’s stone, whose magic touch should transmute the baser metals into gold, and for the vital elixir whose potent influ¬ ence should repair the ravages of time, remove the effects of disease, and thus confer upon frail humanity the joys of perennial health, and the gift of endless life. Alas 1 they discovered only the elixir of death—the al-ghoul, the spirit of destruction, by whose potency the joys of life should fade, the heart be deprived of moral worth, the human frame be stricken with a hundred diseases, and tilled with a thousand torments. Pale and trem¬ bling stood the Arabian chemist before the spirit he had evoked—• evoked from the secrecy of the laboratory, to return not again, but to march forth, a grim and merciless fiend, upon its work of ruin. At first, and for some centuries, the most extravagant eulo- giuins were lavished upon the newly discovered ether. Diseases were to vanish at its touch, sorrow was to melt into joy at its appro ach, and a qua vitce was to prove a blessing to the world. The extravagant praises lavished upon ardent spirits by physicians in the 13th century, as Arnoldus de Villa, and Ray¬ mond Lully his disciple, and afterwards by Theoricus, were eagerly believed in by the people, who regarded the products of the still, not only as possessing great potency to cure disease, hut to shield and preserve the body from its attacks. Those there¬ fore who feared the pestilence, or the burning rage of fever, or the lesser ills of life, sought in the new r liquor a safeguard and a refuge. Thus around these baneful drinks social customs also gathered and monetary interests accumulated. The manu¬ facture of them rapidly extended, and with this arose an increased consumption, a rapid increase in the demand, and a rapid development of the sources of supply ; this again accele¬ rated consumption, and so these conditions continued to act and react upon each other, supply and demand, demand and supply, SOCIAL CUSTOMS. 143 till the nations of Europe were filled with drunkenness, misery and cr»me. 1 To check the evil and to improve the habits of the people penal laws are enacted against tippling and t.ppling-l.ouses : the price ol liquor is enhanced by duties levied upon them, and none are penmtted to sell them without a license. Yet all these restrictions and fiscal measures fail to remove the phonic i The duties and license lees, originally levied to enhance the price of dunk, and to check the intemperate habits of the people become a source of considerable revenue, which proves an inducement to regard with favor the development of the menu- acture ol intoxicating liquors, and their increased consuuip- d'ffi’,, r? e '"" S • eva “ 0re pr0tean in f «rui, and more f f ' 0 deal . secm S that now , appetite, custom, monetary attacks ’ * nUt ' 0n “ 1 ' eVe,me ’ a11 cons P ire K> guard it from hostile alhe H S0C,al drinla " s usa « es have a great deal to do in keepin.r alne Ins unnatural demand is evident; tor these enter into every department of ltle, and are associated with the most solemn the most sacred, and the most joyous epochs of our existence. They conIront us at our birth, our baptism, our ntarriatre, and our death. It we meet a inend, they are there; if we transact business, they are there. When hound an apprentice they rise he ote us, and when that apprenticeship is completed, they are also ioiced upon us. Whatever our position in lile, or the nature of our employment, we cannot fail to he brought face to face with cult tod? l“ U M aad Pernicious customs-yet all the more diffi¬ cult todeal with that they are associated with those kindly senti- ments of,hospitality which we should not like to see weakened or it it he the desire of the kind host to express his friendship’ and his anxiety to entertain and please, it is no less the desire of the guest to show that that kindliness is.appreciated. When the cup is the symbol of these, how difficult to refuse ! WrTl? ‘r 0 S ' 1 !‘ I ’ licit > r of the Patriarchal age, the sentiment of hospitality luund a more safe and natural expression The kid was prepared or the failed calf killed, water was brought to the weary traveller that he might wash his feet, that thus invigorated with substantial faro and the refreshing ablution ho would be abie to resume bis journey. In many of the thinly fhehm tfN ,! 0U f 0land - tl,e m °untains of Cumberland* the lulls ol Northumberland, the dales of Yorkshire and West- 144 THE LAW OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND. moreland, the hospitable sentiments of the kind farmer, and of the humble but not less friendly cottager, find expression in a similar manner. The kettle simmers upon the hob; the cup that cheers but not inebriates is prepared, and you are invited to eat and drink, that, thus refreshed, you may pursue your way. We must seek to uproot these social drinking usages, not by restraining the laudable sentiments of which they are the expres¬ sion, but by inculcating the duty of expressing them in a way more innocent, less dangerous, and more compatible with the safety and well-being of our guests. In this work, we need the special aid of Woman. We would appeal to her in the language of the eloquent Dr. Nott. “ It is not yours to wield .the club of Hercules, or bend Achilles* bow. But, though it is not, still vou have a heaven- appointed armor, as well as a heaven-approved theatre of action. The look of tenderness, the eye of compassion, the lips of en¬ treaty are yours; and yours too are the decisions of taste, yours the omnipotence of fashion. You can therefore,—I speak of those who have been the favorites of fortune, and who occupy the high places of society,—you can change the terms of social intercourse and alter the current opinions of the community. You can remove, at once and forever, temptation from the saloon, the drawing-room, and the dining-table. This is your empire, the empire over which God and the usages of mankind have given you dominion. Here, within these limits, and with¬ out transgressing that modesty which is heaven’s own gift and woman’s brightest ornament, you may exert a benign, kindly, mighty influence. Here, you have but to speak the word, and one chief source of the mother’s, the wife’s, and the widow’s sorrows will, throughout the circle in which you move, be dried up for ever. Nor throughout that circle only. The families around you, and beneath you, will feel the influence of your example descending on them in blessings like the dews of heaven that descend on the mountains of Zion ; and drunken¬ ness, loathsome drunkenness, driven by the moral power of your decision from all the abodes of reputable society, will be compelled to exist, if it exist at all, only among those vulgar and ragged wretches, who, shunning the society of women, herd together in the bar-room and the groggery.” The Second cause of the unnatural demand for intoxicating liquor is, without doubt, the . liquor traffic, including alike the 145 applied to the drinking system. manufacture and sale. This traffic, legalized and protected, pos¬ sessing many immunities and privileges, is in reality the founda¬ tion and principal support ot the drinking usages, and through them of the unnatural demand for strong drink. The law of supply and demand, as applied to the necessaries of life, may be stated thus—demand leads to supply.—If the supply comes short of the demand, the population of “a country must decrease, till they balance each other. If the supply merely meets the demand, and no more, the population of that country will be kept in check. If, however, the supply be greater than the demand, then this affords scope for the population of' a country to increase in proportion. All poor countries are thinly peopled ; whilst rich and productive countries, whose resources are being rapidly developed, increase in population. We may point to Lapland in evidence of the former, and to England and the United States in evidence of the latter. Should a rapidly increasing population threaten to overlap the development of the sources of supply, then from that period does the ratio of increase diminish. We seem to have an example of this in our own country. In the ten years, 1811-1821, the increase was 18 per cent., or 1-8 per cent, per annum ; in the ten years, 1851-1861, it was only 12 per cent., or P141 per cent, per annum. As applied to the luxuries of life, the law of supply and demand may be thus stated: 1.—The supply leads to the demand ; 2.—The nature of the supply leads to a rapid increase in the demand ; 3. This again leads to a still further develop¬ ment in the sources of supply; and thus supply and demand act and react upon each other. , This is especially the case when applied to intoxicating liquor. The more drink you supply the greater will be the demand, and this again must lead to a rapid development in the sources of supply. Ibis process has been going on for many years, and the unnatural demand has increased out of all proportion to the increase of population. According to Mr. Porter, the sum spent in 1849, on beer spirits, and tobacco, was £57,000,000, at that time the popula¬ tion of the United Kingdom was about 28,000,000. In 1868 the sum expended was £111,886,000; the population bemg about 30,000,000. Thus since 1847, the population had increased t -142 per cent., but the consumption of liquor and tobacco nearly 100 per cent. 13 146 THE LAW OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND. To take an earlier period in the history of this country, we see how the consumption of intoxicating liquor has gone on increas¬ ing out of all proportion to the increase of population. In 1801 the population of the United Kingdom was 16,000.000. The annual average consumption of intoxicating liquor for the six years ending 1801 was as follows:—Of ardent spirits, 7,200,338 gals. ( old wine measure) ; beer, 4,735,574 barrels, or rather less than 154,000,000 gals, (this was the actual , not average consump¬ tion of beer in 1801); of wine, for the five years ending 1795, 7,000,000 gals. ( old wine measure). • In 1831, the population of the United Kingdom had increased to 24,000,000. The consumption of intoxicating liquor was as follows:—The annual average of ardent spirits for the six years ending 1831 was 25,652,428 gals. ( old wine measure ), of wine, about 7,500,000 gals. ( old wine measure ). The number of gallons of strong malt liquors brewed by publicans and brewers during the eight years preceding 1830, was in England alone, about 230,000,000, (of this quantity only 20,000,000 were exported.) But throwing it in as the amount consumed in Ireland and Scotland, what have we? Why, the number of gallons of intoxi¬ cating liquors of all sorts consumed in 1801, with a population of 16,000,000, was 168,200,338; or rather more than 10.} gals, per head of the population. In 1831, with a population of 24,000.000, the consumption had increased to 263,152,428 gals, or close upon 11 gals, per head of the population. In other words, whilst the population had increased during that term of years at the rate of 50 per cent., the consumption of intoxicating liquor had increased at the rate of 56 per cent. Hence, we see, in 1831 we were a more drunken people than in 1801 ; and a still more drunken people in 1868 than in 1849.* It is a remarkable fact that the drink market has never yet been glutted. In other commodities, such as corn, cotton, and woollen goods, etc., should the supply pass beyond certain limits, we have a glutted market, and a depreciation in the value of the goods, and in some instances, to avoid total loss, those goods have been sold at less than prime cost. This has repeatedly occurred both in * The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Lowe, in a speech on the National Debt,—delivered in the House of Commons, June 2d, 1871.—advanced the fol¬ lowing facts : The consumption of beer per head of the population was in 1»25, about one-third of a barrel; in 1850 about one-half of a barrel; and in 1870-1 about four-fifths of a barrel. The consumption of spirits, home, foreign, and colonial, was in IMS— -W8 of a gallon; in 1850— 048; and in 1870-1—988 of a gallon. THE MARKET THAT KNOWS NO GLUT. 147 Australia and in other of our colonies. Merchants at home, in the ardor of competition, have poured goods into the colonial market far ou treadling the demands of the colonists; and where these goods have been of a perishable nature, or where the bond¬ ing of them would, in a short time, more than eat up their value, they have been sold at an enormous sacrifice. But we have never known such a thing to occur in the liquor market. This market knows no glut. The consumption ever increases with the supply. In reference to the necessaries of life there can only be a certain fixed and definite demand, proportioned to the population. The appetite for food does not increase with what it feeds upon; it remains pretty stationary and regular, and bears an exact pro¬ portion to the real and fixed wants of the animal economy. But the appetite lor strong drink increases with what it feeds on, and indeed to this increase we can assign no limits. The man who consumes a quart o( beer to day, and is satisfied therewith, will be able to dispose of a gallon three months hence, and will’then not be satisfied ; and a year from that date he will be able to consume his two gallons; and so the appetite goes on growing tiil the stomach fails in its power, and the victim sinks into a drunkard’s grave. lhat the supply of the so-called narcotic luxuries of life is the cause ol the demand, and not vice versa, is strikingly evident if we take any one of them and trace its history. Talced for instance, tobacco. First of all, the supply was brought from the Now World* when smoking was introduced into France by Jean Nicot, the French ambassador at the court of Portugal, and into England by Sir Irancis Drake, about the year 15G0. At this time the demand was exceedingly limited ; but as the practice of smokin^ extended, the demand rapidly increased, and to make the supply keep pace with the demand the area of its growth was extended, and great attention was paid to its cultivation, until at the present day we find it cultivated, not only in Cuba, where it was originally discovered, but in many of the States of America in South America, in Persia, in Turkey, in India and Africa, in the islands-of the Eastern Archipelago, and in many of the countries ol Europe. The demand has kept pace with the enormous devC'Opment ol the sources of supply. I n 18G8, the United Kingdom alone consumed about 53,000,000 lbs. Persons engaged in the liquor traffic entertain the idea that they are merely supplying a legitimate demand on the part of 148 THE LAW OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND. the people, and arc very angry because we attempt by legislative means to put an end to this traffic, ihev say to us, AV e don t invite the people into our houses; we merely open them for the supply of liquors, and if people choose to enter and ask for them it is our duty to supply them, and we have nothing to do with the c msequences ; that is their look-out, not ours ’ True, they do not stand at the door of their houses, inviting the parsers by to enter. This is not needed, for their houses possess other attractions of a very peculiar character, attractions quite suffi¬ cient to draw custom, without a verbal invitation. To our mind there is, at least, a distant resemblance between “mine host” of the tap and that very interesting insect the spider. Now' the spider does not .invite the flies to his web. Not he! He has other stratagems far more likely to prove successful. lie selects, in. the first place, a most eligible spot ■where sunbeams play and flies do “ mostly congregate. lie there spreads abroad the meshes of his web, and as he would not like to frighten away the flies by exposing to view his own ugly carcass, he constructs for himself a very snug little back parlor, where, screened from observation, he awaits patiently and not in vain, for his prey. Though he does not invite the flies to his web, yet somehow or other they find their way to it, flies of all kinds, not even daddy long-legs escaping, and they become en¬ tangled to their destruction. So with those engaged in the liquor traffic. I hey don t invite the people into their houses, but they plant them in most eligible spots. If they aim at securing the patronage of the respect .ble and well-to-do classes, they se.ect the corners or centres of fine streets in business localities, and take the largest and most imposing edifices; if, however, they intend to content themselves w r ith the riffraff and dregs of society, and with the refuse of the more respectable houses, then they select gloomy back slums with back-door conveniences, so that their wretched customers may slip in and out unobserved, lo make their business a success they must act upon the same general prin¬ ciples as tradesmen in the successful prosecution of other trades. There comes this very natural inquiry: “ How can I increase the demand for my liquor, so that I may receive the profits arising from a larger sale?” This is accomplished in a variety of ways. One will get up a “ Free and Easy,” another a dance, another will engage a band of music, one will establish LIVE AND LET LIVE. 149 a Benefit Society ’ in connection with his house, another a Fiee Lunch all with a view of enticing people to their establishments, and to secure a larger sale. Many of them also advertise the excellent qualities of their liquors; in fact, we cannot unfold a newspaper without finding these eulogistic, extravagant, and empirical advertisements. Many of them also take advantage of the very nature and tendency of the liquor, ■which is to create for itself a demand by its peculiar action on the drinker. It produces a feeling of jollity and vivacity, and by obscuring the judgment, occasions a recklessness of conduct, and banishes care. Anacreon well expresses this in one of his musical odes: ‘‘Vhen gay Bacchus cheers my breast, All my cares are lull’d to rest; Griefs that weep, and toils that please, What have I to do with these? Ko solicitudes can save Mortals irom the gloomy grave. Shall I thus myself deceive? Shall I languish? Shall I grieve? Let us quaff the generous juice; Bacchus gave it for our use, For when wine transports the breast, All our cares are lull’d to rest." Strong drink excites the conversational tendency. It does not improve conversation, but gives everybody a strong desire to talk, and a disposition to be pleased with trifles. AY hen people arc exhilarated with drink, they will grimace and laugh, even when there is nothing substantial to cail forth their risible facul¬ ties. 1 he more unprincipled traders increase the already nar¬ cotic properties of their liquor by a still further addition of stupefying drugs, as the heavier alcohols, cocculus indicus, tobacco and others of a similar character. On the \\ hole, then, though the law is to blame in the first place, the publican is responsible for his craft, and chargeable with the luin it entails. li a flickers are very angry with teetotalers, because wo seek by legislative means to annihilate their traffic. They brand us with being inconsiderate and selfish, and say, “LeUhis maxim guide } ou, Live and let live.’ ” This maxim is sound and good, but the traffickers live every day in open violation of its prin- 150 THE LAW OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND. ciple, which is, that wc are to earn a livelihood in a manner compatible with the lives of other people. We are to live with other people, and not like leeches upon tliem. The traffickers live upon other people, at their expense, and in a way that destroys them. They realize a livelihood it is true, and some of them a very handsome one. But around them wrecks are strewn. Yes 1 Wiecks of once noble men and virtuous women, and homes of happiness and peace. The ven¬ dors live, but the people die. They live, and 500,000 drunkards desecrate the soil. They live, and 1,500,000 paupers press heavily upon the rate-paying portion of the community. They live, and 50,000 lunatics, deprived of bright intellect, or stricken by strong drink with hopeless idiotcy, wail in our asylums. They live, and 50,009 victims are every year laid prematurely beneath the sod. They live, while crime, sorrow, and disease afflict the land. It cannot be right to make a living at the cost of so much sin, and suffering, and death. This truth applies with equal force to the manufacturers. For if it be not right to se'l intoxicating liquors, it cannot be right to manufacture them, lienee, all the evil and ruin charged home upon the vendors, may with equal force be laid at the doors of the manufacturers. It is true many of them are further removed than the vendors from the concrete effects of the liquor they manufacture and send out to the ruin of their neighbors—• away from the busy centres of industry; residing, it may be, in sumptuous palaces, surrounded by beautiful rural scenery, with the sweet face of nature upon which to gaze. Wealthy brewers and distillers are not often brought into direct contact with the wretched victims of the traffic, and in consequence, cannot realize to the full extent all its horrors. They see not the palsied and ragged creatures passing in and out of the very shops supplied with drink from their stores—often their “ tied- houses.” Yet, nevertheless, there the misery exists,—flowing a’ike from the manufacture and the sale,—and the awful responsibility will follow. If some of those manufacturers, known as being men of kindly dispositions, and whose names rank high in the world of philan¬ thropy, would only take their stand, say on a Saturday night, opposite one of those houses in our large towns, supplied with drink from their stores, and then, from this point of observation, pass to the homes of the wretched inebriates gathered around TIIE TRAFFIC A BAD ONE. 151 the bar of that house, and note the rags, and wretchedness, and want, and discomfort they present, they would see sufficient to convince them that they are daily violating the second great commandment of the law, “ Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy¬ self j’ as well as that worthy maxim founded upon it, “ Live ancl let live.” No doubt the traffickers and manufacturers do love their neighbors, but then they love themselves a great deal better; and the strong monetary interests at stake are sufficient to outweigh all considerations founded upon philanthropy and morality. Robert Burns has well said: “ I’ll no say men are villains a’; The real harden’d wicked, Wha liae nae check but human law, Are to a few restricted; But, och! mankind are unco’ weak, An’ little to be trusted— If self the wavering balance shake, It’s rarely right adjusted!" The traffic in strong drink is now deemed, by a very large proportion of the people, highly respectable, and a great deal of wealth is sunk in it, and many men of high position in society are engaged in it. But, for all that, the day will come, when with an enlightened public sentiment, and a high toned mo¬ rality, those engaged in this traffic shall be deemed pests of society, shall be shunned by all respectable people who have any regard whatever for their own character, and shall be classed in the same catalogue with vendors of indecent prints, manufac¬ turers of false life-buoys and rotten cables, in fact, with all those who seek to obtain a livelihood at the expense of the virtue and safety of the community. 152 BACCHUS DETHRONED. CHAPTER, Y. s THE MANUFACTURE OF INTOXICATING LIQUORS DESTRUCTIVE AND IMMORAL. Prop. VI. —“ That it is contrary to the will of God, and con¬ sequently sinful and immoral, to convert the food of the people into a liquid poison, that naturally destroys the bodies and souls of men .” Tiie liquor traffic is a violation of God’s will, for two reasons. 1. Because it perverts from its natural use the food that ought to go to nourish the people, and transforms it into a poisoned beverage; and, 2. Because the natural tendency of this liquor is to destroy the bodies and souls of men. There are three sources whence we may derive a knowledge of God’s will. From the Bible, from history, and from nature scientifically interrogated. These three volumes are equally Divine, for they are written with the finger of God. In fact, a proper and devout attention to each will soon convince us that there exists between them a wondrous harmony—that the same spirit pervades them all, and that they are mutually explanative, the one interpreting and unfolding the great truths contained in the other. The Bible contains that revelation from the Supreme Being •which informs us of man’s moral and spiritual relationship to God, and to that great moral and spiritual world of which He forms a part. It points out to man his duty and his destiny. (See Chap, vii.) History, when its facts are correctly recorded, indicates to us the course of God’s providence among the nations, and gives expression to Ilis will concerning them—chiefly, it informs us that national vices bring national misery and ruin, and that national virtues bring national-prosperity and happiness. Science is the volume of nature, and is, in fact, a com¬ mentary upon God’s revelation, for the laws of Nature aid us in understanding more perfectly its meaning. The THE VOICE OF GOD IN NATURE. 153 volume of nature is sadly too little studied by Christians, v ho seem to regard it with suspicion, as though it were the creation of some strange God ! In this chapter we shall consider God's will as expressed more particularly in Providence and Nature. It requires no elaborate argumentation to show that the food God hath so abundantly supplied, ought to be applied to its legitimate uses, viz : to feed his children. The misappropriation of food, or its wanton destiuction, is a plain violation of God’s will. This is more especially the case when such misappropriation or destruction entails starvation upon thousands. It then becomes one of the greatest crimes that can be committed against the human family, and a dark and daring sin against the glorious beneficence of God. lie that withhcldeth the corn, the people shall curse him. This applies with still greater force to the man who destroys corn, than to him who refuses to bring it into the market in times of scarcity. We visit with severe punishment the incendiary who fires his neighbor's, or even his own stacks, and thereby destroys the staff of life. Ihe manufacture of intoxicating liquor is a wanton destruc¬ tion of the food of the people ; for it converts that food into a form in which it is perfectly useless as a nutritive aliment. In converting barley into beer, grape-juice into brandy, corn into whisky, apples into cider, the nutritive properties of these sub¬ stances are as thoroughly destroyed as though they had been consigned to the devouring flame. In an analytical report on wines, published in the Lancet , October 26, 1867, it is said, “ In every 1000 grain measures of the clarets and burgundies tested, the mean amount of albuminous matter present was only 1^ giains, whilst in 1000 grains by weight of raw beef there are no less than 207 grains of such matter. That is, the quantities being equal, beef-steak is 156 times more nutritious than wine.” Ihus tlieie is no foundation whatever for considering these beve- lngos as a mere change in the form of food, but a very strong foundation for considering them as pernicious and innutritious results of the wanton destruction of food. Again, if we trace the different processes of manufacture, wo find that, at each stage, the nutritive properties of “food” are lulhlessly destroyed in order to prepare a beverage that shall excite the nervous system, and gratify a morbid taste. 154 MANUFACTURE DESTRUCTIVE AND IMMORAL. Take, for instance, the manufacture of ale. The process is thus lucidly described by Mr. Joseph Livesey: "We shall find that at every step [in brewing] the object is not to secure a feeding, but an intoxicating liquor, and that to obtain this the feeding properties of the barley are sacrificed at every stage. In making a gallon of strong ale (nine gallons to the bushel), 6 lbs of barley is used, which, to commence with, is 6 lbs. of good, nutritious food, excepting the husk. I will here briefly run over the processes of converting this into ale, to show how, when the ale is served up. this 6 lbs. is reduced to rather less than £ lb. The bailey has to unde go four processes before it becomes beer, in every one of which it loses part of its nutriment. The first is malting. The grain is steeped iu water two days and nights; in this wet state it is placed on the malt¬ ster’s floor, eight or nine inches deep, till it begins to heat and vegetate, and to secure equal vegetation it is turned every day, the Sunday not excepted. When the spores and rootlets are sufficiently developed, the grain is put on the kiln to dry, and afterwards these are taken off by a machine, and are called ‘malt combs.’ In this process there is a loss of about lbs. The object of thus spritting the barley is to produce in the grain more saccharine matter, which, in the process of ferment¬ ing the liquor, becomes changed into spirit, and thus renders the ale strong, that is, intoxicating! The more saccharine matter, or sugar, that any substance contains when brought into a state of solution and fermented, the more spirit can be obtained. After crushing the malt, the next step is mashing. This consists, not in boiling the grain, but putting it into hot water at a temperature of 170 degrees, for the pur¬ pose of melting out the sugar or saccharine matter produced in malting. After mashing a sufficient length of time the brewer draws off the liquor, so long as it runs sweet, and rejects all the rest, which is sold to farmers in the shape of ‘ grains.' The rejected parts of,barley here are at least- 2 lbs. The sweet wort thus drawn off would not intoxicate, whatever quantity a person was to take. The next process, after mixing the liquor with hop water, is to ferment it. It is here all the mischief is done. Carbonic-acid-gas and alcohol (the intoxicating agent) are here produced. The sugar becomes decomposed, and a recomposition takes place, forming these two. Sugar being nutritious, and spirit not so, the loss of nutriment by this change and by the overflow of barm (which was part of the barley) is about 1 tb., the exchange being the gas and the spirit .The fourth process is that of fining. People don’t like muddy ale, and as some thick matter cannot be pre¬ vented coming over in mashing, the liquor is put to settle, and these settlings are disposed of as ‘ barrel bottoms.’ These bottoms are really parts of the barley, and the loss here again is at least £ lb. These are the losses during the four stages of beer making: THE ANALYSIS OF FERMENTED DRINKS. 155 We begin with barley. q In malting, we abstract as ‘ malt combs’... lbs. In mashing, we dispose of as ‘ grains’. 2 “ In fermenting, we lose in sugar, gas, and ‘barm’. 1 “ In fining, we reject as ‘barrel bottoms’. f “ 5j lbs. So that when we come to examine the beer, we find that there is not more than 12 ozs , generally not more than 10 ozs., in the gallon, of barley left, and this chiefly gum, the worth of which, when compared with other food’ is less than a penny.*'.It is the alconol or spirit in the ale— the whisky in lact—which deceives people, and makes them believe they are gaining strength, when they get only stimulation, which is a waste of strength ."—Lecture on Malt. The analysis of Leer fully confirms -the above. According to Dr. Lankesters analysis, the following is the composition of the different fermented beverages. An imperial pint contains : STRONG ALE. STOUT. oz. gr- oz. gr. Water. >—» 00 0 Water. 18* 0 Alcohol. 2 0 Alcohol. 1* 0 Sugar . 1 136 lSh rrn.r n 981 Acetic acid. 0 57 Acetic acid. 0 AO L 54 Gum. 0 131 • Extractive . 0 408 MILD ALE. PORTER. Water . 18f 0 Water. 19 111 Alcohol. 1* 0 Alcohol . 0 326 Sugar . 0 280 Armfir» nrdd o 4A Acetic acid . •0 38 Gum . \J o Extractive . 0 402 The sum is, that fermented beverages contain a largo pro¬ portion of water which we can get elsewhere ; a variable quantity of alcohol, ranging from 2 oz. to 32G gr. ; a variable quantity of acetic acid, or vinegar; a variable quantity of sugar, ranging from 1 oz. 136 gr. to zero; with a small proportion of gum and extractive. The extractive, of course, is a curious compound, “ an incongruous mass of heterogeneous matter,” containing all * Gum is not food: for it passes through the intestines unchanged.— Ed. I 156 MANUFACTURE DESTRUCTIVE AND IMMORAL. the abominable drugs superaddcd, to improve the flavor and to increase the intoxicating power! Let us glance for a moment at the extent of the waste involved in this traffic. In Scotland there is raised annually about five million quarters of grain ; that is, 40,000,000 bushels. But in 1869 we consumed in distillation, and in the manufacture of beer, 63,000,000 bushels, or nearly 8,000,000 quarters. This grain, passed through the mill, would make 10,500,000 sacks, or 26,250,000 cwts. of flour, and allowing four cwts. as the annual average consumption per head, we have sufficient flour here to feed 6,562,500 people a whole year. In 1868 we imported into this country from abroad, in grain and flour, 66,750,000 cwts., at a cost of £39,000,000. llad it not been for the wanton destruction of grain in the manufacture of intoxicating liquor, more than one-third of this amount might have been saved. In years of scarcity and famine, this wanton destruction of grain in our breweries and distilleries still goes on, and the traffickers steel their hearts against the loud wail of a famine-stricken people. When, for instance, in the years 1846- 1847, a famine ravaged Ireland, consequent upon the destruc¬ tion of the potato crop,—a famine which swept away half a million of people,—the brewers and distillers had within their granaries a larger supply of grain than ever, but not a single barley-corn would they part with to feed a starving people. It is, certainly, a very great sin to waste the nation’s food, but greater still to transform it into an instrument of demoralization and ruin. If a man hated his race with all the dark, relentless malignity of Satan, he could not have hit upon a more effectual method of gratifying it, than by engaging in the manufacture of these death-dealing liquors. Paley, in his “Moral Philosophy,” says:—“From reason, or revelation, or from both together, it appears to be God Almighty’s intention that the productions of the earth should be applied to the sustentation of human life, consequently, all waste and misapplication of these productions is contrary to the Divine intention and will, and therefore wrong, for the same reason that any other crime is so ; such as destroying, or suffering to perish, a great part of an article of human provision, in order to enchance the price of the remainder, or diminishing the breed of animals by a wanton or improvident consumption of the young. To this PAUPERISM AND THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC. 157 head may also be referred, which is the same evil in a. smaller way, the expenditure of human food on superfluous dogs, or horses; and lastly, the reducing the quantity in order to alter tue quality, and to alter it generally for the worse, as the distillation of spirits from bread-corn.” Our proposition states that the liquid poison produced from the food of the people “ naturally destroys the bodies and souls of men.” In our first chapter we have shown that the actual effects of strong drink are poverty, disease and crime. These effects are not merely accidental, flowing from the so-called “abuse” of it, in the same sense that indigestion may be supposed to come from the abuse of food 5 but it is the very nature of drink to produce these evil fruits. It is of the nature of these liquors to pauperize the people. Their imbibition creates an inordinate craving that refuses to be satisfied, and impelled onward by this, thousands who can but ill afford it, expend the larger portion of their slender incomes upon that “ which satisfieth not,” and thus bring both themselves and families to destitution ; while the manufacture of intoxicating 'drqirors'makes a dearer loaf, and a lessened income. Now it is as much as thousands of our work-people can do to keep the wolf from the door, even when in constant employment, and a few days’ loss of work throws many of them upon the parish. Ilow has government sought to meet this abounding pauperism, produced by drink and the drink traffic? Why, by establishing a system of heavy local taxation, and a mode of relief ruinous to societv, and at war with all the most sacred affections of our •/ / . nature. By the present system of parochial relief, poverty is "degraded to a crime; for the punishments inflicted upon many of our paupers, especially in the workhouses of many of our large towns, in poor fare, confinement, and harsh treatment, are often much more severe than those inflicted upon criminals. In the yard of one of our metropolitan workhouses, some years ago, a poor old man, seventy years of age, was enjoying a few whiffs from his pipe. One of the officials advanced towards him, and in a most dastardly and cruel manner knocked the pipe out of his'mouth, with this remark, “ You must not think, old cove, that you have come here to live, for you have come here to die.” This is the natural outgrowth of a brutalizing system, of which the Traffic is the fountain. 14 158 MANUFACTURE DESTRUCTIVE AND IMMORAL. The present mode of administering relief is a premium upon vice, while it inflicts upon the deserving poor a punish¬ ment almost too heavy to bear. We have known drunken families revelling in parochial relief, and deserving families, reduced to penury by misfortune, most barbarously treated. The former, hardened and brutalized by drink, have made it their business to study the most efficient means of swindling the rate-payers of their hard-earned cash, and with barefaced impudence, or cringing importunities, appeal for that relief which they neither deserve nor need ; but the honest and sober 2 ) 00 '-, when reduced to poverty by some dire misfortune, feel a praiseworthy repugnance in applying for relief, and when at last compelled to do so, the first repulse disheartens them, and they retire to their cheerless homes and empty larders, possibly to die of starvation, or be driven to end their suffering in suicide. The drunken and worthless take good care that they sustain no lufrtp~Snd their loud clamors, after spending their means in drink, bring them speedy relief, which, should it take the outr" door form, is' partly spent in gratifying their debasing and insane propensity. Bailie Lewis, of Edinburgh, recently made this statement :—“ Tens of thousands of pounds, administered to paupers in Scotland, are annually expended, not in supporting, but in stiil further degrading the drunken recipients. Within the last twelve months I have personally witnessed numbers of the out door paupers of one of the city parishes leaving the pay- table^ and going direct to the public-houses in the neighborhood. During the last year there has been expended in out door relief in Edinburgh .about £20,000, and I have no hesitation in saying, from information I possess, that nearly one-third of that sum will have been spent in drink.” The present method of admin¬ istering parochial relief is also a most expensive one, taking £10,000,000 per annum to support it, a large proportion of which is lavished in building large houses, almost palatial in appear¬ ance, and in supporting clouds of officials, whilst the recipients of relief receive the most meagre treatment. Dr. Chalmers, in his Bridgewater Treatise, speaking of the poor-law system, says:—“It hath by the most pernicious of all bribery, relaxed the ties and obligations of mutual relationship, exonerating parents, on the one hand, from the care and main¬ tenance of their own offspring ; and tempting children on the other, to cast off their parents who gave them birth, and instead THE TRAFFIC DEMORALIZING 159 of an asylum gladdened by the associations and sympathies of home, consigning them for the last ciosing years of weakness and decrepitude to the dreary imprisonment of a poor-house. 4, Ilad the beautiful arrangements of nature not been disturbed, the relative affections which she herself has implanted would have been found strong enough, as in other countries, to have secured through the means of a domestic economy alone, a provision for both young and old in far greater unison w th both the comfort and virtue of families. The corrupt and dernoral- iz'ng system of England mi girt well serve as a lesson to phi an- thropists and statesmen, of the positive and undoubted mischief to which the best interests of humanity are exposed—when they traverse the process of a better mechanism instituted by the* wisdom of God, through the operation of another mechanism devised by a wisdom of their own.” We have dwelt thus long upon the defects of the poor-law system, because it is our conscientious conviction that, whilst the drink traffic is the fruitful cause of at least three-fourths of our pauperism, our present mode of dealing with paupers tends to aggravate the evil, and thus the traffic and the pauper system continue to act and react upon each other, till now, at the pr< sent time, the evil has grown to such huge dimensions as to impede the progress, and seriously to threaten the safety of the nation. That it is the natural tendency of this traffic to produce dis¬ ease , and so naturally destroy the bodies of men, has been shown in chapters i. and nr. But it is no less destructive to the souls of men—to man’s high spiritual and moral nature. It is also of the nature of these drinks to demoralize and corrupt, and thus to produce crime —the most revolting and unnatural. It does so, because alcohol , by its action upon the brain and nervous system, tends to para¬ lyze the will, to set conscience asleep, while it arouses at the same time the criminal proclivities of man. In this respect alcohol is unique. There are no agents that we know of in the laboratory of nature, not even the most deadly, that possess the same action. Cocculus Indians , with which alcoholic beverages are frequently adulterated, makes, we believe, the nearest approach to it, but it is too stupefactive to do much harm without the aid of its terrible allv, alcohol. Herodotus informs us that the Scythians became intoxicated by inhaling the vapor from the seeds of a kind of flax; and 160 MANUFACTURE DESTRUCTIVE AND IMMORAL. modern medicine has observed, that the odor alone of Ilvoscia- mus, particularly when its power is heightened by the action of heat, produces in those who inhale it a disposition to anger and quarrelling. ‘‘The Dictionaire de Medicine de VEncyclopedic Melhodique (Tome 7), cites three examples. The most remarkable is that of a married couple, who, perfectly harmonious and affectionate everywhere else, could not pass a few hours together in the loom where they worked, without engaging in the most bloody strife. The room was thought to be enchanted or bewitched. At length it was discovered that the whole blame of these terrible disputes was attributable to a large packet of the seeds of Ilyosciamus, •placed near a stove, and their removal caused a perfect restor¬ ation of peace.”—Dr. Belenaye, On Hygiene , p. 105, 1832. Then there is opium, that terrible scourge to the inhabitants of India and China. But vastly different are its effects to that of the tyrant Alcohol. Though its habitual use is fraught with the greatest mischief to the body and mind of man, yet it arouses not the criminal tendencies, it urges not its victims to deeds of violence and bloodshed. In fact, its action would appear to be quite the other way. When under the exciting stage of its influ¬ ence, people feel averse to crime; and when the stage of depres¬ sion comes*on, they are too helpless to commit deeds of violence. We never yet knew a man fortify himself with laudanum when he was about to commit some atrocious deed. Brandy is the terrible agent used by criminals. Of opium, De Quincey says, in his “Confessions”:—“It introduced among the mental powers exquisite order, legislation, and harmony. It invigorates self- possession, it communicates serenity and equipoise to all the faculties, active or passive, a/tcZ, with respect to the moral feelings in general , it gave simply that sort of vital warmth which is approved of by the judgment, and ivhich would probably always accompany a bodily constitution of jorimeval , or antediluvian health. It gives an expansion to the heart and benevolent affections. The opium eater feels that the diviner part of his nature is promoted, that his moral affections are in a state of cloudless serenity; and over all is the great light of the majestic intellect.” Now what are the effects of alcohol during the exciting stage of its influence? Why, it distorts the imagination, it weakens the controlling power of the mind, it obscures the moral percep¬ tions, and overthrows the intellect, while at the same time it EFFECTS OF DRINKING ON THE INDIVIDUAL. 161 excites the base of the brain, and stirs up all the worst elements of our nature, so that many persons when under its influence become capable of committing the most atrocious crimes, from which, in their sober moments, they would shrink with disgust and dismay. The alcohol-drinker has, no doubt, his heaven also. lie enjoys a certain pleasure, but it is fluctuating and evanescent in character, and altogether sensual. The paradise of the opium-eater is refined and spiritual; that of the alcohol-drinker coarse, sensual and devilish. The Moham¬ medan paradise, with its repose and beauty, would seem to be the offspring of the imagination under the influence of opium ; the paradise of the old Scandinavian creed, with its coarse, brutal pleasures, mixed occasionally with deeds of blood, the offspring of the imagination under the influence of beer. The alcohol-drinker has his hell also—a hell scorching his veins and consuming all his joys. Terrible as is the hell of the opium-eater, still more terrible is the hell of the alcohol-drinker. It is a hell of lawless passion, and of wild impulse to crime. A hell of uncontrollable thirst for drink—of black despair, or of brutal lust. Gaze upon the poor drunkard, when under the power of that terrible madness, delirium tremens ! What hideous imaginings ! What foul fiends and grim spectres torment him ! Scorpions glare upon him, with jaws like sepulchres and eyes like fire! Fanged serpents hiss at him, and all terrible shapes, creatures of a distorted imagination, gather around to inflict upon him the torments of the damned. Such then is the action of alcohol upon its victim, withering every moral beauty, exciting lawless passion, and impelling fiercely to crime, and by this means ruining the souls of men. Now it is plainly contrary to the will and law of God, that His creatures should thus be degraded, ruined, and destroyed. “ He hath not appointed us unto wrath, but to obtain salvation.” “ A tree is known by its fruit.” So tested, Ave cannot doubt that upon the manufacture, sale, and use of strong drink the Eternal has stamped the broad seal of ilis curse ; and as Ave gaze upon the disease, the starvation, the crime, and the wholesale destruc¬ tion Avhich strong drink inflicts upon the human family, avc have evidence, overwhelming and unmistakable, that its manufacture, sale, and use, constitute a system alike incompatible with tho character of God and the redemption of mankind. 14* 162 BACCHUS DETHRONED. CHAPTER VI. TEETOTAI.ISM A GREAT SCIENTIFIC FACT. Prop. YII. — “ That teetotaJism is not a mere matter of expedi¬ ency, but is a great scientific fact , based on chemistry, physiology, and, Christian morality 1.—The doctrine of expediency referred to may be thus stated: Though it is not necessary, on the ground of personal safety, for me to abstain from intoxicating liquor, seeing I have power to control my appetite and to regulate the quantity I take within the hounds of sobriety: yet, in view of the manifold evils arising from the abuse of these liquors, and for the sake of those who are weak, and have already fallen, or are in imminent danger of falling, I will abstain. This doctrine is founded on an earnest conviction that the evils flowing from the use of strong drink are so great and terrible, “ that no amount of good that can be claimed for them will justify the conscientious man in their use.” People of this school appear to think that “what is one man’s food is another man’s poison and that strong drink, though dangerous to some, is innocuous, or even beneficial to others. Now this may do very well as to mental food, but is very ques¬ tionable in application to physical food. It is true, that owing to certain very rare and curious idiosyncrasies, certain articles deemed very good food may act like poisons upon a few indi¬ viduals. We have heard, for instance, of a lady who could never eat a mution-chop without suffering from symptoms of poisoning ; and of another upon whom a pear had the same effect. These cases are altogether exceptional,; and even though one in ten millions may be poisoned with a pear or a mutton-chop, yet to the remainder they are very wholesome. This is never the case with intoxicating liquor, which is not food at all in any proper sense of that term, but is, upon all constitutions, poisonous in its action. Expediency, indeed, admits the fascinating character of strong EXPERIENCE IN FAVOR OF ABSTINENCE. 163 cl.ink, but has no idea of its being physiologically injurious. Its advocates are in the mental condition of all the world, at the commencement of this reform. 2.—In the beginning, the practice of abstinence necessarily partook of the character of a vast experiment , in which the expe¬ rimentalists had to contend against fearful odds. Very soon, however, these experimentalists, feeling their way, found that the inconvenience and danger arising from personal abstinence was only a scarecrow, for under the trial of the new regimen their health and strength sensibly improved, so that they were able to get through more work than before, and that too with greater case and comfort. They discovered also that they ate better, slept sounder, and enjoyed life better than before. This is indeed the uniform experience of all who have tried our principles. Take, for instance, the testimony of Mr. Edward Baines, M. P., given before one hundred and fifty medical gentle¬ men, assembled at a public breakfast, in connection with the Annual Meeting of the British Medical Association, held in Leeds. The breakfast came off at the Great Northern Station Hotel, on Thursday morning, July 29th, 1869. Mr. Baines said: “ I myself, a long time ago, for the sake of influencing some men who I saw was rapidly going clown hill to destruction, determined to put myself in the position to give them unsuspected advice I said, I will abstain for a month, and see how it answers with me; and finding it did answer, 1 went on for another montn, and then for another. At the expiration of fifteen years subsequently, I thought it my duty to testify that during the whole of that period I had enjoyed the best health, good spirits, and a great capacity for work; and now, seventeen years later, and after thirty-two years of abstinence frcm intoxicating drink. I confiim the same to you all. I testify before all this company, that scarcely any man can have had more uniform vigorous health than I have had, and for which I am deeply thankful, during the whole of the period I have named, and I have been a tolerably hard worker too. And when I tell you that I went to bed about four o’clock on the morn¬ ing before last, coming out of the House of Commons after a great many hours’ sitting there, you will see that we have a good deal of hard work there; but I verily believe that. I have been able to do more than I should have been able to do, if I bad not been a total abstainer." This valuable testimony, and we could quote scores like it, is exactly to the point. The successful issue of such experiments not only opened tho 164 TEETOTALISM A GREAT SCIENTIFIC FACT. eyes of those who were the subjects of them, but led others to institute farther inquiries. Finally, the concurrent testimony of all abstainers both at home and abroad, and of all who had tried our principles for a limited time for a special purpose, under some of the most trying circumstances in which man can be placed, became quite sufficient with thoughtful persons, to overthrow the old and cherished notions pertaining to the use of intoxicating liquor. These important lessons and the controversies to which the agitation gave rise, opened the eyes of scientific men, and they in turn began to examine the chemical composition of intoxi¬ cating liquor, and to trace their physiological action. But as Dr. Munroe, F. L. S., of Hull, says:—“ Ilad it not been for the suc¬ cessful labors of these moral giants in the great cause of temper¬ ance, presenting to the world, in their own personal experiences, many new and astounding physiological facts, men of science would probably never have had their attention drawn to the question.” What has been the result? Why, every step taken, and almost every experiment performed, have gone to prove that here science and experience harmonize. The deductions of the former fully confirm the teachings of the latter, and now teetotalism has become a great scientific fact. So having first principles we advance to higher and firmer ground. Wo do not indeed quarrel with those who become teetotalers upon the ground of expediency. We give them the right-hand of fellow¬ ship, and also seek to instruct them further and to lead them from abstinence based on expediency to abstinence based on Science. Our proposition states: “That teetotalism is based upon Chemistry .” The substance with which teetotalism has most to do, is by teaching abstinence from it as a chemical product. Fermen¬ tation is a chemical process. Alcohol is a product of vinous fer¬ mentation, it is therefore a chemical product. Experience has clearly revealed that it is a product at war with the processes of that beautiful vital chemistry going on within the laboratory of the human body. Chemistry has done more for teetotalism than some people imagine. In the first place, it has revealed the presence and proved the identity of the intoxicating principle of strong drinks ; discovering to us its origin and hiding-place. Had it not been for A CHEMICAL PRODUCT AND PHYSICAL POISON. 165 this we should still have been ignorant of the real foe that destroyed us. Chemistry has investigated its composition and properties, and determined its real position in the materia alimeniaria and materia rnedica , showing that it ought to be entirely excluded from the former, and to be used in the latter principally for the carrying on of certain delicate pharmaceutical processes. Chemistry has determined that the whole class of intoxicating liquors strongly resemble each other in their physical properties, that they all alike owe their great popularity and power to fascinate to this deadly agent— alcohol , and differ merely in their proportion of alcohol, water, coloring matter, and flavors. lhat this chemistry, which in its infancy, and wielding its tremendous powers, brought disaster and death by revealing the presence of an unseen enemy, and the processes whereby he could be evoked in his most deadly and concentrated form, has in its maturer age rendered the cause of temperance signal service, in discovering to us its composition and properties, and dispersing those numerous fallacies engendered of ignorance and appetite. 3.—Our proposition states, “ that teetotalism is based upon Physiology .” Ihis science has ransacked the human body in search of in¬ formation as to the action of alcohol upon animal organisms. It has followed alcohol into its innermost recesses, and traced its doings in the cellular structure and ultimate tissues; and after performing innumerable experiments both upon man and beast, bird and reptile ; and having thereby made certain dis¬ coveries of a most important character, it comes forth to make them known; and notwithstanding conflicting theories, the following are the conclusions at which all experimentalists and men of science have arrived. (1.) That as a diet, alcohol is not only valueless, but most dangerous and injurious. (2.) That its action upon the body is uniformly that of a poison. (3.) That the direction of this action is always the same, the intensity of the action only being regu¬ lated by the amount consumed. (4.) That it is not food in any usual sense, as nourishing the structures, or increasing the tem¬ perature of the body. Chemistry and physiology are the bases of hygiene , a science which treats of the laws that govern the animal economy in relation to its own physiological condition, and of the physical 1G6 TEETOTALISM A GREAT SCIENTIFIC FACT. world of which it forms a part. It seeks to investigate the influence of laws, institutions, habits, climate, etc., upon tho human constitution. It points out how disease may be pre¬ vented, health and long life secured. This is the region of preventive medicine, in which medical science (so called) has achieved her noblest triumphs. In this department she has ssown that disease arises from the violation of nature’s laws; from a gross neglect of the conditions of healthy life. She has demonstrated that just in proportion as these laws and conditions are observed, disease diminishes and the chances of long life .are increased. She has shown that sunshine, fresh air, pure water, cleanliness, and wholesome diet, temperate living, good drainage, and mental and physical exercise, are essential to healthy life, and that (within certain limits) the death-rate is proportioned to our neglect or observance of these conditions—proving that disease is nature’s penalty for the violation of her laws. A learned writer upon this science says:—“ One of the chief sources of the wealth and power of states is the number of their well-governed and well-conditioned inhabitants. Hence it should be the object of statesmen to improve that moral and physical condition which is favorable to the regular, but not unnatural increase of a sound population. ....... A knowledge of hygiene is of high importance to political economy, a knowledge not ministering to mere theory—to * Day¬ dreams’ of inexperienced legislators; but to that cautious policy that seeks no footing where there are no facts.” (Dr. Belenaye, on Ihjij.ened) The temperance movement is a great sanitary-and hygienic question. Intemperance, and the (so called) moderate use of intoxicating liquor, predisposes the body to the attacks of disease, and tends to shorten the term of human existence. Moderate drinkers, equally with drunkards, live every day in open violation of tho laws of health, and how can they escape tho penalty? Any government allowing facilities for drinking to exist, or encourag¬ ing them for the sake of revenue, is therefore guilty of violating a fundamental principle of public hygiene! and. instead of seeking to inprove the moral and physical condition of the people, really adopts the most potent means to corrupt and degrade them, and thus to undermine tho greatness and strength of the nation. The use of intoxicating liquor is not only in itself a gross phy- DRINKING OPPOSED TO SANITARY REFORM. 1G7 Biological blunder, but it also leads to the violation of every other condition of healthy life. It leads to drunkenness, this to neglect of personal cleanliness ; then the poverty it occasions prevents the drunkard from properly housing and feeding his family, and instead of selecting a suitable residence in an airy and salubrious neighborhood, he must needs fix his quarters in some dismal court, or dirty alley, where dilapidated houses afford scanty accommodation, and where all sense of decency is thoroughly erased. Here, screened from public gaze, and con¬ sorting with other miserable and degraded beings, he indulges his brutalizing propensities for strong drink, and sinks to deeper misery. Notwithstanding our boasted progress in sanitary science— notwithstanding an improved drainage system, and an abundant supply of pure water to our large towns, the death-rate is upon the increase. After thirty years of sanitary labor and general “ progress,” instead of the death-rate being diminished, it is higher than when sanitary reform was first heard of. In referring to the Registrar General’s Returns, we find that the present death-rate is higher by 1 per 10U0 than it was thirty years ago ! It is also a deplorable fact, that the three large towns of Liverpool, Glasgow and Manchester, possessing the finest water supply, not only exhibit the most drunkenness, but also show the highest rate of mortality ! Dr. Farre does not appear to perceive the real cause of this, but attributes it to a variety of causes, which no doubt are accessory, but certainly not the main cause. In his report for one quarter of 1869, he states: “The high rate of mortality in Glasgow is partly due to epidemic and other diseases, to which children succumbed in undue proportion to the rest of the population. While protection against the diffusion of cholera poison by means of an impure water supply has been secured in this city, the importance of aiming at immunity from other generating elements of disease should not be lost sight of. Dr. Gairdner reports that the.true cause of the excessive liability of this city to high tides of disease and death are to be sought chiefly in the loio standard oj domestic comfort, in overcrowding, general squalor, and physical dejra- datior ,® which are the unhappy characteristics of a large section of the population. The city of Manchester, which is also supplied with an abundance of pure water, shows a high rate of mortality, but it is con¬ siderably lower than the Scottish city. Why cannot the administrative • These are simple ejects —never seen where the trafSc is banished. 1G8 TEETOTALISM A GREAT SCIENTIFIC FACT* abilities, which have been so successful in commanding a pure water supply, be as successfully applied, not only in the demolition of old tenements, but in the erection ot new constructions, and improved house accommodation lor the poorer classes, and also in enforcing the law against overcrowding.” There is a question far more important than that contained in these concluding words, namely :—Why cannot the ad¬ ministrative abilities use their influence to secure the sup¬ pression of the drink nuisance—the demolition of the whisky shopsf If they accomplish this, the rest would soon follow. Sobriety would take the place of drunkenness, and thrift of wasteful expenditure. A speedy and striking improvement would be seen in the habits of the people. They would be better clothed and fed, and no longer contented to herd together like the brute creation ; they would seek better house accommodation and find it. Building Societies would be more extensively patronized ; larger capital would be invested in building suitable houses for the working-classes 5 the low courts and purlieus of our large towns, which are now centres of contagion and hot-beds of vice and disease, would be swept away wholesale 5 broad airy streets and commodious houses would take their place, and whole sub¬ urbs and districts of houses and gardens for the working-classes would adorn our large towns. With this improvement in the habits and abodes of the working-classes, disease would abate, the mortality lists would sink, and the average duration of life be greatly extended. The prosperity of a nation largely depends upon the average duration of life among the people, for “life is labor .” Where the mortality lists are high, and the average of life low, certain causes must be in operation tending to undermine that nation’s strength and prosperity. Says Belenaye : “Since it is certain that every stage of human existence has a pecu¬ liar office assigned to it, as well as every instant a duty, it is highly important that man should attain a certain degree of senility. Should the human being die in infancy, or childhood, the loss to the state would not be great; but later, it is far otherwise. The business of adolescence is to acquire knowledge by example, and by memory; of the adult to apply this information; and later, to invent. At fifty, men begin to perfect and classify knowledge; to instruct and guide their fellow-creatures. .Now, it is clear that a state cannot advance so rapidly in civilization, where the average duration of life is short; and will be great in proportion to the approach of the majority of its subjects to TEETOTALISM FAVORS SANITARY PROGRESS. 169 sixty-five—an age that allows of acquisition, application, invention, and arrangement of the stores of knowledge. We must venture to repeat, that a man dying at eighteen or twenty, has only lived to consume the resources of society, and can leave nothing behind him but a legacy of poignant regret. If he has lived till he has applied and invented, it is of the highest importance he should be allowed time to mature and con¬ solidate what, as his own acquisition, he best understands. . . • We must set a still greater value upon longevity, if we add to what has been stated, the sagacious remark of an eminent writer—that the greater mortality in Southern climates before the age of thirty, is the reason that Northern nations have invariably conquered those of the South.” On Hygiene. Now to greatly increase the average duration of life in our country, and thereby promote natural prosperity and vigor, our government cannot do better than pass, as a great Sanitary Act, a prohibitory liquor-law. In simple fact, the temperance enterprise is the greatest sanitary reform that ever took place in any age or nation ; and public spirited teetotalers are among the greatest of sanitary reformers. Wherever our principles have been adopted and acted upon, a great and visible improvement has takfen place in the social state and moral habits of the people. As a rule, abstainers quickly remove from amid the squalor and ■wretchedness in which before they seemed to wallow, and in consequence, become healthier and live longer. As a rule, they pay considerable attention to elementary physiology and do¬ mestic medicine, and as a result, give doctors very little trouble, and enjoy a wonderful immunity from sickness and disease.— See chap. in. 4.—Our proposition lastly states, “ that teetotalism is based on Christian morality,” that is, upon the science of ethics of which Christianity contains the clearest, fullest, and most perfect development. Moral science, in its narrowest sense, treats of the equitable relations of men—of those duties we owe each other. In its broadest acceptation, it includes the duties man owes to himself, and to the Divine author of his being. (1.) Christian Morality seeks to regulate the moral actions of men by regulating their hearts. It lays down the principle that moral perversion begins in the heart, and that we must seek to regulate the motives, desires and thoughts, according to the principles of pure reason and love. “Blessed arc the pure in heart.” “ The light of the body is the eye: if, therefore, thine eye 15 170 TEETOTALISM A GREAT SCIENTIFIC FACT. be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness.” “Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.” “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good: and an. evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil.” Now the use of intoxicatin'* liquors is antagonistic to all this. It pollutes the heart. It weakens self-denial, reason, and conscience, and stirs up every evil and self-regarding passion ; and out of such hearts proceed u evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetous¬ ness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness,” and all kinds of abominations. Even what is termed moderate drinking is antagonistic to this purity of heart. A single glass is often sufficient to dull the finer sensibilities of the soul, and to obscure the mental and moral powers, and so weaken the supremacy of reason over those animal passions and impulses which it is our duty to keep in proper restraint. leetotalism, on the contrary, is in beautiful harmony with this' purity of heart, and repudiates the most fruitful source of de¬ pravity and crime. The man who abstains, is better able to control his thoughts and passions, than the man who drinks, however moderately. (2.) The moral system of the A r eio Testament calls us from low and sensual pursuits and enjoyments to the pure and lofty delights that flow from the exercise of the moral and intellectual powers. “ Set your affections on things above.” There must be mental and moral exaltation. The mind must be occupied in the contemplation of grand truths, for which it has a capacity, and the affections must be placed upon virtuous things. A bliss lofty and pure, a serenity sweet and enduring, are the fruits of r exercising our mental powers upon noble and worthy objects. AVe then “lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven,” incorrupt¬ ible and fadeless. Abstinence is certainly favorable to this exaltation of the rational and moral powers; with clearer minds and uncorrupted hearts we can go forth and contemplate the sublime verities of religion. (3.) Christian morality inculcates the cultivation and practice of the milder virtues. It is antagonistic to the war-spirit, and to those wild and turbulent passions that go to form it. Chris- TEETOTALTSM FAVORS CHRISTIAN PROGRESS. 171 tian morality breathes softness and repose. “Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called the children o£ God.” “ Be kindly affectionate one to another, with brotherly love.” “ The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering. gentle¬ ness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” Let us strive to picture to ourselves two different states of society. The one founded upon the cultivation and practice of the (so called) heroic virtues, the other upon the cultivation and expression of those soft and gentle virtues enjoined by Christianity. In the first, displays of physical courage and exhibitions of ambition and revenge stand out. War is accounted the noblest employment, and the profession of arms the most honorable. Progress in peaceful arts and useful industries receives a con¬ tinual check, and the resources of the nation become exhausted in maintaining war. This spirit pervading the great mass of the people, we see its manifestation still further in local feuds, and thus strife and tumult form the leading features of this social state. In the latter state of society, founded upon the cultivation and expression of the softer and milder virtues, displays of moral courage and heroism, and all the kindly courtesies and charities of life are daily seen Peace and good-will prevailing, no check is offered to the peoples’ progress in the beautiful arts and useful industries. Hence peace, love, and progress, are the leading features of this social state. Now, intoxicating liquors are certainly more in keeping with the former picture than the latter, since strife, crime and the ebullition of violent passions are the most frequent sequences of their use. Abstinence, on the other hand, is more in harmony with the latter. “ Peace on earth, and good-will toward men,” is our motto, and whilst we are engaged in spreading abroad the knowledge of true temperance, we arc also aiding the march of progress, and the extension of peace and brotherly kindness among the nations. (4.) Christian morality calls us to the exercise of a noble and broad-hearted philanthropy. “Pure religion, and undefiled before God and the father, is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep unspotted from the world.” “ Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down Ilis life for 172 TEETOTALISM A GREAT SCIENTIFIC FACT. us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” “Let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.'' 4, AVe are to 4 honor all men,’ to love the brotherhood.” We are even to “ love our enemies, to bless them that curse us, to do good to them that hate us, and to pray for them which despitefully use us and persecute us, that we may be the chil¬ dren of our Father which is in heaven : For lie maketh Ills sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” The second great commandment of the law is, 44 Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself .” The foundations of this duty, are the universal Fatherhood of God, and the uni¬ versal brotherhood of man. 44 GocL hath made of one blood all nations of men.” AY ho is my neighbor? or my brother? This question has received its solution in that beautiful and touching parable of the Good Samaritan. Says Dr. Nott:— 44 It is not to the narrow circle of kindred and of caste that the charities of man's common brotherhood are confined. The men around you are your brethren,—bone of your bone—flesh of your flesh. God hath not only made of one blood all nations to dwell upon the earth, but lie hath also bound together, by ties of reciprocal dependence, the different classes of men that compose the nations.” Our Lord’s life was a grand and beautiful expression of this duty of practical benevolence. 44 AVho went about doing good, for God was with Him ” No higher encomium than this could be passed upon him. Ilis favors were bestowed liberally upon all, high and low, rich and poor, Jew and Samaritan, Canaanite or Greek. He stops not to inquire as to their nationality, or their religion, ere he stoops to relieve, instruct, and comfort them. The haughty priest and the pedantic scribe may turn away contemptuously, and pass by on the other side, but 44 the good Samaritan,” full of generous sympathies, stays to comfort and to bless. The use of intoxicating liquor is plainly and essentially opposed to this spirit of love, and to its efficient exercise. In fact, the use of strong drink will even obliterate the natural affections. It will make the woman forget her sucking-child, so that she shall not have compassion upon the son of her womb; whilst the con¬ stitutionally generous hearted shall be transformed into hardened villains and murderers. Drink, like adultery, hardens all with¬ in, and petrilies the feelings. AN UNSECTARIAN MOVEMENT. 173 Our movement and principle, on the contrary, are in beautiful harmony with that practical spirit of benevolence which Chris¬ tian morality inculcates. It may, indeed, be described as a grand unsectarian movement for promoting the physical, moral and social well being of the people. Here we may observe, that while teetotalism is in harmony with Christianity, it is quite unsectarian. It is something apart from sects and creeds. A man is a drunk¬ ard, .or in danger of becoming one, by yielding to the drinking, usages that surround him. This is a sufficient claim upon us. We stop not to inquire of his creed or nation, but sinking the sect and the nation in the man, we rush forth to save him. When the great and good Father Mathew was in Belfast, and crowds of people were pressing upon him to take the pledge and receive his blessing, on Orangeman came up, and kneeling down, the good Father placed his hand upon his head and blessed him. The Orangeman said to him, “Why, here, Father Mathew, am I, a red- hot Orange man, and yet I consent to take the pledge, and receive a blessing at your hands.” The good Father laconically replied - “1 don’t care if you are a Ze???o?iman.” This is the very language of teetotalism. It is sufficient that you are a man and a brother. (5.) Another grand and distinctive feature of Christian moral¬ ity is the doctrine of self-abnegation for the good of others—the going out of ourselves, and away from ourselves, as it were, that we may benefit other people. Self-sacrifice is, indeed, a beautiful principle. We witness its expression in the mother shielding, at the risk of life, her babe from harm. We see it in the patriot, bleeding for his country’s safety. We see it in the philanthropist, exposing life amid scenes of terrible suffering and disease, in order to bless and rescue his fellow-men. Now, he who exemplifies Christian .morality com¬ bines the qualities both of the patriot and philanthropist, but he is more inclined to look at man in his individual than in his collective capacity. There is something imposing and attractive, and even flattering to our vanity, in being called upon to suffer tor the good of a Nation, or any large class; and we are apt to forget the individual in the community to which he belongs. But ho who practically conforms to the requirements of Christian morality, whilst ever ready to act the part of the patriot or .philanthropist, is also prepared to deny himself, and, if needs be, to suffer for the individual. ‘‘We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” “If any man will come after me, let him 15* 174 TEETOTALISM A GREAT SCIENTIFIC FACT. deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.” “Itis.good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.” “ None of us liveth to himself\ and no man dieth to himself.” Our principles are in unison with this doctrine, because opposed to personal indulgence and selfish gratification, especially ■u hen these are of a dangerous character, and likely to prove a snare and a temptation to others. The cry comes to us as a command “ Destroy not thou him with thy drink for whom Christ died.” Temperance reformers are also willing to toil, hand and brain, to rescue their fellow-men, even though obloquy and persecution assail them. (6.) I he ethics of the New Testament inculcates the practice of true Temperance, including Abstinence. . . And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith viitue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temper¬ ance.” 2 Peter, i. 5, 6. fe.iys Dr. Adam Ciarke on this passage :— u Temperance: A piopei and limited use of all earthly enjoyments, keeping every sense under proper restraint, and never permitting the "animal part to subjugate the rational.” And as he (Paul) reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and a judgment to come.” Acts xxiv. 25. llie Word enkraleia , here translated temperance, signifies self- £°'einment, and has certainly in this connection an abstinent signification. Says Dr. A. Clarke “ This discourse of St. Paul was most solemnly and pointedly adapted to the state of the person to whom it was addressed. Felix was tyrannous and op¬ pressive in his government; lived under the power of avarice and unbridled appetites; and his incontinence, intemperance, and injustice, appear fully in depriving the king of Einesa of his wife, and in his conduct toward St. Paul, and the motives by which that conduct was regulated. And as to Drusilla, who had forsaken the husband of her youth, and forgotten the covenant of her God, and become the willing companion of this bad man, she was worthy of the strongest reprehension ; and Paul’s rea¬ soning on righteousness , temperance , and judgment, was not less applicable to her than to her unprincipled paramour.” 1 empcrance here has evident reference to adultery, in w’hich Loth l’clix and Drusilla were living, and enjoins upon them self- restraint in that respect, that is, abstinence. TRUE TEMPERANCE. 175 “ And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things.” 1 Cor. ix. 25. “ All those who contended in these exercises,” says Dr. A. Clarke, “ went through a long state and series of painful prepar¬ ations. To this exact discipline Epictetus refers, (I. Cap. 35.) ‘Do you wish to gain the prize at the Olympic games? Consider the requisite preparations and the consequences: You must observe a strict regimen; must live on food which you dislike; you must abstain from all delicacies; must exercise yourself at the necessary and prescribed times both in heat and 6old; you must drink nothing cooling; take no wine as formerly; in a word, you must put yourself under the directions of a pugilist , as you would under those of a physician, and afterwards enter the lists/ ” Qui studit optat.um cursu contingere metam Multa tulit fecitque puer: Sudavit et alsit ; Abstinint Venere et Baccho. ( Horace, De Arte Poet., ver. 412.) A youth who hopes the Olympic prize to gain, All arts must try, and every toil sustain; Th' extremes of heat and cold must often prove; And shun the weakening joys of wine and love. Francis. These quotations show the propriety of the apostle’s words: “Every man that striveth for the mastery, is temperate^ or conti¬ nent , in all things.” “ True Temperance is the proper use of good things; total abstinence from bad things.” (Dr. Lees.) “Moderation” is akin to temperance, it is the habit of restrained indulgence. Temper¬ ance designates the act of a person in reference to a certain thing; Moderation the habit formed from the frequent repetition of the act. This definition has not been coined to suit the ideas of tee¬ totalers. It is very ancient. Socrates says:—“ lie who knows what is good and chooses it, who knows what is had and avoids it, is learned and temperate.” Hobbes says:—“Temperance is the habit by which we abstain from all things that tend to our destruction ; Intemperance the contrary vice.” Now as applied to eating and drinking, temperance is the moderate use of those elements of diet that are good, useful, or necessary, but abstinence from all those agents that injure. 176 TEETOTALISM A GREAT SCIENTIFIC FACT. If I take bread, flesh, vegetables, water, cocoa, tea, etc., in quan¬ tity sufficient to supply the natural demands of my body, I am temperate in the use of these things ; but if I take more than this, I am intemperate. Contrariwise, if I take ever so small a quantity of putrid meat, or diseased potato, or of arsenic, I take what is injurious in quality , and am, therefore, intemperate. The whole question of teetotalism hangs here. If intoxicating liquors are good and useful as beverages, then to use them moderately is to be temperate. If, however, they are bad or pernicious , then moderation, as applied to their use, is a mis¬ nomer, for the only temperance is abstinence. Now we have already shown (Chapters it. and in.), that far from being good creatures of God, these liquors are evil creatures of man’s own invention, and that, however fascinating they may be in ap¬ pearance, and however delicious to a depraved taste, they are really poisonous and corrupting. Hence, in this case, abstinence is the only temperance. He, therefore, who partakes of these liquors, however warily, is not, in the strictest sense of the term, “Temperate.” He violates a great law of his being, and must expect to be punished. And this is really the case. It has been computed that one-thirteenth of the moderate drinkers die drunk¬ ards; and we may safely compute that'at least two out of the thirteen become drunkards, while the remainder do not escape scatheless. Every moderate drinker, in fact, is engaged in playing a dangerous game with his constitution. lie is performing a physi¬ ological experiment upon himself of a very dangerous character, and what the consequences may be, it is impossible to foretell. Reader! if you are a moderate drinker now, can you be sure that you will always continue so? The drunkard’s insatiable appetite and quenchless thirst are not created all at once, but silently, secretly, and seductively, and when developed, bears him, like the rushing torrent or resistless tornado, onward to his doom. Go forth to the woodland, and gaze upon the riven and blasted oak—riven and blasted by the lightning's subtile power. See ! it stands in lonely, leafless, and blackened desolation. The birds of the air build not their nests amid its branches; the beasts of the field seek not shelter beneath its shade; but in grim and horrid loneliness it deforms the landscape, and stands forth a spectacle of ruin to all. And now gaze upon that riven and blasted human form, of which this oak is but an emblem! See! THE PLEDGE. 177 Strong drink lias robbed him of physical strength, of moral beauty, and of mental power. His dull eye glows with a baleful fire, and his face is a fair index of his debauched and ruined spirit. His very breath is infectious, and his whole frame trembles beneath the awful curse of strong drink. Go! and interrogate him ! Ask him whence he came, and by what foul means he has been thus debased and undone? lie will tell you that he was once a lovely, laughing child, and in manhood full of noble sympathies—that, in compliance with social usage, he partook ‘‘moderately” of strong drink, and gradually, imper¬ ceptibly, yet most surely, he acquired a liking for liquor, which has now ripe.ned into an irresistible and consuming passion. This is no fiction, but the sad and terrible history of thousands, and is repeated every day before our eyes. Says Dr. R. B. Grindrod:—“One of the first stages of intem¬ perance is witnessed in the anxious and uneasy feelings which even moderate drinkers experience, on occasions when they have been accidentally deprived of their accustomed stimulus. Sensa¬ tions of this nature present undoubted evidence of the existence and development of the inebriate propensity. Indeed, the great danger of moderate drinking consists in the inability to ascertain at what precise period in the progress of the vice this unnatural sensation first commences. . . . The moderate use of intoxicating liquors, both in a moral and physical point of view, is the high road to intemperance.”— Bacchus. (7.) Signing the pledge is in perfect harmony with Christian morality. Many persons who object to the pledge, do not properly under¬ stand its import. Some object to it on the ground that it is not right to take an oath. But no “oath” is at all required in taking the temperance pledge. It is simply a “declaration” which even the “Friends” may make. Others object that they do not intend signing away their liberty, and that if they cannot give up the drink without signing the p'edge, they are sure they will not be able to do so by putting their names to one. The meaning of this objection is simply this: “lam not convinced that this teetotalism is a suitable thing for me; and as the practice of it may sometimes be attended with inconvenience, I will reserve to myself the liberty of using intoxicating drink, should my interests require it.” It is, however, no question of “ liberty.” 178 TEETOTALJSM A GREAT SCIENTIFIC FACT. Every moral agent has the liberty to do right, or to do wrongs and it is in the exercise of this choice that he signs the pledge. What is the pledge? TV e will cite one, and then we shall see. li I a .~ ree to abstain from all intoxicating liquors, and in every suitable way to discountenance their use throughout the com¬ munity.” Here we perceive that the pledge is simply a written declaration of a resolution previously formed in the mind. After careful inquiry and due deliberation I arrive at the con¬ clusion that intoxicating drinks are bad, and that the use of them is fraught with great danger to myself, and with actual mischief to the bodies and souls of other men. Ilcnce a con¬ viction of duty. It is, then, my duty to abstain, and by every suitable means to induce others to abstain. Then comes the resolution to fulfil that duty. Here the pledge is virtually taken, whether I have signed it or not; and should I now partake of strong drink, the sin (if not the disgrace) is just as great as though I had already signed.* But having formed this mental resolve, I desire, both for my own encouragement and as an example to others, to give it public expression. I, therefore, sign my name to a printed declaration, embodying substantially my own convictions of right and duty. hat is there wrong or unreasonable in this?' Bat the pledge involves a principle. If that be proved right, we must then consider if the pledge be a correct and proper expression of it. !how the principle embodied in the pledge is this: Is it right to pledge ourselves to do good? The whole tenor of Scripture, both in its examples and precept, says, Yes ! In no single instance do we find that a vow to “do good” is condemned in the Bible. By the stone of Both-el, Jacob vowed a vow unto Hod, and this was approved of; for, many years after, God appeared to him in a dream, saying, “ I am the* God of Beth-el where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me.” lhe Nazarites pledged themselves to abstain from wine and strong drink, and to perform certain other things. Ibis pledge was formed by God, and taken in a very solemn manner in the tabernacle, in the presence of the people. Paul took a vow, probably that of the Nazarite, for having fulfilled it, he shaved his head in Cenchrea. David and Jonathan pledged themselves solemnly before God to be faithful to each other, in one of the most touching episodes of their mutual * “ Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” THE PLEDGE. 179 history. We are, indeed, cautioned against breaking a vow. “When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.” We further iind that those who tempt others to violate their vow are severely reprimanded. u And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your }’oung men for Nazarites. . . . But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink.” Amos, ii. 11, 12. The expression of this principle, in some form or other, meets us at every turn of life. At the hymeneal altar we vow fidelity to the partner of our choice. At the baptism of the infant, sponsors vow three things on behalf of the unconscious babe. Even over the foaming bowl, people pledge health and friendship. In numerous business transactions people pledge themselves to abide by certain bargains. What is a warrant, but a pledge? The man who gives us a warrant with the watch, or the horse we purchase of him, takes a legal pledge. Bills of exchange and bank notes cannot be negotiated without a written pledge. We cannot even promise to meet a friend at any hour and place without pledging ourselves to do so. Every word of promise is a pledge, for it is a verbal expression of a mental resolution, binding ourselves to a certain course of action. I believe that it is my duty to abstain from strong drinks, and in every suitable way to discourage their use. How, then, shall I best express my honest convictions? By word of mouth ? Yes, that is one way.' But I see before me a band of noble workers in this grand crusade, and by identifying myself with* them, I perceive that I shall be able more effectually to work out my own convictions; therefore, I sign the pledge. It is at once the distinguishing badge and the initiatory rite of the movement. It draws the line of demarcation, clear and definite, between drinkers and abstainers, and becomes a common bond of union. Not only is it right to take the pledge, the .doing so greatly aids the keeping of the resolution to abstain. Knowing how weak and erring men are, even at their best, it is very proper to adopt every legitimate means to confirm the wavering and the weak in the carrying out of their good resolutions. The fact of having signed the pledge offers at all times a ready argument for refusing to drink when pressed to do so. Many teetotalers, not being well versed in the principles of our movement, and in those facts by which they are defended, might fail in arguing the 180 TEETOTALISM A GREAT SCIENTIFIC FACT. point with a witty anil loquacious opponent. lie can answer, however, “ I have signed the pledge, and mean to keep it,’’ and it is not manly to tempt a man to break a good resolution, especially one to which he has solemnly and publicly pledged himself. The pledge has been an actual instrument of great good ; a lever by which we have succeeded in uplifting from the deepest debasement many a forlorn and pitiable brother. Astute modern drinkers and professing Christians often put to the advocate of teetotalism this question, Is it a sin to drink a glass of ale as a beverage ? The teetotaler does not like to reply •in the affirmative, and he cannot,exactly do so in the negative, yet should 1|£ hesitate, his opponent fancies that he has pushed him into a corner, and overturned the whole fabric of teetotalism. What is sin? The wilful transgression of the law. What is law ? A rule of life. The law is that assemblage of precepts and rules expressive of principles and relations, obedience to which is demanded by the Supreme Governor.* Now laws are either moral or physical. “Sin,' 5 says James, “is the transgres¬ sion of the law,” that is, of the law as a whole. It refers alike to moral and physical law. You cannot divorce them. The man who knowingly violates physical law , sins equally with him who steals, or tells a lie, or thinks and acts impurely, and thus violates a moral precept. It has been already shown that alcohol is an agent foreign to the body of man, a poison of a very fascinating character, and that the most cautious use of it is attended with great danger, not only to man’s physical constitution, but also to his moral and spiritual nature. Hence, when these facts are known, its imbibition, however small the quantity, becomes a sin. He who uses these liquors, knowing them to be bad, adds to the violation of physical law moral turpitude, and he who uses them, ignorant of their properties, is now inexcusable . 1 here was a period before the dawn of the temperance reform¬ ation, and the national controversy to which it has given rise — a period before science had commenced her researches—when such ignorance was innocent; for the times of ignorance God winked at, but now “He commands all men, everywhere, to repent.” We are now surrounded by light, and it is our duty as rational beings to make inquiry; should we wilfully neglect to * A physical law is a relation , not a precept; and its violation cannot be a sin unless it is known.— Ed. THE DANGEROUS EXAMPLE. • 181 do so, and yet continue to indulge in the use of strong dunk, then do we commit sin. - The example set by the moderate drinking professing Christian is most dangerous and misleading. Says the prophet, “ If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain : if thou sayest, Behold , we knew it not; • doth not He that pondereth the heart consider it? and He that keepeth thy soul, doth He not know it? And shall he not render to every man according to his works?” Now"in regard to the use of intoxicating drink, not only do a great many persons neglect “ those that are ready to perish, but by their example they delude and mislead thousands to their ruin. It cannot be urged too forcibly, nor spoken too plainly, that so far as example goes , the moderate drinker exerts a far more dangerous influence upon society than the poor drunkard. We shudder at the drunkard, pass him by with disgust, and fear not the contaminating influence of his example; but not so with the respectable moderate drinker. He gives a locus standi and an air of respectability to the practice; and thousands who attempt to imitate him, fall and perish. I hey are a kind of “Will o’ the Wisp,” misleading the unwary traveller; or like a wrecker’s lantern flashing upon a treacherous sea, attracting the distressed mariner to the fatal rocks. If the “ moderate drinker” would abandon his cups, within 4 twelve years drunkenness would be all but annihilated; we should only behold here and there a solitary victim, holding out in virtue of a strong constitution, a sad memorial of the drunk¬ enness of a bygone day. 16 182 BACCHUS DETHRONED. CHAPTER VII. TEETOTALISM IX RELATION TO TIIE BIBLE, Prop. III. “ That the use of intoxicating wines, or alcoholic drinks, is nowhere recommended , sanctioned, or commanded in Scripture, as beverages .” Iiie a priori evidence in favor of this proposition amounts to a very high degree of probability, if not to moral certainty. History, science, and experience, have already given their ver- dicj; in favor of total abstinence. The great, the wise and the good in all ages have expressed their convictions in its favor, and that, too, in the clearest and most decisive manner. Tliev have denounced intoxicating liquor as being essentially evil, and to be abstained from. Dr. Lees says:—“It is a fact that teetotalism everywhere pervaded the primeval empires of the world; that it was preached and practised by the greatest moral reformers and spiritual teachers of antiquitywas a part indeed, of the •religious culture of the Egyptians, centuries before a Jewish Nation existed. - ’* A learned writer in the Med>co Chirurgical lieview says:—“ Without contradiction, in every age of the woild there has been a total abstinence movement. . . The religion and laws of the nations of every portion of Asia bear traces of enlightened efforts to check the vice of intemperance; and to this day there are numerous tribes who, by religious profession, arc total abstainers.” I he experience of the present generation has corroborated that of former ages. Science also has confirmed the teaching of history and experience, demonstrating alcohol to be a poTson, destructive alike to health, life, and morals. Scientific men, and committees of learned and truthful witnesses, have sought to forinul.se the grand truths already brought to light. 1 lie following declaration was signed by upwards of two thou¬ sand medical men, including Sir B. Brodie, Sir James Clarke, * Tferfa, vol. ii., Ancient Teetotalism. THE EVIDENCE A PRIORI. 183 Dr. W. F. Chambers, F. S. R., and many of the most eminent authors in the medical profession: “ We are of opinion :—lst —Thai a very 'large portion of human misery, including poverty, disease, and crime, is induced by the use of alcoholic or fermented liquors as beverages. 2d._That the most perfect health is compatible with total abstinence from all such intoxicating beverages, whether in the form of ardent spirits, or as wine, beer, ale, porter, cider, etc. 3d.—That persons accustomed* to such drinks may with perfect safety discontinue them entirely, either at once, or gradually alter a short time. . 4th._That total and universal abstinence from alcoholic, liquors, and intoxicating beverages of all sorts, would greatly contribute to the health, the prosperity, die morality, and the happiness of the human race.” Now can the word of God really contradict the truths lie has so clearly revealed iu the volume of nature and piovidencc? We cannot think so. The Unchangeable cannot contradict Himself. However, we sit down and open the Bible, with rev¬ erence and prayer, so that with unbiased judgment, and a sincere desire to know the truth, we may ascertain what is the mind of the Lord on this point. AVe open at Genesis, and find that on the creation of man ample provision was made to meet all his wants 5 food to satisfy hunger, water to quench thirst, a congenial companion to draw out his social affections, and God Himself to meet the cravings ol his spiritual nature. Strong drink, and wine that intoxicates, are not to be found in the catalogue of man’s requirements, and accordingly, are not provided. Upon the subsidence of the waters of the deluge, that grand old patriarch, Noah, descends from Mount Ararat to re-pcople the plains of Armenia, and now we have recorded the saddest episode in the life of that otherwise good man. “And Noah began to be an husbandman, nnd he planted a vino^ ard . And lie drank of the wine and was drunken.” In this passage wine is mentioned for the first time in the Bible, and it is associated with the mental and moral debasement of a great and noble.character. Here then, upon the very threshold of God’s word is held out a warning light, revealing to us that rock upon which Noah was well nigh wrecked.* We incline to the opinion that Noah’s * Dr. Lees: Bible Lecture (1851.) 184 TEETOTALISM IN RELATION TO THE BIBLE. drunkenness was not intentional, but accidental. Noah being a husbandman, and possessing a vineyard, would doubtless use the fiesh grape-juice as a nutritious and refreshing beverage, even as they do at the present day in all vine growing countries, in Asia Minor, Italy, and the South of France. It is not at all im¬ probable that a bowl of this fresh juice was, by some oversight, allowed to ferment. This, in a warm climate, it would do rapidIy* and in a short time the pure bland grape-juice would be converted into an intoxicating wine, Returning home from his labors in the field or vineyard, tired and thirsty,—in fact, just in that condition in which intoxicants" exhibit their most powerful action, Noah catches sight ot the mis'aid bowl, and without understanding the change that had taken place in the liquor, drinks a deep and full draught. Upon his uncontaminated body the effect would be almost instantaneous, and in a very brief time he would be drunk! Strong drink is no respecter of persons. Lot even the grace of God will save a man from getting drunk, or from even becoming a drunkard, if he partakes of strong drink; for in doing so he places his body under the operation of physical causes, and it will then depend entirely upon idiosyncrasy of constitution or temperament, and other concurrent circumstances, whether he becomes a drunkard or not. We must not presume upon grace. Recollect how Christ rebukes the tempter. “ It is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” Now certainly moderate drinkers are guiltv of presumption, and they do “ tempt the Lord their God!” The truth lies here—the grace of God will save a man from becom¬ ing a drunkard only by teaching him to abstain from the use of strong drink. The second reference to wine as an intoxicating beverage, is associated with the perpetration of a most revolting crime. Wo refer to Lot. True, the word “wine” occurs once before. In Genesis xiv. 18, we read, “And Melchisedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine ; and he was the priest of the most high God.’ Rut a question may arise, whether the yayin of this passage is not to be understood of grapes rather than their expressed juice [as in Jer. xl. 10-“ Gather ye yayin and summer fi’ll;ts ]—seeing that bread and grapes continue to be associated in the Last, as articles of daily food. —Temperance liible Com¬ mentary. Lot, for many years a resident of the wicked cities of the THE ISRAELITES IN EGYPT. 185 plain, had evinced the sterling integrity of his character by long resisting their corrupting influence. But even he falls at last. Secure in his mountain fastness, and with the vision of those burning cities still before him, he commits a crime that might have caused even the Sodomites to blush! And what was it that caused righteous Lot to fall so deeply? Wine—probably drugged wine—received at the hands of his own daughters. During the sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt, their circum¬ stances would not be very favorable to the cultivation of intemperate habits. They dwelt in a land where teetotalism, to a certain extent, was upheld by law by the institutions of the country, and being in a condition of slavery and poverty, would possess neither the means nor the opportunity to cultivate the drunkard’s appetite. Under the guidance of Moses and Aaron they arc to be rescued from their grievous bondage, and to become a great and a free nation. They are to take possession of a land characterized by the variety of its productions, the exuberant fertility of its soil, the geniality of its climate, and the beauty of its scenery; a land described as “a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates; aland of oil, olive, and honey,” (Deut. viii. 7, 8,) and then surrounded by improved circum¬ stances, they will be exposed to temptations of a new character. The one most likely to occur, and the most dangerously fasci¬ nating, is drink. As yet their religious and political systems are incomplete; they consist merely of those traditionary teachings handed down from Abraham and the later patriarchs; but now, under the guiding hand of Moses and Aaron, both alike receive their grand completion and development, and as we attentively peruse and ponder them, we discover ample provision made to preserve the Jews a sober nation. (1.) Under certain circumstances the priests are compelled to practise abstinence. Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, had perished by fire before the Lord, doubtless because, under the in¬ fluence of drink, they had dared to offer strange fire upon the altar. Evidently to prevent a repetition of this conduct on the part of the priesthood, “ the Lord spake unto Aaron, saying, Do not drink wine nor strong drink , thou nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die : it shall be 16 * 186 TEETOTALISM IN RELATION TO THE BIBLE. a statute forever throughout your generations: And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean ; And that ye may teach "the children of I.-oael all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses/’ Lev. x. 8. 11. (2.) About this time an abstinent society was founded among the Jews the Nazarites. This body appears to have been established for the purpose of teaching the Jews, by living example, the superiority of a pure and sober life over a life of sensuality and drunkenness. The Nazarites were evidently a very superior race of men. Jeremiah says of them, “Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire.” Lam. iv. 7. Ihe history of Israel records that many of her noblest sons were Nazarites. Among them we find Samson, of matchless strength; Samuel, renowned for his fervent piety, his noble integiitv, and patriotism ; and probably also the Hebrew child¬ ren ; Daniel the wise, and Shadrach, Mcshach, and Abednego, ""ho lefused to defile themselves with the rich foods and luxu¬ rious wines from the king’s table, preferring rather to live on pulse and water. (3.) To inculcate the idea of purity, and teach the Israelites that the God they served was a holy God, requiring a pure sacrifice and worship, certain rules were laid down to regulate tlicii s.icilfices. INot only were the victims offered in sacrifice to be free from spot or blemish, but they were not to be offered w.tli feiment. I non shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven.” Exodus xxxiv. 25. “No meat-offering which ye shall bring unto the Lord shall be made with leaven; for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the Lord made by fire.” Lev. ii. 11. The wine of the drink-offering must have come under the same regulation, since only upon this ground could it harmonize with the meat-offering, and with the characteristic purity of all the offerings and sacrifices. The quantity of the wine for a drink-offering is mentioned, but not the quality; the generic term yayin being used. “And the fourth part of an hin (three pints) of wine for a drink-offering shalt thou prepare with the burnt-offering or sacrifice, for one lamb. Or for a ram, thou shalt prepare for a meat-offering two- tenth deals of flour mingled with the third part of an hin of THE ISRAELITES A TEETOTAL NATION. 187 oil. And for a drink-offering thou shalt offer the third part of an hiii (four pints) of wine, for sweet savor unto the Lord . And thou shalt bring for a drink-offering half an bin (six pints) of wine, for an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord.’ 5 Numbers xv. 5, G, 7, 10. (4.) During the forty years’ wandering of the Israelites in the desert they were trained abstainers. Their principal support was manna from heaven, and water from the flinty rock, and for a brief period the flesh of quails, when they lusted after flesh. Deut. xxix. G. Thus then, when at last they advanced to take possession of the land of Palestine they had a decided advantage over their drunken and effeminate enemies. They were, in fact, a disciplined army of hardy, sober people, well able to stand the brunt of war. Guided by intrepid and experienced generals, as Joshua and Caleb, the walled cities soon fell before them, and in a brief time a large portion of that fair heritage lay at their feet. But no sooner do they rest from war than they give them¬ selves up to an easy and luxurious life. The land produces food abundantly. There are corn and grapes, dates and olives, honey and milk. Instead of using these “ creatures of God’’ in a proper manner, giving thanks to the Giver of all good, they abuse them, and yield themselves up to luxury, drunkenness, and adultery. Sad indeed are the representations given of their dissolute habits by their own seers and historians. Says Isaiah :—“ Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine.But they [the priests] also have erred. through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the jyr est and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.” Isaiah xxviii. 1, 7, 8. In chapter lvi., the prophet still further pictures the debasement of the priesthood, the watch¬ men of Israel. “ IIis watchmen are blind ; they are all ignorant , they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark ; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for Ins gain, from his quarter. Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill 188 TEETOTALTSM IN RELATION TO THE BIBLE. ourselves with strong drink; and to-morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.” “ Like priest like people,” and with • a sensual and drunken priesthood, no wonder the Jews were a sensual and drunken people. Contemporary prophets also bear testimony to the wide-spread intemperance and demoralization 'which at that time characterized the nation, involving alike priest and prophet, prince and people. Says Amos (eh. ii.) : thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away ’the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the Lord, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked.” (5.) The true prophets are inspired to denounce the sin , to point to its causes, and to indicate the remedy. In the following passage the human and the Divine plan are contrasted. “ Thus s ^ith the Lord ; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes. . . And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by e\ery altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their God. . . • And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. But ye gave the Nazarites ufine to drink: and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.” Amos ii. Ilosea says, “ They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies. ... In the day of our king the princes have made him sick with bottles* of wine; he stretched out his hands with scorners.” Ilosea vii. 3, 5. The prophet Mieah informs us that at this time the nation was so degraded, that they rejected the true prophet, and would only accord a hearing to those who flattered their vanity, or encouraged them in their dissolute practices. lie says“ If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink, he' shall even be the prophet of this people.” Chap. ii. 11. Io arouse the nation to a sense of their degraded condition, and to put a check upon their lawless career of licentiousness and drunkenness, woes are denounced against the drinker, and those who tempt others to drink ; the intoxicating wines are described as bad and destructive, being likened to the poison of dragons, * Original in Khtmah poison, as in Deut. xxxii. INTOXICATING WINE DISCOUNTENANCED. 180 and the cruel venom of asps, also to the serpent’s bite, and adder’s sting, and to God's wrath and indignation. Even the effect of intoxicating wine upon the human constitution is vividly por¬ trayed, and its very use is more than once prohibited, not only to kings and princes, but to all classes in general. Thus in every conceivable way is the use of intoxicating wine discountenanced. Moses says:—“For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges. For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah : their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter: Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.” Deut. xxxii. 31, 33. The Psalmist says:—“For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture ; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them.” Ps. lxxv. 8 . Solomon says:—“ For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.” Elsewhere it is called the “ wine of astonishment.” “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. Prov. xx. 1. “Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babblings ? who hath wounds without cause ? who hath, redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine 5 they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it bitetli like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of the mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say , and I was not sick: they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.” Prov. xxiii. 29-35. For comprehensiveness, correctness of description, and prohibi¬ tory force, this is the grandest teetotal passage that can be found in the wide field of either temperance or general litera¬ ture. In chapter xxxi., King Lemuel’s mother gives very good advice to her son. She says :—“ It is not for kings, 0 Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink : Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.” This advice is in accordance with the strictest principles of 190 TEETOTALISM IN RELATION TO THE BIBLE. teetotalism. The following verses, however, are frequently quot 'd aga : nst us. Let us exnmi ie them : “Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wino unto those that be of heavy heart Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.” Prov. xxxi. 6, 7. This cannot be a command to seek in the intoxicating cup, oblivion from the sorrows and cares of life, for such an interpre¬ tation is opposed to the whole jtenor and spirit of God’s word. Says James, “ Is any afflicted ? let him pray.” It is at a throne of grace that the afflicted must seek consolation and strength ; not by applying to the bottle. What, then, is the meaning of the passage? In the preceding verses King Lemuel’s mother warns him against the use of wine and strong drink, and specifies her reasons for doing so. “ Lest they drink and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.” Now to show the thorough worthlessness of the drink to aid us in the higher work of life, she says, in evident irony, “Give strong drink,” etc. As much as to say, wine and strong drink are not fit beverages for kings or princes, or for any other person having responsible duties to perform; they are only fit for those who seek oblivion from the cares of life and who wish to shirk its duties. The sixth and seventh verses, then, cited above, do not convey a recommendation to the poor and suffering to seek forgetfulness in the inebriating cup, neither is it a command for u* to supply them with drink for this purpose ; but the expressions are sim¬ ply contrastive utterances with the view of giving force to the prohibitory advice of the fourth and fifth verses. Even suppos¬ ing that the passage conveyed a command or a sanction, such can only apply to a certain class, under very special circum¬ stances. The person to whom the command and sanction apply must be “ ready to perish,” that is, having committed some great crime, he must be upon the point of suffering the extreme penalty of the law—capital punishment; for hero is an evident allusion to a practice common among the Jews, viz : that of administering some stupefying wine to criminals doomed to dt'ath, in order to mitigate pain and deaden nervous sensibility. Now to those who quote this passage in favor of drinkinir, we put the question,—Are you ready to perish? Are you about to suffer a violent and cruel death? It not, then this passage docs not apply to you. MIGHTY DRINKERS. 191 Again, the person to whom the supposed sanction applies, must be suffering from ‘‘bitterness of spirit,” or to give the full force of the expression in the lxx., tois en odunais, they must be writhing in torturing anguish. We ask those who quote this text against us, are you suffering from bitterness of spirit, or writhing in torturing anguish ? If not, then this passage does not apply to you, but the prohibitory advice in the preceding verses does. It is not for such to drink, but to abstain. Further, if the text be a sanction at all, it goes a little further than moderation. It is a sanction to excess, the drinking is to be up to the point of oblivion , till they forget their poverty and remember their misery no more. Can Burns have paraphrased it correctly? "Gie him strong drink until he wink That’s sinking in despair, An’ liquor guid to fire his bluid That’s press’d wi grief an’ care; There let him bouse an’ deep carouse Wi bumpers flowing o’er, Till he forgets his love an’ debts An’ minds his griefs no more.’' ’ There is some logical propriety in the poor drunken wretch who needs oblivion from a sense of his debasement and misery citing this text as a Scriptural defence of his conduct, but not when the moderate drinker cites it in defence of his practice. (For an able exposition of this text, see Temperance Bible Com¬ mentary.) Says Isaiah:—“Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink ; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! . . Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink!” (ver. 11, 12.) Not only, then, are drunkards denounced men inflamed with wine, but also those whq have so habituated themselves to the use of intoxicating liquor as to be able to con¬ sume a large quantity without being intoxicated.—“ Men mighty to drink wine,” and u men of strength'' who “ mingle strong drink." Says Jeremiah :—“ For thus saith the Lord God of Israel unto me : Take the wine cup of this fury at My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.” (Chap. xxv. 15, 16.) Here, then, in 192 TEETOTALISM IN RELATION TO THE BIBLE. imagery drawn from the well known and visible action of intoxi¬ cating wine, we have described the punishments to be inflicted upon a drunken and worthless people. Says Ilabakkuk:—“NVoe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, that puttest thy bottle to him* and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness.” (ii. 15.) This passage applies to all who, from mistaken notions of hospitality, are continually presenting the glass to the lips of their neighbors and friends; and emphatically to those who are engaged in dealing out, early and late, a drink which corrupts and demoralizes the people. It also applies to those who are engaged in the manufacture of them, and to the government, that for the sake of revenue, legalizes and protects a traffic most destructive to the national welfare. From the reign of Solomon to the days of Ahab the Israelites appear to have made rapid strides in drunkenness and profligacy, and they continued their downward career till swept away in the Babylonish captivity. During the degenerate days of Ahab, about 900 b. c., flourished Jonadab, the son of Rechab, a descendant of Jethro the Midi- anite, Moses* father-in-law, and at that timo the head of the tribe of Rechabites. To preserve his tribe and people from the general corruption of manners, and to secure their safety in the land in which they lived as strangers, he enjoins upon them abstinence from the use of strong drink, and other safeguards. Jonadab is gathered to his fathers, and well nigh three centuries roll away, when Jeremiah appears upon the stage. The times are troublous, and the Jews are even more degenerate than in the days of the wicked Ahab. The Rechabites, however, still exist intact as a tribe, and are still obedient to the •sage advice of their renowned ancestor. Commanded by God, Jeremiah sends for the elders of the tribe, and takes them to one of the chambers of the house of God, and there places before them pots full of wine, and cups, and says unto them—“Drink ye wine.” This was not done to tempt the Rechabites to a violation of the command of Jonadab their father, but for the purpose of teach¬ ing the Jews a valuable lesson. The Rechabites respond—“ We will drink no wine: for Jona¬ dab, the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, nor your sons, forever.” As a reward for la the original, poison. —En. THE APOCRYPHA. 193 their attachment to principle, and for their filial obedience, Jeremiah conveys to them the divine message:—“Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you : Therefore, thus saith the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me forever.” Now, where are the Rechabhes? Nearly three thousand years have passed away since these events occurred. During the revolv¬ ing centuries, mighty empires have risen, flourished and decayed. Cities at that time opulent, powerful, and populous, the w r onder and admiration of the ancient world, have strangely disappeared, a few mounds upon the banks of mighty rivers being all that remains to tell where they once stood. The Jewish nation is scattered far and wide, and her people have become vagrants in all lands ; yet amid all these convulsions and changes the Recha- bites have survived, and now as of old they are a generous, truth-loving and sober people, still cherishing with veneration the traditions of their great ancestor, and still obedient to his commands.—See Temperance Bible Commentary . The Old Testament comes to an end; the prophet Malachi writes its concluding words. But the Apocrypha, to a certain extent, takes up the story, for scattered throughout its pages are sentiments, at least, not unfavorable to our system. In the Book of Esdras we read: “0 ye men, how exceeding strong is wine ! it causeth all men to err that drink it: It maketh the mind of the king and of the fatherless child to be all one : of the bondman and of the free man, of the poor man and of the rich: It turneth also every thought into jollity and mirth, so that a man remembereth neither sorrow nor debt: And it maketh every heart rich, so that a man remembereth neither king nor governor; and it maketh to speak all things by talents: And when they are in their cups, they forget their love both to friends and brethren, and a little after draw out swords: But when they are from their wine, they remember not what they have done.” Ch. iii. 18-24, of 1st Book. In Ecclesiasticus we read, “ Rebuke not thy neighbor at the wine, and despise him not in his mirth ; give him no despiteful words, and press not upon him with urging him to drink.” Ch. xxxi. 31. Between the days of Malachi and the dawning of the Christian 17 194 TEETOTALISM IN RELATION TO THE BIBLE. dispensation, two, or more, abstinent sects existed among the Jew T s. The Essenes, in Palestine, and the Therapeutae, at Alexandria. According to Philo and Josephus, they strongly resembled the older Pythagoreans 5 they'followed none but peaceful avocations 5 lived a very pious, regular, and sober life; opposed slavery, were remarkable for virtuous conduct and a noble integrity, and abstained entirely from all wine and strong drink. They also were*.long livers, many of them attaining to the age of an hundred years, “ which,” says Josephus, “ is to be ascribed to their simple and plain diet; and the temperance and good order observed in all things.” Now the fulness of time having come, John the Baptist ap¬ pears to herald the dawn of the Christian dispensation.* The dispensation of types and shadows, of obscure promises, and a sensuous worship, is passing away, and a new and spiritual dispensation is about to commence, leading men to a more spiritual worship, to a higher and diviner life, to a more direct communion with God, and to the exercise of a broader philan¬ thropy among men. John the Baptist appears, to prepare men’s minds for the change by uprooting olden prejudices, and sweeping away olden errors. John was a Nazarite, a Nazarite from the birth, and by Divine command. He was no ordinary man, but alike in his physical, mental, and moral endowments, a fit instrument for carrying out the great work appointed him. Our Lord bears this noble testimony of him. “Among those born of women, there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist.” But, teas our Lord himself an abstainer from intoxicating liquors f Did Ilis example countenance this practice ? In re¬ plying to these queries, we may observe that our Lord was no ascetic in the modern sense of that term. lie did not abstain from the innocent enjoyments and recreations of the people, but joined in festive and social gatherings, gracing them with Ilis presence, and making all glad about Him. Nor did He refuse to partake of the “good creatures” so munificently supplied by the Great Father. He enjoins upon Ilis followers no fastings, no unnatural and painful mortifications of the flesh. When, on a certain occasion, some of the Pharisees came to Him, asking, “Why do the disciples of John and of 'the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?” He replied, “ Can the children of the • See Temperance Bible Commentary, “Connection of Old and New Testament.” OUR LORD AN ABSTAINER. 195 bride-chamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?” The ascetics of His day, offended at our Lord for encouraging.by His presence the innocent merry-makings of the people, charge him with being “a gluttonous man, and a mne-bibber; a friend of publicans and sinners.” Like many people at the present day, they were not able to distinguish between innocent merriment and alcoholic excitement, and ranked the exuberant outpourings of a contented mind with unholy pleasure and dietetic excess. Though our Lord associated himself with the people he came to bless and save, and countenanced their innocent recreations, we cannot infer that lie countenanced the use of those intoxi¬ cating wines which antagonize innocent enjoyment, and tend to convert a sober feast into a wild debauch. We must assume that He was well able to distinguish between those potent liquors—creatures of human invention—and those bland and innocent beverages, the juice of the grape and the sap of the palm-tree, provided by the hand of God. Further, many con¬ siderations make it highly probable that our Lord was an abstainer. 1. Because of the discriminating wisdom which we know lie possessed, and the unsullied purity of Ilis moral nature. lie who knew so well the hearts of men, must cer¬ tainly have known what science and experience have so clearly revealed in regard to intoxicating liquors. Our Lord was too wise, too good, too pure, to countenance by His example, and to enjoin by His precepts, the use of a liquor condemned by tho Old Testament Seers, and by Old Testament Institutions, as well as by the purest of the philosophical and religious sects of his day. “Was he,” asks Dr. Lees, “less discriminating than Plato, less a philosopher than Pythagoras, less a moralist than Epi¬ curus, less a reformer than Buddha?” 2 . On the only occasion which it can be shown that intoxi¬ cating wine was offered him, he refused to drink. “And they gave him to drink, wine mingled with myrrh, but he received it not .” Here we have direct evidence that our Lord rejected intoxicating wine under circumstances where the use of wine, if allowable at all, might be resorted to without criminality. But we have no evidence, either direct or indirect, that He ever partook of such wine, or encouraged its use in others. It is true, that at the marriage feast in Cana of Galilee, our Lord miraculously changed water into wine, but it is a pure and groundless assumption that it was intoxicating. 196 TEETOTALISM IN RELATION TO THE BIBLE. The whole weight of evidence is against such a supposition. For, consider, (1.) The occasion —a marriage feast. • It is certainly very improbable that our Saviour should endanger the sobriety of the invited guests, and of the bride and bridegroom, by exercising Almighty power in converting an innocent water into intoxicating wine. We havS been present at many marriage feasts in this country, but never attended one at which intoxicating liquor was used, without observing some of the guests unduly excited. There are so many “ toasts” to drink, so many good wishes to express over the wine cup, that we cannot wonder at people getting drunk. (2.) The company— 11 And the mother of Jesus was there, and both Jesus was called and His disciples to the marriage.” Now, with the presence of His mother, whom, as a son, He vene¬ rated and loved, and with the presence of Ilis disciples, who were looking up to Him as their Saviour and King, it certainly would have looked very strange, to say the least, had He pro¬ vided the people with the means of gratifying an abnormal appetite, thereby incurring the risk of offending the delicacy of Ilis mother, and of impairing the faith of Ilis disciples in the moral grandeur of Ilis character and mission. (3.) The purpose of the miracle. —The exhibition of Ilis glory, the glory of His power, and grace, challenging alike the con¬ fidence of Ilis disciples and of the assembled guests. I his purpose was accomplished. “This beginning of miracles did •Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth His glory; and Ilis disciples believed on Him.” The miracles of Christ, unlike a great many of the miracles of the ancient Seers, were uniformly of a benevolent character, and confirmatory of Ilis own declara¬ tion concerning Himself: “ The Son of Man came not to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” Had the wine of this miracle been of an intoxicating nature, it would have been a manifes¬ tation of his power, but certainly not of Ilis benevolence. It would, in fact, have been a curse in disguise; for such "wine is a mocker .” ( 4.) The characteristic expression —“ good wine.” The wine made by our Lord was good. Now intoxicating wines are, in fact and truth, not good, but bad and vile—they mock and de¬ ceive. Among the moral ancients the sweet wines were deemed the best. According to the Old Testament, this class of wines THE MIRACLE AT CANA. 197 was also in high repute among the Jews. Now it was equally within the power of our Lord to make the good wine, or the bad ; wine that “cheers and strengthens,” but “ not inebriates,” or wine that perverts the heart and stupefies the senses. lie who came into this world to bless and to save, cannot be supposed to have exercised Ilis power in making a wine that destroys and deceives. (5.) The instant surprise of the governor of the feast. —lie Avas the first to taste the good Avine. “ When the ruler of the feast had tasted the Avater that Avas made wine, and knew not Avhence it Avas,” he “called the bridegroom, and saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good Avine ; and xvhen men have well drunkf then that which is worse : but thou hast kept the good wine until now.” Says Dr. Lees:—“There Avas no Avaiting to observe the intoxicating , or supposed alcoholic effect. It Avas a question of taste and flavor .” The usual custom Avas to provide good Avine at the commencement of marriage feasts, for the use of the most intimate friends and more favored guests, but toward the termination of the feast, Avhen the guests present Avere composed principally of casual acquaintances, Avines of inferior quality were served out. These marriage feasts generally lasted seven days. This miracle was most probably performed on the third or fourth day. Up to this time the guests had evidently been very liberally supplied Avith Avine not re¬ markable for its excellence ; for the above statement made by the governor of the feast reveals a general custom, having here its special application. Noav upon the supposition that the wine so liberally consumed during the early days of the feast was intoxi¬ cating, many of the guests must have been intoxicated, a few of them probably drunk. To maintain, then, that under these circumstances our Lord should make a sufficient quantity of Avine of a similarly intoxicating character, to keep up the merry¬ making, and finish the revel, is little short of blasphemy. It has been urged that the Avliole quantity Avas not at once converted into wine, but that the water became Avine only when poured into the wine cup. This will not detract from the force of the argument, but only make it prospective. The whole quantity of water was evidently set apart for that purpose, and Avould doubt- # * And when men have well drunk] Kai hotan methusthosi, “and when they (the guests; have drunk to the full.” The governor did not refer to the inebriating effect, but to the large quantity consumed, and this is the primary signification of the word .—Temperance Bible Commentary. 198 TEETOTALISM IN RELATION TO TIIE BIBLE. less have formed wine so long as the demand and the water lasted, and the servants continued to pour into the cups, and as the feast had yet three or four days to run, the whole quantity (probably 120 gallons) might be required. It is also alleged that the wine used at the Last Supper which our Lord celebrated with His disciples was intoxicating.* The evidence, critical and historical, is against such a supposition. L I he element used is called the “ fruit of the vine,” and is never even mentioned under the name of wine. Further, intoxi¬ cating wine is not, in the true sense of the term, the “ fruit of the vine” at all, but a chemical compound altogether different in composition and properties from grape-juice. Ihe occasion of its use was the celebration of the feast of the passover. The Jews were commanded to celebrate this feast with matzoth , the plural of matzah, signifying “ sweet things,” that is, things unfermented. According to Gesenius, matzah signifies sweetness ; concrete, sweet, not fermented.” “ Seven days shalt thou eat matzoth , and the seventh shall be a feast to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days: and there shall no leavened bread ( khahmatz , ‘that which is fermented 1 ) be seen with thee, neither shall there be seor [any yeasty or fermentable substance] seen with thee in all thy quarters.” Exod. xiii. G, 7. Mr. Herschel, a converted Jew, says:—“The word hhomets [ferment] has a wider signification than that which is generally attached to leaven, by which it is rendered in the English Bible, and applies to the fermentation of corn in any form, to beer, and to all fermented liquors.” Here then we have a very strict command applicable alike to liquids and solids, wine and bread. That the Jews so under¬ stood this command is quite evident from the general custom prevalent among them, both anterior, and subsequent to, the days of our Lord 5 a custom which even to the present day extensively obtains among them. Says Moses Stuart, Professor of Sacred Literature in the theological Seminary of Andover, U. S. :—“Not only leavened hi ead, but other things which have undergone fermentation were excluded from the passover meal. Perhaps this usage, which was carried so far by the Jews, arose mainly from a strict regard * For a detailed consideration of this question, see the First Prize Essay on Sacramental Wine , by Dr. Lees; and the Second Prize Essa ry foundations of society, then we have a perfect right to determine *♦ that whereas the sale of these things is incompatible with the welfare and safety of society, such sale shall no longer be allowed.” This applies equally to the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors. We do not wish by law to inteidiet their use, but only their common sale. It may, however, be asked, “Where are we to obtain this liquor if you interdict its sale?” We reply, that is your look out, not ours. Your convenience must yield to the public safety. The individual says the sale ought to be allowed lor his con¬ venience. The Community responds—it ought to be prohibited for our safety and prosperity—for the public good infinitely transcerds private convenience. 3.—It is not even proposed to take the power of licencing out of the hands of magistrates, or to place it in the hands of local boards and town councils, etc. In the Scotch-burghs, licenses are granted by the baillies, who are elected by the town councils, as our aldermen are elected; but this is found to be no improvement on our own system. The Scotch-burghs are as much characterized by drunkenness as our own municipal districts. If the licensing system is to continue, let the power of granting licenses still remain in the hands of magistrates, and let it be their duty to inquire into the character of the applicant and the suitability of the hou-e. But when it comes to the necessities and conveniences of the neighborhood , then let the neighbors themselves be consulted, for they cer¬ tainly ought to know their own wants and conveniences better than magistrates who live miles away from the locality. 4.—Neither is it proposed to amend the present licensing acts. As electors and citizens we are always willing to aid any measure that really proposes to restrict the present ruinous system ; but it is not for us to take the initiative, seeing that this would be to compromise with the enemy, and to divert us from the great end before us, viz: “The Total Prohibition of the Liquor Traffic.” All amendment schemes we leave to others; our object is not to amend, but to annihilate. All that tends in this direction in amendment schemes we will accept as instalments only. The Permissive Bill is not our ultimatum . Our ultimatum is 256 POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC. the destruction of the liquor traffic, root and branch. We believe, however, that the Permissive Bill is the best measure at present before the country, leading in this direction ; we, therefore, most heartily support it, and earnestly call upon our legislators not to refuse us a measure, at once so mild, so reasonable, and so har¬ monizing with the genius of the English constitution. We do not desire, at present, to agitate for a Maine-law, as the country is not ripe for so sweeping a measure; for experience has taught us that laws affecting the habits and tastes of the people, not supported by public opinion, are generally ineffective, as witness the Gin Biots in 1736, when a law all but prohibitory in effect, but not in principle, wa§ passed, to lessen the consump¬ tion of gin by greatly enhancing its price. We believe, however, that the country is prepared to accept the Permissive Prohibitory Liquor Law of Sir W. Lawson, and that the present government may safely and wisely allow it to pass. A variety of objections have been urged against the measure, and that, too, by men of great intelligence and philanthropy, and who are equally anxious with ourselves to wipe out England’s shame. We will consider the most important of these objections. 1.—As to the revenue. While the annual revenue from all sources for 1868-9 amounted to £72,591,992, the revenue derived from intoxicating liquor amounted to £25,603,160, or including tobacco, to £32,136,626. Now it is urged that the government cannot let this go, or even that part of it derived from the sale of liquor. We reply (1) that a revenue from such a source is highly ob¬ jectionable, because it is obtained by destroying the material resources, and the morality and energy of our people, on which the future financial prosperity of the state is dependent. The tax upon intoxicating liquor is a tax upon vice. Now, vico ought not to be a taxable commodity. Tax luxuries if you will, but let vice be suppressed with a stern hand. Said Lord Chesterfield, in the House of Lords (1743):—“ Luxury, my lords, is to be taxed, but vice prohibited, let the difficulty in the law be what it will. Would you lay a t.:ix upon a breach of the ten commandments? Would not such a tax be wicked and scandalous?” The Daily Telegraph confesses (1862) that ‘ : Our revenue may dcrivo some unholy benefit from the sale of alcohol, but the entire trade is, nevertheless, a covenant with sin and death.” (2) It is a very wasteful and extravagant manner-of TIIE QUESTION OF REVENUE CONSIDERED. 257 raising a revenue. The revenue to the exchequer from (h's source amounted, in LS63-9, to £25,003,1 GO. Now what does it cost the nation to get at this sum? Probably £259.000,000, equivalent to paying 1,000 per cent, for collecting that tax. The following are the particulars* 1. The retail value of the liquor sold, .... 2. For the detection and punishment of crime caused by intemperance,. 3. In poor rates and police-rates, extra on ac¬ count of drunkenness, and drink-made paupers,. 4. Losses incurred through intemperance to shipping (see Chap, i, pagi Gl) com¬ merce, and the productive industry of the nation,. 5. Cost of disease, physical and mental, both in public hospitals and in private-practice, 6. Voluntary taxes, in support of ragged schools, local charities, etc.,. 7. Extra expenses incurred through intempe¬ rance in the army and navy, . . . . 8. Cost of corn imported to replace that de¬ stroyed in d.stillation, etc., . . . . £103,000,000 3,000,000 10,000,000 112,670,000 6,000,000 G,000,000 2,422,000 16,000.000 Total, £259.092,000 This mode of raising a revenue is certainlv the most extrava- gant, wasteful and foolish that can well be conceived, paying about £10 to collect £1. But (3) the burden falls much more heavily on the poor, according to their means, than upon the wealthy; whereas the only just principle of taxation is to tax each class according to its means, always bearing in mind the exceedingly narrow margin out of which the working-man l.as to pay taxes, as compared with the broad margin of the wealthier classes. In the House of Commons, honorable members talk of beer as a wholesome and a nutritive beverage, and will not consent to “rob the poor man” of it. Yet we find this precious commodity most heavily taxed! The tax on malt is £1 1.?. Sd. per quarter. This amount of malt can be made into 72 gallons of strong beer; the tax being 3per gallon. If boer be necessary to the work* 258 POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC. ing-man, two quarts per day cannot be considered an excessive quantity; this, then, would give a consumption of 14 quarts per week, or 728 quarts (182 gallons) per annum, the tax amounting to £2 13s. 3d. The government is.certainly very considerate. Most anxious that the working-man should not be deprived of his beer, yet making him turn over £2 13s. 3 d. a year for the privilege of consuming it! In the case of spirituous liquor the imposition is still more glaring, every glass of gin or whisky being heavily taxed. A gallon of gin, retail, costs the consumer 16s. This, on account of dilution, contains only aboat foTty per cent, alcohol. The excise duty on this, at the rate of 10s. per gallon at proof, will amount to about 8s. So that the poor man must pay to tho government 8s. for the privilege of drinking a gallon of gin. Now the man who drinks two gills of gin or whisky a day, pays in the course of a year £9 2s., as a tax to government, or 3s. 6 d. a week. Presuming that his average earnings amount to £1 a week, then in this one article alone he is taxed to above odo- sixth of his income. Let us now consider what proportion of the whole amount of taxation is paid by the working class. We give the total amount actually collected in 1868-9, including the amount received into the treasury, and the cost of collecting, as both alike come out of the pockets of the ratepayers. Land tax,.£1,117.570 Assessed taxes,. 2,369,315 Property and Income tax, .... 8,623,508 Stamps, .9,218,000 Custom’s duty on wine, . 1,468,993 Total, £22,797,386 Nearly the whole of this is paid by the upper and middle classes. Custom duties (exclusive of wine,) . £24,248,417 Excise duties,. 21,091,915 Total, £45,340,332 UNFAIR TAXATION. 259 Now, deducting one-twentieth of the above as the amount contributed by the wealthy classes, it gives the following: Total amount of taxes paid by the wealthy classes: £22,797,386 2,262,016 Total, £25,059,402 Total amount of taxes paid by the working class: £45,340,332 Less, 2,262,016 * . Total, £43,078,316 The proportion of taxation to the sum total of the incomes of the two classes will be as follows : The annual income of the wealthier classes, as computed by Professor Levi, £464,000,000. Taxation upon this £25,059,402, or Is. Id. in £1. Total annual income of the working class, as computed by Professor Levi, £418,000,000. Taxation upon this £43,078,316, or 25. in £1. So that the rich man pays Is. Id. in every £1 he receives, whilst the poor man pays 2s. in every £1 he earns. Hence we see, that the working classes contribute just l - 846 more to the revenue than the wealthy classes; and yet the total amount of their income is less by £46,000,000 per annum, and the margin out of which they can afford to pay taxes is also considerably less. It is sometimes urged that the working classes are not compelled to pay these taxes, and that, if they but abstain from the articles on which they are levied, they will be almost entirely free from taxation. We reply (1) that several of the taxed commodities are not now luxuries, but necessaries, as tea, coffee, etc., and that to tax necessaries is most unjust and tyrannical. (2.) In reference to the so-called luxuries, especially intoxicating liquor, it is with an ill grace indeed that the government urge that working-men are not compelled to tax themselves by the consumption of these pernicious liquors, seeing that they have dogged the poor man’s steps, and placed temptations to entrap him at every corner. But would the revenue suffer from the suppression of this traffic? No! A permissive prohibitory liquor law would be 260 POLITICAL PIIILOSOPIIY AND TIIE LIQUOR TRAFFIC. brought into operation by instalments, and only as different districts were prepared to adopt its provisions. The reduction, then, in the custom and excise duties would take place very gradually,, giving ample time for the revenue to adjust itself by an inciease in the returns from other sources, or even bv the imposition of new taxes founded on a policy more just and wise. Many students of this subject, however, are of opinion that tho revenue would improve rather than diminish by the suppression of this traffic. The late Canon Stowell, in a lecture at the Mechanics’ Institution, Manchester, said:—“If the government can control drunkenness, it ought to do so. If it does not, it is afraid of its revenue. What will be lost will come back tenfold, in consequence of the promotion of honest industry.” This opinion received ample confirmation some years ago in Ireland, where, through the labors of Father Mathew and other great and good men, the consumption of liquor decreased amaz¬ ingly, and yet the revenue improved. In the year ending January 5th, 1839, shortly before which period the reforma¬ tion commenced, the produce from licenses was £128,494. Year by year this amount was reduced, till the year ending January 5th, 1(842, the produce was only £95,980, being a total reduction upon the three years of £32.514. In the year ending January 5th, 1839, the amount received from the tax on malt was £289,809; in the year ending January 5th, 1842, itstood^ at £105,153, mak¬ ing a total decrease in the three vears of £124,716. With regard to spirits the revenue for the year ending January 5th, 1839. was £1,510,092; in the year ending January 5th, 1842, the amount was reduced to £964,711, being a decrease in the three years of £545,381. The whole decrease of the revenue from spirit licenses, malt, and spirits, during the five years ending January 5th, 1842, amounted to £682,011. Yet notwithstanding this vciy . heavy reduction, arising from the success of the temperance movement, there was a large increase of revenue, from the in¬ creased produce of other excisable articles; the revenue for 1841 was £4.107,860. which increased in 1842, to £4,198,089, showing a total increase of £90.823. The revenue on tea alone for the year ending January 5th, 1842, had increased bv £*0.039. 2.—It is objected, that our remedy is a very extreme measure. Now, for a remedy to be extreme, it must be more than com¬ mensurate to the evil to be corrected. Our measure, however, ia not commensurate with the great evil of drinking, und there- VESTED INTERESTS. 2G1 faro, instead of being an extreme, it is a very mild measure, seeking to correct the evil, not in an abrupt and sweeping fashion, but in a very gradual and gentle manner indeed. 3. —It is objected, that our measure would confer upon the majority a power to oppress the minority.—A government by majority is the very basis of a free government. In all govern¬ ments, either the minority must rule, or the majority. If the minority, then you have tyranny; if the majority, political freedom. The decisions in parliament are decided by majority. The decisions in meetings of town councils, and the election of members to serve in parliament, are all decided by majority, and minorities are comj elled to submit. The majority, then, must 1 uie, in order to avert either tyranny or anarchy. There is but one exception. '1 he majority have no right whatever to inlrirtge upon the natural riyhtx of the minority, however small that minority may be. All such infringements are tyrannical, and it becomes a virtue on the part of the minority to resist, liut no such natural rights are infringed by the suppression of the liquor traffic, because that traffic is at war with the most sacred rights, both of individuals and communities. This bill, if allowed to pass, would indeed be an extension of the liberties of the subject; as their wishes would be regarded instead of being shauietully disregarded, as at present, it would also, to a ceitain extent, place the poor man on an equal looting with his wealthy neighbor. Magistrates and larid- owntrs often exercise a most judicious control over the estab¬ lishment of public houses, for they never allow a public-house or beer-shop to he established next their own door. Why, then should they seek to thrust the nuisance they do not like them¬ selves, upon their poorer fellow subjects? There are iwo ways in which magistrates and landed pro¬ prietors act in a very arbitrary and tyrannical manner; in sweeping away the liquor traffic from their estates without con¬ sulting the wishes ol the people, and in forcing the nuisance upon localities against the expiessed wishes of the inhabitants, 'lins tyianny our bill would correct, by placing the veto power and therefore the responsibility, in the hands ot the people. 4. —It is oljeotid, that the passing of this bill would be a vit iation ol veiled interests. \s e know of no vested interests that can le upheld in peleience to the rights of the people, and the general interests and well-being of the community ; and we 262 POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC. know of no interests that ought to be respected in a crime-pro¬ ducing, demoralizing traffic. Further, no publican or licensed victualler has a vested interest in his trade for a longer period than one year. IIis license is renewed annually, and is not granted to him in perpetuity j and as he is perfectly aware of this, his license can be justly withdrawn at the expiration of the agreement. F. W. Newman says:—“A licensed victualler has, by special favor, received a privilege of sale which is refused to others. It was granted to him for no merit of his own, but for the convenience of the community. lie knows and always knew, that he held it on sufferance, and was liable to have it ivilh- drawn. lie could in no case complain at its being rescinded, without fault on his own part, except it favored a rival at his expense .”—Considerations for the Educated. 5.—It is objected, that this measure is impracticable, and that if passed it would be evaded on every hand. Hush-shops and shebeens would be established, and thus the evil would increase rather than diminish. But are th q present laws obeyed? On the contrary, they are broken on every hand. There are persons still engaged in tho illicit distillation of spirits, and in their illegal sale. There arc hundreds of unlicensed houses in the country engaged in this nefarious traffic. There are large numbers of “shebeens” in Edinburgh and Glasgow, large numbers of “hush-shops” in the towns of Lancashire, and large numbers of houses selling cider and beer without a license in the cider counties. Now, if this objection be at all valid, it is as strong against the present system as against the proposed measure. Really, however, are we to refuse to pass laws of a salutary and wise character, because there are certain lawless people in the country who make it their interest to evade or break them? If so, we had better refrain, not only from all future legislation, but even abrogate the laws now in force, for there is not one that is not broken or evaded, sadly too often. If lawless and ill-disposed persons, when a prohibitory liquor law is passed, should attempt the illegal sale, what would be our duty? Not certainly to refuse legislation upon this subject, but 'to make the law as stringent as possible, and, by strengthening the arm of the execu¬ tive, make that law “a terror to evil-doers.” 6* 1 he Right lion. John Bright, M. P., in receiving an Alliance deputation in Birmingham, January, 1870, objected to the EIGHT HONORABLE JOHN BRIGHT^ OBJECTION. 263 measure in the following words:—“ It is not the custom in this country, and it is not constitutional , to refer great questions separately, by themselves, individually, to the votes of the great mass of persons, that they may determine great questions of policy. What is referred to them is, that they may determine the persons by whom questions of legislation shall be considered and decided upon.” We reply, that it is the custom, and has been ever since we had a representative system, for the large mass of voters to appoint representatives (with a certain latitude of discretion), not for carrying out their own views, but the views and policy of the constituency. Before a suitable candidate is chosen, that candidate must inform the constituency what measures he proposes to advocate and vote for, or to oppose, in parlia¬ ment; many questions are put to him, and if he refuses to promise the large mass of the voters to go in for their measures, they either leave him to his fate or look out for a more suitable person. A member of parliament, then, is the trusted seivant of the constituency, and is sent to parliament not surely to represent himself without the constituency, but to carry out their wishes as best he can. So, from time to time, the honorable member must address his constituents and jxive an account of his stewardship. Hence, if it be the profound and earnest conviction of the large mass of voters that the liquor traffic is an evil in itself, a traffic not to be regulated but to be swept away, and that ^he mildest method of doing this is a permissive bill,* it is perfectly constitutional for those constitu¬ encies, where permissive bill voters predominate, to elect only those candidates who promise to vote for the measure. True, there is no other measure of a similar character which requires the annual or triennial assembling of the rate-payers of a district to determine whether the law shall be applied or not; but legislation is drifting in this direction, as witness the Health of Towns 1 Acts, and Public Libraries’ Acts, etc. It does not signify, however, whether the exact parallel can be found or not, lor if the measure be unique, the evil it seeks to suppress is also unique. Were men but properly informed on this question, and were our legislators not blinded by custom, appetite, and interest, w r e should not need to ask them for a Permissive Pro¬ hibitory Liquor Law, for without delay, by an imperial enact¬ ment, the liquor traffic would be annihilated at a stroke. 264 POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC. 7.—It is objected, that, though the principle of the bill bo just. i ; s machinery is bad, and would produce embarrassment, r.ot and confusion, and it is urged that it is a much safer and wiser method to vest the veto power in the hands of Local Boards and Town Councils. If town councillors were appointed solely with regard to the issue of this question, you would have as much disturbance and iiot as by referring the measure directly to the votes of the rate-payers. As to the riot and disturbance, wc had far better have a riot once a year, if needs be, than that state of chronic riot and disorder which we are .now called upon to endure. If the liquor-shops were to be closed on the polling day, there would be little or no disturbance. b.—If this bill were enacted into law, many families would be turned out of employment.” D.d the government consider this when the late lleer Bill” was passed ? Are wc to have no regard whatever for the 600,000 victims of this cruel traffic, for the 50,000 slain by it every year, and for the tens of thousands of children nowsutfering all the wrongs of neglect and starvation in consequence of it? Are we really to pay more regard to the pecuniary interests of (say) 150,000 persons, than to the material and moral interests of 30,000,000, composing the population of this country? No law of a salutary character, no law calcu¬ lated to benefit the nation as a whole, can be passed without some persons sustaining injury and loss. The abolishing of the corn laws, the success of free trade principles and their embodi¬ ment in law, inflicted severe and heavy losses upon a great many people, but the nation at large was vastly benefited ; and this is what we ought always to consider. Any law that aims at correct¬ ing the present abnormal state of society, must occasion suffering to a few, and principally to those who have been fattening upon the wrongs and injustice sought to be remedied. The greatest good of the greatest number must be the end of all legislation and reforms, and this end we must steadfastly seek, even though we inflict inconvenience and loss upon the few' interested in old standing abuses. The legislative prohibition of the liquor traffic ha 3 become a stern necessity. The safety of this great nation imperatively demands it. Salus pojmli suprema lex! The welfare of the people is the supreme law. The enemies most dangerous to a nation are not those without and beyond its own borders, but PUBLICATIONS OK THB y*tND Publication pfousE. ^J'HE National Temperance Society, organized in i860 for the purpose of supplying a sound and able Temperance literature, have already stereotyped and published two hundred and seventy-five publications of all sorts and sizes, from the one-page tract up to the bound volume of 500 pages. This list comprises books, tracts, and pamphlets, containing essays, stories, sermons, arguments, statistics, history, etc., upon every phase of the question. Special attention has been given to the department For Sunday-School Libraries. Over forty volumes have already been issued, written by some of the best authors in the land. These have been carefully examined and unani¬ mously approved by the Publication Committee of the Society, represent¬ ing the various religious denominations-aiid Temperance organizations of the country, which consists of the following members: PETER CARTER, Rev. W. M. TAYLOR, A. A. ROBBINS, Rev. M. C. SUTPHEN, T. A. BROUWER, J. N. STEARNS, Rev. J. B. DUNN, Rev. A. G. LAWSON, Rev. ALFRED TAYLOR, R. R. SINCLAIR, Rev. C. D. FOSS, JAMES BLACK, Rev. WILLIAM HOWELL TAYLOR. These volumes have been cordially commended by leading clergymen of all denominations, and by various national and State bodies, all over the land. The following is the list, which can be procured through the regular Sunday-School trade, or by sending direct to the rooms of the Society : Rev. Dr. Willoughby and his Wine, nmo, 458 pages. By Mrs. Mary String Walker, author of “ The Family Doctor,” etc, . . . $1 50 This thrillingly Interesting book depicts in a vivid manner the terrible influence exerted by those who stand as the servants of God, and who sanction the social custom of wine-drinking. It is fair and faithful to the truth. It is not a bitter tirade against the church or the ministry. Ou the contrary, i t plainly and earnestly acknowledges that the ministry is the friend of morality, and the great bulwark of practical virtue. At Lion’s Mouth. i 2 mo, 410 pp. By Miss Mary Dwinell Chellis, author of “Temperance Doctor,” “Out of the Fire,” “Aunt Dinah’s Pledge,” etc.,.. $1 25 This is one of the best books ever issued, written in a simple vet thrilling and interest¬ ing style. It speaks boldly for the entire suppression of the liquor traflic, depicting vividly the misery and wrongs resulting from it. The Christian tone is most excellent; showing the neces¬ sity of God’s grace in the heart to overcome temptation and the power ot appetite, and the Influence which one zealous Christian can exert upon his companions and the community. The National Temperance Society's Books . Aunt Dinah’s Pledge. i 2 rao, 318 pages. By Miss Mary Dwinell Chelus, author of “ Temperance Doctor,” “ Out of the Fire,” etc.,.• $1 25 Aunt Dinah was an eminent Christian wo¬ man. Her pledge included swearing and smok¬ ing as well as drinking. It saved her boys, wSo lived useful lives, and died happy ; and by quiet, yet loving and persistent work, names of many others were added who seemed almost beyond hope of salvation. The Temperance Doctor. i 2 ino, 370 - pages. By Miss Mary Dwinell Chellis, . . . . • • . $1 25 This is a true story, replete with interest, and adapted to Sunday-school and family read¬ ing In it we have graphically depicted the sad ravages that are caused by the use ol intox¬ icating beverages; also, the blessings of Tem¬ perance, and what may be accomplished by one earnest soul for that reform. It ought to find reader! in every household. Out of the Fire. 121110 , 420 pages. By Miss Mary Dwinell Chellis, author of “ Deacon Sim’s Pray¬ ers,” etc.,. $1 ‘-5 It is one ot the most effective and impressive Temperance books ever published. The evils of the drinking customs of society, and tire blessings of sobriety and total abstinence, are- strikingly developed in the history of various families in the community. History of a Threepenny Bit. i3mo, 216 pages,.$0 75 . This is a thrilling story, beautifully illus¬ trated with five choice wood engravings. The story of little Peggy, the drunkard’s daughter, is told in such a simple yet interesting manner ■ that no one can read it without realising more than ever before the nature and extent of in¬ temperance, and sympathizing more than ever with the patient, suffering victim. It should be iu every Sunday-school library. Adopted. i 8 mo, 236 pages. By Mrs. E. J. Richmond, author ot “ The McAllisters,” . . . $0 (10 This book is written in an easy, pleasant vie, seems to be true to nature, true to itself, anti withal is full of the Gospel and Temper- J ance. The Red Bridge. i 8 mo, 321 pages. ! By Thrace Talman, . . $0 DO We have met with few Temperance stories containing so many evidences of decided ability and hlghnterary excellence as this. x The Old Brow 222 pages. “ Susie’s Six Flower of the Beautr ully illustrated. This admirable yol - ume for boys and girls, containing original stories by some of the most gifted, writers ior the young, will be eagerly welcomed by the children. It is adapted alike for the family circle and the Sabbath-school library. Our Parish. i8mo, 252 pages. t By Mrs. Emily Pearson, . . $0 75 The manifold evils resulting from the “ still ” to the owner’s family, as well as to the families of his customers, are truthfully presented. The characters introduced, sucli as are found in almost every good-sized village, are well por¬ trayed. We can unhesitatingly commend it, and bespeak for it a wide circulation. The Hard Master. i8mo, 278 pages By Mrs. J. E. McConaughy, au¬ thor of “ One Hundred Gold Dol¬ lars,” and other popular Sunday- School books,. $0 85 This interesting narrative of the temptations, trials, hardships, and fortunes of poor orphan boy xllustrateshn a most striking manner the value of “ right principles,” especially of honesty truthfulness, and Temperance. Echo Bank. i8mo, 269 pages. By Ervie,. $0 80 This is a well-written and deeply interesting narrative, in which is clearly shown tlie suffer¬ ing and sorrow that too otten follow and the dangers that attend bovs and young men at school and at college, who suppose they can ensilv take a glass or two occasionally, with- out tear of ever being aught more than a mode¬ rate drinker. Rachel Xohle’s Experience. i8mo, 12s pages. By Bruce Edwards. 3 5 1 b $0 DO This is a story of thrilling interest, ably and eloquently told, and is an excellent book for Sunday-school libraries. It is just the book lor the home circle, and canuot be read without benefiting the reader and advancing the cause of Tempenune. Gertie’s Sacrifice; or Glimpses at Two Lives. 181110,189 pages. Bv Mrs. F. D. Gage, .... $0 60 A storv of great interest and power, giving a “ glimpse at two lives,” and showlughow Gertie sacrificed herself at a vietlm of faxWon, custom, and law. u Pitcher. umo. By the Author of Birthdays,” “The Family,” etc., $1 00 •j The National Temperance Society s Books , Time will Tell. 121110 , 307 pages. By Mrs. Wilson, .... $1 00 A Temperance tale of thrilling interest ami unexceptionable moral aiul religious tone. It is foil of incidents and chartiot'ers of everyday life, while its lessons are plainly and forcibly set before the reader. The pernicious results of the drinking usages in the family and social circle are-plainly set forth. Philip Eckert’s Struggles and Triumphs. 181110 , 216 pages. By the author of “Margaret Clair/’ $0 (50 This interesting narrative of a noble, manly bov. in an intemperate home, fighting with the wrong and battling for the right, should be read by every child in the land. Jug-0 r-Xot. 121110 , 346 pages. By Mrs. J. McNair Wright, author of “John and the Demijohn,” “Almost a Nun,” “ Priest and Nun,’’etc.,.$1 25 It is one of her best books, and treats of the physical and hereditary effects of drinking in a clear, plain, and familiar style, adapted to popular reading, and which should be read by all classes in the community, and find a place in every Sunday-school library. The Broken Bock. i 8 mo, 139 pages. By Kruna, author of “ Lift a Little,” etc.,.$0 50 It beautifully illustrates the silent and holy influence of a meek and lowly spirit upon the heartless rumseller until the rocky heart was broken. Andrew Douglass. i 8 mo, 232 pages, $0 75 A new Temperance story for Sunday-schools, written in a lively, energetic, and popular .style, adapted to the Sabbath-school and the family circle. Vow at the Bars. 181110 , 108 It contains four short tales, illustrating four important principles connected with the Tem¬ perance movement, and is well adapted for the family circle and Sabbath-school libraries. Job Tufton’s Rest. i 2 mo, 332 pages, .$1 25 A story of life’s struggles, written by the gifted author, Clara Lucas Balfour, depict¬ ing most skilfully and truthfully many a life- struggle with the demon of intemperance oc¬ curring all along life’s pathway. It is a finely written story, and full of interest from the be¬ ginning to the end. Frank Oldfield; or, Lost and Found. i 2 mo, 408 pages, . . . . $1 50 This excellent story received the prize of T100 in England, out of eighty-three manu¬ scripts submitted ; and 1 y an arrangement with the publisher’s we publish it in this coun¬ try with all the original illustrations. It is admirably adapted to Sunday-school libraries. Tom Blinn’s Temperance Society, and other Stories. 121110 , 316 pages, ..$1 25 This is the title of a new book written by T. IS. Arthur, the well-known author of “ Ten Nights in a Bar-room,” and whose fame as an author should bespeak-for it a wide circulation. It is written in Mr. Arthur’s best style, coin posed of a series o tales adapted to every family and library in the land. The Barker Family. 121110 , 336 pages. By Emily Thom A simple, spirited, and interesting narrative, written in a style especially attractive, depict¬ ing the evils that arise from intemperance, and the blessings that followed the earnest efforts of those who sought to win others to the paths of total abstinence. Illustrated with three en¬ gravings. The book will please all. up $1 25 143 II- Come Home, Mother. i 8 mo, pages. By Nelsie Brook. lustrated with six choice engrav¬ ings, .$0 50 A most effective and interesting book, de¬ scribing the downward course of the mother, and giving an account of the sad scenes, but ef¬ fectual endeavors, of the little one in bringing her mother back to friends, and leading her to God. It should be read by everybody. Tim’s Troubles. 121110 , 350 pages. By Miss M. A. Paull, . . $1 50 This is the second Prize Book of the United Kingdom Band of Hope Union, and which has been reprinted in this country with all the ori¬ ginal illustrations. It is the companion of “ Frank Oldfield,” written in a high tone, and will be found n valuable addition to our Tem¬ perance literature. The Drinking Fountain Stories^ 121110 , 192 pages, . . . . $1 00 This book of illustrated stories for children contains articles from the pens of some of the best writers for children in America, and is beautifully illustrated with forty choice wood engravings. Itis interspersed with short stork* and anecdotes, and should be in every Sunday- school library and In the hands of every child in the land. The National Temperance Society’s Books. Hoperiale Tavern, and What it Wrought. i2mo, 252 pages. By J. William Van Namee, . $1 00 It shows the 3ad results which followed the Introduction of a Tavern and Bar in a beauti¬ ful and quiet country town, whose inhabitants had hitherto lived‘in peace and enjoyment The contrast is too plainly presented to fail to produce an impression on the reader, making all more desirous to abolish the sale of all in¬ toxicants The Pitcher of Cool Water. i8mo, 180 pages. By T. S. Arthur, author of “ Tom Blinn’s Temper¬ ance Society,” “ Ten Nights in a Bar-room, etc., . . . . $0 50 This little book consists of a series of Tem¬ perance stories, handsomely illustrated, written in Mr. Arthur’s best style, and is altogether one of the best books which can be placed in the hands of children. Every Sunday-school library should possess it. Roy’s Search; or, Lost in the Cars. i2mo, 364 pages. By Helen C. Pearson, . . . . . . . . $1 25 This new Temperance book is one of the most interesting ever published—written in a fresh, sparkling style, especially adapted to please the boys, and contains so much that will benefit as well as amuse and interest that we wish all the boys in the land might read it. How Could He Escape 1 nmo, 324 pages. By Mrs. J. NcNair Wright, author of u Jug-Or- Not.” Illustrated with ten en¬ gravings, designed by the au¬ thor, . $1 25 This is a true tale, and one of the writer’s best productions. It snows the terrible effects of even one glass of intoxicating liquor upon the system of one unable to resist its influences, and the necessity of grace in the heart to resist temptation and overcome the appetite for strong drink. The Best Fellow in the World. i2ino, 352 pages. By Mrs. J. McNair Wright, author of “Jug- Or-Not,” “ How Could He Es¬ cape ?” “ Priest and Nun,” etc., $1 25 “The Best Fellow,” whose course is here portrayed, is oue of a very large class who are fed astray and ruined simply because they are such “ good fellows.” To all such the volume speaks in thrilling tones of warning, shows the inevitable consequences of indulging in strong drink, and the necessity of divine grace in the heart to interpose and save from ruin. Frank Spencer’s Rule of Life. i8mo, 180 pages. By John W. Kirton, author of “ Buy Your Own Cherfies,” 11 Four Pillars of Temperarlfce,” etc., etc., . $0 50 This is written in the author’s best style, ■faking an Interesting and attractive story for children. •Little Girl in Black. 121110, 212 pages. By Margaret E. Wil- MER,. $0 90 Her strong faith in God, who she believes will reclaim an erring father, is a lesson to the reader, old as well as young. Temperance Anecdotes, nmo, 288 pages,.$1 00 This new book of Temperance Anecdotes, edited by George W. Bungay, contains near¬ ly four hundred Anecdotes, Witticisms, Jokes, Conundrums, etc., original and selected, and will meet a want long felt and often expressed by a very large number of the numerous friends 0 ! the cause in the land. The book is hand¬ somely illustrated with twelve choice wood engravings. The Temperance Speaker. By J. N. Stearns,. $0 75 The book contains 288 pages of Declamations and Dialogues suitable tor Sunday and Day- Schools, Bands of Hope, and Temperance Or¬ ganizations. It consists of choice selections of prose and poetry, botli new and old, Irom tlie Temperance orators and writers of the country, many of which have been written ex¬ pressly for this work. The McAllisters. 181110, 211 pages. By Mrs. E. J. Richmond, . $0 50 It shows the ruin brought on a family by the father’s intemperate habits, and the strong faith and trust of the wife In that Friend above who alone gives strength te bear our earthly trials. The Se By V. yinours. nmo, 231 pa. Liss L. Bates, . . es. 00 A simple story, showing how a refined and cultivated family are brought low through the drinking habits of the father, their joy and sor- row as he reform* only to fall again, and his final happy release In a distant city. 4 The National Temperance Society s Books Em’s Engagement Ring. 121110, 189 pages. By Margaret E. Wil- mer, author of “ The Little Girl in Black,”. $0 90 In this interesting volume is traced the career of the moderate drinker, who takes a glass in the name of friendship or courtesy. Packington Parish, and The Diver’s Daughter. 121110,327 pages. By Miss M. A. Paull, . . . $1 2 o In this volume we see the ravages which the liquor traffic caused when introduced in a hitherto quiet village, and how a minister’s eyes were at length opened to its evils, though he had always declared wine to be a “ good creature of God,” meant to be used in modera¬ tion. Old Times. 121110. By Miss M. D. Chellis, author of “ The Tem- P erance Doctor,” “Out of the "ire,” “ Aunt Dinah’s Pledges” “At Lion's Mouth,” etc., . $1 25 It discusses the whole subject of moderate drinking in the history of a New England vil¬ lage. The incidents, various and amusing, are all facts, and the characters nearly all drawn from real life. The five deacons which figure *0 conspicuously actually lived and acted as re¬ presented. The Fire Fighters. i2tno, §94 page*. By Mrs. J. E. McConaughy, au¬ thor of “ The Hard Master,” $1 25 An admirable story, showing how a number of young lads banded themselves into a society to fight against Alcohol, and the good they did in the community. The Jewelled Serpent. 121110, 271 pages. By Mrs. E. J. Richmond, author of “ Adopted,” “The Mc¬ Allisters,” etc.,. $1 00 The story is written earnestly. The charac¬ ters are well delineated, and taken from the wealthy and fashionable portion of a large city. The evils which flow from fashionable drink¬ ing are well portrayed, and also the danger arising from the use of intoxicants when used as medicine, forming an appetite which fastens itself with a deadly hold upon its victim. The Hole in the Bag, and Other Stories. By Mrs. J. P. Ballard, author of “ The Broken Rock.” “ Lift a Little,” etc. 121110, $1 00 A collection of well-written stories by this most popular author on the subject of temper¬ ance, inculcating many valuable lessons In the minds of its readers. The Youth’s Temperance Banner. The National Temperance Society and Publication House publish a beautifully illustrated Monthly Paper, especially adapted to phildren and youth, Sunday-school and Juvenile Temperance Organizations. Each number contains several choice engravings, a piece of music, and a great variety of articles from the pens of the best writers for children in America. It should be placed in the hands of every child in the land. Terms— In Advance. *. Single copias, one year, . . $0 25 Eignt copies, to one address, 1 00 Ten “ “ “ 1 25 Fifteen “ “ “ 1 88 Twenty “ “ “ 2 60 Thirty copies to one address, $3 75 Forty “ “ “ 5 00 Fifty “ “ “ 6 25 One Hundred “ “ 12 00 Children’s Tracts. A series of forty-live illustrated children’s tracts have been published, adapted for circulation in Sunday-schools. Per thousand, $ 3 . Packet of Pictorial Tracts for Children,.$0 25 A valuable packet of 72 of the above Tracts for the Children, suitable for distribution in Sunday-Schools, Bands of Hope, and other Juvenile Temperance organizations. J The National Temperance Society s Books . Miscellaneous Forty Years’ Figlit with the Drink Demon. i2ino, 400 pages. By Charles Jewett, M.D., . VI oh This volume comprises the history of Dr. Jewett’s public and private labors from 1826 to the present time, with sketches of the most popular and distinguished advocates ot the cause in its earlier stages. It also records the results of forty years’observation, study, and reflections upon the use of intoxicating drinks and drugs, and suggestions as to the best-,, methods of advancing the cause, etc. 1 he book is handsomely bound, and contains illustrated portraits of early champions of the cause. Drops of Water. 121110, 133 pages. By Miss Ella Wheeler, $0 <0 A new book of fifty-six Temperance Poems by this young and talented authoress, suitable for reading in Temperance Societies, Lodge Rooms, Divisions, etc. The simplicity of man¬ ner beauty of expression, earnestness ot thought, and nobleness of sentiment running through all of them make this hook a real gem, worthy a place by the side of any ot the poetry in the country. Bound Volume of Tracts. 50° pages,.ipl 00 This volume contains all the four, eight, and twelve page tracts published by the National Temperance Society,including all the prize tracts issued the last two years. The hook comprises Arguments, Statistics, Sketches, and Essays, which make it an invaluable collection for every friend of the Temperance Reform. Scripture Testimony Against In¬ toxicating Wine. By Rev. M m. Ritchie, of Scotland, . . SpO 60 An unanswerable refutation of the theory that the Scriptures favor the idea of the use of intoxicating wine as a beverage. It takes the different kinds of wines mentioned m the Scriptures, investigates their specific na¬ ture, and shows wherein they diner. Alcohol: Its Place and Power, by James Miller ; and The Use and Abuse of Tobacco, by John Li- .. nw Zoological Temperance Convention. By Rev. Edward Hitchcock, D.D , of Amherst College, $0 75 This fable gives an interesting and entertain¬ ing account of a Convention of Animals held in Central Africa, and reports the speeches made on the occasion. Publications. Delavan’s Consideration of t he Tcm- perance Argument and History, 1 $1 50 This condensed and comprehensive work con¬ tains Essays and Selections Irom different au¬ thors, collected and edited by Edward ( . Dh- 1 . w an. Esq., and is one of the most valuable text-hooks on the subject of Temperance ever issued. Bible Rule of Temperance: or, Total Abstinence from ail Intox¬ icating Drinks. By Rev. George Duffield, D.D., . . . . $0 00 This is the ablest and most reliable work which has been issued on the subject. The im¬ morality of the use, sale,.an l manufacture ot intoxicating liquors as a beverage is considered in the light of the Scriptures, and the will and law of God clearly presented. Llcohol: Its Nature and Effects. By Charles A. Storey, M.D., This is a thoroughly scientific work, yet written in afresh, vigorous, and popular style, in language that the masses can understand. It consists of ten lectures carefully prepared, and is an entirely new work by one amply com¬ petent to present the subject. Four Pillars of Temperance. By John W. Kirton, . . . $0 75 The Four Pillars are, Reason, Science, Scrip¬ ture, and Experience. The book is argumenta¬ tive, historical, and statistical, and the tacts, appeals, amt arguments are presented in a most convincing and masterly manner Communion Wine; or, Bible Tem¬ perance. By Rev. W illiam M. Thayer. Paper, 20 cents ; cloth, An unanswerable argument against the use of intoxicating wine at Communion, and pre¬ senting the Bible argument in favor of total abstinence. Laws of Fermentation and Wines of the Ancients. i2mo, 129 pages. By Rev. Wm, Patton, H.D Paper, 30 cts. : cloth, . . $0 60 It presents the whole matter of Bible Tcui- pernuce and the wiuca of alien nt times in a new, clear, and satis artory manner, develop ing the laws of ferment at ion, and giving a large number of references and statistics never before collected, showing conclusively the existence ot unl'erineuted wine in the olden time. 6 The National Temperance Society's Books. Text-Book of Temperance. By Dr. F. R. Lees, . . . . $1 50 AYe can also furnish the above book, which 13 divided into the following parts: 1. Temper¬ ance as a Virtue. '2. The Chemical History of Alcohol. 3 The Dietetics of Temperance. 4. The Pathology of Intemper ,n-e. 5. The Medi¬ cal Question. G Temperance in Relation to the Bible. 7. Historical. 8. The National Q testion and the Remedy. 9 The Philosophy of Temperance. Bugle Notes for the Temperance Army. Price, paper covers, 30 cents; boards,.$0 35 A new collection of Songs, Quartets, and Glew, adapted to the use of all Temperance gatherings, Glee Clubs, etc., together with the Odes of the Sons of Temperance anil Good Templars. Temperance Chimes. Price, in paper covers, 30 cents, single copies ; $25 per hundred. Price, in board covers, 35 cents; per hundred,.$30 00 A Temperance Hymn and Tune-Book of 128 page*, comprising a greit variety of Glees, Songs, and Hymns designed for the use of Tem- perauce Meetings and Organizations, Bands of Hope, Giec Clubs, and the Home Circle. Many of the Hymns have been written expressl y for this boolc by some of the best writers in the country. Pamphlets. John Swig. A Poem. By Edward Carswell. i 2 ino, 24 pages. Il¬ lustrated with eight characteristic engravings, printed on tinted paper,.$0 15 The Rum Fiend, and Other Poems. By William H. Burleigh. 121110. 46 pages. Illustrated with three wood engravings, des gned by Edward Carswell. . . . $0 20 Suppression of the Liquor Traffic. A Prize Essay, by Rev. H. D. Kitcheli., President of Middle- bury College. i2mo, 48 pp., $0 10 Bound aud How; or, Alcohol as a Narcotic. By Charles Jewett, M D. i 2 ino, 24 pp., . . . $0 10 Scriptural Claims of Total Abstin¬ ence. By Rev. Newman Hall. i 2 mo, 62 pp.,.$0 15 Buy Your Own Cherries. By John W. Kirton. 12010 , 32 pp., $0 20 National Temperance Almanac and Teetotaler’s Year Book for 1873 , $0 10 Illustrated Temperance Alphabet, $0 25 Twenty-four Page Pamphlets. (With Covers.) Five Cents each ; 00 Cents per Doz. Is Alcohol Food ? By Dr. F. R. Lees. Physiological Action of Alcohol. By Prof. Henry Munroe. Adulteration of Liquors. By Rev. j. B. Dunn. Will the Coming Man Brink Wine 1 By James Parton, Esq. History and Mystery of a (Hass of Ale. By J. W. Kirton. Bible Teetotalism. By Rev. Peter Stryker. Medicinal Drinking. By Rev. John Kirk. Drinking Usages of Society. By Bishop Alonzo Potter. Fruits of the Liquor Traffic. By Sumner Stebbins, M.D. Is Alcohol a Necessary of Life 1 By Prof. Henry Munror. A High Fence of 15 Bars. By the author of u Lunarius.” Packet of Assorted Tracts, No. 1 . Comprising Nos. i to 53 put up in strong paper covers, making 250 pages, . . . . . $0 25 Packet or Assorted Tracts, No. 2. Comprising 53 to 100 , making 250 pages.$0 25 * 7 The National Temperance Society s Books. Temperance Sermons. $o The National Temperance Society are publishing a series of Sermons upon various p.iases of the Temperance Question by some of the leadiug clergymen in America. I he following are already published : 1. Common Sense for Young Men. By Rev. Ii. AY . Beecher, Moral Duty of Total Abstinence. By Rev. T. L. Cuylkr, . Tho Evil Beast. By Rev. T. De AY'itt Talmage, The Good Samaritan. By Rev. J. B. Dunn, . . . . Self-Denial: A Duty and a Pleasure. By Rev. J. P. Newman D.D., Chaplain ot the United States Senate. The Church and Temperance. 'By John \\ r . Mears, D.D., Pro¬ fessor of Hamilton College, New York. Active Pity of a queen. By Rev. John Hall^ D.D , . Temperance and tiie Pulpit. By Rev. C. D. Toss, D.D., . The Evils of Intemperance. By Rev. J. Romeyn Berry, . Liberty and Love. By Rev. Henry AVard Beecher, The Wine and the Word. By Rev. Herrick Johnson, 12. Strange Children. By Rev.'P eter Stryker, . • • 13. Impeachment and Punishment of Alcohol. Rev. C. H.Towler 14. Drinking for Health. By Rev. H. C. Fish, • • • 15. Scientific Certainties (not Opinions) about Alcohol. By Rev . H. AY r . Warren, . . . • • • • Example and Effort. An Address by Hon. Schuyler Colfax 2 . 3. 4. 5. 6 . 7. 8. 9. 10 . 11 . 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 50 00 00 60 15 16 00 00 50 10 The Total Abstainer’s Daily Witness and Bible \erdict. to Cents. This is :i series of Scripture Texts printed on thirly-one Urge sheets, arranged so that one can be used for each day in the month. The sine of each sheet is 19 by 12 inches, all listened together with roller and cord, so as to be easily hung up in room, office, workshop, etc. ; and turning over a sheet day by day as desired. New Temperance Dialogues- The First Glass ; or, The Power of Woman’s Influence. The Young Teetotaler ; or, Saved at Last. 15 cents each. Per dozen, - Reclaimed ; or, The Danger of Moderate Drinking. 10 cents. Per dozen, * * - Marry No Man if He Drinks ; or, Laura’s Plan, and How it Succeeded. 10 cts. Icrdoz., Which Will You Choose! 36 pages. By Miss M. D. Chellls. 15 cents. Per dozen,- Aunt Dinah’s Pledge. Dramatized from the Book, ------- The Temperance Doctor. Dramatized from the Book, -. Wine as a Medicine. XI) cents. Pec dozen, - ------- The Stumbling-Block. 10 cents. Per dozen,. Trial and Condemnation of Judas Woemaker. 15 cents. Per dozen, Temperance Exercise, Band of Hope Supplies. Band of Hope Manual. Per doz.,. Temperance Catechism. Per doz.,. Band of Hope Melodics. Paper, . . . • • Baud of Hope Badge. Enamelled, $1 25 per doz.; 12 cents singly Plain, #1 per dozen ; 10 cents singly. Silver and Enamelled 60 cents each. Juvenile Temperance Speaker,. Illuminated Temperance Cards. Set of ten. Juvenile Temperance Pledges. Per hundred, .... Certificates of Membership. Per hundred, the Temperance Speaker, ... jS.nt by mail, post-paid, on receipt ofurlee Address Y J. N. STEARNS, Publishing Agent, 5 # UEADlE STREET, NEW YORK $0 00 00 10 35 00 00 75 Date Due 0 Z0VZP910 1-606 6 393TI0D NOlSOa Hl/^oco . vrr v & ^BOSTON COLLEGE LIBRARY UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS CHESTNUT HILL, MASS. Books may be kept for two weeks and may be renewed for the same period, unless reserved. Two cents a day is charged for each book kept overtime. ■'•r. ^ - If you cannot find what you want, ask the Librarian who will be glad to help you. The borrower is responsible for books drawn on his card and for all fines accruing on the same.