3^ ■ <:-<<:. c ■'-<£ - . , <;,. <" c: c«r c^«r «- -» «In an instant [speaking of those who were reformed and re- lapse] the wine produces a moral perversion; the veracity is irretrievably gone." I feel myself bound to deny all these statements in general; and each one of them in particular. It is not true, that wine has always or ever been " the great est scourge of the world ;" nor (though it has been, and occa- 55 sionally is abused) has it been, in any fair sense, a scourge at all. It is not true, that the moment a man takes wine, he is more prone to become deceitful; nor that the use of wine can be shown to have any effect, to destroy truth and honor among men. It is not sound reasoning to say, because a large quantity of wine, or any other substance, will produce great disorder in the system, that therefore any small quantity of the same substance will produce disorder in the senses, in any degree approaching that state of excitement. This would not be so, even if I can not tell at what precise point temperance ends, and ebriety com- mences. Finally, it is not accurate to state this [the relapse of the reformed] as a question of veracity ; it is a question of fidelity to promises, [to resolutions rather.] And, on the contrary, I reverse all the above propositions ; and I allege that the substantial contrary of each and every one of them, is true. On any one, I might appeal to the knowledge and conscience of every reader, whether the fact alleged has even the color of truth. Take, for example, this, that wine is prone to produce 11 deceit," and that the man who drinks it, may be viewed " as a player wearing a mask;" and I ask, with amazement, what rashness could have produced such an assertion ! What ! have not all the great and good men whom our country has produced, been drinkers of wine, cider, or other fermented liquors ? Was all then, that we have of ancient worth, an affair of deceit ? Have the long line of priests and prophets and holy men of old, who spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost—have these men left us writings prone to deceive ? Was there not a partic- ular case of one who drank wine, and who could not possibly be wearing a mask, because we know certainly that " in him was no guile ? . . But we are met here by an array of argument, which is put forth as if unanswerable. " If a bottle of wine will produce a degree of intoxication amounting to temporary madness, will not 56 a single glass disorder the senses, in some degree approaching to that degree of excitement ?" No, I answer : and what human being in his senses, ever imagined that such would be the case ? I presume Dr. Washington never, in his life, ordered a portion of medicine, which did not proceed on exactly the contrary ground; and all the course of human life contradicts his suppo- sition. If an ounce of Peruvian bark will produce strictures in the breast, does it follow that five grains will give any inconve- nience whatever ? If one hundred drops laudanum will cause watchfulness in a particular patient, does it follow that thirty drops will not relieve his pain, and put him to sleep ? Does not Dr. Washington constantly give quinine and narcotine on these principles ? I apprehend I may safely appeal to the cooler re- flection of Dr. Washington himself, for very different views. I suppose a traveller to return weary and hungry from his journey; a farmer from his distant labor ; a lawyer from court, exhausted with mental effort; or a man of business, wearied with care;— in every such case, the physician will admit that there is some exhaustion of vital energy, which ought to be supplied. All these men dine heartily : and many physicians of late will say, that in this debilitated state of the system, cold water will best aid digestion, and, with rest, will soonest prepare the men for an equal effort next day. All this I deny ; but it is not the present question: the question is, whether, if one of these men takes so much wine, cider, or beer, as sooner to raise up the system to its proper standard of vital energy, " it will disorder the senses in some degree approaching to intoxication, or to temporary mad- ness ?" Now I say that there is no approach to madness, but only to the par of strength. To assert that drinking such a tum- bler of cider, is an " approach" to intoxication, is to say that the first mouthful of food is an approach to gluttony. And the ques- tion, at what precise period temperance ends and gluttony begins, has no possible bearing upon the subject. Here, then, a man of science stands before a great and intelli- gent public, and thinks proper to sign his name to declarations that, " the moment a man takes wine, he is prone to become de- ;>7 % ceitful, and may be viewed as a player wearing a mask ;" and, jj in another case, he says, " in an instant the wine produces u moral perversion, the veracity is irretrievably gone:" and we i properly ask, when and where he ever saw all this ? Amazed at the substance of such declarations, I have but a mo- * mentary wonderment to bestow upon the very incautious terms in which they are expressed. In an instant—" the moment;" then, again, veracity departs—not for a season—it is " irretrievably gone." We learn, hence, that Socrates, Plato and Aristides, Reg- | ulus, Cato and Tully, the patriarchs and apostles, the reformers and f martyrs and puritans, the Lafayettes and Washingtons, or such a of them as ever tasted a glass of wine, were thenceforth prone to become deceitful ; that all the fine, noble feelings they might * possess, suffering patriots, saints and martyrs, as most of them outwardly appeared to be, might be justly suspected of forming ^ a part of their new character, and were, in fact, theatrical. ^ Again : the whole idea, that men beginning to feel the effects of wine, are used to " wear a mask" in order to dissemble, is not merely untrue, but the contrary of it is universally true. Wine [i is never drank, as spirit often is, in beastly solitude. It is used convivially ; and the party, if the wine is at all felt, are more j disposed to display, than to conceal, their excitement. But in all general usage it is taken as food is, and no excitement is no- »; ticed. Will an escape from this be sought, by saying that all men have some deception, but wine and cider drinkers have most ten- dency to it ? Then, I ask, with what other thing does Dr. Wash- ington compare wine, and the effects of wine, in this particular ? His answer must be, that he compares wine drinkers with water drinkers, and that he finds one class false, and the other true men. Now, I ask, who and where, except Mahomedans, are these wa- ter drinkers who never deceive ? Is there in this, or any other civilized country, such a body of men, who have drank water, f and water only, so long that they can be compared with the men who drink cider and wine, and thus prove whether one class is more dishonest than the other ? We all know there is no such r 58 thing. To find any great body of water drinkers, we must go to distant nations, who, from peculiar causes, are cut off from fermented drinks. The Chinese and Hindoos are examples of water drinkers, upon a scale of stupendous magnitude. They constitute nearly half of the human family ; and by universal testimony, are most radically false, base, treacherous and perjured. But it is among the Mahomedans, that Dr. Washington has at length found that perfect truth and integrity, which is banish- ed from among christian and wine drinking nations. I extract his paragraph on this subject. " One of the greatest revolutions ever witnessed, took place twelve hundred years ago, when an individual, feeling a con- tempt for the people around him called Christians, who had de- based themselves by wine and luxurious living, undertook to prescribe a more salutary code for the world, by prohibiting al- cohol and living on the plainest fare. The father of this system, which gave health and gladness to all who observed it faithful- ly, was soon hailed as one inspired with extraordinary wisdom. The followers of Mahomet immediately manifested superior strength and prowess. They overcame all who opposed them in arms ; and by their exalted intelligence, rapidly advanced the arts and sciences. * These people are now on the wane; mainly because they have introduced the use of opium and tobacco. But still from the healthy blood their sober an- cestors had so long preserved, those among them who reject the use of wine, never tell a falsehood; they never steal; nor will they, under any circumstances, either of prosperity or adversity, fail to offer up, every morning, their grateful prayers." I desire the attention of the reader to the views which are implied, as well as expressed, in the paragraph, relative to the comparative wisdom of the Mahomedan and Christian in- stitutions. For this purpose, I ask my reader before we go a step further, to look back and read it over a second time. I sup- pose that done. There is a great class of men, even sincere men, who are 59 now quibbling with their bibles, in order to get rid of some of the most manifest and palpable truths, which were ever written on any subject. There are others who, after first going the round of evasions, and being driven from every subterfuge, come back more frankly, and insist that the example of Christ was not so perfect, but that it may be improved upon, by further experi- ence. This is manly—and I like it. Any thing is better than a quibble. For the special edification of such persons, I draw their attention to the very powerful aid which they will derive from the institutions of Mahomet, as set forth in the correspond- ence of Dr. Washington with that estimable man, the general agent of the American Temperance Society. It appears from the above extract, that Mahomet was justly regarded, in obvious comparison with Christ, as a man of " ex- traordinary wisdom ;" and that feeling a contempt for the peo- ple around him called christians, who had debased themselves by wine and luxurious living, he " undertook to prescribe a more salutary code for the world." Does this mean more salutary than the code of christians ? If not, what does it mean ? Who that loves and adores the moral character of Him who was made higher than the heavens—who that thus loves and adores Him, will not be surprised to hear it insinuated that He had not the " extraordinary wisdom" to foresee, as Mahomet did, the bad effects of wine ? We are left, however, to infer that even the " extraordinary wisdom" of the " more salutary code" of Mahomet, was not quite perfect; for the Mahomedans " are now on the wane, mainly because they have introduced the use of opium and to- bacco." Indeed ? And how came they to introduce the use of opium and tobacco 9 How comes it, that living every where mixed with Greeks, who use wine and not opium, the Turks are " on the wane;" and the Greeks, who eat no opi- um, but drink wine, and are on the increase ? On a future occasion I shall have something to say about the use of opium and other drugs, among all nations (out of the tropics) which have not fermented liquors. Then it will ap- 60 pear that China also is " on the wane," and that the Hindoos have waned as much as they can. Why is wine-drinking Christendom "not all on the wane9" " Are there not more things in heaven and earth than are dream- ed of in the philosophy" of the Temperance Intelligencer ? May it not possibly be true after all, that the Lord Jesus Christ had as much " extraordinary wisdom" as Mahomet; and left as salutary a " code ?" There are other historical statements of Dr. Washington, that deserve examination. But I shall end this number, by advert- ing to his views of the truth and integrity of the Mahomedans ; of which no little boast has been made by a succession of wri- ters, from Voltaire to Lord Byron. " From the healthy blood their ancestors so long preserved, those among them who reject the use of wine, never tell a falsehood ; they never steal." Time does not permit, nor the occasion require me, to go into a discussion of Mahomedan manners, which, besides, are a tis- sue of contradictions. I admit that, as in all nations, there are honest people among the unambitious peasants; that the rich coun- try cadi is honorable and hospitable; that the post-horse Tartars are as remarkable for trust worthiness as the porters of London ; and, finally, that those who can always rob, will not often steal: and then I allege, that falsehood, duplicity, corruption and per- jury, abound as much in Turkey as in China or Hindostan, or in any country on earth. I allege, that this corruption most deeply infests the religious and judicial orders. And though I cannot exactly prove, that this or that Turk or Persian has not drank wine, yet I say of them in general, that they, except some men in great power, do not drink it, because it would ruin them. I therefore deny this allegation of Mahomedan veracity; and in support of my denial, I quote a very few authorities. " The influence both of the Mufti and Ulema, (Grand High Priest and sacerdotal order,) would be far greater than it is, if they could maintain a good character for probity. But the ve- nality of all employments, &c, * * In no country in the world, are false witnesses so common and so devoid of 61 shume, as in Turkey." [Malte Brun's Geography, volume 2, page 74.] "To christians, the evils of corruption are aggravated by a swarm of false witnesses, who continually infest the courts of justice. This infamous profession is openly avowed and even encouraged, as perjury against a christian is considered a very venial offence. These informers obtain a regular livelihood, by instituting vexatious suits, and extorting money, by means of false oaths." " An Ottoman minister would be capable of betraying the se- crets of the empire, for a sable pelisse. An Ottoman of the lower class, would sell his honor and his most sacred duties, for a scarlet caftan." " The Turk of Bulgaria is rude to ferocity. The Albanian, murderous, thievish, and insatiable. * The Turk of the commercial towns, is rapacious and perjured. * * * The Turk of Constantinople, not only to show his disapprobation of government, but also to plunder the hou- ses and shops of individuals, sets them on fire and commits most frightful acts of barbarity." [New Edinburgh Enc.,art. Turkey.] " Should the mollah," (an ecclesiastical and judicial dignita- ry,) " be an honest man, or what is the same thing, sufficiently rich to render the octroi no object, the trades make up the defi- ciency"—(that is, if the mollah is too independent to allow the stated price of provisions to be raised by using false weights and measures;) * * * " the confidential officers of the mollah are bribed to inform the trades people, when their master is about to make a visit ; when of course, true weights and measures only are exhibited." « A valuable branch of a mollah's income, may also be found under the head of false justice. If a man have a bad cause, he encra^es two witnesses, which every where abound m Turkey, at alf prices according to the responsibility. He then bribes the mollah who admits their testimony, without reference to their character which is perfectly well known, and gives judgment according!*-." [Slacks Travels in Turkey.] II 62 These works embrace, I believe, the latest and best informa- tion respecting Turkish manners. Capt. Slade's book is the latest I have seen on Turkey ; certainly one of the best; and his opportunities for knowing the Turkish character, were extraor- dinary. He is besides, a scoffer ; which in certain quarters will be a recommendation. So much for the Turks. While I was writing this number, I saw in a New-York paper, a review of Frazer's Persia, and from that review, not having read the work, I extract the fol- lowing sketches of morals in the other great empire of the Ma- homedan faith. " Nothing can be lower than the character of these people ; (the lower class of mollahs or priests.) Their hypocrisy, pro- fligacy and want of principle, are the subject of stories, epi- grams and proverbs, without end. Take care, says an adage, of the face of a woman, and the heels of a mule : but with a mollah, be on your guard at all points. To bite like a mollah, and cheat like a mollah, are sayings of equal frequency, in the mouth of a Persian." " The seyeds, or descendants of the prophet, notwithstanding their origin, deservedly share in this obloquy; and should one of them become a hadji: that is, have made the pilgrimage to Mecca, his reputation as a rogue is fully established. (He then relates an instance of villainy in one of them.) Volney quotes a similar saying: Distrust thy neighbor if he has made a had- ji ; but if he has made two, make haste to leave thy house." [2 vol. Travels, p. 167, Am. ed. It is in chap. XL] "When, men possessing stations so highly responsible, (this relates to lawyers and judges,) and in general so well paid by government, are guilty of such mal-practices, what can be ex- pected from the inferior orders, who, in misery and want, are exposed to a thousand temptations, while their very existence depends on a sanctimonious exterior." " Demoralized in the earliest stages of their career is it to be imagined that in their rise to the higher orders of the priest- hood, they can avoid becoming hypocrites and profligates ? The 63 very extent of ascetic self-denial which they are obliged to ob- serve, whether congenial to the disposition or otherwise, pro- duces deceit and concealment. * * It is much to be feared that the conduct, even of the higher classes of the priesthood, has divested them, as a body, of the right of just complaint," (against the reproaches.) I could greatly multiply these proofs. But it may be suffi- cient to conclude with the testimony of an American ; an Ame- rican missionary in Mahomedan countries, and a man known to many of my readers. " So crookedly in fact are their minds formed," (the minds of the Turks,)" that a falsehood will often come out, as the readiest answer to a simple inquiry, when not the shadow of a motive appears for concealing the truth. Their own method of settling their matters is, to meet cheat- ing with cheating, and lie with lie ; and then by furious alter- cation and wrangling, work themselves to a mutual adjustment. Like as the inequalities of two flints are knocked off by colli- sion ; and in the one case, as in the other, the more fire is illi— cited in the process, the more perfect generally, is the agree- ment in the end." [Rev. Eli Smith's address on the trials of missionaries, delivered in Park-street church, Boston, October, 1832.] These are the people, who, according to Dr. Washington, "ne- ver tell a falsehood and never steal !" And the reason of their unparallelled morality is, that according to the precepts of their " more salutary code," they never drink wine ! This is the historical, scientific, and logical accuracy, with which facts are collected, and argument conducted, in some of the temperance publications ! The misrepresentations of Voltaire respecting the Mahomedan character, have been contemned and rejected for half a tenturv, by well informed men : and now, forsooth, they come out, new edited, as authentic information to a Chris- tian people ! In the name of an abused public, I ask, who is responsible for these publications ? Are we to understand that this letter 64 was published by that very able and excellent man, Justin Edwards ; and as matter of authority too ? Why does he not publicly disclaim it? Does he sanction its facts or its reason- ings ? And in that case, does the American temperance society stand surety for him ? I have withheld myself for months, from this unpleasant dis- cussion. I remonstrated earnestly against the beginning of it. I was overruled, and since that, the public have been flooded with matter often exceedingly unfair; untrue in fact; unsound in argument and inconsistent with itself. I lament exceedingly, the necessity of thus directly questioning the statements of a gentleman whom I have not the honor to know, and respecting whom I regret to make a single unpleasant remark. I seek not controversy, and I mean to have none. But some restraint must be put upon the abuse of fact and of reason : and I distinctly warn our societies and committees, both at Boston and Albany, that such perversions, if continued, shall not, while I have life and strength and the privilege of printing, remain either unde- tected, or unchastised. P. S. I repeat my request that the executive committee will explain more fully their views of the beer question, on which they made some remarks in the October Intelligencer, [1834,] so as to state expressly whether beer, and brandy with water, of equal strength, are or are not, " alike in all their tendencies, dangers and effects." If they admit a difference, will they please to state what it is. NO. XI. OF THE DIFFERENCE IN THE EFFECTS OF FERMENTED AND DISTILLED LIQUORS RE- SPECTIVELY, UPON INDIVIDUALS. The peculiar ruin of modern intemperance—it is a proper ground for universal associations to exclude spirits—true principles for such associations—points of opposition between the effects of distilled and fermented liquors—proofs. It is not possible to comprise, in any short definition, a just idea of the peculiar evils of intemperance, such as it has appeared in 65 the world since ardent spirit came into general use. The facts are every where before us, in all their frightful enormity ; and, until within two or three years past, they were justly stated and pressed upon the attention of this people, in many exceedingly able publications and personal addresses. But I have seen no attempt to classify and distinguish them, so as to deduce from the whole, a generalization of the proper and peculiar effects of either kind of liquor, or even of both jointly. Any such attempt would, indeed, be quite beyond the reach of our temperance edi- tors and lecturers, who have been be-laboringthe public for years, about a chemical hypothesis, without any apparent apprehension of the distinct nature of the evils in question. For myself, I can find no better description than to say, that the free use of ardent spirit leads most generally to the ruin of the man, in every possible respect—moral, physical and social. But this general description results from a great number of par- ticulars, which it will be the object of this paper to collect, state and prove. This I shall do in the way of discriminating be- tween the effects of different kinds of liquor. This is the great point; and the one which has been hitherrto, of late, either over- looked from ignorance, or kept out of view by design. The man who does not understand it, whoever he may be, and however emi- nent, may rest assured that he has never had any intimate per- ception of the real nature of the evils of intemperance. And let the man who means, finally, not to admit the whole truth as a system, be careful how he begins by the admission of any single proposition. The ruin of the man, which I state as resulting from ardent spirit, is a permanent, established ruin. He is lost at all points: and finally. The greatest point of it is the moral ruin. I mean the per- version of the moral qualities of the man, from all that is com- monly called good, into unmingled evil: for after that, his death is not a loss. This kind of ruin is new in the world within two hundred years; and chiefly so within fifty or sixty. 66 To these points I must recur by and by, at the expense of re- petition. For the temperance question has been involved in such a mist of delusion, that we must needs approach it again and again, and in different attitudes, before its features, as they are in truth, manifest before all eyes, can be realized by an abused and deluded public. Know, then, further, that the fact of mere intoxication or in- ebriation, is not of the essence of that ruin of which we speak, and against which temperance societies are, or ought to be form- ed : no, not if such mere intoxication be ever so extreme, nor if often repeated. Here lies one of the radical errors which has misled our temperance public, and been a chief instrument in the perversion of the cause. Let us understand it. All intoxication is an evil and a sin ; an abuse of the good which a bountiful Providence gives, and an offence against our own moral constitutions. So are all other sensual excesses. Intoxication, as it was from the time of Noah to about the be- ginning of the seventeenth century, stood among the excesses to which man, by evil passions, is exposed, but which were not, for that reason, excluded, by any prohibition of the cause of them. The true position of man in the moral universe is, not that of physical exclusion from the objects of appetite, but of moral and prudential restraint, in the midst of physical allowance. On this point rests the divine economy, as exhibited alike in re- velation and in the history of man; and as it appears in opposi- tion to the " more salutary" code of Mohammed and of the temperance societies. Intoxication, as it was from the time of Noah to about the be- ginning of the seventeenth century, was not only different from that total ruin above referred to, and to be further stated below and which total ruin we all daily see ; but it had nothing of that ruin in it, nor consequent upon it. Let me be met by no quib- ble here ; for, by this total ruin, I mean exactly that, the symp- toms, proofs and effects of which, were so powerfully and justly described in our admirable temperance essays during the first seven years of our societies. I mean exactly what Beecher and 67 Kitteridge meant; and I understand this matter exactly as it was understood by Dr. J. Edwards, and by ten other very eminent men, (and among them Professor Hitchcock,) whose essays are officially published by the American temperance society, in that excellent collection, the Temperance Volume. Now the differ- ence is this: the total ruin referred to, may exist, and in multi- plied cases which we all see, does exist, without any intoxica- tion whatever: and the intoxication does exist, and always, until about two hundred years ago, and chiefly until fifty or sixty years ago, did exist, without the ruin. But there is, often, since the use of spirits, a coincidence between the two. The ruined sot often gets intoxicated, and a majority do so. And the cause of the ruin and of the intoxication is, in such case, one and the same thing, that is spirits. Intoxication is the word in use, because the language was formed before the distinction between this and the other besotted ruin was even imperfectly seen ; and also be- cause this last is of an abstract character, requiring habits of gen- eralization not so well fitted to common speech. When the proofs of this distinction are well understood, it will be perceiv- ed that this word " intoxication," as lately applied, involves a deep quibble and fraud. That quibble has been a great, perhaps the greatest, cause of our failure. From the first, there have ever been some excess and some intoxication on vinous liquors. But the besotted ruin here intended, was never heard of—nor by any description or allusion, at all referred to—from the begin- ning of the world until spirits came into use. I say, undoubt- edly, that not a case of it ever existed, which, in a fair sense, was produced, except by spirits.* I know that excited men, in the violence of party zeal, may state such cases; and very cool- minded men will support the statement, until they understand the radical difference between the two things. But the very few- ness of their cases will ruin their argument,j and an impar- tial analysis, if attainable, would destroy those few. • I do not here take opium into consideration, nor in any remarks on the nature of the appetite. t Since this passage was writlen, it is most remarkably fulfilled by the letters, which see below, received from the correspondents of Dr. J. Edwards, lo whom I appealed to state tkeir fact: The fewness of the answers received, and of the cases stated in those few; the lothness of »ome 68 It now appears, that I admit some evils to have arisen from the use of vinous liquors. And it is plain, that I must admit the right of individuals to associate on any point of speculation, or moral principle, or practice, and to gain proselytes. The temperance societies are now just such associations. Where, then, is the point of my objection ? I answer: they have a right so to associate; though not by surprise and management to pervert societies formed on other principles. But when they so associate, I have a right to say that their plans are impracticable; and if ever so practicable, wrong. This brings me, by way of necessary explanation, to consider what a temperance society can do, and ought to do ; and what it can not do, nor ought, if it could. A public and voluntary association, except on religious grounds, to use any article, or to do or forbear doing any act, in a moderate or mitigated way, is an absurdity- No association for sucli an object can long exist, but for an object perfectly defined and specific—admitting in every case a definitive yea or nay. There are very few such public objects. If, in 1774, the agreement had been to use tea in moderation only, it would have been at once useless and absurd. The principle, therefore, of such a society, must be that of utter exclusion, or it can have no useful nor practical principle at all. If there were any thing in the use of tea, constantly and violently endangering the public liberties, there ought to be a voluntary and universal bond of utter exclusion against it; and laws, also, when they can be obtained. But if the moderate use of tea is salutary, and the excess only would be dangerous to health, morals, or public liberty, then that subject is not within the powers or competence of any voluntary association, but must be left to the teaching of morals, the practice of medicine, or the restraints of law. Therefore no great or permanent benefit can arise from tem- perance societies, unless they aim at, and finally accomplish, the to be brought to plain matter of fact; and the wide discrepancy as to fact, among those who «n- «wer, will be matter of curious observation. 69 point of universal exclusion. Of course, they ought to be di- rected against no objects but such as ought to be universally ex- cluded. And to direct such societies against a given object, without a reasonable hope of uniting mankind in a universal voluntary bond of exclusion, is folly, and will lead to certain failure. If there is an article of such vast and paramount destructiveness, that we can hope to form against it a universal league of exclu- sion, uniting all men of all classes and denominations—christians, infidels, patriots, gambling politicians, men of business, political economists, farmers, mechanics, laboring and professional men— then possibly such an article may be banished from human use. But without a universal and overwhelming sense of danger, brought home to the bosoms of all men, no such exclusion can take place, and it is vain to attempt it. But if not universally and effectu- ally excluded, the article exists among us; if it exists, all can obtain, and most will taste it; tasting forms that inexpressi- bly insidious and ensnaring appetite, which I allege to be entire- ly peculiar to spirits ; and if that is so, the battle must, through all ages, be fought by contending against appetites formed and forming ; that is, the battle will be lost. To this point exactly, I think the infatuation of our temperance societies has brought us. Or if there is any hope, I think it must be reserved for an- other generation. No finite mind can estimate, no imagination display, the im- mense amount of good that might have accrued, if any happy effort of human wisdom, benevolence and perseverance, could have fully excluded ardent spirits from this nation. The exam- ple might, and probably would, then have extended from nation to nation, and have introduced the " promised age." Omitting now all questions whether wine, tea, coffee, tobacco, or animal food, ought to be excluded—was it not the part of wisdom, to inquire whether they could be 7 Wine, for exam- ple—blessed and signalized in many ways by the spirit of inspi- ration, and by sacred use : Wine, with the whole current of medical testimony, and of history, and of human experience, in its favor, until two or three years ago ; and cider and family i 70 beer, which all our fathers drank without suspicion of immo- rality or injury ; how could any extreme of delusion indulge the hope, that all mankind could be united in common league for their banishment ? What a loss was that, when a few misguided men blighted all our glorious prospects of possible good, for the vain ambition of " going farther than others," " taking higher ground," and leading a party ! Or if not so, then how lamenta- ble, that the same stupendous loss should be incurred, for the sake of a chemical hypothesis, utterly false and baseless. But this point of the proper nature and objects of temperance societies, is so vital, that I must recur to it enough to be sure of being fully apprehended. The object, then, of the societies, was to induce a universal change of a universal, public, nation- al usage. That usage related to an appetite, and that appetite Was strong and dangerous. So far we are agreed. Then I say, that there can be no such general change, except an immense majority will agree to it; and no such majority can be hoped for, ex- cept in a case of very great, overwhelming, and manifest pub- lic danger. It must, therefore, be some visible, tangible thing— precise and definite, not complex—such as all minds can com- prehend, and few will dispute in principle. Such an object was the evil of ardent spirit; and hence the unparalleled success of temperance associations for the first six or seven years. They had an advocate in the conscience of every human being. But then, I say, that the temperance societies were combined not only against such an evil, but I say further, that this evil was new in the world, perfectly peculiar in kind, generically distinct, and of most overwhelming and destructive power and magni- tude. I say that this peculiar evil arose from the use of ardent spirits, and from ardent spirits only : that the danger of spirit lies in the appetite for it, and in the effects when the appetite is indulged ; both entirely peculiar, and both such, that the only proper means of safety consisted in total exclusion. But why so? Because, as to the appetite, it is fascinating and insidious beyond the example of any other thing. It is the case of a ser- pent charming a bird—the fascination is irresistible, until the 71 bird finds itself caught; and when caught, it is too late. No generation of birds learns any thing from the experience of oth- ers. There is no way, but to destroy the serpent. But exclusion is a thing which admits not, in this case, of de- grees. A thing is either excluded or not excluded; and if not excluded, it is admitted. If spirit is admitted at all, it is to be tasted ; if tasted by few, it will be so by many : those that taste, form the appetite ; and those that form the appetite, are ruined: the nation goes on to ruin, and I see not, but that ruin must now continue to extend over a great part of the earth. I am quite aware here, that I am anticipating the results of facts yet to be stated ; and that my opponent, when reading this, says in his heart, that I am arguing against myself, because I do not exclude cider and beer. Let him enjoy the illusion as long as he can. My question just here, is with prudentials. For a vast proportion, (no matter whether a majority or not,) of wise and good men, in this and all countries, will deny that fermented liquors ever produced the destructive evils complained of, and they will not unite to exclude them, until convinced that they ought to do it, or compelled without conviction. But if such will not unite to exclude them, they are not excluded. For a national temperance society to form a party within its own bosom, is suicide. It must be national or nothing. The peculiar dangers and great destructiveness of ardent spirit, present a fit case for the action of a national society, and for the object of universal exclusion. The use of vinous liquors is a proper subject for moral and prudential regulation only ; and this, again, belongs to the department of individual action. It can not be regulated by social pledges. Let us review our ground thus far. Under the general allega- tion, that ardent spirit tends to the ruin of man in all his inter- ests and relations, and in his whole character, I have already stated, 1. That this is a permanent, established ruin: 2. That it is new in the world within about two centuries : 3. That the great evil of it is, that it is a moral ruin : and, 4. negatively, 72 That it does not consist in, nor depend on, the mere fact of in- toxication, though ever so flagrant; but is wholly different. But while on this point of intoxication, it seemed necessary to answer the inquiry, Is not intoxication a great evil ? Un- doubtedly so: but mere intoxication, which is all that wine ever produces, and that very rarely, is not such an evil as calls for the institution of national societies; nor at all so dangerous that mankind can possibly be united in societies for that purpose. In a mere prudential point of view, therefore, it was a fatal error to extend the operation of the societies to the exclusion of vinous liquors, even if it were desirable to exclude them. But it is not desirable to exclude them. Vinous liquors pro- duce none of the great evils which spirit produces ; and on the other hand, if they were excluded, the evils of intemperance would be inexpressibly aggravated by the use of some other substance, as in Turkey, by opium. This brings us back to the point of the peculiar character of ardent spirit; respecting which some things have been taken for granted, some partially stated, and all remain to be proved. I say, then, In the 5th place : Among the foundations of all truth on this subject, lies the great fact, that ardent spirit almost universally engenders a rapidly increasing appetite, which, if indulged by any customary use, leads on to the destruction of the man. The opposite fact is, that vinous liquors do not cause any such in- creasing appetite. And not merely so : the farther truth is, that among aged men, who have drank wine or cider all their lives, the appetite for them more generally decreases, as the advance of years brings on a decrease of animal power and exertion, and with that, a decrease of the demand for sustenance. 6. And as regards the young. Those who are accustomed to wine from childhood and youth, never get drunk upon it: those who are accustomed to ardent spirit from childhood and youth, ne- ver escape ruin. By the word " never" here, I mean to express as much universality as the word properly and usually imports, when applied to life and manners. 7. This seventh difference which I state between the effects 73 of these liqnors, relates to the intencity of appetite which either engenders. The use of distilled liquors goes on to form an appetite which is, beyond all comparison, the most unquenchable and irresistible of all human appetites. This distinct and peculiar character appears in its usurping the whole control of the man, and lead- ino- him, with open eyes and full knowledge, to certain and fear- ful destruction. It is a morbid, longing, yearning thirst, which nothing but spirits will satisfy, and which, as in the case of fire, when spirit is poured on to quench it, burns more fierce- ly afterwards. Much more I could say ; not by drawing my facts from imagination, but from the personal and confidential disclosures of the victims. It is an appetite which tramples un- der foot, at once, all the strongest affections of our nature, and all moral feeling and principle—the love of honor and reputa- tion and of property—the shame of poverty and beggary—the suf- fering of actual want—the parental tenderness, which leads us to sacrifice all (all but the love of spirits) for our children ; and finally, among those who believe in them, it defies the horrors of final retribution. There have been drunkards made such on strong wines, and possibly on cider and common wines. There have been men who have habitually loved wine, and drank too much. But such an appetite as this which is now raving in the bosoms of thousands and tens of thousands, from the use of ardent spirits, was never produced by any other substance, since the world be- gan. In every such remark, however, I leave opium out of the question. 8. Ardent spirit is, in a true and fair sense of the word, an intoxicating liquor. Vinous liquors, though they can intoxicate, yet they are not usually drank, nor do mankind usually desire to drink them, in such quantities as to produce intoxication. It is not here in place to detect the very unworthy quibble which has been successfully played off upon the words " intox- icating liquors." If I have space to write off a list of frauds and sophisms, with detections, it will be done: otherwise omitted. 74 9. The ninth difference which I mention, relates to health and disease. Our temperance publications used, until of late, to ex- hibit, in terrific array and with perfect truth, the variety of dis- eases, both organic and functionary, which are produced by ardent spirit. " Dyspepsia, jaundice, emaciation, corpulency, dropsy, ulcers, rheumatism, gout, tremors, palpitations, hysteria, epi- lepsy, palsy, lethargy, apoplexy, melancholy, madness, delirium tremens, and premature old age, compose but a small part of the catalogue of diseases produced by ardent spirit." So says Dr. Sewall, in his address published by the American temperance societv in the Temperance Volume. But Dr. Sewall, in that very able and comprehensive address, upon " the effects of in- temperance on the intellectual, moral and physical powers of man," refers the whole, in terms express, to ardent spirit, and to that only; and gives not the least hint of any evil arising from beer, wine or cider. In the same volume is the essay of Dr. Rush, the patriarch of the temperance reformation, who mentions further, among diseases, diabetes, eruptions, hoarseness, and all the symptoms of a disorganized stomach. But Dr. Rush says that, " fermented liquors have often a friendly influence upon life and health." The Temperance Volume seems now to be discarded, and probably for these offences. The late Dr. Hosack, in his very able temperance address, holds the same opinions; and to the list of diseases adds, fevers, g' indular obstructions, and stone. I presume that no other single cause can be pointed out, in the whole history of disease, producing half as many and as terrible particular diseases, as are contained in the above lists. What are the diseases which have been imputed to vinous li- quors by any physicians or moralists, for three thousand years, among, perhaps, twenty nations, which in each age have used them ? Answer 1st. Rich wines, long and voluptuously used, have been supposed to be a great cause of gout. 2d. They have been alleged to produce rheumatism, which is untrue ; because that disorder prevails equally among those who do not use such liquors. These liquors are, however, very hurtful to such as 75 are already rheumatic. 3d. Redness of eyes, and no other bod- ily illness, is attributed, in the scriptures, to the undue use of wine. 4th. To this list, Professor Silliman, as if in derision, has added bleeding at the nose. One hundred and fifty millions of people, during one hundred generations, would make about fifteen thousand millions of hu- man beings who have inhabited the wine region of the world. It so happens, also, that this is the civilized and literary part of the world : and the only part, until lately, in which there has been much real medical science. We have means, therefore, to know, in substance, what all the real physicians that ever lived, thought of wine ; and if among them all, there has been any accredited or reputable opinion that wine produced other bodily disorders than these four, let it be pointed out.* 10. The medical use of wine and spirits respectively, presents a case in near connexion with the last. There are certain classes of cases in which, by the public and all-acknowledged practice of all physicians, previous to the year 1831, wine was used as a specific, and almost the only one. One of these is tetanus or lockjaw ; another is, a low, nervous or typhus stage of any fever ; and on the same principle, any and every case of great prostra- tion of vital power, unless some opposing indication forbids the use. In some of these, opium is now substituted, and in others there is no known substitute. It is very plain that this use of wine proceeds upon the ground of its adding permanently to the vital energy. But will any good physician use spirits in any case to give permanent strength? Can a case be shown, of the successful treatment of nervous fe- vers by the use of brandy ? I recur again to the first point, (see page 65,) that is, to the continuing or permanent effect of the habitual use of spirit upon the moral constitution : though like many other features of the • Since this was written, I have the letter of Dr. Woods, of Andover, which see below, and in which he mentions headache. I think this is true of many constitutions j and I now remember to have heard the aamo thing of cider. 7(5 case, it is of too plain and every day a character, to be seen by our temperance lecturers. The habitual use of spirit produces a permanent moral disease, besides the physical, which has no connexion with mere drunk- enness, nor drinking fits. It affects the man as much when the drunken fit is off, as when on : and it affects those who habitually tipple, but are never inebriated, as much as the drunken. A right perception of this great truth, is fundamental to all sound knowledge of the subject. The special importance of it is, that it cuts up by the roots, the low deceptions about " all intoxicating liquors"—" what matter is it whether a man gets drunk on wine or whiskey"—" alcohol is the same in every com- bination," &c. &c. As an example, and not as proof, I mention the case of the man now in Auburn prison, who killed his own very fine child of seven years old, by repeated whippings and beatings, and on whose trial I was one of the counsel. For four successive days, the blows of one day were levelled upon the deep, swollen and festering wounds of a previous day. This man was never known to be intoxicated, nor in any way inca- pacitated, except that liquor made him more hurried and malig- nant. He always did business correctlv, and was a successful and wealthy country merchant. There was proof of his accura- cy in business during the very intervals between the inhuman whippings. To the everlasting disgrace of courts, juries and codified laws, he escaped without hanging. I also recur again to the second point mentioned above, (page 65,) which is in substance this: that the permanent effect just mentioned, is, among other things, a permanent, utter perversion and ruin of the moral constitution of the man. When a man is given up to the habitual use of ardent spirit, every single natural affection and moral quality which we con- sider as virtuous and commendable, is universally eradicated from his heart. Thenceforth he becomes the victim of every base and malignant passion. He is false, mean, shameless, cow- ardly, jealous and cruel. The combined effect of cruelty and 77 cowardice, is seen in his cringing before the strong, and tyranni- zing over the weak and defenceless. Hence the beating and butchery of wives and children. No use of wine or cider merely, that is, by men not previous- ly injured by spirits, ever produced these effects, or any of them, or any approach to them. I challenge all history and observa- tion to produce a single case of this kind.* The moral ruin of the man, is the great ruin. The subject needs to be unfolded with proofs and illustrations, which would exceed the length of this pamphlet. I have piles of notes before me, in which I have followed out each virtuous moral affection in its change to the opposite vice, with proofs from general and known facts, and many names of victims, which, in the course of my life, I have collected as examples. But such things have too much the character of every day fact, to be now much re- garded. They are things which almost every reader understood something of from early life and from tradition. And the tem- perance appetite now sickens at plain truth, and needs something strange, paradoxical, incredible. This appetite goes on with progressive stimulation, like the drunkard's : rum is not strong enough for the one without pepper, nor can the other be satiated with absurdity, unless the thing asserted be also impossible. 11. The habitual use of ardent spirit most generally creates an unconquerable aversion to business and to all regular occupa- tion, either mental or manual. This, connected with other cau- ses which have been mentioned, leads to the ruin of property ; and so the victim becomes a ragged vagabond and outcast. Such are the objects which we have almost constantly before our eyes, and from whose history we so frequently learn that they have been men of most respectable callings and property. But as to the waste of property, the fact is not quite so universal as most of the other points of ruin are. • Ii, every appeal of this kind, I refer to such facts only, as were publicly authenticated during three thousand years or more, previous to 1831. 1 have seen too much since that time, of indi- vidual facts drawn from •« our villages," and converted into general propositi.. K 78 This concentration of effects bearing upon the man in the re- lations of business, industry and property, is, I suppose, entirely peculiar to spirit. I have never seen nor heard of such case resulting from the use of wine, and I presume that no recorded example of it can be found. 12. Death is the closing item in all discussions upon intem- perance. From our statistics, it may be inferred that the United States lose, by the use of ardent spirit, as many men, in propor- tion to numbers, as France lost in the field during her rev- olutionary wars. But our loss is unceasing, in peace as well as war. The habitual drinkers of wine and cider, are as uniformly fine, healthy and long-lived men, as can be found among any class or denomination, in any country of corresponding latitude and cli- mate. These twelve points of oppositeness between the effects of the liquors in question, are not all, even of those which press upon my mind. But I must proceed to the facts which prove them. Some of these have been occasionally stated as we went on. I now proceed to state, more fully. The proofs. 1st. About nine or ten of our northern and eastern states are inhabited by about seven millions of people— but say six millions of country people—and five millions and three-quarters of them temperate—who, and whose ancestors, have used cider as a common beverage from the time that, in each place, there was fruit enough to produce it. As it has been much and often urged in temperance papers, that the poor have no liquor to drink except spirit, I allege, on the contrary, that this is by far the most abundant cider country that ever existed__that the average price of the article is not much over a dollar a barrel or a cent by the quart—that through all this district the apple tree is more universal than any other single tree, and a cider- mill the most common of all manufactories. I call to witness these five and three-fourths millions of peo- ple, that they and their ancestors, who drank cider freely and habitually, (not usually drinking distilled liquors,) have ever 79 been entirely exempt from all the peculiar evils of intemperance as above enumerated. They have not been ruined sots, nor mo- rally perverted ; nor has the appetite for cider increased, but usually decreased in age; nor has any bodily disease, more se- vere than rheumatism, sore eyes, nose bleeding, and headache, been imputed to it; and as to these, very rarely. Cider is, and ever has been, drank without any restraint, except inclination, by all ages and both sexes. That signally bright, moral and christian race of men to whom I refer, have thus drank it, from generation to generation. Governors, judges, councillors, legis- lators, magistrates, farmers, mechanics and professional men— all of them thus drank it. Ministers, officers of churches and private christians of all denominations—all of them thus drank it. And I aver, that regarding those who adhered to cider or vi- nous liquor only, there was no suspicion of moral nor of bodily ills, unless in cases as rare and peculiar as any other evil. And among no people that ever existed, was there a larger proportion of men virtuous, amiable and intelligent; nor in the same lati- tudes, of greater personal strength and activity ; nor of more ge- neral health, nor of a finer old age.* Let it now be remembered, that according to the hypothesis of our present temperance societies, all these people, even from childhood, were drinking that which is exactly equivalent to weak brandy and water ! Or perhaps the more favored doctrine at this moment is, that by reason of the tartaric and malic acids, these vinous liquors are somewhat worse than pure spirit and wa- ter Three or four theorists have broached this doctrine, and it is instantly seized and stated as authorative, by venerated tem- perance leaders. But what is the doctrine, in plain English? It is, that the acids which we taste in ripe grapes, apples, pears, peaches strawberries and raspberries, are of so destructive a na- ture that it is safer and better to drink pure spirit and water, than the liquors which contain these acids. Thus extremes meet» Thus the tipler on pure whiskey and water is told by the < See note A. at the end oft).,. Number. 80 highest temperance authority in our country, that the drink he uses is safer and better than Judea wine, or the cider which all our fathers drank ; safer and better than that wine which was one peculiar blessing of the promised land, and which is a me- morial of the Saviour's blood! This doctrine, I suppose, is to go forth among the permanent temperance documents, and be put into the hands of all the men of science in all nations. As a mate to it, send along the disclosure made at Buffalo, that chem- istry is indebted to American temperance for the discovery that there is alcohol in pure wine ! The pit of absurdity has no bottom.* Proof 2d. That the evils of intemperance in our country, such in substance as I have mentioned them, are attributable to ardent spirits, and to ardent spirits only, and that cider or other vinous liquors have no agency in the matter, I now vouch in testimony, all our temperance societies, all our committees, all our published addresses, resolutions and proceedings, previous to the breaking out of the new party about 1831. But as this may seem vague and general, I put it into such a shape, that every ho- nest man may see the proof to be perfectly overwhelming and irresistible—and I bring it to the following point. The American temperance society have published, under the special direction of their secretary, a book, of which the follow- ing is the title-page : " The Temperance Volume, embracing seventeen Tracts of the American Temperance Socie- ty. Published by the Society, at No. 150, Nassau-street, New-York. D. Fanshaw, Printer." These seventeen tracts, or such of them as bear the names of authors, are written by the following gentlemen respectively, viz : Dr. Rush, Dr. Edwards, J. Kitteridge, A. Dickinson, B. Dickinson, J. Marsh, Prof. Hitch- cock, Bp. Mcllvaine, Dr. Sewall, Dr. Gridley and Pres. Hum- phrey. Every one of these tracts, which at all refers to the cause of intemperance, attributes it, in full, precise terms, to ardent spirits, and to no other cause ; it is generally so at- * See note B. at the end of this Number. 81 tributed as to exclude any other cause; and in every instance where the cause is referred to, it is unansicerably clear, that no oth- er cause than ardent spirit was at all in the mind of the writer. It may show the state of temperance opinion at that time, to re- peat my reference to the first page of the book, where Dr. Rush says, that " fermented liquors often have a friendly influence up- on life and health." I also refer to Prof. Hitchcock's tract, in which, at page 21, are the following very just remarks: " Judea was a wine country. * * In our country, the apple takes place of the grape, * * To use wine in wine countries, is, therefore, the same thing as to use cider in cider countries." And though Prof. Hitchcock makes some objection to the use of wine in our country, (justly enough, if factitious wine is meant,) yet he attributes no evil whatever to it. And the above refer- ence to cider makes it certain, that he never had then thought of its being injurious. The meaning is, (see the whole passage,) " Judea wine is as harmless as our cider." The very title of his tract is against ardent spirits ; and ardent spirits, ardent spi- rits, ardent spirits, is repeated through every page of his tract, and through every page of every tract in the book, unless, I think, in one or two, which perhaps do not speak of the cause at all. To the eleven distinguished men just named, I add Dr. Beech- er, who was earlier in the field, and not inferior to any in power ; and we have twelve men who, presumptively, had seen, exami- ned and reasoned as much about the causes of intemperance, as any twelve men living ; they were all brought up in the cider region ; several of them knew all about town life, and every one of them knew the worst that wine can do in colleges. They were advanced in life ; the ease in question is not one where any new facts can, with the least reason, be pretended ; for as to ci- der, they necessarily knew every general fact that can be now known ; and as to wine, they were learned men, and had access to the history of four thousand years of wine-drinking. These twelve men fairly represent all that is known or can be known on such a question of general fact. 1 adduce them 82 \ now here as personal witnesses to the proposition, that the es- sential evils of intemperance in this country, such as they them- selves described them, are wholly attributable to ardent spirit, and not to any other cause. That some of these men have now changed their opinions makes no difference : for it is a question of fact; and chiefly of fact upon their personal knowledge. The facts have not changed: and I hold them to these recorded declarations, on the state of the fact as it was from the begin- ning of the world, up to about 1831. Several of these gentle- men have not changed their opinions. These twelve men also fairly represent the remaining twelve millions of our free people, as they were up to the same epoch. Proof 3d. My next proof is from the consideration, nega- tively, of what cider has not done, among that population of five millions and three-quarters of country temperate people, above supposed, in the cider country. We have said that the whole of these have drank cider, without restraint, from child- hood. Then I call to witness this whole population and the whole temperance statement of the fact, that the child or youth who is accustomed to mixtures of spirits, never escapes—never lives to forty—seldom so long—and is never temperate. The fact that very few parents ever do allow their children spirits, unless rarely and very sparingly, is proof of a universal public opinion, supporting me. But some mad-men have given their children spirirts more freely. The consequences have been de- tailed in better times, in temperance addresses ; and the tale is one—death and ruin. Now therefore, that these five and three- quarters of a million of people do all exist, having from child- hood formed all the appetite which cider can form, is conclusive proof of a radical difference in kind between the effects of cider and spirits. Proof 4th. As to wine, in modern wine countries, I refer to No. VI. Proof 5th. As to beer, I refer to a short article which I hope to insert below. Proof 6th. I refer negatively, to what does not appear of 83 the nature, kind, and extent of the evils of intemperance, from any account of, or reference to them, previous to about the reign of Elizabeth in England. And on this head my reference is made, first, in general terms, to the Bible, and to all that we have of history, and of life, morals and manners, from classic sources, and to medical history, and to the state of modern nations up to the period specified. Some reference has been made to these in speaking of the national extent of intemperance. But as all this opens a field infinitely too extensive to be explored in detail, even if I had the learning and ability, I shall next bring the question to a more precise test, after explaining whence that test is derived. While I was attempting in 1834 to write in the Temperance Intelligencer, I was addressed in that paper by a writer under an anoymous signature, and after the exclusion of my numbers, a letter of his, nearly four columns in length, appeared in the De- cember paper of that year, on the subject now in question. A large part of his letter is indeed engrossed in some ado about the misprint of a name, and in carping and quibbling at words and phrases—the whole showing a mind incapable of rising to that style of discussion which the love of truth will always inspire in every manly breast. But he seems to have had industry and learning too—much, beyond my own. In my second number of one column, and the last that was allowed to appear, (see the November Temperance Intelligencer 1834.) I had begun, and I hope in a perfectly unexceptionable way, to state my propositions on the present subject. Among other things I said, " that it does not appear from the Bible nor from any ancient record, that evils beyond the mere fact of in- toxication and a quarrel or a law suit, were noticed except in cases exceedingly rare, like that of Clytus. * * From the Bible and from all that is written on ancient morals and manners, in- temperance would seem to be among the least evils known when wine was the drink. * * But this must be confined to wine countries." That there always have been some evils from the 84 use of wine—and that intoxication is itself a great evil, has been very often admitted by me. Now the test to which I bring this subject is the aforesaid an- swer of nearly four columns of " The cold water man." I re- fer to it not for the purpose of confutation ; I take it as it is. I have seen no statement more full or learned. This writer refers to his authorities, ancient and modern throughout, and his references, scripture included, are forty one in all. They embrace a period of not less than fifteen or sixteen hundred years; among nations of three great descrip- tions, Greeks, Romans and Hebrews; and of population, for some part of the time, not less than one hundred or one hundred and fifty millions. In all comparisons of this kind, it is fair to remember, that the ancients wrote, vastly less than ourselves. On the other hand we know certainly that we have all their best writers on morals. We know certainly that we have the Bible ; and it is a full code. Then I say, that from the before mentioned writers, it does not appear that wine intemperance, was ever referred to as produ- cing— 1. Any single evil to the body politic, such as a general or frequent waste of life or of national resources, or pauperism. 2. Any single permanent evil to the moral, social or physical man, such as disease, aversion to business, loss of property, ha- tred and cruelty to weak relatives, jealousy, cowardice, general malignity, &c. 3. Any peculiar intensity or rapid increase of appetite. 4. Nor in a general way, was any such ruin, sottishness, beg- gary, or degradation, ever alluded to, as were constantly brought into view by our temperance addresses, until lately. And I allege, that among that multitude of writers, and severe moralists too, pagan and christian, if such evils existed in the same degree as among us, there was just the same reason why they should allude to them, as that they shouid be so fully discus- sed by such writers as Rush, Beecher, Kitteridge, Sewall, and multitudes of others. 85 And the precise reason why the subject has never been bo dis- cussed before, is, that the evils in question have been coming on upon us gradually, and chiefly since the revolutionary war; and that never, until they became fully established, were the-eyes of mankind opened to see them in all their enormity. Merely as an example of the use of ancient records on this subject, I refer to the first chapter of the epistle to the Romans. In that, St. Paul draws up an indictment against the heathen for their vices ; a more formal and regular document of its kind, than can elsewhere be found ; and intemperance is not named in it all. In others, it is named. But the fair result of all is, that intem- perance was not among the most prominent of Jewish vices. But compare the whole account of its effects as taken from sacred and profane history, for fifteen hundred years, with the intempe- rance of a single county among us in one year, and it will be seen how incalculable is the difference.* Proof 7th. It remains to speak of wines in this country. We import our wines, and therefore, in general, we have strong kinds, which will bear the voyage and the climate. These are not the best for constant and general use; and hence, the test of our actual experience, compared with that of wine-drinking na- tions generally, is unequally and unfairly against me. I now submit to the inequality, and present the following tests of the habitual family use of strong but pure wines. I was a resident of the city of New-York from 1794 to 1811, with occasional absences of somewhat over two years. Peculiar circumstances brought me early into an acquaintance with many public men, and with men in private life, who having some for- tune, had always lived in a style of some affluence ; and I think I nmy safely say, that my acquaintance was so general, though not universal, among such men, that with the assistance I am about to mention, I can truly state the effects of wine among them. ' See note C, at the end of this Number. L 86 For this purpose, I made out a list of all the families I could recollect, of the following descriptions, namely : including fam- ilies of distinction or known wealth, who had always used wine in the ordinary family way, on the table and at the side-board ; and excluding such as, from sudden wealth, or sudden political elevation, or other causes, then used it, but had not been so brought up. My list amounted to 180. To make it complete in its re- sults, down to the time when made, 1834, I had it revised by two friends who were brought up in the city ; one of whom has always lived there, and who knows that order of people well. It will be perceived, therefore, that our list, if honestly made, would bring to a perfect test the effects of strong wine upon two generations; that is, the heads of the families as they were thirty or forty years ago ; and their descendants now upon the stage of life. And as regards children, I appeal to all who know the habits of former times, for the fact, that children were much oftener urged to taste wine, than restrained from it. Then it will be perceived that my list embraced exactly that selection of 180 families, who, among all the families in this nation, ought to have shown the ravages of intemperance, in their most destruct- ive and unsparing form, if the effects of wines and spirits be not widely diverse in kind. These 180 families, at the usual esti- mate of 5| to a family, would make 990 persons; say, 1000. The result. Of the 180 heads of the families, there were, Regular drunkards, or men ruined in estate, character or mor- als, or who became morose in their families, or showed any oth- er marks of the ruined sot,.............,...............0 Injured by drinking brandy, (drinking less wine than for- merly, or none,) and whose lives probably have been, or will be shortened by it, but have lived to a good age,........5 Living, mostly in very advanced age, none less than 70, and in character highly respectable,.....................33 Died, mostly in advanced age and of highly respectable characters, many of them being our most distinguished pub- licn^n,..........................................142 180 87 And of the remaining 820 members of those families, we could find no more, on the most careful investigation, who are, or have been, habitually intemperate, than..............17 Brought down : intemperate heads of families, ..........5 Intemperate, in all,................................22 Temperate, as believed,...........................978 1000 The present estimate, (no doubt exaggerated,) is for the Uni- ted States, 500,000 drunkards and 50,000 deaths annually. Every ten years, therefore, the half million of drunkards are supposed to die off, and a new half million to succeed. Thei^ 500,000)13,000,000(26; that is, one in every twenty-six is intemperate, and lives such, on an average, ten years : then again, 26)1000(3S£f; and three times that, (for the three periods of ten years,) makes 114lf, which is the number of intemperate persons that our wine drinking families ought to have furnished, according to the alleged national average. The whole result isj that those families, so far as we could discover, do not furnish more than one-fifth as many intemperate persons as the alleged average of the United States. But I suppose, truly about one- third. To bring this subject more demonstratively home, as it were, to the consciences of readers, I present the following se- lection of names from my list. The names of public men are so much public property, and so frequently referred to on all questions, that I hope this measure will not be deemed improper. Selected names otpuMic men in the city of Jf«- York, deceased, at from about ™ » ■P^rf» years of age, and who are all believed to have used wine from early life, and in general, are known to have used it from 50 to 70 years : John Jay Lewis Morris, Richard Harrison, Mather Clarkson, John Sloss Hobart, Nicholas F.sb, Egbert Benson, Robert Benson, Robert Troup, Edward Dmisromb, William Denning, Richard ^ anck, Brockholst Livingston, John Broome, *™^ ^ Edward Livingston, Aaron Burr 0hVer Wolcott, Samuel Osgood James Da-ne. ^ Governeur Morris, Joshua bands, 88 If I felt at liberty to go among the living, and among unoffi- cial characters, and into the country, and out of the state, it may easily be imagined what numbers of illustrious men the catalogue would include : Washington, J. Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and J. Q. Adams; Chief Justice Marshall, and^all the judges; I presume all the heads of departments; Hancock, and probably every man who signed the Declaration of Indepen- dence. I never heard of an instance of alleged intemperance among any of these.* Among officers of high rank in the revo- lution army, there were two instances, I think. But I think it right to say, under my signature, that the above list and selection of names are fairly made. They contain every name I could think of, coming within the description, except one, which has been omitted upon a mere doubt whether, after a very long life of honor, his habits altered. If any one thinks he can point out public men not here named, and whose families have proved intemperate, I admit the fact; and I add, that in every single instance of that kind which I can recollect, the heads of such families used ardent spirit habitually and freely, as was either known or reported at the time. To select a single, insulated, perhaps a mistaken fact, in con- tradiction to all other experience, as the basis for a general rule of action in the world, is the perverted way of reasoning which misleads our temperance public; and of which a melancholy in- stance comes under my eye as I am finishing this paper. If a single case will prove a universal principle one way, will not an opposite case prove it the contrary way ? It is in reference to such reasoning, that I depart for once from the history of millions, and nations, and ages, and of all present observation, to show that I, too, can cite individual cases. I think there can be no indeli- cacy in referring to the two following names of men now canon- ized by public respect, though not in civil office. f1it','^e,lateDr*TimothJrDwi«ht» the the°l°gist, president of Yale College. He had a favorite opinion, that sound old wine note D. at the end of thi. Number, 89 was almost a specific against certain illnesses of children; and this opinion I have heard him press upon his friends, who would naturally enough adopt the views of so able and persuasive a man. It happens that my own family connexions by marriage, and his, were, to some extent, the same in New-York; and I per- sonally know that most or all were, in fact, accustomed to offer wine to their young children, and not unfrequently to urge it up- on them. I presume I have much oftener urged wine on my own children, than refused it. Dr. Dwight had a family of seven sons, who lived to manhood ; and his near or remote connexions, living in the way I have mentioned, would amount to about 25 families, and 140 persons. Among his/