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VOL. XVIII- the temperance banner IS THE Oraii of llie Sous of Temperance ° and of the State Convention of Georgia: PUBLISHED WEEKLY, by BESJAIHS BBAMTLY. o* Term*—one Dollar a year,in advance. Letters must be Post paid, to receive at tention^^ mu * Banner Almanack, for 1852. g II § ? ii? ?? 1 1 § Iffl £r S 111 t ■/. a. SL'i ? *5 H 2 ? §■> S'*: =L'\ I inni- i rtftf * lilli fulLr. ♦5 7si slio UJ ,{,5 , 7 { ,g ,Sli7 k IIP Hill ibhbl 5 111 SISSS I^^ “7; it!iS **-;7; 7;; ]•” S sssssas !>Hss iu ’l AF ’itl2n 14 lS ISII7 i| if ]| g|“ |‘l 1! il.SiMd.?*""'? 5 i|iiaSliSSi Sisssw mstt m ‘““"ill S9 10 11! 12 DeC ” s fib s9lO 11 gu{ ‘5 njK 19 20 21 22b M 25 p I Fr . r * man is in .lwusar of becoming a drunkard who is in Q Every j rin ki„g ardent spirits, N . ot-1 „„ he :• wvrn ill. When he iat work. £8 j isssssssr £> ! f IVjien he ia dry- >4 Atemeats. &j i When heUWy. j| £ j 7 \Vhpnho travels. r !(• On hollulays. . a 8. When he is at home. ) 18. On i’nblic occasions, fc | 9. When he is in company ( 19. On any day, or J Kj” Every friend to Temperance A should take the Temperance Banner: g ; “If Temperance men will not supportx MOltAh AND HELKiidlJS rv. s. Corns to Jesus- IlelL awaits you-—come to be saved. Hell is not a fable, invented by :priests to frighten their fellow-men ; but as sure as the Bible ;s the word o! God, so sure it is that “the wicked shall be turned into hetl, and all the na tions that fought God.” “It is appoin terl unto men once to die, but after this the judgment .” Then all men must give an account of “the deeds done in the body.” “God will judge the se crets of men.” Then all sinners who have not obtained pardon by coming to Jesus will be on the left hand ot the judge, who will pronounce their dread ful sentence: “Depart ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” O who can toll tlie torments of that place ? No more pleas ant light ot days, no more cheei fui voice of friends, no more comforts ot home, no more pleasures of the world and sin. The rich man can take none of his wealth with him —the gay man none of his amusements. Conscience will dart its slii-ig ; past sins will be •clearly remembered, and past opporlu nities of escape now gone forever. O that one of them might come back ! O /or one more Sabbath ! O for one more hour to pray for mercy ! But it will then be too late— too late. Darkness forever, sin forever, woe for ever, death for ever. Jesus speaks of it as “the lake that burnetii with lire and brim stone —outer darkness, where there is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing ot teeth—where the worm dieth not, and the file is not quenched —whore the wicked rich man, being in torment, cried out : “Send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip ot his linger in water, and •cool my tongue, for 1 am tormented in this flame.” There he that is filthy shall be “filthy still,” and “the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever-” What misery can be great er than what such words as these de scribe ? How dreadful then to be in hell! VVhat more horrible ? And eve ry unforgiven sinner is on his v/ay to it. You, whose eye now reads this .page, if you are not pardoned, you are on your way. Every hour brings you nearer. Ouce there, and all hope is gone forever. But is there no escape? Yes; one way, and only one. Flee to Jesus. He can save from hell. “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believetli in,” eometh to “him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Nothing can save you, if you will not come; nothing can prevent your salvation, it you do come. Note—Read Matt. 18: 1-13; 25; Mark 9: 43-48; Luke 16; 19-31; Rev, 14: 10-11; 20: 11-15 , 22: 11, 15. FOR PEACE OF CONSCIENCE COME. “There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.” Some sinners seem to be at peace, but it is only by refusing to think. They will not consider. — J Rut such thoughtlessness is not worthy j to he called peace. It is like a man in a sinking ship, who will not examine what is the danger; or like a trades man, who fancies all is not going on well, but will not-look into his accounts lest his mind should be disturbed. So the sinner fancies something is wrong, and, fearing to be made unhappy, he banishes reflection about God and his soul. Yet every sinner thinks some times, and then lie must be wretched. When death visits a neighbor’s house, or enters his own, or threatens himself, I anJ at many other times, the thought will come, “God is angry ; my soul is in danger. lam not fit to die.” And how must sucli a thought damp his pleasure, and disturb his repose. No you cannot be at peace till you have obtained pardon. You may try all the pleasures of the world in turn ; you may seek to drown thought by plunging deeper and deeper into sin, but you cannot be happy. But when we come to Jesus, ail our sins are at once forgiv en. We still think of them with sor row, but we need no more think of them with terror. God says to us : j “Your sins and your iniqities I remem- j ber no more.” He blots out “all tres passes.” He “casts them behind hisj back—into the depths of the sea.”—j They will not be mentioned at the j judgment day. “He will abundantly | pardon.” lie now regards us with l 1 love. We must not be afraid of him. He invites us to trust him as a kind [friend. Instead of hidingyrom him, as ! Adam did, we may hide in him, as Da vid did, saying: “ Thou art rny hiding I place.” O what a happy change! 1 lam a sinner still, but a sinner pardon jed, reconciled, saved. And whatever dreadful tilings conscience may tell, Jesus says: “Thy sir.s are forgiven thee, go m peace.” “Peace l leave | with you, my peace I give unto you. ’ j “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Poor sinner, you and peace have long been strangers! Worldly pleasure is not peace ; and nothing can give it while you and God are enemies, and your sins hang heavily on your soul. Come then to Jesus. He both makes and gives peace. Seek pardon t!irough him, and you will soon know what is meant by “the peace ot God which passeth all understanding.” Note —Read Isa. jo .7 , J( 21, Micah 7: 18, 19; John 14: 27; Rom. 5s 1; 8: 31-34; Phil. 4: 7. [Selected for the Banner. —l'-H-M, -! lAX .J rv JUICCB For tiie Temperance Banner. An appeal to tfte Churches. That it is the duty of the Christian churches and tiieir ministers, to sup port the temperance cause, we do most j sincerely believe. The church is the natural and proper nursery of every J Christian virtue; and temperance be j ing one of them, all lawful means of I sustaining it in practice, should be sup ported. Paul supported temperance. See Acts. 21. 25 ; Galations 5. and 22, 23. Peter did the same. See 2d Epis tle, ch. 1. 2. 5. to 9. Honest} and common sense declares the same doc trine. j By the phrase, “The temperance ! cause,” we not only mean the abstract 1 virtue of temperance, but with it the temperance societies, and their ap | proved means of suppressing all use of intoxication drinks as beverages. As | the use of these produces more intem perance than any other vice, if we are in favor of temperance, consistency re quires that we should abandon the ma king, buy iug, selling, and drinking of i liquor. If a man says that he loves temperance, and yet in any way coun | tenances any thing, which he knows ! interrupts its influence, or aids in the support of intemperance, he subjects his profession and candor to suspicion. The Christian religion is rational and consutunt religion, and a church whicli j fellowships its members in practices, known to corrupt its own moral and re ligious purity, to injure the morals and j peace of individuals, families, and soci ty in general, does not act consistantly with its professions, nor sustain the I character of a true and faithful chris -1 tian chuich. Good morals is a part of Christianity. As the summer’s sun ! drives away darkness, infectious vapors | and impurities from the atmosphere, pouring floods of light, of life, of energy, j beauty, and glory through this universe of things—so does good morals in the 1 societies of men, drive away vices and hurtful examples, establish virtue, pu . rify the church and its religion, en | courage a spirit of .patriotism, bene vo- j I lence and good will, and promote the ■ universal peace and happiness of our! ! race. There is no vice which so contami- i ; nates all that is good in this world, as the use of intoxicating liquors ; all the I evils of which, is effected by the use of; [drams. They blunt the moral sensi-j I bilities. They put down the practice; of every virtue, civ- urage the practice of every vice, dethrone reason, and de-[ jstrov all the social alfections. They make husbands, fathers, masters and j PENFIELD, GA. APRIL 3, 1852. civil rulers to become tyrants and op pressors. They corrupt the councils, of state, contaminate the purity ot the , church in its morals and religion, and j the general morals of the people. They promote tho spread of vice and and crime, murder and death, through out the land. They produce every sort, variety und degree of distress, mis ery and ruin, among all the various con ditions of men. Among all these evils there is no set ofl’of anyone good. The drinking of drams makes the wise foolish, and the foolish more so. They make the rich poor, and the poor still poorer. They make men who were good men in all the social relations of life, when sober, to become bad men in their families, neighborhoods, and wherever else they may be, and the bad they cause to be worse than they were before. They : make unnumbered thousands of indi-! viduals and families, to be poor, degra- 1 ded and miserable, without ever afiford- j ing one single crumb of substantial j good. Their whole operation is to | bring men into sin, misery and ruin, without ever alFording relief to one sin gle individual, in all the Lord’s world ! They have an equalizing effect upon all who associate in the drinking of them. They bring all down to a level with the very lowest and most degraded of their companions. Wise and learn ed, ignorant illiterate, rich and poor, churcli members ami infidels, drunk ards, vagabonds, gamblers, and all sorts of debauchees, associate together as equals upon a common level, to drink drams with the most degraded of the bacchanalian throngs. There is no such thing as any rising to the stand of anew comer into the dram drinking praoiice, on the contrary, the new com er in, if he continues the drinking asso ciation, immediately commences sink [ ing, and continues to sink, until he reaches the lowest grade of his compan ions; and still they all continue going down, until in death, the grave shuts her mouth upon them. This is their end ! and O, what a dreadful end ! It is often said, that all who drink do not destroy themselves, neither their property nor reputation. This is not denied, because some can drink all their lives, moderately as it is called, without seeming to do themselves any very great injury. Yet they are none the wiser, richer, better, or any more respected, than they would be if they had not drank: and it might be well questioned, whether any of them are as good and useful men, as they would ! have been, if they had never drank, but let that pass. Their being able by care | to withstand the evil tendancy we have [attributed to drams, no more disproves j that tendancy, than does the standing of [ the mighty oak against the tempest’s j rage, while the other trees of the forest | have been prostrated, proves that the storm has no tendancy to blow them down. All drams have the same tendency, j The first begins the effect, which it in creasi and by a sufficient number of others, shows itself in what is called drunken ness; consequently, he that drinks ten drams, is only ten times as drunk as he who drinks but one. What is called drunkenness, is nothing else than an in crease degree of the effect produced by the first drain. He who would deny ibis, should show which is the last, in the progres of numbers that is drunk, without having any tendency to druuk enness, and then show which it is that begins the effect of intoxication. Such l an undertaking would call into service < all his dratnma logic. According to these views, it is the duty of the church to declare an unfel-[ lowship with dram drinking, asapractiee fraught with all evil, never tending to 1 any good. No man in or out of the ! church can be justified in setting an ex ample ot a practice which tends to evil, 1 even if he himself were able to guard 1 | against its mischief; for all are not | equally able, after commencing danger- [ ous gratification to slop at what point they please, ,any more than they are all equally able to be equally wise and brave, or self-possessed when all armed at the approach ofdunger. Threforc, in Rom. 15. 1. to 3, Paul says: “We then that are strong, ought to boar the in firmities of the weak. Let every one of us please his neighbor for his good to edificaiion; for even Christ pleased not himself,” &c. This teaches that we should bear up and take care of our weak brothers; and that we should seek to please our l ‘neighbor, in order to his good. To; ’ make this duty strong, the Apostle re- 1 minds us that Christ pleased not him- 1 j self, that is, he did not seek after enjoy- ! ments for himself, but for others. The | I same Apostle advances the same doc trine, Ist. Cor. 10. 33 ; using the word please in the same sense. He says :—! • “Even as l please all men in all things, (that is, seek the good of all in all I do,) [not seeeking mine own profit, but the profiit of others that they may be sa- 1 ved.” In this same Epistle, Bth ch. 10th and following verses; noticing among other things the influence ol example,! he say: “For if any man see-thee who hast knoweldge sot at meat in the idol’s temple, shall no/ the conscience oi him • who is weak be emboldened to oat of these tilings which are offered to idols ; and through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish for whom Christ died. Hut when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak con sciences, ye sin against Christ. Where fore if meat make my brother to offend,” (that is to err and do wrong,) “I will eat no flesh while the world standeth.” By these quotations we are taught that Paul did not seek his own profits,; aside from that of others, and that the [ benefit of all others was constantly! kept in view, in all that he did. If | men of knowledge are seen to do acts that that may he wrong, others, espe- j cially the weak, are “ emboldened ” to follow his example, in consequence of[ [which “weak” men may “perish for \ i whom Christ died.” Such seducing ex-1 arnples, are declared to be a “sin against i the brethren,” and being so, is a “sin ‘against Christ. Wherefore,” (hesays:) “if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world stand eth.” The same doctrine in substance, were often repeated by Christ. In Luk 23, 24; it is recorded : “And he said unto them all, if any man will coine after me, let him deny himself, and lake up his cross daily and follow me.” And in the 10th ch. 38th v. of Mathew, he said : “And he that taketh not his cross and folioweth after me, is not worthy of me.” These and the previous quotations, together with numerous passages all through the Bible, teach that Christiani ty is a self-denying religion, as every good system of religion, morals, or evil government must of necessity be, by including the necessary principle of self-denial or restraint upon earthly en joyments. All good governments must operate by means of restraints upon natural liberty, and such enjoyments and gratifications, as may be produc tive of evil to others; for there is no other way for rational laws to operate, short of punishments. Then, as the drinking of drams of liquor, is universally productive of great and enormous evils, they ought not to be tolerated by the church.— The fact, that some can drink all their idav, without falling into the visible ev ils to whicli they tend, affords no justi fication of their use. These men hav ing more strength and power to control the natural results of their conduct, forms no plea for allowing them to dis troy others, by their seducing and per nicious examples of drain drinking. Isaiah in his sth chapter notices these men. After pronouncing woes on several classes of evil-doers, when he reaches the 22d verse, he says:—| “Wo unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength’ tc mingle strong drink.” We inquire, in what view or sense were these men represented as mighty and strong ? Some may suppose that the view in which they were referred 1 to, was simply in a large quantity which they drank. This, however, may well be doubted. They were “mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to min gle strong drink,” that is, they were men of strength,” (in mingling and drinking,) “strong drink.” If we suppose their mightiness and strength were only in the quantity j which they drank, and not in their abil- j j ity to drink without becoming drunk, j 1 then we must suppose that when they did : drink their large quantities, they would ( have become drunk like other men, and [ [ being so, they would have become j weak like other men. One would; likely have been staggering about, an i other lying on the ground, and a third l raging about like a madman, or ex- j : hibiting the looks of some silly crea ture &c. If drunkenness had placed j them in this situation, would the proph [ et have spoken of them as men of might and strength ? If when they drank, they had become what is called drunk, robbed oflheir reason, thwrr mental and bodily strength, and had sank in bodily and mental debility and weakness, de prived of every thing which distinguish es a rational being from a beast —is it to be believed, that the prophet would have represented them as “mighty and “strong?” We think not. The woe pronounced against them was no; for drunkenness, but it was for drinking with the accompanying attributes ol mightiness and strength, continuing, as we understand it. These observations bring us to the con clusion, that the persons against whom the prophet denounced his woe, are those who are commonly called- moder- 1 ate drinkers—men able to drink often without getting drunk. Many of these persons drink for many years, and some all their lives, without seeming to hurt their mutual bodily strength, or their property or reputation. Some, indeed, ’. drink from youth down to the Homing on of old age, and still their bones are! full of marrow, their joints and mussels I are clastic aud strong ; their steps are j i steady and firm, their mind sound, and I their reason clear. Their constitutions , seem to have mocked the common ten- ; deneies of their habits. They drink, and they drink often, and still they stand ! eret and strong ; whilst thousands of] others, young and old, have drank and fallen all around them. Truly may it bo said that they are “men of strength to mingle (und drink) strong drink.” The example of these men is more dangerous in beguiling others into ruin,! than that of any other. Many of them, j aud perhaps all, often boast of their ; ability to drink without injury. They j ! brag of posessing the very personal! [quality, for which the prophetdenoune led the vengeaece of heaven against them. They are emphatically the j mighty men to drink, and they are proud of it; the “men of strength to ‘mingle” (and drink) “strong drink,” J and they boast of if. Some of them I are clever men, but too many of them | are regardless of what evils may befall oilier people, in consequence of their example. “Wo unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle” (and drink) “strong . drink.” Is it right for a church to fellowship its members in a practice, tho example of which, does so much evil, as is done by that of the moderate dram drinker ? To this inquiry many of these mod erate drinkers, or “men ol strength to mingle” (and drink) strong drink,” re ply, every one is responsible for his own conduct, and most stand or fall by it. It is enough for them, they say, to take cure of themselves. This is a very fa vorite doctrine, often resorted to by liq uor makers, sellers, and moderate drink ers, to excuse themselves for the busi. ness they follow,und the mischief of their examples. They who use it, in effect declare, as the truth is, that they feel no concern about ofothors thai no patriotic teeling ever moves in their bosom—and that they are not to be effected by tiie brotherly influence of social morals. They are too selfish to i be reasoned with ; “Ephraim is joined to his idols, let him alone.” But “wo to them that are mighty to drink, &c.” But is it right for the church to hold ’ drain drinkers in fellowship, who by their example, entice and beguile thous ands into sin and ruin, and thereby aid in bringing upon the world all the evils which the use ofliquor causes? The answer lo this question, ought to be ea sy to every Christian, for every drunk ard, and all the evils caused by drunk enness, are all produced by drams, and nothing else. There is no other wav to make drunkards, and to efiect the evils of drunkenness, than by dram drinking—moderate dram drinking con tintted, until it woiks out its natural results. There is no vice known, [ which is as efficient in producing all the varieties of sin, and all the various sorts and degrees of human wo and misery, as the drinking of drams. By them governors, legislators, and not a few, but many oftiio watchmen upon the walls of zion, have been made i drunkards. The official and lay mem-! hers of the church have followed ini the general wake of intemperance, and the morals of society in all its forms and departments have been injured, and noise and babling, and quarreling and fighting, have cursed the lend. By j their operation the peace and happiness] of individuals ami families cf every | grade in society have been destroyed, j 1 and vice, and crime, and misery pro-1 [ duced in frightful amounts and de- j gree. By their works, innocent and j helpless wives and mothers and child-j : ren, liuvc been borne down by oppres sion and want, and with broken hearts,! and heaving sighs, have no other pros-! ! peels to look upon, but those of hag- [ i gard, want, and destruction, in the j , gloom of wo and the mighty of death !-; Yet the drinking of drams as beverages I promotes no one’s virtue—not one--nor any one species of useful business in the broad universe ol the Almighty.— Whilst on the other hand they rouse) every dangerous exercise of the pas sions—stimulate every inclination to j vice and crime, and encouruge to the I practice of all that is evil. The evils of drinking drams are nol here exageratod. The description falls lar short ot the naked reality. No man can show the evils hero portrayed, to be in any respect greater, than is war- ] ranted by simple and well known truth. [ We then again ask the question, is it right for a church of Christ to fellow, ship its members in a practice, which tends to all evil, and to no one good ? If the true character of a Christian church can only be found in a-scriptu ral faith, and practical piety to our heavenly father, and a careful practice i of social morals, then is the answer I easy & certain.Or if it is not to be found >. in dangerous examples of actions and | practices, known to tend to all that is wicked und frightful in morals, and | alarming and lamentable in human j s misery and wo, then is the answer t without embarrassment. Which is, ■ that no church ought to fellowship its i members in drinking drains ns bever- I ages, no matter bow moderate they may bo supposed to be. Moderate” [dram drinking is the initiatory steps of making drunkards, and of unlocking ■ tlie floodgates of all the evils, which the use of liquor has poured upon the world and with which our suffering race haa been cursed. It is the example of ihe moderate drinkers, and of none others that is ca llable of influencing men to follow in J their dangerous footsteps. Excepting i the liquor sellers, they do more harm jto society than any other class in it.— I Among the moderate and influenciul j drinkers, there is none whose example is sp powerfully seducing, dangerous and ensnaring, as that of him who is a member of the church, and cf fair stand, with his brethren. His weak neigh bors lliink and say, that if drinking was wrong, he would not practice it. They naturally say he is a Christian in good standing, and his church fellowship him in his drinking of drams. By these moans the church impliedly holds him up to the world a3 a man, whose exam ples may be safely followed, even by the young and unguarded, as well as by the more experienced. Thus bin example aud influence are endorsed by the chinch, und work their evil effects upon society, under the professed snno tions of religion, and the banner of tho church. All must know that tho practice of drinking produces more evil than any other vice, and that the fellowship of the church with those who drink, great ly increases the power and etficienoy of the example ‘of its members, to seduce and lead others into the practice that may ruin them. This ought not to b so. The example of a Christian ought to be such as may be safely followed, under all circumstances, and by all men of every grade of mind. I'he plea of moderation aggravates the sin of dram drinking, for it proves i that they who use, can in cold blood; i (because they do not feel themselves to i be in danger,) sanction and approve of I that, which they must know, if they i would reflect, fills the world with crime [ and woe, working ruin and death to I thousands of innocent and helpless wo men and children, as well as of the un ■ weary individuals, seduced by llieir I example. “Wo to them that are migh. i ty to drink wine, and men of/strength s to mingle” (and drink) “strong drink.” ■ VVe shall continue our subject into an • other number. LEWIS RENEAtf. I Mr. Editor :—l hail with pleasure i the communication of President Myers in the Banner of 13th inst, the sub ject of bringing Legislation to our aid in the temperance reform; more par ticularly if it is a “sign of the times,” and evidence that our temperance friends in this State are directing their attention and efforts to this source as the means of arresting this mighty evil. [ hope that the investigation of this im- I portant matter may elecit such facts, , that temperance men not only unani- I mously agree as to the means to be I used (legislation) but the proper, mode and measure of redress, and that too on such reasonable terms as that our ene mies cannot gainsay, nor our legisla ture refuse to grant. Taking it lor granted then that vve | turn our attention to the laws of our | country to aid us in removing impedi j ments 100 great to be reached by moral I means, it is for us maturely to consider of, and cordially to adopt such meas ! ures as may effect that end. And here j I would remark that I do not look to I legislation as a substitute for moral 1 means, only as an auxiliary in removing [obstacles too difficult for moral suasion, clearing the way for the force of moral [ truth, for it is certainly true as Presi dent Myers tells us, that any legal en actment must be as little objectionable us possible, and be adopted to the moral tone of our people, or it will not be em forced. • i agree that it would not be politic or proper that a law on this subject j should amount to absolute prohibition such as bus been passed by lowa, Maine, or tho Cherokee Tribe of Indi ans, for it not only weakens the loyalty of the people to their government, hut will greutly injure the good cause we wish to benefit, if a luw solemnly en acted is deliberately disregarded, unless the people of Georgia, liko the Chero kee Indians, ask it at the band of her legislative power, and stand ready to second the effort in banishing from our land an evil greater than war, pestL lence and famine combined, and whicli is continually praying on our peace, and spreading disease, devastation, and death throughout the laud, but l fear the Georgians is not yet prepared to go so far in ibis good cause as the Ghero. kee Indians. Neither should it be connected with political or party question. And it should he left loeach community tode-- termine for itself whether or not they will permit the sale of intoxicating drinks in their mii'st: 8o then wo are agreed on the mod*^ NO. 14.