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Reasons for signing the Pledge-
Bro. Brant/y : —A* I have been ask
r I why I wanted people t>> sign the
pledg/, please |nil>!isli the following,
which nie a i,• w ol the principal
iin w h v lii. sli luid sign it:
J->i-N-t, in;i-mpf-ranee in .t uri■ nt nation
. | ,vil. At'd l: is the duty of every
man t>• exert In’s influence in preventing
i\il and proeigiiting good. The pres
ervation of health and lifo is unques
tionoblv one of our most implicit du
ties. Every act, therefore, which im
pairs our health, diminishes the period
ofotir lives —or is detrimental toour po
iitienl or religious interest is u violation
of the command of God. And the hab
itual dram drinker runs the awful haz
ard of transmitting to posterity the
most tauturing heriditury distempers,
as well as shortening bis own life. It
is saiii that there are 300 thousand men
in the United State., who are now run
ning this awful hazard, and 30 thou
sand din each year from the excessive
use of ardent spirits. It originates ma
ny of the most fatal diseases which
are cutting down our dying race. The
most distressing gfull diseases, we are
told by phvsieians, is the delirium tin.
mens or tlm In .tin fever of the drunktrrd.
Temperate drinking is a slow lire that
will burn up the human constitution
and renders its votaries more exposed
to the pestilence that walketh in dark
ness and more unprotected from the do
striiotion that wasteth at noonday. Hut
when the habit is formed, no man is his
own master, and with all his prudence,
the temperate drinker is liable to die a
sot.
Again, intemperance involves an
amazing loss to this country inn pecu
niary sense; ‘JO millionß,c*f dollars are
expended annually for a purpose a thou
sand fold worse than annihilation.—
There are 150 thousand self-made beg
gars to be supported at an immense ex
pense to the nation. Hut three.fourths!
of nil the-crimes originates from the
same unhappy cause. If the loss of
time, cost oXoourts and all the other ex
pens, s caused by intemperance, were
added together and tho product judi
ciously applied to strengthen and beau
tify our country, and reform and save
the world, we would, in a national point
of view, stand o:T a pinnacle almost ns
elevated as hern'ii. This mom y saved
from the all-devouring throat of the
drunkard, would, in a few years, ac
complish ull this nation could wish to
dost home or abroad, it would rim a
canal uloug every stream —build a rail
road from Maine to California—build a
navy that would line our consts and
hid defiance to every invader, and
plant a second North American Repub
lic on the shores ol tho great Pacific ;
and give the Ilible and gospel ministry
to the entire population of the globe.—
These, we believe, at e good reasons why
all should sign the pledge, and, if pos
sible, save the money thus expended,
and apply it to tlieso noble purposes.—
Ami by all laudable menus, prevent the
Jistiller from taking bread from the
mouths of suflering children and con
verting it into a poison which is the
bane of the Christian world as opium of
the Mahon)itan. Were 1 allowed tho
privilege of obliterating the two great
est scurges of mankind, I would select ;
tho art of Converting loot! into poison,
and the art of war. Four thousand
Americans died one year from theycl-j
low fever, and it awakened general ter
ror and called forth the strength and in
genuity of the law to prevent its re-’
currence ; but liquor puts to death 30
thousand every year, find when wo j
call upon people to sign the pledge and
assist in arresting this scorpion mon
ster, we are asked what wo want peo-1
pic to sign tho pledge for, and why nil 1
this excitement. Our country “ns
once involved in all the horrors of war
for eight long years, because our mo
ther country wished to impose upon us
a trilling tax on tea, which was riot used
by one man in a hundred, and our
brave ancestors eulogized to the skies
for resisting British tyranny. Hot
when we are taxed millions by king
Alcohol who oats upon our national
wealth like a canker, and preys upon
the heart's blood of our citizens like a
vulture, and outstrips even the swell
ing tide of our population. And if it
is unchecked it will overspread and
desolate the land; we are asked win
all these celebrations of tho Sons.and ull
this ado about getting people to be so
her. Twice have we bravely resisted
political despotism, hazarded out prog
eny, lives, and ull we held near and
dear to us ; but alas, we have prostra
atedour necks under the ceptro of the
most oppressive tyrant that ever visited
and cursed the world. And some peo
ple pretend lobe astonished that tre
should try to liberate ourselves from
his iron grasp. Hut intemperance is
destructive to the immortal soul. The
Bible declares that no drunkard shall 1
inherit the kingdom of God ; and w e
believe every habitual dram-drinker is
a drunkard, because ono dram will;
muko a man drunk at some particular
times, and unv one who gets drunk is a
drunkard. No man can live in habits
of inebriation without having what the
Scriptures call a conscience seared
with a hot iron. And the same effect
is produced on the temperate drinker in
a less degree. Now it is a clear case
tiiat such a man must repent or perish ;
end the tremendous fact ought to come
out and bq felt. The conversion of u
drunkard is an event ot rare occcur
rcnce. He loves his bottle so well that
uo motive will probably ever wean him
from it, and unless lie pledges, heaven
may iuvite, and hell thunder, but we
nay expect that he will continue to sip
OKOAN OF TIIK SONS OF TFMFKKANCK AM) STATE TFIMFEKANCE CO.NVK.VTION.
and sip till lie dies an 1 meets a dotrik
; ard’s doom.
Every professor ought to contem
plate the effects of this curse of the
church, and put his shoulder to the
wheel and help for win ! ilio temperance
! reform. Look h r<><; u i you arid be
hold 300,000thousuu>i of your fellow
beings, and just behind them 300,000
more, and if nothing fro done to annihi-
I late tho curs'*, this multitude mocking
all human calculation will soon fill a
drunkard’s grave. But the time must
comp when u professor of religion would
l.lusli if it were made known that he
makes, buys, sells, or uses as a bever
| age, any of that blue ruin which is a
curse to th world and the church. We
rejoice that much has been done, and is
siill doing to arrest the monster. All
denomination!! of Christians ure waking
; up to their duties on this subject.
This subject makes strong appeals to
ibe sensibilities of females; though not
i addicted to this vice, y<*| they need the
guard of entire abstinence. Their r*x
| ample and influence are needed to se
cure success to this blessed reform.—
Ax it regards ilia present world, they
are the principal sufferers from the
j prevalence of this hydra-headed mon
\ ster. Who can tell the miseries of that
woman whose husband or son is a drunk
ard. Female hospitality has done
much to deluge tho world in drunken
! ue.ss, and it tiis high time female decis
ion should do something to stay tho
: burning waves. If llieir sons and hus
bands will have tho bottle, woman
ought to let the amazing guilt fall on
them and not her. Young women
ought to avow their sentiments to the
world dial they can keep no company
with a drunkard. And this ono act
would do much, lo reform and save the
world ; let them mark tho man who is
fond of his cups, and carousals, a loun
ger about taverns, and always has re
spect to the side-board. 1 say mark
him and avoid him us you would the
serpent’s poisonous tooth, and the scor
pion’s deadly sting.
CONSISTENCY.
F.lbert county, Ga., Aug. slh, 1552.
Dear Bro. Bruntly :—The anniver
sary of Runyan Division was celebra
ted on tin’ 10th in.xt., the return of the
birth dav of one of the junior members
of that noble brotherhood—the Sons of
Temperance.
Asa witness of, and participant in its
joys and triumphs, permit me lo notice
it briefly.
But one flirting year has rolled
away since this Division came into ex
existence, a period which has been
1 marked by as many conquests, and
crowned by us much moral reform as
trio warmest advocates in the cause
1 eould have anticipated or dared hope
for.
Its extreme infancy, to some extent,
was marked by gloom and discourage
ment, but the clouds of adversity which
overshadowed its early prospects were
dest died soon to pass away, giving place
to tho clear, calm shine of prosperity ;
and it now stands forth in bold relief, a
living monument of what may bo a
chieved by the associated energies el
even a few. j
At the appointed hour the members j
assembled in the Temperance 11.til, re
cently erected, where they were met I
by Howard Division, and uniting, re-j
paired in procession to the stand, situa
ted iu a comfortable grove, where suita
ble arrangements were previously made
for the speaking. A large audience
was in attendance, of which, the ladies,
whose happiness is so intimately con.
nected with tho success of llte order,
formed no small part, many sparkling
eyes, fine forms and lovely fact's Were
visible to animate and cheer, us o'n by
their smiles of approbation.
After singing, prayer was offered by
Bro. G. L. Jackson, when the Rev. J.
11. T. Kilpatrick arose and delivered a
temperance s**rinon from the t* \t, “Ab
stain from every appearance of evil.”
A venerable soldier in the religion of
the CYoss. he evinced no less courage
and ability us a champion in vindica
tion of the temperance ouitse; aud not
wiihstamliug the reputation he has long
enjoyed for profound reasoning, may
have elevated tho expectations of tna
tt v, they were, no doubt, more than re
alized when he bad finished.
Without attempting a recapitulation
of tile discourse, suilico i. to say, that
every objection deemed w orthy of refu
tation that has been raised against the
tempt'ranee reform, was .met uud dis
pt'setl ol io the most irresistible aritt con
clusive nijitiner. After this intellectual i
feast, the announcement ot dinner
brought to mind another important item |
in the business oT the day, which, on!
being conducted to a well-furnished ta
ble, was duly intended to,-Dinner be
ing finished, t he congregation re ussem
iiled at the stand, and was entertained!
In a forcible, eloquent, and chasio ad-j
dress from Bros Scruggs, who conclu
ded with an invitation, to such as w isrtcu
to become members, there were five ap
plicants, fuurof which were initiated in
-the evening.
With the many able advocates who
are enlisted in the cause, w ho can doubt
its ultimate success, or be surprised at
its inevitable triumphs, lu tins age of
philosophy and progress, nothing would
seem impossible, and as science steadi
ly advances, why should not morality
as steadily improve. Ignorance and
bigotry are now the only opposers of
temperance, if we except those, who
not from principle or o Sense of right
I array themselves against it, but w hose
! talent have been perverted by a taste
j for the what you mty call ’um, or
whofto *
by its habituated use. But opposition
need not produce discouragement in
every proposed improvement, whether
physical or moral, men have been found
bold enough to oppose it. 1 i‘ e holier
the cause the more unrelenting the op
position.
Yours in L. 1’- & F.
D. S P.
Little Buck Head, Burke Cos, Ga.
Franklin, Ga., Aug. 17th, 52.
Uncle Ben :—While the Georgia
politician is rather workiug in the brush
just now, and it seems a rath'r bird
matter for the combined wisdom of the
State to remove the kink, and get polit
ical matters smooth ; I lie Son of Tem
perance has nothing to do but go steadi
ly forward with Ids work, his way is
plain—his duty clear, his course is
marked by the enemy’s footprint, and
let him (urn which way he will, there
iff work to he done in the great, good
and glorious cause. I say much to he
done; yes, and work that is of mo e im
portance than a continual wrangling in
politics.
’Tis true, we have been rather un
fortunate about Franklin in temperance
matters, but there is a belter day a
coming, and some of us are not tired
yet; our number too is increasing, and
that too with the right kind of material.
We are determined, if we cannot do
any thing more, if we cannot redf’ in
every drunkard in our land, to fatten
upon the min sos our children and
our neighbor’s children the important
fact, that distress, ruin and death lurk
in the tipler’s path.
W*e have no Division here, but we
have organized a Washingtonian Socie
ty, ami turned lecturers oursclv.s.—
The good pi ople -of this place como out
iu numbers to our meetings, and the la
dies too, (God oless ’em) join us at ;V.
ory meeting, and tho litis bright eyed
boys and girls are coming too; anc 1
tell you, my dear sir, we have not orly
pledged ourselves against tho use of
ull thut intoxicates, hut v,*e are pledged
to
“Work on and work ever—
Never give up, no, never.”
One of our grocery-keepers (a clever
man,) has turned the ‘critter” out, uid
let bis room to a neighbor, who has it
now well stored with bacon; and
though the grocery keeper lias not ‘
joined the pledge, he advocates ouri
cause like a man.
There are two ‘flicker” shops here;
now, and 1 predict the day is not tar
distant when one or both of them will j
go “the way ot all the earth.” Wei
can't drink ’em dry, but we can- dry
’em by not drinking. If we can on ly
keep the young folks sober, by and by
we will have a sober population. By
an eye of faith we look ahead and see a
better day a coming, a day when a halo
of temperance will hover over this com
munity—when the king of all evils
shall hide bis hideous head in shame and
confusion, and the bright rays of trutli
and soberness will shine with unclouded
beams over all fltis land.
Upon the subject of legislation we
have nothing to say, bu‘. leave that mat
ter to wiser heads than ours. If we
can disarm, capture and slay a portion
of the enemy’s host by our course, we
are willing for another detachment of
the same army, to storm the fortress,
and bean) tho lion in his den.
We claim to be moving forward un
der the command of the same great
leader, have for our object the accorr*
plishment of the same cause, and ifit
be so that we differ as to the route and
the plan of operation, when the last
gun has fired, the din of battle ceased,
the smoke cleared away, and the victo
ry won, we will still be brothers, victors
in tho same fight, conquerors in the
same eayse, uml together under the
wide waving banner of Temperance, w e
will shout one long loud shout of tri
umph from the bosom of a regenerated
world.
W. M. H. WATTS.
Bro. Biantly : —l desire a small
space in your columns to call attention
to a series of school-booty recently pub
lished by Mr. B. F. Griffin, of Macon.
This is a matter of deep and vital im
portance to every parent, and to every
citizen. Heretofore uU our school
books have come from the North. Os
course, they have been marked with
Northern prejudices and partialities.—
The proper training up of our children
and the safety ofSouthern institutions,
demand the correction of this evil \
And knowing, as 1 do, the lively inter
est you feel in all that looks to the intel
lectual and moral advancement, and ’
social well-being of our people, I fee! !
assured you will welcome this enter
prise of Mr. Griffin with satisfaction,’
and will be disposed to give it all the
&mcourugeinent it deserves.
This series of Southern School Books
embraces the Apafaohian Primer, the
Apalacliian Readers, Nos. 1, ft, ;i and
■l, the Southern Orator , and anew His
tory of the United States. No teacher
can Vail to be most favorably impress
ed with the of these books, utter giving
them an examination. The simple,
easy and familiar style of tho introduc
tory lessons in the Readers, the highly
interesting character of the selections,
and the high moral tone mid soundness
6f -sentiment which pervade them
throughout, deserve the highest coin
i mendation. The Southern Orator is
already favt rably know n to a consider
able extent. It is a judicious compila
tion of extracts from distinguish*
Southern speakers and writers, with am
ple instructive lessons and illustrations
in reading and elocution. It is very
well adapted for the higher reading
classes, and for declamatory exercises.
The History has strong and peculiar
claims upon Southern approbation and
support. The general arrrangement’
j of the material, the chasteness and sin),
•plicity of tiie style, arid the felicity with
which the questions are adapted to the
; text, and to youthful comprehension,
! must at once strike every one who ex
amines the work. But it has other and
still stronger claims. It is free from
those evidences of prejudice on the
question of slacery which are to be
lound in all our school histories now in
use. And besides, the South has never
had justice done her by the Northern
writers and compilers of school bisto
! rii s. For instance, in the most popular
i school history n<w used in Georgia,
more space is devoted to an account of
the destruction of the tea in Boston har
: bor, than to the entire history of the war
in Georgia ! .Many very interesting
j and important incidents in the history of
I Georgia and other Southern States have
not been even glanced at, while corn
j paratively unimportant trail actions are
i minutely, and often tediously detailed, j
becaa&r: they occurred North of Mason,
and Dixon's line ! 1 n this ilisto’ry pub
i lished by Mr. Griffin this* injustice is
| remedied, without going into the oppo
site extreme. *
Asa mailer in which parents, and j
•all classes of the corrimurfity are deeply
interested, th ■ shove lias been written ;
j lo call attention to those books—feeling
j assured that on a personal examination,;
; every candid person’ must concur in
i what I have si id in their favor, and will
give them that support they so richly
merit.
OGLETHORPE.
e/ set
iJjT
ft
NN . v; /-* ~
“SONS OF TEMPERANCeT
Os fiem of the Grant! Division. I
G. L. M’Cleskey, G. W. P. Monroe. |
J. *S. Pin* kard, G. W. A. Forsyth.]
W. S. Williford,> G. Scribe, Macon.
E. C. Gkanniss, G. Treasurer, „
J. E. Evans, G. Chaplain, „
1). E. Blount, G. Curductor, Clinton.
J. J). llavis, G.Sen. Houston, Cos.
Office of the Grand Division. )
Macon, 12 Aug. 1852. (
Anssiial Meeting.
The Amni.il Meeting of the Grand Divi
sion will be hold in the City of Macon, com
mencing on Wednesday the 2*7lh Octobei
1 at 9 o’clock, A. M.
The i). G. W. P's are earnestly reques
ted to make their reports to the G. \V. P.
ns soon after the close of the present quar
ter as possible". ,
Subordinate Divisions will not he furnish
ed with printed certificates of Election this
year, as it is supposed that all are now fam
iliar enough with the form to write out their
j certificates correctly.
W. E. WILLIFORD, G. S.
For the information of the Recording
Scribes, vve insert the form of certificate.
Division, No. , S. of T.
October 1852.
To the Grand Division
of the State of Georgia;
This is to Certify that
P. W. P’s.
and W. P.
have been duly elected to represent this Bi
j vision iu the Grand Division until October
; next.
In Witness whereof we have
j jy. caused this to be Signed by our U.
5 S. and the Seal of the Division to be
j ~ attached.
R. S.
Office of the Grand Division. J
Macon, 12tli Aug. 1852. $
To D. G. W. P's. — 'Lite Temperance
j Tracts purchased some time ago by the
i Grand Division, arc now rea-ly for distribu
; tiori among the D. G. W. P’s. They are
j put up in package's of about 40—containing
an assortment and will be forwarded to any
D. G. W. P. making application for them, to
lie by him distributed in his county.
VV. S. WILLIFORD, G. 3.
CARETS Os TEMPERANCE.
FI£DQE.
No member shall make, buy, sell or use
as a beverage,any spirituous or malt liquors
wine or eider.
Officers of the Grit in! Section.
J. tV. Itenson, If. t\ Macon,
ft. Burton, G. A. R, l’ondtown.
L. C. SiMsi, G. S. &T. Aifuu-a.
Rev. J. *S. Wilson, G. C. Decatur.
t>. il. H. ItvuD, G. G. Oxford.
k\. i‘ Kino, G. \V. Thouiaston.
1. O. of ftccltul>itcs.
Ollier re of Georgia Dist. Tent, No. 2y, loca
ted at Washington, Wilkes Co.,Ua.:
John R. Smith, D. P. C. R. Washington,
C. R. itanieiter, L>. C.K. Atlanta,
Rev. tl. G. Norman,L). D. R. Washington,
A. 11. Sneed, D. R. S. „
B. H. O'Neal, L>. F. IS. „
L. F. Carrington, D. T. „
C. NV. Hancock, L). L. „
Kcclmbitc’s Pledge.
I hereby declare, that 1 will abstain from ait
intoxicating liquors, and will not give, nor olit-r
them to others, except in religious ordinances,
! or when prescribed, in good faith, by a niedi
: cal practitioner ; 1 will notcng.i “ m the iraf-
I tic ol them, ami in ail suitable ways will dis
countenance the use, sale and manufacture ot
, them ; and to the utmost of my powrer, I will
| enJeavor to spread the principles ■ ■ abstinence
[ from all intoxica'ing liquors
TEES BAWMSIo
pem ii i.i), aucl as, is-vi.
( NOTICE- —Subscribers recei
ving their papers with a straight black
mark, are thereby notified that they are
in arrears. One mark indicates one
1 dollar due; two, that two, &c. Please
remit the amount at once by mail, with
out waiting for other opportunity.
jcjy- Postage. —To save ourselves frmu
! .i heavy and unjust expense, we give notice,
that from and after the first day of Septein
i her ensuing, we will take no letter from
the l’dst Office, on which the Postage has
not been paid. We request our agents and
correspondents, when writing upon matters
. of our own, to pay the postage, and we w ill
return a stamp by mail, free ot expense to
them.
To Correspondents.
-The Address to the Daughters of Tem
perance, and “Taylor County,” shall ap
pear next week.
2illiof August.
The two past years the 24th of August
i was rendered memorable by destructive
gales of wind and raid throughout tho
] length and breadth of our land. This year,
j so far as our village and vicinity were con
cerned, the day was lemarkaUly quiet until
four o’clock in the afternoon, when we were
visited by a copious shower of rain, followed
by a union in the lady bands of wedlock, of
| two of our favorite young people, and ali
was calm and serene again.
“WSuit’s to be Stout* ?”
There is much truth anil good sense in
the article under the above caption, to be
found in another part of our paper. It is
published for the consideration and benefit
of our temperance friends; and it is Imped
it will not be passed over carelessly by
them.
City Hotel, Atlanta.
Visitors to Atlanta will find the above
House as comfortable a resort as any in the
place. Good cooking and clean beds may
be relied upon; and the proprietor being a
temperance man, visitors need not appre
hend any annoyance from Prince Alcohol.
UST* A marriage notice, mailed at Re
publican, was received on Monday, with a
request that it be published in the Banner.
We were taxed with five vents postage on
the letter, and until this is .paid, the mar
riage will not be published in the Banner.
A member of Adairsville Division in
forms us that the Division is in a growing
state, and the cause prospering in that sec
tion. Two copies of the Banner have been
ordered, and we trust the best hopes of our
correspondent may be realized.
A gigantic nation, speaking the same lan- j
guage, has preceded us in the his tory of the I
j world; and the mighty power of die British
! mind has left but little, for those to gather
! who succeed her in the path of its Wander
ings. But what though England has pen
etrated the abstrusenes-s ot philosophy and
unfolded the sciences t \\ li.it though her
i poets and her orators have touched every
1 ehurd iii the English language to which
there is a response in human feeling?—
U lint though European artists have made
the canvass glow and teem as with livim*-
liie and the marble almost to speak? Tin*
Irrepressible genius ol our own country has
carved out anew pith of honor and fame”
for herself. 3he h s pushed iter discove
ries in the useful arts, and greatly contribu
ted to advance the purposes of practical
life—of individual convenience, and of na
tional wealth and power.
Nut content with tiio signal victories she
lias achieved in the field of the useful arts
another region remained to he explored, and
anew invention to be tried which promises
as mighty results in the moral ns had been
produced in (lie natural world. She beheld
man the victim of a blasting vice a vice
which addressed interests and appetites so,
dear to our natures as to have rendered its
approach hitherto irresistible. It possessed I
the magic potter of mating tributary to its |
purposes of ruin, all the crimes and pas- j
sions incident to hum unity. A vice which
when ith. s destroyed every temporal bless
ing, and rolled together as a scroll the rights
and liberties ot civilized society, pursues
man beyond the boundaries of lime, and
1 tracks him to the very cot linos of eternity.
1 By opposing with dire malevolence the
■ progress of Christianity it threatens to j
j break asunder the elements, and jar the j
! li ruioiTy of the moral world.
To extirpate this most alarming evil—to
rectify the disorders ot society, consequent
upon is prevalence— to dry up this prolific!
source of sin, and suffering and sorrow to
open the pathway to the Gospel of peace; ■
this is a work worthy of a nation’s ejj'ort. 5
’ And here in our country was first and most:
; successfully the plan devised and the ex-1
! perimenL commenced of Temperance Socie-1
ties. Start not at the seeming insufficiency
ot the means to die attainment of the end.
In these associations, humble us they may ■
seem, a mighty principle is involved; it is
I the great principle of Christian benevolence',
it is tuumi recorded iit the sacred volume,
and its name is there written, Lore. It is
powerful enough to accomplish its object,
j The Temperance Society lias but called
this mighty iulluence into mure lively ex
ercise and given it a particular operation
and direction. Already it has been at
work in our own country, stopping the wild
| Hood ot misery which is abroad in the land,
and rescuing man from the im st debasing
: moral pollution which ever left its stain up
on human character. The Temperance So
ciety has crossed tlis ocean, and is now
busily at work in the old world. Christian
ity has recognised and acknowledged her
band-maid, and overlooking the social divis
ions of the earth, has united her with herself
in the great work of renovating human na
ture.
The agitation of the Temperance causo
has awakened the public mind and aroused
its attention to the magnitude of an evil
which was secretly and silently, bul rurely
doing its work of death. It has gone forth
to charm, to repose the angry elements of
the human passions—to intu.-e fresh vigor
and economy into the various branches of
industry, and to supply the place of squalid
want and misery, with plenty and with
comfort. Yes! It has gone forth with a
recuperative energy to hurry man as many
.miles aloft, as Intemperance had sunk him
in the glens of moral depravity below.
To prove this, let facts be submitted to a
candid world: At the commencement of
the Temperance Reformation, the number
of drinkers of ardent spirits in this country
was from three to four millions. The evi
dence we offer of the amelioration in this
melancholy history, is.to be found in the
fact, that the importation of foreign liquors
has fallen off one-fifth annually since the
reformation commenced—that there has
been a constant reduction in the manufac
ture of distilled.spirits at home. In the
highly interesting fact that from the best*
possible calculation w hich can be made, not
less than one-fourth of the families in the
United -Mates are bound upon the principle
of total abstinence to resist the entrance
among them of tins vice. How must the
Temperance cause expand through the
country, when the youthful members of
those numerous families shall have been
reared upon this principle, and shall have
become a part of the active population dis
seminating by precept and example these
wholesome sentiments and inculcations.
indeed the growth of the Temperance cause
has not been limited lo private individuals, it
has found ils way into the army and navy
of the United Slates, and the reports of its
progress ilk re are most happy and encour
aging.
On the continent of Europe and in the
British Isles, this mighty work of Moral
Reform is going steadily on, and communi
cations arc daily reaching us from across the
water, enquiring minutely and anxiously in
to the great and saving principles wliiivjy
have been set into operation here.
In view of this progressing expansion—
this increasing extension, it is not too much
to predict that its course will move onward
over every impediment wherever the spe
cies is to be found, certai. ly wherever the
Bible has gone, or the knowledge of the
Cross been carried.
There is another view in which the
cause of Temperance has been advanced by
Temperance Societies. They combine two
principles without'the operation of which
Intemperance could never have been arrest
ed. The one we have already noticed. It
is the united influence which they bring to
bear upon it. But there is another stiii.—
Intemperance is the application of stimula
ting substances to the stomach in injurious
quantities, iiul who shall detine Temper
•nice ! A word, like liberty, ditferent in
signification in different countries. The
Temperance Society gives the only legiti
mate and uniform definition in the pitiieipio
of total abstinence. All the drunkards vv iio
have ever tiiicd an untimely grave, wire at
one period mode.ate drinkers. Bui when
its temperate use has bc*un, who shall rou
tine it ’ The strong appetite which it un
dresses, more and yet mure easily provoked
by habit and indulgence—the various pleas
ing and seductive forms in which it ap
proacl es-the social interchanges and hilari
ty of feeling—the temporary exhileration
and consequent momentary relief from de
pression—all serve only to remove us from
the guard and lure the incautious on into its
inextricable folds.
In total abstinence, we repeat, the right
principle has been adopted, and to it may
all the success of the plan be ascribed.
There is another fact to be stated in proof
ot the results ot Lite Temperance Society.—
It is that a great number who once traffick
ed in ardent spirits have now abandoned it.
Whilst we are cheered and encouraged by
this fact, would that we could bear testimo
ny to the universality of such a course. VVe
know the tendency and power of the trading
spirit of this country. Jt is emphatically a
country of enterprise. It is in one sense
right ii should be so—it is a natural and
beneficial impulse. Rut oh! for filthy lu
cre sake, let noi honor,intellect, virtue, feel
ing, be all hopelessly absorbed and swal
lowed up in the insatiable gulf. Let tho
vender of ardent spirits, whether it be the
merchant in his wholesale store, or the re
tailer in lii.s shop, pause and consider the ru
in he is producing. Let him ponder the
countless ills—the revolting crimes—the
i tearful vices originating in the cup he daily
; passes. If his conscience is still lulled to
repose—if his sensibilities are yet steeled
against the desolation of this traffic, there
remains hut one argument mure which may
I perchance leach his tears—let him meditate
on the tremendous retributions of Eternity.
; The curse of Heaven is denounced against
him who holdeih the cup to his neighbor’s
lip. Gu the sacred page the pen of Inspira
tion hath written, “He who hath the love of
God in his heart, worketh no ill to his neigh
bor.”
Another argument still may be added in
: ta\ or ot the Temperance cause, derived
from the dignity of names—from that long
catalogue-of talented and venerated indi
viduals in this country who have come for
ward as the open and able advocates, and®
champions of Temperance—the pulpit, tho
medical profession—the bench,and the bar
—the distinguished legislators of the Nation
al Councils—our gallant leaders on the
, land .aid on the sea. Such are the men who