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THE WASHINGTONIAN: AUGUSTA, NOVEMBER 25, 1843. ll'aithiitglon Total Jtbslintnce I‘ledgr. We, whose names are hereunto annexed, desirous of forming a Society for our mutual benefit, and to guard against a pernicious practice, which is injurious to our health, standing and families, do pledge ourselves as Gentlemen, not to drink any Spiritous or Malt Liquors, Wine or Cider. COMMITTEE. Rev. W. T. Branti/y, Dr. F. M. Robertson, “ W.J.H/inn, Dr. 1). Hook, « C. S. Don, S. T Chapman, Esq. “ Geo. F. Pierce, James Harper, Esq, Col. John Mieledce, ;•gjm To Distant Subacbibeiu.—Post Masters are au thorized by law to remit money to the publisher! ol newspaper* »nd periodicals, in payment of subscrip tions- Subscribers to the Ifashiniftonian can therefore pay for their papers without subjecting themselves or the publisher to the expense of postage, by handing the •mount to the Post Master, with a request to remit it. To Correspondents. —We have re ceived several Communications, which came to hand tot) late for to-day’s paper, but will appear in our next. 03" The publisher of the Washingto nian earnestly requests all the subscri bers in arrears, to remit the amount of their subscriptions at an early date. The expenses attending the publication of the paper, is not less than twenty dollars weekly. Many of the subscribers have not paid one cent, on either the first or | second volumes, and it is hoped, that they will see the neeessity of a strict compli ance with his request, when they perceive from the sma! l list of payments for sub scription some time past, be has not re ceived one half sufficient to defray the weekly expenses. Persons who desire to subscribe for the paper for the next six months, (which will complete the 2nd vol.) will receive it for fifty cents, by paying that amount in ad vance. Mechanic's Meeting. The proceedings of the “ Mechanics Meeting,” published in another column, certainly deserves from our Legislators a most respectful consideration. It is a lamentable truth that labour in the South, from the cause of which our worthy Me chanics complain, and from others not now necessary to our purpose, is not as honorably appreciated, as its own merits and the good of our country require. Nothing need be added to their very just remarks, in demonstration of the truth, that to condemn a felon to work as a pun ishment of his crimes, is virtually to fix a stigma on work, and associate it in the mind with the idea of criminality. This is so truly unfortunate as to call loudly for a change of criminal policy. What shall this change be? A return to the “sanguinary inflictions! of antiquity,” are out of the question—so strong is public opinion against this, that tho Mechanics, themselves the sufferers from the present policy, are opposed to it, and only recommend a change in the kind of labor. But this does not strike at the root of the matter —it only trans fers the odium from the Mechanic Arts, to other kinds of labor, and the injury, to other classes of our citizens. All kinds of useful labor is honorable, and deserves the protection of the laws, and of public opinion, against the contamination of as soeiation with guilt. If, as has been proposed in a quarter deserving high consideration, the con victs be employed in manufacturing arti cles for which we are now dependent upon the labor of other states or coun tries, the complaints of those deeply injured by their present employments would he obviated; but will not this poli cy have one of two eflects deleterious tc the State ? Will it not make these nee employments forever disgraceful, ant therefore for ever, make us dependent up on distant labor for our supplies, unles; felon labor is sufficient to supply ou wants? Or if it does not have this effect is it not a mere temporary policy, whici will have to be changed again as soon a our citizens engage in the same occupa tions? Besides, it may be enquired, would it not better become a great State, at once to give suitable encouragement to | honest labor, wlien ever her wants de mand it, than to be resorting to these ! temporary shifts—which too, oblige her ! to degrade honest labor, by putting it into 'the hands of felons? We would speak diffidently upon this "ivery important subject, but there can be ’jno question of the propriety of awarding (punishment, so as to prevent crime in ‘ others, to protect society, and to reform the criminal. Keeping these principles in view, if we do not suggest the best dpolicy, we shall at least avoid giving any mischievous advice. >! The certainty of punishment has in ’ comparably, more power to prevent crime than the magnitude of punishment, and ’ hence the absolute necessity of the just iadaptation of punishment to crime, ac cordin'; to the common sense of mankind f ° . . • L iupon tho subject. This suggestion is • equally important for the prevention of [ crimes, and for the maintenance of the : majesty of the laws, (raided by it, we [ would suggest, as entirely in accordance with public opinion, so far as the virtu ous of every community are concerned, that punishment should attach as much disgrace, ignomy, and degradation to the ’ offender, as the nature of his offence would sanction, lie should be marked— .! not with hot iron, but with public con . tempt and execration. He should be dis f franchised—debased. This would have . the effect of warning others against the . commission of crime, and to the extent , of its success in this way, would protect , tho unoffending part of the community. For the further protection of society, some criminals should be confined in jails or penitentiaries—and while confined, if . they must labour for health or recreation, , let it be either, at some low and totdlly useless and never-ending work ; or let it , be as a matter of privilege to those who show that solitary confinement is produ cing reformation. Confinement should he the punishment—labour, a mitigating privilege, under certain circumstances. . Every thing should be so arranged as to impress upon the violator oflaw the idea (of universal contempt and execration, | until signs of penitence appear, and then ijkindness, respect and privilege should ,ikecp pace with reformation. A felon l ought not to be allowed to think that an i honest man would defile himself by using; , any thing made by his polluted hands— i . and he should be made to feel and see that 1 t he never can be useful to himself or oth -5 ers—never can be received again into so-; j eiety—until he becomes a reformed, up-i , right man. t; In the measures properly adopted to in-; , sure any one of the objects of punish-j . ment, the attainment of the others, it is t;seen, is also, to a certain extent, accom •! plished. Yet, it may be right to add, on i the subject of reforming criminals, that ■ every one of them should be furnished 1 with a bible, and where they cannot read, | their overseers should be required to read ~to them. The Gospel too, should be > preached to them regularly on the insti- L tuted day of divine worship, s In conclusion, it may be remarked, that ,j whenever punishment fails of the exem plary, protective and corrective effects, • above urged as its appropriate attributes, - it is radically defective, and should be ,'changed. The present system fails in ) the first and last particular; and in the s second, according to the showing of the s'Mechanic’s Memorial, it injures a class of throughout the whole State, as -Imuch as it protects the few who might have been injured by the offenders going r at large. i* For the Washingtonian. it l A Plain Talk for the People 1 i*| Fellow-Citizens :—lt is a painful and y melancholy truth, that notwithstanding s the good the temperance cause has affect- Med, your sons in many instances, are still o; becoming drunkards. This too is hap- IV Jpening often, when you believe they are ‘djdiligently preparing themselves for use >• fulness and respectability. To assure 5S you of this, I will place before you, a ir this time, only two pictures:— :t, The first—of a slender youth who i: ih j the pride and hope of an admiring fami as ly—behold him franticly drunk, stagger a-jing, swearing, screaming amid a crowt ~of others, nearly as maniacal from the /same cause as himself. A Washingtoni > an in passing, sees him, and in coropas - sionforhim and his family, forces him ; away from this scene of degradation, rI When he was brought near home, the idea ) of his mother seeing him in this shocking state, momentarily sobered him enough 3 to make him exclaim—“for heaven’s sake /do not t?ike me home—it will kill my mo r ther !” He became a raging maniac, i [until it was concluded to deposit him in i a negro house until sober. This youth’s 3 family thought him at the time engaged t in the way a gentleman’s son ought to r be engaged —in improving society, or im proving occupation. Now look at the second. A meeting > of the temperance society is in progressj I —an invitation is given to gentlemen to t come forward and pledge themselves be • fore the world to be sober. A youth, I whose previous conduct had excited sus > picions, anxious to deceive his friends, f steps forward and signs his name to a : pledge of honor, to be true and faithful *to temperance principles. His friends ! were deceived, as was perceptible from . the delighted applause which followed , this act. His object was gained and he i retired in assured security, to his dark den ;of gluttony and drunkenness. But he . drank deeper than usual, became quar. . relsome, and was in the end so beaten as . to carry the marks upon him for days. , One who saw him take the pledge, saw . him while yet reeling from this fit of in : toxication. His infamy was exposed. Now, fellow-citizens, as I have shewn you what is going on in this wonderful world of ours, I hope you will bear with me when I tell you, you are to blame for this state of things ! Yes, the truth must j ■ he told—you are making your children drunkards and vagabonds!! You are making them lilliputians in mind, body| and spirit, and giants in falsehood, bias- j , phemy and vice !!! This is a tremendous charge and must be sustained, or withdrawn, and one or the other shall be done. To sustain it, I offer at present, the following proofs : 1. You have not by “line upon line” of precept, and by constant example, in- 1 , stilled into your children the fear of God, j which is the beginning of wisdom, nor that love of truth which would make i them shudder at the deception above ex posed. Are you then not to blame ? and : arc you not now unreasonable to expect . the fruits of the tree of virtue, when you j never planted it in their hearts ? j 2. When the bold and noble effort has .{been made, to remedy the evils of your /neglect of duty, and bad example, you |have stood aloof, or for some unworthy . motive, even taken sides with those who itaking advantage of your miseducation , of your children, have industriously la boured to make them sots—fools— ! bankrupts. Have you not refused to sus tain regulations intended to arrest the I deadly mischiefs of intemperance ? Have you not by your apathy, or something I worse, made the laws already existing on , this subject—“a mere dead letter?” But more particularly under this head. Public opinion is every thing in our coun . try, and especially with the young —and yet when the friends of temperance, and [therefore the friends of your children, [have used every effort to enlist this migh ,jty engine in behalf of sobriety and vir t tue, you have withheld your names and , influence :—worse, you have ridiculed j the cause and its friends. Some ladies j and gentlemen remain unconcerned spec 3 tators, at the very time that their sons, t encouraged by their indifference, are sap , ping the foundations of their hopes, and 5 all their future happiness. Oh! will you not awake to the calamities that are com ing upon you. Awake, O sleepers ! for your children’s sake, if for nothing else, and unite in every work which will show that nothing but temperance and the ’’[practice of virtue have the sanction of jjj public opinion. You must be asleep or blind'not to see that this union of action ’" is all that is necessary to effect a perfect e moral reform. Ladies and gentlemen, ’ you are the enemies of your own chil ■o * " dren—of your own happiness and pros perity, so long as you withhold your in . fluence from the cause we plead, is 1 If these proofs are not deemed suffici l' ent, I have more in reserve, and when r * these arc digested, they shall be forth rd coming. A Washingtonian. . | For the Washingtonian. "I Many suppose that the advocates of " the temperance cause are too fond of ' fault-finding, and that they have become ’ wiser than their day and generation, and too puritanical when they complain about ’•the vast number of drinking houses which are, or rather were once to be /found in every town and hamlet iu our ‘ country. But this charge is far from be /ing true. This age is not the first one ' in which such complaints have been ’ made, nor have they gone after a reme *idy in so summary manner as has been ’done. During the latter part of the reign of | George Ist. and the earlier part of that [of his successor, gin drinking was ex ’ ceedingly common ; and the cheapnes *|of ardent spirits and the multiplication of {public houses for its sale, were denounc -1 ed from the pulpit, and in the present ments of grand juries, as producing the most alarming and destructive consequen ces to the health and morals of the com munity. Ministers at length determined J . ' to prevent its future use except as a cor dial or medicine, and for this purpose an act was passed in 1730. Its preamble is [in these words, and describes the evils it was intended to remedy : “ Whereas, the drinking of spiritous liquors or strong water, is become very common, especially among people of low erand inferior rank, the constant and ex cessive use of which tends greatly to the destruction of their health, rendering them unfit for useful labor and business, debauching their morals, and inciting! them to perpetrate all vices; and the ill! consequences of the excessive use of such liquors are not confined to the present] {generation, but extend to future ages and] ;tend to the destruction and ruin of this; I Kingdom,” &c. &e. Thus it is seen, that as far back as 1 [1736, the vice of intemperance was so] common that it was deemed necessary to put a stop to it by almost any means j within the power of the Crown. To ef fect the reform, an act of Parliament was passed which raised the duties so high | that smuggling was resorted to success fully, and to that was added drunkenness [and bloodshed. In about two years the [act became odious and contemptible, and policy as well as humanity urged thecom missioners to mitigate its penalties. In 1742 it was repealed, and a moderate re venue duty put on. In Ireland and .Scot land the same result followed the high duties imposed. To profit from the errors of the past is the part of wisdom ; and while the pre amble describes the state of the public morals, as far as drunkenness can make: them so truly alarming at the time, yeti the description then and there given, suits our times and our country at this very moment. Then is it any wonder that those are found, who seeing this vice at every turn of the road—in the morning, at noon, and at night—in the high places and in the low places—that they for step i ping forward for its reform, using moral suasion and brotherly love, should be thought to be wiser than their day and I generation and puritanical in the feel- I ings? By no means; and just because those who so speak are ignorant of what has been done, and what remains to be done. The Washingtonian has improv j ed upon the errors of the past and the j destiny of his purposes, must be—will be , —success. So BE IT. From the Jour. Temp. Union. World’s Temperance Convention. I At a meeting of members of the Coni j mittee of Arrangements for a General Temperance Convention in London, 1844, residing in America, held in the city of New York, Oct. 25th, 1843, Ed ) ward C. Delavan, Esq., was appointed v Chairman, and John Marsh, Secretary. e On motion, Resolved, That the follow j- ing Circular be issued to the Temperance Societies in the United States, and pub r fished in Temperance and other papers. II CIRCULAR. t To all Temperance Organizations a i, dopting the Total Abstinence principle _ in the United States. Whereas a call has been issued from a ' very respectable assembly of the friends ' of Temperance convened at the Hall of Commerce, Threadneedle-street, Lon :- don, June 27, 1843, fora general Con n vention to be held in London, June 1844, i- the Committee would respectfully and earnestly direct the attention of all Tern t^*l^ perance organizations to it as a most im. portant meeting for the promotion of ‘ harmony of views and feelings in ou f efforts to rid the world of one of the mo*; e desolating physical and moral evils; anc j do invite-them at an early period to se t ;lect some such gentlemen as may find it practicable to represent them in that “ Convention; and more particularly they "would press upon every State Society tIJ ‘ importance of preparing during the enl - suing winter full and accurate Temper.! 6 ance statistics and facts relating to thJ cause of Temperance, both as to the ex. tent and evils of intemperance and to the| ‘extent and blessings of the work of re. I 1 i form, to be forwarded to us for the u<* I of the Convention. f Attest: John Marsh, Sec'y. ' The Drunkard near his End. EV W. M. CARCTHERS, M. D. See the famished creature, how h? I pours it down his parched throat. He i loathes and revolts at all food for days anc weeks together. The quantity of arden: ’‘spirits consumed during such a paroxism is almost incredible to those who have never witnessed it. I attended a youn» . I gentleman, a short time ago, who told me I himself, that his daily allowance was twe quarts, and from the potations I saw hin I quaff, this was rather under than over th- I I mark. ; At length he gives up in despair; so : ; sees, he feels, that brandy can no longi save him from madness. He attempts t recuperate the fading powers of nature by the resort to the balmy restorative, bn; : the gentle God is not thus to be wooed l> I j those who have set all his precepts anril . practices at defiance. Can any one sleep! . thus, whose vessels are loaded with liquid? r lfire, and their nervous energy stimulated] to exhaustion? '! See how hurriedly he breathes. Lis. ■ ten to those long drawn sighs, as if coming I from the depths of his soul, and repeated 'every instant. These sighs do not pro. ceed from mental distress alone, nor art i they subject to his volition ; they are as much symptomatic of the disease, as they ; are of yellow fever, and, as far as this sin. gle symptom goes, are exactly alike.— i'his however is a combination of physica. ,jand mental disease, and all its symptoms . ;and phantasmagoria are resolved to these two heads: This sighing is almost spas rnodic, and its source must be sought ini the mysterious connection between thcl ; nerves of voluntary motion and those of* i organic life; hut these abstruse points ll . shall reserve for the ears of inv medical! I brethren. The patient invariably points 1 to the] [deep seated portion of the chest as the In. feahty of his misery. He suffers no pliv-j ■ jsicat pain, but every now and them lie I i[makes a convulsive struggle for breath, and all this appears to an ordinary specla jtor, ns a mere matter of volition, and his friends in such a case, often press him tu 1 lie still and try to sleep. He t<> their entreaties, and by a powerful effort, i seems to choke down the dreadful agony l O' ~in his throat. .[ Nothing hut whispers are now heard round the hearth; every one moves on tip-toe, and the curtains are drawn, an 1 the light shaded for his last effort at sleep. ' The friends begin to smile at each other • in congratulation at the long silence, an! i delusive hope plays over their haggard and I exhausted features. But hark to that shrill and piercing scream, and see th' ’ wild and frantic creature, as with one abound he clears the bed and lights in the midst of them. His nostrils dilated, hi | j eyes red with agony, and his whole coun tenance ghastly with the extremity of . moral terror. His friends attempt to force him back to bed, but he falls upon ■ his knees and prays to you as his jailor, 3 for the sake of mercy and of heaven not t to put him again into that loathsome den > of slimy reptiles and creeping vermin. While he is dragged on the floor, he ’ clutches at the horrid things with his hands, and the very muscles of his body ' are quivering and shuddering in a hun dred opposite directions. If he puts his foot down he instantly snatches it away with a scream, for he had placed it just on the contorted back of a venomous snake. The spiders crawl in his ears, and he plucks at them with one hand, whilst he II wrenches the fangs of a scorpion from his . back with the other. ej When at last overpowered, he lies with - his eyes starting from their sockets, turn d ing them rapidly from one part of the bed . to another, like some wild animal brought -to lay by the hunters. Every now and e then he makes a spring from their clutch - es, and is again overpowered, and perhaps . confined in a madman’s jackef, in which state every muscle of his body is writhing -in strange contortions. Great drops of ejcold, clamy perspiration are coursing each other down his blue cadaverous a cheeks. He cries out in the most piteous siand heart-rending tones for help; he ap f peals to the stranger at his side, and when - deserted by all the world, as he imagines, - weeps like an infant. If there was but a single delusion d haunting his imagination, it is possible - that means might be found to convince