Augusta Washingtonian. (Augusta, Ga.) 1843-1845, December 23, 1843, Image 1

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

AITOTBTA WABBXimOVIAIT. I E i&jart?: Sfrfaiww U ®m©rramiir, IWtoW&wim® | Yol. II No. 29.] Cfie gßasMtigtonfan * W<LL BE PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY MORNING. BY JAMES MeCAPEERTY, I the low price ot one dollar |iit annum, for a single subscriber, five dollars for a cluli of six, or ten dollars for a club of twelve sub i scribers — payment, in advance. AH Communications, by mail, addressed to the r nnblisher, must he post paid to receive atten tion. By the rules of the Post-Office Depart ment, Post masters may crank subscription money for Newspapers. I Advertisements will be inserted at the follow ing reduced rates: --For one square, not rx •eceding twelve lines. 50 cents for the first ’insertion, and twentv-five cents for eacheon ! tinu ince. if published weekly, if semi-monthly |37i; and if monthly 4J; cents, for each con tinuance. "Yearly advertisers 10 per ct. discount. From the Pen field Temperance Banner. DOCUMENTS, Laid before the recent Convention at Eatonton. REPORT Os the Delegation of the Washington Total Abstinence Society, of Augusta, Ga., to the Eatonton Convention. Virtue sustains every community; without it, each and all of them, like the cities of the plain, would be speedily with drawn. The preservation of virtue, theroforc, is the preservation not only of civic liberty, but ofSociety itself. Con vinced of this by the teachings of revela tioa and experience, the friends of man have ever ardently labored to promote vir tue among their fellow men ; and when thwarted in their benevolent efforts in one direction, they have resolutely turned all their energies in another. At this time, from the peculiar condition of the religious and political world, finding il impossible to unite all the friends of vir tue under the organization of either, lor [this object they have rallied under the banners of Education and Temperance, to labor unitedly for the good of all.— IL re they have found an oasis in the [ moral waste, where all who love God and man, and who compose the salt of the i earth, concentrate their energies for the conversation oi the morals of mankind. Happily for the weal of our race, these good works unite good men—separate the wheal from the chaff- —and bring lhe t, ue children of wisdom together in sweet communion and fellowship. Viewing the friends of Temperance on this light, the Delegation of the Wash ington Total Abstinence Society of Au gusta, hail and salute the members of this Convention as brethren and compan ions in a good work, and tender to them llieir protbundest respect. The Delegation have the pleasure to report that the progress of the Society i» still onward. From the annual report presented at its annual meeting in 1842 the number of Washingtonians, exclusive of some two hundred belonging to the former total abstinence organization, were eight hundred; now the cold water army of Augusta, including the above, amounts to thirteen hundred and thirty three. j Many of our warm hearted brethren, / alive to the importance of the reformation to every class and condition of man, pre sented its claims “in thoughts that breathe the words that burn,” to the con sideration of the black population—the results have been most cheering—two Societies have been formed and now con tain eight hundred and forty-nine mem bers. These added to the whites, make a total of 2182, of the degenerate race of Adam, who have been redeemed from, ; and if faithful, placed beyond the influ- ; cnce of alcoholic poison through the ef forts of the friends of temperance. i We report this fact to the Convention, to excite emulation—interest as well as! humanity demands that this example i should be imitated, for the health, the j honesty, the usefulness of this portion of l our people will be thereby preserved. < Since the adoption of the Washingto- I nian pledge, the Society has increased I •with much greater rapidity than while or- I ganized under the old total abstinence ; pledge : the reason why, we will not now < enquire, but report the fact as worthy the ■ consideration of the Convention. < We rejoice to report that the pledge is 1 generally kept with praiseworthy fidelity; - the few who violate it, are either the un- r principled, who sign it without honesty ot c purpose, or who have been seduced, in moments of weakness, by unprincipled J associates. The last are easily reclaimed, c Some few having taken the pledge with- a out a just appreciation of the moral beau- I ties, and the high and vast arms of the r reformation, “ have grown weary in well c 1 doing,” and withdraw their names from the pledge. Perhaps, and we hope they will yet awake to the glory they have icast from them and return in its pursuit to secure its enjoyment. We report as an additional good our Society is doing, that in 1840, there were granted in our city 29 retail licences—in 1841, 20—in 1842, 14—in 1843, 11. Shewing a continual decline in the sale of ardent spirits. We may also state, with heartfelt satis faction, that some of our most worthy and useful ciiizens are the fruits of tem perance labors—like Judge Smith, of Ohio, they had sunk from talents, useful ness and domestic felicity, to the deep degradation of loathsome drunkenness; , and like him, they-have been raised to perfect sobriety and former respectabili ty; and like him, they have nobly, by ex ample and arduous labor, engaged in re claiming others from the fallen state of drunkenness. One individual of this class deserves special notice; ho was a i man of family, and had by drink ruined his business—destroyed his health—beg gared bis wife and children. lie was re- I claimed—and terrible was the struggle be “o tween the diseases contracted from rum, and the recuperative energies of his con , stitution ; but finally the latter gained the ascendency, and be returned to the avo ■ cations of life. He soon regained the confidence of friends, and now he is a re i speclable and useful man, supporting his family abundantly, and wearing a face of comparative happiness. One of our Washingtonians, some time ago, said to I his wife, “you do not want for neccssa -1 ries now ?” “Oh no, my husband,” she replied, “supplies us plentifully !” The insurer, an happy and proud expression if countenance, was a rich reward to him for the efforts by which ho had affected the pleasing change. . Another case, wo will report, not be ■ cause it is cheering, but because it is in structing and warning in its character: A common laborer was won from the ■ lowest state of drunken imbecility. The city authorities gave him work, and in a ! short time his health was regained and i his mind restored. But after a year o industry and good behaviour, as a bus hand and father, ho was, in a moment of weakness, seduced from the paths of so briety, and now he fills a drunkard’s un honored grave, and his helpless family are left to the charities of the world. The moral power exerted by our socie ty, nsav be seen in the unwillingness of wine-bibbers to be seen entering the groggeries—in the necessity which has compelled the proprietors of these halls to conceal them behind literary and confec tionary screens—in the difference invol untarily paid by those who stealthily drink to those who are known to have set their faces uncompromisingly against all species of intemperance. We feel, therefore, encouraged to de clare that firmness and perseverance will accomplish the glorious objects contem plated in this reformation. W e might refer to the statistics of other Societies, and vast diminution in the amount of ardent spirits imported in our country, in confirmation of the beneficial influence of the Temperance reform; but such remarks will come more appropriate ly from the convention. In conclusion we desire to give our tes timony in behalf of the cheering truth, that the Temperance reform is proving to be the hand maid of religion, the harbin ger of a general improvement in morals, and the token of a better day—it has arisen starlika in the world, and with the brilliancy of its dawn and the efficiency ot its restrictions, rolled away the dark ness amidst which men grouped without hope of relief, and prepared them to re ceive the truths of the gospel, and to practice virtue and religion—it has torn from the mind, long besotted, the stupor of drunkenness, and restored reason again to her seat —it has relieved the distress of the helpless, and inspired with gladness, the hearts well-nigh broken. It is a glorious work—pure in its development, charitable in its dealings, and heaven ward in its tendency. He who pleads its cause, like Paul in the case of Felix, is laboring to open the way to righteousness ! —to give the mind power to appreciate i and the heart to feel the force of religi ous truth. Upon viewing the whole ground, the i Delegation are satisfied that the friends of this good work should take courage ’ and renew and increase their efforts; i Heaven’s blessings is with us, and we i must and will triumph. The only dis- c couraging circumstance in the whole AUGUSTA, GA. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1843. i matter, is the want of that spirited liber-' - ality indispensibly necessary to sustain! ; our periodicals, and reward our laborers. -jThe means of remedying this will deserve j the consideration of the Convention. All of which is respectfully submitted. ; L. D. Lallerstedt,' i S. T. Chapman, n • . Hawkins Huff, Committee of ■ Jas.S. Hook, Delegates. G. H. Ingraham. ’ Eatonton, Nov. 23:1, 1843. The Eatonton total abstinence Society was organised on the total abstinence - principle, some lime in July 1842. i Strong prejudices against the cause exis ted in the community at the time of its i organization—on account of the unfbrtn - nate move in 1839, in which the friends -of the cause attempted to memorialize the - Legislature to repeal the license law. fi Many of our best citizens thought they s| could see a deliberate attempt in that ct i fort to overthrow the liberties of the cili -1 zens—and to take from them, by Legisla tion, rights guarantied by tiie constitu tion. It is not strange, therefore, that - our new organization was watched with , great jealousy and suspicion. We are -! gratified, however, to say that by pursu 'ling a mild and pursuasive policy and sep - pirating our efforts entirely from legal res ? < traints, we have succeeded far beyond -lour most sanguine expection. Many s'have rallied to the cause, who battled t strongly against the memorial. OurSo r ciety now numbers in the aggregate one ■> hundred and forty-five members, a major - ity of whom are Mules and some too who • had been given up by their friends as -jhopeless cases. Since that time many i other societies have been formed in the i county, and there seems now to exist a 1 determined and patriotic resolution to drive intemperance from our country, -jby moral suasion, and the force of ex • ample—much more potent and effective : I than any legal restriction. >! It. F. Tkippe, Secr’v. • i| Crawfordville, Nov. 19th, 1843. 1 To the .Members composing the Tern s Pcrance Convention, to be held til Eaton. • ton, Putnam County, Ga , on the 2‘Sd f insl: — Greeting. We have nothing new to communicate -to you. Since your last assemblage, we ’ continue to hold our weekly meetings, which are on Saturday night. Though - our meetings are not of that interesting f character, we would wish, yet, the abund ant and amazing good that has resulted • from the ieeblc efforts, which have been > made by this Society, since its organiza • lion, which is been little over twelve • months, is most pleasing and heart cheer ing to aH the friends of Temperance.— Some of the most intemperate and aban- I doned in our village, have been reclaim ed; they came forward, signed the j . Pledge, and do most strictly adhere to its I principle; peace and quiet now reign,; where recently strife and confusion did! most frequently abound. We have seen • in this vicinity, the man who had, by a! i continual course of intemperance, been! ■ reduced to the lowest depths of degrada tion, poverty" and wretchedness, restored to his right mind, live like a Washingto nian, and die a sober man. Though much has already been done here, in the great Reformation which is , now agitating almost every part of the i human world, yet there is much that re-! mains to be done. This great, this be- : nevolcnt, this soul cheering cause, has some enemies still who cannot or will not be convinced. Our hearts’ desire, and prayer to God is, that they r may lie con vinced; that the Temperance Reforma tion may move onward and onward, un til its happy and moralizing influences may be felt and rightly appreciated, not only in every country, but in every fami ly, and in every heart. By a resolution of this society at its ast meeting, it was unanimously agreed that we send up a request, that your next Session be held with us at Crawfordville; which from its central and convenient lo cation, will make it altogether as we think, a very suitable place. Our Society numbers 191 members, besides an Auxiliary Society established : in this county at Ebenezer, which num- . bers about Sixty; which Society we pro- l sume will not be represented, only s through this Society. ] May Heavens’ blessings smile upon l your labours, and give you many that are s now lost in the fumes of Alcohol, to join s your ranks, and fight most valiently un- t der the Washingtonian Banner. t Done by order of the Washingtonian r | Society at Crawfordville. Jesse Woodall, Pres. Thomas R. Simmons. Sec. Mount Vernon, Nov. Bth, 1843. Brethren , —Having seen through the columns of the Christian Index, a con vention ot the societies formed to pro mote the cause of Total Abstinence in Georgia, to be held in the town of Ea tonton, Putnam county, on the 23d of the present month, and having a desire to be represented in some manner, we have thought proper to write, as a personal ‘ delegation appears impracticable on the ■ present occasion. We hope therefore, • you will not think us wanting in zeal or « energy in the good cause xvhen you re • eeive our short epistle. ’ There was a meeting called at the a bove named place for the purpose of con . sidel ing the subject of Total Abstinence, < upon the filth of Nov. last; at which - time the subject was freely discussed, and - several were found willing to abstain to • tally from all intoxicating liquors, or - whatever else contains the principles. ! Subsequently we have been regularly or i ganized, and have received fifty members, 1 one of w hich has been removed by death, - and another has withdrawn, in conse - qucnco of his removing to a different - part of the country ; and thanks to the 1 stability and integrity of western Geor i" gians, not one has apostatized. 1 We organized upon the fourth of Fe - liruary, 1843. We have four regular - meetings in the year ; the first of which ■ is called our annual meeting. Our Socie -3 tyisyet in its infancy, but from the pro gress we have made and arc still making, r and from the signs of the times, we feel :■ confident that wo shall exceed our pre i sent number at a subsequent conference. 3 The good cause is gaining ground in wes , tern Georgia, and we feel thankful that - we have an opportunity of throwing our little mite of strength into the scale, which is destined, ere it be long, to pre ponderate in its favor. We deem it important to concentrate our strength, in order that we may more - effectually make war against our common -enemy. I Dear Brethren—Let us unite our | strength and persevere in this good cause ; : hundreds and thousands of our miserable 31 and defenceless fellow mortals are crying , aloud, with the voice of thunder, and say. i ing, Men of Israel help; help for the ; sake of suffering humanity; help for the - love you have for your country ; help for 1 the sake of God, and your own consci ) once. If we were aroused as we should - be upon this important subject, and con tinue to remember our obligations, to • man and to God, the time would not be - far distant, when the total abstinence car • | would roll her silvery wheels o’er our be loved country, carrying her millions of Freemen to the climes of prosperity, i ! health and virtue. J By order of the Executive Committee, W. R. SINGLETON, Sec’y. Savannah, 19th Nov., 1843. Gentlemen, —At a meeting of the “Sa vannah Washingtonian Temperance So ciety,” held last Monday, the following resolutions were passed : Resolved, That the Executive Com mittee, together with the President, be authorised to appoint three delegates to ! represent this Society in the Temperance ! Convention to be held at Eatonton, Thursday, the 23d inst. Resolved, That in case the Commit tee should not be able to procure dele gates to represent this Society, that the Secretary be requested to communicate to said Convention all information relative to this Society. The Committee authorised by the first resolution, have informed me that they arc unable to procure any persons to re- present this Society in the Convention, and have requested me to communicate to you the necessary information relative to our Society, which I cheerfully com ply with. The “Savannah Washingtonian Tem perance Society” was organised on the 7th of January last, and the following of ficers elected for one year: John Inger soll, President; John R. Johnson, Vice President; William S. Williford, Secre tary ; John L. Blount, Treasurer ; Jo seph Felt, Wm. King, and D. D. Copp, Executive Committee. Up to this time there has been but 81 persons who have signed the pledge, and 14 of these have since either broken the pledge, or resign ed, leaving the number at the present time only 67, viz: 46 males and 21 fe males. You will perceive by this state- 1 [Ojxe Dollar a Year. ment that the Temperance cause is quite unpopular in this city. There has been several attempts made in the last year or two to form Temperance Societies, but they have all fallen through, owing prin cipally to the fact that no men of influ ence will come out and aid us.* Our Society will be obliged to the offi i cers ot the Convention for a copy of their proceedings ns soon as possible, or any other documents that may in their opin ion be of service to the cause. W ith our best wishes for the success of the Temperance cause, and a regret that our Society cannot be represented in ,| person, I beg to remain with due respect, I lours, very respectfully, W. S. Williford, Sec. s. tv. t. s. * A ml will continue to be unpopular so long as Fvinperancc papers are not patronised and cir culated more iieely.— YVc have not now, and ne ■ ver have had more than one Subscriber to the i Banner in the city of Savannah. “Men of in j tiuence” may “come out and aid," hut till tem perance papers reach the firesides of your people, the cause will flag. —Editor Banner. Hearnville, NoV. 22d, 1843. The Hearnville Total Abstinence So i ciety to the Temperance Convention, to j convene in Eatonton, on Thursday the ■ 23d instant. 1 Dear Friends. —We take pleasure in - addressing those whose Philanthropy ' prompts them on to the pursuit of that course which is destined to do more good ‘ (under Cod) than perhaps any other en r terprise (the ministration of the word on -1 ly excepted) ever engaged in by men, ami which must be revered and admired ' by millions yet unborn. ' We are yet rowing our little Bark a gainst wind and tide, in the midst of op ■ position. ■ It will cheer you, notwithstanding, to [ hcar thflt The Fork District, Putnam county, celebrated for vice and immoral r il y» rapine and bloodshed, and all that ’ c * asß ot bloody deeds which tends to • strike terror to the heart of any refined gentleman or lady, is now without ado<r \ gcry «r Devil’s meeting house.—Ye°, thank Cod, we have neither Distillery nor 1 Tipling shop in our neighborhood. W e hope you will have a full delega r (ion from the Societies. We send as de \ legates Messrs. W. B. Jourdan and F. ■S. Hearn, jun’r. And we pray the bless ’ ,n g of God to rest on your labors. Lot Hearn, Sec. pro. tem. | Monticello Cold Water Washingtonian Association, beg leave to offer the fol- I lowing report: We formed ourselves into a Society a i bout eighteen months since, under very discouraging circumstances, but with the firm resolve to persevere so long as three or more would shew a willingness to •meet. Our efforts were crowned with unparalleled success, and soon our num bers swelled to eighty members; and some, I am proud to say, were “plucked as brands from the burnings.” Young men of the first families, who had well nigh ruined all their prospects and squan dered their fortunes, are now, we think, under the influence of this benevolent ex ertion on the part of the friends of total abstinence, thoroughly reclaimed, “sit ting clothed and in their right mind,” in the beautiful language of Scripture. But owing to a disaster to which our village foil a victim, our archives were burned ; our pledge, with the catalogue of names appended, was lost in the conflagration. We have not as yet, reorganized, but are determined to pass through the trial with out the smell of fire on our garments. No effort shall be spared, on our part, to co-operate with our sister societies in the different parts of the State or U. States. Samuel Plummer, Delegate from Jasper County. , Candor. > 2 An old farmer being one year “select -2 man,” had to preside over the annual ■ meeting, and afier he had read the names which had been put into the jury box, a ■ man got up and asked why his son’s name ■ had not been put in as a candidate for ju • ror. 1 o which he immediately replied, “the selectmen consider the office of ju ror as requiring great prudence, discre tion, and intelligence,— it was a situation demanding judgment, integrity, and a just regard for the rights of others;” then turning to the inquirer, he added, “to all of which, we consider your son defici ent!” Turning to the people with im pudent coolness, which I cannot describe, he inquired, “is there any other person who wishes to know why hi« name was not put in the box V*