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TIIK WASHINGTONIAN.
AUGUSTA. SEPT. *B, 18*4.
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE.
Rev. W. T. Brantly, Rev. Geo. F. Pilrce,
‘‘ \V J. Hard, Dr. D. Hook,
“ C. S. Dod, James Harper, Esq.
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Augusta Washington Total Abstinence
Society.
Frequent enquiries hare been made of
late why no meetings of this Society are
called by the officers. We have not con
ferred with them, but we can hardly
mistake their views when it is so obvious
to all who watch closely the course of
things, that temperance meetings are not
called for at this season of the year when
our population is so scattered. It is dif
ficult to assemble a tolerable audience for
the consideration of any but the most
exciting topics. Nothing hut that which
commands absorbing interest to the pub
lic mind can attract respectable numbers
to a public meeting. The summer is not
the time to make an impression upon the
public mind in this community. We
presume, therefore, that tho officers of the
Augusta W. T. A. Society wisely judge
it better to have no meetings than to have
poor meetings. Nothing is gained'by a
thinly attended, languid, spiritless tem
perauco meeting. On the contrary, not
a little is lost; for every such meeting
contributes to form tho idea that “ tem
perance meeting” is hut another name
for intolerable dullness. It is very irn
portant that meetings should be spirited
and interesting. Two or three such in
tho course of the year will accomplish
more than a hundred that—
Drag their slow length along.”
Instead, therefore, of insinuating that the
officers of the society aro forgetful of
their duty, we should rather commend
•*
their prudence, and reserve our valor for
tho approaching winter campaign.
If those persons who aro disposed to
complain will let us have their names,
and will guaranty us some two or three
good speeches and a good audience, we
pledge ourselves to procure an order for
a meeting from the officers of the society.
We know their tried zeal, and wo are
sure that all they want is an assurance
that a meeting will be profitable.
We would say most earnestly to. all
officers of temperance societies, — sec toil
above all things, whether you have many
meetings or few, that you never have a
dull , spiritless, unsatisfactory meeting.
Collateral benolits of Temperance Societies.
The main object, of rescuing men from
the thousand curses of intemperance, is
not the only one gained in carrying out
the principle upon which the total absti
nence society is based. Tho very agita
tion of the question is, in many ways,
beneficial. The amount of useful infor
mation thereby conveyed is, by no means,
to he despised. Many a man who would,
otherwise, have had no tolerable idea of
the structure and laws of his own frame,
has learned much that he never knew
before, of “ how fearfully and wonderful
ly he is made.” Dr. Sewell’s plates
alone convey more of exact and useful
information in regard to our physical
economy than the great mass of persons
wpuld learn elsewhere in a life-time.
The influence of the intellectual effort,
required by a temperance address, on the
youth of the country who have largely
give interest to temperance
meetingvi? highly appreciable. Ame
rican citizeas owe their superior intelli
gence (a superiority which even preju
diced.foreigners have been forced to ad
mil) to the universal habit of attending
and taking part in public meetings. The
discussion of important practical ques
tions, wherein appeal is made to the
judgment of each auditor, has, in all ages
of the world, been found one of the chief j
means of making a people intelligent. ■
This was the main reason of the vast
mental superiority of the free born Greek
over the stupid slaves of Asia, —over even
all the rest of the world. It is not the i
political meeting alone that deserves the
meed of praise for this great result—the
education of a nation. It is not alone
the school-house. Meetings for charita-!
ble, moral, and religious purposes mast
have attributed to them an important
part of a result so valuable. Moral ques
tions rise superior in dignity and value
to all merely intellectual and economical
questions.
But one thought connected with this
topic has struck us still more forcibly :
that tho fundamental principles, and all
the acting of the Temperance cause is
in full accordance with the great law of
love. And still further, that the whole ■
movement is so much gained to the pre- j
dominance of that great law. Whatcv- j
er acts against tho selfishness of human
nature, tending to check and restrain it,
and whatever fosters generous impulses,
is valuable in itself, even though it reach- j
■ed no other results. It is not ho for j
whom sacrifices are made that is alone \
benefited, —nor indeed is he always
most benefited. Perhaps a benefactor
always does more good to himself, in the
very exercise of benevolent feelings,
than he does to the object of his benefi
cence. The temperance cause does, in
deed, bid a man to look well to his own
real interest; —but it bids him so consult
his own welfare, as, in so doing, to pro
mote also tho well-being of his neighbor.
Os all who come within the reach of the
temperance movement, very few, compnr
tively, are influenced from mere regard
to their own interest. It is but a small
proportion of tho temperance army that
have been gathered from the ranks of
the drunkard. The overwhelming ma
jority have always been, and would al
ways have remained, with occasional ex
exceptions, sober men. They have ta
ken their stand chiefly out of benevolent
regard to those who had fallen under the
influence of intoxicating drinks, or who
were in danger of thus falling. It is a
noble spectacle —hundreds of thousands,
of all ages, sexes, and conditions, uniting
to pledge themselves never to touch a
drop of any thing that intoxicates, in or
der that they might rescue from the des
stroyer, their unfortunate and guilty
neighbors. This is the consideration
that has moved myriads of hearts, and
decided myriads of minds. It was not
self—but “my neighbor.”
We might pursue this train of thought;
but we are admonished that long editori
als do not always meet with a correspond
ingly long patience on the part of our
readers. We have thrown these brief
remarks together, hoping that they will
he but provocatives to reflection on the
part of those who may favor them with
a perusal.
Political Meetings-
There is danger to our cause in these
exciting times. Let each Washingtonian
watch himself, and let him watch his
neighbor—not as a spy, but as a brother.
Let each encourage and caution the oth
er. We have a country to save from the
curse of Rum. We must, above all, see
that the poison is kept from political
meetings, and that it does not pollute the
precincts of tho ballot-box. We are all
convinced of the corrupting influence of
intoxicating liquor in elections; let us
act up to our belief. It will chiefly de
volve upon Washingtonians to watch
against this abomination. They must
be bold to meet and frown down the first
approaches of the enemy. The indig
nant rebuke of honest men, who love
their country too well to look tamely on,
and see an election by freemen turned in
to a bacchanalian rout, will be felt.
The mean, dishonest, and ungentleman
ly practice of making voters drunk in
order to make them manageable, is wor
thy only of the crawling reptiles of par
ty, —of men who are too vile and un
principled to be put to any honorable
work. This dirty business none but the
dirtiest will handle. Is there no way to
put a stop to these things? Must the
disgraceful scenes enacted last year at
“ Watkinsville,” throughout tho hours of
God’s holy Sabbath, be repeated at the
approaching election? Let Washingto
nians lift up their voice and say in ear
nest —“it ought not, and,.so far as our
influence goes, it shall not be.” They
have it in their power to do much, though
I they may not be able to accomplish, at
' once, all that is desirable. Let it be
said of us, in regard to this matter, —
“ they have done what they could.”
Private Influence.
It is a great mistake to imagine that
the temperance cause can be advanced
only by public meetings. The influence
of man speaking to man is always pow
| erful. There is a directness in looking
! your friend right in the face, and talking
! right to him, that no public speaker can
attain. Try it, Washingtonians, try it!
Be active. The enemy is abroad. The
success of your cause depends now in
great degree upon individual influence.
I Are you afraid of offending? Go ahead
| in a path that s6ems so plain, and you
! will find obstacles dwindle to insignifi
cance as you proceed. There is no such
great danger of offending people by ask
ing them to do what you hate done your
self. Can there be insult in it ? Or are
you ashamed of your principles ? Think
again :—is it well to be ashamed of what
has wrought such immense good to fami
lies, to society, and to your country ?
Are you ashamed of the reformation of
drunkards? Are you ashamed of sobrie
ty and good order ? Arc you ashamed
of the emptying of poor-houses and jails ?
Are you ashamed of the companionship
of men who are willing to restrict them
selves for the good of their fellow-men?
Does it seein to you better to be on the
side of the tippler, the drunkard, and the
grog-seller ? Then go, —the temperance
ranks can well spare you. But if you
feel no such false shame, why not ven
ture to speak a good word for temper
ancc principles? Why not urge the
matter, on all suitable occasions, with all
the weight of argument and persuasion
of which you are capable ? If you are a
true-hearted Washingtonian, you will.
For tho Washingtonian.
Messrs. Editors —We attended what
is commonly termed a ‘ free Barbecue ,”
on the 29th ultimo, in the upper part of
Green tounty, at which some of the pro
minent measures of the two political par
ties of the country were taken up and
discussed. At this place there is a grog
shop, whicli bears the appellation of “su
gar teatand, as might naturally have
been expected, several fights ensued,
which caused much confusion and disor
der. The speakers wero frequently in
terrupted, and one of them, when about
half through his speech, was compelled to
take his scat and wait ten or fiffeen min
utes before he could proceed, there was
such a rush from the audience to see the
fight !
Tho stand erected for speaking was
about fifty yards from the grocery, and
there were several intoxicated persons
among the crowd, frequently bawling
out in profane language, interrupting the
speakers, to the annoyanco of all those
who wished to hear what might be said.
The cause of this hubbub and confusion
may be easily traced to the Sugar teat,
where these rowdies and disorganizes
had sucked so copiously of the sweet
stuff.
It would seem that the grocery man,
who owned this establishment, was actu
ated not so much by the love of gain in
selling his liquor, as by the consideration
of the jolly crowd it would bring around
him ; for we have been told, and our in
formation rests on no doubtful authority,
that the committee of arrangements of
fered him ten dollars on condition that
he would close his shop and sell no liquor
on that day. But he refused to accede
to the proposition, and the amount offer
ed is thought to be considerably more
than the profts on what he sold.
We have never known a dinner of this
kind at a place where liquor was sold,
without there beiug some fuss, or inter
ruption. But we have often attended
those where no intoxicating drink was to
be had, and they always passed off har
moniously. This fact alone ought to be
sufficient to convince any one that is dis
posed to encourage or countenance grog
shops, not only of the utter needlessness
of liquor on such occasions, but the pos
itive harm and annoyance resulting from
the use of it. That these dead falls ex
ert a deleterious influence upon the peo
ple, will not be gainsayed or denied by:
any one of comrnonJobservation. —They !
: are but pests to any community, and
: thefore every honest expedient should be
resorted to in order to extirpate them
from the land. The lovers of peace and
order regard them but as nuisances to
good society, and hence it is that when
ever they wish to get up a barbecue, for
social intercourse or free discussion upon
, | ‘
any topic, they endeavor to have it at
I any other place than where liquor is sold,
knowing from past experience that the
j meeting would likely be broken up in a
row, or its peace and harmony seriously
marred by a few rowdy persons, simply
on account of the convenience and facil
ity of obtaining the liquor.
03* The above communication, from
an esteemed correspondent, we gladly iii
sert. It is the interest, and the sacref
duty of every American citizen, wht
knows how to prize sobriety, peace arac
good order, to lift up his indignant voice
against such unworthy proceedings. The
duty devolved upon the people of the
United States at the present juncture, ; js
too serious and important to be so trifled
with. The voters of Georgia need cool
heads and sober thoughts, to make Ip
their minds intelligently upon the grekt :
questions that now divide the country axd
are shortly to be committed to the deci
sion of the ballot-box. Truth is not f so
entirely and obviously with either parity,
that a man may judge of their compara
tive merits, when his reason is put out by
rum. The policy of the general admn
istration is to be decided for the next ftur
years—perhaps the next ten. No party
judges the struggle an unimportant one.
In the name of all that is sacred in cli
gion and patriotism, let it not be deemed
by a drunken people! Would thaj it
were possible so to draw the line between
drunk and sober, that no man, deprived
of his right senses by liquor, might be
permitted to defile the ballot-box of free
men by a drunken vote !
Wo open our columns to a fearlets re
buke of all such scenos as that described
in the letter of our correspondent. Ilis
account is so clear that no words ofours
are necessary to make the blame rest up
on the right shoulders.
From the New York Organ.
Temperaucc.
BY WM. BLAKEXF.Y.
Mr. Editor: —ln my last commfnica
tion, I proposed to show, first, tlmt the
cause we profess to maintain ig a just
cause, and deserves our warmest *ppro
bation. This position ought to m@t t the
hearty concurrence of every loverpf hu
manity, and, in fact, a person must be
blinded to every principle of right, to
every emotion of love, to resist th| truth,
the justice, and the righteousness »f this
conclusion. Can we, as rational |>eings,
for one moment indulge the thought that
this cause is not a just cause? that tiotives i
as high as heaven do not call for Mur es- j
forts to promote its welfare ? (tan we, ;
with the vast amount of evidence which
is continually before our eyes, d|ny but
what our cause is founded on fl;e solid
basis of Truth, Justice, Mercy ®nd Be
nevolence? We can not. Welarenot
deny the fact; for, by the samd princi
ple of reasoning, we might decade that
the cause of religion, or, if you please,
the divine and moral institutions estab
lished throughout the enlightened world,
has not produced a salutary influence on
those who have conformed to their pre
cepts. But, again, when we look around
us and see one of the greatest works in
the creation of God so completely bru
talized, altogether deprived of (hat in
telligence, discression and moral jliscern
ment which his Maker endowed him
with, and then witness the caus4 of this
depravity, we cannot arrive at any other
reasonable conclusion, but that qvery es- *
fort to counteract this poisonous influ
ence, deserves our warmest approbation.
Man was created for a noble purpose,
and everything which is necessary to con-1
tribute to his happiness and prosperity
has been put by his Creator, and now is, J
withm his reach. But mark you, instead I
of a wise and proper improvement of;
these advantages, man has sought out j:
many inventions, converted thfU which >
was made for his sustenance into deadly j
poison, and thereby caused misery, dis-j'
ease and death, in all their complicated
forms. The pages of history, and par- j
ticularly those of ancient date, exemplify
the pernicious effects ofdrinking intoxica
ting liquors. To illustrate the fact, let
us reQur to the fall of the Roman Empire
—to the circumstance that caused the
! fall oi that great Republic. We have in
the history of this country, a complete
exhibition of the evils of intemperance,
and the consequences which invariably
follow. Possessing as they did every
facility to perpetuate the boasted achieve
ments which marked their movements,
they used them to their own destruction,
snd while endeavoring to extend the
Hessings of a republican form of govern
ment, the greatest stimulant that promp
ted them so assiduously in their consulta
tions, was that arising from the excessive
use of intoxicating liquors. Luxury was
the governing propensity of those on
whom the issue rested, and by a gratifi
cation of this evil, their laws became
rigid ; their minds corrupted and impair
ed ; their desires for peace and prosperity
diminished—and intemperance, connect
ed as it is with every species of vice, was
predominant in all their proceedings.
1 his vice having been interwoven in
their natures, the legible letters of Mene
Mene Tekel, were engraven on the walls
of their posterity, and they fell powerless
beneath the hand of the destroyer.
Rut again—we need not go back to
ancient date to prove our position, for the
history ofour own native land is contami
nated with the narrative of crimes perpe
trated by the inebriate—and in fact,
j nearly every periodical of the day records
instances of the deplorable effects of in
j toxication, and presents to us arguments
j that cannot be refuted, that rum is a cur?e
to any nation. The talent, energy, and *
moral worth of many a statesman has
; been corrupted and destroyed by gratifi.
; cation in what is frequently termed in
nocent indulgence, and by that means
rum has left the stain of its polluting
touch upon our national glory. And, in
| deed, it has left no retreat unvisited. It
; has stalked within the consecrated altar,
! and there polluted the sanctuary of God.
| Evidence illustrative of this fact, need
j not be sought for on the records of his
j tory. We need not examine the statis
j tics ofour own country to arrive at a cor
i rect conclusion in this matter; for cir
! cumstnnces, glaring in their character
| and pernicious in their effects, daily oc
-1 cur under our own observation. Then
why is it that man acts so adverse to his
| own interests—so derogatory to the ad
{ vancement of virtue ; so dead and deaf
| to the loud and pathetic call of humanity,
which is continually pealing in our ears,
and presenting with it a question that
demands our candid investigation.
The time was when we could associate
ourselves with the moderate drinker, and
in fact with those w hose appetite demand
ed a larger quantity, and at the same
j time pass through the ordinary circnm
! stances of life with a certain kind ofere-
I dit, and even be looked upon as a respect
-1 able member of society. But I thank
God that that day of moral darkness has
passed. Men are no longer looked upon
I with impunity, who discard that portion
' of the word of God, where it says, “shun
the appearance of evil. Man no longer
can eat and drink with the drunkard and
plead ignorance as an excuse. Man can
no lona«r, with a conscience void of of
fence tow ard God and his fellow man,
! oppose the progress of that cause whore
aim is to strike a death-blow at one cf
| the most formidable sins that ever cursed
a nation. Then may we acknowledge
j the fact, that “this is a just cause and
deserves our warmest approbation.”
Absence of mind. —A Washingtonian,
whose whole heart is in the temperance
I cause, chanced to be at one of the politi
j cal ward meetings not long since, when
he was called to the chair. After the
first speaker had got through, he rose and
said—“ Now gentlemen, if there are any
present who have not yet joined us, they
will please walk up, and sign the pledge.
[Organ.
Temperance on a great Scale.
The National Temperance Society of
England celebrated its anniversary very
recently bv a great meeting in Exeter
Hall, London, where the object of the
society was explained to be that of remo
ving intemperance from every land on the
face of the earth. During the meeting,
one of the speakers (Dr. Thompson,)
gave a detailed account of the progress
of abstemious habits among the inhabit
ants of New Zealand. He had been
fentout in the year 1842, in care of four
hundred emigrants from Scotland to the
port of Auckland, in that island, and,
knowing the advantages of temperance
principles, he dermined, at the outset, to
introduce them on board the vessel in
which they were embarked. At first he
experienced some difficulty, but long be
fore they arrived at the Equator, he had
succeeded in winning the whole ship’s
crew, as well as the emigrants who bed
been entrusted to his care. On board
they formed a sort of society, afterwards
introduced into the island; and so much
good had it worked among the inhabit
ants, that previous to his returning home,
he had the honor of receiving the thanks