MAINE LAW DOCUMIENTS FOR THE PEOPLE; CONTAINING THE AMAINE LI UOR LAW, HON. NEAL DOW AND PROF. STEWART ON THE WORKINGS OF THE LAW-LETTER OF NEAL DOW IN REPLY TO 0. LUND S, ON THE PRESENT INFLUENCE OF THE LAW-CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION-PROHIBITORY UNITED STATES LAW AMONG- THE INDIAN TRIBES-TWENTY.-TREE OBJECTIONS TO THE LAW CONSIDERED AND ANSWERED-ECONOMY OF THE MAINE LIQUOR LAW-PROHIBITORY LAW-LOOK AT YOUR TAXES-ALBERT BARNES ON THE MAINE LAWSHALL- WE HAVE THE MAINE LAW? — NATIONAL LEGISLATON, ETC. Compiled by ORL AN D L UN D, Author ef " Temperance Man's Declaration of Rights"-" Downfall of the Tyrant"-" Order of the Sons of Temperance, its Origin, History," cc., 4c. HOMER, N. Y.: L,. BALDWIN, JR., PRINTER, ELMIRA, N. Y. 1853. TEua object of the compiler in throwing together the Papers and Documents herein containd in the present form, is to place within Tie reach of all, not only the law itself, but facts, statements and arguments, showing its practical influence wherever introduced and properly sustained; together with the reasons and constitutionality of such prohibitory Law... The papers selected are fiom our best writers, and all bear directly on the great question now at issue befre the people. Anecdote and story have in a great measure lost their powei WVhat the people want at the present time, are facts, and a thorough, practical, temperance sentiment, embodied in law, based on great, moral principles. Friends of Temperanee-friends of HIumanity —friends of your country —friends of your God —. -such practical sentiment you find in th(e fullowing pages. Read? and ci-culate with a liberal haud. 0. LTJND. THE MAI'NE LIQ UOR LAW. Ani Act for the SIppresston of D,iE -aglo.ag ose a s aIs TipPaiang.Siaops. Be it enacted by the Senate and ffouzse of Representatives in Leyis..iature assemnbed, as follows: SECTION 1. No person shall be allowed at any time to manufacture or sell, by himself, his clerk, servant or agent, directly or indirectly, any spirituous or intoxicating liquors, or any mixed liquors, a part of which is spirituous or intoxicating, except as hereafter provided. SEC. 2. The selectmen of any town, and mayor and aldermen of any city, on the first Monday of May annually, or as soon thereafter as may be convenient, may appoint some suitable person as the agent of said town or city, to sell at some central or convenient place withia said town or city, spirits, wines, or other intoxicating liquors, to be.used for medicinal and mechanical purposes aind no other: and said agent shall receive such compensation for his services as the board appointing him shall prescribe; and shall in the sale of such liquors, co"n form to such rules and regulations as the selectmen or mayor and aldermen as aforesaid, shall prescribe for that purpose. And such agent,.appointed as aforesaid, shall hold his situation for one year, unless -sooner removed by the board from which he received his appointment, as he may be at any time, at the pleasure of said board. SEC. 3. Such:agent shall receive a certificate from the mayor and aldermen or selectmen by whom ne has been appointed, authorizing him as the agent of such town or city, to sell intoxicating liquors formedicinal and mechanical purposes only; but such certificate shall not be delivered to the person so appointed, until he shall have executed and delivered to said board a bond, with two good and sufficient sureties, in the sum of six hundred dollars, in substance as follows: Know all men, that we, -- as principal, and - as sureties'. are holden and stand firmly bound to the inhabitants of the town of, (or city, as the case may be,) in the sum of six hundred. dollars, to be paid them, to which payment we bind ourselves, our heirs,. executors, and administrators, firmly by these presents. Sealed: with. our seals, and dated' this- day of - A. D. — The condition of this obligation is such, that whereas thles above, bounden has been duly appointed an agent for the town (or city) of -- to sell, within, and for and on account of said town (o, 4 city) intoxicating liquors for medicinal and mechanical purposes and no other, until the - day of - A. D., unless sooner removed from said agency. Now if the said - shall in all respects conform to the provisions of the law relating to the business for which he is appointed, and to such rules and regulations as now are or shall be from time to time established by the board making the appointment, then this obligation to be void; otherwise to remain in full force. SEc. 4. If any person, by himself, clerk, servant or agent, shall at any time sell any spirituous or intoxicating liquors, or any mixed liquors, part of which is intoxicating, in violation of the provisions of this act, he shall forfeit and.pay on the first conviction, ten dollars and the costs of prosecution, and shall stand committed until the same be paid; on the second conviction he shall pay twenty dollars and the costs of prosecution, and shall stand committed until the same be paid; on the third and every subsequent conviction, he shall pay twenty dollars and the costs of prosecution, and shall be imprisoned in the common jail, not less than three months, nor more than six months, and in default of the payment of the fines and costs prescribed by this section for the first and second convictions, the convict shall not be entitled to the benefitof chapter 175 of the revised statutes, until' he shall have been imprisoned two months; and in default of payment of fines and costs provided for the third and every subsequent conviction, he shall not be en.itled to the benefit of said chapter 175 of the revised statutes until he shall have been" imprisoned four months. And if any clerk, servant, agent or other person in the employment or on the premises of another, shall violate the provisions of this section, he shall be held equally guilty with the principal, and on conviction shall suffer the,ame penalty. SEc. 5. Any forfeiture or penalty arising under the above section, may be recovered by an action of debt, or by complaint before any justice of the peace, or judge of any municipal or police court, in the county where the offence was committed. And the forfeiture so recovered shall go to the town where the convicted party resides, for the use of the poor; and the prosecutor or complainant may be admitted as a witness in the trial. And if any one of the selectmen or board of mayor and aldermen shall approve of the commencement of any such suit, by endorsing his name upon the writ, the defendant shall in no event recover any costs; and in all actions of debt arising under this section the fines and forfeitures suffered by the defendant, shall be the' same as if the action had been by complaint. And it shall be the duty of the mayor and aldermen of any city, and selectmen of any town, to coMmence an action in behalf of said town or city, against any person guilty of a violation of any of the provisions of this act, on being informed of the same, andjbeing furnished with proof of the fact. SEa. 6. If any person shall claim an. appeal.from a judgment reneared against him by iany judge or jtstie, ot'the trial of such action,or complaint, he shall before the appeal shall be allowed, recognize in the sam of one hundred dollars,'ith:'two good and sufficient suretes, in every case so appealed, a to prosecutay all costs, fines and penalties that may be awarded against him, upon a final disposition of such suit or complaint. Arid before his appeal shall be allowed, he shall also in every case, give abond with two other good and -sufficient sureties, running to the town or city where the offence was committed, in the sum of'two hundred dollars, that he will not, during the pendency of such appeal, violate any of the provisions of this act. And no recognizance or bond shall be. taken in cases arising under this act, except by the justice or'judge before whom the trial was had; and the defendant shall be held to advance, the jury fees in every case of appeal in action of debt; and in the event of a final conviction before a jury, the defendant shall pay and suffer double the amount of fines penalties and imprisonment awarded against him by the justice or judge from whose judgement the appeal was made. The forfeiture for all bonds and recognizances given in pursuance of this act, shall go to the town or city where the offence was committed, for the use of the poor; and if the recognizances and bonds mcntioned in this section shall not be given within twenty-four hours after the judgment, the appeal shall not be allowed; the defendant in the meantime to stand committed. S.Ec. 7. The mayor and aldermen. of any city, and the selectmen of any town, whenever complaint shall be made to them that a breach of the conditions of the bond given by any person appointed under this act, has been committed, shall notify the person complained of, and if upon a hearing of the parties it shall appear that any breach has been committed1 they shall revoke and make void his appointment. And whenever a breach of any bond given to the inhabitants of any city or town in pursuance of any of the provisions of this act, shall be made known to the mayor and aldermen, or selectman, or shall in any manner come to their knowledge, they or some of them shall, at the expense and for the use of such city or town, cause the bond to be put in suit in any court proper to try the same. SEC. 8. No person shall be allowed to be a manufacturer of any spirituous or intoxicating liquor, or common seller thereof without being duly' appointed as aforesaid, on pain of forfeiting on the first conviction, the sum of one hundred dollars and costs of prosecution, and in default of the payment thereof, the person so convicted shall be imprisoned sixty days in the common jail; and on the second conviction, the person so convicted shall pay the sum of two hundred dollars and costs of prosecutioi, and in default of payment, shall be imprisoned four months in the common jail; and on the third and every subsequent conviction, shall pay the sum of two hu'ndred dollars, and shall be imprisoned four -:' m f,' months in the common jail of the county where iho offence was com. mitted; said penalties to be recovered before any court of competent jurisdiction, by indictment, or by action of debt in the name of the city or town where the offence shall be committed. And whenever a default shall be had of any recognizances arising under this act, "scire facias" shall be issued, returnable at the next term, and the same shall not be continued, unless for good cause, satisfactory to the court. SEC. 9. No person engaged in the unlawful traffic in intoxicating liquors shall be cofipetent to sit upon any jury.in any case arising from this act, and when information shall be communicated to the court, that any member of any panel is engaged in such traffic, or that he is believed to be so engaged, the court shall inquire of the juryman of whon such belief is entertained; and no answer which he shall make shall be used against him in any case arising under this act; but if he shall a nswer falsely, lie shall be incapable of serving on any jury in this state but he may decline to answer, in which case he shall be discharged by the court from all further attendance as a juryman. SEC, 10. All cases arisingl under this act, whether by action, indictment or complaint,which shall come before a superior court, either by appeal or original entry, shall take precedence in said court of all other business, except those criminal cases in which the parties are actually under arrest awaiting a trial; and the court and the prosecuting officer sh all not have authority to enter a nolle prosequi, or to grant a continuance in any case arising under this act, either before or after the verdict, except where the purposes of justice shall require it. Szc. 11. If any three persons, voters in the torwn or city where. the complaint shall be made, shall, before any justice of the peace or judge of municipal or police court, make complaint under oath or affiimation, that they have reason to believe, and do believe that spirituous or intoxicating liquors are kept or deposited, and:intended for sale, by ally pe:son not authorized to sell the same in said city or town under the provisions of this act, in any store, shop, warehouse or other building or place in said city or town, said justice or judge shall issue his warrant of search to any sheriff, city marshall or deputy, or to any constable, who shall proceed to search the premises described in said warrant, and if any spirituous or intoxicating, liquors are found therein, he shall seize the same,and convey them to some place of security, where ihe shall keep them until final action is had thereon. But no'dwelling-house, in which or in part of which, a shop is not kept, shall be searched, unless atpleast one of said complainants shall testify to some acts of sale of intoxicating liquors therein, by the occupant thereof, or by his consent or permission, within at least one month of the time of making said complaint. And the owner or keeper of such iiquors, seized as aforesaid, ifhe shall be known to the officer seizing the same, shall be summoned forthlwith before the justice or judge by whose warrant the liquors were seized, and if he fails to appear, or unless he can show by positive proof, that said liquors are of foreign productiou, that they have been imported un-. der the laws of the United States, and in accordance therewith —that they are contained in the original packagds in which the were imported and in quantities not less th thte laws of'the United States prescribe, they shall be declared forfeited, and shall be destroyed by authority of the written order to that effect, of said justice or judge, and in his pres. ence, or in the presence of some person appointed by him, to witness the destruction thereof, and who shall join with the officer bv whorn they shall have been destroyed, in attesting that fact upon the back of the order by authority of which it was done; and the owner or keeper of such liquors shall pay a fine of twenty dollars and costs, or stand committed for thirty days, in default of payment, if in the opinion of the court, said liquors shall have been kept or deposited for the purposes of sale. And if the owner or possessor of any liquors seized in pursuance of this section, shall set up the claim that they have been regularly imported under the laws of the United States, and that they are contained in the original packages, the custom-house certificates of- importation and proofs of marks on the casks or packages corresponding hereto,snali not be received as evidence that the liquors contained in said packages are those actually imported therein. SEC. 12. If the owner, keeper or possessor of liquors, seized under the provisions of this act, shall be unknown to the officer seizing the samel they shall not be condemned until they shall have been advertised, with the number and description of the packages as near as may be,for two weeks, by postiing, up a written' description of the same in some public place; that if such liquors are actually the property of any city or town in the state, and were so at the time of.the seizure, purchas(-:d for sale by the agent of said city or town, for medniinal Or mechanical purposes only, in pursuance of the provisions of this act, they may not be destroyed; but upon satisfactory proof of sch ownership, within said two weeks, before the justice or judge by whose authority said liquors were seized, said justice or jud(ge shall deliver to the agent of said city or town an order to the officer having said liquoirs in custody, whereupon said officer shlsl dceliver them to said.agent, taking his receipt therefor on the back of said order, which shall be retu ned to said justice or judge. SEC. 13. If any person claiming any liqaors seized as aforesaid, shalappeal from the judgment of any justice or judge, by whose authority the seizure was made, to the district court, before his appeal shall be all lowed,'he shall give a.bond in the sum of two hundred dollars, with two good and sufficient sureties, to prosecute his appeal and to pay all fines and costs which may be awarded against him; and in the case of any such appeal, where the qcantity of liquor so seized shall exceed five gallons, if the final decision shall be against the appellant, that suchliquors were intended by him for sale, he shall be adjudged by the court a common seller of intoxicating liquors, and shall be subject, to the penalties "tided for in section eight of this act; and said liquors shall be den stroyed as provided for in section eleven. But nothing contained in this act shall be construed to prevent any chemist, artist or manufacturer, in whose art or trade they may be necessary, from keeping at his place of business such reasonable and proper quantity of distilled liquors as he may have occasion to use in his art or trade, but notfor sale. SEC. 14. It shall be the duty of any mayor, alderman, selectman assessor, city marshall or deputy or constable, if he shall have information that any intoxicating liquors are kept or sold in any tent, shanty, hut or place of any kind for selling refreshments in any publicplace, onhor near the ground of any cattle show, agricultural exhibition,. military muster, or public occasion of any kind, to search such suspected place, and if such officer shall find upon the premises any intoxicating drinks, he shall seize them, and arrest the keeper or keepers of such, place, and take them forthwith, or as soon as may be, before some justice or judge of a municipal or police court, with the liquors so found and seized, and upon proof that said liquors are intoxicating, that they -were found in possession of the accused, in a tent, shanty or other place as aforesaid,he or they shall be sentenced to imprisonment in the county jail for thirty days, and the liquor so seized shall be destroyed by order of said justice or judge. SEC. 15. If any person arrested under the preceeding section, and sentenced as aforesaid, shall claim an appeal, before his appeal shall be allowed, he shall give a bond in the sum of one hundred dollars, with two good and sufficient sureties, that he will prosecute his appeal, and pay all fines, costs andpenalties which may be awarded against him.And if on such appeal, the verdict of the jury be against him, he shall in addition to the penalty awarded by the lower court, pay a fine of twenty dollars. In all cases of appeal arising under this act, from the judgment of a justice or judge of any municipal or police court to the.district court, except where the proceeding is by action of debt, they shall be conducted in said district court by the prosecuting officer of the government-and said officer shall be entitled to receive all costs taxable to the state, in all criminul pioceedings under this act, in addition to the salary allowed to such officer by law-but no costs in such cases shall be remitted by the prosecuting officer or the court. In any suit, complaint, indictment or other proceeding against any person for a violation of any of the provisions of this act, other than for the first offence, it shall not be requisite to set forth particularly the record of a former conviction, but it ahall be sufficient to alledge briefly that such person has been convicted of a violation of the fourth section of thisact, or as a common seller, as the case may be, and such allegation in any civil or criminal process in any stage of the procedings, before final judgment may be amended without termsand as a matter of right. SEC 1. All payments or compensations for liquor sold in v iolato of law, whether in money, labor or other property, either real or personal, shall be held and considered to have been received in violation of l and without consideration, and against law, equity and good conscience and all sales, transfers and conveyances, mortgages, liens, attachments, pledges and securities of every kind, which either in whole or in part shall have been for or on account of spirituous or intoxicating liquors, shall be utterly null and void against all persons and in all cases, and no rights of any kind shall be acquired thereby; and in any action either at law or equity, touching such real or personal estate, the purchaser of such liquors may be a witness for either party. And no actionof any kind shall be maintained in any court in this state, either in whole or in part, for intoxicating or spirituous liquors sold in any other state or county whatever, nor shall any action of any kind be had or maintained in any court in this state, for the recovery or possession of intoxicating or spirituous liquors or the value thereof. SEC. 17. All the provisions of this act relating to towns shall be applicable to' cities and plantations; and those relating to selectmen shalt also be applied to the mayor and aldermen of cities and assessors of plantations. SEc. 18. The act entitled "An Act to restrict the sale of intoxicating drinks," approved August sixth, one thousand eight hundred and forty-six, is hereby repealed, except the thirteen sections, from section ten to section twenty-two inclusive, saving or reserving all actions or other prcceedings, which are already commenced by authority of the same; and all other acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this act, are hereby repealed. This act to take effect from and after its approval by the governor. (Approved June 2, 1851.) The Working of the Law. FROM THE QUARTERLY REPORT OF THE MAYOR OF PORTLAND. MAYOR'S OFFICE SEPT., 1851.. To THE CITIZFNS OF PORTLAND: The "Act for the Suppression of Drinking-Houses and TipplingShops," passed at the last session of the Legislature, has been in operation in this city for about three months, and I think it proper to give the people of Portland some definite information of its results. At the time of its passage there was supposed to be in this city from 200 to 300 shops and other places where intoxicating liquors were sold to all comers. At the present time there are no places where such liquors are sold openly, and only a few where they are sold at all, and that with great caution and secresy, und only to those who are personally known to the keepers, and who can be relied upon not to betray them to the authorities. These places, with one, (possibly with two) exceptions, are of the lowest character; and so far as they sell these liqours at all, minister to the depraved appetites of the basest part of our 10 population; but the keepers of these places will soon be brought to justice, so that the traic in intoxicating liquors, to be used as a drink, will be entirely extinguished in this city. The shops which I allde to are kept almost exclusiyely by fo'eigners, and.the few persons who are now L.,ought to the lock-up in the watch house, are the customers of these places, and are themselves foreigners almost without exception. The stock of liquors which the keepers of these places had on hand when the law went into operation will soon be exhausted, and some difficulty will be found by them in replenishing their stores, as the law will ena-.bl us to stop entirely the supplies of these liquors, which have hitherto been received by railroad principallyandsteambot. All these persons who are now selling these liquors unlawfully in Portland are doinc? it on a very small scale. The supplies which the most of them keep) on hand are extremely limited in amount, and every precaution is used to conceal them fiom the police. In one shop searched Was found less than one quart in two small bottles; in another vwere found only three bottles, containijng less than three qu rts, concealed in a cellar, behind a board; in another, the liquor was found under the foo0r, buried in the earth and some has been found in deeper concealment. Three months ago there were in this city several wholesale dealers in liqnors; but at the present time there is not one-the.wholesale business c sed entt-rel, when the law went into operation. There was but one distillery in the State, at the time of the enactment of this law al — though another wyas in progress on a very large scale. Operations on the latter were promptly stopped, and the other has been demolished. At the present time theie is no distillery in this State. The operation of the law in this city has efected a marked change for the better, in every department which is under the care of the police. The night police has comparatively little or nothing to do; there are few or no street brawtls, and it is very seldom that tie police or watch are called upon t:,) iiteAfre in any quarrels or disturbances of any kind in shops or houses in any part of the city. Before the enactment of this law, scarcely a night passed over without some disturbance of this description, and sorretimnes the police were called upon to quell many such disturbances in single night. At the commencement of the present year, scarcely a night passed over without the committal to the watcli-house of more or less intemperate persons, and sometimes many such were committed in a single night. The practice formerly was to commit no intoxicated persons who were quiet and Cable to get home. At present, the orders to the police and watch are to arrest all persons found: in the:streets or other public places, either by night or by day, who exhibit unmistakable signs of intoxication; yet with all this rigor the arrests for this cause are very few-sometimes a week or more, and once a fortnight having hela ed without any commital; and were it not for the low grog shop?, kept secretly by foreigners, the committals to the. watch-house, would not amount to one in a month, and this difficulty we hope to remedy within the year. The watch-house is now used to keep seized liquors instead of drunkards-and through the waste ways of the lock-up, condemned liquors are passed off into thecommon sewers, without having fulfilled their mission of ruin and death to our.citizens. * * NEAL DOW, MAYoR. FROM PR-OF. MOqES STUART, OF ANDOVER. People of Maine! The God of Heaven bless you for acheiving such a victory. Many tri.nuphs have been aciheived in the good cause, but none like youirs. Others have more or less fouoght wil the drunkarcl and the liquor selleis, in the way of arguments and moral suasion, and indirect and inefficient a nd temporizin; legislation. You have followed the most adroit coinue'ror the world has ever seen, in y our scheme of Ipolicy or stlrulgle. Toru have steered for the capitl itself, -with all ilt magazines and er lsof war; aend these once in your hands, you know the contest c. l-iot iono continue. Whoenee are the arnis and ammunition and raIions; to come, when tall their deposits are seized? You have the unsapea:l;able advantage of maoking war uZpon all the supplies of war', and not directly upon the. men who t-i'ke the field acgailst you. You coinbat witl tie bodl of sin and: death itself, and not with those who are deceived uad n isledI You do not purpose to destroy those whio are misled and idrawn io ruin, but to cripple and annihilate the power that misleads thtem. It is an elevated and noble purpose. When. migiity conquerors and crafty politicians will be forgotten, the laurel on your brows awill be fieshenin andbloomning wiith a beauty and glory that will be inm to tal I know well what liquor cealers and distillers will s:ay. They allege' that their property is taken away, and their means of living prohibited. Very well, but what is your property Ithas been applied to procure means to corrupt and destroy the community. Counterfeiters lay out laige sums to procure dies for stamrping coins, anrd plates for initatingthe best bank bills. Are their ettablishments, to be protected?' The erectors of those dreadful place, (rightly called) ]ells, expend very large sums, and adorn them with magnificence. Must the commuuity respect this property? Even honest meen erect a slaughter-house, or a inanufactorx with noisome gnses issuingo from it, in the midst of a city or town. Is this propettv to. be protected AMen adulterate medicines, and congress rises up to a man and forbids it, not only by legislation but by active inspecting officers. Are they not in the right? But-are they consistent? There are hundreds of thousands of hogsheads of adulterated' liqnor,'much of it'containing rank poison-, over which 12 they exercise no inspection and submit it to no examination. Is this a due protection of the ignorant and unsuspecting part of coniunity T Scores of thourands die every year through the influence of these pois01ns. * e And have society no remedy against all this? Maine has nobly said THEY HAVE. She has spoken with trumpet-tongue, that which eternal truth will sanction. Talk of property in the means of corrupting, and destroying the community Why, then the robber's cave, and the counterfeiter's shop, where his expensive work is done, is property to be respected. Even the innocent and industrious man, if he undertakes a business which poisons the air and endangers the life of the citizens, is at once compelled to relinquish his station. How can any man rightly own that as prpperty which sends forth pestilence and death through a whole community?The plea for property is idle. It is unworthy a moment's regard. So long as Legislatures pursued the criminal personally, solong they were sure to be met with false testimony to screen them, and abundance of sympathy with them because of their penalties. It took them longer than one would imagine to find out and beleive that drunkards and the makers of drunkards will lie. The discovery is made at last.Maine has now lain its hand on that which can tell no lies, and that with which no honest man can sympathize. Yes; destroy it as you would a poisonous well, or a hyena, or a tiger, without remorse and without mercy. Stand between the living and the dead, and stay the plague. Say-Thus far hast thou come, with wasting and desolation in thy train, but not a step farther shalt thou ad. vance.. Nor isthis all. Retreat forthwith. Abanldon the ground, thou foul fiend, which thou hast occupied; yea make a speedy and a final retreat. We will bear thy presence no longer, and if thou delayest, we will sweep thee away with the besom of destruction. The letter from which the following extract is taken, was addressed to the Hon. NEAL D)OW, of Portland, Me., for the purpose of securing from him, as the frarrierof the Maine Liquor Law, answers direct to the questions herein proposed. A part only of the letter is given-:sufflcient to'sLow the object for which it was written:HoMER, Cortland Co., N. Y., Nov. 10, 1852. DEAR SIR: * * * * * * * i It is proper for me to state in this connection, that I desire your answer to this for publication and distribution, with other Maine Liquor Law documents. Your Law is assuredly to become the Law of the land, and its honorable author will be held in grateful and everlasting remembrance by the millions, who are to participate in its benefits, and live under its benign influence. Permit me, then, dear sir, to propose a few questions, which may form the subject of your reply to this note, and which, may I not hope 13 you will find time to answer, amid the thousand calls, which piress upon you from every quarter of our land:Question 1st-Is the Law gen erally sustained in the towns, villages and cities of your State I Question 2d-Is it a popular Law with your people and Legislature [By popular, I mean a favorite Law, or one readily and cheerfully sustained. Under this question, please state some general facts, and the result of your Election in Septerber.l Question 3d-What is the influence of the Law on business generally? As first, does it increase or diminish the value of real estate? Second, does it aid or retard the collection of debts — the fulfilling of contracts? &c., &c. Third, are your leading business men, some of whom at first opposed the Law, now generally in favor ot it, or against it? Question 4th —What is the moral influence of the Law over your State? First, as seen in its effects upon the social circle Second, its effects throughout the community in the decreese of vice, and crime, and poverty, and taxes, and criminal prosecutions, and general immorality among the people Any other intelligence bearing on this subject you may please communicate, will be most thankfully received, and will be put to the best possible use; and as I am anxious to, publish these papers for distribution immediately, a reply at your earliest convenience wil' greatly oblige Your friend and fellow laborer in the cause of Hamanity, ORLANDO LUND.. IIox, NTEAL Dow, Portland, Maine. PORTLAND, Me., Nov. 23, 1852. DEAR SR::-Your favor of the 10th arrived during my absence' from home, and I avail myself of the first opportunity after my returr to answer your inquiries' as to, the workings of the Maine Law in Maine. The Law is generally sustained throughout the State, particularly in the larger towns and cities, where the most difficulty in its execution might have been expected.. It has already wrought a great change in the condition of the State -there being vastly less intemrperance, poverty and crime than there were before. It is safe to say, thatthe amount of liquors sold in this State, is not more than one-tenth as great as before the Law. The Maine Law is extremely popular in this State. The interest felt in it is such, that our last State Election turned entirely on that question, and the result was more than three to one of the Representatives in its favor, and only four Senators out of thirty-one, opposed toc it. Oa its passage, it had of the Representatives, 86 to 40; of the 14 Senators, 18 to 10. The new Legislature is mnuch stronger for the Law than that. The last Election has completely annitilated all opposition to the Law, and it will stand as the'fixed poli.y of tIhe State. The effect of the Law upon business must be in the highest degree salutary —stimulaing every. branch of honest indusltry. The vast amount of money heretofore spent for spirits-at least $4,000,000 annuallv in this State-will now be spent for food, railment, shelter, school bools and all other articles of merchandisandnd manufacture, needful to a comfortable subsistence. All the money hitherto squandered in the grog-shops, will now be expended among all branches of legitimate trade, with a large amount in addition, which will be earned by reIormed men, by their iiproved habilt of ildustrv. iNo branch of tradle but the rum trade will sufter by the PMaine Law:. This effect of the Law is now so obvious, that influential business men give it their hearty support, wx:heres t, at first, they stood aloof.~om it. The moral influence oftho Law is very gretat many men, formerly very intemperate, being now reformed, and extreme poverty almost unkiinown-in Iany towns the rum trasfic being entirely unlnown, and intemperance has consequently disappeared, while habits of industry have been greatly inmproved. The returns from ourC A-ls -1 Houses, Houses of Correction, Jails and Watch Houses, show a striking diminution of poverty, vice and crime, ltho0ugh the Law is ornly eightece months old while the records of our Criminal Courts show a correspoindin g result. Peace and rood order now reign, lwhere riot and disorder formerly prevailed. Similar results have been uniformly obtained in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, whenever the Law has been enforced. I agree with you entirely in the opinion, that this Law, or a similar one, will be adopted throughout the country, as the benefits resultingfrom it are so many and great, while no ill consequences flow from it. it is only necessary to call the attention of intelligent men to the enormous evils of the rum traffic, to obtain their co-operation in the great work of its extinction. I forward to you a few tracts, containing details of the workings of the Law in this city. Respectfully yours, NEAL DOW. ORLANDO LuND, Esq., Homer, Cortlafid Co., N. Y. CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION. For more than two centuries, the traffic in intoxicating liquors has been licensed and regulated by law; and under the ordinances for trade, the Constitu:ion of the United States has made certain provisions for the reception and disposition of brandies, &c., received from foreign countries. In the general burst of indignation against the .15 traffic, called by. a distinguished jurist, - a trafi cin the souls and -bodies of me.n, laws have been passed, which, in their operations, would bar these articles from sale. A question has hence arisen, Is not such entire prohibition in conflict with the, laws of the General Goveinment? The question first came up in a legal form in the iState of Massachusetts, in 1837, in an exception to the the conviction of Benjamin Kimball for selling spirituous liquors without license, which conviction was considered null and void, on the ground that a law, prohibiting the sale of liquors without license,was at variance with the laws; and Constitution of the. United States.;The Supreme Judicial Court, in this case, denied that all license and prohibitory statutes fall within the powers necessary to the police, internal regulation, and.welfare of the community, and do not in the least interfere with the Constitution of the United States. A very able argument was made on this point by Hon. Peleg Sprague. The question came up again in 184-5, in an appeal of Samuel Thurlow from a decision of the Courts of NMassachusetts to the Supreme.Court of the United States. [T'he case was argued before that high tribunal by Messrs. Webster, Choate and llallett, for the plaintiff; and Ashel Huntington, of Salem, for the State. Mtr 7Webster argued that Congress alone has the power to regulate connerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes; and that, while the law of Congress authorises importation for the sale for consumption, the law of the State prohibits all sale and consumption, and thus render invalid tle law of the nation "The right,"'said he, implies the right to sell, to the un-' restricted use of all the channels of commerce, even to the most minute to the consumer." In opposition to Mr r. Webster, Mir. Davis fr the State, argued that police laws " m ay be carried to any extent the public welfare demands. If the health, lthe morals, and the welfare of the public demand the exclusion of an evil, there is a right.to shut it out, regardless of revenue and private interest. If excessive indulgence in the use of intoxicating drinks be an evil, it is the right of the Legislature to guard against it by wise and prudent legislation. This restraint upon the sale of spirits, only follows out a principle maintained and enforced in all ages by civilized nations." Mr. Webster in reply, " agreed that the retail trade should be regulated; that the State was the sole and uncontrolled judge of her policy; and that he claimed for the Court no power to review her decision on:that point. iHe only claimed that State laws must yield when they eome in conflict with the acts of Congress." The Court unanimously,decided that the law of Massachusotts, forbidding the sale in less quanitities than twenty.eight gallons, and the law of New Hampshire forbidcing the sale in any quantity, "were not inconsistent with the Consti-;tution of the United States, nor with any acts of Congress." And'they fully established the right of a State to prohibit entirely the sale,of intoxicating drinks. 16 Chief Justice Taney: —' Every State may regulate its own internal traffic, according toits own judgment, and upon its own views of:he interest and well being of its citizens. I am not aware than these principles have ever been questioned. If any State deems the retail: and internal traffic in ardent spirits injurious to its citizens, and calculated to produce idleness vice, or debauchery, I see. nothing in the Constitution of the United States to, prevent it from regulating and restraining the traffic or from prohibiting it altogether, if it thinks proper. The law of New Hampshire is a valid law; for althongh the gin sold was an import from another State, and Congress have already the power to regulate such importations, yet as Congress has made no regulation on the subject, the traffic in the article may be lawfully regulated by the State, as soon as it is landed in its territory, and a tax imposedupon it or a license required, or the sale altogether prohibited, according to the policy which the State may suppose to be its interest or its duty to pursue." All the Associate Justices agreed with the Chief Justice in this result. Mr. Justice McLean:" The acknowledged police power of a State extends often to the destruction of property. A nuisance may be abated. It is the settled construction of every regulation of commerce, that no person can introduce'into a community malignant diseases. or anything that contaminates its morals, or endangers its safety. Individuals in the enjoyment of their own rights must be careful not to injure the rights of others." Mr. Justice Catron:-" I admit as inevitable that, if the State has the power of restraint by licenses to any extent, she has the discretionary power to judge of its limit, and- may go to the length of prohibiting sales altogether, if such be her policy; and that if this court cannot interfere in the case before us, neither could we interfere in the extreme case o exclusion.' Mr. Justice Daniel entirely concurred in the decision of the court, but protested against the doctrine that the State cannot control the sale of an imported article by the importer, or in the original bulk or quantity. Mr. Justice Woodbury:-" There is no contract, express or implied in any act of Congress, that the owners of property, whether importers or purchasers from them, shall sell their articles in such quantities, or at such times as they please, within the respective. States.:Nor can they expect to sell on any other, or better terms than are allowed by each State to all its citizens. I go further on this point than some of the court, and wish to meet the case in front, and in its worst bearings. If these laws were in the' nature of-partial or entire prohibition; to sell certain articles within' the limits of a State, as being dangerous to pubI lie health or morals, it does ot seem to me that theirconflict with the Constitution would be clear. Whether such laws could be' classed'as police measures, or regulations of their internal commerce, is of littla oonsequene, if they are laws, which, from their nature and object must belong to all sovereign States. Call them by whatever name, if they ire necessary to the well being and independence of all communitieu they belong to the reserved rights of States. The States stand properly on their own powers and sovereignity, to judge of the expediency and wisdom of their own laws." Mr. Justice Grier:-" It is not necessary to array the appalling statistics of misery, pauperism and crime, which have their origin in the nse or abuse of ardent spirits. The police power, which is exclusively in the States, is alone competent to the correction of these great evils, and all measures ot restraint or prohibition necessary to effect the purpose are within the scope of that authority. Ifa loss of revenue should accrue to the Untted States, from a diminished consumption of ardent spirits, she will be the gainer a thousand flId in the health, wealth, and happiness of the people." This decision gave universal joy to the'friends of Temperanao throughout the country. Said the Boston Standard: "We receive this information with tears of joy, and send it forth on the wings of the wind with a glad and exult nt hPart. It awakens in our heart emot;ons of profound gratitude to the God of Justice, that, in his good providence, we have been permitted to live to hear these glad ticlings of great joy. It stirs the blood, the deepest fountains of. sympathy within us, as we tlink ofthe blessings that will follow in its train; the multitudes of men who will be saved from the drunkard's grave, the wives and the children of the poor inebriate, whose tears wiped away, because the husband and father can no longer find a grog shop at every corner, and a heartless rumneller in every tavern. It in. npires us with strength to labor, with faith to sustain and impel us yet highor, and nobler more comple e triunph." Said the Rhode Island Pledge:"This decision will be hailed by the friends of Terperance and of good order, with the liveliest feeling. of joy and pride; for it forms an epoch in the history of the Temperance reform, which, if we mistake ixot, will be the harbinger of a still briglhter aspet of things, anud to which many an important event will be referred, which is uow in the. utncertain future." Said the New H-aven Fountain.: This anx ousiy looked for decision has at.length been. made known. Now all doubt as the Conitusttionality of the Liteise Law,' is swept away-~al1 doubt, at least, which can legally; affect the questio,-and the pretended'rights of the rumea!ler'-the iear of legislator relative zo the power in their handis —tihe uleertuitnty of prosecftig offiCee, whbether they have a right to dise!a'~ge'.the'ltisI of their offio-'am arl, ernlov.g t' 18 Said the New York Reformer.-.~'"We regard this decisioi as a most signal triumph of Temperaice: and. Temperance principles." Said the ehnthusiastic Worcester Cataract _'" The Long Agony Ended! —Sobriety, and l'cassachusetls'aitw Tri. unmphnt.!- Bring out the BIG GOBLET and filling it lo the brim with pure, crystal, salubrious water ficm the teetotal fount-letus all drink, long life, wealth and honor to.the Judges of tLe Supreme Bench." PR~i~L,'0x TORY UNT iT ES ATES LAW; The following- froi the Laws of the United States, passed in the year 1834, shows that th principles of the Maine Law, is no new thing, and that Courgress declares it Constitutional to search for, seize and destroy intoxicating drinks under certain circumstanes. All tha; we now ask is, tha the mantle which has so kindly been placed over the poor Indian by our Governnment, may be extended over all who are liable to sufier from the same cause:LWS, 0o TI-IE UNITED STATES YFOR 1834 —VL.. 9. P. 133. SECTION 20. And be it further enacted, that if any person shall sell exchange, or give away, barter, or dispose of any spiiit;ious liquors or wine to an Indian in the Indian country, such person shall forfeit and pay the sum of 8500. And if any person shall introduce, or cause to be introduced, or attempt to introduce, any spiritlious liquolrs or wine into the Indian countr, except such supplies as shall be necessary for the United States tioops, such person shall pay a su not exceedin,. 8300, SEc. 22. If any Superintendent of Indian Afflirs, Indian'Agent, or Sub Agent, or Commandant of a Military Post, has reason to suspect? or is informed, that any white person, or Idian is about to introduce, or has introduced, spirituous liquors, ot wine into the Indian country, in violation of the provisions of this section, it shall be lawful tor such Su~ pBerintendent, Indian Agent, or Sub Agent, or Military Officer, to cause the boats, stores, packages and places of deposit of such persons to be searched. And if any such spirituous liquors or wine be found, the goods, boats; packages or peltries of such persons shall be seized and. delivered to the proper officer, and shall be proceeded against by libel in the proper Court, and forfeited, one-half to the use of the informer, and the other half to the use of the United States. And it shall, moreover, be lawful for any person in the United States service, or for any Indian, or white person, to take and destroy any such liquors or wine they may find in the Indian Territory, not used as supplies for the army. SEC. 23 Treats of distilling in the Indian Territory, and makes it suca vioation as to incur the fine of0$1,00, and any person may inform 19 the Commandant of any military post, whose duty it shall bo to order out his troops to destroy all such property, even to the utter destruction of all buildings aud implements used in such work of distilling. TT enta y-Tlhee O^;ectiosns tO the ilatine L aw Consicdered -aiid Ans.wer d. It is unconstitutional. It has been decided otherwise in the Supreme Court of the United States. Says Chief Justsce Taney: "Every State may regulate its own internal traffic, according to its own judgment, and upon its own views of the interest aad well-being of its citizens." And, says the Governor of Maine: "If we can legislate for the ext rmination of ravenous beasts, we may for the extermination of the greatest of evils which reduces the human form divine to a condiiion worse than that of savages." IL It destroys private property, and without compensation. It destroys nothing iegally held; nothing, which' a man keeps for his own use or for lawful sale; nothing but what is confiscated by known and willful defiance of law. And who ever heard of compensation for confiscated property —for a mad dog for instance? IIIo It is a sumptuary law~ interfering with a man's household. It does so in no sense. A man may eat, and wear what he pleases; have wine, brandy and cider daily on his table; put the bottle to his neighbor's lips and make him drunken, and the Maine Law makes no interference. IV-. It interferes with and destroys a vast amount of regular business. So did the Gospel with the business of silver shrine making at Epho4 sus; so does machinery with handiwork; so do canals and railroads with turnpikes; and steam with ship navigation. What then? V. It renders that unlawful which has ever been held legal. So did the law against the slave trade, and so do laws against lotteries, and gambling, and horse-racing, and others laws too numerous to mention. And why should they not? The good of community requires it. VI. It will prove destructive to vast liquor manufactories. If it does, it may be a blessed thing for the community; but it we may credit their owners, these will have full employ in supplying medicine, the arts, and the Sacrament. VII. It will be an unwarranted and impolitic interference with the agrcultural and commercial prosperity of the State, 20 If it renders some crops useless, it will leave the ground for others If it prevents a vast expenditure of money for one article and that worth. less, it leaves it in the hands of the people for expenditure for other ar* tiles. If the ten million of dollars now expendeds for liquor, were to he expended for bread, and meat, and clothing, and furniture, and comfortable houses and education, the public would be no losers but gainors. Every branch of industry would be benefitted and millions of capital would be added to the State. VIII. The public are not prepared for it. Some portions of the public are most tlihoroughly prepared; sor fathers and mothers, some tradesmen and mechanics, some farmers and ship-owners, some drunkards and hard drinkers. The crime, the pauperism, the taxation, the suffering of the State call for it. Some mern are not ready; but cannot tell the reason why; and some, because of the cravings of appetite and the love of gain, who never will be. IX. It can never be enforced. This is begging the question. It was so said in Maine, but has, proved otherwise. No law was ever enforced so easily. It well nigh, enaforces itself. It but asks for a trial. X. It will produce a reaction, like the Sabbath Mail Law, destructlv* tto the cause of temperar ce. It has not done it in Maine. It may not do it elsewhere; we *-, willing to trust it. XI. It goes too far, and excludes the temperate as well as the intempe rat from the purchase and use of intoxicating drinks. It. goes none too far for the good of the communily. If it restrains the temperate, it may prove for their own benefit, and the benefit of their children, as well as the salvation of the diunken. Philanthropy, pt;riotism, and religion call for it.' XII. It prevents fiee trade. So do all license laws. No man has a right to sell without icense; and if the State may forbid ninety.nine in a hundred from selling, be, muse the good of community requires it, on the same principle it'may tsha whole. XIII. I't disfranchises the freemen of the State; depriveu them of their x ights. Blights to prey upon their fellow men; take their money and giva them no equivalent; fill up poor houses, and comnpel thiQ pcople t,Ippirt them. Liquor selers' righLt I 21 XIV. It will drive our trade to other States. What if other States should adopt the Maine Law-what theni. Would it not bring the trade for rum here 8 Surely, the liquor sel.t *rs would vote for that. XV. We have law enough now. Yes, full enough to protect liquor sellers in their business, but noueo protect the people from their poisons. XVI. It will fill tne land with blood. Not half as muchl as rum has. Sixteen murders have been commit- ted in a year. in the city of New York, through rum. Two or threlves could be afforded in this conflict. XVII. It is sheer fanaticism. So is every law which breaks up counterfeiting, piracy, forgery, and which would abolish war and despotism in the earth. XVIII. The strigeney of the law would excite sympathy for the liquor seller4and greatly increase intemperance. The experiment has been made-the vender finds no sympathy. The war is made not upon him, but upon his liquor, as vile and worthless. The drunkards foisake his shop, for he has no liquor wherewifth to treat. And left alone, he quits the business as the business has qukt him, and then he finds sympathy in the rest of the community. XIX. Moral suasion is greatly preferable. Moral suasion is good in its place; peculiarly applicable to the poor inebriate; applicable to the honelst liquor dealer, but of no more effleayin destro-ying the rum trade, than it would be in destroying coUaterfeiting and gambling. XX. It is mingling temperance and politics. flow, more:than all excise laws, it is difficult to tell. It is but a new way of leg;slating to prevent intemperance. If it interferes witl the political elevation of some of its opponents, it is not the fault of the law. If it secures that election, they maynot seriously object. Rum and politics have long had the ascendency, and how can any reasonably complain, even if there should be a union on the other sid/, if it is for the good of the people. XXI. The removal of the traffic from the community would be the breWing up of one of the greatest sources.of human health, comfort, and.s-o ial enjoyment. Who hath wo who hath sorrow! wPo hath womunds I. who it^0k 22 babblings without cause -the teetotallers, or the men blessed witn the traffic? Let jails, and poor-houses, and drunken, brawling familie answer. XXIL It will stop off and reform all our drunkards and hard drinkers;. break up the Shades; keiep our young men from their smashes and sherry cobblers; stop wife whipping and murder; maice Sunday a sober day, and bring on, before the people are half ready for them, the days of MIillennium. The objection is perfectly unanswerable. Even so, Amen. SeHsoaB3 of G tte 3f a) M i 3il ava r What hats tis Law cdone or what is it likely to accormplish. taicz it should be overthrown? In a Tract of fourT paes, but a brief answer can be given to these inquiries; but all right thinking people feel a deep interest in the subject. The Maine Law was framed alnd enactd, to effect a radical cure of intemperance, which ali admit to be the greatest evil in the land; and thou!hi but one vear old, it has been adopted in Massachusetts, PRhode Island, Minnesota, Texas and the proxvince of New Brunswick — and has passed through one branc t of e Legislatures of New Hlampshie, New York and Pennsylvania; and throuLthot almost all the States of the Union, its enactment therein is the prominent question now before the people. Why should it not stand in Maine as the fixed law and policy of the State? Wao can answer? Before the enactment of the M3aine Law, there were expended by the people of this State, annually, for strong drinks, at the lowest estimate, more than TWO MILLIONS of dollars and'this expenditure involved a loss to the people in time, diminished industry, unthrifty habits and other sources of loss, to an amount of at least two millions more; so that we had an expenditure for these drinks, directly and indirectly, of at least FOUR MILLIONS of dollars per year. Now what is the result to the State of this great expenditure for strong drinks? Have the people been the happier for it; better fed^ better clad, better sheltered, better educated? No, but just the contrary. This enormous amount of four millions of dollars has been a dead loss to the people year by year; and even worse than that, for they have not only had no valuable equivalent for it, but have received that which undermines their morals and tends directly to their impoverishment and degradation; while no persons are benefitted by the rum traffic, except a few men who have grown rich in furnishing the means of ruin to their countrymen. What a vast amount of good may be accomplished by four millions of dollars properly expended! That sum would construct'a Railroad every year, as costly as the Atlantic and St. Lawrence; would furnish every city and town in the. State with churches, academies, school houses, and libraries, and support comfortably all the pastors:and teachers necessary for them; would construct el-gant hospitals for the gratuitous accommodation of all our sick; asylums for thei-eception of the superannuated poor, and all the orphans in the State who have. none to care properly for then; and would endow all these institutions with ample funds; would create a findc, whereby all our State and muaicipal taxes might be paid, so that the people of Maine would.be entirely exempt from taxes for the support of government. In one Nword, the entire suppression of the traefic in intoxicating' drinks within our borders, would render the people of Maine in a few years, in proportion to their nuvmbers, the richeist people in the world; they. Awould, be the, most virnuous and the haPppiest people; better fed, clad, shelte-red and educated, and morl industrious and prosperous tihan any other pe ople. Intemperance would be entirely unknown among them, except as yellow fbver is known to us by a few imported cases: oulr ijails and pisons would be tenantiess, or neal'y s; of paupers we shold htavei none; or if a:y, so few thi'at alImE s houses would not be necessairy and vice and crtime woul d b so 1ar Ieduced in armount, as to be scrcely-' nown to exist among us. Such will bte thi efe:ct of the 5a-ine Law, if it remain upon our sUatite books and be steadily enforced. Men of Mline, is tll: tlis desirable or not? Do you prefer that rum-;elling with itrs longr.t:ain of fearful evils shall exist amiong us, or tlt shall be suppressed: ilhat we may enjoy the wonderful benefi: s of. the hange, For many gell'c',eaftions, all the governments of EuL rope and lmeorica have felt the rum traffic to be a great evil, andc have endieav-,red to protect th!,ir peoodle from its effects as far as poseible. A-il Aese goveinrnmients have often enacted laws to regulate and restrain tihi''raic -they did not think it could be destroyed; but iMaine l)as u nlertaken to expel this trafic entirely from her bordels, and w.ith wonlIerful. success. ~.... The civilize( wolrlcl is norw lookino. with adiiration upon tiis glreat experihent;'it sneceed,i the people of Mahinev will he h'appy anld lposp.erous, andL,1l the naions of the earth will follow her e-namnple; if it do not succeed, it will be tliroghi' he indifferenco or timidity of professedly good men, who fear to. resist bad men a- their efforts to overthrow this law, which lestrains-their appetites and passiohi nd affects their interests. In the year during, whichi this law has been in existence, its effects have been aore decisive and stlntary- than its warmenst friiends'hadc anticipal ed. The wholeale traific.in strong driniks' has been entirely annihilated throughoit the Statce he grogs shops are very few, and are kept in dcark and secret places,,so thiat -mptation is,entirelyelreoved from the way of the oungri and inexperienced..'he qua.nttity otf'pirits now soldin the State, cannot be more than one- tent.h part: gl'eat tas it was before the enactmeiit ofthle Maine Law, so that the saving,to the Jople, is already at least one. million eight, hundred thlousand doi01ars per y.ear, tic result ofthis can be seenlli the improved hablits and cirtumistan:es ofour O peo0.,le Mlany men, formeri!y miserable drunkards,, a"le now perfectly sober, bhecau.imptation is removed.out-,of their way;many families hefoce miserable and dpendeit upon the pubic, or upo"l clharityi foir ipport, are nowc Comortlaby fid, d adand lodged. Our Alms Houses are not crowded as they were; tleir inilmates 24 are greatly diminished in number, and some ofthem nar nearly empty. Our ja^ts are almost tenantless some of them ei tirely o; our -iotises of Correction are now almost without occupaunts, and all this because few men beconis paupers or eommit crimes except nicer the intfluence of strong drinks. Why should this law be repealed 2 What evil has it done? Neal Dow, Mayor oi Portland, in his anonual report says:-"At the commeneoment of the yer, the numberi of open rum shoe.s in full o(ceration in the citD, was supposed to be frolm 300:o 400; g00 was the lowest ethinate; at present t/Ae.e e not one. The receipts f' these places per day, at t}h1, lowest fiVure, imay be reckoned to average three dollars; this for 300 days includitng Sundavs-sand Sundaya were the best d(ays tol these places —nwold o ive i. 270,000 per year! It may be thoun1ht that this sun is much too large to have been expended annually by the people of this city for intoxicatin L drinks, but it believed that the nnmber of rog shops set down at 300, and the sum receivecd sby each (per day, at:8, is wlthill the fact. But if we consider the expendtiture in tlis way to have been only $200,000, or about 22,22 per day for each of' the 300 shops, tte fact will ht sufflciently imrpo, ta.nt toa )tecst the tttention of' every n:an who 1has any regard for the prosperity of the c;ty and the weltare of the citizens. The whole'of this sum or of whatever sum may have been expended in this way, was entirely lost to thle city; no val-uable ret, rn was olblailcd fi'om it. This amount will purellse 40.000 (baniels of flour at $5 each, or labovt fie bairiefs of fou- anLd five cords of wood to every family-in tiee city, e.'timl:tln thie inumlber ot families at 44)00. It is tr ue some per0,o.,s accunuillted w caltrl 1 b this traffic, bu.t' it was not by paying a fa:ir equivalent, or any equivalent for pi)o1,.erly so gained; but the prr cess was simply the transi'erins the hal d.. ainin: s (lofthe laborinig man to the coffers of the dealers in spilits —while tthe victims of tleir tride were sent t6 theis desolate homees to abuse wives and children cl1lwo were sulfering for thi CommLoon necessaries of life, which mnig'.t have been purLcLased with thle mnorey sqnandered on strong drinks..'"= A great many families in this city situated tlus a year since, are now con.fortable and happy, being entirely relie'ved by the suplpressioiL fc tle grug sllopst from their fortnerC troubles. The extintuisiment of the'trnatle in intoxiceating drinks will iot only be tlie mean-si of' savting this great nam. uLit of nlicneyi to thi poorer part of the people, but the productive industry of ltie couil-ty will be stirs'lated to an exten t t tb t rent a catoeat pant oie.'slo e hIl oi of the g' eat Pum which was formerly expenided for strong dri rks by thic peop le of this city antd State; will hencefelth be expended for the necessaries and com1'firts of' lile rwith the adtitional::mount vwhih cliill accrue from tl e imore tndust:ious ihabits of th, people, or will be added yaer byyear to the accnnuulatting wealthi of the State." ProiMbitorry Laws, The terms prohibitory or sumptuary, when attached to laws, have beve nrged as coustituting a valid objection to their enactment. This objection is intendcd by a certain class of citizen8, to apply especially to laws restraining the traffic in intoxicating liquors, as a violent restrlailt on civil libety. No matter what names you give such laws; while they are required by the public good they afford no reasonable ground of complaint, as a restraint on civil liberty. Has the distiller in years gone by, been forbiddel-n' nder a penalty of $300 to use leaden pipes? Does ttie State of Maine, under a penalty of $1,000 and inil)risonment., prohibit the sale in the shambles of the ox that died of disease? May not our Board of Health prohibit both the. sale and purchase of fish, fruit and vegetables, as long as public heallh may requirr tAt 4ud who withhold obedience to such ordinances,because they are sumptuary, dietetic or prohibitory? Should an article he sold in our shops or admii.stered, like that Eugene Sue has deseribed as used in France for securig death by a slow poison, woul it not be an offence cognizatble by law? And how else could it bo kept out of society and shops, than by prohibitory enactinents -'reu after brurioa away from the sightof friends such laws keep watch by our.ovY. Nor, wnil any dare, biat under severe forfeiture, to dituitb the inanim at: by, r mat with rmtlde fiage, oUr muarble alb. 8uourt property ba is morltgagedl to the rumsellers of Albany for $0,000,l and you have to pity the interest every year; and if you were to die to-ncor:ro.-, it would go;o yourheir' with that incumnbrance, and they would I -ave to pa up the intm'st regtularly, or it would be sold by the sheriff.' Hare, then, wis an astounding truth developed to Mr. C., and if it wa,tuthito Mr C., it is no les so to every property bolder in the St-ite of NeQw Y*pk. We i uit, sauh to contamplst it Look at it unfai'achglyv, ye wiv: 26 i'roanl'.''-" the burdens of txation. See for whor it is that ye ganJ money in the sweat of your brow: by whon, it is wrested from you and who theya aitthnt are fattening on your toils. i'hat w reason not at ranidomi, we take you to ti:e Report of the Legislatl-'( Ci, minittee o tile':Excise question i-n March 1t50, From returns, says the dl eponrot made to the Sece'tary of State, the cost of pauperism in 1.849, was S17.4-. if this, the Report estinttes 1;60.'143 for Intemipcraitce. Were'-ere o: dran shop nd no Intemperance, the whole cost of supporting the ponr, wuld be but!4o-7.29o. Taxt1ion for crime, says the lRepuort, it is difii-. imUt, ti (etp. ate. Onae irialfor murder has recently os t the county of Albacy 0 Another, the county of crileans, $I1,000. Nearly all tebusiness of:9'a:'...ij'i.es. 0.sher'fi.~, eonstc:.blet an" d ahlmnost to he entire police system in'll' ithe c'1i. c ch n.r ea, ble to Intemperanca. Peopile of the l'pire:tate! have ot the iL:'.,r setlle t.s a mortgauge on your propert, lanld do they'nt v renchI fi'ro'na o, yo ei ute'yeiu, ethe fruit of your hard ].a.bors?.But to come to.ties l:nd counties. W. Edmonaods, Esq,. qWar den of the Tombs in t'he City of 1ev Y k, r orted in I.9, 1 9, 1.04' 2 commjitments. Of: t0hese, 4,207 in!es h nd 4,;S f'4'!n.les,elr0 cii'Orp;'l w[i'tl tie trosest and most d' bsin i ntoxiaio ~^~......', f act o mittedin ste i cints xica.on, vI L I i~tn cxla:se tu.: ilt:' t~ii: Alml s HLouse; 231 i[t:xtics deprived of tlheir reason by;V ru;,2ohou.el.er'son:. cast upon public chrity by the i emeanc e of the1ireyeseot oti.Wl i ":: er t!ree-f(ourtis of th,ose f,r whose su, i;port taxes v.^r~e e~tor~,:: ievie!;'?., i ~~n e o hd of': thei city..Look in e, the e. countr.v. in [r::r....o~ -1 I I~unts t:,1e1e x 0.., in 149, 1,'7, k pauper., acco([i[}; to, e-l- oFr:p''thes:,.' eiintendeonts o poor, for wim:: a tax as levied 10o l O.,, o:55{;C3,13 to each of its oimnete oen townsii are caus:ed y abut!.47 rl;-;e.". \einthey ins'teadoft' e p.e pe tOaxed to suypport the cirunke poor, the:tr: each i:ouildi hlave been -', 19, wh ere'as thei o;t thicey paid wvag -;'r'ce::e. leavinq: the peol.,e to pay - 88,19, tb;t []ley mi!':t; ake uey and:supporot theirf..ili in ease. if each v Cn. r received 5,,z250 eatr ior hiis liqo' it a Imoune, the a','egate, t';3'50. e ugh t- o build -co, l jioit-e in every t'own in the co'nty, wo th 1 00t6,.ie a teacher" and[ p:ay- }m;'!o3 a, i a. nd leave!507, I0 f-or d]ibra;ie;, a.pparatus, &c. ILn U'ls;ter Coun1y, y'I15,000 were levied in 184-5, which wo'1d notit tave been. iec-de:-l -ichout inteml'per'aIce. In Titot n COounity,.thie taxes foi' paupetrit..a' iand crime avelra',ed~l for six years, " i O14, 000; thlrei0e-ourths Cwere an tftbutred to Inteumperanc e. i:i!'tty-four years, in Livingston County, )58,814,;1,:.re' levied itfon tlhe nleopea for tle Door atnd crim'inal justice;'44,14i0,60 of thi.:a.:rcrdili" t tthe te'isnonY' of C'oorge H as;tings, ELsq., -Di trict, Attorney, were,for intempe'ran~.e. Ina iraain'". Coouni ty,1 the Bioard of' Supervisors chargie'- the county 3 8,047,65 fr' generalc found; 9,000 to.pay judges and. jurors; poor f!md!, $12,(000, Of tini"fs 8,000 was f ior Intempe rance. A drunken f't'her in thIat county, placed niis little daughter upon ian ox sled, andi rudely whippin" his cattle, they rush ed to the road side, threw off the chlild and made her cripple, and she hats ibeen supported in the poor house more than twenty years; the tax-paver and not tile runmaeller footing the bill. Is not your property, then, mort((aged to the liquor sellers for the support of their brsiness?. You know it's. WIhie they are suffered to sell; drunkenness, poverty and crime of the most horrid character, will continue a. burden upon the State. But:wehsve not yet told the worst of your.state. Not only is there a mortgage upon your property, but a proscription:upon your sons..:When Napoleon was ri-'ing to the heights of his power and trampn.ng down the nations by his iron foot, he.demanded e'ery tenth young'nman when of age, for his armies' and sometimes he anticipated one, two and even three years under the plea.that jis interests demand-edit. O wat we;eping and wailing was there as tho 27 you ng conscripts were dragged from their homes? People of the Empirb State! in as merciless a tyranny and no less irresistable and certain, the rumsellers of the State have amarrk upon your sons. By exanminti(n, it has been found that one in thirty of our best population have been convertecd rto comm(n drunkards; that the farming districts have lost in deaths by Tut.eaperance about 30 per cent. among the male adults; the village about fitiy; tlhat of 680 lmaniacs in various Asylums, 400 owed their loss of reason to ii-toxic atingliquors; and that 400 out of 600 juvenile delinquents eitiher dr!sik tierselves or wTere the children of drinlicng parents. Yes! rum sellelr:s 1t ia e a merciless proscription upon your clildren. You must not on gily ve ti!ne your property, but your sons. They will drag them from your dawellu;'s b )i1re tlhe eyes of Fathers and Mothers, and t!row-th em into ioafthls(ne di':n (l:cs and put them to ear ly deaths. Tlhey are doing it ev-ely day.ll (aevry,c orii. T ihey fill up your grave yards, andM Ralchael refuses to be c forl'rred bec;u(:.:her ci l-dren are not. How long will you suffer it? lHow v onu shall tl:e er'rifc power rat^e and rend and devo r, It promises you compenato L n for irts license, But what compensatio can it make c'fr your stolen propecrty-, w, hat for your lost sons. Why license —w hy peermitit L al Whatare -our school -tixes —-. your taxes for the Gospel your taxes for public impr:ls)ver ent,.nd f.ir protectionl?!to to 1b named witil 1'1r ta-xes, anId tal cheerfully paid, because pouring into your bosom rich blessings. And ther anain your vo untary taxation;-money spent bh y(Ir'sctlvs aCnd the people of _imerica for intoxicating liquo-s. We asI. you to look at that, 1end see how igiomini ously you bend to the rumeli ers yok e. The commaon sch ool fund of the State of Ne Yori, thle literatnuire fund, thle B1ank fund swoudlL nots ay the cost of liquor drank in thOe C(ountr in weI ty-five'lays. The Americain Sible Sociec y did no cot cos the country su,ilmh i t wenY-four yars of' its ope ration, as has s ti'On drink: in seventeen d(-a. lhe is-.abitants of the Emnpire ctate no01 tax tlhemselves volun'-a i' I, every c'e ar ven'ty-six nmillions of dollars, in alddit ion to w ha.t they are co' m'.es! d to p;Y, hi direct taxes for strong drinl:s, enoulgh to bsui}d each yer an i t rie Ca-lsai aud! Croton Water Wi or3ks. Youn are a fa ther with a dt-cendait.s l. ttl f;m ily around you. You find it perhaps difficu!t to feed anl clothe t!lem. Do you-use 6- cents' worthl of liquori a day, you volu ntaril-y t.x yorse'f' t enltytwo dollars a vear for tlat which is to - ou of no essenti al value?'e jiones saved, might give them more colforts than you c;: n re nly ilma'inse, besides saving you from destruction This mortgoage ulon your estate yon -Jan lift in a moment. by ad'op til the total abstineee principle. And youl tan lift the other also, ye IYeocman, of the Empire State, i.f ye will. It our ~'ister, Maine, has done it. She will have nzo rumseller inhler bolr-des. Sihe iave no taxes' created by the trade, no lmen mnade paupers nor ex-itl d t o ctri me. The two millions of dollar she has squandered upon intoxica'iling; liquors, she i'as wisely resolved she will expend upon bher farms aind )her houses,; her -choo!s, her churches for the improvemlent and advancement of the Stato. The rights of trade will, it is posssible, interpose a veto. But what are the ig;ts of trade? Never the right to traffic in an article which spreads dese-;ation through thle community. If the people vwill not demand i by legislation:,rotection to themselves and their children from this enormouss taxa.ton, laid [or no good object, butfor one fullof' evil, they deserve to be hewer-s of wood and drawers of water to the most useless and despicable class of traders. How can they plead onthe Fourth of July, a descent from men nwho would notpay a paltry tax on tea because it waslaid wit-hout thir consent? Who of you consent to the enormous rumn taxes you pay All who consant to the license system and the continuance of the traffic. Wake, then, to a,ense -of the burdens which are upon you Use no violence to burst! the s'hains; but go steadily andfirmly to the polls, and it will dissolve away heoQra the indignant voice of a people resolved to be free, Siall we a te ve tle M3aine Lw t what is it It is a new experiment for the suppression of Intemperance. The fouatatn, of Intemperance are the supply of intoxicatitng liquors, first in hospitality but chiefly for gain; as an article of trade. The first it does got touch; only the secontlihe sale for gain. l'or two hundred years this has been regnlasted by law, that it should not prove disastrous to the colmnunity, yet it hms proved disastrous under the best regulations. The Maine Ln w is an esperiment at reinedyingthe evil by its enltire suppression. t for bids all sal'e of intoxict:ciig and spirituous licurs s s a conmiion beverage. It confiscates and consigi's to destruction by the public nmagistrale, all such liqunos lept on sale, except for niedicine and the arts. And in addition the loss ef liquor, it punish the oflender, with fine and impr isonment to secure universal obedience. Such is the AMaione Law. It does not prohibit the use, only the sale a4 a beverage. What would it do for us, if -we had it? Much every way. In the first place it would greatly reduce our taxes. More, thn two thirds ofthe taxation caused by pauperi-nl and crime,'is the aeuilt of intemperance, From the ofiicial returns mado to the Secretary of the State of New York, the cost of pauperisin in 1849 was 18 7,441. Of this 67 0,143 was set down to intemperance. But intenmperarcL. flows fi om tha traffic. The supply c eates the demand. Shut up the traic. andc intempera ce and ints rleslits woould soon cease. T'1he taxes now paid for the t-rection of poor houses and jails and the support of paupers, and the trial and puniahment of cri'inals would be but triiuing. 2. It would save a vast amount of physical sufferitg. Who hath voe! Who t h ath scrotow? Who hath cotentioni lho latLh wouncdy iLhout causet'What cllassbf all others have p:ivation andt want, hunger, cold and nakedneas, opp'ression and c ruelty, physical and mental aglony, like drunkards and drulnkuads' f amilies? Oive us t aw, ald the hagaieAd harpey, fix. ing his talnns deep, is fled away, S. It would pruevent ai mighty flood of moral evil. Th&!iquor business ia the prolific mother ef crime. The dram shop is the hot bed of iniquity. There gemnerate atid ripen to the maturity of hell, every Eabomination;-debate, discord, i' rder, blasphemy, luct, arson, Sabbath breal ingr, defiance of God, of death and judgment, Shut it up hroughout ltie State and nation, and in one half year one fifths of all that nonw acenids to draw' the lightning's flash from tihe throne of God would eease for ever. 4. It would save us a vast amount of property. The vender says he give. an equivalent for all the money he receives It is false. H-e knows it. Di the buyer pour out his liquor upon the ground the moment he bought it, he would be a;- rich a.s if he kept and used it. It would not he so with foodt and alothing, and fuel. If he destroyed them, he would be a loser to the full extent. Mloney spent for liquor is a waste; and what a aste! Ailliona of dollars in a State a dead loss every year, besides the clss ol the labor f th} drunken; the cost pauperism anc crime; the private charities; money wastid in dissipatien and foolish bargains; losses by fires and shipwrecks, mnor than a hundred millions annually in the nation. More than two millioin ofdollars are saved by the Maine Law to the State of MAaine in a year, to bw expended on clothing, and farms, dwellings, and roads, and to be used iua business for the benefit of families and prosperity of the State. What weuiit te saved by such a law in the State of New York, of Pennsylvania, ef Ohic, of Illinois; and how soon would all the people in these States be better cla and better fed, and better fieftered, R.. bktte.r1 dueged; ard hew mulh bet 0er, who caIn tael? 8. It would ensure great peace and quietness. The liquor sh ~ ps haveo'aute^ three-fourt.hs of the brawls, fights, riot and disturbances in every city and town. Of 180,646 persons conmiti ed in six and a half years in the City of New York, 18,793 were for assault anid battery, 25,164 for disorderly conduct 2,645 for fighting in the street, 44,383 for intoxication, 35,048 for intoxica tion and disorderly conduct, and 14.800 for vagrancy, making 140,783 for of fences resulting almost entirely from the use of liquor in dram shops. Out of these dens of vihe rush men who holloa, disturb neighborhoods, cause fight. and murders, and put fire to buildings and call olut the watch and fill up th* Tombs and Penetentiaries. Where the Maine Law has gone into operation, there is comparative peace and quietness; and a police are almost unneeded. In Portland, the commitments to the House of Correction were reduced in nine months three fourths. In Bangor, the House of Correction; haa been almost empty. In Angusta, the Police had been formerly called out an hundred nights in the 3 ear; during the year of the law not once. In Providence, for weeks before the law, there were from twenty to forty commitments; in the week a ter, only six;-so it will be anywhere wltl the Maine Law, almost reallising' the prediction, " Violence shall no mntre be heard in Uie stands, wasiting nor destruction in thy borders." 6. It wouhil result in the reform of almost every inebriate. Deprived of the means of easy vidulgence, and temptation removed, drunken men would eoon, of necessity, ant soon, of choice, become sober men, and be thankful for their delil re.cc fro3m their most horrid thraldom. "I never expect.d," said an habitutal drunkard to the Mayor of Bangor," to die a sober r.a n, bult believe I shall." " The law is popular,' says the Cashier of t!ie Bank of'ziis, "wi ith the best of inebriates, who feel themselvev to be the slaves of a depraved appetite, and wish to be free." The lair would at once ecl:atim many a drunkard, and make the State an Asyluua where he couil iiive in safety.. It would iprevent hundlreds and thousands of young men from becomirsdrunkards. -' in ligtl; still im soumehere obtain liquor, }andc drink andbe drunken. Thle gar t'he fi. i.lionablle tle men of wealth and luxury might put the lottle to their neighlbor' lips, andc train their offspring to be miser-able inebriatea, to curse and- tormei nt. tnhem in their declining years and none might hinder, hut the work, tie desolat-lg worki oi the gay saloon, of the tavern bar, of time low grlggery, would hlave ceased. The great raanufactories ia which live men aren con-verted into wild beasts and made food for the fires of bell, would be a.l stoppned. Their fires vwould be put out. 8.' It would save'(he Sabbath from its worst desecration and deliver reHi5 zion from its woret Noe. No desecration of the Sabbath has ever beenr. lk tha t caused by the liqor tiade, anud no obstacle like intemperance hans hbee lkrown to the salvation of the soul. " When the Maine Law," savs the venerable Lyman Biee her, "passes through the land: the millenium wil be right on its heels. lThen the devil will lose his strong hold. He will be bound neck and heels and tIChrow into t. he bottomless pit." This is what the law -would 1o for us. But ho,v shall we,t it? Go to thei ballot b )x and choose legislators who will give it. There a.:me enough of both and a'l political parties capable of doing all the bubine" of legislation, who will give us the law. V'ote for them and for none otilra, and it will be ou's. And now shall we have it I Why not? It wl I breas up the liquor sellers buinreas,. uo imatter for that. Ilia busiBeris a nbad nna, of mba3fit to Wa, ald',.im"tive. to thouauads. 30 It will waste much property. And it will savemuch; millions on millions, It will cause much contention. Not a thousandth part as much as rum has. It will overthrow our political party. Does our political party stand on rum? If so, let is be asiamed ofit, and quit it. But let us take heed lest our political party is soonl in the minority, iromi its adherence to rum, for it surely will be. Degeneracy and subservieney to wickedness alnd debasement is not the s, irit of the age. God will overturn, and overturn, and overturn until temperance and truth are triumphant. We llay oiurselves want occasionally some brandy, or gin, or wine, and do not love to be deprived of the opportunity of getting them. A:nd so we never may want theml. Hundreds and thousands of the best and most laboriou s families in the land have for years lived without them and never needed them, and so may we; and what if we do, shall we not gladly sacrifice our desires on the altar of public good. Shalt:ye not then have the IMaine Lawv Say, ye Fatthers,! speak for your sons. Say, ye Mothers I speak for your daughters. Say, young men! speak for youri country. Say, ye ministers of the Gospel! spc ak for thousands perishing in sin. Say, Philai thropist! bending over fallen husbands and bleeding familiesa Say, Patriot! asking for glory for your country. Say, all. All answer; ten thousand voices answer, answer now; answ at lhe polls and answer all, in the halls of Legislation — es, Yes I [From a Ba'.timlore palern] iNATlIO'.AL LEG SLATIOs.AS RELATING O THE TEMPERANCE REFOR1i. MB. EDnToa.-l take up my pen in the confident expectation thlt tlhe imn portance of the' en d aim" of this communication will furnish a sufficient lpoiogy for troubling you with it. The movement in behalf of legislation for tne suppression of the traffic in intoxicating bevelages, now on foot in several of the states of our confederacy, after the glorious example of Maine, is revealing a most important contradliction, if not a direct conflict, between that more thorough legislative control, so desirable in these states, and the exist. ing policy of the General Government, touching the same interest. Thus, Maine has been compelled to makean exception in favor of the "original packages' of poisonous liquids, as they come from the custom houses; and while she has placed upon her statute-book a law which, though thus circumscribed, has conferred immortal honor upon her sons, the more virtuous and orderly cf whom now are sustaining it, tlih nation retains upon its st'.tute book a law which sanctions the importation of these same poisonous liquids into her borders, for use as beverages, contrary to the manifest wishes of the great majority of her citizens! Should the Maine Law be enacted in this state, or others in which it is now being mooted, the same contradiction and conflict will be encountered; and thus the National Government, which ought, in all cases, to stand forth as a kind parent protecting and fostering the highest interests of the various members of the family, will be found placing barriers in the new paths wherein they may seek to walk, in search of the prosperity of themselves as individual states I According to my information, this exception, as required by the U. S. Constitution has opened the door of evasion and subterfuge to some extent, even in Portland. If so in that city, what increased difficulties may we not anticipate in such emporiums of direct foreign trade 31 as New Yolrkl M k iWell what t wvite. I speak not of these difliculties a isisurmnoutable.'hat is the enemy's cry-not ol's. Now, apart from' the foregoing considerations, there is another which should not be passed over lilhtly. I allutde to the effect of legal sanctions upon the public sense of i igiht alnd wrong'the "public conscience" of those concerned in transactionls.under them. Let uslook at this point for a momlent: There can be no doubt that the License Sy st1m, as it prevails in this and other states, prompts to wron. -doing, while it shields it. Malnkind have beenl taug'ht ti contemplate "law" with a species of reverence, and 4just laws are worthy of beino so contet i plaled. But unfoll"unately, this reverence is too conveniently transferred to unjust law s.'iTus a false Imetsure of consceience is proffered and wiill.nsgly accepted. Thec ffenidcr agaitist tle social goodn, who hLas- fundl it so convenient to neasure, his enmploe ymenl by it, rmay be refe-rred.to the unchanlgeble principles of truth, andl maly be pointed to the glariilng results of his caiieei, but in' ain. He will refer you in turn, to the'State, and that theoretical emlbodihnent"of the highest idea of iustice, the Statute Book, and coolly tell you that he scouts your' "ighet law"''- thati tlhis is high enouglh la w fo hin! If this be true of statew laiws, how mnuch nore strikinguly so of national laws. lThere is not a man in this ato ut nat bee'n tnughti to regard the authority, moral as well as physical, of tle natilo, as m1ore commliainding thau that of his s ate; and the e Iect o that teaching will clin, to hi1m in more or less strength of adlesioon, in spite of the unrighteousness of the nation's encactmnents oeienforcenents. It s very clear to my mind, then, that as a crowningf sanction, the friends of Tlemlpe-art ce carinot oafiord to: forego the assii-tance of niationll il ila tle present strugge. The frownisn battlenents of national cotlnteraction would cast ishadowsl of gioomn over thie new enltrene lu — ecnts of lstte law, if sui-fereel to exist lonter, alnd they would di',hearteni thle nobli soldiery of eeifrmr. What is the con-ellion lo vwhicli this hurlried g'anie ait thilnps a s they are, paints us t Iiy, clearly, ti -l: -The albsolte Lnecesity of brinoin i tle Natioinal Governi melnt to our aid. I have been surprised to find no inovemn:ent by pec titionis to Coni-ress on this subject. Cas it be qiuestioned that that body las, under the CGonsttltion, power to rant the "stiron) armi of the Ilar: It h a^S fui power over for eion conmmerce, and tihe very samnle cla-s; of tmotives w ich prohibited the!'oreisgn sllav- t rde should pr ohibited the fo. eiun slave trade shoul d 1)rohibit the fornig'.n liqcor tra de also.'hat wts, imo-.eorve tot'-ll ytnbolishedl, vwhil ne neect olly a,-ki itle prohibition of tlh-eiimpoltatolont of! ii uo;s for otlhei tlhan mechanical andi medicil.l iptrposes We c are l stet withoull pi eecielelts of ieislation to justilY itour deillnat ls u pon the National Authority for aid in this cdiirecin. I may sately refer to tluh Eribars o Act in force cduringth t.e aeministtion s of Jefferson and Maditson, and whicil received the -approbation of those great statesimen. Ig was a prohibilitory mealure of the most sweeping chalracter; and -et the British[ Goverlnment, ywhose commerce was most effected by it, not only cdid not complain of it. but admlitted its strict accordance with the laws of nlations, as -vwas shown by Mr. Canning's letter to Mr. Pinkney in 1808. So of the nonimportation and nionintercourse a:ts of the sa-me governnental era. To which should be added, a directly applicable to the p esenlt question, that the ule of reciprocal intercourse between nations is based upon the uinderstanding ta that te prosperity ald happiness of the foreign country with which i iteres e's sou0gt, sllt l ever be regarded. This view will be found running through.ll the ciscussions of zhe subject in. the writings of Vattel and the eider authorities generally, and also through oall the later discussions I mayv be told that the aforesaid acts wvere justified by the "necsssities of the case." Grant it, and then allow the friencs of Temperance the sanie plea in view of the toeftil influence of the foreicgn liquor trade, as justly you must. But, fortunately obr our position, we do not need to go back so far. Wo nily su-cc sstflly point to revenue iaws now on thi statute book, and in constant force. Among these may be cited the law against the importation of obscene books and pictues. But a fewi weeksago an enforcement thereof was made it this city, whereby a large invoice of pictorial German pipes was decltred contraband by the United States jucicial authority, and destroyed, while a lot of otherwise lawful goods, fould wilth, i the i e toriginal packages," were forfeited to h6e O-overnmor t. I rmight go on, aud tpoinat so to lh prohibition of the import&aVion of foreigAu paupers, as it prevails in several of the States, without its "oonstiutionalhty" b)ln questioned for a moment, and with that phas,e of the question -alone I lhav< to (o at prese-nt. Now, surely, if it be constitutional to prohibit the anbringing ofipaulupers a3such-that is without the discriminative provision that lhdy i skl 11 iv- c security not to be at the public charge-it ought to be considered constitutionrl to prohibit the introduction of such pauper-makin g agents as those, under notice. But, as I have already said, there should be no doubt on this point. The 8th section of the let Article of the Constitution gives Congress the authority so "reg ulate commnerce with foreign nations, and amongr the several' st-;tes, and with the Indian tribes." In pursuance of this authority to "regulate," laws hawv belen passed totlIly protlioiting the introduction of this "fire water" among the Itedmen, for use.s a beverae. Why not "regulate": the general importation of foreign xliquors i- the samte discriminating mode? Surely no one will attempt at a;dverse answer, when a1 mo —nent's reflection willKhow him that, in admitting the a!nstitntionality of such a measture of prolhibiticn as to a portion of our territory, Wo are comnmitted to it.~ atpplicability to the whole, and thus the question is given np —for be it renmembered the constitution claims no control, commercially, in the toreritories, thalt it does not cl:lil, in equal lncasrl'e, in lhe statqs. Other CitationD iree to view, but 1 hope I have giveni enough for my present,purpose. - D)oes sny t.ilth-seelkinl mnn doubt the expediency of Congress legislating tiuls discrimatingly' If so, let him think of some project for inmporting lion* and tigers, and'hyenas, for other Ihan the purposes of the menlagerie-to o tarned loose in the streets, for exatl le-and ask himself what would be thl eoarse of Congres; in slch an emergency. To the advocates of "p-rotection,' -apprelhend. the idea of a tariif so ligh as to prohibit the importation of forein liquors, for een lthe legitimate purpos es named, would not be repugnant -— unlies.s e, einee, efinterest or a perverted sappetite should prompt them ta hbut their senoes aainus' t;he laws of analogy. I confess that I prefer the more directmode of open and avowed piohibition; but I am now addressing my*elf to a class of readers who have no scruplles on this point, and I do so with the hope of giv-in a t-empera-nce-priomotin. c applicatip. n of their views to the urg.ent social necessities of the tires. Shall I appeal to therm in vain Sha1! not a move mc-e ntlby petttion to Congr(s oeghin it oneo. What say t}e fi- nds of;-le'ill saRnsion in the States vhilor State action has been invokecdi'V iat s,-y the t(ob)l pioneers of M aine? Now that they lave done all that can bh fficeted Lv sta'al at.!ion, and hlave experi enced the nee'd of national action to back is tlieir loial mtovemrnt of reform, let them see that the good.work is perfected I wy whom; imore tapproiria ely, could thi s 3aitation be commnerced? Mecn of BAainot v}h3at ay you to 11- proposa!? In elosing, I think [i mary confidenty -ut this question to those'itto whose ehande ithe u;neastii)on ll ftl;,i letter mnay charnceto fall. To what more sublime line of onacStion could the National Lefisl ture be directed ta thn this? —this which given ftie onl r rea.son able hope of even the bhinntng of that " millennial reign" fo. which we find;.)1 scets of Clristians prayinlg. And is not such an p.lticipation )oapele4s, in vie.avc of the present state of things? To nmy mind, utterly so. If su-'firer1d to inllcea;:-,e its enductive appliances for a few yetars onger, at the preselt yt-3s, run tratic: wo1ld lhave the power to counteract the a reneies of all the clergy,f tihe earth co-m),ined The Preacher of the Gospel in his pulpit compared with hier iomseller wl-no will' be ure to raise his a'tar near by, sb nk in imagination, to the. subordin-ate poition of the little boy who takes I his umnble stand at the ibo; af the bowline alloy, to set np the'" inrs, while the athletic and adroit man,.who ut.ndcls at the heitl ldnoc!s thrn clown wvith stres' that oounts by "tenil' and t:riumphantly wins the gamte. I am aware t;hat this is aloomy and cisco; ranriine piteure of the triumph of tbh rpirit of evils in our land. B3ut the trilt.h were better told than withheld, that w*,nay timely set ourtiels es to work for the seo-euriment of tho remedy of thorolgh Iqeal prolhibition —-National as well as -8ttal. ~. J, INOM RAe R. AU-tne, 4lS.i2 18^.