\J \J \J i^ 
 
 »> X-^a^-^M 
 
 THE 
 
 LAW OF MAINE 
 
 c 
 c 
 
 THE LAW OF GOD. 
 
 A REVIEW 
 
 LOVEJOY'S LECTURE 
 
 ON 
 
 PROHIBITORY LAWS IN REGARD TO THE 
 USE OF INTOXICATING DRINKS. 
 
 BY A MASSACHUSETTS CLERGYMAN. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE BOSTON YOUNG MEN'S TOTAL ABSTINENCE SOCIETY. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 PRESS OF J. B. CHISHOLM, 5 WATER STREET. 
 
 fornia i^^^- 
 
 nal 
 
 iy ■ .
 
 Hamilton Hall, Mat 17, 1852. 
 At a meeting of the Boston Young Men's Total Abstinence Society held this 
 evening, it was 
 
 " Voted, tliat the President be authorized to superintend the publication of 
 the ' Essay on the Maine Law,' and the ' Review of Lovejoy's Lecture,' pre- 
 pared for the Society, and to take the proper measures for tlie distribution of 
 the same." 
 
 F. W. G. REDDING, Sec'nj.
 
 THE LAW OF MAINE AND THE LAW OF GOD- 
 
 The all-absorbing theme of the age is the " Law of 
 Maine." This sister State has more laws than one, but 
 so engrossing is the one in question, that our meaning, 
 when we speak of the Maine Law, is not mistaken on this 
 or the other side of the Atlantic. All recognize, at once, 
 the Anti-Liquor Law— that telling " club" of Hercules, 
 levelling its ponderous blow at Alcohol, the modern " lion 
 of Nempea." It is the theme of discussion in all cir- 
 cles from senate-chamber to noisy bar-room. It touches 
 the interests of politics, education, and religion. The 
 trades " clap their hands." The arts rejoice. Commerce 
 flaps her pinions. The professions cheer. Suffering 
 humanity wipes her tears. Charity shouts, "Amen!" 
 Printers catch the spirit. Newsmen spread the tiduigs. 
 Lyceums debate upon it. Messengers rim to bear it. 
 Steamers lend their power to carry it. Telegraphs make 
 it fly. Mails weary in telling of it. In short, it has 
 aroused the whole land, in all the departments of rank 
 and toU, to engage in hot discussion and decide upon 
 the rise or fall of Rum. 
 
 Tills marked enthusiasm arises from a ncAV of the 
 social and civil blessings Avhich this Law in its faithful 
 application promises to bestow. Nor is the growing in- 
 terest deeper and more wide-spread than these blessings 
 ■\varrant. They are enough to cause the land to ring with 
 exclamations of joy and gladness. They are enough to
 
 4 THE LAAV OF MAINE 
 
 fill the heart of every patriot, ])hilanthropist, and Chris- 
 tian with devoiit gratitndc to God. They arc enongh 
 to kindle eloquence on the lip of the orator, and inspire 
 the poet with the spirit of poesy. They are enough 
 to enlist the Press and the Pulpit in the war of extermi- 
 nation. They are enough to cheer the orphan's homeless 
 lot, and cause the widow's heart to sing for joy. They 
 furnish a theme grand enough for the tongue of a prophet, 
 or the harp of an angel. 
 
 But there is another point of interest in the Maine Law. 
 It is adapted to the times, and suited to meet the wants 
 of suffering hiunan nature and abused social ties, but it 
 has a point of higher consideration to be contemplated. 
 It is in harmony with the Law of God. The Bible 
 sanctions it. Its leading principles were taught by Jesus 
 Christ. The Di^ine Go^■ernmcnt stretches o^'cr it, as a 
 shield, its glorious canopy. And this, above all things 
 else, ought to magnify the Law and make it honorable. 
 This affords the most cheermg promise of success. If God 
 he for it, who can be against it? It may battle long with 
 a corrupt public sentiment and struggle hard for A'ictory, 
 but if it harmonize with the Law of God the signal tri- 
 umph ■will be celebrated. What though " the heathen 
 rage, and the people imagine a vam thing 1 The kings 
 of the earth set themschcs, and tlic rulers tak(> counsel 
 togetlier, against the Lord, and against his Anointed, say- 
 ing. Let us break their bands asunder, and cast their cords 
 from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, the 
 Lord shall have them in derision." 
 
 It is soul-inspiring in any enterprise to feel that God is 
 on our side. It is withering to fortitude and energy to 
 feel that He is against us. It nerves us for moral conflict 
 to see the evidence that we stand upon His Immutable 
 Law. A^"e have confidence in the potency of cIaII govern- 
 ment, and that confidence is greatly increased when its 
 mandates are transcripts of the will of Jehovah. Then
 
 AND THE LAW OF GOD. P 
 
 we wax strong for effort, for self-denial, for accomplish- 
 ment. " Union is strength," and if that union is with 
 the living God, how great that strength ! 
 
 The C'hristian, especially, should rejoice in the harmony 
 of this Law with that of God. Public opinion is not his 
 rule of action. He ought to obey it only so far as it is 
 consistent with his professed guide and counsellor — the 
 Bible. To this divine rule he must bring evei^y question of 
 right and wrong for final settlement. Ci^il laws, as well 
 as his own actions, are tested here. If a law is plainly 
 sustained by this sacred oracle of truth, this is sanction 
 enough. Statesmen, legislators, and political demagogues 
 may oppose it ; but he is not to make them his standard 
 of right. The " Law of the Lord " is his acknowledged 
 directory, and to that he must go. The legal enactment 
 which it sanctions may oppose the cherished interests of a 
 multitude, and tend to arouse their intensest enmity. But 
 haAong the sanction of the Scriptures, he is sooner to sus- 
 tain it with hand and heart, leaving the issues loith God, 
 than he wiU advocate one which clearly conflicts with the 
 teachings of Revelation. In a word, the consideration 
 which is to weigh upon his mind above all others, in 
 reference to every subject, is, whether it be consistent 
 with that Law whose " seat is the bosom of God," and 
 whose " voice is the harmony of the world." 
 
 The coincidence of the Maine Law Avith the Law of 
 God is a matter of deeper interest because it presents such 
 a striking contrast with the previous legislation of the 
 land upon this subject. Legislators have not made so 
 wide departures from the Bible in the suppression of any- 
 evil, as they have in supprcssuig intemperance. LTjion 
 this important question Ave have had law after laAV on 
 wliich God could not look with one benignant smile. 
 We have had statutes by whose legal sanction the vUest 
 men could dole out intoxicating drinks which legislators 
 themselves acknowledge to be the cause of, at least, two- 
 
 i*
 
 6 THE LAW OF MAINE 
 
 thirds of all the pauperism and wo in the land. Thus, 
 while statistics have proved, and men have believed, that 
 alcohol is committing greater depredations upon our social 
 system than any other evil knoAvn, our laws have licensed, 
 for a paltry sum, the traffic in this same instrument of 
 A\^de-spread disaster. We ha-\-e had laws to prevent A-icc 
 and crime, and these other laws to produce them. Legis- 
 latiu'es have multiplied acts to pimish crime, and then 
 sanctioned the " trade in rum" to furnish criminals. 
 
 By law the di-unkard has been compelled to purchase 
 at one time enough intoxicating drmks, if any, to plunge 
 him into beastly inebriety for two months. By law the 
 petty rumseller of the country village, doling out some ten 
 or twenty glasses in a day, has been made to suffer in 
 purse and in character, while the rich distiller, selling a 
 thousand hogsheads in a week, has not been an offender in 
 the sight of civil enactments. The former has been fined 
 or incarcerated for the sale of a barrel, while the latter has 
 been left to grow rich by the sale of his tuns, and spread 
 himself " like a green bay-tree" in its glory. The lesser 
 smncr has been punished, while the greater one has es- 
 caped. The man of lesser guilt in the sight of God has 
 been treated in civU courts as if he were the guiltier. 
 
 By law, appetite has been made to suffer severely, while 
 avarice, a far more ignoble and baser development of heart, 
 has lived unharmed. The poor, wretched victim of his 
 cups has been dragged from his needy family to the 
 House of CoiTection, while the unfeeling vender has lux- 
 uriated in the gains which he really snatched from the 
 weeping wife and suffering babes. One thunkard after 
 another has been legally disposed of, while the drunkard- 
 maker has quickly filled the vacancies according to law. 
 
 In such legislation there is no approximation to the 
 Law of God. Xot one of these laws is consistent with a 
 smgle principle of revealed truth. Their policy is tempo- 
 rizmg, unjust, and paradoxical ; and of coux'se obnoxious
 
 AND THE LAW OF GOD. 7 
 
 to eveiy principle of the Gospel. They have proved inef- 
 fectual by failing to remove the cause of this social and 
 moral corruption. They have sought to dam up, or dry 
 up, the stream, whUe the fountain continued to feed it 
 ■with incessant flow. They have pro\ided for the dead 
 and dying, while a pei-j)etual fire has been kept up from 
 the enemies' camp. Tliey have sought to destroy the 
 deadly upas-tree by cutting off its branches, instead of 
 la}ing the axe to the root. In this, I repeat, there is 
 none of the wisdom or justice of cUvine truth. On the 
 other hand, the Law of ]\Iaine aims to remove the cmise 
 of this fearfid ruin. Its thrust is at the heart of the 
 gigantic oil. To eradicate the dreadfid effects of alcohol, 
 it destroys the alcohol itself In the eloquent language 
 of the late Professor Stuart, it steers " for the capitol it- 
 self, with all its magazines and materials of war" : * * * 
 " It does not propose to destroy those who are misled and 
 di'aAvn to ruin, but to cripple and annihilate the power 
 that misleads them." This is noble, benevolent and 
 godlike. 
 
 Though such legislation as this forms a new epoch in 
 the history of the Temperance Reformation in oiu- land, it 
 deserves to be noticed, that there are a few examples of 
 a similar jiolicy upon this subject, belonging to other 
 ages and nations. Lycurgus, the distinguished Sjiartau 
 legislator, in order to arrest the a^-ful ravages of intem- 
 perance occasioned by an abuse of the fruits of the nne, 
 ordered all the "vines in the kingdom to be dcstrovcd. 
 Also Tcrbaldus, a Bidgarian prince, believing that drunk- 
 enness coidd be prevented only in one way, issued a com- 
 mand to extu^pate the vine. Mahomet the Foiu-th, by a 
 similar edict, ■' commanded aU those who had any wine 
 to send it out of the town." Fifty-five years ago, the 
 Sultan Abdelrahman interdicted the use of intoxicating 
 liquor, " and those who made it had their heads shaved, and 
 were publicly exposed to every possible degradation.'' Thir-
 
 8 THE LAW OF MAINE 
 
 ty-thrcp years ago the reigning monarcli of Persia ordm-od 
 " liis officers to destroy all the wiue they could discover in 
 any part of the kingdom." The father of the present 
 Sultan of Tui"key was destroyed by his intemperate habits ; 
 his son, learning wisdom from the event, " on his accession 
 to the throne, issued a proclamation against the use of 
 wine, and caused one million of piastres' worth of wine to 
 be thrown into the Bosphorus." * Whatever may be 
 thought of this policy, one fact will appear to the candid 
 reader of history ; and that is, the countries, in which these 
 prohibitory laws were enforced, were never so free from 
 the strife and woes of intemperance as when these statutes 
 were faithfully executed. Whether belonging to Pagan 
 or Mahometan legislation, they accord with the policy of 
 our common Christianity far better than most of the 
 " Liquor Laws" of New England. 
 
 We come, then, to designate some of the points of 
 agreement between the Law of Maine and the Law of 
 God. 
 
 This Law puts eesponsibility where God puts it. 
 Man is responsible not only for what he is, but for what 
 he miffht he ; not only for what he is doing, but for 
 %vhat he might do ; not only for what he does k/wu; but 
 for what he might know. This is clearly taught by St. 
 Paul in his Epistle to the Romans. lie declares tliat the 
 heathen are guilty for their gross idolatry because they 
 might have learned better from the light of naturc.f The 
 Scriptures put man under obligation for all his powers, 
 physical, intellectual, and moral ; for all his possessions, 
 wealth, influence, knowledge ; for all his intentions, voli- 
 tions, and emotions. In short, his whole nature is under 
 perpetual obligation. Upon this important truth is based 
 the warnings, threatenings, expostulations, promises, and 
 solemn injunctions of the Bible. They recognize that 
 
 * These facts are given upon the authority of Grindrod. 
 f Romans i. 20.
 
 AND THE LAW OF GOD. W 
 
 man is responsible to God in every part of his nature, 
 from the use he makes of the brightest talent to the em- 
 ployment of the weakest muscle. 
 
 From this great responsibility public opinion has, in a 
 measure, exempted the rumscller ; I mean public opinion 
 as embodied in human laws. lie has not been considered 
 responsible for the use he makes of all his powers and 
 possessions, nor for the character of his intentions. In 
 his odious traffic he has enjoyed peculiar immunities. If 
 he had traded in drugs, he would have been responsible for 
 the consequences of cUsposing of poison even through mis- 
 take. If he had kept a stall, he would have been arraigned 
 for the sale of one pound of tainted meat. If he had own- 
 ed an unruly ox which destroyed his neighbors' crops, his 
 own purse Avould have been taxed for damages. If he had 
 sold a bushel of gram, knomng it contained a poisonous 
 seed, and the effects were the death of a single horse", the 
 officers of justice would have speedily closed his doors. But 
 in this traffic, which fills the land with crime, lamentation 
 and wo, he has not been thus responsible for his acts. He 
 could coin money ou.t of the bleeding hearts of wives and 
 chilchen to fiU his coffi?rs, and be amenable to no earthly 
 tribunal. 
 
 But the Law of ]Maine, like the Law of God, makes the 
 rmnseller responsible here as elsewhere. It says to him, 
 " You are not at liberty to employ yoiu* hands or posses- 
 sions just as you please. There is a law of rectitude which 
 you are to observe in the sale of strong (binks as really as 
 in the sale of arsenic. You aj-e responsible for the conse- 
 quences of your acts upon society and the world. You can- 
 not plead ignorance of the effect of your sinful busmess, for 
 you are responsible for what you mifiht know. You cannot 
 plead the support of a dependent family in extenuation of 
 your guQt, more plausibly than the counterfeiter, gambler 
 or seller of tamtcd meats. You cannot be excused upon 
 the ground that you indulge no wrong intention — do not 
 mean to injure your feUow-men ; for you know, as well as-
 
 10 THE LAW OP MAi:!fE 
 
 lookers-on, that yoiur true intention is "to get gain" by 
 the traffic, regardless of the consequences however dark 
 and teri'ible. You do intend to make a livelihood out of 
 the vices of mankind. You are determined to support 
 yourself and famih' in the face of facts, wliether your 
 wretched customers go down to the drimkard's graA'e or not. 
 Unfeeling, ignoble man ! Tliou art more reckless of truth 
 and duty than half the cidprits at Sing Sing or Botany 
 Bay ! For gain thou ^^'ilt close thine eyes to sights of an- 
 guish and degradation, and be content to inflict deep 
 wounds upon the body politic. For this \ilQ intention 
 thou art responsible. 
 
 "You cannot urge in self-tlefence, that j'oti only sell what 
 the buyer wishes — H is a voluntary act on his part ; foryou 
 are not at liberty to furnish all men -with Avhat they desire. 
 The suicide may ask for ai^senic, laudaniim, or a pistol, and 
 is theix- no responsibility upon you? May )'ou sell with 
 impunity whatever men will pin-chase 1 Nay, you are f(;ar- 
 fully responsible e^en for gratifying men. You can ofifer 
 no excuse to palliate yoiu- offfcnce. Yoxi are responsible, 
 at least in a measure, for the consequences of your traffic. 
 ' Wo unto the world because of ofl^enc(\s ! for it must needs 
 be that oftenccs come ; hut wo to that than hg whom the 
 offence cometh' ! Look abroad, then, upon a sufFcrmg 
 world ! See countless families pliuiged in misery, such as' 
 tongue or pen cannot accurately portraj' ! Coimt over the 
 millions that sigh in widowhood and lonely oi-phanagef 
 Rest youi* eye upon the mighty aggi-egate of paupers and 
 criminals who go from the dram-shoi) ta the almshouse and 
 prison ! And sum, if possible, the enomious taxes that 
 yoTir guilty trade imposes upon the world ! And learn that 
 ui EiU this sorrow and moral desolation there is resting ujjon, 
 yourself a fearful share of responsihilitg. As you are res- 
 ponsible to God, so shall you be responsible henceforth at 
 the bar of human tribunals!" 
 
 In this respect there is a harmony between the Law of 
 Maine and the Law of God,
 
 AND THE LAW OF GOD. 11 
 
 This Law, also, like that of God, denies the right of 
 placing the temptation to drink before the weak. Its theory 
 is, that a large class of intemperate persons ^\^ll be unable 
 to control their appetites if tempted to drink ; therefore, 
 every principle of humanity and benevolence constrains us 
 to remove the temptation. One man shall not take the 
 advantage of another's weakness to fill his cofiers, or obtain 
 a livelihood. If, m a mercantile transaction, he takes ad- 
 vantage of a person's ignorance to swell his profits, he 
 is marked dishonest. But it is evidence oi greater depravity 
 to make this weakness in vice the occasion of profit. 
 
 The Scriptiu-es are very definite in their teachings upon 
 this subject. They deny not only the right to tempt others, 
 but to tempt ourselves. No man is excusable m placing 
 himself unnecessarily where he will be tempted above what 
 he is able to bear. If his " hand" ofibnd him, he is to cut it 
 off.* If his " eye" offend hun, he is to pluck it out.f If 
 his " foot" leads him into temptation, he must sever it from 
 his body. That is, whatever will hazard his 0"\vn temporal 
 and eternal interests, it is his duty to avoid, unless provi- 
 dence presses him upon it when meeting his personal 
 obligations. And, in respect to tempting others, he is not 
 only to forsake gross ii-regularities in conduct and pursuit, 
 but even to refrain firom eating meat if it cause his brother 
 to offend. J He is not in any way to tempt him to do that 
 which will unfit him to discharge his duties to God and 
 man, or ruin his soid. Obligation, in this particular, is so 
 clearly and frequently taught in the Scriptiu-es, that we 
 need not dilate upon it. The LaAv of God says to the 
 vender of intoxicating drinks, ' Cease to allure the unwary 
 mto the paths of \\ce. Cease to decorate shop and decanters 
 to attract the young and tippling. Away with these em- 
 bellished traps to catch the deluded, and this poison that 
 is spiced to tickle the palate.' And thus sjieaks the Law 
 of Maine. 
 
 *Matt.xviiL 8. f Matt xviiL 9. tRom. xiv. 15 and 1 Cor. viiL 13.
 
 12 
 
 THE LAAV OF MAINE 
 
 This Law haiinonizes with the Law of God in respect 
 to the Ki(;iiT OF Puoi'KKTY. Straniijc as it may seem, the 
 opmiou has prevailed tliat the nunseller has the right to 
 use his property as he pleases, whether he iiifi'inges upon a 
 neighbor's rights or not. Hence, many legislators have 
 assumed the ground that it is neither constitutional, nor 
 right, to regulate or forbid the "litpior traffic." They have 
 denied a man the right to use his property so as to injure 
 society by way of furnishing saloons for gambling, or 
 instituting lotteries, or prociuing dies for counterfeiting. 
 They ha^e framed laws by whose sanction tlae prosecuting 
 officer may close all such places of resort, and seize all such 
 pro})crty as the implements of gambling and counterfeiting, 
 even though thousands of dollars are thus invested. But 
 property in spirituous liquors, whose injury to the social 
 compact is greater in a single year, than tliat of counter- 
 feiting and gambling in a century, has been a poss(>ssion 
 too sacred for legislative interference. That which cheats 
 the purse of a man out of a dollar has been both chargeable 
 and seizable by law, while that, which robs his soul of the 
 purest virtues, and transforms tht; man mto a demon, could 
 not be legally touched. A citizen may not use his property 
 as he pleases to manufacture dies for counterfeiting ; but 
 he may use it as he pleases to swell the wail of orphans, 
 crush the tender heart of woman, blast the highest 
 hopes of genius, throng the land ^^'ith Avretched ■\ictims of 
 intemperance, and send thirty thousand drunkards an- 
 nually from our country alone down to a hopeless hell. 
 Such has been a prevailing opinion in respect to the Right 
 of Property — a sentiment as distant as possible from the 
 doctrines of Revelation. 
 
 The lessons of divine truth upon this subject may be 
 briefly expressed in the language of Wayland. " The 
 right of property is the right to use somcthuig as I choose, 
 provided I do not so use it as to interfere with the rights 
 of my neighbor r* There is no distinction to be made in the 
 
 ■ * Moral Science, p. 213.
 
 AND THE LAW OF GOD. 18 
 
 kinds of property. We have the same right to property in 
 rum that we liave to projicrty in dies and dice,a\ni no more. 
 That right has no broader lunits. 
 
 Mark, then, one of the ways by which the rumseller 
 interferes with our rights. Tlie pauper tax for intemper- 
 ance in ^lassachusctts for tlie year 1850 was more than 
 ^260,000. Everylegal voter, thoughas honest, industrious, 
 temperate, and useful as he could be, was taxed to meet 
 that expense, while the rumsellers exidted over theii* profits 
 in the trade of paiqjer-makinfj. A\'c ha\ e the same right 
 to use our property as we choose, Avithin certain limits, as 
 the rumseller has. But in 1850, (as weU as every other 
 year) we did not enjoy this right, because the liquor trat 
 fickers created a tax which we were obliged to pay — thus 
 compelling us to devote our gains to an object which en- 
 riched them, and made us poorer". 
 
 A. is a convicted and condemned criminal. By a long 
 course of intemperance he ckank up his projierty at the 
 dramshop of B. "Want and his raging appetite pressed him 
 to gambling, forgery, and finally to midnight robbery. It 
 cost the State ;^20,000 to convict him. You and I are 
 taxed to convict the criminal Avhich B. made by his traffic. 
 Here is a palpable infringement of our rights, because he 
 used his property so as to interfere with oui- choice in the 
 use of our own. The Law of God totally forbids any such 
 use of one's possessions, as oppressive, unjust, and wicked. 
 The spirit of the Decalogue condemns it. The Golden 
 Rule declares it to be wrongfid. The Semion on the Blount 
 repudiates it. And the general tenor of the Savior's pre- 
 cepts disfavors it entirely. 
 
 Here, divine truth and the Law in question are ia coin- 
 cidence. The Maine Law denies that man has a right to 
 use property as he pleases, unrestricted, in whatever it may 
 be invested. It declares that the rumseUer's property in 
 "liquid death" may be seized as rightfully as that of the 
 gambler, or counterfeiter, and therefore it provides for
 
 i4 THE LAW OF MAINE 
 
 seizing the articles wliicli he uses to wound society, and 
 curse the world. 
 
 The Maine Law seeks to eradicate intemperance by 
 
 DESTROYING THE POISONOUS ARTICLE ITSELF. It dOGS, in- 
 deed, provide for tlie nianufiicture of the same for me- 
 chanical and medicinal purposes, just as laws provide for 
 the proper use of arsenic or henbane. Though the 
 druggist finds legal restrictions upon the sale of arsenic 
 and laudanum, he is not forbidden to sell it, as a curative, 
 with other medicines. And Avhile the ]\Iaine LaAv seizes 
 the countless puncheons which midtiply, instead of dimin- 
 ish diseases, it admits the article to a place Avith other 
 medicines on the shelf of the apothecaiy. So far as alco- 
 hol is useful in the mechanical arts, or as a dnig, its use is 
 carefully proAided for, the restrictions being applied only 
 where it begins to prove an injury- The Law does not, 
 it is true, allow e\ery unprincipled money-maker, who 
 woidd not scruple to ruin a man in soid, body, and family, 
 for a sixpence, to sell it for the objects specified : it pro- 
 vides that honest, vktuous citizens, who care for the wel- 
 fare of their townsmen, and the prosperity of the land, 
 shall be didy commissioned to sell it for these useful pur- 
 poses. "Wise and prudential Statute ! He, who is deeply 
 concerned for the pmity and peri)etiaty of the Common- 
 wealth, surely cannot object to this ! The doctrine of this 
 Law, then, will be seen to be this. The sale of Alcohol 
 
 FOR USEFOL PURPOSES, BEYOND THAT ITS DESTRUCTION'! 
 
 We believe this to be the sentiment of oiu* common 
 Christianity. Although we may not point to definite pas- 
 sages of the Scriptiu-es whi^h discourse upon this topic, 
 yet none woidd dare deny that the general teachings and 
 spirit of the Gospel are such. If an article of food or 
 di'ink will prove a blessing to body or soul, so far will 
 God smile upon its use. But so far as it deranges the 
 healthful functions of the body or mind, and blunts the 
 moral sensibilities, he would bestow his approbation upon
 
 AND THE LAW OF GOD. 15 
 
 its immediate destruction. The general principles and 
 precepts of the Bible do not admit of another construction. 
 The revealed character of God declares that such must be 
 his wUl. So that, here again, we say, the Law of Maine 
 and the Law of God harmonize. 
 
 From what has been said, it appears that this Tempe- 
 rance Legislation of our sister State contains the spirit of 
 the two great laws of Revealed Religion, called by moral 
 philosophers the Law of Reciprocity, and the Law of 
 Benevolence. The first is the law which prevents our 
 interference with those means of happiness which belong 
 to our neighbor, from the fact that they are the gift of 
 God* ; and which finds its divine sanction in the Savior's 
 words, "All things whatsoever ye would that men should 
 do rmto you, do ye even so unto them; for this is the law 
 and the prophcts.""|" " Thou shalt love thy neighbor as 
 thyself." % This is eminently the sentiment of the Maine 
 Law, that no man is vested with the right to make in- 
 fractions upon the happiness of his fellow men, by the 
 sale of intoxicating drinks. His duties as an individual 
 forbid it. And much more do his duties as a member ofso- 
 ciety forbid it. Hence, the second of the above-named laws, 
 that of Benevolence, is here recognized. The duties of a 
 citizen as a member of society not only demand that he 
 shall do his fellow men no wrong, m any respect, but 
 that he shall do them good.§ He is not to be c\e\\ a 
 neutral in these relations, for the object of the social or- 
 ganism would be defeated if citizens should act upon this 
 principle. He virtually covenants with society in becom- 
 ing a member of it, and also with God, its divine Author, 
 to cherish its interests and promote its prosperity. God 
 does not hold him guiltless if he violates the compact and 
 pursues a trade, which, unrestramed, would issue m the 
 overthrow of this sacred institution, and the advent of an- 
 
 • Matthew v. 43^8. t vii. 19. {v. 43. 
 
 § Wayland's Moral Science, p 369.
 
 16 THE LAW OF MAINE 
 
 archy and ruin. No ! As a member of society, liumanity, 
 and much more religion, forbids it. 
 
 Such is the Law of God ; and such is the Law of 
 Maine so fiir as it roaches. Though it does not compel 
 the citizen to do iioc'wty intended (jood, yd it denies him 
 the right to inflict a wrong upon it. It compels him 
 to rehnquish the traffic in intoxicating liquor, because 
 it is obnoxious to the highest welfare of communities. 
 He accumulates wealth at the expense of social happiness 
 and public morals, therefore, he must desist and forsake 
 the unlaAvfid business. It is enough, then, to commend 
 the harmony of which we speak, that the Maine Law 
 contains the spirit of the Law of Eeciprocitt, and the 
 Law of Benevolence. 
 
 The Effects of this Law in its practical development 
 for several months are such as a proper regard for the 
 Law of God would produce. If it multiplied the forms of 
 human strife and misery, if it swelled the Avail of sorrow 
 through the State, and filled with criminal offences the 
 calendar of coiu'ts ; yea, if its effects for good were not 
 traceable upon the grooving interests of the Commonwealth, 
 we might reasonably doubt its coincidence with the Law 
 of God. For Christianity, alloAved fi-ee course tlu'ough 
 the marts of trade, and circles of human intercourse, would 
 purify, and transform, and elevate on every side. At the 
 touch of its almost magic wand new forms of moral beauty 
 woidd start to life, and the frightful spectres of vice flee 
 before its celestial purity. The haunts of bacchanalian 
 revelry would close their doors upon the slaves of appetite, 
 and bid them escape the accursed bondage. Homes of 
 penury and wretchedness would smile to behold the 
 " horn of plenty," and to welcome the angel of peace. 
 The dying embers of love at domestic altars would be 
 fanned to a flame, and repenting prodigals would be seen 
 returning to the sweets of family friendships. Instead of 
 the thorn would come up the fir-tree, and instead of the brier
 
 AND THE LAW OF GOD. 17 
 
 would come uj) the myrtle-tree. The mountains and the hills 
 would break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field 
 would clap their hands. 
 
 The cftccts of the Maine Law approximate as nearly to 
 this as the achievements of known civil statutes can. From 
 the Moosehead Lake to Casco Bay, from the St. Croix river 
 to the Hampshire line, glad tidings of its success are borne 
 upon every breeze. Besotted manhood rises from its de- 
 gradation and lives anew. Vice yields up its '• strong 
 holds" of corruption, and disappears in unexpected and 
 luiexampled rapidity. Disgusting inebriation is banished 
 from lane and street of cities to reform in families, or die 
 in solitude. Crime is diminished from fifty to seventy-five 
 per cent, in the largest and most immoral townships. 
 Almshouses, and prisons, and institutions to reform the 
 vicious, are comparatively empty. Abodes of misery have 
 become the happy retreats of thrift and joy.* Rended 
 and scattered households have been reunited in the bonds 
 of exvdtant love by the return of their wandering members 
 from the paths of drunkenness. The once wretched, but 
 now rejoicing wife sees her husband leave the door, at 
 morning, and blesses God that no open cb-unkciy will ar- 
 rest his safe retiu-n. Tlie glad father looks hopefully up- 
 on his son, because he can walk the streets and perform 
 his business, without a score of human hyenas prowling 
 along his pathway. And the minister of Christ is inspii-ed 
 with new interest and zeal as he beholds men, just re- 
 claimed from their cups, coming to fill the vacancies ia 
 the temple of God. And all because the fire of the last 
 distillery in the State has ceased to blaze, and coimtless 
 di-amshops have closed their gates of wo. Sui'ely upon this 
 scene of delightfid improvement the Most High will bestow 
 his benediction ! His beloved Zion will feel the influence 
 of this legal wisdom, and gather new trophies for Christ, 
 
 • See Letters of the Mayor and City Missionary of Portland, &nd of Gov, 
 Hubbard.
 
 lO THE LAM- or MAINE 
 
 the Conqueror ! A law A\liif'h scatters such blessings abroad 
 must harmonize Avith His. 
 
 Citizens ! This Law demands your support against the 
 wiliest foe of human rights and happiness. A class of 
 men, Avhose love of money is stronger than their love of 
 virtue, create three-fourths of all your taxes by their 
 "trade of death," aiid enrich themselves by the business. 
 You complain of the " onerous tax " for the support of 
 public education ; and will you be content to pay four 
 times as much to support the rumsellers of Massachusetts? 
 Will you see four hundred dollars wasted, and worse than 
 wasted, for strong drink, as often as one hundred dollars 
 are expended upon education, and yet not move your 
 tongue against it ? Are you willmg to cancel the bills for 
 erecting almshouses and prisons for A'cnders of intoxi- 
 cating drinks to fill at enormous profits to themselves 1 
 Will you not remonstrate against this unjust taxation? 
 Or Avili you cheerfully liquidate the debts which they in- 
 cur by their property-destroying traffic ? You are suffer- 
 ing wrong, in the invasion of your rights, for which there 
 is found redress in the provisions of the Elaine Law. 
 Lend your influence to the support of that Law, give it 
 the co-operation of your heart and hand, and your reward 
 will be the blessing of an improved citizenship. 
 
 Philanthropist! whose errand of mercy is to bear relief 
 and consolation to the victims of want and misery ; you 
 have here an instrument that will spare you many heart- 
 rending scenes, and Avijie more tears from sorrow's eye in 
 a single month than your tireless efforts could in a year. 
 You have wept and prayed at the paupei-'s bedside. You 
 have lifted the debased from the mire of his degradation, 
 and breathed saving coimsel into his leaden ear. Your 
 heart has ached as you have stood by the wasted form of 
 suffering in some cheerless attic or cellar, — the heart- 
 crushed mother, with chUdi-en starving at her breadless 
 board, and a babe pining at her withered breasts. Your
 
 AND THE LAW OF GOD. 19 
 
 soul has been thrilled with horror as you have passed from 
 cell to cell in the gloomy prison, and listened to the sad 
 recital of depravity, that attaches to human hearts. Amid 
 the wrecks of humanity, and the sighs of distress, and 
 scenes of corruption, Avith A^^hich your life has been famil- 
 iar, you have been constrained to cry, " O God ! who is 
 sufficient for these things'? Where will this dreadful vice 
 and suffering end ] When wUl this wave of desolation 
 cease to roll ? O God, help, or sin will triumph." Hail, 
 then, this statute to suppress intemperance, and three- 
 fourths of these tears, groans and crimes are stricken 
 from your sight. Then you may hope that the " saved and 
 tr'embling," whom you have restored to their weeping fam- 
 ilies, will not be torn away agaui from the loving fellow- 
 ship, to wallow in degradation worse than the first. 
 
 Parent ! watching with deep solicitude the career of your 
 youthfid sons ; see you not the stealthy tempter at the 
 corners of the streets, and in the crowded marts of trade, and 
 along the public thoroughfares, seeking youth and early 
 manhood for its prey I In every path they tread are seen 
 allurements to tipple wine when it sparkles in the cup. 
 On every hand tlie decorated saloon and dramshop invite 
 them to the toasting company. The probability of their 
 yielding -to the temptation to di-inkis very marked. In this 
 regard you have just reason to be anxious. No form of 
 vice is so much to be dreaded as this, for none is so suc- 
 cessful ui midtiplying victims. Welcome, then, a Law 
 which closes these alluring abodes of vice, and empties 
 decanters and barrels into the street or dock. Execute this 
 Law, and close the host of groggeries, and quench the fires 
 of distilleries, and your sons may go forth to life's callings 
 comparatively untemptcd. Your greatest fears may be 
 allayed, and you may feel that youthfid Aii-tuehas aguarcUan 
 and protector in the State. It may save your sons fi'om 
 the drunkard's grave, and the drimkard's doom.
 
 20 THE LAW OF MAINE AND THE LAW OF GOD. 
 
 Christian I -waiting for the reign of millennial peace anc' 
 purity ; how long must you wait if alcohol is allowed to 
 fill the earth with strife and wickedness ? You have been 
 wont to belie^■e that the more nearly human agencies ac- 
 cord with the truth of God, the more certain may the 
 Christian toiler be of final victory. Here, then, is a Law, 
 accordant Avith the Law of (iod, and mighty to cope with 
 this conqueror of earthly conquerors, that demands your 
 aid. Were the bands of its pro\"isions stretched across the 
 land, from shore to shore, the flock of Christ would scarcely 
 lose a wanderer by this wolfish foe. A richer harvest 
 would whiten the fields of Christendom for the sickle of 
 the Cliristian reaper, than ever yet has gladdened the eyes 
 and expectant hearts of the faitliful. Pray for the success 
 of this timely curatiAe that comes in the legislation of our 
 sister State. Ask God to succor it amid tlie waves of 
 opposition that toss, and defend it in the battle of hot de- 
 bate. Ha\'e faith — more faith — strong faith — faith in the 
 miglit of a favoring God. Falter not like a coward before 
 the serried ranks of intemperance. Yom* lines may have 
 fallen on " troublous times," and the foe may be entrenched 
 behind imposing barricades; but "hope thou in God." 
 Dwell not on dangers. Count not the probabilities of 
 failure. If God is on your side, look up, and take courage. 
 " Look Aloft !"' cried a sca-f;iring fiither to his son as he 
 hung trembling at the mast-head, looking down upon his 
 danger, wliile the vessel was rocking and plunging in a 
 furious storm ; "look aloft, or you are coke ! " A view 
 of his danger from that dizzy height, by one doAATiward 
 look, might have swept him from his hold. Christian, 
 " look aloft "' ! IIowcAcr doubtful and unpromising the 
 enterprise, " look aloft " ! " The Lord reigneth." Pray.
 
 t 
 
 REYIEW OF LOYEJOY'S LECTURE 
 
 PROHIBITORY LAWS 
 
 IS EEGABB TO THE VSE OF 
 
 INTOXICATING DRINKS; 
 
 1. The text is wrested from its orifjinal meaning. 
 "Moreover, the Law entered that the offence might 
 abound." (Romans v. 20.) "VMiat Law? Mr. Lovejoy 
 implies that it is human Law. The first Ime of his 
 Lecture is, "This is the invariable influence of Law 
 upon a corrupt mind. It makes the offence abound." 
 The " common people," at least, would infer from the au- 
 thor's use of the text, that Paul was teaching that human 
 Law multiplies offences, and therefore we ought to be veiy 
 careful what laws we enact. It may be true that human 
 laws exasperate men, but this has nothing to do mth the 
 text. The author knows that Commentators are not 
 agreed whether Paul here refers to the "Law of Moses," 
 or a "Law of Nature," or a "Rule of Life." He 
 knows that all are agreed it makes no reference to 
 
 * This Re^-iew takes it for granted that the reader is familiar with the accom- 
 panying Essay on the Law of Maine and the Law of God. 
 
 3
 
 22 REVIEW OF LOVEJOY's LECTURE. 
 
 human Law. Is it right, then, to mislead nine-tenths of a 
 congregation by such a use of the text as plamly implies 
 that Paul was setting forth the effects of himnn statutes ? 
 If the enemies of the Anti-liquor Law can feel that Paid 
 gives them one inch of ground to stand upon, tliey will be 
 sure to occupy it. Tliey will feel stronger in their oppo- 
 sition, especially if a minister of the Gospel is on their 
 side. Rumsellers will care very little whetlier a Scripture- 
 text is interpreted correctly or not, if the minister of Christ 
 will only affirm that it contains an argument for them. 
 
 2. The Lectiu'e is a complete vindication of moral 
 suasion, as the only successful agency m the extirpation of 
 vice. Were it written by Theodore Parker or Wm. Lloyd 
 Garrison, it could not have been a more thorougli expres- 
 sion of their sentiments m regard to "coercive measures." 
 The diift of the argument, briefly stated, is this : — Com- 
 pulsion provokes men to offend ; therefore " a prohibitoiy 
 law upon this subject is just as impossible as it is to 
 make a broom that will sweep all the stars out of the sky 
 every night."* The argument applies to other laws as 
 really as to the one in question, and thus sweeps away all 
 legislation as useless. We must not have thelSIaine Law^ 
 because it will inflame the passions of wicked men, and they 
 will rise up against it. So Ave must not enact laws against 
 forgery or theft, because vile men wiU be exasperated and 
 trample upon them. True, the author's argument might 
 be stated somewhat differently, as follows ; — You cannot 
 enact a law which will entirely eradicate intemperance, 
 therefore cease to legislate upon this subject. — But Avhat 
 law does entirely eradicate the evils which it opposes 1 
 Our laws against stealing, counterfeiting, robbery, murder, 
 and every other crime, do not cntkely remoAC them. Shall 
 we then abolish theml It is as impossible to frame a 
 prohibitory law which shall wholly remove the crime of 
 theft, as it is " to make a broom that will sweep aU the 
 
 * See Lecture, p. 6.
 
 REVIEW OF LOTEJOY's LECTURE. 23 
 
 stars out of the sky every night ;" shall we, therefore, have 
 no prohibitory law upon this subject ^ 
 
 Mr. Lovejoy supposes that the friends of the Law 
 are expecting it will entirely remove intemperance. At 
 least, his argument proceeds upon this assumption. But 
 it is not so. They expect its faithful execution will 
 greatly diminish the evils of intemperance, as it has al- 
 ready done in Maine. They do not expect our laws will 
 completely root out the crimes before-mentioned, theft, 
 robbery, &c., but they do expect these crimes will be less 
 frequent than they would be without prohibitory laws. 
 So they have good reason to expect that this anti-liquor 
 law will greatly diminish the pauper tax, and di-y up 
 rivers of tears, and lessen the number of offenders in the 
 land. 
 
 3. Past legislation upon this subject has failed, therefore 
 this ivillfail. This is another argument of Mr. Lovejoy, 
 stated concisely in oiu" own language. He labors to show 
 that the Temperance laws of the past have accomplished 
 no good, hence we have no reason to expect the INIaine 
 Law wUl prove beneficial, as if this Law were exactly like 
 former laws upon this subject, in its character. His great 
 error lies in making no distmction between past laws and 
 the modern Law of Maine. He groups them all together, 
 and sweeps them away with one indiscriminate stroke. 
 To employ his own language, he " groups every thing to- 
 gether under generic terms and defines nothing," * * * 
 "marks no boundaries, makes no lunits." He even 
 places the present law in the same category with the Fif- 
 teen Gallon Law of '38, and all the License Laws between 
 1836 and 1840. (See page 7 of the Lecture.) On tlie 
 13th page he says the passage of this Law is " to rc-otact 
 the folly of 1838." But there is a wide difference between 
 a License Law and the Law under consideration — just 
 the difference there is between vending and destroying in- 
 toxicating liquors. The former commissions man to deal
 
 24 REVIEW OF LOVEJOY's LECTURE. 
 
 out poison for gain, the latter tips his liquor into the 
 street, and closes Ms bar. The former recently commis- 
 sioned tlie landlord of the Tremont House, Boston, to 
 vend strong drink, which raised such a row as even the 
 police could hardly subdue. The latter would empty 
 the house of its liquor, and thus remove the cause of such 
 bacchanalian revels. There is, then, a reason for the 
 failure of a License Law, because it commissions a man to 
 spread diamkenness. There is, also, a reason for the 
 success of the Maine Law in dimmisliing intemperance, 
 because it does not suffer the existence of a dramshop. 
 Hence the great error of the Lectiu'e, in concluding that 
 the present Law will fail because License Laws have 
 accomplished no good. Though intemperance contmucs 
 to roll its tide of death over the land when licensed di-am- 
 shops are nudtiplied, it certainly does not follow that the 
 same will be true when these dram-shojis become extinct. 
 Yet this is Mr; Lovejoy's ai-gument. Oui- " lo(/ic' would 
 lead us in a different dii-ection. If dramshops, sustained by 
 law, mcrease mtemperance, then, we infer, that dramshops, 
 destroyed hy Imv, will diminish intemperance. 
 
 To show how strangely mdiscriminate Mr. L. is in 
 bundling all prohibitory laws together, Ave refer to his first 
 illustration on page 5. That illustration is, that the act of 
 toleration by Constantine, did not wholly satisfy the 
 friends of the pure faith, so they became impatient, passed 
 " a prohibitory law" against idolatry, and under its sanc- 
 tion banished heretics, jnit idolaters to the sword, " and the 
 sword of the church, in the hand of the lloman emperor, 
 drank blood," &c. The use Mr. L. makes of this illustra- 
 tion may be stated thus, — ^this " first j)rohibitory law" 
 resulted in stiife and bloodshetl, therefore it wUl be the 
 same with the Mauie Law. But his illustration does not 
 even approximate to a parallel case. That ancient Law 
 of the year 313 was in conflict with every precept and 
 principle of the Gospelj because it involved inhumanity
 
 lil:viE-w OF lovejoy's lecture. 25 
 
 and cruelty in its jiro visions ; for it sanctioned the exUe of 
 heretics, and the destruction of idolaters. The Maine Law, 
 as we have showed in the Essay, is in harmony with the 
 Law of God. Ir conflicts not with its justice, humanity, 
 or charity. Is it just, to rank the Law of Maine with that 
 unrighteous and cruel statute of the year 313"? Because 
 an unrighteous law produces evU, does it follow that a 
 righteous one will produce the same 1 We have been wont 
 to believe and teach, that the more nearly men accord in 
 their efforts with the Divine Law, the more certain may 
 they be of success. " If God be for us, who can be against 
 us 1" If the law referred to, in the days of Constantine, 
 was condemned by every principle of the Christian reli- 
 gion, then, there was a good reason for its failure, and it 
 ought to have failed. On the other hand, if the Law of 
 Maine is sustained by the Law of God, then, there is a 
 reason for its success, and it ought to be successful. Then 
 it becomes a " co-worker " Avith the Divine Law. It 
 " works into" the Divine Plan, and all the operations of 
 the Divine Government help it on. Our past legislation 
 upon this subject may have failed solely for the reason 
 that it has attempted to regulate an evil which God says 
 we must destroy. And surely, noAV that the ]\Iaine Law 
 approximates so nearly to the Divine AVUl, we have great 
 reason to anticipate success. Doubtless Mr. Lovejoy has 
 faithfully preached this doctrine to his people in relation 
 to the general cause of truth. So that his inconsistency, 
 in comparing this with the cruel law against idolatry in 
 313, becomes still more glaring, unless he can show that 
 the Maine Law equally conflicts with the Gospel. 
 
 Mr. Lovcjoy's argument drawn from i\\c first prohibitory 
 Imv" of 313, is much like that of the genuine" j)addy, wlio, 
 having laid a single feather upon a rock, and stretched his 
 body upon it, remarked, " and filth, if one feather is so 
 hard, I'll be baten if I'll have a bag-full." So Mr. Loao- 
 joy says, if one prohibitory law, (f;u- back in the annals of 
 3*
 
 26 REVIEW OF LOVEJOY's LECTURE, 
 
 time) is so unjust and cruel, then I will have no prohibitoiy 
 laws whil(> tlie world standeth ; I wUl reject the whole 
 bag-fidl." 
 
 4. Mr. Lovejoy says, " but logic, not rhetoric, is w^anted 
 upon the subject." Let us here review his logic before 
 proccedinti; farther. 
 
 Prohibitoiy Imvs have not eradicated [intemjMrance, 
 therefore, let us have no prohibitori/ laws. Apply it. and 
 we say, prohibitory laws have not eradicated theft, there- 
 fore, let us have no prohibitory laws in regard to it. 
 
 Prohibitory laws exasperate wicked men ; the same will 
 be true of this Liquor laic ; therefore let us enact no pro- 
 hibitory law. So, if prohibitory laws provoke some wicked 
 men, the same will be tnie of laws against theft and 
 forgery, tlierefore let us enact no such laws. 
 
 Past legislation on this subject has failed, therefore, all 
 legislation in regard to it is useless. France failed in her 
 efforts after Republican institutions, therefore, she had 
 better be content with despotism, and try no more. But 
 we had hoped that past experience woidd prepare her to 
 try again. Failures teach important lessons. Past failures 
 are the seed of some of our wisest statutes. A " wreck 
 upon a rock" tells the mariner where to steer. The author 
 of the Maine Law studied the chart of past legislation 
 many years, and he saw every rock on which temjierance 
 statutes had split, so that he was enabled to map out the 
 only safe way. That legislation has failed in the past is 
 the very reason why it should not fail in the futui-e. " Ex- 
 perience is the best schoolmaster." 
 
 5. Turn to the jjrophetical part of the Lecture; for it 
 contains not only History, but Prophecy. The burden of 
 its cry is of lamentation and moui'ning, and woe. " Woe 
 mito us, for there has not been such a thmg heretofore." 
 "Woe, woe, woe unto the inhabitants of the earth." "And 
 he cried, A lion." "There is a lion without, I shall be
 
 REVIEW OF LOVEJOY's LECTURE, 27 
 
 slain in the streets." Sm-ely tliis is the " weeping Prophet" 
 of 1852. Hear him. 
 
 " Five dollars or less will put a distillery in the house of 
 every man who wants it." So away with your Maine Law. 
 Yes ! and with it abolish all " Acts concerning public 
 gambling saloons and houses of iU-fame ;" for men will 
 have '■'■private" saloons, at small expense; and "five dol- 
 lars or less" will put a " concealed " bawdy-roofn " into the 
 house of every man who wants it." 
 
 " Will not those very persons tvho abuse the article make 
 false pretences ?" If they will, then away wath yoiu* 
 Maine Law. Will not the suicide make false pretences to 
 obtain arsenic, or laudanum ? If he Avill, then away Avith 
 our laws which regulate the sale of these poisons. "N^^ill 
 not tlie swindler make false pretences to obtain goods ? 
 Then away with your laws that regidate the exchanges of 
 trade. 
 
 If a man tells a falsehood to obtain intoxicating ch-mks, 
 and gets it, '■'■what effect" says the author, ^' will this opera' 
 tion have upon the mind, the passions, the appetites of this 
 man who told the ti'uth, and lost his dram by it?" He has 
 now, " tvhat he at least considers, an injustice to be avenfjed." 
 So, aw^iy with your Elaine Law. And away with your laws 
 against obtainhig goods hy false pretences, for "wliat effect 
 win the operation have upon the mind, the passions, the 
 appetites of this man who told the truth," and did not get 
 his goods ? He will have '• what he at least considers, an 
 injustice to be avenged." 
 
 The above is a specimen of the prophecy of this Lec- 
 ture, unfulfilled. And it will be inquired at once, how does 
 Mr. Lovejoy dispose of the fact of the great benefits of the 
 Law already witnessed in Maine ^ He disposes of it thus, 
 " What are nine months in the life of a law I It shows no 
 more what a law is, than an infimt nine months old, shows 
 what kind of a man he will make." Is this true ? Is it 
 such a response as ought to come from a " watchman ^ "
 
 28 REVIEW OF LOVE joy's LECTURE. 
 
 What does tlie ajiplication of the Law nine months show 1 
 That, so far as it is tested, it worlvS well ; it promises 
 glorious results ; it has made friends of many who were at 
 first its enemies. Hence, the most prudent and heroming 
 language to proceed from a "watchman" in Zion^one who 
 prays that the souls of 30,000 drunkards may not perish 
 in our land annually — would be, "the operation of this 
 Law thus far promises well ; it seems to be the best legis- 
 lation on record to diminish intemperance ; God grant that 
 it may be perpetuated as begun ; let it be proved that men 
 have now hit upon the true expedient to battle with this 
 monstrous evil." If a Law operates successfidly nine 
 months, it certamly is no evidence, that it Avill finally fail. 
 It furnishes a degree of evidence that it will operate suc- 
 cessfully still longer. 
 
 If Mr. Lovejoy were to preach from the words, " There 
 is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets," I have no 
 doubt he Avould make it appear to be the language of the 
 " slothful man," and rightly apply it in relation to all other 
 moral enterprises. ^Vliy not make a similar application 
 in regard to this subject 1 
 
 6. Four more errors. " It will certainly be news 
 throut/hout the civilized world, that a man may he imprisoned 
 four months in 3Iassachusetts, for making and selling the 
 very article which Christ made and gave atcay at Galilee.'' 
 Whatever this ambiguous sentence may mean, anti-tempe- 
 rance men, especially those who read the Lecture in dram- 
 shops, will understand one meaning to be, that the adulte- 
 rated wine of the present day is precisely like that which 
 Christ made at Galilee. For the edification of those Avho thus 
 understand it, we say, admitting that said wine of Galilee 
 was real wine, containing an intoxicating element, it never- 
 theless differed materially from that which curses our land. 
 Dr. Lee says, than whom no person is more competent to 
 speak, " it is now pretty well understood that such a thing 
 as the pure juice of the grape is unknown in this coimtry,
 
 REVIEAV OF LOVEJOY's LECTURE. 29 
 
 and that a large proportion of the wines used in the United 
 States ai'e entirely factitious." According to his testimony, 
 such articles as the following are made ingredients in the 
 manufactui'e of wines ; sandars wood, spirits of wine, alum, 
 lead, arsenic, gypsum, slacked lime, siUphuric acid, and 
 many others. An old song runs thus, 
 
 " One glass of drink I got by chance, 
 'Twas claret when it was in France, 
 
 But now from it moche wider. 
 I think a man might make as good, 
 With green crabbes, boiled in Brazil wood, 
 
 And half a pint of cider." 
 
 If Ckrist manufactured this '•'•very article" at Galilee, then 
 may ca\'illers, at least, have some occasion to say, "Preach 
 us another Christ." 
 
 " miy this ivanton waste?" Mr. Lovejoy inquii'es in 
 relation to the destruction of liquors seized by law. 
 " Wanton waste! " is it \ Here is a man who is fast wast- 
 ing liis property and life, entailing misery upon his family, 
 and destrojing his soul. If, from this hoiu* every drop of 
 rum he buys is destroyed, his farm is saved from ruin, his 
 family is made comparatively rich in happiness, his morals 
 are imcorrupted, and possibly his soul delivered fi'om the 
 second death. Is this " wanton waste" 1 Is it not great 
 gain in property, morals, health and happmess, temporal 
 and eternal % 
 
 Here is a man doling out intoxicating drinks, recei^-ing 
 men's farms and furniture for rum, and causing two-thirds 
 of all the crime and pauperism in toAni, not to speak of 
 the misery which he spreads far and wide. Empty all liis 
 barrels into the street, and put an end to this crime and 
 destitution, and is it a " wanton Avaste]" Is it not great 
 gam \ If it costs this State $'260,000 annually to support 
 the paupers of intemperance, would it not be gam to 
 destroy ^200,000 worth of liquor yearly, in order to save 
 the ^260,000 \ We make in the enterprise $60,000, to 
 say nothing of the advance of intelligence and morals.
 
 30 REVIEW OF LOVEJOY's LECTURE. 
 
 " Have 1/on a ric/hf," siiys Mr. Lovejoy, " ^o r/jr/^r/f hi/ 
 coercive ineasures the hahitsand usages of one-half tlte people 
 of this Commonwealth ? Certainly we have. Such is the 
 democratic character of our government. A majority of 
 legal voters can make this change, provided they do not 
 infringe upon Constitutional rights; and the hest legal 
 authorities have decided that the Maine Law does not make 
 infractions upon such rights. Suppose from tlie infancy 
 of this Commonwealth one-half the people, in their liah- 
 its, customs and spnpathies, liad heen identified with 
 Slavery, would not a hare majority of the people now have 
 the right, not only to change, but to annihilate that insti- 
 tution, with all its usages, provided they sustain the 
 Constitution 1 If the " habits and usages " of one-half 
 the people of the State Avcre linked with bowUng alleys 
 and brothels, we think the other portion, with only the 
 majority of one, would have a right to change them "by 
 coercive measures." 
 
 Against this temperance agitation Mr. Lovejoy says, 
 " Society asks repose and reflection." And this is the very 
 thing for which we are aiming. Tiu-n to that scene recently 
 enacted in the Tremont House. Rich young men riot like 
 fiends from below. They lose all respect for God and man. 
 They dash decanters and rave like madmen. They assaU 
 the police, and bid defiance to all the laws of Boston. 
 This is a specimen of the disorder that reigns where rum 
 is sold. Little time here " for repose and reflection ! " 
 To behold such an opportunity for social rest and personal 
 meditation, go to Maine — to Portland for example. The 
 dramshops all closed — no drunkards in the street — no row- 
 dyism — ^house of correction empty — all is order and decency 
 throughout the city — ugly fathers are made kind — prodi- 
 gal sons return to their homes — wives and mothers are 
 made happy. Oh, what happy fomilies ! How sweet the 
 quiet and " repose" throughout the city ! Then, too, ^vhat 
 a season for " reflection!" The drunkard is clothed and in
 
 REVIEW OF LOVEJOY's LECTURE. 31 
 
 his rifjlit miiid, reflecting at home, bUssfiil in the bosom of 
 his fomily! Indeed he is in the honse of God on the 
 Sabbath, reflecthuj ! Only give us the Maine Law, and 
 Ave will have such a season for " repose and reflection " as 
 we have scarcely dreamed of. 
 
 Such an effort as this of Mr. Lovejoy is to be deplored. 
 It builds up the rummies in their opposition. It does them 
 good to feel that an Orthodox minister is on their side. 
 They will read his Lecture at their midnight orgies, as 
 with new zest they go to theu' cups. The rumsellers could 
 now hear him preach with glad hearts. They wiU seize 
 upon this Lecture for defence, though it be a poor argu- 
 ment ; for, like di-oAniing men, they will catch at a straw. 
 
 AVe see not how the author can be happy in his effort. 
 For the Church has struggled long and hard against this 
 mammoth evil, intemperance. Many of her own number 
 have fallen before it. Wise men, christians and statesmen, 
 ha-\"e long studied how to control it. They haAc de^-ised 
 this and that remedial plan, and failed. And now they 
 believe they have found the long-sought remedy in the 
 Maine Law. For nine months it has been successful, 
 beyond the most sanguine expectations of its friends. It ' 
 continues to be a great blessing. Judges deem it to be 
 constitutional, and sustain it. Ministers write exidtmgly 
 of its success. It harmonizes with the Law of God. It 
 makes city and A-illage more quiet, moral, and flourishing. 
 It chminishcs crime and want surprisingly. And yet, in 
 the face of all, Mr. LoA^ejoy really joins hands A\-ith rum- 
 sellers in then- efforts to crush the Law ! O, " teU it not 
 in Gath !"
 
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