GEORGE SEWALL BOUTWELL. 23 



visited a school he made a prayer, and the morning exercise 

 in reading was in the New Testament Scriptures, — two verses 

 by each pupil. In 1840 the entire board was rejected, and a 

 board composed of school teachers and non-professional men 

 was chosen. 



In 1838 the Massachusetts Legislature passed what was 

 known as the Fifteen-Gallon Law. The statute prohibited 

 the sale of distilled spirits in " less quantity than fifteen 

 gallons." It did not take effect immediately and the election 

 of that year was not seriously disturbed, but before the 

 autumn of 1839 the State was thoroughly aroused. A cry 

 was raised that it was a law to oppress the poor who could 

 not command means to purchase the quantity named, while 

 the rich would enjoy the use of liquor notwithstanding the 

 statute. The town of Groton was entitled to two members in 

 the house of representatives. Both parties nominated candi- 

 dates who favored the repeal of the Fifteen-Gallon Law. The 

 temperance voters put a ticket in the field, the Rev. Amasa 

 Sanderson, the minister of the Baptist Society, then a new 

 organization, and feeble in numbers and wealth, and myself. 

 At that time my associations were largely with Whigs, but I 

 was opposed to a national bank, and in favor of free trade. 

 With those views it was not possible for me to act with the Whig 

 Party on national questions or in national contests. Mr. Sand- 

 erson and I received about seventy-six votes, and as none of 

 the candidates had a majority, the town was unrepresented. 



Edward Everett was Governor when the law was passed, 

 and he was a candidate for re-election in 1839. I supported 

 Mr. Everett on the temperance issue against Judge Marcus 

 Morton, who was the candidate of the Democratic Party. 

 Judge Morton had been on the bench of the Supreme Judi- 

 cial Court where he had the reputation of an able judge by 

 the side of Shaw, Wilde and Putnam. At that time I had not 

 seen Morton or Everett. In the year 1836 or 1837 I vvent to 

 Boston to hear Alex. H. Everett deliver a Democratic Fourth 

 of July oration. The effort was a disappointment to me. 

 A. H. Everett had a reputation as an orator, but he was far 

 inferior to his brother Edward. In later years I heard Edward 



