Published by Johjj B. Ritssei,l, at JVs. 52 JYorth Market Street, (at the Agricultural IVarchoiisej. — Thomas G. Fessenden, jGrfrtor. 



VOL. YIII. 



BOSTON, FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 1830. 



No. 41. 



ORIGINAt COMMUNICATIONS. 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



UPPRESSION OF INTEMPERANCE. 



AK ESSAY 



e means necessary to accomplish a total abolition of the 

 practice of drinking Ardejit Spirits. 



By Samuel Wyllvs Pomeroy. 



It has been said that whoever plants a single 

 ak, confers a favor on generations not tlien in ex- 

 tenee ; but how iniirli more exalted a benefuc- 

 ir is he who shall bestow lasting obligations on 

 le present as well as fiitino generations. And 

 ich are those who exert their best faculties to 

 remote the total abolition of the use of ardent 

 lirits. We cannot imagine an earthly paradise 

 which the human heart can so rationally Kix- 

 iatc. And where is the individual who feels 'a 

 vinity stir within him that points to an hereafter,' 

 id hence'a desire to alleviate the miseries, and 

 igment the comforts of his fellow beings, that 

 les not exult, when he reflects upon the powerful 

 iral force now abroad, and in active operation 

 r the suppression of intem[ierance! VVe here 

 opose to excite attention to physical efforts ; as 

 mi the apparent neglect of them, we are led to 

 lieve, that the community are not sufficiently 

 ;aro of their importance. Pious exhortations, 

 iquent argumentative harangues and the praise- 

 srthy exertions of the medical faculty have been 

 ■jductive of results highly auspicious, and that 

 ve exceeded the expectations of many of the most 

 nguine. They have Scotc/ied the serpent, hut will 

 ey crush him — is there no danger that he may 

 iturn to wallow in the mire' — will they have 

 It abiding effect as when united with efficient 

 ictical measures? It is believed not ; — a vigo- 

 is combination seems indispensable, to accom- 

 Ish the Herculean labor. In the present state of 

 •1) world, how far can we, in general, rely on the 

 ^ivictions of men's understandings ? 



tThey know the right, ami they approve it too, 

 jlondemn the wrong, and yet the wrong pursue.' 



ght not the senses, the taste, the palate to be 

 '""lipitiated ? — then there is habit, a potent an- 

 onist- -second only to time, for its weapons are 

 ^ rays close at hand ; as it must be admited that 

 ease of access and facility of administering 

 tiinulant or beverage from the various prepara- 

 iS of alcohol were in a great measure instru- 

 ntal to its introduction, and have had a power- 

 influence in promoting the vast and appalling 

 rease of consumption. 



!s it not a cardinal jioint to change this habit 

 he natural way ! Far be it from me to arrest 

 progress of exertions in the pulpit — the diftu- 

 of moral precepts, or to discourage the 

 itision of societies for supjuessing intemper- 

 leisife and conventions to abstain from ardent spirits, 

 object is to urge these associations, and the 

 imunity, especially the fairer and most estima- 

 portion, whose influence and handy works will 

 e commanding force, to exert all thtir physi- 

 energics for the diffusion of pleasant, mild 

 innocent stimulants to suit the condition, 

 3 and circumstances of all ranks and classes, 



: throughout our whole country, and place these 

 substitutes within their reach in the most alluring 

 forms. 



The substitutes we shall notice are the ferment- 

 ed liquors, such as wine, perry, cider, beer — and 

 the milder stimulants and restoratives of tea, cof- 

 fee, cocoa, chocolate, &c. 



Wine. It is well known that in all countries 

 where wine is produced in any abundance, the 

 peo|ile are teuiperate, and consume little or no ar- 

 dent spirit. Indeed it is said to be nauseous to a 

 great portion of the population of wine countries. 

 Mr Jefferson, in a letter to M. de JVeuville, late- 

 ly published, says, ' I rejoice, as a moralist, at the 

 prospect of a reduction of the duties on wine, by 

 our national legislature. It is an error to view a 

 tax on that liquor as merely a tax on the rich. It 

 is a prohibition of its use to the middling class of 

 our citizens, and a condemnation of them to the 

 poison of whiskey,which is desolating their houses. 

 No nation is drunken where wine is cheap ; and 

 none sober, where the dearness of wins substi- 

 tutes ardent spirits as the common beverage. 1 1 

 is, in truth, the only antidote to the bane of 

 whiskey. Fix but the duty at the rate of 

 other merchandize, and we can drink wine here 

 as cheap as we do grog ; and who will not prefer 

 it ? Its extended use will carry health and comfort 

 to a much enl.Trged circle. Every one in easy 

 circumstances (as the bulk of our citizens are) 

 will prefer it to the poison to which they are now 

 driven by their government.' To confirm the po- 

 sition of the philosophic sage, we are enabled to 

 adduce facts of recent occurrence. 



In the ' Banner of the Constitution,' a semi- 

 weekly paper published at the city of Washington, 

 and most ably edited by a gentleman distinguished 

 for talents and superior commercial information, 

 it is stated in an article which appeared the 3d of 

 February last, that by the Act of 1794, tliQ duty 

 on London particular, was 56 cents, and upon 

 other Madeira wine, 40 cents per gallon. By the 

 act of 1816, the duty, which had been doubled by 

 the war act, was fixed at one dollar per gallon on 

 all kinds of Madeira ; but has been reduced to 

 50 cents, and took effect January 1, 1829. The 

 same article slates ' We undersland that in Phila- 

 delphia there is not now a gallon of Madeira wine 

 drank, where formerly there was a demijohn, (5 

 gallons,) — and we have the authority of an exten- 

 sive dealer in wine for asserting, that many who 

 were liberal consuiners of wine, are now drinkers 

 of brandy! That we should import more wine from 

 Madeira, than we pay for with our exports which 

 is the case at i)resent, is one of the consequences 

 of our own acts. Madeira at one time took from 

 us forty thousand barrels of flour per annum, 

 besides a large quantity of corn. She paid us in 

 wine of which we took at that time from her about 

 5000 pipes. We then resolved by increasing the 

 duty on wine, to diminish the extent of our trade, 

 and we now import only 2500 pipes for a popula- 

 tion nearly double. This step drove Madeira to 

 find out another market for bread. She found it 

 in Sardinia ; from which country she now derives 

 the supply which she formerly drew from the Uni- 

 ted States. How soon our reduction of duties 

 will bring back trade into its old channels, time 



will determine. The taste and fashion ofivine loill 

 gradually return with its cheapness. The nation, 

 however, has lost by its folly, millions which can 

 never be regained, and has driven thousands from 

 the consumption of a wholesome and innocent li- 

 quor to inebriating substitutes.' This statement 

 elicited a letter to the editor which appeared in a 

 subsequent p iper, from an ertiinent dealer in Lan- 

 caster, Penn., bearing date 9th Feb. 1S30 — from 

 which the following is extracted. ' The statement 

 of the trade of the Island of Madeira, in the Banner 

 of the Constitution, must convince the most incred- 

 ulous. It is really astonisliing that the operation 

 of high duties, and the consequences are so little 

 understood. It is perfectly within my recollec- 

 tion, when not one pi|)e of French brandy was 

 consumed within our county, within a year — and 

 when grog drinking was not known. What a 

 change I — And I attribute this unfortunate change, 

 to high duties on wine. I will state one fact 



that is worth knowing. The house of , of 



Philadelphia imported upwards of one thousand 

 pipes of wine a year ; but for a UBmber of years, 

 under high duties, the house, which is yet in ex- 

 istence, and of whom I bought some wine a few 

 weeks ago, although it had wine constantly on 

 hand, has not sold one thousand gallons (10 pipes,) 

 in a year — all this mine loas paid for in produce. 

 Our worthy Germans would hail the time when 

 they could get a gill of good Lisbon or Tenerift" 

 wine for 6^ cents, or Madeira at 12J cents which 

 were the former prices.' 



It ap ,. urE by " report of the finance committee 

 of t/ie />TiJsh Parliament, in 1828, that the reduc- 

 tion of the duties on wine and coffee which took 

 place but a very few years before, had increased 

 the consumption of wine fifty per cent, and doubled 

 that of coffee ! — though they are still enormousily 

 high compared with ours. Ever since William the 

 Third introdu ced from the marshes of Holland that 

 fatal malaria called Holland's or Gin, the con- 

 sumption of ardent spirits in Great Britain has 

 continued to increase, and nearly in the ratio as 

 the taxes on wine and beer hare been augment- 

 ed. Late accounts state that the duties on 

 beer have been or are about to be abolished to the 

 amount of three millions stei-lijig ! What a com- 

 /)OMnrf relief will this measure afford to the dis- 

 tres.sed j)opulation of that country. 



We state one more fact only to show to whet 

 extent an advance in [irice lessens, and a reduc- 

 tion increases the consumjition of an innocent 

 luxury. 



A few years since when cofTee was retailing in 

 Boston for 20 to 25 cents a pound, imitation 

 coffee, prepared from rye was introduced, and 

 large quantities consumed; for some time scarce- 

 ly a coaster arrived from Philadelphia, which 

 seems to have been the great mart for the arti- 

 cles, but had part of a cargo o{Rye Coffee, which 

 was sold at about 6 cents. Real coffee is now 

 retailing at 14 or 15 cents a pound ; little orno 

 rye coflTee is imported, and the grocers say it is sel- 

 dom inquired foe: yet it is believed there is as 

 serious a call for strict economy, as at any period 

 since the establishment of the Federal Govern- 

 ment. 



Tea — has been a steady, and by no means 



