produced, and even the particular name of the manufacturer. But, sir, our rum-sellers do not mark their goods; they — O, I am wrong they do put their mark on them, but do not add their names. They label their goods so that they are easily distinguishable from all others; but they do not box them up for the market, for they are not salable commodities. Their goods are boxed up, but it is done at the public expense. Some of the results of their labor and skill you will find in the jails; some in the state prisons; some in our almshouses and hospitals; and some in smaller boxes, which are immediately deposited in the earth; and, sir, community has to pay for the boxing-every nail and every screw. They make their gains by spoiling the raw material, and not by improvements made upon it.

Whenever I could do so, consistently with other engagements, I have been present at the Mechanics' Fairs in Boston and in New York, for it affords me great pleasure to witness the progress of the mechanic arts, and to obtain the evidence which such occasions furnish of the increasing skill and ingenuity of my countrymen. I walk through the halls of exhibition with great pleasure, and I see almost every class of manufacturers there, with specimens of their goods, their work; and with evident pride they arrange them before the judges, and demand a premium. But, sir, among all classes who have thus presented the products of their labor and skill, and demanded premiums, I have never met there a drunkard-maker; and yet, sir, a grog-seller could undoubtedly bring in some pretty strongly-marked specimens some which, I doubt not, would attract more attention than any patent corn-sheller or shingle machine which has appeared at the Fairs for the last ten years. But, sir, they do not take their work to the Fair, and for the best of reasons: they spoil the raw material; and O, sir, what a material to spoil! If it were iron, wood, leather, cotton, or any other material which has no feeling; no intelligence, no gentle affection, no soul, or responsibilities, we could more easily forgive them for the wrong they are doing; but they

take our young men, the hope and pride of their parents, the expectation and glory of the state, immortal beings, made in the image of God, and gifted with wonderful powers, and, after passing them through a variety of operations and influences, they turn them out poor, miserable, filthy, drivelling drunkards. They see the mischief and misery they are producing, and yet they go on as if they were blessing their fellow

men.

But, sir, I must draw these remarks to a close, for I perceive the evening is far spent. The view of the subject I have presented is not, by any means, the highest we should take of this great question now at issue between the friends of temperance and those who oppose their influence. The direct effects of the baneful system I am condemning is to disease the bodies, debase the intellects, deprave the morals, alienate or crush the social affections, and finally destroy the lives and souls of men; and these results have claims on our consideration infinitely stronger than any matter of dollars and cents; and yet no view of this giant curse of our country would be complete, as it seems to me, which did not embrace the warfare of the traffic in intoxicating drinks on useful trades and occupations, and the palpable violation of the eternal principles of right and justice involved in its continuance. God grant that, by such instrumentalities as it may please him to employ and to bless, that traffic may speedily be brought to a perpetual end.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EVIL OF INTEMPERANCE, AS SEEN IN ITS EFFECTS ON COMMUNITIES, STATES, AND NATIONS.

A DISCOURSE DELIVERED AT MANCHESTER, CONNECTICUT, DECEMBER 31, 1848.

REPORTED PHONOGRAPHICALLY, BY H. E. ROCKWELL.

MR. PRESIDENT, AND LADIES AND GENTLEMEN :

THOSE who are engaged in the traffic in intoxicating drinks, and many others, who, with them, labor to sustain and perpetuate it, often complain that the friends of temperance, in their efforts to promote the enterprise in which they are engaged, misrepresent the character of that traffic; that they do not keep themselves within the bounds of truth, but make exaggerated statements; and that, in their denunciations of the traffic, they use language warrantably harsh, &c. That individuals have, in connection with this subject, as well as all others, sometimes uttered what was not strictly true, or warranted by the facts in the case, I have no doubt; but the very nature of the subject will, as it seems to me, forever preclude the possibility of any very grievous error, on our part, of the character complained of. When we have thoroughly explored the language used among us, grouped together its strongest terms, and, with all the ingenuity and skill with which any man ever employed language, have endeavored to express the injustice and vileness of that traffic, and to describe the hor

rible results of it on all the great interests of society and man, we shall have fallen infinitely below the reality. All we can hope to do is, from time to time, to present particular aspects of this giant curse of the world to roll it round, as it were, and present to the gaze of an injured and suffering community one of its phases to-day, another to-morrow, and so on. It is only by looking at detached portions or particular points of this Aceldama that we shall ever be able to form any tolerable estimate of the dreadful whole. We can make no approach to a proper understanding of the subject in any other way. It was never given to mortal man to take in at one view all the features of this terrible curse. An angel from heaven could not do it. The most exalted of created beings, if on earth, and permitted to see all that might be seen in connection with the curse of intemperance, could not, with the exercise of his angelic powers, portray to the mind all which should be added to make the picture complete. The infinite mind and eternity can alone unfold the whole truth. Nor would it be desirable to give utterance to the whole truth, did we possess the power; for if such portions of it as we may and can present will not excite men to detest and abhor the system which produces such havoc with whatever is sacred or dear to our race, we may well despair of moving them by any considerations drawn from heaven, earth, or hell. I would not, if I possessed the power, present to the minds of those whom I now address a full view of all the results of the rum traffic which have occurred in this town of Manchester for the last twenty years. It would subject many of those before me to absolute torture. It would overwhelm their sensibilities, and drive them to madness. And yet we are charged with exaggeration, with presenting a distorted view of the subject. But, sir, so far from the truth are such charges, that, for one, I confess that I am often surprised that men can talk so coolly in relation to the matter, and that they can content themselves with such meagre and imperfect views of the subject as many seem to entertain. Why is it that the mass of the citizens of this town remain so uncon

cerned and inactive in relation to this subject? I believe that it is because they have formed, as yet, no just conception of the magnitude of the evil; and I have little hope of being able to induce many of your citizens to take hold of the work of reform in earnest, unless we can succeed in impressing their minds with sounder views of the subject. You cannot pursuade a sane and sensible man to wield a sledge-hammer of twenty pounds' weight to knock in the head a mouse which may have been caught in his cupboard. Put such an instrument in his hand, for such a purpose, and he will laugh at your folly. But let him be placed in a room beside a sleeping but unchained tiger, and let him distinctly understand that there is no safety for him but in the destruction of the animal, and he will not think your sledge-hammer too heavy. On the contrary, he will concentrate whatever physical power he may possess in a single blow, and when the sledge shall come in contact with the head of the beast, it will not be surprising if it should disturb, at once, his slumbers and his recollection of past events. Employ an individual to pump the water out of your well, if you shall find it necessary to do so, and contract to pay him a dollar a day and his board; and, although he may toil through the day, it is doubtful whether, at any particular time, he will move the pump break so rapidly that you shall be unable to count the strokes, and you may even have cause to think him a little wanting in energy. Now, put that same individual on board a ship, and let him be informed by the officers that the ship has sprung a leak, and is fast settling into the water, and that, if they succeed in keeping her afloat for a certain length of time, they may be able, by the help of their sails, to reach the shore, and that otherwise they must all go to the bottom together; - under such circumstances, station that man at the pump, and, though he be, by nature, the most lazy fellow in Manchester, he will work, and that with energy. He will move that pump brake as though he was working by the job. And this is natural enough. Men do not put forth all their powers to obtain what they esteem a slight advantage, or to