Wit, wisdom, and morals, distilled from Bacchus / by Charles Tovey.

  • Tovey, Charles, 1812-1888.
Date:
1878
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Wit, wisdom, and morals, distilled from Bacchus / by Charles Tovey. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

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    Anyone acquainted at all with matters of revenue, could have foreseen that this law would only drive the trade out of the hands of the licensed dealers into those of smugglers and illicit manu- facturers ; and those versed in the science of morals are well aware that nothing but a sound education will ever effectually root out drunkenness or any other vice, and that heavy taxes upon a vicious indulgence stops one source, only to turn the flood with greater violence into more devious and perilous channels. Immediately the Act passed there was danger of rebellion. An insurrection of the populace was threatened, and, but for the precautionary measures taken by the Government, there would have been serious rioting and much bloodshed. As there were multitudes of offenders, there were at first multi- tudes of informations; but as soon as any man was known to have informed, he was assaulted and pelted by the mob wherever they could meet with him. A noble peer was obliged to open his gates to one of those unfortunate creatures to protect him from the mob, who were in full cry, and would probably have torn him to pieces if they could have laid hold of him, for they had before actually mur- dered others of his class. This was not the only difficulty; the magistrates themselves were in danger if they appeared too zealous in the execution of this law. The prosecutions put the Government to