But at the very time when the drug is working this re- sult, there is a mental exhilaration, a delusive lifting-up of the spirits, which cheats the victim with a false con- sciousness of augmented powers. He never before felt so strong, or realized that he was so intellectual, so wise, so witty; he never before had so much confidence in his own powers, or contemplated himself generally with so much satisfaction. This delusion continues, ami even increases, while he is sinking rapidly into ut- ter imbecility, mental and physical.
There are various substances which have lessor more of this strange potency. Those chiefly used for the de- liberate purpose of producing these effects are alcohol, opium, the hemp poison (Cannabis Indica), tobacco, tlie coca-leaf, the betel-nut, and the thorn-ap])le. A\'liile the general effect of these substances is the same, there is some variety in their action. Alcohol benumbs the body more rapidly than opium and Indian hemp, and tends more to noise and violence at first, and a paralytic stagger afterwards. The thorn-apple produces tempo- rary delirium as the final symptom. The coca -leaf, tobacco, and the betel-nut are milder forms of the in- toxicating principle, and seem to be used chiefly to al- lay mental and physical disquiet, and superinduce a feeling of ease and comfort.
But continued indulgence tends to the formation of a tyrannical habit, whose force grows out of the fact that repeated druggings produce an abnormal condition of the brain and of the whole nervous system. The novice experiences his dreamy joys for a brief space, and then comes out of them in a condition more or less morbid, according to the power of the dose. He generally re- covers his usual condition in a day or two, and perhaps has no desire to repeat his experience; but if he repeats it again and again, it will not be long before he finds himself in the clutches of a new appetite, and burdened by a new and pressing want. Now, when the force of the last dose of the drug has been spent, he is in a con- dition of unrest, mental and physical, which may be only a slight degree of uneasiness, or amount to direst agonj', according to the stage which he has reached in his downward road. From this disquiet, or distress, he knows of only one method of quick relief, and that is another dose of the same drug. And so the drug be- comes the tyrant and he the slave. As the coils of the serpent tighten about him, he sinks, mentally, morally, socially. At last he cares only for his drug, or rather is driven to it liy the lash of remorse and horror, which come upon him whenever he is not under the spell. He cares not for poverty, rags, and dirt, for cold and hunger. He cares less for his wife and children than a tiger does for his mate or a wolf for his cubs. The pity of the good, the scorn of the brutal, the jirayers and tears of those who love him, the wrath of the living (iod, have no power to move him, and in passive and hopeless shame and despair, alternating with brief sea- sons of attempted reform, he goes down to his doom.
II. Extent and Evils of Intoxication. — Thus the Asiat- ic peoples bear the burden of evil caused by indulgence in opium and the hemp intoxicant. Thus Europe and America groan under the woes inflicted by alcohol. During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1879, there were 156, P22 retail dealers in ardent spirits in the various states and territories of the Union, and the total re- ceipts from the taxes levied on distilled liquors were over $52,000,000. This is an increase over the previous year of 1082 in the number of dealers, and #2,000,000 in the receipts. The same year, 327,000,000 gallons of malt liquors paid into the Treasury over #10,000,000, making the total receipts from taxes on alcoholic liquors $63,000,000. The increased consumption of malt liquors the same year was 25,000,000 gallons. The total annual outlay in the United States for dis- tilled and malt liquors cannot be less than $700,000,000. In England, during the year ending Sept. 30. 1878, there were 156,589 licensed venders of intoxicating liquors, and, as the report of the committee of the House of
TEMPERANCE REFORM
2il
TEMPERANCE REFORM
Lords shows, the drinking habits of the people cost them the sum of 87KS,000,U00.
But this enormous waste, which swallows up so large a part of the earnings of the people, is only the begin- ning of woes. Vice, crime, pauperism, public evils, and public burdens of every kind multiply in direct propor- tion to the prevalence of the alcoholic habit. What are usually called the dangerous classes in our cities are its creation. It is a prolific source of political corruption. Powerful in votes and money, and with an instinctive dread of integrity in public men, the liquor interest gravitates to the wrong side of every public question. 13}' its aid bad men are exalted to office, the laws are imperfectly administered, life and property are rendered insecure, and taxes increase. In all Christian lands, the liquor habit and the liquor interest are recognised more and more clearly as the direct antagonists of morals, re- ligion, and every element of the welfare of men and na- tions. On these grounds the temperance reform bases its argument.