her population, and more than makes up for her slight difference in the spirit tax by a large excess in fermented liquors.

Let us contrast two New England States. Vermont, with a population (census 1870) of 330,551, pays $14,969.75 on spirits and $3,301.45 on fermented liquors; Connecticut, with a population of 537,454, pays $277,295.98 on spirits and $59,447.51 on fermented liquors. A calculation will show that the license State pays over ten times the tax per capita for liquors that the prohibitory does.

CHAPTER XXII.

MAINE A CRUCIAL TEST,

We devote a separate chapter to the exper ence of the State of Maine, because it seems to us that it is well entitled to be considered by candid friends and foes as a crucial test of the utility of enforced prohibition. It has been on her statute-book for a quarter of a century; it has had the general support of the Administration; it is a State of large area, with many considerable cities, and with very diversified industries. It has, therefore, the general conditions requisite for a satisfactory experiment.

And

although the friends of the law might speak of some special hinderances and embarrassments in the way of its perfect operation, yet if no decided and manifest gain is to be found, we shall have to confess that, however excellent the theory of the machine may be, it must be thrown aside as of no working value.

We accept the test. Why should not our opponents do the same?

The testimony as to the result is full and authoritative. We shall seem to many to cumulate unnecessarily. But the substantial

agreement of many men of different positions, temperaments, and views adds greatly to the impressiveness of the evidence. And, first, let us look at

MAINE AS SHE WAS.

The enactment of a law prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors as a beverage, always supposes the existence of a pretty active temperance sentiment; and when the observer sees the sobriety, good order, and prosperity of a community under such a system, the query arises whether the state of society is due to the law, or the law to the state of society. And, indeed, it is not possible to separate the two into an invariable antecedent and an invariable consequent. Each are both. The public sentiment begets the law; the law solidifies and increases the public sentiment. But the net gain from the law, both direct and indirect, may be seen from comparing the state of things before and after. And I have been surprised to learn the extent to which Maine formerly suffered from drink.

I call a few, but thoroughly competent, witnesses to this point.

Neal Dow, in a letter to the Alliance News, writes:

"In every city, town, village, and rural district in the

State, every tavern was a 'rum hole' and every grocery was a groggery. The immensely valuable pine timber, with which the State abounded, was sent in great quantities from all our ports to the West Indies, and the returns were almost nothing else than West India rum, and molasses to be distilled into New England rum, and these products of the lumber trade were consumed by our people; and so our grand forests went down their throats in the form of rum!

"The distilling business here was very large. In Portland alone were seven distilleries, often running night and day, and at the same time cargoes of West India rum were landed at our wharves. I think I have seen nearly an acre of puncheons of West India rum at one time on our wharves, just landed from ships. All this time seven distilleries running night and day! Now I will venture to say that we have not had a puncheon of West India rum imported here in five years, yes, I will say ten years, and there is but one distillery in the State-not that running, I think; but, if it runs, it is laid under $3,000 bonds to sell no spirit except for medicinal or mechanical purposes, or for exportation. In those old times, every grocery in Portland, whether a wholesale or retail shop, sold liquors of all sorts; now there is but one where liquors are supposed to be kept. There are low, base, Irish shanties there, keeping 'tabaccy' and other small matters, where liquor is sold more or less, in violation of law; but our groceries are strictly free from the trade.

"Now these are mostly general declarations as to the improved state of things in Maine. I have spoken of a wonderfully diminished production and im

portation of alcoholic liquors, but rather in a general way. Let me go a little into particulars as to the diminished consumption of them, a sort of treatment of the matter that may be more satisfactory to outsiders. I know well the town and village of Gorham it is nine miles from my house; the village is a 'corner,' a 'cross-roads,' as such places are sometimes called. The town is a rural district of country-a beautiful farming place. At the 'Corner' were numerous shops-Variety Stores,' as they were calledkeeping all sorts of goods for the country trade, from salt, bar-iron, ox-chains, mill saws, and grindstones, to all kinds of common ironmongery, common crockery, common drapery, common haberdashery, and groceries, including liquors of all sorts. Every shop in Gorham had such a stock, larger or smaller in quantity and assortment, according to the capital of the trader. These shops bought their supplies in Portland, and all the farmers for many miles about came there 'to trade,' exchanging their farm products for 'store goods,' including always a large supply of rum; and the balance of the trade against them, which was generally considerable, was charged to their account, and, after a few years, was secured by a mortgage on the farm.

"Now there is not a rum-shop in that whole town. The habits of the people have been entirely changed; they spend no more money for rum, and their farms are freed from mortgage. At one time, a Gorham man told me, three-fourths of the farms were mortgaged for store debts,' which would not have been. contracted but for the rum. I am familiar with all this, having often visited a cousin there, on a noble