''As  the  traffic  in  ardent  spirit,  as  a  drink,  is  not  only  unne-
cessary but  injurious  to  the  social,  civil,  and  religious  interests  of
men,  therefore  the  laws  which  sanction  that  traffic  by  licensing
men  to  pursue  it,  are,  in  the  judgment  of  this  association,  mor--
ally  iorong;  and  ought  to  be  so  modified,  that  instead  of  licensing
the  sin,  and  thus  sanctioning  its  continuance,  they  will  only,  as
far  as  practicable  and  expedient,  defend  the  community  from  its
evils.  ^'


SEVENTH    REPORT


OF   THS


AMERICAN    TEMPERANCE    SOCIETY.
The  present  age  is  marked  with  strong  and  auspicious  peculiar-    /
ities.     One  of  tiiem  is,  increasmg  numbers  of  people  are  disposed   f
to  inquirej  with  regard  to  every  moral  principle  and  practice,  "  Is    ^
it  right  ? "     It  is  less  satisfactory  now,  than  in  former  times,  that  a    ,
thing  is  pleasant  merely  ;  that  it  is  popular,  has  been  practised  a
iuttg  time,  by  respectable  men,  or  even  by  good  men.     The
question  is,  and  with  numbers   increasing  continually,   "  Is  it     ,
ri^t?"  ^.
Another  auspicious  indication  of  the  present  time,  is,  the  stand-.
ard  of  right  and  wrong,  with  increasing  numbers,  is  the  Bible.
This  has,  by  good  men,  long  been  acknowledged  in  theory,  as  the
only  sufficient  and  perfect  moral  standard.  But  they  are  now,
more  than  ever  before,  applying  it  to  practice.  Not  only  are  they
laboring  with  new  vigor  to  send  it  to  all  nations,  and  convey  a
knowledge  of  its  contents  to  all  hearts  ;  but  they  are  appealing  to
it,  as  the  criterion  of  thought  and  action ;  and  are  endeavormg,
with  new  diligence,  to  bring  every  soul,  under  its  all-controlling
power.
